1 Day left.

With only a few hours away from the Design Portfolio exam and I am trying to convince my great anxiety that the reward will be a good nights rest. But before I can say its holiday I probably have to go to sleep seeing that I only have a few hours to spare. 

Computers June hand in

The semester is nearing the end and there is just one more portfolio to go after this hand in. Unfortunately I still have to add a link to the video walkthrough of the same house that took me 34 hours to render in 3dsMax, thankfully my laptop is still alive.

Time is short when you think of it.

Why does time have to be so essential when you need it, I think it's ironic. To say the least the computer portfolio hand in is nearing and my video animation is still rendering? What to do, what to do? I need more time.

A new render

The final render in AutoCAD 2012.

The new Go Karts design

A redesign of the Go Karts project that hopefully meets the main requirement to be a "Zooty" place. All that is left to do is build the concept model and then this project is ready for the portfolio exams next week.

The new Thornhill Primary School

The model.

The Thornhill Primary School design project has undergone several changes/ And within two weeks, a week before design portfolio, the fourth design concept was being molded from a simple idea a leaf. I just want to say thank you Taryn Keefer the other brain for this design. 

Lesson from a quote.

The lesson of concept:

"Practice safe design: use a concept."

-Petrula Vrontikis

For example, Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut.

The concept

The end result.

Computer hand in nearing.

The process is slow but worth the effort. While exams are around the corner time is of the essence, but I feel that time just needs to pause, not for working, but for me to catch up on some sleep.

5 Stars for Windhoek

The much anticipated Hilton Windhoek Hotel.

Namibia's first 5 star hotel opened its doors today (27-05-2011) after  three years of planning and preparation. What makes the building remarkable in the sense of architecture is that the building is built right in the heart of the city, with the Supreme Court of Namibia on the one side and Independence Avenue on the other. The building was also designed with sustainability in mind.

Inspiration with a quote

The portfolio exam is nearing and time is running out. If only time could stand still for a day so that I can fix all my projects. To top it of I have designer's block.

"Design is easy. All you do is stare at the screen until drops of blood form on your forehead." - Marty Neumeier

Quote of the day

Good design goes to heaven; bad design goes everywhere.

-Mieke Gerritzen

Urban Design Project

 What is the comparisson between the Boardwalk Entertainment Complex and the NMMU South Campus. The basic comparisson is that most people would attend tthe Boardwalk due to its friendly nature and its international response the architype from all around the world. Whereas the NMMU Campus is cold and alien looking even though it follows the principles of a post- modern building.

Sketches for Ceaserstone.

Although my timing of this specific post is late, I still feel that I need to share it.

Marriage of art and science.

The Rasin Building in Prague, also known as the dancing house by Frank Gehry, is intuitively designed with a rational mind of the context and materials. 

Ceaserstone competion

 The brief called upon 5 zones for a couple to sleep, eat, live, soul and a community interface. Located in the historical precinct of Richmond Hill, Port Elizabeth. The site sits on a steep cliff facing the ocean. The solution was to clearly define three specific areas: The lower ground facing the street would incorporate a workshop for community interface, the upper ground floor is set for the eating and living zones well a courtyard is built into the cliff as a soul space. The first floor is the most private space and is designed as a solid box resting on the public spaces below that is encased with floor to ceiling windows.

A small apartment with 24 different spaces.

This small apartment is located in the densely city of Hong Kong, China. The architect/ owner changed the small one bedroom apartment into a multi-functional space with the use of wall panels set on a track system that allows for 24 different functions. The various wall panels each hide a specific function behind it. For instance behind the television panel is the kitchen.

Still thinking of the Go-Kart Design Centre

It is true that the pen is mightier than the sword. And the design realisation is well thought annd presented when the author of a design needs to present his idea to the world.

To sketch or to CAD that is the question?

I do believe that the use of CAD programs such as AutoCAD is a definite solution in an age appropriate, time efficient and accurate way of designing, but I always need the free instant motion of sketching with my hand. It is just the feel of a pen lightly touching paper that inspires my designs,

The site for Ceaserstone

The brief calls for a vertical designed house. The site that I have chosen is in Richmond Hill, Port Elizabeth, and features a terraced view of Algoa Bay. The site is 9.5 m wide and 30 m long and is sited on a hill. The greatest challenge of the site is that the building is situated in the historical area of the city.

