At the beginning of year 2, we were given multiple projects. One individual as well as a group project. Both of these projects came with a wide range
of briefs and allowed us to choose which task we wanted to take on during our first semester. The individual project was for the Royal Society of Arts,
a collective community where people can submit new and innovative ideas which could benefit our future or make a better alternative change. ‘Where
world-leading ideas are turned into world-changing actions’. The second task was a client group project, in which we were given the choice of
working on whichever project we wanted from the 12 briefs we were given. From this we gathered with the others which were also on the project to
create a product or app for our client.
RSA Individual project
Introduction
When it came to the individual project we first had to choose an RSA brief to tackle. After thinking about what I wanted to improve on this semester I
decided to focus on brief 3 signalling change. The brief tackled the current issues with modern-day train stations and considered how we could improve
them to create a better environment for travellers. The main question highlighted by the brief was ‘How might we tap into the potential of train stations
so they become spaces that amplify and influence positive behaviours?’.
Research analysis
To begin on the research, I first did a thorough analysis of the project brief and highlighted key words and phrases which would support the development
process of how I wanted to tackle the project question. Some of the key phrases I picked out were ‘A wide range of resources beyond transport’, ‘create
momentum for positive change’ and ‘A larger role in educating’. Along with this, I also picked out keywords such as evolve, community and transition.
Collectively these helped me create my own project question ‘how can I remodel a small scale train station to implement modern technologies and building
techniques systems to create a more sustainable environment?’ the question would focus on the changes and improvement of the enviromental aspects
throughout the stations. The target area of my project aimed at small-scale railway stations opposed to larger and more populated ones as I believed they
are less popular but still have to run the same time span as the larger stations making them less efficient. As the area around them is also limited I
needed to consider what I had space to implement and what would be too large. I enjoyed the challenge of finding ways to compact the systems to try fit
everything I wanted within my remodelling.
Primary Research
Furthermore, I also had to select a station in which I wanted to remodel for my project. I did this by going to a few small stations local to the university.
The first station I considered was Winchester but after a lot of consideration I decided it was already a popular station and did not fit my question topic
of ‘small-scale stations’. The other stations I looked into was Shawford and Romsey as these were some of the smallest stations in the area. After going to
visit these two stations I decided on Romsey as I found that the station hadn't been changed or significantly renovated in a while. One of the locals in the
area during my visit said ‘I don’t think the station has been changed since I moved to the area’ which I found interesting and this really bought up the
question of why? Whilst at Romsey station I took a lot of reference photos to help me with deciding on what enviromental technologies I could implement. In
addition, I also took measurements of some of the major parts of the station which I thought I would need when remodelling. To minimise the amount of
construction needed in my remodelling I tried to think about the existing infrusuture, using it to house the new changes instead of remodelling the whole
station itself as this would not be financially efficient when thinking out the future of the station.
Secondary Research
To go further into exactly what Ideas I had in mind, I proceeded to do some research which targeted the specifics of modern technologies and building
techniques. Modern technologies included systems such as renewable energy, water capture systems and reactive lighting. Meanwhilst, modern building techniques
takes a fundamental look into sustainable materials and the use of greenery in these stations. The main components I have chosen to take a closer look into is
Solar power, Water capture systems, live walls, reactive lighting and sustainable materials. I have chosen these because they each utilise different parts of
the existing infrusturucture and all have their own benefits towards the environment.
The evaluation of the station from my visit showed that there is already some key parts which are already in place to help with some implementations of new
modern technologies and building techniques. The stations canopies were already at an angle to drain any rainwater that hit the roof and the gutters were in
place to transfer the water. However, the gutters seemed to lead directly to sewer drains. This made me think about how changing the flow of the gutters to a
water filtration system would allow me to utilise the rainwater by reusing it in the station itself. The main station building is fairly large, this made me
realise that the walls of the building were a perfect place to grow a living wall this would hopefully counter some of the carbon dioxide produced by the
station overtime. Solar power was another important feature that could be easily implemented as solar panels are mostly water proof placing them on the
canopies of the station would allow them to get the best amount of sunlight. When it rains the solar panels would act like water run offs into the gutters.
This means no matter if its raining or sunny the systems can still function.
Remodelling Plan
To start my remodelling, I first drew up some initial sketches of my implementation ideas. The drawings show how I changed the canopies and found a suitable
place to install the solar panels. Another drawing shows how I aimed to design the water filtration system, including how the pump system would carry the filtered
water to the essential parts of the station. I also created a sketch for an overflow system which connects to the pipes lead by the gutter.
Along side these sketches, whilst doing my research on Romsey station, I was referred to the Test valley website to find out if the station had public building plans to
give me a full layout of the station to make it easier and ensure accurancy when it came to modelling. Link for the page can be found here...
