Thesis: The Architectural Problem

Now that I finally have an ENTIRE day to myself, I think it's about time I started showing this blog some love. This year has been crazy with job and school and more school, and then more school on top of that. This has been such a formative year for me, with my summer experience in Namibia giving real confidence in my ability as a designer. And I just realize that I did not write a single post about it. Dang. Ok. Alright, you know what, fine. I'm releasing everything, this entire thesis. There will be pictures, there will be videos, there will be generalizations and there will probably be a couple of nuggets of social commentary. It's gonna be great. Are you ready? I'm ready.

Shelter

Two bus patrons at Peninsula Towne Center

My thesis all started with me. I'm a college student in Hampton, Virginia with no car. This means that I need to either ask all of my friends with cars for a ride, or ride the bus. Since friends have their own schedules most of the time, I prefer to ride the bus. Based on my previous posts detailing riding the HRT, you can see that it can be a somewhat complicated process, and I consider myself something of an expert user. I've used the bus to go to work, do shopping, go to job interviews, and even dates. But have you ever tried riding the bus in the summer? Most of the stops don't even have benches, and the ones that do have metal, which is like sitting on a stove on a hot summer day. And the shelters are built like green houses, with glass and metal trapping in heat like a microwave. If you were inside you baked, and if you were outside, you still baked. Winter was not much better, with no shelter whatsoever at some stops. The shelters did at least give you the comfort of sitting while you froze. Clearly, these are less than ideal conditions. 

Visibility

Bus stop schedule board in Hampton

Equally important is the aspect of visibility. I have personally waited for over 30 minutes for a bus, only to have it drive right past me. I've had to wait for 45 minutes for a bus, not knowing how soon or late it is coming. And to some, that might not seem like a big deal, but combine that with the conditions I've described above, and the picture becomes, if possible,  even more unpleasant. Making sure that passengers and buses can see each other is very important. A facet of this is safety, as lighting and increased surrounding visibility can reduce crime. There can also be emergency notifications built into the bus stops. You can actually find these systems already on college campuses and in certain retail parking lots. So I feel that visibility is more than just being able to physically see the bus, it's also about being able to see around you, knowing when the buses are coming, and maintaining safe spaces for people to wait. 

At bus stops you expect to see a bus schedule, that will tell you when the next bus is coming. Not so in Hampton. Instead, their schedules tell you how often the buses are coming and their hours of operation. Which can be useful, but only if you know exactly how long ago the last bus was. Without that information, the schedule is completely useless. And in places where buses only  operate every 30 minutes to an hour, people would often rather just leave than have to wait a half hour or more to see if they can catch the next bus. 

You can, of course, check the next bus on your phone. Bus routes can be found at gohrt.com and you can find an entire detailed travel itinerary by using the public transportation option on Google Maps. You can even call H.R.T. to find the next bus at your stop (make sure you know the intersection). However, without a phone, all of that becomes impossible. Phones with internet capabilities are infamous for being battery drainers, and even regular phones can die at inopportune moments. This can leave you stranded mid-trip with no information. Nowadays, people often don't wear watches and keep time using their phones, so even if you knew the bus times from memory, you still wouldn't know how how soon the next bus is once your phone dies. 

Power

But how will you power all these functions? Bus shelters can be very expensive upwards of $3000 per individual shelter. Including these additional but necessary functions of visibility, from schedules, notification systems, and lighting all need electricity to power them. In a move to make these stops more self-sufficient, I am proposing that they be solar powered. We have seen this implemented on a wide scale in San Francisco, with their city-wide shelters coming with solar panels on top. 

Architects and designers from all over the world have come up with innovative concepts, some experimenting with novel forms, others trying to stuff as much tech into it as possible (looking at you, MIT), and then others going for the straight whimsical (looking at you, Japan). But none of these solutions are truly trying to deal with these problems from the three areas of shelter, visibility, and power all combined in one design. And that is what I aim to do with my thesis.

My next post will deal with specific bus stops and solutions from all over, trying to see their successes and failures. 

2013 Sailing Season: Edward Teach Memorial Regatta

The sailing team only had one home regatta this year, which was the Edward Teach Memorial that we have every year. This regatta is hosted by Hampton University at Strawberry Banks. The event doesn't get a lot of Hampton publicity, and since Strawberry Banks stopped being a boys dorm, most students don't even know where it is. During the school year, most students aren't allowed to go there, even though it has a very convenient beach. But once every school year, all of the college sailing programs in the Hampton area congregate there and take advantage of the great winds and sailing the location has to offer. This is also usually our first regatta of the season, so it is usually the first time that our new sailors get to participate in a real regatta. 

First person in the Marine Science Center is always a great achievement. Don't be fooled by the sunny looking weather outside, it was freezing cold in September. From what I can tell I have on 4 top layers in that photo, and I'm not even in the water yet. 

Mrs. Schuker providing us with our regatta breakfast. Always super healthy, and I get to choose which brand of orange juice I want before anyone else. 

Coach Ambrosi giving us a briefing before the regatta starts.  

Coach discussing race committee things with Dr. Schuker the head of the Marine Science department. 

Who knows what they're talking about....all these boys are from the islands, so when they get together, they turn off their American accents, so they could be talking about sailing or football. 

The lovely Veronica Maccari, our "A" Divvision skipper eating her strawberry yogurt. This is her first year at Hampton University as Coach also recruited her from Italy. 

Josh is also new to the team, and is one of our "A" division crew

This regatta was a great start for the Hampton University sailing program, and was the only regatta we won the whole fall season. We somehow didn't have enough cups for the prize giving ceremony, so we had to have a singing competition to see who would get the full set. 

My regatta trophy!

For the Gambia, Our Homeland

For winter vacation, I have traveled to the Gambia, in Western Africa. I consider it my hhomeland because my family is from here, and I lived in the Gambia for 5 years. I also attended high school there, at Marina International School. I am very excited to be back, as I haven't been back since I started college. I will of course be taking lots of pictures of my trip, and I'll be sharing them here.

The trip here was basically a 2 day trip, going from DC, to Charlotte North Carolina, to London, to the Gambia. I didn't really get to do any sightseeing in London, but I wasnt too sad because the weather was awful. The best thing about London was their money exchange, which actually dealt in dalasi, unlike most countries, and their store Boots. The meal deal for 3.79 pounds saved my life n the flight to Africa, and it was delicious.

We finally got to Gambia after a 7 hour flight on Gambia Bird Airlines, with a stop-over in Freetown. We arrived at 7pm, which isn't too bad of an hour, but it means that I couldnt see much of the scenery.

Our Gambia Bird airplane after arrival in the Gambia

I've mostly been relaxing on this trip, as it is my vacation, but I'll still try and post pictures when I have time. There is so much I want to see and do while I'm here and still have time. I have already filled my food quota, having eaten all the things I wanted, including benachin, chicken afra, domoda, and butterfish and chips, all within the first week.

So here are some of the pictures I've taken so far, not in any particular order. Enjoy!

Men gathered underneath a shady tree

 

 

Truck delivering crates of soda

Traditional Yellow and Green Gambian Taxis



Souvenir and Tourist Market at Cape Point

African-American Architects: Plympton Ross Berry

As part of my Virginia Database of African American Architects class, we are supposed to write short wiki articles on 3 African-American architects. My 3 architects were Plympton Ross Berry, Wallace Augustus Rayfield, and William Sidney Pittman. This was a great learning experience for me, because I love history, and it helped open my eyes to the history of the people who blazed a trail for me to become what I am today. It's like a connect the dots of African-American history, especially with Pittman and Rayfield, for reasons that you will read later. I would have to say my favorite of the architects I researched is Berry, just for all he accomplished in his life, and all through his own merit as well as for his philanthropy, which I don't really get into in the article. 

Source: Ohio Memory

Plympton Ross Berry (1834 - May 12, 1917) in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and was born a free man of color. His family moved to Lawrence County Pennsylvania when Plympton Berry was six, and the family were the first African Americans to live in the New Castle area. 

It is not known whether or not Plympton, known to all as “Ross”, had any formal schooling. We only know that he was trained at an early age to become a bricklayer and by the age of sixteen was a master brick and stonemason. Also at the age of sixteen, he constructed the Lawrence County Courthouse, which he completed in 2 years. Berry did a lot of work for the cities and counties in that area, making an opera house and a city jail for Youngstown city. Berry also had the distinction of designing and constructing Youngstown, Pennsylvania’s first mansion, as well as its reconstruction when it burned down a few years later. 

Berry soon had his own construction company, and he employed several white workers in a time when a black man supervising whites was rare. In addition, when local members of the U.S. Colored Troops returned from the Civil War, Berry offered them training and jobs with his construction company. Berry also owned his own brickyard, where he made his own bricks which were said to be unique in color. There are now 65 structures attirbuted to Plympton Ross Berry as either the brick mason, architect, or builder. He continued working until the age of 82.

Top 10 Architecture Memes

I got the idea for this post after my friend Rodg posted this meme on his Facebook page. 

I thought, "There are probably plenty of architecture memes out there, does anybody ever try to find them?" So I sought and I found quite a few, some of them specific to certain design programs that nobody outside that studio would understand. So here are my personal top 10 list or architecture memes. Enjoy

Enough said.

The things that you think in the middle of a structures final.

Zaha Hadid is not even bothered.

Frank Gehry, describing his design process

Architecture professors

Hipster Ariel

You can read my post on all-nighters here.

High Expectations Asian Father can apply to African parents too.

There were a lot of these "What I think I do" memes, so it was hard to narrow it down, so I included two! 

Bonus!

