Summer Workshop RA
This was my third year working as an RA for the Cal Poly Summer Architecture Career Workshop. I attended the program when I was a junior in high school and it was a big influence on my decision to come to Cal Poly. Being an RA for the program is a great opportunity to give back to the next generation of architecture students. The RA’s organize evening and weekend activities for the students and are great resources for their questions about college applications and college life.
One of the highlights of the workshop each year is doing a site design project with the students in Poly Canyon. It’s a fun way to show them the structures here and teach them about passive design responses to sun and wind.
Site design project presentations in Poly Canyon. The students work in small groups to design a house in a few hours, focused on responding to sun, wind, and view.
Final showcase, photo by Josef Kasperovich. Every year, I am amazed at how quickly the students begin to sound like architects. These four weeks are so fast-paced and packed with important lessons. Their final projects blow me away every year with their attention to detail and thoughtfulness.
If walls could dream… they’d dream of influencing the next generation.
Sunset Over Day Two
Beautiful sunset over day 2 of the architecture workshop. Tried to capture it in a watercolor – almost there but missing some of the golden richness of the image. Happy summer solstice!
If walls could dream… they’d dream of golden fields after a long day of architecture.
Back At It
I’m back at Cal Poly as an RA for the Summer Architecture Career Workshop! I attended the workshop when I was in high school (you can read about my experience here) and now I’m back as an RA. I’m excited to get to work with all of the students and see the workshop from the RA side.
The first assignment of the workshop is to draw a towel. On the left is my towel from three years ago – very timid and minimalistic – and on the right is a towel I sketched last night with the workshoppers – much more ambitious, almost looks more like a Gehry building than a towel.
If walls could dream… they’d dream of returning to where it all began.
Final Model Virtual Tour
Remember my Final Project from Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Career Workshop?
Well I finally got around to modeling it in SketchUp and then I decided to create a virtual tour of it. You can watch it above or here on If Walls Could Dream’s new YouTube page. Don’t forget to subscribe to the page so you won’t miss upcoming videos and tours!
Throwback Thursday: Meet the RAs
This Thursday, I’m throwing it back to just about a week ago, introducing you guys to the last two RAs from Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Workshop, Kristin and Ryan!
Ryan was first introduced to architecture in fourth grade when he did a project on Frank Lloyd Wright. Similarly, Kristin was introduced to architecture in fifth grade when she did a project to design and build a house. They both did the workshop when they were in high school. Kristin’s favorite project in the workshop was a playground area she designed. Ryan said the workshop was his first taste of what being an architect really was. And he obviously loved it, because he’s going into his fourth year here at Cal Poly and will be studying abroad in Copenhagen. Kristin is going into her fifth and final year here at Cal Poly and will be working on her thesis project all year. They are both interested in digital fabrication. Ryan says that digital fabrication gives you an advantage when looking for a job because you’re familiar with all the newest technology. Kristin chose to be an RA for the workshop because it’s nice to watch us become “little designers,” all nervous at the beginning and doing amazing work by the end. She loves being in studio with us and wants to be a TA once she graduates. The family environment with the staff is really nice too. She often tells us that she’s practicing her parenting skills on us. Ryan had such a good experience in the workshop when he was in high school, that he felt almost obligated to help other students discover their passion for architecture and see how much fun it is to study at Cal Poly. And he definitely does, always playing games and making everyone laugh. He also loves to go hiking and take landscape photography in his free time. Because there are so many things you can do in architecture, Ryan advises future students to find what you really enjoy and dive into that. Kristin’s advice to future architectural students would be to follow your intuition. Your professor will set rules and boundaries for your projects but it’s up to you to determine your education so find your voice and let your intuition drive your projects and choices.
Final Project
I can hardly believe that it’s already been a month and that my time at Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Career Workshop is over! But I learned so much and met so many wonderful people!
So without any further ado, here’s a full description of my final project!
We each made up clients for our house and were given a site on a large cardboard landscape. My clients are an elderly couple, moving to California to be closer to their children. The wife loves to garden and the husband loves to read and barbeque. It’s important that their space can serve many functions because they love to host large parties as well as small family gatherings.
My site is up on a hill on the far end of the landscape so it has great views with lots of privacy too.
