Master of Architecture Studio (ABL90142) - Studio 13 : Bathing 3.0

CONTENTS

01 STORYBOARD

MEDIA SESSION

PAST WORKS

JOURNAL REFLECTIONS 02 ATMOSPHERES

SKETCH MODELS - FLOWER BATH

AMERICAN INDIAN SWEAT LODGES

RESEARCH INTERESTS 03 SKETCH MODELS - FLOWER BATH

SKETCH MODELS - COLD BATH

BATH HOUSE PRECEDNTS

PERSPECTIVE DRAWINGS

RESEARCH INTERESTS

04 SITE ANALYSIS COLLAGE MATERIALITY

RESEARCH INTERESTS 05

COLOUR SCHEME PRECEDENTS ANALOGUE MEDIA PRECEDENTS WATER EXPERIMENTS RULES AND SPATIAL PROGRAM IDEAS LEADING TO INTERIM INITIAL BUBBLE DIAGRAMS FINALISING THE CHANGE ROOM

06 INTERIM 07 INTERIM FEEDBACK ESD

JOURNAL REFLECTION 08

STRUCTURAL PRECEDENTS SKETCH MODEL OF CHOSEN SPACE PLAN AND SECTION READJUSTMENTS

09

FACADE PRECEDENTS OVERALL BASEMENT PLAN (REVISIT)

10 COLD BATH (REVISIT)

+ LIGHTING FEEDBACK

FLOWER BATH (REVISIT) +LIGHTING FEEDBACK

ADDITIONAL LIGHTING AND LECTURE NOTES

11 MASSAGE ROOM (REVISIT)

FIRE BATH (REVISIT)

SWING (NEW) 12

CONCEPT( REVISIT)

13

PRESENTATION FORMAT

14

FINAL PRESENTATION

15

FEEDBACK AND READJUSTMENTS

01

STORY BOARD Using our non-dominant hand, we were tasked to illustrate our experiences in a bath house. I took my experience from Ooedo Monotogari and focused on programs other than the baths as I felt that they were equally as important but often disregarded.

These transitional spaces prepare one for entering a bath, which enhances the whole bathing experience and sets it apart from experiences elsewhere.

I found this exercise challenging because it tested our abilities to be selective on the frames and the emotions we wanted to focus on. Personally, I felt that the close-ups I used were more effective in conveying emotions, rather than the first four frames where I only showed the background and depicted the mundane entrance and admin area.

- 02/03

Individual Storyboard - 02/03

Our Group’s Storyboard (With Shen, Penny & Alex) - 02/03

With it being our first class, as a group,we wanted to be more experimental in our approach. We mimicked our bathing experience to an amusement park as we felt that they are a little more extreme on evoking emotions. By exaggerating the scale of each space and adding some quirkiness, this mindest was useful in setting a lighter tone to the subject and encouraging us to be more bold with our design decisions. In the following weeks, this is a good reference for us to fall back to when lost with ideas. We could possibly take one of the frames and tone it down such that it is more subdued for our bath house.

However, I have to admit that we took it a little too far this time.

- 02/03

Another Group’s Storyboard - 02/03

Done by another group, this piece went by an approach which I felt was more subtle but more relevant compared to ours. I really liked the first three frames because the use of shadows really helped shape the space and gave it a mood. Personally, I felt that more could be explored in the two frames depicting the bath. More closeups, a different angle and asymmetrical frames could be used to efficiently evoke emotions.

- 02/03

MEDIA SESSION This week I had the opportunity to test out a range of mediums. I started with oil pastels and felt that they were particulary useful in covering large areas and quick sketches.

Its flakeyness also gave very good textures, both when used by itself or layered on top of another texture material.

I found out that using white/lighter colours to cover up spots helped with blending the different colours. This also helps create a smooth single layer with a gloss-like finish which could be useful in adding reflective qualities to the wall of the building.

Personally, I prefer using black oil pastels over charcoal as its easier to control and the colours turn out more vivid. Furthermore, other than giving texture, it could also be smoothened out with the help of oil on a brush.

- 05/03

During class, I started off with markers and colour pencils, thus after layering it off with watercolour, I realised that most of of my previous works were completelycovered Thus, for future expereiments, I intend to start off with oil pastels, water colour and eventually top if off with markers.

Mixed Media (ink, water colour, dry pastels, markers) on Water Colour Paper -05/03

-05/03

Mixed Media (pencil, colour pencil, ink, water colour, dry pastels, markers) on Brown Paper -05/03

PAST WORK STUDIO WATER / 2017

For this studio, we were tasked to design a boathouse in Studley Park using the design principles we learnt from Tadao Ando Strengths

When I got stuck

I think I was successful in balancing the design principles from Ando and my own ideas of how a boathouse should be.

