ARCHITECTURE STUDIO: EARTH ISABELLA CHOW 833256 STUDIO 15 - VIET PHAM
AN EXPLORATION OF THE ILLUSION OF TIME
CONTENTS 1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS 1.1 POINT LINE PLANE PRECEDENCE MODELING 1.2 MASS PRECEDENCE SECTIONING 1.3 FRAME AND INFILL PRECEDENCE EXPLORATION OF TENSEGRITY MODELING DIAGRAMATICS 2.0 SITE: HERRING ISLAND 3.0 CONCEPTUALIZATION PRECEDENCE CONCEPTICLE 4.0 DESIGN: A PLACE FOR KEEPING SECRETS GESTALT PAVILION DESIGN V1 PAVILION DESIGN V2 PLAN SECTION VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF SPACE: COLLAGE PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION OF SPACE: MODELING 5.0 REFLECTION 6.0 APPENDIX
THREE RELATIONSHIPS point line plane x ground surface mass x underground spatiality frame and infill x space above ground
POINT / LINE / PLANE
Figure 1. Frank Stella, Abra Variation I, 1969 The Museum of Modern Art, inv. no. 695.1980
A flat modernist painting that somehow alludes to a depth confined within its frame. Stella’s Abra Variation I is a visual illusion, curved lines create two dimensional planes which in turn produce a layered effect, they undulate across the canvas sweeping under and over other planes. They interlock and form new connections and links between at various areas in the painting. Yet they appear to converge at a central point, the point is not explicitly defined, it is a kind of suggested ambiguity.
Figure 2. YURE Temporary Pavillion, Jardin de Tuileries, Paris Kengo Kuma and Associates, 2015
Kuma has designed a repetitive masterpiece in the YURE temporary pavilion. The repetitive use of a basic linear, overlapping timber formation has divulged to create complexity out of simplicity. Lines are translated at different angles, interlocking and connecting in specific patterns that look almost random. Moving around the structure offers an array of divergent viewpoints which render lines into planes and vice versa. Points lead up through the structure and offshoot into the sky at many peak points.
I seeked to emphasise how a single shape could hold both point, line and plane and furthermore how movement and circulation of the formation could facilitate this multifaceted perception. Also, how repetition of this shape could create a three dimensional structure with spaces formed by strange and random angles. I used a hollowed out triangle shape and sliced and bent the shape so that the triangle itself had a three dimensional form and was no longer flat. When these triangles were interlocked they created an array of point, line and plane different from every angle. Interesting spaces inside were created as well which when lit showed an assemblage of curious shadows
MASS
Figure 3. 15 Untitled works in concrete by Donald Judd Marfa, Texas, United States
Judd’s Untitled works in concrete are on one hand frames and on the other subtracted masses. The brutality of the material defines the structures and juxtaposes the sparsely soft landscapes their subtractions open up to. The landscape bridges the gaps in each mass - linking concrete plane to concrete plane and forming a new whole. The new whole is a hybrid of two elements of natural and of man made, of organicity and of hostility, of massing and of bridging. Here the context and location is as crucial to the intended conceptual effect as the material of choice.
Figure 4. Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain To begin my exploration into mass I looked to the town Setenil de las Bodegas in Spain, which is essentially built into and around a large cliff. The geological context of the town itself is quite amazing but the way the town encompasses the geological formations creates a striking effect. Instead of cutting and deconstructing - subtracting - from the rock formation the buildings are built around them, basically bridging natural gaps in the cliff face. I wanted to take this and imagine a structure which connects, like a bridge, two parts of a split geological mass. However instead of the structure being built with the mass above and below I looked to rotate the mass and have it at shifted angles. This way the structure would pierce both sides horizontally hence it would be held stable by both sections of the cliff (mass) and wouldn’t just be sitting on one section of the cliff and floating under the other section of cliff, as is the case in Setenil de las Bodegas.
BRIDGING MASS TO FORM PERCIEVED WHOLES In terms of light and dark spaces, I noticed how in image two although under the cliff the area was darker than normal light there was still a constant flow of light through the space. Furthermore if I shifted the splitting cliff during the day when the sun was at certain angles the space between the two cliff faces would act like a light tunnel. To take advantage of this directed natural light glass panels would line the inner facing facade. The deeper into the cliff face the horizontal subtraction moved the darker it would be and hence to detract from the visual sense the walls would be carved directly from the rocky cliff. In these darker spaces the sensory emphasis would be on touch and feeling the textures of the raw rock interior walls.
