Good Morning! I usually work either really late or really early, and tonight is somewhere in the middle. After getting critiqued by our professors, our group decided to place the STEAM school strategically in between the existing buildings. We kept the site simple since we already have a dynamic building. We connected the roads from the main entrance as well as the back entrance to the existing asphalt. The parking spaces on site were kept to a minimum to maximize our greenery. The landscaping was designed in a way that wouldn't disturb the school but compliment the site. It creates areas for students to take a break by enjoying the local scenery. The studios on the east side of the building open to small plazas where students and teachers can have outside classes.
[STEAM Site Plan, Rendered with Rhino & Photoshopped by Me]
As for our actual building design, we kept the same concept following the playfulness of Lego. In the form diagram below you can see how we started with our design. Our building has a strong x-axis where the center is preserved for collaboration among students. The green is marked for collaboration, the red is marked for discovery, the blue is marked for application, and the yellow is marked for individual learning. These colors represent the driving forces of our design. Together, these attributes take form by "plugging" into the core x-axis. These modular cubes are also reminiscent of how Lego bricks connect. Although we didn't take the concept too literal, the modularity will be explored from the outside-in. Also, our engineering student went crazy on the structural possibilities so I will update you all soon!
[Massing Form Diagram, Rendered with Rhino & Photoshopped by Me]
