Montic

So the new year started off pretty roughly, having to repeat design meant my travel plans have been postponed, then I got an infected spider bite on my foot, followed closely by tick bite fever (who the hell gets tick bite fever!) after being bitten on site for our new project (a school on Montic Farm) so possitive thinking is going to be extremely challenging yet I am trying! Pics from the site visit are below.

Our brief is to relook at the masterplan and then afterwards design in detail 4 classrooms that will make up the primary school. There are also practical aspects to the project-as we will be building a house for a teacher on site which the lecturers are designing. I have opted to deal with fundraising for the building costs, but tasks range from making brochures to the actual building which would have been pretty cool but seeing as I have commitments to my job and that I don't actually want a second run with tick bit fever, and me on a site building is not a very realistic picture, I think I will stay out of it!

Alex

Went to Alex for our new project a few weeks ago, it had quite a profound impact on me. I went to an HIV Creche for orphans with Lexi, was really sad, but the woman who looks after the little kids is really quite amazing! Will post more pics at some point.

CD Cover

Here's my graphics CD cover, just a tiny blog update, I plan to update more later.

Timber Holiday Retreat 1:50 Model

Timber Holiday Retreat Concept model

So It's been a while, but here's my conecpt model for our last project.

Signs that Architecture is taking over your life...

... While everyone else is on holiday, you're still doing tons of work, and staying up till 3/4am to do it, AND, you don't feel cheated

...You consider going to sleep at 3am early

...You've accidently invented a new excersize while sticking the layers of a 1:50 terrain down, which targets your biceps, abs, butt, thighs, and calves, ironically this is the only form of excersize you've done since you can't remember ...

... Hence the next day your muscles are actually aching and your body is stiff!


...You get highly pissed off when members of the general public aka. non arcitectural people don't understand why everything you do takes so long. Hello is it not obvious?!

...While cutting and gluing together model parts, you out of blue start singing a song about architecture, which you just invented, which sounds ridiculous, which you dont notice, and start harmonising and creating upbeat tempo versions

... For fun you're part of an architecture forum, and no you don't consider this weird at all

...The prospect of becoming a computer nerd is appealing, and when your family members call you one, you smile and feel proud

Me to a T!

Why it's great to be South African...

I got this e-mail and had to share it:

1. You can eat half dried meat and not be considered disgusting.

2. Nothing is your fault, you can blame it all on apartheid.

3. You get to buy a new car every 3 months and the insurance company even pays for it.

4. You can experience kak service in eleven official languages.

5. Where else can you get oranges with 45% alcohol content at rugby matches?

6. It's the only country in the world where striking workers show how angry they are by dancing and singing.

7. You're considered clumsy if you cannot: use a cell phone (without car kit), change CDs, drink a beer, put on make-up, read the newspaper and smoke, all at the same time while driving a car at 160 kph in a 60 kph zone.

8. Great accent. (!!!)

9. If you live in Johannesburg, you get to brag about living in the most dangerous city in the world.

10. Burglar bars become a feature, and a great selling point for your house.

11. You can decorate your garden walls with barbed wire.

12. The tow-trucks are the first on the scene for most major crimes, without being called. The police you have
to call about three times.

13. Votes have to be recounted until the right party wins.

14. Illegal immigrants leave the country because the crime rate is too high.

15. The police ask you if they must follow up on the burglary you've just reported.

16. When a murderer gets a 6 month sentence and a pirate TV viewer 2 years.

17. The prisoners strike and get to vote in elections!

18. The police stations have panic buttons to call armed response when they are burgled

19. Police cars are fitted with immobilisers and gearlocks!

Ja nee!! Dis lekker hier!!

Revit: Pinfold House

Here's Pinfold house, almost thought I wouldn't get it done because I randomly got sick and feel like absolute fluey, chesty, coughy, drowsy, head-achey crap (I completely blame Revit) But never-the-less, I perservered.

Revit: My House

So, I finally finished my house. What a pain in the ass, and it's been comfirmed: My computer does hate me.

The Coolest Stairs Ever

Site for Timber Holiday Retreat

So finally posting up my site. Love this. Maybe because its a model, and its pretty, and I made it, by myself, and all my models are usually shit, and ugly and unfinished. Hmm, maybe.

Photography Portfolio

Sometimes, Inorder to think out of the box, you need to think in, on and around it. Check out

My Photography blog

for a detailed view.

You know you're an architecture student when...

...You get excited about a book...on stairs...in a totally foreign language (German)...at 2:30 am

...You've been bursting for the bathroom for at least an hour, but are to into a project and motivated to finish, that you don't want to waste time and go

...You've been in the same room sitting in the same spot for 12 hours working on a project, and dying for a cup of coffee, but again too focused on your work to go and get one

Photography

I have started a new blog to host my photography work, I will add a link up to it as soon as I figure out how, but in the meantime the site is www.FayjsPhotos.blogspot.com.

2D-3D: New Attempt

There comes a time in one's life, when one acknowledges that the work that they have done is crap. Unfortunately for me, this time seems to be ongoing. Thus I decided to give this project another try. We'l see how this one goes.

To start off, I used my original pencil drawing and inverted it so that you dont see me, you see blackness with superficial elements, such as blocks from the grid and pencil markings to bring out my profile. This project was about doing a self portrait, and the angle I decided to take is: What is it about you that defines you to others? Is it you-your core, or is it those superficial elements, such as what you wear or what surrounds you that defines you?

In sketchup I pushed and pulled the blocks and surrounding elements that were responsible for defining my profile. I pushed them down rather than pulling them up-to remove them. This would so to speak " reveal" the profile. What happens when you take away surrounding elements from the person you are viewing? Do you see them better?

Returning to the theme of blackness, I once again inverted. Some of the shapes were made transparent. This was to show that people can hide behind an image, and behind their surroundings, But they can't hide from who they are. Thus they land up having some transparent feautures that gives part of them away.

Are you what you see, or what you don't see?

Revit Experiment

Been experimenting on revit a little bit with my new semi detached house. This is the ground floor-not completed-it's harder than it looks.

My Minimum Space

This was a conceptual model for my minimum space. It functions like a spiral staircase, but consists of only 2 stairs. The ground floor acts as a bath and working area. Step 1 acts as a kitchen/eating area. Step 2 acts as a bed/ sleeping area.

Looking for space?