FODR module 4 journal

Foundations of Design : REPRESENTATION, SEM1, 2017 M4 JOURNAL - FRAME vs FIELD Manasi Chopdekar

935401 Jun Han Foong + Studio 11

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WEEK 9 READING: PERSPECTIVE AS SYMBOLIC FORM

Question 1: What are Durer’s rules for perspectival projection? (Maximum 100 words) According to Durer, a fully “perspectival” view of space is when the entire view has been transformed into a ‘window’ and we are essentially looking through this window into a space. His rules are as follows: 1. All perpendiculars, or ‘orthogonals’, meet at the central vanishing point which is determined by the perpendicular drawn from the eye to the picture plane.

2. All parallels, irrespective of their direction, have a common vanishing point.

3. Equal dimensions dimnish progressively as they recede in space, so any portion of the picture is calculable from the preceding or next portion.

Question 2: Describe homogenous space? (Maximum 100 words) Homogneous space is essentially space produced by construction. It can be expressed by the following postulate: from every point in space, it must be possible to draw similar figures in all directions and magnitudes. These points are only used to determine position, and have no independent content of their own outside of this position which they occupy in relation to each other. This homogenity signifies only the similarity of structure, grounded in their common logical function, ideal purpose and meaning.

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INVISIBLE CITY: Hypatia

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OLD QUAD ISOMETRIC

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1m

2.5m

5m

This is the isometric projection of the Old Quad, without notations. I have used different line weights to show depth and highlight the most important parts of the isometric drawing.

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OLD QUAD ISOMETRIC WITH NOTATIONS

Key Movement Stare/glance Perspective1 Perspective2 Light/heavy mood

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1m

2.5m

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Threshold Passage of time Light/Dark Crowds/People

This is my final quad model with notations. Full annotations with explanation is given in the appendix.

Clarity of thought

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QUAD PERSPECTIVE 1 + 2

My first scene is a contrast show between Marco Polo’s initial perception of Hypatia and what he actually saw upon reaching Hypatia. I aim to show this contrast by using the far off white space in this picture to show the beautiful things that Polo had imagined he’d get to see in the city - a view that he’d constructed from afar, and the near quad space to show the actual horrible things he had to see on reaching the city - the crabs biting the eyes of the suicide etc. - what he saw once he saw the city up close and walked into it.

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My second scene shows the interaction of Marco Polo with the opium smoker in the library and the philosopher in the lawn - the moment when Polo realises that he has to let go of the idea that he has in mind of Hypatia and its beauty - what he imagined he would see - for, only then would he truly be able to percieve the land and understand it. I aim to show this by using the white space for showing the window (from where Polo could see the philosopher, and bookshelves, and the quad space to show the papyrus spaces and at the far end, the opium smoker who points towards the window at the philosopher.

PERSPECTIVE SCENE 1 + 2 The scene that I’ve chosen to be my first perspective is the part in the story where Marco Polo mentions what he expected to see in Hypatia, and the scene that he actually saw on arriving at Hypatia.

During the lecture on the different types of perspectives, I was very intrigued by fluid perspective.

Here, as opposed to a solid narrative, I tried to incorporate some of that fluid perspective to the best of my understanding. I feel like I didn’t quite manage to execute that concept but this perspective still symbolically shows the above mentioned Marco Polo scene. The fountain, the image of the ladies bathing and the magnolia garden in the background behind bars is what Polo envisioned Hypatia as - in his mind, hence behind the bars (which is a barrier of sorts that restricts Polo’s mind) and the scene inside the Quad is what Polo actaully saw in Hypatia - the crabs, the convicts - the true state of Hypatia. The convicts are strategically placed behind the walls because Polo did not see them as soon as he arrived at Hypatia (he had to cross courtyards etc.) The crabs are a little more exposed because they were the first to be seen by Polo on arriving at Hypatia. There’s smoke around where the fires are lit near the walls and the rusty old chandelier. The columns are of strong stonework whereas the arch areas seem a little destroyed - again I tried to convey symbolically here that on the top, the surface, this is what Polo thought of Hypatia on seeing it - a horrible place, but once he opened his mind (in perspective 2), he realised that Hypatia was just different. All he had to do was see it with a fresh perspective. The flooring is stone but its grimy and dirty - again showing the state of Hypatia as Polo saw it.

