There are several communal living set ups withing the UK. There must be much more all over the world. Funny, I was never aware of such organisations. I always thought communal living had to do with flat sharing, squatting or a sect of some sort.
Osho Leela is a spiritual commune in Dorset. New members are accepted based on what skills they can bring into the community. There are weekly group meditation sessions, which may include some shouting to get rid of negative emotions and help dissolve conflicts between the residents. Visitors can come and stay for a nominal fee. The residents don’t pay but instead help out with the upkeep etc.
Forgebank in Lancaster started as a community of 15 houses in 2012 but now consists of 41. It is a sustainable development for people who want to leave sustainably. The houses are powered by solar power, bio-mass boiler, and micro-hydro scheme (installed in the nearby Lancaster canal). This all aided by community sharing of laundry facilities, cars (there are 7, of which 3 are electric), cooperative food store (into which the residents pay in). All homes have own kitchen but in addition to that there is a big communal kitchen where meals and time are shared amongst the residents. The community has achieved Passivhouse standard – which means low carbon footprint through build and subsequent exploitation of development.
LILAC in West Leeds stand for Low Impact Living Affordable Community. It started in 2006 and first residents moved in 2013. It is a mutual home ownership society ensuring permanent affordability of housing. It is Low Impact because it is sustainable in many ways. They achieved low carbon footprint during construction by using panel timber walls insulated with straw bale. There is a passive solar / MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery) system in place, which helps to maintain high air quality without the need to open the windows (and thus lose the heat / waste the energy). There are solar panels for each house, plus extra for the common house, also solar thermal system installed for air and water heating. Additionally, the community is sustainable through sharing of cars, equipment, tools, laundry facilities, office space. They also share meals twice a week, growing own produce on allotments (I’m sure this gets shared too) and shopping locally.
It sounds like a great way of living. To share instead of waste… Kind to our planet too. Many areas suffer with anonymity, no community feel. This in turn results in mental health issues etc. Perhaps community living could be an answer too. Keep thinking through this task of Holmes Road Studios where a small community living with gardening activities improving that community help people out of homelessness.
Org.uk (n.d.) Diggers and dreamers – intentional community in Britain [Online]. Available at https://diggersanddreamers.org.uk/ (Accessed 30 December 2022b).
Suzanne Bearne (n.d.) Evening standard: Is co-living the New Way for millennial Londoners to flatshare? — [Online]. Available at https://www.suzannebearne.com/new-page-42 (Accessed 30 December 2022).
Thedrive.coop (n.d.) The drive housing co-operative [Online]. Available at https://thedrive.coop/ (Accessed 30 December 2022).
There are many other different examples of small-spaces-for-living or small spaces that can be occupied. Do some background research into the design and use of Japanese capsule hotels. Can you find several different examples? How are they used? What considerations have determined the design of these small spaces?
Document your research in your learning log.
I started my research by googling the phrase ‘capsule hotel’. One of the first results was a hotel comparison site, so I thought it would be a great starting point to see how the offer varies.
I first looked at Resol Poshtel Tokyo Asakusa. It is only possible to book either male or female single bedrooms. They are competitively priced for a single traveller at £36 per night. I gather there must be male and female sleeping sections. It seems the capsules/ bedrooms have no fixed / locking doors but just curtains hanging, in a similar fashion to store changing rooms. There are shared bathrooms (I assume also divided into male/ female) that are similar in set up to what you may see at a modern gym. The bedrooms are very small, with a single bed each and suitcase space under each bed. The location of the hotel is in close proximity to multiple points of interest. I am sure it offers value for money; I am not quite sure I could stay there (mainly due to lack of locking doors and a lack of privacy). I suppose this place is just half a step up from traditional hostel with a more luxurious bathroom. It may however work for solo travellers, giving them opportunity to meet new people as all spaces, even the bedrooms seem quite communal. The compact design allows to fit more bedrooms in a smaller space which I am sure comes at a premium in Central Tokyo.
Nine hours Otemachi Imperial Palace in Tokyo offers single capsule rooms in either female or male sections. Soundproofing or sleep analysis upgrades are available. A night there can cost as little as £26. The design of this place seems less cosy than Resol Poshtels. Nine Hours Otemachi however offers lockable capsule bedrooms that are stacked on top of one another. They almost look like rows of cupboard in pristine, white almost lab feel setup. The bedrooms are very small, just big enough to ft a lying person in. Definitely no room to stand and stretch, this would have to be done ‘outside’. As seen in Fig. 5 the design is very futuristic.
Fig 5-8 Facilities at nine hours Otemachi Imperial Palace in Tokyo
I believe the main consideration in the design of these spaces was to maximise the number of individual sleeping quarter in the minimum space while providing all necessary facilities that you’d expect in a ‘hotel’. There must have been a need in the market for affordable accommodation and this must be the result of the compromise. Compromise on space and privacy but in return it is affordable.
I gave it some thought, how to present my findings. I decided that for the story to be cohesive and easy to understand I should have same/ similar background in the images. I decided to present the story as if the camera was positioned at the feet of the bed. In first few images I accentuated the ceiling light being on, illuminating the room, to show it is night-time. This is then followed by the action of undressing and putting the pyjama on by my character. He then goes to sleep; the light is off and moon crescent is present next to pictures 1-4. Daytime pictures show the sun shining. I thought I’d show my character stretching and yawning as he wakes up, he then gets dressed and leaves the room.
In my storyboard research, I’ve seen examples of each picture having a little description, I used that description here. I considered the look of the storyboard and didn’t like the idea of seven squares. I decided to make it eight squares, first one to contain the title. I considered carefully what sort of movements are made by the human body in the requested examples, I even mock tried making some movements and then drew what I thought represented them.
Drawing my design sketches, got me thinking of what these dimensions could be… I know as a fact that a single bed is usually 90cm wide and 200cm long. As my character is quite tall, I decided (after a quick look online at average data) that top of mattress to the floor distance should be 60cm. My storyboard had a bed that is quite a bit lower than that. I also keep thinking that this isn’t smallest space I could have had these actions in. The bed could be placed on a platform (like in Trailhead Tiny Mansion). The character could ‘exercise’ (stretch, bend etc) more while getting dressed or undressed. The door could have been a sliding one to save space. I enjoyed this exercise; it was fun and creative. The drawings were created using Procreate app on iPad.
To research how other designers have used storyboarding as a tool, do an online search for ‘storyboard’ and look at some of the images that you find. You will see lots of different styles of storyboarding from impressive ‘finished’ slick frames, to those with stickmen representing how a person moves around a space. Both are useful in working out the extent and functionality of a space and are helpful in exploring and defining a brief.
For this research task I simply googled word ‘storyboard’. Seemingly all image results were connected to video/ movie making.
The above example comes from a Dream Farms Studios Website, the article explains how storyboards can be used instead of a script in the process of creating an animation. The drawing clearly states the order of action, direction of movement with very clear arrows and a bit of text below explains the details and length of the ‘shot’. The drawings are a little crude, (the artist is just a little bit better than me at drawing human hand, which is my nemesis), yet they communicate very clearly the order and content of action in the film. In this little story the content is not as important as skill, the drawings certainly don’t need to be neat or perfect, they need to be easy to understand. I like the neatness of the design of this story board, with all rectangles being uniform in size and position. The squares are so neat I think they may have been drawn on the computer, printed out, and then artist drew and wrote on the printout.
Another storyboard I found was for a health campaign video, promoting preventative cancer testing. This example is quite nice as it comes with a video of the after product. The video can be viewed here https://youtu.be/VnRxhULO1Zk
In the video the woman says to the man (in case you were curious) ‘Dad, I have a gift for you. I had that test done (cytology), it’s all right, I am healthy’. The last shot of the video says, ‘I am planning a long life.’ I like this story board, it explains all actions and shots, using the arrows to show direction of movement. I quite like the box no 20, where it’s clearly shown to woman is speaking to her dad, even though we can’t know what she said, we can see emotions of happiness in the following boxes. The order is also very clear thanks to the numbers next to each box. I stumbled across this storyboard as I hoped it may be a bit more related to interior design, showing the house and interior elements. Even though it isn’t interior design related it shows the use of space and crucial elements within it. All the elements are Christmassy as the action is clearly happening at Christmas time, we have a Christmas tree, Fireplace with stockings hanging, large table and chairs to accommodate the entire gathering, the gifts are being exchanged. The video and the storyboard preceding it leave no doubt when and where it is all happening. It also shows the use of space, and how it is used at Christmas time, even though that wasn’t the intended purpose of it.
I tried looking for interior design storyboards but google seems to think that those are the same thing as mood or design boards, which they obviously aren’t. Then I stumbled across this Pinterest image; I am pretty sure it is interior design related.
Fig. 5 Interior Design Storyboard
I like the use of colour and the energy of these drawings, coming from confident hand. The wobbly lines and high contrast add charm and interest. I also like how the person on the last picture is sticking out from her square…
The internet is full of examples of storyboards, but I think I best stop here, it is so easy to get lost in the research.
Whenever I look at story boards, I can’t help myself but to think of comic books straight away. There is similar energy, especially in showing emotions and movement. All the little boxes are missing are speech clouds to rely detailed conversations…
Journey, T. H. G. [@TinyHouseGiantJourney]. (2021, October 29). Mom + daughter tiny house – might be nicest Tiny Home ever! Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m997oklpKM
Trailhead Tiny Farmhouse – Single mom living large in a not-so-tiny house. (2021, December 26). Trailhead Tiny Farmhouse; Trailhead Tiny House. https://trailheadtiny.com/
I received feedback from my tutor. As always, I found feedback helpful in understanding what I am doing right as well as challenging me to consider doing some things differently.
Hallway and lodgers room survey and drawings: It was good choice to draw in people to demonstrate the scale as well as using different colours for measurements – this aids understanding of the drawing. Next time – if drawing only plan, I should note the ceiling height on the plan. It is handy to draw elevations as well as plan drawings, as elevations show many aspects that plans don’t, such as ceiling, door, skirting board heights. Perhaps also light fittings, pendants etc, how low they drop could indicate and conflict (I’ve seen some homes where doors interfered with pendant lampshades)
My tutor noted that it ‘would be more helpful to see move development work’. I must admit this is the hard bit. Often there isn’t a lot to show. Mainly because I come up with an idea in my head and just do it. So, what I put on the learning log, is all there is to show. I suppose it makes tutors work harder, trying to understand my process, that’s mainly in my head. My tutor recommends making more sketch models, which I find the hardest to do.
For my manifesto my tutor suggested some challenging ideas, such as remove the ‘I’s (want, will etc) and also make ‘yes’ and ‘no’ statements in different fonts to make them contrast with each other. I tried it and I like my manifesto more now. The statements are stronger now, the manifesto looks punchier. As I reflect and look back now, I realise that one of the design inspirations for my manifesto was a poster with message in different fonts. I can’t remember by whom or where I saw it… My tutor also challenged me to think about how / where my manifesto could be presented – I think this particular one would look good in print – poster or a t-shirt but could also be placed on a website. I don’t think Billboard would be good – they use a lot of material to display the message (therefore not sustainable, contradicting my manifesto), also the layout of a page would have to be changed (which of course is possible, just needs changing).
My tutor recommended that in future research task / study presentations I should research, analyse, and include images of technical drawings for the researched projects. This will allow me to discover more in depth what made the design work, as well as enhance the already in-depth research. I can see how it would have helped me if I looked up Barbican original plan drawings or Holmes Road Studios Design Development Documents.
My Es Devlin’s manifesto research had a good level of personal response (as opposed to Roberto Venturis analysis). I should try and include my personal responses all the time. I could have dived deeper in the analysis of manifesto’s and compared the ones I analysed with each other. Doing so would have helped me form opinions and improve my critical thinking and analysis skills.
Including more of my own drawings is also suggested by my tutor. I should show more development work, perhaps redevelop ideas I already put to paper, tweak them a bit (as I did in this reflection with my manifesto), test and retest the ideas. This will help me refine the ideas as well as give my tutor an insight into my processes.
Looking back, I should have researched the idea of sustainability before creating my mind map, to enrich it.
It will be beneficial to me if I include such ‘looking back’ in my future reflections – think of what I could have done better or just differently and how this could have benefitted my progress or even research results.
Drawing on the methods and processes learnt throughout Parts 1, 2 and 3, make
or write your own Spatial Design Manifesto to be used throughout the rest of this
unit.
Develop your manifesto to celebrate and visually present your position on an
issue related to spatial or interior design. Present it to reflect your position. For
example, you may want to explore the enjoyment of playful spatial design, the
importance of functionality through the material choices you make or
demonstrate your position by presenting examples of design you think are
unsuitable, ugly or dull.
Use your manifesto to say what key elements of interior design you find good,
interesting, bad or beautiful – and why. You may want to use quotes from other
artists or designers as part of your manifesto.
Reflect on your own experience as an occupant-of-interior-space. What kinds of
spaces do you enjoy and how do other spatial designers help to support this?
Celebrate these examples of good practice or innovative approaches by
proclaiming what makes for a better spatially designed world!
Use the most appropriate means or medium to do this (written, modelled,
2D/3D, digital, technical or hand drawn) to ensure that your manifesto ideas are
communicated in a coherent, clear and concise manner.
Reflection on the assignment / how did I get there:
First, I thought long and hard about what is important to me and why. My main interest is in the interiors that have custom designed features, to suit the user needs. Sustainability is equally important to me. I believe that often we don’t need more space – we just need to use what we have wisely. I jotted some notes and then thought about how I can present my ideas. I purposely made my manifesto very concise. I want to get my message across, but I wanted to keep it short and sweet. Our lives are fast paced, and I wanted my manifesto fit in it. To underline the sustainability issue, I created a background of a crumpled piece of paper – one that you might discard otherwise – yet still perfectly usable. I made the text green as that colour is often associated with nature and well-being. I used different fonts for different points to add to the interest. I uploaded the manifesto into the padlet.
Finding the issue for my manifesto was relatively easy, yet it took longer than the hard part of deciding on the look of it.
I wanted my manifesto to look like poster, I think I achieved that goal.
Reflection on the unit as a whole:
I enjoyed most work in this unit. I found all exercises interesting and most importantly informative.
I found it interesting to read about philosophical approach to the idea of a home in research task one, now I am thinking I should actually read the entire books I briefly studied in 1st research task.
Case study: small space of living was just wonderful. I found it really interesting reading about the architect (Peter Barber), the project Holmes Road Studios and the architecture aiding the therapy. Creating the research presentation document also helped me brush up on the InDesign skills once more.
‘Your living space’ and ‘AN Others space’ exercises helped me brush up and improve my site surveying skills. I also chose to draw by hand for this exercise, despite my preferred method being digital – just to practice on paper.
Research into Barbican helped me to practice sifting through vast amounts of material available and selecting the important bits to present. It’s so easy to get lost in the research!
193 Grove Road research – I feel just grateful to learn it. Fascinating story but it was quite hard to find extensive information on what Sydney Gale might have been feeling. Just had to imagine I was in his position. Despite his bruised ego, it’s a shame the artwork was destroyed…
I found researching and analysing manifestos quite hard. Mainly because personally, I find most of them pompous and quite frankly many of them are long and boring… It was helpful to be given specific tasks in regard to the manifesto text –it helped me fleece out the relevant information out of it. I was pleased I chose Roberto Venturis ‘Non-straight forward manifesto’. Such a joy to find that signature with a shape of a house he designed in the past. It was also useful to just analyse his manifesto in bullet points.
It was a bit harder to draw it. Took me a while to come up with a concept but once it popped in my head, I knew what to do and had it ready in a matter of minutes.
Finding the right contemporary manifesto to analyse took a little bit of searching. Luckily, I came across Dezeen 15 Festival where 15 artists / designers wrote special manifestos for the occasion. I chose ‘Swap card for trees’ by Es Devlin’s the easiest to read and understand. Manifestos should be able to reach the reader rather than just exist for the benefit of its creator. It was also just nice to dream about what the future could look like. This text really spoke to me, I keep thinking about it – hope it comes true soon!
Jimmy Caunty and his ‘Riot in a jam jar’ was quite a hard story to research. There is a lot of information about him but not a lot about the exhibition. I even watched some music videos from his music career, and oh boy – some of them are something else. (The KLF – What Time Is Love? (Live at Trancentral) (Official Video) – YouTube )
Mind maps were invaluable in helping me to create my own manifesto.
Great part, enjoyed the work in part three very much!
Look again at the manifesto chosen for further research and analysis in exercise 4. Taking your list of bullet points as a starting place – and using any additional research you may have done – remake the manifesto as a 2D-graphic or 3D-model. Challenge yourself to re-present the words and intent of the manifesto without using any written words.
Remember you are trying to convey and communicate the main ideas outlined in the original written manifesto.
A manifesto – or a big idea – can also be represented as objects rather than as words. As Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message. The medium that you use to convey your idea can be part of what you have to say. The artist James Cauty made a series of works titled Riot In A Jam Jar . Find out as much as you can about these works and write 250 words in your learning log explaining the big-ideas that are represented through these small physical objects.
Jimmy Cauty, an anarchist musician come artist has created an exhibition titled ‘Riot in a Jam Jar’ which was on display in L-13 Gallery in Clerkenwell in 2011.
Each jam jar on display contained a historic or imagined riot scene. They have been created using traditional model making methods and architectural figures that were amended and repainted to fit the scheme. They were pocket sized snapshots of sometimes funny but mainly shocking, bloody violence.
The artist was trying to draw attention to the way media portrays these situations. He protested trivialising the issues, presenting them like bullets of information, sensational news and basically being clickbait. Instead, he was trying to emphasise that nobody wants to riot, yet the socio-political situation forces people to rebel against authority, in attempt to change things.
Jimmy Caunty likes to shock, to draw attention by unusual actions or techniques, such as giving a £40k worst artist award to Rachel Whiteread for the ‘House’ or dropping a dead sheep at the Brit awards after party.
Fig. 1 Off Wiv Their Eds: Prince Charles is pulled from his car by student protestors who then attempt to behead him while his wife, Camilla, looks on.
Sustainability is about being environmentally friendly by offering often natural, long-lasting products
Sustainable product is not only kind to environment, but also often kind to communities who are making the product.
The sustainable process is transparent as there is nothing to hide and is not harmful (to environment or people)
As the production process is not as developed as mainstream the initial purchase cost is usually higher.
The long-term cost of using the product is often lower due to its effectiveness, durability and quality.
Reflection:
The process of creating this mind map and bullet points felt incredibly easy and quick. I hope I did it right! I knew straight away that the main issue many designers currently face is about sustainability. It must be hard to juggle to project cost against the prices of different solutions – and the sustainable ones being often higher. Yet it is so important that the designers influence the clients, convince them that it is worth if – for the long-term use, their conscience, health and planet. Just realised I should have written ‘healthy’ on my mind map too…
Using contemporary design journals and/or online resource, research and find a
contemporary manifesto, or statements or sentences from a recent manifesto
document – i.e. one published within the last 24 months. The quotes that you find
should have some relevance to issues concerning interior or spatial design today,
and also, be ideas that you are happy to adopt or apply in your own design work.
