Project Brief
At the beginning of the semester, we all came together to define the term cræft. We had settled on the definition the the term cræft as an activity requiring an exceptional amount of skill and hand work to create something unique and functional. We were then tasked to take that concept and design collegiate academic centers for four separate crafts: ceramics, glassblowing, metalworking, and woodworking. I was tasked with designing a metalworking center that is meant to be used by roughly 20 students and 4 professors.
Site Location
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The site is located on the old historical site of Old Alton Bridge, which resides in Denton, TX, specifically Lantana. First built in 1884, Old Alton Bridge has been a significant historical landmark for decades. Its importance comes from that fact that it used to be the bridge that connected the town of Denton to the town of Copper Canyon. The bridge has been a major part of Texas history and has a great meaning to those who live around or near it. |
Aerial Photo of Old Alton Bridge
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Project Concept
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At the very beginning of the design phase, I create multiple parti drawings. This was so I could find a design that I would be comfortable moving on with. After design 24 partis, I had settle on five, which I then gave each one a name of what of saw. These names have no deeper meaning and are just strictly what I though they looked like. I decided to move on with the design I called "Eggs and Bacon", mainly because how I like the geometry fit together and the overall flow of the shapes. With that design, I then designed a rough concept of an academic center. All things off importance remained of the first floor while the faculty offices were more private as they are on the second floor. I also include a large outdoor atrium that is filled with trees and it serves as a place for visitors, students, or staff to take a break and just get a breath of fresh air. Following that theme, I included an outdoor walkway to the entrance so students fell a nice cool breeze as they get ready to learn for the day. The overall shape of the building is meant to mirror an abstract flower kind of, which is a metaphor for the personality or growth of a person. Each "petal" of the building is unique and they all come together to make an incredible space with an even more incredible purpose. Also, much like a flower, a craft can always continue to grow, change, and adapt. So I feel that the design makes sense.
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Final Design
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While the concept is solid, it was still pretty rough around the edges. So I made revisions. I started by connecting the storage space to the building. It was originally a separate building off to the side, kind off like a warehouse. However, materials are heavy no one wants to make a longer journey just to get some. So I attached it to the main building and gave every workshop into the storage. Another revision was the addition of a hallway in the workshops. I originally did not have have one, but then I realized how inconvenient it would be for students and faculty to have to walkthrough a workshop just to get to another workshop. So I add a hallway to solve this problem. My final major issue was scarcity of windows. Natural lighting is very beneficial as opposed to artificial light and almost every building in the world has windows. However, many metalworking workshops do not have windows. So there was the conflict. Do I add windows or do I not? I ended up not adding windows to the workshops, but I added windows to everywhere else I could. However, I did not add too much as I did not want a fully glass building. I feel that the addition of windows makes this building more inviting. Overall, while the is always work to be done in architecture, I am very pleased with how this building came ou.
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