A Kodak DC-40 Digital camera was used throughout the design process in this studio project. It was taken on the initial site visit, used to record various phases of the students' progress and to document the final review. This site is adjacent to an existing set of student dormatories on the Chinese University of Hong Kong Campus. It is a prominent point which has a 270 degree view of Tolo Harbour to the north-east (the image is a composite of the view (205K). The prominence is important not only due to the view out towards the harbour, but for the image that the building could present to the public passing along the Tolo Harbour Highway below. The view to the harbour is directly east and the site is very exposed.
This image shows the location of the three existing buildings. Each one is a reinforced concrete frame with brick infill. They are not very interesting buildings. The main University access road can be seen curving around the site. The building outline which is seen on the image is one student's initial design. The program for the building included two different sizes of dorm rooms, common spaces and associated mechanical equipment.
The following are a number of images that were taken during the process. The DC-40 was used to document the students' designs at a specific stage. A model was brought into each review with the critic. It was often altered as the discussion unfolded. And at times, the discussion revealed that the initial model was indeed the best option for the specific situation. What does one do when the original model has been cut and sliced to pieces? Utilizing the DC-40 at specific stages along the way allowed the student to review the process that he/she went through with the critic. It also provided a way for the critic to recall the specific conversations with the student.
Thefirst two images are thumbnails of larger images from the begining and middle of one project. As can be seen, there are tremendous differences between the five designs. All too often these variations would get lost as new models were built. This was indeed the case with this student's models. Pieces were used for later models. These images could be used to revisit distinct issues about design decisions. The last one is of another project.
These thumbnails were taken from one larger image of one project. The first is the original and the following two were altered in Adobe Photoshop. They were used to try to illustrate specific points about the buildings relationship that were not clearly evident in the original image. The options are limitless - time is not. The effective use of digital manipulation is an aspect that is becoming increasingly important in the effective use of this media. Time should be spend looking for design options and not just developing "cool" images. There is a great danger of the manipulated image turning into architectural "eye candy" with only an instant of gratification without long-term benefits!
This is an example of another type of solution for the project. In this case, small clusters of low-rise buildings were used to create courtyards. The intention was to enable the creation of communities within the community. This design was intended to provide a sense of belonging to a smaller "unit" within each layer of larger entities on the campus. The issue of belonging to a specific group is very important to a University student in Hong Kong. This is one manifestation of the influence of the Chinese culture on the role of the individual. They identify themselves by their peers and can depend upon their peer group for support. This design is in great contrast to the large bar block that represents all of the typical solutions on campus.
Final Review Images
The final review was also visited by guest critic Professor Tom Peters, Dr. sci. tech. This image shows him discussing one project with the second studio critic Helena To. The project lasted for a total of five weeks. Many of the designs seemed too conventional. It was determined that since many of the students live in buildings similar to this project they could not go beyond their current expectations. For many of them the University dorm rooms were the most spacious housing that they had yet to experience.
The camera was a great tool for documenting the progress of the students' design work. Some of the images were printed and hung in the studio so that they could also see their own progress. Looking back, one is always amazed at the steps that were taken in the design process. As an educator, I am continually searching for ways to make the process more legible for each student. This was clearly a good one.
Questions and comments about this application should be directed to Prof. Dr. Chris H. Luebkeman. All images on this site were taken with a Kodak DC-40 Digital camera. They were downloaded with Kodak's Photo Enhancer software which was included with the camera. They were resized and converted for WWW use with Adobe Photoshop 3.03.
