Hi there...
What a fun month so far. Did quite a bit of interesting things, including some admin work. A number of projects have been approved by council-and more importantly buildings are going up now. One of the projects which I started earlier this year (Church of the Resurrection) is finally complete. I haven't seen the end result yet but I am particularly proud of this project. It has a lot of symbolic meaning for me considering my long discouraging search for a job at the beginning of the year. This project gave me "faith" to keep having faith. The fact that I have a family member as a parishioner is like a double whammy. As of late I've done three churches- a blessing really. I've noted with these churches that we have beautified them for a specific purpose, not just for pretty sake. We should never lose sight of why we make things auestectically pleasing or strive for perfection. To live your best life- we need to honour the space in which we occupy.
Another reason why some things look pretty is credit to their details. Did lots of this this week, as well as some scheduling. Some details were hard to understand and complicated and others straight-forward and simple. But I definitely need some more exposure in this department.
An eventful week and look forward to the following two.
Cant wait to start building - Hello Elgin!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
OH HAPPY DAY!
Hi all.
Spring is in the air and work is great- I think. The past fews weeks were pretty cool. Some interesting projects and some not - like the usual domestic additions (how fancy!). But alas, got a few projects approved which is always good news. For the good stuff I did some industrial and commercial work which got the go ahead-just lovely isn't it! A Butchery in Tokia and a Hotti Totti Call centre in Tygervally. Threw in some institutional work too - just for fun-such as a school and a church or two. Oh and lets not forget the Owl Night Shelter in Lansdowne for the homeless to add to the variety. Did'nt quite realise all that I was doing until I wrote this down. Some of it is not that hectic but it sure is exciting to work on buildings that function differently or that does require an addtional room with a 600 x 600 window! With the exception of the Owl Night Shelter ofcouse-that we must! And to add to the excitment -the huge storage/garage project which we completed a fews weeks ago (after a dozen changes), was cancelled. The banked is not able to fund the project. Poor client. Has to go back to the drawing board, new business proposal, new drawing plans, new engineers, new money, new everything! Oh happy days. Just what we needed to get the sunshine rolling! Yes, we like this-doing things over! and over! and over! So I'll be eating more cake to make up for lost funds and to keep me happy. But if its one thing I leant fromt this- not everything is in our control. So if we don't try and take that risk we will never know- Its called perseverance-and boy do we need it in this industry.
So like Johnny, lets keep walking people and embrace the sunshine.
Cheers!
Spring is in the air and work is great- I think. The past fews weeks were pretty cool. Some interesting projects and some not - like the usual domestic additions (how fancy!). But alas, got a few projects approved which is always good news. For the good stuff I did some industrial and commercial work which got the go ahead-just lovely isn't it! A Butchery in Tokia and a Hotti Totti Call centre in Tygervally. Threw in some institutional work too - just for fun-such as a school and a church or two. Oh and lets not forget the Owl Night Shelter in Lansdowne for the homeless to add to the variety. Did'nt quite realise all that I was doing until I wrote this down. Some of it is not that hectic but it sure is exciting to work on buildings that function differently or that does require an addtional room with a 600 x 600 window! With the exception of the Owl Night Shelter ofcouse-that we must! And to add to the excitment -the huge storage/garage project which we completed a fews weeks ago (after a dozen changes), was cancelled. The banked is not able to fund the project. Poor client. Has to go back to the drawing board, new business proposal, new drawing plans, new engineers, new money, new everything! Oh happy days. Just what we needed to get the sunshine rolling! Yes, we like this-doing things over! and over! and over! So I'll be eating more cake to make up for lost funds and to keep me happy. But if its one thing I leant fromt this- not everything is in our control. So if we don't try and take that risk we will never know- Its called perseverance-and boy do we need it in this industry.
So like Johnny, lets keep walking people and embrace the sunshine.
Cheers!
Friday, September 2, 2011
August Rush
Hello,
The past two weeks were pretty cool. Did loads
of designing and presentation drawings.
Although most of them were minor exstentions and
out-buildings, they were still fun to do. One
would think its pretty easy stuff(and it is) but
some drawings do take a while. There's a lot of
work and thought that needs to be done, what
will work and what won't, weighing your options,
the best possible solutions, affordability but
not losing sight on quality. Its the best part-
trying to create a space that is
comfortable and efficient. So the design process
is worth it-that is our job description after all.
Mr Bossman apologised for all the amendments I had
to do - he knows it sucks(I couldn't keep track of
all the projects), but I told him I loved it and
didn't mind the exploration process. He says its
better if it was your own house you were designing
and I agree. But I reckon why not share your gift
of design and allow the next person to live their
best life in the best environment?
