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Reply 580

Oh I made loaddds of models (i have 10 or 11 already!) they are all very conceptual though, I'm going to make a site model tonight and then begin drawing things together tomorrow.

Hope I get a different tutor next year then! A public building sounds scary though, I have a friend in first year at a different uni and they had to do an art gallery for their last project, it sounded quite a dull project though, there wasn't much room for creativity.

I can't really remember now, There was stuff I still had to work on, in my portfolio review I said there were things I wanted to go a bit further with, that didn't seem quite finished and they agreed, but none of them were really related to my response to the site. I'm not too worried about it though, I just want to do better this time so I'm going to make sure I don't neglect what's there already.

The client wants and office and workspace and he said that he meets a lot of clients at his home. He also owns a classic car and requested off road parking for both of these reasons, so it's actually in the brief, surely it can only a good thing if I can provide it without impacting on the design/incorporate it into the design?

Reply 581

wow that means you've done 10/11 more than me :biggrin:.. I've been focusing a lot on site analysis and research of my building to get that right. Seriously.. we now have to do a 1:100 plan of our building (coz it's 1000cm squared) and I need to do that this weekend.. this project is becoming taxing by the day :rolleyes:

Ah well.. you don't get to choose the tutors, what happens is that you are all organizes into tutorial groups - who will be your group for the year, about 20 of you. Then for every project you are given a new tutor and that tutor will give you their own design brief based on the project brief - e.g. Design a public building integrated with the landscape (project brief) - design a library (tutor brief)
but we were the ones who didn't really get a tutor brief - it was more like, design with your site analysis in mind and choose what is suiting.

Yeah that's a good way of looking at it - always remember that you do have the opportunity of revamping past projects before portfolio.

well... yeah it would be considered alright to not include it - but they could say
a) why didn't you?
b) It looks like you thought of the parking as an afterthought and just included it hurridely
c) Did you forget about the parking and just say that now?

So just be prepared in case they ask you stuff like that coz they do :rolleyes:

Reply 582

I have a building now, I'm quite pleased with how it's going, I realised this morning I'd made it 2m shorter than it had to be so I have lot's of space now! Still needs a lot of work though because I lost almost everything from my concept, so I have to bring that back into it. I feel I haven't been as adventurous as before so I might try and get that back into it too.

That sounds quite interesting for next year, I'm quite looking forwards to it!

Dan asked me earlier about what I wanted to do with the left over space and I said I wasn't sure if it would be used or left empty. I got the impression that in the review I'm going to have to come up with something better hehe.

I was up in 2nd year studio a couple days ago, some pretty nice stuff up there! I get the impression you guys don't stop though, one group seemed to have made 3 huge site models?

Reply 583

ah always remember - never lost sight of the concept!

Yeah, its loads interesting, but the workload really is insane!!! -- so be prepared for that.

er yea... better come up with a few proposals :p:... make sure you sketch them out for interim/review.

No we are continuously working right now coz we have an interim next week which each group is not really that prepared for because of the complexity of the project.
Yeah, there is one group who did that, each represent a different aspect of the river - key elements that could be useful for their project concept (as they have a building)

Reply 584

I really don't know if I'll like second year, so much work (which is a good thing but also a bad thing...)! Do you have any non-architecture projects, like this year we had the cardboard furniature one?

Which was yours? I don't think I saw them all, second year studios are confusing! so many walls!!! I like first year and it's open-ness, wish there were a few more desks though! I can't imagine what it was like last year with even more students.

Reply 585

aww don't let me get you down! :p:

Hmmm let me see... not really.. I guess you could say that P1 was non-architectural coz it was basically mapping where you just wonder about in Manchester checking out the different layers that 'make' up a city.
P2 was pretty much the same thing coz it was a guest/host project where you are in manchester again, but this time you are asking for a public opinion on the issues that you are concerned with.
P3 was an individual 'architecture' project, as is P5
And you know P4 - that was the model-making one.

lol, we don't have a site model coz we are the ones who are site specific, so each of us will need to come up with our own.
We are actually on floor 19 coz we don't have any space on floor 15 :p:

Reply 586

Hehe It's not just that, I've been wondering for a few weeks if it's really what I want to do, I'm thinking I might prefer industrial design (basically everything from chairs to light switches). I think I might talk to Dan about it but I'm not really sure what to say/what I actually want to know.

Ah I thought it seemed a bit empty! Might call in to 19 to see whats a-happening tomorrow! ehh Early morning lecture and a tutorial not long after -_- I really should have done more this weekend!

Reply 587

do you guys spend a lot of time in cities other than sheffield then?

Reply 588

RocketTown
do you guys spend a lot of time in cities other than sheffield then?


