Week 3 is a wrap! This week we spent more time focusing on conceptual designs in small groups about specific elements of the project. We started thinking about the canopy, then moved on to think about signage and landscape ideas. Once we spent some time in our small groups, we came back together as a class to present and discuss what we came up with. 

 

The following day was about refining design ideas and using a SketchUp model of the courtyard and surrounding area to create what they envision the site may look like. We had a presentation from Mike and Nikki from Turner construction later that morning, where they discussed the importance of budgets within a project. There was an activity where students were asked to create a list of all of the elements needed to create a birdhouse, using the information given from the presentation. 

The next two days were work days to prepare for Friday’s presentation of the refined designs. Students worked on jamboards and got into details of what kind of materials will be used in the canopy, what signage options are best suited for the site’s location, and started to create 3D models, site plans, and physical models. On Thursday, Louis Fernandez, a practicing architect in New York, gave us a project walkthrough of one of the projects he is currently working on. He gave us an overview of the design process within the built environment, and showed us the various techniques used to construct large projects. 

Friday was very engaging and fun, the students were able to present their group’s final design ideas to Blackstone staff and students. There were lots of questions asked by Blackstone, and follow up questions were asked by the ACE students. One person from each group talked about group dynamics and the process of collaboration in order to come up with solutions to the site’s issues. Overall, the presentations went really well and we got lots of great feedback to reflect on as we move forward to solidifying a cohesive final design within the next week.