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Post # 38

In the office...

LAST WEEK AT NOEL'S FIRM... :( 

This week went by too fast. Although we got some work to do. I had worked on, for the last time, the carport council submissions for a client in Harfield. Final tweaks and notes were added, then we printed and coloured the set of drawings. All that was left was for Noel to fill in the council submission forms.

Thursday was our last day of working and Noel had decided to take us to Kirstenbosch Gardens for lunch, even though he wasn't feeling to well. We had taken a brief walk through the gardens, then we took a look at the "Untamed" art gallery designed by Enrico Daffonchio. I really enjoyed it: Thanks Noel. Here's a few photo's I took along the way: 

Friday, Yusuf and I had decided to  visit Noel to say our final goodbyes. We put a gift together to give to Noel just as a "thank you" for having us for the whole year. Or rather: For putting up with us for the whole year...haha. :) It was sad to leave. I really appreciate all the guidance Noel has given us this year. I will miss having to work at his firm. :) 


Now to prepare for 3rd year ... Wish me well :) 


Regards to all...
Rukiya

Post # 37

In the office...

LAST WEEK BEFORE 3rd BLOCK! :) 


There's a few things I had to finalise for Monday's submission. But it is getting there. This week I had also been studying for the tests that are coming up between Monday and Tuesday.


My office work for the week: Alterations to a house in Claremont. There were some problems with the staircase leading to the basement, which we're still busy working through. 


Regarding the MIP: Coca-cola finally replied. They will be sponsoring us some coke drinks for lunch time during the 3rd block at St Micheal's Primary School. The lecturers had made a plan for our lunch as well. 


This weekend I have to prepare and pack for the stay in Grabouw. Apparently,  I will be staying at a cottage on a farm in Elgin. Will be fun!! 


Thanks 
Rukiya :) 

Post # 36

In the office...

For most of the week, Noel allowed us to work on our University submissions. For this week, I concentrated on the MIP and any other resubmissions I had. All submissions are to be in by the 24 October 2011. 

I had also draughted the coat-hangers the design team had designed. The coat-hangers are to be made from 1 whole board of Marine Ply. See the detailed drawing below:

Open publication - Free publishing - More cput

I did, however do some work for the office. We had to colour a set of council submission drawings for an addition to a restaurant on a farm in Westerdale. 

This week I had involved myself in quite a bit of planning for the MIP... It was going quite well. The members of the design team had sourced a number of materials for the project. I was asked to help wit the arrangement for a lunch menu for our days in Grabouw.

Time is drawing close to our major project. Really excited.

Thanks, 

Rukiya... :) 

Post # 35

In the office...

TWEAKING...

For the whole week I had been busy tweaking drawings. On the Rondebosch project, some additions and adjustments were made (handrails, staircase details, cupboard details, etc..). And on the carport project in Harfield, minor adjustments were made (roofing details, etc..). Some general drawings were also done this week for the template folder: a conservancy tank detailed drawing - which would, for future, be attached to plans that require such detail. 

On Wednesday we had gone for a site visit to the Princes Road project. At this stage the had excavated and are now busy with the piling foundation trenches. (Below is a video to show you what they were doing. They had to resort to pile foundations due to unstable soil.) 

Also this week, I sent sponsorship letters out to various companies. Asking for assistance with refreshments for each day for the duration we would be building at St. Micheal's Primary School. And also to companies, asking for donations towards trees for the garden at St. Micheal's. No response yet, but will still keep trying.

I'll keep you posted on how things go..

Thanks, Regards.

Rukiya. :) 

Post # 34

In the office...

Another week with the Rondebosch project. Just doing some minor changes and working on the presentation (adding landscape and shadow effects). Working towards it being added to the brochure.  

Also worked a bit on the carport drawings for the house in Harfield. There were some details I had to correct. Now it's just for Noel to finalise it so they can go for council submission.

Noel hasn't been feeling well for the past couple of days. Due to the chemotherapy he's having for the treatment of his cancer. He has two more sessions left. I really hope he gets well soon. :) 

Thanks,

Rukiya.

MIP Academic Paper

MIP Academic Paper - Final four part essay

Open publication - Free publishing

Post # 33

In the office...

The income of jobs at the office has been going rather slow for Noel lately. But nevertheless, we still have to keep moving forward. There is still some draughting to do. I'm working on the carport project for the house in Harfield. All I've done so far is some sketchplans, the client has to take a look at them so they can approve. Noel seems to be okay with my draught work, except for some detail issues. But I've got it covered. :) 

Then after having done some sketchplans, I went back to the Rondebosch project, completing all the draught work. All that needs to be done are some presentation aspects. The aim of completing the Rondebosch job is so that he can put it in his brochures and on his soon to be website. This is being done because Noel needs wider advertisement for his company. 

So end of the week... And I'm super excited for the weekend (><,) hehe. So much tension in the week, I'm looking forward to enjoying my weekend with my friends. We are going to the Ratanga Junction (game park). The cobra is the best way to de-stress. haha.

I'll tell you guys how it went :) Hope you all enjoy your weekend.  Thanks

Rukiya

Post # 32

In the office...

This week I had still worked on the Rondebosch project. I'm 90% done with all the draughting. After all the draughting work, Noel would like us to work on some presentation - like adding some landscaping and shadows, etc. Wealso have lots of other draughting work to do. But we're waiting on Noel to set them up. 

Also this week, at home, I had to finish the set of council submission drawings for the house in Grassy Park (the addition of a boundary wall and the alteration to the outbuilding). For this Monday coming, Mr Lamb is expecting the Houtbay drawings to be completed, so that is to be done over the weekend. 

Hope to find some time to work on the MIP. Time is drawing close to the deadline, and for the most exciting part of the year: :-)  Our contribution to St. Michael's Primary School. Cant wait!

Yours anxious. :-)

Rukiya...

Post # 31

In the office...

As last week, I continued to work on the Rondebosch project. It is almost complete. Just to finish the sections and elevations. The redraughting of this project is taking a bit longer than I thought, but it's getting there.

A new but small job came in this week. The addition of a carport to a house in Harfield. So for the rest of the week I had just been drawing up the existing plans. I managed to complete all the drawings. Just waiting on Noel to assist me with the design of the carport.

In the week I also had some plans to finish for Mr Lamb. A house in Houtbay urgently needed some plans to be drawn. Unfortunately, they were scammed by the builder. This builder had not followed the original building plans that were done by Mr Lamb and he got away without completing the building. Therefore, Mr Lamb and I had to redraught all the changes the builder had made to the plans because the clients were being drilled by the inspector for updated plans.

Also, a client in Grassy Park wanted alterations done to her existing out building and a boundary wall added to the street boundary. I'm currently busy on the existing plans, so this Saturday, Mr Lamb and I will be busy on the alterations.

In this week as well I've been researching for the MIP. I thought that it would be a great idea to use waste tyres for one of the projects at St. Michael's. And I had also suggested to Jolanda and Hermie that it would also be a good idea to use waste bottles in the construction. There are many things one can do with waste bottles. Below is an example:

Thanks

Rukiya   

Post # 30

In the office...

This week I had continued to work on the Rondebosch project: finishing the basement, ground floor, first floor and site plans and detailing them with annotations and landscaping, etc. 

Also this week I had to work on some plans for a house in Hout Bay for Mr Lamb. I've just managed to finish the existing plans. Now for the weekend I'll finish the alterations that need to be made. and also add a boundary wall. Also, for this weekend, I have to draw up some plans for an outbuilding and a boundary wall for a house in the Lotus River area. 

LOTS of work to be done... but I'm good, hanging in there. :) 

Thanks for reading,

Rukiya

Post # 29

In the office...

The Sussex Street project was becoming a bit of a hassle. Therefore, Noel put it on hold on my side for a bit and sat down with it himself to, once and for all, sort it out. In the meanwhile, Noel got Yusuf and I to redraught (CAD) drawings he done by hand some years ago. It's pretty productive. We get to learn a lot while redraughting, and Noel gets a CAD record of his hand drawings. 

I am working on a 354m^2 house that was built in Rondebosch . These drawings are excellent and the design works great. For the rest of this week I had just drawn up the basement and  ground floor plans. 

Thanks,

Rukiya.

Post # 28

In the office...

And the next day... Model building with the Matriculants of Fairmount Secondary School.

Mr Lamb had asked me a while back, if I could make some time during this year to assist the grade 12's (a class of about 14) in a workshop on how to build a basic house model. Well, we decided that this Saturday The class and I would get together. I had to draw up a list of basic materials they could possibly use; for Mr Lamb to buy. I was pretty excited about this too; my first class, where I'm the one teaching! :) haha. (This also made me think about where I want my career to head to... maybe teaching/ lecturing could be an option.)

All that was needed to do was take the base information in their process documents and build their model from it. The information in their process documents contained their research, a situation, design brief, constraints, initial designs, final design, constructed drawings, etc. 

My workshop started from 9am and ended at about 5pm. I taught them about scale: they had to make the model to the scale of 1:50, and build it from the plans they had drawn (1:100). On this note if you didn't know, Mr Lamb is also a Civil Technology teacher. The model was one of the grade 12's major projects of the year. I also taught them basic techniques that I would use when making models. For the whole day each student managed to complete about 90% of  their models. The student were also assisted by the school's care-takers, Mr Lamb and one of his employees (a site builder). All that the students were left to do was to add the finishing touches to their models. 

Thanks to all the students and all the good feedback they gave me. It was a pleasure working with them.

And thank you,

Rukiya...

Post # 27

In the office...

Back to work...

This week I continued on the Sussex Street project. After finalising a sketch plan for the three town houses. I started on the Main house ( i.e. Where Noel will be staying). For the whole week I had taken some time out from draughting and started exploring the design layouts for the floor plans on some BUMF paper. Noel gave a rough idea of what he wanted, I just had to make it fit. The staircase is a bit tricky: trying to make it fit in the space on the ground floor, and making it work on the first floor as well, so that the circulation around the staircase works and at the same time fitting a guest WC beneath the staircase on the ground floor. I'm still in the process of coming up with a good layout. However, Noel has the final say. We'll see how this layout turns out. :-)

Thanks 

Rukiya :-)

Post # 26 - August block period

AND THEN CAME THE AUGUST BLOCK PERIOD! :-)

Day1

We were supposed to have done our presentations on our hub designs, but (thank goodness :D), it was postponed til later the week. I was ready for the presentation, but exhausted and tired. I was afraid I wouldn't function while delivering the presentation. 

So, the lecturers had planned for us to visit some art galleries and furniture stores in Woodstock. One in particular which we were briefed to analyze - the Stevenson Art Gallery. I really liked this walkabout, I never really knew how nice Woodstock was.

Then back at the Thomas Patulla campus, the lecturers had put together some videos for us to watch. One on the Phaeno Science Center by Zaha Hadid Architects and the other on The Thermal Baths by Peter Zumthor. I think this is two brilliant buildings to study. By the next morning we had to hand in an analysis on the "holding idea" of both buildings and it's relation to it's function, context, form and technology.

Day 2 

PRESENTING DAY! How nervous I was...

The lecturers had separated the class into two groups (A & B). First group A had gone to do their presentations, while group B had to do some brainstorming and research on the MIP. Group B (with myself) had to split in groups of 2 or 3. I had worked with Sara Savahl, it was fun, we came up with a number of ideas on how to contribute to St. Michael's Primary Multigrade School - functioning as play, seating, learning, storage areas, etc.).

Then it was Group B's chance to present. I came ready, my presentation wasn't too bad at all. The rest of the did great as well. I must say, we're pretty good for second years. :) 

Day 3 

Theory Day! 

The venue for lectures were at the Roeland Street Campus. For the morning we had just discussed a bit about the videos we had watched on Monday (Day 1), and then a bit of discussion on the MIP and any questions the class had to ask. Later the morning we had a lecture by Andre van Graan on our Studiowork; and later a lecture by Mike Rodseth on our CTD (specifically going through the booklet: "Principles of structure in buildings"). Very fruitful lectures! I learned a lot. Must say thank you to both of them. :) 

Day 4 

Symposium! :)

One of the best days of the block. Really enjoyed all of the guest speakers' presentations. I fully support 'Green Building'/ Sustainable Architecture. It's the way to go... I loved the demonstration on natural building later that day. Although I didn't get my hands dirty :-/ hehe. But it was fun to watch though..

Day 5 

"Field Trip Day"

The field trip was canceled due to the heavy rains we had. :-( However, we still managed to get some work done. We worked a bit on the MIP, where the class had to split up into groups (groups 1-4). Each of us had to decide whether we will be organizing the building materials, people providing building services, accommodation and catering or other (miscellaneous things needed for the trip to Grabouw in October/ November). I decided to join the accommodation and catering group. We had brainstormed lots of ideas. I will keep you posted on what we came up with later. Check the MIP tab for updates.

Thanks for reading,

Rukiya. :)    

Post # 25

In the office...

First week of fasting.. gone... Went so quick!

This week was focused on planning ans design. I got back onto the Sussex Street project [reminder: Noel's property (the demolition of his house to build 3 town houses)]. This time we approached it with a different design idea. The position of the townhouses were set, therefore we had to work with the inside space (figuring how the inside spaces would best relate to each other.). But this is still a working progress, no actual final decisions made. So for now we're still in the sketch plan stage...

Thanks 

Rukiya...

Post # 24

In the office...

Slowing down a bit this week. Not much work was put out. However, I got to work on the Miller road plans again, for most of the week. Tiling layouts and tiling areas had to be produced for the end of the week.

Beside the office work, I had some time to spend on University work. Had been working on the MIP.

Thanks. 

Rukiya...

Post # 23

In the office...

A new job had come in from Tokai. On Monday we had taken a look at what the client needed and addressed a verbal brief on the job. The client wants his current house altered so that he could accommodate his mother. We were to draw up the existing plan and then come up with a few sketch plans. For this week we had been thinking of ways it would suit his mother and make it a comfortable space for her to live in (especially for the fact that she is in her old age). We had thought of the orientation & position of the bedroom (where it would be warm enough for her to sleep), etc.    

We had jumped back to working on the 2nd Avenue job. Here we had to draw up new sketch plan layouts of the flats. The reason for changing the layouts was that the Heritage Western Cape council would not allow for the demolition of an old existing building on the site, therefore Noel has revised the layouts to account for this existing building - which still makes a good layout, revised to 2 blocks of flats (whereas it was 3) and accommodation to the existing old building (although alterations needed).     

Thanks. Have a good weekend :)

Rukiya.

Post # 22

In the office...

More work on the Tender Documents for Miller Road. This particular job is a bit easier than the last tenders. The 3 units for Miller Road are very similar, therefore the establishment of certain materials, sizes, etc. had already been made. The current tender documents are for the 3rd and 4th units - unit 2 had already been tendered for. Miller Road's job in general is still in the process of it being quoted for (Noel is currently handling this)

Another small job had come in from Kommetjie. A council submission for a new pool. Just a plan and section of the pool, the site plan (the position of the pool in accordance to the house and site, and the position of the house) was required.

A Good week, indeed. :)

Rukiya. 

Post # 21

In the office...

Slow week, but still productive! 

The last tender documents for Miller Road were completed (tenders on unit 2). Now we had to start on unit 3 & 4 (they are to be combined as one set of tender docs). So for the whole week we worked through a portion of tenders - importing the drawings from the council submission and enlarging them to a scale of 1:50. It has to be at this scale to show as much detail in the drawings as possible (detail shows builders exactly what they need to do). For the week we had just worked on detailing the ground and first floor plans, the sections and elevations. What still needs to be done for the first set of drawings are: the foundation, drainage and boundary wall plans; patio: plan, sections, elevations; handrail details; and general details. For the second set: bathroom layouts; kitchen layouts; electrical layout; boundary wall detail; built-in-cupboard detail. For the 3rd set: Door & window schedule; finishing schedule; sanitary ware schedule.   

Thanks, and enjoy the weekend guys. :)

Rukiya. 

Post # 20

In the office...

Had a good week... :)

Worked on the revised Constantia council submission plans. The roof design still has to be resolved, just waiting on Noel to sit down with us on that one.

For Miller Road, we're now working on the other two units (of a complex of 3 town houses). The council submission was first finalised for both the units (Units 3 & 4). 

I had worked on the Clifton Flats again - seems like the job just gets bigger everytime, from just an extension to the entire flat being altered, :) but the better! For now, I had worked on the built-in-cupboard detail drawings, they needed to be done for the client a.s.a.p.. And we had to draw up the tiling areas for the existing bathrooms so that the tiling company could work out the costs and quantities...

For the rest of the week I was working on the tenders (working drawings) for Miller Road.

Tomorrow I will be working with Mr Lamb. Currently, we're working on some residential alterations for a house situated in Ocean View.

Enjoy your weekend guys! :)

Rukiya.

2nd Year Question Survey - Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Questions:

1. What do you wish you had learned in your first year that you didn't?

2. What did you learn in your first year that you're glad you did? 

3. What do you wish you had learned in your second year that you haven't yet?

4.What did you learn so far in your 2nd year that you glad you did?

Questions answered:

#1. 

• I would have wanted to be more exposed to the practicality of architecture. Which is, handling with the actual construction of a building ourselves rather than first learning to draw it. For me, I learn better visually than told "this is drawn like that" (for example). We had a project in our first year to go out and observe a residential construction taking place. However, it would have been better if I was assisted more (by a lecturer or someone with the practical knowledge). I could have even gotten my hands "dirty", to experience the construction more. When you're on the site,  the foremen or workers don't have time to take you through everything. 
• I would also have liked to learn more about the building regulations in detail, I feel that we had just touched on it. 
• Also, more about presentation and model building. Presentation, referring to computer aided - such as sketch-up, revit, photoshop, etc. - as I haven't had previous education on this. And regarding model building, we also just seemed to touch on this, but I would have loved an in-depth lesson on this.

#2

My first year, other than the above, was good. I learned a lot compared to what I knew when I first started (taking I was fresh out of high school and straight to tech). But with guidance I grew a lot in this field.

• Firstly, I learned how to draught. (with pencil and pen - I also learned the importance of line weights)  
• I learned new art forms in the subject 'Presentation'. My drawing techniques and skills had definitely improved.
• I had learned Computer Aided Draughting for the first time.
• I learned the importance of detail in our CTD subject, how to look at objects and construction in detail, how things are put together, how material plays an important part in the construction, how different elements affect the construction, etc.
• In our Applied Building Science subject, we could take a deeper look at how science also affects the construction process. 
• In the 'communication' subject, I gained a bit of confidence with all the tasks: such as the oral presentations, and we were taught how to handle the business world, etc.
• The list could definitely go on & on. What I learned definitely out-weighs what I had not learned, and for that I am grateful.

#3

This year has been a blast! But there is so much more to learn.

• I am still trying to grow on my computer aided presentation skills (eg. sketch-up, etc.).
• I would still like to gain more knowledge on steel structures, although I have the basics.
• I would like to gain more knowledge on roof structural design (it's a wide subject and I have a lot of learning to do)
• Also, improve on the design process, how to go about it, what it means, how to handle space, etc. 
• Learning self-improvement! haha.. the procrastination bit. 
• I would greatly want to improve on or rather know more about is the works of different architects (well-known or even not so well-known - every architect has something to teach)
• I would love to also have more practical experience this year, as in taking part in constructing a building.
• I would like to visit many, many sites, in order for me to gain the maximum experience to lots of different styles in architecture. 

#4

Well, I have definitely learned a lot this far in the year, compared to what i had known at the end of first year! 

• One of the biggest lessons was learning responsibility and experiencing the office environment - experiencing the architectural field in all its pleasures as well as its harshness - it's good either way! I guess this also goes hand-in-hand with having better organisational skills, having watched and learned from my employer.
• I've also built a lot on my computer draughting skills, things go much faster now. :) But also on my hand drawing skills, seeing things in 3D, in detail, etc. I've learned that the smallest/ most basic detail can make a huge difference.
• Detailing technology has become a lot easier this year, with my employer - he has shown me plenty and taught me plenty about the detailing of components and how it should reflect in your drawings.
• I've learned much more about the construction process, going on more site visits this year. 
• Besides the theoretical side to architecture, I've also realised how passionate one should be about the their job and just loving the raw architecture (through all its ups and downs).
• I've improved on my design processing. I think I approach the design process much differently than I have before, and much better.

I've learned a deal of things in the past months - some I might not even realise I know.There's so much more - the list could go on. But I definitely look forward to gaining much more knowledge this year.

Regards,

Rukiya

Post # 19

In the office...

An unbelievably fast week... too occupied to even notice what day I was in. :D

A lot had been done this week - on Miller Road, Clifton Flats, Wesley road, Princes Road, and Constantia - but I'll make this post brief. 

For Miller Road, the bathroom layouts had changed. Therefore, a new drawing had to be made. A 1:25 plan and four elevations (@ 1:50) for each of the 2 bathrooms were drawn. These needed to be done as quick as possible so they could go out for pricing.

For the Clifton Flats, the layouts of the 2 existing bathrooms had changed; therefore, changes had to be done for all the elevations as well All were drawn complete, in detail, to a scale of 1:25 with dimensions.

For the Wesley Road project, Yusuf had completed the council submission drawings. All that needed to be done was to print and colour. I had pitched in with the printing and colouring of the plans. :D

For Princes Road, a revised council submission needed to be drawn up. Changes to the basement plan had been made. I had to do some minor tweaking on that.

For the Constantia project, changes had been made to the basement plan and therefor changes to all the sections and elevations and roof plan needed to be made. This is quite an intricate project to work on, so we're still in process with it.

Tomorrow will be our Q&A session at CPUT. See you guys there!...

Thanks, 

Rukiya. 

Post # 18

In the office...

Not too busy of a week, quite enjoyable actually.

I was tasked to draw up joinery details the whole week. It was a good experience for two reasons: the first time I've ever done this much joinery details (or rather ever done joinery drawings) & 2nd, because this is my father's trade, so it gave me a closer look and appreciation for what he does.

I had worked on Miller Road's joinery details first this week. A 1:25 detailed drawing of  a built-in-cupboard in the bedroom, a built-in-cupboard for a walk-in closet and a linen built-in-cupboard for the lobby, needed to be produced.

Secondly, I started on the Clifton Flats built-in-cupboard for the extension (also a walk-in closet). I am currently still busy on these drawings. 

Be sure to check back later... ;)

Yours,

Rukiya.

Post # 17

In the office...

A stressful week indeed...

Trying to get up-to-date with 'tech' work and still trying to manage work in the office.

This week I had worked on the Clifton Flats project. More tiling layouts needed to be done for the existing bathrooms. And we also had drawn up a sanitary-ware schedule for it. 

Miller Road's Tender documents has to be finalised with regard to the joinery and sanitary-ware. I had worked through this as well. 

Enjoy your weekend guys, I definitely need a rest. My tech work is finally up-to-date! 

Yours relieved,

Rukiya. :)

Post # 16

In the office...

A continuation of the busy week we had last week... ('',) 

More work on Miller Road: Now after tendering, we had to take a closer look at some of the drawings. Joinery and sanitary-ware was not fully resolved. 

A new project had come in - a house in Harfield, Wesley Road. This house was very poorly designed, so it's our job now to resolve it. For the mean time I've worked on getting the existing plans onto the cad program, and think of ways to resolve the house design. Noel also took us on site to visit the house take pictures and measure up, so we could get a feel of what needs to be done. What a memorable visit... haha. I almost slipped and fell down those steps. Like I said, very poorly designed: narrow steps & 1.1m head clearance between the nosing of the steps and the rafters. Noel and Yusuf even bumped their heads a few times. Just taught us how important ergonomics are in design, hahaha. 

We also had a site visit to the Princes Road site where blocks of flats are to be constructed soon. At the moment they're busy with the excavation of the basement area.

The project on 2nd Avenue, Harfield is in its sketch plan stages right now. Noel still has to sit down with a few developers interested in the development, so that he can decide on which developer can take lead on the project. I was just involved in tweaking the sketch plans this week.

Have a good weekend guys! :)

Rukiya.

Post # 15

In the office...

This week was quite busy. Multitasking was the name of the game this week. :-/

I had done some draught work on the Clifton flats project. The builders needed the tiling layouts for the new extended bathroom. So just some minor tweaks was added.

The council submission for Princes road were urgently needed, so some draught work done on it this week as well. Our plans had to reflect on the engineer's drawings, therefore some tweaks were done too. By the end of the week, it was complete and ready  to go.

Mr Lamb and I had worked this Saturday. We completed a whole council submission in a day. Phew! haha. But, fortunately, it wasn't exactly a huge job. We just had to draw up plans for a "Wendy house" :D Seems like it's not a labour/ mental intensive job, but its, without doubt, a time consuming one. (this text - only -  was added after the Saturday).

Yours, mentally drained.

Rukiya

Post # 14

In the office...

Starting the week off well… Miller Road Tender documents finally complete! Fresh prints made on Monday, and on its way to the builders.

Onto a new project in 2^nd Avenue, Claremont – a complex of residential flats. This project is in its early stages (working on basic layouts). Block diagrams were drawn up as an illustration to the developers interested in the project on how the flats will be set out. The amount of units to be built is dependant on the amount of habitable rooms allowed (according to the regulations). We are currently on 22 habitable rooms which are over the maximum amount. Therefore, some changes to the layouts need to be made.

The Clifton Flats: Tiling layouts have to go out soon. I am busy putting together a set of tiling layouts – it includes a plan and elevations of the bathroom all scaled to 1:25. They are almost complete (just a few minor details).

Thanks.

Rukiya

Post # 13

In the office...

Funny coincidence: The 13^th post on “Friday the 13^th” hahaha! Well not too big on superstitions, but anyway back to work… :)

The week started off a bit slow. Minor changes to the Miller Road Tender documents again. As the week progressed it was a bit busy. I had to work on some details for the Miller Road Tender documents – the details for the staircase handrails – learning how the smallest detail (down to the fixings) is very critical for this type of drawing. The builder needs to know exactly how they need to build it to the last millimetre. This is beyond the mere conceptual drawings. I also worked on the braai area/ patio details which – the same – had to be correct to the last millimetre. Noel still has to check them for me. From that point, he can go out to tender.

A bit of work was also done on the Clifton Flats. New bathroom layouts had to be done – the one bathroom has to be extended (a 1.7 x 2.4m bathroom) which also has to include a new vanity unit to be installed. We still need to finalise a tiling layout for these bathrooms and the electrical layout has to be done.

The hub process is going well I think. I need the lecturers to help me finalise my design. But, if you would like to comment on my design please feel free to do so… I need all the help I can get…

Thanks,

Rukiya

Post # 12

In the office...

Quite a short week - only 4 days of work and we had been let off early most of the week. Noel had a few things to attend to and had been sick due to his chemo-therapy. 

However, we still got a lot of work done. We had to work together on the Miller Road Tender documents. These plans were requested and had to urgently be completed for the builder to collect. The schedule to start building the 1st unit of the complex is well on its way. Noel is to put up his sign board, which Yusuf and I will help him with. 

Referring to what I have learned this week: I had to do some changes to the handrail details. Here, I had learned about the fixings of the handrail, how exactly it is put together, all the components needed - specifically for a staircase handrail - I was to also specify and annotate the drawing. It was a bit complicated, but I had it figured out, with the guidance of Noel.

Saturday, with Mr Lamb, was once again put off due to his other commitments. However, we will definitely be starting on a new project this week.

So "blog" you later..haha,

Rukiya ;-)

STW Exercise #2

Open publication - Free publishing - More architecture

Hub interim 4

Below is the 4th interim submission of my hub design... 

Concept Model 3:

Open publication - Free publishing - More architecture

Exploration drawings:

Open publication - Free publishing - More architecture

Post # 11

In the office...

This week Noel had gone on holiday, so that left us to take the whole week off.

This week, however, gave me a chance to focus on projects for the university. I practically worked on my Hub project for the whole week - successful but slow. I had been sick for this week, which made it a bit difficult to work properly. However, I got my work done and ready for the lectures to give feedback.

Although we were away from work, I still made it my duty to at least learn something for the week. So I got to reading the book "Thinking Architecturally" by Paul Righini - which was very insightful. 

Now the holiday is virtually over. It's back to work in three days. I've recovered nicely and I'm ready to work. 

Rukiya...

Office # 10

In the office...

We had only worked for 4 days in this week. Sort week, yet lots to do...

Yusuf and I were still busy touching up "Miller Road's tender documents". Minor changes and additions to the drawings. However, more details were to be drawn up. So we had basically worked on details for this project for this week.

We were again assigned  together to work on some measured drawings. We had to redraw the engineer's drawings, as to check if all his drawings were correct. This was for a block of flats in Harfield, Claremont. The measured drawings included the Engineer's foundation, basement, ground and first floor plans. These were drawn on a grid. The grid is a reference to the column positions and distances apart (horizontally and vertically). We started having problems with the Engineer's drawings, as his grid lines were not consistent on all his drawings. Therefore, it confused the column's distances and positions. However, we drew it as per plans. Noel put these drawings together and is still to schedule a meeting with the engineer to discuss his mistakes. 

I learned here that it is vital to check the engineer's drawings even if it takes up more time and effort. It could be fatal to the building if the engineer's drawings and dimensions aren't correct. 

For Mr Lamb, this Saturday's office session will be canceled due to a function he has to attend. 

Thanks,

Rukiya  

STW & CTD Exercise #1

References: Grobbelaar, A. 2009. Building Construction & Graphic Standards. South Africa: Anglo-rand Publications. and Righini, P. 2009. Thinking Architecturally. Cape town: UCT Press.

Open publication - Free publishing - More architecture

Open publication - Free publishing - More architecture

Post # 9

In the office...

Mr Lamb 

For this week he assigned me to complete the Wessels' plans - complete Local Authority drawings. I was faced with completing the plans, sections, elevations, details, specifications, etc. Mr Lamb had scheduled a meeting with Mr Wessels to discuss what proceedings are to follow. 

This was the first Local Authority drawing I had to complete on my own - however, a little guidance from him as well. It is just what i need to gain more confidence in doing things on my own and using my own judgment.

Noel Botha

For Noel, Yusuf and I were assigned with the "Miller Road" tender documents and still need to do some touch-ups on them. Tender documents are basically drawn in aid for the builder. Usually drawn to a suitable scale (i.e. 1:50) so the builder can see the exact details on how to build the structure. Further details are usually blown up to a scale of 1:10 and should be annotated to the exact specification.

With this project I had definitely learned a lot. It was also good working as a team with Yusuf on one project - it eliminated a lot of time wasting which had us finish the project quicker. Like they say: "two head's are better than one" :) 

The First Skype Crit

Our lecturers (Jolanda and Hermie) had scheduled a skype crit for us on Thursday, 14 April. This was to address our 2nd Hub Model/ concept design.

They had split us into two groups - one to be grouped with Hermie and one with Jolanda. I had been grouped with Jolanda and 2 other classmates (Antonio and Yusuf). It was convenient that they had grouped Yusuf and I together, as we work in the same office, we were also both in Group 12 - meaning, we were both assigned to deal with a main function, being "meeting" and we both had a similar concept to deal with. It made it much easier on Jolanda.

The skype crit, although not planned, went well. Jolanda viewed the drawings we had sent her via email before hand. After viewing she analysed it and gave us feedback. The feedback was extremely helpful. And the best thing about it was that we could all pitch in each other's designs and also give feedback to each other - constructive criticism of course.

My crit went well. Jolanda liked my concept. However, I was to look at how I had planned my spaces - the spaces were too confined. Jolanda suggested loosen up my design and look at a landscape aspect. 

Skype is a very convenient way to communicate with the lecturers, as we don't often get to see them personally. We can chat via text which we can refer back to if we have forgotten what was said. We can also share files - which is how we able to share the drawings we had drawn and sent to Jolanda - and even video stream (which I haven't yet tried) 

Overall, the skype crit went very well.

Thanks,

Rukiya :)

Post # 8

In the office...

Busy... busy... busy!!

Definitely one of the busiest weeks this year. Also having to spend the whole weekend on work - preparing my online portfolio was a mission. And then to get to work with even more projects to do... working to jobs is not easy, but it is exciting and i learn so much from this experience.

Preparing my online portfolio was such an enormous effort - in a good way. The preparatory work i had done before finalizing my portfolio this weekend, I realized, was not enough. Therefor lots of sacrifice of sleep was definitely needed. But i managed to get my portfolio up and ready!

I just realized this is the 6th month going for my office experience... Only 4 more months and the minimum requirements for my practical experience is complete! But yes, it is always good to exceed above the minimum requirements - as I'm always told.

This Saturday, Mr lamb and I were not able to work - as I've mentioned. However he had given me a task to do during the week and complete by this Saturday. I've managed to finish half of it. So, tonight I will complete a full set of local authority drawings for the Wessels family; have him check it on Saturday and he will then have a meeting set on Wednesday with the client.

The week at Noel's office was a bit of a breather. I am assigned to two design projects which I had just started on. The one project involves changes on the property Noel currently lives on - Sussex Street. This project is to demolish his current house and to build 3 flats in its place - as I've spoken about in my previous post. The other involves a small extension to a house situated not too far from the office - 3rd Avenue, Claremont. Currently, i am still draughting up the existing plans, using plans that were requested from the council (I never knew it costs that much to request plans - R94?). By next week we'd probably get into the design and planning process.

Thanks again,

Rukiya.