Robert F. Evans
As part of the course objectives it is necessary for the student to be able to measure at various scales. Measuring can be introduced easily with the model and site plan. Since most site plans are drawn at a very small scale it is necessary to understand what scale is all about.This could be done at any point once the model is made. Having a model to measure can facilitate the learning process because of its reinforcing effect. It is also easy for the student to see first hand the effects of proportion and size while measuring with various scales.To those not familiar with an architects scale it becomes not a threat but a useful tool in games of imagination relating to such terms as height, length,and width as the gazebo takes on another quality known as dimension. These concepts of dimension and measurement are essential to drafting and the gazebo is a novel and fun way to introduce them.
The student is further required to develop knowledge and skill in the use of drafting tools.Here the student could draw out the cube pattern in various scales,cutting and putting them together for immediate visual comparison. This also gives the student opportunity to identify and use the T square which is used to draw horizontal lines and the 3o-60-90 and 45 degree triangles which are used in conjunction with the T square to draw vertical lines.
Another basic drafting goal is for the student to be able to draw and visualize various geometric shapes such as the cube,cone,cylinder,sphere,octagon, hexagon,five pointed and six pointed stars and other types of polygons.
The concept of geometric shapes is of course basic to everyday living,but much overlooked,unlabeled,and little understood by most students. Once identified, however the student is able to see how these shapes are used in objects familiar to the student.
Using these basic geometric shapes the student can further analyze and be able to utilize them in the solution of the problem, applying them to floor plan and elevation design.
Other objectives can be met by having the solution presented in various forms such as orthographic, isometric,and pictorial or perspective drawings. All of these forms of presentation are necessary skills to artist,draftsperson,architect,engineer,interior designer, etc. The gazebo therefore has provided a focus around which the major objectives of an introductory drafting course are aimed.
The gazebo can in fact become a building block when it is manipulated, multiplied, stacked, pierced, cantilevered, or split open, because this eight foot square building unit can be assigned many functions and can be assigned many functions and be put together from as many points of view as there are architectural theories. The idea of putting this shape into a particular role as room, home, or community is no longer as threatening because it is easier to understand and achieve at a smaller scale. That very same small scale can lead to innovative design as many architects discovered in their attempts to design the garden buildings of great estates.