San Jose Field Trip

On Friday we went on a field trip to visit various buildings in San Jose. The first building we visited was the San Jose City Hall. The city hall was an eighteen story building with a small exhibit of multiple art and artifacts art the bottom. The building was mostly made of glass with some steel shades with walkways walking out to the shades for maintenance, or that is what I believe the walkways were for. When on the top floor it gave me an uneasy feeling considering I hadn't been up that high in a long time. Also on the lot on the city hall was a large building or a rotunda that is about 10 stories tall but is only three floors. The rotunda is used for ceremonies and weddings. I have looked up some information about it and many people say it is great for weddings.

Another building that we visited while in San Jose was the Martin Luther King Jr. Library. The library was one of the biggest libraries I have ever been in. It had a big open entrance area and had eight floors. Though we did not visit all eight floors we visited three floors of the main library area. Something that I thought that was very interesting about the library was how it had a offset room for the kids section. Also the Room for the kids section was lower to fit the kids better and have a better feel for just kids. The library was very open and had many books. The one thing I didn't like was how some people just wasted space by sleeping wherever they felt like it. I wish we could have seen some of the other floors and see if they were different higher up. 

Inside the Library:

Outside of the Library:

Final Project Info

Today in class my group finally finished our floor plan. I was glad because of how off topic we can get so props to you groupies. Anyways, our final design for our school consists of nine hexagons I think. Four of the hexagons will be stacked and have classes for all grades. So every floor will be one grade with all the necessary classes. We also have a large library with a green roof and also one of the classroom buildings has a green roof too. There will of course be access to the green roofs for the students as they will be interested and would want to check it out. Something interesting we did with our school is we have teacher offices on a third floor height. It is one story above the first floor. I say it like that because there really isn't a second floor room area. It’s just the roof of the first floor with the stair and elevator shaft coming out of it.

Some people may say that a school with a green roof is weird or unnecessary. Our group decided to have a roof or roofs, because of the many benefits of green roofs. One major benefit is that they last twice as long as traditional roofs. Also the green roofs stay cooler than a normal roof and insulate the building better and minimizes heat gain. Green roofs also produce oxygen so the air is more fresh and clean, you won’t have the smell of the ocean as much in the green roof areas. Green roofs can also aspire a school/community building area as the students and teachers can make gardens and care for them. Also if we do this the students will have more care for the green roof and thus they won’t get trashed and littered. For all these reasons that is why we think a green roof is a better idea than just a traditional float of slightly slanted roof.

Stanford Field Trip

Last Friday we went on a field trip to Stanford to look at some buildings with interesting and cool architecture. While there we stopped at the Oval and Main quad, Cantor Center, Clark Center, Ceuter for Clinical Sciences Research, and d. school. Out of these buildings in looks I believe the Ceuter for Clinical Sciences Research looked the best in my opinion. My favorite part of it was how you enter at ground level but as you walk in you come to a bridge that is above a mini bamboo forest. This means that the ground below the bridge is lowered than everything else and it is a weird sense to go from ground level to feel like you are high up. The area was also surround by big rounded light blue glass. To me the area seemed Japanese because of the big glass buildings and bamboo everywhere.I just found the area beautiful and peaceful, and I liked how it incorporated the idea of a modern building and a bamboo forest into one area.



On a different aspect of architecture is functionality. In terms of functionality the d. school was the best. I liked the d. school the best because of how the space was open and movable and free. For example all the tables, chairs, whiteboards, and couches in a classroom had wheels or were attached to a slider so they could move. Another reason I liked the d. school is because of what they do there. At d. school in some courses they take and object or idea with a problem and then try to think of ways to fix that problem. They also come up with new idea and they create a model of it with tinfoil or other materials. They even have a workshop with tools for creating models or actual items to help them. Overall it is a creative and free building with interesting learning style and concept.

Memorable Stairs Short Project

Yesterday in class we did a short project in which we had to design a set of memorable stairs. For my design I decided to have my setting in a pond or some small body of water. My idea was to have larger than usual steps with a pillar coming out of the bottom to elevate it. Each step is on its own pillar and none of the steps are actually connected to another step. There are no railings to give you that almost floating or walking on water feeling. Also the steps are a greenish color to make them look like large lily pads coming out of the water.

My first idea for the short project was to do something abstract, but that seemed to fail as I could not think of how to draw abstract stairs. After just staring at my supplies for my model for ab out a minute I decided the paper I was building on was water because of the greenish water color it had. At first I thought of creating steps across the water but I quickly realized that they needed to be stairs. All I did is create Elevated stairs with no rails to give you a fear factor that you would fall off, but then when you look down you have a beautiful pond. The stairs would lead to some small vacation home or penthouse. The whole area and scene is used for vacation purposes. If you had a beautiful stair case in your home you would admire it for a month or two, but then it would become just and ordinary stair case to you.

My model is just very simple and not very detailed, it doesn't fully display my ideas but it has the basic ideas.

Thermal Baths in Vals Switzerland built by: Peter Zumthor

Today in class we watched a documentary about he Thermal Baths in Vals Switzerland. One thing I liked about the hotel and thermal baths is how the roof has grass on it. The architect decided to put grass on the roof to make the hotel seem to blend with the hills around the hotel. I like how the architect did the grass roof because he could have easily made it concrete. It also adds a cool detail because it looks natural and blends into the environment as it is supposed to.

