last week/ next week

[XML | Office]

Dear all,

in reaction to the work that you (did not) do this week, here are some remarks that you should take into account for the following week. As I already mentioned, the amount of work that all of you produced is in general a little bit disappointing. I know you have all been very busy for your midterm presentation, but in architecture that does not mean you can than take it easy for a whole week. You probably have all been working on your projects the past week, but if there are no new models and hardly any new drawing to shows, then that is simply not enough production. So make sure every team produces new drawings and new models(!) for next week. Also make larger scale drawings and models of parts/ details of your plan focusing on the typologies of urban fragments and the architecture. More options, means more choice, means better designs. Don't talk and think to long, make things, and make these quickly. A lot of the times design is 'thinking by doing'. Make sure you also have a general idea of the amount of program in each drawing/ model that you develop, and that you can explain what is different from the program that you have been given and why. A second general remark: be on time. I'm sure you all lead very busy and important lives on friday morning, but if everybody is asked to be in studio before 10am, be there. 

That being said, your projects are showing some interesting ideas and all have potential to become really exiting, as long as you keep developing it further. As a summary of some of the remarks made concerning the proposals of the individual teams, you can see some remarks here below. In italic I've made a suggestion for a title of your concept(s). This is just to provoke some more focused direction. Of course it is up to each team to determine what exactly this will be in the end.

Alan & Egor

1. City within a city 2. gradual transition from city to water (artwork with gradients)

-Storyline and spatial concept do not fit: if you are proposing a city within a city it should have a distinctive character. an island or an archipelago, or a 'foreign' neighborhood would be more fitting strategies. If instead you want to focus on a gradual transition from the surrounding urban fabric towards your on site, that your plan should really reflect this: now it is showing three very distinct urban typologies that do develop a gradual transition from on to another.

-What you should do is develop both directions separately, and then follow them through more radically! The storyline (of which your design should be an integral part) should be consistent. So make drawings and models for both directions so that it becomes easier to determine the focus of your eventual proposal.

> You showed two new sketch models on friday. Both directions (inner valley and archipelago) look promising. Now make sure you start being specific about dimensions, typologies, program, etc. Use the work and development of typologies you have produced before, and maybe you can re-use elements. 

Mostafa & Zohal

Grid city

-Your idea is clear, and the diagram of your proposal communicates well. However, the development of your diagram into an actual plan is going very slowly. To speed this up, interchange your abstract building envelopes with actual building typologies. You can draw inspiration from existing building typologies, and than manipulate these so that they fit to you grid. This way you can become specific on topics such as public and private space, infrastructure, outside spaces for dwelling, differentiation of spatial qualities throughout your plan, etc. A good way of making you models is to first take 10+ plans of existing building typologies that you think could be exiting and useful for your plan, then manipulate these in the computer so that they are on the same scale as your model and are transformed so that they will fit within you grid (for instance by using photoshop), then print and cut out the plans and glue them to foam masses that you foam to the right size and hight. This way you can quickly produces a series of models that communicate a high level of information and detail and a good sense of scale, without having to first design all your buildings. In a later stages you can develop even more precise and unique typologies that you start designing yourselves, but that continue the line of thinking that you develop in these models. Make sure you also have an understanding of the amount of program in your plan, what program is situated where and how the program is different from what we gave you, and why.

Gulay & Polina front

1. Barcode 2. Public network

At the moment you have two distinct concepts. The 'barcode' concept communicates rather clear: every pier has a distinct urban character. The second concept reads a little bit more difficult: you show this dotted gradient diagram to explain it, but it is hard to recognize this in the actual plan. The idea of creating a network of distinct public and green spaces through which you can move, also passing through some of the (semi) closed housing blocks have potential and could even be used in both concepts. Although both concepts look realistic and very build-able, they could be developed a bit more radically, so that the plan(s) show the general idea more clearly. A way of doing this, is to make abstract diagrams that communicate the main ideas. In terms of the first concept this this could fore instance be a colored barcode depicting the different piers. Also a network of public/ green spaces can be easily shown in a simple, abstract diagram. Within your plan(s) you should be able to read back these basic, singular ideas, so that you can better communicate what is spatial and different about your plan in relation to existing harbor front developments in Amsterdam. Also, more drawings, more models.

> we also spoke a bit more today, and you showed a digram of have two 'zone' intersecting each other: a more residential zone and a more mixed used zone. That could help in clearifing/ developing further you plan. the residential zone could still make use of the 'barcode' residential strips that you already designed. It can be interesting to keep these distinct strips, each offering its own urban character. The intersection of the two zones can could provoke interesting public spaces. Now it is important to start filling in you plan with architectural typologies: what kind of building are you envisioning where? You can start with using existing typologies/ buildings that you think would be appropriate and could be applied in your plan.

Alan & Lava & Piangpim & Zuhair

Vibrant city (dynamic city, unstable city, city in transition)

-You are a group of 4 people now, but this should be two groups of 2 persons: I'm not sure who this came about. I did not ask about this last friday, but can you let us know how this came about, and if this has been discussed with Arie Graafland?

-The idea an atmosphere that you want to created is clear: a more vibrant, dynamic and unstable harbor front development than the in general more monotonous, safe and maybe even boring existing examples in Amsterdam. Your proposal to therefor make something that is very dense, very programmatically mixed, and that develops in a sequence of small neighborhoods over time fits this ambition. Also, not creating new land, in order to have something very condensed of the existing plot of land is a clear direction. However, the large and for Amsterdam familiar architectural typologies seem somewhat out of place. If you want a lot of different lifestyle 'clashing' within a condensed urban setting, than making 'a lot of the same' does not make a lot of sense. Look a cities and neighborhoods (all over the world) for which you could imagine to fit very well with the type of life that you are imagining. Probably the urban and architectural typologies of are much more fragmented or smaller. Try and draw inspiration from this and make a series of new drawings and models, and then review then together, each time asking the question 'would this physical organization provoke the ways of live that we are envisioning'. Keep in mind the program and numbers. Also, since you are a large team: you should be able to produce more options in terms of drawings/ models.

Aliya & Asya 

Water city/ Land city

-The mirroring of two opposite worlds, one as a city build on land and one as a city build on water has potential. Try to think through the consequences for both part very radically. In terms of the part that is places in the water: try and focus even more on what kind of different (urban and architectural) typologies you can think of that off that offer new and exiting relationships to the water. The idea of it being a archipelago, a large set of very small islands only connected by a minimum amount of infrastructure can by nice, but should developed further (now it is still very abstract). Also, the idea of what public or shared space is in the two different plans should become more clear. Probably both should also show two apposing strategies.

-Don't spend two much time on sketching different shapes. If something looks nice, that that is ok, but what is important is how your organize program, infrastructure, public space etc. Also think about the routing: how will people move trough the plan. As for everyone: make more drawings, more models and make sure you have a good understanding of your program and the numbers (square meters)

Good luck for next week!

Best,

David, Max

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[Larisa Tsvetkova]

Hello Max, hello David,

 

thank you for the comments.

.. and, I wonder where this 4-people group confusion comes from :)

You wrote Alans´ name 2 times, he is not in our team.

We are working in group of 3 : me (Lara), Piangpim and Zuhair.

So, we are 13 students and 6 groups all in all.

 

Best,

Lara