GATHERING-Lasercutting- BRIEF

 

I want a jamming studio, where musicians of all levels can come and practice by themselves or in a band.

However I want the studio to be kept relatively small, around 3-4 rooms and a stage.

My building needs

• Sound proofing
• Small enclosed rooms for solo and group
• Easy access
• Some sort of mini stage.

The studio would also need

• Equipment -
• Electric/bass guitars
• Drums
• Amplifiers-both for bass and electric guitars
• Cables
• Mics-and mic amps
• A storage area for insturments
• Keyboards
• One Grand piano for the stage

Natural light isn't needed in the jamming rooms, but i would like some in the open areas such as the 

stage area and the access ways.

I would like the design of the the floor to be about music.
The stage will be more open unlike the jam rooms.

The Three Crits

First crit : Amrita Kaur
Blog address : akau694.blogspot.com

Amrita made a cone like structure, with a hole at the top. She said that she was fascinated with palm reading, and that it is her sustenance. As a result she tried to give an spiritual experience through her building.

She used this cone like exterior to emphasize the enclosed nature of the building. There is no light source except for the hole above, so the experience will be more meaningful. The facade is an imprint of her hand, which give it a very unique exterior.

A shot of her entrance way, its more like an opening in the side. It kind of reminds me of the north american huts.

A view from the interior, i guess if i was in this stall i would be able to see this and get my palm read.

Amrita suggested that it would be wise for me to not be slack and do the laser cutting as fast as possible, since there will be a lot of other people in line waiting.

Second crit : Annabel Standidge
Blog address: annabel-architecture-blog.tumblr.com

Annabel said that she was interested in second hand clothes.




She incorporated fabric into her stall. I believe it was very effective exterior and also reflects well on her ideas of clothing.



The actual structure of the building is in the form of a complex star like shape. All the coloumns and beams are supported so that they do not need to be physically joined.

The structure is very sophisticaed in that it is geometrically a circular shape, but it still provides a sense of complexity.

This photo give a better view of the internal structural form.

Annabel advised that going first in line for laser cutting helps a lot. She also said that the use of additional material will also give an effective finsh to the model.

Third Crit : Amy Michelle Flett

Blog address : amy-architeture.tumblr.com

Amy's said she loves second hand books. So for her stall she designed a miniture library and reading space. She described how she likes the crammed space that some librarys and second hand book stores have.

Here is the 'corridor' in which books would be stored. The space is narrow to emphasise the experience of the crammed book store.

The material with the rectangles cut out represent the idea of interpretation. How different people can experience the same book but in different ways. It provides a nice pattern for natural light to seep in.

This stall also provides the user with a place to just relax and read books. I found this aspect quite nice, since it contrasts well the two types of spaces.

Open in contrast with crammed.

Amy gave similar advice to the other two people. That going early to get your model laser cut would be more time efficient.

Final!

Since my project involves a large volume of water, I thought outside was the best option to place it instead of the lv 3 exhibition space.

My model set up.

A close up of the black keys, even though they are one piece for the sake of transportation i made it two.

And here is my matrix of my model.!

The model

Here are two of four frames i made to set the concrete in. They are relatively simple.

In this case these two peices would be the blach peices.

These two frames are for the white keys. The frames were then supported with a plank a the bottom to hold the concrete.

These frames were all made in the wood workshop with some help from the staff.

The staff then advised me to coat the frames with some sort of water resistant substance, so that the wooden frame does not absorb the concrete and end up deforming the shape.

So I went to the pharmacy in the quad and managed to buy the last couple of tubs of vaseline.

I was allowed to set the mould in the spray paint area outside the workshop. Since it was the first time I used concrete, I was unsure of the suitable about of cement and water ratio to use. When i poured the mix, i would fill it half way and place a wire meshing in the middle to strenghten it. Nevertheless with less than two days until the crit placed my mould and hoped it would dry in time.

The second set of moulds.

Whilst i was working on the concrete, a worker around the area gave me some handy tips about concrete. He said that I should splash water on the mould once in a while so that the block doesnt crack whilst drying.

I initially thought that applying to the concrete would make it dry faster, but the worker and the wood shop staff advised that it is a chemical reaction, and that heat may cause an explosion.

Unfortunately, for these two blocks both peices were 40mm too long. So it had to be cut, so i tried applying heaps of water but it inevitably failed.

The same worker who gave me the advice said that he would cut the block with his diamond cutter. And thanks to him, the job was done in a matter of seconds.

THE BOX

I made a wooden box to present my model. Since its going to be filled with water and also hold the concrete blocks, it had to be stable and solid.

However the wood was very weak under water, so i had to insulate it somehow.

Firstly i covered the entire interior with plasice, and in the corners i used tile cement and filled the gaps in. Lastly i spray painted the interior with white to give it a finsh.

Starting the Actual Model

THE MATERIALS

For the model i need a material that would be able to support people's weights and also be strong underwater.

Some initial thought i had was  to use wood. - Its relatively cheap, strong and also can lift peoples weights. But after some research i found out that wood tends to expand underwater, nevertheless a coating could be applied to prevent water exposure but that is too expensive.

Another possible material was the use of plastic or perspex. It gives a clean finsh and with a support frame on the inside it will be possible to support people.

