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Contact was made again today. We’ve been reserving the conference room in the library every time we’ve had a meeting. It is a quiet, secluded room with a 
large table for everyone to gather around, so it’s been working well. We are continuing our design proposals for the “communication station.” There was a new obstacle to overcome today, one of our group members is in Boston for the weekend. We conducted an experiment and it worked out pretty well. In order to hear the professor she called us and listened in, so we had people communicating with each other from Colorado to South Carolina to Massachusetts. In our meeting we brought scale models into the room to show the professor via web cam. It felt much different than a typical critique i
n the sense that the professor wasn’t physically here holding and analyzing our models. In order for the professor to get a good idea of what the models looked like we had to move them close to the camera. However, the entire meeting went well because we used multiple forms of communication. While we were video chatting, the professor was reviewing our blogs. Prior to the conference we had updated them with sketches, photographs, and renderings of our revised designs. The virtual studio is becoming a believable option to the traditional studio with time, hopefully everything continues to work smoothly as the semester continues.
“After Wednesday, our group began to rethink the two earlier versions of the communication center posted previously on Katy's and Jill's blogs. We wanted to push a free flowing form which could comfortably support two body positions, one for communication and one for relaxation. We began our studies with sketches and soon created a life sized sketch board so that we could get a better sense of scale (seen below). 
After several renditions we began to see a relationship between our proposal and some of Frank Gehry's cardboard furniture. The flowing contours of our proposed rib reminded us of some of Gehry's forms, so we studied some of them to learn how his forms accommodated the body. 
The communication center that we have proposed for today supports the body in two ways. The primary position is a relaxed seat which will allow one to easily communicate with a distant person on the built in screen. A cockpit type space including built in speakers and microphone, enclosed the upper body with a translucent, 
sound dampening skin; the front of the cockpit space is to be hinged to allow easy access into the space. In this way we hope to easy but not entirely block sound entering and exiting the space. From Vinnie and Jill's earlier proposal we have advanced the rubber band supports to an elastic fabric sleev
e that would serve as support for the body as well as a translucent skin. The elastic skin would also create a dynamic feel to the entire structure which would also be reflected in the nature of the ribs of the structure. The second position is a reclined sitting position. When the entire structure is laid down, 
the back of the chair creates a more relaxed lounge chair.
For sound insulation inside the space, we have foreseen a translucent Lucite panel system that would be attached between the ribs and inside the elastic sleeve. It would remain hidden from sight but allow light to pass through. Inside the cockpit space, we have proposed a small fold down table which could tuck into the arm rests to accommodate a laptop, sketchpad, notebook, etc.” 
- Steven Dejonckheere
Video conferencing as a group is much more successful than using Skype chat. It still feels foreign to sit around a table with everyone and talk to a computer, but it is much more effective than everyone being glued to
their laptops having 15 simultaneous conversations. It seems as though everyone is hesitant to talk while on video and it is hard to interject while the professor is talking due to lag. There were a few more minor issues today involving the connection but restarting Skype solved them. It was another efficient meeting today, however, I’m nervous about future meetings going as smooth, especially when the professor relocates to Genova, Italy. Lag might be much more of an obstacle then.
The studio atmosphere has changed drastically. In transitioning to the virtual studio we find ourselves constantly hunched over our computers. The initial meeting went well; contact was established, everyone was visible on c
amera, audio was clear (except for a few mishaps), and most importantly the discussion was effective. I feel subsequent meetings have been less successful. Group chatting via Skype is difficult to follow and disorganized. Several conversations were occurring simultaneously causing confusion and detracting from the discussion. I would raise a question or respond to something that was said, and by the time I could send the text the conversation had gone off onto another tangent- making my contribution irrelevant. I believe the class got more out of this past meeting than the professor did. Whenever an important point was brought up (a point usually too complex to type in the allotted time) it was discussed out loud and the Skype chat was ignored resulting in the professor being completely left out of the conversation. Future crits should be conducted using audio and video as it was done during the initial contact. This sounds like a negative post but up to this point the virtual studio has been a success. Ideas and critiques have been exchanged effectively and not much has been lost in virtual translation.
mode, the class has been working on a full scale mock-up and digital renderings of SUMO (seen below). At this point the design is being tweaked to accomodate all body sizes, materials are being priced and located, and connection details are being worked out. SUMO is slowly becoming a reality.
sectioned elevation
study model photos (1/4"=1')
mobility demonstration
large table for everyone to gather around, so it’s been working well. We are continuing our design proposals for the “communication station.” There was a new obstacle to overcome today, one of our group members is in Boston for the weekend. We conducted an experiment and it worked out pretty well. In order to hear the professor she called us and listened in, so we had people communicating with each other from Colorado to South Carolina to Massachusetts. In our meeting we brought scale models into the room to show the professor via web cam. It felt much different than a typical critique i
n the sense that the professor wasn’t physically here holding and analyzing our models. In order for the professor to get a good idea of what the models looked like we had to move them close to the camera. However, the entire meeting went well because we used multiple forms of communication. While we were video chatting, the professor was reviewing our blogs. Prior to the conference we had updated them with sketches, photographs, and renderings of our revised designs. The virtual studio is becoming a believable option to the traditional studio with time, hopefully everything continues to work smoothly as the semester continues. 
sound dampening skin; the front of the cockpit space is to be hinged to allow easy access into the space. In this way we hope to easy but not entirely block sound entering and exiting the space. From Vinnie and Jill's earlier proposal we have advanced the rubber band supports to an elastic fabric sleev
e that would serve as support for the body as well as a translucent skin. The elastic skin would also create a dynamic feel to the entire structure which would also be reflected in the nature of the ribs of the structure. The second position is a reclined sitting position. When the entire structure is laid down, 
the back of the chair creates a more relaxed lounge chair. 
- Steven Dejonckheere
Based upon the same principles as the elastic material, we also explored the possibility of using fabric within the structure after viewing the project Floating Pavillion by Maki & Associates. The material has the ability to act as a skin when applied to a framework and possesses a similar degree of flexibility as elastic.
their laptops having 15 simultaneous conversations. It seems as though everyone is hesitant to talk while on video and it is hard to interject while the professor is talking due to lag. There were a few more minor issues today involving the connection but restarting Skype solved them. It was another efficient meeting today, however, I’m nervous about future meetings going as smooth, especially when the professor relocates to Genova, Italy. Lag might be much more of an obstacle then.
amera, audio was clear (except for a few mishaps), and most importantly the discussion was effective. I feel subsequent meetings have been less successful. Group chatting via Skype is difficult to follow and disorganized. Several conversations were occurring simultaneously causing confusion and detracting from the discussion. I would raise a question or respond to something that was said, and by the time I could send the text the conversation had gone off onto another tangent- making my contribution irrelevant. I believe the class got more out of this past meeting than the professor did. Whenever an important point was brought up (a point usually too complex to type in the allotted time) it was discussed out loud and the Skype chat was ignored resulting in the professor being completely left out of the conversation. Future crits should be conducted using audio and video as it was done during the initial contact. This sounds like a negative post but up to this point the virtual studio has been a success. Ideas and critiques have been exchanged effectively and not much has been lost in virtual translation.
