Archinect - University of Hawaii Manoa: Architecture School

Ila Berman & Mona El Kafif

2013-05-06T20:43:40-04:00

Berman and Kafif walked into today's lecture with the goal of spreading awareness about the development of public spaces without the limits of function. They stress about the evergrowing privatized spaces that are limited to certain users. However, they hope to reverse this by creating more public spaces that allow a variety of occupants. They provided several examples to justify their point such as Way Beyond Art, Pulse Room, OPspace and iLounge.

Through Way Beyond Art, Berman studied how different disciplines work together: Architecture, Sculpture, Interior, and Landscape. Some examples she gives are seen in PS1 installations. PS1 is an exhibition that allows new and innovative minds to occupy the space with their installations. These installations show how the same space can be renewed and used in several ways with a variety of users. We were able to see some familiar projects by our previous guest lecturers such as IwamotoScott's REEF and Voussoir Cloud. Through installati...

Chris Keane

2013-04-27T23:13:19-04:00

Christopher Keane, of Dangermond Keane Architecture, titled his lecture "Lessons from Gallaudet" which focused on challenges that arose while creating a functional yet aesthetically pleasing design for the school. Gallaudet University is the world's leader in a liberal arts program targeted towards the deaf and hearing impaired. Originally designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the campus was gradually becoming too outdated and dysfunctional needed a face lift.

Keane discussed "Deaf Space" and it's design guide that consisted of 5 points.

1) Space & Proximity
He defined proxemics, the study of nature, degree, and effect of the spatial separation individuals naturally maintain. Keane then discussed how deaf proxemics begin with eye contact and space and well being (how it is important to be aware of the degree of enclosure and how you must give a sense of the surrounding so nothing comes up surprising the students). There are different types of gatherings, formal and inform...

Chitra Gopalakrishnan

2013-04-27T23:06:20-04:00

Gopalakrishnan's lecture title really caught my attention, reading, "Hustlin' (Meaningfully). I wondered why she used such a title and how she related to such a verb. Thankfully, she explains the meaning throughout her definition. She starts with a brief overview of pieces she completed while she went to school in Paris and New Delhi. Gopalakrishnan is largely influenced by her social and cultural background which is reflected in her work. In an early graphic design project, she explains how she would journey around her neighborhood collecting various words from magazines, newspapers, posters, etc. These words represent the area and promotes a deeper message. Other than word art, she loves to draw about social and cultural issues. Later in New Delhi, she worked with various types of clients on website designs. Here, she learned to work with different mediums and cope with time constraints.

In Cranbrook, Michigan, Gopalakrishnan moves on to working with installations. In her p...

Robert McCarter

2013-04-10T00:29:22-04:00

Robert McCarter

Robert McCarter is one of the top ten educators in the nation. He is a man of passion, dedicating his life in researching master architects. This lecture was quite similar to our Arch 201 project - choosing 3 master architects and fusing their designs with your own style. Before he lectured the class, he was in our studio giving a critique and sharing knowledge. I instantly knew that his speeches were inspirational (Longhi and Palagi were just staring in awe). He emphasized that architects have the duty to make internal experiences. People only spend little time admiring the exterior before going inside to experience the space. However, I believe exterior is just as important as the interior because it is the exterior that tempts people to go in the building structure. Detailed buildings such as Brion's Tomb (by Carlo Scarpa) takes forever to get every single detail of the exterior facade.

Out of the several architects he wrote about, he chose Lo...

Hiroshi Jacobs

2013-04-08T06:06:08-04:00

Hiroshi Jacobs began with a discussion of indeterminate systems, or systems that allow the viewer to participate in the creation of his or her own experience when interacting with the system. An example he gave was the internet, how it can be used for multiple purposes, completely dependent upon the actions of the user. The main idea behind that is while we may attempt to guide the experience of a person within a space, there is always a chance a space will be used in ways the architect could never have expected. Hiroshi gave an example of an interactive art piece he worked on for an event that invited passerby to complete a game as quickly as possible in order to donate money to charity. What he and the other creators did not expect was the social interaction this generated, as people formed teams in order to complete the game more quickly – and thus donate more money – than would have been possible alone.

