Experiment Three

Concept Mash-Up

First Perspectives

Further Perspectives

Basic Form

Plans and Sections

Thirty-Six Textures

(N.B. The textures are only viewable via this link due to some unfortunate glitch)

Final Draft

Peer Evaluation

Appendix

Concept Mash-up

The project needed an underwriting concept or theory to inform its design, and this was to be generated by combining select text from three architectural news articles. The resultant paragraph reads as follows:

In short, I argue that the best way to produce a great, new academic space is to re-purpose an existing one, thus combining the best of the past, with the best of the contemporary. 

Red text: 

Karissa Rosenfield. "David Chipperfield's "Radical" English Country House Considered "World's Best"" 23 Jun 2015. ArchDaily. Accesed 28 Jun 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/645900/david-chipperfield-s-radical-english-country-house-considered-world-s-best-2/>

Blue text:

Karissa Rosenfield. "WEISS/MANFREDI Break Ground on "The Bridge" at Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island Campus" 17 Jun 2015. ArchDaily. Accesed 28 Jun 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/643328/weiss-manfredi-break-ground-on-the-bridge-at-cornell-tech-s-roosevelt-island-campus/>

Yellow text:

Sabrina Santos. "Hawkins\Brown Selected to Design the University of Reading's New School of Architecture " 19 Jun 2015. ArchDaily. Accesed 28 Jun 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/643876/hawkins-brown-selected-to-design-the-university-of-reading-s-new-school-of-architecture/>

Black text is the author's own.

First Perspectives

With the underlying concept now formalised, it was time to begin creating the basic shape of the Squarehouse addition. The underlying form was to be a six-armed cross, but the proportions of each arm could be changed between designs, to the point of becoming non-existent, or even negative, or subtractive. Thus, the following perspectives were produced:

Further Perspectives

I then took two of the most promising single-point perspectives, and re-created them in two-point form, to further inform the developing project:

Clockwise from left:

Reaching away

Striking out

Diving down

Clockwise from left:

Bright smooth face

Great embracing arms

Reaching away

Basic Form

With the basic form of the cross refined, it was time to combine it with the basic shape of the Squarehouse:

The two moving elements move distinctly, that is, one moves vertically and linearly, the other rotates on the spot. This motion significantly changes the massing of the overall structure in that it seemingly truncates the length of two of the extreme arms of the cross, reducing the overall apparent mass of the building.

The challenge lies in how to incorporate these motions into a workable and useful building.

Plans and Sections

In order to make the new building workable, it was necessary to completely remove all of the original interior walls and to start from scratch, which necessitated the development of a new floor plan. Given the concept underwriting the project, using an historical precedent as a basis for the design seemed natural. 

Ultimately, I chose to base the  plan on the Villa Capra (1592) by Andrea Palladio, and this was for three reasons. Firstly, the logical, grid-like arrangement of rooms in the villa seemed particularly suited to the rigid, boxy external form of the appropriately named Squarehouse, and so I felt the two would mesh together rather well. Secondly, the Palladio design epitomised the rational and enlightened approach to design that was developing at that time, and these were values I felt were appropriate to embed into an educational space. Thirdly, and finally, my own personal interest in the architecture of that period meant that I felt rather at home working with the Villa plan, and so I reasoned that I was in a position to do better things with it than, say, the equally excellent works of Hadid or Zumthor. 

I took the basic plan and simplified it, rendering it in Sketchup:

I then converted its curved forms to straight ones, allowing them to engage more effectively with the overall shape of the building. Additionally, I skewed the layout off-centre, purely for the sake of interest:

Finally, I reconfigured this to the suit the exterior shape of the Squarehouse, removing sections of the floor to allow light to enter what was originally a rather dark interior:

This was to form the basic shape of each of the three upper floors of the building, that is, three large spaces stemming from a central circulation space, with a triangular elevator at the lower right corner to provide access to each:

For the ground floor, the floor space was to be cut back to an area consistent to the floors above it, thus removing the small spaces that currently jut out from the main ground floor area. This was to provide a cleaner, more regular appearance but also to increase the area encompassed by the retained colonnade.

It is worth noting that the section of the building was also informed by the shape of this plan.

This basic form runs through the entirety of the building, and is an allusion to the long gaps that run through each floor section. This section is repeated through the other aspect, and together with the floor plans, they great a kind of six-armed cross of empty space that sits at the heart of the building.

First Draft

The plans and sections finalised, it was now time to convert them into the basic form of the building. 

The positioning of the two physical bridges has been finalised, as has the location of the two negative bridges that form the cut through the building. These will provide the atrium and circulation space at the centre of the structure that allows easy movement within each floor.

Thirty-Six Textures

It was now necessary to produce a range of textures to accent the finished building. These were to represent different aspects of motion, and were thus to be used to help visitors navigate the unfamiliar building:

Linear

Radiating

Rapid

Scalar Transition

Unstoppable

Rotation

Final Draft

With the basic form of the building done, it was now time to finalise its details, and to produce the completed model:

By retaining a significant amount of the original structure, the building sits comfortably in its' surrounds in a way that a brand new construction would struggle to. Thus, modernisation takes place with a minimum of contextual disruption.

The new bridge is inspired texturally and formally by the original concrete balustrades, whilst the proportions of the glass louvre section is analogous to the pre-existing windows. Thus, the added features are directly inspired by the original design, and constitute a fusion of the old and the new.

The newly added magnetic elevator acts to link the different academic functions that characterise each floor of the building. In short, it combines and unifies academia and education in a rather literal way.

The long, cut through atrium space acts as a kind of empty space bridge, in that it draws people  from outside into and through the main bulk of the building. It is through this flow of human traffic that the building interacts with the surrounding buildings and its context.

The extensive skylights act to provide light into what was once a dark space, but in an unobstructive way that only moderately alters the external appearance of the building. Thus, they provide modern amenity and comfort to a pre-existing space, once again embodying the combination of old and new.

Besides the obvious necessities of finishing the actual fabric of the building, it was also necessary to include a number of custom textures in the final product to help enable visitors to interact with the structure:

Linear is used to indicate the motion of the elevator and to advise visitors of its functionality.

Unstoppable is used to indicate the entries to the workshops, and to remind visitors of the potential hazards therein. 

Rotation is used to highlight the presence of the movable glass louvres.

Rotation is again used to highlight the floor surface made dangerous by the descent of the lift.

Peer Evaluation

At the time of writing (Sunday evening), there were no visibly completed projects for me to complete a peer review of. Given my inability to reach a computer on the Monday, this section has unfortunately remained incomplete.

Appendix

The Lumion environments from the project are available for download here.

All of the Sketchup models can be found on the 3D Warehouse.

Experiment 2

This experiment is laid out in a chronological way, so it is possible to simply read on from here and experience the entire design process in a natural way. However, if you wish to jump from place to place, the contents are as follows:

Concepts

From Concepts to Axonometrics

From Drawing To Model

Combining Parallel Projections

The Concepts Re-Worked

The Marker Evolves

The Marker Nears Completion

Thirty-Six Textures

The Marker Finished

Appendix

Concepts

Both Buckminster Fuller and Olson Kundig Architects have interesting and often-times differing views on architecture and design. These idiosyncratic concepts will be explored and used as the basis for a marker design.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly"

"Love is metaphysical gravity"

"Doing more and more with less and less until you can do everything with nothing"

"Simplicity is the true measure of complexity"

"Reorganise the environment for prosperity"

"Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us"

"Contradictory objectives; open to environment, yet closed to create privacy"

"Architecture is the intersection between the poetic and the rational"

"A space is not constrained by area inside the building, a space is shaped by it"

"Architecture is a movement and it transforms its surroundings"

"Home as a primitive place"

"Architecture must be as intimate as a family member"

From Concepts to Axonometrics

I then took each of these concepts and used them as the conceptual basis for a series of axonometric drawings:

I was particularly taken with the model for "Simplicity is the true measure of complexity", and it will form the basis for my marker design.

From Drawing To Model

I then took  my favourite axonometric drawing and converted it into a Lumion model:

I feel it has quite a strong presence about it, and it is a promising base for a marker design. The challenge lies in refining it into something more sophisticated.

Combining Parallel Projections

I then took some of my favourite axonometrics and combined them to produce interesting new forms. Smoothing one member of each pair also produced some interesting results:

TOP: Simplicity is the true measure... + Architecture is a movement...

MIDDLE:  There is nothing in a caterpillar + Doing more and more...

BOTTOM: Architecture must be as intimate... + Homes as primitive places

It's interesting to see how the different models interact with one another, and it's particularly interesting if you imagine one of the pair informing the marker, and the other informing its position in the landscape. 

The Concepts Re-Worked

Of the twelve original concepts, there were two that particularly struck me as interesting:

Buckminster Fuller: Simplicity is the true measure of complexity.

Olson Kundig: Architecture is a movement and it transforms its surroundings.

There is something in the directness and accessibility of these statements that makes them appealing and interesting to me. When writing in Architectural Design, the great Dutch artist and architect Lars Spuybroek wrote:

"Why still speak of the real and the virtual, the material and the immaterial? Here these categories are not in opposition, or in some metaphysical disagreement, but more in an electroliquid aggregation, enforcing each other, as in a two part adhesive"

In this spirit, I sought, however clumsily, to fuse the two concepts into one:

By transforming their surroundings, simple forms, though complex as they are, transcend construction and become architecture.

This is the idea that I will use to develop the basic axonometric form into something hopefully far more compelling.

The Marker Evolves

With the new parallel projections complete, and the two concepts re-worked into an electroliquid aggregation, it was time to develop the basic and blocky axonometric form into something more sophisticated.

This represents a sort of evolutionary lineage of the marker concept, from its bulky axonometric ancestor, to its more refined descendents. The left branch represents a line of thinking that seemed promising at first, but in the end felt clumsy and awkward. Thus, I returned to when I was last happy with the design and set at it in a different way, quickly progressing to something far more interesting.

The final design maintains the sense of simplicity that characterised its original form, whilst the chamfering of the pillars, and the layering of the core provide a sense of lightness that was previously absent. Furthermore, the tiered base causes the structure to more strongly connect with the land below, helping it define the space even more strongly.

In striking upwards, the design alludes to the spirits of triumph and glory that pervaded the park during the days of the Olympics, whilst the powerful beacon references the torch itself. In short, the marker is an embodiment of the Olympic spirit as it existed in Sydney in the year 2000, and as it continues to this day at Blacktown Park.

The Marker Near Completion

With the blocky original axonometric structure having been transformed, it was time to test it out in Lumion.

I find the way the structure interacts with the sun and sky to be particularly satisfying. I think it is something to do with the contrast between the purely natural forms of the clouds and light, and the uncompromisingly man-made configuration of the marker.

I would argue that the marker's great achievement is that it manages to maintain a strong physical presence without being monolithic and bulky.

Thirty-Six Textures

I opted to arrange my textures into 6 groupings of 6, each of which formed an independent progression from light to dark. The idea is that each set maintains a unique theme, whilst holding true to the overall idea of tonal progression.