Advanced CAD Existing Building Hand Up

3D Max Water Render

Vitruvius Roman Order

Vitruvius (Marcus Vitruvius Pollio), born around 84 B.C. and died after 27 A.D. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was an architect, engineer and writer. He is most famous for his writings of the book De Architura otherwise known as the ten books of architecture.

De Architectura

First (edited) publication in 1486 and is divided into 10 books about;

·        Book I: City planning and Architecture in general

·        Book II: Building materials and constructions

·        Book III: Temple construction

·        Book IV: Temple proportions of columns

·        Book V: Public buildings (theatres and baths)

·        Book VI: Private and agricultural buildings

·        Book VII: Floors and stucco decorations

·        Book VIII: Water installations

·        Book IX: Astronomy

·        Book X: Civil and military engines

According to book 1, Chaer 3, “The Department of Architecture” of Vitruvius’s writings, all

architecture must exhibit certain qualities. These qualities are firmitas, utilitas and

venustas.

Firmitas: meaning strength and endurance which refers to the structural stability of the building and also the buildings longevity. This would be achieved by the building of solid foundations and the use of good materials.

Utilitas: meaning utility and usefulness. This is achieved by the spaces being situated correctly to ensure the functionality of the building and to efficiently facilitate the buildings purpose.

Venustas: meaning beauty and aesthetics. This is achieved by creating a pleasant appearance to the building and in the creation of proportionate spaces within that obey the laws of symmetry. 

The Panthen, Rome

Even though the Pantheon was built after Vitruvius’s death it is a good example of roman architecture that displays the three qualities discussed above.

Exterior view of the Panteon, Rome

Interior view of the Panteon, Rome

Drawings of the Panteon, Rome

Chosen Building for Honours Bachelors Degree Project

                                           1-2 Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2

I have chosen 1-2 Upper Hatch Street as the building for my 4th year studio project.

It is located in Dublin City Center on Upper Hatch Street and is close to St. Stephens Green and Harcourt Street.

It is currently being used as an office building with different businesses renting floors of the building.

It was refurbished in 2005 and is around 3800m sq
and consists of 9 levels including a basement and several outdoor terraces.

I am proposing to redesign the building with the intention of changing the buildings use to a high spec art facility that will include both public and private areas.

I plan to accommodate live in / work units for professional artists, educational space for MA Fine Arts students, exhibition space, a cafe and much more.

Design Principles and Elements

MGM Mirage, City Centre, Las Vegas by Deniel Libeskind

Form and shape

This design by Daniel Libeskind displays sharp angular forms and irregular shapes that have a great visual impact on the space. He has created volumes that extrude from the structure that are abstract in shape. 

Variety 

Here you can see variety as he uses the volumes he created and varies their size and shape. 

Colour
 
He has introduced a neutral colour scheme here with the use of lots of white materials and transparent glass that is smooth and clean. These elements also create a unity as they are used throughout the design.

 Light
 
The space has been designed to include lots of natural light. He has introduced skylights and with the use of white materials he has increased the indirect illumination within the space.

Emphasis

The emphasis here has been achieved with the use of line which gives the effect of height and vastness which makes you feel insignificant in proportion to the scale of the space.

Balance

In relation to balance, in this case, it is asymmetrical in regards to the lines, shapes and forms used as they are irregular and creates a feeling of instability and a great sense of movement.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Leon, Spain by Mansilla & Tunon

Colour

The designer uses both a polychromatic and a monochromatic colour scheme here as he has used multi-coloured glass panels on the exterior and also varies the hue of the colours. 

Unity

Unity is achieved in the size and shape of the glass panels which unifies the exterior of the building. 

Rhythm

You can see clearly see the rhythm in this design in the repetition of the colourful glass panels over the entire exterior of the building which creates a visual unity. 

Honeycomb Skyscraper by Mike Chino

Texture

The honeycomb effect facade of the skyscraper creates a dynamic visual texture.

Rhythm and Unity

You can also clearly see rhythm in the repetition of the honeycomb shaped windows which also creates a unity. 

Modern Art Museum by Steven Holl

Light

Otherwise known as the luminous ice burg, this design by Steven Holl has a translucent facade of back lit panels that elluminate the buildings surroundings.

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston by Diller Scofidio & Renfro

Scale and Proportion 

You can see here that the upper floors of the building comprise of a huge cantilever that hangs over the entrance to the building and towards the water. This cantilever is designed to give the effect that it is larger in proportion to the rest of the building. 

Balance

The composition of this design is asymmetric as the cantilevered upper floors create a sense of instability and unbalance as it hangs far from the rest of the building.   

Emphasis

The emphasis in this design is placed on the cantilever as it clearly dominates the composition with its sheer size and shape.

Dolphins Barn 3D Max Render

This was achieved by building the model in Auto CAD Architecture and rendering it in 3D Max

The Ideolagy Behind the Mini Project

Definition: "The branch of philosophy or psychology dealing with the origin and nature of ideas.

Our brief for the Dolphins Barn Project catered for four troubled youths and one live in supervisor. These teenagers have not had the best start to life. They have all lived in unstable and chaotic circumstances and are dealing with many issues in their personal lives. This project provided a rare opportunity to substantially improve the quality of life of these individuals.

My ideology for this project was to create a stimulating yet relaxing place where they could feel safe in a nurturing environment. I wanted it to be a place for healing, somewhere they could come to deal with there issues and prepare for the next stage in their life.

I tried to implement this ideology through the concept of a serene Japanese garden with an atrium running up the two levels and housing a live tree which was symbolic of growth and the maturity the teenagers aspire to achieve.  

3rd Year Bachelors Degree Project

The following post will give you an insight into the project I completed at the end of last year.


The building: - The building I chose to use was located in Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland.
                      - It was 1500m sq and consisted of 7 levels including a basement and roof terrace.

Proposed use: - The change of use outlined in my proposal was for a multidisciplinary office which house several businesses which included; architects, interior designers, landscape architects, web designers, etc...

Concept: - The Oxygen Garden

Bellow are some of my presentation boards for this project.

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