final design proposal for robie house

my final critique for the addition project was due yesterday and i must say that i did not disappoint the jurors to say the least. my addition was a subtle notion that rested right above the entryway to the house. i added a library/studio/patio space that was hardly 3 distinct rooms but rather one large space. i felt that the house did not need a MASSIVE addition like many of the other projects tried to do because the house was already a huge success (not to mention the lot did not really allow for a large expansion).

the one thing i think made me stand out from a lot of people in the eyes of the jurors (since they were our studio instructors) was the amount of evolution that occurred on my project from wednesday to friday. the instructors held a preliminary pin up on monday and gave us till friday for our final design proposals. i tweaked a few ideas but was pretty much set until i talked with my instructor on wednesday and he made a few comments that really challenged my ideas. for this reason i realized that what i previously had designed did not work well with the house so i took a chance and decided to change my design. i ended up staying up the entire night on thursday to get all of this done but it came out great and im really happy that i took the chance


for my final design i received such comments as "this is a very nice gesture above the entryway" and "the whole composition of the piece to the house is a beautiful one."however it wasnt just these comments and the jurors approvals that made my design a success but the whole project itself made me learn a ton! it simply taught me the process in designing. sketching/researching/model making. these are all part of the process and although i had done them before i never really knew why i was doing them. learning this process is going to guide me into future projects in school and in the real world when i work on actual designs so i cannot say enough how much this project helped improve my skills as an architect.

also, a lot was learned on presenting information. i learned a lot about synthesizing all my information and only showing the most important aspects of my analysis. i did so much research on the house and looked at it from all angles, whether it was researching the architect or looking at the wind patterns of the site, i looked at every aspect. so although i researched all of this i knew i didnt need to show all of it on my presentation. i simply showcased the main aspects that influenced the design of my addition.


-preliminary addition design



-quick perspective sketch of first design



-idea for materials to be used



-white model of house and its 60' x 180' site lot (3/32"= 1'-0")




-basswood model of the addition hanging over the entryway (1/8" = 1'-0")



-final board for part A. highly refined from previous boards to simply show the main points of my analysis



-final board for part B. my layout matches part A so that a comparison and correlation can be easily defined



-rendering of the addition. this one drawing shows the section, position, and floor plan of the addition.