The scene that I’ve chosen to be my second perspective is the part in the story where Marco Polo comes to the library, meets with the opium smoker who then directs him to the philosopher outside the window. I felt that this scene was very crucial, and also ties in neatly with my first perspective and the overall idea I had in mind. This is where Polo gains a valuable piece of advice that enables him to realise that all he had to do to truly understand Hypatia was let go of the rosy picture he’d painted of it which had become fixated in his mind and caused him to be disappointed and angry when he’d first arrived at Hypatia. He had to stop looking for what he’d expected to see and understand the city for what it truly is. There are only two figures in this scene - the smoker and the philosopher. The background images show the end of the library and the window with a ninepin scene outside. The smoke around the floor and near the smoker is due to the opium pipe and around the walls and cieling due to the fire-torches lit. The columns are made of mosaic tiles- I thought it’d look decorative for a library, and the base is made of stonework. The flooring is also stone (I felt that medieval libraries probably had stone floorings in most places). The arches are a different story - I simply could not find any material which really suited my arches here and stone simply looked awkward and plain. I went with marble texture in the end - although if looked at technically, marble probably would not be a suitable sole material for arches.

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WEEK 10 READING: PRACTICE: ARCHITECTURE, TECHNIQUE AND REPRESENTATION

Question 1: What is the difference between autographic and allographic practice? (Maximum 100 words) According to Goodman, autographic pracitce is that, like painting and sculpture, which depends for its authenticity upon the direct contact of the author. In the case of allographic practice, like music, poetry or theatre, the work exists in many copies and can be produced without direct intervention of the author.

They are capable of being reproduced at a distance from the author by means of notation. It operates through interpretation and on the basis of convention. The use of notation is the defining character for this practice: it does not imitate or reproduce something that already exists, but rather, produces new reality, imagined by means of notation.

Question 2: Why do architects need new representational techniques? (Maximum 100 words) Architects need new representational techniques because, firstly, architecture itself operates as a representational system. Most representational techniques show only a conceptual idea of an object, as opposed to its place in the real space. It relies on the other person being able to interpret what you’re trying to present (for example, a building structure using notations). There is a need to show shifting scale, different view points, multiple programs, time and space. In order to show this complexity, there is a need for new representational techniques.

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FINAL DRAWINGS Cities & the sky 4: hypatia Manasi Chopdekar, 935401

Key Movement Stare/glance Perspective1 Perspective2 Light/heavy mood Threshold Passage of time Light/Dark Crowds/People Clarity of thought

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1m

Perspective 1

2.5m

5m

Perspective 2

My notations show the scenes within the Quad as a whole, and how they tie both perspectives together with the whole Quad. They show Polo’s starting point (top left of the quad), when he was happy, walking along the magnolia gardens expecting to see pretty things and how his pace, mood etc. changes when he walks further into the quad (perspective 1)when he sees the crabs, and then the convicts. He then walks further into the quad (perspective 2) to the library. His pace is more hurried and tense, and the mood is overall heavy. When he arrives in the library and meets with the opium smoker we see the mood becoming lighter, and finally a complete clear clarity of thought in Polo’s mind after his conversation with the philosopher - the moment of realisation. I used other notations, like where Polo stared and glanced, the passage of time from morning to afternoon and then the threshold difference - from outside the the convicts place in the interiors and then from there to the library.

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APPENDIX 1. CONSTRUCTING THE OLD QUAD 3D MODEL

The first step to completing this module was to make a 3D model of the old Quadrangle by using these 2D orthographic views plan, top view, and 2 section views.

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This is the completed 3D model of the old Quad. All figures, perspective views, scene depictions of my Marco Polo story will be done using this quad model.

APPENDIX 2. FINALIZING THE 2 PERSPECTIVE VIEWS

This is my final perspective view for scene 1: In this scene I intended to show what Marco Polo expected to see in Hypatia - his views on what Hypatia would be like vs what he actually saw - the reality up close. I’ve included a lot of ‘background’ space so I can show the magnolia garden and lagoon scene, whereas the quad interior space would be used to show the real Hypatia - the convicts, crabs and such.

This is my final perspective view for scene 2: In this scene I intended to show the moment of Marco Polo’s realisation that would enable him to change his perception of the city. The ‘background’ space would be used to show parts of the library, as well as the window through which Marco Polo would see the philosopher who gave him advice and helped him realise that he would have to let go of the previous idea and expectations he had about Hypatia and see it with fresh eyes. Only then would he understand the city truly. The interior quad space would be used to show the library - the opium smoker and bookshelves, books etc, to help visualize the environment the smoker was in during that moment.

