Block 3 "day 4 and day 5"

On the 4th day we had crits with Ctd lectures for our technology resolution.I got help on materials to use.
My design idea linked very well with my technology.My design idea was "Regenerative rooibos pop up shop".My technology was influencced by both the organic shape of rooibos and the diagrams of regenerating cells.

On day 5 I submitted my work we didn't do much but just submissions.I will post my model pictures after fetching my model.

Block 3 "2nd crit reflections"

Yesterday I had my second crit for my design.My design intent grew from just wanting to bring the health lifestyle to the people by using Rooibos products to Creating a regenetive pop up shop that will bring the community of Wappental to a better state.That I plan to archive in my by embracing what is already there which is Rooibos and selling it to tourists in order to bring the community into a better state by regenating the economy.

My crit was good becasue I was open minded to new ways of aproaching my design and what I enjoyed most is that I had crits from class mates who were as blunt as they could in criting me.To be honest I was personal there and there but I just learned humility through those crits because it was through humility that I was now able to accept their crits.With my forst idea I was told that my design does not have an order in it and there is no architectural language but just loose elements lying around.That made me realise that I have missed the jist of my brief the word pop up shop.

After my crit I was then able to come up with another idea that was influenced by my concept and thanks to the crit I had because if it was not for my crit I would have been stuck to my first design that does not work.

INSIGHTS

"Dont be preciouse with your design if you want growth in it"

"Humility is what you need to take a  crit constructive"

Block 3 "Reflection on the crit"

Today I had my crit on the design I came up with yesterday through the ais of the use of my cogs that were asking questions on function,ergonomics,activity,material and technology.Before give my crit reflections I would like to share the question and answers I went through as and aid to my design idea.


Cog:What will your pop-up shop be selling?

Me:For the purpose of respecting the site I would like to embrace the local products that are at the disposal in Wuppert community.In that said I simply mean i will be selling rooibos tea and other rooibos products like oinments and ect .Rooibos is not just tea ,but it is a healthy herb on it's own due to its high level of antioxidants such asaspalathin and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves. Rooibos also contains a number of phenolic compounds, including flavanols, flavones, flavanones, and dihydrochalcones.As much as we are under the name of designing sustainable structures and buildings I believe that is is crucial also that we endors healthy life functions because there is no use for a building to be sustainable while its inhabitants are not sustainaed in health.

Cog :What other products could the design of your pop-up shop accommodate?

Me:Arts and crafts

Cog :What are the other functional requirements of your pop-up shop? You can enter each requirement as a separate response.

Me:Mobilty:The structure would have to be a mobile demountable structure that is able to atrract peole more over the tousists.User friendly to assemble: The structure should be able to be built by local residents.Shelter: The structure should be able to provide shade due the fact that the community of Wuppert is in the hot regions of the Western Cape.Colour and Form : The colour and form of the structure should embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Cog:Are there any other functional requirements that you can think of?

Me:In my design I think by using technolgy that is able to move/slide i will be able give the expression of movement,and mobility in my design.I can design the structure to act as a land mark so as to attract tourists by putting a flag of rooibos that will wave up high.To evoke the sense of health counciense I can use coulors of nature like green and brown for the finish of my materials.

Cog:When you're asked about function during your crit, what ideas about your design would you like to highlight?

Me:The main I deas I can say my design seeks  to embrace the health benefits found from the rooiboss products,wherefor embracing not just sustainable design but sustainable living to the target market which is through healthy products that I will be selling in the pop up shop

Cog :And what can you do to prepare yourself to confidently discuss these ideas?

Me:History of the site.The benefits of rooibos and the range of rooibos products.Functional precedent study and Technology precedent study.

Cog:By going through this cog, what have you realised about the role functionality plays in design that you would like to share with your peers?

I realised that form that really forms follows function..."function is the mother of function".I also realised that function is an honest design generator that can lead to the safe solution of your design.

When design is driven by function a designer is most likely to come up with a sustainable design that will not just be a sustainable building/structure but sustanaible in function where by the design serve the function that will provide a solution to the community.

Function is problem solving...you cannot solve any design problrem without studying the functional requirements of your design.

Function is the root of your design intent

Form does not follow function...Function first then form.

When function is carefully thought design process is most likely to be safe

Function cannot be infuenced by form but by the activities that take place ...

