Week 3

24-30 Jan

Week 3 was a nice and short week which was only for Thursday and Friday because of the block 1 week we had. On Thursday morning I was back and ready to get into the work as I did and for the first time took orders from one of the architects in the office rather than the senior draftsman/woman. It was a real eye opener to how quickly people change their mind.

At the end of Friday I was a little frustrated at the one architect as I don’t think he understood my limited capability. I explained to him that I was more than happy to learn about steel construction but he seemed to think that I knew exactly what was going on. At the end of the day he was very impatient at the speed I was working at but I still managed to get the job done. It was still an interesting week and I again learned a lot from everyone in the office.

Week 2

17-23 Jan

My second week was a long one getting to the office at 7:30 and leaving at around 6:30 doing all sorts of work and going to different councils. I was not expected to work these hour but I felt that to show that I am serious about work I put the extra effort in. In the mornings I would start on the work given to me as well as phone up the different councils to see if the plans needed to be collected for amendments or if they had been approved.

During the week I was involved in 5 different projects where I had to learn very quickly how steel construction works. While doing this I also became more efficient at working on auto CAD and learned to use many new short cuts and tricks. It is quite different being in the office seeing how the different processes are carried out and what needs to be done.

At the end of the week I was getting more used to the office environment before I went to CPUT for my block one week.

My First week at work

I started work on 10 January 2011 this year. It was quite an eye opener to the real world and the way things are done in practice compared to the theoretical way doing things. During my first week I learned a great deal about council submissions and all the different departments there are. Being one of two students in the office I was taught by Noel Wehr who was in office last year. He explained to me where to go for different areas and how to get to all the different councils to drop drawings and amend them. During my first week we went to khayalitsha for the day and amended 50 sets of drawings. This was not the most interesting thing I have done but I am fully aware that in order to get to the top we have to start at the bottom doing the “boring” work. Hopefully if I work hard at the bottom now I will be awarded with more interesting and challenging tasks further into the year.

On one day in the week Noel and I were instructed to go to a warehouse and measure it up for a client who wants to use it for something I am not allowed to share (Company rules). The ware house that we measured was a steel framed structure which gave some insight into how it is build. Later that day I was instructed to go draw it up on Auto-cad as well as do a sketch up model of it. This got me more used to working with steel construction. 

My Academic Block 1 week

The first few days of the block 1 week were fun and interesting. It was great to see all my friends again and to get to know the new students in the class as well as to meet and get to know Hermie and Jolanda. I could see that everyone one happy to be there and ready to face the New Year ahead.

The design exercise was a lot of fun and despite our model being dismantled in front of the class, we learned a lot and exercised our “out of the box” thinking. The test we wrote helped me and I think many others get back on track with what we had learned last year as well as introducing us to some new vocabulary.

The guest speakers who came in taught me a lot about framed construction and how it works and also made me feel at ease about how to deal with stressful decisions when designing. They had many interesting and AWESOME buildings to show which greatened my interest in architecture even more. I learned that architecture can not only be taught but must be experienced and felt on an emotional level.

The site visits that we went to on Monday and Tuesday were great fun. Having never been to the Paarl monument it was an extraordinary experience seeing how intense symbolic architecture can be. Our 2^nd year site was unexpected but much appreciated as we are going to be able to build our designs at the end of the year as well as helping the community. Truter and I have already talked about how to get sponsors for the building material.

My most favorite place we visited was the Mac Daddy’s farm. I think that anybody who has been there has come back relaxed and envious of the owner. The farm is absolutely wonderful to be on and the architecture is most modern and unique with each room having its own theme. This farm is definitely one I will one day visit again.

This week has certainly greatened my understanding and eagerness to learn about steel construction. I really had fun on the block 1 week meeting new people, seeing new places, learning new things, meeting brilliant architects, getting to know Hermie and Jolanda and most of all being with my lecturers and class mates.

Thank you Hermie and Jolanda for a truly amazing week. (My greatest apologies for the very late blog entry)  

This is me

I decided to save the power point slides at Jpegs. Here they are. Enjoy!