9/28/2010

2.1 Key Terms

Felt- tar-impregnated paper for waterproofing

Floor Joists- horizontal structural members used to carry the floor and ceiling loads

Header- horizontal structural member used to support other structural members over openings

House Wrap- keeps water out, allows vapor out

Insulation- restricts flow of heat, cold, or sound

Sheathing- covering over studs but under finish materials

Siding- surfaces outside walls, roof

Sill- bottom of window/ opening

Solar Orientation- position relative to sun to increase or decrease light or heat in building

Source Reduction- reducing waste by changing patterns of production,construction

Stud- vertical frame of wall

Subfloor- structural floor between joists and finish

Sustainability- meeting needs of society without depleting natural resources

Top Plate- horizontal structural member used to hold studs together

Truss- assembly of structural members to form rigid frame, usually triangles

9/24/2010

Design Charrette Conclusions

1. Why is it important to recognize challenges and barriers during the charrette and then identify solutions?

It is important to recognize challenges and barriers so you can explore many possibilities and use the best one


2. Among the ideas or thoughts that you prepared for the charrette, were there any that were disregarded by the group? Why? Do you think it was the right decision?

There were a few, including moving the a la carte line near the entrance and widening the line, but those would only have served to create as many new problems as they got rid of. It was a good decision to get rid of these ideas.


3. What is the value of using a charrette to investigate the feasibility and development of a building project? Describe specific advantages over a traditional approach in which the client meets with an architect and the architect develops the plan.

It allows all possible problems and solutions to be explored. It is at an advantage against a traditional client-architect meeting because it is more flexible in its development


4. Identify and explain a potential drawback of the plan your team drafted.

The line will still be crowded and confusing, because we did not do anything to specifically address that problem, but it will not clog up the door anymore.

9/16/2010

This is your career



This is intended to be who I will be in 30 years, assuming I work for the airport in Romulus, MI at that time.

9/13/2010

CE/ Architect Questions

Civil Engineer
1.What is the hardest part of your job?
2.What kinds of things do you specifically design?

Architect
1.What kind of structure is your favorite to design?
2.How much do designs change from the drawing board to construction?

9/09/2010

1.2 Key Terms

ABET
The recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology

AIA
society representing the field of architecture

ASCE
society representing civil engineers

Building Code
legal requirements designed to protect public by providing guidelines for structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical areas of a structure

Charrette
intensive workshop where stakeholders come together for discussions and arguments

Construction Documents
drawings and plans associated with a construction project

Municipality
city, town, etc. with its own government for local affairs

NAAB
agency authorized to accredit professionals in architecture

NCARB
association of architectural registration boards across the nation

Stakeholder
involved in or affected by a course of action

Zoning Ordinance
law specifying how and why a piece of land can be used

9/08/2010

1.1 Key Terms

Aesthetics
The quality of an object that deals with art, beauty, and taste.

Arch
A curved structure for spanning an opening, designed to support a vertical load primarily by axial compression.

Architect


Balance
The pleasing or harmonious arrangement or proportion of parts or elements in a design or composition.

Bearing Walls
Solid walls that provide support for each other and for the roof of a structure.

Civil Engineering

Color
The aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources.

Contrast
A visual principle associated with change made in size, shape, color, or tone of graphic elements.

Design Principles
The rules that describe how designers might put together various design elements to create an aesthetic finished product.

Dome
An arrangement of several arches whose bases form a circle and whose tops meet in the center.

Element of Design
A basic visual component or building block of designed objects.

Emphasis
Stress or prominence given to an element of a composition by means of contrast, anomaly, or counterpoint.

Façade
The exterior face of a building.

Form
The shape and structure of something as distinguished from its substance or material.

Keystone
A wedge-shaped stone placed in the crown of an arch.

Line
The edge or contour of a shape.

Lintel
A beam supporting the weight above a door or window opening.

Movement
The effect or illusion of motion conveyed by the relationship of structural elements in a design or composition.

Pattern
An artistic or decorative design, especially one having a characteristic arrangement and considered as a unit.

Post-and-Lintel Construction
Wall construction utilizing a framework of vertical posts and horizontal beams to carry floor and roof loads.

Repetition
A principle where some graphic elements are repeated throughout the entire design.

Rhythm
Movement characterized by a patterned repetition or alteration of formal elements or motifs in the same or a modified form.


Shape
The two-dimensional contour that characterizes an object or area.

Space
The dimensions of height, depth, and width within which all things exist and move.

Texture
The feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface, substance, or fabric.

Unity
The state or quality of being combined into one, as the ordering of elements in an artistic work that constitutes a harmonious whole or promotes a singleness of effect.

Value
The relative lightness or darkness of a color.

Vernacular Architecture
Culturally and climatically relevant architecture using locally available materials and traditional building techniques.

Voussoir
Any of the wedge-shaped units in a masonry arch or vault, having side cuts converging at one of the arch centers.

1.1 Essential Questions

Essential Questions

1. How did the art and science of architecture and civil engineering evolve over time?
They have gone from purely functional to more aesthetic in nature.

2. Describe three structural systems used by architects in historical construction projects.
Motte-and-Bailey, Collonade, Roman Arches

3. How have historical innovations contributed to modern civil engineering and architecture?
They have allowed for taller, bigger, and more complex designs to be doable.

4. How are visual design elements and principles manifested in architecture?
They are used to create an appeal to those who look at them.

Architectural Features

1.How did the time period from which your feature was most prevalent influence the feature?
The Time period had a major effect, as it was built during the time that Roman building techniques and the Roman Arch were prevalent, causing it to have a very different look from earlier or later structures.



2.How did the feature you modeled meet a human need?
It was used by William the Conqueror as a fortified place in Norwich.



3.Describe the use of the principle of design best represented in the architecture of your model.
Symmetry- The structure of the keep, which is the primary part of the castle and the part we built, was almost perfectly symmetrical on the outside.



4.Explain how one of the other models in your class has similar characteristics?
The others are very different and share very little, as they are residential and modern, as opposed to military and medeival.