I was stuck at the conceptual stage. I did not know how to push the idea of ‘embracing the river’ and express it architecturally.

I was also satisifed with how I could translate all my ideas and simplify it into a box, without any extravagant gestures. I was also very confident with the final outcome because all the design decisions made are carefully backed with a reasoning behind it.

However, under my tutor’s guidance, I was also able to deconstruct the word ‘embrace’ and not merely take the literal form of wrapping a river, which I did initally. I learnt how to take more subtle approach to this project.

Weaknesses I was not completely satisfied with my presentation board. It was very cluttered despite my building looking very crisp and clean. I was also not satisfied with my selected colour tone because I felt that the shades did not go too well together.

I should have also allocated more time in designing the furniture, such that it looks like a collective entity with my building.

What I want to improve on this semester I also need to work on my presentation skills. I tend to focus too much on perfecting each piece individually, and fail to present it eloquently as a collective presentation board.

- 05/03

PAST WORK STUDIO FIRE / 2019

For this studio, we were tasked to design a community healthcare centre in Carlton to replace the current VicRoads.

Strengths I was able to break down my definition of breathable spaces, and subsequently, derive a framework that helps me reason my design decisions. This made the design generation process more organized and simpler for the crits to follow through.

I was also satisfied with my site response because I found it quite comprehensive.

I took into consideration all the problems that would arise and offered a solution to mitigate each one, allowing me to derive a final permuation that encapsulates all.

Weaknesses I was not satisfied with my landform. I spent too much time developing my plans such that it became too rigid , making me fail to consider how it would look like in the 3D. I also failed to look at materiality for my facade and stuck to one homogeneous material (stone) throughout.

When I got stuck At the initial stages, I was having problems finding a concept that suited the site. There was nothing that stood out and I kept eliminating ideas as I felt that they

did not offer me enough depth to take a poetic approach to the project. After finishing this studio, I realised that I did not spend enough time on each idea.

Therefore, even though, I was not completely satisfied with my starting point, the lotus root, sticking to it long enough has helped me to reach an outcome that I was still proud of.

What I want to improve on this semester Other than working on my weaknesses, I would also like to experiment with bold colour schemes. This is because I have a tendency to go by the route of creating more humble spaces where the intention is to focus on the natural environment.

Though I do not believe its completely wrong, I would like to take this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone.

I would also like to try design without a concept this semester. Relying too much on a concept forces me to base every design decision on it, making me stressed which translates to a very ‘forced’ and rigid outcome. It also acts like a safety net, discouraging me from making bold decisions. I hope to have more fun this semester.

-05/03

Diagram of Thought Process -05/03

Initial Collage of Ideas - 05/03

RESEARCH INTERESTS To start off, I scribble out several words and images that came to me when given the word ‘bathing’.

I usually begin each project with this exercise because it helps me look at ‘bathing’ in a broader sense, before categorising it into clusters and potential topics.

This exercise is also very important to me because my first few ideas are usually the most powerful and the ones I follow through with. On the other hand, the subsequent ideas just seem to revolve around them. Thus, I compiled my main thoughts into a simple collage, giving me a reference to come back to when in need of small inspirations.

-09/03

RESEARCH INTERESTS I The first few images that came to my mind were paintings by Le Mayeur, a Belgium artist based in Bali.

By tracing the female figures, I felt that their postures had a certain ‘flow’ element to it, making the painting very much alive. Not only is there grace to them, but there is also synchronicity in movement, that makes his painting compositions dynamic and yet soothing to the eye.

Sculpture Taking inspiration from his paintings, I thought of using stone and other small architectural details to mould the space such that it influences the posture of the users. If I further develop this idea, I hope to have an end result that resembles a painting with the same amount of energy as in his works.

Moulding of Water Another direction I am keen on pursuing is using the movement of these figures to influence the flow of water. However, at the moment, I am not too sure how far I could go with this and the moral reasoning I could use behind it.

I came across his works when I was stuck in a painting rut, after having painted only abstract for a long period of time. I wanted to get in touch with my Indonesian roots after moving to Singapore, thus looked into Balinese painters for inspiration. I really love his works because it depicts the grace and elegance in Indonesian culture that often goes unnoticed.

This is my first time taking a direct formal inspiration from an art form and translating it across to architecture. I wanted to take this approach because I am very interested with the interplay of art and architecture and I think this studio would be a good opportunity for me to explore this.

