Assessment Step 2

A few reminders before we give your our impressions about your last presentation:

- There are still some groups that haven't uploaded their entries to our Dropbox folder. I remind you that what is not up there, simply doesn´t exist.

- In the folder named Análisis 25 Feb, you have 10 different folders correspondant to each of the 10 groups. Inside those folders you should upload ONLY your presentations, the most relevant information you've selected for your particular field of analisys. Of course that information should be uploaded in to different type of files: .pdf, so we can see exactly the DIN A-3 you presented; and .dwg, .doc, .jpg files with all that information available for anyone who wants to use it in the future.

- The rest of the aditional information you might have gathered and you think might be useful for the rest of the Unit please move it to the Toma de Datos folder (if neccesary you can make a specific folder inside this general one).

- So, please complete, replace and/or organise your files in Dropbox. There are still a couple of groups who haven't uploaded anything at all to their folder. There are plenty groups who have just uploaded their .pdf, but not any other type of file available for future use. An there are some groups that have placed aditional information inside the final Análisis 25 Feb. Please, try to be very clear and tidy with your uploading, because otherwise this is going to be a complete mess, useless and absurd.

Now, here you have our brief commet about your group work along step 2:

1. Urbano: It's a pity. You had more information from the Toma de Datos, than the one you finally presented.

2. Plantas: Good work. Accurate information. A little more effort in presentation, communication strategies would have been desirable.

3. Secciones: Enough, but there were too many differences between the different document you presented. A team must be a team.

4. Alzados: Well drawn and presented but you had some important mistakes that shouldn`t have been there.

5. Estructura: Simply excelent. Accurate and complete information and excellent communication.

6. Construccion: Enough but be careful with big mistakes and misunderstanding.

7. Catálogo: What you did was correct but as you've seen with the work developed by most of the other groups, perhaps a bit to brief.

8. Normativa: Good work. A lot of useful information.  Difficult but we expected you to extract the most relevant one more clearly in your presentation.

9. Historia: The information you've provided is quite interesting and may be useful, but you should have tried to produce some kind of document (.dwg) that could have been used by the rest of the unit in the future.

10. Fotográfico: Intelligent presentation but perhaps you could have shown us more interesting issues about the importance of the presence of our zombie (nature, river, suburban scale, how the building can be seen from the road, etc...) Information useful for the future...

Globaly I think we have quite a bit of information. We'll use it.

Let's continue...

Step 3: Re-programming proposals

Next step in our semester project consists in deciding what are we going to do with our "zombie"; what ideas are we able to propose in order to find a specific use or group of uses for the new built environment we'll develop on the site. With all the information we've collected, what could be proposed on the site?

At the moment we are not asking for a design but just for a programatic idea about what type of use/s could be installed on the site that would initially suit all the conditions you have been able to recognise. So, what we'd like from each of the 16 couple-teams is:

- 1 DIN A-4, with a brief and clear written presentation of your re-programing proposal, explaining reasons for its' selection and possibilities of its' development.

- 1 DIN A-4, with a quick collage made out basicaly with any documentation of the site (picture, plan, section, elevation, etc...) and a real EXAMPLE of a building with a similiar program and scale as the one you've selected.

On Monday 4 March, we'll have a long brain storming during class, where we'll present, discuss and select the best re-programing proposals in order to start their designs during the rest of the semester.

For this stage, we've sorted out the Unit in 16 couple-teams:

1. Antolín + David

2. María José R. + José Antonio

3. Miguel + Cristina

4. Laura A. + Carlos M.

5. Laura R. + Lavinia

6. Panagiotis + Martha

7. Jorge + Luis

8. Francisco + Rafael

9. Arturo + Angel

10. Arian + Dimitra

11. Aikaterini + Michelle

12. Daniela + María José G.

13. Andrés + Bárbara

14. Sergio F. + Alberto

15. Ínigo + Enrique

16. Sérgio L. + Adela

On Thursday 28 February we shall start discussing your ideas and your examples.

Perhaps we could also think about our Style Book. Having a look at your previous entries, I think we should try to make a few decisions so as to give a little more unity to your presentations.

1º Jury 2013 - Stand Unit VF

CALLE PIAMONTE, 23 ( Madrid ) - Sede de FUCOAM.


P/D ->  Congratulations to the unit VF and encourage the new semester.

