Projects worked – Carolina Yacht Club Boathouse, ENT South Mount Pleasant Renovation, James Island Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall

Project managers – Jeff Johnston

10/10/2022 – Monday

AXP hours – 4 (Project Planning and Design)

I began the week with our firm weekly meeting to see what everyone was working on. I continued my efforts in modeling the site at the Carolina Yacht Club Boathouse using Sketchup. This week I am focusing on the nearby context buildings to get a sense of surrounding scale and façade openings.

10/11/2022 – Tuesday

AXP hours –3 (Project Planning and Design), 1 (Project Development and Documentation)

I continued my efforts in modeling the surrounding context at the Carolina Yacht Club Boathouse using Sketchup. I also helped model existing light fixtures for the ENT South Mount Pleasant renovation project to send to the electrical engineers. I also attended a lunch and learn about SMHa’s branding and marketing strategies.

10/12/2022 – Wednesday

AXP hours – 4 (Project Planning and Design)

I finished up my model for the Carolina Yacht Club Boathouse for the meeting with the clients on Thursday. They will determine what rendering views they want to use for fundraising purposes. I also participated in my midterm review, looking over my goals and determining opportunities to achieve them by the end of the semester.

Various Views for the Carolina Yacht Club Boathouse Renovation Proposal

10/13/2022 – Thursday

AXP hours – 4 (Project Planning and Design)

I worked on a site plan, building footprint, and programmatic plan for a proposal for a fellowship hall at James Island Presbyterian Church. We used program from another recent project, Saint Clare of Assisi Parish Hall, as a precedent, configuring these spaces to fit better in the site and proposed footprint.

Lessons learned:

This week, I learned about the importance of branding for an architecture firm through our lunch and learn on Tuesday. I was surprised to learn that just the font and color of a firm’s logo can give a certain perception by potential clients. SMHa has a logo with a Sans Serif font with green tones. Green symbolizes growth, vitality, harmony, and freshness. While a sans serif font comes across as a more casual, friendly, and approachable. All these characteristics are in line with the goals of SMHa and their culture in my opinion. I also learned that you should market to your ideal client. If you want to work with a certain type of person or on a certain type of project, it is imperative to seek those out in an intentional way. Lastly, when proposing a project, communicating ways to relieve the client’s problems and anxieties can be more effective than other approaches, including aesthetic design ideas.