Design Methods + Approaches - Journal 1

ABPL90236 Design Approaches & Methods - Semester 1 - 2018 Subject Coordinator: Gregory Missingham Tutor: Stephanie Liddicoat

Interim Submission - Journal for Weeks 1 and 2 David Gerber - 774234

February 28, 2018 - Lecture Why take this subject? Something that always gets asked at the beginning of each semester. Generally speaking, I undertake subjects because they are either core subjects, or because I think I will enjoy it (usually easy or due to comfort zone).

The reason behind taking this subject was because I have noticed that as I progressed through university, I felt as though I have started to become institutionalized, and my creative ability has slowly diminished. A large part of this is due to the fact that university is very expensive and time-consuming. As an international student, I need to pick and choose carefully to both get the most out of my degree, while also playing it safe. Due to this dilemma, I have found myself slowly starting to design in order to cater to the tutors suggestions (they are the ones marking me), and less focus on my creative process and ideation.

What I hope to gain from this subject is the clarity and motivation to get those creative juices flowing once again, and in a way that suits both myself and my tutors. I also want to challenge myself to think differently, and simultaneously, learn from others.

EXERCISE: Design exercise: - A house.

- A garden or farm.

- A city.

5 minute time limit.

INITIAL THOUGHTS:

Panic (time constraint) Which option?

Cut off before finishing (frustration due to being a perfectionist).

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METHODS: - Drew in plan view

- How much of our design process is dictated by previous experiences or subconscious events?

- Why do I start drawing in plan view? Why not 3D/Axo? - I believe it has to do with my use of CAD at work and Rhino for university projects.

- First thing I think of is plan and then extruding volumes.

THINGS TO CONSIDER: - Approaches to design.

- What is the topography?

- Client wants/budget?

- Materiality?

- When initially designing I do not take these into consideration.

They seem to be an afterthought down the road in the design stages.

- Could this be a new way of designing from the start in order to save time further down the road?

APPROACH: - Right away think of my dream house.

- Happens to be of similar design to my parents house (I designed their house, so it makes sense). I think it was subconscious because I was only made aware of this fact once Greg asked if it was our mothers house that we just designed.

“Don’t work against your own grain” “Either progress or polish”

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February 28, 2018 - Lecture

EXERCISE: GKM exercise: - Approaches?

- Methods?

APPROACHES:

METHODS:

- Geometric forms.

- Circles, Grid, Quadrilaterals.

- Response to Topography/context.

- Opening for tree, high point of land.

- Clients demands.

- Designed according to clients needs/wants.

- Views.

- Positioned rooms to take advantage of views.

I found the home exercise more eye-opening due to the fact that I have never sat back and wondered why I design the way I do. I just do, I don’t take the time to sit back and reflect why I’m doing what. This is the first time I have actually thought about my design process and it started making me think back to previous studios and why I designed the way I did.

The GKM exercise, personally, wasn’t as impactful. I found it useful when Greg spoke about his designs and why he did what, but I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint design elements such as client demands and an opening for the tree had I not been told. I found the methods Greg used extremely insightful and something that I should consider when designing.

The GKM exercise made me realize that I tend to look at designs on the surface and take them at face value and don’t really dig deep into what the design intents are. I’m not sure if this is due to lack of experience or lack of skillful observation.

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MY SIMILAR DESIGN APPROACH/METHOD: - Grid System - Based on study of Peter Eisenman.

- Opening for trees, responding to river proximity.

- Designed according to clients needs/wants.

- Positioned rooms to take advantage of views.

This was a project for Studio: Water. This was the first time I was exposed to the grid system way of designing. Looking back on all my previous studios, I have yet to use this system again even though I spent 12 weeks learning about it in my first studio. I’m not sure why I haven’t utilized it as I found it very beneficial back then, but I have also completely forgot about it until Greg brought it up as a design approach that he used.

Since I have a memory of a goldfish, I need to start keeping track of the way I design better and really dig deep into why I do certain things along the way, what was/wasn’t beneficial of that design approach, and what I liked/disliked.

This subject has really opened my eyes to the fact that I do my final presentation and then put the learned experiences in the back of my mind and don’t dig them up again. Every new project is literally starting a blank page and I start doing precedent research again. A bit of a viscous cycle now that I think about it.

