FINAL ARCHITECTURE

Downloadable high quality PDF and Sketchup Model below...

THE BRIDGE PDF

Sketchup Model

1080p video link 

BACK to the Concept

Buildings fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. The defining qualities are about use: ease and simplicity. One wants architecture to be elemental… but on the other handarchitecture demands beauty and aesthetics. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.

So, the design must care beyond the functional imperative but so subtly and neutrally, to leave room for the user's self-expression. A house is definitely not organic, its very rectilinear but it has a very kind of geological quality through the materials it would be contradictory to make organic architecture when all in all the architecture is immediately deemed unnatural, it is made made itself. 

In summary. The design must be simple, unobtrusive, fulfilling its purpose, rectilinear in shape but poses a geological quality through materials to respect and pay homage to the  landscape and environment but carefully so not to mimic it. Architecture should not hide what it is by pretending to be something it isn’t, but rather pay respect the environment it sits in.

One of the foremost important initial aspects of the design was based on the landscape. At the beginning of the design process we determined our landscape. I chose Scottish highlands mixed with the Australian Snowy Mountains.

The most important aspect of my architectural school/bridge was to RESPECT the nature, the environment and landscape. The first step for this was to visually and aesthetically do so. Careful and very time consuming consideration went into the placement of the building into the landscape. My key objectives were...

- Not to mimic nature (ie. it is contradictory to recreate nature because that in itself is unnatural)

- Rather than mimic, RESPECT nature (i.e. use materials, natural and organic to the landscape.) 

- Also use of composition, structure, placement should carefully be considered not to obstruct or destroy the surrounding environment   

The material choice was important and was determined, like most other areas of the design, in reflection of the natural landscape. The stone tiles used in this conceptual design would theoretically be sourced from onsite, from the natural stone hills. The idea being that the building would blend into the landscape better than any other chosen material.

Part of my design process was to nestles the bridge into the landscape. I thought much about different bridges to use, most ideas the traditional "across a valley" type, but I felt this contradicted my concept as it would not be subtle into the landscape's design. Being close to the waters edge for me is rather peaceful and tranquil, I took this idea and merged my bridge into the water, sloping down beneath the water but the deepest section only enough so one can still see with their head looking over the lake.

View of the bridge submerging into the lake and remerging up again at water level to the study retreat. Use of long slow angular planes to delicately flow harmoniously with the lake.

The more complex design of the study retreat is carefully hidden from outside view by angular external walls

Interior features include shadow gaps for ceilings and shirtings. All linear planes, pillars and columns are based off the one grid layout (in previous section of blog). 
The interior switches from tiled ceilings and walls to just tiled floors and white washed walls and ceilings, in order to minimise visual noise and give focus to little features of natural embedded into the building.

Lecture room - details include, shadow gaps in ceiling, walls and birch timber seating. Connection to the exterior was important with open doorway and shallow window which is eye level to the hilly terrain outside to those sitting and the lecturer standing.

Study space -  below water level, tall double height ceiling to combat being underground as well as natural light source (centre top left) from the lecture hall (see over view video for better understanding)

PEER REVIEW

THE MOVING ELEMENTS + THE FOLLY

The Folly I have chosen is derived from one of the 18 perspectives (shape B.), but has been altered in a way to adjust and fit comfortably into side of the architectural school.

The folly is not only a place to meet or retreat to but also an adjustable extension of the bridge and school. The folly allows students and staff to vacate the main building/bridge to retreat to open fields of grass, a beautiful view of the lake and as much space as possible allowing one to think and relax.

The detraction of the folly also allows access from the main land onto the green roof of the main building, another area of retreat.

Downloadable PDF high quality version here

FOLLY DROPBOX PDF

Below is a short video of the movement of the Folly.

FOLLY VIDEO LINK (movement of folly)

The Other Moving Elements

The bridge design (which is talked about move in the 'Final Architecture' section) main primary goal was for a connection between the research, studio and lecture facilities to the an area of relaxation, quite study or a place to just eat or read.

The bridge which drops off down under the water; nestles away from site and opens to a water level grid stone layout. Configured from the grid layout talked about previously, based on ideas of simplicity, aesthetic value and form from the concept mashup. The grid stone tiles change slowly through the day, altering to the change of sun position to create new spots through the day to nestle away from shade. The function also allows for students to expose students and staff to perhaps different layouts which could potentially create or alter new thoughts in the constantly changing environment. 

Below is a short video in fast time showing the movement of the blocks

STONE CHAIR MOVEMENT

PRACTICE OF MOVING ELEMENTS ON LUMION

Below is a short practice/test video on moving elements

LUMION PRACTICE/TEST VIDEO

36 CUSTOM TEXTURES (plus an additional 36)

Movement can be understood as linear, rotational and scalar translation.

