Rendered Library Perspective

I enjoy how quickly you can see progress from a blocky, non-realistic looking space to a space that one might actually be able to use!!  I'm still working on a few details - I'd like to add some ontourage (like books on the shelves) and play with the lighting some more. 
Not bad for a first draft!

Rendered Perspective

Gatewood Studio's Library and Conference Room - Animated Fly-Through from SketchUp

First Draft of my animated fly-through!

Gatewood Studio's Library and Conference Room - 3D Models Made in Sketchup

Since I've only used sketchup only briefly before to make furniture, there was a bit of a learning curve for a 3D model.  I think I'm getting the hang of it, so here are my first drafts of the space!

Bird's Eye View

Hidden Line Perspective

Isometric Perspective

Isometric Parallel Projection

Top View

Animation coming soon!

Interest in learning more . . .

What else would I like to learn about photoshop, illustrator, and autocad?
I'd like to learn more about vectors and vector based programs.  Right now I have a vague understanding of how curves are made in vector based programs but I'd like to learn how to make my curve be of a specific size and angle.  I'd also like to learn how to do more photo-realistic rendering in photoshop, such as proper lighting effects.  I'd like to master the concept of masks and layering to make myself more efficient.  In autocad I'd like to learn more about rendering plug-ins and how to use keyboard shortcuts.

Back to Blogging!

Last semester was pretty stressful and I didn't have much time for blogging.  As one of my New Year's resolutions, I plan to visit and update my blog frequently in order to keep an online log of research, projects, and my new outlook.  To start off the semester, I've included a picture of myself with one of my favorite objects:  my snowboard.

My snowboard helps to define who I am both visually and sentimentally.  In drawing a few quick visual connections to myself and my snowboard, I notice that it's yellow and blue (I am blond with blue eyes), it has a stained glass graphic (I love classic art and architecture) and it also has stickers of some of my favorite things (I love subculture!).
Sentimentally, I've had it since I was 16 and it has traveled all over the United States with me.  Each nick, scratch, and chip has it's own story and memory associated with it. 
Whether it's somersaulting down the hill or being caught to my shoulders in a giant snowdrift, my travels and memories make up my past and help dictate my future.  And my snowboard helps me tell that story!

My snowboard and I!!

 I hope that all the Team Green group members have a fabulous semester and hope this helps those who aren't in IARC get used to the blogging world!

Chitchen Itza, Mexico. . .

This is the pyramid where the Mayans held religious ceremonies.  The corners of the pyramid are exactly at North, East, South, and West, and when the summer solstice comes the effect between the sunlight and shadow creates a giant serpent coming down the pyramid.  There 91 steps on each side, and one step up to the temple on top, making for a total of 365 stairs, the same number as are days in the year.

Temple at the top of the pyramid.  Notice the shape of a face above the door.

Glyphs on the walls represent serpents, a symbol of life.  The part that looks like an elephant trunk is actually the nose of the Mayan sun god.

Mayans were very good at making cantilevered archways.  This type of archway was used in their palace and as entrances to sacred areas.  Also known as a corbel arch, these arches were constructed using a series of overlapping blocks, each going a little bit farther inward until the archway could be blocked using a single capstone.  The voids between the overlapping rocks were then filled with smaller stones.

Although some human sacrifices did occur, they were not unwilling victims thrown from the top of the pyramid as Hollywood suggests.  Those that were sacrificed were volunteers, and the ritual took place on top of a platform about 6 feet off the ground.  Since the sacrifices were a communal event and onlookers would not be able to see the top of the pyramid, it makes much more sense for the ritual to take place in a location that allowed for everyone to see.

This is a closeup of the Mayan version of a wailing wall, where those who died in battle were commemorated by a low relief glyph of a skull.  The heads of enemies were placed on stakes above the wall.

The ball court.  One of the reasons the court has maintained structural integrity over the years is because of the verticality of the wall.  Trees and other roots tend to not grow and destroy walls that go straight up.

Relief glyphs depict the story of the games played at the ball court.  The ball game was a battle to the death, but it was the winner that actually was the one that was killed.  The Mayans believed this to be a sort of fast-track to the gods.

Observational temple at the top of the ball court.

If the Mayan ball game was like basketball, this would be the basket.  The ball would be more than 3 pounds, and made of solid rubber - and not the bouncy kind, the really hard kind.

Serpents represented life forces, and on the stairway on the opposite side of the building would be the end of the snake.  Mayans believed in "theological architecture", which meant that in constructed stairs, you never wanted to turn your back to or face directly the gods worshipped in the pyramid.  The stairs were made of a very steep rise and shallow run, so that you had to kind of scoot up the stairs sideways.

When reconstructing one of the buildings, they have a few left over pieces.....so they made this statue as a tribute to the Mayan sun god.  In actuality, the left over pieces were from previous periods.  The Maya were known for building bigger and better pyramids on top of existing pyramids.

The Mayan Observatory.

This building is believed to be a palace, but is still undergoing reconstruction.

The giant wood beams that supported the ceiling have rotted long ago, causing the ceiling to collapse.  It's really interesting the see the remnants of such an architecturally advanced society!

Writer's retreat. . .

