Marking Period 3 Presentation

Log

THE MODEL IS DONE!!! yay. now all that's left to do is post construction on the blog and prepare for next weeks presentations, as well as update mentor contacts. awesomeeee.

Log

This is Friday's log. 

Most of the model construction is complete. The only thing left for me to do on the roof is glue it together and then put the walls together to sit the roof on top of. The interior walls will be cut either during lunch or class tomorrow. We must also make the doors and windows which requires time for small details. The group plans on working on the model after school Monday and Tuesday. Construction/production is also due Wednesday with the model. I will be working on that at home both nights and in lunch study Tuesday so I can complete it by Wednesday.

Log

Today, if needed, I will be purchasing more balsa wood after school. I found out that there is 1/8" thick planks of balsa wood in the cabinet, which I need for the construction of the roof. This is a great start to the construction of the roof today. Yesterday I cut out strips of a sheet of 1/16" thick balsa wood. These strips are going to line the top, inside of the model walls to connect the sunken roof and top ledge so the roof will be removable. When removed you will see the finished floor plan underneath. Once the roof construction is finished (hopefully by Thursday or Friday) Kelly can put the black sandpaper on to represent gravel and tar. The model must be finished by Wednesday of next week, March 18th.

Log

Today I figured out a plan to build the roof. I will place a 1/8" thick x 1/16" tall dowel along the whole top edge of the walls as the treated wood block shown in the drawings. To connect this ledge and the actual roof which is sunken down 1 ft. from the top of the exterior wall I will use a 1/32" thick sheet, cut it to a 1/8" strip and line the inside of the exterior wall with this connecting it to the 1/8" thick sheet that will be the roof. The three components described above will compose the roof. Because the model is so small it is hard to make all the seperate layers that the roof consists of so I am putting them together and using the 1/8" thick sheet as the roof to represent them. The roof will then be covered with black sandpaper to represent the built up tar and gravel as the finished roof.

The problem we ran into today was insufficient materials to work with. I plan on going to the store early this weekend and being able to get back on track by working on construction over the weekend and again in class next week. We also still have to make the windows and doors so we must buy the clear window pane paper at the store as well. We are nearly finished with the construction of the scaled model.

I am continuing to update my mentor contacts, logs, and I handed in my press release yesterday. The next part of written work is the solution construction assignment. This is due March 18th. Presentations will be on the 26th and mentor contacts are due the 30th. Hopefully the whole project will be ABSOLUTELY complete by the end of March or beginning of April. I feel on top of my work and that we will finish strongly.

Press Release

MAST Student TSA Project Progress Thus Far

Construction and Testing of Architectural Model

Contact: Natasha Konczynski, Senior

Period 7/8

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/5/2009


Systems Engineering II: TSA Architectural Model

SANDY HOOK, NEW JERSEY, MARCH 5, 2009

Natasha Konczynski, a 17-year-old senior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, has recently been working on an architectural project for her Systems Engineering II class. For her senior project, she chose to compete in the Technology Student Association Architectural Model for the 2008-2009 school year. Natasha is working closely with her teammates Lauren Keiser and Kelly Daniels, and her mentor, who works as an associate at an architectural firm in Pennsylvania. She has contacted him by e-mail and phone with any updates on the project. Close contact with the mentor is advised, even when working in teams of multiple students.

Project Requirements and Expectations

This year the TSA guidelines require participants to design and model a freestanding emergency medical clinic. During the first and second marking periods, brainstorming and developmental work, including drawings, measurements, window, door, and finished room schedules, and foundation, landscape, and roof plans for the actual building, were completed by Natasha, Lauren and Kelly, with the help of their mentors. Now in the third marking period, construction on their model has begun. The final model is required to be on a foam core board no larger than 24”x24” representing the plot of land chosen to place the EMO, in this case the Asbury Park, NJ area.

The group expects their model and final solutions to exhibit a realistic building plan for an emergency medical clinic and accurately depict all of the developmental work that was completed in the first two marking periods. The scaled 3D model will show the landscape design, façade, elevations, doors and windows, and roof construction. Drawings illustrate foundation plans and the function of how the actual emergency medical center might work. For the final design, Natasha has completed cross section drawings, exterior wall section drawings and a roof plan. She has used these drawings to do the exterior work of the model, which was measuring and cutting the walls, and the windows and doors out of the walls, made of 1/8” thick balsa wood. The project is on a 1/8” = 1’ scale. Since cutting out the windows and doors is finished, construction of the roof for the model has recently begun. Each member of the team is in charge of their own part of the project but in the end it will come together as the finished 3D model and presentation boards for potential clients.

Benefits of Project

Working on this project has given the students a chance to experience the workload and discipline of a real world job. Students have deadlines, requirements to fulfill, mentors to work closely with, and clients to please throughout the whole process. When asked about her participation with the TSA project and its benefits, Natasha replied, “This project [The TSA Architectural Model] has given me insight and experience for what college and a career would really be like. There are so many benefits to dealing with this in your senior year of high school. Because of the architectural aspects and research required, I have learned so much about the actual construction of a building from materials to procedures of getting it built. The science and math involved are also so important and I did not realize this until we had to complete mathematical calculations and give scientific explanations for everything we did. You must learn to manage your time and exhaust your effort to succeed. It is much easier said than done, and when you fail it is no excuse to give up. You must fix the problem, avoid future dilemmas and stay on track the whole time.”

Natasha, Lauren, and Kelly have been hard at work the past two marking periods and now in the third marking period they are seeing their work come together during construction. The drawings for the emergency medical clinic have been created and printed and now the scaled model is being built, complete with parking lot, landscaping, removable roof, windows and doors, and finished facade. Although they are nearly finished, the project is not yet complete. Good luck girls!

For more details about the TSA Architectural Model on Sandy Hook, NJ, contact Natasha Konczynski at natattakoncz@aim.com or visit her blog at http://tsaarchnk.blogspot.com/.

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Log

Yesterday I completed my press release during lunch and continued to help work on the model. My part of the model dealing with the walls is finished so I will start construction of the roof. I plan on getting that finished by mid next week.

As I stated last week we are about a week behind on the model. We need to begin and complete the model windows by next week as well. When the windows are completed and attached to the walls and the roof is also constructed we will be able to put up the walls for the model and the whole thing will come together.

I will also start my solution construction assignment and continue to update my mentor contacts for the marking period. Once everything is absolutely finished I will be able to update my log and make the outline for my marking period 3 formal progress update and presentation.