Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
new 1+3
An introduction of a new recycling center in Honolulu will provide their first closed-loop cycle system and make recycling part of their lives
Architecture can raise people’s awareness of recycling, encourage people to take steps to save their island to an extent, and be the first initiative to promote recycling. A new recycling center will solve current issues of recycling in Honolulu and establish new habit of recycling for Hawaiian residents. In a long term, this project will have the potential growth to serve neighboring islands' needs by providing closed-loop system not only for the island but also for the state of Hawaii as a whole.
Architecture can raise people’s awareness of recycling, encourage people to take steps to save their island to an extent, and be the first initiative to promote recycling. A new recycling center will solve current issues of recycling in Honolulu and establish new habit of recycling for Hawaiian residents. In a long term, this project will have the potential growth to serve neighboring islands' needs by providing closed-loop system not only for the island but also for the state of Hawaii as a whole.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
new 1+3+9
1. Shopping mall as a new recycling center
3. Architecture can raise people’s awareness of recycling, encourage people to save their island, and be the first initiative to promote recycling in Honolulu. A new recycling center will be located in an area where local and tourists gather, that is easily accessible, and has the most influence and connection to the locals. Architecture will help to build a new habit for the Hawaiian residents.
9. Recycling has almost become our habit today and it is something each of us can easily participate to save the natural environment. However, Honolulu is extremely behind in green movement compared to other states and the world.
Hawaii, having a small and fragile ecosystem, locals must actively participate to recycle, but instead, they still continue to ignore it which resulted in the expansion of landfills on their beautiful island.
The current problem is 1) Lack of awareness to recycle and pride to save their island, 2) Location and accessibility of recycling facility, 3) Lack of rule or campaign to initiate for people to recycle, 4) Locals are not used to recycling (they don’t know how).
My thesis proposal is to build a new recycling center 1) to raise local’s awareness about recycling, 2) on location that is obvious and easily accessible, and 3) where locals can learn about recycling from the tourists who are already used to recycling.
The site is Ala Moana Shopping Center which is a center of our community that is used as local’s gathering place and also a destination for tourists.
Locals frequently go there to shop, eat at restaurants, gather with friends, and just to walk around because it is easily accessible, thus it is ideal as a new center for recycling.
They can simply go there to recycle as a secondary reason.
Tourists are far more knowledgeable than the locals about recycling, thus they can teach the locals how to recycle by their behavior, which would start interactions between the two groups.
If recycling becomes habit for the locals, Ala Moana Center will be revitalized which will help the economy and community while making the city greener.
The program will be a recycling center, but not just a room. Architecture itself must be sustainable and also has ability to attract people. I will have to work on the program further, but I’m decided on the location.
3. Architecture can raise people’s awareness of recycling, encourage people to save their island, and be the first initiative to promote recycling in Honolulu. A new recycling center will be located in an area where local and tourists gather, that is easily accessible, and has the most influence and connection to the locals. Architecture will help to build a new habit for the Hawaiian residents.
9. Recycling has almost become our habit today and it is something each of us can easily participate to save the natural environment. However, Honolulu is extremely behind in green movement compared to other states and the world.
Hawaii, having a small and fragile ecosystem, locals must actively participate to recycle, but instead, they still continue to ignore it which resulted in the expansion of landfills on their beautiful island.
The current problem is 1) Lack of awareness to recycle and pride to save their island, 2) Location and accessibility of recycling facility, 3) Lack of rule or campaign to initiate for people to recycle, 4) Locals are not used to recycling (they don’t know how).
My thesis proposal is to build a new recycling center 1) to raise local’s awareness about recycling, 2) on location that is obvious and easily accessible, and 3) where locals can learn about recycling from the tourists who are already used to recycling.
The site is Ala Moana Shopping Center which is a center of our community that is used as local’s gathering place and also a destination for tourists.
Locals frequently go there to shop, eat at restaurants, gather with friends, and just to walk around because it is easily accessible, thus it is ideal as a new center for recycling.
They can simply go there to recycle as a secondary reason.
Tourists are far more knowledgeable than the locals about recycling, thus they can teach the locals how to recycle by their behavior, which would start interactions between the two groups.
If recycling becomes habit for the locals, Ala Moana Center will be revitalized which will help the economy and community while making the city greener.
The program will be a recycling center, but not just a room. Architecture itself must be sustainable and also has ability to attract people. I will have to work on the program further, but I’m decided on the location.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Site diagram
The site diagram of Honolulu specifically focusing on Downtown and Waikiki areas. They are the center of business.
Downtown - Local
Waikiki - Tourist
The streets follows the water, which shows historical influences where people inhabited along water and harbor.
The two areas are connected by the major streets in Honolulu.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thesis idea...getting focused
Living with nature
I went back to my original idea about doing a thesis in Honolulu, HI. The aim is to allow people to live with nature while learning/appreciating about environment…it seems like it’s been done in the past… But I’m merging two different programs as the main programs (more programs will be added later).
