BRIANA

=**Best Fit** = by Briana

=INVESTIGATION STAGE =

**General characteristics of the neighborhood** :
The neighborhood that I am working on is a very mixed area of Queens. There are different types of "mom and pop" stores and they're few restaurants here and there. There is some light industry also in the neighborhood along the same street as the empty lot.

Block and Lot Number:
Lot: 3608 Block:271

Size of lot:
177"x144.22"x260"x24"x120.6''

Images:
 Tax Map view of the lot. Street view of the empty lot. Satellite view of the empty lot.

**Needs assessment** :
**1. A description of what the neighborhood already has.** __**What’s the neighborhood like?**__ The neighborhood is very mixed and has very mixed types of stores and restaurants. One thing that is different about this neighborhood is that everyone seems to know everyone and little bits about their personal life. __**What kind of businesses?**__ The types of businesses we have in this neighborhood are mostly “mom and pop” types of stores. They’re about three delis, one shoe repair store, one tailor, two pharmacies, one Spanish restaurant, one Korean restaurant, one Italian, and one Egyptian. We also four grocery stores, a library, one 99 cents store, a sports equipment store, and a Rite Aid, and also a CVS. __**Light Industry?**__ There is some light industry, there is a storage space for trucks that import different goods from other parts of New York, the same street as the empty lot. __**A place of worship, schools, recreation centers?**__ There is a church a few blocks ahead of the empty lot, but other then that they’re no other places of worship, although we have people who do not worship in church. We have three schools by the neighborhood. One is a private elementary school, another is a public elementary school, and the third is a private high school. There are currently no recreation centers in the neighborhood. __**What type of transportation?**__ There are around six buses that pass through the neighborhood, there is a subway station, and there is a taxi service also in the neighborhood. __**What type of people? **__ They're many families, and as a result they're many kids. Also the three schools that are in the neighborhood bring more children in. They're also many retiered elderly people. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__**What type of homes?**__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They’re two family homes with a basement that is sometimes used for another family, making it a three family home. All the houses are connected and have a small garden in the front of the house and a small backyard in the back of the house. They’re also two doors that lead to the backyard, one comming from the basement and the other comming from the first floor.

**2. An analysis of what the neighborhood needs.** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although the neighborhood offers many things, based on the type of people that live there and the types of businesses that are there, I feel some type of clothing store or entertainment center would be best. They're many stores for food shoping and resturants as well. If there were a small strip mall, people would be able to easily buy their clothes without going out of their way and is walking distance. Because they're are many food stores and resturants, there wouldn't be need for having any franchises or any food stands. People could simply buy their clothes and then walk a block to get their food. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another suggestion for what the neighborhood needs is some sort of entertainment. They're many kids in the area and the only place to hang out for them is the local park. Perhaps a movie theater would be a good idea. Since they're many schools around the area, kids would be able to walk to the movies ( which is only about five blocks from each school to the empty lot). Of course the movie theater would still be running while the kids are in school, which would be the perferct oppurtinity for some of the elderly people of the neighborhood to come and see a movie.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Buildings and architects that provide inspiration

 * [[image:http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2007/12/brasilia/20071219-d0324.jpg width="300" height="225"]] || This building inspired me for several reasons. One reasons is because of the complexity of the shape of the building itself. This building is the standard rectangle, it is the shape of a funnel. Without even going inside of the building, it seems interesting and you want more of it. I want people to feel the same way about the building that I create. I want them to think "wow look at that! Can you believe someone actually made that?".

"December 2007 - My London Diary." //Jan 2011 - My London Diary//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2007/12/dec.htm>. ||
 * [[image:http://www.jazzhostels.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/flatiron-building-new-york.jpg width="283" height="424"]] || This building inspired me the moment I looked at it. Your first reaction when you see this building is, "how is this possible? How can people even fit in there without being squished". This is why I love this building. In a way it almost defies the laws of architecture. We, especially in New York are used to the typical postal box shape. This building though, this is a completely different story! They're aren't many building where the length is greater then the width. This building is something you can look at for a couple of hours and still wonder how people actually walk inside it. I really lik that its also curved and has windows on ever floor. Its like opening a little present each time you look out the window, the fact that your way up high above everybody else and do not look like a pancake is still pretty cool.

"10 Cool Historic Buildings in New York City | Jazz Hostels Blog." //Jazz Hostels in New York City, Miami, Montreal - South Beach and New York Hostels//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://www.jazzhostels.com/blog/29-10-cool-historic-buildings-in-new-york-city/>. ||
 * [[image:http://www.billigflugzentrale.de/billigflug-blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/dubai-ist-ein-trip-wert.jpg width="329" height="403"]] || This building inspired me because it again, was a building that was interesting to look at. I loved that it was place on the beach and it almost looked like a sword fish jumping out of the water. I really like how the architect that created this building took use of their surroundings to make it almost "fit" into the land and make it seem like it was meant to be there. If the building wasn't there it would just seem kind of empty and barren, but when you add the building that's all your eyes focus on.

"Google Image Result for Http://www.chinasmack.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Peoples-daily-building-look-like-dubai-hotel-03.jpg."// Google//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <//http://www.chinasmack.com/2009/pictures/new-peoples-daily-building-copy-dubai-burj-al-arab-hotel.html&usg ||
 * [[image:http://www.pragueexperience.com/images/photos/xlarge/d_house.jpg width="340" height="380"]] || I absolutely love this building for so many reasons. It definitely inspired me. The first reason is because it defies gravity. This building really makes you think. I could stare at this buildings hours on end just gawking at the interesting qualities it has. The building looks like something out of a cartoon, which I love. The windows seem to pop out and the one column it seems to have is supporting the whole building if that's not amazing, the fact that its standing completely straight, while the other side of the building is all curved although it has more columns supporting it, thats just something I think is so interesting. The buildings I create, I want people to have the same sense of wonder that I have with this building.

"Unit 4: Houses." //The NI1 Experiment//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://the-ni1-experiment.blogspot.com/2009/03/unit-4-houses_21.html>. ||
 * [[image:http://english.chosun.com/media/photo/news/200701/200701250009_04.jpg width="357" height="367"]] || This building really interested me and inspired me for a few reasons. One reason is because its the standard rectangle shape, but with a twist. The multiple windows that the building has really makes it seem more interesting then what it probably is. I love how the windows are all different shapes and sizes and really don't have a particular order to them. I also like the fact that the building is taller and wider then all the other buildings around it. You can probably recognize the building from quite a number of blocks away. This building really says "look at me". I definitely want my building to say that to others and this is why this building inspired me.

"S. Korea: Famous Buildings Become Branding Tools." //Latest Articles//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1773388/posts>. ||

==<span style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** In ** what ways has this investigation influenced you to design a building for your lot that makes the best fit for the neighborhood?== This investigation has influenced me to make a design for a building for my lot that is the best fit for the neighborhood. Each of these buildings gave something different, but they all had similar qualities. In the first building it was the complexity of the archtecture. In the second building it was how it didn't really follow the rules of how a building should look. For the third building it was how it matched the settings around it so perfectly. For the fourth it was how crazy it was. And finally, for the fifth it was an ordinary shape but it looked so different from other things that were similar. In general, all the buildings that influenced me to go further in my design for my building had at least one interesting aspect about it that made you seem at least romotely interested in what the building is or what its purposes are for. I want a building that stands out from the others around it, which each of the five above seem to do a very good job of, and make people want to come and see what it is and hopefully tell their friends about it and eventually have many people come to the building.

=<span style="color: #008000; font-size: 1.4em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">DESIGN BRIEF =

<span style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">**Design Brief:**
==<span style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">**Problem to be solved: The neighborhood needs to have a unquie and interesting building that provides entertainment for the people.** ==

<span style="font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">**Requirements:**

 * The The building must go with the neighborhood but still be unquie.
 * The building must be able to hold at least four movie screens if its a movie theater.
 * The building must be able to hold at least 800 people.

<span style="font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">**Constraints:**

 * The building can not be bigger then the empty lot.
 * The building can not have more then ten floors.
 * The building can not prevent people from doing anything they could do before.

Description of Three Possible Designs (** EMBED GOOGLE SKETCH UP CODE) ** This desgin is the desgin that has a semi circular door. This design also involves serveral rectangles. They're two floors however, the top floor has different rooms, each big enough to hold a movie screen and a bathroom for both male and female. I also made the bottom floor big enough so that there could be a few confession stands and popcorn and soda could be avialiable to the people. This design involved using many boxes and rectangles, but in a unqie and different way. media type="custom" key="8114122" ** Design #2 ** ** ( ** EMBED GOOGLE SKETCH UP CODE) This design is the design that had many cutout holes. It was basically just a regular rectangle with windows on one side and just pieces of wall on the other side. It was all one floor but the rectangle was deep and so four movie sc reens and a male and female bathroom would easily be able to fit in there. This design didn't use as much shapes as the other, but it still had a very modern design. media type="custom" key="8114196"
 * Design #1 **

** Design #3 ** (** EMBED GOOGLE SKETCH UP CODE) ** This design was very different from both the first and the second design. This design included different shapes, such as triangular figures. I included a window on each floor and two of the walls were at a slant. The building is big enough to hold both a male and female bathroom and also four movie screems. Agian, the modern theme was contiuned but this was a little bit more edgy and it had a new fresh feeling. media type="custom" key="8114228"

<span style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** Identify the Best Design: **
The best desgin was the third design. This is the design with the slanted walls and the half rectangle shape hald triangle shape. It had five windows, one on each floor, and one entering/leaving door.

<span style="font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** Justify Your Choice: **
This was the best design in my opinion because of several reasons. The main reason is because it met the specifications best and it still fitted into the neighborhood, but still made itself noticeable so that it could attract people. I was very pleased with this design because it combined both the traditional rectangle on one side, but then on the other side it was a very new sleek fresh modern feel. I feel like this design shows both a traditional side and a modern side and its something that I think the people will really like.