-...blah blah or similar approved.
-...to Engineers details and specifications.
and the site favourites...
First award goes to "move window/door/wall" ? hahaha
Builders pick up the wall and move it? Copy and paste on AutoCAD but on site its demolition!
*sara.s
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Working while fasting...
Ramadaan's a busy month for all Muslims. You have to be on your best behaviour and try to keep it that way when the month is over. Concentrating on work is easier some times more than other...you don't need to take as much breaks...the only thing that could irritate you a little is if you had unhealthy foods at breakfast time and you regret it later...because you get hungrier sooner...
Otherwise work has been good...alot of running around and sitting on your behind, hunched in front of our pcs :)
Dropping plans, walking them through council, admin in the office (does not matter how small it is...it's admin) etc.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
day one of block 4
Architecture needs to be considerate, sensitive and should have moral values.
Eg. If your hotel (or other) gets a 6star green rating, make sure you make the small things green as well, not only the building. Sunlight dish washing liquid is green in colour but not g(ood)reen for the environment lol
Eg. If your hotel (or other) gets a 6star green rating, make sure you make the small things green as well, not only the building. Sunlight dish washing liquid is green in colour but not g(ood)reen for the environment lol
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
pre-block 4
Before I left work today I finished off a base drawing for a new project in Fish Hoek that we measured up last week. Monday: doing bits of everything because one of the clients keep changing things back to the way they were originally, after seeing the light on site. Its easy to move a wall a few inches back on AutoCAD but doing that on site is demolishing and re-building in the correct place. So no, we can not just move the wall back a bit. Tuesday: Trip to council (SPM), Llandudno to drop plans in someones letter box and back to the office by 2:30pm. My working day ends at 4:30pm so I hardly did anything. Wednesday: finished off lighting layouts, base drawings and some admin.
*sara
*sara
Friday, July 13, 2012
Friday the 13th
this day considered to be unlucky for some... almost for me too today!
Walking plans has not been easy lately. One of the submissions - a boundary, new pool and moving a door to line up with the pedestrian access...needs "departures"? Why?, you ask, because its an old house that exceeds the 50% coverage allowed for it in the Title deeds! Yes, so now we have to get neighbours to sign (well we let the clients do that bit), but it gets delayed when clients are on holiday and then still need to get Conveyancer's certificates...simply to state that there are restrictive conditions in the title deeds but they don't see what? I'm not quite sure. Its just another way of local authority covering their tracks. Like a few years later they can say but your lawyer/conveyancer had a look at it and okay'ed it.
And on site today, "the steel-glass house is starting to take shape and you can get a better feel for the spaces" (Julie, Architect).
A slab was suppose to be cast today (FRIDAY THE 13TH), but it seams that the concrete guys were a bit superstitious, not wanting to cast it on Friday the 13th! On this particular day there was an incident with supports "giving in" and the slab above coming down with it AND the client being on site at that moment when things came tumbling down...
And why my day turned out to be not that bad...I called Ward 59's councillor and thought that I would be able to pop in after 2pm today, because he'd be in his office. When I got there, I told the receptionist that I was there to see Mr Iversen...so she calls him and there's no answer...but she says that his in the building...next thing I know a man asks me if I'm his 2 o'clock meeting..."Oh Mr Iversen" and apologise, I was under the impression that it was for anytime after 2pm and he had me down for a meeting at 2pm! And I came strolling in at 2:45PM! So we walk into a small boardroom and he starts looking at the plans and says "Oh I can;t sign this...I don't have a pen" and I immediately feel a little less nervous because I left him waiting for FORTY FIVE MINUTES! I always have a pen with me...obviously. So I hand him mine and he signs the plan. Yeah!
That was my day...and the week was pretty much the same...we're trying to finish off the little bits of work that take a lot of time so that we can concentrate on the new bigger project...First small Llandudno alteration goes to Council on Monday...and the second Llandudno project is in design phase...but its really hard designing a house for a group of people who have set ideas that don't exactly gel well together...and if you're willing to spend money on your property shouldn't you make it count so that if you decide to relocate for whatever reason that you'll get good returns on your investment?
A good architect is not only an architect...but many others things...get to that at a later stage hahaha
*saraS
Walking plans has not been easy lately. One of the submissions - a boundary, new pool and moving a door to line up with the pedestrian access...needs "departures"? Why?, you ask, because its an old house that exceeds the 50% coverage allowed for it in the Title deeds! Yes, so now we have to get neighbours to sign (well we let the clients do that bit), but it gets delayed when clients are on holiday and then still need to get Conveyancer's certificates...simply to state that there are restrictive conditions in the title deeds but they don't see what? I'm not quite sure. Its just another way of local authority covering their tracks. Like a few years later they can say but your lawyer/conveyancer had a look at it and okay'ed it.