- 05/03

RESEARCH INTERESTS II In December, I took a few lessons in ikebana, a type of Japanese flower arrangement. It focuses on selecting a few unique stems and arranging them based on a set of rules that have been passed on from generations. Each stem is attached to a kenzan at a certain angle and with certain length, all with reference to the length and height of the other components.

Careful Selection In Ikebana, each component is selected based on its distinct shape, line and form. By bringing out the irregularities, each arrangement is set apart from each other and I hope to use this mindset when designing the bath house. I am not too sure about the outcome, but I hope to be more selective with the features I would like to exaggerate in each program.

- 05/03

RESEARCH INTERESTS III After having designed a community healthcare centre in my previous studio, I was very keen on delving more into hydrotherapy.

Though I recevied feedback that healthcare should not be the main focus in this project, learning about hydrotherapy could potentially, help me understand more about the about qualities of water that could help with healing. For instance, I could consider factors such as buoyancy, temperature regulation and muscle response when designing the experiences in my bath house.

FEEDBACK I was given very constructive feedback during class and was told to focus more on the feelings and the atmosphere of each space. In the coming weeks, I need to remind myself to take this project at a lighter note and to forget about the practicalities first. I need to also remind myself that it is not always neccessary to follow a guide and it is good to drift my designs off a bit, without constantly backing it up with a reason.

- 05/03

JOURNAL REFLECTIONS

WHAT AM I LEARNING ABOUT MYSELF AS A DESIGNER? As a designer, I am starting to realise my indecisiveness is getting the better of me. I pressure myself to reason out every detail until, it stresses me out and hinders my progress. My focus to small details prevents me from seeing the big picture, and often lands me in a place where sometimes I lack the emotional capacity to move on. One thing I would like to improve is to take things more light-heartedly and to enjoy the process.

Nonetheless, across my studios, I have realised a similar pattern in my design process which has worked for me till this date. I often take an image from my head, derive a word from it, and subsequently, break down its definition. This creates a framework for me, allowing me to rationalise my design decisions for spatial program, privacy, site response, etc. This method resolves my indecisiveness to a certain extent, however, its a design methodology that needs to be improvised for each project.

What makes me have ideas and how can I maximise this? When do I make my best and wost decisions?

Taking a shower and talking to friends about topics other than architecture helps me gain ideas. Thus with this new studio, I would try to allocate less time to idea generation and more time to regaining my social life. I think this method would prompt me to stop procrastinating and day dreaming when I work on my assignments. Throughout my course, I do not think I have made any bad design decisions, as with my indecisiveness, I am usually confident with my final choice but only struggle with piecing everything together.

What new skills am I learning? How can I ensure I implement any new skills in future projects?

For the past week, I have been working on my soft skills. I want to learn to be more experimental and less critical of my decisions, and starting the studio with media exploration has brought me one step closer. I enjoy making art pieces in my own time and it is my form of stress relief.

Thus with future projects, I would like to continue to start each studio with media exploration, as it helps set the carefree tone of the project.

How does my way of designing compare to my past studios and favourite designers? How is it hindering my progress?

My way of designing is built upon every studio. I start off with form, experiential qualities and lastly practical requirements. The process is very similar to everyone else’s but is only different in terms of its focus and time spent. One of my favourite designers is Tadao Ando, who pays great attention to experiential qualities that concern shadow and light, but tends to narrow in for materiality as he works mainly in grayscale and uses the same polished concrete throughout.

Though his process has taught me to pay more attention to one detail, I tend to envision and portray my buildings as white empty shells. To improve on my indecisiveness, I have looked into Junya Ishigami’s design process as he uses simple child-like ideas, which takes off the pressure of rational thinking. Nonetheless, his works lean towards fine arts and is less practical, which also hinders my progress as I fail to consider its constructibility.

Am I being a productive designer by sketching while I am thinking through my designs?

I am productive with sketching, but with previous projects, I tend to draw out the 2D rather than considering the 3D space. Sketching also prompts me to look at each space as separate entities rather than a cohesive collective. Thus to make it a good habit, learning how to sketch more in 3D and developing a story board would be useful.

Ideas for future project use of human body and movement as a form of inspiration use of ikebana principles curated use of landscape and plants Things I want to improve rendering skills presentation board layout (tying all images together) design process / design thinking Tools I want to use in future projects: Use of mix media or painting to start of a project Use of charcoal - 05/03

02

ATMOSPHERES

For this exercise, we had to use and further experiment with the tehnqiues acquired previously.

To make this exercise more structured, I focused on using the same base materials and only changed up the procedures and the additonal materials. I think this allowed me to get a better control of one material. However, for improvement, I hope to increase my scope of media and work more with rubbing textures and pastels.