Meeting Point 1

After our little party, next Monday we have our first meeting session. A brief reminder of what we'll be doing and what we expect from each one of the groups:

- By the time class starts (12.00, for those who are still a bit distracted) each one of the 10 gropus must have all the documentation they've developed loaded up on our Dropbox Folder. Please try to be tidy, organize and name your files clearly so everybody can understand and find its' content easily. Each group has its' own folder with an specific content assigned. Of course delete, those old files which are not useful anymore, or remove them to some other folder.

- Each group must upload two types of documents to the appropiate folder (nothing else but these files inside those 10 folders please; other preliminary documentation or sketches should be deleted o removed to the Toma de Datos Folder): a) documents the group provides the rest of the Unit, so they can freely use them for next steps (remember formats and all other conditions we agreed on), and b) .pdf archives presenting groups' documentation (remember DIN A-3)

- We shall start the session with the 10 group presentations, explaining the work they've developed and where to find it (file contents, difficulties, preliminars, etc...). Stick to relevant information. We expect each group to be clear, brief and effective in their presentation. The main goal of this session is to COMMUNICATE the rest of the project team of all the INFORMATION available.

- After these presentation I think we can all make a global assessment of all the information we've managed to gather. Each group will have the opportunity to assess the others' work. You must also learn to make a serious critic of what other team member present you.

- Finally we'll expose next step of the exercise and we'll make new groups for it's development. It's going to be very quick: 1 week.

ARCHITECTURE!!!!

I'd like to thank all of you for the Jury we had yesterday. I saw most of you around there and I think we had a really good time. You're pretty young so I must tell you it is not that usual that a bunch of people gather around a strange and obsesive discipline like ours, and simply celebrate it's existance. We are all trying to handle many difficulties around arquitecture, and events as yesterdays', make me feel accompanied and hopeful.

Long Life for Architecture!

PD1. Special thanks for all those who brought material for the exhibition, for those who helped us with our Unit Stand and, of course, for David and his excellent presentation (in my opinion, the best of the eight presented... je, je... teachers' proud).

PD2. Alberto Durero, La melancolía, a very important picture for all architects. Have a calm look at it. I understand it as the best portrait of the architect (It's really all black and white. Green is mine. I love that magic square!)

Jury 1ºSemester, next Thursday...

Here you have the details for next Thurdays' Jury. Conference and Jury sessions will take place during afternoon and evening (15.00h-20.00h) but we are all expected to set up the exhibition during the morning. And, of course, to tidy up everything after the last Jury session. We are planning to  construct a very simple stand for our Unit so I think it will be enough with a couple of ours before lunch and another one at the end.

We remind all students that assistance is absolutelely compulsary for all Unit members (1º and 2º semester). Joaquín will organise our whole presentation and he'll contact some of you, so you have enough time to prepare certain documentation, models, panels and presentation. But everyone will be required to help during the set up and clearance processes.

I'm sure will have a good time like last year at the HUB, and we'll have the opportunity to hear some interesting opinions about the work we've developped.

Talking about Architecture: Eurovegas?

This semester I'm going to open another little section in this blog. I'll ask you about certain issues around our great world of Architecture and I'd like to hear/read you personal opinions. Don't be afraid. I feel you must get used to talk about Architecture, learn how to construct a brief architectural o general critic, and slowly define your way to understand this complex discipline we adore...

I'm not looking for tough and long essays. But it would be interesting that you tried to adress your particular point of view in a brief comment to the entry. Or perhaps you'd prefer to post an independent one in the blog. Perfect in any case. The idea is that we hear/read each other, speaking about Architecture. I'll also post my opinions, sometimes before and sometimes after the question I make (by the way, if anybody wants to propose any other issue, do so. The only condition is that the person who makes the question MUST express his/her opinion)

Some weeks ago I posted the entry "LSP, una opinión nada más". It could certainly be understood as Chapter 0 of this new section. Please do feel free to comment it.

In this entry I'd like to discuss the huge Eurovegas operation that's just been approved for Alcorcón. What do you think about it?

[feel confortable, write either in Spanish or English]

Step 2: Presenting Data...

Groups of Students assigned to each of the ten analytical study areas are the following:

1) Site Physical Context: Sergio + Carlos 

2) Buiding Plans: David + MªJosé

3) Buiding Sections: Alberto + Arian

4) Building Elevations: Mª José + Cristina

5) Structure System: Jesús + J.Antonio

6) Constructive System: Laura + Bárbara

7) Catalog of Materials: Andrés + Rafael + Daniela

8) Urbanistic Situation: Luis + Enrique

9) Historical Evolution _ Not Assigned

10) Photographic Documentation: Dimitra

The Unit has commissioned [MªJosé + J.Antonio + Luis] to start to develop and define our general Style Book.

