STUDIO AIR
Sleeping Pod, Digital Design and Fabrication, Diana Ong, Malak Nourderine El Moussaoui and Emily Thomas, 2016
Conceptacle, Earth, Emily Thomas, 2016
1.1 Biography My name is Emily and I am currently completing my third year of undergraduate studies, majoring in architecture. I’ve always had a passion for creating things, ever since I was little and was known for my overactive imagination. In year six, however, our assignment was to draw a plan view of our backyards that is where my passion for architecture stems from. You could say my way of designing is a bit quirky and experimental, probably due to my love for writing and narrative which is still a huge part of my life. From my first assignment at university, I have thought up wider concepts and narratives to fit with the brief. I love manipulating restrictions and limitations to form something completely different from what was expected from the beginning of the assignment. My designs are often also very dramatic and I often weave complex narratives to denote the human experience within my architecture. Perhaps in line with my own design thinking, I find I am inspired by the work of Oscar Niemeyer. While he is known for his sensual curves and focus on human experience, I know him for a quote I found in my first year: “The rule is the worst thing. You just want to break it.”
So I do
1.0 Design Futuring Design Futuring denotes an attempt to create sustainable and facilitative architecture, rather than design that inhibits the natural world1.
1. Fry, Tony. Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford:Berg, 2008), p. 1-16
Nex Architecture, Times Eureka Pavilion, 2011 < http://www. archilovers.com/projects/54312/times-eureka-pavilion.html> [accessed: 05/03/2017 Nex Architecture, Times Eureka Pavilion, 2011 < http:// www.archdaily.com/142509/times-eureka-pavilion-nex-architecture> [accessed: 05/03/2017
1.1 Times Eureka Pavilion ARCHITECTS: Nex Architecture LOCATION: Westminster, London, UK YEAR: 2011 While the project does not exactly blend into the landscape in which it sits, the pavilion does draw inspiration from the cellular structure of the plants in the garden. This is, however, not what makes the design one that enables sustainability; the pavilion is made from sustainable timber and recycled plastic. The plastic cells also direct water into channels to utilise any run off in the surrounding garden. In terms of computational design, the cellular model was created using complex computer algorithms which depicted the overall form within the cuboid geometry. The panels and plastic were pre-fabricated and assembled quickly on site, creating a design which reflected and enabled nature as well its human visitors.
Markus Schietsch Architekten,Elephant House, 2014 < http:// www.swiss-architects.com/en/projects/45697_Elephant_House_ Zurich_Zoo> [accessed: 05/03/2017
Markus Schietsch Architekten,Elephant House, 2014 < http:// www.archdaily.com/770772/elephant-house-zoo-zurich-markus-schietsch-architekten> [accessed: 05/03/2017
1.2 Elephant House ARCHITECT: Markus Schietsch Architekten LOCATION: Zürichbergstrasse 221, 8044 Zürich YEAR: 2014 This project does not only emphasise how computational design can be used to create complex, yet simply constructed Gridshell, but also elucidates how architecture can be something to facilitate the natural world. Although the shell does not appear to be something sourced from nature, the shape and the effect are influenced by tree canopies, successfully mimicking the elephants’ natural habitat while providing shelter and shade. Yet, the design also benefits the human users (visitors of the zoo) by providing portals in which they can view the animals through. The pre-fabricated triple layer panels were cut and shaped on site and span the entirety of the structure in one continuous surface. Furthermore, the shape and flow of the building follow the landscape, creating a sense that even though this is built work, it has a direct symbiotic relationship with nature itself.