Design 4 and THATS a wrap

So it's safe to say that Design 4 took my brain and changed anything I thought was real, and made it the complete opposite.

• Your work doesn't count if you can't describe the inner emotions of the drawings' soul. 
• You must use a scale, be unique, but use the scale correctly. Oh wait we never taught you how to scale for more than 3 minutes, good luck!!
• Why don't you have "landscape"? *Sees everyone turn in models with a base* SO BUILDING WITH A BASE IS ACCEPTABLE NOW.
• When you draw sections your walls, floors, and ceiling thicknesses must make sense, but remember to be unique and go outside the box with your work. Thats wrong, why did you do that. 

Whoever thought up this curriculum really has an exuberant amount of joy in melting, freezing, and chipping off the pieces of student's brains. 

So we can begin with the Savannah Georgia site trip, being that it took up most of the curriculum for the semester. 

We all drove to Savannah and took a walking tour of Downtown Savannah, starting at  Forsyth park and walking through to Porters Walk. We evaluated the way a city grid evolved and we each tied a personal niche to our experience. We were told to use that personal passion as a mold for how we evolved throughout the two sites. Some included velocity, footsteps, organization, photography, etc.   

My passion was footsteps, having to do with running and how the ground condition highlights the evolution we force off of impact. I decided that since running is a concept that has no plan when you go out to do it, all pieces of the site were fair game to build upon. 

A little while after we went through Downtown Savannah, we ventured to Fort Pulaski. We continued to the far Northern part of the site where the bunker sat below the entrance of the "dock" that went a little over where the water met the marsh land. This water line was a key component to all of our site designs. We were able to dig around the dock and bunker, but couldn't take anything from those two pieces. Everything else was fair game to build elevation upon, or dig away from. 

These two relief models allowed us to start playing with the idea of what and where we really could start to take away and add to the site. The organic pieces of the site played a heavy roll in marking what can change with time vs. by the human imprint. I utilized the idea of the ground condition and how with the human imprint, you can see the evolution's history. Just by the idea that running maps will always have a dictation on where to go, there are always other paths you can venture out to take. and with those other possibilities, the human imprint evolves the space given to them, even if it isn't printed out on a map. 

The site model I came up with took a very layered look to emphasize the ground condition and its importance to the rest of the site. The scale was at 1"=40'.

Once the site model was understood, I could zoom in to one of my spaces in the site. All together we had three spaces- the research, observation, and display space. The site model was at a scale of 1/8"=1'.

The site model took the research space. This was based on the fact how runners do make their own trails. Theres never a set trail you plan to take, of course there is always one there, but the average runner enjoys the discovery within the run. 

Research Space Diagrams (1/16"=1')

Observation Space Diagrams (1/16"=1')

Display Space Diagram (1/16"=1')

From top to bottom: Research, Observation, Display Space

This project began maybe the 1 month of the semester starting off with the Savannah trip itself. The city aspect continued into the midterm, which included the city "map" conveying our passion. We still used the same ideas when moving forward to the final project which focused on Fort Pulaski and the site we were building and taking from. 

Thanks for keeping up with me,

Michelle C. Harter

Design 3- Assignment 2

So moving on into the next phase of design 3, we're still using the previous project's ideals i.e. the 12 series of pictures and drawings. 12 pictures, 12 drawings, and now 12 models. 

The materials were gonna be using involve that of plexi, white museum board, chipboard, wire, and no if ands or buts... Wax. We are told to chose 3, including wax, as our lowest limit. I've chosen to go with plexi, chipboard, and wax and possibly wire. Tbd. 

Anyway, we made 12 process models. PROCESS. That means ugly. And the uglier the better. It just means you're using additive and subtractive thought freely. 

So this bad boy is pretty ugly if I don't say so myself. 

Either way, the time schedule we have is around two weeks. I'm currently behind on finishing my PROCESS models but that's due to personal reasons. I have jumped ahead and finished three process models completely and finish one model entirely, so 1 out of 12 done, where most people will have a secure 12 process only done. You win some and lose some.

This is my first completed model. I plan to have my professor look at it and I definitely want to discuss color flow of the material with her. I think the wire will add and pull together the industrial look I am going for. 

Thanks for keeping up with me ! 

-Michelle C. Harter

Design 3- Project 1

So with all the iterations and process done the past two weeks, I redid my final iteration of the new concepts. 

My concept was "the light will conquer your doubt". Telling a story about my experience through my conformation a couple years back. How I was always around God, but with growing up making my own decisions, I took a break from it, then realizing I needed something to hold onto. 

Here is my final set of pictures and drawings. 

Thanks for keeping up with me! 

-Michelle C. Harter 

Design 3- Assignment 1

So design 3 has taken off this Fall semester and I have the same professor. She's like, Michelle you need to take someone new next semester. And I'm like, yeah I know!! I just love her teaching methods.

