Sketch Problem 6

SKETCH PROBLEM 6: Transitional Shelter
Assigned: May 5, 2023
Due: May 15, 2023, Mid-Review, LAWRENCE 231
Desk Crits: 5.8.23,  5.10.23, 5.12.23, *
Guest Talk by Mark Eischeid, 5.10.23, 4 to 5 pm. **

DRAFT
* Do a mockup of mid-review drawings at tabloid size, not at full size, on 5.12 in LA 278.  See Media below.
** Mark Eischeid will meet with us in LA 286.

Sailmaker Kendall Blake discusses sail tensioning and camber with design studio, E. Mark Photo, April 12, 2023.

OVERVIEW

The studio will now work with a more complete narrative and developed site specific architectural program. The program should be customized to respond to the needs of a particular community which was the basis for Sketch Problem 5 . It should to some degree be adaptable to different groups of people. The scope should now encompass a UNCHR sized “Community” of 16 household units, one or two common community structures, and related site use and small scale amenities.

As initiated in the past few exercises, this narrative can be developed from literature in the  bibliography or other sources. For example, this narrative may be based upon a hypothetical scenario of local residents from the Coos Bay area displaced  to one of the higher elevation state parks nearby by a Tsunami, Fire or Earthquake and who have inadequate time to evacuate the region. It may be based upon a current events scenario of unaccompanied forcibly displaced children put within a special custodial program and suffering from attachment disorder. Or, it may be respond to the needs of forcibly displace people arriving from outside the US. Since most students in the studio have already established an interest in a particular group of people, this stage of our process should include a particular accommodation based upon a more developed set of scenarios.

 

SIZE SHELTER

The “household” unit should include accommodation for a range of social circumstances fitting the narrative, including if appropriate shared living space. The design of one unit should be represented in detail. A cluster of at least four households should be represented  in terms of shared site use and possibly common social uses. The full set of structures should be represented schematically on the site in plan, section and perspective or axonometric projection.

The floor area for the current exercise will remain at  450 square feet for each household unit (a so-called UNHCR “family” unit) with some modest allowance of 25% more space if your narrative seems to warrant it. In sketch problem 6, the exercise that follows this one,  the square footage will itself be more open to individual proposition and argument for a household. It’s also possible that smaller single person units could be aggregated to make a so-called single household

TYPE FABRIC STRUCTURE

In sketch problems 1 and 3 the studio worked on developing a “soft” architectural type shelter that relied upon fabric tensioning and tensegrity methods as part of the structural solution. For contrast, in sketch problem 4  the studio worked on developing a “hard”  rigid frame folding type shelter where fabric was used as skin but not as a part of the primary structural method. In sketch problem 5 the studio was encouraged to explore a hybrid household unit, with fabric as structure and fabric as skin. Now in the current sketch problem the choice of type fabric structure is completely discretionary. It may be based on fabric as structure, fabric as skin over a structure, or a hybrid of the two types,.

Moreover, the earlier sketch problems concentrated on experimenting with physical modeling and schematic illustrations, but were not fully developed in architectural drawings, specifications and computer modeling methods.  Moreover, exercise 5 was introduced a preliminary layout on the site and mockup sections. In contrast,  this current exercise begins to more completely address the ground , site, circulation, public to private space, environment, wind, sun angles, views and site features.This sketch exercise also takes on the objective of accommodating a longer term stay of an uncertain time length. A greater range of design representations and methods and more integral to the process, and establish a default template for the final review.

SITE

The field trip to OIMB established two potential sites for the UNHCR community of 16 residential units for either of the two adjacent parks Sunset Bay State Park, and Shore Acres State Park .  One of the sites should be chosen and the layout of the 16 family units should be developed in plan.  Secondary units (e.g., dining, infirmary, meditation, picnic areas, gardens) should be now considered in schematic form as a mid-review.

The studio has access to 2′ contour digital terrain models (DTM) of the two state park sites based on GIS data. It also has access to a lower resolution digital terrain model based upon Google Earth. Either of these models may be used directly. Hand drawing sketches made during the field trip to the state parks should be incorporated into your review on May 15 The  DTM files are located on the courses file server:

    • Parent folder: //blogs.oregon.edu/courses/ARCH484_584_31167_SPRING2023/Shared_Data/.
    • Subfolder:  targetSitesDTMFiles contains separate Contour & DTM files for Sunset Bay and Shore Acres.

Aerial images of the three site parks are shown in the following figures, and can easily be remade from Google Earth or Google Maps. Select any image below for a full resolution version.


Sunset Bay State Park closeup and context aerials, Google Maps


Shore Acres State Park closeup and context aerials,Google Maps

SiteMap_Base Aerial images for Sunset Bay State Park and Shore Acres Park rescaled at 1/64″ scale  by John Green, 4.29.18.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The review should include photographic references to and if feasible physical inclusion of study models from the earlier exercises as they reflect the primary method of investigation through the first half of the term.