Record your findings in your learning log, and reflect on the issues raised in the
manifesto that you have found. Make reference to how they relate to your own
practice of interior and spatial design.
Fig. 1 A rendering of a car-free Paris produced by Es Devlin Studio
I found a brilliant manifesto by Es Devlin, written for Dezeen 15 Digital Festival in 2021. I liked it because it was easy to read, unlike other manifestos I’ve read, that were written in a pompous tone and used complicated language. Es Devlin’s manifesto is titled ‘Swap cars for trees’ and the whole text can be found here: https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/01/november-2036-every-city-swapped-cars-for-trees-says-es-devlin/amp/
It’s a dream like story, imagining what the world could be like in just 15 years (at the time of writing) – in 2036.
She mentions every product made and sold would have entire life cycle, including servicing and recycling / disposal at the end incorporated in the transaction. Wouldn’t that be just amazing? If the businesses instead of caring for making quick profit, cared about how their product will affect nature in the end? Not only at end of life, but during production too. The lifespan of products would be extended by having prepared servicing etc.
This led to the next point raised in the manifesto: Designers and architects would have to sign an oath to do no harm to the planet. That’s why every product sold would have servicing, repairs, parts available throughout its entire life span. On the other hand, I’m a little worried about the economy, wouldn’t that cause a massive recession? Isn’t the GDP supposed to be growing? Less consumption will lower the growth.
But if we continue on the current path then we will destroy the planet and humankind.
I am also curious how construction of new buildings will develop, currently construction is the biggest landfill waste contributor.
The title of manifesto is ‘Swap cars for trees’ and it proposes pedestrianising all city centres on the entire planet and planting trees instead of having parking spaces. This would improve general health and quality of life. It would also reduce pedestrian and cyclists’ mortal accidents. All this would be facilitated by improved public transport, cycling lanes etc.
Essential workers would live in affordable, cleverly designed micro homes.
It is a bold proposal, one that sounds utopian.
It sounds amazing, but my initial feeling was of not believing it could happen, with economy shrinking who would spend that sort of money. The world would need a tru revolution to make it happen, however…
The manifesto mentioned Oslo pedestrianised its city centre in 2019. I checked it out and according to the article I read about it, the change has made the city centre a destination (as opposed to going out of town). The city centre also became attractive residential area (due reduced noise and pollution) and the footfall in the shops within the area has increased by 10%. (https://www.wired.co.uk/article/oslo-pedestrianisation)
The manifesto compares the change to the smoking bans implemented since 2006. How it denormalised smoking. Es Devlin believes it will be similar with this change, and car free city centres can soon become a new norm.
A few years ago, my tv broke. It was only 4 years old. Yet it could not be repaired due to lack of parts available. Current mentality of every business is: why repair if we could sell more and increase profits? This has to change. I remember feeling bitter about having to dispose this large appliance, complete waste of resources with such a negative impact on the environment.
I liked this manifesto for it dreamy tone. A gentle nod towards sustainability benefitting everyone. Lets hope and see…
Choose one manifesto from the core text, 100 Artists’ Manifestos: From the Futurists to the Stuckists, that interests you, and that you would like to research and explore further. Find out all you can about the person or group that wrote that manifesto, the era that they were living in and what other factors (global, social, local, cultural) may have influenced their thinking. Present your findings as a series of bullet points that give the reader a core understanding of the main points of the manifesto you have chosen, and also an understanding of when/why/how it was written. As your work is just simply bullet points you need to make every word count – try to not be ‘fluffy’ or ‘flowery’ with your language and use really precise/concise words that say exactly what you mean.
Living in post WW2 world with modernist, brutalist architecture prevailing has influenced his outlook on need for new architecture trends.
He seems to have been an original, fun-loving guy, if judging by his signature which included a quick sketch of the elevation of the house that he designed for his mother.
Fig. 1 He even signed his name in a fun way 💔 RIP Bob Venturi.
Fig. 2 Vanna Venturi House in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Non-Straightforward Architecture: A Gentle Manifesto (1966) by Robert Venturi
‘More is not less’
Architecture of complexity and contradiction
Yes, to complexity and contradiction
No, to incoherence and arbitrariness (autocracy or being based on personal whim)
No, picturesqueness and expressionism
Yes, to richness and ambiguity bringing similar experience as felt with art
Increasing dimension and scale of projects makes design work more difficult
Yes, to vitality and validity
Orthodox Modern Architecture is intimidating
Hybrid over pure
Compromising over clean
Distorted over straightforward
Yes, to both – and
No, to either – or
Ambiguous over articulated
Perverse and impersonal
Boring and interesting
Conventional over designed
Accommodating over excluding
Redundant over simple
Equivocal (with more than one meaning) over direct and clear
Messy vitality over obvious unity
Richness over clarity of meaning
Pro ‘non sequitu’ (A conclusion that does not logically follow from previous argument)
For both implicit and explicit function
Black and white and grey over just black and white
Architecture should engage on many levels, should be readable and workable in many ways simultaneously
The truth of architecture must be in its totality
Architecture must embody the difficult unity of inclusion
Architecture must reject the easy unity of exclusion.
Using your research from the first part of this exercise, try to look at the information in an emotional way. Your emotional response to an interior, a building or a piece of sculpture will be different to someone else’s response – and similarly, when thinking about a space for living – your emotional ‘wants’ will affect the way you work. The people that you work with will often have a different point of view to yours – and it is up to you to learn about and understand others’ points of view which may be different to your own. It is your job as an interior designer to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Put yourself in Sydney Gale’s shoes and try to imagine what he may have felt when his home was used to make a piece of sculpture in a park. Try to empathise and understand how you might feel if the same thing happened to you, to your home, or to someone close to you. See if you can find any reports from the time giving Sydney Gale’s point of view. Make a few short paragraphs giving factual information first – and then more emotional information about how you would feel in Sydney Gale’s shoes.
Sydney Gale resisted the eviction from his home, which was soon to be turned artwork. After ‘the house’ has been created he commented “They’ve taken the wee wee out of me.” (published in east London Advertiser, issue unknown, source https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/rachel-s-inside-out-house-turns-art-world-upside-down-7654580 ). His comment was supposedly referring to his views on the budget granted to the artwork and his belief that the money would have been better spent on providing more social housing.
I believe he was upset by the whole situation. Being forced out of his home (he really wanted to stay and fought for years), extravagant ‘waste of money’ and his private space, his home being exposed for everyone to see. I believe all these issues topped one another and contributed to his negative feelings towards the outcome. What for many was a brilliant piece of art, for Sydney Gale must have been a very in your face remainder of his defeat…
I find quite easy to dwell on other people’s situations and how they may feel about them. Obviously, I cannot be sure if I am right about Sydney, as I found it quite hard to find any interviews or extended information about him. Usually, I would be more careful about voicing these opinions, but I often have them. In my daily life I often consider other people’s behaviours and what situations and what feelings may have caused them (usually to try and resolve a problem).
I received Assignment 2 feedback from my tutor. It was a positive and encouraging one. Especially good to hear that generally I am progressing well through the coursework.
My tutor would like to see more sketch models, we had a chat afterwards and she suggested using card and stick it together with pins is a good way of quick sketch models to demonstrate the process.
My tutor noticed an error in my technical drawing, where I didn’t include a thickness of the mdf if the section drawing. I must admit I find sections particularly challenging, especially of things that do not exists (yet). Despite that my technical drawings look professional, and use of CAD is good and helpful in completing tasks. I was pleased to hear that in the feedback.
The design choices of my folly could have been better, and I should consider re-using and thus limiting environmental impact of the structure. During the design process I should consider future renovation/ conservation of the design.
My tutor gave a tip to overlay the materials on the material board, so it is clearly visible how they’ll go together, specifications could be on a separate sheet.
My tutor was impressed by the scale of my Serpentine Pavilion research. She suggested I visit this year’s one – Black Chapel Pavilion. I went to see it last weekend. It felt serene and quiet. Reminded me of silos. Despite being all black structure sitting in the sun – it was cool and pleasant inside. Theaster Gates must have carefully thought of airflow throughout the interior.
Black Chapel Pavilion by Theaster Gates (2022) – photograph by A. Frodel-Shuttleworth (2022)
My tutor gave me a tip to look at technical drawings when completing precedent studies as this will challenge me to understand the design better.
I should add images when reflecting on designs – so the reader could understand better what I am describing.
My tutor suggested searching OCA library for some books about symbolism in architecture – referring to scaled up objects – kitsch American designs that I skipped in one of my exercises.
Generally the work was well done, but as usual there is room for improvement. I am grateful for all the tips and suggestions.
The aim of this exercise is to begin to understand the emotional attachment a person may have to particular spaces, and why. To explore the difference between a house and a home; to look at the theoretical concept of ‘home’.
Method: Find out as much as you can about the artist Rachel Whiteread and the 1993 work House. Use the information given above to begin your search and find out about how and why the piece came to be sited in its particular location, 193 Grove Road, Bow, London.
The previous occupant of the building used to create the work House was a man called Sydney Gale; there was much local opposition to Rachel Whiteread’s project at the time and it was considered to be controversial for a number of reasons. The project caused a flurry of comment in both local and national press. Reflect on why you think this may have been so controversial at the time; was it controversial locally, nationally? Was it controversial in all social or cultural circles – or was it enjoyed or appreciated more positively by some?
Rachel Whiteread is a British artist born in 1963 in London. She is currently living and working in London.
She became famous for her sculpture ‘Ghost’ that was on display in Tate Modern in 1990 and her sculpture ‘House’ which was on display on Grove Road in Bow in late 1993 / early 1994.
Fig. 1 Ghost, plaster with steel frame, 269 × 355.5 × 317.5 cm.
Both these works were casts of interior spaces. Ghost was a plaster cast of a living room; the artist said that it was similar to a living room from a house she lived in as child, and it was bringing memories of her childhood.
House was a concrete cast of an entire Victorian terraced house that was destined to be demolished by the council. Ms Whiteread selected it as it was not surrounded or attached to other houses, therefore could be viewed from all angles.
Fig. 2 Rachel Whiteread’s house view of Grove Road.
The house was previously occupied by Mr Sydney Gale, who battled the council against evicting him from his home. He finally lost and was relocated to a property nearby. The council could then go on and demolish the last standing house of the former terrace and proceed with its plans of finishing the green space that was supposed to benefit the residents of the nearby high-rise blocks of flats.
The row of houses has been partially damaged during WW2, in fact the first bomb that landed in London during the conflict fell in the local area.
The area was at the time predominantly working class; the project, especially £50’000 funding it received, angered many.
The project seemed to be controversial in all circles, social and cultural. There were fans and haters everywhere.
Perhaps because it was a first of a kind sculpture like this in Britain, created out of someone’s home. Someone’s that did not want to leave. At the same time, it was a brilliant novelty; filling a building with cement and subsequently creating a cast that was revealed after the surrounding building was taken away, brick by brick. It accentuated the void of the home, the space previously occupied by life of the occupants – being on show.
It showed the house inside out – the interior standing proudly, not covered by a façade and walls, roofless. The private space exposed, the boundaries gone.
The project has been so controversial that Rachel Whiteread received prizes from opposite ends of the spectrum: a prestigious Turner prize and the ‘worst artist of the year’ by K Foundation.
The council decided to tear the house earlier than initially agreed, yet even that vote was a very close one – only one vote difference.
The project was discussed in parliament and more than 100’000 people viewed it in the period it was standing.
Despite the movement to save the cast from demolition Ms Whiteread did not wish to relocate the house, as she said it was specific to its location. The house was demolished after mere 10 weeks of its completion.
The artist created other works that consisted of casted objects and spaces.
In 2000 in Vienna her Holocaust Memorial has been unveiled, a cement cast of a library room.
Fig. 3 Holocaust memorial.
She also made ‘Embankment’, which was an installation of 14000 polyethylene boxes in 2005, it was displayed in Tate Modern.
Fig. 4 London – Rachel Whiteread – Embankment 03
As an artist she seems to be attracted to the invisible, encased by the boundaries. She wants to bring the inside out, for all to see. Her work is inspired by intimacy of the closed spaces and human form.
In my opinion the difference between a house and a home is the feeling about the place. A house is just a building, walls with a roof over, no attachment. Home is a place where people go back to, to feel safe and comfortable and cosy.
An interesting thought occurred to me when noting down ‘moving house’ – the actual house, the building does not get moved – but all the home belongings do – to make home in anew place. Yet it is called moving a house.
Home is usually in a house, but it doesn’t have to be.
Home could also be a place, as a foreigner in England I often get asked if I ‘go back home often’. And then I usually say here is ‘home’ now. But many people moving countries may not feel at home in their new location, and for them home is back where they grew up, where their family is.
I often consider differences between English and my mother tongue. In Polish language house and home are the same word. Yet somehow, we can tell the difference between the two meanings of the word.
Brutalist in style, composing mainly of concrete and glass; Barbican estate has been built on a site that has suffered catastrophic bombing during WW2. Previously busy market area has had its community decimated with just a handful remaining there after the war. The site has been left derelict. A decision has been made to bring the community and life back into the area by changing the function of the space from commercial to residential with all amenities. There was a notion of the area becoming a factory city, rather than a place for living. Between 1971 and 1982 twenty-one residential blocks containing over two thousand flats were built along with schools, arts centre, shops and so on. The architects were Chamberlin, Powell and Bonn. They carefully thought of designing a place that is crowded, but at the same time gives you air. They introduced a large pond that reflects the sky and gives an air of space. The whole area is raised above traffic, so it is relatively tranquil for a central London location, the lake and green spaces aid that feeling. The designers took care to ensure all flats get at least some sunshine for at least portion of the day.
Fig. 2 The Barbican.
The care was taken during the building, ensuring no shortcuts or cheap substitutes were used, as opposed to similar developments built prior and afterwards in the UK.
The estate was intended for rental, but it was aimed at more ‘upmarket’ tenants – the rent was to be more expensive. Interestingly that Barbican has not suffered a plague of crime like other housing estates did.
The flats were designed so the utility areas such as kitchens and bathrooms were deeper in the building and living areas were closer to the windows therefore brighter.
There were spaces designed for families, couples and single people.
I looked at some flats available for sale in the estate and all that I looked at had a balcony and large windows letting plenty of light in.
Some of the flats, especially the ones located high in the towers have magnificent, far-reaching views of London.
I cannot imagine what a mammoth task it must have been, designing such a grand estate in every detail, without a CAD program, especially I can imagine much of the design of the flats was copy and paste, they layouts seem are quite repetitive.
The estate has been grade II listed in 2001, in 2003 it has been voted the ugliest building in Britain (in a poll organised to launch London Design Festival). It seems as British as marmite – you either love it or hate it.
I chose my flatmate’s room, as we never spend time together in that room, and I can only have a vague idea how he uses the room.
This time when noting the dimensions on the plan drawing, I concentrated more on the usable space between the walls and furniture, and I though the space between the window and the bed would be suitable for exercise.
He has a double bed, plenty of storage in the room and a desk with a gaming chair to play computer games.
I chose my hallway for my space. I drew it in plan and two elevations of the longer walls, I supported myself with some measuring sketches and guidelines.
Dimension sketches
Guidelines I placed below tracing paper.
The main functions of this room are:
entering and leaving the flat,
traffic circulation between all other tooms in the house,
place to put on, remove and store your shoes and coats
Greeting and saying farewells to the guests
Having conversations during the parties, or at the end of gatherings
Utilities in the wardrobes: tumble dryer, hoover, recycling boxes, cat litter
Cat feeding area
The room is very well lit despite not having own window, the front door is glazed, and it is facing west, sun shines through in the evening. During the day the light enters from other rooms facing north (kitchen) and south/east (lounge and second bedroom). On top of that there are several spotlights in the ceiling, providing artificial light as needed.
That hallway made an amazing impression on me when we first viewed the place. I still remember the amazing feeling of airiness and space. The colour of the walls and cupboards is white which aids that feeling. People often comment on how large and wide our hallway is. We often have long chats in there with friends that are about to leave, but somehow it usually gets prolonged. It is a good social space. Four people can stand, put their shoes and have a chat comfortably.
I especially like it when I come home in the early evening in the summer, and the room if fully of sunshine.
At first, I did my technical sketches not including human figure, but then I though I’d add it, for better understanding of the scale.
What a wonderful project! Seems like every detail has been carefully considered, along with any potential resident’s needs. The cottages look cute, tiny homes – mini safe havens for vulnerable adults to start the new life in such pleasant surroundings. I can imagine that it will have a great success rate in helping the homeless start over and move on to a better future. Hopefully in future there will be a study into effects of this or a similar project into the outcomes of these people journeys. Usual hostels can be depressing and dangerous places – here the therapy should be so much more efficient. Architecture and design – when user is at its heart – can really help achieve goals.
I created a rough mind map to help me get started on my document.
List Of Illustrations:
Fig. 1 Google (2022) Holmes Road Studios Location. (Screenshot, edited in photoshop) At: holmes road studios – Google Maps (Accessed 30/05/2022)
There seems to be as many ideas on what the home is as many elements (both physical and non-physical) a home contains – the list would be extensive.
According to Otto Friedrich Bollnow (author of ‘Human space’) home provides shelter and protection, gives a sense of safety. The size of the space matters can’t be too big or too small, but the dimensions are not set in stone; it is flexible depending on the occupants need. Another important aspect of homeliness is the temperature. The homeliness or cosiness seems to be about striking the right balance, not too much… not too little… And the rules are fluid, depending on who the occupants are, what are their needs, tastes, lifestyles, and histories. Comfort is needed for homeliness – be it in the form of lovingly cared for interiors and furnishings or just that ‘feel-good’ sensation when we are just content. The ability to shut off the outside world and be safe and unbothered in one’s space is the ultimate comfort. The common denominator is that home is a place where we can relax, feel safe and comfortable. And if we can’t life is difficult.
According to Edwin Heathcote (author of ‘The meaning of home’) house and its elements were at heart of language development. A home could be a ‘container of meaning’ and history.
Thinking of different forms, we use the word home in our everyday life; the feeling at home has such a special meaning – it is about ‘feeling’: safe, comfortable, confident, content. That feeling can be felt outside of one’s home.
I absolutely loved the activity of designing and presenting my folly. The whole process was easy to follow, and the elements became the bricks in my storyboarding plan.
Finding the issue and creating a mind map was a very quick activity for me. At first, I created a mind map on war in Ukraine, then I realised I was supposed to concentrate on one word, so I did another one that I used in my presentation document.
Here is the mind map I did not use:
War in Ukraine mind map I haven’t used in design document.
I decided to challenge the notion of boundary as it is somehow connected to the issue of war (where borders are challenged). I challenged it by placing two walls and criss-crossing them, then piercing opening through them.
