Blog Post 005: Lights

Lighting was something the WAM group has bounced back and forth on. At first we felt like putting lighting within the piece, but due to budget and lighting limitation we chose not to go that route

Making the piece run off interior light had two options, battery lights, that would need to be changed or recharged, and connecting it to the wall. We didn't care for the latter idea either. It would limit where our piece could go, and we wanted this structure to be able to be moved anywhere, and not have to be up against a wall or connected to a wall outlet.

This lighting question is what brought us to make the top clear. We wanted to just cover it with a sheet of acrylic to let the natural light come in. The Weatherspoon lobby already has tons of natural light coming in through the oval dome skylight. This way it allowed for complete mobility, and could be lighted as well.

Lighting was a large factor in what brought us to our final version of the cabinet. Lighting should always be a large factor in any design. Great lighting in a space makes for great possibilities within the space.

Facebook going North... Way North

Facebook has plans to build a running plant in Sweden 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. The plant will be running off hydroelectric power from a near by river that produces twice as much power as the Hoover Dam does. It will also have 14 backup diesel power generators.

The whole reason to build so far north is that the Arctic temperatures will help keep the servers cool and prevent them from melting down and crashing. This new European location is also going to create faster Facebook speeds throughout Europe. The project is expected to cost around 760 million dollars and will hopefully be completed by 2014.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2054168/Facebook-unveils-massive-data-center-Lulea-Sweden.html

Mexico's Radical "Sky Scrapper"

Mexico City may see a new sky scrapper, but not up into the air, but down into the ground. The new concept design would go over 300 meters into the ground, be about 65 stories, and the design holds historical grounding in ancient pyramids built by natives to the country. They also have plans to have offices and apartments within the structure. The top would be a glass atrium area, that would allow for a lot of lighting to enter the space.

Many critics have cited that the bottom could feel very closed in and claustrophobic. There is also a worry that earthquakes, which are some what common to this area, could pose a danger to the construction. They came up with this concept because many people feel that high rise buildings would harm the look of the traditional skyline of Mexico City.




Source: http://whatsondalian.com/tech136.html

VC: Design Instructions

Instructions give us information on how to carry an action out, our how to construct something with steps along the way to building it. The best success with these lies in the use of easy to understand steps, very detailed yet simple drawings or graphics that help you know what exactly to perform. There is a very logical yet artistic work show in many of the guides.

source: http://drigbydesign.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/infoinstructional-design-examples/

Blog Post 004: WAM Design Elements

When analyzing our cabinet for the Weatherspoon and how the elements of design apply, I can clearly see how our project connects two the seven elements.

Space- The space element applies more here in what the cabinet will do to the Weatherspoon space it is in. It will allow a display addition for the gift shop. It will also add an element of inspired design in the lobby space.

Line- Our lines seem very fluid in the piece. We focus a lot on the curves and allow the piece to reflect a lot of the curves that can be found in the lobby space and of the overall shape and style of the building as a whole.

Color- Our piece is mostly birch wood, a color element not really seen in the lobby or the building. This will add a new element and color to the space, making it stand out more, and add color to a space that really has very little contrast within it.

Value- The piece we are creating adds value in the space because it is much lighter than most of the interior in the lobby space. It creates a contrast within the space from light to dark. It adds an element to the space that is not seen already.

Form- The form of the cabinet is made to fit the interior in many ways. It reflects the elements of curves and fluidity in the space. The space is very open and it lacks objects within the space, this display cabinet adds to the space and brings more furniture into the space, yet does not clutter the overall space. Not only is it a piece that fits, but the piece fits the space in its form and design.

Shape- The shape of the piece is very loose, and fluid. It has a curved top, asymmetrical doors, and the handles for the pieces reflect the curve of the top. The space follows a lot of these same curved and fluid design ideas. The piece has very similar elements to the space it is being placed in.

Texture- The piece is mostly made of birch wood. It is smooth, but not as glossy smooth as say the marble floor in the gallery. It has some sense of contrast within the space, but it still has a smooth texture too it like much of the Weatherspoon does. The difference in color and materials is what adds to the contrast in the space then I would say the texture does.

This piece has a lot of elements that relate to the gallery overall when it comes to design and style. The fluid curves and the smooth exterior have similarities. The contrast comes with the materials used and the colors of the piece. I feel the cabinet has the perfect balance of similarity and contrast to the lobby space it is going within.

Light Effects

Reflection on Floors- They reflect almost perfectly back off of shinny materials. Off carpet though it just mostly reflects back the light.

Light Reflecting off the mall floor.

Light Reflection on my bedroom floor.

Reflections off Verticals- When it is shinny it act just like a mirror.

Light Reflecting off of my TV.

 

 

Light reflecting off mall glass window.

Interior Shadows- These are harder to find, even though they are all around us all the time. I felt it was harder to get a better example of these.

Shadows from light behind plant. At my parents house.

Shadows from daylight on back wall. In studio.

 

 

Artificial light- These seem to be very easy to find. The quality of light that comes out is a lot different than natural light too. It seems more intense and have a brighter light quality to it.

Lighting Piece at Freer Asian Art Museum in Washington DC

Overhead Light shinning down at my work.