Ornamentation Storyboard

Presentation Feedback

The main points to come out of the presentation were:

some parts of the presentation could have been better represented.

for example, the story board was hard to understand, because they did not show how the people moved past the major landmarks (which in this case are the ornamental spaces). so a story board based around the ornamentation would be better.

another way to improve the presentation is through more 3D images that show how the building really looks. I found that these communicative images were lacking in the presentation and it became hard to understand.

furthermore often these images are the best looking for presentation so putting more in would improve the appeal.

Sketchup Outputs

Flythrough.

I made a flyover of the building just to show the way the plan of the building works and how it looks from each side. its pretty dodgy but thats mostly my sketchup abilities, or lack of.

Threshold Ornamentation

The threshold under the bridge is represented by a red line that cuts through the city cat dock and through the pool building.

the line will be dug slightly into the ground with a clear cover placed over it so that people can walk over it. the idea is for the line to intermittently shoot a beam of light down this line to identify the threshold as a more powerful element. the cut through the building also shows this.

Swimmers ornamentation

abstraction of the swimming picture printed onto the wall in the locker areas and looking through to the pool.. you can also see the threshold 'burn' in red; cutting through the building.

Results of the swimmer abstraction

the previously shown picture of swimming steps was abstracted a few times for these examples.

the final version was placed on the wall dividing the lockers and the change rooms because they are approaching the pool.... (and it is important that they remember how to swim prior to getting wet).

ornamentation transition.

This picture shows ornamentation in the middle island of the pool circuit.

This piece of ornamentation is a smaller scaled repeat of the riparian plaza wavy concrete archway to the water.. this represents a few things.
firstly, the pool is placed in the context of the river, circulating the city.

secondly, the space in the context of the city. a transitional destination.

getting people reflecting about where they are going or where they have come from.

Ornamentation River as Obstacle

I took my original diagram as a river as an obstacle and repeated it about 100 times.. then filtered it to create a pattern that I can use on this design.

this will probably go on the building wall closest to the river.

the cutting threshold then brings on the representation of the bridge that can leap this obstacle.

hmmm.. (stroke large imaginary beard)

Ornamentation

This is an image that shows the basic steps for swimming different strokes. with the pool being at the centre of the original concept development, it seemed just that the fundamentals of swimming be included somehow in the design. possibly by tiling this pattern or abstracting the picture.

Ornamentation

This image is a pixilated section of the cliff face that will make up one printed side of the wall of the first building. the use of digital technologies will let the building blend in with the environment.

Layout

Sketchy Layout for the design.. left hand building physiotherapy, and gym.

right hand building is cut by the threshold line. left hand side is the pool. right hand side is the lockers..

far left is the bike storage.

the main thoroughfare has been left open in this layout and the boat sheds remain untouched.

a city cat stop that was in the original design remains.

Restaurant

I went back over the original space requirements to create more efficient spaces.

The toilets, showers and the change room can merge together.

as well as the physiotherapy and the office space

chemical storage and filtration room becomes one space.

the sauna was dropped. very quickly after the first assessment and that stays the same.

the other space to be dropped is the restaurant.

a restaurant in the refurbished boat shed on the river would be a great spot but for the value of the themes and concepts surrounding the project, it offers very little.

threshold

Looking at cutting different shapes the spaces that they create.

Section Identifying the threshold under the bridge.. trying to recreate a laser like ray that burns through objects.

Design development

I began to play with the idea of creating a threshold that cut dramatically through the building.

List of Themes and Ideas

after pulling out all the unimportant pieces of the original design.. so essentially everything.

I made a list of all the ideas, concepts and themes that my design should incorporate.

Transition

Threshold

Ornamental Communication

Changing Environments

Digital Technology

These five concepts have (eventually) been identified as pivotal in my design.

Design scrapping

when I took this design to the tutorial I knew it wasnt going to be particularly strong. mainly because i thought i had not done enough work on the details..

But I came to realise, with a little umm 'help' from stephen, that the design had really lost all touch with my main concepts and ideas. the whole design revolved around an idea that the walkway should be extended. This was the only connection with my previous project and even that was not strong. on top of that, the design was not functional and the spacial qualities lacked depth.

overall, i was happy it got torn apart during a tutorial and not a final presentation. and one main idea that stuck with me was a way to represent the threshold that i had identified.

an invisible line in the site that cuts the buildings...

