H's Stage

H's Stage is complete!

2009-12-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

Come out to Valled Crucis Park to celebrate and honor H.W. Mast!!!

Check out the Facebook Page for more photos!

2009-12-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=100000433023722

2009-12-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

Look at the support beams!

2009-12-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

Welding!

2009-12-07T07:24:00.001-08:00

Go team go! Lawrence, Devin, and Garner lifting the collums.

2009-12-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Burn baby Burn!

2009-12-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

The DoorS!

2009-12-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

Moving Toward the finish line!

2009-12-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

The stages are beginning to look like legit stages! Again its a very exciting time around the appalachian state senior architectural studio. Everyone has come together as a team to complete the mission of creating and inovating H's Stage. Structural members are in tac and the rafters are being erected. Its only a matter of time before this thing is complete. From paper sketches to reality, the valle crusis mobile performance comunity has become a reality! Check out some of these photos!

megan and heather at work.

2009-12-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Lawrence- In charge of the engineering details.

2009-12-03T20:35:00.001-08:00

Benco Steel the company were we ordered our steel for framming the structure of the three trailers.

2009-11-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Check out the Paint Job!

2009-11-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

Construction has begun!!

2009-11-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

Its an very exciting time around the Senior Architecture Studio. Construction on H’s Stage has finally begun! A safe and clear site has been developed and the erection of H’s Stage is going full steam engines ahead. Designs have been finalized and materials have been critiqued and carefully chosen. The idea was to give the stage a strong, historic, untouched emotion with the feeling of belonging to the Valle Crusis community. Help us get the word out! Remember its amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit!

~asu ArchStudio

2009-11-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Moving Foward!

2009-11-22T20:49:00.001-08:00

Over the past few days we as a team have come together and began to finalize the construction preparations. From head butting critiques to break through realizations. H's Stage is on its way to fruition! Here check out some of these photos and look forward to the next update!

Thrilling Update!!!

2009-11-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

We are all very excited as a class to announce that the construction of H's Stage will begin on November 23! Preperations for beginning construction are taking place all this week, as all groups fine tune their work thus far. Moving from the design phase into the construction phase of this project finally makes it seem real, and it will be exciting to be able to use our own hands to put together this stage that we have designed. The construction phase will also require many photographs and quick updates, so be sure to continually check this blog page for process photos and descriptions! Update soon to come...

Time to Focus...

2009-11-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

Fine Tuning

2009-11-18T00:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! While we are all still excited from the news of our design's acceptance by the Valle Crucis Community Park board, there is still a lot of detail work that all the groups in our class is catching up on. The marketing group has come up with a few donations for the project, which helps the final budget. They have contacted local supply businessses and have received some materials absolutely free and have been able to purchase others at discount prices. On behalf of our studio class, thank you to Becky Fry for the donation of lumber for use in our project. The engineering team is still working hard to finalize all of the load tracings on the structures, running numbers through equations every step of the way. They also recently took soil samples from different potential stage locations, in order to study the moisture content so that we can gauge whether or not the ground is sturdy enough to support it in a given spot. The physical models group is detailing the final small-scale models, as well as constantly changing the full-scale mock-up as small changes are made to the design. The digital modeling and documentation team is currently going through all of the construction documents for H's Stage, carefully dimensioning and labeling everything. Our estimating and budgeting group is still keeping in close communication with all other groups in order to ensure that the estimate stays as up-to-date and accurate as possible. The graphics team is fine-tuning the documentary that they put together, as well as redesigning presentation boards for the stage. Finally, our project management team recently put together a work schedule for the rest of the semester to ensure that everyone is staying on track to finish the project, as well as organizing class meetings continually along the way so that we can all keep up with one another. Check back soon for an update...

Presentation Photos

2009-11-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

VERY EXCITING NEWS!

2009-11-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I have some great news to share with you all this evening! Recently, on Monday, November 9th, our class presented the final design of H's Stage to the park board, and the design is a hit! That being said, we are now almost ready to begin construction! The design process has been a long and tiresome road, but now it feels that it was definitely worth every step we took along the way. The Valle Crucis Community Park board was a wonderful crowd to present to, and it was also an honor to have Ms. Mary Hazel present, wife of the late H.W. Mast. The presentation began with a short documentary on the process of finding a successful design for H's Mobile Performance Stage, which you can now watch right here on our blog, via YouTube. After the documentary concluded, our physical modeling group showed off their beautiful small-scale models of the stage and the site, which provided help to the board members in visualizing what exactly the stage will look like. The presentation also included bits from our engineering group, who put in a ton of research in order to make sure the stage was structurally sound, as well as putting research into photovoltaics for the project. We also heard from our estimating and budgeting group, who had laid out for the board members the final cost of the project without any donations, as well as the current cost with the donations at hand thus far. Our digital modeling crew showed the board through the park with H's Stage in place, so they could again obtain a better feel for how everything will look. This was accomplished via a digital walkthrough that the group compiled using various computer programs. The presentation was very exciting for us as students, and we would like to again thank the Valle Crucis Park board for all of their support and time. Stay tuned for updates!