The first program is residential complex for people living in Hawaii as their home. This case, architecture will remind them of the privilege of living in such beautiful and rich nature of Hawaii. The second program will be a hotel for visitors to Hawaii who will “stay,” not live, there for short period of time. Here, architecture becomes an aid for them to experience and learn about Hawaiian nature. This merging of two programs is interesting because one group is living there permanently or for long period of time as their home, the other group is only staying there for few nights. While the residential occupants stay the same, the other occupant (tourists) will be constantly changing. There will always be a new meeting, and new discoveries in this program.
This project will be a center for tourists and locals thus more programs must be introduced….
I went back to my original idea about doing a thesis in Honolulu, HI. The aim is to allow people to live with nature while learning/appreciating about environment…it seems like it’s been done in the past… But I’m merging two different programs as the main programs (more programs will be added later).
The first program is residential complex for people living in Hawaii as their home. This case, architecture will remind them of the privilege of living in such beautiful and rich nature of Hawaii. The second program will be a hotel for visitors to Hawaii who will “stay,” not live, there for short period of time. Here, architecture becomes an aid for them to experience and learn about Hawaiian nature. This merging of two programs is interesting because one group is living there permanently or for long period of time as their home, the other group is only staying there for few nights. While the residential occupants stay the same, the other occupant (tourists) will be constantly changing. There will always be a new meeting, and new discoveries in this program.
This project will be a center for tourists and locals thus more programs must be introduced….
Monday, September 21, 2009
Notes on the Adaptive Re-use of Program
McMorrough addresses the importance of program in the design phase of architecture today in “Notes on the Adaptive Re-use of Program” “Form follows function” is a phrase we’ve been hearing in the school and I agree with this idea as I believe that program is the content in architecture. He also addresses the idea of programmatic failure. Architecture must consider the users, context, and time (+future) when defining the program, and let building adapt with the program.
McMorrough says, “You begin with a program.” It’s been true all the time for my past studio projects as he states “it is the first thing you are given to start a project in school and the thing you wait on from a client in practice.” I think program is very important as it directly relates to the users/occupants of the building. Because of its relationship to users, we must consider program into design phase as early as possible. Now with thesis, we can choose a program, site, etc..and I think its’ the only opportunity to be able to do this, so I have to be very careful when choosing an appropriate program to fit my thesis and I think everyone needs to consider it profoundly as well.
McMorrough says, “You begin with a program.” It’s been true all the time for my past studio projects as he states “it is the first thing you are given to start a project in school and the thing you wait on from a client in practice.” I think program is very important as it directly relates to the users/occupants of the building. Because of its relationship to users, we must consider program into design phase as early as possible. Now with thesis, we can choose a program, site, etc..and I think its’ the only opportunity to be able to do this, so I have to be very careful when choosing an appropriate program to fit my thesis and I think everyone needs to consider it profoundly as well.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
concept sketch 3
Elevators.......it's very convenient.....but we never realize how high we are actually occupying when using elevators.
Today, increasing number of people are living above "ground." They are living high in the air than what people could have imagined before. Traditionally, people are living on the ground...ground level, but less people are doing that. One who lives in a house has the privilege of living on the ground. It is nice to have your own entry, porch, backyard,etc. These privileges of living on the ground is lost for many people today, because buildings are getting taller, and people are living in the higher elevation.
But what is ground level? If there is a house on a hill...is it on or above ground??? The recent technology has led to the use of roof as a green space: green roof. Grass could only grow on the ground before, and now it can be planted on the roof. So building's roof become a ground......potentially...
I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Reading Response 2 - The Muses are not Amused by Jorge Silvetti
Silvetti describes four cases that affect form-making, “a creative process,” of architecture today: Programism, Thematization, Blobs, and Literalism. When I think of form-making, things such as context, program, and sustainability come to my mind as I was taught to use these influences to assist the process of form-making. The first case is programism, using program, “a protocol of complex linear conglomerates of information“ as a generator of form as opposed to function. I feel that this is what we have been doing in every studio, since we are all given a specific program on a specific site. Sometimes I wonder if 20 students are working on the same exact site and program to produce architectural project, why would our forms be different? We all have the same information about the site, program, and those analysis, but we always end up having different forms. I think THIS IS what makes me like architecture so much. There are many more factors involved in form making…intuition, aesthetics, emotion, backgrounds, experience….because we all are different our projects turn out to be different. It’s deep….
Blobs is a new possibility in the form-making of architecture, the use of 3D digital technology to generate complex forms. This is an advancement in architecture, but also is a threat in architecture. I feel that using these 3D digital technologies to generate form can produce aesthetically beautiful, complex, and flawless forms, and people will appreciate that. Not everyone is an architect, in fact most people are non-architect who don’t consider buildings as we do. These people will look at these new buildings and say it’s a great architecture piece simply because the buildings look nice. These people will not pay attention to the buildings’ relationship to context, program, history, and sustainability because they don’t care about those!! I feel that my goal as an architect is to make people consider architecture more profoundly and look at it in various ways not just appearance.
