El Lissitzky: Armchair for the Hygiene Exhibition Dresden
This chair is painted plywood construction with solid wood seat and metal fittings. El Lissitzky taught at the Vkhutemas Moscow design institute and was a co-founder of Constuctivism. He associated with De Stijl members, Bauhaus designers and Dada artist and their influence can be seen in his designs.
I think that this chair looks too much like a movie theather chair to be placed anywhere else in public. I also think that it looks very uncomfortable because of the harsh hard plastic. One thing that I really don’t like is how far the arms are placed up on the chair it looks like that would be a pain in the butt to hold you arms way up there.

Gerrit Rietveld: Zig zag chair
Oak constructed with brass fittings. The 45 degree angle of the zig zag chair’s cantilever can be seen as a response to Theo van Doesburgs’s call in 1924 for the introduction of oblique linesto resolve the tension between vertical and horizontal elements.
This zig zag chair I don’t find very attractive, I feel like the chair would be stronger if it just stopped at the Z and didn’t have the back part of the chair on it. I also think that it would look cooler if the Zig zag chair was made out of metal or a painted plastic.

Alvar Aalto: Model No.43
This chair is made of bent laminated wood and solid birch frame with textile webbing. The model No. 60 stool and model No. 69 chair demonstrates Aalto’s interest in basic functional forms. The later model No.43 chaise lounge and model No. 406 are less utilitarian and more suited to domestic settings.
This chair looks very comfortable, I really like the reclined position that it is in. I also like the weaving effect that is on the chair I like how the dark and light strips contrast each other.

Gerrit Rietveld: Aluminium chair
Pressed and stamped aluminium contruction. This chair was probably inspired by military aircraft seats. Constructed from a bent, single sheet of stamped aluminium, the design pushed the materials technical and aesthetic limits further than ever before.
I think that is chair looks very cold, and unfriendly. I do however like the holes that are in the chair, I don’t understand the point of them as with most of the others but I like them. I don’t like the sharp edges of the chair, although they contrast the holes.

Jean Prouve: Visiteur
Bent tubular steel, lacquered oak and sheet zinc construction. Although originally retailed with an upholstered seat and back, this chair’s use of sheet zinc is most unusual. The ball foot motif became increasingly popular throughout the 1950’s.
I think that this chair looks way to hard to sit on but, I do like the zinc metal that is used in the chair. I like it because it is unusual and that type of metal isn’t used very often on chairs. I think that it looks like its too short and low to the ground as well.

Borge Mogensen: Model No. 1789
Beech frame with upholstered cushions and leather ties. The No. 1789 sofa was one of a number of designs by Mogensen, who had worked with both Wegner and Klint, that were successful reinterpretations of traditional seat types.
The main thing that drew my eye to this chair was the fact that the one side folds down so you are able to lay down on this chair that looks like a bench. I don’t however like the cloth or color of the wood I think that it is too outdated and country looking for my taste.

Donald Knorr: Model No. 132U
The innovative model No 132. U shared first prize at the “ International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design” in New York. The prototype seat shells were made from sheets of themoset plastic. Bent zinc-plated steel seating section on painted tubular steel legs.
This chair has a very unique look to it, I really enjoy the fact that it looks like either an oyster or half of a fortune cookie , the back part of the chair where the hole is taken out doesn’t really make since to me and isn’t explained why it is there but, I do think it does look esthetically pleasing to the eye.

~ This information was taken out of the 1,000 chairs book by Charlotte and Peter Fiell

Carlo Mollino: Armchair for the Minola House:
This chair and the other furninshings designated for the Minola House in Turin were produced at the height of the war. Skilled craftsmanship compensated for the dearth of quality materials. Ebonised wood frame with velvet-covered upholstery.
To me this chair looks like a praying mantis. It looks like it may be comfortable but, I am not feeling the velvet material it is upholstered in. I also think that the head piece on the chair looks uninviting and I feel like I would be closterphobic in it.

