This is my last week working on my genius hour project, but technically I still have another week or so to make and present the finished product. I got a couple more responses to my final home design, reviewed the work I've done, and began my presentation.
I'm very glad that I was able to improve my layout skills. I realized that this is something that I do want to do for my career. I also recognize that I will be able to improve my skills greatly when I start college for architecture. I've decided that I want to either go to Appalachian State or UNC. They both have very good architecture programs. I want to go for 5 years too to get my masters degree. I would love to do this project again and build off of what I started or start something new that I want to try. Genius Hour was very much worth it.
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For my second to last week I got ratings on my final home. I had to make a form asking people what they rated my overall style from 1-5 and what they rated my room layout from 1-5. There was option for feedback too. I want to try to continue this into next week too so I can get more information opinions.
I mostly got a 5 rating on both the layout and style. Each had four ratings for four. I was hoping for more in depth responses but I understand that most people have no idea what to say about architecture. This isn't enough information for me to get a good understanding of people's opinions, but I do have an idea. My style is a bit odd so it would attract more people who enjoy these slightly strange ideas. I'm both ready and not ready for this project to end. I'm genuinely enjoying this and I might continue with it on my own. I'm ready for the end of it though because I have gotten to where I wanted to be in the beginning. Time is truly flying by. I feel like I started only five weeks ago; now it's week ten. I don't feel defeated though. I actually have a sense that I'm doing better than I thought I would. I didn't want to set any high expectations for myself in the beginning because it doesn't help me to do so. I feel that I've improved the best on room layouts and, my main goal, a personal style. This project is coming together and the ends are tying up neatly.
Last week I made the layout for my final house on paper. I gave myself the entire week to focus on that instead of doing both the layout and putting it on the computer. This week I have began to put it on to the computer. The process is much slower than drawing because of the measurements that need to be put in. I'm finished with the walls but I'm going to finish the house over week ten. By finishing it I mean that I will add colors/textures to walls and floors and do windows and possibly some furniture. It's not easy to design houses with the correct measurements when it has many curves; so I struggled a bit. But, I'm getting very comfortable with using Sweet Home 3D now so it does make the process much faster than it was. Even though it's not perfect, it's exactly what I wanted. I feel very successful in my project. I've hit all my checkpoints and I feel like I'm getting somewhere with my own style. I wish I could have the exact and best personal style possible by the end of this, but that's something that takes a whole lot of time.
Until next week! I'm nearing the end of my Genius Hour project but I am feeling confident about what has been done so far. I feel almost ahead of time with everything; so for my last four weeks I'm going to take the process slower. I feel much more comfortable with making layouts on paper now. I had never done it before and there are so many more things that I now take into consideration. I went straight into designing these houses without restrictions. You do have to get out of your comfort zone to make something that even you say wow to. This week I started my final house. I'm loving the idea of modern with a natural twist so that's exactly what I did. starting of this layout was much harder than the last three because I was trying my best to do something new for myself. Once I started going though, it came out naturally. I figured that if you make a base shape, like a square or rectangle, you can work off of that easier. Making a base or plan always help any process. Next week I will begin designing it on Sweet Home 3D. I'm glad the app allows for curved walls because I'd be in for a real struggle if that weren't the case. I also want to gets polls from people at my school and teachers about how they feel about all my builds once I'm done with this last one. This has by far been the most difficult week for my project. It's all about my own ideas and concepts this time so all I can go off of is inspiration. Since i want to have my own style by the end of this project, I wanted to try out modern but natural designs and layouts. I came up with three Earth-friendly ideas and made quite an interesting house. My first idea was a wall that doubled as a roof and window. The concept is to have a lot of natural light while also maintaining a modern aesthetic. The second item I had in mind was a pillar that looks and has the texture of a tree trunk but is painted white, or any other contemporary color. My final concept is part of roof/ceiling that is a window and solar panel. Solar panel windows are very new and not wide spread nor perfected; they serve a great purpose though. The idea is to have these windows on the roof so you don't have to use as much electricity in the day. Then at night you could put a shade over it and have the solar energy from the windows be your nighttime electricity. The last thing i did was put my house idea in the computer. I didn't want to do something simple, so I went with probably the hardest thing to do on the Sweet Home 3D app, circles. I thought that combining this natural but contemporary would be harder to bring out of only a very dim idea. I went right into it though and found to very much enjoy the result. Since there's a few fall backs to the platform, I couldn't complete the building.
