Journal Entry 1 After many hours with a sketch pad in hand my first week of virtual environments draws to a close. From these hours of thought and careful consideration I have emerged with the skeletal framework of a concept for my lantern. The conceptulisation of this concept was greatly aided by the readings and lecture of the week. The reading on forms and shapes in nature was of special help to me as it directly related to my biological concept of natural selection; with the examination of the changing forms relating to the theory of Darwinian Evolution. This examination aided me in visually expressing my concpet, as I had been struggling with representing such a vast timescale. What the reading really made me question was the distinction between man and nature. I found myself asking the question why when we associate a spiders web, its creation, with being natural why man made structures are un natural, because after all man is just a construct of nature? So, this reading really forced me to reconsider the clear distinction I had always held of what is natural and what is not. I also really enjoyed the lecture on Jackson Pollock and found the idea of fractals fascinating. I would love to try and incorporate the concept of differing scales forming a whole in my design. I have placed an image of one of his works bellow. IMAGE: A painting by Jackson Pollock demonstrating the idea of fractals. I also like his choice of colours and whilst they are individual the seem to blend together to make a whole
Journal Entry 2 This week saw the development of my lantern concept from a theoretical concept on paper to a series of real, physical plasticine models. As I attempted to go about evolving my design I drew on the concepts discussed in the reading on fluids and my own precedent research. If we firstly consider the crux of the reading on fluids as the portrayal of the mechanics and flows of water integrated with everyday items and, of considerable importance to me, how to communicate a three dimensional idea within a two dimensional media. If we examine within the reading how Leonardo went about this we see that he moves away from the true classical form and representation of water into a more abstract representation focussed on the interactions and mechanics of water rather than its form. I believe this is of special relevance to what we are trying to accomplish with our natural processes for our lantern, showing that we must move away from a literal representation to a more abstract exploration of ideas. Taking this knowledge from the reading I went and examined some artists work and in the processes discovered the building shown to the left (Cocoon HQ, Zurich, Switzerland), which quickly stole a place towards the top of my favourite buildings list. What I find so enthralling about this piece of architecture is how the building comprises of a number of elliptical floor segments arranged around a gently sloping stair case. The building is not arranged into distinct horizontal levels as is normal but consists of one single floor winding around the central ramp. This creates a sense of connection between all parts of the building and should aid in creating an atmosphere inside that is not divided by walls but a collective community vibe. If we take a moment to examine the ramp in the building and how it could possibly influence my design we see the same idea that I am trying to create with the ramp starting from a central origin point and growing out and developing, simultaneously linking the whole building. So, taking all this into account I can consider how this could aid my project. The need to explore my processes abstractly is strikingly apparent and the ideas and concepts used in the Cocoon building should help me in doing this.