Research And Positioning: Logbook I MA Architecture University by Mansi Dixit

Research And Positioning

Mansi Dixit I MA Architecture I University Of Westminster

writing workshop review of serpentine pavilion:

reflective narrative

A Pavilion Erupting From Landscape

P1-8

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mapping and making introduction of mapping reflections on every class and process of the workshop process of my map final production of mapping and mapping reflective narrative references P 11 - 35

CHAPTER: 1 WRITING WORKSHOP: I

REVIEW OF SERPENTINE PAVELION 01

weww

A PAVILION Erupting from Landscape Okay wait…

Is it the pavilion that every one is talking about?? So yeah we reached to the serpentine pavilion which was created in the heart of the kensington garden and after a ten minutes walk in the garden from the underground station, when i saw this beautiful structure I was stunned at first sight. It was laying on the ground like it was a piece of the garden itself, which was an amazing expand of rocks which were grey in colour supported by the white pillars. It looked like something which was erupting from landscape. At the point when I entered inside the structure, I felt the nature inside, as I can listen the sound of birds, leaves and I could feel the breeze as well. All I can say that it was a decent connection with outside atmosphere and inside vibes as it was not enclosed from anywhere. The end portion of the pavilion was totally converging with the ground surface and as it develops further it steadily taking its height. So, That’s the primary thing I noticed as the structure was not highlighted by itself, rather it was completely converged with the surface of the ground. There was no characterized entrance for that, one can easily enter/exit from any Heading, which means there was no defined entry or exist. So, it was like one can make his/her own way. At any event, when I was sitting under the rooftop, I didn’t feel like I am in an encased space rather I felt that I was under the shadow of a tree, since the roof of it resembled a tree which was covering the many segment of the ground and the columns resembled the trunk of a tree for me.

His architecture undoubtedly results in poetry. and not only metaphorically; after an interview a further text is issued by the architect: “blown by the rain, the giant blackbird wafts into the air, the slim rods supporting the roof resembling innumerable streaks of rain. The giant blackbird floats in the leaden London skies, dragging its vast dark shadow on the ground, slipping, sliding, flying away.” 03

Moreover, this year’s pavilion is all about roof and canopy. For Ishigami, the pavilion articulates his ‘free space’ philosophy in which he seeks harmony between man-made structures and those that already exist in nature. He says that ‘My design for the Pavilion plays with our perspectives of the built environment against the backdrop of a natural landscape, emphasising a natural and organic feel as though it had grown out of the lawn, resembling a hill made out of rocks. This is an attempt to supplement traditional architecture with modern methodologies and concepts, to create in this place an expanse of scenery like never seen before. Pavilion is a curious weave of inversions: - heavy and light, - earth and sky - outside and inside An extension of the canopy of trees surrounding it, creating a space where one can freely flutter between inside and outside, between a canopy of green and a canopy of stone providing a contemplative refuge. The shade of a structure was making an interactive space under the rooftop. Which was additionally gone about as an interfacing space with inside and outside. All in all, I would say that the landscape and the structure was merging into one, which was fascinating for me.

• the roof depicts the wing of a bird.

the Material used for making this pavilion is locally available. 106 pin- Ended columns supporting 60 tonnes of cumbrian slates which looks like a rock hill, Arranged randomly to create a forest Pillars : looks very thin, also depicts the raindrops Only take the vertical force from above.

So this connection between the natural and constructed world is particularly important to him as he says that “I grew up in the suburbs. I’m very fond of the countryside. I love beautiful scenery.” Might it also reflect a concern with ecology, with the fragility of the planet. “The natural world can be very strong and scary and architecture can be fragile.” Not least in a Japanese earthquake, he adds. The idea was taken from the blackbird flying in a rainy London sky which is found in the gardens of Kensington. So the extended rooftop is the wings of the bird and the pillars indicate the falling rain. So the roof is triangular in map.

I saw some significant highlights of the pavilion like it appeared to be less artificial and had a more organic form as I mentioned above such as wings of a bird, falling rain, a hill made of rocks or the canopy of a tree. Along these lines, it had a free form roof. Likewise, the constructed condition was very much associated with the scene.

i also like to mention that The pavilion also respects the Japanese practice of Shakkei, where the shape of the roof is similar to the pavilion and an intervention in the landscape is designed to draw focus to its surroundings: the purpose of a Zen garden, for example, might be to provide the perfect view of a beautiful mountain.

