Personal Reflection

New Knowledge Learnt:

I have learnt that there are many ways to design a building, and when doing so, we have to take note of the target audience, so that the difficulties faced by the target audience can be countered. I have also acquired knowledge in the form of how to use different softwares, such as InDesign, Photoshop as well as some other features of google Sketchup.

Difficulties Encountered:

When trying to figure out ideas for the building, I could come up with the ideas, but they never seemed good enough. Therefore I had some difficulty coming up with the final idea for the building, and this cut into the amount of time i had to complete the project.

Also, there was some technical difficulties such as the lag, and also I did not really know how to use Google Sketchup very well.

I overcame these difficulties by:

For the first problem, I was running out of time and used the previous ideas as drafts, and tried evaluate the rest of the ideas, so that I could tell which was a better idea. Also, I had to take into consideration the type of shops that would be in the shopping center, due to the other shops in the area.

As for the second problem, I did not really overcome it in terms of the lag, but for the lack of my own skills in the sketchup program, I asked for help from my friends as well as looked at tutorials on the internet.

Project Name: Shopping Centre (Name Pending)

Purpose of the building:

This building seeks to address the need of not having enough facilities for teenagers and also the need for a place where families can bond together easily.

Concept behind the Building:

There is a garden on the rooftop and this provides a place where children can bond with each other rather than being cooped up at home all the time. This will allow for bonding between children, and prevent them from having stereotypical views as they can understand different type of people from a young age. Since this building is also family oriented, it will be catered to not only teenagers, but also to the elderly. Since the elderly are normally lonely at home, the shopping center also caters to the and allows bonding to occur within the family itself. The shopping centre main concept is to strengthen bonds between different people, both in and out of the family.

What Makes a Good Architectural Design?

Wozoco Apartments:

This architectural design is creative with a unique structure. The Het Oosten Housing Association had planned to have 100 residences, however, due to strict zoning regulations that have specific requirements to ensuring adequate access to sunlight and the desired gallery-type circulation, only 87 units could be adequately fit onto the site. The solution that they came up with is to build the blocks sticking out of the building. This is a creative and practical way to get around the building restrictions and it will also be aesthetically appealing if it is designed properly.

SOURCE for picture: http://unusual-architecture.com/wozoco-apartments-amsterdam-holland/

What is Architectural Design?

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/architectural-design.html: Concept that focuses on the components or elements of a structure or system and unifies them into a coherent and functional whole, according to a particular approach in achieving the objective(s) under the given constraints or limitations.

http://www.wisegeek.com/m/what-is-architecture-design.htm: Architecture design refers to the actual design and layout of spaces. Architecture encompasses many different elements including construction, design, and the manipulation of light as it relates to shadow. Throughout history, architects have found ways to create functional and practical spaces using any materials that were available.

http://bluearchitecture.wordpress.com/: I define architectural design as problem solving by adding value.