Wide open

This week was action packed

I worked on 2 new projects both fairly small alterations.

Spent some time flat hunting and will move to woodstock next year, which is awsome.

The weekend starts now so i should be heading out.

H.

Welcome Back

Welcome Back

thats what my boss was suppose to say on Monday morning instead i found a new level of work load waiting to be finished, seems the interval phone calls to ask if i needed to catch up was for nothing.

During this week i worked on 2 different extensions.

I discovered the following: i work the way my mind thinks which is : deurmekaar the best way to be efficient in the office is to work systematically and apply the same system to everything you work on, this allows you to recall things much easier in the long run.

Hope everyone had a good week.

H.

Summit

This year has reaped some amazing things

When looking back in retrospect, all the things we learn in proffessional practice slowly arrowhead us in a direction to a destination where we eventually imagine ourselves to be in the practice we have chosen.
The adjustment to the 2 individual lines challenge and achievement which are constructed from the many small decisions we make in all situations, can only be done by honesty and hard work.

A Chinese philosopher Jin Tzu once said every peak achievement reached should be made of a mountain of pebble decisions, wise man. I have come to the realisation that its the recognition of the small challenges as the real "life coach" and not neccessarily the big ones.

Life is good

H.

A day in Marocco

Today we had a major deadline

We recently aquired a new client who is some kind of royalty in Switzerland while also being a judicial court judge. So mr Judge wants build a new boutique hotel and we started working on the project.

The difficult part was the fact that moroccan architecture is very curvy, and in this specific case the building was already existing in the shape of a trapezium! square, square, square, square damn... Its a very square building.

So with all the (now hidden) space thats been waisted trying to design a circular interior we may have instigated a habitat for Muamar Kadafi to show up. In the end the design looked good, and we just e-mailed the sketch design plans to the client, so holding thumbs!

I will now get in my car and go have a beer.

H.

Mainstream

First blog in a while.

Things are looking up again at the firm we have 3 new clients.

There are many things i have learned this year, but mainly : I have learned how to apply myself more strategically and efficiently. This is and always will be the acilles heel for many design based professions, in order for us to make ourselves the product we must be able to manage our creative process all the way through to the final design has been signed off.

All successfull architects have a hurricane driving force, the thing seperating the sheep from the wolves is how well this driving force is implemented and in turn how well the aftermath is managed. For now I am focussing on the 1st step how to manage my creative ideas without manipulating the process.

been an eventful time since my last entry,
The firm i'mworking for Schreuder + Schreuder is going through some difficult times, since the start of August my working hours have been decresed by 40% this also applies to the salary i will be earning.

Times are tough many of the major firms are resizing to smaller numbers to stay afloat and working on smaller projects which then directly takes away the lifeline of smaller firms.

For the time being untill our 8th of Aug submission i will be hanging tight, i will however be starting to look for a new job after this

Hi

Was an eventful week, did alot of photography on completed projects, to use as entrie in Architectural competitions, which is the best marketing tool any architect could ask for.

The secret to photography of architecture is not to line up the lines or get the photo symmetrical enough, but rather to indicate how that space would feel if you were really standing there, if that makes any sense.

To do this you try and get a as much of the space into one frame and then start focussing on the individual areas that makes this house/intrior so amazing to look at as a whole.

H.

Breaking Ground

Hi

This week one of the projects i have been working on for several weeks has started with construction, and its been an amazing experience...

To see something take shape in reality let me realise things don't always look the way you imagine them on the pc or in your mind, in this case it was better!

I also did some bathroom layouts for a project that will be starting in july, things there will be more complicated than the one that broke ground now, it presents a new challenge on the ladder of experiential learning.

H.

baby steps

this week i did almost nothing at work, maby i'm exagerating but compared to the usual routine this week has been a breeze.

I'm house sitting for my boss while he's away so this has presented a new set of challenges new routine and morning rituals, he has a dog "Leo" that is 16 years old and needs to be walked every 4 hours so you can imagine how that changes your dayly routine.

on the other hand i had my first solo site meeting this included the builder 3 clients (this was a community project) a consultant and the financer, everything went untill they started juggling ideas of their own which meant drastic changes to what we've been working on for several weeks now, this was when i put my foot down and explained the logic behind our ideas and how they manifested in this way.

Needless to say everyone agreed and the builder received his deposit on the same day. Construction will start on monday, its empowering to wear the mantle of go-to-guy on a project, even a small one such as this.

H.

House sitting

This week

Was slow the architect of our firm went on holiday this wednesday so now we will be running the show till the 13th of June, meaning alot of responsibilities have been passed down.

With everything that is happening such as some projects that are starting with construction this week, and various designs we have done for a clients kitchen need to be tweeked to her specifications so added ontop of that i will be meeting the clients next week.

My life is awsome! working with people on a face-to-face bases is trilling, you don't have the time to consider which key to press or which words to use. I know this much confidence is like butter it makes everything taste better.

till next week

H.

Voting

Hi

Havent made a post in a while, its good to be back though things are going well, this week we had the elections which means wednesday was a holiday, and breaking this week up into 2days each.

Started reading the book "Thinking Architecturally" and its a fantastic information source...
there are alot of subjects which are covered in depth the 1st excercise we were give refers to a passage that discusses the Pantheon with the cathedral of notre dame it all comes down to smart design,which is what makes us the future.

There will always be symbolic structures and monumental projects, and they will continue to develope, our goal however must not be to aim in this direction of thinking but instead keep a horizontal head by manner of speaking, the future for us lies in the simplicity, efficiency and sustainability of structural design.

An architect is an artist of space, and to allow our masterpieces to manifest we must remember that true design is allowing space to roam freely while only chanelling it.

Variation

Hi all Started this week by doing some accommodation schedules, this is done by categorising the different areas in a structure, to determine the flow of this building and help with the layout during designing. Saw a beautiful old stone building in strand street on Tuesday when i was going for lunch this ended in me nosing about the site to observe the new roof structure they were constructing onto the old walls, they used the classic king & queen trusses with some ne kinks which i viewed as improvements. Also did some quote comparisons for lifts, to determine what the options are, have you ever tried having a technical conversation concerning lift specifications with a mechanical engineer? no? well its like phoning to quatamala and asking for directions. all lifts are mostly customized to your specifications this basicly means alot of money and a new leg which will be added to the project. i will be heading to the west coast this weekend and spend some time with the fam till next week. H.

prawns and ribs

had a interesting week Well i made 64 copies this week delivered 5 plans to the council offices took the dog for a walk 1 once coloured 10 sets of submission drawings drove 35 km listened to every kind of music pop, rock, metal, rap, trance, drum&base, classics, jazz Started a new train repair factory and and finished a design for a alleyway closure which hopefully will start on monday! my first project is being built, and its awsome :-) Got a nice lineup of work this weekend.... prawns & Ribs ladies n gentleman H.

My hair is a bird therefore your argument is invalid

Friday again hi

Was a pretty uneventful week in the office, did lots of paperwork and alterations to CAD drawings which was submitted and now for feedback.

This weekend will be Jazz festival in Cape Town which is exciting and filled with blues tunes late into the night air, many fantastic Artists will be coming.

thats all for this week

later

Hats off, shoes shined

The night club from last week is in the system and will be randomly visited by the building inspector, in this coming week hopefully

This week we finished three projects which we were working on for the past several weeks, on the blog you will be able to see a picture of the one house (Barnstedt).

Ever visited the Heritage Western Cape offices?

I spent most of my time there this week, an old age home in a small town in the breede river valley named Touws river experienced a loss when a vintage building in the main street burnt down.

We were then hired to set the process in motion of returning the former glory of this building.
which turned out to be quite difficult...

The Cape Heritage offices are located in Greenmarket square next to the old townhouse, this building has 12 floors and hundreds of government employed pen-pushers who's job is to make sure old buildings are well protected in this province.

So to walk in there with a form that states a vintage building needs to be demolished due to fire damage was like telling a racist joke on stage at an ANC rally, needless to say it didn't go very well the first visit.

Just to clarify a vintage building is older than 60years while a national monument is over a 100, however both are protected equally fiercely. The process to follow is a basic completion of a form which contains all the sections which you could possibly apply for in one neat booklet, accompanying this will be:
-Engineers report
-Pictures of the damage(detailed)
-Contextual pictures(before the fire and after)-- fortunately for us google earth is quite slow in their image renewal database so according to google the building is still standing haha.
-Historical report on the building (previous ownerships agreements etc.)
-Letter of motivation
-Erf plan
-Title deed
-Previously Approved set of Drawings
-Demolition plan

It is quite a bundle of papers in total we handed in 34 pages including photos.

Then you convince them this building is unsafe and needs to be condemned and demolished this conversation continues for about 2hours...

This is followed by an angry outburst, screaming and depending on the person some rude hand signs or language, which i then regretted when i went back the next day....

All in all the papers were accepted now they will be reviewed by the WC council and this will determine the outcome of phase 1 in this project.

can't wait for this weekend its going to be awesome! crayfish festival in Lambertsbaai!

till next week

H.

Ill see you in paradise

Had a fantastic week!

learned alot...

spent some time with the building inspector of the Cape Town CBD due to illegal night club a block down from the firm i'm working at that causes too much of a lawaai in the evenings,

We did some research and it turns out the building is registered as a restaurant, and was breaking countless land use laws all in one breath next week we will be breaking the news to them.

This process is done in the following manner:

1. go to the title deeds office and aquire the erf's newest title deed to date as well as the site diagram and locality plan(basicly a zoomed out version of the site plan)

2.request a list of plaintives pertaining to the erf in question and get written statements of their complaints, (this is usually simplified by you typing a letter and letting them sign it)

3.Go to the council office and request from the copies and archive desk a list of building plans handed in to date for that property, every property that changes its use ex. from a night club to a pet store needs to hand in a previously approved plans as well as the new plans for approval.

4.If this is not the case then they are operating illegally, the next step will be to request a land use approval sheet from the (don't know the correct term probably land surveyors desk) but the 2nd desk and reguest if this property has permission to use this land for running a night club.

