Let's Begin

Throughout the semester you will be making a set of foam models and drafted drawings. We'll begin tomorrow.

Everything you do in this studio will be a working model or drawing. Precision and craft reflect intention and thought. You are never just representing something. Every line, edge, and surface will be thought in an intellectual, sociological, formal, programmatic, civic, and historical investigation through model and drawing.

The models will be only out of foam or will use a chipboard sheet as a ground plane only if the building forms are cut out of the chipboard and the buildings pass through the ground plane. You may pin the foam, glue it, and make notations on it. You may use lengths of wire in the model to indicate axes, vectors, formal edges, programmatic bounds, and / or sightlines. Do not use the foam cutter wire. It is $10 a roll.
You'll probably need:
blocks of foam
push pins
tacky glue
an x-acto with blades
a metal straight edge

The drawings will all be on square sheets of heavy weight (eg.: 90/95 g/qm) .91M by .91M TRANSPARENT ZEICHENPAPIER. Weiße Tranzluciert (not SKIZZENPAPIER). This is available at Modulor at 43-45 Gneisenaeurstraße in Kreuzberg. Buy a 20M rolle and share between two people.

You will do site sections, figure/ground maps, and plan projection drawings built up on a base of graphite explorations. You will draw lines to explore architectural and urbanistic ideas about the site. These drawings will be done in Metric so you will need a Metric scale. You will want to make a drawing that has high contrast zones for both the site sections and the figure ground drawing. You can shade on the back of the sheet with a coloured pencil, as one way of creating that contrast. You will want to build a notation system for these drawings. Think about how you will eventually do that in the project drawings by exploring some techniques in these drawings.

Ask Celeste what she'll be using and why. You use what works for you. Some recommended tools for this work:
zeichenpapier (like vellum) .91m by .91m
lead holder and sharpener with 6H, 2H, & H lead
three coordinated colours of wood coloured pencil
kneaded eraser sock (dry erase pad)
lots of drafting tape (not masking tape)
t-square
an adjustable triangle
large triangle
good circle template
drafting brush

Your first assignment will be given on Thursday and is due Friday. You'll finish site studies with a major assignment of models and drawings due Tuesday. You should get these tools today.