Team 110

Day 1

This first day in McComb has been exhausting...so much walking. We spent the morning and early afternoon touring the various projects around town and in Magnolia. Our building is SO much bigger than we first expected. There is plenty of space for a few offices with large apartments in the back. We have a feeling that the program is going to work nicely with the space. We spent some time doing research in the McComb library, where we discovered that our building was previously used by the Cumberland Phone Company. There is a lot of work to be done, but it is going to be a fun experience. We are looking forward to our first client meeting in the morning with Steve Cox to go over the program details and get going on the project. In other news, life at the house is going great. We all moved in, went grocery shopping at the McComb Market last night, and had SNOWBALLS this afternoon. On the menu tonight: spaghetti - Meatball Monday!!

Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel

James Coate

Day 2

Today we definitely hit the ground running with our research. The team met with Steve Cox of Cox Architecture and owner of 110 N. Broadway, and we discussed lots of ideas for renovation of the second floor. We're thinking the space will include 5 or 6 apartment dwellings to cater to younger singles or small families. Two large rooms on the east side of the building are great for large apartment spaces, but we're still negotiating the use of the smaller rooms on the west side. Mr. Cox also had some sweet photos of the building from the past - one probably taken in the late 50s and the other taken when the building was new in the 1920s. We walked around upstairs with Mr. Cox to explore the space, and then we started measuring and photographing to update our material. I think the thing we're most excited about is the huge amount of light in most of the rooms - especially the ones facing Broadway. There are also some pretty cool operable windows high on the wall between the large rooms in back - hopefully we can figure out a neat way to showcase them. Our next step is to measure and draw the front facade and details of the building as well as its adjacent buildings on N. Broadway. We tried to photograph this afternoon but our facade would have been decorated with SUVs in front - we'll have to wait till after hours. All in all, it was a pretty productive day! We're looking forward to Taco Tuesday back at the house, and James, Shawn and I are extremely excited to start program and design tomorrow.

Team 110

Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 3

The day began like any other day: our daily morning meeting, a delicious lunch at La Mariposa (these burgers were wild man!), a tour of a lovely home with some amazing masonry work, and even a little bit of dark tourism. Besides everyone running outside to stare at a burning building, today has been a productive day for “Team 110”; mostly what we accomplished was drawing up a preliminary program for our design project.  This was our first day of really looking at the design challenge and coming up with several ideas on how our program should be laid out. To be more specific,  as a team we decided to convert the upstairs space, currently being used as extra storage space, into five separate single bedroom/ two bedroom apartments which could be placed along the north side of the building where there are many existing windows providing these apartments ample natural lighting.  We are also hoping to convert some of the remaining area into communal spaces such as a laundry room the tenants can use. Access to the separate apartments could be achieved by a long hallway connecting the front and back of the building where there will be two separate entrances/exits.  But, again, these are just preliminary ideas for the program and will probably change as our team delves deeper into the project.  Other thing we have been working on today include: drawing the details of the front façade in Autocad (an example of this would be the gothic-style entrance Sarah is currently working on), a timeline of our building’s history, and we were finally able to take some pictures of the front elevation (this proved extremely difficult yesterday because of the amount of cars parked in front).  But most importantly we came up with a game plan for the next two weeks for what we will be accomplishing each day. As the day is ending we are currently waiting for our first desk critiques conducted by Dr. Boz and Marsha. After that, what better way to conclude a day than eating weenies of a Wednesday.

Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 4

Program! Program! Get your program! That pretty much sums up the majority of the past two days. Team 110 has been hard at work figuring out the details of the program to fit as many apartments as possible. Problems arise on the southwest side of the building where there are no windows due to a shared wall with the neighboring building. After our team meeting with Frank and Marsha late yesterday and talks with Jolly Roger - we may be able to work in a few efficiency apartments in the front area to take advantage of awesome views of downtown McComb. This would allow for enough of the required natural light into the spaces but would require us to move around the circulation and the second story entry/lobby, but hopefully by taking over a lower rooftop in the back alley, we can create a breathtaking common space for the residents. We finally finished drawing and detailing the Broadway side facade and it is looking awesome. We are deciding how to approach it from a design aspect - whether to revert it to its original glory or add something of our own. We will have to discuss this over with Steve and see what he wants out of the facade. Once we figure out the inner circulation on the second floor, we plan on moving towards the back entrance and stairs. We are thinking about going with a New Orleans type theme to create a safe gateway portal for the residents. This project is going to come down to the details, which is getting us real excited about the work to come!

Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 5 - 110's Got Swag

Swag (noun): an architectural decoration; carved ornamental motif consisting of stylized flowers, fruit, foliage, and cloth, tied together with ribbons that sag in the middle and are attached at both ends. Today we tied a lot of loose ends for tomorrow's client meeting. We finalized the program for the second floor - six apartments with a lobby at each entrance - and we detailed renovations to the front of the building. We looked up 110 North Broadway on the Historic Registry, and found that it was registered in 2003. We also found that our building does indeed have "swag", the ornament above the windows on the second floor. Following our excitement about referencing the details of our building with urban slang, we're hoping to use this gothic and tudor style overtones to detail a great facade. This architectural style is unique to downtown McComb, but it's totally eclectic and we think it really adds to the character of the neighborhood. James took off with the site plan today and is getting a drawing ready, and Shawn drew our tenative floor plan. I was busy  working on the facade trace, and we even went enjoy some Noon Tunes at the Railroad Stage today!  We can't believe how fast the week flew by, and we still have a LOT of work to do before we head back to LSU. We're hoping to really showcase the big stairway at the entrance of the building, retrofitting the front windows so that they're functional and beautiful, and we talked about bringing back the checkerboard patterned floor in the hallway. We also want the back entrance to be a really modern and functional space for the residents to hang out - we should put that on the front burner soon...one of these days. But all in all I'd say that we've been working incredibly hard because we're incredibly motivated about this project. It's something we don't get to work on every day during the big semester in studio - talking to clients every day and seeing our prospective space every day and engaging in the community that we hope will enjoy our design...we also don't get to eat sandwiches under a pavilion and listen to McComb-ers sing about butterbeans...but that's whole other story.

Until Next Time!

Team 110

Sarah Gravois

Shawn Mitchel

James Coate

Day 6

Studio began later than usual today and is also ending earlier than usual, so there was no slacking off today for Team 110. We started right away with our work, each of us working hard separately, but to achieve the same goal: Sarah has been diligently drawing the layouts for the individual apartments, something we were avoiding doing until the apartment circulation was figured out, which basically decides the size and shape of the apartment units.  The challenge is having to place both the bedroom(s) and the living room against the north wall where the windows are located, which sometimes can result in some awkward arrangements for the other spaces, but she is working hard to solve these issues as I type this.Shawn has been sketching out some ideas for the outside stair design located at the back of the building.  The stairs needs to, of course, function as a stairway, allowing someone to reach the upper floor from ground level, but also need to serve as an entrance to the apartments, and an entrance needs to be pleasing aesthetically. The back entrance should compete with the front entrance so as not to appear like a secondary entrance or an afterthought because likely since the parking lot is located near this entrance it will be most likely be used the more often.This is my second day of drawing the site context plan, which has been coming along great so far.  It’s been taking me longer than I had hoped because of the amount of detail I’ve been attempting to incorporate into the plan such as parking spaces, trees, business awnings, and etc., which requires me to walk around taking pictures and field measurements (the more detail and precession the better). The day is now ending and everyone is wrapping up in studio, excited for our “play day” tomorrow. We will be back on Monday, until then, ciao!

Team 110

Sarah Gravois

Shawn Mitchel

James Coate

Day 7

We are back in the studio today after having yesterday off for a play day. We spent the majority of yesterday outdoors - walking, running, riding bikes, and playing soccer. It was a beautiful day and we got plenty of sun, but we are all excited about getting back to work. Today was a short day, we are leaving studio early to celebrate Memorial Day and enjoy the outdoors even more. This means we had no time to waste to get the project rolling again. James has worked on the site plan which, nearing completion, is looking awesome! There are just a few more details that still need to be added. We decided to take a break on the floor plans for today - we just have to design the interior spaces of the apartments and add the furniture. The rest of the group has turned their focus on the back entry stairs. This is going to be a main focal point and serve as outdoor spaces as well. We have decided to try to incorporate the materials from the front facade (the light stone as well as dark metal) in the design of the back, but give them a modern twist. This area really allows us to explore some contemporary design strategies and have fun with it! We are thinking of using steel I beams as the structure and have them exposed for their dark color. We are having some problems working out such a large rise in elevation and how such long spans of stairs affect the spaces outside we are trying to create. We are hoping to set up an intermediate meeting with Steve sometime midweek to go over some smaller details before we show him our proposed designs before we leave for Baton Rouge.

Happy Memorial Day!

Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel

James Coate

Day 8

Today was dedicated to floor plan and back entry design. Shawn and James worked all day trying to negotiate the incredible rise between floors - we have almost 20 feet to work with and not a lot of square footage - to create some kind of vertical enclosed tower to provide security and a cool space to be in before entering the building. We're thinking something constructed with I-beams with perforated steel panels attached as a skin. Hopefully it can create a cool historic/modern relationship between the building and its entry.  We're working with this idea of using each landing as a patio space that acts as sort of scuppers poking out of the enclosure with vines hanging down - we'll see how it develops. I worked on apartment layouts today - the main concern is utilizing the existing windows over the bearing wall to separate living and kitchen spaces - there's still some tweaking to do. Site plan is done! James did an awesome job. Tomorrow we'll be focused on refining the floor plan, coming up with a great staircase, and putting together a materials palette.On to Soccer Tuesday - it doesn't have quite the ring to it as Taco Tuesday...but we're all excited about it nonetheless!

Team 110

Sarah Gravois

Shawn Mitchel

James Coate

Day 9

It is the final countdown, Da Da Daaa Da, Da Da Da Da Daa, and Team 110 is trying to accomplish as much as it possibly can before returning to Baton Rouge in two or three days where the remainder of the project will be completed.  The meeting we had with Frank and Marsha at the end of yesterday’s studio is what guided our team’s goals for today.  After discussing with them the site context map, design plans, and the back entry design, we acquired enough feedback from them to know exactly what had to be done.  Sarah is refining the floor plans for the apartments; there were a couple of units that required to be subdivided further because some of the kitchen areas were too large.  She was also able to get some helpful suggestions from our client, Mr. Steve, for how to better divide up some of the spaces.   Shawn continued working on the back entry design; using drawings and computer renderings to better see how the stair design would look in context with its surroundings.  We were considering using perforated metal panels to make up the skin of the stairs; although the old brick of the building and the perforated metal are radically different materials, we believe the two materials will complement each other.  The site context plan that was completed (and is no longer complete) did not have enough context,  so I’m adding a few more buildings and streets.  I think they want the boundaries of the site map to encompass the other team’s buildings also (excluding the magnolia project of course).  Also we’ve been working to figure out a way to visually interrupt the long, continuous appearance of the hallway we proposed in our design.  Looking from one end of the bare hallway to the other, the journey would almost appear infinite, but by using a few simple architectural moves, such as lowering portions of the ceiling to create a series of ribs down the hallway, would help it appear more inviting and not so treacherously long.  That’s it for the day, until next time!


Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 10

Paparazzi Alert! Team 110 made the front page of McComb's Enterprise newspaper this morning. Besides posing in front of the camera, it's been a long, busy week for Team 110. We worked all day at getting the current drawings up to date to turn in to Frank and Marsha for review. The site plan and alley elevations were updated to show the new design for the rear entrance with stair tower and it is starting to look really great. We worked at designing the courtyard on the ground level to create a nice, secure sitting area. James continued to work on the site plan of McComb that encompasses all the surrounding projects, as well as made time to get the first floor plans completed. Sarah has still been battling the layout upstairs with the individual apartments. Although fighting valiantly, there is still a bit more work to be done before that beast is slain. After lunch we had a guest, Chris Chain, come speak with us, and after, he took a look at our work as we showed him the building we are working with. He gave us some extremely helpful advice on ways to maximize the potential of the apartments and help keep costs down. As the day is coming to an end, we are getting ready to have some fun at Live on Main, where we may get a chance to hear a musical performance by James and Jeremy.


Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 11

It's our last work day already! Wow. The time flew by and we have so much more to do before the exhibit next week. After a gigantic lunch and great time at Dinner Bell, we worked on drawings and final design considerations to show Steve and Robbie Cox in our last meeting before our trek home. It was so nice to talk to them as both owners and fellow designers of 110 Broadway, and a big part of our motivation to do our best with this project is to make them proud. We finally have a floor plan! Wahoo! After struggling with the details, I think we've come up with the most efficient and spacious layout. Shawn, James, and I are hurrying to make sure we have what  we need to work back at LSU next week. However, all of us are thinking about our time in McComb with happy hearts. The people of McComb fed us, sang for us, and let us swim in their creek, and hopefully our showcase next week will be something that they can be happy about as well. Even though we still have a lot more time, this Main Street Studio experience is something I think all of us have benefited from in the greatest ways. We enjoyed ourselves in a new town and gained creative experience. Frank and Marsha established this awesome thing for LSU Architecture, and after two weeks, we're better consultants, better designers, and even better at doing the two-step. Speaking of, special shout out to our client and mentor Steve Cox for making the front page of the Enterprise Journal today! He rocked Main Street Live yesterday with Jeremy, James, and Susan, and we all had a great time! 


Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 12

We are back at LSU and continuing our work in studio at Atkinson Hall (LSU’s Architecture building).  This will be our last week of working on the project; designing has ceased and as a team we are beginning to produce the project deliverables which we will be presenting at the McComb J.J. White Church on Friday the 10th.  Shawn is creating a series of 3d models in Rhinoceros which will be later rendered to create realistic depictions of the design intervention, mainly the back stair entrance and the front façade, and how it would appear in context with its existing surroundings.  He also intends to create a computer model of some of the interior spaces also to render which would convey the experience one would receive from being in the spaces we’ve created.  Sarah is beginning work on the physical model, which will be made of butter board, by first laying everything out in AutoCAD so the pieces can be cut out by the laser cutter located in LSU’s workshop.  She is also working on the building section; we were waiting for the floor plans to be finished before we started.  The site section will reveal details about the building’s interior that couldn’t be fully conveyed in plan.  I starting to layout the first panel of about twelve individual panels that will be 13”x19” in size; each panel will contain our project deliverables such as the site plan, renderings, our building’s history, etc.  The panel I’m currently working on in Adobe Illustrator includes our building’s history (in the form of a timeline), context information, and a map.  The panels, made of foam core, will be mounted on stands our team will construct and will be used to present our project in McComb for the final presentation.

Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate

Day 13

Its a long day for Team 110. We've been hard at work in our second day back in Atkinson Hall creating the final products for Friday's presentation. Shawn has been working on the Rhino model, getting test renders down and ready to do a final render to have for tomorrow morning.  Sarah is working away at laying out the many pieces of the project on CAD for the laser cut model - which will be cut tomorrow as well. The large scale site plan is nearing completion, and other drawings such as the Broadway street elevation and interior sections, have been developed further today as well. It looks like we are in real good shape for the deadline at the end of this week, but there is still a great deal to be done. Most of the drawings are already completed with the exception of a few additional details that still need to be added. The construction of the model, as well as the post-work on the renders, is what is going to take the most time to complete, but we are hoping to have both done by the end of the day tomorrow. We are excited about the final result and how the city of McComb respond. Meanwhile, we have been keeping ourself entertained in studio by singing aloud Disney songs as a class.

Team 110

Sarah Gravois

Shawn Mitchel

James Coate

Day 14

It's almost the end! Today started strong with a laser cutting session. We're modeling the back entry of 110 and the alley, so our focus is the new staircase in the back. We were a little concerned about executing the rounded edges of the perforated steel, but with a little finagling it worked out very well. James conquered our introduction sheets after finishing up our big class site plan -  Shawn finished our "money shot" rendering today - he kept refining it so much we had to tell him to stop - it looks great. We polished up all our drawings to lay out on sheets - we worked long and hard today so that tomorrow can be dedicated to redlines and final detailing. All and all, we're in a good place on our project!  Up to this point we had bits of this and that, but our presentation suddenly really came together. Hopefully by Friday we'll have a great showcase of our work.


Team 110
Sarah Gravois
Shawn Mitchel
James Coate