Bryce's Experience
Day 1: May 4, 2015
First Day I came into the office eager and ready to start working, with the intention of learning as much as possible. However, one of the things that Eli and I both faced right off the bat was clearly mapping out our entire project so that we could make the most of out time at the firm. Although we had spent a decent amount of time trying to plan our project we were aware that this would definitely change once we started. We initially meet with our Supervisor: Kang Kiang who is the Project Director at Cavagnero Associates. He explained that he was still unclear as to how we were going to approach the project. We gave him a brief outline of the project telling him what we each wanted to focus on. He then told us about different projects that we might be interested in. The first project that he explained was the addition of 20 new tennis courts to Golden Gate Park. He explained how they were in the pursing process, where they were working to get the project. In addition, there were two other projects in the area, in which we both could observe and look at their impact on the community. The second project proposal included the SF JAZZ center, SF Opera Production and Learning Center, the San Francisco School of the Arts, and Linden Alley project. The School of the Arts wanted to be located in an area that would attract talented students (hence why the civic center area was picked. it is cultural Hub in SF). Kiang suggested that we observe the SF JAZZ center and Opera center to get a sense of the impact of these buildings on the surrounding environment. We would take personal tours of both buildings and possibly see a show at one of the buildings to get a better sense of the space. In addition, since the School of the Arts is still in it’s earlier design phase I would get a chance to work with some of the leads of the project to get a sense of what role they play in the project, and get a glimpse into the design process. Kiang also suggested a project at Slide Ranch which was in its design-build phase, and explained how different this project was from others. For example, the firm would only work Slide Ranch in concept design before anther designer would take over. So alas, we had a variety of options to choose from, and after a quick conversation we both agreed that the second proposal that included the SF JAZZ center, Opera, and School of the Arts was the best option that would fulfill both our project requirements, and allow us to really have fun with our project. First Meeting of the Day: Opera house on Van ness St. My supervisor Kiang came by and asked if I wanted to sit in on a planning meeting for a new building. Of course I said yes, and really looked forward to be able to see how a planning meeting was conducted. To my surprise the structure of the meeting was something that I had been exposed to in my architecture and technology class. When we had our CRITS we asked each other about how our designs would fit into the existing spaces in addition to basic size relationships and adjacencies. The biggest idea that was presented in the meeting was the want to re-vitalize opera and to keep it alive. The firm was met with an expert in opera houses who was representing the client. A major issue that they kept running into was the issue of sight lines, and how there was a portion of the stage that wasn't visible. The client said that he wasn’t concerned with this. he just wanted as many seats as possible. they talked about how they were saving the client from himself by taking into account the lack of visibility and the long term impact on the viewer. Another big theme was the price of the project, and the fact that what the client was asking for was not matching up the budget. Similar to our CRITS in our architecture and technology class the lead architect asked about the future of opera, and if the space would still be useful five or ten years down the line. The representative responded by talking about how the client hoped to integrate the use of technology into the space, and how the space would still be open to all forms of the arts (not only opera). A common issue that I saw in meeting was fitting the design into the allotted space, which is an issue that was very prevalent in my architecture and technology class. In our latest project we dealt a lot with how we where we were going to add new the buildings on the MA campus, and importance of fitting comfortably within the space. So, it nice to see that many of the things we struggled with as students were still present in the lives of professionals. The above video looks at the the history of jazz so that you can start to get a sense of its overall impact, along with the process of how the SF JAZZ center came to be, which will hopefully help demonstrate the "Living Alley" on Linden St.
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Image GuideThe above video displays a JAZZ jam session in Linden Alley, which is where the next project will be happening as a means of linking the the Jazz that happens in the building to the outdoors and the rest of the city. This starts to give you a taste of the role that jazz has within the community, and how it brings people together.
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Eli's ExperienceDay 1: May 4th, 2015
Similar to a video that Bryce posted on his page, this video depicts a time-lapse of the construction of the SF Jazz Center. It is interesting to view something so significant be built in such a short period of time. The design seems to flow very nicely with the surrounding buildings, and creates and nice aesthetic to the area.
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The image above depicts a plan drawing of the SF Jazz Center. As you can see, there is a small legend in the bottom left-hand corner of the image. The plan tells the viewer where each location will be, and how the space will function with regard to the surrounding spaces.
This image (above) is from a catalog that I was given upon my arrival. It is a prototype of what the new opera space will look like, with an instructor, and their students. The space is not yet completed, though the designs have been finalized. This is the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera.
