Design Build

By Ryan Kinports

A valuable experience for aspiring architects is an opportunity to see their designs on paper transition to full scale by their own hand. SIU does more than most through various class construction projects – we are considered a technical school. We have a vast resource in nature that surrounds our campus which many schools lack due to urban environments. Empty sites are readily available for students to bring their ideas to fruition all around our campus. What is needed is community involvement by students of their own accord. There is little reason, other than deadlines, why we should not be more engaged with local concerns. If you talk to various SoA professors there are many who have outside interests such as the Buckminster Fuller Home, Cairo Youth Build, or Kid Architecture. There are numerous student organizations across the country affiliated through their schools that display heavy community involvement.

Studio 804: http://studio804.com/

This is one of the most notable organizations in that it is run as a firm would be with loose association to The University of Kansas. Graduate students comprise all positions other than the lead Architect. Work is completed in two semesters and results in a full scale structure to meet some community need.

Georgia Tech Invention Studio: http://inventionstudio.gatech.edu/

While it will not necessarily result in a full scale structure this student run organization allows for a wide range of majors to have access to equipment they would otherwise not be able to afford. While some people work on battle bots or other hobbies, others design prototypes that may one day have significant effect on consumer safety.

                What you should take away is that both of those programs started small with only a few participants and working on projects you might consider insignificant. Over a period of time, that may be years, design build programs usually grow due to the desire among students to put down their pencil or laptop and start hammering. There are significant community needs all around us that can be met by students with some assistance. Don’t wait for that assistance to find you.

                 If you are having trouble justifying the effort or time required to engage in such programs remember that your primary goal as an architect should be to improve the lives of the average person. While having a towering skyscraper or sprawling resort area to your name would be impressive accomplishments, there would be limited positive impact for community members. In this region in particular many of the public works you use on a daily basis were the result of the Works Progress Administration from 1935 to 1943. While this was not a series of individual architects working as much as a way to keep men from being homeless the impact of improving the built environment should be obvious. This same approach can be fashioned into the drive you will need to see your ideas become reality.

                Keep your eye out around the SIU SoA in coming months for an example of this process.

My Introduction and First Shot at a Thesis Idea

               For my first blog entry I would like to introduce myself, my first thesis idea, and just some general notes for the beginning of this semester.  I'll begin with my story.  My name is Tyler Dunahee, born and raised in Centralia, IL, just a quick hour drive north on 51 or on the train.  I was a Centralia Orphan and will forever be one (the Orphans is Centralia's high school mascot and it just won USA Today's contest for most unique mascot in America).  After graduating from CHS, I attended Rend Lake College in Ina, IL, again, about 45 minutes north-northeast of Carbondale, where I earned my Associate in Applied Science in Architectural Technology along with a few certificates.  After two years at RLC, I transferred to SIU to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in Architectural Technology, which I received this past May. This summer, I, along with my fellow graduate students, started our trek on what is sure to test us in a number of ways, the Master of Architecture program. I currently have a number of jobs outside of the classroom, I work at Kohls here in town, as well as do some landscaping work, but most importantly, I'm a Graduate Assistant in the architecture computer lab.

                As contemplation of what I want to do for my thesis project begins, my thoughts first come to my hometown of Centralia. Centralia was once a bustling, busy, and important city in southern Illinois.  Centralia was built primarily on coal and the railroad, however, as those two technologies have  become more dated and other methods developed, Centralia has started a steep decline in the past few decades.  The downtown has suffered total losses due to numerous fires and businesses have failed and/or moved out of town.  The population fell nine percent between the 2000 and 2010 censuses and continues to fall.  There is still a great sense of community and a grand history to the town. It is for this reason and a number of others that my thesis is a plan to revitalize the downtown of Centralia.  As I contemplate how to do this I have considered developing a master plan for the entire town, rather than just a revitalization of the downtown area.  I'm sure I'll change my mind numerous time before coming to a final conclusion on just what I want to do.