-09/03

For this piece, I used white POSCA markers on water colour. By using the same base colour throughout, I was able to see the effects of the POSCA more clearly.

Personally, I really enjoyed using POSCA because it was a little translucent, which gives room for error. There is also more consistency to it, allowing me to gain control of the material easily. The clean lines and the fact that it could stay on top of water colour also makes this piece successful.

To improve, I need a more opaque basefor my POSCA stands out.

- 09/03

POSCA on Water Colour -09/03

For this piece, I wanted to work on one of the weaknesses I brought up earlier, and that would be to use bolder colour schemes. I used this opportunity to make my base more opaque and with that being said, test out if bold colours and the white clash.

Though unpromising intially, I think this piece turned out pretty well. The white POSCA works as both a highlight and an outline.

However, if the white POSCA is overdone, this piece has a tendency to look tacky and amateur.

POSCA on Water Colour -09/03

- 09/03

Water Colour on Oil Pastels -09/03

After learning from the mistakes I have done in class, I started off using white oil pastels to section off the reflective portions before adding water colour and markers on top.

The immiscibility of the two mediums allows me to block out different sections very cleanly. I think this is a very good method because the white pastels are stronger in colour in comparison to white water colour, allowing us to achieve a stark contrast between the two colours. This method was successful in helping me recreate the texture of rocks, and light bouncing off different surfaces.

- 09/03

For this piece, I used white POSCA markers on water colour. By using the same base colour throughout, I was able to see the effects of the POSCA more clearly.

Personally, I really enjoyed using POSCA because it was a little translucent, which gives room for error. There is also more consistency to it, allowing me to gain control of the material easily. The clean lines and the fact that it could stay on top of water colour also makes this piece successful.

To improve, I need a more opaque basefor my POSCA stands out.

- 09/03

POSCA on Water Colour -09/03

For this piece, I wanted to work on one of the weaknesses I brought up earlier, and that would be to use bolder colour schemes. I used this opportunity to make my base more opaque and with that being said, test out if bold colours and the white clash.

Though unpromising intially, I think this piece turned out pretty well. The white POSCA works as both a highlight and an outline.

However, if the white POSCA is overdone, this piece has a tendency to look tacky and amateur.

Water Colour -09/03

- 09/03

SKETCH MODELS - FLOWER BATH For my first five sketchmodels, I was not pleased with the outcome because I felt that each model did not tackle the

PLANE / MASS

Being my first iteration, I wanted to focus on the path of the users, thus incorporated two different planar textures, a rough and a smooth. The smooth areas that resembles blobs are places for people to gather whereas the rough spots resembling braches are places for people to walk through and receive accupressure treatment.

This iteration needs further refinement on where the path should lead to. It also did not reflect much tectonic explorations, and to improve, I could probably carve into the mass such that one homogeneous material was used. I think it is also worth to look into others works for comparison.

- 12/03

PLANE / PERFORATIONS

For my second attempt, I focused only on using planes to create a path. By working on only one material, and exploring different technqiues, I had a better grasp of this exercise. I also wanted to limit the views of each space, making it a more intimate experience.

However, I realised that my pool of water was rather directional, which was more suitable for a cold bath, rather than a flower bath, which was more of a gathering. To avoid this problem, I should constantly refer to a set guideline containing the list of charactersitics of the flower bath.

- 12/03

PLANE / FOLDING / PERFORATIONS

Similar to the previous attempt, I focused only on planes but instead of creating paths, I turned it into a gathering space.

By tilting and folding papers, this iteration produced a wide variety of shadows that I am contented and wish to further explore in the following iterations. These shadows could also be used to dictate paths but make it more subtle and less directional in comparision to the previous.

After having a better grasp of playing with linear planes, I want to explore more organic and curvilinear forms of planes. I also realised that I took the whole room as a single tub, thus would like to refine the entering and exiting experiences.

- 12/03

PLANE / MASS / PERFORATIONS

Learning from the previous iterations, I attempted to show how curved surfaces affect organic perforations. However I am not entirely satisfied because this piece was only aesthetically pleasing and lacks architectural reasoning.

- 12/03

BATHING CULTURE RESEARCH Joo and I were assigned to research on American Indian sweatlodges.

Learning about the sweatlodges was particularly interesting because its focus was on suffering to achieve happiness, rather than relaxation. With this being said, the sensory experiences are amplified and more vigorous. Moving forward, we could use these experiences but tone it down to make it more suitable for our context.

This exercise also taught us how to seive out information from the descriptive recounts and translate them architecturally.

- 12/03

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Halfway through, I was losing interest in all three of my ideas.

