WAM as it stands

This is what we've got so far:

We received the design approved by Nancy and Kate in this morning's meeting, so construction starts now!

Expressing Group Thoughts through Pictures

I chose this image to represent our group because of the stress I feel about time. I feel anxious about actually starting the construction of the piece and how much time we've left for that. I think we are all somewhat in our own separate spheres of thought and I think we need to make sure everyone is on the same page about what is going on.

Corry selected this picture to represent our transformation from a shell of an idea into a real, detailed object. (The egg came first)

Jon picked out this image to demonstrate the different members of our group working together in order to make this cabinet happen. Each part is necessary to make this function and we all need each other to get anything created.

Chelsea's selection is a representation of each group member as a building coming together to make a city. Alone we can only do so much, but together something much greater is formed.

Hailey chose this photograph because she feels like we've accomplished a lot and made a beautiful design, but we still have the weight on our shoulders of actually building the cabinet. I feel the same way.

This picture stood out to Heather because she feels that we are somewhat lost in what we are doing and don't know where we are headed with the next phase of our project. This deserted desert is a good representation of where she feels the group stands.

Matt said that he thinks we all have a good variety of ideas that are merging together to make one final product. We must be thinking similarly because this was the picture I almost chose as well :)

inspiration for WAM cabinet

Patrick advised us to take a look at some of the furniture made by Charles Rennie Macintosh and the Green brothers. These are a few of my favorites:

Settle

in master bedroom of the Hill House

Hill House Chair

Mackintosh Armchair

I feel like we could really apply a similar thought process to the openings of the WAM project. I never have really appreciated the construction process before now, and I feel like my appreciation will grow through out my time working on this. Charles Rennie Macintosh really explores wood working and openings in the structures of his furniture. I like his work a lot.

Blog Assignment 001- iob

I didn't actually get to enter the industries of the blind. My alarm clock is my cell phone, and my cell phone was in my friend's car [Shirley Bircher] and therefore, did not wake me up in time to go to class. In an effort to catch up with the class, I tried to take my own trip through the building. However, the building was closed, and not having a phone to contact my ride there to take me back, I was forced to spend some quality time with the parking lot. 

SO I sat outside the building on a picnic table across the parking lot and tried to imagine what could possibly lie inside. I admired the light coming through the tree I perched beneath, and tried to imagine a world without. I looked across to the industries of the blind building and got nothing from it. The building seemed impenetrable, solid, and unwelcoming. From where I sat, the building was as mysterious as it had ever been. I thought, perhaps, it was that I had not taken the time to pause and ponder this building before that I knew so little about it. However, in my experience sitting there and focusing my thoughts towards this closed exterior, I determined that the fault was not mine for knowing so little, but theirs for shutting me out. I could not for a moment imagine what the interior would hold. To me it looked like a prison, but meant to keep people out, not restrain them from escape. 
Later, I looked at the pictures taken by my classmates. I was completely surprised at what I saw. It was nothing like how I imagined it to be. Through my classmates extensive photo record of the building, I took my own disjointed tour through the space. I saw the funny, under-stairwell garden, the bland meeting room, and factory areas of the building. While they did not meet my expectations for the building, both the interior and exterior had a cold and closed feeling to them. Both seemed to lack a sense  of welcoming to the visitor or to the users of the space. I thought the effort to create a sanctuary of sorts (the stairwell garden) was very sweet, and made me feel kindly towards the workers there. I heard of how wonderful the trip there was and how much I had missed out by not attending. Judging by how many of my class mates hoped to secure a spot on the iob team, I think this project holds many opportunities. How often does one get to design a space for those who can only witness it through their other senses? Putting our primary sense as designers on the bench, and trying to get a feel for the space and how both the users and visitors of the space will find a pleasant experience in it. I hope our class is able to improve on what they have, and open the space up to the community. Hopefully the designs my classmates come up with will be one to stimulate multiple senses and connect people through that experience.

GHM Exhibit Visit

I visited the Greensboro Historical Museum the other day to view the exhibits and fully understand the museum. Unfortunately, I did not find the overall experience of the museum to be a positive one. We parked in the museum lot, crossed the street,  and entered into the now familiar lobby. After signing in we climbed the stairs and began our journey through the maze of exhibits the museum had in store. First on the list:


Historic Room Interiors & The Art of Turning Clay


The pottery displayed was beautifully crafted and wonderful, but poorly displayed in my opinion. The visitor enters the space and advances between the cases of pottery. The pottery is entirely to bulked together and the walk between the cases to short to fully grasp or appreciate the beautiful ceramic forms. Even as I tried to examine pieces of pottery individually, I felt to visually overwhelmed to enjoy any of it. Then, surrounding the display of pottery, are rooms on display. The rooms are dimly lit and arranged in an awkward circular path around the central exhibit, forcing the visitor to cross paths with those entering the pottery exhibit and causing potential circulation blockage. Once the circle is complete, the visitor continues through to the next exhibit. A lingering confusion followed me out as I passed a stained glass window, remaining from when the space had a different purpose all together.