I enjoyed the design development stage, I considered how can I create something fun with such serious connection. I chose the cross plan with red roof as a protest to the bloody violence going on in the Ukraine. At the same time the public can interact with the folly with a fun way, I can imagine children climbing though the openings while the families wait for their trains, and general public just using it as a rest place in the busy station concourse.
I built the Lego model first, to see how it would look.
Technical drawing was challenging but enjoyable, as usual. I consulted the in-house carpenter on choice of materials. On his advice I chose the frame structure elements to be:
I struggled and struggled around how the frame components inside my folly will go together, I tried hard and spent a long time working this out. I ended up creating a simple SketchUp model of my folly and sliced it with a section plane to help me understand what will and what won’t be sliced by section line. This was my first time using SketchUp and I found the software easy to navigate. I realise that my CAD drawings are far from perfect and there are probably some errors, but on the other hand they communicate the design well.
This time round I created a template for title block – specifically for study projects. I also overcame difficulties with plotting in CAD – for some reason all new cad files I create have a tiny paper space, so small that a dashed line appears solid in the viewport. I resolved it and now with my template it will be an easy fix in all future drawings.
My photoshop skills are not up to scratch yet. I’m not quite happy with the final result, I need to learn better how to do realistically looking shading and render. I used Euston station image and human figures found online to bring the design to life. Here is where I found them:
The recent storyboarding tutorial I took part in helped me understand design presentation process.
I created the storyboarding template, but as seen in the image it changed as I worked. Nevertheless, having this little plan to hand helped me a lot with creating the presentation document.
Presentation story board
I wasn’t sure I if you can skip some annotations in presentation document. I didn’t add annotation to this image on my materials page, I thought adding writing there would ruin the look of the page.
Fig. 8 Tongue and groove cladding
I enjoyed Part 2, even though some exercises took longer than expected. I refer to the research of Serpentine Pavilion project, to which references, and list of illustrations were 7 pages long! I enjoyed getting creative with it though.
Part 2 included learning about use, boundaries, and parameters of the space. It included fun and creative activities. There were also invaluable research tasks enriching my knowledge. I am happy I found Felipe De Castro who draws fun building designs based on everyday objects.
Follies are buildings with no true purpose, apart from pleasure. Traditionally they were garden structures built in English gardens and estates, imitating ruins, or historic buildings. They were supposed to enhance scenery. They were particularly popular in England in the 8th and 19th centuries and were usually inspired by classical ruins and structures seen during estate owners travels to Greece and Italy. Usually they were not very big, but I found a particular example that is rather large and visible from far away.
My chosen folly is the Earls of Durham’s Monument more commonly known as Penshaw Monument. It proudly sits on top of a large hill, surrounded by countryside and offering views all the way to Durham’s Cathedral. It has been designed by architects John and Benjamin Green of Newcastle and built by Thomas Pratt of Sunderland. It is a half-sized replica of Temple of Hephaestus in Athens. The classical greek construction, made of local gritstone is 30 metres long, 16 metres wide and 20 metres high. The built has been completed in 1844 and currently it is in the care of the National Trust. For a small fee, on the spring and summer weekends, the public can climb a staircase hidden within one of its columns and admire the views from top of the structure. The grounds around the monument are always open to the public and free to visit. The building is lit at night.
Fig. 1 Penshaw Monument
An example of an interesting contemporary folly I found is Invisible Barn. It has been designed by stpmj architects with the context of the site being the centre of attention. This design was desirable in this particular location because of the trees having similarly sized trunk and being equally spaced. This allows the mirrored walls to blend effortlessly with their surroundings. Plywood openings that pierce through the barn seem to be floating mid-air. Aluminized polyester film has been used as the reflective surface. It has been specially selected to give the desired illusion of invisible building but at the same time to be noticeable to birds, thus avoiding the wildlife colliding with the folly.
There seemed to have been an idea for the element of surprise as the ‘windows’ and ‘doors’ appear to be floating, and as curiosity draws the visitor in the structure reveals itself in its shiny blurriness. Part of the concept was for the building to blend within its surroundings, not for the nature to give way to it, but for the building to compliment it and blend within it.
The shape of the structure is unusual. Looking at it from the longer side it has an apparent shape of a typical house built on a rectangular plan, topped by a triangular on two sides and slopes on the other two surfaces roof. As if you look at this usual shape at an angle so you can see two walls, and two of the roofs’ surfaces. Yet on plan it appears as an extremely elongated diamond shape, with very narrow corners furthest apart from the centre.
The folly’s dimensions are 24’x3’x 12’ (approx. 7.3x 0.9x 3.6m) and its footprint is 72 sq. feet (6.68 m2). It has been built in 2015 and it is located in Truckee, United States.
I really like it; the building is enhancing its surroundings and allows public to have a bit of fun with the architecture.
I tried to tackle this task of researching Serpentine Pavilions by simply typing in word. Very soon I realised that I could do it in more interesting way, more interesting for me the maker, and hopefully informative for the reader. I colour coded parts of text and picture frames referring to each pavilion, so hopefully there is no confusion. It was an extensive research task, I feel like it took forever. The references alone are 7 pages long in a word document! At the same time, by undertaking it in such a fun way I feel I memorised a lot more than by simply typing it all up. I completed the mind map using Adobe Fresco on iPad. I am not sure if the image upload is of satisfactory (readable) quality so just in case I will attach a downloadable pdf version of the mind map.
Yesterday we had a super informative, online storyboarding workshop. I learnt how to plan a presentation and present it as a storyboard with a story being compared to a slide: the action rising to the the story climax and then exhilarating slide down. We got given a brief and planned our own storyboard ‘schedule’ to help plan how to present a design of an artist studio.
In the workshop we read and discussed couple of chapters from Italo Calvino’s ‘Invisible Cities’. We chose a chapter ‘Thin cities 5.’ about Octavia – ‘ the spider-web city’ suspended above the clouds, between two steep and extremely high mountains. We were tasked with drawing the city based on the text.
First was the masterplan, created in 15 mins:
Thin cities masterplan
Then zoomed in view of one square of the masterplan, also created in 15 mins.
Masterplan zoomed in.
Then zoomed in, three perspective views, each drawn in about 2 minutes:
Thin cities perspective views
I drew them all using ipad (adobe fresco). Great workshop, really enjoyed it. As usual it was fascinating to see how each participant imagined the city and spaces differently, despite all coming from the same piece of text.
I enlarged by object 10 times. So its overall dimensions are 4.8m long by 4m wide by 4.4m high. Its dimensions and the angled legs remind me a little bit of Peckham library pods. Perhaps that is where Will Allsop got his inspiration from. The footstool use is completely redundant, the object became a space. It could be an elevated pavilion or a tiny house.
My chosen object is a footstool. It has wooden legs and structure. The seat park is upholstered in grey fabric and foam. The elements are held together with metal screws. The overall dimensions are 480mm long by 400mm wide by 440mm high.
It can be used as a footrest or a seat. In my house it is usually either a footrest or a cat bed.
Reflection:
I decided to make a drawing in CAD, as I felt I needed to practice it some more. Plotting proved difficult again but with some help of online tutorials I got over it. Next exercise should go a little faster as scaling the objects will be at a touch of a button. I enjoyed measuring the object and all its elements. Section was a bit challenging as I don’t actually know what this footstool would look like sliced in half, I had to employ my imagination and use my common sense.
Here is my CAD drawing in PDF, so finer details can be seen.
Figures in scale 1:100 made it look and feel enormous. The interior floor level is higher that eye level of the figures. The room is spacious and very tall. It could have a function of a pavilion, a building (perhaps commercial) with a viewing point on the ‘roof’. It has semi enclosed interior, but we could imagine the opening is glazed and we could then have a cavernous, grand and bright interior space inside.
Salt pig and figures in scale 1:100
Figures scale 1:50 make the inside of the salt pig feel more enclosed and cosier. The function as presented in this scale could be a smaller pavilion or a garden structure providing a semi open shelter. If we add glazing on the opening it could be a really cool garden office or she shed.
Salt pig and figures in scale 1:50
Figures in scale 1:20 make this object seem smaller than in previous examples. It could still provide a shelter but for 1-2 people. With some mattress and cushions it could be comfortable garden bed / relax area that provides shelter from rain and sunshine. It could also be a cupboard or a wood fired pizza oven.
Salt pig and figures in scale 1:20
The I found a cat bowl
Figures in scale 1:100 make this object look very large, it could be a building when place upside down, or perhaps a manmade hill with a view point. It reminds me a little bit if Table Mountain in Cape Town with its steep edges and flat top, although the scale is very much off for this object to be table mountain. When placed with opening up the bowl could be a big and deep pool. It doesn’t provide shelter when placed right way up but it can contain a lot of people or water.
Cat bowl and figures in scale 1:100
Figures in scale 1:50 indicate more ‘individual’ use, especially when placed as in the photos below, with the opening up. It could be a garden pool – the kind available in the shops but deep enough to need a ladder to get in and out of it. It could also be a stage or a raised patio. It could elevate (when placed upside down).
Cat bowl and figures in scale 1:50
Figures in scale 1:20 indicate a different object with even more personal use. I think it could be used as a hot tub or a large fire pit. It seems low enough to be able to limb in it and the sides are at nice angle to provide comfortable back rest.
Cat bowl and figures in scale 1:20
Reflection on the task:
It was a nice exercise, to start with I had no idea what function these objects could have. Only when I looked at the photos, seeing my figures next to it, ideas for use started flowing. Having scale figures definitely helps imagination and presentation…
How do you think ergonomic and anthropometric design, and scale, have been explored in the 2013 project Kroppsrom (Corporeal room) at the National Museum of Architecture by Atelier Oslo? Reflect on your responses to the project in your learning log.
I think the designers explored the anthropometric data of the average human figure and designed the space around them. One of the resources mentioned that the space was supposed to make people move in a way they would not expect, and create the experience through the activity, as well as simple, peaceful and gently lit interior.
I imagine Atelier Oslo drew the human figures as pictured in the data images and made the space flow from one set of dimensions to another and so on. I can sort of see this process in my imagination, but it is quite hard to describe it, but I’ll try anyway. A 3D animation of an opening being created in the solid mass. The solid mass is surrounding (and filling) the human forms being carved out. As the corridors and caverns are created, the human figures remain – they aren’t carved out with the solid mass that they are contained within. As if the figures are in a different layer to the mass. The whole process is smooth and flows easily.
Fig. 1 Body measurements
Considering the process of creation of such an interesting, unusual space is a great activity. I wonder If I am at least a little bit correct in my guessing on how the designers idea started. Thinking about it got my imagination going. I often wonder about hows and whys, it was an enjoyable exercise.
Undertake some research into artists and designers who have challenged and embraced the perception of scale in their work. As a starting point, search online for Sou Fujimoto’s Architecture is Everywhere experiments with scale, or Claes Oldenburg’s giant binoculars. You could also look for food shaped fast-food diners or the Longaberger Company’s basket building in America, or BIG’s Lego House in Denmark.
Document your research in your learning log, and reflect on how they challenge your ideas of scale.
After briefly researching Sou Fujimoto and Claes Oldenburg I stumbled across Felipe De Castro’s work.
Felipe De Castro is a Brazilian architectural designer who finds inspiration for building designs in everyday objects. In fig. 1 and fig 2. below we can see examples of his work and what objects he based his designs on. Simply brilliant! His Instagram page is full of his unusual ideas fed by usual objects. I simply cannot include too much here but feel free to check it out (Felipe de Castro (@felipedecastro.arq) • Instagram photos and videos )
Fig. 1 Felipe De Castro Automatic Pencil Skyscrapers
Fig. 2 Felipe De Castro Lever Arch Building
There are several London skyscrapers shaped like everyday objects these include The Walkie Talkie, The Shard, The Gherkin and The Cheese Grater. I wonder if the architects showed the objects to their clients during the sales pitch or whether they mentioned them just in the name.
The Walkie Talkie (20 Fenchurch Street) by Rafael Vinoly became infamous for melting cars (through concentrating reflected sunrays) and it is alleged it creates a strong downright draft. Even though melting problem has been repaired by installing nets on the building it has been awarded the 2015 Carbuncle Cup for Britain ugliest building. I quite like the way it looks, especially the antennas on the roof going with the whole walkie talkie theme. It is unfortunate that not all design shapes can be implemented without causing harm to the surroundings.
Fig. 3 The Walkie Talkie
The Shard, reminds me especially of the object it is named after at night, when it is glowing in the night sky. The building has been designed by Renzo Piano and the building was completed in 2012.
Fig. 4 The Shard
The Gherkin (30 St. Mary Axe) has been designed by Norman Foster and the works finished in 2004.
Fig. 5 30 St Mary Axe Elevation.
The Leadenhall Building has been designed by Roger Strirk Harbour + Partners and works completed in 2014. The building has been nicknamed ‘The Cheesegrater’ as it looks like a giant kitchen tool. At least this one reflects the sunshine upwards, not downwards like the walkie talkie.
Fig. 6 The Leadenhall Building
The last piece of my research is a church in Taiwan. It was constructed in 2016. Allegedly its shape is supposed to attract women. It is not supposed to be used for usual mass but for weddings etc. I am not sure how I feel about this building, but there’s something for everyone!
I drew my friends house as a gift for her birthday. I did it on iPad, had it printed and framed it. She seemed happy with it. I really enjoyed the process of gaining new skills in Adobe fresco while making something to bring joy.
Recently I have been tasked with finding a contractor to build us a bespoke display unit. I decided that the best way to go ahead is to create drawings and send them to potential contractors, so they can see what is expected and can respond to my enquiry accordingly. Below are my drawings. They are not techical drawings, more so visual sketches with added technical information.
Update on 09/06/2022
The cabinet has been completed by a contractor a good few weeks ago.
Section B drawing made me feel better than section c. I think this is to do with proportions of the rooms. Room in section C is better proportioned, you can do more in it, section C room could only be used for walking. You can put furniture in, lets say a chair, but you’d either face the wall, making you feel restricted or the long ‘corridor’.
‘If the brief was “design a space with an area of 10m2” which of those plans would you choose? 1m x 10m? 2m x 5m? or 3.33m x 3.33m?’
It really depends on the function of the room.
1m x 10m would only suit a corridor or a hallway, the other two could also be hallways but may be practical to have other rooms in those dimensions.
2m x 5m could be a corridor or a hallway (even with a staircase), bathroom, kitchen or maybe even a really narrow bedroom or a lounge. What it couldn’t be is a family dinning room, it would not fit a dinning set and allow for people to pass around comfortably.
3.33m x 3.33m could be all of these (including the dining room) too but out the 3 options that would be best for the bedroom or kitchen (in my opinion). Just because certain needs for these rooms would be met. Such as – it needs to fit a double bed and have space on both sides.
2m x 5m in my opinion would be best for a nice 4-piece bathroom, there would be space for a large bath, toilet, large shower and a sink. Of course, the layout would depend on other elements of the space, such as positioning of doors and windows, and of course its height. Perhaps each of these spaces could only be used as eaves storage if there wasn’t enough headroom.
3.33m x 3.33m would make a tiny lounge, but with higher ceiling, and hopefully a skylight in it, the room wouldn’t feel too oppressive.
Dimensions on its own are not enough to design the space, windows (and their aspect), doors, existing architectural features all have an impact on design decisions. The space would feel differently if it is a 2m x 5m bedroom or a bathroom. Although on another though that size could be quite nice for a child’s (or a single bedroom), with zoning options despite small size.
Each of these sizes is quite small, 10 sq. m. is not the biggest of rooms. The square one would probably feel nicest, least oppressive, as long as it is not filled up with furniture.
See if you can find other designers and architects who have explored the idea of
Boundary in spatial design.
Norman Foster and Thomas Heatherwick. Project: Bund Finance Centre in Shanghai, completed in 2017
The creators of Bund Finance Centre have clearly played with the idea of boundaries in architecture. They created a façade of layered, brass coloured pipes that move in different directions. Behind the curtain is the balcony, which has a moving boundary wall. It must be mesmerising being there, surrounded by this moving, semi open feature. Below is a link to a youtube video, showing timelapse of the Bund Finance Centre in Shanghai.
The tower is just over 194m high and the atrium runs through the entire height. The ceiling boundary was literally taken to a new level. The atrium space is fully glazed on its spiralling, swaying sides, making it appear as if it is connecting two separate skyscrapers. The floors inside have different depths and varying shapes, giving the twisting interior appearance of a flow. In this fine example we can see how the idea of internal and external boundaries were explored and pushed to the limits, with massive glass windows and internal boundaries between the atrium and the internal walls and balconies facing it. The interior looks like a skyscraper within a skyscraper, or a skyscraper that split.
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 Leeza Soho Skyscraper, photographs by Hufton + Crow
Analemma Tower, Conceptual Design by Clouds Architecture Office.
‘Analemma Tower is a proposal for the world’s tallest building ever. Harnessing the power of planetary design thinking, it taps into the desire for extreme height, seclusion and constant mobility.’ (Clouds Architecture Office, 2021, https://cloudsao.com/ANALEMMA-TOWER)
Proposal, if or when realised will be the tallest building ever with its peak at 32000m above sea level (this is longer than my route to work and back!) The boundary of laws of physics seems to be challenged here. The designers had to consider physics, and think of extreme pressure and temperature outside, for example they considered window designs depending on the level and subsequent atmospheric conditions.
Clouds Architecture seriously defied boundaries with this idea. Ground level line is a crucial part of an elevation or section drawing. Despite that, Analemma Tower is supposed to be suspended off an asteroid, well above ground. Also, location of a skyscraper is normally fixed to one place. Analemma would be following a figure eight trajectory, crossing northern and southern hemispheres, over the same pattern every 24 hours. Perhaps this is the future of building, and the only way to get there is defy boundaries. The tower is set to be self-sufficient, harvesting water from rain and recycling it as much as possible, energy will be provided via solar panels. This is important not only because of sustainability, but also practicality – how else can we deliver water and energy (and I suppose huge amounts of it) to a suspended, moving building? Gravity would be an important aspect of the project planning; it would surely be a very heavy object… Can the ropes supporting it be strong enough? How will people get on and off the tower if it would be in constant motion? The route of the tower would make it slow down on the curved edges, with slowest speed to be above Manhattan in New York. Perhaps platforms moving at exact same speed as the tower would allow ‘passengers’ (residents?) on and off. The varying speed against earth surface is not specified in the project description. How will this building react to extreme weather? Would it sway in strong winds? This is a really exciting proposal, I am curious to see if it will be realised.
Analemma Tower: fig.5 Above Manhattan. Fig. 6 View from street level (visuals by Clouds Architecture Office)
Fig. 7 Analemma tower elevation (drawing by Clouds Architecture Office)
During Part One of Unit 2 the most important things I learnt were:
How to have fun in design process… I was actually quite stressed about this assignment as I was stuck not knowing what to do for ages. And as I was taking a photo of the barbie doll with the cake stand in my kitchen (context for baking) I felt joy. And not only because this was last task or this very difficult assignment, I enjoyed placing it in this conext and seeing how it works.
