Danylo Kosenko

advisor

Kyiv National University of Technology and Design

Ukraine

Learning spaces, interior and landscape design. more

Dear colleague!

You did a great job, and your design is creative and offers an integrated solution for the task. But there are several considerations I would like to mention.

It is almost impossible to discuss the building, and even more a complex dwelling unit, outside the city context. Where is the object situated? Is it downtown or in the suburbs? How far is it from the seashore, from main transportation hubs, from industrial, commercial and public areas, from city attractions and landmarks? You discuss how it affects the views of JBR, but how distant those views are? (I've never been to Dubai, so I needed to search what JBR is). It is even unclear where the inhabitants can buy their food, or if the cycling track is connected to the citywide cycling network, or just for fun. Adding several simple maps and diagrams would provide an answer, and I strongly recommend you never omit this part of the presentation.

Another question is about the orientation of the living blocks. Most flats in the unit are either south- or north-oriented. You, not me, know which is worse in your climate. But I hardly could imagine any reason for having similar flats with such different living conditions, half of them exposed to direct sunlight all day long and another half always shadowed.

A few words about the appearance of the buildings. Visual monotony is almost inevitable in large housing units, and I praise your efforts to override it in your design by altering the height of the buildings and by inserting community spaces in between the living blocks. But for me a strange thing happened: the building looks a bit chaotic while still remaining monotonous. I suppose it is because of your "toy building blocks" concept which, from my experience, often results in this. Maybe next time you could try a different approach.

I would also recommend you present not only axonometric drawings but also perspective renderings. Axonometric projection is great to make the structure of the building visible, but in real life, the building is never seen in such a way. As any kind of architectural design should be human-centred and consider human scale, it is good to use perspective renderings made from the human point of view, basically from the land level. It is not only a bonus to present your project but also a tool for the improvement of the visual appearance of the building.

Anyway, your concept is worthy and the project is well-done. I hope my remarks would be helpful for you to improve your skills further.