Design Process JournalMitch GruszFall 2011

Literature and the arts have always been seen as a form of relaxation, and a literary arts center should be a place of relaxation, a place of zen, a place to feel centered. This idea is what has inspired me in designing my literary arts center.

Table Of Contents

Introduction 1

Inspiration Board 2

8D: 8 alternatives in 9hrs 3

9D: charrette focusing uponsection/tectonics, and structure 6

Concept Drawings 7

10.1/.2D: Schematic design 8

Concept Brainstorming 10

10.3D: Midterm Reviews 11

13E: Daylight Strategies 14

14D: Midterm Design Reviews: Integration and explanation 15

15D:Chicago Sketches 18

17D: 1/4” Scale Model 21

18D: Animating the Sequence 22

19S: Perspective 23

20D: Composition and Circulation 24

20E: Thermal 25

21D: BUilding Envelope 26

22E: Daylight and Shading 27

Final Design Presentation 28

Appendix 29

This journal is to help show the process I have gone through while designing my literary arts center. Although I have a clear conecpt and idea now, it was not always like this. I have struggled through concept upon concept and idea upon idea to come to the point at which I am now and still my project continues to develop. It is my hope that this process journal along with the notes inside it will help to guide you threw what my complex process has been. In here you will find exercises that helped me form my concepts into a building; you will find model after model and drawings upon drawings that all help to communicate what I have been designing. I hope you enjoy what you see.

Inspiration Board

8D: 3 external considerations

In this building iteration the curving form of the building was informed by wind and its affect on the site.

This iteration was about building an envelope that creates solar shading for the the summer while leaving the building face open to daylight in the winter.

This building was raised off of ground to create a 24hr walkthrough as well as natural ventilation and passive cooling from wind current below.

For the first round of our design charrette iterations we were to, as a group, build three different building designs taking into consideration external factors.

8D: 3 inside/outside

For the first design I found that the building could be raised up off the ground on top of “inside” spaces left open to the outside.

In this iteration I was testing out an idea of a wall with a hinge system that could be opened up for ventilation and daylight, seen here as the right wall.

This idea was about having this space which was covered and felt inside while at the same time was open to the elements and felt like an outside space.

For the second round of our design charrette iterations we were to, as individuals, design three spaces that blurred the boundry between inside and outside.

8D: 2 collaged spacesFor the third round of our design charrette iterations we were to, as individuals, create two collages; one collage in section view and one collage in perspective view.

For the sectional collage I chose to seperate the spaces with a hierarchy of larger public spaces on the ground floor and more private spaces on the second floor while also exploring the effect of different window aperatures on the spaces.

For the perspective collage I tried to focus more on creating a flow and layout of the building by arraning various cutouts in a certain spatial order; similar to a branching system with a central hallway or stem.

9D:Charette focusing upon section/tectonics and structureFor the second charrette design we were to focus on designing one cohesive building from what we had learned from our previous charrette designs. The building I designed was raised up off the ground with cantilever patios acting as forms of shading to the areas below them. Floorplans for this designed can be seen to the left and below.

An exterior perspective of this building is shown in the above pen handrawing, while a sectional view of this building is shown below as a pen handrawing.

Concept Drawings

My concepts in the early stages of design were influenced strongly by the wind and aerodynamics seen in my first sheet of concept ideas above.

The text and diagrams shown above are statements of what the concept was at this stage in the design and what factors from the site were considered important.

The design to the right and below was an idea meant to address the height difference in the adjacent buildings as well as having a swooping form influenced by the wind and burnett woods.

10.1 Urban Context

As can be seen in the south elevation to the left, my building’s heights and proportions were influenced by the adjecent buildings.

Looking at the north elevation to the left, one can see how the individual prism like shapes on top of the building reach up to the height of the building on the right.

In assignment 10.1 we were to see how our most up to date building design fit into the urban context of the current buildings at the site as it is now. We explored this through south and north elevations of the site.

10.2 Schematic Design

For this stage in the deisgn process I did schematic plan drawings of my building design thus far which can be seen to the right. I also built a new model for my concept which can be seen in the site model below in plan, perspective elevation, and exterior perspective respectively.

Concept and Form Brainstorm

In trying to come up with a new concept or idea for my building I developed a grid system to see how it could inform my building. The drawings to the left and models seen above are a result out this grid.

The pen drawings seen above take this grid system into another direction by making units that become either occupiable or unoccupiable. These iterations then led me to the centralized layout seen belw in pen.

10.3D: Midterm Reviews

Taking this new layout seen here in the top left as inspiration I created a new building that focused on a central garden and zen space. This central space is defined by the buildings on the ground floor while this same central space is reinforced by the the building on the second level. This is exemplified in the plan view of the chipboard model seen in the lower right. Diagramatic floor plans are seen below showing the usage of different areas of the building, and an exterior perspetive of the chipboard model is seen to the right.

10.3D: Midterm Reviews

The photo below is of the building in the site model as seen from someone traveling down Clifton ave.

The photo below is taken from the view of someone about to walk through the 24hr walkway on the Ludlow ave side.

The photo below is of the building in the site model as seen from Hosea ave.

The photo below is of the building in the site model as seen from an overhead perspective from Hosea ave.

There seems to be a disconnect however because these plans seem to show no relation to the buildings concept.

10.3D: Midterm Reviews

The basic rendering seen above is of the front facade of the building as seen from Clifton ave.

Below is a rendering of the central zen garden as seen from inside the builing.

The rendering to the right is an overhead view from the southeast side looking down and towards the northwest side.

The rendering seen below is a pedestrians view from Ludlow ave. looking throught the 24 hr walkway to Hosea ave.

