Summary

Our team has received some feedback regarding our design. Some people expressed their concern about our community garden being surrounded by glass. Our team decided to use toughened glass for this part of design. Also, we have many windows in our cafeteria. Some people wondered about how we are going to keep the heat out. After doing some research, we decided to use Low-E (low emissivity) glass windows. These windows will help block out the summer heat. After receiving feedback about our self-check-outs, out team decided that there will be a monitor while the students are getting breakfast or lunch. One person wondered if we will rent out our space to the community. After their comment, we considered it and decided that if the school wanted to rent out the space they could. If the space is rented out, we decided it would be best if only part of the space is rented out so that other residents could still have access to it. The architect that was assigned to us, informed us that it would be best if the solar panels would be pointed mostly south and we incorporated that in our design.

Director of Exterior Design(Gor Mikayelyan)
I had a wonderful experience working on the redevelopment of the Mira Loma high school cafeteria. After going through a lot of planning, brain storming and researched I learned that it is best to get a head start and never get behind the schedule. The challenge I faced the director of the exterior design was not being able to communicate with every single group member, although I did communicate about all my plans with most. From that I learned that communication with all the group members about anything that will be done is vital in collaborative projects such as this one. Communication and hard work were the main keys in succeeding. This project was more of an independent group project even though we were guided by the teachers and architects throughout. I learned that it’s important to make a plan of what each person should be responsible for and get it done as soon as possible, so the team could move on to the next step after making sure that whatever has been already done is high quality. I noticed that we didn’t get enough time as a group to discuss our plans, suggestions, ideas and etc. Being able to manage time well was also a key to being successful during this project because if we didn’t have enough time to create a high quality product then a failure would be ahead of us. Therefore, I think it is a good idea to meet as a group after school and sort out anything necessary so there is no confusion and everything is completed on time. There were times when a group member needed help, thus I learned that it’s important to step up and help each other out, not just focus on the responsibilities given. As far as the exterior of the building, I learned that it is the best idea to make use of any space given and not waste it. In conclusion, I learned that team projects are called “team” projects are meant to be done as a team in order to be successful, and communication, time efficiency and effort was vital toward success.

Director of Interior Design (Rimma Sadyrova)
As the Director of Interior Design I have learned many things through this experience. For starters I’ve learned about sketch up and with time I’ve also learned how to use it and create efficient and substantial building designs. This project also taught me patience and persistence in following through with my responsibilities, especially sitting well after midnight working on the sketch up design. I also learned a great amount of information about architecture and the process a building undergoes before and while it is built. The Discover Designs website is also something new I’ve learned. This is a very helpful and efficient website to use especially if I was to pursue something that has to do with architecture and building design. Same goes for the sketch up program, a very important tool in this area of study.
I also greatly improved on my team work skills, my leadership and communication skills, especially if our team was to produce a high quality result. Never being the kind of person to leave something for later, I have once again convinced myself that procrastination is never an option especially when dealing with a project on this scale. Meeting the deadlines and going beyond is the key to producing a high quality work. Not to mention communication with mentors, architects and your team mates is another essential part of a satisfying result.

Director of Interior Decor(Liana Velichko)
As the Director of Interior Décor Design I have learned many things throughout this experience. I had the honor to decorate Mira Loma’s Cafeteria. I have realized that there is not enough time in a day to fit all work that has to be done. Time is really crucial and we should value it. My respect for builders and décor artist has really grown throughout this experience. As a student with no experience in décor (only around the house), I thought it would be much simpler until I got down to doing it. Looking for the right colors, matching it to the bamboo wooden floors that my group and I choose to be Eco friendly to the environment. Every décor piece was important, one thing goes wrong and the entire project had to be fixed. Working as a team and getting everyone involved was a struggle. My collaboration skills have definitely grown and I have a different respect for my team. To keep the team on their feat was difficult, putting this project before anything was a hassle because each member in my team had other priorities. We hit some up and downs, but I am proud to say that my team gave their all and at the end it will be all worth the hard work.

Director of Landscaping(Priscilla Vincze)
I was honored to be the Director of Landscape Design in the Elite Designs inc group. Throughout this process I have learned the steps and importance in constructing a building. Because of this project I now look at a building with another set of eyes. I look on a daily basis at landscaping and decide whether or not it is needed. I also learned that landscaping plays a important role in a structure. By gathering information and taking picture of Mira Loma cafeteria's landscape I was motivated and inspired to create a change and to update it with more modern ideas. I did not look at it as a mandatory assignment but as as a inspiring and fun mission. For our project building on team work and getting everyone involved made a big difference. I have also perfected my skills with the Discover Design website by putting information/pictures that I have received from my team members. Also I have improved on my leadership skills of getting the group to work together, meet after school and email/call each other. Setting priorities and not procrastinating was the essential key for our group to finish this project on time and looking at its best. Although we did as a group because of stress and time limit face with some problems and arguments; I am glad to say that we were very professional into resolving our problems. Looking back at this wonderful time that has passed I can conclude that it was a very hard and difficult process but it was all worth it.

Director of Community Relations(Tanya R)
There are many things I learned as Director of Community Relations during this project. During our field trip to San Francisco, I learned about privately owned public open space. This related to my role in our group because I was in charge of the community access of our redesigned cafeteria. I also learned about the many different aspects that need to be considered when designing a building that will be accessed by many people. During the panel interview, I learned about the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). While designing and constructing our model of the cafeteria, we had to consider many details that needed to comply with the ADA requirements. I learned that to open the cafeteria to the public, there will be different expenses, security, and safety that need to be provided for the people. During this experience, I improved on my teamwork skills because my role was linked to the roles of my team members. We had to agree on the exterior, interior, landscape, décor, and the materials used to improve energy and sustainability of the areas that will be open to the public and accessed by the community and what would be most beneficial for our design. Although we faced some conflicts, we were able to resolve them with minimum disruption to our work. As a team member, I tried to hold my team members accountable to complete the tasks and shared my ideas and suggestions. Overall, learning about architecture and building a scale model was an interesting experience for me.

Director of Energy and Sustaniability(James M.)
As the director of Energy and Sustainability I learned that for this project team work and cooperating with each other was crucial. Just having to work with my team members personally with each of their unique prospective and dealing with it in a respectful aspect was a challenge for me. As well as important is every one’s has a set plan on what they need to get done and on what time period to finish it. Also I learned that keeping a high amount of communication is imperative on having a successful project. A really important aspect I learned is that my way of doing things is not always the right thing or the only way of doing things. As far for energy and sustainability goes I learned the most about natural heating and cooling for example thermal chimneys, trees near the building, the amount of windows, and such. I also learned that in or to build a building that it is required to go eco-friendly to pass a LEED expectation that was made into law in 2000. Overall, the project was a very interesting experience. Not only working with five other partners, but learning how to make scaled model of a building that you and your team members designed was a fun experience.