Lecture 4

Timber. Something we all admire, something we all use/see almost everyday, the natural material that we all benefit from. Whether it is the fresh smell that travels through a building, or the warmness of brown tones, and even those who work with it who benefit from it being light weight, easy to install and how the use of  simple equipment can achieve what is needed. Timber is versatile, it has been used greatly used through architecture and interior design for thousands of years where it is ecological and sustainable and is a truly renewable building material. Timber is something I really enjoy myself and something I would like to learn more about and use throughout my career of interior design. 

Banq restaurant in Boston expresses the use of timber as the whole restaurant has different tones, shapes, patterns, colours of wood scattered across the restaurant. Firstly the thing that catches your eye most is the lowered geometry ceiling which consumes a strained plywood-slatted system that spreads across the dinning area. It looks as if all the layers of wood is melting by the way it is layered around the millers as the bits of wood get bigger the closer it gets to the floor. The roof feels as if it is hugging you in. I like how there isnt many windows as there is no distractions, you can just focus on the person you are dining with. The few windows there is are quite nice as it isnt just squares, they actually merge with the design of the roof. Below the ceiling, the dining space is fabricated with warm woods and re-laminated bamboo. The over use of wood used throughout could become a bit repetitive due to the lack of contrast, but I think it works well in creating a cosy, warm and relaxing atmosphere to enjoy dinning in. The warm lights that bounce against the walls and ceiling add a nice affect, and benefit the wood by highlighting the different tones used throughout.The beauty of wood used here is that it  creates a cosy, romantic atmosphere along with the enclosed walls allowing the noises to bounce off the walls creates a exciting atmosphere making you want to go back.

Architect J.Mayer.H  has taken my interest, due to his unique cool style in which is designs stand out especially the Metropol Parasol, Sevilla, one of the biggest wooden structures in the world. Looking at it from above it overpowers the city, it draws your attention to its oddball shape of lots of different curved edges to create this unique shape. My group for a project called co-munity have actually taken inspiration from the shape as we intent to make a relaxing area for students and figured the structure should be curved as sometimes harsh edges may cause people to feel on edge. This amazing timber structure is created as the attractive destination within the city with all the things it has to offer such as bars, museums, markets, and entertainment which is why the structure is so large and overwhelming it attracts your attention and makes it the heart of the city. Die to the use of timber and it being layered to create a nice pattern and shape allows the structure to stand out against the city as it is surrounded by rectangular, concrete buildings.

Timber is an enjoyable material that can almost be used for anything, its only downfall is that it is not as reliable as materials such as concrete to the simple fact that would can start to rote and fall apart.

Lecture 1

The Barcelona Pavilion has become something I see  often, considering I have been designing it over the past 6 weeks on sketch up. I have become more aware of the colours, materials, use of furniture and how it is ‘an emblematic work of the modern movement, has been exhaustively studied and interpreted as well as having inspired the oeuvre of several generations of architects.

Looking at the main features  of the building the 4 types of stone (Roman travertine, ancient green marble from Greece, green alpine marble and golden onyx from the atlas mountains) are the materials that really stand out most due to the syplistic materials that surround it. The different types of stone bounce nicely against each other as they contrast well and stand out individually against one another. Roman Travertine is used as part of the flooring which I really enjoy due to it being a calm natural colour that is almost relaxing in a way. The green alpine marble  is beautiful and has abstract patterns that create symmetric reflection against the water which contrasts and surrounds the bronze reproduction of the piece entitled Dawn by Georg Kolbe. The sculpture is placed at one end of the small pond which creates nice shadows when the sun hits off it along with its reflection against the water and windows opposite it. The large windows with a steel frame that is used throughout the building is completed greatly by its surroundings. 

The minimalist use of furniture within the pavilion almost implies that you don’t need to sit down whilst visiting. The very few chairs and foot rests stand out due to being the only piece of furniture but also blend in due to the calm colour of cream. The frame being moulded from a single piece of stainless steel and the use of cow leather creating this low down chair where some would struggle to get down to has a cost of £4,500. The chairs looks appealing but it almost becomes a decoration due to the being placed in the middle of the pavilion where no one would really want to sit down.

The surroundings of trees, grass and the sky complement the pavilion due to the nice colours and movements of the sky, trees and leaves, creating nice reflections against the glass and stone work. The sun brightens up the whole place allowing natural light to surround the building. At night the pavilion also creates nice reflection against the pond and the stone work due to the use of indirect light that really highlight the main featured at night time. The Pavilion is an inspiring design where the use of open space, materials, and structure really draw your attention.

Lecture 2

Architecture is not just about the design of a building but it is also thinking about how to use the space that surrounds us. Sometimes art and installations within a space are what is needed to complete a design.

