PROJECT PHASE 1: MASTER PLAN
AM PRACTICUM STUDIO: JOSLYN WOOTEN, HANNAH DEITRICK, PRESTON NOFFZ, & SAVIER PEGUERO
Our project this semester centers around one question: how can we preserve the values of human craft in a world of increasing technological dominance? All architecture studios this semester are collaborating to create a college near Old Alton Bridge in Denton where students can practice craft to preserve the legacy of the handmade. Our initial role in this project was to create a master plan, outlining building orientation and space designation to connect our project to the site and demonstrate craft through the layout itself.
CRAFT INVESTIGATIONS
collages to define the concept of craft
Joslyn
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Savier
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Hannah
Preston
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Joslyn: Craft is deeply tied to individual aptitude and talent, often reflecting the imperfections that showcase the human touch. It thrives on the use of natural materials, emphasizing the integration of nature in design to convey a sense of authenticity. As craftsmanship increasingly yields to mass production, it is human creativity that distinguishes individuals, adding a unique three-dimensional quality to their work.
Savier: When creating a collage to represent my interpretation of the word ‘cræft’, I immediately thought of when professionals in any particular field mention “I am always working on my craft”. This phrase led me to think of cræft as a skill that is always being enhanced or added onto. In my collage you can see that in the bottom left corner, I have used many examples of older architecture, landscapes, and ruins. In the top right corner, everything is a bit more modern with technology and a new style of architecture. The goal was to contrast the differences between the two styles and to show how much something can be improved and added onto, much like a cræft.
Hannah: I interpreted craft as a representation of ease and intentionality. As I researched buildings and hand-crafted items that demonstrated craft, I noticed that my favorite designs gave the impression of effortlessness and consisted of various elements that were very intentionally orchestrated, much like a dancer effortlessly orchestrates complex moves. In my collage, the dancer at the center represents a craftsman, each of the shapes flowing from her fingers and aligning with ease through their similar forms and colors. Intentionality was the center of my collage, with each item placed together seamlessly much like a craftsman weaves together a design.
Preston: For my craft collage I felt that the best way to describe craeft was through small detail and designs coming together to form one general image or idea. For each main color I compiled many small images that had no relevance to each other, but shared similar tone and colors. Together these small images and details formed a group of one color.
Savier: When creating a collage to represent my interpretation of the word ‘cræft’, I immediately thought of when professionals in any particular field mention “I am always working on my craft”. This phrase led me to think of cræft as a skill that is always being enhanced or added onto. In my collage you can see that in the bottom left corner, I have used many examples of older architecture, landscapes, and ruins. In the top right corner, everything is a bit more modern with technology and a new style of architecture. The goal was to contrast the differences between the two styles and to show how much something can be improved and added onto, much like a cræft.
Hannah: I interpreted craft as a representation of ease and intentionality. As I researched buildings and hand-crafted items that demonstrated craft, I noticed that my favorite designs gave the impression of effortlessness and consisted of various elements that were very intentionally orchestrated, much like a dancer effortlessly orchestrates complex moves. In my collage, the dancer at the center represents a craftsman, each of the shapes flowing from her fingers and aligning with ease through their similar forms and colors. Intentionality was the center of my collage, with each item placed together seamlessly much like a craftsman weaves together a design.
Preston: For my craft collage I felt that the best way to describe craeft was through small detail and designs coming together to form one general image or idea. For each main color I compiled many small images that had no relevance to each other, but shared similar tone and colors. Together these small images and details formed a group of one color.
ARCHITECT INVESTIGATIONS
collages to investigate how successful architects demonstrate craft
Joslyn- Mies Van Der Rohe
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Savier- Alvar Aalto
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Preston- Peter Zumthor
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Hannah- Wes Jones
Joslyn: Mies Van der Rohe, a prominent contemporary architect known for the maxim "less is more," strongly advised against unnecessary ornamentation and emphasized the importance of balancing aesthetics with practicality. His expertise lay in simplicity, and we define craft as that balance.