And on site today, "the steel-glass house is starting to take shape and you can get a better feel for the spaces" (Julie, Architect).
A slab was suppose to be cast today (FRIDAY THE 13TH), but it seams that the concrete guys were a bit superstitious, not wanting to cast it on Friday the 13th! On this particular day there was an incident with supports "giving in" and the slab above coming down with it AND the client being on site at that moment when things came tumbling down...
And why my day turned out to be not that bad...I called Ward 59's councillor and thought that I would be able to pop in after 2pm today, because he'd be in his office. When I got there, I told the receptionist that I was there to see Mr Iversen...so she calls him and there's no answer...but she says that his in the building...next thing I know a man asks me if I'm his 2 o'clock meeting..."Oh Mr Iversen" and apologise, I was under the impression that it was for anytime after 2pm and he had me down for a meeting at 2pm! And I came strolling in at 2:45PM! So we walk into a small boardroom and he starts looking at the plans and says "Oh I can;t sign this...I don't have a pen" and I immediately feel a little less nervous because I left him waiting for FORTY FIVE MINUTES! I always have a pen with me...obviously. So I hand him mine and he signs the plan. Yeah!
That was my day...and the week was pretty much the same...we're trying to finish off the little bits of work that take a lot of time so that we can concentrate on the new bigger project...First small Llandudno alteration goes to Council on Monday...and the second Llandudno project is in design phase...but its really hard designing a house for a group of people who have set ideas that don't exactly gel well together...and if you're willing to spend money on your property shouldn't you make it count so that if you decide to relocate for whatever reason that you'll get good returns on your investment?
A good architect is not only an architect...but many others things...get to that at a later stage hahaha
*saraS
Thursday, June 28, 2012
I haven't been to site in a while... and the "glass-steel" house is starting to take shape.
I will however be going there tomorrow...Cant wait! I didn't design it but had some drawing work to do on this project so its cool seeing how exactly everything comes together. steel-concrete details galore. Learning a lot with this project as it forms part of next years studies (steel framed structures, we only touched on it in 1st year) so I appreciate being able to see it first hand. Cape Town will be experiencing some rain and wind tomorrow...so it'll be an interesting meeting...if its too rainy (the site is sloped) we won't be able to walk around. We seem to have clients who enjoy seeing the unfinished project as much as we do. Fortnightly site meetings are a given but the architect makes visits in between, and the clients seems to be there almost everyday...checking the progress...reporting discrepancies before the architect sees them. Be excited but don't over do it...let the contractor do his job...
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
update...
Its been a week and a half since the last block period (when we go to University for face-to-face-time), and I find myself still not settled in. My minds all over the place, when it should be in a bit of a rest period. All assignments are in and block week was good. We're currently trying to get a few sets of plans approved. Two of them need "departures"...consent from the neighbours so that we can build over the building lines. That takes time. Time on one project that we do not have. Since we got the project its been go GO gO! Client: "We need this done like yesterday?"...not their real words but you gey the picture. Not our fault you first went to an architect who didn't totally understand what you wanted.
My employer is a true problem solver-therapist-councilor-architect. Times are hard...and you take the business as it comes...trying hard not to put yourself between a rock and a hardER place. But work is scarce and you're not sure what lies ahead and around the corner. So you take jobs from very difficult clients, sometimes, not all are so difficult.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to measuring up at the new job in Llandudno...but now I have to make my way to South Peninsula for more consent forms.
Our lecturers are in Barcelona! I really hope I get the chance in my lifetime...even if you aren't a fan...like Julie (employer) says...you have to see Le Familia Segrada...Gaudi.
I hope they're taking lots of photos!
Adios :-)
*sara
My employer is a true problem solver-therapist-councilor-architect. Times are hard...and you take the business as it comes...trying hard not to put yourself between a rock and a hardER place. But work is scarce and you're not sure what lies ahead and around the corner. So you take jobs from very difficult clients, sometimes, not all are so difficult.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to measuring up at the new job in Llandudno...but now I have to make my way to South Peninsula for more consent forms.
Our lecturers are in Barcelona! I really hope I get the chance in my lifetime...even if you aren't a fan...like Julie (employer) says...you have to see Le Familia Segrada...Gaudi.
I hope they're taking lots of photos!
Adios :-)
*sara
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