New Project Needs Critics

[Anonymous]

This is a courthouse I am designing. Any comments are much appreciated.

Justin

[Anonymous]

I feel it is a nice composition, quiet, serene, perhaps a weekend? due to lack of cars and commotion in the scene. Nicer to see this landscaped side of the parking lot, but it does bring focus to it and to a plant with a color I am not familiar with on the west coast. Not an overly slick smooth CG render, I like that. Is this the type of input you are looknig for?

[Dwight]

While the turkey cooks.

Pro:
1: entry brightener excellent to help modulate otherwise plain facade.
2: excellent textures grass and asphalt.
3: Shows off what looks like the cinema picture trees on invisible plywood panels well.
4: foreground shadow excellent because it infers a world outside the view and gives "ground" to the shot.

Con:
1: see my red tone cropping suggestion top, right and bottom
2: Prominent red bush in lower left is distracting
3: White curb major distraction - move camera closer to entrance since it is the subject of the illustration - plain repetitive facade does not help your rendering - just enough to tell the story. Consider a square composition. (red line)
4: will the wall bricks really be that variegated? At this distance they will undoubtedly look more uniform in color.
5: second story windows terminate too close to roof line - ask any ancient Greek person.
6: likewise the entry - arched window, columns all appear confined. Should feel more spacious and gracious - add some height to entry wall.
likewise downlights - bad place for them anyways, but they should be out in the daytime.
7: Tree leaves intrusive. shift to the right four feet or so.
8: oversaturated

my crop suggestion desaturated on the right.
too lazy to move the green leaves.

[Rakela Raul]

it could be optical..but i see the entry door too small compared to people

[Anonymous]

Overall, I really like the design and composition, but I think you've got a bit too much focus on the front door itself, and the column bases, and not enough on the most interesting architectural elements.

I'd specifically like to see more upwards focus on that main entryway - lighting of the *tops* of the columns more than the bases, for example, and highlighting the Palladian window. For one thing, that's obviously your architectural focal point, but for another, the downlighting on the heavy column bases, to me, just makes the whole entryway seem heavy, like it's weighed down, and I'd like a more uplifting sort of focus on a place like a courthouse, that draws the eye upwards, to speak more of things like justice, hope, seeing the light, etc. Every time I look at the image, all my eye goes to is the front door itself. The mass of the columns, the use of brick and stone, and the sheer size of the building already speak enough of solidity, IMO.

And will the rest of the facade really be that completely unlit? Methinks that some subtle up/downlighting between the windows from some very unobtrusive sconces would help highlight their rhythm and more provocatively evoke the sense of the columns that would have been there in the Greek and Roman prototype styles, and the interplay of shadow and light along the whole facade - not to mention add a safety feature.

Wendy

[Anonymous]

Of course Dwight is right on the rendering bits.

Regarding the design:

1. Unlike Dwight I rather like the close approach of the upper windows to the eaves. It reminds me of many New England mill buildings I have liked. The thinness at the top is a bit unsettling but I kind of like the nervous tension it creates. On the other hand they don't seem to fit with the pseudo-classical entry.

2. About the entry... You really should study classical orders before attempting classical ornament. The columns lack entasis and seem somehow stocky. The entablature is stark, out of proportion and misaligned with the columns. The pedestals are oversized and not typical of the doric (or tuscan) orders.

There is an excellent book that has been recently reprinted called "Study of the Orders". It is available from Amazon here.

I do think that a properly proportioned and detailed classical entry could be quite striking here. I strongly recommend that you give it some more time to really make something special.

3. The aluminum glazing seems too chintzy in the context of the monumental columns and the circle top window feels out of place. Perhaps it just attracts too much attention to itself and away from the columns. A single rectangle (without the the brick veneered beams) from the ground to the entablature might do better.

4. I do agree with Dwight about the brick. Less range would be good.

FWIW my tendency would be to either do the entry as a full-on classical form (probably Ionic order) or go completely the other way with a modernist glass box. In any case you need to think about what story you are trying to tell to the attorneys, defendants, plaintiffs and other folks who will be passing through those doors every day. The classical forms remind us of the roots of our democracy, legal system, and convey a sense (or illusion) of ancient civic order. On the other hand the glass box speaks of transparency and openness; things we need more of in our institutions.

I hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Please tell me what you think of the revised rendering. Taking all the help into consideration, you have helped me tremendously.

Justin

[Rakela Raul]

i have the same comment as before:

the entrance is out of scale to me "IMHO"...not that the guy is gonna hit his head on that beam but seems entering a tunnel "IMHO"....i would eliminate that beam just abv door

[David Pacifico]

The rendering is getting better.

The design seems to be repeating a vertical theme.
The vertical windows would seem too tall, and would be in the ceiling space. Visually not enough beaf between window and roof. I don't like nervous tension in a court house. It will have enough of that inside.

The vertical entry is contradicted by 3 glass openings (2 with arches?) If your going for vertical why isn't it one glass opening? I don't care if there is a floor on the interior. Make the glass go top to bottom. Make the doors 8 feet tall.

Is that a hip roof over the entry. Either make it a pediment or make it flat.

The greek temple was torn down and replaced with a 1920 factory and now it is being converted to a courthouse. (Just having some fun at the buildings expense)

[Anonymous]

The windows in main building are the original size, so they cannot be changed. The entrance is the main design concern. Thank you for your feedback. The roof will be a pediment, as I am not finished with design yet.

Justin