Sine City - San Marcos Creek Development Project
The San Marcos Creek Specific Plan is a project that has been under planning and development stages for years with the hopes to create a downtown city center for San Marcos, California. Along San Marcos Boulevard, the properties from Discovery Street to Grand Avenue are mostly city owned or privately owned, and San Marcos has been planning to convert all of it to a downtown area for several years. There are many restrictions and specifications for different plots of land that will be included in the downtown area, and careful consideration must be taken before any development or building may begin. During the “Sine City” Project, groups of students were tasked with designing a certain plot of land based on the city codes and regulations. These designs were to be to scale and 3D models were created from them.
There were several important mathematical concepts that were integrated into this project that were crucial to the design process and creation of the building models. We completed site analyses of their plots of land and calculated heights and distances of buildings through right triangle trigonometry and triangulation. We also created and analyzed sun path diagrams to determine the angle and direction of the sun. We used our knowledge of geometric concepts such as area and volume to determine appropriate building size. Aside from these mathematical concepts, we incorporated San Marcos city codes and regulations to create buildings with specific heights, floor area ratios, and setbacks.
Our group, also known as Demolition, Inc., was given the plot of land on the corner of Bent Ave and Creekside Drive. Our plan contains four three-story buildings that will provide stores, cafes, and residential housing to the public. The first and second buildings are three stories tall and measure 50m wide and 35m long (5250m²). The third building is an L-shaped building with two halves: one is 2700m² and the other is 3195m². The last building on the property measures 50m by 30m and is 4500m². There is a courtyard in the middle of the plot of land that is 21.5m in diameter and is surrounded by benches. Based on the sun path, more sunlight will hit the south sides of each building, so we made sure to include windows on the south, southwest, and southeast sides of every building. Half of our land is part of Bent Avenue Center, and the other half is part of Midtown. This means that some of the buildings have different size and square footage regulations than others. Each of our buildings are designed according to their specific regulations.
This project lasted a couple months because there was a lot of planning and foundation that we needed before we could begin designing our models. My group consisted of three people and I was the architect/designer, which meant that my primary job was to design, print, and build models based on our mathematical calculations. At the very beginning of the project, we were assigned a plot of land on the corner of Bent Avenue and Creekside Drive. We learned how to complete a proper site analysis, including how to use triangulation and measure angles. Once we took a field trip to our land, we were able to measure the entire plot, count the buildings, and measure the height of everything on site. We took note of the elevation of the land, plants and trees that surrounded it, and whether or not it had been developed. Through this process, we learned a lot about urban planning and surveying.
When we had all of our measurements and pictures, we took them back to school to type up a proper analysis and draw the land. Once we had a better grasp on our space, we began to draw our initial design for the buildings that we believed should go there. During this time, we were reading the "San Marcos Creek Specific Plan" which detailed all of the city codes and requirements for every part of downtown San Marcos. When we began to finalize our designs, we had to ensure that all of our buildings were up to code and followed all of the restrictions. We had to convert everything to the metric system, which was frustrating at first but ended up being very helpful and made sense to me, Once our hand drawn designs were critiqued and finished, we redrew them in Adobe Illustrator so that we could laser cut them. This was definitely one of the most challenging aspects of the project, as I had never used Illustrator before. However, we were able to figure it out, finish it, and laser cut it. After they were laser cut and glued, we added a rooftop garden to one building and solar panels on the other three. Overall, I learned very much about engineering, architecture, and urban planning through this project. I applied trigonometry, geometry, triangulation, and the golden ratio to my work and my designs, and I was able to see how math is used in multiple careers and everyday life.
Through the "Sine City" project, I learned a great deal about trigonometry and how to put it to use when planning and designing buildings. During our site analysis, I used triangulation to calculate the exact location of certain buildings based on two other known locations. I also learned about Sun Path Diagrams and how one can calculate the location and angle of the sun based on the time of year. Additionally, we used simpler concepts such as area, volume, and scale when drawing our buildings to ensure accuracy.
The San Marcos Creek Specific Plan has been in the process of development for years with the hopes that the city of San Marcos will soon have a busy, beautiful downtown center for the public to enjoy. The “Sine City” Project educated us on the lengthy process that goes into city planning and development. We learned the importance of exact measurement and accurate scaling. We discovered the real-life application of trigonometry and the Golden Ratio in architecture, engineering, and city planning and used it to create accurate 3D scale models of downtown San Marcos. Overall, “Sine City” taught us the value of mathematics in everyday life, and how it can be incorporated into the planning and design of the city that we live in.
I was involved in two parts of our exhibition for "Sine City." On Monday, May 2, a group of students from my class attended the San Marcos Youth Commission Meeting, where we shared our project and ideas with a group of students and adults from the community. Then, on Wednesday, May 4, we had an 11th Grade exhibition at HTHNC with both teams and all of the students who completed the project. I think that the exhibition went well and I felt that I was able to describe my work ad project very clearly to everyone who came. One challenging part of exhibition was the lack of space, since there was a lot of people in the room. However, it was set up very nicely and despite the crowd and the heat, there were a lot of great conversations. We were able to bring our ideas for the community to the people of San Marcos to show that we are concerned about what is happening in the city. Overall, this project was a success and exhibition was a great way to display our learning.
The San Marcos Creek Specific Plan has been in the process of development for years with the hopes that the city of San Marcos will soon have a busy, beautiful downtown center for the public to enjoy. The “Sine City” Project educated us on the lengthy process that goes into city planning and development. We learned the importance of exact measurement and accurate scaling. We discovered the real-life application of trigonometry and the Golden Ratio in architecture, engineering, and city planning and used it to create accurate 3D scale models of downtown San Marcos. Overall, “Sine City” taught us the value of mathematics in everyday life, and how it can be incorporated into the planning and design of the city that we live in.
I was involved in two parts of our exhibition for "Sine City." On Monday, May 2, a group of students from my class attended the San Marcos Youth Commission Meeting, where we shared our project and ideas with a group of students and adults from the community. Then, on Wednesday, May 4, we had an 11th Grade exhibition at HTHNC with both teams and all of the students who completed the project. I think that the exhibition went well and I felt that I was able to describe my work ad project very clearly to everyone who came. One challenging part of exhibition was the lack of space, since there was a lot of people in the room. However, it was set up very nicely and despite the crowd and the heat, there were a lot of great conversations. We were able to bring our ideas for the community to the people of San Marcos to show that we are concerned about what is happening in the city. Overall, this project was a success and exhibition was a great way to display our learning.