Studio hs been kickin like kung-fu lately. The professors gave us our project and left it open for our own interpretation. It was a great experience not to have to work under any constraints but I do realize that you need them at times to give direction to a project. We were to analyze the small town of Pheobus, Virginia and "build or make" our first impressionof the city, analyze a specific building, and start researching prescedents. They gave no particular order in which they should be done so I started of with first my first impression:

I thought the town was a hole in the wall type of place. It was full of unused space that needed to be "filled." I took the existing map and identified the problem areas. I ended up with the art piece with the major intersections breaking the monotony of the circles. "It looks like swiss cheese." is what most people said.






Then I picked out a lot that I liked because of the potential of the site. I went inside and talked to the owner of the cleaners who also happens to be the builder. We talked for about an 1-1/2hr about the history of the town and his personal history. His name was Chauncey Mann. He wasn't to fond of me taking his picture but I managed to get him to smile.



Check out his sewing machine. Its still pedal operated.






this is the lot beside the cleaners



I teamed up with two of my classmates and we started diagraming the building. I think I fell in love more with the story than the building itself. The building is a simple rectangle and does not offer too much to learn from other than the fact that they used over sized brick on the fornt facade. Mr. Mann said, "They forced me to use those bricks, You know!" I think we have to find another building because we also were critized for not digging further. A criticism I'm sure everybody has heard before but not what I wanted to hear. I didnt get to state what the building does for the architecture of Pheobus but too late now. I got caught up listening to the criticism. The quest goes on for another building. Maybe I'll do the club across the street.

The massing and spatial study of related buildings around it.



This is the proportional and circulation diagram. The building is broken up into the golden section.



hungry anyone?