Figur
SOLceou mate filter atten struc struc is the the s of ten
FRAME AND INFILL
re 5. SOL-IL Mini Living House, Milan Design Week 2017
-IL’s Mini Living House showcases a new living form, a curvaus cylindrical structure wrapped in newly developed breathable erial. It is a material which is described as having the ability to polluted air for its occupants. The structure did not capture my ntion for this purpose though. I initially began to look into SOL-IL’s cture in regards to the tensile cocoon which engulfs its internal cture. Here the boundaries between what is the frame and what e infill are blurred - the tensile material is as much the frame as steel structure which it encloses. This realisation and identification nsion in action launched my further investigations.
Figure 6 Fabricat elastic b
6.1 30 STRUT TENSEGRITY SPHERE ted by myself from balsa wood and bands
Figure 6.2 BUCKMINSTER FULLER’S TENSEGRITY SPHERE My research led me to Buckminster Fuller’s tensegrity sphere - a set of struts held together by tensile forces to create a sphere, no two struts touch each other. Buckminster Fuller described the struts as “floating in a sea of tension”. I made a small model of a 30 strut tensegrity sphere using balsa wood and elastic bands (image left) so I could physically see how the tensile structure worked and if I could use it as a possible frame. In terms of using the tensegrity sphere as a frame I didn’t think it would be very effective as the sphere bounced around on a base surface and would not sit flush. Also the number of struts and tensile members made it hard for me to visualise the interior of the sphere as a functional lifesize space, with an infill. In saying this I found the floating effect of the struts fascinating and I wanted to take this on board for the infill - try and make a space where people “float in a sea of tension” as opposed to the struts floating.
Figure 7.
FRAME + INFILL experience collage
Figure 8.
Exploded Axonometric of FRAME + INFILL MODEL In order to create the infill I formulated a basic pattern for attaching pieces of material inside the frame in tension to create the infill - each piece is attached to four vertcies in the same manner. I then flipped and rotated the infill piece to form infill pieces which overlapped each other in places. There are 3 ways i orientated the infill pieces (illustrated in figure eight and figure nine.)
“Floating in a sea of tension” - Buckminster Fuller
HISTORY: HERRING ISLAND
Pre European Settlement:
1870:
Yarra River was part of the Wurundjeri people’s land in what is now inner city Melbourne
In the area that is now the Burnley Harbour a quarry was created and its stone used to lay roads around the Richmond area
1928:
1930 onwards:
Small island formed as a result of a channel being cut through the quarry
Flooding occurs in the Yarra River. To control water flooding levee banks are produced and the left over silt and excess soil is dumped on the island, then called “Como Island”. “Como Island” is renamed “Herring Island” in 1952 after Sir Edmund Herring.
ss
vegetation
pathways
topography
vegetation / tree coverage
distribution of art & sculptures
amenities
river tides
heat distribution
sunlight - afternoon
sunlight - morning
water traffic
access to island
direction of wind - summer
direction of wind - win
roads
yarra river
topography, buildings & jetties
+ Water levels around Herring Island are quite shallow between 1-2 metres deep, this limits the size of boats travelling through this section of the Yarra + Two adjacent bridges - the Church Street Bridge and the MacRobertson bridge also limit the size and width of boats accessing the waters around Herring Island + Water traffic passes in both directions + Speeds are limited to five knots + There are two public landings, one on the Burnley side of the island and another on the South Yarra side, both are strictly four hour limits + Herring Island punt service is operated by Parks Victoria and operates between December 17 and April 17 on weekends and public holidays only + Both landings are legal fishing zones + The island’s proximity to boat sheds and shallow depths make it a popular area for rowing activities
views
Clockwise from top left: a.) Temperature, b.) Afternoon sunlight, c.) Morning sunlig circulation around island
noise pollution
ght, d.) Water Traffic, e.) Sculptures, f.) Vegetation, g.) Topography, h.) Access to site
SITE: HERRING ISLAND
“What is time then? If no one asks me, I we measure what does not exist? The pa what of the present? The present has not syllables themselves, but the images of th I measure time, I measure impressions, m - Confessions of St. Augustine AD 398
know… We measure times. But how can ast is no longer, the future is not yet. And t died away. Thus I do not measure the he two tones in my memory… Thus when modifications of consciousness.”
Figure 9. Changing Time with Changing Self - Flower Tatsuo Miyajima, 2014 Figure 10. Number of Time in Coin-Locker Tatsuo Miyajima, 1996
Changing Time with Changing Self shows LED lit numbers cycle t to nine - Tatsuo Miyajima explores this concept of time througho He creates a numerically cycling space which represents time in electronically lit cycles question the importance and direct meanin human cycle of life and death, even the path of evolution. His wo an infinitely small or large scale representation of time.
