Renzo Piano.

The Scientific Architect - Devoted to understanding the culture and socio economic condition of the context and people he is building for and in, for example the Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center - is devoted to the cultural origins and search for identity of the native Kanak people of New Caledonia and the South Pacific, the layout is made up of 3 villages based on the traditional Kanak village.

Frank Gehry.

Art vs science in the interpretation of reality into building. The Guggenheim museum Bilboa is an artistic, irrational, emotional expression of the architect to his surroundings, it is a modern masterpeice of its time.

The shell House!

A perfect example of where your imagination is your only limit. The house is located at La Isla Mujeres in Mexico. Home to artist Octavio Ocampo. The house is shaped as an enormous conch shell.

Le Corbusier Quote.

“Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.”

The Cube!

The Cube by Electrolux is a temporary structure travelling the world. It is a glass cube encased in a white, laser cut aluminium shell. Everything is white making it stand out from its immediate context. Guests access this restaurant by lift and are wined and dined by some of the worlds best chefs, with a view of famous landmarks, YUM!! So like a light in a dark room this design was made to stand out as a modern shell and bring attention to past great designs.

Current location Belgium.

White Aluminium Shell.

Information provided by dailyicon.net

Understanding Architects!!!

Excuse me as I vent a bit!!!
As I sit in our computer labs, once again having to restart my project i find myself wondering why i ever wanted to be an architect in the first place!!!
These men who almost hold themselves in royal stature because they think they have the power to mold the world obviously don't realise that our unappreciative, impatient generation will probably not know who the majority of these men are or of what they have designed in the future and if this will be the case is not all architectural studies a waste of time, should we not be studying art, the origions of architecture, where it was artists creating architecture and not the other way around. And therefor in our attempts to create a better world we are leaving it soulless and impersonal. A copy of anothers work instead of the individual expression of the artist. I think there are very few architects achieving this today, cudos to you and.......... where are you - I need help!!!!!

Theory Project on the Go!!

So we have now received the elusive theory project - to be based on one of the Pritzker prize winners. Mine will be on Kevin Roche, an architect not well known by the current students of the field but i will do my best to understand and critically analyse the works of this Irish Genius!

The man himself.

His most recent work, the Dublin Convention Center.

CaesarStone Project 2011!!

The project brief entails us to create a couple living in an urban environment! This space must comprise of 5 spaces, these being: living, eating, sleeping, soul enhancment and community.

I have decided that my imaginary couple will be a modern jewish couple, the husband being a upmarket lawyer and the wife a well know clay sculptore that has a studio space at home that she conducts classes from and sometimes displayes work.

Here are a few pictrures i picked up for inspiration.

Indoor Karting Design!

Here are a few quick 3ds I drew up. The concept behind my design was to have a functioning shell that encompassed the kart track and all functioned under one roof. I have a curved element to the east that mirrors the harbour wall and creates an interesting element for racers. My roof rises to meet the height of the freeway and campanile.

Inspiration

Our new project for design is an Indoor go karting and gaming center, here is a little inspiration i picked up on the internet. I will be using the inclined glass design for my building. Hopefully i will have something to show you soon.

Lighting 3D Max

So it begins, lighting produced by 3D Max. We had to create 3 different lighting scenarios - Ceiling lighting, Wall lighting, day lighting and hanging centre light.

Analysing Site

The following is an analysis of a site located in the Eastern Cape, this site has been used for our Des Baker competition entry. We had to analyse and discover the relevant aspects of the site, i hope you can understand all that has been presented.

Autocad rendering attempt 1.

As the title says, the following picture is a first attempt at remaking the previous picture in a 3D format. I struggled with the lighting aspect, as you can see with the blinds and will hopefully find the time to repair these issues.
Next we will be transferring the modelled structure to 3D Max, can't wait to see the results.

3D Design Replication!

I am attempting to replicate this design in our current computer project, you will first view a image rendered by Autocad 3d then we will be learning to render in 3d max - this should be impressive. I even look forward to viewing the result.

Thornhill Community Visit.

The Thornhill community is a prime example of communities trying to develop on their own in a developing world. They often struggle and do not provide the initial early development stage within schools, which is crucial in a childs development and education, they struggle to provide a stable learning environment for these children through out there school term often leaving them with no where to go after their lengthy time spent at school. They are under staffed, under funded and lack infrastructure.

Thats where we come in - our new project "Des Baker - School in a rural community" allows us to delve into the inner workings of these schools and try to establish a different medium from which they can exist. A sustainable school that serves its community!

The Thornhill community comprises of approximately 3000 people, 350 of these people being under the age of 16 and attending Thornhill primary, we will take the existing site and reconstruct the school in a way we feel will match the brief - "cradle to grade 6."

I look forward to interacting with you on this brief :)

A make shift basin. Cleanliness is next to Godliness!!

Lack of seating areas for break periods.

Missing window pane provides ventelation - what a relief!!!

Developed Logo!!

Finally, the developed logo! The Theme of the 2011 Architectural Student Congress is "sustainable architecture in the developing world," we tried to capture the essence of this theme by presenting Port Elizabeth's wind turbine (as it will be held in P.E.), as a sustainable element impacting the earth with it continually growing roots.

Wind Turbine!!

Driving past the new Coega development one's eye can't help but be drawn to the new wind turbine erected on the opposite side of the N2, this is one of two turbines intended to form part of the renewal energy project, worth nearly R2 billion. The two turbines will generate 70MW of power. May this now green monument be a new step in a a sustainable future.
A definite must see by all Port Elizabeth residents!!!
Reference: http://www.watersafe.co.za/

First Design Project 2011

Here are a few images of our first design project for 2011. We had to design a logo for the Architectural Student Congress taking place in Port Elizabeth this year in May. The main theme this year is sustainability, so i thought my earth logo design would be a sure top runner, but unfortunately it was too detailed :) maybe next time. So i hope you enjoy the few images i have added.

New Earth - Designing our future now!

Port Elizabeth Landmark Designs!