Talking to other students and tutors/ designers helps to get your creative juices flowing.
Looking back I enjoyed the model making and lego building most. The latter was especially ‘freeing’ as I just built, not knowing what will come out of it. It was just really hard to come up with a function of my model and then creating a story. Something I need to develop – abstract creativity with a goal.
Yesterday I spent whole day wandering in the central London in the company of my fellow students. We spent day looking at architecture, specific designs, visiting showrooms and being a part of the hustle and bustle of this busy city.
I watched ‘Sketches of Frank Gehry’ and ‘Manifesto by Frank Gehry’.
I observed that Frank Gehry’s creative process is a bit like mine. I have previously noted that the hardest is to start, therefore I procrastinate. And once I start it is all much easier. Gehry made a similar observation about his own process. Perhaps it is like that for most people.
Mr Gehry mixes art with architecture – I would dare to say he is an ‘art-chitect’. He takes risk with his creations, wants them to be unusual – the ‘weirder’ the better. He is a visionary who often seems to be setting the precedent rather than look for one. Interestingly he did not fit amongst other architects but found a support group amongst artists.
He makes models, then changes them. After that, he does not like what he created. He continues to look and contemplate. He wants to find out what exactly needs changing to make him like it more. His model making process uses trial and error, but a slow and carefully considered one. Putting model together makes him discover the next step or a different feature. He believes accidents are sometimes failures, but they are important step in the design process. He spends time to find something good in them. Frank believes project drawings and models are lifeless, but once the built is complete, the intended energy shows. Some of his model shapes look like they could be built using Lego bricks – yet very original, complicated shapes.
Like Charles Eames, Frank Gehry is a problem solver.
He involves his team in looking and contemplating and implementing changes. A lot of the design process is looking together and having constant conversations about the model. Frank relies on his team, they have long standing relationships, communicate well, and understand one another.
He is great materials researcher.
Introducing CAD technology into model making and design process allowed Frank to design more freely and gave him more artistic flexibility, while being clearer to the contractors and leaving less room for their interpretation. Sketch models are still important for him to understand and see how the elements work together.
As a child Frank played ‘master planning’ with his grandmother – building entire cities using toy blocks. He also loved drawing as a child and was considered talented by his teacher. Perhaps this is when it all started.
Being a painter is Frank’s dream. Despite being so artistic he never tried it, he said he would not know how to. He believes painting and architecture have something in common – surface.
Function is always at the heart of his designs. Whether its art, education, leisure etc. the design must fulfil this priority, his ideas come second.
When creating he thinks outside of the box – for example he looked at a painting (‘Christ mocked’ by H. Bosh) as a composition and fed this composition into the design. He understands light and its effect on the spaces. When the process is too easy, he thinks it is wrong – he believes design process has to be difficult to be exciting.
Brief is sanctity for Frank, meeting the brief is the priority for him. Frank absorbs what client says – not only the words, but also the atmosphere around them and the whole mood in the room, the smell, the light… Then he comes up with the model.
He also looks at the context, the surroundings and decides how the new design will act in response to pre-existing buildings. For example, Walt Disney Concert Hall’s shapes relate to those of Chandler buildings next door. Disney Hall structure is ‘broken into smaller pieces’ to give it own identity.
I chose spectacles case from the previous exercise.
Fig. 1 – Fig. 4 shows my object laying or standing on side. It occupies space, defines the windowsill below it by simply sitting on it and casting a shadow. It also contains space that is invisible in this setup, nevertheless I know it is there. Also, space contained between the windowsill and curved / lifted of the ground edges is worth mentioning.
Fig. 1 Laying on the bottom.
Fig. 2 Standing on the back.
Fig. 3 Laying on the top.
Fig. 4 Standing on the front.
Fig. 5 and 6 show the open case. Here the items are containing the space and defining it in similar but more obvious way than in fig. 1-4. The ways are more visible because the angles are sharper. Fig. 5 is 50/50 containing and defining the space. Fig. 6 is more containing that defining but still does both. The inside is containing, the outside is defining.
Fig. 5 Open Upwards.
Fig. 6 Open Downwards.
Reflection on the task:
It was another first for me. Perhaps that is one of the ways to look for inspiration. Play with everyday objects, position, manipulate them to enhance imagination. Fig. 6 could be a tent or a pitched roof, Fig. 1 could be a low bench, maybe even with storage. I think any object could contain or define the space, depending how we look at it. A house obviously contains space, but if you look at the exterior, the walls and roof define the space within it.
Unit 2, Part 1, Exercise 5.2: Person – SPACE – Context
Fig 1. Three Objects
Spectacles Case:
Hard and smooth, very slightly ribbed on the outside.
Hard, durable material (plastic) covered in leather (or leatherette) on the outside.
The leather is creasing on the internal edges.
Small surface imperfection on the bottom of the case, hidden by the leather, but the bump visible in the shape of the surface
Thin layer of padding and soft, velvet on the inside
Etched logo on one side
Dark blue on outside and charcoal on the inside
Silver coloured, metal hinge on one of longer sides
If let to close freely the case makes a clapping noise
Fits on straight hand
The padding on the inside of the case can be lifted slightly.
Tea Infuser
Pug shaped, with tea infusing holes around the ‘abdomen’ area.
Silicone of varying thickness – thinner and flexible where the holes are, thicker and firmer in all other places.
Tea compartment would fit up to three teaspoons of dry tea
Cream in colour
The square design of outstretched front paws allows it to be hung on the inside of a mug.
Warm to touch
Fits in palm of hand
Hair Roller
Tube Shape
Pink, loop design nylon thread on the outside, sicks out about 3mm
The thread is thin and strong
Thread pattern grips to the hair
Outside makes soft noise when rubbed.
White, semi translucent plastic the inside
Ribbed design, that follows the perimeter of the circle to allow the thread attachment, interconnected by perpendicular elements that connect bot ends of the tube.
Slightly soft, bendable by hand
This item would fit in a cube with side length of index finger, height width and length seem equal.
Reflection on the task:
Interesting task it reminds me of the quote by Vicco Magistretti ‘Look at usual things with unusual eyes.’ I struggled not to describe the ‘feel’ of the objects, perhaps because I am so used to having feelings and opinions in response to objects and anything else. Also, some elements of the design were hard to describe with words, annotated drawing would have been easier.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1 Shuttleworth, A (2021) Three Objects. [Photograph] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Hannah is a 40-year-old professional baker who runs her business from home in Manchester. She is divorced and lives with two teenage sons and two cocker spaniels. She enjoys long country walks. On the weekends that her boys spend time with their dad (and the time allows) she likes to go for a day trip or a weekend in the Lake District. She is a talented baker who creates beautiful and personalised cakes and cupcakes to order. In her spare time, she tends to her garden which is her pride and joy. Whenever she can she hosts dinner parties for her close friends.
Hannah grew up in the Lake District and only moved out to Manchester as an adult. She met her husband there; they started a family and bought a house together. They got divorced in 2016 but remained on good terms. Hannah got to keep their family home located in northern suburbs. Hannah always had a passion for baking and used to work as an office manager in Manchester City Centre. When COVID-19 pandemic hit she was made redundant. She decided to use her redundancy pay to invest in a baking business. She already had all the skills – baking and business management.
In near future she would like her house extended to fit a larger kitchen and utility space. Extra space, supplies, storage, and appliances will have their space and she will have a nice family kitchen once she is finished with work for the day. Nice, new kitchen will also be a perfect backdrop for her social media material – essential for growing this type of business. Once the business has grown to a point of employing help, she would like to convert her garage to become new business premises. Later on in life, she would like to buy a second home in the Lake District – somewhere she could unwind and go for those long country walks.
Reflection on the task:
That was quite an unexpected exercise. To ‘create’ a person. At first, I created three mind maps to help me organise my ideas. Once I came up with those ‘facts’ about Hannah, I just typed it all out in the matter of minutes. It was very easy. I wonder if creative writers also draw mind maps to help them organise their ideas before sitting down to writing. It definitely helped me!
Fig 1 Now
Fig. 2 History
Fig. 3 Aims
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) Now. [Digital MindMap] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
Fig. 2 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) History. [Digital MindMap] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
Fig. 3 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) Aims. [Digital MindMap] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
I had some lego blocks so finding the material was easy. For the people I used some figures in scale 1:50 (I got them during unit 1 work). There was not a process as such apart from a bit of thinking and planning how to proceed with first layer layout. Then I just went with a flow, seeing what blocks I could put next for the design to work. I tried to make model 4 looking less chaotic by grouping the colours together, where possible
Model 1 and 2 are little ‘chaotic’ as I did them before I organised my lego blocks by size, after wich I built model 3 and 4.
At first I did not like model 1 at all, but now I really like its irregular mass. Model one could be an outdoor piece of art / place to hang out, but could also be a very interesting looking house.
Model 2 could also be a building or perhaps just a piece of art, but I am yet to come with a purpose. I have a feeling people could not sit on the ledges in a way my figure does – health and safety would never allow it.
Model 3 could be structure with elevated viewpoints on the ‘balconies’.
Model 4 could be a tiny house, a pavilion, a kiosk or a shed.
Charles and Ray Eames were a married couple who started working together in 1941 and revolutionised American interiors with their practical and playful designs. Charles trained as an architect and Ray as a painter, but the scope of their work went far beyond their professional training. They were always working as a team, Charles often creating the design and Ray embellishing it, making it attractive. They were active in the chauvinist era and Charles always made sure he recognised his wife’s input and stressed how the designs were the work of both, not just his. Their process involved repetitions of many steps, going backwards and forwards until the solution was found. Their mission statement said, ‘We want to make the best for the most for the least.’ It sums up they wanted to deliver quality, affordable, mass produced goods, that anyone can have.
Play was an important part of their processes. They must have realised that letting go and just playing let their creative juices flow.
In the Design Q&A Interview Charles Eames described their design process as solution to problems, response to the need. He also mentions drawing on precedent work as necessary tool. He considered design usually to be a result of group work.
I admire them and their work, the whole story of their lives, how they first came to establish the Eames Office (funds came from government contract – they solved a problem for the army during WW2 by designing plywood splints that were lighter than metal and didn’t use this valuable during conflict years material), how they worked together and how through play and hard work created so many iconic pieces.
I think the important part in all this for me is the realisation how important the ‘play’ in design is and to get lost in the ‘play’ tasks coming up. Also, to recognise the need and then repeat the design process steps as many times as necessary, until it works and the problem has been solved.
List Of Illustrations:
Fig. 1 Shuttleworth, A (2021) Eames Design Process Mind Map. [Digital Drawing / Mind Map] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
In Drawing 1 I tried to explore all aspects I included in my written mind map, including even the maintenance. In Drawing 2 I decided to concentrate on spaces, I was happy with my drawings. However, I decided to make the whole arrangement more uniform by drawing thicker frames around my spaces.
It was a good practice of quick sketching of ideas in plan and elevation. I enjoyed ‘fine-tuning’ my mini drawings with details such as tiles, floor surfaces or wooden kitchen counter surface. I think I starting to get the wood texture in drawings.
As I was about to upload this post, I decided I wanted to mark sources of light with yellow, and highlight windows, mirrors, and glass with blue colour. I think the whole arrangement looks more ‘alive’ with these small splashes of colour here and there…
Fig. 4 Repeating the process, Drawing no 4
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) Repeating the process, Drawing no 1. [Digital Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
Fig. 2 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) Repeating the process, Drawing no 2. [Digital Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
Fig. 3 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) Repeating the process, Drawing no 3. [Digital Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
Fig. 4 Shuttleworth, A. (2021) Repeating the process, Drawing no 4. [Digital Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom.
I visited Shadoxhurst in Kent this weekend. A lot of hoses here are new built, but I saw some characterful old buildings such us the one adjacent to old church’s grounds. It has interesting shape expressed in rounded gables.
I also saw what I thought was vernacular to my area. Perhaps weather boarded houses were a trend across England at some point.
Exercise 1: What is your creative or design process?
It is really hard to get the process written down since I haven’t been through a creative process much yet.
It is a linear process, but it goes back to certain tasks, many of them are repeated multiple times. I believe it would be an infinite process if not for a deadline. Also, I think the process can change depending on the project, if I have done something using similar materials, or same area, type of building then I would add drawing from my own work there too… The most important in my opinion fact is that you go back to previous tasks as needed, sometimes you need to take a step backwards to be able to move forward…
It is really hard to get the process written down since I haven’t been through a creative process much yet.
It is a linear process, but it goes back to certain tasks, many of them are repeated multiple times. I believe it would be an infinite process if not for a deadline. Also, I think the process can change depending on the project, if I have done something using similar materials, or same area, type of building then I would add drawing from my own work there too… The most important in my opinion fact is that you go back to previous tasks as needed, sometimes you need to take a step backwards to be able to move forward…
Brightly lit, multi stepped glass add on / retail display attached to a cubic shaped building.
The visible materials used are glass, curved glass, steel window frames and grey cladding.
The illumination from within the shop and on the brand signs is in perfect unison.
The plain colour palette makes the vibrant, colourful interior and display elements pop out through contrast.
I read a little bit about this project and the design relates to another Louis Vuitton building designed by Frank Gehry (Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris) and traditional Korean architecture.
When I looked at the photo for the first time, all I knew was that it’s a LV shop.
And at the time I saw a dress in the shape of the glass extension – the strapless, classic dress that has a tiny, wavy skirt attached around the hips.
I wonder if fashion inspired Frank Gehry too… I wouldn’t be surprised if it did, it is a high fashion shop.
I really like the contrast between the original and elegant shape and the pops of colour within it.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1 Joon Choi, Y (2019) Louis Vuitton Manson Seoul [Photograph] At:
In Unit 1 I went through a design process, but each step was undertaken once and in specific order. The process was not complete. I want to understand and develop my own design process order.
In Unit 1 model making was a bit hard as it was completely new to me. I want to get more experience at model making and researching materials necessary for those tasks.
I want to broaden my research skills in a way that I can concisely present my finings in a professional way.
I want to expand my creativity so I can design a unique, beautiful small dwelling at the end of unit 2.
I want to improve my hand drawing and IT skills, so they don’t stand in the way of my creativity.
I consider my recent feedback to be a very positive one, I received a lot of praise from my tutor with only a few things to reconsider.
My tutor noted that my skills and confidence improved throughout unit 5. She also complimented me on thoroughness, attention of detail and amount of work I put in.
My observation that software knowledge is a tool to enable creativity was correct.
My tutor noticed that I took on board her previous comment about reworking a design which resulted in great progress.
My research was in depth and on topic. I observed relevant points and described them in a way that my tutor approved. Acknowledging the view of my pavilion from the racecourse showed my consideration of the design from all aspects.
My tutor noticed that certain examples from my precedents feed into my design, but I had practical aspects of my location in mind. My tutor said it was the point of the precedent research: to inspire my design and it happened in this case. I got a ‘well done for speaking to suppliers’ as they are an invaluable source of knowledge on materials and their processing.
My tutor especially liked my cardboard pavilion model with scale people. She mentioned that making a quick model helps understand the design better, especially if I am stuck on drawing phase. Model gives 3D dimensions, and I can physically see how things go together and look from different aspects. Making my final model certainly helped me to understand what I want and what I do not want in my design and really aided my understanding of side elevation of my pavilion.
My software skills are improving (Adobe fresco and photoshop) and continued experimenting with them is encouraged. My tutor particularly liked my pavilion drawing that I did for materiality exercise. Sadly, I lost some of the designs elegance when I was making dimensions decisions as I was worried about sturdiness of the structure. It seems that as I am improving with creative software my creativity improves as well. Additional drawing exercises (such as life drawing) will help me to ‘see’ as drawing is about the ability to observe. My tutor noted that adobe fresco seems to be working for me. I think it is because of ease of selecting colours exactly as intended and erasing errors does not leave ugly marks as it would on the sheet of paper. Also drawing over images (such as a picture of my model for amended visual) helps me get drawings more correct. Therefore, the outcomes seem more elegant. I continue discovering new features in the program as I go along. I really enjoy digital drawing, more than by hand.
I received some pointers for the future. When designing the public space, I should include all users (e.g., incorporate wheelchair turning point, make sure my entrance is wide enough and seating at correct height). Now I know minimum wheelchair turning circle has diameter of 1500mm. Internal diameter of the bottom ring is 1600mm in my design, and it is a little tight, especially if we consider another user (or a bench) that may be inside. My tutor made a comment about my seating being too high, but that was intentional, like ‘lean on’ benches we see at bus stops. I did not feel there was enough space in the interior to have a bench, also people seating down take even more space than standing/ leaning. It all must be reconsidered as I am not sure if aging population will be comfortable leaning back on something that is not next to a secure wall. The point of this bench was so people could lean on it and gaze upwards while inside my pavilion.
My technical drawings start to look and feel as professional drawings.
I was reminded to add ground line to elevations (so they are not floating in space). My tutor also advised me to annotate the technical drawings. There is plenty of space around and people rarely look at the title block, so I included some additional information and added them to my section drawings.
My tutor suggested to try and take photos of the interior of my model, to show users interior view. It was a little awkward to get the camera in but not impossible. What a great piece of advice!
My tutor said that she enjoyed my final visual, but my site photo choice was not the best as the red bin was stealing the attention. I redrew my pavilion from different perspective (using adobe fresco over a photo of my model) making the beams more slender and placed it on a different photo from my previous site research. I absolutely agree with my tutor, this visual is better at ‘selling’ the design.
My tutor said my level of reflection is ‘really good as it shows my critical and measured approach’. It is great that I was already suggesting alternative designs when I was not too happy with all aspects of my design. I had also been told to not be too hard on myself, as I am just starting my learning journey.
My tutor mentioned I correctly reflected on jumping back and forth between tasks in design process, she said I will experience it again in next part of the course. I am excited to be starting next unit soon.
Part 5, finally finished. It was the toughest so far. Because it was hard, I learnt a lot. For example, doing each part of the design once is not enough. I should have allowed more time and repeat some parts of the process. At each step you discover that you need to redo something at previous step. I feel my design is unfinished. If I were to have my pavilion built, I would have to go back and refine the details (such as wire placements and perhaps review wire attachments and the shape of the entrance). I also could have drawn the rings as bent slices of wood. I realise that the rings could not be infinite circles, yet I did not include the arch connecting detail in any of my drawings. There are other mistakes I noticed that I mentioned in my blog. Yet it took so long to draw all these details. Nevertheless, I am pleased with the outcome. I am very new to this, and my design skills fell victim of my imagination. I think it is brilliant I came out with a difficult shape; I just need to improve my drawing skills so next time there will be no shortfalls. On top of that I need to improve my time management skills and plan better in future.
