Reflection 7

QUT Excursion

Recently the school took an excursion up to QUT University in Brisbane to see the variety of things on offer for young women intending to study engineering after they graduate school. I found the experience really exciting as I was able to see and learn about a wide selection of new technology the university has acquired that has revolutionized the buildings degree of utility.
It was very interesting to learn about water filteration and the different types of engineering such as civil, environmental, medical and chemical engineering which are just a few different types of engineering. We learnt about different ways to intelligently construct structures such as with bridges. We learnt that each bridge has a purpose and therefore needs to be designed to that community's specific purpose. We learnt the different Safety requirements an engineer had to consider when constructing such buildings or bridges. Depending on the type of engineering your doing each structure can be built differently and can be built to achieve different purposes which makes engineering so exciting because there are so many different ways to build things. Attending QUT taught me that the possibilities in engineering are endless and each engineer is different.

Reflection 6

Equipment I've used so far:

-Timber
-Plywood
-Aluminium Strip Blinds
-Blue cardboard
-plastic back of a computer screen
-plastic Christmas tree spine extension
-black Grip tape
-spray paint
-tooth picks
-Bamboo Sushi roll mat
-paddle pop sticks
-accessories from the craft shop; small trees and people

I have incorporated all these different feature into my sustainable resort for different elements. I tried very hard to get the similar texture and colour that the items in my resort would realistically have. I am quite pleased so far with the development of my building. I have done most of it at home as all the materials I have used came from home, which I think has allowed me to make the resort look more detailed and realistic as I have been able to utilize a wider variety of materials.

Reflection 5

This is the progress I have made on my sustainable resort and as you can see this is a prototype of what the real building will look like.
I enjoy working by myself on this project because i have full control over what happens with my design in the workshop and i'm able to make faster decisions on how to proceed with the making of my sustaianable resort model.

this is the base - which is where my sustaianable resort will be situated

this is a prototype of one building in my sustainable resort

Reflection 4

I have investigated different ways to generate energy for my sustainable resort and here is some ways my building can be sustainable;

Biomass Energy; Biomass is biological material most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials. and using it as a renewable energy source. Biomass can converted into another type of energy product, this product is called biofuel. Biomass can be converted to energy in three ways: thermal conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical conversion.

Hydroelectricity Power; Hydroelectricity is a term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; which is the production of electrical power generated through the use of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity generation.

Geothermal electricity; Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy. The process includes dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 24 countries, while geothermal heatings is in use in 70 countries. Geothermal power is considered to be sustainable because the heat extraction is small compared with the Earth's heat content.

Reflection 3

This is my time managment plan...

This will help show the progress and steps I will be taking to completeing my Sustainable Resort.

Reflection 2

Ideation Process

I have begun my ideation process right now and i have decided what design I'm going to do.  This is a sketch of my design and you can see from this how im planning to make my resort look. There are many features in the resort that make it sustainable, such as the hydroelectric energy turbine system which is powered by a waterfall, several solar panels on the roofs of each building, and the use of biomass energy. 

The sketch so far is going to consist of  three buildings grouped together to form a triangle figure that resembles the recycling symbol. This won't just express to visitors and customers the resorts eco friendly nature, but it will also allow the building to become iconic in the field of sustainable architectural design.

Reflection 1 / Term 1 2013

This Semester in Design Technology the class is creating a design of a sustainable resort model. This is a resort that is self sustainable and eco-friendly, which is, i think, a very important aspect of design to learn about because i believe this may be the cure to a lot of global issues today such as; Climate change, and global warming. Sustainable architecture is a general term that describes environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the pressing economic and political issues of our world.

Sustainable architecture is always environmentally-friendly. This makes it beneficial to not only the people who wish to inhabit the structure, but also to the environment around the structure. Sustainable architecture is prominently the 'future' of design and the cure to climate change therefore it's importance cannot be emphasised enough.

I'm extremely excited to be working on this unit and so far I have only created the base. The base structure is made of timber, and seeing as it is a model is only quite small (I'm not quite sure the specific measurements of the base).

Hopefully I can start ideation by next week, but currently I am meerly researching and investigating the different materials I will be using in the production of my design, and what a possible resort design I might do.

I will shortly post up a time-management table, which will clearly show how I plan to go about making my structure and will help me manage my time more efficiently.