Carlo Mollino: Chair designed for Lisa and Gio Ponti
This chair was designed for Lixa and Gio Ponti. It is bifurcated form is clearly based on a cloven hoof and reflects Mollino’s life long intrest in the occult. Polished brass frame with resin-flex upholstered seat and back.
I Think that this chair is quite ugly, the color of it is really quite plan and bland, once again the seat has a crack in between it so it looks like it wouldn’t be very comfortable and the back of the seat looks like the center piece of the flower of a tiger lily.

Chair Products

Sori Yanagi: Butterfly
The butterfly stool can be seen as an elegant and harmonic synthesis of Eastern and Western cultures. Highly favored in America during the 1950’s it was easy to dismantle and transport.
Personally I do not think that this chair would be comfortable, I like the way it looks from a far but, I think that the crack in it looks like it would be very uncomfortable if you were to sit down in it.

leaf

Sustainable design research

Tintable Glazing Saves Energy On Demand:




“The only product currently meeting that ideal in the U.S., according to Selkowitz, is SageGlass, produced by Sage Electrochromics.
SageGlass windows and skylights can be tinted to block solar heat gain without blocking the building occupants view, Once people start experiencing what it can do for them, they will wonder how they ever got along without windows they can tint on demand,” “Less fossil fuels burned means less pollution, which is good for the environment, and lower operating costs, which is good for the building owner.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070404tintableglass.asp

Designing Buildings for Easy Cleaning:



“Designing a building with cleanability in mind can reduce the amount of cleaning products needed in the first place, limiting the potential for occupants or the environment to be harmed by exposure to chemicals. “The ultimate pollution-prevention strategy is to eliminate the material entirely,” says Stephen Ashkin.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070404cleanability.asp

Design for a Carbon-Free Life: The Pursuit of “Net” Zero Energy:




“The phrase commonly used in the U. S. is zero-energy building (ZEB)—one that consumes no non-renewable energy, or produces more renewable energy on site on an annual basis than any non-renewable energy it consumes. Since carbon emissions are a direct result of fossil-fuel use, a zero-carbon building is necessarily a zero-fossil-fuel energy building.”

http://construction.com/CE/articles/0710ZeroEnergy-1.asp

Go With the Flow:

“Fresh air brought in from the outside can serve one or more functions, from providing adequate ventilation for occupants throughout the year and cooling them in the appropriate seasons to flushing and cooling the building itself at night. Executed properly in the right conditions, passive ventilation can improve indoor air quality and thermal comfort while reducing a facility’s reliance on energy derived from fossil fuels. It can also reduce initial construction costs by downsizing the mechanical system and its associated fan noises. Finally, natural ventilation helps occupants reconnect to the outdoors and feel a sense of ownership within their building environment.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/0707_Kirschcenter.asp

Concrete goes green:

“Studies show that vehicles get better gas mileage on concrete than they do on asphalt,” he says. In metropolitan areas, concrete offers the added benefit of reflecting sunlight, reducing heat and consequently, reducing overall energy costs.”

http://southcentral.construction.com/features/archive/2007/0706_feature_1.asp

Solar Memory:

“Like the tools used to simulate outdoor light, blue-sky thinking is vital to sustainable building design. Yet capturing useful sunlight is hard enough even when conditions are ideal. recent years have added new fiber optics, plastics, special coatings, and even “active” glazings such as electrochromic panels that can be adjusted for variable illuminance levels. Other glass products incorporate louvers or triangular prisms that throw light deep inside floors or up at ceilings, with some customized for latitude and climate.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/0704mag_solar.asp

Unique fuel source:

The use of landfill gases is projected to initially satisfy about 40 percent of the plant's energy needs, with 100 percent projected in 10 years' time. This method will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and as a result the company is being nationally recognized for being environmentally conscious.

