Week 8 Design Resolution

The concave openings allow for sound distribution in the interior and the high openings permit natural day light

The external paths were not axial - they were vessels to get people to interact and create connectivity - they were not a formal tool to try and force people people to an element. By separating them and making them into bridges I was not isolating them - because they were unavoidable but they had to be distinct. 

What I was trying to achieve with this form was to extend the sculpture from the ground plane to other planes so that it was continuous and the framing was seen as something that commenced with the path. The path and the views are the same idea. I did not want to fixate on any particular point. So I specifically did not try to make any part of it stand out more than the others - I wanted to give people some freedom, rather than dictate to them in the informal areas - but the space is quite dynamic with the shadows and different ways to approach it

Completed Design. 

I think what I failed to do was make some of the concepts stand out more and I think the envelope is overpowering some of the elements.Sunlight is going to be a crucial and challenging aspect, because it restricts what the form I can achieve. In this design I have put the paths at the first and second floors and the informal zones at the highest level - changing the form....means resolving other issues about light penetration etc

Week 8 Spatial Expression

I wanted the form to dictate the spatial experience. And I wanted the formal areas of the building to have a minimal direct connection with the exterior in terms of what is seen. There are large openings in the design but they are high up - these flood the space with daylight, direct sunlight however will not be able to reach these formal spaces without the use of skylights, lightshelves or other creative means.

But with that said the formal areas would still have one face or wall where there would be a connection with the exterior.

Christopher Alexander Pattern Language - writes that a successful space should have more than one source of light - I believe he was speaking about the effects of direct light in the space, but the light distribution in the room will still be pleasant and uniform because no one section of the room will receive direct sunlight (possibly) causing glare and discomfort. I wanted to create a conflict and influence the user in terms of the sensory experience. So try to create a scene where they would opt for a direct articulation of the site or conform to the rooms suggested layout.

Here the focal point is marked 'X' and in this instance people are not conforming to the focal point but facing themselves and the area that is open to the site. Maybe giving this option to people, they will develop a natural process of understanding the site as a crucial element in their spatial understanding. They are not simply looking at the site but filtering the site through the building.

With the high openings and concave walls, the corners of the room will be darker and the central part of the room will be brighter. Here the seating arrangement is focusing on these corners. 

The next point I was investigating and I think the most critical aspect of this study in the design progression is creating this condition in the formal areas and then linking it with the spatial perception in the informal areas.

I guess for me what really makes this Tabula Rasa is that I aimed for my project to be an isolated context, it wasn't devoid of the site - it engages with the site but at the same time it filters it. 

When people have the type of overwhelming feeling they get in the formal areas - I term it has  'Concentration'

The red section (Informal) is an area where the user releases ideas that they have been dictated or revealed to in the formal areas (yellow). 

I think an aspect I will consider is some form of inspiring art that helps guide this process in the informal areas

Unknown Artist

Week 7 Form Development

The form of the building was going to be derived from the spatial necessities. So I created a convex shape so that sound could be dispersed around better and hence giving the layout more freedom. 

So within the concave shape you can have rows of formal seating arrangement where people either conform as in the second diagram by facing the intended direction or they change their behavioral pattern and try to adapt to the inflexible setting 

This is a concave form that extends the formal setting into informal passageways.

By creating arrangements where people had to interact differently they would also explore other senses and this for me was going into the Tabula Rasa of a sensory experience. Engaging with the building with tactile and visual impressions.

People will possibly move around more often in the formal setting - prompting a different spatial understanding

Week 7 Tabula Rasa Concept revisited

With the concept of Tabula Rasa I looked at the form of the building being contrasted to the form that most people would be accustomed to, so they would have a novel experience.

So I completed some sketches showing how people relate to the site and beyond and thought of ways to create something distinct that is connected to the site, but 'clean' of past experiences.

This shows how a learning environment can be created that segments various parts of the city.

Here the curve of the river is followed with the informal/external path which leads to several pods that each face the city and the cliff side. These are attached to the cliff.

These sketches show a more open structure with framing and undulating shapes that lend the viewer a position to connect with the site from various vantages

The last two diagrams show an informal path that begins from the ground and continues unto the vertical plane...so there is a continuous movement of the shape and this continuity is a suggestive cue, hinting that the paths can exist on various levels.

Week 6 Subtractive - Additive (External & Internal)

External Additive and Informal paths were used to bridge the restrictive formal areas

They are external because they are open, airy and are not limited by visual obstructions. This is important to give a sense of freedom and can be useful for the learning experience. A place where people can interact and communicate freely.

In these earlier sketches, the path is negative space but it shows the process of how spatial hierarchy can create focal points. 

By creating the hierarchy, there is a clear and defined use of space

Week 6 Subtractive - Additive

Initially I thought about simply elevation and voids of the formal and informal, added and subtracted areas, but then I thought that this concept (below) should be strengthened beyond the concept of positive and negative

So, I explored the concept of subtractive and additive forms and then came across a website which stated that these concepts can express a lot about the character of the site.


I thought about the historical context of the site and how the cliff edge had been stripped down due to industrial purposes and how structures had been built to serve the transport/economic/defensive purposes. And how the materials of these were all different serving various purposes.

So I thought the additive paths that rise above the structure should be expressed with a different appearance than the subtractive envelopesa as an historical reference.

I thought about the historical context of the site and how the cliff edge had been stripped down due to industrial purposes and how structures had been built to serve the transport/economic/defensive purposes. And how the materials of these were all different serving various purposes.

So I thought the additive paths that rise above the structure should be expressed with a different appearance than the subtractive envelopesa as an historical reference.

Week 5 - Layering Relationships

Here the relationship between the 1st block affects the visual perception of the second block, which might encourage the 1st block to acquire other views such as the view between the first and second block, but if there is something interesting happening in the second block, those in the 1st block begin to shift and arrange themselves so they are in closer proximity. Perception is not simply shaped by the physical elements but also by other factors that draw people and give significance to the physical elements. Something seemingly insignificant could be something that people are drawn to if it fits completes a certain picture.

What happens at the base level (0) or in the highest level (3) is more likely to have a determining factor in the way people perceive space, due to scale. What is near and what is beyond.

People can be drawn to the junctions of sensory activity. People are drawn to things that are balanced, unbalanced, striking, receding. I wanted to investigate positive and negative space/Additive/Subtractive architecture as a means to guide people.

Fluid, informal paths in the city are often areas of positive space while the formal paths in the city are areas of negative space because they are service avenues rather than spaces of their own.

In designing a concept, I wanted to maintain this context as a means to attract people and create the perception.

Additive Informal Path

Subtractive Formal Path. Areas of Negative or subtractive space are of a subservient nature. It suggests an order which is something that could be explored for a learning environment. How people perform in an ordered space and how they relate to the enveloping structures

Week 5 - Layering Conditions

This week I was interested in  investigation perception through layering in a conceptual design.

And I thought of how perception can inform people through active participation. The layering was an idea that proximity could influence people through a dynamic interface. Whereby what is going on in one space affects what occurs in another space and consequently what occurs in yet another space. So the space is alive in the truest sense of the word

I thought this could be achieved with attention to acoustics, visual cues, scents.

So in this instance I wanted to create architecture that was only going to be whole when the people engaged with it

By creating Layers you can have a situation whereby every section of the building is variable and distinct

This concept is filtering aspects of the city that are sought such as sounds, views, smells and perhaps even physical elements rather than simply identifying it.

Even the elements such as sunlight, ventilation etc can be filtered between the layers.

Week 4 Perception - Connectivity - Framing

In the past I had thought of framing as something that was static. How people perceived aspects of the built environment from any given position, but now I wanted to explore the dynamic nature of views and perceptions. And maybe it didn't have to be stationary, but you could change and morph a design or maybe the design was physically static but it was designed so people could fluidly use it.

This is a project by Derman Verbakel Architecture in Bat Yam Israel. Which gives users the option to alter the installations to suit their needs and they may even be able to create private areas for themselves. 


Maybe this fluidity could be achieved with proportion. Maybe people seeing the same aspect in virtually the same location, will have a different experience with proportional changes.

Or maybe Distance would be a way that people could approach the views

I think there was a connection to be made with Views and Paths and the two become inseparable

So with the connection with views and paths made, framing is no longer something static but it comes an experience. And once it becomes an experience then there is an explicit connection made and a willingness to engage with the space.