  1. Develop a 450 sq. ft. (+/- 25 %) collapsible fabric architecture structure based on either one or a hybrid of both of the type structures studied thus far.
  2. Develop the physical connection to the ground or foundation system.
  3. Deploy the structure on one of the two sites studied on the field trip: Sunset Bay State Park or Shore Acres State Park
  4. Depict in plan the deployment of a community of 16 shelters. Add additional service structures (e.g., dining, infirmary, etc.).
  5. Develop a 3D layout of four unit clusters and their spatial or physical connections.
  6. Based upon your own review of the literature in the bibliography or from other sources determine a narrative of a particular group of forcibly displaced people that would form the community.
  7. Establish roughly five discussion points and one key question that you have regarding your own proposition and that may help to shape the discussion for the mid-review.

Constraints:

  • The household unit armature itself should fully flatten and collapse to the degree possible.
  • At least two entrances/exits.
  • Operable openings for fresh air, natural light and views.
  • 4 to 6 places for sleeping.
  • 4 to 6 writing surfaces and/or one common surface for dining.
  • Daylighting.
  • Minimal artificial lighting.
  • Explicit renderings of building transformation / assembly process (IKEA like assembly optional).
  • Passive solar design principles.
  • Consideration of wind, rain and snow.
  • Consideration of environmental impact on habitats and marine conditions.

Exclude:

  • Washing or WC facilities.
  • Kitchen

Media:

Investigate the structure concurrently in physical model form and through drawing and computer modeling. The joints in the structure may be studied with off-the-shelf hardware (e.g., Michael’s, Lowes, etc.), hand crafted models and/or 3D printed components. More specifically, consider fabric connection devices that help with “rigging”, retraction and unfurling of the structure. Consider the degrees of freedom in the movement of the joints. Work towards interchangeable parts that can assembled and disassembled for more than one purpose.

Note that computer renderings or drawings can be used to supplant the physical modeling of joints if you aren’t able to complete them in time.

Plot size area on walls will be 48″ x 72″ maximum. Up to two plots is recommended.  The width of  your individual plots is at your discretion, from a minimum of 2 ‘ to a maximum of 4’. However, the full width of the all the cumulative plots for your work should not exceed 4′.

Compile and place a PDF file of your full presentation under your name “LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_SKETCH6.PDF” in the fileserver for the class and under the sub-folder “SUBMIT/LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME/SKETCH6/. Bring as many of your study models to the review as possible.

  • Requirements:
    • An operable and detailed joint minimally at ½” scale (i.e., ½” = 1 foot).
    • At least one physical prototype of the shelter at discretionary model scale, hand-made and optionally with the integration of CNC fabricated, hand built or off the shelf hardware store components. Re-use or modification of an existing prototype is OK.
    • Computer based axonometric or perspective rendering of exterior and one of the interior  of a single unit, showing light, shadow, interior elements and people.
    • Two sections, one elevation, and plan, of the family structure at 1/4” or 1/8” scale.
    • Axonometric or perspective rendering of 3 to 4 units having a “communicating” or physically adjacent relationship to each other, ideally in both daytime and nighttime conditions..
    • Schematic site plan for the single unit, consideration of sun, wind, and the environmental phenomenon.
    • A larger area site plan showing the fuller site context of the park as a whole with 16 household units included.
    • One wall type section showing material connections to the ground and also to the roof structure at 1/4″ to 1/2″ scale.
    • A section through the site to the water’s edge indicating the placement of your structures.
  • Extracurricular:
    • Depict a physically animated transformation of your structure as an image series.
    • Two larger area site sections (rather than one) showing the full scope of your park site with schematic representation of units at discretionary scale. 

Scenarios:

  • Eating/sleeping/meeting.
  • Warm day ventilation/cold day or night insulation.
  • Light power supply for reading/laptop recharging/night-time activity).
  • Community gathering venue.

NOTES/MISCELLANY OF ADDITIONAL PRESENTATION OPTIONS AT YOUR DISCRETION

  1. Show variable site conditions in renderings (i.e, wind, sunshine, rain, runoff etc).
  2.  Account for site features (e.g, terrain, semi private to public spaces, gardens, etc.).
  3. Specify hardware and materials used (e.g., wood, fabric, pin joints, etc.).
  4. Help each other with respect to sewing, 3D modeling, and, if it is available, 3D printing.
  5. Incorporate precedents and earlier investigations into your study.
  6. Incorporate on site sketches, field notes and photos into your study.
  7. Show active connections between four units with people from your narrative.
  8. Include a rough virtual site model from any of the digital terrain models provided or as interpreted from these sources . A physical site model is optional.

EXTRACURRICULAR DESIGN OPTIONS

These options are more easily related the next sketch problem, sketch problem 7, but you may want to investigate some of them now at your discretion.

  1. Develop a method of full retraction into a box that can be transported as  cargo.
  2. Integrate insulation into the fabric structure.
  3. Develop an option to incorporate thermal mass.