http://southcentral.construction.com/features/archive/2007/0703_feature_4.asp

Window Makers Roll Out Cardinal's New LoE3 Glass:

“Cardinal Glass Industries, the nation’s largest manufacturer of coated glass for residential windows with an output of 700 million square feet per year, has introduced an improved low-emissivity (low-e) coating, LoE3 366 (“Low-e cubed 366”). The glass offers high visible light transmittance as well as low solar heat gain, making it appropriate in most applications except where solar gain is desirable for passive solar heating (south-facing glass in heating climates). The manufacturer recommends LoE3 366 for all regions of the country. Glass with LoE3 366 will be slightly more expensive than glass with standard low-e coatings.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070207cardinalglass.asp

Design Choices Protect Birds from Building Collisions:

“Second only to habitat loss, collision with windows poses the largest human hazard to birds, according to Daniel Klem Jr. Fortunately, modifications to building designs can reduce bird collisions. The most effective change is eliminating mirrored glass. Using architectural details to break up mirrored glass visually can also help birds understand that it’s a solid surface. Tilting mirrored glass so it reflects the ground can encourage birds to steer clear. The incorporation of an etched pattern, a ceramic frit, or photovoltaic panels into a glass curtainwall may also make it visible to birds, especially if the glass is also nonreflective. Birds sometimes fly through spaces as small as a human handprint, however, so patterns have to be tight to be effective.”

http://greensource.construction.com/tech/070103BirdsGlass.asp

Robo Buildings: Pursuing the Interactive Envelope:





Gage and Will Thorne describe a hypothetical fleet of small robots they call “edge monkeys.” Their function would be to patrol building facades, regulating energy usage and indoor conditions. Basic duties include closing unattended windows, checking thermostats, and adjusting blinds. But the machines would also “gesture meaningfully to internal occupants” when building users “are clearly wasting energy,” and they are described as “intrinsically delightful and funny.” “smarter building skins automatically control daylighting, ventilation, and more to benefit occupants and enhance sustainable design quality”.”

http://archrecord.construction.com/features/green/archives/0604edit-3.asp

~My overall thought and what I have gotten out of these articles is that sustainable design is that of which non-renewable objects are limited, so things that have a green design, or a design are used in order to preserve the environment more efficiently, also it has been the “art of designing physical objects and the built environment to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability”.

Orthographic View of Time Capsule

new technology design research

Adapting Cementitious Structural Insulated Panels For Multi-Story Use: Federation of American Scientist

In this article they are talking about the impact that large construction has, trying to find efficient ways of energy and finding different options for these muti-story buildings to succeed in design. It goes through the efficiency of these buildings through disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and what about the cost and the building time. They will use different corporations to help figure out the best efficiency. The Open System fir Earthquake Engineering Simulation, helped to show them or give them the effects of an Earthquake if one were to happen so that they could design around it in order to give it more efficiency. It also “integrated structural behavior, soil and foundation behavior, and damage measures”. They used the combination of computer stimulation with the actual building elements in order to test it. To finish off the study of this they will make a comprehension guide in order to explain the different ways in which these multi-story buildings can be made efficiently.

Another new technology that is being used in todays design field is that of
residential construction they are using simple composite materials in order to make walls and roofs. This material before had been able to be used only in automobile and some airplane construction because of the high cost in production. This recent demand for all of these durable buildings this material has been lowered in price greatly and is more available to the public now. The good thing about this material is that it stays in one piece during earthquakes and any other tragic event that might mess up the building. The material can prevent mold and termites and looks good as well. Another bonus to this material is it is safe and also is very good in energy efficientcy by reducing heating and cooling bills by 1/2.Overall I am pleased to hear about this new product that will seem to help out alot!