The Remodelling
To start my station model I created a basic platform and track layout based on the building plans from the test valley website. I then focused on working on
the canopy design where I changed the flow of how rain was collected by sloping both canopies backwards and adding the gutters to the edge. Similar to the
current station I created a few pipes leading from the gutters that would direct the rainwater into the water filtration system. These pipes all connected with
a larger pipe hidden underground which would collect all rainwater and transfer it into the water filtration tank. An overflow system was designed to make
sure that the chances of flooding would be reduced, this worked via a valve which would open when sensors detect that there was too much water in the larger
pipe this then directs the excess water into a drain.
To get a better understanding of how the system worked I created a detailed diagram showing the hidden underground system. Arrows show the direction of
how the rainwater would move throughout the station. The key parts of the system are highlighted and annotated.
The already existing structure would not be strong enough to support the weight of the solar panels so I reinforced the canopies to be thicker and added a few
additional supports. I was able to find a material texture for solar panels this allowed me to show where the solar panels would sit on the canopies in my design.
During my visit I took measurements of the canopies. I compared it to the size of a traditional large solar panel and worked out how many I could fit on each platform.
Feedback
During week 12, I had to present my RSA project to the peers in my class. [Presentation download]
, I was able to get a lot of amazing feedback on my project.
Most notability that I needed to try and display the systems instead of keeping them hidden as the goal of the brief was to educate the public on how these systems
work. This would also hopefully make the station more appealing, bringing in more travellers. Other points that were suggested was frictional rail energy, a system
which would convert the friction created by train brakes into useable energy when they stop at the stations, this could then be used in the car park located at the
entrance of Romsey station where I now intend to create charging points for electric cars, this would benefit taxi drivers and those having to wait for their trains.
Furthermore, I was given the idea to use the collected rainwater to keep the living wall alive when it isn't being used for the toilet system as well as using the
filtered water in drinking fountains. The toilets were also talked about when it came to reusing the water to give it a second purpose this prompted the idea that
the water used by the sinks could then be transferred to the toilets where it could then be used to flush them. I also considered additional lighting to be added to
help guide travellers to all the important areas of the station, this would make the station easier to use for the older generation. Included with the changes I
considered the use of sensor lighting to save the amount of electricity used by the station especially when no one was around or when the station was inactive.
Next steps
The next steps in my remodelling of the station would be to move around and redesign the water capture system to make it visible to the public, keeping in mind about
the space, safety and appearance it will have in the station. With all the new ideas given to me in my presentation I will start my planning and developing on how I
will implement the feedback. I started this by doing some research into how some of the new idea worked and got an overall idea on the amount of space they would take.
Project Outcome
I am satisfied with the work produced so far for this project and I know what I must do in the future to make this a worthy project. The feedback given has highlighted
so many new ideas for the model. I intend to submit this project to the RSA as there is a lot of potential since receiving the feedback in the presentation. Since the
presentation I have started working on the entrance of the train station and expriementing with the live wall idea. The design shown below is not finialised yet, the next
steps would be to start modelling the station itself with the new ideas which I've received. This project still needs a lot of work and I will focus on developing it going
into my second semester. I will keep this project updated with my development...
Group Client Project
Introduction
The client group project was a major step this year as it was the first time we worked with a client, this meant having to meet their briefs and requirements when
created our project. Similar to the individual projects we were given multiple clients to choose from, a total of 12 projects were shown to us. After some consideration
I decided to work on the Campervan project for our client Samual Barker. I chose this project as it was all mainly CAD based which would allow me to work and learn
more with Fusion 360. In addition, the project worked on a key part of my future goal which was to develop my CAD skills when it came to interior design; a career choice
I am looking to do when I finish university.
Brief
The project brief was to create a CAD visualization and floor plan for a new camper van concept. This meant 3D modelling a van included with interior furniture
and any mechanical components we needed. Along with the brief we were given a powerpoint which highlighted all the required components we had to have within our
design. This included 10 key items a diesel heater, shower, double bed, solar panels, solar charger, kitchen, table, storage, fridge and inverter. On top of this we had
to create wiring maps for 240 v and 12v cables to show how the power would flow around the campervan.
We got into our groups with peers in our class which also chose this project, in total there were 3 of us on this project. The team was made up of just CAD designers
which made the project a lot easier to manage as everyone had experience with 3D modelling. From this we knew we had to break up the project into smaller parts to
make sure we worked as efficiently as possible over the 12 weeks. We broke the project into 3 sections, Interior, exterior and Mechanical. Although we knew the mechanical
part required the most amount of work, the team decided it was best for two people to get the interior and exterior of the van done then complete the mechanical parts
all together. The van we were asked to design for was a Renault Master L3H2, so the first task we did as a team was to figure out the exact dimensions of the van so we
could be a better understanding of the space we were working with. We found the manufactures guide for the van which came with most of the measurements but soon we
realised we were missing some key dimension such as the size of the wheel arches. We emailed our client about the issue and he was able to find out the dimensions for us.
We could now decided on what we wanted to work on. The role I chose in the project was to design and model the interior furniture as well as creating the floor plan for
for the camper van.
