table group in the works

PEEP!

library elevation

instructor's apartments

South facade elevation illustrating the application of Kalwall system

live/ work studios and apartments

tunnel framing plan

tunnels on 1st level, extending up to 2nd level
shown exposed and with library shelves/ gallery wall space attached

!st Level Restroom elevation

Last week was Mardi Gras and most of it was spent at the design firm I work for, NANO, preparing for the Higher Ground competition that Tulane School of Architecture and Architectural Record put on. Wow, that was time consuming. So, this week, after I could not look at another autocad command, I began to finalize some of the interior components and add them to elevations. The following images are of the GoGo chair(atleast that is its name for now), which is a conference chair. The bathrooms on the first floor are a very large component of the space considering the amount of wall space created by them, so they are receiving special attention and have taken an unusual form. The exterior shell of the restrooms will be plywood and aluminum. Skylights will be added for extra daylight. I also constructed a clay model of the skate ramp/ auditorium/ movement space that was very beneficial in figuring out proper scale and the construction of the final model.

The rooftop of The APEX building contains Das Garten,
a beer garden. In keeping with historical preservation
rules of Baton Rouge, nothing dramatic will protrude
over the edge of the building that a viewer would be
able to see from street level. But... considering the
fact the existing building has received so much damage
from previous owners that the historical preservation
society consideres it a hopeless cause, a dramatic,
colorful, modern, sculptural rooftop garden and bar
are in the works. 200 Lafayette St. may be viewed
perfectly when entering or exiting the city on the
Mississippi bridge, and there are many buildings that
are taller that the APEX that will allow for the rooftop
to gain center stage. The following image is a preliminary
roof plan.

The third and fourth floors are allotted to the
studio spaces for the APEX. Right now the
floorplan is still open. The 5th floor is the
live/ work studios. There are 4 studios
consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, "yard"
space, shared kitchen, and studio work space.
The design of these spaces must be flexible to
suit the needs of the individual artisit that
will occupy them. Lightweight walls on tracks
that may be opened to enlarge the community space
or closed to add privacy are being investigated.
Below are some schematic designs of these spaces.
Also below are the working plans for the
dormitories and instructor apartments that
occupy the 6th and 7th floors. 10 students and
3 instructors live on each floor. Part of the 6th
floor contains double height space and the
7th floor's floor will be partially translucent
to allow light from the rooftop skylights to
filter through.















5th Level Floorplan





















schematic live/work apartments





















most recent schematics of live/work apartment



















6th Level Floorplans

7th Level Detail

Floorplans of typical dorm rooms

The first and second floors of The APEX are
almost complete. The following images are
an overview of the plans to this date.The
angular shape dividing the APEX gallery is
a "tunnel" thats exterior becomes display
space on the 1st floor and library shelving
on the 2nd floor.

















1st Level Floorplan




























2nd Level Floorplan

This week was spent completing floor plans and working on schematic sketches of interior components. On Wednesday Jean Carter, the State Fire Marshall, came to campus and met with our class. We researched codes before he came to figure out our occupancy type and load. In doing so, many questions were formed and promptly answered by Mr. Carter. It was very beneficial to meet with him and hear first hand what sort of leniency is given in certain situations. Mr. Carter made codes seem like fun.
My most exciting project at the moment is designing a auditorium that is also a skate boarding ramp. What am I getting myself into? I am also working on a "tunnel" that forms display space for the art gallery with its exterior walls, and explores our five senses on the inside. I would like all features of the tunnel to be activated or created by the person/ persons walking through the tunnel. Any thoughts, ideas, knowlegde is needed. Please feel free.

The following image is the
new logo designed for the APEX

spaces within project

1. wood shop
2. metal shop
3. ceramics facilities
4. textiles facilities
5. computer faclities
-scanners, printers, copiers
6. small library
7. glass work facilities

8. a few small residential spaces for students
9. even fewer, but larger spaces for guest

10. skate park
11. rock climbing walls
12. rooftop net courts ( tennis/ badminton/ect.)
13.rooftop gardens
14.bowling

-places to gather should be worked into the other program requirements
-sporting facilities should take up as little space as possible due to the fact that they are not deliniated their own space, but the other requirements create spaces and surfaces for them. granted, some space must be given to the skatepark, but the negative space created by it should be able to be utilized by other needs ( maybe gathering spaces)

building

King Hotel

i need the height and square footage for my massive program. i will have to gut the entire interior. what about historical preservation codes? new windows?

