SketchyGrid» SketchyGrid

Interconnected Loops: Part 2

morrow.liam — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:02:44 +0000

This is the final product of our interconnected wall experiment, minus the interconnecting bit. Due to time and access to the router this was the most that could be completed. The process after it was cut on the router involved many layers and was very time-consuming. The piece was cut twice, the front and back, these portions were glued together to achieve a two-sided form. It was necessary to cut out the holes by hand and then sand smooth, for a clean finish. Any notches or uneven edges were spackled, sanded, and then a final coat of paint was applied. It was framed with pine 1×4 and trim, the whole frame was stained and a final coat of polyurethane was applied.

Evolo Competition:Site Selection

morrow.liam — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:32:27 +0000

Work has grinded to a halt as everyone prepares for school, many of us have gone traveling. Our group had one more meeting in the time between this post and last. I regrettably was not able to make it. A slight problem arose when a team member added another without consulting the group. So as a very large team at eleven, we are an even larger team at twelve. Even with this expansion to our already bloated roster, we have been unable to decide on much or even get much done. We have managed to accomplish a few tasks that were set, mainly the site.

What has been accomplished is the selection of the majority of the site. We chose a very large site, the water front, and plan to use this size to our advantage. It will enable us to create a whole new circulation and program for the city. A few other sites have been suggested throughout the city as possible outlier building sites, smaller extension of our main site. The waterfront is the best possible opportunity to change how people think of this city. From the very beginning our team has wanted to take what is already in Detroit and “make it work”. By choosing the waterfront it may be possible to explore one of those early goals, the auto industry.

The picture at the top of the post may be confusing to many, it was part of a conversation I was having with a few other team members. The conversation centered around “Green Architecture”, as of this moment the group believes green architecture to be plopping giant turbines in Detroit. I still hold to the position that while that may be green, that is not architecture. Like many other conversations this eventually came to nothing, I’m starting to worry about what this group is going to create.

The Evolo Competition Begins

morrow.liam — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:58:39 +0000

Last Sunday at approximately 4 PM, myself and 10 other dedicated individuals met in order to determine the beginnings of what will become our entry into this year’s Evolo competition. For those of you that don’t know the Evolo Competition is an intense urban design/cultural discussion project. The first order of business was to discuss where exactly we would be working from, we needed a site. There were several very interesting alternative presented that included New Orleans, Newark, and New York. Ultimately, however we decided upon Detroit for several reasons, the most prominent being that it had an obvious problem that needs fixing. Our position as it stands will focus around the Ambassador Bridge and the high unemployment rate.

The meetinge minutes were recorded:

7/19/09, 4:30pm

eVolo Design Competition:
- backlash against the typical skyscraper
- aesthetic and intellectual stimulation
- how skyscraper design can improve local life
- redefine skyscraper
– what you say is more important than what you build.

Detroit
- building to jump-start local economy long-term, auto industry, and abandoned neighborhoods
- Liam to provide overview research, to be continued by each team member for a week, then research further in specialized research teams
- specialized research teams:

crime - Group 1
transportation - Group 2
economy - Group 3
history - Group 4
geography – Group 5

As per the minutes we have all been split into groups of specific research. There were also several articles distributed that should bring everyone up to speed on the general area. While the beginning may seem tedious and unexciting, eventually this research will aid in the construction of a conceptual system for making decisions in the design process.