Research
To begin with my part of the project, I did some research into existing designs online then created a moodboard to gather some inspiration for our own campervan. The
research bought up a lot of factors that we had to think about such as material, color scheme, furniture placement and multi purpose furniture. I asked our client for
his preference on these and I was able to get the building blocks for the project. The material he chose was plywood as it would be the most cost efficient. Furthermore
it meant it would maintaining a quality appearance even without the finish of paint.
Sketching & Modelling
I started with a few basic sketches of a double bed and kitchen area, my initial idea was to create a multi purpose bed which would convert into two seating areas when
when not in use. The kitchen area was difficult as I struggled to find space to fit all the essentials within the design to make sure it was as compact as possible. Once they
were finished I rendered them and started planning the other essentials we needed in our van.
During my modelling process I made a few changes to the bed as I wanted to implement more storage into the design to do this I added a bookshelf to the side of the bed.
Feedback
During week 5, we had a group presentation where I displayed my research journey and the two models I had created. [Presentation download] We got a lot of feedback
on the designs from our client, some of the points that were bought up was that he wanted the bed as a solid component and did not agree with the multi purpose function
of seating due to the limited space in the van. This raised an important point where I had missed the key details given to me in the brief where it stated that the bed
was to house gas struts and storage was to be place underneath. I made sure to keep checking the brief everytime I was to design a part of the van to avoid making the
same mistake. Another feedback point I got was that the use of an oven in the kitchen area was not necessary as it would require too much power to run. The material
choices was also questioned as I was using marble in my design which would be unrealistic when creating the final van.
Remodelling
After the presentation, I went back to remodelling the bed and the kitchen area, this time keeping in mind the feedback given by our client. The bed was changed this
time designed to be solid frame with storage space slots underneath. A sheet of plywood was placed on the top to allow for a mattress, pillow and duvet to be held in
place when the gas struts are activated.
The next furniture I worked on remodelling was the kitchen area, from the feedback I removed the oven converting it into a cabinet for storage. In addition, I replaced
the marble counter top with a sheet of plywood as this was the material we were working with.
I then designed a kitchen top cabinet which would be wall mounted to reduce the space it would waste this would be placed just above the kitchen area. I found out the
dimensions of my kitchen area and matched them up with the cabinets. I worked out that 3 compartments would work best and I finished off the design by creating glass
front doors to help all the items stay when the vehicle is moving.
Up next was a table for working and dining, the original idea I came up with was a pull out table which would be counseled within the kitchen counter. However, I
gathered some inspiration on buses with foldable seating which are mounted onto the walls. From this I created a wall mounted table which locks in place until it is
lowered and two support legs can be pulled out to create a stable base.
Further Feedback
Once they were all rendered I compiled them [Presentation download] and sent them off to my client to get his opinion on the designs. I was able to get some further
feedback on the new designs, the main issue with all the model was the thickness of the plywood. They were too thick for the traditional dimensions of sheet cut plywood,
my client asked me to take a look at the standard plywood thicknesses sold in retail stores. Another point bought up was that none of the cabinets had locking mechanism
to make sure the contents wouldn’t fall out when the vehicle was on the move. My client also wanted to replace the glass on the cabinets with plywood doors for safety
purposes. Most of furniture had sharp edges which needed to be smoothed out in case of people falling in the van which would reduce the chances of injury.
Updated models
Acting on the feedback, I went through all my previous designs and decreased the thickness of all my models. From my material research I found that the smallest thickness
for plywood was 3mm and 5.2mm I used these primarily in my designs as it would lower the overall cost when buying in the material. During this remodelling I removed the
headboard from the bed as it would reduce the amount of space available around the edges of the bed.
The kitchen counter was rounded off on one end to make it safer, I also moved the sink forward to increase the space behind to allow for more storage and to make sure
there would not be any obstruction to the shelf.
The kitchen cabinet thicknesses were reduced and I replaced the glass door with plywood ones, the locking mechanism on these work by magnets which hold the doors
shut once they’re closed.
The kitchen cabinet thicknesses were reduced and I replaced the glass door with plywood ones, the locking mechanism on these work by magnets which hold the doors
shut once they’re closed.
I had some additional time after I finished the furniture so I started helping with modelling the mechanical parts. We had created a list of all the components which had
been done by my team and I aimed to complete some of them that hadn't been done. I decided to work on the gas shower and the solar charger controller. I also designed
a plug socket which would be used to show where the power outlets would be which would help us when doing our voltage cable maps. These are the models I created in
Fusion 360…
Floor plans
As all the furniture and the mechanical parts were completed, I proceeded with designing the layout for the van. As a team, we worked on the placement of all the models in the
van together. We all created separate suitable floor plans and took parts of each design that we liked. This ensured that the whole team had a say in the end product. This is
the initial sketch of the dimensions and placement of the furniture in the model before I moved everything into the van model created by my team. This layout changed at a later
date due to some issues with the spacing and dimensions of some of the models
Bringing Everything Together...
