oneida village | apartment cluster


our studio met on friday, march 5 for critiques of our schematic design for oneida mills. 4 visitors were in attendance--eddie belk [architect/mill expert], 2 members of historic society, and travis hicks [prospective professor]. our visitors gave their feedback and insights following our presentations.

generally, natural light and views for the residential spaces are the primary challenges in the apartment design due to the constraints and limitations for historic tax credits. being that 10 of the 11 students chose building 2 as the location for their apartments, the natural lighting and views for building 2 was the primary concern/critique. specifically, has the wall that joins buildings 1 and 2 been addressed correctly/effectively for natural lighting/views, circulation, and historic preservation? parking location as well as traffic flow through and around the site was also a primary concern. feedback from our visitors was helpful, as we learned the elements that were working in our designs and those that needed further development, however, time constraints limited any detailed feedback.

my apartment design and commercial space is in buildings 3 and 4, respectively. regarding my design, i learned from our visitors that more attention should be given on how the wall that separates buildings 1 and 2 will be addressed since my design indicates apartments on the first floor of building 2 and offices space in building 1. i received no feedback from our visitors on the design for the apartment 'cluster' in building 3, but i received strong feedback from the class about the cluster design and presentation, so i plan to proceed with the design and make adjustments if there are any building code violations. i did learn from our visitors that the monitors that i had planned for the apartments may be an issue regarding historic preservation, as the monitors cannot be visible from any direction or distance. no feedback or suggestions of the design and location of the commercial space was given by our visitors.

as for my presentation, positive feedback was given about specific parts that were strong and legible--the 'cluster' image, circulation diagram, logo image, sections, and perspectives, to name the majority. however, i understand that i need to focus on unifying the presentation to make more legible and my design more understandable.

positive feedback was received from my lighting design mentor regarding the apartment cluster. instead of monitors on the roof for more central daylight, it has been decided that skylights will be used with stationary exterior louvers to eliminate/control heat gain. we discussed the skylight design details last week to satisfy LEED requirements. for the commercial space [cafe], we discussed the balcony design as it relates to the rest of the building, as well as the south- and east-facing curtain walls--how to incorporate daylight controls into the structure such that no window shades/coverings are required. cool!

back to the drawing board....

No comments: