NELLY

= **Best Fit** = by Nelly Lin

= INVESTIGATION STAGE =

**General characteristics of the neighborhood** :
The neighborhood is a quiet neighborhood with many houses. There are nearby stores that provide products and services for the people. There are factories nearby, but only small businesses. There are elementary schools, middle schools, and a high school in the neighborhood where kids go to get an education. In this neighborhood, it is a busy place. Right near Grand Ave. where there are many stores and ways of transportation. It makes traveling to school or work a easier job. The Queen Center Mall is close by and can be reached by walking or by taking the bus.

Size of lot:
34.25 x 100 x 80 x 150

[[image:Tax_Map_8-3_Lin_Tax_Map.png caption="Tax Map View of the empty lot."]]




**Needs assessment** :
**1. A description of what the neighborhood already has.**

In this neighborhood, there are many houses and small businesses nearby. The houses in this neighborhood are mostly 2 family or 3 family houses with rarely few 1 family houses. All the houses in the neighborhood has a backyard, garage, and a front yard. The businesses that are in the neighborhood are small stores for food, grocery stores, delis, and a couple of 99 cent stores. There are no big factories nearby, there are mostly homes and small stores. The stores include nail salons, spas, grocery stores, laundromats, and so on. Nearby there is a clinic where plastic surgery can be done. On Grand Ave. there's a library where people borrow books or do homework. Also on Grand Ave, there is a church. Preschools include Peek-A-Boo, Elementary schools include PS58, PS07, and PS229, Middle Schools include IS5 and IS73, and a high school nearby is Newton High School. The nearest hospital is Elmhurst Hospital. There are parks in the neighborhood: Crowley Park and a new park named Elmhurst Park. People can hang out at the Mall: Queens Center Mall or at Atlas Mall which is a bit further away.

**2. An analysis of what the neighborhood needs.**

This neighborhood has all the neccessities a community needs, but it doesn't have a place where kids can go and relax after a long day or where parents can go and relax. This neighborhood needs a place for recreation center where adults and children can both relax and enjoy having fun. There are no recreation centers nearby where people can have fun; most recreation centers are far away and transportation to get there would be very long and it wouldn't be convenient to go every once a week. Maybe having a recreation center can be a place where families spend quality time together or where people can go to unwind and be calm. In this neighborhood there are all the place for work, food, homes, and schools, but there isn't a place where people can just have a good time. Making the empty lot into a recreation center can complete the community and make it more special. Without a recreation center, people have no place to hang out and relax after a long hard day of work. Having a recreation center would make people happy and cheerful as well as energized for the next day.

**Buildings and architects that provide inspiration**

 * [[image:Russian_Church_Inspiration_8-3_Lin.jpg align="center"]] ||
 * This building inspires me because it has so many vibrant colors that you don't normally see on the streets. The patterns on the top seem to pop out and there are these swirls and triangles that are popping outside of the building. It's so sparkly and colorful that when you look at buildings, they are the ones that seem to interest you the most. The top of the buildings are pointy but they don't go strait up in a line, but there is a curve and it reminds of of the Kiss chocolates which reminds me of Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory that has everything made out of candy. It makes me wonder if we can build buildings made up of other materials. ||
 * [[image:Dubai_Spiral_Building_Inspiration_8-3_Lin.jpg align="center"]] ||
 * This building inspires me because of its unique look. It's curved and it looks sparkly and shiny. At night time it seems to shine out and it reminds me of stars. The buildings are curved and it makes me think about if we can make a building that's all curved and not going straight up. The rooms in the buildings must not be all rectangular and it has to be at least curved. At the top of the building it's really pointy and it makes me wonder if there is a room up there or if it stops at some other point. These curved buildings don't topple over and it is strange looking. Not many buildings are curved and swirls. ||
 * [[image:Basket_Building_Inspiration_8-3_Lin.jpg align="center"]] ||
 * This building inspires me because of its unique shape and color. It is shaped like a basket and it's bright yellow. The building even has the two handles used for a basket. This looks like a basket made out of straw with holes all around it that are made for the windows. It is a building that is placed in the middle of nowhere. It's very interesting and it makes me think it any other buildings can be shaped into other objects. This building makes me wonder about the handles. Why does it stand up and why isn't it toppling over? ||
 * [[image:http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G59clU3y2e0/TOLLrx0S_UI/AAAAAAAAAQc/rU8jHk8AGWw/s1600/urbancactus.jpg height="342" align="center"]] ||
 * This building is inspiring because of how it is shown. The floors are shaped differently like stars with each of its points sticking out. Then another floor is on top of the last and placed in a different way. You can see out on the balcony and and above the balcony is someone else's balcony. This building reminds me of cookies that are stacked one on top of on another, but the cookies eventually fall over. This building doesn't fall over and looks durable. On the bottom of the building it shows a small fountain that is supporting all the weight above it. This makes me wonder how it can carry all that weight and this building looks very artistic as well as interesting. ||
 * [[image:http://www.venish.com/blog/files/page0_blog_entry8_1.jpg height="301" align="center"]] ||
 * This building is inspiring because of how it's in the middle of the waters. The building looks as if it was being folded in half. The top of it opens and the bottom is flat on the ground. The sides have nothing supporting it, but yet it still stays as it is. The rooms in that building must be irregularly shaped and the furniture in the room would also have to be arranged differently accommodating the shape of the building. This building makes me think of how other buildings can be shaped irregularly and how it would stay up. ||

