wam cabinet building process

 after going through all the sketches and sketch models of our designs and a meeting with Tommy and Jonathan, we started with making a scaled model of our design at that point. We discussed that we would use dado jointing to hold the cabinet pieces together, and a european style front, so the doors would have no frame. After this decision, we thought the doors should open all the way up to the top to enhance the curve. This brought the curve aspect into the doors while they are opened. Our original design began with one large door and one small door to go along with the curve. We ended up having to leave out the uneven doors because the museum was concerned about the length of the larger door. After the presentation to the museum and the final design decision, we were beginning to purchase the materials to build the cabinet. This model was helpful in representing our design ideas in the presentation, but it was not useful in our production of the cabinet. No jointing was considered, so when started the first day we were very lost and cut joints that were too complicated for our skill level. I think it would have been more helpful if we had also created models of different jointing options and further considered the ways we wanted to have the pieces of the cabinet fit together, as well as detailed dimensioned drawings including jointing before we had gotten to the building process. We also should have considered how the  top was going to attach in exactly, how the door shelves would be bolted into the doors, and mostly everything about how everything would work. Our poor planing and lack of knowledge of the jointing we planned to use led to incorrect dimensions on files sent to the router because the positioning of the pieces along with connection to other pieces had not been considered.

 After overly-complicated dado joints had been cut into the sides, the back would not fit into the joints. Hailey and I felt relief when we were able to re-cut the joints into a simpler dado where the entire back piece fits into the side pieces. This is the first time the back piece successfully was squared and fit into the side pieces! Then, we began the construction of the bottom section of the cabinet by counter-sinking and screwing side and back dadoed piece into the bottom piece. We decided to have a 1/8" lip on both sides of the bottom of the cabinet and also the bottom of the top section where the drawer connects to the top half. In the back this lip is 1/4". We did this so that the joints would be cleaner and the horizontal layers of wood create sections. Also, it seemed like a nice small detail that is nice to look at up close. 

Then, we made the drawer that goes inside of the bottom section of the cabinet also by screwing the side and back pieces into the bottom. Then, we created a drawer stop on the bottom of the drawer and bottom of the cabinet so that the drawer cannot come out too far. There are wooden tracks we added in the bottom of the drawer for the drawer to slide on.

After the construction of the drawer, we made L pieces to make a connection in the side corners  of both side pieces of the bottom section to connect the bottom section with the top, and also the back piece to add extra stability. I counter-sunk and pre drilled into all of these pieces, so that way when I had to climb inside of the cabinet to drill the screws in, it would be less difficult.

We marked out shelf brackets and measured them from back and front to make them level, then attached the shelf slots with glue and a nail gun while matt worked on getting the top curve piece ready to put in.

After deciding on wood shelves, Matt and I cut a few shelves; two from 1/2" wood, and one from 3/4" wood, which is the top shelve attached to the cabinet to provide extra stability. The other shelves are removable.

I put on a coat of the finish and after letting it dry, I sanded the cabinet by hand because I did not have a hand sander in the studio upstairs. After I put a second coat of the finish on, I realized how much smoother the finish and wood were after using an electric sander that Hailey brought. This is how we got the wood to feel soft and not splinter.

Hailey screws in the door shelves and final top acrylic piece and the cabinet is almost finished!  

The acrylic top is on and the acrylic for the door shelves is attached and the cabinet is finally done. 

This is a close view of how the light reflects off of the acrylic door shelves and comes through the handle 

These are some more photographs of the light that comes through the handles and the acrylic top when the light comes through the window.

 This pictures shows the detail in wood material and the assembly of the door shelves.

An up-close shows the reflections in the acrylic top and the door hinges. These hinges were made for 3/4" wood, and our doors were 1/2", so the hinges could not be bored into the door 1/2" without being seen through the front, so I decided to cut another strip of 1/2" wood to attach with glue, and a pattern of screws to increase the thickness to 1" thick. The hinges were not able to wrap all the way around at this thickness because there was an extra 1/4" added to the material than what these hinges were made for, so i used the router to route out the shape of the circular drilled piece to 3/4" deep, and the metal piece that screws into the door at 1/4" deep, so the entire hinge was inset an extra 1/4" to counteract the added thickness. This allowed our doors to go all the way back to be flush with the sides.