With the layout sketch completed with all assets, I could begin on moving everything into the van. I started with the furniture as this takes up a majority of the space
in the van, the space below the bed allowed me to easily hide all the mechanical parts. I had to edit some of the furniture within the model as I needed to fit wheel arches
into the design. We went through different iterations of the design as the orignal van model which I was working on was inverted compared to the final model of the van this
meant alot of the furniture had to be moved around in the process to make sure there was enough space for the walkways and doors of the van. Another feature we had to
keep in mind was the implementation of windows to increase the natural light coming into the vehicle during the day time. During this time, I realised that the surfboard
needed a storage as I originally used it as a headboard this is something the I did at a later date. In addition, a small fridge was designed and added to the model. The
final model of the van is shown in multiple views below...
Final Feedback
Week 12 was our final presentation for our project [Presentation download], we created a presentation which showed all the work we had produced over the project this included
the assets which my team created. we aimed to have everything finish at this point so we made a checklist from the components given to us in our brief. We were able to get some
final feedback on this finish put together model. Our client wanted dimensions for the furniture to help get a better understanding of the space still available and we were given
the idea to move the fridge and implement it into one of the other models to save space. Overall, the project had been successful and we were able to get everything required by
our client done. It was just doing some extra tweaks to make it easier when it came to building the van.
Final Touches
To finish off the project, I worked on finding a suitable place to hold the surfboard to do this I shortened the length of the bed and made a small slot next to the base to slide
in and out the surfboard. All the heights of the furniture were increased as that came up in our final presentation. The length of the kitchen cabinet was doubled and now spanned
the whole wall to allow for more storage. When creating the surfboard storage I found myself with an extra part extruding from the wall to fix this I turned this into a small table
which I modelled a TV to go on top of it. Adapting on the kitchen counter top, I developed the cupboard below into the fridge as it was the only space I found suitable for it. I moved
the kitchen away from the bed as it posed a fire hazard and would reduce the chances of the bed getting dirty when cooking. This is the final model of the campervan. Although, we
weren't able to move it into the van model due to some issues which we are currently working to fix…
Project Outcome
In conclusion, I was very happy with the project outcome of this campervan. We were able to complete the checklist given to us by our client and was able to fit everything into the
limited space we had to work with. As a team we worked efficiently each having our own individual roles which we fulfilled during the 12 weeks. The models and renders created
throughout the project by my group made putting the van together at the end a lot easier as we all of worked to the same exact scale. There were a few obstacles in the way of our
project journey to find time where the whole group was together in person this was caused by the problem of travel distance. However, even with these roadblocks we were able to
communicate efficiently via Discord and Teams. Throughout the project we had set up multiple meetings to ensure that everyone was on track and knew what they had to do for the
week following. Another issue we ran into near the end of the project was the implementation of my layout design and the van model created by one of my team members. As the
model was fairly complex when I went to download and run it on Fusion 360 I found that it wouldn’t load or it would simply crash my software. We were able to work around this
problem last minute however by sending my layout to the person who created model as it seemed that it only functioned on his system. Overall, there are a few things I would have
liked to change and processes which I would have done differently.The main skill that I can take away from this project is the skills which I was able to develop on Fusion 360. As
this was the first project I did on this software since switch from AutoCAD. However, I know there is a lot more to learn and I will bring the skills I have learnt into my new project.
Poster Presentation
Semester 2
Summary
To begin our 2nd semester we were introduced to 3 new projects which would guide us more support into our 3rd year, this included a social media campaign, a year
three study plan and another group client project. The projects this semester taught me a lot when it came to my time management, brand creation and my passions
Social Media Campaign
Brief Of Project
The social media project was a chance for me to create my very own social media campaign to expose my work to others through different platforms. The importance
of this campaign was to teach us ways to create brand awareness so we could gather feedback and potentially find leads to business opportunities which would overall
enhance my connections with those who shared common interests in my field. It was also amazing to experience different marketing techniques and what forms of posts
would drive the most audiences to my page.
First Steps
To begin with my social media campaign I had to focus on two aspects, the first being what social media platform I wanted to utilise as all social media sites have their
benefits and drawbacks. As part of the project, we were tasked to make two separate accounts, one being an account on LinkedIn due to it being the leading place to place
to express our work to business personnel which may benefit us in gaining job offers and overall connections with potential employers. The second choice of social media
was up to me to decide. I did a considerable amount of research before making my final decision factoring in how big the audiences of each platform were in addition to
how easy it would be for our work to reach the largest number of people.