13E: Daylight StrategiesIn this part of the design process we did different studies on daylight and apertures and their affect on a selected space. The sketches and diagrams to the right as well as the diagrams to the lower right show how the space being tested received different amounts of light in the space when there were clerestories present and when they were not present; this is shown at different times of year.

To the left is a plan view shown where the light would be coming from at different times of year.

In the lower left the materials to be considered are frosted glass, regular glass, and stainless steel mulings.

14D: Midterm Design ReviewsIntegration and ExplanationAfter having my midterm design review I

realized my building wasnt communicating my concept as I wanted it to. The space of zen designed around a center courtyard wasn’t being brought through the building and that is what affected my choice to bring me to what I have currently.

The drawings and sketches at the bottom of the paper on the left show the beginnings on what is shown in the the large paper below. The paper to the right communicates that this layout must have some sort of build up to this central space or this rippling out of a zen calmness throughout the building. This is what helped me bridge the gap between my building design and my concept.

14D: Midterm Design ReviewsIntegration and Explanation

The three photos on the left are of the chipboard model created to express my new building design seen in south elevation, plan, and exterior perspectives views respectively. This model has a tiered roof that expresses the inside design of the building.

The three photos on the right express the same building design as the ones on the left except the models on the right have a tiered roof that is also angled. There are three exterior perspectives all taking from the Ludow ave. side.

14D: Midterm Design ReviewsIntegration and Explanation

The floorplans for this new building design are seen above and to the right with general room usuage assigned. The section cut view to the left helps to show how there are actually three floors, one of which is halfway between the other two. This section also helps to show the circulation of the building and how it might work.

15D: Chicago SketchesExterior Space

While on our trip to Chicago we were to do six sketches of various kinds. The first type of sketch to do was exterior spaces. The space shown below is of a groin vault just outside the cathedral at the University of Chicago and was done with charcoal. The space shown on the right is of the structure featured at the roofless church which was done with charcoal of another color.

15D: Chicago SketchesExterior Detail

For the second round of sketches we were to show exterior detail. The sketch below was done at Cranbrook University in Michigan. This sketch was also done with charcoal (I am beginning to see a pattern here).

The charcoal sketch above was also done at Cranbrook University of a small building detail or ornament to a building. The tiered or stepping was a constant theme noticed more and more as we walked around Cranbrook.

15D: Chicago SketchesInterior

For the third round of sketches we had to sketch interior spaces. In the sketch above I used different colored charcoals to help express the cathedral at the University of Chicago which featured a lot of wood used by the back choir and many large windows to let in daylight.

The space shown below was in my favorite building we went to while in Chicago, the Rookery. This building had an amazing central room seen here below with a large open central stairway that I attempted to communicate through charcoal.

17D: 1/4” Scale Models

Original 1/4” scale model

Original 1/4” scale model

Final 1/4” scale model

18D: Animating the Sequence

Perspective heading down the 24-hr walkway from the south side of the building.

Perspective inside the courtyard and 24-hr walkway looking into the east half of my building.

Perspective from the 2nd floor, looking down into the courtyard and reading ares below.

Perspective from the 2nd floor looking down onto the 24-hr walkway.

19S: Perspective

For my 1st hand rendering I chose to use water colors and focused on the courtyard space in my building.

For my 2nd hand rendering I decided to use colored pencils and again, I focused on the courtyard space in my building, except this time I decided to look at the space from the 24-hr walkway so as to get a more all encompassing view.

I also decided to do a Revit rendering which can be seen below looking into the courtyard from the east half of the 1st floor

20D: Composition and Circulation

After doing my circulation study I had to rearrange and expand some things but the up to date version of my plans are seen with children above and to the left. To the right you will find the 2 exit doors and exit strategies shown in red as well as the accessibilty shown in blue.

20E: Thermal

South Facade

North Facade

Roof

Thermal AnalysisAfter doing the thermal analysis of the south and north facade of the building it is clear that the solar load in BTUs is going to be large and will have a great effect on the choices of window aperature placement in the design. After doing the roof analysis it is clear that in the cincinnati area a skylight is a huge energy risk to take. The amount of energy needed to keep the spaces below from overheating would be too immense in designing an energy efficient building. The pictures on the left show the south facade, north facade, and roof, respectively and where the window aperatures were placed for this thermal study. Below is the graph and corresponding chart of the solar BTUs for the south and north facade as well as the roof throughout the day on June 14th.

The two diagrams below show the solar insolation affect with and without shading. After performing an insolation analysis of the south facade of the building without shading it is clear that this is a situation where some sort of shading is the only solution to the intense amount of solar BTUs flooding this facade’s window. After adding in a shading overhang and re-running the insolation analysis it is clear that even a small amount of shading added can make a large reduction in the solar BTUs on the window aperature. The shading incorporated into the design not only reduces energy costs but also adds more dynamics to the facade of the building.

Insolation Analysis

Without Shading

With Shading

Eco-Tect Thermal AnalysisMitch Grusz

Solar Loads

21D: Building Envelope

Precedent

Front

Back

Front

Back

Stone Facade Glass FacadeWall Section

22E: Daylight and Shading

After doing various shadowbox studies as well as shading analysis on the aperature it was easy for me to determine how my building would react to these issues. Although the lighting affects of a opaque surface are nice I decided the look of the tranperant window to be better.

Final Design Presentation

My final design poster can be seen to the left.

1/8”=1’ Scaled Massing Model

1/4”=1’ Scaled Model

1/4” Model Interior Vew

Appendix: Both the Site Analysis book and the Program book are attached to this document. Thank You.