Back to work

Well last week was back to work after all the fun and memories made when we were at campus.
Getting back into the swing of things was good and I eventually got back into it. On Monday I was given balustrade schedules that kept me busy until Wednesday and from Wednesday I worked on amendments to electrical drawings that were then issued on Friday.

Well that's how my week played out :)
Ciao for now! ;)

Something new...

So this week I was given a new challenge... and that was to draw up sections and elevations as well as make amendments to the plan of the staff/security quarters for one of the projects we're working on in Constantia. The site is quite tricky too as it's a very 'slopey' site so I learnt alot about what happens when building on a slope. Seeing that I'd only be here for this week, as I'm off to campus for the next two weeks, I had to put even more into getting the drawings done so that I know I've completed what was expected of me. Furthermore, I just needed to get sets of drawings and issue sheets together for Wednesday and Thursday's site meetings with the building contractor, client and quantity surveyor, which we have every second week. Wednesday's are for the project in Fresnaye and Thursday's for the one in Constantia. That about wraps up how my week went and I'm definitely looking forward to the MIP we'll be doing at campus! I've really missed designing my own work so getting back into the swing of things will be great! Well that's it for now.. Time for me to enjoy my long weekend ;)

Ciao for now!! ;)

Change of Scenery

So after a long time in the office, a temporary change of scenery was exactly what I needed.. along with bucket loads of inspiration! which is exactly what I got!

Monday and Tuesday were office days for me over which I worked on minor changes to plans and elevations on Monday, and then on Tuesday I was asked to sit in on a meeting with one of the directors and the person supplying the fireplace for a house we're working on as I had to draw up the detail drawing for the fireplace that's to be built into the wall. The rest of the week was the the much anticipated AZA 2012 conference which was FAAAAANTASTIC!! I feel so inspired and ready to make a difference through the career path I'm choosing as I definitely got clarity as to which direction I'm going to further my studies in.

Well that was my week, and now it's back to work and my staff assessment today with the directors so wish me luck! and see you at campus next week to get our Architecture ON!!!

Ciao for now ;)

Catching up..

So I know that my blogs have run very far behind, so for this blog I’ll update you on all the things that have happened over the past three months…

Well, basically the past three months have been extremely busy for me and I’ve been under so much pressure it’s crazy! But I’ve taken everything that’s happened as a positive experience which I can only benefit from in the future and yet another learning curve towards my aspiring, successful future.

Most of the challenges include my colleague/mentor whom I have been working with as most of the work I have been doing over these past few months have been for her projects.

In June, I had noticed a change in her approach towards me and felt that she had been putting too much pressure on me and big responsibilities as well. I found this challenging as these responsibilities were based on things that I had no experience in and I developed a great fear of making mistakes as I just ended up getting criticised for those mistakes. This became a major issue for me and our office manager had noticed what was happening and advised me to speak to the directors. I then found that this wouldn’t be fair as if I done that, I’d be going behind her back instead of first confronting her about how I felt which I then done. After speaking to her and explaining everything to her she was understanding but also explained to me that in this industry I will constantly be put under pressure which I had already learnt but I took her advice and we had sorted it out.

Its September now and she hasn’t been putting those heavy responsibilities on me anymore but I still don’t feel completely happy with what the situation is like now and honestly counting down the time for these two months to end so that I can be a student again. On the bright side, these experiences and challenges have definitely made me a much stronger person. I have learnt what it truly means to be responsible and able to handle pressure and different types of people. I am a soft- spoken person but working in this industry taught me that be assertive is more important than ever before. It doesn’t mean that I need to be rude but being clear and making a point to be heard is vital as well as constantly being in control of the situation.

So enough of office issues, on the work side of things… I must admit that I have come a LONG way from doing schedules to now going on site visits every second week and being responsible for a complete pack of detail drawings for a project that has recently gone into its construction phase. I have covered different details and learnt a lot of interesting things as far as the design of contemporary houses are concerned. Working at this company has its ups and downs but the things I have learnt definitely makes up for the downs and compared to the little I knew last year, I can safely say that I have come a long way and looking ahead for more challenges and the vast amount of things still left for me learn.

Now it’s about looking forward to this week and the AZA student conference!!!!!! (excited face)

Ciao for now!! ;) 

What a week..

Well.. last week was quite the week as it was the first time I experienced a 'hiccup' with a client. What happened was this...

