Here it is. The famous Cal Poly Pomona Arch 301 house project. While the program only calls for 600 sq. ft. of space, this project is known to be the “sink or swim project” of the program. The reason for this is that although the project is small, the model is huge; it is built at 1″ = 1′-0″ scale, and it is expected to be built replicating as much as possible the way in which it would be built in real life. This means real concrete, real rebar (which has to be checked off before you can pour your concrete), accurate framing, supports, materials, etc. Additionally, the appropriate foundation sizes must be calculated and modeled, the appropriate framing members must be sized and modeled, the building must comply (or feasibly be able to) local building codes and ADA requirements. Also, a complete set of construction drawings — including not only floorplans and sections but also framing plans, wall sections, and details — was to be completed. Needless to say, there were a lot of all-nighters this quarter.
Given all this, I was obviously over-ambitious with my design. It seemed simple at first. The design was physical manifestation of what I saw to be two very different uses of the house. One for rest; a bedroom area meant to be used for rest and relaxation. The other, given its location overlooking the Mt. Baldy valley, was as a sort of nature observatory; a place to appreciate and contemplate the beautiful surroundings. The house began as one and then split in two, figuratively and literally. While the design was settled on early on, however, the intricacy of the curvature and the problems faced with trying to accurately frame and build the house made for one ultimately quite unfinished model. Below are images of the model and some preliminary drawings of the project I was able to recover from an old email. The bulk of the work, however, was lost along with my stolen laptop and hard drive.