Architectural work, First Project...Opinions?
 

edit; removed because product is giong into production

Nothing negative here. It's very cool and a very impressive piece of work.

Looks good to me too, but 15 minutes? Those are some fast moving people.

What's your plan for steps to get to the second floor?

What's the purpose of the corregated half of the roof? Nice looking peice of work.

If you can put them side by side with others, I'd take out the windows on the very top - it might be a little hard to sahde those, and privacy is a valuable thing.

Also, is there a bathroom in there?

I'm impressed by the model.

In the assignment sheet, we're told to assume all bathroom/kitchen needs would be taken care of in a communal facilty.

The windows up top can be substituted with any kind of rigid material. I was thinking since they're so high up (8'), the occupants would get complete privacy and ample light unless there's a two story neighbor.

Honestly, it was supposed to be a series of curved solar panels. Curved so you get more surface area. The spaces beneath the ridges were for water storage but I decided against that for obvious reasons. The ridges could also add to the structural integrity of the building for future rear addons such as air conditioning and compact kitchen units.

I think it's more the sensation of privacy than actual privacy. Hardly anyone is going to climb up there to peek in on their neighbors, but everyone's going to be on edge.

And of course I'd climb up there and stare at my neighbors all night.

I like that it's on legs that raise it above the muck and help with levelling. Clever idea.

Could the roof support much weight, say for storage?

Sure, I think it could, but then the storage part would need some kind of rack to keep from interfering with the rain runoff.

I don't know about the wavy solar panels, but the rest of it is attractive yet utilitarian. I like the curved roof.

Very similar in design and concept to the 'Sarasota School of Architecture' style first done by Ralph Twitchell and Paul Rudolph in the 1950's. Here is a small link: http://www.shellcottage.com/SSA.htm (just ignore the realtor stuff at the bottom)

Minimalist design using natural materials. Paul Rudolph ended up as the Dean of Yale Architecture School. Amazing designs. Timeless.

There is a big movement in prefab homes... this looks like it could go in that direction with a little work... I like the feel and flow of the these.

Google "wee house" for one example of the new prefab syle or "dwell house".

Very impressive. The leveling system was a great idea. Did you figure an estimated cost for the building?

How small would they collapse for stacking, and are they designed to fit on a standard container frame?

Could they work with flat solar panels?

I agree, very nice work. As another engineering student her are a few things to consider: I think the problem that you might run into with curved solar panels is that you actually only see a benefit if you increase the linear surface area. I imagine you will take the physics class where they discuss energy density in a couple semesters but the main idea is that solar panels have to be flat and gimbaled to take advantage of the sun at different times of the day. A google search for “sun farm” should give you a better idea of how the industry has looked at the problem in the past.

Another tip to get you ahead. You might want to set up free accounts on the http://www.thomasnet.com/ and www.globalspec.com/ websites. These places are used like a toolbox/company directory for engineers of all sorts. I know most usually want to get started doing as much as possible on their own but looking up things like brackets and corrugated sheet metal will lead you to other components that will do things like help you take greater advantage structurally of that nice curved roof.

BTW: Another eco-friendly idea you might look into to impress your prof would be microgenerators. Its an old idea that has been getting new press because they are starting to put much more efficient and powerful turbine engines into small generators. Ones that could power a unit of say 4 or more of your shelter would be about the size of a refrigerator and they get small for households. I apologize for loosing the link but you should be able to search successfully for it without too much effort.

Just out of curiosity, can I ask what program your school is drafting with?

Well, I got to say, all around nice work. Definitely an impressive first project

Dale