Site Analysis

With regard to the work that everyone did last week, one of the key aspects to remember is that very thing.....remember..... use what you have analysed dont treat it as a one of exercise and forget to use it. There was a decent amount of insight, information and analysis which needs to be kept close at hand in the coming weeks in order to have a reference point for your design and site strategies.
The analysis should also have given you plenty of food for thought as to what you find inspiring, interesting and challenging about the site that may be the starting point of some ideas and ways of approaching the building.
As discussed earlier, limitations are powerful frameworks upon which you can build a great deal of imaginative and creative solutions and proposals. Use the exercise to set up  parameters from which you can then reference against. In other words, there is no need to design from scratch, that is do not try to reinvent the wheel.
So this now ties in with the precedent studies......
Each building has a particular approach and idea about unit types, living, social agendas etc. Try to research your precedent and understand how it came about as best you can from information available and understand the way the units have been arranged, orientated, internally organsied and so on. This is not just a model making exercise but an exercise in interpretation, inquiry, research and understanding. The precedent may then also trigger a way of approaching the given site or provide some ideas for planning, circulation, design etc.

to summarise some keys things about the studio for the coming weeks;

1. strategic thinking
2. creating strong and reasoned arguments to support strategy and ideas
3. working within given and imposed constraints
4. understanding design as a process and evolution of idea and strategy
5. lateral and creative thinking

and recapping some studio matters/initiatives;

1. full attendance during semester
2. developing graphic skills.
3. not using standard CAD or Sketchup elements but creating purpose built items
4. creating well thought out presentations at all stages of studio
5. developing verbal presentation skills
6. working hard!