committee

designer/ mentor- carrol mentioned someone who is a professional model builder. i need all of the help i can get in that area, well i guess every area

consultant- there ae two local indoor skating facilities that i hope will be willing to help me with ideas and the process of buliding a skatepark, hopefully some other good resources will become available

- i also feel that i will have many consultants that will simply be the users of the various types of facilities that i would like to incorporate. some of these will fall into the "faculty members" catagory, due to the number of art workshops on campus. some will be skaters, rock climbers, dmxer's ect.
i would like to video tape my interviews.

my father is the associate dean of business management at UNO, so i hope to use his brain in figuring out how this building will maintain itself.

condidering a focus

i am interested in model making as my focus. i believe that a tactile model is the best way to have people understand what you are trying to accomplish, especially when you must sell your design to many and try to make them donate to the cause. the new laser cutting machinery that the design department has acquired would be my main source of questions, and would require many hours of research and preparation, but i believe i will be able to produce a professional quality model, hopefully making it interactive, and making my project easy to understand.

this would allow me to continue my educaton in wood and metal working and my exploration into materials.

also, my interest in furniture design and custom fixtures and features would not suffer. i would be able to make models of all interior components, possibly enlarging certain pieces as independent models

identifying my perspective

1. personal design philosophy
- do not get sucked into trends, but always looking forward to what could happen, or will happen
- reading is more important than any skill that i have been taught in design school, we cannot design for this world, especially not in a forward thinking way, if we do not know what is happening right now or what has already happened in civilations before ours
-humanitarian design must not consist of the design of public spaces, but must always consider how that design, even if it is a small home (or inflatable bag) will influence and aid the now and future of human civilization along with the rest of life on this planet
-if you look at everything in a very large context, is what your doing that important?
-is your sweet new mobile pod home that is completely green and will disintigrate back into the earth leaving nothing behind at the touch of a button important to someone that can never afford it? no
-can you make it so that it is? yes, make it so that they can afford it
-designers must find a balance between making things asthetically wonderful and challenging each other to see what the extents of the built world are, and making sure that everyone has a place to live and a way to feed themselves
-we cannot feel ok about ourselves designing a chair when a homeless person walks by the storefront window it sits in and sees the $3000 price tag.
-but we cannot give up our ability and need to design on a level that awes and inspires.
as a designer i must not only help those that could give a flying frog about " good design,"
but also improve, stimulate, and impress those that expect nothing but good design.
Many people work their entire lives so that they can have a few years of relaxation and their children can have an easier life than they did. I owe it to them to design beautiful and touching spaces. And i owe to myself to design things that make me have a mental breakdown trying to figure out how its going to work and can then sit around with other designers and discuss it while drinking beer, because that is what makes me happy, damn it.
-what do we do? continue to learn, always involve ourself in some sort of education system, let that system not be about boundries and answers, but about questions

"...making and perserving fixed places that are the settings for the interaction of people and ideas over time..." -Robert A.M. Stern, dean, yale school of architecture

vision of independent study project

i would like to use this opportunity of time to investigate a facility that is all about education of art and design, while also providing areas for people to interact with each other on a physical level.
Physical activity is of utmost importance to the well being of people, and how are people to comment on society if they are so depressed because all they have done is sit at a desk, or stand behind a chop saw. No matter what someone wants to do with their lives, even if they get their dream job, it will become monotonous if nothing new comes into play.If there was a place where people can work in awesome facilities, while being provided various outlets to help bypass moments of boredom, exhaustion, blockage, rage,ect., i believe a interactive community could
evolve.

one problem with my dream place, is that it must fund its upkeep. The money to build the facility presumably could be raised and federally funded, but how will the buliding stay alive. A facility that is too expensive to be used by the people that need it is worthless. And if people have no money and want to learn a skill, they should be able to do that. Normally, i would say run to the government, but do we really want them to have the control, and besides, oh yeah, Louisiana has no money. so this will be an issue, probably my largest, since the word grouping " economically feasable" were the first out of my professor's mouth when i presented the idea.

