10/17/09 DP

We are finally in the step of having Digital Project model. Our design is quite easy to manipulate in parametric modeling system, since it consists of unit and the form is determined totally by arraning units.

Squares are classrooms, and rectangular pieces represent other programs. For specified program we were given a couple of days ago, we decided to have several blocks for each program: We took into consideration whether the program has to be divided by three groups of school (individual) or shared by them altogether. (Yet they are connected as well)

Case Study: North Kildare School

It was very fortunate for me to find out this school, since it deals similar matters that we have concerned about.

North Kildare Educate Together school in Ireland, was built for making normal kids and autistic kids stay together. Yet they are supposed to be separated at the same time in curriculums and activities. ( Also for safety for normal kids.) Having these two big conflicting issues, the designer might have thought much about how shared and individual space is related one another. It is just as we are doing now, grouping students in a big name of k-8 school.

The architect's strategy to mix and isolate students was quite straightforward, in my view. What he did was to have one entrance connected to main courtyard , but having separate classrooms all around it. Also for different activities each classrooms has their little garden behind. In plan view programs are distributed having the public courtyard in the center. The overall appearance of the school, therefore, doesn't have strong outstanding features.

The fact that the school reacted quite easy to given condition makes me think a bit easier to our massing process. Often times I feel weird when things are straight and simple. In the progress of arranging programs I would have to be careful to answer to given matters in direct ways, rather than considering too much about nice looking surfaces and secondary decisions.

10/12/09 the 4th Evolution

The diagram above shows the overall process of our design.

Starting from classrooms, courtyard and lightwell, the first plan was about making configurations with these 3 elements. Those drawings look very diagramatic and conceptual, which was actually the situation for the previous review.

In second step we began arranging classrooms based on the grades, creating horizontal connection among same grade while arraying each grade from top to bottom. We dealt a lot with circulation in the second process: how we can create both vertical and horizontal circulation without interrupting the lightwell, what other strategies we can use in order to make more practical form.

From the third attempt of revising we thought about grouping grades, so the buidling got easier to solve circulation (by having major 3 elevators on each group). Still the major concern was to make classrooms get the most sunlight during the day.

(I think putting classrooms on the surface of building not only enables them to get much light but also blocks them from the subway noise, which is good).

At this point we are in 4th evolution of plan/section. We went back to unit-based configuration again, and it consists of two boxes and one connection between them. This unit based model would create a "monolithic" gesture while providing "flexible" ways of how this building works. Variations shows the possibility of changing unit either as outdoor or indoor space. In addition, having different shapes of connections would give us chances of different forms.

Tomorrow we are going to discuss the rendered model of each unit-based models and see which one works best.