Most of our time is spent in sheffield, we had a trip at halloween/reading week to glasgow because theres no actual reading week for archi students. And P5 was built in barnsley but that was only for one day. Some people went to do site analysis before hand. So on the whole a max of about 10 days were non-Sheffield for us first years. Second year is a bit more but the majority of projects are to be done in/for sheffield.

Reply 589

Industrial Design? that's new! how come you shifted to that then?

lol, we're not there atm coz we have interims on thurs - and tutorials are on monday and thursdays. But our work is up there so you can see what's been going on.



As for spending time in Sheff....
for second year we had to visit Manchester twice for P1 and P2, as for P3 - that was an individual 'design a building' project which was also based in Manchester.
P4 is only a model making project so thats nothing.
P5 is the major major mmaajoorr project - individual design, but is a public building! - based in Sheffield, the site is tediously long, and you/your tutor selects and appropriate site for you to work with and tells you/doesn't tell you what building to design.

Reply 590

I'm not really sure, it's been a gradual sort of thing! I still reallllllly like Archi,but I like the idea of being able to do lots of things at smaller scale, and actually building what I design myself. It's hard to say exactly what I mean...I think I find objects more interesting/exciting. I'm probably gona stick with Archi though and maybe do a MA in Industrial Design instead of Part 2 and 3, because if I drop out now I'd have to do nothing all next year until I could re-apply (and I'd much rather be here!) or do second year and then switch courses which seems a bit pointless!

Reply 591

ah right I see... well I actually think a lot of people were a little 'unsure' for the whole of first year - really, it was a test to see whether this was the course for you or not, that's why we did have quite a few drop-outs, some even this year!

Well... I would say wait till end of first year before you really consider trying to change over - coz it would be a shame if you changed and found you didn't like it. I'd speak with Dan, or rather the careers advice centre coz they can help you out there.

I hope you realise that if you were to not complete your part 2 and 3, that you wouldn't be a qualified architect.

Reply 592

It's a bit hard to decide which I'd prefer until I have done both but considering my options it makes most sense to continue and wait until I have reached 3rd year before I decide if it's my career or not.

Don't worry I know I need part 2 and 3 to be an architect, the point is I might not want to be an architect. A lot of places accept the BA/BSc Architecture course as a base for an MA in other design courses. If I were to apply for a BA in Design it's quite possible they would expect me to have a foundation art degree (which I couldn't apply for until next year) so either route is going to take 2 years before I can do a design course, by sticking with Archi I can do an MA or do Part 2 and 3 so it seems most sensible.

I've pretty much worked out what I'm doing, I was just asking about course content to see if there were opportunities to see what other design courses might be like.

Reply 593

oohh I see now.
It's actually pretty good that you're thinking ahead, a lot of people don't really.. and then well.. it becomes quite confusing :rolleyes:

sorry bout the late reply... workload is getting quite ridiculous right now --- how's it going on your side? :smile:

Reply 594

Yea I've heard you guys have had it rough!
(me- "I have loads of work right now :frown:" 2nd year- "No you dont!!") I've got over most of it now, I have vectorworks (not sure how much I'll bother as it refuses to do what I want, even the tutor couldn't make it work!) and then a couple things for lectures which are part of P6 so it's really all P6 now! Just sorting out floor plans, everything seems pretty groovy so far...bit confused though, I made my rooms all square and I can't really get a neat arrangement for mathrooms and stairs etc. oh well!
Hows your stuff? is it really as bad as it sounds?

Reply 595

yeah its pretty bad right now, just found out that it wasn't like this last year apparently - we have one compulsory module that wasn't there last year and we have a single exam (Bryan Lawson) that hasn't ever been done, it was an essay before.. so we have no past papers for that.. good thing its just reading a couple of chapters :redface:
Other than that, I have right now erm...
P5, construction assignment, Arc 202 assignment (2 pieces) and portfolio to think about, which is just too much right now considering its all within 3 weeks. I'm just happy that I've been doing my portfolio right throughout and its nearly done now!!

I wouldn't say that you guys don't have that much work in comparison to us coz I remember what it was like last year, and since I had no experience of the course etc it was quite a workload.
Vectorworks is just plain annoying really - I have it on my laptop which is a relief really coz the one at floor 15 just doesn't want to load for some unknown reason.
Don't worry so much if even the tutor can't get it to work, coz I remember quite distinctly that I lost my work about 5 times and had to keep re-doing it, the tutor knew this so my grade reflected this (it was a B :smile:)

About the fact that everything is square - have you tried arranging the squares on top of the site? you could find a way of making the rooms meander across the site - brilliant when it comes to 'site context'

P5 right now is rocking my world... just had a mock presentation within our studio group.. was really good, I just need to continue how I'm going, but since our design brief is very different to everyone elses I follow a different way of presenting. Right now I need a model, axanometric drawing and a technical section which is quite decent coz I have a week to do them all in :smile:


Reply 596

Eak scarrry!!! I found Bryan Lawson's exam difficult, I didn't really know how much he wanted to know that wasn't in the book and if giving my own opinion (rather than his books) would lose me marks given the paper is graded on his lecture/book...
Yea vectorworks is just elevation anyway so I can be sneaky with the angles :biggrin: I only had one window (it's on a very curved wall) which doesn't work so It won't be too obvious.

