stop working on it only at night and bring some daylight into the mix.

I would move figure No. 7 two feet to the west...makes for a better graphic presentation.

i think you need to explain guerrilla architecture, because this has been an idea i have kicked around for a while and i don't see what is so guerrilla in your concept.

guerrilla architecture was an off-shoot of the original project that i did during the conceptual design. I couldn't find a way to relate it to the project so i dropped it, but i want to develop it more, perhaps in another project. The second image that i posted began is centered on an alley in State College basically full of dumpsters, firestairs, etc. but the local city planners have tried to create an identity for it in the past with banners, obviously unsuccessfully. I proposed a sort of community bulletin board, where anyone walking past, or in the general vicinity, could text or IM, and have their message displayed. These simple structures could be assembled off-site, and erected quickly, and the bi-passing of local government, ADA, etc. conote a kind of guerrilla warfare idea, in which combatants strike quickly, with unconventional methods, thru architecture. It would be an interesting thesis, it has alot of similarities with the act of graffiti or something like graffitiresearchlab.com/

I have to say I like the concept.. and the realization looks promising too. Be sure to figure out how egress (people and cars) work.. for some reason, our juries at MIT always asked about where the cars park :P

haha yeah, at every crit i've had a professor ask where the cars are going to park, and i just keep telling them that it's going underground. Over this weekend i'm going to develop the plans for it (including parking) so i don't have to answer that question anymore. they haven't really critiqued my thought process for the building which is part of the reason that i posted it here, for some design input that i'm looking for.

also, i'm going to need a physical model within two weeks, does anyone know a relatively simple and cheap way to light a model from the interior or to project simple images onto the facade? the downtown area that this project is to be located in has a vibrant nightlife due to the 45,000 students here, so i'm focusing a majority of my images on that, and i want the model to read that way as well. if anyone has any tips for that, it would be great

can't wait until you are practicing in the profession! i can understand the frustrations with local jursidictions, but why hate on the disabled people?!

as for the project above...

there is something to this project but i think the boards you are showing us illustrate some of the inherent weaknesses of computer renderings. the renderings are very seductive (as renderings tend to be), but when you take away all the inntricate structure you're showing (which presumably would not be totally recreated in your physical model), this is basically a honeycomb facade over a glass box.

there are many things that still need to be resolved. for instance, how does the circulation to and between the honeycomb units work? (you may have resolved this, but I don't see floor plans or well developed sections on your boards to show us) resolving the circulation issue (and doing it in a way that meets ADA!) will only make your project richer and more complete.

i think it's crucial that you take the time to build your physical model well and do it in a way that doesn't just recreate your renderings, but that resolves some of the issues that have clearly not been figured out yet and brings it a step further along in the design process.

Pretty sweet looking. You just need some daylight images.

I agree with 4arch's comment, and, all joking aside, I was serious about the egress issue.. since, as 4arch pointed out, it's not clear how one accesses the honeycombs.. Is it a ramp (that could be cool... a landscape ramp that wraps around the core and that doubles as a community space.. hehe, just a thought)? Not only the plan (which I know you said you're still working on) but the sections should show how this access system works... to all units. As it is, yours just shows what looks like a single elevator shaft/core penetrating the upper floorplates... which is, uninteresting, as well as noncompliant. Also, what are the programmatic implications of the building.... why would I want to live here as opposed to a more traditional typology... is it greener, more comfortable, cooler/more hip, wat? I recommend investigating the program.

there are many things that still need to be resolved. for instance, how does the circulation to and between the honeycomb units work? (you may have resolved this, but I don't see floor plans or well developed sections on your boards to show us) resolving the circulation issue (and doing it in a way that meets ADA!) will only make your project richer and more complete.


you just bypass all that shit.

if you're by-passing codes and zoning ordinances then there really isn't an issue with the parking, and while you're at it, you can by-pass a few other unimportant things, like gravity for instance, if it gets in the way of your concept. in all seriousness, i'd leave that whole bit about "by-passing" out of your project and presentation. it's not going to go over very well.

