Working share link to your Forma project, view access for the teaching team.
https://acc.autodesk.com/docs/files/projects/9c3c9498-0634-457f-a474-16c3ec84e1bd?moduleId=packages&packageId=49eae0c5-567b-4ca8-95c8-76e56677188b
Comparison matrix, one page.
Design memo of 300 to 500 words: what you read in the site, the three strategies, what the analysis said, your recommendation, and the surprise.
I analyzed my land at 1911 Valley St in Oakland. From a city perspective, the site is in a great spot because it is only a 4-minute walk to the 19th St. Oakland BART station. It is also right next to the Douglas Parking lot. This means people can easily walk or take the train, so my building design does not need any car parking spaces. Environmentally, the site gets a lot of sun, but the traffic on the main avenues makes a lot of noise. Because of this, my building needs to protect the people living inside from the street noise. I created three different building shapes to reach my goal of 100,000 square feet. I focused entirely on living comfort and enjoyability rather than making the building look fancy. I wanted to give renters a place to interact or be alone. Proposal 1 (C-Shape) creates a secure enclosure where people feel guarded but can still enjoy the stores, walk, and breathe without freezing if the climate is too cold. Proposal 2 (L-Shape Hybrid) leaves a huge free space where air can run, bushes and trees can be planted and children or dogs can play safely, though the stores would feature more residential-type stores to serve the community. Proposal 3 (Linear Accessibility) focuses on easy access to every area, featuring a shared terrace for people to connect and enjoy fresh air. This proposal would focus more on walk-in commercial shopping rather than specific neighborhood services.
The simulations showed that Proposal 1 works best for commercial street activation, while Proposals 2 and 3 favor the residential experience. I chose Proposal 1 as the winner. This configuration optimizes the net leasable area while providing the ultimate sense of Enclosure. Most importantly, its continuous geometry acts like a giant wall that stops the heavy street noise, creating a very quiet, peaceful, and balanced private sanctuary for the residents. The biggest surprise happened when I started drawing my concepts. Based on my design instincts, I thought my blocks were small and modest. However, the software showed they were actually giant, going above 400,000 sq ft in some cases! This data forced me to quickly shrink the building footprint and remove floors to bring the design down to the required 100,000 sq ft limit.
Three massing images, one per proposal, from the same viewpoint.
