Deck and Pool

模型作りました。



























Hey Sky, Harold, this seems to be the final of the backyard. Another meeting with the owner to go.

Before/ After

Law office remodeling. Design by UrbanRock. Getting ready to be finished. I was one of the designers and put together the sets of C.D. This is the first architecture project that I was involved and got really built in full scale. Actually, my boss took those pictures. I really want to see the outcome before owners move in.

私がデザインに関わり、昨年11月に図面を仕上げた法律事務所の改装工事が完成間近です。早いな～。去年の夏にStudioNOAで設計のお手伝いした家の方が早く完成するかなと思っていたのですが、そちらは新築だったので、改装だけのこのプロジェクトが先に仕上がりそうです。

Self Portrait

Photoshop と Illustrator を使うとできます。
もしお気に入りの写真でもお送り頂けましたらご注文承ります(笑)

Happy Birthday

5/19 Sat. Miguel hosted a surprise birthday party for Sareen in Kyoto.

Many of us got together @SCI-Arc and set up Skype and projector, while Sky, Barbara, and Will were doing the same at their school. It was so exiting, preparing food and beer in LA, thinking about her happy scream over internet. Sareen's family was there too. Barbara timed it pretty well so that we start singing "Happy Birthday to You～" as soon as Sareen shows up to their studio.

京都精華大学に留学中のSareenのサプライズバースデーを企画したのは彼女のボーイフレンド。Skype で会話ができるようにし、その映像をお互いの学校で同時にプロジェクターで写せるようにセットしたところにSareenを連れて来て、“ハッピーバースデー トゥー ユー ♪” っと。ナイスアイディア。

















写真中央がSareenのお母さんとお姉さん。お父さんも来てくれました。

















Sareen登場。精華大学のスタジオの壁いっぱいに私達が Happy Birthday♪ を歌っているLIVE映像が映っていたはずです。

















5/23 is my birthday. I was hanging out in studio with Miguel and Lily setting up a projector to watch a movie. They kept handing me beer ...soon I found so that I will leave for bathroom while they set up a cake and candles. They got me good. I wasn't expecting it at all.

と、油断をしていましたがそんなことをしているうちに5/23は私の誕生日。夕方バイトを終えたところに Miguel と Lily が Yuki の誕生日だしスタジオで映画でも観ようよ、と。大きなスクリーンをセットして映画を観ながら勧められるがままにビールを飲み… ちょっとトイレに立ったスキにロウソクとケーキが準備してありました。ヤラレタ。

Later I found my desktop had changed into a birthday cake.
パソコンをつけてみるといつの間にかデスクトップがケーキの写真に。











And... this is what they sent me from Kyoto, I love it!
そして留学中の四人組みからも頂き物。どうもありがとう。










'''

Back in LA

Hallelujah!

At one point, I didn't believe it was going to cantilever...When I saw it a couple of weeks ago, the parts lying around on the floor looked gigantic and ridiculously heavy. But now, I'm so glad I was involved with the engineering part of this installation.

先学期 Buro Happold で modeling や optimization を手伝っていた Dragonfly。アルミニウムのトンボの羽のモチーフです。組み立てにも参加する予定でしたが、日本に帰っている間に完成していました。こんなに重いものを空中で固定する のは建築家(デザイナー)の独断では無理です。Structure Engineer とチームを組み、綿密な計算と調整を経てやっと実現します。


Thesis Notes

-Tom Wiscombe did not need to specify the width or thickness of each volonoi cell or the location of bolts. Type of connections were designed as project went. For this type of architecture project, as long as designers are familiar with some reliable engineering software, the “analysis and optimization” can be part of the design process (S.D. D.D. C.D. B.N. C.A.). Probably between Design Document and Construction Document.

-In a way, “analysis and optimization” phase is required for any design process. But I would like to deal specifically with parametric design (Digital Project, CATIA), for the sake of this phase to be architect's role instead of leaving it all up to structure engineers.

-“analysis and optimization” is for the sake of 1. aesthetic, 2. strength, 3. efficiency. In CATIA, 3D models are 1. easy to update (aesthetic), 2. specific to assigned material and interchangeable with major engineering software (strength), 3. under control of parameter (efficiency).

-Since difficulty in information management is the inevitable issue for large scale projects, the more, the scale of a project gets larger, architects and engineers can be benefit from Parametric softwares. But as I mentioned before, I'm interested in small scale projects that architects can be in charge of without organizing project team out of immense number of professionals.

-To test the accuracy of Engineering Software, test one of my Origami motifs but in different scale, material, and variations.

-Designers should stay away from challenging extreme geometry if it is only for the sake of commercial impact. (...social, historical argument to be established)


Case Study Predecessors

Dragonfly (Tom Wiscombe), Ribbon House (Peter Testa), Kanno Museum (Hitoshi Abe), Sendai Mediatech, Serpentine Pavilion (Toyo Ito), Floral Street Bridge (Wilkinson Eyre)

Use of parametric design: Floral Street Bridge (aesthetic), Dragonfly (strength), Kanno Museum (efficiency)