Design Mach 1 (the scrapped one)

Original Sketches

How the Pool will fit with the walkway and change rooms

these sketches are for a design that was eventually scrapped

Ornamental Ants

Ornamentation, to me. is communication

communication through almost any form

talking, sound and music.

writing and pictures

signs and colours

similarly, building form can subtly communicate.

while originally I thought a buildings purpose was to communicate an idea or a concept, after further reading it seems that buildings are not restricted to these factors.

a design can joke, argue and to a certain extent hold a conversation as one travels through.

the challenge is to communicate in this language.

ornamentation is the ability to enhance this communication and bring it to focus. to communicate a thought through a median outside of speech.

Obstacle

The River

The rivers relationship to the site is difficult to define.

Its slow winding arcs through brisbane and beyond are pivotal to the shape and future growth of the city. along with its historical relationship with the site when the wharf was active.

But, looking at how people use the site for transition and travel, the river is ultimately an obstacle.

A natural beauty, and a national icon, but for the purposes of this site, the river is an obstacle in which to circumnavigate.

on reflection, the river extends the time in the 'mental void'. the time between perceived spaces.

the extension of time in this void probably makes the feeling of transition more apparent and more effective. the longer the transition the longer one has to reflect and refresh. so the obstacle is not really a bad thing.

Similar exercises

this is a picture of players from the collingwood football club in a recovery session.

the practices employed here are the same theories behind the race horse training pool.

the walking movement releases stiffness from the legs and increases your blood flow.

Exemplar Pool

The pool for my site will be focused around recovery. slow constant movements to create steady blood flow around the body.

The best example of this currently is actually a pool designed for race horses.

these pools are designed to get the horse moving its legs in a consistent motion to decrease stiffness and increase muscle tone.

the pool is also good for respiratory breathing exercises.

Site arrival

Site map showing types of access through colour coding.

the red shows transition space relevant to site.

green for pedestrian

black roads

blue water

Transitions

Story Board

this quick storyboard shows how people make a transition using the site. in this case, going home from work.

Reading 3

Totally spaced on putting the third reading reflection up, my bad :S

After reading about Lyons practice I found it interesting how they used almost like a uni classroom approach to their initial stages of design. Collaboration and workshop, especially at that stage of design can create countless viable options. This team orientated design would create a more consistent timeframe of output because of a constant evaluation process by other peers.

The ornamentation and abstractions are obviously what has given this firm its renown but I was very interested in how the firm approaches a building or institution not by ‘what it is’ but by ‘what it can be’. Personally, I believe it is the most innovative approach to analysing because as stated it takes away assumptions and stereotypes that are present in a functional building and unlocks new potential and use.

I was also impressed by the way this firm conducted their research into the hospital by talking one on one with people who had experience. Not just people who worked in a hospital but patients, visitors and onlookers.

I also thought the way that the firm included the client was fantastic. By including them in the design stages allows the client to watch potential designs unfold and gain complete understanding of the building.

What resonated with me the most though was the quote ‘Lyons is in the business of ideas’.

Bridge Diagram

This image is the same as the previous only that this time I used the void in the sky to demonstrate change in the person. as the person moves from the city to new farm they get bigger. Obviously its not literally growing, but instead a persons sense of belonging, self importance or confidence changes..

personally, I feel more comfortable in a place such as new farm then in the city and the growing people can represent that also.

obviously that feeling is not shared by everyone... the growing people simply represent change in the person.

Diagrams

This is two images side by site that i edited to show the heights of buildings on each side of the bridge. the left side shows the outlines of the city buildings and the right hand side shows the outlines of the buildings in new farm.

in this picture I was trying to show the transition from a different angle then just a plan of the site.

this image shows the huge difference in either side of the bridge.

Diagrams from site.

Diagrams from the site showing the transition and change of environment in the different areas around the site.

the first picture shows these 'zones' in isolation and the second shows the zones overlaid on the site.

Red indicates the commercial buildings in the city. the blue shows the residential and small commercial area of new farm.

The area shaded in green indicates the transition one makes between these two opposites. as mentioned earlier, this transition is physical, mental and emotional. the physical change being, a change in location. mental change being a change in what one would tend to think about in each of these places and who this person would socialise with in each of the spaces. an emotional change could be a sense of belonging to one place or the other.

some changes could factor all three aspects for instance, a change into more or less comfortable clothing.

this green lies directly over the site. the bridge can also define a threshold between the two.