                For those students who are new to SIU, welcome to Carbondale and SIU, hopefully you'll find your time here enjoyable and enlightening, both inside and outside the classroom.  To those of you returning, we've done it before and we can do this all again, keep those goals in sight, as each beginning is one step closer to the end goal.  For those of you in the architecture program, it's time to buckle down, I truly believe no other major understands the work, dedication, and late nights it takes to succeed or even make it in this program, and I wish you all the best.

Until next time,

Tyler Dunahee

Some More Background on Our Authors

By Kris Teubel

            I would like to begin with saying that it is a great opportunity to not only be able to attend graduate school at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, but also be in a position where one can share their ideas with other like-minded people.  In this first blog entry, I will give insight into what course of events brought me to this point and what I would like to do during the remainder of my stay in graduate school.

            I grew up in a small town in rural Illinois by the name of Gridley.  It's located twenty minutes north of Bloomington-Normal.  It is filled with a wide range of interesting people.  The town is largely supported by pastors, farmers, teachers and a myriad of other unique individuals.  It seems to be an adequate description of many other small towns in the rural Midwest.  I am actually quite happy having grown up in such an environment.  I believe growing up in a small town can afford one a solid start in life, but can also easily hinder one's progress as they grow into adulthood and potentially head out into the world.  Due in large part to the close connections individuals create in small towns, people commonly stay for long periods of their lives if not indefinitely.  Though there is certainly nothing wrong with such a life,  as I grew closer to college age, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted more variety than what a simpler life could afford.

            When I was still in high school, my older sister brought home a pamphlet from school that contained information on a computer-aided drafting and design (CADD) vocational class.  I was interested and, after one year of associating myself with AutoCAD by copying residences out of catalogs, I realized I felt drawn to the practice.  Upon graduation from high school, I attended Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, IL.  Though the college was small, the time I spent there helped to teach me more about building composition and reassure me that architectural design really is what I want to pursue for a career.

            Realizing that I did want to become a licensed professional, and Lincoln Land had no professional degree programs, I decided to attend Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.  At the time, I had no idea the level of quality found in the program.  Over the course of four years, my classmates and I shared many moments of struggle and pure anxiety followed by elation.  As some of the friends I made moved on with me or went their separate ways, the program drastically shaped many of us into more responsible and critically thinking students.  Though I have had my share of strange and unfortunate situations during my time in the undergraduate program at SIUC, I can easily recall indispensable lessons that every instructor has taught me.  From building composition to innumerable building design aspects, the program's curriculum is quite comprehensive.  Perhaps most importantly though, it has helped me look forward to the every-day challenges that come with the study, analysis, and design of architecture.

            During the large part of my undergraduate history, I have striven for simplicity in aesthetics for the sake of building functionality.  I look forward to pushing my designs to be more aesthetically dynamic while still maintaining a more functional design premise.  Thus far, the focus of my graduate thesis is a high density housing community in the city center of Bangalore, India.  I hope to learn more about Indian culture along with associating myself with the metric system.  I believe there is a need for such a project largely based upon a rift between expats and other temporary visitors from outside the Indian culture and the native citizens of Bangalore.  I hope, through the course of the project, to provide a high quality residential and retail space that will draw the two different groups together and help them to learn from each other.

Response to the article "Walls of Fear"

By Phil Mevert

            Walls are both physical and invisible.  The most effective walls are the walls that exist in the individual’s mind.  The construction of walls in the individual’s are developed over a lifetime and can be modified as surroundings, situations and time change.  The presence of physical walls has an effect on the “mental walls.”

            The material of a physical wall can help control the mental wall.  A wall constructed of sturdy materials such as concrete and masonry can create a mental wall of security and strength.  A physical wall with materials that are more transparent can create mental walls of welcoming and openness.  Not only do the materials of physical walls affect the mental wall’s development, the locations of the walls can have an equal effect as well.

