The Architecture Office

These are the main points that I will focus on for the design of my Architecture Office. They will all need to be taken into careful consideration while taking note of the 100 prim limit.

1. Dimensions - Measurements based on the height and reaching points of people.
2. Accessible Routes - Stairs/ramps/elevator/walkway
3. Maneuvering areas - circulation space
4. Hand Rails
5. Lighting - to highlight hazards, pathways and objects. Note: should not shine into a person's eye
6. Audio devices
7. Seating
8. Colours - colour contrasting and signage.
9. Details about Architecture
10. Visuals
11. Materials

Combining "DETAIL" and "METROPOLIS"

For the images I am planning on using, they have to really portray the essence of Architecture to be educational and in an indepth way that I can effectively communicate visually. For this reaosn I created the above bubble diagram so that I could understand what I personally believe Architecture to be. This has created a series of topics and ideas that I plan on going into through the use of visuals. I will concentrate on the History and development of Architecture, as well as modern architecture and sustainability. I will look for images of the way architects have conveyed these ideas through the use of drawings and visuals. Plus I will focus on the works of world-famous architects, that have contributed much to society and created famous works of art.

For this I went to the Architectural Library and found the following books which I plan as using as references.

1. Architectura: elements of architectural style, by Miles Lewis (call number 72.03 A673ml)

2. New Architecture:an international atlas, by Francisco Asensio (call number 72.036.6 A816n)

3. Twenty Buildings every architect should understand, by Simon Unwin (call number 72.036.6 U62)

4. Top Architects of the World, by Mary Cambert (call number 72.036.6 C174)

These four books contain excellent resources and visual that I plan on using to help with the design of my architectural office as well as for my Alpha Channel

Independent Living Institute

While researching important aspects of what I should consider when designing my office in consideration of disable people, I came across a "Report of the CIB Expert Seminar on Building Non-Handicapping Environments, Budapest 1991" which can be seen at the following website:
www.independentliving.org/cib/cibbudapest10.html

While the report is old, it raised some interesting points about designing public spaces for people with disabilities. It commented that in 1991, according to the World Health Organization, 10 percent of the total global population are physically disabled. This is a significant number, which does not even take into account those who are mentally disabled.

It went to emphasising how "Architectural and urban barriers prevent persons with disabilities to participate in social activities" and how because of these barriers, not only is the individual who holds potential prevented from participating adequetly in society, society too is "deprived of their abilities and talents". Therefore when I come to designing my office space I need to take into consideration access measurements and reach dimensions where people who might be using technical aids like wheelchairs, crutches, canes will not have to face as many barriers which will also eliminae the barriers of other disabled persons. The report goes in to say that "Negligence of the design criteria can result in inaccessibility, isolating many groups of people and holding them back from participation in social and enonomic activites".

I want my architecture office to be accessible for all kinds of people from all walks of life. Therefore I will have to take into account the dimensions that determine the spaces within the office and also possibily add further elements. Not that I could fully understand the emotions of the people who suffer from disabilities, I want to create a space where they would feel free; not hindered nor stopped from the physical elements surrounding them. This space should educate its users about all aspects of architecture, and motivate them to similar success or inspire their own creations and designs.

Architecture Now! 6

To educate visoters from my office on the journal "DETAIL", I was going to educate them on the main components of an architectural office and how it functions. To fullfill one part of this, to at show the components of an ARCHITECTURAL office, I thought that the office should contain images of Architecture through the history, to show almost its journey.

When looking through "Architecture Now! 6", I got the inspiration of using examples of amazing designs as a way to influence and motivate the people who would enter my office space. I could morphe photos together could create collages or photo montages of these works, that detail the history of Architecture. All photos would have to come from legitimate published works that I will be able to find in the architectural library.

