Weekly Summary:
This week was a great week, I got to take on a new project, make a construction site visit, and got to continue working on 50 S. Battery. Working in a small office has allowed me to be involved in a lot of projects which I greatly appreciate. I am learning a lot about residential building code, kitchen and bath layouts, had to progress through a design, and see projects that are under construction. Naseem has taught me a lot in Revit, which has allowed me to increase speed and efficiency. Now that I am getting more exposure to residential design, I am learning to add “moments” to designing. I’m defining moments as finding opportunities in design constraints to add something unexpected, for instance this week, I needed to add a closet to a bedroom, but found that it was creating an awkward corner in the bedroom, then I realized if I put a closet on the other side of the window, they could be connected by a window seat. Naseem also showed me an opportunity to add shelf space that could be used in a foyer area, or create a space for a small piece of furniture. Becky always talks about designing as if you want to live there. I feel like this has helped me to take my design intuitions to the next level.
Daily Posts
Monday March 4
Time worked 4 hours
Task: Today I worked on two different tasks, one of our clients is interested in demolishing his current garage and building a new garage with a dwelling unit over top. Becky thought this would be a great opportunity for me to work on because I was doing something similar on our Folly Rd project. The client had already went to the city to inquire about what he would need for permitting, which saved us time. The city told him that if he were to build his new garage with the same footprint as the old, that he would just have to go to staff for approval. They also gave him the max eave height and the amount of space the dormers can have. All of this was important for me to lay out the garage. We managed to get some pictures of the existing garage as well as the house, and we got photos from the client as to what they would like for the garage to look like. Becky and I discussed access and layout for the apartment above. The second task I worked on was to continue on designing alternative layouts for our project at Hobcaw, which is a 4 bedroom home in which the homeowners want a more open floor plan and better views to their backyard. This is a challenging request because there is a garage on the backside of the house that blocks most of the views. The rest of the backside of the house is the master bath and closets, so in order to allow more light in, we would need to change up the program of the first floor to allow for better light.
AXP Category: Project Planning & Design
Tuesday March 5
Time Worked: 8 hours
Task: Today I continued working on designing alternatives for our 50 S. Battery project. In total we are looking at four different options, the first being the most conservative, looking at changing up the floor plan on the first floor to allow for better flow, and redesigning the second floor so that the bedrooms have access to the piazza. The fourth concept, which would be the most extreme, involved getting rid of the fireplace, which has caused a lot of design constraints, and moving the stairs to the backside of the home so to make better use of the space at the front of the house. I talked with Naseem about layout options for kitchen and bathrooms. I am finding that there are numerous ways to layout kitchens and bathrooms depending on how they are used. Becky says its good to have a bathtub in at least one of the bathrooms, and all bedrooms are required to have a closet. I’m trying to find opportunities to make small “moments” in the house, like a reading nook, or a wetbar that’s tucked away, to give the house character.
AXP Category: Project Planning & Design
Wednesday March 6
Time Worked: 4 hours
Task: Today I continued working on my work from yesterday for 50 S. Battery. We went back and forth on the master bath size, we can’t figure out if it needs a bathtub and a shower or just one. This effects the size of the closet and master bedroom too. Becky suggested moving the door so that the bed wouldn’t face the door directly.
AXP Category: Project Planning & Design
Thursday March 7
Time Worked: 8.5
Task: Today I got to do several things in the office, I spent several hours continuing my work for the week on 50 S. Battery. Becky made comments on the first two concepts I drew up and reviewed them with me. It was mostly about modeling furniture, to give the concepts more life, and to adjust the layout of the kitchens to allow for better flow. In addition to that, I delivered drawings to the CM at our 40 Spring St. project and got to tour the progress of the project. It’s been a little over a month since I last saw this project and it has made a lot of progress. I also stopped at Staples to pick up toner for the printer.
AXP Category: Project Planning & Design