Peer Crits - Gifting

The people i crited today were the laser cutting group. Some models were quite outstanding and I can tell a lot of work was put into each individual project.

Sally Hosking
http://www.shos033-sally.blogspot.com/
-Tram stop.
-On Short Street.
-'Communal Space'
-Material " look at how different materials weather in different conditions"
-bamboo
-Wind, rain and sun.
-3 factors.

Jenny Chen
http://sihanchen.wordpress.com
-New transport for Auckland Ciry.
-12 different stops.
-Come up with a theme.
-Potential for social hubs.
-Weathering and corrosion etc.
-influence the environment

Sam Thompson

Unfortunately Sam did not turn up for his peer crit.

Matrix - Augmented Reality

1:1 Augmented Reality

My idea of gifting was generosity through giving back to community and ecology. To do this my building is mainly transparent on the lower levels being open to the outer environment for the public to enjoy. A private area will also be seen by the public that will be accessible by the public separating the working space and social space. I played with the Principles of Urban Think Tank by mixing the formal spaces and informal spaces in the same building. ( Office Space + Public space). My 1:1 detailing reflects the glass hand railing facing the sea side. A Cor-Ten steel structure will be the main facade facing st.Andrews church which is framed by a square window.

Final Model

Window to floor connection

Right Elevation

Planning and gathering materials

Built arrangement

Window connection

Left elevation of window

Materials

Spray painting...

Waiting for it to dry

2 Coats of spray paint (Brown and Copper)

I- beams in place

Flooring foundations

Testing strength

1:5 model Augmented reality

This 1:5 detailing is of my window connection to the hand railing Cor-Ten steel.

Material qualities

Recently i have been trying to imitate the texture of Cor-Ten steel by using a specific spray paint. Photos to come...
-Glass and perspex......
-Nails and bolts....

Sketches, Materials and more ideas!

Today after talking to my tutors Dermott and Padma i have decided to not change the form of my building any more and focus more on the pedestrian and flow of my building as it seems private and not open to the public. To address this problem i will make the space more welcoming by having a specific access path that reaches out to the public park.

Initial concept with organic forms

Merging of organic idea and 2nd life idea

Elevation

Looking at contemporary organic forms

Ideas in sketches in notebook

Window form

Metal on wood to see texture

Imitation of Cor-Ten steel with spray paint and wood

2nd life building on site revisited - Augmented reality

Added shadows and removed the red carpet from 2nd life

Added on some effects to brighten up building

My idea definition of gifting is generosity and unselfishness therefore the building i will design will incorporate the social and ecological needs by contributing back to the community. It will be public space and open plan - a place for people to relax.

Generosity is the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need. Often equated with charity as a virtue, generosity is widely accepted in society as a desirable trait. Generosity is not solely based on one's economic status, but instead, includes the individual's pure intentions of looking out for society's common good and giving from the heart. Generosity should reflect the individual's passion to help others. In Buddhism, generosity is the antidote to the self-chosen poison called greed. Therefore my buildings will have no assigned spaces but a open plan style interior where every room will be merged together in a space. It will also be quite open to the exterior environment. The overall form of the building will be quite organic to reflect its surroundings.

"Life and the world is a Gift"

Gifting Brief

Today we talked about the idea of gifting and how it would relate to our site.
What we have to have ready by Wednesday is:

• Idea of gifting and what it means to you?
• 2 Augmented drawings
  - 2nd life photoshop on site.
  -Augmented reality sketch reinforcing the concept.

• Material palette of 3 or more materials.
  
  The idea of a gift is interesting because a gift has a strong contrast between the interior and exterior surfaces. The interior surface is always in darkness and the exterior is constantly exposed to light. My idea of gifting is being generous and sharing/ giving - this could range from sharing a social space to a private indoor area. This led me to think of designing a office space that would incorporate open planning and be almost transparent to the outside world. 

I have also been looking into Ben Heine's Pencil vs Camera sketches for augmented reality. The precision and detail he has gone into is quite amazing.

Final Building on Site

My final design of building in relation to my site

Peer Crit reviews

For the peer crit reviews i reviewed Simon, Stacey and Nick. Their workshop was augmented reality.

Spiral building

Simon's design is based around his matrix of Toyo Itos' Sendai mediatheque. He created a office space that would be supported up by spiral beams to mimic the surrounding environment. His main idea was about the flow of air and traffic represented in a building.

A concept of Simon's design

Curved surfaced building

Stacey's building she designed was a combination of her sustenance and waking project in previous weeks. Her building is placed beside St. Pauls church in the park space. It is about framing the landscape and seperating private and public spaces. I found the windows she had designed quite interesting due to how they could be moved to make the space private or public at the users will. The building is also raised on pilotis which give it a light to the building and not being too invasive to the park and surrounding environment.

Stacey's 1:1 of a specific window panel

 Moving Panels and door screens

Nicks design was redesign of an existing facade inspired by his matrix which was a building designed by the architect Louis Kahn. Nick investigated these heavy mass forms that Louis Kahn loves to use. Simple geometric shapes made from mainly concrete that give an eternal feel to it - That the building will be here to 'stay'. There are 3 levels that open - the bottom levels act as doors and the 2 above levels are used as windows that regulate light. I found the form of his building facade very interesting and the idea of only concrete being used gave it a really strong heavy feel to it.

Photos to come... when Nick updates his blog!

Final Design - Gathering Week 6-7

This is my final design for the gathering section of our 8 week project on Second Life.

Perspective

Side Elevation

End elevation

Facing towards St. Pauls Church

Windows towards Anzac Ave

View down the hill

Teleporter to 3rd floor

 My building I have created has 3 stories to it. The first story is for the engineer and all his calculations and space for book shelves. The second level is for the accountant and Architect. This is raised above the ground and gives the effect of a tranquil space. The top story is for the musician where they can play music and be the furthest away from pedestrians and traffic flows. the sound produced by the musician will not effect others as the sound travels upwards.


My precedent building was the Niaux Cave entrance designed by the italian architect Massilimilano Fuksas. After examining the Niaux Cave I have changed my building to have more verticalities then horizontalities. The main structure and form is based from contemporary architecture with some organic aspects. I wanted an open plan space that would merge the interior with the exterior hence the addition of glass railings towards the park side. To have nature closeby was one of my main focuses. A series of interlocking spaces that would seamlessly integrate nature and the building.

"recognise and accentuate natural beauty"
-Frank Lloyd Wright

New Site New ideas

I have changed my site and area of focus on my building design now. It is going to be placed by the St. Pauls church on Anzac Avenue. I choose this site because of the open spaces and hill scape. I wanted a tranquil space that would give inspiration to my architect and musician in the office. The reason for the scale of the building is to give all my clients space away from each other as their jobs and occupations are quite different.

Since the grass area is on a slope the building would have a view over the parnell factories and businesses to the seaside. The services that are in a 10 minute proximity is a church, early childhood centre, backpackers, hotel and a thai restaurant.

Changes to the design

Area of my site i am building on in Parnell:

The patch of land beside vector arena is the place i will be building on as it overlooks sea and there is a space near the train station area that could be used for office apartments. It will also be quite close to the sea making it relaxing and close to nature.

The building i have designed plays with open spaces and incorporates my 4 clients in the design. There are 3 different levels to my design. The top level which is the 3rd floor will be for the music student while the architect and accountant will share the 2nd floor with the engineer on the bottom floor. The 3rd floor will be quite open to the surrounding environment to provide inspiration. The architect will also be quite close to outside only being separated by glass panes. The bottom floor is left for the engineer to explore structures and do calculations and working drawings.