Finishing Touches

My video never happened. It wasn't for want of trying. I had a really good idea for it and was working on it. I even learnt how to animate in Photoshop but for some reason, my video editing software was having none of it and I after I had spent a fair amount of time putting it all together . . . it refused to publish. I don't think it liked me using Photoshop to make the animations so I don't think I'll be doing that again. I did however have some montages that I was really happy with.

After we had out final reviews, I started altering and improving stuff for portfolio. The main thing bought up in my review was that I needed to either integrate my precedents into my design work or refer back to them. This made more sense and made my project flow better I think. 

It was also suggested that I made my site plans clearer by indicating which part of the site was below ground and which was above so that it was easier to read. This was simple enough to do. 

As well as Photoshopping all my technical drawings, I made a third detail drawing showing how I would deal with the regular flooding on the site - shutting the building down completely while the waters were at a dangerous level as most of the site, if not all of it, would be underwater. I seal the building off by using shutters over the folding doors of the main club space and the doors of the changing rooms and conference centre. 

Getting There

Last week, I said no more AutoCAD . . . . . . I spent 12 hours on it yesterday and another good couple today. Not to mention the time early in the week.

But, I think I am almost done. I have now finished my plans and added all the details in the way of furniture etc. All that is left to do is make them look pretty in Photoshop. I have also made a lot of progress on my SketchUp model which means I will be able to start animating that for my video. That will probably be done tomorrow. 

Tuesday saw us all back in studio and we had one on one tutorial. As I had more or less completed my tech drawings by then, I was able to get some feedback on them and how I could improve them. If I learnt anything on Tuesday, it was that circulation space is a waste of space. Yes, it is needed but it can be compressed in order to make the most of space and, essentially, save money. Don't put doors where they aren't needed either. So baring these points in mind, I rearranged the changing rooms and conference centre in order to create more space and to get rid of unnecessary circulation space. It was something that hadn't occurred to me but when mentioned, made a lot of sense.

As well as my video, the only thing I really need to finish and check of my list are the vertical circulation, the video and then getting everything in a presentable format. 

Stairs

This weekend, I started to think about the detailing on my stairs. Feeling completely uninspired, I decided to head into the city and find some stairs to look at and sketch.

I visited the Learning Commons first and found a good place to perch and do some sketching. As well as looking at the staircase itself, I also looked closely at the details on the banisters and how the handrail attached to the glass. I also had a go at drawing how I thought it would look in section. 
Using glass for the interior staircase would work well as it would reflect the window on the other side of the stairs. It would also allow those outside the building to see into the main club space and vice versa, therefore allowing continuation between inside and outside.










I also went up to the Deansgate John Ryland's Library. The new-ish extension is full of clean lines and also has a glass banister on the staircase. I really liked the way the main staircase was clean cut without the fuss of finishings between the stairs/flooring and the banister. The floor finish also gave me some ideas for the floor finish in my own building; I wanted something that would be suitable for both inside and outside, so that it could continue from the main club space out into the landscape.

No More AutoCAD!

Having spent the best part of last week working on my drawings, I can't bear to spend another minute on AutoCAD. I have more or less finished my plans, sections and 1 out of 2 of my elevations (the first one taking my longer than the first two Lord of the Rings. Extended edition). Despite nearly loosing the will to live, I am really pleased with them so far. Actually drawing the plan has let me see exactly the size of everything and has allowed me to see whether the rooms are too big or small etc. I realised that I didn't have to add an extra space for the storage as I could just put it in the space I had for the kitchen, thus making that slightly smaller. Doing this neatens up my building as well as I don't have extra rooms added onto the main building - it is now more or less rectangular. 

Whilst playing around with my SketchUp model, I went in to Walk mode to get an idea what it would be like to actually be on my site and how you would move around it. It was then I realised that it wasn't as easy to go to the meeting rooms as it should be. It involved going down stairs then back up stairs only to go down stairs again. Or to go a really long way around. To remove this problem, I changed the layout slightly by creating a landing on the main staircase so that it was level with part of the site. I also changed the stairs inside the building to match. 

Before

After

I have started my video and by doing so, I have begun to learn how to use the animation tools on Photoshop. I currently have 7 seconds out of a maximum 2 minutes but it's getting there.

Sequential Drawings

Over Christmas, I had a excellent excuse to do work - a new graphics tablet. It even made AutoCAD fun . . . until it crashed. So yesterday, I was working on my plans, after finally having a complete design. I started them before but was able to (nearly?) finish them this morning - I may add some more details or edit them in Photoshop to add context. 

I also spent last night trying to work out how to doodle on PDFs so that I could add notes to the brief and tick off what I had done. I couldn't. But reading thought it again gave me some ideas for my 3D montage and video so I will probably be working on those tomorrow. But before I can start my video, I want to have a go at Adobe Flash.

After finishing my sequential drawings, I am going to use them in my montages and possibly in the video as well.

Vertical Circulation

This time I really have sorted my design out and to prove it, I even built it on SketchUp  I sorted the scale of the buildings out and because they were smaller, I needed to adjust how I arranged the site. This was simply a case of levelling it out differently to fit in with the buildings. Once I had done this I then needed to work out the vertical circulation through the site. In my original concept, I wanted to create a stepped landscape in which to sit the buildings, this is to make the outside part of the centre and give it a function. I therefore wanted to split the purpose of the step into seating as well as for movement around the site. I want to make spaces that people can sit and watch the kayaking and any other events held at the centre.
Using my SketchUp model, I was able to experiment with different forms and I was able to come up with a layout/design that worked well. The main staircase on the site runs along side the staircase within the building. This is to create the link between interior and exterior. It is also the only set of stairs on the site the doesn't follow the contours of the site. There are two types of steps in my design: the usual height/depth stairs and ones which are double in dimension  These second type allow for visitors to site and watch any events. They all face towards the river as that is where my main point of focus is.

Within my design, I tried to keep the meeting rooms as separated as possible without putting a wall up around the building. I therefore have one staircase directed at that building. 

Damn Scale

After finishing my design today, I was going to start my plans, sections and elevations today. I began by measuring my sketched plan at 1:500. After I had measured everything, I noticed that it was all so big: the race office, for example, has to have a floor area of at least 10m2. My office dimensions were 17x14. I need to work on this! So, looking into materials has gone on hold until I can scale my building properly and get my drawings done. THEN I can look at materials and how to flood proof my building. Fun times