I am desparately trying to find out what I want to do for senior project. I am kind of intersted in sustainable design/green skyscraper....and thinking about doing research in fall.....and designing a building in spring.
But I feel like sustainability is sth you should learn later in your career after you really know how to make good designs. Is it way too early to do a sustainable design without having that much experience in architectural design?
Any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks!!!!!
"sustainability is something that you should learn later in your career after you really know how to make good designs"
that is ABSOLUTELY the WRONG way to look at it... sustainability is something that should be integral to the design itself... not something added on to the building after you're done... just slapping some photovoltaics on a building that you've designed doesn't make it sustainable... if your "good design" leaves you with a wall of glass facing due south in florida, you're never going to make that building sustainable regardless of how much techno shit you add on to it...
if you're interested in "green skyscrapers" take a look at ken yeang's stuff...he has written a couple of books on the topic...
why should sustainablility be integral to design? design can also be about obsolescence(sp?) and degeneration and decay and the end of things. entropy is where its at.
vado, i'm curious whether or not it says devil's advocate on your business cards...
i'm always wary about when someone says there thesis is going to be a boutique hotel, or a border patrol station, or a green skyscraper...
i think you need to start much more general with an idea of a problem... get passionate about that problem, then research and really define the problem... then create a solution.
but i guess my school work was always very socially sensitive and i've never had to think up a thesis, so my 2 cents are probably not worth much.
sidenote to vado: i was criticized becuase my building died. it was a kind of narrow comment at the time, but i didn't fight it cause it was pointless. they thought it would re-create itself forever. lame, there are no forevers.
another sidenote: ken yeang rocks.
last sidenote: early on is the best time to learn sustainablity as it lends itself to more holistic and better passive designs. solar orientation and passive strategies are difficult to quantify by the market. (this is people's beed with LEED, specifying green products is like a band-aid solution.) it would be good for you to "digest" as much as you can about passive solutions. just a personal rec.
if you look back at my previous 'what should my thesis be?' posts, archilearner, you'll see that i always want to know what the idea is. forget skyscraper, forget the technical aspects of learning how to design a sustainable building > what's the idea you're pursuing? that's ALWAYS the place to start as far as i'm concerned.
Don't do sustainable design for your thesis unless there is something to challenge- Please don't listen to 'postal' either
All sustainable buildings, at this time, are designed as shitty modern architecture with different systems. Not that there is anything wrong with ecological systems but the problem is architects don't want to challenge the forms of sustainable design. It's just like tofu imitating chicken. There is the start of an interesting thesis - Have fun and don't do a skyscraper -
It sounds like you are venturing into classic territory for an architectural student but missing the boat for a successful project. As Steven suggested, DO NOT begin this process by working backwards.
If you are deciding on a topic based up what sexy building you want to have in the end, your theoretical basis behind doing that building (your "research" phase) is going to be contrived and full of holes and the "low-hanging fruit".
do yourself a favor right now and start asking questions that you are actually interested in spending some time answering. FORGET the building for now. start with the investigation and allow your building to arrive and grow out of that exploration.
Moreover, in terms of sustainability, heed the words of previous posts-sustainability is not just technology that is applied whether it be during or after the design process. I am getting very weary of people using "green" elements as some sort of jazz-hands for their building. Just think and design in an efficient, economic and sustainable manner (if that is your inclination) and don't expect any bonus points for it.
senior project idea
I am desparately trying to find out what I want to do for senior project. I am kind of intersted in sustainable design/green skyscraper....and thinking about doing research in fall.....and designing a building in spring.
But I feel like sustainability is sth you should learn later in your career after you really know how to make good designs. Is it way too early to do a sustainable design without having that much experience in architectural design?
Any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks!!!!!
KISS
you're gonna be a senior, right? so you will have mastered the ability to ask YOURSELF questions, to be self-critical. things like:
what's sustainable about a skyscraper?
why a skyscraper? just because? is there a need for a skyscraper for this program, or just a three-story building?
what's the program?
if i should keep sustainable design as a basic best practice anyway, where's the architectural idea in it?
what does sustainability mean?
if i were to be truly sustainably-minded, why would i build anything? why not propose a strategic reuse of something that exists?
is my skyscraper suitable for ANY city, or will it have a site?
is sustainable design in miami the same as sustainable design in michigan?
....so there's a start.
"sustainability is something that you should learn later in your career after you really know how to make good designs"
that is ABSOLUTELY the WRONG way to look at it... sustainability is something that should be integral to the design itself... not something added on to the building after you're done... just slapping some photovoltaics on a building that you've designed doesn't make it sustainable... if your "good design" leaves you with a wall of glass facing due south in florida, you're never going to make that building sustainable regardless of how much techno shit you add on to it...
if you're interested in "green skyscrapers" take a look at ken yeang's stuff...he has written a couple of books on the topic...
why should sustainablility be integral to design? design can also be about obsolescence(sp?) and degeneration and decay and the end of things. entropy is where its at.
vado, i'm curious whether or not it says devil's advocate on your business cards...
i'm always wary about when someone says there thesis is going to be a boutique hotel, or a border patrol station, or a green skyscraper...
i think you need to start much more general with an idea of a problem... get passionate about that problem, then research and really define the problem... then create a solution.
but i guess my school work was always very socially sensitive and i've never had to think up a thesis, so my 2 cents are probably not worth much.
sidenote to vado: i was criticized becuase my building died. it was a kind of narrow comment at the time, but i didn't fight it cause it was pointless. they thought it would re-create itself forever. lame, there are no forevers.
another sidenote: ken yeang rocks.
last sidenote: early on is the best time to learn sustainablity as it lends itself to more holistic and better passive designs. solar orientation and passive strategies are difficult to quantify by the market. (this is people's beed with LEED, specifying green products is like a band-aid solution.) it would be good for you to "digest" as much as you can about passive solutions. just a personal rec.
if you look back at my previous 'what should my thesis be?' posts, archilearner, you'll see that i always want to know what the idea is. forget skyscraper, forget the technical aspects of learning how to design a sustainable building > what's the idea you're pursuing? that's ALWAYS the place to start as far as i'm concerned.
Don't do sustainable design for your thesis unless there is something to challenge- Please don't listen to 'postal' either
All sustainable buildings, at this time, are designed as shitty modern architecture with different systems. Not that there is anything wrong with ecological systems but the problem is architects don't want to challenge the forms of sustainable design. It's just like tofu imitating chicken. There is the start of an interesting thesis - Have fun and don't do a skyscraper -
It sounds like you are venturing into classic territory for an architectural student but missing the boat for a successful project. As Steven suggested, DO NOT begin this process by working backwards.
If you are deciding on a topic based up what sexy building you want to have in the end, your theoretical basis behind doing that building (your "research" phase) is going to be contrived and full of holes and the "low-hanging fruit".
do yourself a favor right now and start asking questions that you are actually interested in spending some time answering. FORGET the building for now. start with the investigation and allow your building to arrive and grow out of that exploration.
Moreover, in terms of sustainability, heed the words of previous posts-sustainability is not just technology that is applied whether it be during or after the design process. I am getting very weary of people using "green" elements as some sort of jazz-hands for their building. Just think and design in an efficient, economic and sustainable manner (if that is your inclination) and don't expect any bonus points for it.
green jazz hands... that's funny...
check out the latest harvard design magazine. the skyscraper is no longer a gas guzzler to some...
thanks for that architphil...I am going to giggle to myself over those people for the rest of the day
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