MPONENT 2 COMPONENT 2 COMPONENT 2 COMPONENT 2 COMPONENT 2 COMPONENT 2 COMPONENT 2 COMPON
LAYLA STEVENS
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Brief & Spec UEL would like a planetarium for it's new Astronomy course it plans to provide in the future which would also have screenings available for the public. The centre should attract people from the area of Beckton to introduce young people to different areas within the sciences while also being used as an educational building for current UEL students. As UEL does not currently have an astronomy course. The building should be visually appealing and requires a dome structure (or structures) to host planetarium screenings. There are a few planetariums in the UK, and as planetariums can a platform which can introduce people into the world of astronomy it would help inspire future astronomists. They would like the building to follow the colour palette of the buildings on their campus so the planetarium can be visually associated with the campus The planetarium should have an information desk and a small museum area to inform people of the history of different astronomists. It must have: - disabled access - a domed structure - fit the theme of change/stability - a large pedestrian walkway - green space (outdoor)
A planetarium is a theatre which features educational and/or entertaining content on a dome-like screen. Nowadays. Digital projectors are used to project content onto the screens. They can vary in size, however UEL would like to host screenings for the public so the minimum amount of seating would be 100. For the structure of the dome a strong material would be required to maintain it's shape, however there are domes which use alternative methods to maintain shapes, e.g. inflatable. There are also interesting materials used to cover the exterior of the dome such as We The Curious' planetarium which is covered in curved mirror panels.
Location The UEL docklands campus is located in Beckton. It has three nearby train stations, with Cyprus station being a less than minute walk away from the campus, and a nearby bus stop from both exits. UEL is a public university which provides a variety of subjects to it's students, such as social sciences, dance, film etc. Next to the site is a university technical college and on the other a highway.
site
The accessibility of this site is very restricted, as the only access point is a 3 minute walk through the university campus. The planetarium may also require nearby parking and additional walkways to help encourage people to visit it.
Accomodation
Aerial view of the campus
Primary research
DRAWINGS
The California Academy of Sciences, designed by Renzo Piano, is an institution which specialises in Natural Sciences. It has a rainforest, which is houses a dome, a planetarium and an aquarium exhibit which is housed below ground. This institute also welcome to the public to explore.
The windows utilise all angles of light throughout the day as they are pointing in different angles. Even though the windows mainly benefit the plants in the indoor rainforest, I could pay attention to access to light inside the structure as hosting planetarium shows can be energy consuming.
The design of the roof looks like it is sculpted around the two domes inside the building. I could potentially explore different structures that are influenced by dome shapes, as the structure emphasising the domes makes it visually interesting.
Planetarium
PRIMARY GREENWICH PLANETARIUM The Royal Observatory, located in Greenwich was founded in the 1600's as a place for scientists to observe space. On the establishment also houses the Greenwich planetarium which offers educational screenings to the public. There are also exhibition spaces which has interactive exhibitions for all age ranges. While the architecture of the buildings are quite old, the Peter Harrison Planetarium is a redevelopment which has 120 seats.
Models
Model exploration
When removing elements from the original structure I thought of how this shape could house a green roof, however for further exploration I need to see how I can incorporate a dome into the structure.
This model was made with protopaper painted with red acrylic and copper. I painted it red to make it stand out. When making this model I wanted to create a geometric, symmetrical structure, however by adding the copper at different angles for support, it created a visually interesting outcome.
Model exploration
Rose Centre for Earth & Space DRAWINGS
The Rose Centre for Earth and Space, located in New York City, was designed by Trowbridge and Livingston. The planetarium is surrounded by a glass cube which exposes the structure of cube.