Working on my own house is really a opportunity to work with the building environment as the draughtsman and the "consulting engineer". With everything done by me and overseen by the company (spm) this was the first time I experienced the opportunity to work for family and worst of all my parents. They demanding and I must say with my father working in the the similar field as consulting engineer, steel engineer and with 43 years of experience I was the one listening to him instead of me doing the entire work on my own. With that responsibility I learned that drawing plans seems to be the hard part and time consuming but when the actual dwelling is being built it's really where my knowledge grew. Working hand in hand with the builder I released that they are really the backbone of the entire structure and with the experience gained from them I got to learn a few tips and solutions to many problems that occur on site and how as a young student in architecture can avoid drawing up plans that always results in problems because of a lack of experience and laziness.
These are just a few pictures I took recently, will post more as the building completes.
With two and a half months left of work. It seems to me as if the start of the year was just yesterday. With a wide range of work covered thus far i certainly learned a chunk load compare to what I knew the start of the year. The pro's and cons of this year is fairly spared out between the two and with council coming into play I really didn't expect them to be a similar figure as if they our new lectures with amendments being compared to our redo's. I enjoy every moment of work learning everyday and with a great crew you can really enjoy work and have that balance of fun and work.
Although construction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg started in 1015, it was not until 1439 that the spire was completed.
During a severe windstorm or rainstorm the Empire State Building may sway several feet to either side.
England's Stonehenge is 1500 years older than Rome's Colosseum.
Evard Ericksen sculpted “The Little Mermaid” statue which is located in Copenhagen harbor.
Frederic-August Bartholdi sculpted The Statue of Liberty.
Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall and 660 feet thick at its base. Enough rock was excavated in its construction to build the Great Wall of China.
If any of the heads on Mt. Rushmore had a body, it would be nearly 500 feet tall.
On July 28th, 1945, a US Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people.
The Eiffel Tower is 984 feet high.
The Eiffel Tower receives a fresh coat of 300 tons of reddish-green paint every seven years.
The estimated weight of the Great Pyramid of Egypt is 6,648,000 tons.
The great Gothic cathedral of Milan was started in 1386, and wasn’t completed until 1805.
The Hoover Dam was built to last 2,000 years. The concrete in it will not even be fully cured for another 500 years.
The largest movie theater in the world, Radio City Music Hall in New York City, opened in December, 1932. It originally had 5,945 seats
The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1630 by Shah Jehan to honor his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.
The world's largest art gallery is the Winter Palace and Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Visitors would have to walk 15 miles to see the 322 galleries which house nearly 3 million works of art.
The world's largest Gothic cathedral is in new York City. It is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Avenue and 112th Street. The cathedral measures 601 feet long, 146 feet wide, and has a transept measuring 320 feet from end to end.
There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
There are 403 steps from the foundation to the top of the torch in the Statue of Liberty.
Work on St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, began in 1506. Construction took over a century, reaching completion in 1612.
With my first week back to work after block week 3. I jumped straight into demo and hoarding plans. This project was for a Mcdonalds in Malmesbury. The project is set to start as soon as November 2013 and with that comes lots of stress on the architects to finish up these plans in time and avoid any amendments. This week ended up being very productive and went by very fast.
The
award-winning Lloyds building was designed by Italian-born architect Richard
Rogers. This
futuristic building looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie rather than Lime
Street in London. The award-winning Lloyds building (also known as the
Inside-Out building) is an iconic architectural landmark and one of the
most recognisable constructions on the London skyline. Architect Richard Rogers was
the brains behind the innovative design, which has its services - including
water pipes and staircases - on the outside. Built between 1978 and 1986, the
building also features 12 outside lifts, which were the first of their kind in
the UK.
Due to restoration work carried out in 2001, the tower
currently leans at just under 4 degrees. It is estimated that it will collapse
in the next 75-100 years.The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most remarkable
architectural structures in Europe. Most famous for its tilt, the tower began
to lean during construction after soft ground on one side was unable to
properly support the structure's weight. Building work on the tower began in 1173 and went on for
over a whopping 300 years. There has been much controversy surrounding the true
identity of the architect behind the tower - the design originally attributed
to artist Bonnano Pisano but studies have also implicated architect Diotisalvi.
Consisting of a low-pitched roof that exposes the
timber rafters from the interior, with a discreet cover of varies heights of
reed ceilings. With the extended exposure of arched plastered ceilings and
subtle interior finishing that creates a transitional zone throughout the
house. The building creates unimposing, horizontally accentuated that is
respectful of the site level. A straightforward arrangement of open-plan
informal living. Comfortable for indoor and outdoor living. The clerestory
creates that natural lighting feel and exposes the beautiful nature that
surrounds it.