Research
I originally looked into platforms such as Dribbble, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I aimed for a target audience in consideration of choosing my platform which was
17+ as I not only wanted to exhibit my work to reach business eyes but also to hopefully inspire those who had a passion for the field of work I was displaying. I found
that Facebook and Twitter were the most used platforms on a daily basis according to (Buffer.com, 2023) with them reaching upwards of 1.6 billion visits to the app daily which
compared to Instagram was around 500 million. However, (Statista.com, 2023) demographics for Facebook show that the majority of users were around 25 - 34 years old which
although is in the higher area of my age range I wasn't as confident in using the platform due to never experiencing before. Similarly, Dribbble was something completely
new to me which made me unsure about how effective it would be at getting my work to a bigger audience but I would still like to give it a try one day. In the end, I went
with an Instagram account as it targets a younger demographic and is the best platform for getting a product or piece of work out to a wider audience fairly quickly according
to (Hubspot.com, 2023). This is because the algorithm puts priority on new posts and most importantly has an easy way to view all collective pieces of work by simply typing in specific
The second aspect was branding and techniques. I asked myself what can I do to make my account more successful, how will I aim to reach a bigger audience, and most
importantly what type of posts e.g. reels, stories, posts, and tutorials I would focus on. Once I had chosen my second social media platform I went into further research to get
a better understanding of what techniques have worked for other designers. I did this by searching for accounts that related to my field of work to gather inspiration in
terms of how they are structured, organized, and maintained to create a successful way to present pieces of work. The accounts below were the ones I studied and I found
that the best way to make a successful campaign was to utilize peak times for posting, the view algorithm, and brand identity. Pages such as ToDoCAD and Archezinternational
focused on posts and stories. Meanwhile, Arch_ssistant focused on posts and reels. Although, all three of these accounts focus on different pieces of work they had their similarities
when it came to themes. Each of these accounts had a very prominent theme to them examples being ToDoCAD having the half-and-half building displays posts or Archez having
a more simplistic colour scheme to make it easy on the eyes. I knew from these examples that I needed to create my very own theme and branding so I went on to create my
branding.
Building My Brand
I decided on creating an account specifically for the architectural work I was designing as it is a field I would look to do further into my course and potentially after
university. One key part of all of those accounts was a unique logo. A logo is important to draw in an audience so I knew I had to create an eye-catching logo . I found
that a very common colour scheme was a mixture of light and dark colours in architecture according to Archareer.com. I experimented with different colour schemes and
found that dark grey, white, and gold yellow work very well together as it made my logo look sleeker. I had two different variants of my logo and asked my coursemates
for feedback on which one they preferred. The majority of people said that the logo on the left was too busy as there was a lot going on in the design. Overall, people
liked the right logo better as it was sleek and easy to read.
First Instagram Posts
When creating my first posts, I took into consideration my colour scheme and ideas of what I wanted it to look like. My first posts are shown below, I went with a highlight
of my current skillset and a summary of my project during my second semester. I stuck with the grey, white, and yellow colour scheme. To gain my following I focused on adding
hashtags to my posts such as #Design and #Archviz as I found it was a good way for people to see my work when searching a specific field of content on the platform. This
was a success as my posts were getting seen by people outside of my followers. Although it was still early on my following grew from those which I knew and fellow designers.
Setting Up LinkedIn
After making my first posts on Instagram I focused my attention on the creation of my LinkedIn account. I began by writing a short headline which was a brief description of who
I was and what I did at university. I proceeded to add more detail to my profile such as my experiences and education to give a background to my account. As I had created my
logo at this time I added it to my profile but after some feedback I found that adding a self image was better as a personal brand is driven by how you are perceived by others.
I quickly changed this to include some more personal depth to the account.
I was recommended to create a job preference on the app so I could establish a profile for what I was looking for when it came to career opportunities. Furthermore, I started
reposting, commenting, and liking other creators' work to form leads that would possibly draw people to my account as well as support other designers. The job preferences allowed
me to receive notifications when job posts related to my selection were posted, at the time I was looking for possible placements so I kept an eye out for anything that I was interested
in.
Further Posts
After my Instagram posts were up for about a week I chose to upload some of more work I produced that week such as my client project for my Winchester Cities as well as some relevant
past projects to draw in a bigger audience. The first main posts I did was showing an update on my recreation of St.Marys Cemetary Chapel along with a brief description of each progression.
I continued with adding new tags to see which drew in more views so I could limit down the most effective ones. In addition, I also displayed my campervan project from last semester as I
found that it related to the work I was posting. It was also a good way to show my Fusion360 skills through my work.
Promotional Plan
To further extend my exposure, I studied the importance and methods which industries used to promote themselves on social media. I read through a Hootsuite.com article called How to
do social media marketing for a small business. Although my account wasn’t selling a product, I found information on the website about promoting in general which I utilized in my own
methods. An example of these tips I learned was the importance of brand appearance and getting your account seen by as many people as possible. From this, I began with my promotion
plan by creating a story to advertise my page which I posted on many of my other accounts and got people I knew to also promote it to hopefully get my account out there. In this story, I also
made sure to stick to my own theme and make it easy on the eyes to read for the best results. In addition, I learned that Instagram brand success heavily relies on the visual aspect so I
ensured to tidy up my account to make it look as professional as possible this also meant posting regularly and focusing on engaging content which was something I needed to work towards.
