I decided quite early on I wanted to use a material that was a little different. Something a bit fun and a little less serious.

Filling the Void

Maison a Bordeaux - Final Submission

PRIVATE SPACE STUDY - models

What started as a materiality study lead me to the conclusion that the materially dense areas of the house, being the upper and lower levels are where the intimate family areas are located.

CIRCULATION - model and drawings.

In my study of the circulation of the Maison a Bordeaux I focused on the four distinct vertical paths that operate within the house. To the far left, the mother's staircase, then the father's lift, the guest's staircase and then finally the children's spiral staircase. Through this variety of objects which allow vertical movement Rem is able to open the entire house to it's wheelchair bound owner. Interestingly, in constructing a diagram of the four circulation paths I realised that the father's path of travel is exactly the same as the mother and children's path through the house.

MANIPULATING FUNCTION - drawing

I conducted a study of the variety of spaces that can be created by the lift. Through a sectional analysis I found that the lift can operate in three forms; as an element of the floor, as a slightly raised step/platform or as a intermediary level of it's own. These three different positions allow the wheelchair bound father access to all levels of the bookshelf. I found the little room created at the top extreme of the elevator incredibly interesting. The elevator reaches this extreme so that the father may reach the top of the bookshelf given his restricted reach. This then gives reason for the slight raise in the roof.

Villa Mairea - Final Submission

What do I want to achieve from my drawings of the Ahlstrom family home?

After a brilliant lecture on the Villa Mairea last week I grabbed some tracing paper and tried to identify what I wanted to depict and decipher how to do it. I decided to focus on three patterns evident in the building:

1. The environmental pattern. Reflecting the unique surroundings of this building, ie. a pine forest in Finland, in the finishes and architecture of the building.

2. The pattern formed from the relationship to site. Upon which, all key meeting and living areas are placed upon the ridge of the slope. This is largely symbolised through the placement of fireplaces, a traditional symbol of meeting.

3. The architectural and structural pattern developed to support human patterns of life. Through the use of poles, walls, screens and flooring Aalto creates a unique flow through the house from central space to perimeter spaces and finally outer spaces. It is interesting how Nordic traditions have appeared within this pattern.

Notes

Ground Floor - Supporting the Patterns of Life

Upper Floor - Supporting the Patterns of Living

Ground Plan - Forms From Nature

Ridge Line

The Meeting Place on the Ridge

Early Progress

I arrived at and left todays tute not incredibly happy with what I had completed to date. Our model was coming along strong but my drawings weren't quite up to scratch. In my first attempt I tried to tick the three boxes required by the assignment, but didn't quite capture the architecture within the building. I hope that seeking out some more information on the building will better equip me to re approach these drawings.

I believe the most important pieces of advice I received today where:

- line weights were a bit off in quite a few of the drawings

- the vacantness of the pool edge and darkness of the hatching draw too much attention

- drawings were often too diagrammatic

- first approach what you want to say through your drawings, and then how.

Ground Floor Plan

Public vs Private Analysis

Structure

Site/Plan

Trees and Poles

Villa Mairea - A Romantic Humanist Experiment

I would like to introduce my latest study, the Villa Mairea through this is, favourite photograph of the building. I think it captures the key ideas behind Aalto's design in a simple unassuming way. The photo depicts the flowing indoor outdoor living an example of how the house was built to adapt to the patterns of life and the strong connection with nature by highlighting the parrallel between the posts within the house and the trees along the horizon. Given, the humanist principles held by Aalto it seems so right that people be framed centerally by the doorway.

Down the Whole Bakery - Woolloomooloo

Communications - Re-Representing Representations

Initial Sketching

My initial impression of the site was not very inspiring. I believe that many architects will often place a sculpture in a place where they cannot develop the architecture sufficiently. The site is like a cavenous, lifeless hole between two pieces of architecture. Ben and I decided to focus on the lighting and the way it moves through the space. Due to the shadow cast by the neighbouring buildings the area between them is a vacuum of light.

Final Model

After developing this idea with reference to artists such as Eliasson Olufson we decided to make the pair of models interactive and contradictory. The design we decided to construct was a cavenous shape carved out of layers of card. As inspired by the small model pictured above. By making one stagnate and the other dynamic the person viewing the piece is able to explore the impact they themselves have on the way that light falls. By making them out of two different materials, of different weights and colour we were trying to portray the difference between light and dark.

Shadow Casting

Once the object was completed I explored the shadows that it is able to cast. I chose the two that I have sketched below as they represent the different ways that people can feel about darkness. The first, has a similar shape to a pair of birds in flight. Many people see darkness as a source of freedom and solitude, an escape from the outside world at the end of each day. The second shadow casting looks similar to a vicious dog. Others, particularly children see darkness as scary, lonely and isolating.

Exploring the Model

After constructing the model I also began to realise the opportunity that the model had to create pieces of architecture within itself. Below are a few photographs that I have taken depicting some of the spaces that the model can create. I think that this space could operate in a really interesting way as a public place or art gallery.