Review Comments

Hello all, this is Michael Leocata - the architect who sat on the jury on December 22nd. First, I'd like to thank Rob Cody for inviting me to take part in the process of your thesis work. Second, I want to tell you that I appreciate your efforts that you presented. It's not easy creating your own path during a semester of self discovery. All of the projects have a great deal of potential and - from what I saw, all need further development. Even if you have to go back to an original germ of an idea - it's okay...because all need a strong and focused idea of which to springboard the architecture from.




Here is a Reader's Digest version of what I thought, but then again - it's your project - so I could be misinterpreting.


Steven: Reservoir NJ Rehab Center - All of the models presented showed an evocative approach to an architectural problem. However, like the Dean said - the issue at hand was not presenting architecture, but more of honing a powerful idea and program through strict and regimented research. And like the Dean said - this goes for ALL of the projects.

I also saw great potential in developing the struggle between the addict and support person. Because most rehabilitation centers only cater to the person needing help, it may behoove you to go and speak to different counseling centers if your idea (in terms of effectiveness) can actually work. Regardless, its and intriguing program twist to a convention that this duality can lead to a new and symbolic archetype...much like the one where you showed tension cables between two forms in a simple sketch.



Nik: Malta Symposium Center - I thought this was a very strong parti.

Because you had much of the program and idea solidified, you started to move onto making spaces and forms. It was my opinion that you take a step back and shuffle the schedule and quantity of folks to collect and conference - but - your site will be the constraining factor...I also thought that you focused a great deal in your circulation and symbolic (program-color-coded) forms intertwining and didn't have many spaces of the collective to rest. I also thought that the exterior public speaking space was a strong idea that needs developing. The living quarters will be a piece to help generate the forms of the think-tank spaces. Good start!



Jenn: Culture Market - First off, graphically, a very nice presentation. The idea to create a market to invite, and partially segregate and partially integrate the participating merchants by ethnicity is a concept that I'm not sure warrants investigation - BUT - can (and you prove) generate interesting architecture. I thought that making the ground plane more regular can allow for the transient and round-the-clock use more tangible. Not sure the admin canopy needs to be so daunting and large, just as you did in the section - going from dense to transparent - perhaps the admin space evolves to a thin to transparent glass plane as it reaches toward the street intersection.



Matt: Farmer's Market - interesting take on adaptively reusing rural landfill site. This is an example of a good idea to hone, prior to investigating the architecture. In retrospect, I think that the whole sales portion and loading dock of the project should be omitted. I think the strength of the idea is for folks to come to a piece of land, learn to sow the seeds and grow product, harvest and sustain itself is enough tangible program needed. The random different crops were just that - random. Were the different crops placed in such a way to maximize the optimum conditions (sunlight, water, erosion)? I thought the way you segregate, water, harvest each particular 'crop' can generate lines from the site to inform the eventual form-making of the building to come.



Stacy: Holistic Long Island Community Center - I thought the professor who made the point of the new political climate and health care reform being bandied about NEED to fold into this thesis. However, I had a feeling that your mission for your particular agenda was to just invigorate a sleepy suburban town center. That's okay. I just wasn't overly convinced that you wanted to engage the medical clinic side of the project - rather you wanted a project that offered an activated and centralizing community center that helped folks get along. Maybe its a 'pay-it-forward' gym/spa/daycare where its membership requires volunteerism...then there is an full-time volunteer physician to diagnose small problem in a 10x10 office within your complex. If you so choose to dig in and develop the clinic program it will require a great deal of due diligence, especially in the healthcare vortex era we now live in.



Dennis: NJ Community Center and School - Although there may be a need to make all demographic parties happy to have separate spaces and buildings to house their functions/program - the trick of the architect (to the tax-payers) is to integrate the diverse pieces into one piece. This could generate a parti/project and eventual building to be unique. I think that if you investigate a solution that prescribes to the needs of all, sited correctly that the conglomerate of functions can morph into an intriguing and different building. Of all the projects, yours is rooted deeply in reality - but part of this investigation is to discover the 'other'. I believe that you need to find a voice and push forward.

If you are the architect can present to the Borough a single building that is beautiful, energetic and is less expensive than another architect's proposal for 2 ordinary buildings - you'll get the job in a heartbeat. Another side note: young people can learn a lot from older folks and older folks typically like kids - perhaps there can be a space to celebrate this intermingling?



Derek: Roosevelt Island Rehab-lite - very interesting site selection and program combination. I thought that the wailers/outriggers/support structure within the smallpox ruin need to be like the inside of a geode, a symbol of the introspective process the rehab center engages in. Also, to inform the program decisions, your site guides your need to develop the architecture (and back and forth)...neat problem. Also as mentioned, the amphitheater needs to be scaled-down. All-in-all, a very strong premise for a strong project - but- graphically the presentation needs to be finessed and forensically developed with the existing conditions.



Brian: Hawaii Volcanologist Lab - exotic site and exotic program needs exotic architecture. The piece of information I didn't grasp was; exactly the scientists do to collect their data? Other issues: How do you get there? How do you leave? If it is needed for scientist to collect samples from apex of volcano - how do they get there? How long will it take by foot? Forget the tourists. Forget the SIPs panel construction. My suggestion was to create a small 2-3 person lab that kinetically ascends/descends mountain via cables or tracks....why not?

Its an exotic thesis project. ;)



Wrapping up:



Once again, I'm sure that there is a heck of a lot more to the process of each project that you chose to, or couldn't present to the arrival of what you presented at the jury - but I thought ALL of the projects still needed to delve into the research of the programs a bit further. From there, a great bit of superfluous pieces and bits will fall off and the powerful presiding single idea can be honed and resonate into the architecture.


Thanks again.


Michael