Happy designing.
Oh, and Go Bokke!!!
The past two weeks were pretty cool. Did loads
of designing and presentation drawings.
Although most of them were minor exstentions and
out-buildings, they were still fun to do. One
would think its pretty easy stuff(and it is) but
some drawings do take a while. There's a lot of
work and thought that needs to be done, what
will work and what won't, weighing your options,
the best possible solutions, affordability but
not losing sight on quality. Its the best part-
trying to create a space that is
comfortable and efficient. So the design process
is worth it-that is our job description after all.
Mr Bossman apologised for all the amendments I had
to do - he knows it sucks(I couldn't keep track of
all the projects), but I told him I loved it and
didn't mind the exploration process. He says its
better if it was your own house you were designing
and I agree. But I reckon why not share your gift
of design and allow the next person to live their
best life in the best environment?
Happy designing.
Oh, and Go Bokke!!!
Friday, August 5, 2011
August Rush
Hi There,
This week was very tense. Focused mainly on one major job for the past 3 weeks. Simple storage units but all the changes are a nightmare. Its a fairly large site with 570 storage units (consisting of 6x3m & 3x3m vibracrete fencing), a 120 square metre abministration building and a security kiosk. We've made more that 8 changes for each one trying to find the appropriate option for the client-his very specific. So if its one thing I need to learn -its patience and trying to make amendments that doesn't take 100 years! The only upside to the week was a Council submission for an additional verandah to an existing balcony, which was approaved in only 3 days! How ever small-I was impressed. Nothing significant took place this week apart from discussing the Lutheran Complex saga, learning a thing or two about Heritage, discovering new materials i.e. Thermospan-brilliant product, apparentely its been around since 1992 (don't know where I've been?) and seen what goes on in manholes (just to understand draingage better) nothing fancy that I can tell you!
Anyway, Happy learning people
This week was very tense. Focused mainly on one major job for the past 3 weeks. Simple storage units but all the changes are a nightmare. Its a fairly large site with 570 storage units (consisting of 6x3m & 3x3m vibracrete fencing), a 120 square metre abministration building and a security kiosk. We've made more that 8 changes for each one trying to find the appropriate option for the client-his very specific. So if its one thing I need to learn -its patience and trying to make amendments that doesn't take 100 years! The only upside to the week was a Council submission for an additional verandah to an existing balcony, which was approaved in only 3 days! How ever small-I was impressed. Nothing significant took place this week apart from discussing the Lutheran Complex saga, learning a thing or two about Heritage, discovering new materials i.e. Thermospan-brilliant product, apparentely its been around since 1992 (don't know where I've been?) and seen what goes on in manholes (just to understand draingage better) nothing fancy that I can tell you!
Anyway, Happy learning people
Saturday, July 23, 2011
JULY JITTERS
Hello again,
This week was very slow - work is getting done at a pace that snails could overtake. Uncool!!
The more we try to finalise work, the more work we get. For some reason they just keep rolling in.
I'm not complaining -but its suddenly building season. I am glad to report that a number of projects
are indeed ready for council and clients are satisfied and ready to build. And, there are others that
are currently undergoing construction-YIPPEE. I suppose funds were on the down-low ,therefore
building was put on hold for a very long while. The church which I drew at the beginning of the year
is actually undergoing remodeling. Was on site on Friday and saw the progress. Lots of demolition work.
They removed the 10m high ceiling (needs restructuring) and the rotating stage which was used as an altar.
Tough labour. Had a brief meeting with the roof guy, the floor guy, the carpenter guy, the sound guy, the electrician and some other dudes regarding the next step. We discussed things like appropriate ceiling boards that are cost effective, well insulated and aesthetically pleasing/that matched the existing ceiling boards. The large church was not insulated at all and had vinyl floor tiles-I was in shivers for the duration of the meeting. And the poor builds were extremely hot due to the intense labour and machinery. Bad Designer!! For not having a fire escape plan in a large public space as well! There were quite alot of things I learnt on this particular day - how to deal with those on the job, listening to their opinion and reminding them that you designed things for a reason and that they should adhere to it. You Know What You Talking About!! I also spent the day calling building centres - enquiring about a new material/product that we need for a certain job that requires a specific roof sheet. Wow, how does one spend so much time running around without running at all? Beats me. But Alas! all is well-I survived a couple of dead lines but there are still many more to go.
Better get my running shoes ready for next week.
Cherry-oh!!
This week was very slow - work is getting done at a pace that snails could overtake. Uncool!!
