Mentor Contact Page
Matthew Napoli
Date: 12 September, 2013
Contact: Christopher Zoog
Medium: Phone call
Subject: Initial design brief, specs and limits viability.
Questions: Does my individual design brief and list of specs and limits make sense? Is
there anything I can add or change to make my role more viable?
Response: Based on limited knowledge on the knowledge background, Chris didn’t have
feedback on specific content, but did provide insight on my technical writing. He did suggest that I include more limits based on sizing and weight of my designs.
Conclusion: Based on the recommendations Chris made, I changed some of the wording
for my list of specs and limits. I also added limits regarding weight and size of my solutions based on the amount of weight the boardwalk would be able to support and the width of the boardwalk itself. This provided me with helpful input but also provided my mentor with more of a background on my specific role in the Avon Walkway Redesign project.
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Mentor Contact Page
Date: 20 September, 2013
Contact: Christopher Zoog
Medium: Phone Call
Subject: Brainstorming viability, initial thoughts.
Questions: Here are my ideas for possible alternate solutions, which ones stand out to you as potentially viable? Which ones wouldn’t work at a glance?
Response: For the boardwalk connection system Chris advised that I use concrete as my
medium because it is the strongest, and will maintain rigidity over a long period of time. Regarding my beach hut vending pass ideas he suggested that I automatically eliminate solutions that need to be removed in case of a storm. This is because the difficulty associated with removing and storing the solution will just as hard/ expensive as replacing a destroyed solution would be. Chris suggested that I base my solutions off of the storm protections features that they would include.
Conclusion: While on the phone, I was immediately able to eliminate ideas
that I knew, based on his suggestions, would be irrelevant. This was very
helpful to me because it saved me a lot of time that I would have spent developing solutions that wouldn’t work from the start. This allowed me to immediately begin working on viable solutions, and have more time to perform R&D on each one.
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Mentor Contact Page
Date: 25 September, 2013
Contact: Christopher Zoog
Medium: Email
Subject: Alternate solution drawings and research.
Questions: Do I provide enough information in my alternate solution document to make
a decision on which solution to choose for my final design.
Response: Based on limited knowledge on the knowledge background, Chris didn’t have
feedback on specific content, but did provide insight on my technical writing. He did suggest that I include more limits based on sizing and weight of my designs.
Conclusion: Based on the recommendations Chris made, I changed some of the wording
for my list of specs and limits. I also added limits regarding weight and size of my solutions based on the amount of weight the boardwalk would be able to support and the width of the boardwalk itself. This email exchange provided me with helpful input but also provided my mentor with more of a background on my specific role in the Avon Walkway Redesign project.
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Mentor Contact Page
Date: 30 September, 2013
Contact: Christopher Zoog
Medium: Email
Subject: Testing Procedures Help
Questions:
Hey Chris,
The next portion of my project (after choosing final solutions for my designs) is to create a list of testing procedures. I am having trouble thinking of the types of testing that would be applicable to my designs. Could you provide some insight on how I would test my designs, and then prove my test results? I can send you a list of what my teacher has given us as a guide- maybe you can expand?
I will also send you drawing of the few final solutions that i have sketched for reference.
Thanks for your time,
Matt
Response:
Hi Matthew,
Sorry to take so long to respond, I sometimes lose track of emails in my gmail inbox. The best and fastest way to reach me is my work email: christopher.zoog@hok.com.
I took a look at your blog...very thorough work so far! Each of the different solutions are feasible, it just a matter of balancing performance, cost, aesthetic...but you already know this.
In regard to testing and validating your design, are you thinking of what you can do with the resources you have at hand, or how a design is validated with typical industry tools (analysis software, physical mock-ups, etc)?
I can tell you how we would go about testing:
For columns, beams, caissons, decking and railings, our structural engineers would make a structural analysis model that would be based on the architectural or structural design (BIM) model. The software would stress the structural system to it's breaking point, then come up with optimal sizes of each type based on the material chosen, and the loads specified.This gets fed back into the building information model for further refinement. (I know this is not a building we are talking about but the principle is the same)
Now because this a boardwalk, we are very concerned with the lateral forces imposed on the structure (wind, water are forces that act laterally), and as such we would do a wind tunnel test, or use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to test these effects. A wind tunnel test consists of a scale model of the structure, loaded with sensors, and placed in a big wind tunnel (room with a huge fan). CFD software simulates the effects of wind and water of a digital version of the model.