PRECEDENCE
Time is not constant. Time has the ability to morph at a person’ this feature of time with Number of Time in Coin-Locker. A variet adjust the speed of each light themselves before they are placed This piece is a visual representation of the freedom of time - pe space in their own time, at their own pace. Time is as perceptu mands.
through the numbers one out his installation works. n a visual manner. These ng of time as well as the ork can be interpreted as
’s will. Miyajima explores ty of people are asked to into the locker altogether. eople feel and experience ual as the space it com-
Figure 11. Rainbow Church, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokujin Yoshioka Tokyo, Japan, 2013-2014 Figure 12. Rainbow Church, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokujin Yoshioka Tokyo, Japan, 2013-2014 Tokujin Yoshioka explores light and colour creating a two storey high installation - a wall lined with stacked prisms. Beams of light enter the prisms and as a result light is refracted causing a spectrum of colours to be spun out in almost rhythmic beams. As time moves along and sun direction and natural light levels change the refracted beams of coloured light move and alter the space.
Figure 13. Knut Hamsun Centre, Steven Holl Architects Hamarøy, Norway, 2009 Figure 14. Knut Hamsun Centre, Steven Holl Architects Hamarøy, Norway, 2009
Location within the artic circle - periods of time where sun doe days and where sun doesn’t rise for days. Holl plays with thes ities of light that time creates. Windows are placed according angles of the sun and mirrors are placed in calculated position beams of light. The result is a highly calculated space which is experiementation with the way time can change light and spac
esn’t set for se extremto specific ns to reflect formed by ce.
CONCEPTICLE
An exploration of the illusion of time through the tonics - point / line / plane, mass and frame angulated shapes create an arch like structure w its way around floating above a solid mass. Th intercept and subtract from the mass at varied depths. The arch represented the pathway of li progresses from dawn till dusk. Light transforms left by the triangulated structure on the surface o in the form of ephemeral shadow.
e three tec+ infill. Triwhich twists hese shapes points and ight as time s the marks of the mass
TIME AS LIGHT: PAVILION DESIGN V1
Clockwise from top left: a.) Sunlight studies of site on Herring Island, b.) Effect of afternoon light on pavilion, c.) Effect of morning light on pavilion, d.) Direction of sun across site from rising to setting
Pavilion design V1 focuses on the ephemeral perception of light - how light shifts with time creating moments which can only be experienced in a particular space at a particular time. Triangulated views hang vertically across the site, held in position by cantilevered framework, they appear to be floating. The veils shield spaces subtracted into the topographical mass of the island. Morning sunlight reflects triangulated shadows, further distorted by the layering effect of the veils, on to the water below. As the sun progresses across the sky sunlight changes direction and gradually spills these distorted shadows into the interior subtracted spaces. Subtractions though separated by mass are linked by bridges to form a maze-like collection of spaces for exploration and perceptual experience.
THE GRID A six by six grid has been used to decide the composition of the six triangulated formations on the island site. Positions on the grid have been chosen to allow for a fluid composition of the space - from each angle there is a constant flow of forms with limited gaps, although the forms are separated by space they are seemingly one whole and rely on surrounding formations to produce an effective experience. Bridging structures physically link these forms and push a suggested pathway, creating a pre conceived narrative of the users experience of the space.
GESTALT Figure 15. Untitled (3 L’s), Robert Morris, 1965 refabricated 1970 Gestalt describes the formation of seperate elements into a whole. It maintains the idea that elements separated by space can form a perceived whole with a greater effect than the sum of these seperate elements themselves. Each element relies on the surrounding elements to achieve its intended purpose. Morris’ Untitled (3 L’s) explore the concept of physical perception however a single L is conceptually unsuccessful on its own and requires the other two L’s to achieve its intended conceptual purpose.
