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ARCH 101 MIDTERM CORINA LO
ARCH 101 MIDTERM
CORINA LO
Iteration 1 Iteration 2
Iteration 1 Iteration 2
Strengths:
I put a lot of thought into making my iteration. I think
my iteration represented my idea well.
Weakness:
After I finished with making my iteration, I didn’t think I
learned much.
Challenges:
Stuck on what to use for items.
Discoveries:
I found out more of what my iteration could signify
after I observed the finished work. Learned that
assembling the cubes with hot glue gun is faster than
regular glue.
Design Applications for the Future:
Examine the meaning behind everything.
Strengths:
Stayed true to the initial idea. Made the top
perspective more interesting.
Weakness:
Kept the mostly the same design.
Challenges:
It was challenging to figure out how to improve
my previous iteration.
Discoveries:
After I saw some of my classmates’ second
iteration, I found that I could have done a better
job at reinterpreting my second iteration.
Design Applications for the Future:
Have more contrast in future designs to
emphasize.
NARRATIVE
I wanted my design to represent ideas. I made some of my cubes different
sizes to represent how some ideas can be similar and others different. I
wanted the biggest cube to be a frame to represent how people view ideas.
I put a cube in the center of the framed square represent solid, concrete
ideas. On top of that I placed a cube with planes that had slits. That
represented the formation of the ideas. It signified the flaws and the
accomplishments that came out of a developing ideas. The rest of the
cubes, I placed all around the frame and I positioned them to flow into the
center. I realized that my iteration could have two meanings. It could
represent how ideas can building on top of each other and end up creating
a conclusion. It could also mean that ideas are flowing out and creating a
multitude of possibilities.
Iteration 1 & 2 : Kit of Parts and Elevations
Strengths:
I was able to create a Kit of Parts. I was able to
draw perspective drawings.
Weakness:
Shading in drawings uneven. I put darker lines in
the distance.
Challenges:
Didn’t know how to use sketch-up, so I just drew.
Discoveries:
I found out how to do proper elevations.
Design Applications for the Future:
Kit of parts and elevations help so others can
recreate the iteration or a building.
Iteration 3
Iteration 3
Strengths:
It was fun to draw over my kit of parts with tracing paper. By tracing and drawing, I was able to
come up with a great design.
Weakness:
My new iteration was completely flat. It wasn’t dynamic. I focused too much on the design. My
design showed some of the desired results, but not all.
Challenges:
I had a hard time creating my actual iteration and I didn’t have enough time to make it like I
wanted to. I had difficulty putting the tiny pieces together and had to use a tweezer to hold it in
place while the glue dried.
Discoveries:
Brainstorming really helped me with ideas even though I didn’t use most of them. I found out that
using super glue was most effective in creating my iteration. Don’t spend too much time on
designing and making. Consider time I actually have so I get the things I want done in a timely
manner.
Design Applications for the Future:
Make designs more dynamic. The Kit of Parts really helps with designing the actual iteration.
Brainstorm if you don’t know what to do.
Iteration 4
Strengths:
Design was improved because I made it
dynamic. I was able to further develop my
narrative.
Weakness:
Didn’t apply proportions. Focused too much
on reinventing the design and making it more
dynamic.
Challenges:
One of my biggest challenge was changing
my iteration so that it would be more
dynamic.
Discoveries:
Consider different materials for my design.
Limitations can promote and focus your
design.
Exaggeration can help to express the
emotions that are felt through the designs.
Design Applications for the Future:
Figure out what your design will express.
NarrativeI think the most significant aspects of my design is the claw-
like structure. As people look at my design, I want them to
experience and see innovation, complexity and the dynamic/static
parts of my iteration. I want them to see the connections between my
narrative and my design. I still kept my idea about my iteration
representing the mind. The claw-like structure represents ideas and
information that are always flowing out and changing. As an
example, when you are younger, you might think that babies come
from storks, but as you grow older and learn the real reason, your
initial idea changes. It also represents how the mind is always
growing and learning new things every day. The key-like layer
expressed how the mind can be open or closed. I showed that by
making one side of the form to be completely open and the opposite
side closed. From the last class session, I wanted to show emphasis
and have contrast so my idea, so I had one part of my design to be
firm and the other to flow. Lastly, the wing-like aspect of my design
represents the thrust or lift of ideas. It signifies how ideas are
expressed and how they are brought out. I want viewers to wonder
how my design might represent or connect to themselves.
