S2 Crit-8

here is a perspective drawing looking from the inside corner towards the door.
I have added huge tables down this end for experimental work and collaborative cooperation.

Two alterations are presented here with the different heights of the glass. the lower shatters the sense of isolation and perhaps is more suited for an office space. Or alternatively, it could be an electrical device where if in need you can choose to raise up your glass surrounding your bay if you do need privacy.   

S2 Crit-7

Here is the finished interior of the studio space-or maybe the first alteration depending on how much time I can squeeze out.

there are 3 individual bays for computer use and a long table for technical drawing and collaboration with an isle down the middle. The back of the studio will become a relaxing space or an artistic section where the people working can bounce ideas off each other openly.

The tall glass is a bit cold and too rigid for a studio space...

S2 Crit-6

I have started to consider and change the interior materials of the studio space so that it feels less alien with the concrete panels, cold and harsh.

The wooden interior is very professional but too much colour inside the studio space might be distracting.

Below i have added the sliding door and a solid concrete door for the office so that it gives privacy and security for the designers.The materials are a reflective marble grounding and painted walls with the white roofing which enhances the lighting.

S2 Crit-5

Stairs has been added to the building parallel to the gallery, it can allow access for the public as part of the experience of 'gifting' but it will have an access door which only allows the office staff to access.

Again the pattern is kept and a strong recognition of material quality is presented

S2 Crit-4

Two night views of the building, it gives off a nice radiance of soft blue light mimicking and echoing the ocean beside it. Just like Gaudi's Casa Mila echoed the shape of waves in the nearby ocean I too have incorporated native characteristics.

S2 Crit-3

trying to take away the huge glass roofing so there is less glass and the tinted blue for the studio space.

accessibility for the studio space will also need consideration- has not yet been resolved.

S2 crit-2

an interior look from the north end of the building - strong protective shelter will need to be added here on both levels due to its directional relationship to the ocean.

Showing the amount of sunlight penetration through the thick glass-creates a blue tinted effect-suitable for the gallery area but not so much for the studio space up and above, because it might interfere with the designers' thoughts.

S2 Crit-1

For this final crit of the year we were given a new brief asking us to combine our gathering and gifting projects whilst adding the element and attention to 'grounding' to transform our building into an 'architectural wonder'

For me this meant a lot of work, because I still had open spaces in my building which did not seal the inside and protect it from harsh weather or environmental issues.

Therefore my first priority was to consider all the environmental issues of the site: weather, sunlight, glaring, wind direction due to its close range to the ocean, noise and safety, shade, accessibility and interior layout.

I went on first to modify my flat roof made purely of glass to start considering about the structural elements which supports the structure and starting considering slopes to fit in with the rest of the patterning.

day10.9

TADA!

Matrix completed!

In such a rush that I didn't have time to up size everything.

day10.5

Finished making the model at 5am !

A good night sleep is not part of an architecture student's daily needs!

made from MDF and blue plastic.
the wood is spray painted to look like concrete and the white represents the existing building.

The geometry of the blocks are highly polished and demonstrates my potential in crafting.

Just the matrix to go~

Before peer crit at 9am ~

day10

I have remodelled the structure so that it is now situated in site (the real site).
The buildings and road conditions are an exact replicate of the site in real life.

I think by putting the structure in context, more information is perceived such as: access points from ground-different passages and the flow of traffic, visual access from ground level looking up, is limited.

The passage will be partially blocked from far away at all times unless viewed form a high perspective-like the top floors of an apartment or office.

Time to start on the 1:1 model at 10pm = =.

day10

Here is the finished design modelled onto computer.

The pattern at the front of the elevator is unique and uses different materials to that of the rest.

The uncovered spaces between glass and concrete allows free flow of window and gives access to the visual  interests of the public to see beyond the design onto the other side.

The first floor of the office has also been adjusted so that it have now become an open space allowing the public to view and study designs produced by the company from upstairs. The open space on top of the building also allows the visitors to get a good view of the city scape and the ocean. A great place for relaxation and a change of mind!

day 9

Here I have developed further on the computer another design which constitutes of glass panels and steel frames.

The angle is a bit different from that of the existing office but the similar materials links the whole design together.