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Visit to the SF Jazz Center & Linden St.
May 5, 2015
Today Eli and I visited the SF Jazz center, and the Linden Alley to get a sense of the relationship between the building and the new Living Alley plan. When we went into SF Jazz we were unfortunately unable to see much of the SF Jazz because of a small mix up; nevertheless, we plan on re-visiting and uploading a blog post with some pictures. However, we were able to take a look at the Alley on Linden, and actually follow the alley all the way down to a park. As previously talked about the purpose of the Living Alley was to carry the jazz music that flowed from the Jazz center to the street, and really into the community. One thing that Eli and I noted while walking down the alley was how much more alive the alley would be if there were shops and restaurants on the ground level the really invited the community in. In addition, we thought that it would be interesting if there were some type of direct connection between the jazz center and the alley to provide a connection between the indoors and outdoors. Along the same vein, this would connect with the overall design objective of the jazz center, and was an element that was prevalent in the Joe Henderson room (which was on the street level). The objective of this room was to connect the street to one of the smaller more intimate playing rooms. As we continued moving down the alley, we moved into another portion of the street that was already a Living Alley. We noticed that there was a lot of life in this part of the alley. There were at least two or three shops there, which seemed to really draw people in. In addition, there was a seating area that reinforced the warm and inviting community atmosphere of the alley. As we continued moving down the alley we ran into a park area with a playground, ice cream shop, and seating area. There seemed to be natural progression starting from the Jazz center all the way down to the park. However, a major con was the two intersections between two parts of the alley. This disconnected the spaces, and threw off its community-centered atmosphere. |
Our Journey in Photos
Day 3: May 6th, 2015 (Collective Description)3rd Day: The second day of the project was fairly uneventful, which is why we will not being designating an entire post to it. Conversely, day 3 was eventful, exciting, and the most tiring of the days thus far. Upon arrival at the office, Eli and Bryce studied some of the goals and concepts that were addressed when designing the Renovated War Memorial, and the 4th floor of the Opera House. They looked at the specific instructions and requests by the boards of the various buildings, and how Cavagnero's firm would attempt to incorporate those visions. For example, the jazz center that was completed in 2013 wanted to address the communal aspect of the buildings location, and avoid the secluded, independent feeling that the previous Jazz center possessed. So, in attempt to solve this request, Cavagnero Associates designed a lobby that was "connected" to the sidewalk that it was built on. The building's lobby is built with glass walls, which allows the community surround the center to feel included in the performances and the experience that the Jazz center hopes to evoke. While the Jazz center is a prime example of the "communal relationship that a building can have with the surrounding community, Cavagnero had the luxury of redesigning the entire space, and rebuilding from the ground up. With the War Memorial and the Opera house, the historic integrity of the buildings was a important aspect that the client wanted to maintain, which brings about its own difficulties. The extensive tour of the War memorial provided Bryce and Eli with a comprehensive understanding of how important some of the historic retro-fitting can be, and how complicated building regulations can heavily impact the aesthetic structure of the facade. The Tour of the War Memorial: in correspondence with Felicia Dunham, RA, Leed AP, we got an in-depth and extensive tour of the War Memorial renovation. After waiting for 20 or so minutes at the gate, we finally found Felicia, who was leading our tour of the building. The tour began with a exploration of the bottom floor, some questions about the existing foundation, and a brief overview of the remodel of the 4th floor. We then walked up a marble stair-case, which has been completely covered with wood to maintain the integrity of the building's history. We proceeded to the 4th floor, where everything on the floor is being renovated with the idea that a redesigned space will cater to the needs and requirements of the Opera. The corridor, the walkways, the performance center, the offices, dressing rooms, and consume design spaces are all under construction. The offices, which were the first aspect of the new floor that we toured, incorporate a heavy dose of natural light which was an important measure that the client wanted. The ceiling is equipped with skylights, which allow the exterior light to illuminate the rooms, saves energy, and provides a more "natural" feeling in the space. The next area that we explored was the foyer area in-front of the Performance hall. This area which was previously very crammed and clustered has been expanded to accommodate the large number of people that will be attending the performances. Because the floor was marble tile, an important historic feature, the construction teams will not dismantle the floor. Yet, because of the integration of sound-proof walls, the structure for the walls is above ground-level, causing a minimal slope of the floor to accommodate the new structure. Next, the three of us explored the archive rooms, and the costume design areas, which were designed fairly differently from the rest of the rooms. Both areas, each on separate sides of the Performance hall were the most exterior spaces in the building, yet neither of them incorporated window (from the wall) light into the rooms. Almost all of the natural light came from the skylights on the ceiling. The walls were built from a different material than that from