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ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO: EARTH DESIGN JOURNEY

DAMIEN CRESP 586664

Dani Mileo - Studio 8

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1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS 1.1 POINT/LINE/PLANE 1.2 MASS1.3 FRAME AND INFILL

2.0 SOMETHING LIKE A PAVILION 2.1 CONCEPTACLE DEVELOPMENT2.2 CONCEPTACLE2.3 SITE ANALYSIS2.4 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

3.0 HERRING ISLAND: FINAL DESIGN 3.1 FINAL DESIGN DRAWINGS3.5 FINAL DESIGN MODEL

4.0 REFLECTION

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1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS

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1.1 POINT / LINE / PLANE

Throughout my childhood my family would frequently go on camping trips and explore the natural phenomena of the Australian bush. Memories of walking through thick fern brush and the thin, undulating surfaces that they would create in the terrain around me.

Donald Judd, who is a minimalist artist and designer, was mentioned in the subject guide. Looking at his work I saw that he also had played with this idea of tiered, thin surfaces to create an outdoor staircase and causeway in between two rooms of his house. I enjoied the way he manipulated the tectonic into usable space whilst dropping the traditional staircase.

The planes are the platforms and the fluidity of the non-physical undulating surface. The lines are the ‘stems’ of the platforms. The points are, when seeing the design from above, each individual platform. In my work I’ve attempted to create a playful space where people can experience being surrounded by these elements as you would in a forest of ferns. Specifically, where they could feel enclosed by the planes and where they could surmount the platforms to gain new perspectives.

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1.2 MASS

On the shores of Torquay near my family’s holiday house there is a cliff face which the waves have carved a character into. I can distinctly remember exploring these places with my cousins and finding secret caves hidden behind obelisks and underneath monoliths only accessible through passages of water. These secret caves always made you feel like you were the first to discover their treasure.

I’ve chosen to have a source of light cutting through the rock to reflect off the water to enhance the atmosphere of the space and create a spectacle as per the brief. The journey through the underwater tunnel, with eyes closed and unable to breach for air, is the dark area where one must feel their way through.

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1.3 FRAME & INFILL

The frame and infill exercise asked for an emphasis on views within an open frame. My thoughts turned to how views are directed and controlled in Japanese garden architecture, and how blocking, guiding, and distracting a person’s vision can allow you to create moments of visual surprise. An example of such is the framed view of the outside as seen from the tatami mats of Meigetsu-in, a temple in Kamakura.

In the same way I have attempted to block vision using panels along the walls, distracted vision by creating obstacles to jump over or climb, teased by showing cracks or slits of scenery, and culminating in finally giving a full, unobstructed view from the top of the frame.

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2.0 SOMETHING LIKE A PAVILLION

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7deceased seedling

wrapped leaf web

herring anatomy

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2.1 CONCEPTACLE DEVELOPMENT

Taking inspiration from Antoni Gaudi’s work, I strove to also consider and emulate natural form in my work. Gaudi looked at an entire spectrum of natural form - from the Nautilus to the skeletal structure of a Python, to the pattern of dried coral. I began to search Herring Island for natural forms that I found interesting, in particular, the behaviour of fauna and the patterns of flora.

The first element in my conceptacle is the rib-like frame. This idea was conceived after I saw an interesting bird, which I later discovered to be a Grey-faced Heron, and following Gaudi’s steps, looked at how the skeletal structure was able to create the form of the bird. An interesting feature of most bird’s rib cages is their large breast-plate, and that would later go on to become the ‘balcony’ in my design.

The second element is the sheet-like shape covering the rib-cage frame. This concept was derived from the behaviour of a spider I’d found on the island who had constructed a web with a curled leaf for protection.

The concept of the last element was procured from a small, deceased seed pod that had fallen off one of the trees at the westernmost point of the island. Pocketing two (a live seed pod and a dead one) I enjoyed the contrast between the two, and the way that as the seed pod died it released the seeds from the fenestrations in its shell. This gave me the idea of adding perforations to the facade of the conceptacle, and adding a textured surface to the model well.

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2.2 CONCEPTACLEThis conceptacle was formed in an attempt to display the spatial qualities of the three previous elemental exercises as well as the concept that had been developed from the Herring Island site analysis.

My conceptacle initially appears to be a framed construction, where the ‘ribs’ are the frames holding up the shelter. The planar elements are seen as the cladded roofing. The element of mass I intended to demonstrate when the conceptacle was viewed from its aft side, though a perforation in its surface lost this effect, an issue I would fix in the later model.A transparent base was renovated into the model to aid the views of its rib-structure from the underside.

