The Expansion of My Horizon

            Throughout this project I have learned a lot, not only about what I thought I was going to learn, but also a multitude of unpredicted things as well! I researched a variety of concepts and acquired a comprehensive knowledge in a broad range of categories. I focused on researching Intermodal Steel Building Units (ISBU) or shipping containers, and the application of these components as housing accommodations; as well as, architectural principles, such as insulation, foundation, and component clearance. I soon found though, the more I learned the more I needed to research in different areas. Insulation research turned into extensive research on insulation types, wall composition, heat transfer and thermal resistance, and so on! Then the foundation was not simply deciding the foundation type, it involved research into the region’s soil properties and load calculations. And with the component clearance, I had to integrated math and physics principles in the application of spatial design—let me just say, this is no piece of cake! I even learned about the military! Seeing as I WAS designing for the military it only made since I knew how many personnel made a squad and that four squads make a platoon! Not to mention, the military actually has a program, JOCOTAS (The Joint Committee on Tactical Shelters), that calls for housing reform—which is exactly what my project provides! But these are only the concepts I learned from the research alone, there was SO much more to this project than just research!

            I designed in a whole new software I had never used before—Autodesk Revit, a Building Information Modeling software. This presented its own set of challenges and knowledge base. I learned the software from the ground up, and even learned how to do some pretty advanced things—as I was designing in shipping containers, which the software interpreted as components not buildings and therefore they worked differently and had to be treated as such. I also worked with designing components I needed but could not find.  I established software communication by designing these components in Autodesk Inventor, and exporting them and importing them into my Revit project. In doing this, I learned how to identify components that have been imported into Revit from another software—as, in the transfer the component becomes a single mass, and usually design materials are lost. In working with imported components, I have not found a way to alter material types, though there is most likely some way that I have yet to discover.  But that is what the software is about—you play around with it enough and there is that “AH HA” moment when you figure out how something is done.

            Project RHEMIDI has been a great experience for me, I not only gained knowledge and insight into the field of architecture, but now I am sure, civil engineering with an architectural back, is definitely the career I want to pursue in college! 

Part Three - The Model

Research Design Project with Professor Williams 

The Site Plan Model is a physical model created based on the 3D Site Plan designed in Autodesk Revit.  Each shipping container is represented by a 4” x 1 ½” wooden block, painted a sandy color for camouflage purposes. These blocks are mounted on a piece of Architectural Butter Board. The board is painted using a mixture of the same sandy color as the containers, a light brown color, and a dark brown, and is painted in such a way as to try to mimic a sandy, silty, texture; however, this did not come out as well as hope, though the mounting board looks pleasing, it does not represent silty ground as best as it possibly could have. After the blocks were mounted in accordance to the 3D Site Plan, labels were created for each of the models.  Next, the area where the 3D Site Plan shows a fountain area with benches for esthetic reasons, the physical model puts to a more practical use.  In the military, there would be an area, enclose by sandbags, designating an assembly area, and this is what that area has become. To represent sandbags, the model uses strips of foam that have lines at intervals to create the look of a line of sandbags.  The painting of these was kind of tricky; at first I tired spray painting them, but that only led to them flying away or dissolving. So, next I tried simply coloring the strips with brown/sandy colored markers, this failed in the esthetics area though. I eventually came to the solution of individually hand painting each strip, and that seemed to work much better. There has also been a flag, held up by a rock pile to add to these embellishments.

Part One - Architectural Plans

Senior Project with Mr. Stillwell (Mentor) & Dr. Carter (AP Literature)

The plan for each model basically depicts the design work I put into each model and is a good summary of the model itself. For each model a “C” size architectural plan was created, which contained multiple views of the model and if there was room listed some of the design aspects. Creating the actual plans was a very simply process, including orientation and dimensioning. The skill and real challenge came before this I the designing of each model and the researching involved for each. Years ago, the creation of architectural plans and blueprints was an arduous task that required much focus and a steady hand, but with the invention of CAD and BIM software the process is now much simpler—allowing that time to be spent in the design and forethought of the construction.

To see the complete designs for each model click on one of the links below or see the links under Pages to the left:

TASCOH Model

TABS Model

SCHEMA Model

The Container Housing Project

Many shipping containers are retired to landfills each year to rust, a waste of materials and space.  A growing trend in Europe is re-purposing these old shipping containers as homes, both economical and green use, and I plan to bring this idea to the U.S. 

For my Senior Project, I plan to research and design container housing for military purposes to reach the most efficient use of materials, both economically and environmentally.  Container housing is beneficial to the military as it is efficient to transport with limited assembly and can either be used as storage or lived in on the way to the destination.  The project is a collaboration of three class projects in which each will bring a different element to produce a larger project, with three distinct products: floor plans, a site plan, and a physical model.  To pull off a proficient and useful model will require close attention to detail in the design, organization of space, and introspection of concepts such as insulation and foundation.

Designing container housing for the military not only coincides with my academic studies and career goals, but is an environmentally and economically better way to house troops overseas.  I plan to study Civil Engineering in college and this project will help give me a holistic prospective of this field and the architecture behind it.

The Product Breakdown

Architectural Plans: For my senior project product, I am designing the floor plan of a staff officer’s quarters and the general housing for a squad inside of shipping containers, to maximize function space and minimize cost.  The final design will be created/drawn in Autodesk Revit 2013.

3D Site Plan: In my Technical Manufacturing class with Mr. Reece I am designing a 3D representation of the layout of the military base housing built from the shipping containers in the Revit software.

Physical Model: In my Research Design class with Professor Williams I will build a model of the Site Plan I have created in the previous class.

I am very excited about this project and am looking forward to getting started.  This blog will be a way that not only my teachers, but I, myself, can track my progress throughout this semester and project.