Schedule for this step 2:

- Thursday 14, (first sketches 10 areas / style book definitions)

- Monday 18, (presentation correction)

- Thursday 21 (1ª semester jury)

- Monday 25 (step 2 deadline)

Reminder:

Apart from all the aspects established in the assessment criteria, we'd like to remind all groups that there are two main different aspects to consider in your final presentations:

1) Accuracy, rigor and density of all the information presented.

2) Creative, efective and persuasive strategies to communicate those data.

Assessment Step 1

This semester after each of the quick short steps of our exercise, we shall try to give you a brief assessment of how the task has been developped. It may give you an idea about your progress during the semester. You must be aware that your final result will be a consequence of these plenty/short assessments in which we'll consider all the criteria we detailed at the beggining of the semester.

For this Step 1 we divided students into 4 groups.

The four of them have done basicly a correct job.

But we'd like to hightlight teams dedicated to site approach and constructive documents.

Obviously we've also taken note of students who haven´t participated in this Gathering Data Phase.

Step 1: Gathering Data...

The first step of any design process is to gather as much correct and complete documentation as possible about the problem we are about to try to solve. This phase is usually called analysis.  If we work alone, this stage can take an enormous amount of time and results are usually uncomplete due to this simple reason. Team work allows to gather a much more important amount of information that might be useful for our future design, concentrating each team members' attention on a particular aspect of the problem to be solved.

In this sense we have established 10 different areas of characteristics of the site we want to analyse in order to be able to gather as much precise information as possible about these different aspects. On Thursday and on site, after doing a general visit to the building an its' surroundings altogether to have a general impression of the site, we will distribute students of the Unit into 10 groups. Each group will focus this, their first task of the semester, on gathering and presenting their specific area of analysis to the rest of the team.

The ten areas are the following:

1) Site Physical Context (Plans/Sections)

2) Buiding Plans

3) Buiding Sections

4) Building Elevations

5) Structure System

6) Constructive System

7) Catalog of Materials (Quantity and Characterístics)

8) Urbanistic Situation

9) Historical Evolution

10) Photographic Documentation

Each of the ten areas need to a) gather information and b) present and complete this information so as it's most useful for future steps. Each of them can be simply be completed a simple nearly administrative task, or, otherwise, you may try to complete a rich, creative and atractive document that has it's own values, apart from the accurate information it may contain.

We are looking for this second type of document. Each group should try to make a complete and correct informational document as a part of a global process; but it should also be presented as if it were a final entry in itself, including all the persuasive design and communicational strategies the group considers appropiate. 

Site Visit: Appointment

As any commission would start in any Architectural Office, our first task will be to get in touch with the site were we are going to work.

We have appointed a visit to the site for the whole Unit next Thursday, 7 February at 12.00. Sharp!!

I leave you a map showing how to get from the Campus to the Site. It's only a mile away so I suggest two possibilies:

a) 12.00 in front of the site (B). Do not enter before we arrive! We must speak with the guardsman before entering, and be aware it's a construction site, so we must all be very careful while we are visiting it.

b) 11.45 in the campus parking in front of our main building (A). It will only take us a 3 minute ride or a 15 minute walk o get to the site.

PLEASE, everybody must be extremely PUNCTUAL

We are going to visit a construction site to gather data for our proposals. Regard what youare going to wear in order to be confortable and, most of all, secure (particularlly shoes). Besides, as we are going to gather several data, work out what kind of material and tools you'll need. Nothing special but, at least:

- something to write on

- something to write with

- measuring tape (long and short)

- camera

... and what ever you think might be useful.

2º Semester Assignment, Unit V&F

UCJC Arquitectura 2012-2013 (2 semester)

V&F Design Unit

Professors: Diego Fullaondo Buigas de Dalmau

            Joaquín López Vaamonde

Unidad V&F:

Reloading m³

“Suburban Built Equipment by the River (Villafranca del Castillo)”

In our V&F Unit this second semester of academic year 2012-2013 we are going to continue the Research by Design proposal called “Reloading m3”. We suggest that new students in the Unit quickly read the previous entries of this blog, particularly those at the beginning of first semester where we stated the general aims and goals of the program.

This new period is going to introduce two main changes in our Unit Global Strategy:

-          We’ve selected a new and single site as case study problem where all students will have to work during the whole semester. Therefore we eliminate the initial “short exercise” and we’ll concentrate all our efforts in a single proposal.

-          We’ll propose a new collaborative work methodology for the Unit to encourage all students to thoroughly develop their team work skills, with is definitely likely to be the most usual and positive environment where they’ll work in the future.

