Dickerson Architecture

Because there are no jobs to be had in Monroe, North Carolina I was sitting around the house with nothing to do and while relaxing is great and all I don't like being too bored. So I ended up going to shadow a local architect named John Dickerson, a man my grandfather knows from back when he was in Rotary. It was only going to be a one week gig, but what turned into one week turned into three weeks. And what was what I thought to be shadowing turned out to be an unpaid internship. (These were Mr. Dickerson's words...)

List of things I needed to think about when working on a color schedule.

So for three weeks, June first to June nineteenth, I was in charge of coming up with a color schedule for the new Winchester Children's Center. I got to travel to the site of the old center, that was also designed by Dickerson Architecture, to see what kind of colors and materials had been used before and I got to play with colors on the walls, carpet, floors, rubber bases, etc. He basically treated me like I was a designer under his firm, it was really great!

Heres some notes and drawings I did during my time there:

Notes on the first day while looking at the finished architectural drawings

Possible tile pattern and color coordination idea.

A quick and slightly sloppy rendering of the alternating hall color idea and the carpet pattern.

Various window styles and colors, options we had after the meeting with the window guy.

Another project assigned to me other than color schedule, to figure out how to make an interactive something on the front of the building between the columns. An abacus was the first general idea.

Abacus idea fell through because of how we would have to fabricate it and so Mr. Dickerson thought of maybe a colorful wind chime item that kids could play with, the only worry was that the kids would pull on it to hard and pull it down. Hence my idea of a more stable sculpture item that was stationary at a point and could be rotated.

I got alot of hands on experience reading final architectural plans and working on color schedules. I learned alot about how to use bright colors and how to use muted ones as well as some about standard codes. My idea for a 'sunny' playroom area and the rotating Plexiglas sculpture were definitely taken into consideration and might be implemented in the building. This definitely gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride in my work.

John and Steve, thank you so much for your knowledge and patience! You have assured my love of architecture and my goal of becoming an architect.

Also thank you Grandpa for getting me this wonderful opportunity.