I now realize the power of dissecting previous projects and creating a memory bank of my design techniques. Also wanted to note how I find the discussion of approaches and methods that other designers use, very beneficial. The sharing of knowledge is crucial and one way that I find helps me expand my mind and creativity.

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March 5, 2018 - Workshop

ANE

016

hitecture

INSTRUCTORS Lecturer/Coordinator: Alex Selenitsch Tutor: Dennis Prior

Studio

Studio Leader

Outcome

Studio A

Alex Selenitsch Dennis Prior

I thought I did well, but didn’t

Best Element

Design Attempt

BRIEF Construct a work-live home for a client with the use of point-line-plane guiding your design.

Site: Corner of Nicholson St and Park St

Learning new designing techniques Getting to make models to experiment new designs

I was trying to incorporate new ideas learned in the studio and make it into a real building.

Worst Element Focusing on the end product and trying to work backwards to post-justify why I did certain design moves.

My designs ended up being “too real” and not experimental enough.

Design Process 1. Try to dissect the tectonic word

2. Scavenge Pinterest

3. Brainstorm how to incorporate precedents into tectonic word

6. Deliver final presentation

5. Final design outcome

4. Test design through live models and Rhino models

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Studio

Studio Leader

Outcome

Worst Element

Studio B

Dennis Prior

Did well

Best Element

Design Attempt

Too conceptual and not real enough (wouldn’t stand up, or require too much to make it stand up)

Learning the internal workings of residential apartments.

Incorporate the precedent designs into our residential project on a real site, with real constraints.

Learning from multiple precedents and applying our favourites into our final design outcome

Design Process 1. Learn/Dissect Precedents

2. Context research

3. Design Esquisse

6. Deliver final presentation

5. Final design outcome

4. Concept design / work out floorplans 06

March 5, 2018 - Workshop

Studio

Studio Leader

Outcome

Worst Element

Studio D Deliberation in Guangzhou

Hing-wah Chau Greg Missingham

Did well

Best Element

Design Attempt

Very rushed due to language barrier, time limit in China, and the client, developer, and government wanting different types of design outcomes.

Learning in a real-world environment, on a real project.

Incorporate the wants of the client, developer, and government into a coherent and working masterplan.

Learning a different type of architecture/culture that I would not be exposed to otherwise.

Develop that scheme further and into a more micro scale.

Design Process 1. Learn cultural elements, and undertake precedent research,

6. Build upon work from China and dive into micro level.

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2. Context research, site analysis, rough masterplan, environmental analysis

5. Present final design outcome to client and firm.

3. Present preliminary studies and designs.

4. Concept design/finish masterplan.

THOUGHTS AFTER HOMEWORK: Studio A Outcome.

- Why was I not able to be conceptual enough for the studio?

- Was it a big adjustment and I was trying to be “right” rather than testing and experimenting?

- Perhaps I did not fully grasp the concepts? What more could I have done to understand better?

- What can I learn from this studio to bring forward?

- There is no such thing as “wrong” - Push the limits and experiment. Experimentation leads to unique results. Every “failure” is a lesson.

- Did undergrad take away my creativity and make me too practical thinking?

- Was always a matter of “right” and “wrong”. Could that have been holding back my experimentation?

- Did the precedents hinder my creativity??

- Perhaps I relied too much on precedents because I did not fully grasp the concepts?

Studio B Outcome.

- Why was I able to let go of my practicality this studio?

- Studio was based on designing based on precedents, more focus was on that than practicality.

- What can I learn from this studio to bring forward?

- New design approaches learned from precedent studies of famous buildings.

- Should I have also focused on making the building actually work too?

- I think this may have hindered my experimentation of different techniques, but with more time, I don’t see why I couldn’t make it work with minor tweaks.

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March 5, 2018 - Workshop THOUGHTS AFTER HOMEWORK: Studio D Outcome.

- If I had more time, would I have been able to create a design that wasn’t just a faux facade?

- The client, developer, and government wanted different things, how could I incorporate everyones wants?

- Perhaps more research into Chinese culture and architecture could’ve aided in my final product?