My methods of doing this are explained later on.
My promotional story showed amazing results. I gained 16 new followers and when I first uploaded the story I found that my post reached a bigger audience than before I started to gain
more likes and views from the design community which revealed the success of the promotion plan. Furthermore, I decided to upload a post about me to give my followers a background
of my hobbies and passion to build up trust using a personal touch in my content. The insights shows the boost in viewer engagement...
Developing with the information I learned from the Hootsuite article. I set a posting schedule to post at least 3 times a week to maintain consistency. I aimed to post early in the
morning after looking at socialpilot.co's blog about the best times to post content to increase overall views. The blog highlights that the best time to post was between 6 - 9 am as
most users would browse the platform before going to work or alternatively in the afternoon at 12 - 2 pm during most work breaks and even 5 to 7 pm. I experimented with the timings
of when I posted to find what worked best for me, which made me figure out that the evenings between 5-7 pm were when I engaged the most viewers. I proceeded to follow this posting
schedule and the results showed that it was efficient when it came to developing my reach. The results below were the exposure insights from my new time technique.
Experimentation With Content
At this point in time I was simply focusing on posts. However, after receiving some feedback on my page I was told that I should try reels as the Instagram algorithm gives an additional
audience range to videos. To create my video, I made an animated walkthrough of my chapel along with a rendered version of the model on Revit and posted them to my account. The
results from this were excellent. It was by far the biggest increase in views I had and I was shocked by how it continued to get views even in the days following. The insights of this method
were incredibly prominent in the professional dashboard, the chart showed a large peak in accounts reached. The one reel itself reached 165 accounts of which 140 were non-followers. This
was a promising result that my work was reaching my target audience. As of the insight the video reached +8,150% of accounts compared to my other posts previously. I was happy with the
outcome and I wanted to continue posting more reels once I had found the content to apply it
Updating My LinkedIn
Seeing the success of my reel on Instagram I uploaded some of my best content from the page onto my LinkedIn account to improve my profile image. After finding out that I was getting
reactions from companies such as Cassidy + Company which is an award-winning residential architecture design firm. I was happy and it gave me confidence that I was going in the right
direction as it meant that my work was being seen by businesses aside from just my peers.
Summary Of The Project
To summarise this campaign, I found the experience incredibly useful, I was able to utilize many different methods of expressing my work along with ways to gain more exposure thus reaching
a larger collective audience. What I learned was that videos did vastly better on Instagram and a video representation was more engaging to my viewers. This was my first time using LinkedIn,
I found the platform really good at finding career opportunities as I was openly looking for work placements during the campaign. Techniques I would have changed would be to focus on gaining
a following rather than just views to create brand awareness and to receive feedback on pieces of work on my page. I knew it would be difficult from the beginning but I believe I could have
found more ways to promote my account to increase my following.
I intend to continue posting and promoting my account to widen the exposure of my work to gain the attention of industry personnel or have a content page to engage with other designers during
networking events. In addition, I would like to post more reels and experiment with a multitude of different methods uncovered by a 1 to 1 with my lecturers such as tutorials, time-lapses, and
possible live videos to monitor the success of each method to optimize what content engages the most viewers. To improve upon the brand perception, it would be best to add more content rather
than just my chapel work, by producing my own individual projects alongside my coursework to create more variety in the work I post and to fully display my versatility when it comes to design.
I would like to transform this page into my main place to post my proudest pieces of work as I had never done so before besides my portfolio. Developing my social media, it allows me to have a
quick hub to show my best work for those that struggle for time to locate and read through the relevant work on my portfolio website, making for a more efficient and quick way to gain exposure
As for LinkedIn, I wasn't able to develop much with the platform, so I will continue researching and developing my account to increase connections with the industry as opposed to just my fellow
designers to get my work out to the professional field.
For my client work this semester, I took on the Winchester Virtual Cities Project. The goal was to 3D visualise one of the many buildings that stood in Winchester in the 1400s or 1800s using
3D modelling software, this would be used as part of the upcoming virtual cities exhibition hosted by my client which aims to create an immersive experience in Unreal which gives viewers
an opportunity to go back to the past and explore the medieval cities of Winchester.
Selecting my building
Supplied by my client was a list of buildings yet to be modelled for the exhibition, specifically the area around Winchester cathedral was put to my attention as the cathedral itself was being
modelled by my peers also on the project. I decided to work on St.Marys Cemetery Chapel highlighted in red, I chose to recreate this chapel as it was relatively small but required a lot of
detail when designing the exterior and interior.
Research
St.Mary’s Cemetry Chapel was a religious building that stood in front of Winchester Cathedral during the 1400s. The challenge of this building was that it no longer exists in the present day
and due to its size compared to the cathedral it has little to no information online about the history or appearance of the chapel. The images above are the only known records of what the
chapel may have looked like, this made researching about it very difficult but after bringing up the issue with my client, I was recommended to research the general details of churches
themselves during the time era.
