6/6-6/13 | Reflecting

Quick Note

This is not going to be my last post. I will do another post on either Monday or Tuesday with my final photos, a video of the final house, and some more information regarding specifics on the location and the materials that would be used.

In this post, I'm going to share my final reflection (despite the fact that I still have some more work to do on my project) as well as my experience at Allied Works and what I learned talking to Nathan Hamilton.

Reflection

This project has honestly been a much bigger success than I genuinely thought it would be, and I think the main reason why was because going in I really had no idea what to expect. I was new to all the software, new to a lot of the concepts and terminology, and ultimately new to the process of actually designing a building. There were two main objectives in my senior project. One was to learn more about architecture by actually doing as much "hands-on" work as I could. The second was to think deeply about what I would want a house for myself to look like; how would it extend my philosophies and personal interests?

The house that I made, I believe, helped me reach those goals. I have learned a lot not only throughout the process of actually creating it, but from talking to local architects about my work and their work. I talked to two Catlin parents, Darren Schroeder and Clive Knights, both of whom offered fantastic input and gave me valuable insight into the field of architecture. I then met with Nathan Hamilton from Allied Works, with whom I discussed the process of creating large-scale buildings for clients and the creative work done to nail down the concept of a structure. I also really looked objectively at what I consider to be essentials in a house, what the design of the house would showcase about my tastes, where it would be placed and what that says about my interests, and much more. Working on the house was often quite meditative, and I always ended up following a sort of intuition despite not really knowing what I was doing. After all, I was designing it for myself.

Looking back at this project, it inspires me because I know that I was able to do all of that in such a short time. This project did spawn from a dream I've always had of designing my own house, and now that I've somewhat done it, I definitely feel like it would be a feasible thing to pursue when I'm older, if not other projects in architecture as well.

Nathan Hamilton and Allied Works

I was very fortunate to actually meet up with Nathan Hamilton at Allied Works's studio space to take a tour of the space. I also took some photos so if you would like to look at more than the ones shown below, you can do so in this subfolder.

A table with lots of conceptual models

In short, we went throughout the entire studio, looking at all the rooms as well as all of the models and printed photos of projects that the firm has worked on. One part of my project that I did not have enough time to do but would have loved to do was to make an actual physical model of the building. I do have the building in virtual reality which is a totally different experience, but having a model helps in accessibility and makes it easier to look at larger elements of the design.

Wooden model house specifically cut to match the site terrain

Allied Works had plenty of models, so it was awesome to see the evolution of their designs throughout the projects' lifespans.

Nathan and I then went into one of their conference rooms to discuss my project and architecture in general. We talked about design elements in my house and what things I could change to make a more cohesive piece, specifically regarding the garage and patio. We also talked about what working in a firm is like, and what sort of work architects do in these projects as well as how diverse their projects are. In fact, Allied Works has been commissioned to create branding designs for companies, so the field definitely extends further than just construction.

An early sketch of Catlin's CAC

Overall, it was a great meeting. I learned a lot and immediately went home to work on changes to my house. The final showcase of the house will be on a separate page of the blog labeled "FINAL."