HIMANSU

= **Best Fit** = by Himanshu

= INVESTIGATION STAGE =

**General characteristics of the neighborhood** :
My lot is basically in an irregular shape. It is a 8 sided shape that has two rectangles jointed together. It is located on 136th street on hillside avenue. A building near my lot is 135-24. The neighborhood of my lot is dangerous and quite in the night. But in the morning, the neighborhood is very peaceful and calm. There is no sign of danger. There are many deli's near the lot. Also near my lot there are plenty of repair shops and car dealerships. Also near my lot there is a law office and a laundromat that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Block and Lot Number:
Block Number- 9616 Lot Number- 3

Images:


This is an image of the satellite view of my lot.



This image is a tax map of my lot.



This is an image of my lot and it is a street view.

**Needs assessment** :
**1. A description of what the neighborhood already has.**  The lot that I found was located on Hillside Avenue. A building near it is 135-24. My lot is located on 136th street. The zip code for my lot is 11415. It’s like an abandoned parking lot that belongs to a church. My lot’s block number is 9616. The dimensions of the lot are: 60’ x 24.95’ x 73.95’ x 21’. The neighborhood in which my lot is located in is very quite. The lot is very close to the highway on Grand Central, Jamaica Van Wyck highway. Some businesses do take place in this lot. The flea market is sometimes held there. My lot is right next to the church and so the neighborhood has to be quite. If you continue to go inside the block that the lot is in, 136 street, then you will notice that there are 2 or more building. The rest of the block is filled with private houses owned by people.  The lot is very large. It is an 8 sided shape. Right across from my lot there is a laundromat. This laundromat is open 24 hours a day. Many people probably pass through my lot because a laundromat is something that everyone uses to go to get their clothing/cloth cleaned. My lot is also near a hospital. The name of the hospital is Jamaica Hospital. In this neighborhood, there are many automobile repair shops and there are a couple of places that you can go to buy cars. In this neighborhood there is a barbershop and plenty of deli’s. It’s near the Jamaica Van Wyck metro station. So people pass by it because many people travel in trains. There aren’t any factories located in the neighborhood of my lot. The sources of recreation centers is also not located near my neighborhood. No schools are located but if you walk a little more then 9 blocks the school called P.S.99 Q is located. The apartment buildings are medium sized both buildings have around 6 floors of apartments. The neighborhood doesn't have any attached houses. Their are only single or double family, private houses. The neighborhood is very dangerous because people go around thinking they are gangsters. They form gangs at night and do illegal things. the neighborhood is very quite yet dangerous. At night the neighborhood seems quite dangerous because there is no noise and you can see the wild animals roaming around and the dangerous people. It is very scary. Knowing this, people willingly live there. Mainly because the highway is basically right next to them. In the everyday life of people, the highway is the most important thing that people use to get to work. And my lot just so happens to be near the highway. When businesses such as flea markets are held near my lot. A hold crowd gathers and sometimes in my lot a carnival is held and people enjoy themselves by going on rides and they have fun. This is the neighborhood that my lot is located in.

**2. An analysis of what the neighborhood needs.** The thing that I have decided to build on this lot is an arcade. Within this arcade there will be a place where friends and families can have fun by playing games and they can eat here. The thing that inspired this idea was Dave and Busters. In this store people go out to eat and then they start to play games. The thing that made me want to decide that I want to build an arcade is how there is no place to go and have fun in this neighborhood. There are many things in this neighborhood but there aren't place where people can go to have fun and relax. Therefore, to provide the community with the fun they need I have decided to build an arcade/ food court. My arcade will provide people with all types of food including lunch and dinner. I have decided to provide this as the main food because there are plenty of Deli's around the neighborhood in which people can go in there and buy something. So to make sure that both sides profit from this, the arcade will serve dinner and lunch. To build my arcade I have decided to make it not too tall because the only buildings and houses around it will be majorly affected because if my arcade it too tall, then these people that live near it will basically open up their shades and all they'll get is a brick wall. I know that I wouldn't like it if this happened to me so I will try my best to prevent this. Since the neighborhood gets too dangers by nightfall, the arcade will have to close early to prevent harmful losses and damages. There are plenty of deli's so I will try

**Buildings and architects that provide inspiration**



I chose this picture for a very significant reason. This photo really inspires me because it basically tells me not to make my building too tall. I believe this because a helicopter or a plane might crash into. And since my lot is somewhat close to JFK airport. This is bad because some plane can crash into my building if it's too tall just like what had happened to the twin towers.But the incident that had happened had been planned out so it is least likely to happen.



This is an image of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This tower is very inspirational to me because it shows that a building can still stand up and be crooked on a slant. The tower is clearly on a slant and this is inspirational because it shows that as long as the side of an object doesn't pass it's base then it will still be able to stand up. This is fascinating because it shows how this tower is able to stand and it perfectly executes the theory of the edge not passing the base.



This is an image of the grandest stage of them all, The Madison Square Garden. This is a very inspirational piece of architecture to me because everything big happens in Madison Square Garden. In the WWE, Madison Square Garden is referred to as the grandest stage of them all. Many of New York's sports team have been playing in here. When people come to see Madison Square Garden it is mainly to see a sports athlete in action and see them do what they do best, and that is entertain the fans. This arena is huge and quite tall. It talks the form of a cylinder. And the details in the structuring of the Madison Square Garden inspire me.



This is an image of the great India Gate that's located in New Delhi. I chose this as one of the things that inspire me because since I live very near it, I have visited it a couple of times. And it inspires me because it shows me and tells me a lot about the Indian culture. And also whenever you go to visit the India Gate you will always see small businesses happening in the streets and people go around selling all sorts of things. This area is a perfect place to have a picnic and its also the perfect place to play football on. The India Gate is truly a beautiful sit, especially at night time, and it inspires me.



This image is the image of a very significant place called the Taj Mahal. This famous piece of architecture truly is very inspiring. It's very inspiring to me because a king had hired workers to build this palace for him so he can gift it to his wife as a token of love. The interesting part is that he actually cut off the hands of the workers that had help build the Taj Mahal. And the king had done this because he didn't want anyone to build it. He wanted to be the only one to have the Taj Mahal and so to make sure that this had happened, he cut off the hands of the workers so now, nobody in the world knew how to build it. I thought that this was inspiring because it shows that the details put in this structure and these details show the Indian culture. I get inspired by all of the fine tips and the details that had been added 2 the Taj Mahal and I was also interested in the history of the Taj Mahal.

== ** Explanation of how investigation, has influence the design of a building for your neighborhood that makes the best fit. ** == I chose all of these images for a specific reason. I used them so that they would help me in building my arcade. I used the idea of the Taj Mahal to show the exact details and how I will portray that in my creation. I will try to make my design as detailed and cultured like the Taj Mahal. And I used the India Gate for basically the same reason. I used the idea of Madison Square Garden to show that I liked how it was in the shape of a cylinder. I also chose that because it has a ton of visuals and its very colorful once you get to see it live. When I create my arcade I will also use that by adding a ton of visuals to attract people to my arcade. I will also use light colors that stand out so that it attracts a lot of people and so that it stands. This will make people want to come and see my arcade. I will use the idea of the Twin Towers in my creation to build high. Since my lot isn't too big, I can build high instead of me building it wide. But I want to make sure that the arcade isn't too tall because I remember when airplanes had crashed into the Twin Tower but that was planned. So I will use this just in case and my goal is not to make the arcade too big because if I do, an incident like that might take place one again. Finally, I will use the idea of the Leaning Tower of Pisa so that I can try to make my arcade look slanted. But the only problem in this idea is that, if my arcade does end up looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, then none people will be able to go inside it because it will add more weight to the sides of the my arcade and eventually the arcade would collapse, resulting to the destruction of many people. But that image still had inspired me to think of this idea. = = =Works Cited=
 * "Delhi Historic Monuments Gallery." //Delhi Hotels - Luxury, Budget & Airport Hotels in Delhi//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <[]>.


 * "File:Taj Mahal in March 2004.jpg." //Wikimedia Commons//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <[|http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal_in_March_2][|004.jpg]>.


 * "New York City From Air | Webexpedition18." //Webexpedition18 | Web and Graphic Design Inspiration and Photoshop Tutorials//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <[]>.


 * "TRIVIA BITS ... THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA." //Movie Reviews Books Food Restaurants Travel - Down Under Style//. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <[]>.


 * "Twin Towers." //LBD ASSOCIATES Lithium Bromide Absorption Chiller Corrosion Problems & Scenic Photography//. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. <[|http://www.lbdassociates.com/salphotos/SAL Groups/NYC Group/Twin Towers.htm]>.

= DESIGN STAGE =

==== **Problem to be solved: The problem to be solved is that my neighborhood needs a place where people can come out of the darkness and go out to a place where they can have fun, play games, and eat food.** ====

**Requirements:**

 * The arcade should include a variety of games that will bring joy the daily life of people.
 * The cost for each game should be affordable.
 * Price of food should also be affordable.

**Constraints:**

 * Footprint of Building
 * Setback Minimum
 * Height limit

Description of Three Possible Designs media type="custom" key="8159780" This is design 1 of my arcade. The color of my building is like a brownish reddish stone. It is completely covered over my building. In my building there will be an arcade and also if the building is taller it will take up less space but it might disturb the people that live in the neighborhood. So I will try to decrease the height. This design has windows because the neighborhood is very sunny. My arcade will look much better when sunlight is passing through it. There is also a door so that people that can get in and out. The building is pretty tall.
 * Design #1 **

** Design #2 ** media type="custom" key="8159772" This design is smaller then the other design in height. It has a grayish- blackish color. This color is pretty dark because it fits with the neighborhood. The neighborhood of my lot is actually very quiet and most of the buildings are black. So this lighter shade of black will probably make my arcade fit along with the other structures. It has windows so that sunlight can get in and out of the place. A building looks better once sunlight passes through it. My arcade design also has a door so that people can get in and out.

** Design #3 ** media type="custom" key="8159766" This design is basically a combination of both designs. This design is medium in height. It will not get in the way of people. The color is pretty light because light colors tend to make people feel good. It provides a positive vibe. So I chose to make it this color. This color for my arcade is great. This building design is probably a the tallest design compared to the other designs. It has windows to let sunlight pass through it. There are a couple of windows. There is one big door so that the people can get in and out. And the light color helps by bringing a positive vibe to the design.

** Identify the Best Design: **
The best design in my opinion is Design 3.

** Justify Your Choice: **
This is the best design because it is the largest in height. This is good because my building can be large while having its width and length the same. If I build up, then I will have more space to work with for my arcade. This is an excellent things. And I also chose this as the best design because it has the most windows and also the color makes it stand out a lot. Most of the things in this neighborhood are black and so this light color will stick out. This will attract customers to the arcade which will be good for my business.