Undate on the semester's end......

It has been a tough semester as we tackle the idea of Urban Designing. The Vietnam project is an absolute challenge with it's size and complexity. I happy to have completed the project with a decent idea on how to approach a solution to the subject.

The project takes place on the site of what is now an existing ship port located in Ho Chi Minh City. But because of the growth the import/export industries, the port needs to accompany a deeper and wider riverside. The existing port is soon to be scheduled to reside on the tip of the Mekong river which will be names New Port of Ho Chi Minh. Our objective is to now utilize (in an urban way) the site left abandoned by the importers and exports.

With the reading of Lyster's article in mind, I've chosen a quote that would help lead me into the right way to occupy the site. The site will consist of 390,000 sq. meters, but we will be required to introduce 567,000 sq. meters of program into the site. The program ask for:

Living space: 200,000 sq. m
Work space: 215,000 sq. m
Terminal: 20,000 sq. m
Schools: 17,000 sq. m

Now the fun starts...

We now take a look at Vietnam. Phase one involves the analysis of Ho Chi Minh City and it's surroundings. We concentrate on what makes the city work, things that make the city become what it is.

Based on Ms. Lyster's article titled "Landscapes of Exchange: Re-articulating Site" I decided to dwell on the Imports and Exports traffic in Vietnam. Many of the ports are located in and around Ho Chi Minh City making the city the hub of the trade network.

Project number one

A monument to Architecture and space:

Back to the books..... and plots......

Here we are back and somewhat fully recovered from the Spring 2009 Semester. We're challenged already with a huge site as we kickoff the Fall 2009 semester. Well.... all we can do is take it a step at a time.

This semester's objective is to concentrate on urban design in the city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.... click here to learn more.

But before all that fun starts we're giving a warm-up assignment. I'm relieved because that's exactly what I needed.......

Designing never rest....

It's the end of the semester and things have gotten a little more calm. The requirement for us as students to observe new developments in architecture has been lifted, but it should remain a requirement for us to continue the study without our professors. That's what it takes to be the best. This is just a little picture of what's going on currently.

Jury day...

It's time to present the finish work, and it made me nervous. I didn't know what to expect from these professional architects. Nonetheless, it went well. Here are some pictures of the final models and drawings. The semester is finally over......

Week 15

This weeks has been pretty hectic, and I can only imagine that it will only get worse. I did present what I had done over the weekend on Monday and fixed it for Thursday. Here they are, feel free to leave comments.