"Architecture Now! 6" can be seen through the following link.
www.tashen.com/pages/en/catalogue/architecture/all/04429/facts.architecture_now_6.htm

Sculpty Paint 93

So I was researching ways on how to create sculpted prims and I managed to find this program called "Sculpty Paint 93" which allows users to download the product and use it for free. It works hand in hand with second life and is a really simple program for beginners to use. I have also managed to find various tutorials on youtube that are very helpful. I'm planning on using this in my design for more intricately shaped prims.

Inspiration from the Safe Trestle's Competition

So recently I went to the following website (which I would recomend to anyone creating virtual designs, http://studiowikitecture.wordpress.com/) and noticed how this design had an element of connectivity and the idea of bringing people together with the multiple walkways and seating areas that traversed the landscape.



I then considered the landscape of Putahi and how people who may be visiting my office, travel across the landscape. This made me realize that the general hilly landscape, combined with some sever drops into lakes of water, would not be the most ideal place for a person with disabilities, like for example a person in a wheelchair, to travel from office space to office space.



Therefore, taking not of my one journal "Access by design" I am considering building a few walkways that leave from my architecture office, that would allow access to my visoters to nearby offices, making my office a central hub for those whose mobility may be limited. I will have to talk to my fellow neighbours first, but I believe this feature could be a vital aspect of my design.

First attempt at office

So I began my office by trying to find a suitable place in the land of Putahi, finally deciding on a level piece of land where my design could be wheelchair accessible. The floor I placed level with the ground floor for easy access, allowing it to stick out over a dip in the land.

Firstly I started with a circle which i flattened to create the ground floor plan. I decided to go with the circular shape for movement where their would be no awkward corners that would be hard to manoeuvre out of. I decided then to go for a natural walnut wood for a sustainable design with smooth floors.

To allow people to know when they have entered my office space, I then included two scripts; one that shows a welcome message of 'Welcome to the office', which is activated when an avatar comes within 3 metres. The second announces an avatar's arrival by playing a sound. This would be for the benefit of visually impaired or death people.

Next I created a central column made out of concrete for the base of the office, as well as a base for the office desk. this construction would provide stability and strength. to further enhance this I created evenly spaced columns to surround the outside of the circle for added support, as well as a frame for a handrail and roof. To highlight this detail in the construction, I lit the ground floor from below to highlight this feature.

I then established a roof that would add visual interest to the design, highlighting the framing and construction of the office. It was also made out of the same texture for consistency for those who are visually impaired, also for sustainable purposes.

For safety purposes, a handrail was added to surround the circular perimeter, and to also provide a sense of placement. The handrail is intened to visually stand out due to lighting contrast and has been designed at a similar level and same texture as the desk surface. The desk has been placed to surround the inner column for easy accessibility, plus it provides an ample amount of desk space. Originally I thought of making the table top of the desk lay on top of the circular column to provide fruther desk space. However I deemed this unnessacry as people would not be able to reach the centre of the desk anyway, especially people in wheelchairs. For storage I could possibly place something around the outer edges of the office, as I cannot place them under the desk as they would interfere with leg space.

Once I had created an opening in the handrail, so that my office was accessible, I moved on to closing up the exterior face with glass pannels that would allow for light to come into the building as a sustainable approach, as well as create amazing 360degrees views.

At the moment there are gaps between the roofing system and the glass windows for ventalation and to enhance the indoor-outdoor flow, however I may change this for a sealed office but at the moment the open spaces create interesting geometric shapes with the roof.

Inside the office

So there you have it. My first attempt at creating my architectural office space. I intend to develop and change it as new ideas and inspirations come, but this is my first general idea.

Metropolis

This magazine I found to be a good place to look for different ideas and inspiration, as it shows all the latest in designs, technology, architecture and products. It describes the magazine as examining "contemporary life through design - architecture, interior desig, product design, graphic design, crafts, planning, and preservation".

Due to this broad range of topics, I was having difficulty in trying to decide how I could effectively educate visoters to my office about this magazine, until I found the answer looking at me from every page. This magazine is almost like a shopping list for all designers, as almost every page occupies a large advertisement of a new product or design ranging in any of the above mentioned categories. While the journal "DETAIL" contains mostly writing with a few small images, this magazine has been designed for visual impact as their are large glossy pictures of designs of every page. It is very aesthetically pleasing and describes new procuts and designs through the use of visuals instead of written text.

