Submitted For
Module 3 - Points to Ponder
Please share your comments on 3 of the following Points to Ponder questions. (Choose 3 of the questions below.)
Why is it important to accurately model the land features of your project site with a toposurface?
- Accurately modeling land features is vital to the creation of a building model. The toposurface plays a huge role in shaping the foundation and base of a building—especially the lower floors of the model. It is important to make sure that the model’s land features accurately depict the real life topography so that construction workers don’t encounter issues when grading a site for future building.
When designing a project...
… Should the building adapt to the terrain, or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?
- I think a healthy mix of both is ideal for a design project. Architects and designers take inspiration from the surrounding topography, and incorporating the environment into one’s design can lead to unique and interesting ideas. At the same time, it is important to adapt the terrain to the building in order to ensure a functional and structurally sound building.
What are the advantages of stacking the levels of a multi-story building vertically?
- Stacking the levels of a multi-story building is very helpful when designing and modeling a building because it is extremely efficient during the design phase. It is also a great way to maximize use of limited space. One major reason for non-vertical stacking is for aesthetic reasons—buildings that aren’t repetitive and identical on every floor are much more interesting to look at. One building that uses an interesting combination of vertical and non-vertical stacking is the Interlace in Singapore, which won 2015 World Architecture Building of the Year:
