James Dixon Architect

This project was to provide a new science room in the unused balcony above the auditorium. There were aesthetic, sound, and handicapped accessibility issues to handle, as well as meet a tight timeline and budget. I wanted the room to have all the best aspects of a Victorian science room; oak cabinets, black resin tops, chrome everywhere, display cabinets for the pickled calf fetus. The drawings for this project highlight what PowerCADD and WildTools can do so well: they get out of the way. These sheets are a melange of scans, overlays and graphic sleight of hand. I cannibalized every record source from the original 1938 drawings, cabinetmakers cutsheets, handicapped accessibility books, etc, to arrive at a set of plans that was concise, complete, biddable and buildable. The project was a great success, so much so that one of the old nuns visited the room shortly after it was complete and asked her fellow nuns, "Why haven't we used this space before?" Her question was a testament to how well the project worked with the original 1938 pseudo-gothic buildings.

James is drawing over a scan of an old drawing here to meet a tight timeline and budget.

Another combination of a scanned original drawing and drawing in PowerCADD.

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