The play of light to elluminate Architecture

All architecture is great architecture after sunset, perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.

-Gilbert K. Chesterton


Such is the Singapore Opera House.

Construction taken to a new level

Please have a look at this clip on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0DSihggio&feature=player_embedded. A 15 floor hotel was built in 46 hours/ less than two days in China.

A turning point in history

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao altered the ideology of modern architecture for the late 20th century. Thank you Frank Gehry.

Try, try and you'll suceed...

The AutoCad bedroom render redered in 3DMax for the first time. There is a list of problems to this render, the lighting and the materials. But, as they say: " Try, try and you'll suceed."

Precedent Study

For the Go Kart Centre I have decided to study the intertwining forms of the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre. The building is located in the historical area of Stockholm and took 5 years from design to completion. The strongest element of this building is the continuous layering of the transparent skin that evokes the very basis of any "Box" design in a historical area. As with my project, the building is located between the historical area of the city center and the main harbour. 

Racing for Design Project #2

The historical city centre of Port Elizabeth will have a new centre of fun. Our second project will require us to design an indoor kart racing centre on a open lot across the Campanile near the harbour entrance.

The submission will include plans, sections, elevations and a model in a time frame of two weeks.

Final hand sketches for Des Baker

"The process of drawing is, before all else, the process of putting the visual intelligence into action, the very mechanics of visual thought. Unlike painting and sculpture it is the process by which the artist makes clear to himself, and not to the spectator, what he is doing. It is a soliloquy before it becomes communication."

-Michael Ayerton

First project hand in for design

With the first design project handed in, a light feeling rushes over me. And just before I can catch my second breathe we have been informed that the actual hand in will be the next Wednesday the 30th.

The good news, if any, is that we can work on things that are missing from our design.

First stages of a school.

In relation to a school there must be children to occupy the space.

And the space mostly occupied is the classroom.

The layout of the classrooms are fairly simple, as there are several blocks and

each block contains two classes.

The wall facing the north-west is built as rammed-earth,

as this will cool down the building during the summer and

retain heat during the winter.

The remainding walls are buildt of clay bricks, and the windows are of

sustainable timber.

Bringing reality to AutoCad

Reality..

A cold dark room that manages to attract light.

A rendering of the same image in AutoCad 2011, and I still think it needs work.

The first stage of the design process.

The main concept for the design of the primary school is based on the entire idea where the community and the school can be sustainable not only as a building that adheres to sustainable building requirements.

My site layout involves all the classes to be accessible from the playground, as it will be easier for the school children to visually distinguish the classrooms from the open public spaces.

However, I do feel that although this is the the starting point of the design process, my design itself is lacking a feel of the connection to the community. And I wish to solve the issue in due time.

Inspiration from Gando for design

http://www.kere-architecture.com/bf/bf_001.html

The building in Gando, Burkina Faso, was designed with sustainability in mind in a rural community. The architect and a local, Francis Kere, wished to built the first school for the community. Not only is the building sustainable in design but also provided the community, especially the adults, new building skills that would be used to improve the community itself.

A visit to Thornhill

Des Baker, Des Baker, all the students are saying in the design class. Apparently this year's Des Baker Project entitles us to design a sustainable primary school an a rural environment. Interesting to say the least that the rural community that my classmates and I have decided on, was only half an hours drive out of the city. The reason for this trip was to go out there and talk to the local community about what are the primary concerns with the current school and what they would essentially need.

The small rural community of Thornhill is set between farmland in the middle of nowhere on lush green hills. This was my first time to set foot an a rural area. And to my surprise I expected a dilapidated town, however this town was well managed by the community. Even the school, with its low standards, seemed well managed that a smile was given to me by all the residents, especially the kids. 

My part in the ASC 2011

After a week of hard debating and hours of nail biting discussions and one pc, a logo was born with the inspiration of going green in the City of Wind. Hopefully the design will stick?

Testing, testing...1,2,3

The first blog of the day starts of with the first project that I received, studying BTech Applied Design at NMMU, was the collaboration of a new logo for the Architecture Student Congress that will be held here in Port Elizabeth 2011.