Concrete slabs was the other option. Its cheap, resistant in water and also very strong.

At the workshop measuring out all the material for the box and the mould.

Drawings continued

Day: 6 Picture: With this days picture, i wanted to explore some some sort of seating arrangement. I was initially thinking of a stool on a path.

Day :7 Picture: This day i was looking into two types of steps. First being the use of a stool at the end of hte path conveying the idea of isolation and solitude whilst playing music. The steps became more narrow and thinner to accentuate this idea.

And second a more social area where people can sit down on keys and put their feet in the water or sit by  the waters edge. The key steps were increased in area and made more chunkier.

Day: 7 Picture: This picture is just showing the two types of steps possibilities with people figures in them. I tend to like the much larger steps where people can interact with the water than the isolated seat idea.

The Monday Design Check up

The tutors advise me to start making a one to one model of the installation. Also they said the isolation stool idea 'undermines' the elegance of the project.

I will move away from that idea.

Model

Inspirations

Music

 Playing the piano is somewhat of a elegant activity.

Pianists would present themselves in a formal majestic manner.

They tell stories with their music and convey emotions through the keys.

I want to make a place where people can relax and interact and listen to nature.

Also i want to incorporate the elegance of the keys in the design

Drawings

Day:1 Picture: My initial idea of music as my sustenance. So a simplistic picture of placing a piano on top of water/nature. For day one we were simply asked to place an object on the site, i guess this approach is somewhat ironic in a way.

 Day:2 Picture:I believe the sounds of nature and the enviroment to be music. So I incorporated the piano keys into the enviroment. Some are pushed down whilst some remain still. The keys are arranged in a curvy fashion, following the shape of the seats behind.

 Day :3 Picture:The keys were then moved back onto the water, like stepping platforms of sort. Trying to explore the different ways the steps could be arranged in terms of step heights in relation to the water level.

Day :4 Picture: A drawing of a view as if someone was looking down onto the steps. Just trying to see the relationship of the spacing inbetween each step.

Some Starter Drawings

Before drawing on the pictures, i decided to try some photoshop just to see what each object would turn out like.

The location of the two photos are the large park by Vector Arena.

A drawing of a guitar in the midst of some pidgeons

A Grand piano in the patch of grass.

Here is a 1:100 scale of my site. It is the park by vector arena.

On a much larger scale, here is the site in relation to other places.

The Site of Sustenance

When I listen to music i want a quiet enviroment, somewhere close to nature(if it is possible).

This is  a small area near the vector arena and the train station. relatively quite and has a flowerbed around it.

This is a different park near the vector arena, this appealed to me the most. It was quiet and peaceful despite the construction noise near the area. The park is arranged in a semi-circular fashion, with trees around the edges; it provides a sense of enclosure.

This area is inbetween two large buildings so the sound from the city is dimmed out. The area is clean and a peaceful place to jsut relax

Augmented Reality

A new project begins. The idea we are provided with is 'sustenance': what sustains us throught life.

In my opinion something that sustains me through everyday life is music, to be specific christian music but in a more general sense; music.

We were given time to decide on a object to put into an enviroment in our site. I was thinking of objects that actually apply to me, for instance a guitar or a piano. Not too sure which one to go with at the moment, so i might just start with looking at the site.

Development of initial and the crit

                                                                 Previous concept model..

I was influenced by some videos of animals hatching out of their shells. The process was described as long and painful. Thus i had to adapt to the original idea of an instantaeous explosion, rather i slowed down the process.

By saying 'sea' or 'sky' in each individual 'egg' room the rocks will disappear allowing the avatar to expericence waking up to the different natural enviroments for example the ocean or the sky.

The building was made facing due north so that the sun would play a big part in lighting up the dark interior.

The Three Crits

1st  Aaron Hills

Aaron was one of the first people I critted. His project was about how his building reflects the city which in turn reflects his emotions. Basically Aaron designed an enviroment where he could sleep and wake up which reflected upon the emotions he was feeling at the time. Therefore his builiding was mobile and able to change locations quite easily.

In the pictures about you can see his completed model. He used perspex, this was to give it a sense of confinement whilst also giving the space a sense of enclosement. Aaron was enphasizing the idea of the changing landscapes, and different spaces.

He was kind enough to give me the tip of planning in advance when doing the actual 1:1 model, i hope his advice comes in handy.

2nd Alex Brown

Alex was very direct in his explanation of his project. He showed me how he designed an invisible bridge, that provided an access way between buildings. The entire thing was made out of glass and steel, thus reinforcing his idea of an enclosed/open spaces and also the idea of freedom.

In his 1:1 we see here the relationship of the steel structure in comparason to the glass. It was a fascinating model to look at.

3rd Bernadette Fok

I critted Bernadette last. At the time she did not have her model present but she did manage to explain her model and her process. She created a bed of sort on water. She emphasised the idea of water, and allowed her bed to interact with water. So the user would be able to touch the water, hear the water and possibly drink it if they so wish to. Her bed was located outside to give a sense of openness and a closeness to nature.
There was a fountain on the bed which supplied a constant stream of water so everything about waking up would be about water.

In these photos we can see a better example of her bed, unfortunately the 1:1 model is too large to show the entire bed, nevertheless we can see how an elegant fountain and path will be the supply of the water.