With Architecture being a creative subject, I then thought, that I could educate visoters about the style of this magazine and how it is so effective through the use of large visuals throughout the office that would be eye-catching as well as informative. To make it informative I will combine it with my idea to educate people about the "DETAIL" magazine by using images that contain important architectural works, the history of architecure, 21st century architecture, and images that really define the meaning of architecture. For this I'm going to need to do some serious researching in the Architectural Library.

Detail: Zeitschrift fur Architektur und Baudetail

For this journal I switched to the English version as shown, so that I could understand the purpose or meaning of the journal.

I discovered that it is a review of architecture and construction details with a discussion board, reports, documentation, technology and products that are available.

It focuses on the construction and detail involved within amazing design accomplishments, and praises them for this detail. Each new edition also has a main focus it builds on, like the Volume 2010, 1, focused on the relationship between old and new buildings.

The documentation part of this magazine show various design accomplishments but also uses formal drawings like cross-sections to show the detail in important elements of a design.

From this journal, construction details receive an added element of design and creativity, that usually escapes it as simply the mathematics of the building. I have learnt the importance of the construction as a design feature.

This journal has educated me about the detail and construction of a building or design through detailed formal drawings that an architect would draw to see how and if it would function, and for builders and developers to use as a reference. I believe I could educate the important meaning of these formal drawings as references in my office space, by showing the detail and construction in an office; the main components of an Architectural Office Space and how it functions.

Access by Design

This journal I found to be a fascinating read, as it makes an architect or designer acknowledge the accessibility within their design for people suffering from disabilities.

The main focus of the journal is 'accessible design for disabled people' and which environments manage to be accessible, and which fail to do so, and why.

For my design I should consider wheelchair access routes as well as ramps rather than stairs. There is also the possibility of having platform lifts by the stairs. Routes have to be understandable and easy to navigate to users with mobility, hearing and visual impairments and learning difficulties.

Maneuvering areas and ramps are vital for easy access and circulation space. Plus hand rails could be used for added support where the ends would be textured to signal their ending. Sliding doors or power assisted doors that open automatically allow for people with disabilities to access areas easily.

For visually impaired people I should consider the use of audio devices as well as the technique of lighting. General areas could be illuminated as well as concentrating the light at low-level to highlight paths and provide directional way-guiding information. Risers and stairs could also be lit to show the potential hazard. Visual systems would also help those with hearing disabilities.

Improved signage would also help, along with the colour contrast to provide tactile descriptions and colour contrasted controls or parts in the space where consistency could be used to indicate similarities and changes (points of hazard).

Two other things I should consider is the height of the desk, so that it is accessible for wheelchair users, as well as people who suffer from vertigo where maybe an important design feature would be to have the office on ground level.

In today's modern society, nobody should feel disadvantaged. The aspirations of disabled people to live independently within the community is achievable through careful planning of the accessibility of a design. To achieve this for my office, I could try to have a consultation with a few people who suffer from disabilities in order to design an efficient office space that they would deem accessible.

I have come to learn the importance of why places must be accessible for people with disabilities to remove discrimination and to allow those people to participate within society. Therefore to educate my colleagues about the importance of access, I shall attempt to make my office space aware of accessible design where any person would be able to access my design easily and comfortably by including some of these necessary steps.

Assignment 2: The Virtual Practice

This blog serves the purpose of documenting the construction of my virtual architecture office. It will show the journey, from concept ideas to the final design, and establish how my office will also function to educate people about three journals from the Architecture Library.

The three given journals I have been given are:

1. Access by Design


2. Detail: Zeitschrift fur Architektur und Baudetail


3. Metropolis

To begin my documentation I went to the Architecture Library and accessed these journals to find out what they are trying to educate their readers about or the purpose of each journal.

My findings are detailed in the next few blogs.