The SITE:

For this second semester we have chosen a MEDIUM SCALE architectural-zombie that is really close to our University Campus:

Equipment building by the north entrance of Villafranca del Castillo.

It’s an uncompleted structure, approximately a hundred meters long and forty meters wide with three floors with no particular architectural values at all. The construction of the building stopped a few years ago due to various causes which we shall have to precise. The result of this unsuccessful development is the presence of a big structure, standing completely a ruined and in quite dangerous physical conditions just by the entrance of a high standing suburban built environment.

We have chosen this new site for the following reasons:

-          PROXIMITY: It will allow us a deep knowledge of its physical conditions which we came to understand on site.

-          MEDIUM SCALE: The size of the proposal we are about to start will cover a wide range of scales, from site understanding to interior design.

-          LACK OF ARCHITECTURAL INTEREST: The original building designed for only partially completed, has no architectural interest at all. It’s extraordinary simple. So it is absolutely obvious that an intense reconfiguration of its physical characteristics will be needed in whatever proposal of use.

-          UNCOMPLETED: As it is not finished, on one had it is possible to actually see the constructive processes and systems used by the initial designers, and, on the other, we are obligated to complete/correct most of what’s been done.

The METHODOLOGY:

This semester our unit will concentrate its efforts in practicing and developing students’ abilities and skills inside a TEAM ENVIRONMENT. Instead of proposing a more traditional design unit methodology where each student toughly works alone in his/her single proposal from the beginning to the end of the term, form initial sketches to final presentations, we want to practise TEAM work in all the different stages of the development of an architectural project.

The autistic myth of the architect as an autonomous creator who is able to invent and complete great intuitions perhaps (I personally doubt it) had some sense a few decades ago. But it’s certainly impossible nowadays. Even the tiniest office of architecture faces the most modest and simple commission, using an adequate group of people and means for the task, working together and multiplying the benefits of their collaboration. The enormous complexity of the context where Architecture resides on, makes unavoidable the fact that its completion requires team work. Nevertheless, many academic assignments continue concentrating in developing only students individual skills.

For these reason our whole Unit, students and lecturers, is going to work this semester as if we were an Architectural Office that’s received a new commission. Students will be part of a large team with a problem to solve and a proposal to make. Along a single global design process, every student will have to assume different tasks and comfortably move from one to another when required. He/She will have to participate in discussions, propose alternatives, criticise ideas and make decisions, trying to conclude the best for the team, even if that means abandoning his/her own ideas and assuming others.

Therefore the Unit will focus more intensely on processes than in results. We will concentrate on the quality of partial documents more than in global coherence. We expect active participation of each team member and expert responses on specific issues that appear during design process. And, of course, students will have to learn to identify and recognise strength, creativity and new possibilities inside the most valuable ideas of each others work, and to negotiate the most adequate way to construct a global proposal which includes the most significant of them.   

The ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

We have usually outlined the following aspects of student’s proposals as the ones that configure the assessment of their work:

- Rigor and precision through out all proposals’ development.

- Proposals’ creativity and innovation.

- Proposals’ adaptability to different situations.

- Technological viability and development.

- Communication and graphic general quality of proposal’s presentation.

These five aspects will certainly be assessed during this semester. But, due the Team Methodology we are going to use, we will apply these concepts to EACH STEP of the long process the whole Unit will develop, instead of referring them to the final design of each student. We will assess against these five criteria each of the single documents each student is able to construct along the procedure. Therefore we recommend a continuous and special care in all partial presentations and tasks during the semester.

Finally, there are some other aspects directly related specifically to skills and abilities required by an architect in a Team Work Environment that will also be assessed:

-          Attendance to team sessions (class)

-          Active participation in discussions

-          Uploading of new ideas or alternatives to de discussed

-          Critic and Self-critical capacity

-          Expert knowledge and Specialisation

-          Adaptability to new design requirements

-          Assumption of individual responsibilities

-          Leadership in design process when required

-          Negotiation and Integration Design Capacity

Madrid 4 february 2013

Off we go!

Yesteday, Monday 4 February 2013, our Unit started the second semester of Academic Year 2012-2013. To avoid any time problems at the end of the term, we quickly explained the assignment and methodololy we are going to follow during next weeks. Any students who wants to be part of our Unit should immediately come to class (next Thursday, see next entries in this blog) and individually speak with either Joaquin or myself. Due to some special characteristics of the assignment proposed it will be quite difficult for students to enter the Unit once our work has started...

Welcome and good luck for everyone!