Savier: When studying an architect who demonstrates cræft in their work, an architect that caught my attention was the Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto. He demonstrates cræft through his interior design where every piece of the interior was designed by himself. From the doors all the way down to the door handles, everything was designed by him. That is how he brilliantly showed cræft in his work.
Preston: For my architect collage I chose Peter Zumthor. I noticed his work is very minimalistic and modest, and often blends into the surrounding environment either by contrast or resemblance. I used images of nature and textures and cropped images of his buildings that fit into the images of similar landscapes.
Hannah: Wes Jones, the architect behind my collage, focused on countering the technological dominance of today with intricate machinery woven into his designs. Many of Jones' projects use a myriad of materials, from old machine parts to storage container walls, but Jones uses craft to combine each element in a way that makes sense both functionally and aesthetically. My collage mimics his style by combining different elements of his designs in a way that appears almost seamless.
Savier: When studying an architect who demonstrates cræft in their work, an architect that caught my attention was the Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto. He demonstrates cræft through his interior design where every piece of the interior was designed by himself. From the doors all the way down to the door handles, everything was designed by him. That is how he brilliantly showed cræft in his work.
Preston: For my architect collage I chose Peter Zumthor. I noticed his work is very minimalistic and modest, and often blends into the surrounding environment either by contrast or resemblance. I used images of nature and textures and cropped images of his buildings that fit into the images of similar landscapes.
Hannah: Wes Jones, the architect behind my collage, focused on countering the technological dominance of today with intricate machinery woven into his designs. Many of Jones' projects use a myriad of materials, from old machine parts to storage container walls, but Jones uses craft to combine each element in a way that makes sense both functionally and aesthetically. My collage mimics his style by combining different elements of his designs in a way that appears almost seamless.
SITE ANALYSIS
a study on how our site's environment will impact our design
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In researching and furthering our knowledge of the site, we came across limitations, but also unique design problems. The context map highlights what belongs to us and what nearby structures reside that could influence our designs. For instance, Guyer High School is located only a few miles North, which goes in accordance with the purpose of our college. Though topography is typically a setback, in this case, it prompts no immediate design concerns. We also need to be aware of the views that will be showcased depending on our building orientation. We would prefer our campus to look out to the river rather than the industrial complexes. In terms of environmental factors and influences, the main concern is the potential river flooding, so any buildings designed close by would be required to adhere to those restrictions. Sustainability is also important to note as our site is heavily composed of trees, so we need to face that situation with a conservational mindset. The noise map also influences building orientation as we do not want the residential area to be occupied by the obnoxious echoes of traffic. An additional looming concern regards transportation. As of now, there is only one vehicular entrance to the site that requires visitors to drive through a private area, so we will need to create more convenient methods of transportation.
MASTER PLAN
our final design decision
Buildings: We chose to divide the campus buildings by purpose to maintain a clear separation between academic/work life and private life. Instead of clustering majors together, we wanted to promote unity among students from different disciplines since everything is within walking distance. The dorms are centered around a landscaped area to encourage interaction across majors, fostering creativity through exposure to diverse fields.The public areas, including the market and the gallery, are located at the center. The market, as a lively and accessible space, allows students to sell their works, while the gallery is a quieter, more secluded venue for displaying art or hosting presentations. We positioned the academic buildings near the front entrance for visitor access, while the residences are set back for privacy. Faculty residences enjoy scenic views, with some facing the creek and others the forest.
Building Placement: We positioned the glass and ceramics buildings together due to their shared artistic principles. Similarly, the metal and woodworking buildings are grouped because of their structural similarities. Ceramics and glassworking both resonate with public interest, which is why they are situated at the public interface. Glassworking takes precedence in visibility, as it is located along the main road, and close to the gallery and market.