             The location of the physical walls within a building can dictate how an individual moves through the building.  With the combination of materials of physical walls and where they are placed, it could be possible to change and even control how the construction of the mental wall progresses.

             Since the development of the mental walls begin way early in life, it is important to consider where that development takes place.  The same way that the materials of a physical wall can effect the mental wall so can the geographical area of where the mental wall is being developed.  Someone who grows up in a small town or out in the country may be more likely to just wander or create their own paths as they go, where someone from a city could be more accustomed to following the provided paths.  With the development of the mental walls the location can also limits based on the surroundings that particular location has to offer.  Being able to create an environment that has diverse surroundings and with the use of correctly placed physical walls and proper materials, the mental walls can be further developed.

A Little Bit of Background

By Kayla Fuller

 As my first blog entry, I felt an introduction of me was necessary for you to understand my interest in architecture and love for historic work. I am a recent graduate of the Southern Illinois University School of Architecture, who decided that it was not yet time to leave beautiful Southern Illinois, so I decided to complete my master’s degree here. The national forests that Carbondale are a great escape from a hectic day or if you are looking for a little inspiration for your design.  You learn to appreciate hard work, dedication and sleep, especially sleep after an all-nighter. The professors at Southern Illinois University are personal and extremely supportive, over the past four years I have enjoyed working with them and the relationships that have formed. So why did I decide I wanted to be an Architect when I grew up? What has been my inspiration? 
    I was born and raised in Quincy, Illinois, a town many have no idea of the location or its history. Quincy is a central hub for the surrounding farm community by providing many forms of transportation as well as a short travel time of two and a half hours to St. Louis or Springfield. It is a town with a rich historical connection to President Lincoln, Mormon travelers, and the Underground Railroad, just to name a few. Growing up in Quincy has allowed me to enjoy its diversity unique history, sparking my interest in historic preservation. Quincy is a city like many others that has begun to experience urban sprawl. While more job opportunities as well as housing became available for the growing population, there were also many issues that begin to arise. The city center no longer attracted visitors due to increased travel from the new neighborhoods and new facilities available closer to home. With the lack of traffic, many of the local businesses began having financial hardships and some historic buildings, from the beginning of Quincy's existence were abandoned. 
    Some may ask why saving a downtown is so important to me, they say it’s outdated and it costs too much to fix it. Downtown areas and squares created an identity for the town. Without an identity no town can be successful. Originally Quincy was a thriving river town that many passed through. There were hotels and theaters to provide the community and guests with entertainment, as well as restaurants that are still popular today. I believe it is important to reuse buildings and materials if they can be reused. Everything progresses and just because an old apartment complex can no longer provide as originally intended, does not mean that you cannot update the building for new use rather than replacing. Creative problem solving is how we are taught to design but many do not design that way. My goal is to design functionally as well as creatively, as do most hope to achieve. As I progress with research and development of my thesis I hope to narrow down my ideas to create an area that invites the community to explore their city rather than lock themselves in their homes. I hope you enjoyed my first piece; it was definitely an enjoyable experience.

So far this semester...

               Hello, my name is Alan Kirkwood and I am now entering my second semester of courses in the Master's of Architecture program here at SIUC. I began at this university as a junior, transferring from Harold Washington College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. The transition was somewhat tough in that I did not have a strong technical background from my former school. Harold Washington focused a lot on design as well as familiarization with software. A forte of mine that has gotten me through many courses is my knowledge of Revit Architecture as well as 3D AutoCad. Over the course of the last few years, I have come to see how much of a technical program SIU has and therefore have sharpened my skills in that area as well. One of the things that drew me to SIUC was the diversity I saw in its school of architecture. It has a contemporary mindset in that it is not like some universities that focus on old methods of construction, but rather looks into newer technologies. It also has a strong focus on design, but they do not get carried away to the point that they allow the students to completely run wild without the consideration of "How are you going to build that?" (Norm Lach)