DISTINCT SPACES IN TIME: PAVILION DESIGN V2
Clockwise from top leftt: a.) Breaking down of site into six areas, b.) Graduation of forms up site, c.) Rough sketch showing bridging structures piercing underground and above ground spaces, d.) Creating six circular forms with differing floor levels
This was the chosen design for the pavilion. A series of six formations are scattered within a tight 6x6 grid on the site. These six forms interlock with each other as they are created from the splitting of one whole geological mass - symbolic of the divisibility of the number six in unitary time. Forms are each covered in a framework of triangulation, dissolving the central mass and resulting in light filled spaces. These spaces are subtracted into the topographical mass of the site and floor plates are different for each form. A layering of heights through the site results in a dynamic experience of the three zones - below, at and above ground. Triangulated forms are light filled - shadows changing dramatically as time progresses and the sun moves through the sky. Each triangulated form is connected to the adjacent via a network of bridges. Bridges juxtapose the light filled spaces - they are dark and tight - making the user feel claustrophobic and causing them to move faster through these areas. Time is not constant and the juxtaposing forms of the bridges and the triangulated structures explore this idea by manipulating the speed at which a user moves through the spaces. In a final reveal - a time capsule lies beneath the centre front triangulated form. Holes in the ceiling and floor above this time capsule are carved into the structure and as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky light floods down through the skylights to illuminate the time capsule hidden below the ground - rendering the secret visible yet intangible, much like time itself.
Figure 16.
Progression of form from whole geological mass to the triangulated framework surrounding one of the six segments of the split mass
SITE PLAN
B
A
A
Figure 17.
B
Floorplan depicting section A-A and section B-B lines
Figure 18.
Section A-A
Figure 19.
Section B-B
Figure 20.
Collages left showing bridging and floor plates, right showing triangulated structures
Figure 21.
Perspective view inside form one looking into bridge one
Figure 22.
Perspective view between forms three and four
REFLECTION Studio Earth forced me to develop my design process in order to meet expectations. I gradually realised through the duration of this semester the importance of concept and the tight grasp it holds on the effectiveness of an architectural design task. From the exploration of architectural tectonics - point / line / plane, mass and frame + infill - to the production of final floor plans and physical models, conceptualisation is the key to success. Along with this realisation came the acceptance of the value research and great precedence plays in deciphering said concepts into works of architecture and physical space. Herring Island sat as a fantastically unexplored setting for this conceptualisation of secrets. I found it amazing how, having grown up in Melbourne, I had previously never visited the island and for me this curiosity made it all the more interesting to develop. Beyond this I thoroughly enjoyed researching and reading into concepts of time and space throughout the design process. I found inspiration and precedence in sources I would not usually look to - particularly books as I am not a huge reader. But once again being able to really focus on conceptualisation in this subject was a key point of enjoyment and even pushed me into unfamiliar grounds.
APPENDIX IMAGES Figure 1. Frank Stella, Abra Variation I, 1969 - The Museum of Modern Art, inv. no. 695.1980 Figure 2. YURE Temporary Pavillion, Jardin de Tuileries, Paris by Kengo Kuma and Associates, 2015 Ortiginal image retreived from https://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/20/kengo-kuma-installs-climbable-wooden-yure-pavilion-jardins-des-tuileries-paris-fiac/ Figure 3. 15 Untitled works in concrete by Donald Judd Marfa, Texas, United States Original image retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/2012/08/02/156980469/marfa-texas-an-unlikely-art-oasis-in-a-desert-town Figure 4. Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain Original image retrieved from http://www.travelettes.net/5-unlikely-europe-escapes/setenil-de-la-bodega-cadiz-andalucia-espana/ Figure 5. SOL-IL Mini Living House, Milan Design Week 2017 Original image retrieved from: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/04/05/so-il-future-sustainable-city-house-smog-filtering-mini-living-milan-2017/ Figure 6. Buckminster Fuller’s Tensegrity Sphere Original Image retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/r-buckminster-fuller-about-r-buckminster-fuller/599/ Figure 9. Changing Time with Changing Self - Flower by Tatsuo Miyajima, 2014 Original image retrieved from http://tatsuomiyajima.com/work-projects/1841/ Figure 10. Number of Time in Coin-Locker by Tatsuo Miyajima, 1996 Original image retrieved from http://tatsuomiyajima.com/work-projects/number-of-time-in-coin-locker/ Figure 11. Rainbow Church, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokujin Yoshioka Tokyo, Japan, 2013-2014 Original image retrieved from http://www.tokujin.com/en/project/architecture/# Figure 12. Rainbow Church, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokujin Yoshioka Tokyo, Japan, 2013-2014 Original image retrieved from http://www.tokujin.com/en/project/architecture/# Figure 13. Knut Hamsun Centre, Steven Holl Architects Hamarøy, Norway, 2009 Original image retrieved from http://www.architecturalrecord.com Figure 14. Knut Hamsun Centre, Steven Holl Architects Hamarøy, Norway, 2009 Original image retrieved from http://www.architecturalrecord.com
Figure 15. Untitled (3 L’s), Robert Morris, 1965 refabricated 1970 Original image retrieved from https://au.pinterest.com/pin/451204456398712509/
ISABELLA CHOW, 2017