He also spoke about the unexpected interactions possible with ...

Tom Smith

2013-04-08T05:36:58-04:00

Tom Smith is an urban designer and a landscape architect that has worked on prestigious projects such as the London 2012 Olympics and currently the Rio 2016 Olympics. He talked about how he won the competition through his concept of creating a lasting legacy. Smith wishes to not only create a beautiful and functioning environment but to better benefit the community in the long run. In order to first do so, he looks at the land as an entirety in order to understand a bigger picture. In London, he analyzed the structure of the city and how it may grow in the future. Smith described London as an industrial wasteland full of pollution. This inspired him to restore balance into the city and to promote healthy lifestyles.

When Smith started working on the Rio 2016 Olympics site, he realized that the funding this time is 1/3 that of London's. Meanwhile London's funding is 1/3 that of Beijing's. This makes it more crucial to maximize the use of the Olympics investment. Just as...

Critter Thompson

2013-04-08T04:50:20-04:00

It was interesting to see the views of an urbanite that also makes use of ecological ideas in his projects. As with most lectures on energy, he mentioned the embodied energy of materials, which takes into account the sourcing, production, transportation, and maintenance of materials. He also touched up on the transportation systems that could be employed in cities. Being from Seattle, that city became the basis of his examples. Numerous transit systems are in the process of being developed to help reduce carbon emissions, and the concept of "walkability" was introduced to us. It wasn't something I had ever considered, but having numerous points of interest, and ease of mobility to such areas, within walking distance could help to greatly reduce emissions that result from vehicle usage. Another interesting topic he brought up was Car2Go, which seems to be a useful form of transportation if you are just trying to get from point A to point B.

Combining urbanism with his e...

Kiel Moe

2013-04-03T23:44:19-04:00

Forms of Energy: Maximum power energy

1st law of thermodynamics
- Energy will be conserved

2nd law of thermodynamics
- Energy's capacity to do work

Energy, Exergy, Entopy
- Architecture is a formation of energy

Forms of Energy
- Radiant energy - the energy of electromagnetic waves
- Water is 832 times denser than air
- Entropy - is a measure of the uncertainty in a random variable
- Emergy - is the available energy (exergy) of one kind that is used up in transformations directly and indirectly to make a product or service

Toledo Glass Pavilion

The Glass Pavilion was designed to serve two complementary roles: as art museum and as studio. Architectural glass is key to the twin roles. The glass walls divide space, while their transparency encourages visitors to connect objects and activities across boundaries. The Pavilion is unique in that it presents a close physical/transparent relationship between the art in the galleries and the artists in the glassw...

Joseph Ferraro

2013-04-03T23:41:47-04:00

Ferraro starts off his presentation by briefing us on his experience in Antarctica. An interesting technique he uses to deal with the snowy climate which is foreign to Hawai'i is drift modeling. This is the modeling of snow in turbulent situations. With this, he can figure out which direction to face the building, and what other design decisions must be implemented to create the best possible living conditions. This is the typical snow distribution after the wind:

Drift modeling is able to predict this distribution with a screen similar to this:

As pictured, the snow tends to gather around the building while creating a gap in the facade. In order to combat this, Ferraro and his partners created a structure in which it is elevated off the ground. This allows snow to pass through and distribute evenly without the hassle of snow plowing after a storm. In addition, he also incorporated many other sustainable design strategies such as:
All heating is provided by jacket cooli...

Monika Wittig

2013-04-03T23:38:55-04:00

Most architects are familiar with fabrication programs/machines. Monika Wittig has been very passionate about fabrication since it was first introduced to her during her college days. Fabrication software is primarily used because of the amount of time and effort it saves. However, with the loss of time and effort, comes problem solving. As Wittig mentioned in her lecture, fabrication softwares have limits and regulations, which the designer must work around. This is a challenge that sparks creative and cognitive thinking, which architects are good at. Fabrication is also helpful for designers be cause we already have a preconceived knowledge of what the result will look like, unlike the wonder and anxiety we feel when handcrafting. I believe that fabrication has taken us a long way, and will continue to do so.

