Progress on the final

So I haven't posted in a while, I've really been buckling down to get this model done by Monday evening so I can spend the next two days making a worthwhile, well done animation.

I met with Judy on Thursday and Ian right after. I got quite a lot of helpful advice on how to further my design using those cork panels previously mentioned. Instead of using them as the edges of the wall, I could use them as the actual wall or even the roof. The material that these cork pieces would represent in real life would ideally be a cedar wood (or an even harder type) that could be chopped/carved to produce the growth like edges on the cork.

I also thought about windows, and decided that windows on the edge would be ideal enough to let in light from all angles, but the main light source would be large panels of glass/frosted glass that face the park. These would let in the most ideal (and not direct) sunlight during that day, capturing the evening sun when the last few hours of sunshine are most needed to "extent the day" so to speak. This would also provide an excellent view of the park, as opposed to the neighbouring apartments or high walls.

In terms of how the "shelving cubes" came together in the design, I felt like they should promote interrelating spaces, that is, the floor plans would not be completely even, some rooms would be subtly higher than others, as well as having glass panels to allow views into other rooms on different levels, connecting them visually to those working inside. Ian suggested using the number 3 (the number of cork panels I brought in) to show a sequence or "time". I then did some sketches of how I'd like my structure to "grow" in one direction, whilst being ordered by three's. The floors are (roughly) split into three levels, and the individual rooms themselves are grouped into threes when viewed in plan (corresponding to their descending height, the tallest reaching to the higher wall surrounding the building, where the most human traffic travels from, that is, from Vector Arena to the Railway station)

I also wanted to stress length in my design, as the site on the carpark (though decently large, 12m x 45m) emphasizing length. I also left spaces in the design where it is "raised" off the ground in order to reclaim lost parts of the ground, as well as show the stacking/layering shelf idea (it would not all be flat on the ground.) I therefore wanted to focus on how to model these interrelating spaces and how they would appear in a section model. I started with a paper model of my design:

However, the paper wasn't helping me get an idea of how these heavier blocks would relate to each other, so I switched material to card, which was much better to contend with and helped me flesh out how each room (and it's allotted purpose) came together.

It was also exactly what I needed to figure out measurement and files for the lazer cutter, as a drawing would not have shown me how these elements come together in real life. Like my previous tram stop design, I wanted to stack the MDF that came out of the lazer cutter as a "main base" for things that could grow or develop around/on top of my design. It would also echo the stacking of the shelves, ideally. The cardboard mock up was made to scale (1:100) which helped with making the illustrator files. I had to get this done by Friday as I was told the lazer cutters on Upper Queen St weren't open during the weekend. (Also, I was told the architecture lazer cutters were A. broken and B. overheating and burning materials, less than ideal) so after a late Thursday night I emailed them my files and picked them up on Friday.

I then put together the pieces to make my model (albeit temporarily, with blu-tac, as I didn't want to do anything as permanent as superglueing it when the tutors still hadn't seen it) and I noticed some pieces that didn't align as well as I hoped (which I expected, seeing as the "shelf boxes" were all at different angles to each other and the floor wasn't supposed to be even) but luckily it turns out the workshop on Upper Queen St is open during the weekend before crit week (hurray!) and I emailed them an extra file with extras that needed to be fixed, expecting it to be finished on Sunday but no, they finished within the hour. With that happy feeling I went about fixing my model.

I wanted two parts of my model to show the idea of growth (as Ian and I agreed that it was more important to show the interrelating spaces than make the whole building a metaphor for growth) Since the direction of the building increasing in height was towards the North point, I decided the rooms on the top would show some of my previously planned cork features. The roof of the conference centre and the wall on the North side of the studio area. As well as that, I used my idea of spray painting cork (noted in my blog a long while back) to show a texture that was reminiscent of the asphalt/concrete on the site, being predominantly two shades of black/dark grey (shown on my 1:200 sectional and plan diagrams) I placed the darker "cedar" panels on the parts of the building that would be deemed "service" areas, such as the bathroom and kitchen, whilst the grey areas would be places on those that are intended as areas for the "served" such as the studio and workshop.

(Photos of my model coming together)

Showing the different shades as designated by room purposes (ignore the grey on the top edge, that is just from the temporary MDF board I placed my building on to make it easier to move around)

I experimented with how to layer the cork pieces in a way that will cast interesting shadows and show the clients who enter the conference room a sort of growth formation on the ceiling, where the contrast of light and dark from the different light sources shows small chips and details that are different from each angle. My original idea was a no-go, as I realized it completely blocked the windows by building downwards. So instead I decided to go up, and layer the cork almost like a pyramid, but chip at it from both sides so it could be seen from the exterior and interior. Here are some of the experimental shots before I decided on the colour (black, as original cork would look tacky, in my opinion, on a final design) and with a square oculus.

Original playing around:

And once I fixed up the details, I took some more photos with the light positioned as coming from the main source (the large window that would be open to the park) I found my money shot:

And here is the view from the exterior:

As for the "cork wall" on the North facing point of the main studio area, I went back and forth between the idea of horizontal and vertical layering, and whether it should be visible from the interior and exterior. Finally, I decided on horizontal layering and weathering on both sides. Initially also plain cork, I spray painted it black and then quite liked the contrast gotten with very small pieces of plain cork visible once it had been chipped away with a craft knife. Here are some photos of the development and the end product shown on the interior and exterior:

Interior shot

Exterior shots

I have some more work to do, but I'm hoping that after talking to the tutors tomorrow I will be able to have everything ready/finished in terms of the model by Monday evening. I need it done this early so I can devote all of Tuesday and Wednesday and possibly some of Thursday, to a good quality A1 drawing and animation, and then the rest of Thursday to do a "stunning" matrix, whilst still going to my other lectures and other commitments. It's going to be a busy week, but I'm hoping my productive weekend will pay off.

Here are some parting shots of my model, front and back: