In the schematic design portion of the project, the group goes back and forth between the digital model and sketching with good ol' trace paper and a marker/pen. The group consists of 2 architect students and an architect engineer student for reference. We, the designers, decided to have the main gathering area facing the main road as seen in the photo below. This is because of the surrounding neighborhoods and overall foot traffic coming from the south (bottom of page). To the east and south of our building is a church and an elementary school. Our building, an afterschool STEM program, is in the intersection between these 2 buildings to further create a locally connected community.
[Rough Site Plan Placed over Google Earth, Created by Architect Student]
The engineering student in our group started laying out rough lateral systems once our design was more established. The dimensions of the building are important to the engineer so that they can evenly distribute the load through the floor and roof.
[Lateral Systems, Sketch by Architect Engineer Student]
The floor plans were also updated by replacing the original placement of the kitchen with the gathering area, so that the big glass façade made more sense with that large space. We also starting drawing everything to scale to make sure we were considering the individuals that would inhabit the space. The overlapping space between the studios are now collaboration areas for students to engage with one another. Collaboration is one our main pillars for our concept.
[Updated Floor Plans, Drafted on Rhino by Architect Student]
The last image on this post was a rough sketch over a section of a 3D model. The image envisions the gathering area with a large staircase that has interactive seating around an elevator. A portion of the second floor will be occupied with offices towards the entrance, but the gathering area will be a 2-floor space to create a feeling of openness. As we develop the project, a lot of these conceptual ideas will either be implemented or replaced, depending on how our professors critique us. Stay tuned!
[Short 3D Section, Sketched over Rhino Rendering, by Me]
