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. 

The Marker Finished

I added three of the custom textures to the marker model to add a greater sense of depth and detail. The trio were:

The three textures provide the full spectrum from light to dark, and I positioned them in a way that felt natural to me, that is, with the darkest at the lowest point, and the lightest at the highest.

Here, we see the darkest texture facing off against the medium texture, whilst the lightest graces the top of the four peaks:

This establishes a sort of hierarchy of texture and lightness that I found both natural and satisfying. Thus, these simple textures, placed in a simple way, belie a more complicated system of thought that underwrites their arrangement. 

Uncluttered and simply formed, the marker effectively defines the character of the space, as it rises above the almost oppressively flat Cumberland plain. In short, its simple form enables it to perform a complicated act of atmospherics. 

By night the marker transforms its surroundings, casting a pillar of light into the darkened sky. Such a beam is arguably the simplest and most natural form of all, but here it performs a feat of transfiguration magical in its complexity.

N.B. I did had a rather nice night shot of the marker, viewed from the overpass with the floodlit park in the background (very cinematic), but between three hard-discs and two computers it got lost. Hence the unremarkable final Lumion capture.

Appendix

The Lumion environments are available for download here.

Both the marker and the sportspark Sketchup models can both be found on the 3D Warehouse. The relevant tags are <EXP2> , <marker> , <Blacktown International Sportspark> & <ARCH1101>.

The End

As I approached the end of the design process, I began to feel that the name Rolex House was rather bland. It was then that I decided to christen the building as Wilsdorf House, in honour of one of the founders of Rolex, the German watch-maker Hans Wilsdorf. This little touch completed, I set about putting the entire build together, as a series of animations:

Surprisingly, it all developed out of this one drawing:

However different it may be visually from the final product, I think the same ideas and basic forms are still there.

Finishing Touches

With the fundamentals in place, it was now time to make some final refinements, starting with the landscape itself. To provide more of a sense of place, I added a stretch of water, and a sandy beach, along with a road by which the building is to be approached.

Such a view demanded a window to view it from, and this was added to the ocean facing point of the building:

It provides a nice space in which the designer can consider Rolex's qualities of boldness, delicacy and refinement, embodied in the abstract imagery that adorns the wall.

(chair model courtesy of "KARE Sketchup")

The view from the chair:

And the view from the balcony:

I finally went about converting my ideas for the underground portion of the building into reality, producing a design which alludes to both the original conception of descending, concentric rings and of the physical structure of a Rolex watch:

A watch and clockwork piece left mid contemplation:

(models courtesy of "model citizen","jon", and "Smart Furniture")