I started by making some quick sketch models out of cardboard and hot glue.
My first model, just trying to figure out the walls and floors before I get to the interior.
Then I cut out windows and added a few more details, along with a more dramatic roof.
The room on the left is the private master suite which has warm morning light as well as sunset views. The second story on the right is the main living space and is very open to the deck. The first floor is a transitional space that can be an open entertaining space or can be closed off as a large guest bedroom for the grandkids. The multiple decks connect all the spaces and make the most of the amazing views.
Loving the high windows along the roofline and overhead trellis on the first floor.
There’s another really interesting moment under the deck with a lookout space.
Enclosed in glass, this space can easily transition as well, from an elegant gathering space to have a glass of wine, to an exciting yet safe play space for the grandkids.
The angles in the roofline and the tiered decks give the project lots of personality and help to connect it to the jagged mountains around the site.
A sketch I did of the house one night, trying to decide on colors.
The next day, we got to work on the final model, working really hard to make it look clean and finished.
I made my walls out of wooden sticks sandwiched by chipboard and white cardstock. To keep the craft clean, I used only white glue.
The roof has wood beams that extend beyond the roofline and a large wraparound window just below, framed in white paper.
This is the interior stairwell I made. There’s a large window on the second floor and light spills through the open stairwell to the first floor.
Just checking that it fits on the site!
Heading to bed late after a long day of working on it.
And then finishing up the railings bright and early in the morning. Oh the life of an architect!
The lookout space under the deck
Openings in the roof that are mimicked by the garden boxes below
And then attaching it to the site!
The eastmost wall
The entry path to the house
View through the deck to the opposite mountains.
The westmost wall
Shadows through the roof openings onto the garden
Afternoon shadows on the house
The layering of multiuse spaces in this house really help to make it cozy for two people but comfortable for a large group as well. The wife has space to garden, and the husband has space to barbeque and read. The angles and visual interest of the house work with the site to create a unique home that is perfect for the clients.
Although I’ll miss the workshop like crazy, I made so many wonderful memories and I’ll take all the lessons I’ve learned here and just keep dreaming!
Final Project Sneak Peek
Hello everyone!
I can’t believe it’s already the end of the architecture workshop here at Cal Poly. I’ve met some wonderful people, done amazing work, and learned so much about how to think and see like an architect. Over the past couple days, we’ve been working really hard on our final projects that we’ll display at the gallery tomorrow. But for now, here’s a little hint as to what we’re doing…
Good luck trying to figure it out! Check back in soon to see the photos of my completed final project and the gallery!
Throwback Thursday: Apple Inspired Dining Room
For the last Throwback Thursday post, I’ll be reminiscing on my very first post…
Back in 2009, I designed this dining room with the inspiration of the apple painting.
I’ve come a long way but continue to find inspiration everywhere around me.
What inspires you?
This post is part of a series nicknamed My SLO Summer. It’s about my time at Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Career Workshop, a four week hands-on experience about what it’s like to study architecture. You can see the entire series here.
Investigating Site
On Saturday, we hiked up into Poly Canyon. In addition to seeing some of the old architecture projects up there, we did our own project that explored site. We were split up into small teams to claim a site in the canyon and then consider the wind, sun, typography, orientation, etc of that site to design a floorplan with a meditation space, bathroom, and food prep area.
The site my group chose was gently sloped with expansive views and a fair amount of privacy. It also had a really nice breeze for such a hot day.
I designed a split level floorplan with a large meditation space and cantilever deck that takes advantage of the afternoon sunlight. On one side is a small kitchen and on the other side are stacked bathroom and bedroom spaces.
Floorplan and section showing sun and breeze.
The exterior of the house from the side deck.
The interior meditation space with lofted sleeping space above.
Motivation Monday: Success
Good morning everyone!
It’s the last week of camp and I can’t believe how far we’ve all come. After pushing ourselves to be the best we can possibly be, our last “Motivation Monday” is about success:
Feeling successful in ourselves, our work, and our work ethic, let’s knock this last week out of the park!
This post is part of a series nicknamed My SLO Summer. It’s about my time at Cal Poly’s Summer Architecture Career Workshop, a four week hands-on experience about what it’s like to study architecture. You can see the entire series here.