Saturday, 16 June 2012

Experiment 2 Feedback

Below is a copy of the feedback for experiment 2


Christopher Tee

Key strength of the scheme:  the citing and the hidden monument has a great monumental quality a huge surprise to enter into this space.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: Both monuments appear overexposed in some of the images, too much lights have been used on them. Look at using textures to more depth to the surfaces


Dallen Chan
Key strength of the scheme: A very dramatic and monumental sized monuments which would be very impressive to visit.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: The landscape doesn’t quite justify the dramatic quality the monuments have, the landscape also needs to be dramatic, the horizon is good but I think more work is needed to design a better more mysterious and dramatic landscape


Dylan Smith
Key strength of the scheme: the axo’s are great and the chosen design is very good, especially the carved out stair of the tower monument. They are well cited. Would have been a great mark except for the weaknesses, see below

Most significant weakness of the scheme: the images have a very poor resolution, and the landscape design is also very unresolved, lacking detail and appears fuzzy in the images. The images do not capture the best bits about the tower monument


Hao Ren
Key strength of the scheme: great landscape and the chosen axo / design is well cited.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: The use of texture on the final model is poor, they are too large and seem arbitrary in there placement. Look back at your axo, which has one texture only on parallel surfaces, using that system would have been better. Some people in the images


Jackie Xiang
Key strength of the scheme: the secluded bay with high cliff walls is a good landscape room for a hidden secret fortress.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: the landscape lacks texture and development, the resolution of the images is poor. The citing is curious, why in that position, you need to think more about how you would place a monument in that landscape, suggestions include raising it up off the sandy floor, moving towards one side so when on the monument you can get a better view out. Part of refuge is to be protected but also to be able to see out to know if anyone is coming.


Jaunade Elbrihi
Key strength of the scheme: axonometrics

Most significant weakness of the scheme: poor resolution of landscape. The landscape needs textures, vegetation. The monuments are simplistic


Masayu Nailah
Key strength of the scheme: concept / effort

Most significant weakness of the scheme: placement in landscape of the refuge monument is weak, it is not really in a refuge, its placement is arbitrary.


Mingfeng Lin
Key strength of the scheme: monuments well cited in the landscape and the form of the landscape

Most significant weakness of the scheme: The landscape textures and vegetation is too unrealistic


Ouyang Lan
Key strength of the scheme: image of looking up at the tower is dramatic
  
Most significant weakness of the scheme: artificial landscape combined with a cartoon like rendering of the monument makes the project look very unresolved, a sketch not a design


Qiheng Jiang
Key strength of the scheme: The overall effort

Most significant weakness of the scheme: the monument in the landscape looks like a cartoon, it has no material texture, looks foreign. The images look like collages not real time images. The draft landscape and images were better than the final 


Roland Allam
Key strength of the scheme: your effort, great improvement
  
Most significant weakness of the scheme: the renderings of the landscape need to be more realistic. The landscape looks artificial. Axonometrics and the monuments are clunky, lack a hierarchy and sophistication. 


Sammy Sudjono
Key strength of the scheme: Landscape and citing

Most significant weakness of the scheme: The architecture of the monument is very very basic, how do you walk through it, is there a hierarchy of spaces, does it have any enclosure? What are the framed views.


Xiaoxi Gao
Key strength of the scheme: beautifully cited, excellent image captures. The textures of the monuments and the landscape harmonise extremely well.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: for the image captures please take off the programs text that appears in the top right hand corner and the ‘energy’ sign.


Xin Lui
Key strength of the scheme: Great effort. Looks dramatic and the landscape is well conceived with good textual representation.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: The monuments are not cited very well in the landscape. Close but not right. Eg. The ramp sits awkwardly with the landscape  , the monument could easily be shifted and you would not think that it is worse or better. In other words the monument has not found its proper resting place


Xin Xu
Key strength of the scheme: Great effort.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: Hard to see the landscape, not sure if it is good or if it is  poor. The image captures don’t show the monuments as you would see them in the landscape, or as you would if you were viewing out from them onto the surrounding landscape.


Xiyang Yu
Key strength of the scheme: the monuments have a great connection with the mountain and the stair is excellent.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: Landscape is unrealistic, lacks texture and appropriate vegetation
 

Yixun Wu
Key strength of the scheme: dramatic citing of the monuments, the monuments are well textured.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: Lacks a concept. The landscape lacks texture and definition.


Shibin Wang
Key strength of the scheme: beautifully cited monuments, the landscape is well formed.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: Both the landscape textures and the building textures lack materiality.


Benjamin Vella
Key strength of the scheme: The landscape is well formed.

Most significant weakness of the scheme: poor placement of the temple. Temples are placed on higher ground to connect with the sky and long distant views. Your placement fails to understand this fundamental principle. You should also question why you have chosen a common Aztec / myan form, the process of the course is to lead you to design your own forms not copy past architectures. There are no images captures of what it is like to be in the monuments. The monuments are not just experienced from the outside but from within, especially ones that are aiming at views. The temple is open on all sides but the landscape is not. When citing such a building that is open on all sides then it would be on the top of a hill, look at Parthenon, and Villa Rotunda by Palladio.
The axonometrics are ok but they lack precision, hierarchy and a presence of both subtraction and addition.  





Monday, 28 May 2012

Architects and Bridges

As you no doubt have noticed not a lot of architects get the opportunity to design bridges, and lots of engineers design bridges like every other engineer has designed bridges.

Check out the Marte Marte an architecture firm who amongst a whole bunch of projects have also designed and had built 3 bridges.

Alfenz Bridge
Frodisch Bridge
Schanerloch Bridge







Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Experiment 2

Hi All,

For experiment 2, your 2 architects / engineers and one of their projects is

Gustave Eiffel - The Eiffel Tower in PAris

and

Peter Zumthor - Thermal Baths in Vals.

CONCEPTS

Below is a list of the selected 10 concepts for each designer

Eiffel - Iconic / marker, additive, vertical stratification, prospect, symmetrical

Zumthor - monolithic, subtractive, hidden / secretive, refuge, horizontal stratification

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Some Visual Reading

Hi all,

part of your studies in Architecture is researching what other architects have done and are doing. In architecture you learn from other architects and from your mistakes.

I have posted a link list with some architects websites worth looking at. Each week I will add a few more.

Please note that websites are just the beginning, you will need to visit the library on a regular basis to borrow books on architecture. You should aim to borrow at least 4 books a week. The aim is to look at the pictures. You need to build up your visual vocabulary quickly, looking at images is a fast an effective way to do so.

The most important research is achieved when visiting architecture. For beginners it is difficult to know where to find the architectural wonders of Sydney. Start by buying a guide on Sydney Architectue. This you can purchase at Architext bookshop on Manning Street in Potts Point, or Kinokuniya in George Street Sydney, or Ariel bookshop on Oxford Street in Paddington.
Search through australian architecutre journals, which you can find at the library. Try 'Architecture Australia', 'Monument', 'Architectural Review'. The current issue of them are available in your local newsagent.
Find in the library the November / December edition of Architecture Australia which features the award winners for that year. Find the local examples that you find interesting and go and visit them.

Check out the Historic Houses Trust of Australia website. There are numerous houses open to the public. Click the section 'visiting' and the list of houses comes up. Make a special effort to visit the Rose Seidler House by architect Harry Seidler. At 50 years old this house is astonishingly modern and most likely more than any of your homes. 

If you haven't done any of the things mentioned above by next week then you are not trying. Self directed study is essential to learning and improvement. Good luck and enjoy the journey.