Reminder that design is a critical medium

Motivation to revisit thesis

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/arts/design/15highline.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1

phenomenal rendering studio/website

http://www.luxigon.com/images

an incredible collection of hyper-realistic renderings. a good source for flashy photoshop effects

Yorkshire farm

Coming up with preliminary designs for the renovation of a 900 sf farmyard building - essentially a barchesa - that will be a holiday home for a couple and their three grown daughters. The site is in York, England, and was part of the Southwoods farm owned by Donald and Audrey Sinclair (Donald was James Herriot's veterinary partner, and a recurrent character in his books). The North Downs run to the near East of the site, creating a bowl around the site as the ridge line snakes, and offering dramatic views. The building itself is made out of rough stone, divided into four bays (the eastern two are the ones that will be renovated, see image below), and is attached to the farm cottage to the west. There is a small brook that runs from east to west along the North of the building, and fields surrounding it on all sides. The weather in this part of the country is cold. At a latitude of almost 54 degrees, winter days are short (sunset ~3:45pm), and the solar angle is very low - about 12.5 degrees midwinter (51 degrees in summer) http://www.srrb.noaa.gov/highlights/sunrise/azel.html. Temperatures can be fickle, but summer temperatures range between 64-70F, and winter temperatures hover around 40F. http://www.wordtravels.com/Cities/England/York/Climate

Building from south side - from courtyard. Farm cottage to the left. Right half to be renovated.

Clients want to add a second floor to the building (footprint 15'x30') to create living space on the ground floor and two bedrooms above.

Design priorities:

- utilize natural flows to optimize thermal comfort and solar gain, and to limit dependence on artificial energy sources.

- create an environment, as much as a building, that establishes reciprocity between interior and exterior, through views, space, use, sound, and material. (note: there are four distinct adjacencies; 1. the farmyard 2. the covered barn 3. the forest edge to the east with lawn 4. the rural: brook, fields, and North Downs to the North East and East

- adapt the use and performance of building and its adjacencies to seasonal variation.

- employ juxtaposing material and formal languages that speak to the nature of occupying an old, vernacular building in a modern way; one that coheres with existing and local buildings and building techniques, and another that sympathetically contrasts.

Just submitted to Shift Boston competition

First competition submission: EdgeWise Boston, Dorchester Flats Waterfront Park. Concept is to re-configure the 4 mile waterfront along South Boston Waterfront in anticipation of changing sea levels in a way that supports the emergence of a thriving marine ecosystem, links up and adds to existing cultural pockets, and to expand the range of urban experiences.

Not thrilled w/ layout. Drawings a bit too tight. But plenty of fun to dream of new world. It was liberating to come to this project without really knowing the city. Knowing too much about the site held up thesis project - wanting everything to have a place.View towards 'The Common' - a cultural, ecological and transit nexus

Diagrams detailing conceptual strategies

Hand Drawing added to graphic design proj.

Produced four sections along with a number of digital diagrams. Here are a couple. Great to draft again without the pressure of anything to design. Emphasis on light, views, atmosphere, and the daily operations of a house for two elder people.

Graphic design proj., ongoing

part of a series of drawings for Prof's award submission

ground and sky - technical systems diagrammed in axon