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UNIT 3 - PROJECT SELECTION & DESIGN CONCEPT

This may be one of the few times in your life that you will be given the opportunity to select your own project and create and develop your own design concept.

Unless you are fortunate to have the resources or job or client that allows you total creative freedom, more often than not, there are other outside factors that limit your ability to design whatever and however you want. 

Further(less is)more, in this ever changing world of technology, materials, social structure and cultural dynamics, there is much new creative thought that needs to be given towards how does Architecture & Design adapt and evolve to meet those needs and create new places and spaces that reflect and inspire new ways of living in various types of Built Environments in the future.

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ASSIGNMENT 1 - PROJECT SELECTION
Below is a list of projects that students have designed in past years. If we were in the classroom, I would brief you as a group and show you plans and physical models. That not being possible, you can look in the Featured Projects section on the home page, and in the Student Portfolio galleries, you will (soon) be able to see a selected few of those projects and we can discuss questions or details if you are considering any of them or one of your own.

1.  'Techknow' Library & Resource Facility
2.   Community Recreation Center
3.   Seattle Center Coliseum
4.   Airport Terminal
5.   Mixed Use Urban Infill
6.   Amazon Corporate Headquarters
7.   World Trade Center
8.   Post Apocalyptic Habitat
9.   International Mixed Use Port Facility  
10. Housing for the Elderly
11. Portable Housing for the Homeless
13. Design a 'new type' of Built Environment of your own.

Below is a list with links to current Architectural Design competitions open to students. Make sure to read the entire design program and if you want to enter the competition, check the registration & submission date and what drawings or research is required to complete the project's presentation prior to the submission due date. Any entry fees will be paid by ESD.

14. eVolo SkyScraper Competition 
15. MicroHome International Design Competition
16. Yoga House on a Cliff
17. Solar Decathalon

Non Graded Assignment

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ASSIGNMENT 2 - DESIGN CONCEPT
After thorough analysis of the site and project program, a design concept can be explored which may strongly influence bubble arrangements. Design concepts are the common threads of thought and purpose that guide the designer to make choices about the plan function & exterior form and materials. This may involve designing to a type of 'style' or imagining a new way of building and using different materials. A concept relates not only to the look of the building, but more so to the 'feel' and meaning behind the design of the building and how it relates to its surroundings.
 
Outline a preliminary program of your project using what you have learned in previous units and apply it to developing a concept or an idea of how you intend to approach the design of your project.
Before you begin, answer these questions and give a brief explanation as to how you will approach your design for each. 

1. How and where are you going to capture natural light?
2. How will you integrate 'green systems' into your design?
3. List 4 words that describe your design concept and explain why you chose them for your project.
 
Watch these videos to deepen your understanding and assist you
in developing a Design Concept
 
1. How to Develop a Design Concept 
2. Design Concept Thinking and Seeing
3. This is what Design Concepts look like !!

DUE - 10/14/24

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