Composite time capsule drawings

Time Capsule Process Booklet

Time Capsule sketches

Shading exercize

10 design firms websites - research

http://www.imichaelinteriordesign.com/residential.html

I think this is a very good website for this firm. I like the black simple background along with the very monochrome lettering and a splash of orange. I also like the actual designs they do and think they do a very good job of projecting them. It is very helpful for them to break down the categories they have. They separate residential design from corporate design. I really like the work they do with the hotels they design them with a very sophisticate manner. On this website they also have a link to awards they have received I like to see this on designers web pages because it gives you an idea of how good their work is. The other links on the website is good because it gives more credible sites of places you can get information and people and places they recommend, that would probably be better than if you searched for something in Google. It also goes through the services they offer and what they are all about. Overall I find this to be a very good web page and is very easy and helpful when trying to find information.


http://www.davidmichaelmiller.com/

This website is sleek and simple but I feel in the first opening page is missing something. I would like to see a simple picture of a project they have done just to introduce their style. However I do like the moving text under the title and the multi-colored moving boxes that lead you to other parts of the site. As I got to see the works that they have done I really really liked their way of designing. Most of what they do is light, airy mixed with a sleek and gives you a peaceful calm feeling. Like most of the other sites this one gives a lot of detail in contact information and makes it very accessible to get in touch with them. The “philosophy” part on this website I found to be interesting and enjoyable because it just went through what it meant to him and what the purpose of design was, it was nice because it made you think deeper into design rather than just the pretty stuff on the outside.


http://www.balongue.com/

When I first look at this its like bam. There is so much color and so much to do on the website. It is good that it has all these options and I like how everything is easily ready, the expertise areas get broken up into different categories you can choose from, it also then has links to the portfolio, contact, news about them etc. I really like the way they design corporate wise, they make the work place more enjoyable and modern. Most of there health care designs are pretty adorable as well and makes it I guess you would say less scary for children. It takes their mind off the fact that they are at the doctor and looks like they’re more at the playground or something. I also like the restaurants they are very modern, and look very up to date with the fast pace nightlife of big cities. So far this design company is my favorite in the actual work they do but, as far as the web design, I might would work on that a little to improve it.


http://www.tuckerandmarks.com/index.asp

First impression of the webpage, I disliked it a lot. I did not like the red white and black text and background mixed with the very traditional design picture. I may just be bias of the whole website because I don’t really like traditional design. Not all on the website was traditional, there were a few designs I liked, like the kitchen’s but, besides that it just was not my style. The one thing I did like about this website was the fact that they threw in some detailed floor plans / sketches of what the room was going to look like. I always enjoy seeing the drawings and ideas and the final end design to see how close it resembles their initial design.


http://www.maxeyhayse.com/interior_design_benefits.html

I like their design style but, the main website page is a little confusing because it has so much text on it. I think that if they would have but the information into more broad categories it would have made the presentation of the website better. I’ve noticed that one thing I really like about their design is there use of lighting in most all of the designs that are in their portfolios the lighting is always unique or interesting in some way. I also like how they have added articles on the website to show different things that have to do with Interior design like designing on a budget, design suggestions color trends etc. I think that these articles can be very helpful for someone just starting out that is clueless and doesn’t really know where to start or what they want. Another bonus to this website is they have a separate jobs link so that way if you are looking to enter the world of Interior design the different jobs they have available are listed on the site.

http://www.ispacesinc.com/

This website is for kids spaces which to me makes it less interesting because I feel like sometimes the line between cute and cheesy can become difficult when it comes to designing kids spaces. Some of their designs are borderline cheesy in my opinion. The website also in my opinion has way to much text and not enough to show for. Also this website kind of limits what they can do or they make it seem that way because they just have baby space, kids space, tween space and a cool place and in these categories they don’t show a lot of different things they have done. Overall I just don’t get a really impressive feeling from this website.

http://www.interiorreflections.com/about.htm

Automatically the first thing I noticed that set this site apart from the others was the link for testimonials. I think that it was very smart of them to have this on there website. It makes them more credible and it gives you real people and their experience with this company. I also like the before and after link on the website. I really enjoy looking at the transformations that are made I don’t really like the design style but, you can tell there is an improvement in the rooms. Also another thing that stood out in maybe a not so good way was the color usage of the pages and even in their design, the colors aren’t bright and interesting to me they are more old fashion and bland.


