NB!

Please look for this journal in your office archives/ or the library:

Keeping a good house. Buchanan, P.Architectural Review. Vol. 197, no. 1177, pp. 79-81. Mar. 1995
Architects' houses have traditionally been a vehicle for critical self-development-in South Africa, even more so, given the scarcity of acceptable commissions. Presents 3 houses that respond in very different ways to context and their architect owners' concerns: Gabriel Fagan's house in Camps Bay, a suburb close to central Cape Town; Ora Joubert's converted Victorian farmhouse outbuildings and studio in a suburb of Pretoria; and a modest house in the village of Kommetjie on the mountainous coast about 40 km from Cape Town, belonging to Roelof Uytenbogaardt.




We have started to work through the Hub submissions and expect to be spending a considerable time to thoroughly review them. We will inform you if we experience any problems with accessing your work. Please let me know if you foresee any problems. Also watch this space for MIP notifications, and good luck with the STW and CTD ex. that follow.

Please note upcoming deadlines:
22 April: STW exercise 1
25 April: Hub model 3
26 April: CTD exercise 1

The two options for submitting portfolio of office work, are:

OPTION 1.
Submit online (interim submissions, first on 4 April) and on CD/ DVD (final submission) - preferable option.
- Put your online office work under a separate "page" on your blog, or:
- if you create a separate online portfolio of work (on Blogger, yolasite, carbonmade etc. put the LINK ON YOUR BLOG, somewhere easy to find.

OPTION 2.
Submit in hard copy (interim submissions, first on 4 April) and on CD/DVD (final submission).

If you choose option 2, please submit hard copy with Carleen at reception tomorrow, 4 April.

EXTENSION OF TIME

Dear all, please note that, to allow for delayed feedback, the following submission dates are moving as follows:

1 April Hub development model 2 MOVES TO 8 April
15 April Hub development model 3 MOVES TO 22 April
The other dates remain as is - including 4 April submission

Please note the information in RED regarding PSS. There is also a PSS handout under the PSS button. Please read this CAREFULLY.

Interim submission (now until 8 August)

Posted on 15 March 2011...

This year, we are interested not only in the end product, but also the PROCESS that you follow. Therefore, it is important that you show us that you are CONSTANTLY INVOLVED with your work, that you UNDERSTAND WHAT it is that you do, AND WHY, and that you CRITICALLT REVIEW, REWORK and IMPROVE ON your work.

For the interim submissions (until 8 August), you must submit work that displays the range of your competencies (skills). Therefore, don't only work on computer, also work freehand, work in 2d, 3d, etc. Work must be clear and legible (easy to understand your thinking). Use a good mix of diagrams and text to communicate.

All the stages in the process must be represented in your final submission. However, you may decide to only invclude the best work (highlights) that represent each key stage. But all the work done, leading up to the end result, will support that final submission.

Also note the deadline for resubmissions.

Hope that helps.

Check the "Hub" tab for suggested precedent to study.
Check the new "Hub pics" tab for photos of your group work.

Next submission 18 March 4 April.

1. LISTEN TO the podcast for your group, posted on the fb group amd blog
2. Now write down, IN WORDS, the DESIGN IDEA that you formulated in your group
3. We suggest that you now INDIVIDUALLY  MAKE SENSE of the FUNCTIONAL and TECHNOLOGY analyses that you just completed, and the PRECEDENT STUDIES ANALYSED
4. Think about and formulate the LESSONS LEARNT from these analysis. In other words, what does the information MEAN, how can it INFORM your decision-making process? DO NOT RUSH THIS PROJECT STAGE.
5. Now prepare sketches, diagrams with text and IDEA DEVELOPMENT MODEL 1, addessing the issues and discoveries made
6. Do discuss your DESIGN PROCESS with your employer or his/ her representative, and at least ONE peer (fellow student)

___________________________________________________________

Dear 2nd years,


during block 1 we explained that this year we are presenting the second year program in a format that has never been done before. It is not only a first for CPUT, but also a very first in South Africa!


There are many reasons why we are attempting this approach. Some are:


- architectural practices are transforming to new ways of ICT and communication, and education must keep up with the times
- to allow students to find work in places other than in Cape Town, perhaps nearer to home
- unnecessary time and money spent traveling is wasteful and not sustainable and should be avoided where possible
- there may be new ways of creating a vibrant studio environment and community of practice, other than the face-to-face mode


We are most certainly not new to architectural education, but we are new to this alternative way of learning and teaching. We therefore anticipated some teething problems and allowed for a month of catching up, finding jobs and getting used to the new online learning environment. We are also not surprised that there are many of you who are not feeling quite that confident yet with this new way of communication.


Therefore we are trying to establish the need for one Saturday morning session soon with personal attention to all technical and other difficulties. Please complete the poll in the righthandside column on this blog. As soon as we know many people are interested to attend, we will suggest a time.

Furthermore we are also in the process of streamlining the class blog so that all project briefs are integrated in the (blog post) text for ease of reading, with links to all downloadable briefs in a separate easy to find place.


The class blog is the one central place where all relevant information is kept and updated, and the facebook group remains the place for discussion, sharing interesting links, organising and chat.


Please let us know your thoughts, on the fb group, or comments under the Q&A tab on the class blog.


We need your help to make sure that we all succeed this year.


Thank you in advance,
Jolanda & Hermie 

Please check in the righthand side column. If your name does not show there (as a blog link), please let us know a.s.a.p. what your blog name/ link is. Please inform us via fb. Thanks.

1. LISTEN TO the podcast for your group, posted on the fb group amd blog
2. Now write down, IN WORDS, the DESIGN IDEA that you formulated in your group
3. We suggest that you now INDIVIDUALLY  MAKE SENSE of the FUNCTIONAL and TECHNOLOGY analyses that you just completed, and the PRECEDENT STUDIES ANALYSED
4. Think about and formulate the LESSONS LEARNT from these analysis. In other words, what does the information MEAN, how can it INFORM your decision-making process? DO NOT RUSH THIS PROJECT STAGE.
5. Now prepare sketches, diagrams with text and IDEA DEVELOPMENT MODEL 1, addessing the issues and discoveries made
6. Do discuss your DESIGN PROCESS with your employer or his/ her representative, and at least ONE peer (fellow student)

catch up

Very late group:
- please make contact with your other group members
- make sure to create your own blog
- do the "this is me" post on the blog
- do one blogpost on your work/ search for work
- watch this space for more information
- study the Hub brief
- select (as a group) one finction other than the wi-fi tower
- meet and brainstorm the functional aspects related to the function you selected
- formulate these ideas on an A3 and bring along on Monday, 14 Feb, to discuss at 12h00
- meet me in the library (meeting room)

Please complete the Vocabulary Follow-Up by Friday, 4 February by following this link:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P6CLVLT