A. Stretch - pulls and stretches a form or shape when applied to
B. Movement across each other 
C. Expand - movement through growth and change
D. Alignment 1 - exploring movement inspired by a Catherine fireworks wheel
E. Alignment 2 - exploring the same idea but altering the space of the horizontals 
F. Intensity and thickness 1 - inspired by a car driving past quickly and becoming distorted to the human eye, but represented in a more conceptual sense
G. Intensity and thickness 2 - exploring the same idea but with different formation
H. Circular scale - exploring movement through scalar translation 
I. Circular intensity - exploring movement through thickness in movement 
J. Movement through grid 1 - exploring movement though linear translation 
K. Movement though grid 2 - exploring the same idea but through large spacing of verticals 
L. Circular breakage - exploring movement through rotational translation  



3 CHOSEN TEXTURES FOR BUILDING 

K. Movement though grid 2 - exploring movement through linear translation of grid but through large spacing of verticals 

J. Movement through grid 1 - exploring movement though linear translation 

F. Intensity and thickness 1 - inspired by a car driving past quickly and becoming distorted to the human eye, but represented in a more conceptual sense

PLAN - Inspired SketchUp Model

Plan - Farnsworth House, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, 1951

Plan Remodelling - For the design of my bridge and architectural school, I took key ideas of Mies' Farnsworth House. Apart from using the actual plan and readjusting it I have also taken the idea of a grid layout to model my bridge and architectural school.

This relates back to my mashup concept - use of ease and simplicity - A house is definitely not organic, its very rectilinear but it has a very kind of geological quality through the materials

To begin my design on SketchUp, I first created a grid layout to a size that I could easily work with. The idea was to have rectangles that are easily devisable and so all manners of placement of the design could co-exist with the grid layout. An idea which Mies often used as well as the 3 architect/designers (Pawson, Rams and Ive) use to gain an aesthetic result only attained through grid layout.

(perspective plan) Above shows how my draft bridge design has been sculpted out of the grid layout.

(perspective plan) Above is a refinement of the Farnsworth Plan for the architectural school bridge layout.

LANDSCAPE

Scotland - Whilst not ever having lived in Scotland longer than 3 months. I have important ancestral  connection to renowned Scottish poet Sir Robert Burns and have always been incredibly found of the country and particular the natural forms of the highlands.

Australia - Born in Australia this is largely my country of origin. Just like the Scottish highlands, Australian landscapes I'm also quite found of, particularly  the natural forms of the Snowy Mountains. Both country's landscapes are rather similar in the sense of terrain, texture of the natural elements (rocks, grass, etc) and both are cold, wet and isolated. I have therefore chosen to mix the landscapes together for my lumion environment for my architectural design school.

Lumion Environment

After a few hours of fiddling around of trying to establish an environment that represented both the Snow Mountain and Scottish Highlands, I managed to create such a place that I though would work perfectly with my design idea and brief.

18 ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVES + 18 TWO-POINT PERSPECTIVES

THE BRIEF:

To create a folly using crosses in spaces.

THE ACTION:

After attempting different shapes through overlapping crosses onto each other, I found the results unpleasing and anaesthetically satisfying to my own taste. I decided to take a different approach by creating a rectangular prism and then extruding cross based shapes from it. Extruding from this simple form of a rectangular prism was formed by following the concept mashup of respecting the environment or landscape a building is placed in by using lineal form juxtaposed with elementary materials such as stone and timber.

After many different attempts I finally chose 6 shapes that I was pleased with.

Below:

- 6 shapes

- drawn in one-point perspective

- drawn again in two-point perspective (allowing for more depth and understanding of the shapes form

- Followed by a description of the shape and its relation to the concept mashup

A. The simplest shape and form was about contrasting a bold and solid feeling upper horizontal plane against narrow, subtle but sharp vertical support planes and lower horizontal planes to mimic the idea of spacious delicacy. 

B.(Chosen Shape for Folly) Idea based on movement and connection. This hollowed out shape forms a room created by horizontal planes which have been frozen in a sense of movement. Whilst the vertical planes open up to form entrances and spaces allowing people to attain more sense of exploration through the shapes rather than feeling grandeur in openness of space (like in A.).

C. Idea based on connection of interior and exterior.(This shape later influenced ideas into the exterior form of the lecture theatre in the final bridge design.)

D. Idea based on using long unbroken planes. An experiment to see what sense and feel I could gather. The result was that the long form and shape for me created a monumental type shape, more sculptural than a place to meet and nestle in. (ideas from this shape were later translated into the shapes and forms used in the final bridge design)

E. This shape was a result in the creation of shape C. I really liked how shape C looked and overall worked, but I wanted to improve the idea of a meeting space by introducing multi-leveled horizontal planes. (Although I was please with this shape I went with B because I felt it contrasted and juxtaposed better with my final design of the bridge)

F. The final shape I was not overly found of because it resulted in becoming less of a folly, but rather more like an actual room. The idea was based on hierarchy of levelling (much like the ideas Utzon borrowed front he Aztec temples and applied to the Sydney Opera House). I wanted to include this shape to show the diversity in the shapes I was experimenting with.