I really like how wires on technical drawing on screen convey ‘moire’ effect I had in mind. It would look even better in shiny stainless steel in real life.
One of the most difficult and satisfying tasks in this exercise was drawing the top rings in side elevation. It took some time to work out what it should look like.
The entrance in plan view was also really tricky. Initially it looked like this:
I realised that I never included the material of legs – it’s stainless steel.
I’m afraid I encountered a ‘design fail’ in my technical drawing. Side elevation wires have a gap that is not attractive. To fix that I would need to change the design of the entrance and/ or positioning of the wires. Unfortunately time restraints did not allow it. I feel I should have discovered it at previous exercise (design development). Someone once said that design development can go forever and I think I have a perfect example here. If I had a time restraint like this in ‘real’ design life, I would probably submit what I have to the client and propose the following versions around the entrance.
I particularly like version 2. The entrance is circular in the top and goes straight down the sides (rather than narrowing like in original design). I think wires in ray like position would give even better moire effect as well.
Another solution would be to do what I did in model building. I attached the wires to the back of the entrance and therefore they went ‘lower’ on the frame.
During the process of technical drawing I decided that some of the wires attachments around the entrance would be different to the rest of them. I opted for a different mount, a vertical type, that would have to be installed at the same angle that the wire meets the frame.
It’s all very complicated and I feel that more research and development work is needed.
I also realise I didn’t do all wires as I should have. I.e. I didn’t use guidelines to place them on relevant spots on the frame. Instead I just spread them evenly in elevation views even though it would not look like that. They would be closer together towards the edges of the view and further apart in the centre of the view. It took such a long time to draw and position all the wires. I think I spent around 40 hours on technical drawing task. I was thinking lines, I was dreaming lines… I kept thinking of contextual study about lines from previous exercise. I was very grateful for the existence of guidelines, without them this task would have been impossible.
I feel I should have started with ‘rough’ technical drawing, followed up by scale model building and then refined technical drawing.
I think in design work you would normally jump back and forth between such tasks as you refine the design. Here I did them once and in specific order.
I built my model in scale 1:20. I used model foam sheets, wood sticks, white thread, dowels sharpened with pencil sharpener. At first I was using removable glue dots to ensure right proportions and stability of the frame. Later on I used super glue to make it more rigid. I painted all wood elements with white spray paint.
I imported some of my iPad people drawings on to cad and scaled them to be approx 1650mm high, then I printed them in scale 1:20 and attached to pieces of cardboard.
The process of building this model was not easy. I chose such a complicated shape! I had to research model building materials, tried balsa wood (difficult to cut neat circles without specialist tools) and metal wire for wires (difficult to position without piercing the foam).
I’m happy with my model, despite it being a bit rough around the edges. I can think of two ways my model could have been neater:
1. Creating a 3d version of it in software and the printing it on a 3D printer. This option also wouldn’t inform me how each piece relates to other pieces.
2. Getting specialist model building electric tools and building the whole frame from wood.
Both of these options were outside of my already overstretched budget.
I believe I started this exercise when creating my drawing for materiality sheet. I opened one of my previous hand drawings in Adobe Fresco app and started drawing on top of it. Here is the process: (Fig. 1 – fig. 6)
Fig. 1 – fig. 6
As in this exercise I am meant to look at function and whether the size is big enough I had to work out my initial design into maximum dimensions required. So I looked at my brief again and worked out I would like the biggest circle diameter to be 3300mm which fits within 9m2. Then I worked out my head room in the doorway to be 2200mm in the tallest point. It is quite tall for the door but I need to have in mind that it will be lower to the sides.
I set maximum height at 5900mm giving me 100mm space just in case I later decide to create base for the pavilion.
I drew these dimensions in cad, including 200mm beam thickness for reference. I then saved it as a .jpg and imported to a drawing app on my iPad.
I drew and experimented with the front elevation view of my pavilion. I even created one with background (by drawing over a photo of relevant view) and one with shadow (even though usual elevation drawings would not include it). (Fig. 7 – fig. 26)
Fig. 7 – fig. 26
Then it was time to move to side elevation. (Fig. 27 – fig. 30)
It was really tricky as the top ‘ring’ is at an angle (I’ll let cad tell me later what angle this is) therefore it cannot be just flat rectangle in side view. The entrance was also really tricky. As I’m typing it up I can see that side view with entrance facing left contains quite a few errors. Such as the beam not reaching to ring in correct place and top ring positioning and angle in general.
That is something I’ll correct when completing technical drawing for my design.
I think I best work out details of that when drawing technical in cad later on.
Fig. 27 – fig. 30
Then I moved to drawing back elevation. It was simple to do by drawing over front elevation with only major difference being the angle of top circle and front/back reversed (Fig. 31 – fig. 32)
Fig. 31 – fig. 32
After that I needed to workout my rings diameters. I already knew that the largest, middle ring will have external diameter of 3300mm and internal 2900mm. I needed to work out other diameters.
I used the image of front elevation drawing with visible cad guidelines. I cropped it as close to external rectangle of guidelines and then inserted the image into cad. I then resized the image to fit into a 3300 x 5900mm box. From this point I was able to roughly (but still fairly accurately) work out my other rings diameters by drawing and measuring lines on them.
After that I was able to place the rings on my floor plan drawing. I centred them in the same spot (for even weight distribution and stability of my structure). I’m not sure if I should have pictured top ring (smallest one) as a slight oval because it’s angled. I find it really confusing. I can use the similar way later in CAD (or even by hand) to work out the angles in my pavilion. At this point I’m starting to think that it may be easier to build a model in cad (or perhaps real life model will help me enough) (Fig. 33)
Fig. 33
Drawing the entrance in plan view has been quite tricky, a semi ring at an angle! I think oval represents it better (Fig. 34 – 35)
Fig. 34 – 35
The lowest ring (middle one on the plan) will be at knee level and will be the most space restricting feature. I worked out its internal diameter at approximately 1600mm. It took me a some time to work out if it is enough to move around. In the end I measured my outstretched arms span and it is almost the same. So I was able to imagine that it would be enough space at knee level for two people. The place will feel roomier than that as the diameter widens until it reaches 2900mm internally at the largest ring level which is way above average eye line. I am not sure if I should include any seating. Perhaps a small two person bench opposite the entrance (if any).
I have been doing a lot of thinking about how my pavilion will be put together. I called Honeysuckle Bottom Sawmill and they said you cannot bend thick pieces of wood and that they don’t provide curved braces (despite their website saying otherwise).
After this news I was thinking of other ways of creating wooden circles for my structure. I found a local furniture restoration company and I spoke to the owner who has wealth of experience in steam bending wood.
He advised me that it is not possible to bend thick pieces of timber. For my thickness of 200mm x 200mm he would slice them lengthways into 1mm slices and then steam bend and then laminate them together. I asked about drilling and attaching things to the laminated side (top being plane of wood, side where you see slices). I found out it should not be a problem.
He also said that oak is not the best choice for bending and that ash is much more suitable for this purpose. I decided to change my wood choice to ash following his advice.
I am a little worried about the context. I selected oak for reasons specified in my Materiality sheet and gave all the reasons why… Ash is a local tree, I have one (according to a tree surgeon) at the bottom of my garden…
In late 2020 I needed to make a drawing for our carpenter to build these boxes at work. Normally I would just give him one but we need them daily and they started to fall apart. So I decided to practice my new skills and draw what he needs to do.
This along with photos of the old box were explanatory enough for him to build them to my specification.
Peckham Box hand drawings
The images above are of final version. After I gave the contractor the initial drawing, I was asked what is the error margin. I did it with comments on maximum an minimum dimensions that were important for the design to work (I needed to measure the space in storage for these boxes and the jewellery pads to ascertain this). In the mean time I created CAD drawing based on one of the former measurements (just for fun and practice of it).
Today I was trying to work out how to create and insert title box, I decided to work on my old Peckham Box drawing. Here it is, a CAD drawing with title box.
Peckham box CAD drawing with title box
Here is what the old box looks like:
I am still awaiting new boxes for Peckham, in the meantime had some built for another shop. I was pleased my drawings were sufficient to make something.
Oak – durable and beautiful wood. It refers to local area. There are English oaks growing in local woods. According to Woodland Trust English Oak is ‘the 2nd most common tree variety in the UK and a national symbol of strength.’ I would like to use this traditional material as a nod to the local aging community, who will hopefully appreciate its nobility. The wood can be used for outside projects, and it will be very durable if it is properly treated. I would like to treat the oak frame with a clear, UV protecting oil that will show of the natural colour and pattern of the wood. I presume I will have to choose fresh sawn oak (also called ‘green). It will need to be weathered for 6 weeks before applying oil. I would like my structure to be sustainable and durable so the treatment will need to be repeated periodically.
I found a local supplier called Honeysuckle Bottom Sawmill (http://www.surrey-oak.com/) who supply the wood and bespoke curved braces to curve the timber to project specifications. Their products are sustainably and locally sourced. They even supplied wood to film sets.
Fig. 1 Shaped or curved beams
Stainless steel – an alloy composing of chromium and other metals. Chromium reacts with oxygen creating a protective film. Stainless steel is strong, low maintenance, corrosion resistant, sustainable, recyclable (does not deteriorate through recycling), aesthetic and functional. I chose it for its appearance and suitability for an outdoor project.
The wires are simply surface mounts and balustrade wires. They are made to measure and supplied by S3i Group (located in the UK). The ball and socket design allows up to 42 degrees angle.
Fig. 2 Surface Mount Balustrade Wire
Fig. 3 Balustrade wire passing through an intermediate post.
The components I used – wood and metal wire are a high-end nod to farm fencing. It has a loose connection with horses on Epsom Downs and the fact the local area used to be a farmland not so long ago. The warmth of natural oak should provide comfort for users and the wires add interest without spoiling the view.
I continued drawing digitally over a template. In the last drawing I tried to change pose slightly to the template. I wanted the figure to look more likely to be in an interior so I added a drink. Hands and feet are still very tricky. Life drawing seems much easier when you see the body you draw. This time I also experimented with just silhouettes. I watched some videos on how to draw people in architecture and tried to draw a general silhouette afterwards. Still a lot to learn, but it’s an enjoyable journey.
My tutor suggested to practice drawing people. I felt particularly inspired after recent oca life drawing session. I also wanted to experiment more with new drawing ‘gear’ I got recently.
I downloaded an image of female body proportions, made it less opaque and drew over it in another layer. I believe if I keep drawing this way I will get the hang of the proportions. Hands and feet are still very tricky, but the guides helped a lot. Third figure, at a slight angle seems to be the most useful for interior design visualisations. I realise this body type may not be most representative, or inclusive, but I’ll get to those later, when I understand proportions better.
I also watched ‘Life drawing live’ on bbc catch up and attempted the last pose (19 mins). Below is my brave attempt.
Today I took part in my first ever life drawing session organised by oca (on zoom). It was difficult but I enjoyed it very much. All drawings done on iPad, in Adobe fresco app, with pencil brush. Hopefully there’ll be more sessions like that.
I completed my drawings using automatic 0.9 pencil, HB. I just love how the pencil glides on paper.
I looked at my drawings from previous exercise and decided to go in that direction. First, I played with the shape of the entrance (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1
Then using tracing paper I redrew them with shaded entrance option, I liked rounded option most and the bigger drawing was my last drawing on this page. (Fig. 2)
Fig. 2
I quite like the rounded, shaded entrance but after drawing it in side elevation I did not like it as much (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3
Using tracing paper, I drew the shape again, but this time with more simple entrance (fig. 4). I felt like the shape of my pavilion is somehow inspired by ‘Gherkin’ building in London.
Fig. 4
As much as I was happy with proportions and aesthetics of my design I kept worrying that for it to be translucent and light it would have to be made either of glass (heavy and expensive) or pvc (unsustainable and also pricey). Also, I was afraid that on a warm day it would turn into a ‘glass house’ despite many gaps and opening in the roof.
It took me a while to come up with the next design (Fig. 5 & 6). Funnily enough it was Peckham Library pods that inspired me. The three legs and rounded shape are ‘borrowed’ from there. I have not decided what material it will be yet. There are some options that I will explore further in next exercise. Using string as in Oasis Pavilion may be an option, I found that interior very peaceful.
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
I loved using tracing paper in this exercise. It made it quite easy to repeat the proportions that I wanted to keep.
Fig. 7 – Fig. 11
Lastly, I decided to photograph my model with some scale figures (Fig. 12). As ‘tried them on’ I realised the supporting columns are too high, so I shortened them. Now sadly the entrance is a little lower than I would have liked, but this is just my first model and I think it shows my idea well.
Fig. 12
To me this whole task was the most difficult so far. It is hard to think of the design but only concentrate on one aspect of it. I keep thinking about the materials, the brief does not specify whether it will be a permanent or temporary structure… We also have no budget (which may be a good thing at this stage). It was interesting to see how I came from my first drawing in Exercise 2.3 (https://aggievideoblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/fig.-1.jpeg) to this model.
I realised that shape was not practical for my pavilion. The gaps on the sides would take too much of the maximum 9m2 footprint, so usable interior space would be too small. I do not consider creating this model a waste of time as it inspired me further and I started ‘doodling’ some ideas.
Fig. 6 – 7. Doodle 1 – 2
The idea is a rounded structure on an oval shaped plan. The structure narrows as it goes up, with a large circular opening in the roof and gaps between sheer components of the walls. The oval shape refers to the Tattenham corner sharp bend in the racecourse, the large opening in the roof is inspired by James Turrell’s work but also by precedent examples I studied (especially Serpentine Summer House and Oasis Pavilion). The sheer of the walls is inspired by Oasis Pavilion and the overall shape by cones on the Wicker Pavilion. I think the Wicker and Oasis Pavilions were the most peaceful from my precedent examples. I believe drawing inspiration from these will aid the function of my pavilion which is supposed to be a resting place for aging community. I decided to go for shades of green which is a naturally calm colour and further refers to the green surroundings of my pavilion and grass covered Epsom Downs racecourse nearby. The shape of my pavilion has been is also inspired by my drawing of the bush in form & light drawing. (https://aggievideoblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/fig.-6-form-light.jpg?w=1024)
Fig. 8 – 13 Idea Development 1 – 6
The last drawing in Fig. 13 specifies approximate dimensions, entrance and seating.
List of illustrations
Fig. 1 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Fluidity of shape. [Abstract drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 2 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Soundscapes model 1. [Photograph] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 3 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Soundscapes model 2. [Photograph] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 4 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Soundscapes model 3. [Photograph] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 5 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) View Upwards [Photograph] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 6 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Doodle 1 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 7 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Doodle 2 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 8 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Idea Development 1 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 9 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Idea Development 2 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 10 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Idea Development 3 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 11 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Idea Development 4 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 12 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Idea Development 5 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Fig. 13 Shuttleworth, A. (2020) Idea Development 6 [Drawing] In possession of: the author: Epsom
Serpentine Galleries Architecture Programme was expanded by additional four summer houses in 2016. Serpentine Summer House was one of them. It was located in London’s Kensington Gardens and was designed by Berlin studio; Barkow Leibinger.
Fig.1 Serpentine Summer House 1
In above image we can see the striking shape of structure in place of the roof. It has very fluid shape and openings on top allow plenty of gentle light in. The whole structure consists of curves, even the benches have unusual shapes. I think that sort of filtered light could aid relaxation in my pavilion.
Fig. 2 Serpentine Summer House Vision.
In the above image we can see the fantastic shapes implemented in the roof structure. The user looking up will be able to see the sky without being blinded by direct sunlight. I really like that idea. I also like the semi-openness of the structure. I think I could be able to think of something similar in my much smaller pavilion. The material used is plywood, I think that may not be my first choice of material as it would not be very durable in an outdoor setting. I think using limited materials and colours aids the relaxing atmosphere of the interior.
The Wicker Pavilion has been built as a part of Annecy Paysages landscape architecture festival in 2020. The structure is in Gardens of Europe, Annecy, France. It was designed by a Latvian firm – DJA (Didzis Jaunzems Architecture). The wicker baskets have been handwoven by Latvian craftsmen. The look of the pavilion will evolve with its age, becoming darker, grey in colour.
The overall form of the structure is rounded and organic. The structural elements and wicker baskets cast beautiful, geometrical patterns on the lawn below. The structure is semi open but the pattern on the ground sets boundaries of the zone – I like that. The simplicity of the materials and colour would aid the purpose of relaxation as well.
Fig. 1 Wicker Pavilion.
The pattern of interior makes it look busy, but in a beautiful way. I can certainly sense some movement there. We can also see how the arched opening is framing the beautiful view outside, I am sure the positioning of the pavilion has been carefully considered by the architects to get the best views. This is something I would like to achieve in my pavilion – a peaceful, relaxing space that is not only beautiful but also taking advantage of beautiful surroundings.
Fig. 2 Wicker Pavilion – View Through The Arch
The repetition of simple patterns (triangles on the frame, rectangles on the baskets and circular openings on top) aids the sense of movement in the interior. The round openings in the ceiling remind me of James Turrell’s work. The semi-transparent structure casts a soft shade, inviting the user in, on a hot day.
Fig. 3 Wicker Pavilion – Towards The Sky
Fig. 4 Wicker Pavilion – From Above
The shape and form of this pavilion reminds me of a giant hedgehog.
Location: China, Daiyue District, Tai’an City, adjacent to the Shenlong Grand Canyon, to the west of Mount Tai. Jiunvfeng Study is overlooking Mount Tai, which is (according to Unesco) ‘the most famous sacred mountain of China, with exceptional historic, cultural, aesthetic and scientific value.’
The pavilion has been completed in September 2019 and the construction process took only 6 months. The whole process and components have been designed to make it during the summer with suitable weather allowing the built.
Fig. 1 Location of Jiunvfeng Studio
The back wall is built from local stone, I would like to use local material in at least part of my project, to aid sustainability. The structure is built from light steel. I like how part of the structure incorporates the sheltered balcony that follows the shape of the roof. I think I could make my pavilion half indoor / half balcony under the roof – necessary with a glass banister like in Jiunvfeng Study – to allow undisturbed views. The interior is lit by led strips installed above white membrane, producing even, dispersed light. I like this solution but my pavilion (if I went with this lighting option) would need a softer, warmer light to provide more cosy, relaxing space at night.
Fig. 2 Jiunvfeng Studio At Night – Balcony
The interior of Jiunvfeng Study is peaceful, predominantly white with large windows allowing unobstructed views of the mountains. I like the idea of glass wall offering the views. I suspect that shape and colour of the roof would help keeping the interior cool on a hot day. This is something I am conscious when considering my pavilion, I would like to avoid a greenhouse effect in my interior.
Fig. 3 Jiunvfeng Studio – Interior
The pavilions shape is adapted to the terrain of the location. We can see it very clearly in Fig. 4 below. ‘My hill’ is different shape but I should have the surrounding terrain in mind when considering the shape of the building.