http://www.dainteriordesign.com/

The first main page of this website is horrible looking. I don’t know what they were thinking with the color scheme, it’s all over the place. I like most of the designs from the firm, the ones I enjoy the most are the more modern ones. They show a great variety of work though, from western to modern if you give them a style it appears they can do anything. If I could suggest one thing to the website it would be to make the pictures larger. In their work there is a lot of “ stuff” so I would like to be able to see it better in detail. They also have added sketches to their website which is always helpful to see and shows the progress they do.


http://www.idfomaha.com/

I really like their main webpage; it is very inviting and colorful. I love the color scheme and the pictures that are shown on the main page it jumps out and makes me want to see more of their work. Out of all 10 of the websites I have visited this one is my favorite as far as appeal. Some of the designs are not my favorite but they have a lot of different designers in this firm, so not all of the designs are from one in particular designer. Another thing that I think they do a good job of is providing different services they do Residential & Commercial Design, Design Development, Project Management / Coordination, Space Planning / Furniture Layouts, CAD Drawings / Drafting, Interior Finish Selections, Selection, Custom Fabrication, & Installation of Furniture, Window Treatments, Soft Goods, & Accessories


http://www.sliferdesigns.com/

This design firm is different from a lot of the other ones I have viewed. This one has a more non-traditional Mediterranean and Asian feel too most it, It also has some country designs because of being in Colorado but, mostly designs influenced by other countries. I really like how the picture on the webpage is nice and large and has good image quality. The other links are in a really light beige color, which I think is good, you can still see them but it doesn’t take away from the pictures. Along with the beautiful designs they are also earth friendly and have a link to a long in-depth Green Mission statement. They also offer a wide variety of services and have very easily found contact information.

self portrait

So far of all of the projects I would have to say this one was my favorite. Instead off all the technical concrete rules this project gave us a chance to be a little more creative and artsy it allowed us to just have fun by being able to portray ourselves in whatever way we wanted. In all 8 of my portraits I carried out a constant color scheme of blues, greens,black and I pulled in copper. I really enjoyed making the stand for these to sit on because I got to learn something new. I had never worked with wood before and was oblivious to anything that even related to wood. I went to Lowe's home improvement with a sketch in my hand and explained to the guy what I was making and what I thought I needed he was very helpful, and he made my experience more enjoyable, I thought it would be very hard and what not but, for me personally nailing wood together or putting clamps on is a lot easier than trying to glue some matte board or foam board together.

Shading

Shading tends to be very difficult for me because I've never really been taught how to, I had ever even heard of shading by doing crazy lines for shading before the only thing I've ever kind of done was shading by smudging which I find to be the easiest

pre-metamorphosis sketches

These are some sketches I did before the meta-morpho-sis project, I believe I used 2 ideas that I had from this sheet but, probably should have made more to get better ideas because I was not happy with the results. This was the least favorite project I have done so far, I just wasn't really getting ideas

metamorphosis

In this metamorphosis project I morphed from Kevin Lahti's creation (Below) to Keith Burns Flower (above). It was pretty difficult I must say, going from a pointy triangle figure to a flower that held an egg, two different objects with two different purposes combinding together was quite a challenge and a bit of a struggle for me.In Kevin's I tried to focus mainly on the triangles that he used while making something slightly different to show that the morphing started from his, then I went and did the middle one (above) and it was a mixture of both the bottom pieces representing the things coming out of Keith's flower and then the strong structural lines and edges for the base that were influenced by Kevin's design. As I moved on a morphed more into Keith's flower I made more of a flower shaped top to emphasize and focus the flower that he made and added a little touch again of the strong structure that held up the triangles of Kevin's