I signed up for her in the beginning of this journey because I was told that she's tough, she'll make you cry. And believe it or not I cried this assignment, skipped a class as well. But I signed up for this.

So the project is surrounded by the idea of graffiti. We watched the WWII video on "Kilroy was here". So we needed a graffiti mark in our drawings. I'm getting ahead of myself. 

We needed to take pictures of an artifact that impacted us, in a 12 shot series. Black and white, little-to no background. 

I went through maybe 4 iterations of pictures before I finally got it down. 

I thought, a water bottle is important to me! I run all the time. On the first day of pinning up, i found out it wasn't personal enough. Then I attempted to tell a story about my asthma. 

I thought the sneaker idea would come across more personal. I sent her like 2 other iterations by phone and those weren't clear enough. When this set was pinned up, the background was still too messy and the story was hard to understand. 

So then I decided to skip class, change my concept completely and wing it. Honestly the constant rejection killed my spirits. I needed a day off from this. 

The new iteration I finished at home before redoing it for the final project. 

Thanks for keeping up with me ! 

-Michelle C. Harter 

Design 2- Project 3

So the day has come where we submit our final. The Bloomingdales armatures took route to their new vertical standings. This model consisted of plexi glass which was later cut, basswood spray painted white, museum board, and wire (optional). 

I utilized score marks solely on the plexi and some Mylar to add definition to the layers. The preparation and occupational spaces began to be visible once the basswood and museum board was added to the armature. 

Here is some process: 

The building time frame consisted of messy planning with cardboard armatures, and expensive plexi later cutting. Until we reached the building week where it all came together quite quickly.

Here is the finished product:

*The drawings were pinned up at Valencia College*

Thanks for keeping up with me!

-Michelle C. Harter

Design 2- Assignment 1

So last Tuesday we took a trip as a class to the Millenia Mall, in Orlando. I was super excited due to the fact it was a mall (I over shop). We measured, scaled, took snapshots, and drew the Bloomingdale's 3 public viewed facades. The main entrance being the first one, the side which was much longer than both other 2 facades due to the ramp, and the third facade which started on the second floor just above the ramp from facade 2. 

Thursday when the drawings were due, I was running late to class and by the time I got there (11 minutes late) the other professor already dismissed U.S. My friend told me the criteria of the homework due Tuesday of the upcoming week so we bought our paper and went on with our weekends. 

When I hear draw the facades on a horizontal paper, I assume draw each facade next to eachother side by side. This became my first iteration...

My professor on Tuesday had us all pin up our work and she observed each one. I received many compliments from other classmates about the detail I put into my drawing. When my professor got to my drawing she asked who printed it out on autocad, I burst out laughing and replied I drew that! I'm guessing that was a compliment, but I haven't worked with autocad yet so who knows. 

Here's more of my first iteration. 

My professor told me to re do my drawings with less detail as well as with the new scale the whole class agreed on. 

This was the new result, pretty plain, but it will help me get to the next step by building my armature with the longest facade for our final project. 

Stay tuned! 

Michelle C. Harter

Design 2- Project 1

Alright so the first project of design 2 involved the Villa Savoye building. We learned this construction like the back of our palms. 

I had a rather fun time with this one specifically because I love working with ink on Mylar. The "comic strip" 6x72 type-paper was a nice twist on the craft. 

This assignment that I turned in was showcased, so that made me extremely excited and accomplished. 

Fun fact: I did not use any French curves or circle templates and came out with one of the top 2-3 best hand traced curves turned in. I personally think it's easier to trace neatly than move a trace curve where you need the curves to connect, especially with ink. 

Hand Drawn Mylar/Ink Plans

  

        

Digitalized Plans

 

 



Thanks for keeping up with me,

Michelle C Harter

Design 1 All Wrapped Up

I walked into the Design studio, the one everyone used because it was always free, and I see all of this written on the dry erase board. Not only will it make you laugh if you study architecture but it just shows you how crazy, and particularly special we really are as designers.

To this day, I've added a note to the board, written in sharpie on a paper towel, taped to the board using my artists tape saying "please give me my T-square that you stole".

I bought a new T-square...

Any who, heres some of my ventures through design 1 class

 My very first axonometric ^

The nightly spot^

 The horrible 9x9x9 :( ^

 My first 6 series of chipboard and Axo's with line weight ^

 Basswood with music incorporation, I used repetition, interlock, and portray..^

This section was my final on a basswood, plexi glass, and museum board and got showcased at Valencia West campus, Orlando, Florida. ^

This was my axo on the same final^

This is my complete final, pretty proud ^

 I honestly don't know how this got showcased but my final iteration did, this went with my first basswood model ^

And finally this is one angle of my final project model, the museum board, basswood, and plexi glass which got showcased as well ^





I don't plan to post this sporadically or un organized but heres to catching up, and still being behind on posting the past 4-5 weeks of Design 2-summer style, haha !

Michelle C. Harter