on the other hand, the part about giant led boards that can display an im or text is a really interesting form of contemporary graffiti and an inventive forum of public expression, protest or resistence. that's where your project really is. the honeycomb is nice and all, but seems incidental to the ideas embedded in display and public discourse - the guerilla architecture i think you're really interested in.

seductive imagery.

have you given any thought to the project in terms of strategy and tactic? it would seem to be another way of describing what you're doing...

let me clarify a bit, when i said "the bi-passing of local government, ADA, etc." i was talking about the off-shoot of the project, which i called "guerrillarchitecture." the second image that i have posted is an outline of that, while all of the other images are the real project. i appreciate what everyone has said so far, especiallyfrom 4arch and urbanist. I'm in the process of making this project "buildable" and compliant right now, through plans and then sections.

i began the project with the 3-d model because i'm good at visualizing a project that way, whereas i find it hard to visualize a project in a 2-d CAD manner. Just as a note... I plan on using a type of "cat-walk" to connect the housing (and yes, i have space in the model for a fire stair at each end, and the elevator core in the middle). what i mean by catwalk, is that i want to create very open circulation, something that is visible from several stories below.

Thanks for all the comments, they've helped alot

since this is a school project in the 3rd year of a 5 year BArch (right? PSU is a 5yr BArch program, ya?) I don't care that you aren't accounting perfectly for fire stairs or other building code concerns. that doesn't mean that you shouldn't demonstrate an understanding of the project's circulation...but from what you say you're dealing with that now...

my primary criticism is that your boards are noisy (graphically). the individual images are clear enough, but your overall composition is way too busy and difficult to digest. let us see the images for what they are. if you have a narrative, let it read through the images themselves and their juxtaposition to other images/drawings.

so...this is just a call for graphic clarity. best of luck with your crit.

a real project like this would probably employ professional codetalkers as all sorts of issues would arise.

but architects are professional codetalkers, right? i mean, the buck stops here. as opposed to mep, structural, etc.

looks like a flyer for a rave...

some architects are professional codetalkers. some are not. on a large mixed use project such as this our firm would probably employ a specialist to do a code review. just looking at these renderings i can see all sorts of issues and i'm drunk right now.

Yeah, do what jafidler suggests and focus on the contemporary graffiti and public expression and then do what AP suggests and clean up your graphics to clearly and concisely narrate it. Then just make sure you have room for wheelchairs and guide dogs underground next to your parking. Me gusta drunk.

i agree with vado in that you haven't shown drawings (be they of crappy low-tech quality at the conceptual stage) here that would determine whether and how you verbalized intention would be realized circulation wise...we would have a narrative then rather than captured stills. perhaps there are such drawings and you haven't posted images of them above. From what I see, i feel there is a lack of resolution between the two layered (cinema-residential?) structures. i would even venture that there is an inherent uneasy tension. for one, the structure above is closer to being concrete (if its actually a structure an not an ornament) whereas the below looks like its going to be metal'n'glass. each layer also looks so self completing and therefor incompatible with the other that it would be a creative challenge to resolve the articulation and junctions and as far as i can tell, you haven't opened that chapter.

then the extrusion of one atop the other along with the other discrete (vertical/angled..etc) elements results in a composition that is neither really controlled and introvert, nor one that (given the info above) takes advantage of compositional disorientation. neither a severe thing nor a creative mess. the relationship between the inside and outside spaces is very strict (there isnt any contextual info posted to rationalize that relationship, however...) but at the same time very ambiguous. it would be so much more interesting to knit the building to the plaza, in whatever way you deem appropriate and that would make your design more than an object in a generic dimmed out plot.

lastly, and apart from the actual design...why the military reference? i dont understand this current trend within the architectural circle to militarize their metaphors and language. if you're not a lefty liberal who despises all military and violent actions, why am i bothering???

less talk more drawing. Its nice that you explained the project - but find a way to express the salient points. That said where's the floor plan? Its great to see multiple 3 dimensional drawings but I need something to ground it to.

