How do you represent a cloud? Does it have a definitive edge or does it lack a true threshold? Why is it that when viewed from a far, it is a dog or castle, yet when flying through it, its edge is ambiguous. Is the only difference between air and a cloud a slightly soggier piece of atmosphere? What does my newly acquired program offer my project? What are the ramifications of creating clouds in my structure?

The most obvious feature of a cloud is that it is opaque. It offers a facade to my project, similar to the Blur building. It is also translucent at times. A cloud is constantly in motion, its boundaries and what it covers are always changing. Not only is it a facade, but a cloud is a wall--in the sense of partitions. When experienced from inside the structure, visibility may be very low, offering either privacy or obstruction, whichever is desired. This privacy, however could dissolve in a moment. A cloud always lets in the light though, it is the largest glow that can be conceived of, short of the moon of course. Its colors are constantly changing and its shade deepens and wanes.

Because of its composition, the inside of a cloud is continuously damp. Its humidity is 100%, and could be raining at any moment. This could cause problems for the uncovered steel structure of my site, I am not sure how this will play out as of yet. Perhaps some aspect of my design can embody itself around the columns beams and girders. The large mass of the cloud also will act as insulation, and keep my programs sightly warmer than the ambient air temperature. The cloud will also block some of the direct sunlight that would penetrate my site, yet at the same time it will be diffused and dispersed to a greater range than before. Light will be able to penetrate further into my site than before. This constant glow that will surround and engulf my site may even be able to be lit from within at night. I wonder how light would travel through a cloud from within? Will one light source make the whole cloud glow, or will it only appear from directly in front of the source. Imagine if my project turned into a big green glow at night, because of the diffusing of the cloud. If I can generate a cloud, can I also make lightning?

If I create a constant cloud on my site, will there be fewer clouds in the rest of New York City? How large of a cloud can I create? Can I control it? I believe the virtue of making a cloud is its unpredictability. I don't want to control it.

The cloud has required me to become more specific about the needs of my programs. In the last few days I have researched what is required of each program to be viable. This research has led me to make some adaptations. First of which is a switch from a Christmas Tree Farm to a Cranberry Bog. I learned that it takes 6 to 12 years to grow a christmas tree to its required height, which would be unrealistic for the small site that I have--each tree requires a 36 sq. foot space to grow on, and about 4 feet of soil depth for its root. Furthermore, running greywater through the farm would damage the trees. A much better program is a Cranberry bog. It has the potential to be a constructed wetland. Cranberries require Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium to grow--nutrients that are the most toxic in wastewater. Cranberries can survive in a large amount of water, in fact they require it. Cranberry fields are flooded on average 3 times a year, and need 7 to 10 feet of water to produce their fruit over their growing season. Ironically enough, cranberries need to be frozen in order to protect them from frost, so 2 of the three flooding periods that a bog undergoes occur in the winter. The third is used to harvest them. Additionally, cranberries can survive in low temperatures up to 34 degrees before they need to be frozen in their bog.

Fish farms were the next to be researched. I found 2 freshwater fish which can survive together and are tasty. The grass carp and rainbow trout. The rainbow trout is the main fish that I will grow, however the grass carp is also edible, and adds a helpful feature; it eats the algae that will grow in the tanks. There will need to be more than one tank to separate out the different aged fish. Rainbow trout will eat other fish up to a third its size. Most likely 3 or 4 tanks will be necessary. What might be useful is if the tanks are terraced between the different floor plates to facilitate easier transfer when the fish age, and to pour water between the tanks, while aerating it. An important aspect to fishes health is the oxygen levels in the water.

What would also be nice would be a platform from which to fish in the mature fish tank. When I was younger my parents my twin sister and I to a fish farm, where we were able to cast rods into the farm. We did not even need to bait the hooks, the fish were so eager to eat anything. It was a fun way to experience fishing as a young child who requires instant gratification. My father quickly stopped us however, when he realized how much he was buying in fish after we hooked the 7th fish in a minute.

The last program that was researched was the beer brewing process. It is a very complicated process with around 12 steps. It uses varying temperatures throughout its process, most of which pertain to water. This could be used as a design parameter throughout the project, by linking up similar temperatures of water. A diagram is provided below. I chose to brew a lager because it requires the lowest temperatures during its fermentation, conditioning, and storage.

What I am beginning to realize about this project is that no longer are the programs relegated to individual floors. In fact, they need to be intwined, perhaps ambiguously so. They gain the most through their marriage and symbiosis. I most likely need to change my mode of representation for development. Perhaps to either axon or a combination of plan and elevation/section. Should I become even more specific of the amounts of water needed with each process? Does my project still involve the later metamorphosis into a residential unit? if so, is the cloud still present? I also need to develop exactly what a car hostel is. Do the cars have an attachment that allows them to be slept in, like a car tent?

If I do develop it this way, it will not likely be specifically a tent. Perhaps seats need to be removed from the car for it to be habitable, and the removed seats become a part of the rest of the program, such as a lounge area, only possible when residents are around? Perhaps the cloud provides privacy between the cars?

I need to continue to develop the representation of this project. That may be one of the most important aspects of the project. I should each day try to represent it in a different way. I also need to develop more complete drawings. The attachment to the sewer system needs to be shown and developed as seen above, as well as the surrounding buildings and atmosphere. I am very excited that I am able to work in this way. I am very interested in pushing my drawings to their fullest potential. I am also interested in further developing the project conceptually. All of a sudden those two readings have become significantly more relevant. Actually I am a bit unsure of what would develop the project conceptually, and what would merely be an architectural decision. I think the next step would be to begin working in the other 2 dimensions. They will inform my process more. One issue that I am beginning to deal with is how to transfer the cars between floors. The average size of 4 elevator shafts is 17' x 13'. I would only be able to fit cars in this size space. Furthermore, the cars would practically have to parallel park to get into the space. I must not forget that my project offers me the potential to expand beyond my floorplates. It just seems awkward to do so with such a large and cumbersome mechanism that would be needed to hoist cars.