Review of Influences

1.Based on all of the activities that occured this semester, asking me to briefly summerize topics that are relevant to me makes me stare blankly at the computer screen. So many issues seem not only of utmost importance, but also as of equal importance to each other. Finding a way for Louisiana to continue as a culturally rich state that might be improving its interest in urban areas and education, not only for the poor ( basically public education, b/c in BR if one can afford to send there kids to private school, they will) but also for the arts (Shaw Center for the arts, new State Museum, LASM, The River Center, ect.) has become one of the most critical problems I would like to be a part of solving. Funding in LA has been cut by millions, we are in debt in the billions.How are we to continue to improve our state when 1/6 of it has been wiped out, our number one money making city is losing its appeal to many, our oil industry has been hit. There is no money. Why would we spend money on education and the arts and new public facilities, when we can't even house everyone, and there is so much to replace? I would like to answer this and figure out what would be the best way to educate while making money and help to turn Baton Rouge into the capitol city it has never been. I LSU can be such a powerhouse in the BR community, why can't other facilities of learning and public gathering be just as influental on the new face of Baton Rouge.

One problem though, what about New Orleans. My only hope is that enough people love the big easy, that it will come back. If Baton Rouge improves itself, along with each other, and trasportation between the two continues to improve, they could be twin cities, feeding off of each other. A true symbiotic relationship.

2.experiences that have influenced the way my mind works and the ideals that i think i believe in this year

- life-long interest in art/design ( all types, painting, sculpture,architecture, engineering, dance, theater, graphic design and communication, illustration,textiles, especially quilting, video, music,even though 1/2 of these fall under each other) and a strong belief that without these things we might as only have our sense of taste ( and as long as there is still fried chicken, that might be ok)and i guess i would still want to be able to see all of the tremendous beauty that surrounds me everyday, but would i find it as beautiful if i had not experienced it through others words and images, i hope so, but probably not

- growing up in Baton Rouge while also spending 1/3 of my time each year on a farm where my family is from, having that balance between attending 2 of the most expensive private schools in BR and and all of the people and Catholic religion that comes along with it and visting my farm town of Mangham, LA ( population= 2000 and declining, almost everybody lives 5 acre x 200 acres apart, baptist, still have a black and a white homecoming king and queen, infuriatingly ignorant) has put quite a spin on things. I have experienced second/ first hand what a better education can do for someone. I am very lucky that my parents where not only intelligent enough to get the best education that they could have for themselves, but also sacrificed everything so that I could also aquire one (if only I could spell). People can be extremely happy only knowing their family and working with the land their entire lives, but without cities, not much would have changed since the beginning of mankind. The ability to live in close proximity with each other, having completely different backgrounds, and not rage into battle all the time is quite an achievement. We should celebrate that.

-attending design school has definitely influenced the way i view the world and my purpose in it.
It gives me a place. i still feel like an ant, but atleast i feel like i have a mission.

-working for a design firm that actually listens to what i have to say, even if it is just to disagree and teach me, and does not know the word apathy, has made me much more confident in speaking about what i feel or have questions about. also, figure things out for yourself.

one those clear realizations about yourself ( well myself, i am lazy and would rather ask somebody than investigate) One day I inquired to one of my bosses about the mechanics of a drawer. he silently and briskly walked over to a cabinet ( with a hint of aggrevation) and pulled the entire drawer out and handed it to me. I couldn't even be embarrassed. it is ok to ask questions once you have researched and need to know about experiences. standing on the shoulders of giants is not easy.

Teaching facilities include up- to- date production and post-production and presentation facilities for sound, video animation, graphic and film projects. Those include analog and digital video camcorders, analog and digital sound recording and editing equipment, animation workstations, 16 mm film camera, portable and studio lighting and small and large format video presentation equipment (see below). http://art20.art.utexas.edu/facilities.html

Express yourself! We’re Austin’s museum of art at The Art School —where you can tap into your inner artist in a wide array of classes for all ages. The Art School of the Austin Museum of Art is located on the 12-acre Lake Austin site of historic Laguna Gloria, a natural setting conducive to the creation of art. Our studios have direct access to the out-of-doors, and we encourage you to explore the grounds while working on class projects. Our goal is to foster your creativity, enhance your visual awareness, and improve your technical skills in your chosen medium. Our small classes increase your interactions with our credentialed and talented faculty members.

The Art School strives to maintain the highest standards of educational excellence, offering you the added bonus of experiencing changing exhibitions at two locations. The Friends of Laguna Gloria and Museum membership give you tuition discounts, preferential registration, invitations to openings, and other benefits. There are so many ways to enjoy The Art School and our campus at the beautiful Austin Museum of Art--Laguna Gloria. So whether you are a beginning student, a serious amateur, or a returning artist, we invite you to enroll.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-02-20/arts_string.html
These were going to transform the center of the city into a cultural wonderland: nine new or newly renovated museums, two new performing arts organization headquarters, one newly renovated theatre and one new theatre, and a center containing three performing arts spaces. What's more, almost all of them would be clustered within a couple of square miles in the heart of the city, and they would all be complete by the end of 2003.

