Hello friends, hope you are ready to buckle up and get a ride around studio V and hear more about what we have been up to.
As explained by my fellow classmates, last week was a busy one. After our mid-week meeting with Mark Cline, CEO of City Water, Harry Lesesne, Executive Director of the Charleston Parks Conservancy, and Jason Kronsberg, Director of Parks for the City, we were able to get a better understanding of the conditions of our sites, and it helped us think more about the direction we were heading towards. Moreover, we were able to sit with Prof. Pastre and discuss potential ideas and approaches (architecture intervention) that could revive our two designated locations along the Greenway.
We worked hard to map and diagram the current water systems (the amount of pipes is massive like an underground labyrinth but it felt good knowing that we could work around it). We also addressed potential issues that could affect the projects. Indeed, most of the water systems are running underground of our current sites, and the thorough, and helpful communication we had with Mark Cline helped ease the stress. We were able to sit together and find ways to design through the limits, and restrictions that currently exist in and around the two locations.
The team working on Farmfield has been tackling a lot of issues that could enhance and make the Tennis Center a more welcoming part of the Greenway, and the team is still working on putting together the best possible attraction and wayfinding design to benefit the community and the neighborhood.
When it comes to the other team working at the intersection between Coburg Road and Timmerman Drive, the challenges have been pilling up, and from poor drainage system to extensive bushes and trees, it has been a challenge for us to come up with a design that would respond to the site’s condition and serve as a remarkable gateway between the intersections and the Greenway.
Thinking about the details of the structures and how they will be placed on-site are also critical to the success of our proposal and although we haven’t started building, we are using anything that can help (tap measurers, wood joists, rulers, and post-it notes) to think about what could happen and what needs to be refined or corrected.
Highlighted below, a picture of Mohamed and Jeremy trying to determine the correct spacing of wood joists for the design proposal at Coburg Square. (Learning from each other make it fun and most of all, it helps us understand each other, and also tackle critical issues that arise during the design process)
It’s been a long stretch, but this week we are stronger than ever, we are pumped up and ready to put together a strong presentation for Friday. All our energy is directed toward our design and the detailed drawings that will accompany them because after all, the community comes first, and this is what we do in studio V, the grind doesn’t stop…
To be honest, I am more excited now than I was before and I hope you are too……..