muffinpunk787

I thought most highschools had at least 1 architecture class.. hmm.. my school is a magnet so I guess that could be why. Flourescents are a good idea.. i hope to use as much natural lighting as possible so hopefully I wont need too many flourescent bulbs. I see if I can find out where to get those windows.. thanks for the idea!

Originally posted by: Jasoncw Skylights for the rooms would be green, and would be nice for the patients to look up to, and could save on electricity bills (I don't know if the free light overcomes the more expensive heating/cooling though). For the rooms, don't have "rooms" with "doors" but have the spaced just defined by some walls that add some privacy. Doors are bad because they'll want to move their equipment around, and will want to move quickly between rooms, and be able to communicate with each other from between rooms. Doors just get in the way of all that. More open space is preferable, but patients will want privacy. So just pay attention to the sight lines and the sense of privacy when you design the rooms. The more open layout could also be helpful for heating and cooling purposes (I don't really know). For the rooms, imagine there's a hallway with rooms in it. Then imagine that the corners of the rooms on the hallway side were removed, so that the entrances to each room was the corner of the room. That's how my dentist is and I think it works well. For the outside, I don't know what kind of area it is, but if it's appropriate, put a nice big window on the front. Then include blinds and plants inside to provide some privacy. quote> Thanks for you help! Here are my thoughts on what you have said. I really like the idea of a skylight although I need to do more research and find out how to make it energy efficient. Your rooms idea is really awesome! I was thinking something along those lines, and instead of having full walls between chairs, maybe walls that are 2 feet below the ceiling to allow for more airflow. As for the window on the front.. I'm not quite sure if that would work. It might look out of place (remember this building is going between another business and a residential neighborhood). I was thinking windows that looked more like a house instead of large commercial ones. Thanks for all the help! Originally posted by: Jasoncw Yes! That's right! Definitely do not forget the fish tank. That is something that is easy to forget but is very important. I also think that it would impress who you're presenting to if you mentioned that detail.quote> Yes.. thanks I will definetly include one.. but I'm not sure where it will go. I was thinking somewhere where it can be viewed from two different rooms at once.. thanks! Originally posted by: topcliff I reccomend you do what my dentist does (orthodontist, actually): Have a waiting room with rows of skylights over the seating area, a wrap around front desk to allow more space, a small hallway with a room off to both sides for patients, employees, and records. Lastly, instead of individual rooms for each chair, go green and put all the chairs in the same room in a big circle for more space. That's just me, anyway. TopCliffquote> Skylights over the seating area sound nice and I like the wrap around reception desk. I would love to put all of the chairs in the same room but one of the requirements is that they all be in seperate rooms (although it says doors are not necessary). Thanks! Originally posted by: Odainsaker You might also consider the sequence of events in laying out the program:Most dentist offices I have suffered through tend to have this circular layout, where the procession of rooms actually wrap around a central core divided in the front for the administrative purposes and the back with active medical support/setup/supply functions. Much is dependant on the conditions of your site. Of course, there are other backroom functions involved, such as biomedical waste storage and disposal, back receiving areas, employee rooms, etc., which require their own pattern of progammatic layout to intersect with and run tangential to the customer path. To be the green, your best bet will be with creatively conserving your particular site, choosing materials and construction types (no imported hardwood from the Amazon, or glass boxes in the desert), providing ample natural daylighting or supplemental daylighting where possible, while also providing enough building shading and venting to minimize cooling costs. Any dental/medical function may require a particular type of internal HVAC environment, controlled lighting, medical waste control, and water and power use that you may or may not be able to avoid. Existing off-the-shelf catalogue parts tend to be more economical than trying to re-engineer history's most elaborate heroic arch and custom fancy truss. Keep it simple. Hope this helps. Of course, now you will have to show pictures of the ongoing progress...that is if you are ever allowed the time, hehe. quote> Hmmm. that is an interesting way to look at a dentist's office.. I've never thought about it like that before.. lol Yes I was thinking of doing a circular layout also.. maybe with a fishtank in the middle? Lol.. but I do want it to be unique. Yes.. I'm having a little bit of trouble placing the employees areas, should they be near the main office, near the conference room or somewhere else? Yes, I was going to research more about using local materials as part of the green building. I was also going to try and stay with standard sizes and not like you said "try to re-engineer history's most elaborate heroic arch and custom fancy truss." Thanks a lot! I hope I will have time to show pictures.. students in the past have spent many many hours after school working on it... Originally posted by: marcszar Originally posted by: muffinpunk787Also part of the assignment is to include 'Green Building' or using enviromentally friendly materials, designs, etc. Any ideas or techniques for this?quote> Be very careful with this requirement. Most architecture students have no idea what "green design" really is and fall into the typical cliche trap of putting a bunch of solar panels on the roof as if expecting those will solve all their problems. A lot of buildings today are certified by the LEED as "green," when in actuality they are not. Numerous shopping malls have been designated as "green," for example, and while they do offer some innovations such as wastewater reuse, passive heating and cooling, etc, the damage and consumption the mall encourages offsets the meager benefits it offers. For example, a "green" shopping center may still be surrounded by a vast asphalt parking lot. For your project, I would emphasize easy reusability (like Jason suggested) and modification. This will cut down on the labor and material needed when it comes to remodeling. Since most buildings today are designed to be torn down in 25 years or so, an easily modifiable/reusable building would be very green. You can consider on site solar power, but if the site is surrounded by anything (hills, buildings, etc) that would create shadows throughout the day, don't even bother. More important would be to consider passive heating and ventilation techniques. If you're in the northern hemisphere, for example, limit the windows to the north and provide ample windows on the south facade. Put overhangs over them so that the winter sun can enter through the window but the higher summer sun is blocked out. If you put deciduous trees in front as well, they will shade and cool your building in the summer and let the winter sunlight through to heat it. Skylights are overrated and will let in the hot, uninterrupted summer sun. They will also suck heat from the building in the winter. A better system would be some sort of adjustable vents/louvers to create a "stack effect" and let out hot interior air in the summer. This system can be closed in the winter. A system of clerestories on the east/west/north facades would let in ambient light better than a bunch of skylights. Although HVAC is wasteful, since this is a dentist's office, you will most likely need some sort of air ventilation system. quote> I have heard of LEED before and I plan on doing more research about it. I am not going to put solar panels on the roof I would love to create a building that can be reused but I think the ability to expand is not possible considering that the lot is pretty small. I was also planning to created overhangs far enough like you said to let in sun during the winter and block it during the summer. Clerestories is a great idea and I had no idea what they were went you first mentioned them.. but now I do. I hope to use them instead of skylights. Thanks for all of your ideas!! Originally posted by: OdainsakerTo be the green, your best bet will be with creatively conserving your particular site, choosing materials and construction types (no imported hardwood from the Amazon, or glass boxes in the desert), providing ample natural daylighting or supplemental daylighting where possible, while also providing enough building shading and venting to minimize cooling costs. Any dental/medical function may require a particular type of internal HVAC environment, controlled lighting, medical waste control, and water and power use that you may or may not be able to avoid. Existing off-the-shelf catalogue parts tend to be more economical than trying to re-engineer history's most elaborate heroic arch and custom fancy truss. Keep it simple. quote> Right on. quote>

