My 34th week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 34th week (15-19 October) I finished the changes for council submission. I went to Telecom and Electrical Department for stamps and after that I handed it in at our municipality.
I started drawing up the installed Evaporative Ventilation system of three of the five roofs of the Units.
I also sorted out plans for a colleage, which took quite some time. I felt like a real "Epi". :-)

My 33rd week at Stauch & Partners Architects

For two weeks we had our fifth and last Blog date (25th September to 5th October). It was great fun. So when I went back for my 33rd week (8-12 October), I just wanted to go back again. :-)
I printed out the waterproofing Details that were issued to site for construction and the sliding sunscreen drawing which was handed in for pricing.
I started drawing up changes of one of the Units garage, as well as the new entrance of the complex and two shading structures, for council submission.
I also went to site again on Wednesday. They were pretty far on the construction of Unit 5 (which is build first). The roof trusses were up and they were busy plastering the walls. I must say: exellent plaster work. As smooth as concrete. :-)

My 32nd week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 32nd week (17-21 September) I basically just drew up waterproofing details for the five Units. I added new annotaions, sizes & dimensions. The interesting part about the roofs are that its a good combination between unevenly pitched and flat concrete slab roofing.
It's importend to understand and indicate exactly how these roofs are conected with different kinds of technology. (eg. flashing, sceed to fall, outlets, etc.)

My 31st week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 31st week which was the 10 to 14th September I finished the Joinery Detail layouts and modeled them up in Sketch up as well.
On Friday we had a special session at our firm. We all had to design an entrance portal for a building in Rundu (North of Nambia). Mine was quite simple, but I found it quite interesting that the way we presented our ideas, is exactly how we do it in our Architecture course (which is in front of our boss instead of lecturers). :-)

My 30th week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 30th week, which was from the 3 to 7 September, I started and finished drawing up a boundary wall for an existing house as well as the plan layout. I had to make use of existing balustrades which were going to be 'recycled', for the boundary wall.

My 29th week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 29th week ( 28-31 August), I drew up door frame & skirting details. That went quite fast as I started drawing up a ceiling layout as well.
We went to site again (still the same Units) and had a good inspection of the first built unit (Unit 5). There were small problems regarding the exterior light connections and pipes within the concrete slab on top.
I also had to change all toilets again, to clients request. They decided on close coupled toilets in place of GEBERIT toilets.

My 28th week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 28th week ( 20-23 August) we were all relativly busy. I basically finished all the bathroom layouts (about 12 of them) and was happy to look forward of doing some other drawings. :-)

My 27th week at Stauch & Partners Architects

The 27th week of mine (13-17 August) went on quite smoothly. I went on with the bathroom layouts and drew up two bathrooms in sketchup. The drawing up was absolutely not problem, but the materials and their settings turned out to be difficult to balance. I got help rendering the drawings which came out wonderfully at the end. :-)

My 26th week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 26th week, (6-10 August) I just went on with the bathroom layouts which were changed constantly and turns out that it took quite some time to draw up properly: which was not very exciting. :-P
I had a site visit on monday (to the site on which's drawings I'm currently working on).  We had a short site talk/ meeting. They had huge excavations going on there to lay the (reinforced concrete) stormwater pipes intended for that area. They are beneath the units and 1200mm in diameter = massive!

My 25th week at Stauch and Partners Architects

The 25th week which was from 30 July to 3 August I just cam back again from our blog date (workshop) in Cape Town. I had to draw up a sliding/folding door detail aswell as a boundary wall detail for the units I've been assisting on the previous few weeks.
I started with bathroom layouts for all five units.

My 24th week at tauch & Partners Architects

In my 24th week (23&24 July) there was not much going on, for me only being in office for Monday and Tuesday. I just went on with drawing detailed sections.

My 23rd week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 23rd week (16-20 July) I finished off the first section on Tuesday. I went on a site visit to the units I'm busy working on, on Wednesday. It's all still very slow on site due to the massive earth leveling, which is a 'schlepp' because of all the Maika Stone making it difficult to dig.
The first house was allready as far as slabs being layed and more interestingly the ablution and drainage pipes which I have drawn on the drainage plans, were being layed.
I finished off three detailed sections that week.
On friday we had a cleaning afternoon where we had to clean up and sort out plans and documents in our office.
I also prepared myself for the up comming workshop (blog date).

My 22nd week at Stauch & Partners Architects

In my 22nd week (9-13 July) I finished drawing the Electrical Layouts and printed it out. I got to start with some detailed sections of the same units.

My 21st week at Stauch and Partners Architects

The week was from 2-6 July. In this week I printed out the Drainage plans and one of the drainage plans (Unit 5) was issued to site, which I had to deliver to site.
I started Electrical Layouts for the same units, indicating only sockets, exterior lights, alarm, intercom, internet, telephone line, etc. (basically everything that is installed through the floor or walls)

My 20th week at Stauch and Partners Architects

In my 20th week which was from 25-29th June, I went on working on the Drainage Layouts for the five units. I drew up the drainage sections of the units and indicated the proper sloping/falling of the pipes and manholes. We also had an introduction of the new version of Archicad , "Archicad 16" at the Nice restaurant in Windhoek. It was very interesting to see what they added to the new version and how far they already are. The 3D modeling improved a lot and they also added a new tool called 'morph' tool. But the best part was the introduction was where they added the option of green building settings and the possibilities of the calculations that have to be made when making use of 'green building'. Technology just never really stops, does it? :-)

My 19th week at Stauch and Partners Architects

The week of the 18-22 June was also not too busy for me. I started working on Drainage Layouts for the five units being built in Olof Palme Street, in Windhoek. Luckily my colleague explained and discussed everything with me before hand, which made it a lot easier. I drew up five plans with the appropriate piping system on it.

My 18th week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My 18th week (11-15 June) was not too busy. I finished detailed drawings on the Keetmanshoop project and sorted out our 'library of materials and pamphlets'. We also had a new colleague from George, South Africa that joined our 'family'. :-)

My seventeeth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My seventeenth week at Stauch and Partners Architects started quite nerv-wrecking. I pleaded that my project was handed in, at the right time, without having any problems. And it did! :-)
I had to get two more zoning certificates at the municipality, which took me a while. I added a part of a section to the Fuel pumping station of the project in Keetmanshoop. I also drew up the pump island details and added a finishes layout to the laundry of the project.
I had to improve on the signage layout of the Scania project, I've done some weeks ago. They were to be published.

My sixteenth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My sixteenth week started on Monday and ended on Thursday. (21-24 May) Again, we had a shorter week, because of a holiday on Friday. I had to sort out a finishes layout for a project in Keetmanshoop and put the correct details into the tables. On Tuesday I corrected the ablution/bathroom layouts. I added right annotations, dimentions and redrew some of the drawings.
I also had to get five zoning certificates at the municipality.

My fifteenth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

(14-18 May) The week started off quiet. We had another holiday on Thursday the 17th, so nearly all of us took the Friday off as well. I went on with the changes on the complex with five houses. I learned alot about the construction of swimming pools and pumps.

My fourteenth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My fourteenth week (7-11 May) I finished up the presentation. I put it all together, the renderings I did on sketchup and the written information on the program called 'Coral Draw'. The numbering and annotations I did last, took me some time.
I started making discussed changes to a project, that includes a complex of five houses. These changes were made at the garage, like windows, walls and swimming pool pumps.

My thirteenth week at Stauch and Partnerts Architects

My thirteenth week (30 April to 4 May) was rather short. We only worked for two days, so I mainly went on with the presentation of the 'Oshakati Hospital', for my boss.

My twelvth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

In my twelvth week, which was from the 23-27 April, I finished off the signage layout and printed it. I got a new task to start sorting out the building phases of the Oshakati Hospital project, which is a running project of ours since 2004. This I had to do on sketchup. The phases had to be put into certain layers and colours, which I found was sometimes quite difficult to do. But as I practiced it alot, it became easier. The point of sorting the phases out, is to provide a slideshow for my boss, where he can explain the building phases visually to our clients. It's a good overview.
Further than that I also had the time to go on and finish my own project, which had to be handed in on thursday.

My eleventh week at Stauch and Partners Architects

In my eleventh week (16-20 April) I got a new task and that was of providing a fire signage layout for the Scania trucks project. Now, I know little of what the regulations are to that, so checked them up in the building regs and asked my colleages. I put in the signage and arrows for exit routes as I thouth was right. Later they finally gave me the engineers drawings and I saw that I wasn't that far from it. :-) I also worked on my own project and experimented on archicad. All in all, it was not my most productive week of this year.

My tenth week at Stauch and partners Architects

My tenth week (10-13 April) was again a bit shorter, but very pleasant. My drawings of the (Zimmermann) house were finished, so we took them to the municipality to get stamps. We had to drive through Windhoek, because Telecom and Nampower are not in the same area.
I also helped sorting out the drawings (plans) of Bank of Namibia, which are about 16 years old and still drawn by hand. This project took them approximatly two years to finish all the drawings. Nowadays we take about 5 months to finish a project like that. Amazing! They needed the plans for renovation of the roof.
A colleage also came back from Hong Kong,China, and prepared a presentation for us on friday. It was really astonishing, looking at his photos and listening to what he had to say about the city of about 7 million people. Unfortunatlly he says, the style in which they build, is not really of any significance. It's all 'pitch-holes for birds' style and the prices of renting in Hong Kong, are enormous. It starts at R10,000 for a appartment not bigger than 30 square meters. Goodness! And we're moaning about renting costs here.