- Architecture firm wanted help with the masterplan more than the individual building designs.

- Where did the disconnect between the interior design being cultural, and the exterior being slapped on, occur?

- I mimicked interior dimensions from the architecture firms’ designs, how does the outside get wrapped?

- Too much time was spent on the plans in order to be by code and work, not enough time on exterior design.

- Did I not learn enough about the cultural design?

- Dove into ancient Chinese architecture, but has China started to implement Western influences instead?

- Did the miscommunication between client/developer/government make for a difficult creative environment?

House Exercise #2.

What did I learn today?

- Got to finish the first house exercise.

- The studios I chose really dictate my approach and my final outcome.

- Tutors have different approaches.

- Briefs warrant different methods.

- Experimented with different views/ approaches in order to develop design.

- Realized that I’ve become too dependent on Rhino to transfer the ideas in my head into realization.

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- I rely too heavily on precedents.

- I need to sketch/explore more in the initial phases of the design process.

March 7, 2018 - Lecture

Key Take-Aways: - 3 Scales: - Concepts - Drive design.

- Approaches - What you want to achieve.

- Methods - How you will achieve them.

- “Designers are driven not by their knowledge, but by their curiosity.”

- I’m not sure I 100% agree with that statement. I believe knowledge in your field is crucial in design. Yes, curiosity may be a crucial element, but I think the two go hand-in-hand with one another.

- Your curiosity for knowledge and solutions, drives design.

- Plowrights 3 Frames + 1 - Patterns (2D, 3D) - Ratios - An interesting way to make subconsciously aesthetically pleasing architecture.

- Resolution of Forces - Resolving problems (environmental, people, etc.)

- As I have gained the knowledge over the last year or so, I have began designing with environment and people in mind. This is an area I am passionate in, and now have the ability to implement it into my design process and final outcomes.

- Forms + Space + Materials = Architecture

Ideas/ Concepts

Context

Precedent

Program

Process

Fabric

- Frames + Approaches + Conjectures = Ideas

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March 7, 2018 - Lecture REFLECTIONS/THINGS I NEED TO IMPLEMENT: - Managing Ideas.

- Create a Brainbank.

- Pictures of ideas, sketches, etc.

- Similar concept to what I thought about last workshop when I realized I forget about my previous designs - Capture your Idea Birds.

- Write down ideas as you get them, otherwise they will fly away!

- Keep an Idea Log. - Date your ideas so you can go back and re-use ideas.

- Also helps you remember.

- Set an Idea Quota.

- Think of 5 difficult ideas per day.

- Active Analysis and Thinking.

- Feed Your Head.

- Movies, read, talk to people, analysis of designs.

- Content Analysis.

- Critical of why you designed that way.

- Think Fluently.

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- Brain Management.

- Be a Travel Junkie.

- Provokes your brain.

- I love traveling because of the new experiences, cultures, architecture, and lifestyles that you are exposed to, and can learn from.

- Don’t Be a Duke of Habit.

- Change up your way of designing.

- Analyze -> Synthesis -> Evaluate -> Repeat - Reflective Thinking.

- Thinking About Your Task.

- Thinking About Your Design Strategy and Tasks.

- Thinking About Your Own Design Thinking.

- Ideas, Concepts, and Design Conjectures.

- Showing the Extremes to a Client.

- Diagramming the Big Idea.

- What Do You Add to Every Design.

- Maybe subconscious, but makes it your own?

I found todays lecture EXACTLY what I was looking for when I originally signed up for the subject. It has given me the confidence, a clear path, and the know-how of how to turn my creativity switch back on.

I especially loved the bit where Greg and Alex spoke about ways to support creativity. I found it extremely useful. It seems like common knowledge once you know it, but I feel as though as a designer I get worked up at the start of the designing phase and don’t have a clear path to follow. These tips and tricks will be crucial going forward in my education and career.

The lecture itself was a bit full-on, as there was an enormous breadth of knowledge being presented to us. It is definitely a lecture to go back and re-read a few times. I have read it 3 times already, but I think it will have to be used as a source, rather than something you try and memorize to implement.

Presently, this subject has gone above and beyond what I thought I would learn.

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