** In what ways has this investigation influenced you to design a building for your lot that makes the best fit for the neighborhood? **
====All these buildings makes me wonder about how buildings can be built in different ways. Some are built in the middle of the ocean, some are built like objects, and some are curved. In my neighborhood the buildings are all the same with very limited differences. I don't think that something shiny and sparkly should be in place of the lot because it doesn't fit in with the surroundings and the look of the neighborhood. I think the best fit for my neighborhood that would fit in well is a design that isn't very tall, but could be in a different shape like the basket building. Many buildings in my community aren't very tall and they are normal sized. Having a large building with vibrant colors would stand out and wouldn't make a good fit to the neighborhood. What can be used from my inspirations is the patterns that pop out, the stacking of the floors, and the idea of making a building in the shape of an object. The building in the middle of the ocean is very interesting, but I can't use that for my design because it a building were to be folded, it wouldn't be a great fit in my neighborhood. All the buildings there are rectangular and aligned together. I can use the idea of the curves because I was thinking of creating a bowling ball place where people can hang out. It can be in a shape of a bowling ball and have lights on top of the building to make it shine like the photo of the Dubai building. Another thought for the empty lot is to create an junk food place where people can eat and hang out. The building can be in the shape of a huge hamburger with stacked food that are really floors like the 4th picture. People looking at the building would be amazed and would want to go there. It can attract a lot of attention and would be a great place to spend time with family or friends.====

**Works Cited:**

"Dubai Buildings 2010 2011." //World Travel Guide//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <[]>.

 "10 Most Unique Churches." //Flying Midshipmen//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <[]>.

"» The-Basket-B﻿uil﻿ding-3." Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <[]>.

"Shaun Venish - Graphic Art Blog - A View from Austin." //Graphic Art and Illustration Portfolio of Shaun Venish//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. <[]>. "10 World Weirdest Buildings." //Builders Tips//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. <[]>.

= DESIGN BRIEF =

**Problem to be solved:**
There is an empty lot in the neighborhood that needs to have a recreational center to be built.

**Requirements:**

 * Needs to have more than one floor.
 * The roof is rounded and is a light color.
 * The building needs to have a door.
 * The color of the building needs to be a dark color.
 * Has to have a theme on the exterior of the building that reflects what the building is going to be for.
 * There has to be at least 1 windows.
 * There has to be a door.
 * There needs to be a setback.
 * Designs on the walls of the building.

**Constraints:**

 * Cannot be more than 3 stories high.
 * The setback cannot be more than 12ft long.

Function:
** The purpose of the building is to offer people in the community a place to relax and have fun. It's a place where people go to unwind and spend quality time with family or friends. **

Description of Three Possible Designs (** EMBED GOOGLE SKETCH UP CODE) **
 * Design #1 **
 * (Write description below. **)

====This model is a movie theater with a restaurant inside as well. People can enjoy and watch a movie in the movie theater, but they can also have dinner or lunch at the same time. People can relax and have fun. On the outside it looks like a castle and two rings on the top. The rings are the place where people can watch movies and on the first floor is where the restaurant is. The restaurant is in the shape of a castle for medieval times kind of food. This is a place where people can hang out and eat, but also if they get bored, they can watch movies for entertainment. It is the perfect place to be entertained, but you don't need to leave the building to get food. It makes your tummy happy and you happy!====

media type="custom" key="8114062"

** Design #2 ** ** ( ** EMBED GOOGLE SKETCH UP CODE) (Write description below. **)**

==== ** This model is a swimming pool. On the outside it is all different types of blues to show the different colors of the water. The roof is made of glass so that when people are swimming in the pool, they get to have a view of the sky and the surroundings. This place is for people to have fun and relax. They can swim and exercise, but also play games. There are two pools in the building. One pool for kids and one for adults. This way, parents can look over their kids, but also enjoy having fun and relaxing as well as taking care of their child. Parents can spend quality time with their children and have lots of fun. ** ====

media type="custom" key="8114174"

** Design #3 ** (** EMBED GOOGLE SKETCH UP CODE) **
 * (Write description below. **)

====This model is a ice-cream shop. It is made in the shape of an ice-cream sundae. People can get all types of ice-cream there and in the shop there is a stage where people can perform so there is entertainment as well as food. It can be a place for people to relax and get dessert, but they also can have entertainment. Families an come to the shop for a nice dessert and also be entertained while there. They can also perform on the stage so they can display their creations. People can enjoy their time and hang out in the shop.====

media type="custom" key="8150808"

** Identify the Best Design: **
====The best design for the empty lot is the ice-cream shop. It is the 3rd design and has pistachio flavored ice-cream with chocolate chips on it served in a bowl-like structure. The building on the outside looks like ice-cream sundae. It has two floors and is for recreation where people can have fun and relax after a long day of work.====

** Justify Your Choice: **
====This is the best design for the empty lot because it is a place for recreation. People can have fun performing on stage and eating all different flavors of ice-cream. The building has more than one floor and has a light color for the roof. The look of the building on the outside reflects the purpose of it on the inside. The designs on the building have "chocolate chips" that are really windows for the building. That way people can see the view outside and it matches in with the theme of the building. There aren't more than 3 floors and there is a little bit of setback. It meets all the specifications of the design brief. I chose this design as the best design because of its creative outer appearance and the purpose of it. When you first look at the building it seems interesting and bright; a building that you've never seen before. The ice-cream shop has many different flavors of ice-cream and people would want to go in for all the yummy desserts. The ice-cream shop also has a stage for performances and entertainment. People can go and perform on the stage so they can just relax and have fun. I like this design because of its unique shape and structure. I have never seen a building in the shape of an ice-cream and it would be really interesting for a building to be shaped like that. The other buildings like my movie theater and swimming pool are already seen before. My swimming pool is a cool structure, but it is simple and plain. My movie theater was a great idea, but the building lacks the creativity and uniqueness of the ice-cream shop. The ice-cream shop is simple, but it catches peoples' attention and is bright and colorful with the ice-cream color.====