Wow.. thank you all for you posts. I have read them all and I will continue to read them throughout the year. This project will be finished in March or April and I will keep you posted until then. If anyone else has any more comments please feel free to post them here. Thanks again and I will keep you posted about what I decide to do. I'm kind of in a rush right now, but I would love to discuss some of the options proposed above later. Cheers!

Wow.. thank you all for you posts. I have read them all and I will continue to read them throughout the year. This project will be finished in March or April and I will keep you posted until then. If anyone else has any more comments please feel free to post them here. Thanks again and I will keep you posted about what I decide to do. I'm kind of in a rush right now, but I would love to discuss some of the options proposed above later. Cheers!

For my Architecture III class we have to create a plan for a dental office. There is a large packet listing out the guidlines.. which would take a long time to type here so I think I'll refrain I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas as to good efficent layouts for a Dentist's office. Here are the basic guidlines. -No larger than 3500 square feet -It will be located between another buisiness and a residential neighborhood -There need to be 8 chairs Also part of the assignment is to include 'Green Building' or using enviromentally friendly materials, designs, etc. Any ideas or techniques for this? Thanks for everyone ideas and help!

masochist: Those are some nice pictures.. the third one is my favorite. The first two have too many roads in them.. and not enough houses and trees. That hillside looks challenging..good luck!

Wow.. this is truly amazing. The night shots look amazing with the colors on all of the buildings. I really like the realism and history behind each picture. Nice job!

The washington monument?

Those are some very cool pictures... What hockey arena is that? I might post some pictures later once I sort through the bad ones..

He who laughs last, laughs loudest? (or something similar). One will aquire what one puts forth in bills

I have the game paused when I go to build infastructure, but I only built it in small chunks at a time, then I zone those chunks and then I hit the play button. I find that this allows for the most realistic approach. I then work around the map until the whole map is covered and then I will go back and fix problem/add more if needed trying to build around what is already there.

These pictures look beautiful.. there seems to be a lot of red and orange color on the buildings there. What is that building with the polar bear in the window?

Welcome to page 200! Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Originally posted by: Frankie_Grove Originally posted by: muffinpunk787 Oh and I'm very sorry to here about Greenville.. the same things are happening here in Raleigh, NC too. quote> I only hope that people realize before it's too late.. quote> Me too.. I really enjoy the parks and the trees. Every time I visit one of the new neighborhoods, I'm shocked that they have taken down every tree possible when I can see many they could have left up. I'm sure many people would move to the downtown area or use more mass transit if it was more available and useful.

Wow.. Edmonton seems like a nice place.. It definetly moves up on my list of places to visit That is one crazy mall.. I've never seen anything like it! And that last picture is beautiful.