Moving towards the finish line.

2009-11-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

The studio pushing full steam ahead toward final preparations of the Valle Crucis Mobile Performance Community. A board meeting is scheduled for Monday November 9th at Appalachian State University. This will be the final presentation to the entire Valle Crucis Park Board. After the conduction of this meeting H’s stage shall be ready for construction! To make donations please contact Caroline Poteat 828.963.9239 Thanks.

Group Updates...

2009-11-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, it's time to fill you all in once again on all of the hard work each of the teams in our studio class is doing to complete the design of H's Stage. To begin, our Marketing and Fundraising team, along with the Project Management team, met with some close friends and relatives of the late H.W. Mast in order to obtain more information about his character. Through the passing down of stories, our class now has a better understanding of the great man that he was, as well as a better understanding of his personality. This knowledge will allow for us to better incorporate his spirit into his stage. Our Engineering Team has put a lot of research into the site modifications that will happen on-site at Valle Crucis park, and have come to realize just what a tough job they have cut out for them. Not only are they grinding away to find the proper site design, but they also are zeroing in on the proper sizes for all of the beams that are to make up the structure of H's Stage. Our Estimating and Budgeting group has worked very hard to get the budget to where it is, but just like every other team, they realize how much work that it takes to achieve precision. Therefore, they have decided to go to actual local supply vendors to check for the lowest prices...as well as check for potential material donations. Our Physical Models and Mock-ups team is continuing their hard work on a final scaled-down model of H's Stage, and on a wall-section mock-up that is nearly life-size. The Digital Modeling and Documentation team is finalizing our computer-designed model of H's Stage and Valle Crucis Community Park, which will show exactly how the stage will fit into the scene. At this point it is important to note another example of how our teams are all the time having to work together in unison: the Engineering and Digital Modeling teams have to make sure that they keep one another up-to-date on material/sizing changes so that they can be applied to the computer model. As you can see, it's a complex process, so check back very soon for more information!

2009-11-02T07:39:00.001-08:00

Full-scale Mock-up

2009-11-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Mock-up of H's Stage

Think "Community"

2009-11-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

It is time to take a quick break from the active work process and fill everyone in on where our class's inspiration for H's Stage was drawn from. Valle Crucis is a community that has built up its strength over the years through each of its unique members. Each of these members come together, and through a blending of all of their own individual backgrounds, they form the community of Valle Crucis. Three rivers, the Watauga River, Clark's Creek, and Dutch Creek, all come together to form a delta in the park. Our design for H's Stage consists of three separate trailers, each having their own unique characteristics, each serving their own purpose. When separated, each trailer will have its own name and its own use. The largest trailer will be the main pavilion, where the performances will take place, and it will be known as the Watauga River Pavilion. The next trailer will be known as Clark's Creek Concessions, and is a little smaller in size and will be easily moved a few miles around town for various events, including the Valle Fair. Finally, the smallest trailer will be known as Dutch Creek Storage, and will house storage for the other two trailers. So, just like the rivers in the park and the people in the community of Valle Crucis, each of the trailers in our design serves its own individual purpose and has its own individual traits. However, when they come together and connect, they form the mobile performance community of Valle Crucis Park, and become H's Stage...Stay tuned for progress updates!!

Class Meeting Reveals Remaining Loose-Ends

2009-11-01T21:39:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, October 29, at least one member from each group in our class met in our studio to discuss the direction the project has taken. Our Project Management team organized the meeting in order to discuss where we are in the project, as well as the pace at which it is getting there. Once everyone was alert and in-tune with the meeting, ideas began to fly. We realized that although the design is where it needs to be, there are still small decisions that need to be made prior to calling the design complete. For example, none of us were anticipating that the number and the placement of doors would be a difficult decision. However, as soon as enough thought was put into the issue, it was realized that door placement in this particular design is highly important. After deciding on a door scheme, we discovered that the appearance of the doors is just as important as their placement, and so our Physical Models and Mock-ups team is currently critiquing door design ideas via small-scale models of H's Stage.Other issues brought up in this class meeting include, but are not limited to, the siding material and layout that will be applied to the structures, the placement and function of a concession window, means of egress in case of fire, and how to really incorporate local materials/appearance so that when H's Stage is brought into Valle Crucis Park, it looks as though it belonged there all along....That's all for now...keep checking up with us!