Function
Designed as a holiday house the architects exposed
the magnificence surroundings that were skilfully continued throughout the
house. Its straightforward arrangement of open informal living and privacy for
sleeping. This provides areas for comfortable indoor and outdoor living. The
central living and dining areas are extended outwards towards the North-South
orientation for full satisfaction of natural lighting and heat.
Context
A beautiful fynbos covered landscape with panoramic
views of hangklip and the Atlantic Ocean beyond a rocky shoreline. The design
takes full advantage of the views. A sensible North-South orientation was the
key to the magnificence views and natural lighting. A clerestory was added to
enhance the quality views of the mountain and ocean scenery.
Technology
A low timber roof that exposes the rafters, reed and
arched plastered ceilings was used to create transitional zones and spatial
intimacy where deemed appropriate. Subtle interior finishes and pale sandstone
surfaces with a blend of monochromatic colour scheme to enhance the final
product. The discerning choice of materials for both low maintenance and
camouflage adds to the buildings gentile dialogue. A clerestory created by the
manipulation of the low pitched roof ensures adequate cross-ventilation and
provides natural lighting.
With 8 months past this year it seems to be the first time I really got to sit down and think back on my internship with the company "SPM". To sum up my boss... He's a super nice guy with the attitude of a rock "very down to earth and a vocal point" during my internship and everything I've learned so far, covering everything with me when we have the time to go over anything that's not clear to me or hard to understand. With Mcdonalds as our main source of work ,we covered a huge amount of work during this past 8 months, working on Strand Mcdonalds right up to Johannesburg. The experience I'm gaining this year is really worth my while and hard work but I really enjoyed and appreciate the opportunity I've been lucky enough to receive this year. With jobs in Gabon that counts as international experience that helps with the knowledge of their designs aspects and also their "non-existing council". To sum up this past months... hard work, great team work, great boss, great opportunity to receive money for something i really love doing and last of all, a huge smile on face to see how my cad and sketchup skills developed during this past 8 months.
The go-ahead has been given for a R1.2 billion commercial development on the Foreshore in Cape Town
At present, the tallest building in Cape Town is the Metlife Centre on Coen Steytler Avenue at 150m and 27 floors, but it is about to be dethroned of this honour.
Development is about to begin on a new 3,500m2 property situated between Hans Strijdom Avenue and Mechau Street along Buitengracht Street with a very prominent and strategic location at the entrance to the city.
With a height of over 150 meters, it will be the tallest building in Cape Town. The allowable bulk is approximately 60,000 m², which is another record.
This new commercial real estate development will be the single biggest development in Cape Town since the establishment of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, according to Simon Grindrod of the City of Cape Town.
The development will comprise 33,000 m² of offices, 14,500 m² of hotel accommodation and 2,500 m² of retail space. This is a significant show of confidence on the part of South Africa’s largest financial services company in Cape Town’s CBD,” says Grindrod.
Over R89 million was paid by the Old Mutual Property Group to the City of Cape Town in May 2007 for the purchase of the site, known as the Malgas site, and approval has now been gained for development to start.
One of the conditions of sale was that Old Mutual should prioritise the building of 564 residential units and a retail and commercial development of about 6,000m² on a 10 hectare property in Khayelitsha.
The building programme called for a main house,
meditation pavilion and guest cottage. The location is a new wine farm on a
site of spectacular natural beauty. The design response achieves architecture
of exquisite subtlety with minimum intervention on the pristine site,
characterised by a minimalist design vocabulary.
Architect's Motivation
The site has been cleared of alien vegetation
and an extensive infrastructure program including new roads, a stormwater
management system water and electrical reticulation, has been carried out.
Due to its topography, it has very limited visibility
from surrounding roads and properties and only becomes visible from the
Constantia Valley, some kilometres away. It incorporates both fertile rolling
vineyards and rugged and rocky mountainside.
The steep slopes of the site fold around a kloof of
sorts, with easterly and northerly orientation, and extend almost to the apex
of the Vlakkenberg.
Constantia Nek, Cape Town, Western Cape. Architect
METROPOLIS DESIGN "Beau Constance is a captivating union of architecture and nature. The
building programme called for a main house, meditation pavilion and guest
cottage. The location is a new wine farm on a site of spectacular natural
beauty.
The primary
building components of wall, floor slab and roof, are reduced to planar
elements throughout, composed to create a sculptural interplay between mass and
void. This lightness of touch is immediately evident when approaching the main
house. The private accommodation it contains appears as a simple volume poised
above a loose landscape of ground planes which define the principal living
area. At Beau Constance, space and scale have been masterfully manipulated. Its
inhabitants are provided with a spatial experience which is richly layered, and
perfectly in tune with its natural environment. The project is one of
conceptual rigor and architectural clarity - from the planning through to the
resolution of detail."
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
