The following document is a mash up of architectural articles which express various ideas. The point of the mash up is to develop a new concept derived from the combination of the multiple architectural concepts explicated in the articles sourced.
By integrating the themes of the of the articles, I came up with my final concept:
The morphological ability of a vernacular public connector.
The bridge in experiment three therefore should not be considered as a structural being, but as a morphing of program and circulation to the extent of which generates a new community and a public connector.
The above document is a mash up of three architectural articles:
dark grey - David Walters and Linda Luise Brown, "Design First," (Architectural Press), 75-78.
blue - Taylor Metcalf "Providence River Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge Competition Winner / inFORM Studio," ArchDaily(March 7,2011), accessed 13 May 2013, http://www.archdaily.com/155456.
green - Cliff Moughtin, "Street and Square," Urban Design n.3, 25-30
Perspective Drawings:
These drawings are designs for an Architectural folly which would be used for a Dean's lunch, having to hold roughly 20-30 people at a time, as the Dean would invite excelling students and also staff to the lunch. This folly is to be orientated below the bridge, on the ground plane. These aspects came into consideration when developing design ideas for the folly. This is explicated by the following 12 folly designs, drawn in both one point and two point perspective to provide a deeper understanding of the folly and its design.
The Plan:
The original plan used as a basis was The Skyscraper by Mies van der Rohe, which never actually got built.
The reason I chose this plan is because I liked the dynamic shape of it and how there was an obvious centre, which in assumption is continuous throughout the building; acting as the main circulation path. Since we were asked to flip the floor plan 90 degrees to create a section, I saw the central part of the building could act as the bridges floor plane, also making it the main circulation path. I was also intrigued about how the program is orientated around the centre; further emphasising the importance of the central part.
Using the above plan as a foundation to develop upon, I ended up creating a section which relates back to my MashUp concept: the morphological ability of a vernacular public connector.
As you can see, I rotated the plan, took away parts, and also changed parts, for example the centre. I tried to continue the idea of the importance of the central portion and how the program is orientated around it.
Textures:
The following textures are drawn to represent different definitions of movement. The words we were given which represent movement were: linear, rotational and scalar. We were then asked to generate three additional words which help us to understand movement. The three words I chose are: sharp, tortuous and salient. For each word/definition I had to draw 6 textures, this is illustrated below:
The three that I ended up sticking with are:
Draft Environments:
For our environment design we were asked to use include a valley inspired by our country of origin, for me that could be either from Australia, Greece or England. Since I live on a valley, I thought it would be easiest to create a valley inspired by that. I then searched for images on the internet of my suburb to collect images, this is what I found:
From this, I developed a draft environment in CryEngine3:
However, I believed that using the suburb I live in as inspiration for a valley was too boring. So I decided to go with a different country of origin, Greece. I then searched for images of Greek valleys on the internet to draw inspiration from and I ended up sticking with Zakynthos.
What drew my attention was the thin pieces of land and the caves throughout the island. I thought this would go well with carrying on the idea of a bridge passing through masses of land, connecting the entire environment. This would be achieved by implementing caves into the environment. However, I wanted to play around with the shape of the stretches of land and their relationship to one another.
From this I took out the idea of closely related (physically close) stretches of land which could be morphed together by a connector; a bridge. Due to the steepness of the cliff faces the bridge would integrate with the environment, generating a new community and transforming the spatial character to one which is more wholesome.
Final Environment:
As you can see i continued the use of the four strips of land. This was purely so the bridge could pass through the two centre strips, making it seem as if it were drilling through the masses of land. The thickness of the strips presents hierarchy due to the outer masses of land being the main focus due to being the entrances to the bridge.
I then added multiple layers of paint and material to try and imitate the landscape of Zakynthos. The scattering of land is largely influenced by the previously mentioned photos which showcase the ambiguous nature of the land.
Then I created holes in the middle strips which would guide the bridge through and also assist with the effect of the bridge protruding through the landscape.
The Folly:
I then worked on making the folly from the below perspective drawings and made it into a 3D object using SketchUp.
Once finished creating the folly in SketchUp, I then though about the placement of it. I then decided to place it in between the centre valleys, making it more among the environment but also making it a more central focus, but metaphorically and physically.
I took into consideration the approach to the folly. I wanted the students to have to walk through one of the cliffs and experience being inside the land form. In addition, it also creates anticipation due to being able to see it in the distance and having to travel further to get there. This is shown in the above image.
To achieve functionality on the bridges floor plane, multiple seating areas, stores, toilets etc. are placed on it. Even the meeting spaces for both staff and students are places within the caves, again on the floor plane. There are also two galleries orientated on the edges of the bridge which too shares the same floor plane. The reason they are placed this way is to again emphasize the importance of the bridge's core. This is furthered by not having circulation paths directly connecting to one another. This means that to get from one room to another, you must use the bridge's floor plane at some point.
The bridge's arrangement of rooms is split up carefully. With the rooms within the first span being staff dominated e.g. staff offices. The rooms within the second span are used by both staff and students, e.g. studios, this is the most central part of the bridge which is why it is dedicated to everyone. The rooms within the last span are student dominated e.g. workshops. The separation of the primarily staff occupied rooms and student occupied rooms bring both the students together with one another and also the tutors together with their fellow staff. The reasoning behind this is to continue the concept of 'New Community'; making the bridge more than a distributor.
Students side:
Staff side:
The Elevators:
Both elevators distribute the passengers from the bridge's floor plane to the architectural folly for the Dean's lunch. The paths and placement for both have be consider and design for particular reasoning.
The deans elevator:
The Dean's elevator is quite small, fitting only a maximum of three people due to the minimal space provided. This makes the elevator more personal and intimate which suits the Dean due to his stature. The elevators path consists of starting from the staff end of the bridge and then projecting upwards over the masses of land and the down again to land on the top of the folly. This path enforces the prowess of the Dean due to him evidently travelling above the other occupants of the bridge. Therefore he is looking down on them and they are looking up at him, making him feel bigger and them smaller. Landing on top of the folly continues this concept.
Students elevator:
The students' elevator is significantly larger than the Dean's elevator and this is purely to allow for more passengers and also to compensate for a higher demand. Similar to the Dean's the elevator takes off from their headquarters. In this case though it begins at the students' end of the bridge, the reason is obvious. The elevator then makes its way to the end of the path to the folly. This is done by elevating over the circulation curve (on the right, two images up) and then making its way down. The path is similar to the Dean's in giving off the effect of significance. Their are only a select group invited to the Dean's lunch which are the top students. This passing over the rest therefore reiterates this notion of importance.
Final Five Images:
Centre outdoor gallery:
Central section, for staff and students:
Central section:
Staff end:
Students' end:
Link to CryEngine file and SketchUp files:
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/dkfumrsfvnei2/ARCH1101_-_Experiment_Three