All Groups At Work

2009-10-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

Now that the design of H's stage is almost complete, it can be said that everyone in our class has come together well to get it there. As was mentioned a few entries earlier, we are currently working in small groups of two to three individuals on specific tasks, but the overall design is under the influence of all of our work. It is important to keep all of you updated on our work, so here are a few of the things that the groups have come up with thus far...Our Estimating and Budgeting team has compiled an entire spreadsheet in order to provide a rough estimate of the cost of the project, from materials to construction and everything in between. The Digital Modeling and Documentation team has put together model trailers and stage designs in a computer modeling program, as well as providing computer renderings of what the stage will look like on-site at Valle Crucis Community Park. Our Physical Models and Mock-Ups group has already put together small-scale physical models of the site, as well as small-scale models of the stage. Our Engineering group has put relentless effort into making sure H's Stage is physically sound, acoustically fit for its purpose, and set to "take in the sun" with the photovoltaic panels that are planned to be included on the roof of the structure. The Marketing and Fundraising group have contacted many local businesses and individuals in an effort to raise money for H's Stage, as it is planned to be a 100% community-funded project. And finally, the Graphics and Blog team keeps this page and the Facebook page updated, and has designed a poster and a flyer to be handed out in the area, in hopes of creating a buzz around the project. That's all for now, check back soon for an update!!

So Close!

2009-10-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, October 27 and on into the waking hours of Wednesday, our class came together and witnessed the culmination of the final design of H's Stage. At eleven o'clock Wednesday morning, a presentation was made to show the design and hear feedback on the result of everyone's hard work. The design was received in a very positive light, and save for a minor few changes and a few corners in need of sharpening, the design phase of H's Stage is almost to completion, and it is poised to be a hit!...We will keep you posted!

2009-10-27T22:28:00.001-07:00

Incoming Update: New Flyer and Poster is Released!

2009-10-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

So the old flyer had a few technicalities. So after hours and hours of tedious work we the graphics crew have created a brand spankin new flyer and poster! Enjoy. Please print some out and help us create a bigger buzz.

~ graphics crew

Donations Needed...

2009-10-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a design flyer for the performance stage...please feel free to print it out and pass it around the community to help create a buzz...

Class Divided into Groups

2009-10-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Following the design meeting held between Professor Everhart, two other architects and our class, we were split into groups so that project assignments could be distributed among us. The seven groups are as follows: Project Management, Marketing and Fundraising, Engineering, Physical Models and Mock-ups, Digital Modeling and Documentation, Estimating and Budgeting, and Graphics and Blog. The responsibilities of the groups range from keeping all of the groups on task and organized, to working with local vendors to raise money for the project, to designing a renewable energy system to be used on the stage, to building scaled models, computer models, and everything in between. Basically, our class is taking this stage from concept to design to construction. All of the groups listed above are currently putting in as much work as they can so that the design phase can flow smoothly into construction. Stay tuned for more...

Design Aftermath

2009-10-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Over the next few days, ideas were critiqued and reviewed with the help of Professor Everhart and two other local architects. An idea was born. A concept was derived to use three smaller stages and trailers, thus saving money and increasing both functionality and versatility. The notorious flood plains existing in Valle Crucis, North Carolina required that the stage be mobile, so that in cases of heavy rains it can be moved a few miles up the road. Look forward to the next chapter...

Project Description

2009-10-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Appalachian State Senior Architectural Studio has taken on a design/build project for a mobile performance stage for Valle Crucis Community Park in North Carolina. The stage is being constructed in honor of H.W. Mast, who was a pinnacle to the community of Valle Crucis. The first step in the process was for each of the sixteen students in our class to conduct research on mobile performance stages and the area of Valle Crucis in order to gain perspective of what the project entails, as well as what appearance the final design should take on. After strenuous days and nights, each student presented an individual idea to a select few members of the park board. The members of the board then participated in a discussion with our class and Professor Chad Everhart, AIA. Look for more on the next post...