So, I spent all day today (off from work) working on this and I am still not happy with it, but my husband came home to the kiddos pouring salt on each other’s heads and a house that looked like a war zone. Needless to say, I am done with sketch up for today or my laptop will be out on the sidewalk in the snow that is pouring down! Here are a few images so you can gather what I am working on. I am moving to the details tonight (in AutoCAD my favorite) and then I will come back to the views from the tower tomorrow evening when I get home from work. Sorry, I really wanted to have more, but I have been working for almost 12 hours straight on it and it is driving me insane! Hope you enjoy the views I do have and can provide me with some input. The grid isn't in on the glazing and I am still trying to decide on the roof line for the atrium glass roof. I think I might pitch it up from the south to the north and the east to the west so they meet in the corner. Provide me with your thoughts on this. Like Eddie pointed out at the intensive I need more than a typical hip glazed roof like most atriums are.
Traveling East - don't know what happened to the pic on the Gehry building but it's going to have to wait to be fixed! You can see my tower takes a much larger presence then it did when we left the intensive session. The lower portion now extends over the tracks and provides a solid wall at the edge of the turnpike similar to the Gehry building.
Traveling west
View under the canopy heading toward the acadmic building
Pedestrian approach from the east
Pedestrian approach from the west
View from roof garden
6 comments:
Jaclyn,
You are not fighting with sketchup! It just doesn’t give you the answers you are looking for. Try to change the display to wire frame – I think the colors and materials are distracting a bit.
Then, analyze what you are doing with your gestures. Highway side (see image on my blog):
Having the wall fold and become the roof creates a strong shielding gesture for the academic building. In contrast, the residential tower sits out there (literally!); it connects to the ground, exposes itself to the nasty world and anchors the corner. The bulky base is a bit distracting. The connection to the ground unfortunately is hidden, the elevation layered and not expressing the verticality as much as possible. Study Gehry’s building: there is a strong horizontal at the base and at the top. In between the building despite its squad proportions accentuates the vertical. To create the other ‘bridge head’ I would suggest you try to apply the same moves. Of course this doesn’t mean copying, but re-interpreting! I could see you going back to your earlier notion of viewing tubes sticking out of the tower skin. Rather than creating the verticality with large vertical windows, I could see a solid wall pattern accentuating the vertical, having the viewing tubes added for shadow play.
On the Boylston side I think your wall-fold-roof canopy is counter productive. Here you want to shade from the sun but be inviting. I think you also want to make sure you can express the tower firmly landing on the ground; after all it is the tower (not the connector) that holds this important corner in the city. I would suggest trying to develop the canopy in concert with your screen and balconies. I think you also want to make sure that the space created between the tower and the academic building becomes a meaningful outdoor space, plaza, park?
Keep it up!
Werner,
Thanks for the comments! I needed them. Sometimes I'm at a lost when we are posting and it seems like we are trying to decide what direction to head in. So... I believe that I have a solution for the base of my building and I can incorporate the loggia element that runs along the back of the site to help continue the horizontal base from the academic building to the tower. I'm stuck on the top horizontal band right now though. My plan is to take a frame and go through he floors of the tower to caputre specific views and those will become the punch tube openings you saw in Boston (they haven't been lost.) I beleive that will help tremendously with the horizontal elements of my building and create shadows like you stated. I do have a question. Do you think applying the skin to cetain areas of the tower would be beneficial? I have looked at it but don't want to shut that side off completely from the highway. I am looking at using it closer to the west end of the north facade (that corner).
When you refer to the connector in the tower comment are you referring to the base of my tower? I will investigate the canopy further but can you explain the idea of the tower meeting the ground instead of the base I have proposed? I feel the base of the tower is important to both continue the horiz. band from the academic building as well as to create a connection with the ground. Thanks again for the comments.
Jaclyn,
I think the tower should be planted firmly on the ground. To me that would mean the lines of the tower (corners, double story window jambs, et cetera) travel uninterrupted to the ground. Horizontal elements would not wrap the tower but engage it, or float in front of it. I think on the facade treatment what you need is to eliminate the floor lines. I think your tower would lend itself to a very monolithic treatment. The pattern added to the surface should exaggerate the vertical. I could see a view-framing oversized window at the top (similar to the ones David is introducing in his top floor). The actual top might even still extend and include the mechanical penthouse. The oversized window could act as counter part to Gehry's "crown".
A couple of images that I think would help in the development of your skins, academic:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/426548797_716a20249d.jpg
and tower:
http://www.baunetz.de/db/news/meldungen_galerie.php?news_id=79697&bild_id=1551295
Gehry would be proud of the chaos on his façade! If your tower/atrium roof slopes to the south, (about 40 degrees ideal) it would be a great location for integral photovoltaic panels – the type that lets the light through to the occupied space below.
The color of the tower relates well to the neighborhood – that’s the nice thing about SketchUp - we can see it.
Nice views but don’t forget the view at grade from the east. The south has lots of glass – it could use some shading/glare control/overhang something. Good location for the tower – it grabs more of the corner and solves the “pointy” lot problem.
Gerry,
Check back tomorrow. I am working on the shading device detail right now! These are the shading devices with color which will create the constantly changing facade on the acadmic building that were discussed at the intensive.
Jaclyn,
I like the forms you are creating with each elevation study you do! I see a distinct progression in positive and negative volumn carved out of your facades. I agree with Werner about how the tower connects to the ground. I'm sure with some further study you will resolve these questions. One observation I made is the tower in the first view. It feels from that distance with the transparencies like a Jenga sculpture. I haven't decided yet is this is a good or distracting thing. I think it's the relationship to the road being so close that is has an unbalanced movement. I look forward to the next round!
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