the rest of the buildings, partially because the walls on either of these rooms did not need to be sound proof. The final stage of the tour consisted of looking at the Performance Hall, the main space of the 4th floor. The hall, which is designed to be a multi-purpose space has a 35-foot high ceiling, and 4 identical alcoves in each of the corners. The space is designed to host opera performances as well as dinner parties and social events. I was taken aback by the scale of the building but also the intricacy and detail that it possessed. The upper tier of the room was engraved with detailed words and ensigns which provided the space with an authentic and personal feel. The tour concluded with a introduction to the lead contractor, where we were able to ask questions about the physical construction of the space, and how he and his men would attempt to complete all of the clients needs. The final step of the tour concluded with a peak in at the Herpes Theater, any lingering questions we had of Felicia, and Lunch a the Grove. Day 4: May 7, 2015 (Collective Description)
Day 4:
Today was less active than the previous days have been. There were no formal meetings at the office, and a good number of the associates were out of the office at various site tours, planning commissions, and presentations. We were disappointed that we didn’t have an opportunity to get out of the office, but we were able to zero-in on some of the design critique and blue-print information of the buildings that we had seen the previous day. It was important for us to see the stages and paths that are required when designing a building, and how many different, important steps there are. Felicia equipped us with the large-scale planning books that she built and is currently using for the design of the War Memorial and Opera house. While the images in the book are complicated and specific, the process was very beneficial for us. After sifting through blueprints and looking at each floor of the building, the different scales, and the various lenses of the drawing (i.e. electrical, structural…), we attempted to analyze the importance and impact that each space had to the surrounding ones; how incorporating different features would detract or add respectively. Next, by establishing a more fundamental relationship with the War Memorial building, we looked at the structural history of the building (i.e how the building was constructed, for what purposes, how different spaces interacted), and tried to develop an idea of how remodeling the building would alter its’ purposes. Some people may be burdened by the analytical part of architecture, and the need to develop understanding about space and design, but we were intrigued by the detail and skill that was exemplified in the drawings,the models and in the buildings. |
In preparation for our visit we had to take a look at some of the floor plans to get a better sense of the space. Above are two pictures of floor plan's form the 4th floor of the newly designed SF Opera house.
Continuation of Day 4: May 7, 2015We were given three different types of planning books. The first was on the SF Opera house, and included the original proposal and really the whole transformation of the project (starting from the beginning of the planning process). The majority of this book contained (as mentioned above) a variety of different blueprints, and various plans, sections, etc, to better illustrate the story they were trying to tell. In addition, the different floors that were being remodeled were broken up based on the purpose/function of the each of the spaces. For example, on the 4th floor where the majority of the remodeling was happening the spaces being preserved, and added were each mapped out. In addition, each of the spaces were categorized based on its function (ie. music, performance, practice, office, design, etc). This was especially interesting to look at because of how similar this process was to the final project we both had in our architecture class. We needed to look at how the space we were designing was going to be used, and thus needed to break up the space into different categories. This allowed us to see how the different spaces would work together with one another. Similarly, in the project book the relationship between the function and the space was critical. In addition, we also had access to the working project guide for School of Arts. The firm is stuck in a bind, in this project particularly, because the project costed a quarter of billion dollars, which was way too expensive especially since they were working with the city to have the school built. In this proposal the program of the design was clearly laid out, which included what the school wanted in the new space, and basic relationships between these spaces. The project plan also looked at where the new building could go, if it could be an addition to an existing building, and its relationship to the surrounding art spaces (ie. SF Jazz, Opera, etc). Also the focus of the project was clearly outlined, which was to create a sophisticated and functional space that would draw talented teens from the area. The proposal also had a number of schematic design plans that explored different ways to tackle the project. However, a major theme that came back at the end of the proposal was the cost of the project, and thinking about other ways to get the money for the project. The final project book that was given to us was used by the engineers of the project for the SF Opera house. It catalogued the materials used, and other details about their weights, and the amount used. Also the project book contained the plans of the Opera house in terms of materials used to get a sense of how the internal structure was working together. |
The slideshow above proved the view with a number of images from the tour of the War Memorial. Some images capture the blueprints of the space, other handle the physical and constructive changes that are going on. The ceilings are all equipped with solar-light panels which enable natural light to illuminate rooms that would otherwise require electrical lighting, and unnecessary energy.