Photograph

Sweet Potatoes Offices and Workshops: Thick Walls – Photographs of mock-up

01/01/1985

Construction Experiment & Mock-up

Photographs of the two sides of a cardboard full scale mock-up of a thick wall, built in situ, to function as a partition between two private offices, for which easy communication was required, so an opening window is at the center of the thick wall.

Photographer:

Artemis Anninou/C.E.S., Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Source:

Slide

Characteristics:

Color

Content of

Construction Innovation

Sweet Potatoes Offices and Workshops: Thick Walls 1985

Construction System, Monocoque Construction

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black

A custom made set of thick wall components, all premanufactured with the same height, standardized thickness, and a variety of standardized lengths, to enable the realization of a variety of rooms, as they were laid out by the users. ...

Contents

Photographs

References

Scientific Research

Innovative Construction Systems, Techniques and Materials

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Construction Innovation

One of the main topics of research, included in every building project, was to identify, early on in the design process, the material and techniques of construction. This would re-establish building as an art, and allow rapid shaping and adaptation, ...

Projects

Offices and Workshops for Sweet Potatoes Children's Clothing Factory 1985 to 1986

1509A San Pablo Avenue, 94702, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Offices & Workshops, Office Furniture, Realized , Construction completed in Apr-1986

Client:

Mrs. Anna Sala, Ms. Josie Jurcivina

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black, Mark Brinner

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$20,000

Design and construction process:

1) Layout of the offices by "Sweet Potatoes" employees: They used a patented office furniture layout process developed by C.E.S. This process allowed users to work with C.E.S. staff to lay out all common areas and individual workstations for themselves. The result was a highly personalized plan of the office, generated entirely by "Sweet Potatoes" employees. 2) Design and fabrication of the individual pieces of furniture at the C.E.S. Workshop in Martinez 3) Installation of the furniture by C.E.S. Personnel: As pieces were completed, they were shipped to Sweet Potatoes, where the C.E.S. assembly crew installed the different items, including thick walls, columns, doorways, desks, lighting, ceilings, floors, cabinets, screens, chairs.

Project stages:

Office layout process used by clients Layout on site by clients and C.E.S. Design Development drawings done after layout Direct Construction management and on-site design decisions

2,300 square feet of interior office space for the management and administrative staff for "Sweet Potatoes" clothing factory to accommodate two partners and eleven employees. All interior furnishings, walls, floors, ceilings, lighting, built-in cabinets, desks, storage, chairs, tables, custom fitted ...

Drawings

Sweet Potatoes Offices and Workshops: Thick Wall with Counter - Preliminary Design Drawings 01/03/1985

Construction Innovation, Preliminary Design, Floor Plan, Section, Elevation

Designers:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Medium:

Original on Paper

Size:

8 1/2"x22"

Drawings of a thick wall with counter, installed in one of the private offices. Six pages, one with a free hand initial sketch and five more with pencil dimensioned hardline design development drawings, prepared for one of the walls between ...