Site Analysis

so i havent posted for a while cause im lazy but the next few posts are catchup on what ive been doing starting with this site analysis.

I went to the site during the day and found absolutely nothing that i didn't already know from the original foli site analysis. those findings being: the site is predominantly used as thoroughfare. unless you have some business being there (ie. design assignment) then everyone is likely to move quickly through the space.

I then changed tactic and began to look at the site and guess where people might be heading when travelling through this site. I hypothesised that the people used this thoroughfare as a means of travelling to and from work.

To test this theory I walked with large groups of people leaving work at about 5pm on a friday night. I took note of how people were leaving work that would affect my site. including, City cat, walking/ running/ cycling, and driving.

This theory then became an idea of transition between work and home. not just physically but in a mental and emotional sense. this ties back to my original concept of changing environments through a physical and/or emotional and/or mental change.

I came to the conclusion that any building on the site should not be a final destination, but instead something that can enhance this experience of 'transition'.

hopefully that all makes sense.

National Museum of Australia

Geometry and Meaning at the national museum of Australia.
After reading the text and looking again at the museum I found the meanings and concepts portrayed to be really amazing in the way that it has been worked through the entire building. The quote ‘we like to think that the story of Australia is not one, but many tangled together’ rings very true throughout.

Looking at the overview of the site. the complex is composed of obvious contrast and clash of colour. The snakes stand out which I took as a reference to the beliefs of the aboriginal people (one of the more obvious messages). It is how these contrasts come together to create something exciting and monumental a true reflection on the nation it represents.

What I found surprising what just how much knowledge the architect has managed to file into this complex. The main hall’s supposed tribute to the Sydney opera house and the large brail on the walls give the architecture a depth and enhances the experience in a unique way for each person. Regardless of background knowledge, the hidden messages relate back to the original concept that Australia is a land of many stories all crossing paths to paint a portrait of a nation. And every piece of ornamentation re-enforces that.

What I will be taking from this is the way the Museum manages to connect with everyone at different levels of understanding. From obvious and strong reflections, down to the subtle jabs of criticism and jokes.

Changing environment Visual

This is a video that my group looked at last year when we looked at occupying space for projections on buildings to change the space that we see.


also a video that i found showing how sound and light can dramatically change the environment in which we occupy.

Visual Reactions to Sound

This is a conceptual object i found on http://computationalenvironments.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/movement-and-sound-transformation-in-space/

The object changes colours based on sound. the space reacts to the user through colours.

Visual Sound

This is a animation of vibrating air molecules to show visual representation of sound.

the patterns are really quite striking and look very similar to the ripples of water. in a pool perhaps?

Changing environments

Previously for the Foli design I looked at changing the environment without phyiscally moving. to create me study pods.

Now i am expanding this concept to ask how can the environment that we occupy change?

expanding this idea to look at more then physical change and rather base research around: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste and Touch. as well as looking at if our emotional perceptions change, does this mean our environment has changed?

Welcome to Theme 8. Ornamentation

ok. first entry, sweet...

im still not entirly sure what exactly i am ment to be writing about so ill start by covering the main points of the first tutorial.

After our Foli Design presentations we sat down and discussed the theme for the unit which is ornamentation.

Ornamentation is defined: enhancing the context through visual appeal as more important then the intellectual appeal or content.

I tend to agree with this statement and feel that it relates closely with marketing and advertising. The concept or function may be fantastic for those who are aware of it, but it must also be appealing and interesting for the sheltered people who have not experienced the object.

some examples shown in the the tutorial illustrated this idea of visual appeal to draw people to the place. The most memorable for me was the example of the birds nest stadium created for the Beijing Olympics (shown above).

The stadium represents a strong concept however, the external 'structure' that gives the building its appeal playes no part in the structural composition of the building. Its all for a visual effect.

Initially, it seems pointless. But when you look at the way the building can be recognised by anyone from across the globe. The way the building stands as a symbol for the modern China, would it have done the same without its 'birds nest' nickname?

For me, the idea of ornamentation is something that i can use as a way to make my designs more 'realistic'. prior to this idea, the majority of my designs either struggled to convey the concept, or way to difficult to build and construct. For me, ornamentation offers me an opportunity to tie these two together and create realistic buildings that strongly convey the concept or central idea,