Thursday, June 3, 2010

Chile: Model

Materials: balsa wood, poster paper, gray Canson paper
Scale: 1/4"=1'

Chile: Earthquake Relief Shelter

For this project, we were asked to develop a temporary relief shelter for those affected by the recent earthquake in Chile. My design is about community and gaining strength through numbers. For this reason, the shelter contains 4 units to house 4 families or groups of people. The shelter is centered around a reclaimed cement cylinder used for rain water collection. The cylinder would be buried several feet into the ground to help stabilize the surrounding wood structure in case of aftershock. To help direct rainwater into the cylinder, the roofs on each unit are angled towards the center. Each unit has their own private entrance and porch, but an outdoor community area is also included in the shelter to help bring the people together.

For the design of this poster, I wanted to try something different. This is my first poster that I have entirely hand drawn and I also used a new rendering technique. I was inspired by a first year student's rendering in the class I TAed for this semester. I used black ink with orange and white colored pencil on brown parchment paper. The result was an earthy, natural look that I think was fitting for the subject. The minimal color palette unifies the poster and the brown paper helped my poster stand out from the usual white digital posters.

This project was one of my finals for my third year in interior architecture. I cannot believe I only have one more year!