My ninth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My ninth week (2nd-5th April) was again a 'shorter' week, with easter weekend lying ahead. Nothing much happened. I finished my council drawings for the house, I was working on previously, just to find that my drawings were not of the idea of the boss. I've been working with a colleague on this project, from whom I obtained the instructions of what the municipality wants to see in their plans. But my boss thought otherwise. Knowing that my colleague has more experience and connections to the council, he convinced my boss that it was indeed the way they wanted to see the plans. Yes... lots of arguments and me in between. :-) But its obviously good to know that there are differences in doing things (such as drawing up plans and their layouts)- especially for council. I did some changes to the plans eventually, but only small ones. I was glad of having a long, relaxing easter weekend lying before of me.

My eighth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

In my eighth week (26th-30th March) at the firm, I mainly went on redrawing the old plans of the house. Little alterations were made to the rooms of the house, so only the plan, section and two elevations of the house were needed. We had an Archicad course for beginners at VCS, on thursday that week. It was very helpful, especially in terms of shortcuts and all the properties of each element. I think I gained a bit more confidence in the program after that course.
I went along to a site, where a bathroom was added to an existing house. The design of the bathroom was of an ad-hoc nature, by the client. I do not think it was the best design to the existing house. But what can an architect say, if the client wants it that way? ;-)

My seventh week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My seventh week (19th and 20th March) went quite well. The brochure I was working on was printed and emailed to the clients. I started re-drawing (tracing) a house on Archicad. The original drawing was still drawn by hand and about 15 years old. I recognized that the precision of which these plans were drawn was great, but not as precise as drawing it on Archicad. I also went along to the municipality to fetch some drawings. The week was very short. We only had Monday and Tuesday working days, because of our Independence day on Wednesday.

My sixth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

In my sixth week (12-16 March) at Stauch and Partners Architects, I realized that my absence, while being in Cape Town for the workshop was actually on the right time. Our whole computer system was off for the week, because there was something wrong with the server. We lost information, which (some of it) was fortunately found on another backup, which was made before the problems occurred. So in other words: people were just sitting around, hoping for the best. So much to technology! Luckily I saved some of my work on my desktop as well, so I could go on with my task. I finished the brochure and renderings for the new Townhouses in 'Klein Windhoek'. I had quite a lot of fun with that.

My fifth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

The fifth week (20-24 February) of working at Stauch and Partners Architects began very slowly and chilled. I made a photocopy of all the shortcuts one has to know for Archicad, which made my life alot easier on the program. :-) I was still busy designing my ideas and playing around on Archicad. I found out how to construct a 'wave'-like roof on Archicad. It was quite complicated. Further, a colleague introduced me and showed me interesting new and 'old', well-known, Architects on the internet, of which I knew most of them or at least seen the buildings already.( As far as I can remember from last year) I started drawing up my CTD, timber structures project on Archicad. I nearly finished it. I was surprised that there was no range of bolts or screws on Archicad's library. One has to draw everything themselves, which is not that bad I suppose, but it takes longer.

My fourth week at Stauch and Partners Architects

My fourth week (13-17 February) at Stauch and Partners Architects was very interesting. Monday I got to work and finished rendering. IT professionals came to the firm and installed Archicad on my computer, because I only had rendering programes on mine. I had to redraw the townhouses, that I rendered, on Archicad and pretty much got used to the program. On Tuesday I got a surprise at the firm. While working, I got flowers personally delivered to my workplace. Yes, Valentines day! Now, I only have men sitting around me, so the surprise did not only hit me. My colleagues felt a bit intimidated and started ordering flowers for their wives\ girlfriends as well. Haha! After I finished redrawing the townhouses, I started designing and drawing my own ideas of a modern house.

My third week at Stauch and Partners Architects

I pretty much got into the routine of waking up so early in the morning again. My third week was from the 7 February till the 10 February. My computer that I was sitting at previously was now taken so I had to move to the 'normal' (windows) computer. Yes, we're actually only working on Apple Computers. Fancy shmancy! :-) But they really are great to work on. My job was to render project proposals for townhouses on sketch-up. Very easy to learn I must say and it definitely is fun. I also got to drive to a site where I measured the site boundary wall. It started raining... and yes, believable or not Namibian rain tends to come down strong sometimes.I also got to design an entrance door, which obviously did not get build like I designed it, due to the costs. ( The costs were still about R7000 at the end). I got to know the system better that they are working with. Architecture is a lot about planning. Sometimes I feel like a three-year-old child, with all these questions that I have for my colleagues. Great fun!

My first two weeks at Stauch and Partners Architects

My first two weeks, (16 January till 25 January 2012) at Stauch and Partner Architects were quite interesting but was also getting used to. I got a warm welcome at the firm and an introduction was made by the firm owner (Andy Chase), of what is going to happen this year. Basically I had about two weeks of playing around on the programs that they use to draw on. I went through the tutorials on Archicad, but I suppose one only really learns something as soon as the first project has to be fully drawn by yourself.
The people at my firm are really quite entertaining. We're 10 architects (of which three are Zimbabweans and two South Africans), with me its 11 architects (to be) :-)  And two secretaries. So it's all in all a big Architectural company.