Finally, as architect, I would be concerned that boardwalk is large enough to handle the big summer crowds, and has the proper number of exits, and that those exits are properly sized. For that I use a pedestrian simulation software to, you guessed it, simulate how people move through the space. We can find crowding hot-spots, areas that are bottle necks, and exits that may be too small and unsafe.
I'll put together some images and animations of what these things look like.
Now if you are talking about testing you can do on your own, i would say the best thing would be to build a crude and small model of a section of the boardwalk of our balsa wood. You could load it up with weights so see which design is strongest. Not sure if that is part of you assignment though.
When you get a chance, send me the ideas your teacher had, i may be able to expand on them.
Keep up the good work.
Best,
Chris
Conclusion: Chris mentioned professional practices for testing procedures. These testing
procedures require expensive programs that my group does not have access to. Because of this, it appears that we won't be able to determine exactly how much force can be resisted by our designs. Chris did however suggest that we model our designs out of balsa wood and test each with various weights to determine which is the strongest. This will be time consuming but would be the best way to determine which alternate solution will be the most storm resistant, or could also be used during the testing procedures stage.
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Mentor Contact Page
Date: October, 2013
Contact: Tom Micai
Medium: Visit
Subject: General Q&A Regarding Arch. Projects
Questions:
What type of permits might we need to consider when designing our Walkway?
Will tidal zone construction restrictions change if the coastal geomorphology in the target region changes?
Response:
You will need to consider mostly Tidal zone permits when designing in a coastal areas such as the beachfront of Avon. You will also need to review flood zone restrictions since the target area is so close to a large tidal body of water.
If the coat structure changes due to natural factors your permissions shouldn’t change. Once a permit is acquired in most cases It can be upheld indefinitely regardless of changes due to natural occurrences.
Conclusion:
Tom provided useful information regarding permit requirements that are common for zones such as the one our group is working in. It is crucial to follow these restrictions when designing the new walkway. Its also important to account for the difficulty of acquiring permits for specific building types when designing our structures. If we want to create a viable walkway solution that would be completely legal we MUST follow these restrictions.
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Mentor Contact Page
Date: 29 September, 2013
Contact: Tom Micai
Medium: Email
Subject: boardwalk restrictions (specifics)
Questions:
Mr. Micai,
Hello my name is Matthew Napoli. We met a few weeks ago at MAST to discuss my senior project. I said i would email you asking for research on boardwalk restrictions, flood hazard act rules, and design requirements for floodway structures. If you haven’t already, would it be too much to ask for you to look for these documents and send them to me? If you don't have the time it's no big deal.
Thanks!
Matt
Response:
Hello Matt: Attached are the Flood Hazard Act rules, and the two CAFRA rules. I suggest looking in the Table of Contents for each rule to find the topic you are interested in. If you need help, let me know when to call you. Have fun!!
Conclusion: After reviewing the documents regarding Flood Hazard Act Rules and CAFRA regulations that Mr. Micai sent me I gained insight on mandatory regulations in NJ that I would need to follow in my designs. One of the regulations that changed the designs I already had were regulations regarding floodway entrance regulations. I needed to include more open spaces where water could flow through to reduce stress on the entire design.
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Mentor Contact Page
Date: 10 October, 2013
Contact: Jackie Schnider.
CEO and President
American Custom Fabricators, Inc. 215A Hickory Lane | Bayville, NJ 08721
Phone 732.237.0037 | Fax 732.237.0039
info@americanrailings.com
Medium: Phone Call
Subject: American With Disabilities Act design requirements. Shipping methods and assembly.
Questions: On your website you mention that you design all handrail solutions in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. What major aspects in your design are a direct result of adherence to this act? How are your solutions shipped? Does your company assemble the railing systems and if so is there an additional charge associated with this service?
Response: A list of all regulations set by the Americans With Disabilities Act can be found at:
http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStanards/2010ADAstandards.html Some of the major design changes that are a result of this act are: Edge protection that prevents wheelchairs or other mobility devices from slipping off the fishing pier or platform, and that at least 25 percent of the railings, guards, or handrails shall be 34 inches (865 mm) maximum above the ground or deck surface. As far installment is concerned, we do not install the railing systems ourselves. However we provide a comprehensive exploded cad drawing of the design for the buyer to use as a guide for installation. We ship our solutions within 48 hours after completion through United Postal Service.
Conclusion: Learning about the Americans with disabilities act was crucial because without it we may have made our designs out of regulation. The fact that the company doesn't install the railing is unfortunate but is somewhat ameliorated by the comprehensive installation directions that they provide. Getting a chance to speak to the CEO of this company and get automatic feedback over the phone shows that this company cares about its customers and therefore makes them an attractive company to employ.
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