The Friday before last, we gave the door and window schedules I had done to the client for information. Then last Monday morning we were told that the client complained about a whole lot of errors in the schedules ( which by the way.. was NOT true, but i'll get to that part soon) so he scheduled a meeting for later that afternoon and obviously I was quite worried because it would be my fault and my error. Once the meeting had started I had noticed that this was the type of client who enjoys pointing out that you made a mistake and you don't hear the end of that... only, he didn't do this to me but rather to my supervisor which made me feel bad as it was my mistakes... Anyway, it was all professional and everything was resolved and most of the issues were cill heights that were not resolved as far as windows were concerned and that's where my confusion arised while doing those schedules. Needless to say, I was back to doing schedules and I made sure to check them over and over and... yes you guessed right OVER! haha.. and I can now say that they're finally done and I handed them over to my supervisor to check over them one more time before we issue it to the client. On the bright side.. i've started on the timber window details and its quite interesting doing it from scratch as we have no existing timber window details like that on our server for me to copy-paste since this house is far from the contemporary houses AQDC usually designs.. and what a house it is (not to my liking..) but anyway, that's that ... it's back to details for me and we'll catch up soon!

Ciao for now! ;)

After the very long weekend, its needless to say that I've been feeling rather lazy over the course of this 3 day week with not much of a challenge at work. On the plus side, my Hub project is coming along well though i do need some guidance just to make sure I'm on the right track so I'll be discussing it with my mentor and then also try and get a crit at campus. Last week I started amending a set of door schedules that i completed yesterday, having to check every last detail and re-number all the references on plan and elevation. After those were finally done, I had to do a simple detail for a fixed timber screen and that was basically it. Hopefully this day holds more of a challenge for me and then its a weekend of working on my Hub project, that lies ahead.

Well ciao for now ;)

Light at the end of the Schedule

So last week was basically yet another week of schedules and over the past 3 weeks I have worked on door and window schedules for 3 different projects but things are looking brighter.
House Stringfellow is the house I'm currently working on and yes I'm doing the door and window schedules but since I started it from scratch, all I'm doing now is amending them and changing annotations.

The thing with this house is that its style is really different to the rest of the houses that are designed here at AQDC architects since it's more of a french house than contemporary which is nearly the complete opposite.. but its what the client wants. So anyway, seeing that this house is quite 'outdated' a the detailed drawings will have to be done from scratch and after discussing what I still need to cover with my supervisor, I'll be working on those details!!!!!

I'm really excited about this, because since we can't copy/paste existing details from previous projects.. I'm going to learn alot more and we'll be meeting with Swartland reps. to discuss details of their windows that will be incorporated into the project. Details like pond and pool details will also be done and overall I'm really looking forward to this new learning curve!!

Will fill you in soon...
Ciao for now!! ;)

The Rise of bleh...

Well...
Last week was yet another week of timber door and window schedules for a different project and not really anything else. i must admit that I am actually looking forward to being at campus in June and back in full swing next year. There's something about working on other people's projects that gets me a bit... demotivated and quite frankly.. plain and simple.. bored! I can't wait to get back to designing my own projects and working on the Hub assignment keeps me going. On the other hand, I am soaking in lots of new ideas and being exposed to these modern design elements really has its advantages and I am begining to discover my own style as I go along and look at other designs and projects I am exposed to.
Well that's about it for last week, let's hope this week gets alot more interesting...

Ciao for now ;)

Not much

Well last week wasn't much a hectic week.. all i covered was ammendements for schedules on two different projects that i had worked on before, although there is another student in the office now.. my mentor felt it would be better for me to do it since i knew what was required already. I don't really mind at this stage because after a week of more exciting work, the little things need to be done too.
The deadline for the schedules is today so I managed to finish them on Thursday since the long weekend cut Friday out. Speaking of the long weekend.. it really was a LONG weekend lol, and i hadn't quite gathered up the energy for work yet..
Hopefully it kicks in soon..

Ciao for now! ;)

Something New...

Well this week was Awesome! wanna know why... I'll tell you...

So on Monday I worked on those rider plans for council and carried on updating those plans with their new bathroom layouts.. and this carried on until Tuesday when finally completed updating the plans.
On Wednesday... I went on my first site visit since i started working here!! I really enjoyed because not only is it the house that I've been working on the most, but the house is amazing!! It's a three-storey house in Fresnaye and I love it! haha... It's one thing working on drawings for a project, but seeing it in reality is just way better.. the construction started last year in August and they are quite far in the construction process.
I'll add some pics to show you..
Yesterday I finally completed those rider plans, printed four sets and had to colour in all the new changes...and that took time! but I still enjoyed it because these are all things that I can learn from, and i believe that the best way to learn something is to experience it yourself rather through your own eyes than someone else's.
Today the rider plans will be taken in to council and then i'm ready for some more work!!

This is inside garage 1 with a view of the mezzanine level above

The staircase in garage 1 leading up to the mezzanine level

This is a view of the mezzanine level in garage 1

Here is the passage/ walkway into garage 2 on the right

This is in garage two which has space for four cars. You can also see the walkway that leads to the foyer and garage 1 if you turn left.