My writer's retreat plan includes a public and private entrance, a space for public readings, a public space to hold conferences and meetings, a public bathroom, a private office, a private space for reflection or entertaining, private kitchen and breakfast nook, and a private bedroom and bath.  Looking at the floor plan below, the private entrance is at the bottom left.  Upon entering the church, the bedroom and walk in closet is immediately to the right, while the open space for reflection and/or entertaining is on the immediate left.  Walking forward, one enters the kitchen.  The room on the left of the kitchen entrance is the private bath with a garden tub.  The refrigerator is on the right, with floor and wall cabinets on either side.  The rest of the kitchen is galley style, with dishwasher, sink, stove, and wall and floor cabinets on the far wall.  To the left of the kitchen set up is the breakfast nook, which includes built in bench seating (and cushions) and a pedestal based table.  Turing right and walking past the refrigertor, you would see the entrance to the laundry room on the left and the entrance to the private office on the right.  If you were to continue down that hall and through a door, you would then enter the public space.

 Below are the section elevations of the writer's retreat.  Section A (top left) shows the private reflection/entertaining space.  The top right picture is the key for the elevations, while the bottom elevation shows the public reading and conference space (far right), the private office, bedroom, and part of the private reflection space.

The perspective below shows the public space as seen from the front of the building and looking back toward the private space.  I choose to emphasize the shape of the roof by covering it with wood panels.  When thinking of the word retreat, I thought of a cabin in the woods.  Since the St. Mary's Church is right off campus in a city and nowhere near the woods, I wanted to bring the idea of nature inside.  I used slate columns to support a wood panel slanted ceiling.  The ceiling gives the impression of defined space for conferences and meetings, while mimicking the slant and materiality of the actual roof.  The cabinets between the columns add to the sense of defined space, but can easily be moved to create a type of podium for a speaker to give lectures or a writer to do public readings. 

For the private space, I wanted to maintain a sense of openness to the roof while simultaneously allowing the visiting scholar to feel like he or she were in a private residence.  Using the same slated panel idea, the office, public bathroom, hall, and bedroom would have a flat wood ceiling a height right above the existing windows - about 9 feet above the floor. 

The private reflection/entertaining space, kitchen and breakfast nook would all be open to the existing ceiling and defined by half walls.  The private bathroom's ceiling would mimic the conference space ceiling, with wood panels that peeked at 9 feet above the window and slanted down to 7 feet at the entrance to the bath.

 In the perspective below, the view is standing to the right of the fireplace and looking directly across the the public conference and reading space.

 Finally, my last and favorite perspective is that of the kitchen and breakfast nook.  I used different types of wood for the cabinets with a birch butcher block counter top.  The wall cabinets are ebony stained with frosted glass doors.  The molding, window and door trim, and floor throughout the house are a natural walnut color, a shade in between the dark paneled ceiling of the church and the lighter wood paneled faux ceilings.

Burda, Unit Summary 3, IAR 221

Burda, BP 14, IAR 221

Object, Space, Building, Place:  4 things that I love!

Object:  My snowboard

My snowboard is one of my favorite objects because it gives me the oppertunity to see parts of the world that I'd never get a chance to see if I didn't ride.  The view from the top of the mountain on a crisp, clear morning after a night of heavy snow is one of the most beautiful sights in the world.  Any noise is muffled by the snow and whether I'm sailing through fresh powder or riding the lift to the top, I'm filled with a sense of serenity that clears my mind and allows me to appriciate nature at it's fullest.

Space: Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

I love the Piazza San Marco in Venice.  It provides a great meeting space.  You could spend days there just sitting on the steps and people watching.  There are a lot of artists there that are creating and selling their work.  There is also a ton of really cool shops and restaurants that surround the piazza.  It opens up to the water where you can take boat rides around the city, and the history and architecture of this area seem to adapt well to the modern buzz of the city.


Building:  Frank Gehry
When I was reflecting on really cool buildings I'd seen, two came into mind.  One was in Cleveland, Ohio, and the other was the building fronted by a giant pair of binoculars in Venice, California.  I had a feeling that the binocular building was by Frank Gehry, but I had no idea that the building I was thinking about in Cleveland, the Peter B Lewis building, was also by Gehry.

Peter B Lewis building in Cleveland, Ohio



Chiat-Day building in Venice, California

 The Chiat-Day building, also known as the binocular building, sits on main street in Venice, California.  Frank Gehry is responsible for the three facaded building behind the binoculars, while the giant binocular sculpture was created by Claes Oldenburg.  The binoculars serve as an entranceway for vehicular and pedestrian traffic.  Interestingly, Claes Oldenburg also created one of my favorite sculptures in Cleveland, a giant rubber stamp with the word "Free" on it.

Claes Oldenburg's "Free Stamp" in Cleveland, Ohio

Place:  Savannah, Georgia
I love visiting Savannah because of the tremendous amount of history and architecture.  The downtown city blocks are arranged beautifully, and the spanish moss dripping from the trees makes it seem like you are walking into another place and time.  The georgian and Victorian homes are breathtaking.  I also appriciate that SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, has taken it upon themselves to purchase and renovate old and decrepide historic buildings.  In this way, Savannah is truely an architectural link between past and present.

Downtown Savannah, Georgia

One of the beautiful historic homes in Savannah



Yogi especially liked Savannah because the historic bus tour doesn't discriminate against Pitt Bulls!



SCAD building in Savannah, Georgia



Perspective of downstairs hall . . .

For my perspective drawing, I choose a space in the downstairs hall.  I choose the middle of the hall becausse I thought the contrast between the way the brick wall looked up close, in perspective, and as part of the picture plane was very interesting.  I think the most difficult part of the drawing was how to represent a white brick wall from far away.  I wanted to make sure the viewer could read the farthest brick wall as brick, but it was difficult for me to read it as brick from the location I was drawing it.  It didn't help that on a bright sunny day, the windows were backlit and washed everything out.  In order to compinsate for this problem, I went to the downstairs hall at different times of the day on night to be able to more clearly achieve my goal.