Weird Building in China-- Shenyang Fangyuan building

By Haoyang Li

Shenyang Fangyuan building is an architectural style of ancient coins used as office space , the building area of ​​48,000 square meters, building height of 99.75 meters , a total of 24 storeys. Has been selected by CNN in January 2012 named the world's top ten ugliest buildi  Shenyang Fangyuan building is located in Shenyang CBD, design by Taiwan Li Zuyuan Architects (CY Lee & Partners), gross area is 5,580 square meters, with a total construction area of ​​48,000 square meters, building height of 99.75 meters, a total of 24 floors, 22 storeys above ground and 2 underground. Wall structure is reinforced concrete frame. Outdoor decoration with natural granite, using low-E tempered LOW-E insulating glass. It is a mix-used includes international finance, trade, business and office.

House’s facade is mimicking the ancient China coin ‘s shape, Indicates that building owners plenty of money settled, career developed.

            This is not the first building that mimics the real things. There are also have two interesting buildings show the “imagination” of Architect. One is Wuliangye Building, other one is Daohuaxiang Building.

            Building mimicking the real stuff means it fit people’ (or owner’s) value. Bottle of liquor is ok, it show what they company do. But the coin is complex.

            Be rich is a good stuff to greeting others. It is already become a culture in contemporary China. Follow the “culture” it is not hard to figure out why this building come out. Everyone likes money, and everybody looking for the money. It is because of the poor in past 30 years. From 10 ago some people get rich, who got money that can get the power. That give shows to normal people money is important. It is obviously what going on then, everyone try his or her best to get money. And Fangyuan Building comes out.

Source:

Fig1: https://www.flickr.com/photos/derekharkness/2966970224/sizes/z/

Fig2: http://image65.360doc.com/DownloadImg/2013/10/1612/36021091_1.jpg,

Tour of the city: Patan

By Sabin Chakradhar

Patan city is one of my favourite cities in Kathmandu valley. In today’s blog I am going to discuss about some key features of this city. Patan is also known as Lalitpur, which means City of Beauty. The Newari name of this city is “Yala” which bears resemblance to the name of the first Kirati King Yalamber.

Patan is said to have established during the Lichhavi Period and the Manga Hiti (water spout) which dates back to 590 AD supports the fact. This hiti has an effective water supply system, which led to the expansion and development of the city. There are many other water spouts in the city dating back to Lichhavi period, but most of them has dried long ago. One of them is the Golden water spout, which lies at a higher level than other water spouts and is in good condition till date. The four corners of the city are marked by stupas, which dates back to 250 BC and are said to have been erected by Emperor Ashoka. The largest and most ornamented of these four stupa is on the Northern side, commonly known as stupa of Sankhamul.

As we explore this city, we find many temples and idols belonging to the Hindus and many more devoted to Buddhism. As we reach any junction of the city first idol we see is the Ganesh (1^st god to be worshipped according to mythology) Temple. This temple is an integral part of the Newari community be it Hindu or Buddhist. Also another interesting part about this city is the courtyards. These courtyards are accessed through alleys in the street and one courtyard opens up to another smaller courtyard belonging to individual families termed as Nani.

Patan has many temples and idols; all built in different centuries and carries their distinct architecture and charm. The Patan Durbar Square is one of the exquisite beauties of the city. This square was laid in the Lichhavi period but was developed during the reign of King Siddhinarsingha Malla. This rectangular square has its longer axis running North- South with the palace in the eastern sides of the square which is now used as a museum and diversely styled continuous row of temples on the western side. Apart from the architecture in the durbar square Patan has many other temples and Vihars around its precinct.

Vihars or monasteries are the Buddhist institution for learning, back in the old days. The Bhaskar Varna Mahavihar is the largest bahal in patan and was built in the Kirat period, but most of the shrines date back to to Lichhavi period. Nagbahal is another bahal just next to Bhaskar Varna Mahabihar and inherits a stone water spout making it a unique Bahal. The Golden temple, Hiranya Varna mahabihar, built in the 12^th century has three storeyed golden pagodas, where the upper storey hosts the golden image of Lord Buddha and a large prayer wheel. Maha Boudha, is popularly known as the 1000 buddha Temple, built in Shikhara Style. This temple is covered with terra cotta tiles, each tiles carved with the image of Lord Buddha. The architecture of this temple is similar to the Mahaboudha temple at Boudhgaya in India where Buddha gained enlightenment.

