As the last week of our final major project approached I tried to simply finalise my ideas and refine any discoveries I had made through out the previous six weeks. I began the week by looking into to Peter Zumthor as suggested to me. His work is extremely inspirational and has given some great guidance for envisioning how much model would look if it was created in reality. The way in which he uses such open spaces and everything is made to look effortless is what is so attractive about his design. For example the stair cases he designed look far longer than they need be. However this creates a very effortless feel about the building. Moreover each room seem to flow between one another simply by design and use of material. Therefore it was important to me that I carefully chose the materials I wanted to use in order to create the exact minimal effortless feel.
By have floor to ceiling cladded with the same material allows for Zumthors design to have a relaxed feel about it. This is because the spaces are not detracted from by confusion and over complication of material. However the raw design is the main focal point and the material simply comes second. However by using only one material in each room yet varying the style in which it is used he is still able to create mood with this material. For example he changes the direction of the cladding. Sometimes it is used horizontally and sometimes vertically.
Zumthor (2009, http://www.archdaily.com/)
By having discreet lighting in the space shown in the image above Zumthor is able to bring out certain focal points. Therefore with my design I would like to try and focus much of the building around the lighting which will occur naturally from the way in which the light tunnels have been placed. However because I have directed the light toward the ceiling hopefully much of the room will be lit evenly. However the massive windows below ground will of course be very bright and thus cleverly designing walls so that in certain areas I can dim the lighting and others enhance it would all add to the finished feel of my design.
Zumthor (2009, http://www.archdaily.com/)
In this image you can clearly see the reflection of the harsh blue lights. This is something which I would aim to avoid. As the spa is meant to be a relaxed place I do not feel that having sudden harsh colours in contrast with the very raw colour scheme is in keeping. However having said this I would think it to be suitable to have colour. Although the colours I would want would be more earthy. For example some treated dark wood could look really intriguing in places. Moreover metals in places could also look good as long as everything is blended together nicely. I would want to keep the contrast and amount of materials as low as possible per space.
Zumthor (2009, http://www.archdaily.com/)
What I like about much of this design is the way in which each room seems to have popped up from no where. To create this internally an almost maze design would cut of areas from each other even if they where next to each other. Not only would this allow me to segregate spaces, but also if someone was in the building it may actually allow it to feel larger than it is in reality. By also having the very bottom floor at different levels I will be able to separate the water from covering the whole lowest floor. Not only this but then I can also segregate where I want the pools to be and thus create this underground maze.
Final outcome photoshop 1 (authors own, 2014)
The image above was my first experimental photoshop design. I created this by filling in each area with a block colour, and then drawing on top of each space with the illustrator file designs. Although I did not have time to complete this, this technique would be a great way to display the interior of a building. If I where to do this I could easily simulate how the building would look within the interior. Moreover it would allow me to show how it would look for someone to be within the building. This is therefore a skill I need to develop further.
Final outcome photoshop 2 (authors own, 2014)
Here is the very crude photoshop showing exactly how the building would sit on the earth. As can be seen from the model people the lowest floor actually has a slightly higher ceiling than the floor above. This is because down here I wanted the pool area to sit. Therefore some parts of the building here would have to be raised to contain certain areas of water. Therefore in places the rooms would be the same height as the floor above. However in many places it would seem to be a much higher space. This would be really great in the mazed areas as it would allow for them to not be made to feel claustrophobic.
Floor plan (authors own, 2014)
The design of the ground floor is very simple. With toilets at the front of the building, and a place to get and reception desk at the back half of the building it is very open planned and simple. Here it could easily not be a Spa but something else. This however was deliberate. I wanted there to be a clear divide between the floors above ground and those below ground. This is because of the fact that all through out this project I have tried my best to disguise everything on ground level. This helps add to the illusion of what lies beneath. Moreover if this building where to be created I like the fact that it could so easily blend in with its natural surroundings. By this I mean that the ground floor does not necessarily have to look how I designed it but say for example it sat on a small cul de sac it could be designed to look the same as any other house. This would mean that it could be glanced at and no one would know what lies beneath.
Floor plan (authors own, 2014)
The first floor underground I decided to make the floor where anyone would be more likely to lie or sit down and relax. Here therefore there is plenty of space to do yoga, massage, or simply sit in a sauna or sofa area. By having the sauna in the centre of the room only one light would project into it from the light tunnels. This would mean that it was kept quite dark. However I would still want to keep artificial lighting to a minimum here so the doors could simply be shutters which would not need to reach the ground or ceiling. This would allow plenty of the natural light in as there are not many dividing walls anyway. The reason I put walls in to divide the stair cases from the room is to keep to illusion of simplicity here. By keeping majority of the floor to look as though it is at one level makes everything seem more simplistic.
Floor plan (authors own, 2014)
Finally the lowest floor of the building is my favourite of all the floor plans. This is because it is the most exciting and if it where to be created in reality it would portray best what I am trying to show. This floor allows for the real essence of what the building is about to be caught within its walls. It captures exactly why I have developed over the past seven weeks and portrays why I have developed this building. The way in which each room flows into one another means that a relaxed and rejuvenating feel is kept within the lowest floor. Moreover I have placed the rooms exactly so that the light tunnels entering from the ground level highlight exact points of the building. By using simple materials such as granite this could look very modern and minimalist in reality.
From the final week of final major project I have been able to reflect upon the last seven weeks worth of work. I have been able to use all the useful ideas which I have gained from the seven weeks and condense them down into my final model. Therefore this model really is a reflection of all of the discoveries I have made over the course of the project. By combining what I now know about the properties of light and its usefulness to humans I have been able to give my project purpose. By looking back at what I have created I am extremely pleased with the engineering I have incorporated. Moreover I have tried to make sure that my idea could work practically. This therefore means that my project has had purpose and not been a waste of time. I have extremely enjoyed the freedom to write and answer my own project title and will endeavour to take the whole development process away as a learning curve.
No comments:
Post a Comment