Architecture is the design of function based spaces

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The Cog helped me  a lot in preparing me for my crit...however in my crit it i realized that my design intent still needs to be furnished and incorparate it in an architectural language...That is what I am working on now at the current moment.I still have to do research on tea shops and tea rituals in Japan.

Block 3- Pop up shop

Yesterday we went for our third block and it was nice to be in the varsity enviroment after a long time in the work place.We received a brief based on a a real project that needs to be designed.The brief is a proposal of a pop up shop that will attract tourists,create jobs and boost the economy of Wuppertal.The brief was brocken down very clear by our lecture.

The brief also provided us with the information of the history and the activities of the community of Wuppertal.Wuppertal is an I solated village in the Western Cape generraly known by its localy manufactured goods such as Rooibos tea,leather goods and arts and crafts.

So the problem here in community is that there are no innovative ways to generate income for the community,and that is what brings us in as architectural students to come with s design that will be the solution to the problem.

What we have to design as a solution to this problem is a pop up shop.Pop up shops are temporal shops that can move from to diffrent contexts.In this case we need to design a Pop up shop that is mobile enough to be pulled by two donkeys since donkies are a local transport in Wuppartal, or a structure that can be pulled by a person.That to me clearly emphesises on the fact that my structure should be a light weight demountable structure.

Here are examples of pop up shops...

Pop up shops can also be just and open space...I saw that in one of he videos I watched on youtube provided by my cog.This pop up shop uses the use of I phones to be able to buy the products .From the pictures I am convinced that your pop up shop should be designed to atrract people and it should be placed at the focal point of your context.

We were intoduced to cogs by our lecture.These cogs played a big role in the thinking and design process of the structure in terms of function, ergonomics, activity,materials, and construction. I got to realize that all these aspects go together in the design process.I enjoyed my first cog esxperience and I am now looking foward to meet my crits foe a way forwad in my design.

Architecture for humanity...

Greetings, :)

Design is what a creative people do in all design disciplines.I would like to dwell more on the side Architecture design.Architecture is about designing habitable spaces for "human kind".Human kind is everyone not just the rich and the elite in  the society.I am writing this blog as a plea to practicing Architects and student who are studying architecture.

Its time now that we take the projects that we at school to the communities out there who are in need of design solutions to solve their problems that they face in their everyday lives.I got to reason over this issue  today in the office when we were watching Ted talks on architecture by an architect by the name of Shiguru Ban.This architect uses paper to build real sustainable buildings.

Architecture is not complete without solving peoples problems not rich men's fantasies.

 

Life in the office..."indoor outdoor working"

For me my life in Revel Fox and Architects has been a blessing to be quite honest.In most offices all they want from you is to produce work an that's it.Even here that want me to produce work but it does only end there.They are concerned about my academics and my health at the same time.My superior by the name of Mark Meyer makes sure that I go to the site frequently so that I see what we design in the office in order for my construction knowledge to grow.Going to the site helps a lot in construction and detailing knowledge.Below are the pictures of the site from the previous weeks.

Ethos...

To frank honest with you I will architecture is a course that needs one to study and teach himself on his own because it is not only about drawing but there is a lot of philosophy involved in it,and each and every architect is driven by by a certain philosophy that influences his designs.The sad part is that most students don't take this in cognizance at their early years of their studies till they do their masters program.

In an architectural jargon philosophy is also called ethos which is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community,nation, or ideology.As an architect/architectural student it more than vital that you have an Ethos that influences your design.

The reason why I chose to speak about this matter is because of the fact that I have came to realize that we as architectural student have no knowledge of such,although in Studio work we are thought about precedent study but still the idea of an Ethos is like a video clip on Auto Cad.Having an Ethos at an early age of your career is crucial to us architectural students because this helps you to develop your Ethos as you grow in the architectural knowledge,and it also provides n opportunity for your Ethos to be scrutinized by the reality of what is happening around.

The reason why we have today buildings and spaces that are not human accommodating is because of the fact that a majority of the architects today are just designing without an Ethos that is human friendly but rather "alien infatuated minds ".I urge all my architectural fellows out there to start introspecting that which influences their designs.Remember we are not deigning for ourselves but for people.Our Ethos should have to do with creating a space that is human friendly and accommodating to everyone.

God bless you...