Thoughts_Formulating a Design Concept

The feedback received after our preliminary presentation proved to be insightful, energetic, and motivating. The next step in the design process is to take outside comments as well as our own ideas and work towards a conceptual/thematic approach and beginning to our Museum of Steel. I feel this will be an especially collaborative effort as each team member must support the decision to move in an established direction. It is my hope that throughout the design of our museum we can constantly come back to our concept as a base to help us make logical and strong decisions.

Aside from advice to further our case studies and material research, several theory based comments struck me as strong possibilities for generating a concept behind our museum. The idea that our museum could be based upon a "steel" time line is interesting and can be explored through materials, images, and circulation throughout our structure. Also, the time line need not be limited to the history of steel, but could be elaborated to include a particular history of steel in Pittsburgh, the Carrie Furnace, the actual production of steel (from mines to end products), the lives of individual steel workers, or perhaps a typical day's schedule at a steel mill.

To push the idea of a "time line" as an object may also prove beneficial to our design. A typical time may consist of a series of images or facts placed along a chronological scale, but could be as inventive as taking the construction of the museum itself through a series of stages based on the development of steel building technology. Not only would this serve as a very visual representation of the advancement of steel construction but would most likely result in an interesting aesthetic. Imagine being able to witness the realms and possibilities of steel building (past and present) in one structure!

Another intriguing option is to somehow base the circulation throughout the museum on the old railroad tracks that were used to transport materials throughout the old mill. This leads to a series of realizations, first and foremost the understanding that our museum does not necessarily require one building. Based on the site to program ratio, we have more than enough room to spread construction throughout the site. Also, such an action would allow us to present some of the original mill technology in action.

Hopefully, in laying out a clear design theory, our team will be able to work with a goal in mind and decisions will be based upon this goal rather than opinion. Opinion tends to lead to bickering and inefficiency, while a specific concept will allow us to work with precision.