Wooow! What an interesting week! This week has been an experiential week, learning new aspects of the profession in small yet significant ways.
This week I finally finished my set of working drawings for the proposed new spa layout. It was checked and given a thumb up!
Every day is a new day on AutoCAD, it takes practice to know and use the new techniques effectively. I went to collect plans at the Council this week and they were unfortunately not approved. This trip allowed me to know more about the Council Submission process. I learnt about the letter which they proved stating were the amendments needed to be made in accordance to the NBR. Last week I spoke about a sketch up model of the bathroom and toilet for the domestic project, this week I added the kitchen and have been exploring different finishes to impress the client. It is a huge responsibility though, as I do not know what the client wants but I have to give them something to work from. This project gave me the chance to create my own little tablet or palette of finishes, by going through different precedent and thus creating my own design.
I got a bit carried away and stressed with this project as I wanted it to be perfect and Heidi spoke to me about focusing on the important issues/details as this is the professional world, clients do not see things necessarily as we do.
I have decided to start reading more to improve my architectural discourse and Heidi advised me to read journals, magazines and articles of different projects. I took my first journal home this weekend; the projects seem extremely fantastic, also found the article from Mr Jake De Villiers.
On Thursday Heidi and I went to the Council in Khayelitsha to collect plans , only to find out that they too have not been approved- which was only due to the fact that the client sent the incorrect plans.( always do this yourself). On our way we spoke about the importance of basic knowledge of the NBR and have a checklist before submitting any plans to council. We chatted about the difference between qualified and unqualified, yet experienced architects. This came down to the willingness to always learn and do more, even when you do not know. There after we went for a site visit. The building has been completed and Heidi and I did a snag of it. This was interesting as I made the list and when the contractor came, I did the snag with him, when I got back to the office, I draw up the completion list, learning the admin side of things. My burglar bars design was up and I was thrilled to see it. One important note: every time we sent work to anyone, sent it as a PDF so that they cannot change it as it is a legal document.
TILL n e x t TIME.... :-)
