Mid-Term Milestone

Mid term reviews occured last friday. The panel of judges were great. Much was gained from their advise and criticism. The project is still focusing on wind generation for electrical output but its end -use has changed dramatically. Originally focusing on a larger area to "feed" electrical output, now has evolved into something more contained and direct.

Program has been changed as well. Originally configured to harness the wind through the facade, the reason for program is now for creative, artistic interaction for the masses within the building.

"A rooftop green house"


"Cocconed Space"


"Ground Level"


Power generation, the strategy developed from the wind studies, is primarily through utilization of piezzo electric devices. Fluttering instead of rotating, vibrations and pressures instead of gears. Simplicity in piezzo electrics would also simply the complicated nature of wind generators.
The premise of the stalled site, being of a temporary architecture, as catalyst for continuation
of it's original design of a condo unit could be more feasible wit the use of piezzo electric devices. The focus now would be to engineer the locations and mechanisms involved in the installation. Devices would be implanted where wind would be most energetic and in the interiors where human activity would produce electricity via pressure pads, piezzo electrics inserted betwee floor plates.The structure to the left of my site will also be utilized, partially occupied, as the main structure for power generation. Further emphasizing the relationship of infrastructure and structures.
The twin structure strategy would be the resolved solution thus far in the phase of the project.
Next step would be to demonstrate the importance of piezzo electric devices by prototyping
simple devices that would show the viability of such a system and diagrammatic explanations
clarifying the movements and locations of these devices.

Much has to be done during break, but time I feel as though the project is gaining momentum towards the right direction. Catie has been especially supportive of the process and very influential in its direction.

Looking forward to returning with some more ideas. For now, I will be working on my snowboarding skills. Its getting warmer, and the fresh stuff is fading.

More to come......

Wind Studies

To lend credence and credibility to my programmatic study of wind and temporality, ephemerality and lightness of the guerilla project. Wind studies were conducted, at ground level of wind patterns and behavior around my site. This was done with the water table, thanks Mr. Borom, estimating winds at scale (around 10-15 knots) as predicted by the ASW website for calculating wind speeds in the Brooklyn area for conventional wind turbine systems



Much insight was gained and realized from the water testing of the building footprints of my site and the structures sorrounding it. The strategies for developing a viable program for wind related devices and installations that would be insertable in the stalled site.
Most interesting was the fact the wind is channeled through corridors and pathways between structures and strongest between buildings through streets.

Remembering what David told us about what lead to the stalled sites in Brooklyn and how to alleviate the problem. I have decided to make my site as green as possible.
The chosen site is a stalled condo structure located between Berry Street and Bedford Ave on North 12 Street. It a six story structure
with all its structural elements already in place.
It is also located in the perimeter of the dense urban condition
edging on the open spaces of parks and play fields.

The site offers potential for harnessing wind and converting that to useful energy.
Guerilla architecture is essential, as a primary requirement for temporarily stalled condition
of the site.

So, temporality, and respecting the architect's and builders's plans for the structure is the key element in my intervention. Keeping my architectural intervention as temporary as possible.
Meaning no lasting structural components added to the existing infrastructure and structure.
The site generates an avergae of 10 knots of wind at ground level.
The illustration above clearly illustrates the incompatibility of a large scale wind turbine in the densely packed urban condition. Other means of harnessing the wind has to found. Much more
studies need to be conducted over the proposed site.....More to come.......

OVERCONSTRUCTION NYC

The trip to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY was a great time. I wish we had spent a few more days
to really soak in the culture. I wanted more of everything from there.

There is alot of progress on Ground Zero. The site is immense.
The symbolism even more massive. New Yorkers have such resilient spirits. An inspiration to everyone.

Many thanks to David Maundrell, pictured here on top of one of the properties he manages. For taking the time to show us Brooklyn from a different perspective and for showing us possible solutions to the problem of over construction and stalled sites and what could be done to revitalize ailing and depressed neighborhoods. Thanks David for caring about your community and showing us that being successful does not mean forgetting about your roots.

Brooklyn resembles Detroit in so many ways. Although they are in a much better position there are many lessons that can be gained and applied from the recent weekend trip to the Big Apple.


Also many thanks to Paul, Catie's friend, also an architect for showing us Manhattan and his workplace. It was my first visit to a firm and it eased some of the anxiety and trepidations involved in working in a big city. (He assured us that New Yorkers are some of the best people in the world.) I am more or less convinced that I belong to a small firm.

NYC Trip

Studio blocks aren't completely behind us.
We carry with us a better understanding of the complexity and difficulty which we are about to tackle.


Arrangements are set and stalled construction sites
are mapped and categorized for the hunt.

There much excitement in the air and having lived in NY for some time, a while ago, I am anticipating much. Having to see the city through in a
different light would be one of those anxious feelings I am experiencing. I also have this insatiable love for New York pizza. (The best in the whole wide world!!!)

The flight, however, is a different story. I absolutely am afraid of flying.
The thought of pizza is stronger than my fear of the one and half hour flight.

The Infrastructure of Studio Blocks

Studio Blocks, infrastructure, and stalled construction sites of New York City: The focus for the UG4 Newell studio for the University of Michigan's Architecture Program.

We are currently investigating the complexity of having to create a system of inter connectivity between each assigned studio block. Mimicking the complex nature of a dense urban situation such as New York City. The ultimate goal of the project is to attack the dilemma of stalled sites. In particular, the number of such cases in and around the New York Metropolitan area. The possibilities became more apparent after our first project. The creation of this studio block gave us insight and possible solutions.

Our first exercise involves having marbles transit within our assigned studio blocks and the option of entering our neighbors. Representing the way utilities enter, invade, and create much of what is unseen in structures was a challenge in design, communication, and co-operation.
The idea behind my studio block rests on its location. Being centrally located and part of a core block, the idea of it allowing multiple marble transits between neighbors became apparent from the beginning. I could have opted to isolate my block but felt that punctures would provide for lighting to enter the bowels of my block.





Connectivity with neighbors. Design initially compromised but evolving
into a life of their own. Accidental, unintended satisfaction in the final iteration.












Moral learned: cooperation leads to profoundly beautiful things.









The individual studio blocks served to remind us that infrastructure has a key role in the urban design. The fun exercise served to educate us about the intricate nature of the tangled webs utilities, roads, and pedestrian lanes create in planning for a site as whole. They play a much larger role in architecture as previously experienced by myself. We begin to venture into a much larger scope of focus. From dealing with our own individual sites and projects to a more involved and complex system of interconnected infrastructures.

The first project thus demands us to look into the systems that binds
many buildings, and cities together.

Designing a system to link the individual, unique blocks required intrusions into their spaces.

A unifying system required a greater deal of thought and some inconvenience as concessions are required to one's architecture.

Separation of each studio block from each other gives the model an oppurtunity to "stand alone" (so to speak) and emphasize the uniqueness of the architect's ideas without getting lost in the massed studio block.

Infrastructure links the studio blocks together, unifying them as a whole and letting the system of interconnectivity once again resolve the dilemma.
Taking the lessons from the abstracted exercise gave me insight on how
and what could be possible for the stalled construction sites in NYC.
Commuter rails, elevated pedestrian lanes as infrastructure, and maybe
a totally new way of thinking about the urban condition.