This picture that i could not get to rotate, shows detail in the knots and texture in the front of the cabinet with the doors closed, and the curves of the handle and drawer face. Our drawer face had been cut too small when it was sent to the router, so we re-cut it by hand using the dimensions from the bottom of the cabinet to the middle of the horizontal piece under the doors to leave a small gap at the top, so the layers can be seen and also to create space between the drawer and the doors. 

After completing this project, i realized that i really enjoy building things and working with different materials. one of my favorite parts of building is figuring out a way to make it all go together. looking back on the project, the main think i wish we had done differently was instead of only saying what kind of joints we are doing or how pieces are coming on, but actually drawing and building how they would go together and researching other ways to connect things because when you go to put the pieces together, they don't just simply come together the way they are supposed to. it takes a lot of attention to detail, practice, and research to come up with the best idea for jointing and get it to go together. this would have relieved a great deal of stress during the building process.  This project was very challenging, which i enjoy because although it was extremely hard work, i feel that i have accomplished and learned a lot from it. i have learned many skills about planning and woodworking tools that i plan on using on my own time as well as on other studio projects. i feel inspired by this project and i am excited to move on in this program and work on other projects.

[211] floor plan and elevation

[201] Visionary Explorers, Light

   natural lighting will come through the top of our display case from the sky light in the lobby of the weatherspoon. This will lighten the inside of the case to display the items without needing an interior light source so the cabinet will still be very versatile in where they move it to. The shelves in the cabinet are made of acrylic so they will be clear; this will allow light to come through  from the skylight and gradually diffuse as it comes down through the shelves to the bottom. I think this will also create interesting shadows and reflections of the objects placed in the display case through the shelves.
   we will not be using focal lighting to direct people because instead we are using the location of the cabinet to bring people to it and also the idea of keeping the top acrylic to allow natural light to come through and lightly highlight the inside of the case.
   i think interesting moments will be created through the interior of the case when the light is diffused and reflected through the transparent shelving and also when light reflects the objects off of and through the other shelves since it is completely transparent, the objects reflections will be seen throughout the shelves beneath it. Light will create an interesting pattern of overlapping shadows and reflections through the interior of the cabinet.

Signage and Contributions

Signage Idea:

I used delicate geometric and symmetrical shapes for the background image to represent styles of Islamic dining. Their silverware is very intricate and highly detailed. The details are very delicate and soft.

I am part of the artifacts group. In contributing to this group, I found precedents of museum design and have researched artifacts from different areas of the world. I researched plates from Islamic culture and looked at their pattern and symmetry. I think we should find artifacts from different areas geographically and also from different time periods and compare them.

Ideas for our exhibit:

• Signage
  • Signage could be hung from the ceiling leading up to the exhibit to direct people where to go
• Artifacts
  • Represent artifacts used in dining such as silverware and also tables and chairs
  • Research the styles of the geographical area and time periods where the artifacts are from
  • Relate the artifact design aspects to the designs of the place and time periods they are from

Below are some artifacts I researched from different places

  

The plates are Islamic and Indian design, and the spoons are from North America and Germany.

Precedent Study, Fork Plate Table

The Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC was very easy to follow because every exhibit was directly connected to the main space. Every exhibit is in order and organized by categories which makes it easy to go through the museum. The actual exhibits are set up in a way that corresponds the space the exhibit is in with the things they are showing. This set up made me feel like I was in the environment that the animals would actually be in besides the glass walls that surround them.

[211] Diagram precedents

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/diagrams/

This diagram is easy to follow; it shows the objects exploded apart so you can see all of the parts and where they go together.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/diagram-of-the-brain-and-its-functions.html

This diagram of the brain uses color to separate sections and labels each section of the brain.

[201] group thoughts through photographs

 Hailey picked this photo because she wants our group to depend on each other and not underestimate other members so that we can work together.

 This is the photo that Chelsea picked. She said that direct paths in the grass towards the house represent how she would like our group to have a good idea of where we are going with our project and clear up details.