Blobs is a new possibility in the form-making of architecture, the use of 3D digital technology to generate complex forms. This is an advancement in architecture, but also is a threat in architecture. I feel that using these 3D digital technologies to generate form can produce aesthetically beautiful, complex, and flawless forms, and people will appreciate that. Not everyone is an architect, in fact most people are non-architect who don’t consider buildings as we do. These people will look at these new buildings and say it’s a great architecture piece simply because the buildings look nice. These people will not pay attention to the buildings’ relationship to context, program, history, and sustainability because they don’t care about those!! I feel that my goal as an architect is to make people consider architecture more profoundly and look at it in various ways not just appearance.
Monday, September 7, 2009
2nd Try
1 Architecture as attraction
3 Architecture causes changes to its surroundings and it should be a driver thriving the community. A new destination for tourists will enable meetings of the two groups: local people and tourists. It is a destination leading to a new beginning where they meet new people and learn to perceive nature in a new way.
9 Hawaii is a destination for many visitors for its natural beauty, and tourism is the biggest business for people working there. Hence its economy is heavily affected and relied on tourism. Number of tourists is decreasing annually which causes people to lose their jobs. If Hawaii could recover its attraction of tourists as they had once before, the community will prosper again. Architecture will become a great attraction for tourists, but also it should be shared by local people. This would allow for their encountering which is often limited in today’s tourism. The building will be a multifunctional including a hotel which allows the visitors to experience “living in Hawaii,” thus hotel rooms will be 24/7 experiencing space for them. In most cases, hotels are run by big corporations with their standard designs which neglect contextual characteristics and each hotel rooms have controlled air-conditioning. Hotel will provide a huge opportunity for the tourists to experience how it’s like to live and to learn about the unique environment in Hawaii.
3 Architecture causes changes to its surroundings and it should be a driver thriving the community. A new destination for tourists will enable meetings of the two groups: local people and tourists. It is a destination leading to a new beginning where they meet new people and learn to perceive nature in a new way.
9 Hawaii is a destination for many visitors for its natural beauty, and tourism is the biggest business for people working there. Hence its economy is heavily affected and relied on tourism. Number of tourists is decreasing annually which causes people to lose their jobs. If Hawaii could recover its attraction of tourists as they had once before, the community will prosper again. Architecture will become a great attraction for tourists, but also it should be shared by local people. This would allow for their encountering which is often limited in today’s tourism. The building will be a multifunctional including a hotel which allows the visitors to experience “living in Hawaii,” thus hotel rooms will be 24/7 experiencing space for them. In most cases, hotels are run by big corporations with their standard designs which neglect contextual characteristics and each hotel rooms have controlled air-conditioning. Hotel will provide a huge opportunity for the tourists to experience how it’s like to live and to learn about the unique environment in Hawaii.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Reading Response
Jose Luis Mateo describes his argument and attempts to break down the process of architectural project into fundamental steps in his “How to Draw Up a Project.” In the beginning, an architectural project must proceed in a vague and abstract manner and Mateo brings the image of a gaseous body which exists in physical world but without a boundary. First, I thought I completely agree with this because when I start a new project, I really don’t have a clue of what the project’s form, material, structure, and skin will be like. But Mateo is not really talking about my clueless part of a project. The gaseous body is for us to go through various ideas and analysis, thus having vague and abstract form gives us more opportunity to explore the project from different angles. The second step is giving hierarchies and systems of order to a project that once used to be a gaseous form. Mateo’s third step is giving “the project material form” which consists of space and the skin which separates the internal world from the outside. Any skin of buildings has two sides, and reading his article reminded me of the fact that skins are doing a huge task for us. Inside the skin is the internal world, but one layer (or more) behind is the outside, the city, and the world….
I just thought of architecture today where we are considering the impacts of architecture on the environment. I think this sustainable movement has somewhat changed Mateo’s process. I took few computer simulation courses here including energy, lighting, and acoustic simulations. My professors would often tell me that we need to use these tools during the conceptual phase of the project. This means that we need to have some concrete form in order to run these simulations. But Mateo thinks having a concrete form in the beginning limits our outcome. Now, I disagree with Mateo’s steps when thinking of sustainable architecture. There are certain forms that functions and suits better in certain climates. For example, a dome is suited in harsh climates because there is less surface facing exterior. Thus, I think we can sometimes have a base form to start off a project.
I just thought of architecture today where we are considering the impacts of architecture on the environment. I think this sustainable movement has somewhat changed Mateo’s process. I took few computer simulation courses here including energy, lighting, and acoustic simulations. My professors would often tell me that we need to use these tools during the conceptual phase of the project. This means that we need to have some concrete form in order to run these simulations. But Mateo thinks having a concrete form in the beginning limits our outcome. Now, I disagree with Mateo’s steps when thinking of sustainable architecture. There are certain forms that functions and suits better in certain climates. For example, a dome is suited in harsh climates because there is less surface facing exterior. Thus, I think we can sometimes have a base form to start off a project.
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