Voices of a City:


Of the Exhibits in the museum, The Voices of a City was the one I found most successful. The space designated for this exhibit could be considered a difficult one to work with, but it seemed to suit the exhibit chosen for it. The quotations on the wall that guide the visitor up to the exhibit gives the visitor an idea of what to expect. This guidance is absent in the majority of the museum, leaving me feeling uncertain and out of place for much of my time there. The wall was filled with pictures and information relating specifically to Greensboro and linking those events back to America as a whole. The pictures drew me in with their back lighting and the bold print of the information was very informative and simplistic. This was the only exhibit I wanted to see more of and felt comfortable being in. 


Gate City:


This exhibit seemed like an attempt to get the viewer involved by putting them in a three dimensional setup of what it would have been like in the early 1900's. However, the motion sensor audio bits and strange lighting made for an experience I did not all particularly want to be involved in. Instead of encouraging me to learn about this time period, I felt overjoyed that this was not my reality.


Gift Shop:


Like many museums, you find yourself there sometime during the path of the museum. However, I thought this one gave a little less warning than most. It seemed like a consumer surprise attack rather than a casual encounter. The shop itself seemed nice, but I didn't linger in the shop, but continued on through the exit.


Over all, I did not enjoy my time in the museum. I think the labyrinth of circulation, the unflattering lighting, and dysfunctional exhibit displays hindered my ability to appreciate and understand the information the museum was trying to share with me. I was a little disappointed.  

My Site Preference

Over the course of the semester so far we've looked at three truly unique and wonderful places. I love the Weatherspoon Art Museum with its dramatic lighting and labyrinth of galleries. I'm intrigued by the history behind the Greensboro Historical Museum and its quest to find its identity and truly represent Greensboro. I believe the Industries of the Blind provides a wonderful challenge to provide an aesthetically pleasing design across multiple senses and to do so with full accessibility. 
However, having thought about it a lot, I think the site I want to spend my time and efforts on is the Greensboro Historical Museum. I feel like I have a connection to the space and will be able to provide incite to what a well-functioning museum should feel like. I want to help them find their identity in the community and strengthen the unity of the space. I believe that this site is the one for me.

Greensboro Historical Museum

Narrative:

After finding some parking on the street, we fed the meter and started in the direction of the museum. The sign at the corner pointed us in the right direction and we paused in the plaza outside to wait for my Dad to arrive with our grandparents. Accustomed to the D.C. museums, my family tends to veer towards this type of attraction. A desk atop a faded oriental rug greeted us when we entered, and we gathered some information about the museum. Although I wanted to head straight up the stairs to my right, we made a small detour to a partial exhibit in the corner of the room. The furniture around the room seemed like an eclectic collection, and I wondered if each piece had been donated individually. A bucket perched on the window sill pointed toward a more obvious problem: leaking. We then climbed the highly embellished spiral stair case and begin the tour of the museum.

Quick, sketchy elevations of the site:

Thumbnail sketches:

 

Diagrams:

The Weatherspoon Museum

Narrative: 

The student climbs the stairs, barely glancing at the sculpture he passes. The air outside is hot and humid, but as soon as he opens the door there's a bit of relief, followed by a rush of cold air through the second door and enters the lobby. He takes a deep breath and smiles quickly at the security guard, congratulating himself for storing his bottle of soda in his back pack earlier (he's been chastised for bringing in beverages before). He takes a seat on the benches that are lined against the wall,  along with the other students.  The room echoes the swinging door and rustling bags, scuffing shoes and quiet conversation. Meditatively, he looks down the hallway to his left and up the stair case to his right, musing over what awaited through those hidden galleries. These thoughts evaporated as the auditorium doors suddenly split apart and students flowed out of its doors and those on the outside slowly trickled in to fill the spaces they'd left.

 

 Thumbnail sketches of the site:

 

Diagram drafts:

 

Reference plan:

 

Diagrams:

Industries of the Blind

The tree outside the building and some thumbnail sketches:

 

 Narrative:

We entered the simple entrance way into a lobby of space. Passing a strange room filled with potted plants we ascended a stairwell up to the office areas. 

Diagrams:

Diagrams:

So in Patrick's studio we've been doing a lot of diagrams for the spaces we've been surveying. He told us to look for diagrams in everyday life, and I immediately thought of the metro diagram

Each color represents a different train line. You can see where they overlap with other lines and where each stop is in relation to the city. Since looking at a variety of diagrams in class I've encountered them every where. In buildings, on street signs, on maps, describing systems, in explaining assembly, and in public transportation. I can't even imagine life with out them.

Elevations of the Greensboro HIstorical Museum

We went to the Museum last week to take a look at the space. Since we need to create a model, we broke into groups to draw elevations of all relevant areas. These are the elevations my group did of the middle floor