2012 national competition project #189 | cafeteria redesign : Recent activity

Very concise and to the point. This design brief becomes your blueprint for action.

The incorporation of the solar shingles and trees for shade are two terrific sustainable strategies. When incorporating such strategies it is important to also do solar studies early on in the design process to understand the sun's movement throughout the year, and the building's orientation in relation to it. This allows you to respond with a more accurate and sophisticated design.

The angle you chose for this view is dynamic with its asymmetrical composition and since it includes both a table in the foreground (to the right) and others far into the background (to the left). The people are a great addition to the renderings. Next you can work on tweaking the materials and light sources to get an even higher quality rendering.

Looks detailed and accurate. A section that shows the 1st and 2nd floors together would be useful. Also if the seating or layout is different between them, zooming in to show more specifically how would be a great addition.

I really enjoyed your showing us the plan at different stages as you developed the design. Unfortunately at its scale it is hard to read. For future reference either post a simpler version online or zoom in more, and label or create a legend so we can understand more easily which spaces are where. I agree also that moving between different views (not just plan) is important at this phase.

In choosing this tree it sounds like you reviewed many others, and hopefully made your decision based on not just the computer model aspects but also researched the tree's real properties and characteristics. Remember to use this phase of brainstorming, not just coming up with ideas about specific components or materials, but to also explore bigger ideas and concepts and testing those ideas through sketching and quick study models.

You have done a great job taking photos and writing captions that clearly identify what you have observed. Though sometimes there are contradictions between your claim and what is seen in the photograph. For example with this photograph we se some students forced to sit in the sun, but many others protected by shade, which appears created by a building overhang.

Great image- very descriptive. I suggest that this image be moved up- it helps provide some much needed context about the trees, the solar panels, and the overall form of the building. Very nice job.

I think I would have simply included this one only- it's far more descriptive.

Great view although it's a bit dark. Also- watch that spelling!