From the class Space and Materiality · Fall 2019
3D Paper/Cardboard Study Models
Concept Sketches/Models
Full-Scale Cardboard Prototype
Process Photos
Scaled Orthographic Drawings
Studio Photos
Photos on Site
Written Reflection
Exploration:
Yes- Laying in the hammock, sitting by the plants and sprawling across the floor.
No- Touching the railing, touching the bricks and walking barefoot.
Pedestrian- Everything on the balcony is limited by the railing. One can not go past it effectively or comfortably and it locks in the usable space of the site. Whenever anyone moves past the balcony’s railing people often get on edge or tense showing how non-pedestrian those actions are.
Creation:
My portable collapsible device is a thermally insulating sleeve for my balcony railing. This is because my railing is made of metal which gets both extremely cold and hot during winter and summer respectively. I have a medical condition called Cold Urticaria, essentially meaning I am allergic to the cold. When I come in contact with something cold my skin breaks out into hives. This sleeve I created serves the main purpose of preventing that from happening. In addition, to push people beyond being pedestrian, I added a collapsible table that extends way past the balcony that can hold anything you like. The table’s hinge is rated to support 300 lbs. Simply for utility on the inside, I also added a 5×8 inch pocket to store anything the user may need it to. The sleeve is stained a dark color and blends nicely into the surroundings bricks and dark plastic tiles below.
Embodied Lessons:
If I were to do this project again the largest change that I would make would be to change my construction order from cut>assemble>sand>stain to cut>sand>stain>assemble. Staining and sanding after assembly created all sorts of issues, most prominently, hard to reach spaces. I also learned to have more faith in my ideas. Throughout this project, I flipped my idea and it was to my detriment. My initial idea was much better and it was what I ended with. My accordion-like design while informative was not entirely fruitful to my project.
Connection to “Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work”:
A large shift in my making life and methods has been away from power tools and towards hand tools. Both Chris Nguyen and the author of this book have instilled in me a value for knowledge on how to do things simply for the pleasure of knowing how to do them. Being able to make something by hand and more importantly tools to adapt your environment to your needs is at the heart of making and it is sadly a dying art. I want to not only carry on these skills but help pass them on and proliferate the number of people making. Automation cant always quite replicate the quality of something hand made.
Copied from my Learning Portfolio: Project 2: Body Rooted in Place – SITE STUDY (September 30, 2019) and Project 2: Body Rooted in Place – DESIGN (October 31, 2019).