I do not agrea with the critics ; there are potential there, and fæppr pælans are irelavant towerds the more important question , -- how to allow acces and do the trivial issues such as circulation an issue, I personaly see easy solved, given just a bit more thought , a trivial problem, but just there ,could the most exiting thing about this project, hope it realy are based on a 3d model as then floor plans would be yieled by a plan command plus a small script filtering that out.
Listening to the critics here, is like talking to a Clingon ; some nice guy try do a faviour and how is it met, one make it to a fight against all modern architecture, another ask the impossible thing, that is what is jettisoned with 3D, the irelevant floor plan, where this could obviously, be a genuine 3D proposal.

Foults offcaurse, but how ieasy wouldn't it be to by structure ,solve those trivial claims, floor plans why ask those, if the 3d model would be avaible ; then you shuld be able to generate all the floor plans you can eat, but hey' wasn't it the idear to get rid of the paper, and not make even more with tripple the efford.

It's a Fine project, there are only small foults, yet these are not problems but challances , how to form those honeycombs build them so to say, not that I would find an interesting issue.

Hello again, i just presented my schematic design review earlier this week so i figured that i would post the presentation boards from that. Everyone's input was extremely helpful in the development of the project, and i would appreciate some more critique. I developed all of the major floor plans and re-did the digital model. I also presented a sketch model and drawing but i haven't scanned/photographed them yet but i'll get on that.

Here's an excerpt from the text on my board, just to give you an overview of my intentions and concept...

"The new Fraser Centre Complex utilizes a dense structure, where the varied program elements are manipulated by the structure and create a true interaction between the dynamic, and the ordered. The dense orthographic construction is contrasted against the inhabitable spaces of the building. Exterior and interior spaces, as well as circulation, are weaved through the structure. The structure provides the stage for the various design elements of the project."

"My first reaction to the given Fraser Centre program was a separation of the social spaces (cinema, retail, office) from the residential program. The facade became very important in developing my idea and physical structure. The main focus of my project was derived from this initial reaction, where I began to utilize the "skin" of the building as a means of interaction. As i developed my project, i deviated from the separation of public and private spaces, and focused on the relationship between a structure, and a space. The structure of the building became more than a physical necessity, it provided the necessary "rule" to an intricate series of layers and spaces. The density of the structure lends to infinite experiences, providing the infrastructure for public gathers, horizontal and vertical circulation, and program."

p.s. i couldn't remember what i needed to add to the link to keep the image from cropping on the right, so either i can repost these or you can check the images out on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/14908927@N06/

I like it. The ramps look really cool. What 3d modelling and rendering app did you use?

We were taught FormZ last year, so i'm pretty familiar with it and so i used it for this proejct. This is the most complicated model i've done so far, and the file got really big. I was also trying to do alot of interior lighting, and the renderings ended up taking 4 hours minimum. I think formz has alot of problems in that aspect, where lighting and reflections end up taking a huge amount of time to render. Now i'm trying to teach myself 3ds max, and i haven't really gotten anywhere with it yet, but hopefully i can get a nice model within the next two weeks before our next critique.

Anyway, i would appreciate if anyone else had any input, it really helped my design development for last crit. Thanks all

I think the one question I would have is how does this intervention, in its current form, tie to your original concept of "guerilla urbanism"... the resolution itself (both the representations in perspective and plan.. especially the more-or-less standard double loaded corridor up top) and the words you choose to describe it are highly formal.. quite excellent IMO, I should add, as a building, especially so given that you're a b.arch candidate (without taking a closer look at your board, this is easily M.Arch level quality work, IMO).. but nonetheless formal (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.. I'd live in your building, if I could afford it! :) ). But did you change the guerilla urbanism concept you talked about earlier (and its find if you did)? and if not, how does it still present itself in your drawings?