Another thing that was really cool about the Thermal Bath is how the baths are heated by hot springs. I liked this because it has a natural heating style with a modern looks. To me the idea of mixing natural and modern things into one is a good idea. The bath and pool areas are quite unique because of the various temperatures of the pools and the use of lights in them. Though the pools sound very interesting and fun to visit, they are not like a regular public pool where you play around and splash and yell. These pools and baths are for being quiet and relaxing. These pools are more for a soothing spa like experience. Going back to what I said about the different temperatures, the Thermal Baths have many different temperatures. You can go from a warm bath to a cool bath and then to a bath that is like a hot tub. There are lights in the baths to add mood an relaxation to your spa experience. In some rooms the walls are painted a certain color to enhance and reflect the colors in the water to make the feeling seem deeper and better.

Japanese Architecture and Culture

Today in class we watched a documentary on a very formal and old style traditional Japanese house. One part of the house I liked is how the walls are movable. I liked this aspect of the house because it helps change the feel of the house and allows you to add or remove rooms. I thing it would be cool to be able to do that in a regular house because you would be able to make your house have larger rooms and add more space if you had a party or having family over. The only downfall to this design of removable walls is that  it means you have to have doors that slide to open because with traditional doors you just cant move them, the have to be stable and stay in one spot.

Something that I found confusing while watching the documentary is how the people knelt before the opened and closed every door. I am sure that a lot of people didn't know why they knelt so I am going to talk about why they kneel in this paragraph. What I have found out by reading articles is that they kneel before the open a door for multiple reasons. The first reason is out of respect. In one article I read it said that you could easily make an entrance where you slam open the sliding door and walk in standing up and get the attention of everyone, but that is obviously disrespectful. Another reason that also ties into respect is that one does not need to remind everyone in the house of their social status. By remaining quiet and respectfully kneeling and opening the door you are not making a big scene out of yourself. 

The Johnson Wax Co. Building

Today in class we watched a documentary and learned about the Johnson Wax Co. building built by Frank Lloyd Wright. This is was one of my favorite documentaries besides the one about the Alhambra palace. The Johnson building was very interesting to learn about because of how the forest like feel to it. The Building had many pillars with large round tops to increase surface area and support. With these lily pad like pillars evenly space they created great support for the roof and also gave the feeling that you are in an artificial forest. Another factor that I found interesting about these pillars is that they varied in looks to make them represent different things, such as in certain areas when the pillars were shorter they represented flowers, and  in the main building where they we tall they represented trees.

Something that I found out from the documentary today was the architects design their own furniture for buildings. I always thought that the architect just designed the building and then people chose pre-made furniture to buy and got it in large amounts. I think it is a good idea for architects to design furniture for building because they can create interesting furniture that ties in to the whole idea of the building. They would be able to complete the building as a whole and complete the design.

One last thing I thought was an interesting concept for the Johnson building was the windows made out of glass tubes. The tubed windows allowed light to come into the building, but also provided privacy because the tubes aren't completely transparent. I thought this was a cool design because I thought it added a sort of texture to the windows. They weren't just flat and plain like most windows, they are wavy because of the many tubes the windows are made of. Though I wouldn't use tubes for windows for a house, it really contrasted the idea of the fort like building because the windows look thick and strong like the building walls.

Day 5 of Architecture

Today in class we had our first test. For the test we had to create a tower house for a lonely musician. The test wasn't very hard, but it took a little bit to figure out how the house should be shaped. For me the hardest part of the test was getting through the actual test questions because I did not have a lot of time to do them. I got through the questions but I didn't feel i was able to elaborate as much as I could have. After today's test I am wondering what future test will be like, and I also wonder if we will have traditional tests with just answering questions.                                  

Also today we watched a video about the Alhambra Palace in Granada Spain. It was one of the more interesting videos we have watched so far. It was about the beauty and mathematical components of the Alhambra Palace. To the Muslims who originally built the palace it was a sign of beauty, paradise, and poetry. It had wonderful details in designs and there was even poetry on the walls in some rooms. One thing I found very interesting about he palace was that it had its own water cooling system so even when it got hot it was cool in the palace. The video said it wouldn't get over 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)  in the palace.


Alhambra Palace pictures:

Day 4 of Architecture

Today in class we learned about what factors make architecture beautiful. I found this topic very interesting because I thought that beauty comes from a persons perspectives and bias thoughts. One factor that I thought was interesting was rhythm. In architecture, as Rafael explained, rhythm is the pattern in a building. A building or structure with columns in an even pattern or row is a pattern. Something I found interesting was that Rafael said that columns that are really thick and are in a row is a lower rhythm, and many thin columns in a row is a fast rhythm. 

Thick Columns: Slow Rhythm                

       Thin Columns: Faster Rhythm                   

Day Two of Architecture

My second day of Architecture:

Yesterday in class we talked about the Bauhaus. I found this building is school very interesting because of what it inspired. The Bauhaus inspired a wave of new ideas for inventions and art. Some of the things that were shown in the documentary seemed like old and common things to me, but back then the object(s) such as a lamp with a movable neck, if that's what you call it. Another thing that I found interesting about the documentary from yesterday was how people saw the flat roof of the Bauhaus was different and modern. I didn't realize that they didn't have many flat roofs back when the Bauhaus was built. Overall I thought the documentary was informational and interesting because I was able to learn that  a single building can inspire people and creation, and I had no idea know that building could do that.

Bauhaus:

Movable lamp I was talking about: