1ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO: EARTH S1, 2016SUBJECT STUDENT BOOK

Jack Swann678630

Scott Woods Group 5

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CONTENTS

1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS 1.1 Point/Line/Plane 1.2 Mass1.3 Frame & Infill

2.0 HERRING ISLAND. SOMETHING LIKE A PAVILION 2.1 Conceptacle2.2 Concept and Sketch design2.3 Final Design Model 2.4 Secrets

3.0 REFLECTION

4.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS

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1.1 POINT / LINE / PLANE

My inspiration for the POINT/LINE/PLANE exercise came from Sol LeWitts Wall Drawing #273. I was interested in the groups of lines arraying from the corners and centre of each edge of the wall on which the piece was constructed. To make my initial design I was experimenting with a three-dimensional expression of one of these groups of lines. My extension of this first investigation was to create a plane by turning up some of the lines vertically in an arc with its centre at the same corner. The most interesting element of the final model which I presented was the play of light and shadow as light would travel around the model, and how shadow appeared differently on each side of the implied arcing plane.

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group - Maze, Smithsonian Museum

Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #273

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1.2 MASS

For my MASS drawing, I was interesting in working in a limited colour palette. Combining both the MASS tectonic and the idea of a below ground expression conjured thoughts of Gloomy spaces with light from only small areas, if at all. My final composition consists of a hole with rectilinear sides cut into the natural ground, containing a singular mass in the centre of the subtraction from the Earth. I combined my experiments with graphite and with paints. The initial shapes being drawn in graphite, which darkens the successive glazes of red and blue painted over the entire drawing.

Luis Barragan - Casa Luis Barragan, Mexico City

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1.3 FRAME & INFILL

Following discussions about the nature of FRAME &INFILL, I was interested in experimenting with a liquid as the infill element for this task. Through my consideration of how to represent this in a model form, I came to a conclusion of using ice. The fliud nature of the liquid should play against the static and structural nature of the frame element in this relationship. Through the use of ice and a metal frame, I found that my model was challenging my initial impression of what was frame and what was infill. In my final presented model, I actually think that the ice performs the role of the frame, and the metal cubes serve as the infill, because they are separate from each other, and as the ice melts away, they move separately to each other, falling to the ground.

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2.0 HERRING ISLAND. SOMETHING LIKE A PAVILIONA PLACE FOR KEEPING SECRETS

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2.1 CONCEPTACLE

My conceptacle was created primarily as an expression of the MASS drawing, consisting of an organic shape contained within a structured container. The container in this case is made of ice, as was the model for my FRAME & INFILL exploration. My development in the conceptacle also consisted of one version using the implied plane of my POINT/LINE/PLANE exercise, but it was less successful, and my preferred version consists of only the shape contained within the ice that is shown here. One of the interesting components of this conceptacle is the texture which formed within the ice. Different layers of cracks and bubbles are distinct within the overall form of the conceptacle. As I developed this conceptacle into the final presentation, I invert the relationship of the natural form and the structured container, with a natural shaped monolith containing structured spaces and a container for fluid iside.

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2.2 CONCEPT AND SKETCH DESIGN

My design for my place to keep secrets is primarily a monolithic stone structure placed on the site at Herring Island. To an observer at ground level, the stone appears to simply sit on the ground, but as they get closer, it becomes apparent that it is suspended by only three points. The space below the monolith is a circular chamber. At the centre of this chamber the underside of the monolith comes down to a point where water drips from above. The water is allowed to pool on the ground, and over time will form the ground to its own shape. For a visitor standing in one specific place in this underground chamber, there is a channel bored in the stone above, and at the end of the channel is a projected image viewable only from one angle. Inside the monolith, at ground level, there is a corridor leading to the centre of the stone, where there is a water chamber with a filled container feeding the drip below.

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2.4 SECRETS

There are a number of secrets contained within my design for Herring Island. Over the following pages, I have included a series of images of the different secrets which are included in the design: from the large - the underground chamber revealed as an individual approaches the monolith; to the small - the single user projection only viewable from a precise point in the pavilion; and the concealed - the internal water chamber storing water on its path from above to the constant drip of the underground space.

2.3 FINAL DESIGN MODEL

The final design model which I created for this project shows the monolith which I proposed for Herring Island, and the circular chamber underneath through which visitors could travel. Internally I have shown only the central water chamber, as this is the most important space within the monolith. The programmatic elements (toilets, maintenace, cleaning and storage rooms) are also contained within this monolith, but their specific arrangement is of secondary importance to the experience created by the singular form of the monolith, the underground space, and the central internal chamber.

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3.0 CONCLUSION

Throughout this semester, I have endeavoured to extend my use of materials beyond what I have used in the past. I think the FRAME & Infill task was the most successful experiment for me, while the model for the final design was perhaps more polished. I enjoyed the use of unusual materials, and the fact that some of my models were by their nature temporary.

My explorations this semester were a departure from my previous works, which focused on usually rectilinear arrangements, and tesselated patterns. During most of my exercises this semester I have included elements with a more organic shape. In some cases I have found these to be successful, but in my conceptacle, I struggled to allow the natural form to be visible behind the smooth surface of the ice cylinder which I used.

I found that it was easier to complete tasks which were focused on a conceptual level than the final project, which should have included more connection to the real life site.

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4.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barragan, Luis 1947, Casa Luis Barragan, photograph, viewed 8 June, 2016

Ingels, Bjarke 2014, BIG-Maze, photograph, viewed 8 June, 2016 < http://www.azuremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Azure-BIG-Maze-05.jpg>

LeWitt, Sol 1975, Wall Drawing #273, photograph, viewed 8 June, 2016 < http://newsgrist.typepad.com/underbelly/images/2008/04/09/lewitt.jpg>

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