THE PROPOSED OVERHEAD KITCHEN CABINET

Just had to post about something I made for a project I need to do.  My mother wanted it badly done. It is for our own humble kitchen.  A overhead wall cabinet for the kitchen.  Range hood placement consideration is pointed out for the design just to be installed on one wall above the stove and beside the refrigerator. What I did first was measure the existing counter or the base cabinet where a stove sat beside the refrigerator. Had to find out the allowable length of the proposed overhead kitchen cabinet. Had to draw the amount of wood needed. We had to buy the shopmade cabinet doors at our nearest hardware store. It did cost much but fairly well. And then we bought the corresponding amount of plyboards (as pre-estimated) needed to do the cabinet interior boxes. We bought the hinges as well. Now where is that carpenter?

EBOOK - 1000X EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE

European Architecture.

FULLSCREEN PRINTING

It is fun for me to do "Screen Printing" once again.  But it is tiring as well. I still got some of the textile paint left-over from my previous shirt printing job.  I would like to make it clear though that even through all the years of my fascination with shirt printing, from band names and images, to obscure and simple symbols and monograms, I still was not able to perfect the skill.

DISTORTING EDITION

If you are tired of having to see those wondrous crap. The pictures of beautiful buildings you'd never get to go to. Places you can never see and experience first-hand. Skyscrapers you'd never get to climb on to. Sculptures and monuments you don't get to touch. Bridges you'd never get to cross. The built environment you can only get to see through pictures and postcards and on TV.

BLUEPRINTS AND COPY MACHINES

Drawings on tracing papers (on vellum or transbonds) are considered to be the original copies.  And after finishing all the drawings be it done manually or by CAD, one usually need a number of copies of these drawings.  CAD drawings though need to be printed usually on large printing machines, some designers want them blue printed.  They like the white or bluelines that go with the copies instead of just the black lines on computer printing machines.

VAULT OR TANK, IT'S SEPTIC

Once I was assigned by my boss to have it done.  He says that I’d have to get the existing septic vault demolished by the time he gets back.  It is part of the plan to do so.  We will be digging to construct a new septic vault to another location.  I’d have to supervise its demolition.  No worker around seem to be excited about it.  They steered clear away from me so I won’t call them for the predicament.   I called the foreman and told me he got better things to work with.  So I started to call two of the helpers as they sport their sad faces.  But still they were obliging.  But I need another man.  After awhile our notorious drunkard steelman came out of nowhere and volunteered to head the demolition. He’ll do it with one condition.  He said I’d have to get a bottle of rum for him to drink while doing the job. He says it’ll give him a sense of pride doing a filthy task.  I had no choice.  I had to buy it for him.   It’ll get the job done he says.  So I made an exception without the boss knowing about it.

QUICK SKETCH, SCAN AND SHOPRENDER

A quick loose sketch and scan. You can sketch, scan and color any drawing in Photoshop within a few minutes. This technique could be applied to for floor plan and drawing presentations. Especially for building perspectives. It would be quite easy to do so especially when you are in a tight schedule. You do not really have to render every drawing in 3d Max. I have been doing this technique and still working on loosening up my sketching technique giving me time for more other tasks like the estimates. The result would not be the best sketch in the world by far, but it is quite cool enough for me.

DRIVING THE TABLE

Drafting work is not that hard to do. At first you’d have to learn how to use the right instruments for the write purpose. Mechanical pencils, technical pens, special erasers, ink, tracing paper, triangles, t-squares and you. These are basically what’s needed for architectural designing.  Drafting is a little more like driving. One has to keep the instruments in mint condition. Every piece has its own purpose. As you sit down and drive to draft, you’d be experiencing smooth and rough roads. As one could always speed up as the drive gets smoother and smoother.

EBOOK - THE PORTFOLIO

This is another handbook that I came upon from the net.   Described to be another one of their seriously useful guides.  The handbook explains first the reasons why make a portfolio.  To this day, I could say that I never had the time or urge to have prepared a neat and personal portfolio.  Maybe by this time and upon reading this handbook, I might redraft all the designs I have made.  Though I could just extract them all from my head.  All the designs and drawings I have made from architecture school and work were all submitted to my client "the garbage" then. I may have cherished and valued some of my own works but I never have bothered to keep them all up so as to make a portfolio.  Maybe it's because no one never bothered to look at my drawings. And at that time, I felt they were all trash.

EBOOK - LAW AND PRACTICE FOR ARCHITECTS

Though this book generally is applied for the practice of Architecture in America, I still am interested to know how they manage to practice Architecture with the Laws provided to guide them through.  And even I myself could not even grasp to know how it feels to practice architecture here in my environment, much more than knowing the common laws they have, I could or might give clear comparison between practices through.

THE BURJ OF HEIGHTS

The Burj Tower - is definitely and presently the world's highest tower.  What made this structure possible still marvels me.  I could only try to study or describe this wonderful achievement from here.  The structure is built in downtown Dubai and is described to be part of their very important development scheme.  In short, the building is known as "The Burj" or "The Burj Tower". The duration of its construction only lasted for forty seven months. (February 2005 - December 2008) That's only less than four years of construction.

EBOOK - THE DISSERTATION

I came upon the word dissertation only upon taking my graduation thesis.  The faculty especially the dean required the use of a book by Robert Hershberger (The Architectural Methods of Research).  Though the architecture department gave us this sort of Architectural Thesis guidelines handouts, still this book by Hershberger serves to be crucial for the methods of research for the contents of the dissertation.  And so anyone who decided to just settle for the handouts as a thesis guide ended up confused and thus is led to try to read and pore on through the thick Hershberger book.

THESIS DECEASED

No, I can't finish it.  I'm still designing it. This dissertation is a not. But if the book is done, then it should be present.  The designs. Designs were unacceptable. Still can't present it.  To myself. The printed copy of about a hundred pages were thrown. Gone along with the adviser's and chair's signatures. The garbage must have wanted it more than anyone.

THESIS DISEASE

I have this dissertation that I would not and  could not finish.  At this point I am still at a halt.  For I can't seem to finish it.  But then all along this may have been for the good.  There's the Town Hall, The Fire Station, The Ambulance Station, and the Police Station to design.  For now, I am content of having to just research and read about these kinds of buildings.  Having the internet now, gives me endless sources of information and references. Sometimes it gets too overwhelming, that I could not produce my own original designs.  The preliminary designs I made do not get to reach the finishing stages.  I maybe in denial thinking that I could finish planning these kinds of buildings. Having to think that I could do it may be the issue.  Maybe it is time to accept that planning and drafting is not for everyone.  And is definitely not for everyone.  It just is not the time right now.  When it is.