I haven't even thought about protfolio yet! I think I'm gona be a bit abstract with it, try and avoid sheets, make it a bit more sculptural maybe... Do you remember if we need to show anything for P1?

I've been quite clever (at least I think so and dan seemed to quite like it!) with my site context, My house is 3 different buildings, and all the rooms are stacked to make 3 cuboids. One is a single underground floor for the office/studio, it leans out over the river at an angle to give views up and down the river but not straigth across to the brick wall. The second is 4 stories (1 below ground) for kitchen dining and living and it's got a few tricks in it using the light on site to best effect (it's kinda hard to explain!), and the third is the bedroom tower, the bad view (another solid brick wall) is blocked out by the other tower and again it's positioned for best lighting. I'm just getting a bit confused how i can fit a bathroom and stairs in the bedroom without wasting space! Think I've solved it now though!

When do you finish? My final review is thursday so I might nosy round on friday (unless it's hectic and I get scared of stressed out 2nd years of course!)

Reply 597

oh its a shame that I read your post only now! - our review was on Thursday as well.. I was in the morning.. it was quite good! I have to do some minor improveents so that my project is portfolio ready.

Other than that, just tackling a construction assignment right now which needs to be handed in on Monday along with an interim portfolio review :eek2: argh!

Good to hear that you sorted out the design dilemma lol - sounds quite cool actually.. looks like you've really thought about site context - which is a major plus point when it comes to reviews!

As for portfolio, P1 was erm... a house for students if I remember right? Yes I did include it - for portfolio you need to include EVERYTHING that you've done projects-wise, as the whole lot is assessed.
Sculptural? :mute:....well I would say yeah thats quite cool but you should also have some sheets really. Coz come second year thats what you'll be doing coz at the end of the year you need to 'submit' your portfolio along with models if you want to.
Quite expensive it has been so far though!! I think I've spent about £120 right now! arggh... and I'm still not done!!

How was your review then? :smile:

Reply 598

Your timetable is just like ours how weird!! My review was thursday afternoon, and we have a construction assignment due monday! I might not bother with the sculpture after all, would just take too long! and I only get a desk so i would run out of room hehe.
I'm a bit confused with the review to be honest, I had some comments on how i should have drawn my plans the same as my section (i'd put coloured acetate behind parts of the section) which is fair enough but we had a tutor from a different year and he went on for ages how i didn't have enough site context in my plan, which annoyed me saying i did an A0 1:50 plan, and it had all the relevant buildings in it. aaand i was the only one in my review who did that big an area (I was first though so i guess he just picked on me...). And I didn't really get any feedback on if my building was liked or not. They said it was a bit impracticle but did I think that the aesthetic was enough to validate sacrifices, and they seemed to accept my answer. I'm a bit worried they thought it was boring :frown:

Reply 599

Never think that your building is 'boring' coz that is never used to describe a building... more like 'is your building architecture?'...which is quite a difficult question to answer in First year really.

I can't really comment on your work because I haven't seen it - so I don't know whether your site context was as detailed as was needed.
Furthermore, don't think that just because you had a huge 1:50 site plan with the buildings on it it means automatically that you've talked about site context - coz it may not be...I know I for one did a lot of site context .. and it was in a number of ways.

plans are always good if they show more than just a technical drawing - my plans show furniture most of the time - hence essentially creating an 'architectural identity' to each of the spaces that I create so that a reviewer would know first off what the space is about and how it interlinks with the surrounding spaces/area etc

when they asked you if your building was impractical.. what did they mean by that? how exactly did you organise the spaces? were they too big? were they more to do with aesthetics rather than the 'quality' of the spaces? did it not really speak out architecture but more about 'oh this is the bedroom ,this is the bathroom'?
When they asked you that they wanted to know whether you see function before aesthetics or vice versa.. which really is a bit unfair of a question coz its a massive debate in the architectural world - I reckon they like doing it though coz even I got a question that shook me 'would you describe your design as a structure or a building?'.. I took a risk and said it wasn't a building as when I say 'building' it means, humans, services, set rooms etc.. which wasn't what my scheme was about - they seemed to like that idea and started to explore possibilities from that.
So really speaking... nothing you say can be wrong, because its an opinion and if you were able to strengthen your argument by stating exactly WHY you went about what you did.. they can't go wrong :smile:

lol.. this construction assignment really is a nightmare and a half!! argh..
what is your assignment then? I can't actually remember what we did last year hehhe

Further.. if you feel you wanna talk about the portfolio, your project etc.. feel free to seek me out :smile:

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