So it’s time to meet another member of the FSB design team. That would be George Dunlap, Senior Project Designer. He’s a talented architect and really good designer; you can reaffirm that yourself by revisiting to the Post “Preliminary Design-putting a wrapper on round one.” He tends to be on the reserved, quiet side that is until you talk to him about his passion “Design.”
Ready?
George: Oh Sure. Continue reading
Power. We seem to take it for granted but are reminded during storm season that it can be extinguished with one strategic lightning strike or a fallen tree or broken power pole. I haven’t shared much about the electrical engineering side of the project, but it is an important design element to the Chickasaw Visitor Center. The electrical system powers the lights, outlets, pumps, heating/cooling equipment, elevator and more.
Power is often discussed in terms of voltage which is the energy required to move an electrical charge along a path where negative charged objects are pulled towards higher voltages and the flow is called current. Volts are measured in joules per coulomb. All perfectly clear, right? Well you could always refer to Kirchhoff’s circuit laws to get everything straightened out, but wait, there’s more. Where have I heard that expression? E-gads! OK, here’s the simple version. Continue reading
Rube Goldberg was probably the most adept illustrator in creating a genre for the design of the supposedly perfect mousetrap which in fact was typically an over-designed contraption to perform a very simple task. His comic illustrations created a following as well as a common descriptive term found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary that bears his name. The “Rube Goldberg” machine contest is now an annual competition at institutions like Purdue and UC Berkeley.
Our approach to the design that traps gray water and recycles it for use in flushing other plumbing fixtures while intricate is hardly over complicated. The design is straight forward and efficient and gets right down to the business water efficiency through the reuse of waste water. The gray water system gains the project a number of key points for achieving LEED certification as a part of the sustainable goal set by the Chickasaw Nation (the Client). While the system is supported by architectural and electrical elements, it is predominantly a mechanical engineering system and the design is showcased in the plumbing section of the construction documents. Here’s how it works. Continue reading
The homelands of the Chickasaw were rooted in the southeastern states of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee and these places are the spiritual heart of the Chickasaw Nation. With their strong connection to the land there has always been a commitment to good stewardship of the earth that provides for their prosperity.
The Chickasaw culture and heritage have always had roots in nature and the elements and water has always been an important and spiritual part of their life. They typically developed their settlements along rivers and historically dominated much of the waterways between the Gulf of Mexico and the Ohio valley region. The waterways also provided an opportunity for trade which greatly benefited the tribe.
With water having such a strong influence on the history and culture of the Chickasaw, it was decided during the design phase to incorporate a water feature as a part of the Visitor Center to make this element a part of the experience for visitors. Continue reading
Filed under Background, Design, Materials
Stormwater is a primary source of water in many parts of the world and a sustainable approach to the control and use of rain water is something that should be taken to heart. As part of our pursuit of LEED certification for the Visitor Center, a significant number credit points is being gained from the incorporation of a Rain Harvesting system. Up to 6 points are in the balance based on being able to achieve 3 specific credits well. The credits are as follows: Continue reading
Blueprints-what are they
The term “Blueprint” is a common name for printed building plans that actually grew out of the printing/developing process that rendered a large sheet of paper blue resulting with white lines on a blue background. This was replaced by the diazo print process that used ammonia gas as the developing agent and changed the look to blue lines on white background. Young graduates were delegated to running the prints when needed and there are many from that era that surely passed out on occasion from the obnoxious ammonia fumes. We gladly shoved the FSB ammonia printer out one of the upper floor windows years ago when the new technology introduced electrostatic plotters that produce a copier quality product on a large paper format which appears as black lines on white background. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Materials
The 1965 film adaptation of the novel by John le Carre with the same title stars the ever charismatic but mysterious Richard Burton. While the film is based on the cold war spy industry and is steeped with figuring out who are the real undercover agents and possible defectors, our story is much simpler but hopefully does not have a tragic ending like the movie.
The S… coming in from the cold in our case is the structure that is continuous from interior to exterior and entails figuring how to limit the baggage it is trying to carry from the outside to the inside. The baggage is the transmission of the exterior cold to the inside conditioned space of the building. In reality the physics of the situation is that heat is being lost at such a rapid rate through the structure to the cold exterior that it lowers the temperature of the inside structure near the perimeter to the point where moisture in the air will condense on the surface and drip down on interior finishes. Bad situation. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Materials
Interior design is today a broad field of skill sets, but the part we invariably relate to the design profession is the interior feel of a space which is largely influenced by the materials we see, walk on and touch. It’s like an artist’s brush that has been stroked across the interior surfaces creating a mixture of colors, textures and visual excitement. While the creativity comes from the designer, the direction is once again cast by the goals and objectives set by the client. The interior designer transforms the desired effects and feelings to be evoked into a palette of materials that together speak the language of the room to those who visit and experience the space. Continue reading
While thinking of the design being something that continues on I could not help but flash on the classic ‘60’s hit, its syncopated driving bass line and closing lyric “and the beat goes on.” The 1967 pop hit is none other than “The Beat Goes On” written by Sonny Bono and sung by Sonny & Cher. Perhaps I’m giving up my generational age but the driving force of a project is the design and all the reasons it is what it is become the lyrics and legacy of the building as it lives on.
We’re into the final design phase of the Visitor Center. We have had preliminary design review meetings with the client and we have also had time to reflect on how well the design is achieving the project goals, LEED objectives and that the aesthetic character is right. The goals and objectives are more a matter of checking things off the list, but aesthetics are very subjective and we rely on an artistic maturity and the feeling that we created something special for the client. We get a thumbs-up from the Chickasaw Nation; that feels good. Continue reading
Design
When does it begin; when does it end? Design has its beginnings in the early dreams and vision of the client. Formalized design activity comes into play when the design professional engages in the project. These formal stages of preliminary design and final design initialize and refine the big idea respectively. While preliminary design creates the first generation of site and plan organization, final design investigates and resolves how the building components begin to integrate with one another. Final design sets the stage and direction for how the materials will blend and transition throughout the building. The pieces and parts of the architecture and engineering systems come together to form a composition of assemblies. These include floor assemblies, wall assemblies, ceiling assemblies and roof assemblies. However, the design effort does not end with final design. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Interior, Materials
.
.
Design Matters 