Establishing a Strong Foundation

From the beginning of this quarter in late November, our class of 11 students, has been working on a design which we will be constructing very soon for a family in need in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. We began with 4 strategies (ways to think about what this house can be) and over the past 3 weeks we have narrowed it down to 1 strategy, 1 scheme. We are currently in development of this plan and I have to say, after being very skeptical at first, we have come a long way and I am excited as what I see has endless possibilities and enormous potential. We have been undergoing the process of creating building permit drawings which we are to submit this Friday. My main particular contribution towards this endeavor has been with regards to the foundation of the building. My partner, Daniel, and I have fairly extensively researched the codes for the structure and drawn 8 details along with a foundation/floor framing plan for the city to review along with the other drawings that my class is producing which include floor plans, building sections, elevations, mechanical/electrical plans, wall sections, etc. So one can see that the foundation drawings are a huge responsibility because they need to be correct or else this house will not stand. Metaphorically, it is also interesting because as we are working on these drawings, we're also creating the foundation of the TEAM. A project like this is truly a collective effort and in order to succeed, positive relationships between each individual must be maintained. Communication is the key. Of course there have been discrepancies, but in my opinion I think we have been doing well in this department and as long as there is respect for the ideas of others, we will have this strong foundation.