The cantilever roof top hovering over the passage shelters the design as well as creating a strong visual sense of connectivity.

day9

These are the development stages where I have started to model the whole design in CINEMA 4D

I think it gets my ideas and materials across more strongly and the sense of scale is seen more clearly.

day8

For some reason the photo cannot be rotated..hmm

I have gone back again to the frames and the sense of detachment, this time more ordered and yet it seems more boring and unpleasing to the eye...

day8

Here, I'm getting close to my finalized design, but duplicating the existing pattern on from the office all the way down the passage, it creates a very strong visible link.

Although the two does not meet or touch at the top, the tension from the supporting beams are strong enough to propose such relationships.

Visual aesthetic is appealing.

day7

I have gone back to the simple shapes to explore the verticality potential of the passage.

Although it is a transition space its connection with ground is still vital as that's where the public will access the structure and that's where the first impressions will take place.

Coop Himmelblau was my main inspiration. The structure which I have studied have a great sense of distortion and large sets of frame work and limited sunlight.

day5

Here I have explored the idea of a transition of shape within the actual stair-case or elevator space, where sunlight also plays a major part. 

The regular pattern of the existing office carries on at the top of the passage and slowly augments downwards creating distortions and exaggerated shapes that loop around the whole pathway. 

This in a way is more interesting as a journey for the occupants as they are able to enjoy the space within the stairs as well as the space up and above the building once they've reached the top.

day3

I have now started to play with using the idea of frames and thinking about materials.
The steel frame-angled-gives a sense of detachment from the existing office up on the roof.
The elevator will slide up and down the angled path and reach its destinations.

Week one of Augmented Reality.
Trying to figure out how 'gifting' can be part of my design.
proposed idea of adding an elevator/stairs as an access route so the public can easily reach my office at the top of the building.

The pathway must be clear and visible and have some sort of link with the existing office so that it looks part of the whole design and not a separate structure all together.

Right now this drawing does not convey my ideas clearly, although I've played with the idea between transition of light and moving from interior to exterior it does not really connect coherently with my existing studio space.

Matrix

Finished at 6am! Yay. k. sleep.

professions

I have changed my professions,
there is now two architects, two artists/designers and a multimedia wiz who also deals with photography.

The allocation of space is as follows:

• The two architects and two designers are grouped in pairs with each group consisting of an architect and a designer. 
• All four occupants will be on the upper floors where there is maximum sunlight penetration, wider and contrasting views of the city and the ocean for inspiration. 
• They are separated by the narrow gap in the middle blocked off by the glass, each pair is given a side (left or right) where travelling from one space to the other is easy and efficient. The glass barrier does however allow for verbal and visual communication between each pair as they may consult each other for design inspirations. 
• The Multimedia wiz will have the whole bottom floor to him self as he needs to set up his photo-shooting areas, store equipments and needs darker spaces for generation of photos etc. 

Connection

This office connects closely with my previous works from laser cutting and A1 drawing.
My laser cutting light focused on the idea of a continuous cycle hence the -Mobius Strip which I here used here in designing and open interior space which seems to flow in a full circle.
My A1 drawing dealt with the elevation of the building which I have incorporated here as one of the reasons why my building is on the roof of another building.

stairs

These are two different sets of stairs which are interactive and requires the occupant to say commands in order for them to operate. when collapsed ( like now) the bottom stairs creates a sort of wall for independent work, this strategy is also space efficient.

exterior

Extra reinforcing is added to the exterior facade of the office to block wind and allow for more privacy and noise cancellation.

elevator

This is a plan view of the elevator from the 'second' floor of the office.
It is scripted to travel up and down taking the participants.
It is situated on ground level as an isolated structure detached from the actual existing building so that getting to and fro the office is more convenient.

second back entrance

This is the other back entrance to the building from another building on the opposite side of the other door.
It is a completely different feeling dealing with a cave-like structure which guides the characters' through.
It has strong spacial qualities similar to that of the actual office.

back door

The 'back' door to another building.
the materials are contrasting to the office and creates a sense of transition into something brighter.

DEEP

Influence from Peter Zumthor's Saint Benedict chapel-Matrix building.

His key ideas were:

1. Close detailing to materials
2. Shape supported the specific functionality-enclosed to create a sanctuary of  zen and peace.
3. Building is placed away from other distractions, separated from the city.
4. Focused on the different senses which the building could inspire people to feel, this includes the touch sense and the sense of change of brightness.The touch sense is exhibited more clearly in his thermal baths  in Vals where in some rooms the water marks on the wall where the protagonist leaned against will remain as a indication of their presence. 

My ideas:

1. Exterior facade-close connection with outside world, the glass creates separation of physical beings but at the same time allows for visual inspirations and scopes-helpful to artist and architect.
2. Interior space-One open space for all professions, separate platforms for individual work whilst the occupants can still see each other visually and maybe even shout across the platforms for collaboration. The visual space will stimulate the artist and the architect and hopefully inspire them to design better.
3. Passage ways-There are 3 main entrances to the building, one from ground level which is an elevator, the other two are situated on either side of the building both connected onto the buildings next to them to show the relationship between my office and other surrounding structures. The elevator will take the occupant through the dark vertical pathway where they will land on the second floor which is in dynamic contrast in terms of brightness. This sudden change of light will stimulate the visual senses.
4. Site-My office will be on top of another building so it grants better site view to inspire the different professions in the firm.

exterior

The exterior facade allows the characters inside the building feel as though they are out in the open, it allows for maximum sunlight into the office.

space

Showing internal space.
The concept here is to create a space which allows for maximum interaction between the workers in the office as well as providing each person with their own private area. By not building any existing walls and using glass, the workers are independent of each other whilst they can still communicate easily among themselves.
The view from each different floor is different and the heights are adjusted particularly so that the traditional measurements of floor height is challenged.

materials

trying new materials which suits the modern concept better so it can integrate into the city successfully adapting to its surrounding environment.

prep

Here I have simply layed out my materials for later use, they indicate the space inside the office.

Review

After some discussion with Judy on Monday, I have decided to continue with my concept with the alteration of a few ideas.

The office will be designed in a manner which allows maximum sunlight penetration and specific attention to materials-reflection my matrix.
My idea of creating a continuous surface by using the Mobius strip concept will need changing so that protagonists inside the building are not limited to a single pathway.
My building site should be more reflective of the real site which the building is situated-which is on top of a higher building than what I have now.

3

Back onto the actual site.

2

Frames being created to allow for future development of interactive elements-moving floor slabs.!

loop

The idea here is to create different levels which can relate to reach other and see each other, so the normal floor level height is ignored.

A Study of 'NETWORK PRACTICE'

 ‘information exchange such as BitTorrent suggest a general shift away from the traditional conception of the architect as master builder to one more in line with the collaborative remixing and patching tactics of the hacker.’

Design no long works on the bases of a linear process where information is passed up and down the line but in a realm of network where ideas are bounced by anyone in the circle.  

‘A darknet is a private virtual network benignly equated to friend-to-friend networks or… the domain of the digital resistance… Microsoft researchers…state that: ‘The darknet is not a separate physical network but an application and protocol layer riding on existing networks.’ Darknets are networks limited to a select group of users through encryption and structural security measures paradoxically built around logics of extreme distribution and flexibility.’

Different realms inside the digital world is already being created adding more layers to the dimension, this separation of people based on virtue intelligence is similar to that of politics in the real world-where the higher up you go the more access you have to a wide range of resources.

‘The SHM is comprised of a system of Antitank Landmines (ATLs), each of which has mobility, RF communications, ranging, and distributed computation subsystems. Upon deployment, the ATLs autonomously assemble a totally ad hoc wireless network via their frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) radios. This peer-to-peer network, which is logically flat and does not rely on any predefined routing, rapidly detects and adjusts when an ATL leaves or enters the network.

 Activating the operational logics of networks, the SHM has the capacity to assess its own status and operate in one of three operational modes… The aim of the SHM is to literally heal itself once munitions have been expended and nodes drop from the network by autonomously redistributing the field of mines to seal any breech. Literally, each individual mine is a 2-kilogram, rocket-propelled node in a flat ad hoc network that recognizes the location of all the other mines in the field through a continual monitoring over a frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio with the capacity to jump as far as 12 meters in any direction to ensure field integrity.

The Self-Healing Minefield, fully tested in 2003, both exemplifies the collective intelligence of a synchronous network of agents, and is one of the first active environmental applications of the theories of network logics within the US military’s Network-Centric Warfare initiative.’

This embedded organizational intelligence is able to process data and think on their own without the aid of a human actor. The network itself contains floods of data that will automatically assemble and redistribute itself when needed. Our networks are thinking for us. 

A Study of 'OLD DISPERSIONS'

The open city of Belgium expands in an isotropic form distributing its infrastructure equally in all directions. Small communities here have the potential to gather frequently in their own public spaces; problems with over population in a specific part of the country are rare as there is no city center.  

