Design Journal Entry - Module 12 Wrap Up

The focus of my project was to create a landmark for the town of Vanadzor. I centered it around balancing the introduction of new technologies and forms with local building practices and materials. The building is an arts center grounded in embracing local artistic traditions while also drawing in influences and advancements from other places. What makes this design unique is the range of functions it serves- combining dwelling spaces with workshops/studios, and exhibition spaces. In a way, the building represents the life cycle of art making and consumption.

My successes include creating a form that speaks to the mountainous environment it is located in. The roof is a key experiential space- it is meant to be climbed upon, starting from the ground plane all the way up to the top of the studio space using a series of stairs. The building is a viewing platform as much as anything else, following the curve of the hill and fanning open to the mountains that encircle it. The building would be built using a combination of the Armenian tuff stone with a combination of a wood frame.

My challenges included finding data that would allow me to effectively use programs like Insight to make efficient design choices. This was due to my site being an understudied area outside of the US where most of the weather data is limited to. Most of the my other challenges were also technical in nature and related to times that I used irregular geometries- especially when it came to designing structural and circular systems. I’m sure that a more regular design would be much easier to design systems around. I wouldn’t choose a more common site or geometry in hindsight despite the challenges I faced because of my choices. I think I have learned how to work around those challenges and a second go around of the same project would go much more smoothly.

It was also challenging for me to design around principles of sustainability (partly because of the lack of data and the fact that I had to use data from Ohio as a weather equivalent) but also because I was more focused on the form and materials as a cultural language. If I were to repeat this project I would put more effort into applying sustainable design features from the conception of the design- to the system design.

Given an opportunity to redo this project I would focus more closely on sustainability features and do more research into local building practices. That kind of investigation would require a much more involved kind of approach with a longer timeline. I’m not satisfied with the form completely either, but given the scale of my project (it is much bigger than the allocated square footage) I think what I’m delivering now is a good work in progress and a way to communicate my intentions for this site.

Replace this text with a link to your Video Presentation / Tour.

/web