If I can associate his other works which indicate the same design philosophy, following are the two examples which I think is as similar as the serpentine pavilion.

Architecture as air

Junya Ishigami’s pavilion design for the Japanese Pavilion at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale

Ishigami’s Kanagawa Institute of Technology Workshop in Japan. The ethereal education building, located in Ishigami’s home town, was completed in 2008

Conclusion: What I observed and like the most about his buildings and designs is that his building creates beauty and serenity. Also, how they impose themselves in an iconic strength. The common appearance of his design is weightlessness and elegance, simply because the utilisation of materials. Moreover, one can have the feeling of outside while being inside as the flexible layouts, use of colour, material which enhances the view not the structure, also that blends with the surrounding area and landscape.

My initial reactions changed a little bit after the exploration about this structure in light of the fact that; First of all the structure looks very simple by seeing it. But after doing all the research I got to know that it is as complex as the nature, since nature is full of highly complicated systems, but you never see them. And there is this mystery behind the construction of this structure as we cannot able to see the complexity.

REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE SERPENTINE PAVILION

Reflective Narrative The first workshop was mainly about the introduction to the module. But we required to read two texts for the workshop which were Colomina, B. with B. Lleó (1998), ‘“A Machine was Its Heart”: House in Floirac’, Assemblage, vol. 37, pp 36-45 and Deriu, D. (2014), ‘Carte Blanche?’. Everyone has to prepare two slides for each text about the personal interpretation and then we discussed about it in the class with others view and with the tutor. Which I found very interesting because I got to know others opinion and how they see that text in different ways. This was followed by the visit to the serpentine pavilion. Which I found the most interesting part of the day as I explored the new place and I saw this beautiful structure in the Hyde park which was temporary. I took the pictures of that pavilion, I also talked to the people around the pavilion about it. I observed it as much as I can. For that I made notes, did some quick sketching and took small video clips. On that day when I visited the structure, I had my musings about it at first however then I imparted it to my batchmates, I became more acquainted with the opposite side of the spot. What’s more, it was fascinating in light of the fact that I observed the structure, at that point I had my closely-held convictions on which I can accomplish more research. Next day we had a brainstorming workshop on particular themes where we discussed different ways of writing how writing can be used for research, what is a review and the different types of reviews, review on the Serpentine Pavilion: social, physical, cultural. I found this workshop very useful in a way because I got to know about these different writing ways also how we use writing to my research. During the whole workshop I was having many questions such as why writing is so important in architectecture, after the mere discussions I underastood many different techniques for research and postioning. As from the text, Colomina, B. with B. Lleó (1998), ‘“A Machine was Its Heart”: House in Floirac’, the author has used the narrative style of writing only because the pursuers don’t get bored of reading and she tried to create a story which is more interactive style of writing and feasible to read it. These questions led me to the result of why research and writing is very significant in any project. At the end of this writing workshop I developed my writing skills and and how to observe things and portray it in my own words which is I think very important. As I can use it in my thesis development process. Overall, these workshops helped a great deal in initial stages of the thesis development project as I have learnt the process of research and what writing style, I should use to describe my project.

CHAPTER: 2 WORKSHOP: II Mapping And Making

Introduction Mapping is only considering of the site in order to legitimize your building intercession or only an exploration-based exercise to recognize issues or value its present plan. Mapping methods can concentrate on the physical (obvious) and non-physical (imperceptible) site connections to help visualise the urban connections and infrastructures. According to Corner, mapping is a process that involves a “complex architecture of signs.” In other words, mapping is a type of “visual architecture” that strategically selects, translates, organizes and shapes space. Thus, mapping according to me is very significant procedure of any phase of the project. Mapping helps to initiate the project and it creates the base of the process. Mapping is basically a diagram which is being developed and display the information visually and in an interactive way. It is a creative process rather than just a data collection or a research activity. These map-drawings essentially convey both aesthetic and informational properties. Creative mapping in architecture and landscape is a great topic of interest in exploration. The main purpose behind these maps is fill in as the ordered spine (think faceted/ parametric inquiry/channels to assist you with finding and find content) of the Digital Open Learning stage that was being created simultaneously. The following part would introduce the process of my map and how it all started with the first class of the module.