The more we try to finalise work, the more work we get. For some reason they just keep rolling in.
I'm not complaining -but its suddenly building season. I am glad to report that a number of projects
are indeed ready for council and clients are satisfied and ready to build. And, there are others that
are currently undergoing construction-YIPPEE. I suppose funds were on the down-low ,therefore
building was put on hold for a very long while. The church which I drew at the beginning of the year
is actually undergoing remodeling. Was on site on Friday and saw the progress. Lots of demolition work.
They removed the 10m high ceiling (needs restructuring) and the rotating stage which was used as an altar.
Tough labour. Had a brief meeting with the roof guy, the floor guy, the carpenter guy, the sound guy, the electrician and some other dudes regarding the next step. We discussed things like appropriate ceiling boards that are cost effective, well insulated and aesthetically pleasing/that matched the existing ceiling boards. The large church was not insulated at all and had vinyl floor tiles-I was in shivers for the duration of the meeting. And the poor builds were extremely hot due to the intense labour and machinery. Bad Designer!! For not having a fire escape plan in a large public space as well! There were quite alot of things I learnt on this particular day - how to deal with those on the job, listening to their opinion and reminding them that you designed things for a reason and that they should adhere to it. You Know What You Talking About!! I also spent the day calling building centres - enquiring about a new material/product that we need for a certain job that requires a specific roof sheet. Wow, how does one spend so much time running around without running at all? Beats me. But Alas! all is well-I survived a couple of dead lines but there are still many more to go.
Better get my running shoes ready for next week.
Cherry-oh!!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Garage Galore
Helle there.
This week I just did one thing- Garages!
A client whose house we busy with, wants
us to draw up plans for his business. He
needs over 500 garages, a combination of
6x3m & 3x3m. They must be made from
vibacrete & are to be used as storage.
They also require a admin building & a
security kiosk at the entrance. The site
is huge- over 19 000 hecters!! The client
needs to get this project rolling soon,
so we've been pushing to get this done.
Simple little garages of all things. So
We've been doing option after option to
Hit the numbers. By the end of the week
we finally had something to work with.
And while we were caught up doing this
little task- we received more projects &
old ones still need to be finalized.
Talk about pressure.
Let's see what next week brings.
Happy learning!
This week I just did one thing- Garages!
A client whose house we busy with, wants
us to draw up plans for his business. He
needs over 500 garages, a combination of
6x3m & 3x3m. They must be made from
vibacrete & are to be used as storage.
They also require a admin building & a
security kiosk at the entrance. The site
is huge- over 19 000 hecters!! The client
needs to get this project rolling soon,
so we've been pushing to get this done.
Simple little garages of all things. So
We've been doing option after option to
Hit the numbers. By the end of the week
we finally had something to work with.
And while we were caught up doing this
little task- we received more projects &
old ones still need to be finalized.
Talk about pressure.
Let's see what next week brings.
Happy learning!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
HALF THE BATTLE WON
Good morning-so tired thought its friday!
Interesting week, learn't a lot. Most of
our projects are proceeding & heading to
Council, which is a good sign. New work
is still rolling in which keeps our little
business afloat to some degree. Went to
Khayalitsha & South Peninsular Municipality
once again & dropped docs off @ clients
home-its nice to know with what & how you
are dealing with, makes thigs so much
better to understand. Mr Bossman still
advises me on footings/dims/lineweights/
Text/title sizes and so on- thsee little
things can be crucial for clients &
Builders to understand & interprate it
correctly. Went on site as well to check
a few measurement because the original
plans where pretty useless. Once we got
that done I managed to do all the changes
& new week. I realised I'm working much
faster because I understand things better.
Sure I'm not as quick as Flash Gordan-
But I'm betting there.
Half the year has already gone bye- here's
to the next bit of amazing!
Cherry oh
Interesting week, learn't a lot. Most of
our projects are proceeding & heading to
Council, which is a good sign. New work
is still rolling in which keeps our little
business afloat to some degree. Went to
Khayalitsha & South Peninsular Municipality
once again & dropped docs off @ clients
home-its nice to know with what & how you
are dealing with, makes thigs so much
better to understand. Mr Bossman still
advises me on footings/dims/lineweights/
Text/title sizes and so on- thsee little
things can be crucial for clients &
Builders to understand & interprate it
correctly. Went on site as well to check
a few measurement because the original
plans where pretty useless. Once we got
that done I managed to do all the changes
& new week. I realised I'm working much
faster because I understand things better.
Sure I'm not as quick as Flash Gordan-
But I'm betting there.
Half the year has already gone bye- here's
to the next bit of amazing!
Cherry oh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)