Yeah, i have since dropped the guerrilla architecture that i had started with. During the first week or so of design, my professor suggested designing a series of structures to be erected in an alley behind our given site, and i envisioned that off-shoot as small structures that could be built simply,quickly, and erected in a very simple/underground sort of way. Obviously, this did not apply to the mixed-use program that we were given (cinema/retail/office/residential).

I feel that the concept for a kind of "graffitti architecture" is strong, but it doesn't fit with this project, so i dropped it. I definitely want to investigate the idea further, perhaps as a design/build type project.

All in all, i agree that i typically approach my projects in a very formalist approach (the structure), and i think that this has worked well for me as a way of dividing the program/housing the circulation etc. But after remarks from the jury and my professor after the last critique, I am going to try to make small deviations from this orthogonal structure, particularly in the plaza/site development and skin system.

In that top perspective that i recently posted, i am now trying to connect the Cinema (which is perpendicular to the view, located at the bottom) with the retail and office (which is on the right of the image) so that it reads as a linear building with a bend in the middle.

The residential is located above the cinema, and reads as a separate part, but still has the same structure as the rest of the building. This is why the residential units are staggered.

and also, if anyone has any links to really interesting structures, vertically oriented, that would help alot. I've been looking at alot of Renzo Piano for the past two days and his details are great. Specifically I'm looking at different skin systems/ operable windows/passive cooling etc.

As i develop this i'm really trying to detail the structure and hammer that out. I'm focusing on a 3-dimensional, very dense structure (right now its based on an 8'x8'x16' grid) I'm using the dense structure so that i can vary the skin systems, and also use the space within the structure for circulation (horizontal and vertical) and mechanical systems (not unlike the Pompidou Center, but not quite to that extent)

do nice facade work on lots of tall buildings. Uses BIM for design/fabrication/installation streamlining.

Ken Yeang's new book, due out at the start of October but so far still not on the shelves, will detail some of his latest approaches to the sustainability aspects of tall buildings: natural vent, thermal massing, orientation...

does anyone have any examples of a vertical bow-truss? I remember seeing a recent project with bow-trusses on the exterior, supporting the facade but i can't seem to find it now. If anyone knows any projects like that, i would appreciate a link. thanks all

i just slept 18 hours after a crit i had yesterday and thought that i would post my boards up here. I've developed all of my plans, interiors etc. After the last critique i spent alot of time developing the structure and the skin systems.

My professors didn't give me too much constructive criticism, so i would appreciate any here. Thanks!

interior condo rendering (entry on second floor):


board 1:


board 2:

whats that grey thing blocking your stairway?

do you mean the stair on the plaza? the materials came out shitty for the plaza and site because i had alot of rendering problems and didn't get that one done till 30 minutes before my critique

no i mean the grey thing in front of your condo stairs. you have no circulation there.

umm i'm not sure that i understand where you're talking about, i have the main circulation tower ( you can see that in between the cinema and retail. This is the main entry for the condo and office spaces, and i have three elevators and a firestair in that structure (the stair is partly exposed above the third floor.

I have a firestair for the condos at the end of the cinema, and that is partly exposed below the third floor. I also have a firestair in the back that you can't see in any of the renderings.

the main rendering on board 1: the site is supposed to read as one color, with the dark grey area being a set of wide, shallow steps, to serve as a sort of exterior gathering space/plaza. The area outside of my building and site isn't supposed to be transparent, which may be confusing. This was all because of a lack of time for the renderings.

hope this helps

see interior condo rendering... there is a stair there. it descends to a grey blobby thing.

oh ok, i pulled the railing too far forward, the grey is a shade for the shower. The front of the condo, on the lower floor is the bathroom. I wanted everything in the condo to be dynamic, which is why the furniture is all curving etc.

so you don't have a plumbing stack?