                The staff here reflects the program almost perfectly. There are professors like Craig Anz and Stewart Wessel are very design oriented and get the students to think deeper than the typical building. Shannon Mcdonald encourages the students to look into passive methods of design for systems as well as looking into "What's happening now". Then there are instructors such as Norm and John Dobbins that encourage students to see the technical side of architecture and know that making a building stand and work is just as, if not more important than how it looks. Each of these aspects had a role in my decision to not only continue pursuing my education in architecture but particularly at SIU. One of my most exciting days in my academic career was the day I received my acceptance to the graduate program and a weight of stress was lifted from my shoulders.

                Being in the graduate program here has been an interesting adventure so far. The summer semester began and assignments began to pile up. It is good that it begins immediately after spring semester so that you are still in the working mindset, but it still came to me as a surprise given the workload. I remember telling myself, "This is graduate school Alan. It is a whole new level." As the summer went on, I found myself getting into a groove though and managing my time better allowing me to enjoy my summer as well. The summer semester turned out quite successful, though I still did not have a Graduate Assistantship position, which I was in need of to help me stay in the program.

                Over the first couple weeks of the fall semester, I found the workload to seem quite overwhelming, but I assume this is to be expected given that it is an accelerated program. I am still trying to set up a schedule so that I can manage everything on my plate including school, my two jobs, exercise and just my general sanity. The plus though is that I now have a GA position so I am not worried about how I will be able to afford my last two semesters of school.

FUTURE TRANSIT SYSTEMS

By Timothy Shotts

The summer of 2013 was an exciting time for the discussion of what the future of high-speed transit in the United States will look like.  California signed a $1B contract to install the first section of high speed rail (HSR) between Madera and Fresno (Tutor Perini Corporation Copyright Business Wire 2013) and Elon Musk offered his counter-proposal to California's HSR with his vision of the Hyperloop (http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/hyperloop).  Musk's proposal states that California's plan is too costly and too slow. The Hyperloop concept places 28 people in a pod and launches them through a steel tube at up to 760 mph.

I agree with Musk that we have the potential to have the best high speed transit in the world.  What he does not address in his proposal is what a Hyperloop station will be or how a pod will be designed to allow passengers to handle the acceleration.  I envision the Hyperloop station being located downtown in major cities with the terminal above height of most buildings. This would allow the Hyperloop tubes to have a straight shot out of the city and the pods to spend more time at top speed.  I also imagine that the pods will be furnished similar to private jets with two rows of seats separated by a central walkway, and to mitigate the stresses of acceleration, the seats will recline based on the forces experienced. 

In Musk's proposal, he suggests welding lengths of steel pipe to make the tube.  Contrary to that, I foresee the tubes being made of a transparent or translucent material and lengths of tube being joined at the pylon support. This would have many advantages.  It would eliminate the need to ship pre-made tubes.  Pre-made tubes have the problem of having adhere to size restrictions for shipping.  Also, by utilizing an emerging technology, continuous sections of tube can be fabricated by large scale 3D printers on site.  This would allow spools of material to be easily shipped to build the tubes.  It would also allow the tube to be optimized for strength and material use based on its location on the route.

Another problem I have with Musk's Hyperloop proposal is the pods.  They have no view to the outside. There may be nothing much to see while zipping through the tube at 760 mph, but there will be time spent in the capsule after loading but prior to getting shot through the tube.  Also, I believe the seating will be dynamic to account for the positive and negative acceleration that the passengers experience during the trip.  To prevent blood rushing to the heads of passengers, seats may start the trip facing backwards and arrive at their destination facing forward.  

Other questions I intend on answering in my master’s thesis are how to market a radical transportation system to the public, address NIMBY issues, determine where gaps in the current transit system are and how the Hyper loop will fill them, and who will benefit from the Hyper loop.