I studied the wikipedia of Gothic_cathedrals_and_churches as the website went into depth with some important factors of cathedrals, chapels, and churches in various different centries.
I focused the flamboyant gothic and perpendicular gothic sections of the wiki as they highlighted the key details of the type of church architecture between the 13th - 16th century. They
specified that near the end of the 13th century churches 'Aimed for rich visual effects through decoration, and gave predominance to vertical lines, especially in the window tracery'
(Wikipedia, 2020) . use of decorations and windows to create a brighter and more visually appealing building was an important architectural change from the previous century. Furthermore,
the introduction of ‘thin ribs, springing upward from slender columns’ not only offered more structural integrity but added more decorative detail to the interior. In connection, the exterior of
churches would develop the design of external support columns for a more decorative approach. The use of gold was also common throughout the long history of churches ‘The shine of gold, its
indestructible nature, its malleability, and its relative scarcity made it an ideal material to embody divine qualities’ quoted (Finds.org.uk) from the use of golden crosses and religious items were
known to decorate the interiors. I wasn't able to find details of specific materials used in the making of cathedrals at the time but I was able to take references from churches built around the
time which uncovered the common use of stone and concrete with tiled roofs.
Sustainability (sdgs.un.org, 2023)
As part of the project, we were assigned one sustainable goal picked out the 17 goals set by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The one in mind for this project was goal 17
which was ‘Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development’ found at (sdgs.un.org, 2023) . In this project, although we were
not physically creating a product or brand the limits to sustainable were more complex. However, the exhibition we were doing the work for falls under eco-tourism. The exhibition is a online
recreation of Winchester which allows the user to travel around the city, this means people will not have to travel to the places in person reducing the number of cars on the roads directly
reducing Co2 car emission into our atmosphere.
Intial Design Mock-ups
After my in-depth research I made a list of features to keep in mind when creating my chapel. During the start of my semester, I decided to learn SketchUp which I found was an amazing way
to make quick mock-ups of building. I incorporated this into my project by creating a draft 3D design of St.Mary's cemetery chapel. This helped me get an initial idea of the appearance and
the structure of the chapel. This was the sketch-up model I put together shown in multiple views.
Software selection
Aside from Sketchup, the main software I wanted to focus on this semester was Revit, which is one of the reasons I chose the Winchester Cities project. This was a new software to me but it
showed similarities to Fusion 360 and AutoCAD. Although, I was not familiar with the software I was able to pick it up quite quickly after a few demos from lecturers and online tutorials from
Skill Factory on Youtube. From these I learnt how to create levels, walls, roofs and import assets into a design. This gave me the basis to start working on my chapel design. To render my
design I decided to try using Twinmotion for the first time to gain some experience with the software.
Creating Levels
Designing the chapel required me to start off by creating levels of elevation to set dimensions for my floor, walls, and roof. I worked out with different heights as there was not a set dimension
for the chapel. However, I was able to compare it to the size of Winchester Cathedral and work off an estimation. In total, I set 4 levels, levels 1 - 2 were for the walls at the front and back of
chapel as due to the change in height for the back section I had to account for the different wall heights. Further up level 3 sets the height of the roof base and also the support beams I
intended to add into my design. Level 4 was the roof level or the maximum height of the chapel. All these levels set boundaries to make the creation of the chapel easier later in the project
Creating walls and flooring
Once my levels were put in place I started creating my extrior by the use of the wall tool, the chapel had two different sections where the walls had different heights so I connected the front side
walls to elevation level two whilst connecting the back sections to level one. Using the edit profile tool, it allowed me to alter the shape of the north and south face to create a pointed profile
for the roof to sit upon. Going forward, the floor tool was used to create a base for the building. I had planned for larger base than the walls for the exterior pillars which are one meter offset.
Creating Roof
Using the roof tool I set the parameters for the roof size, due to the different heights of the front and back end I had to use two roofs to fully complete the ceiling of the chapel. In the reference
image it shows that there are extension of the roof each side to support the weight of the roof to do this I created another 2 set of roof which I slimmed down to create the extruded edges.
Adding details
To add the details into the design, the window and door tools were used to import the features from the revit library I set the dimensions of the windows until I felt happy with the size of them
and careful made sure the windows were spaced evenly on the walls. As for the door, I created a extrude from the outside to the chapel inside to make an opening which I then imported a door
into the space.
To add even more detail to the chapel I experimented with the component library on Revit and found a roof chimney like component which I thought would bring a more decorative aspect to
the roof itself.
As a final touch to the exterior, I looked at the list of features I had made from my research and realised that I had not yet put in the decorative support column around the chapel. To do
this I went back into the wall tool and created tiny walls along the perimeter of the building. These were originally flat rectangles but the edit profile tool allowed me to change these into
a more detailed design.