The Oasis Pavilion has been designed by a South Korean studio OBBA (Office for Beyond Boundaries Architecture). The built has been completed in July 2015. This temporary structure’s function was to provide a relaxation space for visitors to APMAP (AmorePacific Museum of Art Project) 2015. The exhibition was located in Amore Pacific R&D Center (Research and Development).
I chose this precedent due to similar function – resting place. I especially like the string curtains, their translucency, their movement. The atmosphere inside the pavilion seems serene. I think similar wall design in my pavilion would help keeping it cool on a sunny day, I must think of curtain screening (but using different material than string as the strings would get knotted in the wind).
Fig. 1 Oasis Pavilion – Exterior
The pavilion is placed outside and it seems to be getting sun all day long. It is interesting to see translucent shade created by sun entering through the circular opening in the ceiling and hitting the curtain.
Fig. 2 Oasis Pavilion – Interior 1
It looks light and peaceful. It is interesting to see the seats placed at different heights, some seem to be to high for seating.
Fig. 3 Oasis Pavilion – Interior 2
The circular opening in the roof allows the light in. It also made the whole structure less heavy allowing to use thinner supporting columns and smaller amount of them. The opening frames the sky in a similar manner to some of James Turrell’s works.
Fig. 4 Oasis Pavilion – Plan
On the plan drawing we can see how the designer intended for the space to be used. The space directly under the opening was meant for relaxing on the ground and gazing at the sky.
Design a Pavilion, no larger than 9m2 in footprint and no higher than 6m, on the hill, on Royal Drive, Tattenham Corner to provide a resting place for aging community.
I found these exercises helpful in selecting and learning about my site.
All information I gathered was useful. I enjoyed learning interesting facts about my area. I feel that the exercise that was most beneficial to my knowledge was researching the history of Tattenham Corner. I never had much interest in horse racing so it was great to find out that Tattenham Corner is not only a village but also a bend in the racecourse. I was particularly pleased when I found the website with old aerial photos (https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/) showing sites previous use. I must remember it for my future UK location research. I found all the research useful, even the weather patterns got me thinking about my future pavilion design and comfort of the user. Right now I feel that the design should have some reference to the horses or racing while taking advantage of the elevation and view from the site.
This time I decided to ‘explore’ my location in a digital way (to also brush up on my computer skills). I imported google maps image of my location to photoshop and drew over it to create my map. I chose to mark the proposed pavilion location in contrasting blue colour, so the viewer can see it immediately. Most residentail buildings on the map are detached, low rise houses, often in mock tudor style (dark brown on my map), village centre has a few higher rise blocks (light brown on the map, these buildings are no higher than 4 floors) which have shops, restaurants and other facilities on the ground floors.
Fig. 1 The location and surroundings map
After that it was quite easy to show sun path in relation to the location.
Fig. 2 Sun path
Sun path will be an important part of design. The location gets sun all day (on a sunny day) and the users’ comfort will need to be considered. Ideally the pavilion should be warm on a chilly day and not too hot on a warm day. The design will have to be centred around the best feature of the location – the view of the racecourse. As the location is elevated the viewer needs to look slightly down to see the fields. The benefit of that is that the sky is a massive part of the view. My design will have to be conscious of that.
Fig. 3 The wind
As the location is elevated and surrounded by open fields to the west and north, and low rise buildings to the east and south it can get quite windy. Most of the wind comes from the racecourse / west side. I live around a mile north (in straight line) of the location and I noticed that even in more built up , residential area the wind blows mainly from the racecourse. Apart from this local weather patterns are typical for South East England – wet and windy winters, and warm, sometimes hot, mild summers. I would like my pavilion to provide shelter from wind on cold days.
The location is next to Tattenham Corner Station, which has a direct, albeit infrequent (every 30 mins in peak) link to London Victoria Station. The location is well connected by road, ample parking is available nearby. There is also bus stop in the village – it takes 10 minutes to get to Epsom Town Centre.
Current use of the location – a green with some benches, viewpoint of the racecourse.
Historical events in or near the site.
The name Tattenham Corner comes from the famous, strategic, sharp bend on the eastern side of the racecourse also called Tattenham Corner. Looking at the image in fig. 4 I can see (from the position of the buildings in the distance) that that bend is in perfect view from our location. The image also shows the popularity of the Derby with large crowd of spectators gathered.
Fig. 4 The Derby – Tattenham Corner (1873)
Tattenham Corner rail station was built in the late 19th / early 20th century to serve ever so popular Epsom Derby. It is the nearest station to the racecourse. The area of the village was sparsely populated, mainly fields for farming and cattle pastures etc. prior to the development of the village that followed the opening of this transport hub.
Looks like our hill has been purposely made to provide exit and entrance to the train station. Nowadays there are no steps down and the hill has more organic, natural shape. The station building, we see here in fig. 5 has allegedly been knocked down by a drink-driving train operator. Currently the station sports a modern brick station building.
According to Ruppert Mathews (The History Man blog) my location hill was created to level station area and to provide exclusive viewpoint of the derby for senior rail employees and their guests. Nowadays, the hill is said to be always packed on the race days.
Tattenham Corner village housed (amongst many other facilities) a café. That café has become an engineering site, producing military components during WW2. The site later reverted to a restaurant, sadly it was later demolished to make space for the current Belmont Garage building (which offers little aesthetic value).
The racecourse itself has a rich history. The races are believed to have started in the 1640s, following the discovery of Epsom Salts. They were later banned by the Commonwealth and resumed in 1661. By 1780 Epsom Downs Derby was a major sporting event and an opportunity for a day out to Londoners. The Derby Day attracted both aristocracy and workmen. Illegal gambling and bare-knuckle boxing matches were providing extra thrill to the visitors.
On 4th of June 1913, a protesting suffragette, Emily Davison stepped in front of the Kings horse during the derby at Tattenham Corner part of the racecourse. She never regained consciousness and died soon after.
During WW1 Epsom Downs was an assembly point for troops.
Bouchard, B. (2017) Tattenham Corner Restaurant, Tattenham Corner, Epsom, A Production Facility For Epsom Engineering Company Ltd In WW2. At: https://eehe.org.uk/?p=29881 (Accessed 28/09/2020)
I visited my location on a nice and sunny day, around midday. The view from the hill was stunning as usual. I was lucky with the weather, my drawings, experiences and observations would have been very different if the weather was horrible.
Mapping:
Fig. 1 Mapping
I referenced the layout of the space against google maps images on my phone. The top of the hill is easily accessed from the direction of Tattenham Corner station. The west and south-west facing hill edge is quite steep, not easily accessible from that side. Top of the hill is quite flat, ‘furnished’ with scattered trees and benches. All the benches are facing west or south-west – towards the view. There are quite tall shrubs on the north-west edge of the hill, providing the barrier between the calm, natural space and the car park. The road between the hill and the racecourse is fairly busy but because of the difference in elevation the traffic noise isn’t overpowering. Royal Drive is on similar level to the hill and cars moving there are creating more perceived noise than on the busy road below (despite traffic on royal drive being quite slow)
Occupying Space:
Fig. 2 My Route
I entered from the car park side, chose an empty bench, and sat there for a while. The view from benches reminds me of views usually seen from infinity pools –I could not see the road below, the hill edge merged with the Racecourse fields. The edge of the hill is quite steep so not too nice to be there. Also, the road below is visible from the edge and ruins the view. I walked back as the arrows indicate, between the trees. I marked shades cast by trees, I think these areas are very important especially on a hot day.
Observing Behaviour:
Fig. 3 Observing behaviour
The space was quite busy, some people came and went as I spent my time there, others were there when I arrived and stayed after I left. All the users seemed to be visiting this space for the beautiful views and tranquil atmosphere. People there are relaxed, happy, friendly. Of course, we must not forget the people walking in the racecourse. If I locate my pavilion on this hill, it will be visible from the racecourse.
Soundscapes:
Fig. 4 Soundscapes
I closed my eyes and listened. Unwelcome sounds were the loudspeaker voice (pink) and breaking glass (purple). The other sounds were ok, not quite music but not unpleasant either. The ladies chatting nearby had infectious giggle. As I started describing my drawing in fig. 4 I realised I should have placed the sounds on a map. So I quickly drew a map and placed my sounds on it.
Fig. 4a Soundscapes mapped
Touch, Smell & Emotions
Fig. 5 Touch, smell & emotions
I closed my eyes to contemplate the space this way. I felt warmth of sun on my skin with an occasional, cooling blow of light wind. I realise that had I visited the space on a less glorious day that drawing would be very different. I touched the soft grass under my feet, it was cool and springy. I felt a smooth, metal surface of the bench under my skin. I tried to draw these experiences as I concentrated on them.
Form & Light
Fig. 6 Form & Light
It was a bright, sunny day so the contrast between light and shade was stark. I tried to capture the contrast of it on a black metal bench. The sun was shining from the left front side ,making some slats black and some shiny and light. The trees were casting lovely big shades, the shape of the trees complex and simple at the same time. Another interesting form was the large group of overgrown shrubs between the hill and car park. I tried to depict the general shape and patterns within it.
Epsom is a historical market town located in North Surrey, on the southern outskirts of London (around 15 miles from Central London), just inside the M25. During 2011 Census the population of Epsom was counted at 32311.
Main historical events that contributed to towns development were:
The early 17th century discovery of Epsom Salts in a spring in Epsom Common led to the town becoming a popular spa destination.
Epsom Derby is one of the oldest and most renowned horse races. It began in the spa period and continues to this day. Epsom Downs Racecourse is home to Epsom Derby. It is located on the outskirts of Epsom, amongst woods, fields, and small, picturesque villages.
During Covid-19 crisis this year I walked often around the racecourse area and even then, I started to assess prospective suitable locations for my pavilion. Initially I considered area just south of the racecourse, still within recourse grounds. I later dismissed it due to likely access issues.
I noticed the area was popular with walkers, and I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to take shelter on a hot or rainy day, to take a break. I decided to look for a suitable location around the racecourse. I used my first-hand knowledge of which spots are specifically popular as rest areas, and unsurprisingly these are the ones with the best view.
Number 1 in fig. 1 shows small hill overlooking the racecourse, there are already some benches for people to relax on. The view over the racecourse is stunning. This location is also very close to Tattenham Corner Rail Station, and village facilities. For the purposes of this task I titled this spot as Location 1.
Number 2 in fig. 1 shows another location with a north facing view of central London and beyond. On days with particularly good air clarity a viewer can even notice Wembley stadium on the horizon. For the purposes of this task I titled this spot as Location 2.
Each of the locations could do with a pavilion:
Location 1 is very near train station, so could be a nice spot to spend a few minutes before or after your journey, especially in winter weather – the view it would provide would make the space more attractive than even the fanciest station facilities. The train service is infrequent (every 30 mins in peak time), so any unlucky commuter who missed their train could de-stress there.
Location 2 is next to a very busy 40m/h road. It can get quite noisy. There also are no benches, so the space is more for people who drive and who often bring their own seating to relax while they admire the London skyline. A pavilion there could be a good idea as certain construction types could provide noise shelter; it could also have some seating for those unable to bring own chair.
After careful consideration I decided to go with Location 1. Mainly because it has a guaranteed view of the racecourse – regardless, the weather and visibility. I also like it because it is more elevated than location 2. I think pavilion there will be more practical too. People can admire the view at location 2 without leaving their car, location 1 does not have that option so a pavilion there will be more useful than at location 2. There also could be a legal issue in Location 2 – the green belt next to car park belongs to Epsom Golf Club – I cannot imagine the management would be happy to put a pavilion there, inviting even more walkers to their grounds. This year they put up special orange fences to stop the ‘lockdown’ walkers treading on their grass.
Fig. 1 Epsom Downs Racecourse and Surroundings
Fig. 2 Location 1 Street view
Fig. 3 Location 1 Zoomed in Map
Fig. 4 Location 1 – view from station side
Fig. 5 Location 1 – panoramic view over the racecourse
Fig. 6 Location 1 – Standing near the edge of the hill.
Using the skills and techniques you developed in Part 2 – Research: Context & Material, find some general information and interesting examples of, pavilions.
Some questions to help get you started could be:
•What is a pavilion? •What are they used for? •Who uses them? •Why do they exist – what is their history? •Where are they located? •How big are they? •Are there some contemporary examples of pavilions?
Reflection on the task
It was useful to learn how versatile the term ‘pavilion’ is. As usual with research task I now want to go and visit the pavilion I researched, albeit serpentine pavilion is different every year. It is nice to know I have a pavilion too. InDesign continues to be difficult software, but it was nice to have a go again. It was quite hard to get back to study after a long break, but now I can feel the motivation to push on.
As recommended by my tutor I made my first quick drawing of an everyday object. It had to be very quick as I drew it on the plane and the object I drew belong to another passenger, so I couldn’t know how soon it will be moved. I had a very good view of it. Due to the location the drawing took place I had limited media (automatic 0.7HB pencil and precision eraser). The drawing is fairly small as for practical reasons I used a small notebook. The object is a small plastic cup with a plastic straw in it. It was an interesting experience trying to capture the transparency, smoothness and light reflections on the item using just a pencil. Eraser helped creating the shine. I concentrated on relying the shine and transparency. It felt a bit odd to draw on a plane, being surrounded by people able to look over my shoulder. But soon I forgot about them and enjoyed the task. Really nice activity to pass the time. It’s a shame that the arrangement was moved as there was a water bottle too, and I would have drawn it if I had a chance. I could have also added the surrounding; the fold up table and back of the seat. Maybe on my way back!
My tutor noticed effort and attention to detail and said it will pay off.
As usual there were some great tips in my feedback, here my tutor recommended to help capture perspective of circular object or a circular space to position my objects linear, the visible difference in sizes will help.
My tutor suggested to work / concentrate on one drawing, rather that doing too many different ones. ‘Reworking can produce more textured results.’
Research:
My tutor noticed the work I put in research of movement in interiors. I researched various examples and noticed ‘different types of movement’. I also tried to apply to apply the knowledge gained through my research to my own work.
Doing additional research (as I did with perspective lines on my walks) will improve my skills in observing spaces.
Creativity:
My tutor said that I continue to develop my creativity and it is showing more, especially in abstract drawing of still life. She recommended the group drawing sessions. I should also remember that this type of drawing does not have to represent exact image of my object. I need to trust my hand more and draw on larger sheet of paper.
Even though I had a good start at photoshop I should try and play more with images in photoshop, such as layering and adding background, it will make the abstract image look more ‘real’.
My tutor said my perspective drawing attempts were a good start, I received a helpful tip to place vanishing points outside of my paper.
Communication & Presentation:
My tutor said that drawing movement and people is difficult, but I gave it a good go, trying different approaches.
I should practice drawing people using freeze-frame on TV and do quick stick drawings, showing angles and lengths of limbs. Also including, wrists, elbows and knees will help express the movement and make the figures look right.
My ways of expressing movement using lines, spirals, colour, and gradients were successful.
I am pleased to know that navigating my learning log is easy and that the layout is clear.
Critical reflection:
My tutor said that my personal reflection is detailed, and I explain my thoughts and processes is an easy to understand way.
She also noted that ‘I can think across the tasks and make connections in my work which show development in my understanding.’
I am very pleased with these comments as not only I need to learn; I also need to show what I learnt through my learning log and reflection. I am glad I am doing it right.
My James Turrell contextual study showed what I learnt about light and framing views. It also showed how I applied that new knowledge to different interior spaces, and I was ‘referencing it back and forth’ – which will ‘enrich my future design work.’
To improve my work:
I should improve my drawing skills by practising as much as I can, quick 10-minute sketches of random views of spaces and objects I observe.
Life drawing practice would help me understand the proportions of human body better. Free online classes were recommended by my tutor as well as OCA workshops (that I signed up for already).
My tutor said not to be too careful with it, just to follow through even if it does not look right it will all fall into place.
I am very pleased with the feedback I received, I shall follow the tips and recommendations specified in my feedback.
I received the feedback a while ago and needed to clarify a few bits with my tutor before properly reflecting on it. In the meantime, I got stuck in Part Four and finished it, so only now the time allows to type it out (I had notes for ages).
Overall:
My tutor noted that I am learning how to communicate through drawing, it is an essential tool and measured and accurate hand and CAD drawings are important.
My tutor clarified that drawings are part of instructions, and it is likely that my future drawings will be instructing ‘hand’, not the machine, therefore I should not worry too much about points size in my hand drawings as there always be ‘an amount of tolerance’.
According to the feedback I have done well with Contextual Study ‘Lines – a close reading’ by breaking the text down and then making connections. My tutor said my methods will pay off; it was reassuring to hear as I was not sure whether my mind map was done the ‘right way’. It paid off to do what felt right. Also, during our recent chat my tutor said there is no right or wrong way to do contextual studies, as it is all about what I think (that was rather wonderful news!)
My peer activity has been noted and encouraged – I shall continue.
Research:
It is nice to know that my research is considered thorough and in some cases I researched beyond the requirements of the course (I had not even realised I did ‘extra’). My tutor said that any extra work like that will help me with the studying and develop my unique design interests. I will continue drawing on my own experience when considering texts and drawing my own conclusions.
Creativity:
My approach to ‘Lines’ contextual study and completing it showed (according to the feedback) creativity. This helped me understand the ideas presented and draw my own conclusions. I am really pleased my tutor thought so as I found this task quite hard at the time (not creating but reading and understanding).
My tutor’s opinion is that my creativity shows in connections I make between the course work and the ‘outside’ world. I must make sure I take photos or draw and add these images when I make my observations in the learning log.
I am encouraged to share more of my thoughts, I must remember to take notes and photos or draw when they come to me.
I keep having thoughts about lines, that text really stuck in my mind. Previously in my learning log I said that only truly straight lines are rays of light, but I was wrong… A piece of string can be straight if its hanging with a weight attached to the bottom. In this case the gravity/ nature makes it straight, even if the string is manmade. This knowledge is often used by bricklayers as reference for building straight, vertical walls.
Another thought about straight lines is that perhaps it does not matter if the line is perfectly straight as long as it appears straight.
Communication and presentation:
I have received a well done for persevering with CAD software and on starting with technical drawing both in CAD and by hand.
My tutor said that section drawn by hand (or line drawing in CAD, not a section of an extruded 3D shape), helps understand better individual components and how the section is made.
Drawing on a board with parallel motion was recommended by my tutor. I already got one and I am looking forward to the next technical drawing exercise where hopefully my angles will be better than in my previous exercises. It is important that my angles are what they should be, and the lines are parallel when needed. I realise I did not get it quite right in the past.
I should improve on using line weights to indicate the hierarchy in line drawings.
My tutor recommended checking the wall thicknesses in my bathroom drawings. I have since clarified it with her, that two walls are external hence they are thicker in my drawings.
I should research how other CAD drawings are titled and I should include title block and some dimensions in my CAD drawings.
