DEREK

=**Best Fit** = by Derek

=INVESTIGATION STAGE =

**General characteristics of the neighborhood** :
The neighborhood near the lot is very ordinary. There are mostly houses near it. There is a busier street by it made up of stores, restuarants and others like recreation for people living in this neighborhood. There are various places to get basic necessities like groceries. There are also a variety of education because of the wide amount of schools. The streets aren't noisy at night because not a lot of cars come by.

Block and Lot Number:
The Block Number is 3225. The Lot Number is 39.

Size of lot:
The size of the lot is 60 x 100.

**Needs assessment** :
**1. A description of what the neighborhood already has.** The lot's neighborhood has a good amount of things. Within a short driving distance all the necessities are located. There are grocery stores, schools, and places of worship. Also there are doctors, and big stores like Stop and Shop. This neighborhood has a good amount of parks and recreational activities like a movie theater. It also has a lot of restaurants. **2. An analysis of what the neighborhood needs.** I think that this neighborhood needs an indoor gym.This is because during the colder seasons like winter or fall, make it hard to go outside and run. Also snow has playing in the park hard. Also i see people outside running in the cold seasons. There are some indoor gyms with machines, but they don't have things like a basketball court or other sports equipment. This neighborhood could use a hotel.Another thing that I don't see much of is a batting cage, which is a place where you can train for baseball in the winter. In this neighborhood you can't really practice many things during the cold seasons.

**Buildings and architects that provide inspiration**


This building inspires me because of the amount of people it is able to fit inside of it. Also the security they have for the players is very good so it amazes me because it works even though there is a lot of players. Also something that amazes me is how new this stadium is. This stadium is very new yet a lot of people use its facilities. I also like the view from air of the stadium because it looks nice with the grass view on top. This can inspire me to put some sort of plants on the roof to make it look better.

This building inspires me because it is one of the tallest buildings in the world. It is also very famous. This interests me because it is a tourist attraction and a lot of people view it during the year. It is something I have always wanted to visit. I also like it because it's windows are sort of reflecting the the sky and I like the way it shows in the sun. I also like the view it gets.

This building inspires me because you can get right there by so many ways. There is the normal train, LIRR and you can get there by car. This place is so organized and so many events are scheduled there. Also it amazes me how fast they can change the stage for a basketball game to a concert or hockey game. I also really like the building because it looks really cool. I like the way it is dome shaped and i think it looks like something from the Roman times, like the Colosseum. This kind of reminds of a modern-day Colosseum.



This building inspires me because it is a very historic building and is an indoor stadium. This interests me because also it has problems like cave ins with a lot of snow. This shows how you need to be careful while building structures and make sure they are safe so the building doesn't cave in during things like snowstorms.This looks cool because it looks sort of like a balloon and seems to be inflating. I like the way this looks but i don't think this is very safe.

This building inspires me because it was tore down. I like this building because of the designs on the front with a zigzag pattern. I think that this looks cool. Also I like the colors used to make the building. This building was a very old building before it was tore down but it still managed to fit a lot of people in and make a lot of money. I also like it because it looks like a cup making it interesting.

__Works Cited__ "Delawareonline | Wilmington Blogs:Pulp Culture | The News Journal." //Delawareonline.com | The News Journal | Wilmington News, Community, Entertainment, Yellow Pages and Classifieds. Serving Wilmington, DE//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. [].

"Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Stadium in Minneapolis." //World Stadiums//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. [].

"Madison Square Garden - Madison Square Gardens Concert Tickets." //Online Travel Guides of Travel Destinations - Las Vegas, Caribbean, Hawaii and Machu Picchu//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. [].

"Sears Tower." //Forever Wallpapers//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. [].

"Shea Stadium." //Ballparks by Munsey and Suppes//. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. [].

==** 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 stage influenced me to design a building for my lot that makes the best fit for the neighborhood. It allowed me to see what sort of buildings the neighborhood of the lot needed and what it already had. This allowed me to determine what buildings my neighborhood needs. Another thing it allowed me to do was to find buildings that made inspiration to me. This helps give a sort of model that I can choose to build my building with.

=DESIGN Brief =

**Design Brief:**
==**Problem to be solved:The problem to be solved is that** my neighborhood has too many housing structures and not enough recreational places in the winter time like a batting cage and gym. ==

**Requirements:**

 * Needs to have windows that aren't see-through
 * Needs to have an awning of some sort over the entrance.
 * Needs to have a color that blends in with the other buildings in the neighborhood.
 * Needs to be made of materials that blend in with the other buildings in the neighborhood

**Constraints:**

 * Footprint of the building or the size of the lot
 * Minimum set back of the lot
 * Height restraints of the buildings

Description of Three Possible Designs
 * Design #1 **

media type="custom" key="8114192"

This design has a flat roof where people can play and a glass covering this section. It has grey windows, a door and a trianglular shaped awning that extends over hte sidewalk. It has a sign diagonally across the front of the building saying "Forest Hills Batting Cage". This sign is in white. The building is made out of brick. ** Design #2 **

media type="custom" key="8125024"

This building has a glass door and a triangular shaped awning that covers the space under the door. It has a room to the left side where people can swim in a pool. It is covered by a glass roof and has tin walls to support the roof. The rest of the building is made out of cement and the roof is made up of roofing material. It has windows on the left side of the building that reflects the sky. Under it is a picture of Alex Rodriguez who is a hitter for the New York Yankees. It has a sign that says Forest Hills Batting Cage and Gym. ** Design #3 **

media type="custom" key="8125030"

This design is unique because there is no covering or roof on it. On the roof there is a pool. There are two entrances to the facilitie, one on the front and the other on the left. There is a picture of Michael Phelps on the the front. Also there is a picture of Babe Ruth on the left side. There are windows above both pictures are covered by a blind. There is a white sign saying Forest Hills Batting Cage and Gym.

** Identify the Best Design: **
The best design is the Design #2.

** Justify Your Choice: **
This is the best design because it matches with all the points of the design brief. It also solves the main problem in my lots neighborhood. It has an awning for the door which is one of the requirements on my design brief. The windows aren't see-through which is another requirement on the design brief. The color blends in with all the other buildings near the lot and it follows all the constraits, like being only the size of the lot.