REFLECTIONS ON EVERY CLASS mapping and making

First Class Of Mapping: Mapping I: Going Beyond The Conventional This session acquainted us with the thought of mapping and gave a diagram of mapping practices, including a few models by architects and artists. We were given to peruse two writings which can assist us with understanding the various techniques of mapping. Along these, in the main session after the presentation by our mentor; Yara; we had a discussion and basic reactions upon these two readings 'The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention', composed by James Corner. What's more, following are a few questions on which we had the talk: What do you think of the central argument presented by Corner in his text? Do you think mapping can contribute to design? If so, how? Did you find a particular map discussed in the text more appealing than others? If so, why? Do you think the practice of mapping could constitute a legitimate research method? The discussion meant to incite our very own musings on whether the demonstration of mapping has potential utility for examine (regardless of whether written or through design). The discussion meant to incite our very own musings on whether the demonstration of mapping has potential utility for examine (regardless of whether written or through design). These questions envisioned me with the mapping techniques according to corner as he focused in his essay upon more optimistic revisions of mapping practices. These revisions situate mapping as a collective enabling enterprise, a project that both reveals and realises hidden potential. So, I get it as mapping diagrams also depicts hidden information which are invisible to us at first. Corner found out the four different techniques for mapping are, ‘drift’, ‘layering’, ‘gameboard’ and ‘rhizome’. I was very much inspired from the technique of drifting, which was basically the mapping technique uses the psychogeographical mapping. The Situationists were a European group of artists and activists in the 1950s and 1960s. [...] Guy Debord, a key Situationist theorist, made a series of maps, or ‘psychogeographic guides’, of Paris. Psychogeography is the study of the specific effects of the geographical environment (whether consciously organized or not) on the emotions and behavior of individuals. Guy Debord defined the term Psychogeography as; “the study of the specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.”

Debord made this map by exploring Paris and walked around the streets and alleys in his own way, turning here and there, wherever he found interesting to visit. And that’s how he created the series of maps. To me it’s a very innovative method of exploring the cities. It was aimed to help the pedestrians to find their way and to experience the city in their own way. So basically, everyone’s journey is different from the other person. Debord’s most remarkable concept within psychogeography was his notion of the dérive (the drift). The dérive was an unplanned walk through the urban landscape, which was navigated by the individual’s emotional reaction to the surrounding cityscape. It was a method of wandering, in which the subject’s trajectory was determined by the city’s psychogeographical mapping. Debord made this map by exploring Paris and walked around the streets and alleys in his own way, turning here and there, wherever he found interesting to visit. And that’s how he created the series of maps. To me it’s a very innovative method of exploring the cities. It was aimed to help the pedestrians to find their way and to experience the city in their own way. So basically, everyone’s journey is different from the other person.

Second Class Of Mapping: Mapping Ii: Walk The Map, Map The Walk Mapping (Ii) Workshop For the second workshop we were asked to come up with a theme and ideas for creating our own map; upon which we can work, it can be our journey or the experience of our everyday life and we had to research on it through following aspects; boundaries, curiosity, chance, playfulness, contrast etc. It was followed by the two presentations of PhD students; Angeliki Sakellariou; her presentation was on notations and interventions in mapping and Rim kalsum; which was on mapping through film. Workshop was followed by the one to one discussion upon their personal thoughts for the own mapping.

Third class of mapping: Mapping III This workshop was distinctly for our advance and further exchange and thoughts on our map. Which was led by rim kalsum. After everybody’s discourse we were approached to do a gathering exercise; which was the creation of an aggregate(collective) map by the entire class.

Collective map: Collective mapping is a tool that joins distinctive different maps with various information and geographic innovation. 14

I discovered this activity particularly intriguing and supportive. I adapted new techniques which I applied in my own map. This class taught me new ways and techniques of mapping and not only mapping, but how I can use maps in the terms of notations, chance, playfulness, affinity, wonder, emotions etc. Also, how one can use different notations in the making of a map. Following is the collective class map which we as a class created it in the class.