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APPENDIX 3. DESIGNING THE SPACE WITHIN - PERSPECTIVE VIEW 1

This is my first perspective view scene. My first figure was the prisoner lying down on the extreme left near the wall. I used Photoshop and Illustrator CC to convert the image to an acceptable Rhino 5.0 form for importing, before making a PlanarSrf of the linework obtained. I used the give reference man (shown in my very first appendix image) to adjust the size of the human to accpetable form before rotating it and bringing it into my perspective view. All this was done so that my figure would be able to generate its shadow on the model. I used the same method for my subsequent figures.

I purposely placed all the convict figures near the wall because essentially when Marco Polo would walk past the fountain area (which represents the rosy image of Hypatia he had in mind), the reality of the place was hidden from him. When he made his way to the portion of the view with the bars, there he would see the convicts and crabs which represnt the reality of Hypatia.

The background space is black because I was testing the transparency of that area to see whether my background scene images would be able to be depicted on that part.

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APPENDIX 3. DESIGNING THE SPACE WITHIN - PERSPECTIVE VIEW 1

These are the images that I used for my figures shown on the previous page. I tried my best to stick to illustrations and remembered to keep in mind the context and timeline when it came to people, their clothing etc.

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APPENDIX 3. DESIGNING THE SPACE WITHIN - PERSPECTIVE VIEW 1

These are the images that I used for my background. I tried my best to stick to illustrations, paintings and remembered to keep in mind the context and timeline when it came to people, their clothing etc.

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APPENDIX 3. DESIGNING THE SPACE WITHIN - PERSPECTIVE VIEW 2

This is my second perspective view scene. My first figure to be added to this scene was the opium smoker in the corner. To me, this scene had a lot of significance.

This moment of realisation that Marco Polo had - that he had to let go of his prior view and expectation of Hypatia that he harboured, in order to view the city and truly understand it, is applicable even today. Being someone who understands what its like to move to a completely new place - having prior expectations about it and then realising what it truly is like (in a good way, in my case)- I felt that this scene was very relatable personally. Beacuse, to truly understand a new place, its people, its ideas, layout etc, you have to view it from a fresh, unbiased perspective, and that little note of wisdom, I feel, is very important.

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APPENDIX 3. DESIGNING THE SPACE WITHIN - PERSPECTIVE VIEW 2

These are the images that I used for my figures shown on the previous page. I tried my best to stick to illustrations and remembered to keep in mind the context and timeline when it came to people, their clothing etc.

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APPENDIX 3. DESIGNING THE SPACE WITHIN - PERSPECTIVE VIEW 2

These are the images that I used for my background. I tried my best to stick to illustrations, paintings and remembered to keep in mind the context and timeline when it came to people, their clothing etc.

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APPENDIX 4. WORKING TOWARDS MY NOTATIONS ISOMETRIC DRAWING I knew I had to keep the whole quad in mind, when I put in my notations to chart Polo’s movement, the scenes, other happenings in the quad besides the 2 perspective scenes I’d chosen from the story. I wasn’t sure whether we had to use all the symbols given in the template or only a few. To be safe, I used all of them and also designed my own symbol.

On using them I realised just how easy it was to chart movement, views, perspectives, etc. all with a simple set of notations. I knew what I wanted to show, and how I wanted my quad to be arranged accordingly.

In the image, I have included annotations which I inserted on MS Word, so that I could get it reviewed by my tutor. In doing so, I found it helped me as well.

I found some errors in positioning, some of the arrows weren’t flat on the large platform and such. I used Rhino 5.0 to Make2D my quad model with the notations and then adjusted the lineweights and colour on Illustrator CC.

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APPENDIX 4. WORKING TOWARDS MY NOTATIONS ISOMETRIC DRAWING - NOTATIONS USED All other notations apart from the student created symbol were given to me. I used all of them to explain my perspectives, the relation between my two perspectives and between my 2 perspectives and the whole quad.

For the student created symbol, I was given free reign to design any symbol I wanted, and also what it would depict. I re-read the Hypatia story given to me, and one thing that stood out to me which I couldn’t really explain using the other notations is Polo’s own internal conflict when he realised that Hypatia isn’t what he’d expected it to be. I could have used the mood symbol but that was used to show the mood of the entire area, and not just Polo’s.