All of these vihars, temples, Hitis and the traditional Newari buildings dating back to various centuries makes the city of Patan a historical place and visiting a place as such, rolls one back to the ancient culture and history.

Pic 1

Caption: Mahabuddha Temple, also known as "temple of thousand buddhas"

Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/2052326222/in/set-72157628859905147

Pic 2

Caption: Patan Durbar Square

Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51676096@N05/6409472237/

My Digitally Fabricated World

By Don Olsen
Issue 7- So you decided to build a model...

Like my previous posts I will stick to topics related to digital fabrication. Models in architecture school are an essential element to explaining the ideas that 2D images just can't explain fully. The idea of shadows, context to the site, and artistic expression are all things that models simply do better than digital representations. I guess that's an opinion more than anything and a particular group mate of mine will insist that his digital walkthroughs with catchy music and fountains certainly get the job done. They certainly get the point across. Architectural models can be a variety of things from very basic to lifelike. I've seen plenty of students design models to be laser cut in my three years working at the architecture programs DFL. Models that have crossed a spectrum of well planned to poorly thought out to making it up as you go. There are a few things that people should all remember when setting up model files. First, plan your attack! Models are nothing without  a preconceived direction. Make a plan, map out your cuts and materials. Second, consider your materials. The best models are the ones that look like everything fits like a glove, so plan and account for your material thickness. This is a common reason for things not fitting exactly, because they won't if you consider your materials. Next, Scale correctly. People forget that at a smaller scale everything gets exponentially harder to build. Consider your scale, detail is easily gained or lost with scale. Sometimes a larger model is the only way to produce detail on the building, however small models have the benefit of providing a greater context. Finally, add what detail you can. This can be accomplished by populating your models with cars and people to make the model feel more alive. Again scale will play a factor in deciding whether something can be added or not but do what you can. Another way of adding life is to add landscaping. Landscaping is something that many architecture students over look however good planning will provide a more whole looking model. So next time we will talk more about models and how models worked for our studio project. Till next time keep fabricating.  

Out of the Dome

By Patrick Londrigan

The Minnesota Vikings currently play in the Metrodome which is a 900,000 square foot, dome, stadium and seats 64,000 people.  This current stadium is out dated and right now they are under construction of a new stadium.  The hope of this new stadium will not only be to revitalize the downtown with a facility that it is unique to Minnesota but that it will provide the Vikings fans with the best game-day experience.  The new stadium will seat 65,400 people, with expandable seating for up to 72,000 seats and will be 1,750,000 square feet, nearly doubling the Metrodome in size.

Figure 1. Exterior view of stadium and downtown Minneapolis.

Compared to the Metrodome the new stadium will have more of everything.  The new stadium will have 6 club lounges, 8,000 club seats, and 116 suites compared to the Metrodome which has 1 lounge, 243 seats, and 87 suites.  Along with the extra premium seats there will be 2,500 premium parking spaces and a large public gathering space outside, perfect for pregame events and activities.  Inside you will find that the whole stadium now has wireless internet, two team retail stores, a Vikings Hall of Legends, and 2,000 high definition televisions.  Plus a full service restaurant and 430 general concession points of sale.

Figure 2. Interior view of one of the six club lounges.

The new stadium will provide many unique features compared to all other NFL stadiums one of which being the largest transparent ethylene-tetraflouroethylene roof in the nation.  Also five 95 feet high pivoting glass doors that will open to the new three-acre plaza and the Minneapolis downtown skyline.  Withe these doors and this roof it will give the fans the opportunity to experience an outdoor feel in a climate-controlled environment.  With seats about 40 feet away from the sideline, the fans will also be closer to the action here than in any other stadium.  Two of the largest and highest quality HD video boards in the NFL will be located at both end zones, along with the 2,000 high definition televisions as mentioned before, so the fans do miss a second of the action.  Like Levis Stadium, the San Francisco 49ners stadium, the new stadium for the Vikings is attempting to make the facility as environmentally and energy efficient as possible.  The project design and construction group is committed to building a stadium that will receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  Though the stadium is currently under construction and some additions could be made or lost we will not know at this time if it receives this certification until construction moves forward.

Figure 3. Exterior view from the plaza looking towards the 95 feet high pivoting doors.

Figure 4. Interior view of the first row of seats onto the field.

