Digital Design - Module 01 Semester 1, 2019 Hayley Cottrell
995093 Kammy Leung & Chun Fok, Studio 24
Week One
Reading: Zeara Polo, A. 2010. Between Ideas and Matters.
According to Zeara-Polo, the diagram does not play a representational role in the design process but provides an organisational and can have a performative quality depending on how it is deployed. Explain how Diagram is different from Signs and Symbols?
The key distinction between diagrams and signs and symbols is that a diagram is not a representation of an object, but it rather acts as way of describing spatial relationships. The physical form and the conceptual content of a diagram are directly related to one another. This differs to signs and symbols in that the relationship they represent is irrelevant to the form and meaning of an object. Diagrams can also be taken to be not as explicit as sign and symbols, and more abstract in the information that can be demonstrated.
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Week One
Precedent Analysis
Structural timber frame
In the recreated digital model for this precedent, the emphasis was placed on the simplicity of the structure, in turn showing how it is purely an experiential and sensory design. The envelop of the building is created by plywood cladding being secured to a timber frame, completing the entire design. The height, overall form and light is what informs how the pavilion is experienced, in that it evokes a feeling of curiousity and contemplation. The overall structure of the building was created by extruding the section
Cladding over frame
Fig. 1.
detail of the frame linework. Overlaying this with the plan view, the framing was placed around the base to form the pavilion’s shape. From this framework, the cladding was added as planar surfaces, and the bench and pathways added after.
“Garden within a garden” Precedent: Peter Zumthor - Serpentine Pavilion 2011
This quote that Peter Zumthor used to describe his design for the 2011 Serpentine Pavilion, “a garden within a garden”, embodies the true concept of the pavilion. It is this hidden enclosure where one encounters nature in a way that is different from the garden the building is located within. The chosen image demonstrates the contrast that allows this unique experience to occur. On approach, the building appears stark, with little clue of what lies within. Once entered, the visitor is stripped back of their connection to the outside world, through a dark, plywood clad, circulatory hallway. Light does penetrate this space however, inviting people to move through into the open garden area, a place that they can now relax and feel as though they have stepped away from the outside world, even if just for a moment.
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Week Two
Reading: Hertzberger H. 2005. The in-between and The Habitable Space Between Things, from Lessons for Students in Architecture. Herzberger discusses how design should not be extreme in its functionality. Use your precedent study to explain how the pavilion allows for an appropriation of use.
Peter Zumthor’s pavilion utilises a simple form and layout to allow the visitor to decide how they experience the space. This experiential quality is a essential idea to the pavilion, and is emphasised first and foremost by the multiple openings in its facade. Before one can enter the building, they must already make a choice about how they should enter it, directed by pathways leading to the entrances. As soon as they enter the circulatory hallway, a visitor must decide to either walk around the interior space or to move through one of the openings that will lead them to the central garden. Again, they are presented with another ambulatory path where they can decide how they are to experience the garden area. This affordance of experience enabled by the simplicity of the structure, encouraging people to forge their own memories of the pavilion.
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Week Two
Isometric
Revealing Subtile Intricacies Whilst from the outside, the overall form of Peter Zumthor’s 2011 Serpentine Pavilion may look like a simple rectangular prism, it is in fact quite complex in concept. The aim of this design was for people to enter the building, travel through the surrounding hallway, detaching themselves from the exterior environment and leaving everything outside to observe and relax in the central garden. This effect is achieved through the juxtaposition of the dark, gloomy interior and the bright, sun-lit courtyard. The enclosing hallway is a path that people can circle around before entering into the secluded area of the inner garden. This process enables them to feel separated from what is outside the buildings walls, and when they return, be transitioned back into reality. It is a sensory experience, that could only be possible by the simplicity of the form. In order to convey the complex concept of the pavilion, it has been split into a sectioned isometric drawing. This has been done to show how the building appears from the outside, the simple structural nature and the enclosing spaces within. The inclusion of the textures of the pavilion provide a sense of how it is experienced form outside to in. The dark plywood cladding making for a mysterious exterior form and a muted interior hallway, which then contrasts with the lush, bright garden in the centre. Framing of the garden is also shown, with its centrality and relationship with the open roof. Additionally, the frame structure of the pavilion is also shown, to demonstrate how the simple form of the building can create an intricate experience.
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Week Two Diagrams
Roof THRESHOLDS The pavilion has two distinct types of thresholds, one being physical, and the other more sensorial and based on a transition in experiences. The ten openings through out the pavilion and the 6 leading pathways are the physical thresholds, providing an entrance into different spaces of contrasting qualities. They denote where one enters the dark, circulatory hallway, or enters into the open light. The hallway that wraps around the interior courtyard can also be considered a threshold has it is an in-between space used to denote the Experiential
Physical
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change in environment and for the visitor to let go of the external setting of London. This sensory experience is what defines this threshold, as it aims to be a transition space between reality and the serenity of the garden within.
Week Two Diagrams
Roof CIRCULATION Peter Zumthor’s pavilion has been designed with the intent of the circulation of space. It is this circulation and prescribed paths that enable him to achieve his desired experiential effect. The movement is directed by the leading pathways, openings and the walkways that wrap around the garden and as a hallway. This defines the main circulatory routes that are taken within the pavilion. The garden plays an integral role in defining how people use the space, as it is not only wondered around, but also viewed from a standstill. It is a focal Contemplation
Circulation paths
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point, allowing people to observe from the surrounding benches, and tall and dense enough to create a sense of a personal area within the public space. Its intriging nature causes people to slow down, relax, and spend a moment in the centre space before moving off once more.
Appendix Process
Generation of Ideas Sketches were done in order to work out how to represent the complexity of the pavilion’s concept in the circulation and threshold diagrams. The information had to be clear and concise to allow for abstraction of information.
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Appendix
Process
Development The overall structure of the pavilion is made up by a timber frame of 152 individual pieces, allowing the form of the building to be modelled in Rhino by using a single section of the framework. Once extruded, it was copied around the perimeter to create it’s underlying shape. From this section, the spacing between the studs can be extracted, allowing for the extruded form to be accurately distributed.
Fig. 3
Fig. 2
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Appendix Process
Structural timber frame
The building’s simplicity was key to display in terms of conveying the main concept of a space that allows one to remove themselves from the outside world in a central garden area. The framing was fully completed before the cladding was added as it is necessary in demonstrating its surprising effect.
Cladding over frame
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Appendix
Process
Refinement The way in which the model was sectioned and the cladding removed to show the interior structure was explored in order to convey further information about the pavilion’s concept and form. Ultimately, the second image above was choosen as it gave a better insight into the interior space between, and therefore how people move about the space.
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In the diagrams, a subtile red has been used to represent the important information in the diagrams, not detracting away from the other information but still influecing the visual hierarchy of the objects. For some of the diagrams as well, the garden that was used in the isometric was included so that greater context and use of space could be portrayed in the illustrations.
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Appendix
Process
Bibliography Figure 1: Julien Lanoo, Peter Zumthor Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, 2011. Serpentine Gallery, London. Accessed March 7, 2019. https://www.dezeen.com/2016/02/12/video-interiviewpeter-zumthor-serpentine-gallery-pavilion-2011-solitude-calm-movie/. Figure 2: Peter Zumthor, Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Section, 2011. Accessed March 7, 2019. http://arquitectures234.blogspot.com/2016/02/serpentine-gallery-pavilion-2011-peter.html. Figure 3: Peter Zumthor, Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Section, 2011. Accessed March 7, 2019. https://halfitect.wordpress.com.
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