A Study of 'PUBLIC LIFESTYLE'

‘The low-density city does not seem to have a proper centre; it is a milieu served primarily by the private automobile; and it seems to represent a lifestyle devoted to consumption.’

…’its significance was in the extent to which the public space became a stage for events, and a place to both see and to be seen.’

Daniel Libeskind’s Westside in Berne, Switzerland demonstrates the gathering power of commerce and uses consumption as a means of drawing people together; Holzer Kobler’s Ebisuqare in Lucerne, Switzerland incorporates the educational functions of public spaces as a guide to connect people; The Jakarta shopping districts exemplifies problems created by consumption and the clustering of major infrastructures.

Different focuses are dealt with in the three examples and different methods will need to be generated for future purposes. Places where communities can gather together should not be purely based on consumption needs but also that of human relationship needs. Educational opportunities should be created like Kobler’s design but should remain on an interactive level for the normal public to enjoy. The spaces should be experienced differently at different parts of the building and provide the user new discoveries each time they visit. 

A Study of 'SELF-ENGINEERING'

‘Collaborative development of projects… is fundamental to architectural practice and discourse…The act of gathering around these new, parametric tools inflects this long-established norm with fresh capabilities. Relationships between the various parties works…like an open-source environment, where both practices and the software itself co-evolve through mutual feedback.’

‘When these cultural dimensions are understood to be part of the composition and working structure of an organization, it becomes more like an organism: a living, dynamic, metastable entity that needs to engaged with as such...The more established the assemblage or the more history it has, the more it tends to be held together by an internally held set of refrains: commonly held assumptions, behavioral habits and other glue-like patterns. But there is no such thing as a stable assemblage. At best, it is metastable – in a state of constant internal agitation, tension or resonance, able to respond and ready to jump.’

In order for architecture or that of any practice to grow the exchange of information must take place. Gathering and sharing personal knowledge enables new insights from different perspectives such will trigger new innovations and design ideas. One must be selfless in this process and not claim anything to be ‘purely’ their own and must admit that everything is part of a chain of activities/procedures. An organization should encourage constant interaction between its members to reduce the possibility of conflicts to a minimum.

In this open environment established through mutual trust and history, people will be able to selectively trade or take information which they pursue and others will anticipate the outcomes of the different combination of information when inputted back into the ‘market’. Efficiency of the organization should rise exponentially when people are more familiar with their environments/ when a larger goal is being presented. Cooperation will come naturally in this space and knowledge of specialized of fields will expand.

Moreover, every person is a collection of things: memories, attitudes, influences, families, friends, backgrounds, culture etc, in order to understand a person you cannot separate the different fragments of them and study them isolated because one is always under the influence and influencing another. As such the organization cannot function on its separate departments but must work collectively. When an organization is taken apart its parts are in different shapes molded through this collective process more apt to working with its familiar surroundings and thus to isolate it/banish it new ‘cells’ would need to grow to merge the organization into a whole.

A Study of 'SPECIFIC'

‘Natalie Jeremijenko’s OneTrees project is a powerful demonstration of how the same genetic starting point will result in unique and specific expressions determined through each instance’s particular engagement with an environment.’

I believe architecture will act in a similar way with the addition of human aspects.

Proposed project: distribute set number of houses >100 to different locations in ONE country. The houses are identical in terms of outside shape and inside structure-numbers of rooms and placement of walls etc-inhabited for same length of time-roughly one year, data collection. The aim is to see the effects of human influence on the building; no major construction is to be undertaken-walls cannot be taken out-but usage can be arranged differently. The data collected will become a minor part of a larger scale of information which alerts people to the influence of culture, family number, environment on the building. 

A Study of 'WAITING SPACES'

‘waiting spaces’ – a definition that comes from their main characteristic of standing empty or unused, and therefore waiting, while their immediate surroundings are growing, evolving and being used.’

Similar to the transition spaces in ‘Urbanization without density’ it can be seen as unused spaces and at the same time it is full of potential for development. These spaces can be designed to be portable architecture which allows for temporary shelter or usage. Society should be involved in the development of these infrastructures by adding cultural value to the site. 

A Study on 'TYPE'

Typology is the very embodiment of conceptual thinking: it isolates similarities from the flux of reality in order to make purified clusters of these similarities suitable for manipulation.’

‘Design too often…closing off the true depth of typicality’ focuses on the traditional form of the space instead of its potential usage or functions, cutting off potential growth in creativity of ideas. These spaces are designed for humans yet human related situation are not included or fully considered, the physicality of the place lacks potential for enabling human situations and many different possibilities are left unexplored.

‘Dwelling, properly understood, is more profound than the efficient or attractive accommodation of a lifestyle – it comprises orientation in reality.’

‘The principal difference between typology and typicality is that the former concentrates upon [architectural] objects, the latter upon human situations.’

’Language does not occur by itself or in a void, but is the most important means by which human freedom is embedded in a deep structure of claims or dependencies (typicalities)… recognition implies the universality of the one world of which we are all part, the ultimate dimension of typicality.’

‘We are obliged to acknowledge that any proper understanding of context exhibits the depth-structure of typicalities. It is precisely this depth structure that is ‘flattened’ to a single horizon of representation when architecture is reduced to form and space and then even further to information.’

This compression of information suppresses certain qualities which are considered to be ‘minor’ components which have minimum effect on human behavior. These qualities are however still necessary for a fully functioning being, it just might be that over time the protagonists themselves too have forgotten these necessities and have unconsciously suppressed them as well. In order to aid people to start realizing these qualities again the designer must incorporate components in their design which can trigger similar information on a different level and thus start a chain/web exchanging information up and down the strata. On the other hand, this triggering web grants people the authority to choose which door they want to open and whether or not the triggered information is useful to them or not.

A Study of “URBANISM WITHOUT DENSITY”

‘The opposition between…attributes of city and countryside has long been supported by clear boundaries between one and the other… Yet over the course of the 20^th century…the distinctions between city, suburb, countryside, and wilderness have become blurred’

With the development of cities and its expansion outwards this blurring will eventually merge into one ‘entity’ where there is no more urban and suburban and only the different parts of ‘The City’ categorised by its culture or specific functionalities. The boundaries acted as a distinction barrier preventing people from understanding the other side-associated with class distinctions and economical factors- therefore slowed down the exchange of information. Cities needed the organic resources from the suburban areas and the country side needed technologies invented in urban environments. As cities become autonomous-producing their own food by means of roof gardens etc-minimising economic capital needed for transport, companies also needs new land for further development there is an immigration of information with the suburban information being brought into cities and vies versa.

‘Due to a redistribution of urban activities and intensities…programmes that were previously associated with the city centre…have been transplanted to suburbia and have taken on a different shape.’

Like Le Corbusier’s city vision where the city is ‘nowhere and everywhere’, a redistribution of space is evident.

‘… the shaping of public space has been considered the primary task…Its role and place in the city as a space of gathering and exchange has been treated as a kind of ‘glue’ that holds together the city and promises to generate urban coherence and active use.’

‘no longer functions…as the place where opinions and ideas about society and state were formed and discussed the public sphere has become an ‘arena for advertising’ … critical

reason is seen to have shifted to other groups…who engage in it un-publicly, while mass consumers might have a public receptiveness but remain non-critical. This shift of rationalism and criticism has left the public sphere prone to stronger forces such as marketisation and privatization

. Public space...is essential to the preservation of democracy…provides the space for freedom of

speech and public assembly, enables the publicizing of dissent, maintains awareness of the needs of others, and allows the organization of grassroots campaigns.’

People seem to have shifted the location where they express their opinions and attitudes to the cyber world where their identities can remain hidden; this allows a sense of security as opposed to the planned function of public spaces where your identity is exposed once you express your freedom of speech. Through the internet people can debate, criticize and rephrase their speech without the pressure of organizing their minds on the spot. The internet enables people to cross between the border of personalized living and public spaces giving them a choice which one to pursue for a longer duration of time. However this encourages a disconnection from society and creates a new set of problems needed to be solved by architects: How to design public spaces which satisfies personal security of individuals yet encourages public engagement?

‘raises questions on how to approach the ‘emptiness’ of the dispersed city, how to use, appropriate and inhabit the space in between spread-out buildings, and how to redefine this space as part of the public realm.’

People spend more time then they realize travelling from place to place every day and most of this time is spent on boredom or worse-wasted. Efficient ways of engaging society for productivity in these transit spaces is another step towards development where no time is left to be unused or unengaged. 

Chapel

These are research photos of the actual chapel designed by Peter Zumthor.
I've looked into details in regards to materials and the interior structure, hopefully i'll be able to incorporate some of these ideas into my design!