The staircase leads to a mezzanine level.

This is a closer look at the stair construction

Here is a view of the mezzanine level in garage 2

An opening for the door frame and frame furniture is provided

This is an opening in a htick wall which is the electrical duct

The walkway into the foyer

Thsi is the lift shaft which is situated in the foyer

A view down the life shaft... scary!

This is an opening for where the garage door components will be installed

These are expansion joints in the floor slab to prevent cracks caused by ground movement

Here you can see the joints in the wall where the slab and upstand beam is situated on the other side in garage 1

This is the slab in garage 1

This is an opening in the wall for electrical plug points

This opening is for a pond that will be located there.

A view inside the foyer

Here is the piping and RC beams supporting the floor above

An opening in the ceiling for downlights

This is a view going up the staircase in garage 1 into the mezzanine level

A look into the mezzanine space

SITE MINUTES 

Time for a change!

So i haven't blogged anything for last week yet, but there's is quite alot for me to say....
Well, this is my third month working at the firm and i grew concerned about the fact that i wasn't doing the range of work I'd like to be doing as most of my time in the office was taken up by schedules and joinery. After portfolio submission and looking over my log sheets, i decided to speak to one of the directors about my concern which I only felt was right since he was the one who interviewed me for this job. 


I then explained to him what I have been covering in the office and what i still need exposure to according to the log sheets that we're given at campus. He was really understanding and listened to what I said because he obviously wouldn't have known this if I hadn't said anything, and advised me to speak to my mentor who I'm working with for most of this year. Once I explained the situation to her she was really helpful and went through the list on our log sheets telling me when we can cover that... and a change took place that very day!!! Later that day we were scheduled for a meeting with the client, quantity surveyor and the engineer to discuss cost considerations and the piling layout which is to be resolved by the engineer. This was the first meeting I sat in and it was interesting to see how decisions are made.


For the rest of that week, I started working on council drawings...rider plans to be more specific. The original plans were previously approved but along the way, certain parts of the design were changed and that's the reason for submitting rider plans which are the plans with those new changes. Another reason for submitting rider plans is so that when the building inspector goes to the site and notices that the construction is not corresponding with the plans, the resolution for that problem would be that the rider plans have already been submitted to council. I also worked on the plans for that same house where I had to make bathrooms correspond with the bathroom layouts that I had previously drawn up.


Well that was last week...
Ciao for now ;)

Catching up...

Its my third month working now and yes, i know i haven't blogged in a while so let me update you on what has been happening these past few weeks...


So far i have worked on 7 different houses and basically just adding on to it be it ammendments,shedules etc. In my third week, i finished off working on those sketch plans i last told you about and the client was finally satisfied phew.. and in the same week i began working with a different colleague for whom i done joinery schedules for. These were bathroom and kitchen layouts that havent been started yet so learning how to do a complete schedule was something new as this time i understood what information needed to be added.


I worked on these schedules for the next two weeks having to ammend things until they were sufiecient for the time being. In week 6, i worked on details which were quite interesting as it was for pergola and entrance canopies and i liked really liked is modern design... especially the ponds and planters that were incorporated and included in the details..so what i had to do was make changes to them and while working on them my mentor also explained it to me.


In week seven, it was time for those bathroom layouts to be completed and had to be printed, stamped for information and i had to create issue lists for them which meant learning how to operate DR-Pro, the software used for issuing drawings to the client, building contractors, etc.


Between weeks seven and eight i also went to council to submit drawings for approval where i was taught the process of submit drawings to council and how things work. It was alot to take in but i managed to grasp most of it...i think... hehe


So basically these past few weeks have taught me quite alot but a concern of mine is moving on to new things, because i dont want to stay working on only schedules and joinery but i am looking forward to visiting the site for a house i've worked on and this will be in within two weeks time


Well... Ciao for now!! ;)

Hello world!!

So yes, i've stepped into the big "bad" world...which by the way doesn't seem bad at all though then again im still a newbie right..

It's my second week as an intern at Arthur Quinton Darryl Croome Architects and things are going well. I've been helping with a project for a house in Camps Bay, which by the way i completely love!, the drawings have been done to quite a far stage already but still need to be approved by council. Tomorrow we'll be meeting with the client again as the client has requested a few changes to be made to some of the plans. I was appointed to make those changes and although it's just my second week here im learning so much already which is a real relief. Its amazing how actually working in the field and being exposed to everything really gives you new perspective and and in my case, defintly new design ideas and good precedent that i actually understand haha!

so this is me just checking in for the first time..
Ciao!