The Unilever series: Anish Kapoor:Marsyas is something that draws you in by the largeness of scale overpowering the room that holds it and its complexity. The sculpture is so large that you couldn’t view it from any one position, it goes from designing it on paper to having no accounting for the scale, this drawing is physically brought to life. This abstract structure makes  you question how it was done and why is it where it is.  The mountain of colour pulls you in closer along the large sheet that is used to add colour to the design, also catches your eye by its finishing affect that allows light to bounce off it. The layout of the design is clever,  when you look at it from a view it is  overpowering, but it is positioned so people can actually walk on a bridge and feel as if they are part of the design which creates a rush of excitement. The positioning is important, this design has went from being some large sculpture to actually being this intimate thing pulling you closer.

Looking further into how the layout of a structure is important got me thinking more about space as a perceptual threshold. Designing a space is hard, for my group project I am designing a relaxing zone where uni students can go and chill out. Thinking about how they can relax became difficult as thinking about why you are putting things in the space and how you can  not just make it a comfy sitting area In a space became challenging. Not many people think about the space around them, a lot of people get distracted by the people that are around them. Person space is a key thing to think about whilst designing, as you are designing for the people not yourself. If you were in this incredible space, and you were excited about it but then the amount of people surrounding you, people on the phone, or people coughing, taking loud would all start     to get intense.People in your way , or you couldn’t sit down without someone else touching you,  it would become overwhelming and unenjoyable. Having no personal space is something no one enjoys, it overpowers you, takes your mind else where,  you start to think more about who is around you than the space itself.

The layout of a design, can become most important. Something that is amazing can lose its value just by a object being at the wrong angle, wrong size, or even wrong place and also even by a seat being placed to close to another.

Lecture 5

Concrete. It is safe, secure, healthy and is built to last. 

Concrete through the ages jewish museum ‘Fallen Leaves’ a memory void and Schalechet installation draws your attention by the voids that cut through the entire vertical axis of the building.  Concrete is seen as a cold material , due to its texture and cool colour of grey. This feeling of cold and emptiness reflects the expulsion and destruction of the Jewish life in the Shoah, which can not be refilled. The materials chosen create a visual impact of loss and grief through the use of architecture. The parallel walls of smooth concrete, draws you in by the reflection of the sun beaming off them, thus creates a nice feeling as if those who were taken are still here. The sunlight creates a calm atmosphere which vastly changes just by the concrete being layered above one an other, creating  a dark hole which mirrors what those who were taken felt. Concrete here conveys two different emotions and that is why it is such a empowering material as no other material could convey the emotion being g portrayed here.

Looking at the ages of jewish museum got me further thinking about how concrete can be used to create different atmospheres. Light transmitting concrete, something that is achieved by replacing aggregates with transparent alternate materials. This creates a playful atmosphere, along with a satisfying affect due to the general thought in your head of concrete being big and bold, when actually it can become almost see through.  This concrete would have worked well in my current project ‘relaxing community’ as my group focused on light and reflection and how we could distract the human might. Thus would have worked greatly throughout our zones as we used a solid concrete block which doesn’t have as much of a visual impact than light transmitting concrete.

Overall concrete is one of the most reliable materials there is within architecture as it is a solid material where you can guarantee that it is going to last as well as having a nice finish to a building.

Spacial Thereholds – Lecture 3 

‘Entrance areas must be open and closed. This means that their conditions change as they react to different situations.’ – Birkhauser Verlag

Something we approach in our everyday life, yet it is the thing we take least into considerations when entering a building. We walk through entrances everyday yet it is something we never really think about or talk about. Door ways are used everywhere, yet they all seem to appear the same, which makes them unrecognised when seeing them. In my team project ‘co-munity’, my group focused on how to make a space relaxing. Curved walls really made our design flow well, and we didn’t want to add doors in as we didn’t want it feeling like a barrier, like you were locked in, we wanted it to be a open free space. We decided to use a beam of  light as a barrier as we thought it would work well as a welcoming and unforgettable experience for the user. This was inspired by lecture 3 as the different tones of light was mentioned and how the different tones of light could change an atmosphere very quickly.

‘Blox architecture centre Copenhagen waterfront’ Oma, is a co-working space along with apartments which are housed within a development of stacked glazed blocks which creates a knot around a busy intersection in Copenhagen. I think it is  very challenging to design a good work space due to your general ides of stacks of offices, which are usually dull and demotivating. The building inside draws your attention the parallel abstract structure that flows within the space which creates a visually appealing impact. It is different from your usual idea of work. The offices and apparetments are laid out nicely,  with clear blue glass which gives you two great views of the city and the river. This idea of large widows that fulfil the design also let natural light in all over the building which is motivating for the users of the building. The colours also mirror the tone of the water which surrounds it which creates amazing reflection against the windows along with it reflecting against the water.

Overall the thought process put into the layout of architecture could become very challenging, as even the placement of a window for letting indirect light in, or the placement of a chair, a door or a wall can really have a impact within architecture layout.