Project Plan: Designing a Wooden Architectural House Model

Introduction

In the modern day world, the application of architecture and engineering principles as well as technology has influenced on the development in structural designs and construction. Since a young age, I have invariably been acquainted to architectural and engineering structures and always had the idea of being an architect or engineer to pursue as a career when I grow up.

My personal project has given me a vast opportunity to investigate further on the area of interest that I had admired for my whole life, allowing me to understand and learn about the general fundamental basics of architecture that are found everywhere in the common world as well as recognizing more on how global environmental sustainability affects the world everyday.

Investigating

Highly Challenging Goal and Global Context: My goal of this project is to investigate about wooden architectural designs, introducing construction methods using substratal materials, the exploration of different connection devices to achieve the application of color and realistic textures, in order to disseminate the idea of global environmental sustainability in architectural designs. Besides, the investigation will go along with a creation of a realistic architectural house model.

This goal is highly challenging for me since I have never created an architectural model before as well as never explored about architectural related designs ever. The upcoming project is going to be a very demanding process in order to result in a successful outcome.

On the other hand, I have chosen Scientific & Technical Innovation as my global context, because my project is focusing on the architectural designs by which this global context emboldens me to innovate more developed ideas in my design, therefore I will use different modern and suitable creations in my house design.

Prior Learning and Subject-Specific Knowledge: I personally have no prior knowledge on either architectural designs or creating a architectural model. All of the above specified are fully unfamiliar to me. Whereby makes it a very demanding project for me to complete as i have very cursory prior knowledge and understanding of the topic. I has first met this learning of architecture from my relatives, especially my uncle which was an architectural engineer.

Since I was in primary, I often visit my uncle and he would displays multiple architectural engineering structures that he has designed and worked on through his career. As a child, I remembered how each structure has its own speciality and design to it, there was their unique elements to make each of them outstanding. This career that he has pursued had eventually influence his own life as well as connecting his designs with architectures. It has fascinated me how of an intriguing and stimulating learning can not merely to create these designs for our own interest, but also using these designs in the real world and implicating the ideas in the structures around us.

Despite the fact I enjoy understanding and looking at all kinds of architectures, I only have an interest on the topic, but had never discern further. Nonetheless, I always have the curiosity of understanding the modern architectural designs, thus it has attained my interest in investigating the topic further in depth.

Research Skills: Architectural house designing is not only all about making it fancy and good looking, never be deceived by the common thoughts of architecture. There is actually much more behind on each of the designing elements of the architecture. For my research, I have collected a range of different sources to reference at. Also, I have prioritized my research information into two main sections, primary sources also known as the interview and survey I had done, and the secondary sources based on books and online websites and databases. Conducting a range of both primary and secondary resources is very important in order to produce balanced and reliable information.

Regarding my primary research, I have conducted an interview with a professional architect in Hong Kong. This interview is based on my topic architecture and the overview of my project which is mostly relevant and related to the interviewee. I did not conduct a survey instead since I know that not many people would know clearly about architecture and the specifics of my project. Even though there would not be such a range of different opinion which a survey would have, but a interview can focus its specific ideas and questions to direct to a professional expert in the topic I am studying and investigating.

Also, I have conducted a series of observational research where I went to different university around Hong Kong such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where I visited their architectural faculty and understand many integral and radical principles in architecture as well as exploring the students architectural models on display. This challenges my use of information literacy skills, the skill to access a variety informed information; demonstrate awareness of the effects of different modes of information representation and presentation; analyze the information to identify solutions.

For my secondary research, I have collected and read a range of book based on architecture, specifically wooden architecture and environmentally sustainable housing, where most books are found from the Hong Kong Public Libraries. Also, I have done some fundamental studies based on wooden architectures from different media. These secondary sources are more based on collecting the background information, this includes the learning of wooden architecture, environmental sustainable housing as well as references to the studies I have done previously.

This is a challenges which asserts our ability to apply both of our information literacy skills and media literacy skills, the ability to collect and evaluate information sources in order to understand and identify specific appropriate materials for creating the solution; communicate ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats; actively make connections between media resources.

After researching, I have also done some source analysis for the main resources I used. Most of the sources I analyzed are the information I used for researching architectural wooden designs and the aspects of different fundamental elements.

Planning

Criteria for Product: My product is to create a wooden architectural house model, where there will be elements to to disseminate the idea of global environmental sustainability and the culture of the new generation. To achieve my aim, I have created a criteria for my product. I have considered different categories, including: purpose, target audience, material, aesthetics and environment, a total 5 categories.

In order to make a stringent and meticulous criteria, it’s more sophisticated add a marking rubric, for instance in mark of “Satisfactory”, “Good” and “Excellent”. The lowest mark “Satisfactory” indicates that the specific specification did not pass any standards, the “Good” mark implying the standard level and the “Excellent” mark signifying that I achieved the specification to a great extent and to an exquisite level.

The 6 categories I have considered are the most essential to my product since I am creating a wooden architectural house model to teenagers and the young generation ranging from 12-20 years old. The aesthetics look of my product could be known as one of the most important criteria in consideration that my target audience which are teenagers would prefer attractive aesthetic appearance of the product and also we know that architectural designs are recognized as having very attractive aesthetics out shape. As said above, the influence on my target audience combines with the aesthetics element.

The purpose of my product somewhat incorporates with the environment element, this is because the purpose of my product is to spread the idea of global environmental sustainability and the culture of the new generation. I have to make sure that I can specifically and clearly show the aim of my purpose and the environmental element in my product.

Looking at all of the criterias and categories above, if I am able to achieve and accomplish the “excellent” strand in every single criteria, my product will be indicated as successful.

Plan & Record of The Process

The personal project is a very substantial project which desideratum me to give in time and great effort in order to do it ideally. Therefore I have created a time frame at the start of my project.

Moreover, the process of research leading to the investigation conclusions and results are very important in this project as well. There are many information and knowledge for myself to research along the investigation stage, where I have created a research plan. In my time frame and research plan, I have set aims to do things by a particular time to keep myself on track.

The time frame itself has a basic overview of all tasks to complete throughout the whole process of the project, whereas the research plan gives further detail on the particular research process in the investigation areas, there is more specific strands for me to follow in order to investigate and find out the essential information I need to know for my project.

Self Management Skills

On all accounts of the process of the personal project, I have demonstrated my organizations skills through the time frame I had created. This time frame is a detailed timeline plan where I record all of the tasks to be completed regarding to the personal project in advanced. In creating this time frame guides me to meet all of the deadlines that I have set for myself and to remind me if I have completed a certain a task or not.

Besides, I have exhibited my affective skills simultaneously. Through the process of my project, I have somewhat used my time wisely and focused on the tasks that is needed to be done. At the beginning of the project, I had not given full concentration and focus on meeting all the deadlines that I had set in my time frame since I have a lot of stress and anxiety where I lack mindfulness and emotional management without a doubt.

However, throughout the process of the investigation stages, I had gave a lot more focus and had less distraction in order to meet all the deadlines I set in my time frame to keep myself on track. Even though I had started off with bad affective skills, although had improved through time and the process of the project with resilience and self motivation by “bouncing back” after adversity, failures, mistakes, also analysing causes of failures and managing self tasks with a positive thought.

In addition, I have delineated my reflection skills as well. Through the process of my project, I had experienced multiple of different challenges and problems. Nonetheless, I kept reflecting on the possible dilemma and the mistakes that I had made throughout my project in my process journal. Moreover, I had also reflected on my self management skills, especially on my time management area. It has been clear that my time management skills are not as ideal, and I hope to improve with the use of my reflecting skills.