1.19.2011

my agenda

Concrete : Research

A) Fenestration
       1. Punched Openings
            - Precast
            - Framing system
            - Poured in place
                  > Form work
       2. Floor to ceiling
            - Precast
            - Framing System
            - Poured in place
       3. Roof

B) Insulation
       1. Concrete
            - Window framing
            - Wall
            - Roof
            - Floor
       2. Glass
            - Framing
            - Panes/ Airspace

Concrete : Warming Hut

Should be:

- Visible from the top of the mountain
- Large enough for 16 people with gear
- Usable in all seasons
- Easily accessable
- Warm/cosy
- A shelter from the elements
- Connected to the landscape

Should not be:

- Foreign to the landscape
- Overly spacious
- In the way of skiers
- Hard to maintain

1.18.2011

concrete semester

“Warm-Up” Project


We will begin the spring semester with a short and intense project that will ask you to develop a research topic on concrete while also becoming familiar with a site that is challenging on several fronts. This first project’s program is very simple but the design will serve as a vehicle to develop a dense body of research on concrete. So the primary objective of these first weeks is to fully immerse yourself in focused research through the design of a small warming hut in Montana’s Central Rocky Mountains.

Site

You will be working with one of three sites; all located at the Big Sky Ski Resort in Big Sky, Montana. The sites are at high elevations, around 7,000 feet, and exposed to severe weather conditions. The topology varies between the three sites, but all are steep slope terrain. Topography for each is attached (PDF – warm-up sites_PDF). The CAD files are available and will be emailed to you. These three sites will require you to build an understanding of the relationship between site and program relative to the needs of the user, and to establish an appropriate agenda for the project. To begin, you will be required to model the existing site, and you will model it two additional times during the three week primer to develop a full understanding of working on steep slopes. The full range of inquiry, method, scale, detail, and description that you dealt with last semester is, naturally, part of this project as well.

Program

The project is to design a warming hut to accommodate sixteen people. Relatively small, and having a narrow use-program, the hut will nonetheless require a special effort to integrate the use with the site. Immediately adjacent to ski runs, the hut serves to provide shelter and warmth to skiers or snow-boarders in-situ, or without their having to descend to the lodge. In the off-season (non-skiing) months, the hut would serve alpinists, hikers, and mountain bikers. Requirements include seating for sixteen people and a wood-burning stove. The hut is off-grid.

Concrete

In addition to the general information on concrete that will be presented in studio lectures, you will be required to select and focus individual research on a specific topic related to concrete. This may include advanced approaches to performance, structure, reinforcing, placement, finishes, sustainability, etc. It will be up to you to identify your topic, conduct the research, and present the resultant research dossier. The design of the warming hut should be centered on the application of the particular concrete technology you are researching.