Ethereal Narrative Analysis

In Earth’s future, a global crop blight and second Dust Bowl are slowly rendering the planet uninhabitable. Professor Brand (Michael Caine), a brilliant NASA physicist, is working on plans to save mankind by transporting Earth’s population to a new home via a wormhole.

But first, Brand must send former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and a team of researchers through the wormhole and across the galaxy to find out which of three planets could be mankind’s new home.

space

atmosphere

Interstellar generates atmosphere and evokes emotion through manipulation of light. Moods exhibited in this film are similar to those I strive to achieve in my scheme. In Interstellar, TARS explains to Coop that the ultra-advanced beings “constructed this three-dimensional space inside of their fivedimensional reality to allow you to understand it”. Time is represented as a “physical dimension”. Coop sees Murph’s bedroom, from when she is 10 years old, and every moment in that time is presented through infinite physical lines which Coop is able to travel through and experience.

He is moving around time physically, just as Dr. Brand had earlier speculated, when she says: “to Them, time may be just another

physical dimension. To Them, the past might be a canyon they can climb into, and the future a mountain they can climb up.”

Related to my project, the tesseract could represent a physical space, the origin point of all circulation routes on site.

tesseract

tonal qualities

austere - something very sombre contemplating - deep in thought or meditation grave - serious; solemn; sedate solemn - serious; sincere

narratives de-constructed

Dissecting the narrative of Interstellar reveals three core principles, four if you consider gravity. These three principles (right) over-arch the film and connect crucial plot points across space and time, justifying decisions made.

Similarly, my scheme will require a set of principles to inform the design choices, like the narratives of Interstellar. I will use this approach to develop my own ‘algorithm’, which will ultimately dictate the spatial arrangements and coordinate the user interaction within them.

This approach will provide a deeper and more informed justification to the decisions made. time primary narrative

love secondary narrative

binary tertiary narrative

The purpose of this narrative design is to create a story that coincides with the proposal. My story revolves around the dichotomy of life and death, and consideration of time and connections. Hence why I have referred to Interstellar to aid with my narrative.

By dissecting this narrative, I will be able to reference core principles to formulate my own “algorithm” which sets parameters for my design, and will result in a project deeply rooted in metaphysical considerations, which provides an additional dimension to the scheme.

algorithm

Visual strips of varying opacity can be interpreted to represent the infinite expansion of my project in any direction. In the film they stem from the tesseract, further supporting the concept of modelling the core of the scheme as a tesseract from which the building circulates vertically and horizontally.

narrative interpretations

Physical language communicated through manipulations in light, across space and time.

Controlling the moment through the use of practical and spatial solutions.

Overarching theme of love transcends space and time, connecting beings to one another. Time is a major area of focus based on my analysis of parker drive, therefore this narrative will be suitable for my scheme. As previously stated, this physical interaction with time is modelled as a tesseract. In relation to Parker Drive, the tesseract could be reinterpreted as a primary location from which different circulation routes occur. This space could manifest as a hall, a forecourt, or something entirely new.

The concept of time can be interpreted in various ways, one of which being the control of time spent at a space through the manipulation of architecture. Careful coordination of spatial interaction and accessibility to programmes on site can result in an almost scripted circulation. Due to the nature of public and private spaces, and an overlap of different circulations, this could lead to an effective resolution.

time

The concept of love represents a metaphysical form of communication. Applying this to my design, this can be a metaphor for the atmospheric and intimate relationship of space between loved ones and the deceased.

Architecturally, this can be achieved through the duration of atmospheres. This will evoke emotion within the users which will in turn, produce tangible interactions between parties involved. Thus generating connections between user and space.

love

binary

The language of binary can be interpreted literally for my design narrative. Key elements of my scheme include a steel frame structure, and pods of trees/architecture that sits within them. The visual output of binary can be used to aid with the layout of pods within the frame. With “1” representing the frame, and “0” representing a pod.

Furthermore, “1” and “0” can be interpreted as “yes” and “no”, as this project deals with life and death, binary can represent spaces for the living “1” and spaces for the deceased “0”. As the scheme grows to accommodate new additions, the binary code will always be changing. Alternatively, the binary narrative can be applied to the design as it is in the film, through a manipulation of light, which will help achieve desired tonal qualities, and generate atmosphere on site.