Not the case? 2nd strike for them, then you fill in a complaint form which means the building will be visited by the building inspector and late night disturbance is solved!

enjoy the weekend

H.

Too much work.

Havent slept much this weekend it seems my priorities at work have gotten a little out of hand, the work just keeps massing and the finishing continues to fall behind.

I will have to restructure some things on my daily planner and take an extra hour after work everyday to catch up and reach the level i want it to be.

here we go first extra overtime and then i can finish my HUB tonight,

strike!

FOR THOSE WHO WONDER.

When applying to the ratepayers association for a deed departure or council consent the following steps must be taken:

ORIGINAL PLANS
submtted to council

LOCALITY PLANS
received from council with markings pertaining to the surrounding erf's affected in the process

ORIGINAL CONSENT FORMS
The neighbours affected should sign these and send them back to you, if not=no departure unlucky

CONVEYANCER'S CERTIFICATE
frequently there area more than one title deed connected to old properties, which is very common in CT therefore all the fine print on the various title deeds are written in the this sertificate as a final document

CURRENT ZONING SERTIFICATE
latest zoning map of the erf in question

YOUR NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS
Along with this you must attach R50 aswell as a completed sertificate for joing the Residents & Ratepayers association should you not be a member

H.

1st PROJECT FOR 2011

-THIS IS ME-

I am an individual

I grew up in a family of beef eating capitalists.

My love for architecture did not happen by chance... There was no special moment when everything just made sense about where my life will be going, who i will be spending it with and why this was the best choice to make, no i went for several aptitude tests throughout my High school career and in the end, architecture was the logical choice.

I spent 8weeks in Germany in the year 2006 as a participant in a international exchange program, there i spent time exploring various catholic churches, some in all their majesty others in burnt ruin.
These giants were intimidating to view, but also empowering to behold for the simple reason : man made this.

This was my constant inspiration, (i use the word constant blatantly for the reason of seeing a church in every town in our country). My first impression of Architecture was "A very powerful skill"
and it has not changed we have the opportunity to create mountains and floating cities, in today's world the methods behind some of our modern day madness are on a steep climb at a downhill speed, leaving the future to be realistically foretold by Science-Fiction novelists.

This does not leave much space for a conservative mind, and even less for the over cautious, my inspiration will always be Frank Lloyd Wright the American architect, partly for creating the Fallingwater residence in 1934 and mostly for sticking it to the man throughout his lifetime as a master architect.

In my free time i like to read and laugh about simple things, ideally i would spend my free time planning an opportunity or possibility in the near future, and eventually implementing them.
In 2010 i joined a group named Lacooperativa translated it basically means "In Cooperation" through this group we have helped various communities throughout SA, a plan in the process of implementation and i believe it will always be.

www.lacooperativa.co.za

When i break away i go home, growing up on a farm in the Free state made my home a secluded getaway every time i visited it, over weekends would be the only time i spent home and once high school started this became even less frequent.

My favourite quote in life comes from my father :

Lifes easy, just breath but don't confuse it with achievement

I don't believe in depression or the negative, there is too much good to cultivate in your personal space and lifestyle, complaining is not a sport and has no positive influence on anybody, so don't do it!
If i had the choice to describe myself i wouldn't, and use that time to do something productive.

I'm suuuper 'amped' for 2011 and all her mysteries

Good luck to everyone

H.

Wednesday 02-02-2011

Had an interresting week so far, went for a site visit in freshnaye people there really need to find something to do in their spare time...

I have recently been working through various title deeds pertaining to the properties in that area, everyone is aplying for departures from their zoning contracts (this basically means that the title deed of a property sets certain boundaries to the construction allowed on that property.

This is bypassable and is labelled as a departure aplication which is then delivered to the council offices for their consent, should the council offices feel uncertain the papers are passed onto a board named the ratepayers association,
this concil is made up of selected lawyers,architects and estate agents.

The members differ from area to area, preferably keep your hardball glove at home when you need this council.

Just got back from a site of a private residence the firm designed clients name was Pieter van Wyk and is an estate agent in Cape Town this place is huge, 4 floors infinity pool, 4bedrooms 3 lounges 3bathrooms will be finished in 2months i'll see if i can post a photo then.
Moved into my new flat yesterday! Can't wait to unpack and start painting and shuffling.... any ideas??

H.

-2011 has launched-

finished our last day of the first block,
2011 is going to be a Hi tech year for CPUT Architecture....

enjoyed every minute of our field trips these past few days!
I hope things will maintain this flavour and not dissolve like
those chappies bubblegum they sell in every street market and shop
around midtown.

Had 2 presentations today, one was from a johannesburg architect, Derrick deBruyn (DDB)
he was preceded by the head of department mr Rahmann.

they made me feel inspired... to make a change, change the question "i wonder?" into "i know" and question bold statements even when they have stood the test of time.

Rahmann:

"All things contain life, the artist must awaken this".
"Architecture is the art of construction".
"Constructional aspect creates the expression of your building".

J Summerson:

"Present and past is indivisable". (agree)

Norwood Russel Hanson:

"All inventions are inventive derivations". (don't agree)

H.

The is the most awsome anime series i've ever watched hands down no holds barred!!