Notations in mapping: It’s a series or system of written symbols used to represent numbers, amounts, elements in something such as music or mathematics. Using notations in a map is very informative as well as it looks abstract visually. Notations can be used to depict the various values and information in one particular map. The reason I chose this technique in my personal mapping is specifically to depict my journey in three different ways. London as a diverse and vibrant city, I was very fascinated by this city’s main central areas such as Piccadilly circus, Oxford circus or Leicester square. One thing I noticed here in London that it is vibrant because of the phenomena of sound of people, and musical instruments. I was attracted toward these sounds and its effects on people’s mind. “Notation is an interface that lies between all forms of the realisation of ideas into objects – whether architectural, musical, visual or linguistic.” (Harris, 2002) After using the underground and over ground transportations during my journey I understood that there is one common thing in both the ways is that the music played by a person which is live. But the difference I noticed was that during underground there are various sounds such as the announcements, train approaching to the station, people moving their travelling bags and some other. Also, people are always in rush while they are catching their tubes. Therefore, they never stop to listen to the music and some people don’t even notice the person as well. In a way, according me that might affect them not by physically but mentally. Now if I look at over ground people are enjoying, they are expressing themselves which they see the person who is performing. People stop at that spot for a while as they are in no rush and feel free to enjoy the moment. I tried to portray my map by utilising the notations and derive technique. I used the derive technique to decide my journey which can take me to the different pathways and that’s how I divided my journey in to three different routes by the means of transportation. At first, I began my map with a journey which I take from home to Piccadilly circus. My route is separated into three diverse transportation modes; 1. 2. 3.

Underground Tube Bus Walking

The explanation of why I picked the notations for the mapping exercise as I was roused from presentation by Angeliki Sakellariou. Being a guest lecturer, she is also doing her PhD in the subject of Architecture and Dance, additionally utilizing this mapping system and notations for depicting the sound. She used the sea waves to describe the sound waves.

Following image is about the symbols of notations for my reference to develop my own notation language. I tried to incorporate these symbols and created some of by myself for my mapping exercise.

https://env.cpp.edu/la/project/phase-i-notation-patterns-site-analysis 17

Process of my mapping and making And afterward I saw that I am hearing such a large number of various sounds during my voyage, exceptionally I was extremely captivated by the entertainers underground and over ground and afterward I saw the distinction between the both. My map was reliable on sound effects so I chose notations for that, which can depict the sound. Following images shows the process before I reach to the final production.

This image shows my first approach towards the mapping exercise. As I took my journey by the three different transportations, so in this image I started to portray by dividing them into three parts and I noticed that the walking route could be more complex in compare to the other two routes. I started my journey from Hounslow station to Piccadilly circus, where I took the tube from Hounslow to green park station and from green park to Piccadilly circus, I took the bus journey and my walking route was the Piccadilly circus to the Leicester square. Here the circles depict the gathering of people and I used the vertical lines to depict the intensity of sound as I move.

Bus map: Green Park station to Piccadilly Circus

Following image is depicting the flow and movement of people at the green park stop to the Piccadilly circus. Red colour indicating the gathering of people around the stop also their emotions when they are at the stop. The emotions while waiting are fluctuating and restless. But when the person is in the bus the level of emotions is stable. Yellow colour depicts this statement.

And this last diagram is about the sound effects at the stop to the bus while its moving. Which is not that stable as the people in the bus keep on changing also there are few announcements when reaching to the next stop.

walkingroute: From Piccadilly Line Station towards the Leicester Square

Tube map: Hounslow central to Green Park station

Then I created the whole map by joining the small maps. And I added the notations like small circles shows the gathering of people at the spot and when they are active and moving, for that I utilised the lines. Lastly, the grey colour above it is depicting the happiness of people when they are free while travelling underground or in the bus, they are not that happy and enjoying rather their journey is more like restless. And for that I have utilised the squares and triangles.

Following are the diverse sound chronicles which I took in one moment and afterward attempted to depict it and think about them. Initial three sounds are from the over ground with the unsettling influence of the group around the entertainer. While the last portrayed sound is from the underground. I have seen this contrast among them that in underground there is no unsettling influence and no group watching and getting a charge out of, thus, the audio effect is clear with no interferences. while in the event that we go over ground there are numerous individuals assembled around the entertainer, so there will be consistently interruption from individuals.

The following link is about the different audio recordings taken by myself while walking which has been uploaded on the Google maps. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/ viewer?mid=12ciw8PfU_SJgCNRdwFgg1WSpfvNYfw_o&l l=51.50990784994704%2C-0.13577793628155632&z=18 Quick guidance on how to check it: Just click on the link and a window of google maps would be open then click on different points to listen the recording of that spot.