Roads and Circulation: For our master plan design, we wanted to focus on sustainability when it came to roads and cars creating noise pollution. You’ll see in our designs that roads are minimal, and mostly only where it's needed for fire truck access. We created a new entrance which crosses the river on the west side of the site. This road follows the top of the site all the way to the east which connects to the public and private parking lots. The public parking lots will be for visitors coming to visit either the sites available trails and paths, or the actual work of the college, and the private parking lots will be for residents and faculty. The road follows along each of the plots dedicated for the academic buildings which branch off into a hammerhead service courtyard for full firetruck access, deliveries and additional parking spaces. The road also connects to and runs through the area dedicated for faculty housing to provide full access all around the site with minimal disruption. The design is very pedestrian friendly with many meandering paths all around the campus.
Site Sustainability: Given the density of our highly forested site, our group was challenged to tackle this design challenge with sustainability in mind. While we aim to conserve as much vegetation as possible, we recognize the practical limitations of construction. We are aware of the historic old-growth forest to the north and are dedicated to preserving as much of it as we can. Our objective is to utilize primarily local materials, but we also acknowledge that the structural wood on-site is often fragile and unsuitable for our needs. For water use, we will implement a rainwater recycling system specifically for landscaping and irrigation purposes. To promote sustainable living environments, we are actively developing a recreational space and a trail system that encourages walking and outdoor activities for the public, students, and faculty alike. We are confident that we can identify sustainable energy sources and HVAC systems while carefully addressing issues of pollution with both light and emissions.
Craft at the Center: Since our design will function as a college for craft, we felt it necessary to incorporate elements of craft into our master plan. Craft is evident in the design's overall balance between functionality and aesthetic. The academic, public, and residential areas are distinctly separated on the master plan to facilitate a clear public-private interface but also to give the appearance of alignment and cleanness. Additionally, our design incorporates the "handmade" part of craft by reserving an area of our design for nature, encouraging breaks from the technologized world and immersion into the natural world, the root of creativity.
Building Placement: We positioned the glass and ceramics buildings together due to their shared artistic principles. Similarly, the metal and woodworking buildings are grouped because of their structural similarities. Ceramics and glassworking both resonate with public interest, which is why they are situated at the public interface. Glassworking takes precedence in visibility, as it is located along the main road, and close to the gallery and market.
Roads and Circulation: For our master plan design, we wanted to focus on sustainability when it came to roads and cars creating noise pollution. You’ll see in our designs that roads are minimal, and mostly only where it's needed for fire truck access. We created a new entrance which crosses the river on the west side of the site. This road follows the top of the site all the way to the east which connects to the public and private parking lots. The public parking lots will be for visitors coming to visit either the sites available trails and paths, or the actual work of the college, and the private parking lots will be for residents and faculty. The road follows along each of the plots dedicated for the academic buildings which branch off into a hammerhead service courtyard for full firetruck access, deliveries and additional parking spaces. The road also connects to and runs through the area dedicated for faculty housing to provide full access all around the site with minimal disruption. The design is very pedestrian friendly with many meandering paths all around the campus.
Site Sustainability: Given the density of our highly forested site, our group was challenged to tackle this design challenge with sustainability in mind. While we aim to conserve as much vegetation as possible, we recognize the practical limitations of construction. We are aware of the historic old-growth forest to the north and are dedicated to preserving as much of it as we can. Our objective is to utilize primarily local materials, but we also acknowledge that the structural wood on-site is often fragile and unsuitable for our needs. For water use, we will implement a rainwater recycling system specifically for landscaping and irrigation purposes. To promote sustainable living environments, we are actively developing a recreational space and a trail system that encourages walking and outdoor activities for the public, students, and faculty alike. We are confident that we can identify sustainable energy sources and HVAC systems while carefully addressing issues of pollution with both light and emissions.
Craft at the Center: Since our design will function as a college for craft, we felt it necessary to incorporate elements of craft into our master plan. Craft is evident in the design's overall balance between functionality and aesthetic. The academic, public, and residential areas are distinctly separated on the master plan to facilitate a clear public-private interface but also to give the appearance of alignment and cleanness. Additionally, our design incorporates the "handmade" part of craft by reserving an area of our design for nature, encouraging breaks from the technologized world and immersion into the natural world, the root of creativity.