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white-faced heron

axial views down river

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Features of height, axial river views, the local character and a sense of distance were the aspects of Herring Island that I found most attractive. After reviewing these, I decided that I wanted my design to have views down the river, both private and open, I thought it necessary that the pavilion had to sit atop one of the ridges lining the edge of the island, as there I found that there was a sort of serenity and distance that be-ing there gave from the island itself.For these reasons I chose the ridge on the South-Western flank of the island. When visiting the island I stood here and sensed a calming at-mosphere, which I thought was ideal for the pavilion I wanted to create.

2.3 SITE ANALYSIS

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2.4 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Sketched on lined paper at 3am was my first conception of this pavilion. The shape was to be organic as to create a relaxing space. The main orifice was to always be a raised vantage point, this was to create a dramatic vantage point from which you would watch over the goings on of the environment around you, and not necessarily be a part of it.

The secret room faced away from the centre of the island, so that it would be rarely seen.

Initially I wanted to create a water feature that would cover the secret room, as a waterfall conceals a hidden cave behind it, but I quickly decided against this as the Yarra River really does smell just terrible.

The plans were drawn in such a way that the curve of the pavilion would slowly ascend the ridge. The space was not given any defined doors or entrances as to create no obvious distinction between inside and outside - a concept that I think is quintessential to what makes a pavilion. The section shows the habitability of the space, in particularly how one would find solitude in the ‘secret’ room. At this point I introduced the stain glass windows onto the northern wall of the main opening. These were a direct reference to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, and an attempt to distract the eye with the light show on the opposite wall, where one would look before they were to gaze through the framed view of the main orifice - like I had attempted to create in my Frame and Infill design.

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3.0 HERRING ISLAND: FINAL DESIGN

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NN 0 1 50 1 50 1 50 1 50 1 50 1 50 1 50 1 5 secret area floor planmain area floor plan

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3.1 FINAL DESIGN DRAWINGS

The maturation of my design saw more continuations than changes. The walls became wider to accommodate the bathrooms, a stairway, and storage spaces for technical equipment and such. Actually, the entire space became wider so that you wouldn’t feel cramped when you were basking just inside the opening. The furniture changed to reflect this, as it became much more flexible and maneuverable. The stairway was designed to be a special space, with thin slits of light coming through the facade to illuminate the descent into a drastically darker space. A bench along the southern curved wall was added both to invite people to use this intermediate space, and as an extra locker/storage space. The secret room itself changed little.

Realising that I needed a greater distance between the balcony and the ground, I decided to erase a large portion of the ridge in order to create a small cliff that would create a sense of height above the rest of the surroundings. In this lowered area I created a maze-like garden with hedges and small ornaments to be discovered amongst the rows. This was designed to be a place where children could run around and play, where they would be watched over by the adults sitting in the main orifice. Continuations of the ‘ribs’ stand away from the main frame to further tie the structure into the landscape.

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Section X

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The secret evolved to be a small room that could only be stumbled upon. I decided that the door to the stairway would only be accessible through touch-sensor, and that it would not appear to be a door but just sit flush within the wall. The discoverer would therefore find the secret by chance, and explore it through sheer curiosity. For those who know about the secret, however, the lower room offers a small respite from the noise that can clutter life.

The outer shell of the structure is to be made out of local recycled would that would be weathered to a natural grey colour. This colour would promote its homogeneity with its surroundings. The same principles would apply to the inner frame, or the ‘ribs’, of the pavilion.The interior walls would rendered in an off-white mason finish. This choice was again guided by Gaudi, but also to give a feeling of weight to a structure that would otherwise feel very light and temporary. As well as this, I enjoyed the comfort that smooth stone can give an atmosphere without being too distracting or unsightly.

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Section X

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3.5 FINAL DESIGN MODEL

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4.0 REFLECTION

Over the course of this design process I have gained an appreciation for designing from a source of inspiration. For instance, I followed Gaudi as a precedence not in the way as to copy it but in implementing a similar train of thought. I have found great wealth in designing from childhood memories and motifs that have shaped me as a person, as can be seen my Point/Line/Plane and Mass tectonic exercises, as well as drawing from different perspectives I met whilst travelling in other countries, as can be seen in my Frame and Infill exercise.

During the designing of the main project I was guided in how to emphasise certain emotions through the use of materiality, spatial arrangement, and particularly in the use of contrast, as where I have contrasted the main interior of my pavilion with the secret room. I experimented predominantly with ideas of calm and soothing space, as I wanted this pavilion to be tranquil.

The themes I have addressed throughout the semester in my exercises and their application to a brief in the pavilion, I feel, have culminated to create a space that achieves a feeling of calmness and tranquility for its inhabitants.