I also should have added thickness to the ‘cut’ card in section drawing of my model in assignment 3. Even though it is a card and is fairly thin I should have included that thickness in my CAD drawing. I tried to measure it since, and it looks like 0.1mm thickness. I had a look online and found a table on ZX Printer website stating that 140gsm paper which I used to create the base of my model has thickness of 0.16mm. Now I wonder whether the ‘cut through’ tops in my model should also have had thickness according to their 80gsm. According to that same table that would be 0.065mm thick. Therefore, CAD is such a great tool, it would be impossible to include this detail by hand (unless you do a magnified scale (eg. 10:1) drawing for a portion of ‘normal’ drawing.
My tutor mentioned that it would have been a good idea to include bases of my model in plan as dotted line. What a great idea, I am gutted I did not think of it at a time.
Also, there was no need to copy my plan drawing to then add section, I should have done it on the original. I wanted to preserve my original drawing but there was no need for that.
My tutor said more information (within reason) such as section line on the drawing is better.
My tutor noted that ‘my survey notes for spatial drawing were well organised with different colours for different dimensions’ – I was pleased to read this compliment.
Critical Reflection:
My tutor told me that contextual studies and critical reflection tasks add to knowledge and eventually will help me inform my design choices and connections I make.
After reading the feedback I realised I had not been clear enough in my reflection in exercise 2.3 regarding my measurements not being clear to someone else. They were clear to me; I was instructing myself with them. Of course, I agree with my tutor that if I were passing those instructions on to someone else, I would need to make my notes super clear. I should practice ‘clear’ instructions for myself in the meantime so I am not out of my depth in future when I could possibly be a part of a larger team. Certainly, I must reflect in a clear and productive manner too.
To improve my work:
I need to look at some examples of technical drawings, layout, how drawings relate to others on same page, what information is included in title block, how much other information (dimensions, notes, material) is given. Does this depend on the scale of the drawing?
Fig. 1 Existing and proposed floorplans. Sectional elevations.
In Fig. 1 above we can see that each room is described with its function, there is a compass near floorplan showing North. Each of the subdrawings has a number and title underlined, and below sheet reference number and scale. Also, for reference there is a line scale added, which is a practical solution in case this drawing was not printed on a3, one could use a ruler and work out a scale. There is a lot of very clear notes what is to be kept, what to demolished, specific comments regarding new dimensions, new structural elements. I’m assuming title block is the one in bottom right corner, it includes: company details, a small table for revision comments (which is blank so I’m assuming it’s the first version), project details, drawing details (i.e. ‘existing and proposed floorplans, sectional elevations’), authors name, date, scale, project number and sheet number. There are some dimensions (as suggested by my tutor) and section lines. I also noticed that existing and proposed floorplans are directly above one another with walls on right hand side aligned so the difference in extension sizes on both plans can be seen. I can also see structural elements under the floor of the building. There is also some small print, possibly about terms and conditions, not quite legible
Noticing all this information made me think I should probably create a template table to include in my technical drawings so they all include same information and I should place it in one of the corners of my drawings.
Fig. 2 Proposed Extension Elevations
The drawing in Fig. 2 contains a lot of instructions for the builder (architect ‘rules’ the builder – lines again). It does not specify any dimensions. I can see that subtitles under each part is scaled to match scale of the drawing. There are two scales specified, but it does not say on what paper, so I assume architect would print this one on the correct size paper and provide hard copy to the contractor. There is a comment saying ‘not to scale off the drawing’, perhaps there was more drawings in the pack specifying the dimensions in detail. There is a similar table to Fig. 1 containing similar information.
Both drawings look neat and clear. I must look at some tutorials how to create and paste information tables into my drawings.
I should remember about thicknesses in section drawings, no matter how small.
I need to pay more attention to line thicknesses and their hierarchy in technical drawings.
My tutor recommended that I practice technical drawing of objects and spaces known to me either by hand or in cad.
Books and websites were suggested to broaden my knowledge. I signed up to the mailing list on https://www.drawingmatter.org/ to receive their newsletter straight to my inbox.
All in all, I am pleased with my feedback and the amount of advice and tips I got from it.
I arranged some small scale figures around my model from assignment 1 and imagined the objects are rock sculptures (Fig. 1). I tried rely hardness of the material in my drawing. Due to size and weight it would most likely be an outdoor exhibition. The below drawing was completed on A3 sheet of paper paper using HB automatic pencil and precision eraser to lighten up parts that are not in shade, to increase the contrast between light and shade, and also to emphasize the hardess and sharp finish of the sculptures.
Fig. 1 Rock sculptures
Then I decided that my model could also make a nice stool, made of foam wrapped in rough, off white wool fabric. I tried to rely the softness of the structure in my drawing again using play of light and shade but this time more toned. The bases of my stools would be made of wood. In my visual I drew a person sitting on one of the stools and looking at the artwork to clearly indicate function of the object. I placed the stools inside a small art gallery, the interior shape is inspired by my models. The walls and dome ceiling are clad in light plywood. I selected this material because it is light, cosy and simple. It will not take attention away from the art displayed. I inserted a strip of windows near the top of the dome to engulf the interior in natural light. The floor is covered in simple wooden planks (Fig. 2). I completed this drawing using pencil, felt tip pens, fine liners, and soft pastels. I am hoping I managed to capture movement in the shape of the room and repetition of pattern on the walls.
Fig. 2 Interior visual
Then I decided to draw the actual buildings of the gallery (Fig. 3). There would be three of them as there are three objects in my model. I would like them to be positioned in an open green space. The shapes of the buildings are unusual but finished in limited materials of CorTen (weathered steel) and clear glass. I think CorTen’s colour and matt texture would contrast dramatically with the greenery around. The shiny glass in the stripes of skylights and doorways will on the other hand contrast with CorTen, adding interest to my buildings. Also, the top of the dome, floating like a hat above the rest of the building and glass stripe was my idea of adding movement to the exterior design.
Fig. 3 Outside visual
Reflection on completing the Assignment Four and Part Four:
The drawing exercises in Part Four were useful, especially the tonal ones. They really helped get the texture of rock sculptures in Fig. 1 of my Assignment 4.
I thoroughly enjoyed all drawing exercises, I just like drawing, even if I am not very good at it.
Exercise 1.1 opened my eyes to different techniques giving different results, not sure if blind drawing or drawing with eyes closed would get me far… I was most pleased with the result of tonal drawing in that exercise.
I liked experimenting with media and surprising results of those experiments, especially in the drawing with fine liners on greaseproof paper. I think that was my best drawing in that exercise, it was precise and smudged at the same time. Some of the methods I tried turned out quite messy (charcoal) but I am pleased I tried them; charcoal is great for creating shade.
I purchased a set of soft pastel pencils recently and I think it is my favourite medium, you can so easily change the intensity of the tone, and rely light, shade, and colour better. But sometimes simple coloured pencils did the job too, it made me realise that we do not always have to use complicated methods, sometimes drawing may be in a spur of a moment, and then any medium could suffice.
Doing collage was fun, I embraced the creative process and tried to find the most unobvious pieces to paste. Also learning how to use photoshop for the first time was great, still way to go with learning it, but I enjoyed the start.
Contextual studies as usual were extensive and time consuming, but I learnt a lot from them. How to look at the interior and try to see movement: what an abstract task, yet it is a doable activity, it just needed some imagination. I enjoyed looking at different interiors and selecting the ‘ones’ I did. My favourite one was Opium Pop Up Store (The Flip Flop) – its interior screams movement (and lines). Polet Restaurant Interior would be a good example in truth to materials exercise in Part Three, most materials are natural and bare.
Contextual Study: Light was difficult. It was easy to find images of James Turrell’s work, but it was hard to answer the questions. I needed a few days to dwell and few nights to sleep on it before the answers came to me. Light and shade are to capture movement and atmosphere of the space. Also, without the light we could not see. James Turrell’s work and philosophy were coming back to me when completing the Assignment Four, the study inspired the stripes of skylights in Fig. 2 and Fig.3.
Capturing Movement drawing exercise was a real pleasure. I may not be the best at drawing people, and I’m not sure if opting for opaque figures is the way to go but I really enjoyed exploring the options on how to capture different movements I saw, how to make them move while being in a still drawing. I hope I got it right. I think to capture movement you need pattern and contrast.
20 second renders were not easy; I think the only one I remotely managed to capture was marble. The following render exercise was not easier, despite having more time and a selection of different drawing materials. Some cubes took more than one drawing trial. I think sometimes it will be better to use software to render or to annotate drawings by hand to specify the finish or material.
One-point perspective drawing was quite easy compared with two-point perspective. I enjoyed both exercises and since completing it I try to look and see I can pinpoint vanishing points in two-point perspective views. I took the photo in Fig. 4 as an example of two-point perspective view when we can see corner(s) of building(s). I would usually stop and look and see if my eyes can follow the invisible guidelines to find the vanishing point.
Fig. 4 Two-point perspective.
I struggled capturing perspective in my Assignment Four. I blame my unskilled hand and the fact the objects are circular. I am also hoping I am too harsh on myself and maybe it is not as bad as I think.
Looking back at my perspective with tone and colour I think the one without colour relies atmosphere and light and shade better. This exercise made me practice noticing the play of light and shade, and I am hoping I was successful utilising this skill when completing drawing in Fig. 1 of my assignment 4.
What “experience” is James Turrell trying to create and what specific techniques is he using in his designs?
Can you describe them and propose ideas of how and why they might be effective at engaging the viewer?
Can you draw any comparisons to James Turrell’s work and a design visual of an interior design?
Using your learning log, along with pictures of James Turrell’s work, discuss these ideas and reflect on how you might incorporate these ideas in your visuals. Keep the post to a minimum of 200 words.
James Turrell is an American artist who trained as psychologist and is an avid pilot. He was born in 1943 and created many light installations or other works of art and architecture that use light and empty space as medium. He often gets his inspiration from the feeling of space and light while he is in the air, piloting a plane. His artworks are spread around the world and since 1977 he has been involved in the ongoing creation of Roden Crater – a large scale artwork – a fruit of his lifelong research into visual and psychological perception. He is in the process of creating a unique destination, occupying a dormant volcano crater in the middle of Arizona Dessert.
In my opinion through his designs he is trying to make people being in thought, to contemplate, to consider the environment around them. He wants people to stop and look, just look, perceive, and feel, perhaps feel surprised while they see a lit space that may appear to be in a different dimension than it actually is. An example of this could be a frameless opening in the roof (Fig. 1), that looks almost like a picture (and at night a dark rectangle contrasting with the lit room – Fig. 2); or light shining on a corner in such a way that it looks like a 3D object that shares the same corner and at the same time like a flat object whose front hides the corner (Fig. 3).
Examples of James Turrell’s work: from left Fig. 1 (Blue Planet Sky during the day and), Fig. 2 (Blue Planet Sky at night) and Fig. 3 Raethro II Peach
His artwork engages the viewer through contrast between light and shade (or darkness) and through perception that is different to reality.
Interior design visuals where outside is brought inside use similar techniques to some of James Turrell’s work. These visuals would have large windows with beautiful scenery, landscape or urban visible and being a focal point of the interior (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 Modern kitchen overlooking the ocean as it flows into the timber deck outside
Visuals with skylights showing the sky especially on a beautiful day (Fig. 5) use similar technique to J. Turrell’s too. I think these features make user stop and contemplate and hopefully feel happy.
Fig. 5 Fabulous contemporary dining room offers a stunning window to the sky
Other visuals especially hand drawn can incorporate the contrast of light and shade by highlighting the light from lamp or window in a light or yellow colour (or perhaps even in a different colour). (Fig. 6)
Fig. 6 Visual 1 / Panoramic View
If I was designing a space with a beautiful outside, I would try and incorporate it within a design, try to bring it inside in my visuals, make it a feature. Also, when sketching I could incorporate light patterns cast by daylight or lamps (similar to my drawings in perspective exercise 3.3 where I tried to capture shade cast by the shutters).
Some interiors designs feature led strips along edges of dropped parts of the ceiling or above it (Fig. 7) or under steps.
Fig. 7 Kitchen LED Strip
I am not a fan of the lights highlighting the ceiling in that way but perhaps lighting whole wall or just artwork on it may be a good idea. It would all of course depend on the interior and the clients wants and needs too. On the other hand James Turrell created something similar to what in theory I’m not a fan of – I’m talking about his Inner Way piece (Fig. 8) It has strips of light by the ceiling but I think it’s brilliant. It only shows that you (or a client) need to see something to be convinced – right visuals highlighting the right features are so important.
Fig. 8 James Turrell’s work: The Inner Way
In commercial or public spaces using light to highlight architectural or other features adds sense of grandeur (Fig. 9).
Fig. 9 Gallery of Metal Rainbow-Zhongshu Bookstore in Suzhou / Wutopia Lab – 1
Sun tunnels bring daylight into an otherwise dark space (Fig. 10 ) in a similar way to James Turrell’s light veils (Fig. 11) providing natural, bright and dispersed light. With the difference that light veil include both natural and artificial light. In both instances the user cannot see the light source. I stayed in house that had a light tunnel and I remember the surprise I felt every time I entered the room. The amount and the quality of light was astonishing.
From left Fig. 10 Sun tunnel and Fig. 11 James Turrell’s Virga
The bottom line is – we need light in our interiors, preferably different sources at different brightness and concentration but light is needed for human (and other creatures) survival and wellbeing.
Reflection on the task:
As usual with contextual studies the hardest thing was to get started. I read about James Turrell and his work on the internet and then needed a couple of days to dwell and get the information in order. Then I sat down and noted most of the facts from my head. So in the end I enjoyed it, I just worried about what to include unnecessarily.
I learnt from this exercise that light plays vital role in the interior design, particularly how natural light enters and travels through the space, but also design and placement of artificial lights have tremendous impact on the atmosphere and usability of the space as well as on the experience of the space. Light also facilitates sense of movement in a space as seen in Fig. 9. Moire pattern visible there along with vivid colour sheer sheets intersected with lights and rounded, repeated shapes create movement. Without light the effect would be rather flat.
I selected one-point perspective drawing from exercise 3.1, I think it was a ‘better’ drawing of the two. I copied it using a 0.3 HB automatic pencil for both methods.
Method 1:
I used a 9B pencil and smudged it to create my shades. To add light and patterns I used rubber
Perspective with tone
Method 2:
I used fine liners where I wanted the colour more intensive and coloured pencils and pastels for more muted colours. The room has a very calm colour scheme, mainly grey and white, with pops of colour in the artwork, I wanted my drawing to represent that. I used grey charcoal and black and grey pastels to create shading and rubber and white and very light blue pastels to create light.
Perspective with tone and colour
I really enjoyed this exercise. Especially the part when I was looking for shadows and patterns cast by daylight coming through the shutters and trying to rely this onto my drawing.
Two point perspective is much more difficult than one point. I really struggled with the window recess. At first I selected a different corner of the room, but then I decided sofa makes it really complicated, so I changed the corner. Here’re my less successful attempts.
I went for a walk today and took these to photos that’s show how the view closer to the viewer changes depending on the eye level height. The difference is quite dramatic
I tried to find my eye levels and vanishing points by drawing freehand lines (just though it may be a good practice to understand perspective better). I can see the height difference very clearly here.
As in previous exercises I needed to do some ‘warming up’ of the hand and the skill. The three drawings below I started and abandoned as I was unhappy with the results.
Then I decided to make the wall I’m facing smaller and it went smoothly from there. It was quite difficult, especially trying not to use a ruler. I think I should have used it for shutters, radiator cover and floor pattern, the drawing would have a better perspective. However the not so straight lines seem to look good, like there’s more ‘life’ there. My final drawing is below, I’m pleased with the result, it was a useful exercise.
That was a difficult exercise. I think the drawings in exercise 2.2 look more realistic than exercise 2.1 (with exception of marble which gave comparable results in both exercises). The main positive of exercise 2.2 was ability to use colour which helped make the material look more realistic. Being able, have to time to erase bits also helped. Different mediums helped to rely the texture better. Longer drawing times gave me time to rely hardness (or squishiness) and shine (or its lack) and whether its smooth or rough. The hardest one was leather and polished chrome. Pencil was great for marble and wool fabric. I used pencil and grey soft pastel to convey polished chrome, I’m not sure if the result is convincing. Just soft pastels created concrete. Mix of coloured pencils and soft pastels worked great for timber, sponge, glass, and brick while watercolour paints worked wonders on the jelly. Some of these longer drawings were fast (concrete, wool, marble) while others needed more time and attention (sponge, jelly) due to more detailed structure. Being able to use different media helped to convey more detail. Some of the materials I wish I could make a collage off (leather, polished chrome, brick).
20 seconds was not long enough for most of them. It was good exercise for quick thinking about the textures etc. Some of them are quite hard to draw realistically without colour.
I selected Epsom Downs Racecourse as my space for this exercise due to restricted access to alternative sites due to Covid19. I selected this space because it is an open space and a popular walking, running etc spot so I knew I will see movement there.
I sat down on the ground and observed people passing by and drew Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. I used an automatic pencil and coloured pencils. The day was quite cold and windy, so I didn’t hang out there for much longer, just took a few photos in case I needed to refer to them I at home.
Fig. 1 Outside
Fig. 2 Outside plan view
The drawing in Fig. 3 shows outside space. I drawn it with pencil and used it as a base for all Epsom Downs Movement drawings. My final drawing is drawn over Fig. 3 drawing.
Fig. 3 Space
After I drew the space, I realised I have no idea how to draw people, leave alone people moving. So Fig. 4 – 7 show my practice, trying different techniques etc.
Fig. 4 Movement development 1
Fig. 5 Movement development 2
Fig. 6 Movement development 3
Fig. 7 Movement development 4
Fig. 8 – Fig. 9 are all drawn on tracing paper. I copied the landscape from Fig. 3 to speed up the process, and for clearer comparison of my movement on each.
Fig. 8 is drawn on the tracing paper with soft pencil, coloured pencil and pink fine liner (dogs tail). I think it shows the energy well, but I would prefer the colours to be more vibrant.
Fig. 8 Epsom Downs movement 1
In Fig. 9 I added the cyclist using soft pencil and coloured pencil.
Fig. 9 Epsom Downs movement 1 v.2
Fig. 10 was completed using fine liners and a sharpie. I thought It shows energy well, but I was not able to use gradient colours with this technique. The vibrant colours are great.
Fig. 10 Epsom Downs movement 2
In Fig. 11 I drew scenery and people in fine liners and a sharpie. Then I tried to capture movement using soft pastels. I do not think I captured movement well here, a bit too washed out.
Fig. 11 Epsom Downs movement 3
So I added patterns using coloured pencils (Fig. 12). A bit better but not quite. Now I think the trails are too long, they sort of miss the point, at the time I had no opinion yet.
