Art in San Francisco

Andy Goldsworthy's addition to the Presidio Park in San Francisco has brought grace as well as historic significance to the forest. His sculpture is created from fallen Eucalyptus trees and turned into a winding trail that curves throughout the forest. Goldsworthy's "Wood Line" project is not a permant feature of the park but like most of Any Goldsworthy's work will eventually decay over time.

The historical significance comes from the fact that Presidio Park started out as a military base. Soldiers omce planted an array of trees that are beginning to die out. the fallen trees provide Andy material and open space for his work.

WEEK 10

For the final lecture of the semester, Professor Amily Huang introduced us to the wonderful work of Rael San Fratello Architects based in the city of Oakland, California. Rael San Fratello Architects was established in 2002, is an internationally recognized firm that focuses on combining technologies, and ecological design lies at the intersection of architecture and the environment.

This "Seat Slug" is a innovative design by the Rael San Fratello Architects. This is a unique and one of a kind building component. This innovation is a product of 3D modeling software that finally provides an example of a useful bench that does not lack on style.

WEEK 9

The major theme that Professor Huang introduced to our class this week was the importance of Urbanism and Context. She explained that it is necessary to not ignore the history, classical elements and the old but rather embrace it and combine it with the new generation and moderation.

An example of Urbanism and Context at its finest is the High Line park in New York City. This historic freight line has been remodeled and transformed into a beautiful public park that the city can enjoy.

 

WEEK 8

Our class was lucky enough to have Edward Westbrook from Quarry House make a visit this week and talk about stone masonry. Edward is a stone mason and what I was able to pick up a few things from his presentation. He wanted to make a point to tell us that there is a serious lack of sketching skills in todays world.  He wanted us to look up his good friend and one of the most well known landscape architectures, Lawrence Halprin. A few of Quarry House's project include the Stone Walls of New England, The Chinese Walls of Northern California, Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco, and Yosemite National Park.

The main message Edward Westbrook wanted to make was for us to STOP, THINK, ABOUT THE QUALITY OF MATERIALS. He even read a moving poem call To The Stonecutters. The Stern Grove Festival was one his favorite projects and one that i have got the chance to visit. They complete remodeled it and did a great job creating a modern but natural feel that invites people to stop and appreciate its beauty.

WEEK 7

Paul Miller was our guest speaker this week, he came to us from Grace Construction. Grace Construction products offers many innovative products such as concrete amixtures, fibers, concrete masonry and much more. As a worldwide leader in the construction products industry, Grace products are specified by architects and engineers.

Paul Miller also talked about waterproofing and air barriers for the protection of homes.The water barrier being applied in the photo is designed to keep the home waterproof.

WEEK 6

This week's topic was all about SUSTAINABILITY. Sustainable architecture seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of building by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.

The goals of sustainability are as follows:

Goal #1- Harmonize with the site
Goal #2- Build as little as possible
Goal #3- Buildings should heat and cool themselves, generate own electricity
Goal #4- Maximize resource efficiency
Goal #5- Ecological design should be beautiful and lyrical.

Professor Huang also discussed LEED and USGBC. LEED stands for Leadership, Energy, Environmental, Design. USGBC is a national non-profit organization that is the developer and administrator of the LEED Green Building Rating System.

The vertical farm or vertical garden is one of the latest sustainable projects that has been rumored about and is trying to find a perfect prototype. This is a rendering from the vertical farm website.

WEEK 5

In this week's lecture Professor Huang emphasized Patterns and Systems. There are many ways that patterns and systems play a role in architecture and in the process of design. A system of patterns can be transformed into a structure for a building, a piece of furniture, or practically anything. One pattern can be viewed as a "part to a whole".

Skidmore Owings and Meril (SOM) created the Beineke Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts (above photo) in Yale University, New Haven.The building is built like a cage, the pattern displayed is designed as a "part to a whole" that creates the entire side of the building.

Another interesting part of this building is the base of the library. The cage-like structure is sitting on a column in the center. the corners of the library are being held up by 4 concrete bases to appear as if it were floating.