Iteration 5
Strengths:
I was able to find an interesting section in my previous iteration and I cropped it out and I
drew it. I then was able to draw out my kit of parts. I used proportions to enlarge my
iteration and then I formed space by reinterpreting my previous iteration.
Weakness:
I think I should have put more work into creating more spaces. I didn’t have time to
sketch out what I wanted, so I just went with whatever came to mind and tried what
looked interesting.
Challenges:
In the beginning, I had trouble figuring how I would reinterpret my iteration and I didn’t
plan things out.
Discoveries:
I found out that everything has the potential to be better. If you make a mistake on a
calculation, it can take up a lot of your time to figure out what’s wrong and fix it. Enlarging
the iteration made it easier to reconstruct.
Design Applications for the Future:
Extensions create space and exaggeration. Larger designs will need more detail.
Iteration 6
Strengths:
It has a lot of potential to become something
interesting. I made the section of my previous
iteration more interesting.
Weakness:
I didn’t spend much time on it. It didn’t have
much detail. I didn’t really like this iteration at all.
Challenges:
I couldn’t find an interesting blow up of my fifth
iteration at first.
Discoveries:
Space could be anywhere.
Design Applications for the Future:
Separate out time more efficiently.
Iteration 7 Iteration 8
Strengths:
The pictures that I picked have interesting
perspectives and they show the parts of the
previous iteration that I really wanted to
emphasize.
Weakness:
My design had symmetry. Keeping some
aspects of the design the same didn’t give a
lasting impression to the audience. I realized
that it is like music. If a whole piece is kept at
the same dynamic, it will be boring.
Challenges:
I had a design block and I just put it together.
Discoveries:
Symmetry is not as interesting.
Design Applications for the Future:
Don’t use symmetry for the whole design,
keep the eye moving and wonder about all the
different parts of the design and the parts that
are hidden.
Strengths:
I actually like my 8th iteration better
than my 7th because it didn’t have as
much symmetry.
Weakness:
Had no idea how to create iteration 8
and just put it together.
Challenges:
Same as Iteration 7
Discoveries:
Same as Iteration 7
Design Applications for the Future:
Same as Iteration 7
Iteration 9
Strengths:
My frame has structural integrity. The black wire mesh was used in order to emote a different
feeling that contrasts from my previous iterations that were all white.
Weakness:
I think I should have added some hierarchy of lines to emphasize and differentiate some parts
more than others. I think I should have considered using different types and sizes of wire.
Challenges:
I had no idea how I would attach the different parts of my iteration together. It was a bit difficult
to create my iteration because the wire is hard to maneuver and control.
Discoveries:
It is easier to connect the different pieces of the wire mesh together with the small wire parts
that stuck out. By creating a frame of my previous iteration and looking at my classmates’
frames, I was able to visually see where certain parts overlap. I realized that making frames can
show a multitude of different possibilities of where space and surfaces could be.
Design Applications for the Future:
Think about other ways to reinterpret things.
Iteration 10
Strengths:
I have some contrast with the surfaces and the frame. I think I put the
surfaces in the right places, because I wanted to have that feeling of reveal
and hide. I wanted my iteration’s surfaces to represent the way the mind is
dark and mysterious (electrical tape). I wanted to show how the mind is
reflective (foil) and how some ideas are developed, but not quite solid
(tracing paper).
Weakness:
Focused too much trying out different materials and wanting it to have
different transparencies. I focused too much on the material aspect and
didn’t pay attention to my initial idea. My materials clashed. I could have
made my iteration represent what I wanted it to much better. Parts of my
frame were sticking out without a purpose.
Challenges:
Didn’t know what material(s) to use and didn’t know who or where to put it.
Discoveries:
It is important for materials to be in unity.
Design Applications for the Future:
Contrast and balance is important in design. Everything in my design
should have a purpose.
Corina Lo
NATURE AND DESIGN
Ortega Library
3223 Ortega St.
The Ortega Library is LEED(Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Silver Certified.
It was designed by Appleton and Wolfard with the Bureau of Architecture’s Library Design
Studio.
It cost about $7.9 million to build and the building was finally reopened in 2011.
The building is seismically safe and the west side has windows so it can overlook the ocean.
LIVING ROOF
The living roof helps to regulate the building temperature. In the summer, it provides evaporative
cooling.
It helps to reduce energy consumption by insulate the building and filter the dust.
It also reduces the heat island effect and the glare.
The green roof minimizes the ambient and traffic sounds.
Interior
These pictures show how natural light is used in the interior.
In this picture, you can see what the building
looks like from a bird’s eye view.
© Bureau of
Architecture
Exterior
EAST SOUTH
WEST WEST
As you can see from these pictures, on the west, east, and south sides of
the building, there are overhangs to shade the interior from the sun.
The interior glass partitions help define and separate spaces.
© Bureau of
Architecture
The west part of the building has a clear view of the ocean.
The library building and the library’s entrance can now be
viewed from Ortega street.
© Bureau of
Architecture
Site: http://sfpl.org/pdf/blip/ortegadesign.pdf
© Bureau of
Architecture
Site: http://sfpl.org/pdf/about/commission/ortegappt.pdf
© Bureau of
Architecture
Site: http://sfpl.org/pdf/about/commission/ortegappt.pdf
Building Materials
Monterey Cypress timbers (from the South Bluff,
Presidio) used in benches
Native plants (seed from local watershed and grown
in the Presidio Native Plant Nursery)
Repurposed topsoil sand from local construction
excavation for dune sand
Petaluma dune screens are reused as fence posts
Oyster mulch from the site was reused along the
dunes
Cedar is reused for fencing
4 concrete walls used to separate the building
functions
Curly redwood taken from the Redwood Room Bar
at the Cliff House frames the entry of the lookout
Clerestory windows above the concrete walls reduce
the glare of the sun
Land Ends Lookout
680 Point Lobos AveThe Lands Ends Lookout is LEED Platinum Certified.
The lookout was designed by both the EHDD (Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis)
firm and the URFACEDESIGN INC (landscape architects).
The building cost $3.2 million and was finished in the spring of 2012.
Design Purpose• Designed to withstand harsh
conditions
• Designed to heat and cool the building
• Harnesses daylight with the roof’s
solar panels
• Harnesses prevailing winds by letting
it pass
underneath the building to
naturally cool it
• Design conserves energy, water, and
embodied
carbon
• Design withstands salt in the air
• Structure is naturally ventilated
The part of the building that faces the ocean has 14ft high floor-to-ceiling glass panels.
Solar panels help with the 32 percent of the building’s energy needs.
The LED lighting, controls and daylighting help to reduce the lighting energy by 70%.
80% of storm water is drained back into the site to replenish the existing spring.
Low-flow fixtures (toilets and urinals) produce annual water savings of 73,700 gallons.
The 2,940 feet of reclaimed redwood siding saves approximately 20 trees.
Building
Interior
Ceiling
Cardboard
Design
The interior takes advantage of the natural light.
EAST
Overhangs in the east to block some of the sun that enters the windows.
NORTH WEST
SOUTH
The floor to ceiling window are
placed on the west side of the
building to capture as much
natural light when the sun is
setting and as you can tell
concrete is what the whole
building is composed of to
withstand the harsh
environment.
Conclusion
I learned a lot from this first semester. It was a lot of fun
experiencing and working with my hand to create iterations, even
though some of them were failures. I like my classmates’ iterations
more than my own. I learned a lot by observing and taking notes on
their mistakes and successes. I was able to gain a lot of insight by
listening to everyone’s perspectives on the variety of pieces. I learned
a lot about the different vocabulary, time management, and the design
processes that will help me in the future. I think that doing this portfolio
really helped me to see the faults and the strengths in each iteration,
so I can do better work in the future. I have never really designed
anything before and this was a whole new experience for me. It was
really great that I was able create something that came from my own
mind and creativity.