Interior Design:
To make it easier to work on the inside of the chapel and be able to import assets I used the section tool on revit to create a horizontal cross section so I could view the chapel at a birds eye
and careful made sure the windows were spaced evenly on the walls. As for the door, I created a extrude from the outside to the chapel inside to make an opening which I then imported a door
into the space.
To find my internal assets I decided to use (Bimsmith.com, 2023) which offered free downloadable models this saved me alot of time from having to design my own assets. The very first thing
I added to my chapel was the church pews for the seating I kept in mind the size of the chapel and worked out that 6 pews on each side was the best appearance wise whilst not being too
crowded. After receiving feedback from my client, they mentioned the addition of a chapel screen which could be found in almost all early day chapels. I worked on the design of the screen
overtime and showed them to my client to see which one they preferred. In the end, the wooden screen was chosen to be the best looking.
Extra additions
After showing my design to my client, I found that I had not fully ticked off everything on my list of interior features. I went back into my design and wanted to incorporate the gold aspect which
I uncovered in my research, I went into Fusion 360 and made a simple golden cross to add a more religious peice to the chapel which I then imported into Revit. I experimented with the placement
and scaling of the cross, finding the best place to put it was above the wall divide between the two sections.
Experimenting with textures
The texturing of the chapel was one of the most complex parts of the project as my reference image only gave a view of the exterior which meant the internal design was all up to interpretation.
However, the research I did at the start of the project allowed me to come up with a few material that I knew would be commonly used in churches around the 1400’s. My main source of textures
was from the Autodesk Revit material library which gave me an incredible range of different textures to experiment with. My client recommended the use of the stone brick textures for the walls
and the tiles for the roof, once these were applied the chapel was looking even better. The texturing work required a lot of trial and error with many different textures but I was able to narrow
it down to two designs which I presented to my client to get their opinion. The first using the material library. Whilst the second was using materials sent to me by my group member which was
was also modelling a church at the time. My client really liked the second design as the texture which my team sent me were more realistic.
Furthermore, I took consideration into the pattern flooring found in my example images within my research, I was able to search for “Church floor textures” online and discovered a wide variety
of different designs. My favourite was a texture by Lughertexture.com as it was extremely detailed and had seamless connections so I wouldn't have to worry about cut off edges and imperfections
when importing it into my model. On top of that I also instituted a better wooden texture this time having a more predominant grain adding more detail and realism.
The texturing made the chapel look more realistic and of the era, at this point I focused on rendering it and updating my client of the texturing work I had done to receive feedback on the design.
This render was made using the revit render to cloud tool. The feedback I received was rewarding as my client was impressed by the realistic appearance the chapel but it was mentioned that grey
tiled roofs were not common architectural practices in the 1400’s as most buildings at the time used brick tiled roofing to make them look more bright and inviting. To develop the idea of the
lighting my client also sent me a model of a wall mounted torch which I applied into my design before rendering.
Rendering
The chapel was complete but I wanted to show the model in more renders and forms of media. I was recommended to move my chapel into another software for better rendering. The software which
I wanted to experiment with was Twinmotion as I had seen some of my peer's work produced on the software and was amazed at the rendering ability. I exported my chapel as an FBX file and moved
it into Twinmotion. I did run into a few issues with the transfer of materials, so I did end I having to retexture it within the software. However, I was able to import my materials from Revit separately
to keep the design the same. In addition, I was able to create an environment around my chapel to highlight the visual appearance of my design.
The detail and lighting I was able to get in Twinmotion was stunning when mixed into the environment the chapels design showed. I went forward with the rendering by creating a video of the chapel
implementing some of the features on the software such as animals, insects and plants.
The render of the interior took additional attention as I was able to experience particle animations and different assets of items placed on the altar. The torch assets were solid models so lighting
was not applicable in Revit to develop this I added flame particles and lighting radiuses to each of the torches. The twinmotion asset library had many objects such as chalices, candles, plants and
crosses which I imported into my design. Using the tools supplied by the software I was able to change some of the asset materials to gold to incorporate the details in my research.
To showcase the final interior design, I created a walkthrough animation through the chapel displaying the different parts of the chapel in 360. The flame particles made the chapel come to life in
the rendered video the lighting effect from the sun created a cozy lighting atmosphere inside.
Conclusion
To summarise to project, the goal of it was to recreate St.mary's cemetery chapel in Winchester. I was proud of what I was able to create whilst not having pervious experience with the softwares I
used in the project. The renders in Twinmotion turned out amazing and the feedback I received from it were very positive. The project allowed me to realise a passion I had in architectural visualisation
and I can’t wait to be able to do more work related to it. There are a few features I would have liked to include which due to the software limits were difficult to recreate; I would have liked to design
and use stained glass windows as in my research it was something commonly found in churches of the 1400’s. I believe it would have brought out the lighting inside the chapel better and developed on the
decorative aspect of the design. Another factor I would have liked to experiment with would be 3D textures, such as making the stone bricks definable as bumpy materials instead of just a flat image so