 Sara picked this photo because she said that she wants our group to have a good time and enjoy everything and be less stressed with eachother.
Cory picked this photo because the man appears to be very satisfied, and he would like to be satisfied with our final work.

Jon picked this photograph because we should all swirl together to make our project work.

I picked this photo because the outfits are very structured and all small details have been worked out. I would like to figure out the details of our project and then go back and perfect those things.

Matt picked this photo to represent how our group should rely on eachother and work together.

[201] visionary explorers

Swiss architect Mario Botta created the bechtler museum of modern art. It is a sculptural minimalist structure that reflects light light patterns across different textures that resemble brick. it was constructed of steel, glass, terra cotta, black granite, polished concrete, and wood. Although the materials are heavy the lighting and shape of the structure make it seem weightless. The outside structure and different shades of color from the light reflecting across the materials shows the building as a piece of modern art, and this is reflected in the art exhibits themselves connecting the outside of the structure throughout the inside and physical along with the conceptual center of the space connecting the structure.

[201] Visionary Explorers

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these are two portrait drawings that i did. the first one is a picture of one of the first portraits that i drew from years ago. the second is a recent drawing that i have just finished. i think this one has more dimension to it and appears less flat than the first one. i think that second one shows more tone in skin color and shows more pencil detail than the first. i have difficulty representing form through shading so my portrait drawings appear too flat because it is hard for me to see the correct shading for the color of skin combined with the highlights and shadows made by light and the shading caused by the actual form.

[201] visionary Explorers, elements and principles

Principles:


 Rhythm: my group has incorporated rhythm into our design of the cabinet for the wam project by instead of hiding the bolts for the shelves and the way the cabinet is connected together, we are emphasizing them and creating a pattern that relates throughout the design. we are experimenting with different arrangements of connections through the acorn bolts that will be seen through the front. 

Balance: we have created balance through the proportions of the shelves to the size of the door, since we have two different door sizes. 

Emphasis: we are creating emphasis on the shape of of the cabinet through the uneven doors and bringing the cut for the doors all the way through the top so that when they are open they give greater emphasis on the movement of the shape that makes up the top of the cabinet. we have uneven door hinges in proportion to the size and height of the door that are at different heights that go along the flow of the top curve of the door. 


Unity: i think that all of the parts together bring unity to the cabinet because of the way they flow with each other. for example, the unevenness doors have unity with the rest of the cabinet by the doors taking up the whole face because the doors become part of the shape on the top. the shelves are tied together with the size difference and flow from higher to lower because of their size difference from the larger door to the smaller door and the hinge is located lower on the smaller size of the door which further emphasizes the direction of movement of the shape of the doors. we have added this same idea of movement into the handles to open the doors, the drawer in the bottom, and the handles on the sides for moving the cabinet. instead of using hardware, we are creating cutouts that are based on the same curve as the top to connect the idea of movement and this shape throughout the entire design.

Proportion: since we decided to go with the idea of uneven door widths to further emphasize the top shape of the cabinet, we altered the shelves on the inside of the doors to be proportioned according to the size of the door. also, the length of the hinge for each door depends on the height of the door. on the side where the shape on top is higher, the hinge is longer since the door is larger. on the side where the door is shorter, the hinge is scaled down to be the same ratio with the door as the other side. 




Elements: 




Line: the line along the top of the doors while open connecting through the cabinet is repeated in the contour of the handle opening for the doors, drawer, and side handles.


 Color: we are  using birch wood so the color is very light similar to the space in the lobby where it will be placed. the other materials we were going to incorporate were acrylic and acorn bolts for the shelves. the light finished color of the wood and the metal bolts i think will be appealing together because they are not greatly different in color, but are still contrasting in their shade and finish.

Shape: the shape is reinforces from the top throughout the doors and handles of the cabinet. this same curved shape is repeated throughout. the other shape that is repeated through the cabinet is the circular acorn bolts and the arrangement of them based on the curve of the top.

Texture: the textures we are using to build the cabinet are the birch wood, frosted acrylic, and brushed nickel for the acorn bolts. each of these textures is different so they contrast one another. they are similar in value; they are all lightly colored, but they have very different textures. the birch wood will show the soft grain color differences in the wood. the acrylic will look textured because it will be frosted but still remain translucent. the brushed nickel will have less shine than a regular bolt so although it will still be in contrast with the wood, it corresponds to the flat texture of the wood on the cabinet.

Form: the cabinet's form is reinforced through the uneven doors and how the shelves and hinges respond to the height and width of the doors. the form is also reinforced through the shape of the openings and the placement of them based on the shape of cabinet.

Space: the uneven doors accentuating the shape on the top give the cabinet a greater feeling of space and importance. 

211 photoshop Compositions

I cropped out the backgrounds and made each part of the composition and then arranged them on the page. I changed the levels to blend the background into the background on photoshop and get rid of the gray edges. I also increased the brightness and desaturated the color to make the perspectives lighter and show more light coming in through the windows.

After arranging these images in the composition i toned down the value and contrast in the colors to make the colors more natural.

In this composition i increased the saturation of color and contrast to make more dramatic highlights and shadows.

i chose these photographs that i have taken because most of them show strong highlights and shadows because of the glossy floor and wall surfaces. Some of the surfaces are more muted but there is a dramatic sense of light and dark in the shadows making it very clear where highlights and shadows are being made from the light source and how this is affected by the objects

[201] visionary explorers blog post speeches

I think the speeches that we presented last week were very helpful to organizing ideas. When you make a speech you have to organize it from the beginning starting with and introduction of what topics you are going to talk about briefly to give the audience an idea of where your speech is going so they can make connections between the main ideas and the points that you make to present your idea. This was helpful to me because i have not given a speech in a while so it helped me figure out how to organize my ideas in a thought process that would be meaningful to the people who i was trying to communicate to. i think that my ideas were organized and i tried to put them in a way that they would flow together to make connections between ideas that directly related to another and present them in that order. i also think that my power point slide represented the idea i was presenting with the two museums and having one main focal point connecting the two which was the image on my slide connecting the two interiors. i think i could have made my speech better by going more in depth about how these spacial aspects of the building affect the way the space is used and how the experience is enhanced through these details. i did not go to the speaking center to work on my speech but i went over it so that i was prepared in the order and connections between my topics. it was helpful to have people come from the speaking center because i think it helped to refresh our memory about effective ways to present your topic.

[201] dc presentations

i visited the natural history museum, the american indian museum, and the portrait gallery. working on my speech i learned about the connections in circulation in buildings and how that affects the way people move and experience the space. the museum of natural history has a large open circulation area when you first enter the space which encourages people to look around and recognize the center of the space.  i also thought the way the rooms to the exhibits were organized according to category in order to enhance flow of the space so that it makes sense to the visitors (image on left). it is east to follow because each floor and every entrance is directly connected to the main gathering space. this gathering space is further enhanced through the dome in the center lobby that is similar to the museum of the american indian because there was a large center for circulation here also and a dome in the center enhancing the importance of this space. I also noticed the importance of connecting the outside of the building to the inside. the american indian museum was very curved and fluid on the outside with different stacks making up a layer of curved surface (image on right). this connects with the curved walls on the inside and the stacked center towards the center of the dome in the ceiling, (middle image). after presenting my speech i learned that i need to not only talk about the connections of circulation and flow, but i also need to think about how this affects the people who will be experiencing the space. 

[201] visionary explorers blog post dc photoshop

[201] weatherspoon cabinet materials and lighting 2

a quick sketch to show how the lighting would become more dim towards the bottom if we used plexi glass shelving on the inside so that light could come through and and open top.

this idea shows at the top left, a top view for the top of the cabinet. the middle is open to allow light to come in through the top, instead of going out of the cabinet in our original idea because we were thinking about how it will be moved around a lot and i was thinking that it might become difficult for the users if there is a cord attached to it and it needs to be plugged in.

the right top section is a sketch of using adjustable heights for the shelves so they can precisely arrange them depending on what they are displaying.

the bottom sketch is to scale representing the overall view from the inside putting all of the ideas together. The wood is made of birch veneer. the top is left open to allow light to enter through the top of the cabinet using the light in the space and the shading shows the pattern this would make and how the light would become more dim towards the bottom.

this is a drawing of plexi glass shelving with a wooden frame and slats underneath to give it support, but you can still see through the shelf.