Also there is a video file to understand the emotions and the expressions of people at the place. To enjoy the video click on the following link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7l5frVLSL4

sound of a guitar and singing, with the background voices of audience.

sound of a football player and his music with the background voices of audience.

sound of a street dancer and his music with the background voices of audience.

sound of a music player and his voice with the background voices of audience in underground.

Another endeavour by utilizing the documentations I made a map for the equivalent. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make a difference of this map for my last one as in this diagram, such a large number of things are portrayed and the reader can get befuddled at the time. As it seems very confusing to me.

Legend

Sound Frequency Flow Of People State Of Curiosity Level People Gathering 25

END POINT

START POINT

Following picture is my last endeavor for this map. The two dark lines are isolating the three pieces of my map. I have utilized vocal statements to depict the excitement level or sentiments of my and others. Additionally, utilized hues to demonstrate the group at huge spots. In the following piece of the portfolio I have zoomed in these maps for better understanding.

END POINT

walkingroute: From Piccadilly Line Station towards the Leicester Square

Tube map: Hounslow central to Green Park station

Bus map: Green Park station to Piccadilly Circus

REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE mapping and making

Reflective Narrative Mapping and making workshop’s main aim was to develop the numerous ways of documentation of a map in our own abstract way. “ the history of colonial invasion maps are always first drawn by the victors, since maps are instruments of conquest. Geography is therefore the art of war but can also be the art of resistance if there is a counter-map and a counter-strategy.” [EdwardSaid,1994] Since, mapping for research and positioning is the most important thing as well as the oldest practice method for the research. I have learnt many things during this workshop as how a diagram can show various things by the means of color, lines, color hue, shapes, arrows, borders, labeling, lettering, legends etc. These maps are actually a significant component for any venture or the pathway you take. The practice of mapping could constitute a legitimate research method as it decides the journey of each person, additionally, it also depicts the feeling and the emotions connected while taking that path. These things are different for each and every person. So, in my accordance the mapping practice could be the essential tool for the design process and its research process. All in all, this module has led me towards my thesis development project, as in this exercise I chose the psychogeographical mapping by the use of notations. Moreover, my journey was taken me in the London city’s most alive and vibrant area. This decision made me thinking about my very own city, Ahmedabad’s dynamic places. Thus, after doing the research in the same I came to this point that in Ahmedabad, there is a place called Bhardra. This place has an immense social- cultural and historical value which additionally having the informal market area in the front of the historic Bhadra gate. The reason I was fascinated by the both the public spaces is People and their movements. Also because of the sound and activities people’s mood and the state of emotional level changes. Therefore, the place becomes more energetic and vibrant. All these reasons are affecting the positioning of the place.

So, after digging more into the place and its importance I came to this conclusion that that space is alive because of the people of the city. Which is the similar scenario at the Piccadilly circus, London. Additionally, I could get the answers of why I am interested and how the place is working on the basis of design elements or its hidden elements such as users. More or less the mapping and making module has guided me and motivated me to do the research into the designs or some significant places which holds the identity.

References

for the serpentine pavilion review websites for photos and the research reference • • • • •

https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/serpentine-pavilion-2019designed-junya-ishigami https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/18/serpentine-pavilion-2019review-junya-ishigami https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/under-a-cloud-serpentine-pavilion-2019by-junya-ishigami-opens/10043146.article https://www.dezeen.com/2019/02/14/junya-ishigami-architecture-projects/ https://www.archdaily.com/919342/first-look-at-the-2019-serpentine-pavilion

videos • • •

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/06/19/serpentine-pavilion-2019-junya-ishigamiinterview-video/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3senDgiHKM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8aMZQM9kO4

BOOKS • •

Beatriz Colomina with Blanca Lle6 “A Machine Was Its Heart”: House in Floirac CHAPTER 9 Carte Blanche? DAVIDE DERIU

for mapping and making books •

Corner, J. (1999), ‘The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention’, in D. Cosgrove (ed), Mappings (Reaktion Books, 1999), pp 213-252.

presentations • •

mapping presentation by Yara Sharif Notations and Interventions by Angeliki Sakellariou

Research And Positioning

Mansi Dixit I MA Architecture I University Of Westminster