Of course, that was then, this is now. The dot-coms and the prosperity they represented are long gone, and the cultural makeover of Austin is far from complete. Actually, almost half of the proposed projects are finished, and another one is under construction. But those success stories tend to get lost in the shadow of the more ambitious, higher profile projects that have stumbled along since the bust. The Long Center for the Performing Arts and Austin Museum of Art downtown facility were the two biggest projects and have suffered because of it. Ambitious designs inflated the original construction costs, and both got just beyond the halfway marks in their capital campaigns when fundraising stalled, ultimately leading both organizations to discard their architectural plans. What form these facilities will finally take and how long it will take them to be built can only be guessed at.

A cursory glance at the projects listed below shows that the ones which were finished were either among the smallest to be proposed or benefited from state money. The ones that are in limbo are the ambitious projects that counted on private money to fund construction. That suggests that Austin may be able to dream big about the arts but isn't yet able to generate the substantial financial support to see those big dreams through. Proponents of the boldest projects are now talking about scaling back their visions and building more modest facilities when or if they move forward with their plans. It's been a humbling lesson for our cultural community, and the lesson may not be finished yet.


Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown
In 1968, a group of eminent artists and writers, recognizing the need to support talented individuals at the outset of their careers, established the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Since that time the Center, whose founders include Robert Motherwell, Myron Stout, Jack Tworkov, Alan Dugan, and Stanley Kunitz, has provided housing and stipends to over 500 emerging artists from the United States and abroad.

The Center is unique in its focus on the crucial early years of an artistic career, offering Fellows an opportunity for investigation and growth in their chosen field. Each year eight writers and eight visual artists are offered seven-month residencies, including living and working space and a monthly stipend for expenses. In addition, two former Fellows from each group may be asked to return for a second and final year.
Reviewed by a jury of professionals, selection is based solely on the quality of work and the 'emerging artists' criteria. Past jurors include Luis Cruz Azaceta, Louise Bourgeois and Martin Puryear for visual arts and Michael Harper, Mark Strand and Grace Paley for writing.

Distinguished artists and writers visit the Center throughout the year, presenting readings and lectures to the public and working with the Fellows in informal workshops and consultations. Shankpainter, the Center's literary review, is published by the Fellows and provides a showcase for current and former residents, including work by visual artists. Fellows are in no way directed or supervised during their stay; both solitude and a diverse cultural community are available

Since the turn of the century, artists have found a cultural haven in Provincetown. The Work Center property plays a key role in that heritage. Before the Center acquired the site, artists such as Motherwell, Stout, Helen Frankenthaler and Hans Hofmann rented studio space on the grounds of what was then Days' Lumber Yard. Since purchasing the property in 1972, the Center has contributed to that history with such names as Louise Glück, Tama Janowitz, Denis Johnson, Michael Cunningham, Ellen Driscoll, Sam Messer, Jim Peters, and Paul Bowen.

The Fine Arts Work Center, founded in 1968, is a direct descendant of this rich cultural history. The Center is a nonprofit institution devoted to encouraging and supporting young artists and is built on the belief that freedom and community are the best means and natural conditions for artistic growth. The facilities of the Fine Arts Work Center have a unique and rich place in the history of modern American art and the Work Center Program carries on in this tradition.

Since 1968, the Fine Arts Work Center has worked to provide time and space for emerging artists and writers at critical moments in their creative development. Thanks to the help of countless friends and patrons, over the past few years we've strengthened our Winter Fellowship, Summer Workshop, and Fall Workshop Programs, each of which brings a diversity of emerging writers and artists to Provincetown to live and work.

There's still much more to be done. We're not able to complete our mission without your much-appreciated support. Donations by individuals make up 10% of the Work Center's overall operating costs and more than one third of the expenses for the Winter Fellowship program. Each Winter Fellowship costs more than $20,000 annually.

Visual Arts Fellows are provided with apartments and separate working studios of approximately 400 square feet of floor space. Additional facilities include a basic woodshop, a print shop with etching press, and a darkroom with basic equipment.