I knew I had to keep it simple, so I drew a simple donut circle. I thought of how I could use it to represent Polo’s confusion and conflict. In the final model, it can be seen that I’ve offset my donut symbol accordingly to symbolize more or less clarity of thought. This symbol’s size and number of offsets change according to Polo’s clarity of thought.

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APPENDIX 5. FINAL QUAD ISOMETRIC MODEL WITH NOTATIONS This is my final isometric quad model with the notations all having adjusted lineweights and colourings. I tried my best to include the whole quad, think of the story given to me and represent all of its main ideas in this model using the notations given to me and my own created symbol.

I did think of adjusting my quad model, having another floor, or shifting the original array of the single groin vaulted quad model.

I thought that adjusting the model would perhaps allow me more room to design and think more creatively, but I did manage to do that using this model of a 3 by 3 array, single storeyed. I had also included all of my quad by doing so. Adjustments at this stage would mean adjusting my symbols, my basic quad model, and also some parts of my perspective views and already having a solid picture in my mind of what I wanted to show, adjusting at this point didn’t seem to make much sense to me.

The story given to me was straightforward, and the main scenes that were depicted, have already been shown in my perspectives.

Hence, I went ahead without any adjustments and tried my best to use my notations accordingly, as per my perspective scenes, as well as allow room for some creative space.

One issue here - the key for the notations is missing. While I had some idea of how to include the key, I wasn’t sure exactly how to format it so that it could be included with my quad isometric. The key was added later, after consutation with my tutor, as well as the scale.

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APPENDIX 6. WORKING TOWARDS FINAL VERSION OF PERSPECTIVE 1

One problem that I faced was that my Make2D of the perspective 1 with my figures wasn’t getting opened in Illustrator CC. So essentially I had no linework. It worked perfectly fine when I Make2D’d my quad isometric, but somehow for some reason it wouldn’t work for me when it came to my perspectives.

What was worse that everytime I attempted to do this, Illustrator CC would crash. Ultimately I decided to wait until consultation with my tutor so I could get my perspectives reviewed and affirmed, so then all I had left was to add texturing and proper lineweights to them.

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APPENDIX 6. WORKING TOWARDS FINAL VERSION OF PERSPECTIVE 1 Most of the tools that I used to create this image, I’ve actually used them for the first time in my life. I have no prior experience with Photoshop, and it was only due to the previous modules that I knew my basic editing and clean up skills. But as I got the hang of it, the whole process got easier, although still time consuming. It took me a while to also figure out how to get that smokey effect - very easy now that I know how to do it. My original perspective view was much wider than the final version but since the size of the final jpg had to be 520 by 420 mm, I had to reduce my screen size on Rhino 5.0 and adjust a few figures here and there so they’re still visible.

There was a lot of issue with my alignment - linework with the transparent viewcapturetofile image - the figures themselves with the linework - and ultimately I had to use smoke and shadow effects to hide that nonalignment a little.

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APPENDIX 7. FINAL PERSPECTIVE 1

I really like my end result. It’s a little abstract rather than narrative - it borrows a few narrative elements but it essentially is meant to convey the idea in a more symbolic sense. I was a little worried about printing because I was told that when printing, the images always come out darker than they look on the screen so I waited until my perspectives were final and ready for printing before lightening the final jpgs and then printing them on the A1 crop page.

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APPENDIX 8. WORKING TOWARDS FINAL VERSION OF PERSPECTIVE 2

I had real fun designing this particular perspective partly because I loved the scene it depicted and also because I love picturing and designing old interiors.

Libraries are my favourite.

By the time I was done with perspective 1, I had become more familiar with the whole process selecting and masking, cropping and multiplying etc. At this point it was just a process of clicking and repeating the same procedure over and over. I particularly love the opium smoker figure. It took me a while to find one good enough to represent the scene. This perspective is more narrative based - I tried my best to make it look as accurate as the scene described in the story. The philosopher’s area looks a little awkward, mostly because I couldn’t find a proper window to get over the figure and the background image and in the end I had to directly import a window png which ended up looking like the one in the picture. I couldn’t go back and adjust because then I’d have to redo the entire thing again and I simply could not do that because I had yet to test print. Ultimately I had to leave it like that if I wanted to finish my A1 crop and all other submission parts on time.

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APPENDIX 9. FINAL PERSPECTIVE 2

I really like how perspective 2 turned out - better than perspective 1 in my opinion - because I was more familiar with the techniques when I started working on perspective 2. I couldn’t get the window bit to blend in properly with the scene but apart from that I’m happy with what I managed to create out of my sceond perspective view.

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