Project 1 - Minimal

Research

I, for one, found this first project quite challenging. I must admit though, ostensibly the project looked quite straightforward. No complex design regimes to compose, but rather a back-to-basics, rudimentary exercise. However, the strict constraints, particularly those limiting the use of materials - just 130 concrete blocks and a sheet of structural plywood - created intimidating obstacles. Of course, there was also the underlying theme of anthropometrics (which is actually inherent in every architectural project I guess) - the human body and its relationship with design.

So, I gathered my thoughts - I needed to find a number of inconspicuous, or at least mildly private areas within the main Waterfront Atrium, appreciate that my enclosure must closely relate to the size and form of the human body, and of course the daunting task of creating a structure with such limited materials.

Naturally, my first stop was the atrium itself.

This is a telling overall shot of the Waterfront Atrium. One can witness that the space essentially sprawls over 4 levels. Whilst the space is broken into such distinct areas, it is obvious that the atrium on the whole is very much a central part of the campus. High levels of human traffic, particularly those entering and exiting the building, along with the placement of the library, make this space an continually evolving organism.

This was one of the first places I thought might make a good location for at least one of my enclosure. I remembering thinking that the sawtooth-like nature of the glass walls were begging to be exploited. They might also offer an additional two walls, allowing the conservation of my limited materials. One thing negative about this particular site that did cross my mind was the glass walls that would be situated behind the model are obviously transparent, and would allow the people inside to palpably look into the enclosure..

This is the staircase from the bay-side entrance to the Waterfront. Obviously building my structure on the staircase itself is rather infeasible, unfortunately it did little to stop it from crossing my mind. My aspirations then moved to perhaps the peak of the staircase, where just to the last of the last tread was a relatively vacant plot of space. I also figured that such a position also provided the opportunity for the enclosure to overall the bay - a nice serene outlook for the inhabitant!

The third of the spaces that struck my interest for the placement of an enclosure was up against the masonry wall between doors on the bottom right of the above photograph. Once more it allowed for the utilization of existing conditions - in this case using the existing brick wall as a wall or partition for the proposed enclosure. I felt that although this was perhaps the least private of the spaces, that if I could generate a sound design with a sculptural appearance than I may just be able to create a focal point or monument within the atrium.


Development

After observing the atrium itself, it was time to move onto the enclosure design. Here I am experimenting is some elongated compositions, whereby the centrality of the bed also makes it available for use as a desk. What made this process a little painful was the fact that even when I was satisfied with a design, it was only then that I could check if the design was feasible in terms of material requirements. This meant, that for every concept I thought I using, I generally needed to make scaled drawings of each to confirm the amount of bricks used. The largest sketch on this page, in the top left, was further developed and used as one of my final enclosures.

I was quite fond of this particular design as its was reminiscent of the ol' aussie swag. Perhaps I'm the only one who can see this.. From memory, it goes very close to using all supplied materials, and offers a flat plane to sleep and study, along with a simple stool for sitting. What this design does lack is an emphatic sense of privacy. Infact, it offers very little privacy - whether the inhabitant is sleeping, studying or just chilling out, he or she is essentially on show. Once more, had there been more materials on offer, I would have addressed this problem head-on. Nevertheless, I still ended up with an enclosure that I was relatively satisfied with.

This is another collection of concepts that were refined even further before I settled on a design similar to that of the enclosure on the top right of the page. Juxtaposing that of the previous design, I felt that this enclosure offered the inhabitant a great deal more privacy and isolation. A two-way wall, partitioning the bed / desk from the main corridor of the atrium, collaborated with the adjacent glass walls of the offices to create quite an enclosed little space.

Despite the enclosed nature of the space, I am confident in saying that the space would feel far from cramped or claustrophobic due to the number of breaks and openings within the masonry walls, and the lack of a ceiling or roof.

The final concept that I developed was one that was rather reminiscent of your standard, four-legged chair. However, in the case of this concept the legs extend above the seat (well, in this case, the plywood which represents the bed and desk) to create a relatively emphatic colonnade. Like the first design, this concept is purposely open, palpably expressing the structure of the enclosure. Due to this lack of privacy, this particular enclosure would fall into a short-term residency catagory, I really couldn't imagine living here for any extended period of time.

Admittedly, the design is quite unsophisticated - but I feel that it is this simplicity that allows the form to be unashamedly expressed.


Final Pieces

The two presentation posters represent the final enclosures and their positions within the atrium, along with a brief documentation of how I arrived at the final concepts. I purposely tried to diminish any unnecessary embellishment within the posters, limiting compositions mainly to titles and drawings themselves. A modest black & white theme was also adopted.

After the presentation, I had the opportunity to look at some of the other students work. After scouring the barn for an hour or so, I came across a number of fantastic ideas for enclosures. I also realised how differently everyone had approached this task, and consequently had arrived at such diverse finals.

In retrospect, I feel I should have perhaps altered my enclosure locations about the atrium to make better use of existing structures that could have helped in the conservation of the precious materials. Also, I would have like to have broken free from the rather rectilinear nature of my models, and experimented further with curvaceous walls and unconventional setups.






(I have made this post prior to anyone posting Project 2 development work so our blog can remain as close to chronologically sound as possible.)

On second thoughts, if we all plan to contribute individually to the blog (i.e. we each have an individual entry for each project - which to me makes a little sense seeing as though we would then be able to access our own section 24/7), it may be best if every team member now posts a 'Project 1 - Minimal' post, and leave it largely blank (unless of course you are organised and already have scans of your work and comments to make about project 1) then you can insert some JPEGs and comments in your own sweet time and our blog will be in a neat, chronological order.

Once everyone has then posted their Project 1 posts, members can start adding their project 2 posts.

Cheers guys.