Fig. 12 Epsom Downs movement 3 v. 2
Like in previous ‘Epsom Downs Movement’ drawing I first drew landscape and people using fine liners and a sharpie (Fig. 13)
Fig. 13 Development of Epsom Downs movement 4
Then I added movement with fine liners, coloured pencils, and soft pastels (in that order) – Fig. 14. I think it has good energy and movement of people in space but it doesn’t really show hair, hands or legs movement (apart from dogs tail).
Fig. 14 Epsom Downs movement 4
I decided to try capture both movement is space and movement of body parts. So I took softest pencil I have (10B) and started drawing, smudging and evaluating the effect.
Fig. 15 Shows my first go at detailed cyclist. I wasn’t pleased with that.
Fig. 15 Cyclist 1
Fig. 16 is another go at cyclist, I still struggled to capture movement of the legs and wheels.
Fig. 16 Cyclist 2
Fig. 17 Cyclist 3 development
Fig. 18 Cyclist 3 development 2
3rd time lucky. I used precision rubber on the wheels. I also thought that stripy gradient pattern shows movement is space better (Fig. 19). At this point I knew I will have to draw these people in soft pencil, smudge and erase bits to show movement patterns.
Fig, 19 Cyclist 3
Fig. 20 shows my first go at the walker, I was not happy with this.
Fig. 20 Walker 1
Fig. 21 is another go at the walker. This time the shading and grading is a bit better, showing arms and legs moving.
Fig. 21 Walker 2 development
I then added some shading at the back to show direction of the movement (Fig. 22)
Fig. 22 Walker 2
Fig. 23 and 24 show the runner and development. If you zoom in, you should see ponytail bobbing (I hope I got this right). I was not quite happy with the shades I got, I thought they were a bit too sharp.
Fig. 23 Runner 1 development
Fig.24 Runner 1
I created Runner 2 in Fig 25 using same technique but blended a bit better and added graded stripes at the back to show the movement in space.
Fig. 25 Runner 2
Dog walker was quite hard (Fig. 26 and 27). I was not sure how to show a person who just stopped walking and is looking down at a dog. I hope this captures it. I cannot make up my mind whether this version or one in Fig. 9 is better.
Fig. 26 Dog walker development
Fig. 27 Dog walker
I did not realise dogs are so difficult to draw. I think my first one looked like a small horse. Never mind the body though, I think I captured the movement well, especially the tail wagging (Fig. 28 and 29).
Fig. 28 Dog development
Fig. 29 Dog
After I practiced all people and the dog, I was ready to create my final drawing. I created the landscape using soft pastels over my pencil drawing as in Fig. 3. I wanted to add some colour to the drawing (Fig. 30).
Fig. 30 Final drawing development
Then I added the people and the dog with a soft pencil (Fig. 31)
Fig. 31 Final drawing development 2
After that I smudged and erased to make some areas of movement darker and lighter to capture the movement. I used my finger for general, and cotton bud for ‘precision’ smudging.
Fig. 32 Capturing movement final drawing
Reflection on the task:
It was difficult, my people drawing skills are very rusty. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed creating each drawing, I like to get stuck in and draw. As predicted the contextual study about movement was coming back to my mind. Just smudging is not enough, you need pattern. Pattern is great for conveying the energy of movement but needs grading to give it direction. Movement capture needs a bit of contrast (my dark is smudged, but lighter bits are small and sharp).
Can you find 5 other examples of interior design that appear to capture movement in their designs?
Add images to your learning log with analysis of the space, including what methods have been used. Eg. form, lines, texture, lighting etc.
1. Galleria Centercity in Cheonan, South Korea designed by UN Studio
Fig. 1 Gallery of Galleria Centercity / UNStudio – 7
The space is a department store, with a food court, an art and cultural centre and roof terrace, so an all in one place to shop, eat and socialise. Fig. 1 shows interior from the entrance looking up. The user entering the space will be enticed to look up by the repetition of pattern on each visible ceiling (edges, lights and what I’m guessing are grooves). The design is repeated but slightly differently on the top panel unit hung just below the ceiling where through curved gaps light seeps down. The platforms look a bit angled, as if not quite level, the interior was designed with an upward exploration in mind. The interior is tall and light with very limited colour palette but by no means boring. The glass balustrades make the space feel more open, at the same time I can imagine they invite to come closer and have a look.
Fig. 2 Gallery of Galleria Centercity / UNStudio – 12
Fig. 2 shows same interior (as Fig. 1) but seen from opposite perspective. Somehow looking down does not seem as exciting as looking up. The patterns are not visible. We can still see shape of the platforms but without the light enhancing them they do not seem as inviting. The opening of the plateaus into the void aid orientation within the space. I think the voids presence and patterns cast by sunlight capture the movement best in this view. We can see repetition of shapes which are identical on each level on the left-hand side and pattern cast by the ceiling panel onto the shiny floors below, filtering the sunlight through, these patterns will move as the day goes by.
Fig. 3 dzn_Galleria-Centercity-by-UNStudio_2
The façade of the building is clad with two layers of vertical mullions which create a moiré pattern effect (Fig. 3). As the viewers position changes so does the pattern on the façade. The architect incorporated visible movement even if it is only optical illusion. The cladding also works as light openings and light shades, it cleverly lets the light in through openings but not too much, which is good for preserving energy on lighting and cooling the space.
Fig. 4 dzn_Galleria-Centercity-by-UNStudio_9
UNStudio designed dynamic lighting effects and animations to be displayed on the façade of the building at night (Fig. 4). This is facilitated by 22000 LED lights installed in the façade. So even after the sunset the movement is still visible on the façade.
2. Bienville House in New Orleans, USA designed by Nathan Fell Architecture
Fig. 5 07-Rear+Unit-1st+Floor
Fig. 5 shows open plan kitchen/ dining / living room. The interior space has sliding doors in place of two walls, so it fully opens to the swimming pool and outdoor decking. There’s multitude of materials visible, concrete floor tiles, concrete wall cladding, wooden deck and kitchen are made of different types of wood, outside cladding turning inwards and covering the internal ceiling of this space. glass sliding doors framed in black metal, black metal fans hanging from the ceiling. I think the movement in this space is visible in the linearity of materials. They are arranged very straight but at different patterns. The most movement is visible in the ceiling lights: straight, long, narrow, they really stand out against the anthracite ceiling. Their form reminds me of passing lights at night, at high speed; that is what dotted lights in movement would appear like.
Fig. 6 05-Rear+Unit-1st+Floor
Fig.6 shows same space as fig. 5 but in different perspective. We can see the structure of the wood on furniture units. In my opinion the organic patterns of the wood grain have a certain ‘flowy’ sense. of movement. We can also see floor finish in a closer view and the black window profile as a border between inside and outside. I can imagine the fans, moving air will give a very physical sense of movement, not only visual, one could feel the air on their skin. This combined with the ceiling lights will add to the feeling of movement of this room. I must also mention the chairs next to kitchen island, their vibrant colours make them pop out and it seems as if angled legs might start walking any minute.
3. Opium Pop Up Store (The Flip Flop) at Mumbai Airport, India designed by Renesa Studio. The project is called The Flip Flop because of an ingenious display technique, where the singular shelves on the walls can be flipped open.
Fig. 7 Gallery of The Flip Flop / Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio – 1
This design really captured movement. In Fig. 7 we can see it in repetition of black grid on the floor and walls, arched doorways which look like they have been copied and pasted along with the interior (also this shape is repeated in the floorplan), and fluorescent green display units for sunglasses. The ceiling is painted black with a square grid just below, upon which spotlights are placed. The movement is captured by repetition of pattern and contrast of black, white and fluorescent green.
Fig. 8 Image 12 of 55 from gallery of The Flip Flop / Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio.
In Fig. 8 the same space is viewed from a slightly different perspective. Here we notice black framed mirrored in hour-glass shape that can be swivelled. I also noticed a sales counter that repeats the shape of doorways and the floor plan. The design looks sharp because of very limited colour palette and only 3 shapes are repeated in a very bold manner.
Fig. 9 Image 16 of 55 from gallery of The Flip Flop / Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio.
In the image above (Fig. 9) the movement is captured in the curvature of the wall, emphasized by its contrast to the straightness of the floor. The black gaps on the curve seem to flow towards the lens.
Fig. 10 Image 5 of 55 from gallery of The Flip Flop / Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio
In the photograph above (Fig. 10) it seems that the interior is moving, while the viewer is stationary. As on previous images we can appreciate the strictness of the design and the grid size implemented, as well as perfect execution. Here we can also see how the interior relates to the space outside, and interesting patterned ceiling outside. Outside looks almost like it is in another dimension.
4.Polet Restaurant in Moscow, Russia designed by Asthetique– this project won Platinum A’Design Award 2020.
Fig. 11 No title 1
In the space above (Fig. 11) the movement has been captured by the use of interesting light fittings in a form or coloured, translucent circles hung at different angles (they seem to be captured half-swing, although I’m sure that isn’t the case), the row of copper lampshades over the counter, three tall and narrow fittings with tube bulbs (across the room)and of course the lit from below airplanes installed on the cement column. The shiny surfaces on the left-hand side and stainless-steel cladding on the column contrast with cement and wood on the floor, and along with the play of daylight across the floor they add to the sense of movement. The ceiling in this high space was left exposed showing all the systems just below.
Fig. 12 No title 2
In the photo above (Fig. 12) we can see cement wall that has carved-in artwork depicting planes next to some abstract parts, it has clean looking edges, and it really attracted my attention, Also here we can appreciate the grand size of the room emphasized by the lights; massive windows with floor to ceiling curtains; white, vertically striped panel past the column and aforementioned carving. I also appreciate the limited colour pallete of copper, blush pink, black, beige, grey and wood. There are multiple textures visible that I think improves the cosiness of this place; rough and geometrically shaped concrete walls and smooth concrete tables, warm wood floors, shiny and smooth metal and glass surfaces and soft and plush seats on copper frames.
Fig. 13 No title 3
In Fig. 13 we can see same space but from yet slightly different perspective. Here we can see how the shades of glass in circular light fitting and glass screen above the counter add to the movement capture. They’re both in pink-coppery-brown shade. The lit-up lines across the circles add interest and contrast with black lines around the glass screens. I can also see the finish of stainless steel better, it is mirror smooth and shiny, it reflects objects nearby. Those reflections are deformed and would move as we move. The strip of spotlights behind the glass screen looks milky-blurred and attracts attention. The visitors can also see into the kitchen which is finished in white tiles with dark grouting, stainless steel, and black accents.
5.Rooftop Office in Dudelange, Luxembourg designed by Dagli+ Atelier d’Architecture. This Office is a showroom extension to HQ of local building engineering firm.
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
The above 3 images (Fig. 14, 15 and 16) show that interior design does not have to be complicated, busy or ornamental to capture movement. The interior has white walls and ceilings, grey carpeted floor but somehow there is a flow to it. Its secret lies within the grey gradient stripes that either run parallel (staircase in fig. 14 and 16) or meet at a very sharp point (Fig.15). I selected this space when I saw the photo as seen in Fig. 15. I thought that is movement captured, before I read anything about this project. The only other element that adds to the movement would be the light fittings, long bright lines – they seem to be showing the direction of the movement.
Reflection on the task:
That was something really abstract to research (again). I thought ‘how can you capture movement in something still?’. I really enjoyed researching, looking at the photos and contemplating how was the movement captured. I am expecting, that once again (like with lines) I will become obsessed with the idea of movement in design and start noticing it everywhere. I am looking forward to it.
This was my first go at Photoshop. I photographed my previous drawings and collages and copied and pasted part of them to create the version in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1
Each part of my collage was a separate layer and I played with settings changing hue, saturation, vibrance etc. The result can be seen in Fig. 2
Fig. 2
I liked version 2 more than first one, it looks more interesting and vibrant, has more ‘life’.
Then I decided to add some shadows, here they are in Fig. 3
Fig. 3
I enjoyed this exercise and my first steps with the software. It is a complex program and I’m looking forward to getting to know it better.
I decided to keep my objects from previous exercise.
I gathered different scraps of paper and various drawing materials.
Method 1: Drawing using different media
Fig. 1 below shows my objects drawn with charcoal on brown paper. This is first time I used charcoal, I found the process messy. I think charcoal can be useful in creating tonal or mood in visuals.
Fig. 1
Next I used some white cardboard and drew using permanent marker. It was interesting to see how cardboard soaked up the ink from the marker, sort of ‘spilling’ on the surface (fig. 2).
Fig. 2
Fig. 3 drawing was done with coloured pencils on white paper. It is a technique I was already familiar with. I was pleased with level of detail on the cover I could include.
Fig. 3
I used kitchen towel and felt tip pens to complete the next drawing (Fig. 4). The towel was soaking up the ink. I drew over a white piece of paper and some of the ink left a pattern on the underlay. I must remember this; I quite like the effect there (Fig. 5). I think the dots in Fig. 5 would be a perfect top of the speaker in negative (white dots on blue background)
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
I used fineliners on greaseproof paper to draw Fig. 6. I was able to smudge while fresh or leave it to dry. It was first time I used this technique. I made an error on top of the speaker, but this is one of my favourites in method 1. The writing on bottom was completed in permanent marker, we can see how different it is here (washed out) than on cardboard in Fig. 2.
Fig. 6
The final drawing in method 1 was completed with soft pastels on white paper. I haven’t used pastels for a very long time, it probably wasn’t the ‘right’ technique, but I just drew with them on paper and then smudged. We can see where I didn’t wipe my finger and made a black smudge on the left hand side. I don’t think it matters though, I like this drawing too, the colours and even the details, a bit smudged but still showing clearly enough.
Fig. 7
Method 2: Collage
I used some string, facial tissue, navy napkin; with textured edge used for the top, and smooth middle for the body of the speaker. Sadly the texture mostly disappeared when I treated it with glue. The background is from Hilarys advertisement sourced from Ideal Home Create Your Dream Bedroom extra to Ideal Home magazine issue November 2019 (Fig. 8). It was difficult to glue the string and soft tissue and napkin. I may need to research and get some craft glue.
Fig. 8
I created the following collage (Fig. 9) using cut outs from the Ferment Magazine (March 2020 issue)
Fig. 9
Method 3: Mixed media drawing including collage
To create Fig.10 I used most of techniques I just tried in two previous methods.
The notebook is drawn using pencils and fine liners, the pages bit: I used the actual page from the notebook cut it into smaller longer pieces and pasted in the middle. The speakers’ mid body is pasted blue napkin, top and bottom and the napkin are coloured with pencil, fine liner, and soft pastels (this time applied to finger, then paper). I used permanent marker for black details and pastels for shading all over.
Fig. 10
I think I should include a photo of my still life arrangement so here it is in Fig. 11
Fig. 11
Reflection on the task:
I thoroughly enjoyed the task. It was a good experience of discovering different techniques I would not normally use. The most surprising and satisfying outcome was the fine liners on greaseproof paper. I can see how different techniques could be applied, depending on the intended outcome. I understand that I should continue practising different methods to be able to confidently apply them in my visuals. I could see the more drawings I completed the better they got, so… practice, practice, practice!
I arranged a small notebook resting on a Bluetooth speaker.
Continuous line (Fig. 1). I learnt that drawing a straight freehand line is difficult
Fig. 1
From memory – drawing with eyes closed (Fig. 2). The result is unsurprisingly not similar to original objects. I bravely attempted to draw a pattern of holes on top of the speaker.
Fig. 2
Blind drawing – looking at objects not at paper (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3
Negative spaces. Fig. 4 was my first attempt. Then I thought that perhaps I shouldn’t have drawn outlines of my objects, so I completed Fig. 5, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 (in that order)
From left Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7
Tonal (Fig. 8) – by far this one is my favourite. It best shows the shape and relationship between the objects.
Hand drawn plan elevation and section of my model:
hand drawn
AutoCAD assignment drawings
Reflection on completing Assignment 3:
I found completing this task really challenging, mainly because my model has a very irregular shape that is difficult to measure.
I tried measuring from one point to another, spaces between etc. I was not able to get my ruler right in there, I am certain my measurements were not correct to a millimetre.
I am nevertheless happy with the result, considering how challenging this shape is.
Reflection on Part 3:
During part 3 I learnt the importance of detailed survey that is legible and that drawing details (such as lengths and angles) correctly is paramount to the finished drawing doing what is intended to do (give correct instruction to builder etc).
I started learning AutoCAD, still way to go but pleased with progress so far. I decided to get a new monitor, the one I had did not have best resolution. Now I have it I can really see the difference when drawing in CAD. To start with I did not use layers, but in my assignment drawing I created 7. They are a great tool and were great help. CAD is great for creating small detail to scale. One can also trust lengths and angles created in the software.
I also used layers in my hand drawing for assignment 3 to help me measure dimensions to rely onto CAD software and not ruining my original drawing (Fig. 1 below). I used tracing paper over my drawing to draw squares which then I measured and used as guide to fit my objects in CAD.
Fig. 1
I learnt that one site survey would probably never be enough, but it is important to note everything, even what seems to be unimportant at a time. Going back and forth may not be practical and certainly will not look professional. It is also important to note your measurements in a legible manner. Second visits purpose should be to double check and measure details that would inevitably get missed first time. If it is one small thing it will probably not impact the design but if it is important then it may stall design work.
I looked at my learning log entries and noticed that in Exercise 3.3 in exploded planometric drawing I could have marked internal edges of bath and sink and then place the drain holes differently.
I still struggle with mind-maps and the ‘Lines: A Close Reading’ contextual study was tough. I found it hard because I could not tell which information was important or relevant. The text kept coming back to me afterwards when drawing both by hand and in CAD. I kept thinking about guidelines and plotlines and how accurate Tim Ingold was.
I made some observations about lines:
One can draw a close representation of any object or space in CAD using only straight lines. Some of the lines I created in my assignment 3 look quite curvy despite consisting of shorter perfectly straight lines, therefore:
We are surrounded by lines.
Some people prefer straight lines, some rounded but it is impossible to create a space using only straight or only rounded lines.
Another thought: Contextual – gives context – looking at it now it certainly gave context to lines I was drawing afterwards. My mind was constantly wandering back to the points I read. I didn’t enjoy that study at the time, but it gave me so much food for thought – now I am happy it was included in the course.
I am thinking of getting a drawing board with a ruler and set square to get my lines and angles correct (and to make technical drawing by hand a pain free task).
It is important to draw both by hand and in CAD as repeating the process gives us time to contemplate and notice details previously missed. It is also good to give yourself a break and then go back and look at the drawings again, with fresh eyes. As I did and noticed error in my exploded planometric drawing. Perhaps if I completed it first by hand I would have spotted it in CAD.
Recently, while sitting in my garden I noticed a shadow of metal staircase railing on a wall. I thought it is like natures axonometric projection. Of course, dimensions were distorted but straight lines (or shall I say visibly straight lines) were there casting interesting pattern.
At first, I found it hard to distinguish axonometric from planometric projections. Only after completing the cube and cylinder planometric drawings I understood that the floor shape and angles remain same in planometric but change in axonometric.
Aggie's interior design journey 
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