Bring final projects to RAND 121, or hallway in front of RAND 121, before final exam (to be held at 12:00 noon).
Sign up for intermediate reviews (see below).

Problem: Case-study of the construction of an existing work of architecture.

Groups: Project must be done in groups of no more than 4 students.

General Requirements: Select a fragment of a space within a work of architecture with the following characteristics:

1. The spacial fragment contains some sort of window opening in an exterior wall;
2. The overall dimensions of the building fragment are as follows:
   • width: 5' - 10'
   • length: 20' - 30'
   • height: 15' - 25'
3. Both floor and ceiling (or roof) construction defining the spatial fragment must fall within the height limitation;
4. Documentation of all visible interior and exterior surfaces/finishes within the interior space and on the exterior wall surface of the building fragment must be obtainable either by inspecting actual space, or through published material or construction documents;
5. The fragment must contain horizontal (beam/slab) and vertical (column/wall) structural elements;
6. The materials and methods of construction must be at least partially obscured, so that some research or speculation is required -- thus, buildings with exposed structure, all-glass walls, or monolithic construction systems may not be good choices (for example, Pei's Johnson Museum on campus or his Pyramide du Louvre in Paris would not be good choices for this project).

1. Gain experience reading and interpreting construction details;
2. Understand tendency in modern construction to construct interior finishes and exterior cladding independently of structural frame;
3. Understand function of all construction elements shown on model and in section;
4. Learn to communicate ideas graphically and through models.

• Build an historically-accurate reconstruction based on actual construction details; or
• Build a speculative reconstruction based on historically-appropriate construction technologies; or
• Build a model based on modern construction principles that may or may not correspond to the actual construction methods.

Report: Write a report including the following:

1. Description of the project parameters, containing the following information:
   • Building and group data (same as on base of model);
   • Short description of building construction and structural systems;
   • Model strategy (i.e., historically-accurate; speculative; etc.)
2. Axons, elevations, perspectives, or photographs identifying location of model fragment in the context of the whole building;
3. Partial wall sections cut through building showing model fragment details:
   • Schematic "design" section showing only interior and exterior surfaces (no construction information);
   • Detailed "construction" section showing and labelling all elements of construction.
   Note: if "schematic" and "construction" sections look the same, choose a different case-study building.
4. Documentation of sources used: photocopies or sketches taken from magazines, books, working drawings, or actual building.

• Review #1: Bring in building documentation (e.g., photos, plans, sections, elevations, details, sketches, etc.);
  • J. Ochshorn: Fri. Oct 20, Oct. 27, or Nov. 3 between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm.
  • P. Kuo: Thurs. Oct 19, Oct. 26, or Nov. 2 between 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm.

• Review #2: Bring in preliminary axons or study models showing your strategy for constructing the final model. Include sufficient detail to indicate how the building "works," as well as how your model will reveal how the building "works."
  • J. Ochshorn: Fri. Nov. 10, or Nov. 17 between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm; or Thurs. Nov. 16 between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm
    
  • P. Kuo: Thurs. Nov. 9, Nov. 16; or Tues. Nov. 18 between 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm.

Construction documents for campus buildings (except those most recently built) can be viewed at Kroch Library: (1) See Cheryl Rowland in Kroch for list describing drawings that can be viewed; (2) Get roll and frame numbers from the list so that selected drawings can be "pulled;" (3) examine the original drawings there - no removal or photocopying is permitted; (4) Alternatively, after determining which drawings are most useful, reduced scale copies can be ordered ($1.00 for each 18"x24" reduction) by contacting Rebecca Merritt -- email: ram47@cornell.edu; phone: 254-5079 -- at Cornell's PDC office with the same roll and frame numbers used at Kroch. Allow several days for this process: orders cannot be handled immediately.