Lots of Presentations!

On Monday, we had a scheduled presentation for the principal, janitorial staff, Shane, & Claire at Roosevelt. However, only Shane & Claire were able to make it because there was a small fire earlier that day in the boy's bathroom. Nonetheless, we got a lot of good feedback from the meeting. We presented both schemes and told them that we were leaning toward starting with an island scheme and "growing" it together in stages to a connecting-module scheme (what we've been calling the organic scheme). 

They helped us think about the strong possibility of kids climbing on the structures, and ways to prevent this. (Wide overhangs? Tall roofs?) They overturned our assumption about avoiding blocking light from the east wall of the site: it gets harsh sunlight in the afternoon, and shading would be welcome. They liked the idea of decorative panels, but emphasized that they should be easily seen through. 

On Wednesday, we gave the same presentation to Tom & Brett from the University Fellowship (www.university-fellowship.org), who had offered to help us find contractors (if not also help pay for materials and construction)! At the same time, we presented to the rest of our studio so we could get feedback from them. 

Tom & Brett were excited about the design. They invited us to their service the Sunday after next so that if they ask their congregation for donations, they'll have some smiling faces to associate their lighter wallets with. Actually, the way Tom put it, they'd like to give back to their school in exchange for letting them have their Sunday services there. They're going to arrange to have us talk with some contractors from their church afterwards.

When we met up with our studiomates afterwards, they gave us great advice on both schematic design and design development. They suggested we try some larger-sized modules to make 

the columns less dense. We talked about widening the courtyard, or maybe making two courtyards. Along those lines, we also talked about having two entrances, or a separate entrance and exit. 

For those of you not in dB studio, we printed out some 1/8 site plans so you can play with some layouts. Come by the studio anytime to pick one up, they will be sitting on my desk (the one with the bike wheel). An easy way to make triangles/diamonds is to make an 8.5" x 11" rectangle in Sketchup, then draw the triangle sizes you want converted to 1/8" scale. When exporting as an EPS file, click "options." Under "Image scale", enter 1"  for both 'In Image' and 'In Model." You should now be able to print it from Illustrator without having to scale it. (Sorry for boring all you Sketchup whizzes out there...)

Of course, if it's easier for you to just make your triangles/diamonds on graph paper or something, that's a good way to do it too. 

Continuing with design development feedback in studio, our classmates suggested we could use material other than chain link, such as hogwire. We also talked about how we were going to simplify construction by making a "kit of parts:" repeatable footings, columns, collar connections, and roof forms. They suggested we look into playground construction, which sounds like it would be really helpful.

In all of our meetings, we got lots of compliments on our site model. Good job everybody! 

--April

Site Survey

On Sunday, Sylvan, April and Andrew C. did another site survey in preparation for more detailed design development. The results are being compiled into CAD and tomorrow we will use the laser cutter to print pieces for a new 1/4" site model.

While we were taking measurements at Roosevelt, a very friendly gentleman approached us to inquire about our activities. It turns out that he is the associate pastor for a local congregation that meets at Roosevelt. If I remember correctly his name is Tim. His excitement about our project, and eagerness to offer any help he could, gave us a healthy boost of enthusiasm. We're hoping to have him come visit the dB studio space this Friday so he can get a better sense of what we're all about, and how he and his congregation can help us.

This evening we had a brief meeting to discuss our latest schematic ideas, and work out any kinks with the site survey and model. Jennifer showed us a beautiful 1/2" scale module that combines many of the ideas we looked at last Wednesday. I'm going to post pictures ASAP. She also brought in some photos of creative ways to improve a chain link fence - again photos pending.
April had a provocative site plan that also combined many of the ideas from last Wednesday. It's a south facing U shape, with curved roof forms and staggered overlapping modules. I think we were all very pleased with how our concepts are melding into a more cohesive design.

At tomorrow's general team meeting (5pm, db office) we will have a repeat of last weeks design crit. - a chance to look at some models and drawings and offer feedback. Snacks will be provided to keep our wheels turning.

Revisiting the Site

Today we made a group visit to Roosevelt while school was getting out. It was our first group observation of how the area was used. We also had a chance to chat with Shane. Melinda had mentioned that the schemes were not acknowledging the site in the design - as we moved to a module design, due to budget, we lost sight of this specific project. We took this opportunity to remind ourselves of the specific needs at Roosevelt. 

We noticed that the entry was an area where the kids liked to hang out. They liked using the half-pipe despite it's location. The area was chaotic because of the non-existent circulation. Shane seemed to like the idea of removing the fence and having an open bike area despite losing some of the security. Many of the ideas we have discussed such as plantings, a sense of entry, and benches were reconfirmed. We are looking at how to organize the site and how to best use the budget to create a module or modules that work well now but can grow efficiently.

Sylvan brought his truck to take one of the wheel bender racks back to the shop. It was a lot bigger than we remembered! But the 20' rack made it back here and everyone survived!  The rack will be torn apart and the rebar and pipe experimented with for reuse.

Then we assembled our latest models and drawings for the group meeting review. 

Green Wheel Studio and Progress

Sylvan and I just had a great meeting and here are some of the more prescient thoughts...

We'd really like to make sure that everyone on the team feels plugged in to the project and think of ways to facilitate communication and teamwork between those in the studio and the rest of the team. Please make sure to come to this week's team meeting (wed. @ 5pm), we'll be seeking input for our latest round of schematic design models and take a team picture for the blog.

For those of you who'd like to actively get involved in some of the schematic design development talk to Andrew Brose, Tim Kuzma, Jennifer Knapp, April Bradshaw (Welcome to the team April!), Sylvan or myself, or better yet, come by the studio and see what's up.

Stay tuned for more changes to the blog and feel free to comment and post.

Cheers,

A

Module models

Looking back at the last couple of days...
Our haiku of the spirit of the Roosevelt Bike Shelter:
Riding bikes to school.
Strong, fast, healthy kids
Safely sheltering

The second line, 'strong, fast, healthy kids' got us thinking about how we can make our design feel fast. Or, expanding on that thought, how can we make our design have a feeling of movement through time (not just space). One example of a design that gives a sense of movement is the red monofilament in the Laverne Krause gallery (hope you got a chance to check it out!). Horizontal lines can give a sense of fast movement.

We also talked about making our design more fun. The last module scheme we had was simple, perhaps elegant, but lacked playfulness. So we made a handful of 1/4" models to explore some more playful concepts.








One of the first comments from Melinda was that they all look like they could be anywhere, and weren't specific to our site. I think she was right, we did set aside the constraint of 'site' for a moment so we could focus on the logistics of just sheltering and parking bikes in a fun and modular fashion. The next step is to deploy our ideas in the site, creating positive and negative space, and informing our designs of the individual modules.

Tasks for next week are to work on a master plan layout of modules in the site and develop fundraising material. Claire, a parent volunteer at Roosevelt, is working on a grant from Lowe's for $5,000. She needs some budget info, letters of support showing that dB is an awesome organization, and some hot graphics to go in the appendix and spice up her grant application.

Welcome to the Roosevelt Bike Shelter blog!

Follow up on the most recent activity and take a look at the images that have inspired us in our design.

I myself enjoy riding, fixing, and generally discussing bicycles. I have posted a few cartoons that I found enjoyable ,and I believe, pertain to this project.








Sincerely,

Andrew Brose