Last week I began designing houses and definitely learned a lot of helpful things. The biggest thing I realized was the lack of space I had in my house and storage space. I am glad that make builds so far are imperfect because it leaves a lot of room for ideas and improvement. I focused a lot on making space and incorporating closets this week. Once again I started with a sketch of what I wanted. I did a modern house with a very open layout. I feel that modern buildings are supposed to feel spacious; That it's supposed to be the total opposite of enclosed. Instead of using each block on my paper as 3 sq ft, I decided to do 5 sq ft. I also added a closet to my sketch. It's a two story home with 3 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. Making it on Sweet Home 3D was a lot easier this week than it was last week. I now have a much better understanding of the platform and can use it faster. I didn't run into the same space problem that I did last time either. I also decided to add another closet into the dining room because I felt there was too much empty space in the room. I was also able to do a lot more with this building because I didn't have an outside walkway like I did on my urban house. The top floor is 1,513 sq ft and the bottom floor is 1,532 sq ft.
I will be doing a job shadowing at Walter Robbs Architecture Firm sometime in December. During the visit I will possibly be going to a job site or accompanying an architecture while they do work in the office. When they're working at the office they are usually sketching plans or consulting about projects. I think this will be great for me because it's actually the environment I might be working in later in life. For my first building of this project I used Sweet Home 3D to make an urban style home. Urban homes are the types of houses you see while passing through a subdivision. They are the average, and usually manufactured, homes. I have made homes like this in my free time on other platforms but this is my first time using Sweet Home 3D. The first thing I did was sketch my idea on graph paper. This came in handy because I had a reference point and it was easy to know about what measurements I needed. I made each block on the paper equal 3 sq ft. I wanted to make it two separate buildings connected by an patio on the first floor and a balcony on the second. After finishing my sketch, I began creating it on the computer. Once I started putting my sketch into better perspective, I realized that I made it much smaller than I meant to. I thought this would happen though because I do have the tendency to do under-do things. I didn't want to fix it though because I knew that it will be a good reminder on how to size future projects. Another issue I ran into was plainly just trying to figure out how to work the app. There's a few key components of the house that I couldn't use in the app, like the balcony. I overall like how the home came out for it beginning my first on an unfamiliar platform.
Since I very much like this home idea, I think I might recreate it on my Sims 4. Though the game is not mainly for architecture, you can still do it and I'm very familiar with it. This week I found a couple of architectural computer apps that allow you to create buildings with real measurements. Using these apps is helpful for designers because writing on paper doesn't give you the same automatic measurements.
The apps that I looked at were FreeCAD, My Virtual Home, Sweet Home 3D, and Smart Draw. I had to use free apps because most architectural building apps cost $1,000 - $2,000 a year. After looking through all the apps, I decided that Sweet Home 3D was the best for me to use. It had an easy layout and I was able to create a small building quickly when I first tested it out. All the other apps were good but they weren't my preference. I also want to begin to test out making ideas on paper, then transferring it the Sweet Home 3D app. I think it will be good practice for me to do. I've been really enjoying this project so far. I feel that it's helping me with my goal of being an architecture very well. I'm already getting experience that I need to be successful and now I have many ideas in mind. I have gotten a jump start into my dream career. Click Here for details on Building a house Do's & Don'ts: dengarden.com/misc/BUILDING-A-HOUSE-DOS-AND-DONTS This week I maintained my focus on the do's and don'ts to make a good home. Since I want this to be a lifetime career for me, it is best I learn all the skills I can now. The Do's The most helpful thing that an architect and client should do is to trust each other in the design process. Both inputs are necessary but trusting each other can create an amazing piece of work. Also, when first designing something, it's best to keep an open mind about what should be done. Keeping a check list is helpful but having a strict style or requirements is usually hard to accomplish. When looking for clients or simply presenting work, you should show a variety of styles you have done so you can attract as many people and preferences as possible. Every project is different. There is no 100% do this or do that. When designing an apartment NYC with only 550 sq ft, you'd take advantage of any and all space. Using a corner for a desk area and placing walls in the most convenient places. You'd avoid make unnecessary nooks. But if were to be designing a 5,000 sq ft home, you would try your best to add intricate details. Which makes a large and empty space become roomy but no longer a void. The Don'ts
There are not a lot of don'ts when it comes to any design process. The main things that shouldn't be done is using dark colors for walls in a small room. If the goal is to make a room seem as small as possible, then yes, do it. But in most cases it's not wanted at all. Don't be afraid to break the rules with architecture. Great things and knew ideas are surfaced when someone decides to step out of the box and rules. The most successful architects had to break the rules. Allowing yourself to jot down crazy ideas is the best idea. |
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