Joseph Ferraro

2013-04-03T23:19:48-04:00

In Ferraro's presentation he mentions about the process of building in the South Pole. Because of the heavy snow and wind, the piling up of snow is a big factor and problem. The wind tends to pass towards the building causing the snow to be pushed towards the facade of the bulding. As the snow is being pushed towards the building, the snow tends to pile up.
The solution to this situation is "Drift Modeling." Ferraro mentioned that drift modeling was the best solution. This technique is used by elevating the building, leaving enough space for snow to pushed past under the building. This technique also aids in the decision of which direction should the building be faced, as well as proper living conditions.

Monika Wittig

2013-04-03T23:16:40-04:00

Living Forces

In her presentation, Monika talked excitedly about her work and her interest in fabrication design. She showed us how using a program called RHINO and machines such as mills was possible to create new designs, living designs from wood or other materials, simply by typing in a 'code' for the machine to read. All of it was interesting because she showed a different side of design and architecture, one more computerized and technical. She talked with enthusiasm about how approaching design through fabrication was amazing and took her and her students around the world, doing workshops for others to learn their techniques. Around the world, people are taking on this new skill to create custom designs such as this:

Something amazing as this is created through computers and machines, rather than cutting bristol paper with an x-acto knife.

So, overall Monika's presentation was very inspiring to those who want the various aspects architecture can take on. There's an i...

Kiel Moe

2013-04-03T23:08:38-04:00

Kiel Moe's lecture was quite educational in terms of energy efficiency. There are 3 facts concerning this topic: energy will be conserved, matter is captured energy, and there is no energy shortage. The energy conservation is supported by the Laws of Thermodynamics. His concept of energy conversion can be applied in universal situations. Energy is the composition of exergy and entropy, which the two factors are inversely proportional.

Moe's Stackhouse Project was also interesting. Besides the fact that a bathroom was not installed in the building, it was built in a remote area in Colorado. His building facade is mostly timber wood. The roof was slightly angled to allow snow to slide off to prevent burden on the structure. There is no artificial heating system (air condition system) but relied solely on the natural elements and the placement of structure on a terrain. The glasses are positioned to allow maximum light in the family area (there is 300+ sunny days a ye...

Lisa Iwamoto

2013-04-01T00:41:46-04:00

Lisa Iwamoto
http://www.iwamotoscott.com/

A principal owner of her own company, Iwamotoscoth Architecture alongside with her husband Craig Scott, an associated architecture professor, used to work for big architecture firm, graduated from Harvard, received numerous awards such as Young Architects award from the Architectural League of New York, Lisa Iwamoto amazed and inspired me for the amount of achievement she get as an architecture and as a successful woman. Before the lecture, I did some research on her projects and I was really impressed by the diversity of form and shape, as well as the scope and the size of project that she worked and is working on. Through out the lecture, Lisa discussed the main theme of how project with different scale such as Installation, Building, and Speculation can relate to one another, that is no matter how big the scale is, architecture is the study of human interaction and movement, materialistic, solid and void, force and structure, forms...

Charlie O'Geen

2013-04-01T00:28:08-04:00

Charlie O'Geen

"Charlie O’Geen’s work involves site-specific, architectural investigations that respond directly to the conditions of the site and often utilize found objects as building materials. He received a BSArch and an MArch from SUNY Buffalo and then went on to earn a second MArch from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Charlie currently lives in Detroit, Michigan working independently on full-scale architectural and building projects." - Texas Tech University: College of Architecture

Instead of presenting one's design of a building, Charlie O'Geen presented his "study" projects. Most of his works related to structure analysis, energy analysis, and studies of space. He presented a light bulb and a lemon creating a charge - something like the ones from a science fair. Another interesting example of his study is the "Fridge Bridge." Just as the name implies, it is a bridge made out of 3 welded refrigerators.

His most remarkable projects was the 760 Wagner House Project, a st...