Source:

Figures 1-4: http://www.newminnesotastadium.com/

Finals Week Blog

By Mehgan Shanahan

Well everyone here we go again!! I'm going to apologize in advance because this week is my finals week and we are in crunch time! My final is this Friday, so I am in a rush to get it all done in time.

I do have to say I can't believe that we are so close to the end of the semester. I feel like the entire semester has just flown by so quickly. On a more personal note I had an eventful thanksgiving break. I did a lot of work but also had a lot of fun. My thanksgiving was in Chicago, and every year my family attends the Thanksgiving Day parade, which is always a blast. That evening we ate a turkey delicious dinner at my aunt’s place.  Though I spend a lot of the day on my computer doing work it was nice seeing my family. On black Friday, my mother, sister, and I went out and did a lot of Christmas shopping! That only lasted so long because after I had to get right back to my final studio work. Finally back in Carbondale my group and I have been working like crazy to finish out model and preparing our presentation boards.  I hope to have images of this amazing model for you in the next blog!

I am so excited about not only finishing this semester but also that finishing this semester marks the half way mark to finishing my masters degree. I am half way through the 15-month program and only two semesters left! I just graduated from UIC last May and now I am so close to finishing this one! Other good things I found out today is that next semester I will be the TA for Professor Rolando Gonzalez who will be teaching the online masters studio next semester. That program will be creating a project similar to what I have done this semester for studio. Overall I really had a great semester and I feel so blessed to have such a great support system, especially my parents and my sister. I cannot wait for Christmas break, and I will talk to you all in two weeks!

Reflection

By Drew Baldwin

Since this is the last blog of the semester, I think I will take some time to reflect on my grad school experience thus far.

            After graduation, I knew that I would be starting summer studio in a mere two weeks, I can’t say I was totally thrilled to be spending my summer in class, but I was more interested in what was in what we would be doing and how the studio would go. The course was very rigorous being as we were packing 16 week’s worth of studio work into half that time. It was difficult to adjust to the work load the first few days, but after that things began to run a bit more smoothly. The project went well and I think my final product was one to be proud of. In all, the summer studio was a great learning experience and preparation for the coming three semesters.

            As the summer drew to a close, thoughts then moved to the fall semester and what we would be doing in our studio class as well as beginning to formulate ideas for a thesis. For the longest time, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where to start in selecting a thesis. I tried to think of what I am interested in how that could possibly lead me to an idea, but nothing. It wasn’t until we started working on our studio project, the Rio Legacy proposal that I began to realize what I liked and how that could influence my thesis ideas. In starting the project, we began with the master planning of our site, which took a particular liking to, determining the layouts of building space to green space and circulation through a site. As the project progressed I chose to design garden apartments in our site, for a couple reasons: I’ve never took on the challenge of designing apartment style living and I wanted to create an interesting connection between living spaces and green spaces.

            Sitting here, with our project due in about 18 hours, I am satisfied with what I have produced for my studio project as both a group and individual (I hope the presentation goes well). I am also excited to start researching more and working on my thesis the next two semesters and am very curious as to what may happen in the future. 

Lack of Sleep

By: Ethan Brammeier

It’s that time of the semester where all of us are getting little to no sleep and only staying awake by consuming large amounts of caffeine.  I don’t feel like I’ve procrastinated at all this semester but yet I’m still cramming to finish our group project.  I think other students can agree with me that no matter how much time you spend on your project there will always be something that you’re not happy with.  I have many parts of my project that I still want to change but time will not allow.  At this point the only thing I can do is throw together what I have and not worry about changing things. 

My last week has consisted of building models and only a little bit of digital work.  Our group is building a large scale model which I will share in a later blog.  My individual model took nearly two entire days to complete.  It actually took longer to make the laser cut template than it did to build the physical model.  Every semester I design a building with curved walls or roofs and always forget how difficult it will be to design the structure and build the model later on in the semester.   My thought is that in the future I will probably be designing mostly square buildings so I might as well design crazy ones while I’m in school.  Below is a picture of my model completely done.  The part further away isn’t designed but I still had to build it so the walkway could be shown.

I also decided to add lights into the model so it would be easier to distinguish the interior areas of the building from the exterior. Below is an image with the lights on inside of the model.

 Lastly I’m going to share my video animation that I will be showing during our group presentation Friday.  This is actually my final video animation so no more editing will be done to it.  To see the video click here.