Spring 2013 Wishlist:10 Things I Need In My Studio

Spring semester is approaching, and with it, a new studio. After having spent all your drafting pens, and using up all your good bristol paper on your final project for fall, it's time to shop for new supplies. But what do I need? In a perfect world, everything that Office Depot, Michaels, and Home Depot can give me. But if I can't have all that, I will definitely take these:

1. Electric Eraser

We've all been there. Smears, tears, and blurs all over your beautiful project. As architects move further and further from drawn media, and into printed media, we might feel as if erasers are obsolete. This couldn't be further from the truth. Most people would agree that kneaded erasers produce some of the best results, but unfortunately because of their shape, make it difficult to be precise with your erasing. 

The Sakura Electric Eraser is one of the highest rated and most expensive. But $49.50 is a small price to pay for subtractive perfection right? Right?

Alvin & Co. SE2000 Sakura Electric Eraser

2. Alarm Clock

I won't say that I'm a morning person. Long years in the architectural program have semi-permanently altered my sleep cycle. This requires me to set at least 3 alarms, in different parts of my room, to stop me from pressing the snooze button. Some fantastic examples are the Flying Alarm Clock, the Ivee Voice Activated Alarm Clock, and the Clocky Robotic Alarm.

 

3. Tube for Drawings
Possibly the worst fate to befall your projects after they're complete? Ripping, tearing, shoe marks, folds, and smears due to insufficient protection. Simply rubber banding might seem like the solution, but when you take them off your paper, they can sometimes cause more damage than leaving it alone. Enter the drawing tube. Portability, Safety, Water-proof-ness (possibly not a word), and Simplicity.

If you're worried that it'll make finding the drawing difficult, you can just get some regular scotch tape, write the drawing name on it twice, and tape it making a tab that sticks out from your drawing, so that you can easily read it without taking out the whole roll. Color-coding is doable as well.

4. Light Box
It's the day before the final project, the library is closed and all the light tables are full. How do you put your intricate floor plan on your presentation paper now while you still have time, and no access to a printer? Oh wait, never mind you have a light box. I have been on a mission to make one myself, and as soon as I do, I promise I will post the tutorial. In the meantime, you can buy one from here.

5.Arrow Template
A fairly consistent mistake in studio, in all the rush to finish our projects, is forgetting to put on a north arrow. It is a basic requirement, learned in first year, but frequently overlooked until the last minute, and then scrawled on with a pen before your professor can look at it. With this template, your professor never needs to be able to tell that you forgot, delivering perfect and professional arrows every time.

6. Expandable Tube

Okay, so I went over drawing tubes earlier. However, this is taking the tube concept to another level. Everybody knows that when it comes to your drawings, in the professor's eyes, bigger is better, and makes it all the easier to go over the finer details of your plans and elevations. These particular tubes by work by adding a middle section, kind of like an expandable table, adding more than a foot of space with each additional section. Another great feature is the water resistance, for obvious reasons.

7. Drafting Chair
Many of us in studio have dealt with the stool forr several years. It offers no back support, numbs your legs, and is usually not adjustable. Behold! The drafting chair! Back support! Cushioned seats! Adjustability!
You can find many different varieties online, but this particular model makes the top of my wishlist.
Great things include optional armrests, orthopedic spine support, and upholstered seats.

8. Cable Organizers
These little things are useful both in studio or in your room, for gathering your cables and not having them lie in a tangled mess on your table or on the floor. My favorites so far are the Cable Monkey which is adorable and functional, and the Cordies Cable Organizers which are functional and simple to use. Either one is a match made in heaven.

9. Ninja Star Pushpins
Give your project a bit of spice, and as a plus, you will always know which pushpins are yours. These pushpins have 2 pins per ninja star, for extra reinforcement, which is great for bigger or heavier presentation boards.

10. USB Toast Handwarmers
You might think these are not a neccesity, but that makes me think that maybe you are not an architecture major at all, and possibly a business administration major here to spy for the other side. Picture yourself in studio, in winter, in the middle of the ngiht. Every square inch of you is bundled up except for your hands, which you need to type. Though your body is warm, your hands are freezing and becoming more and more useless and ice-like every hour.
Solution? Handwarmers! They plug into your laptop, which is already beng heavily taxed, so a little bit more won't hurt it. And as a bonus, you can type with them! And as a double double bonus, they are ridiculously adorable.

Re-Updated Cafeteria Hours

A year ago I posted the cafeteria hours for the Big and Small Cafe at Hampton University, formerly located in Virginia Cleveland Hall. This now makes the third time I have posted Hampton University's cafeteria hours. Now that the New Cafeteria has been built, the hours have again changed to accommodate the change from two cafeterias to one. The New Cafeteria even has its own photo album that can be found here.

Monday-Friday

Breakfast: 7:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Continental Breakfast: 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Lunch: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM

Dinner: 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Saturday & Sunday

Brunch: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Dinner: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM