ARCH 20 MIDTERM LEARNING PORTFOLIOYUE DAI

The first practice in arch 20 is build a dog house. The very first time I learned several basic but important tools in SketchUp. This dog house has some scale problem. Steve fits better in this house, not dog.

Dog House First Draft

In the second draft, I changed the scale of the dog house and made some stairs, but in this stage I didn’t learn how to use follow-me tool to make stairs, I just use push-pull instead. Then I went to 3D warehouse to find the models of dog and trees. However, I was constraint by this formal dog house, I could make something more creative.

Plan View in perspective View in Perspective Elevation View

Perspective View within Arrays

Crazy Cube Arrays in space

Reflections

Strengths:

• Successful create cube, transformed into

a component, and replicated multiple

times to create this complex arrays.

• Zoomed into the arrays, turned my

shadows on, and place several human

figures for scale to create a dramatic

shot.

Challenges:

• I need to learn how to use rapid

visualization techniques to hand draw

something similar to what I produce in

SketchUp.

Floor Patterns Study Front View

• In this stage, we learned the floor patterns would influence rooms visual experiences. The horizontal floor patterns will make the room more shallow, yet the vertical floor patterns give more depth to this room.

• First we practice drawing about the floor patters. we could combine different kinds of geometrical shapes in this design. Then we use SketchUp to draw them on computer.

• Another interesting thing we learn is that we can make scenes for each room. It’s like a short movie which is more attractiveand comprehensive than just a single image. It’s very useful when I explain my project to others because the short movie can give consecutive and dynamic scenes in so many different point of views.

• To make scenes we need to make layers first, SketchUp can hide the structure when we don’t need it by defining the structure layers .

• The improvement I need in this study is that I could make some floor patterns more complex just like what I draw in hand.

Comparison between SketchUP and Hand Drawing about Floor Patterns

Insert Malevich and the blue sky picture in SketchUp, create a 3 dimensional buildings by tracing the 2 dimensional shapes.• It is very convenience to use X-rays in

this practice• First tracing all the shapes I selected

to transform then in to three dimensional building

• Frequently using pushup tool to stretch the shapes

• Keep the roofs of the buildings/top view of the whole structure same as the Malevich picture

• transform structures under roofs

FollowMe Tool practice This class we learned about a new tool which is powerful, especially when we want create the handrails. We can define the shape and the pass way of the structure, which can go any directions.

Rotate Tool PracticeThis tool give us a convenience way to change the direction of a structure. We even could press “ctrl” to copy the whole structure and rotate to make several same structures which aim at different directions to create a new structure which have much more complexity.

Campidoglio Inspired Piazza Practice

• First we use polygon tool to draw a 24 sides circle• Use offset tool to make a smaller one circle inside the bigger one • Arc tool helps to draw cures connected the small circle with the big one• Then I use rotate tool to rotate a specific angle times eleven • Use offset tool to every single closed shapes (what Jerry taught us is breaking the whole circle in to two piece and just

focus one half of it. After finishing all the offset, we could make a cope of this half piece then use scale tool to change the direction

• Next draw a much smaller and 24 sides circle to make the sun-like shape in the center of the graph• Color the floor with color tool• Make stairs and find a status in 3D warehouse

Campidoglio Inspaied Piazza with status

From this practice, I have learn how to use sketch up in a correct way

to be more efficient and save time. Especially in this complicated

shape drawing. If the shape that I need to draw has an obvious

symmetry, I can just draw half of it and use ctrl + move tool and scale

tool to create another half piece.

Walls and Windows Studies

Elements influence the experience of a wall

• The height

• The thickness

• The windows inserted in to the wall

• The shapes—flat or curved

The violation of the walls and the windows inserted in the wall could make

a whole different experience when a person stand beside. A low walls may

become a chair which people can sit on it. A high and thick wall may give

people a sense of stable. And if we create windows on this thick wall, they

give the a different influence which give a breath of the whole structure.

Intersect Studies

In order to create a irregular and complex geometry

• Create some basic geometries

• Move and intersect one with another

• Delete the surface that I don’t want

This studies help us to learn hoe to create irregular geometry.

There are lots of variations when we try to alter the basic

geometry.

Hand Drawing about Intersect

Paper Airplane Polilla – Intercept and Folding

This class we learn how to folding a paper airplane in SkethUpin order to practicing the Rotate Tool. Starting with a piece of paper, then draw some line on it as the rotation axis. Then Folding a airplane in SketchUp is just like how we fold a paper airplane in real life, which is really interesting. It is really cool when we put the shadows on our paper airplane army.

Pavilion with Folded Canopy

Pavilion with Folded Canopy• Initially, we just start with a paper-thin, using the rotate tool to fold a ceiling.• Use Ctrl + Move tool to double the ceilings to make more complexities. • Then we added the base, walls, stairs and the handrails. • Make some specific design on the walls, give more dynamic sense on the whole structure • Moreover, add a new style which make the building more attractive There is a huge difference between different styles. What a chose is the Pen Black in Sketchy Edges and changing the front and back colors in Face Settings, then turn on the X-ray, and give colors for sky and floor.These two styles give me huge different experience about the building I have made. One is more concentrated on shade and light, one is frame structure and colors.