Though I was very keen on ikebana initially, I felt that the history leans a lot towards religion and the assumptions on flower preservation are baseless. With this, the arguements formed would be more abigious, and I do not want to fall into this trap.

Similarly, for the idea on movement of water based on female figures of the painting, I could not find any architectural reasoning to back up this idea. It was purely aesthetic and was aimed to bring in new perspectives on water. I think it leans towards ‘fine art’ and there was no practical purpose. Therefore, I have decided to leave this idea for the moment.

However, with cornonavirus and being sick for a week, I started thinking about how bath-houses could be use as self healing places.

- 12/03

RESEARCH INTERESTS IV I was interested in this idea intiially because allocating different rooms to different chakras based on their similar characteristics will make the design process more structured and easier to follow. The fact that it is about self-healing also forms a good arguement for picking this topic.

However, after recieving some feedback, I realised that this might not be the best route to take because it deals with intangible and somewhat scientifcally groundless idealogies that may be hard to convince, especially, with its site in Melbourne. It also leans towards a certain religion, which I think is not very apt in our social context. But I have decided to leave this idea in the background because there are a lot of vocabulary that I could use to kickstart new ideas.

- 12/03

03

PLANE / BENDING / MASS / CARVING

I chose to use contrasting tectonics such as smooth planes and rugged mass to show the overlay and interplay of both clean and uneven shadows. Similar to the sun dial iteration before, I hoped to show how the shadows caused by the straight line would change with time.

Though the form to me was aesthetically pleasing, the mass and planar elements seemed to be different entities that are conveniently placed together. I hope to improve the interaction between this elements and make the model more cohesive.

- 16/03

PLANE / FOLDING / MASS / CARVING

To improve the previous iteration, I added mass to the walls and thinned it out to make it look more planar. Here, I wanted the slits in the wall to perform dually; for shadows and openings for water from the previous bath to flow through, taking the chakra idea into reference.

Personally, I feel as though the pink clay is too dense to be sitting with white paper, such that they are two seperate entities.

Similarly to the previous iteration,I need to improve the interaction between the mass and planar elements.

- 16/03

SKETCH MODELS - FLOWER BATH 1

PLANE / MASS / BENDING

Instead of using clay as a mass, I explored how planes could portray masslike qualities, especially, with the use of shadows. I think good photography and the use of a single light source play a big role in adding density to a plane.

In the previous models, the single line shadows used were very harsh. Thus, I used rice sacks to cast several lines of shadows to make it more subtle and diffused. Other than showing how the space changes with time, this material softens the atmosphere, which I believe is more apt for a flower bath.

- 16/03

SKETCH MODELS - FLOWER BATH 1

PLANE / MASS / FOLDING / PERFORATIONS

Here, I continued to explore how planes could portray mass-like qualities, with the crumpling of paper. The sharp crevices and folds create very interesting tectonics for both light to bounce off and for people to stay hidden. The square perforations are disfigured to tie the rugged facade to the clean rectangular seats.

To push this tectonic further, I could continue the canopy-texture to the internal seats to make it look more of a collective.

In addition, I felt that paper is rather rigid and the folds are usually angular and one directional. To get two directional folds and more flexibility,I intend to experiment with cloth and felt.

- 16/03

POINT / LINE / PLANE / MASS / FOLDING / PERFORATIONS

To develop the previous iteration, I used modellling cloth to achieve 2 directional folds, more fluidity and softness. Continuing it to the pool also makes it look more like a collective and more seamless.

I first thought of using cloth so as to mimick drapery, paying tribute to the process of undressing. In my head, there is something about the thin slender pillars coupled with the small openings that creates a somewhat provocative atmosphere, befitting to the characteristics of a flower bath. Though it was a little off-topic from the movement of water and ikebana, I felt that I should get out of my comfort zone as we are still at the exploration stage.

A constructive feedback that I have received is to scatter the arrangement of the pillars such that the assymmetry from the folding of the cloth translates downwards.

- 16/03

LINE / POINT/ MASS / CARVING

For this iteration, I continued to translate the sculptural qualities of the flower bath to the cold bath. But instead, I was more focused on combining circular and linear elements together because I wanted to mediate gathering and directional spaces.

Though I took inspiration from this beautiful contemporary sculpture, my outcome was dissapointing. I think the cracks and teh unrefined connections made it look atrocius. Though it was rather successful in creating different types of form and tectonics, I think I need to work on my soft skills or consider trying other different types of clay.

- 16/03

POINT / LINE / PLANE / FOLDING / PERFORATIONS

With my unsuccessful attempt on organic forms, I decided to stay away from it and start afresh with planes.

of light through the pool, also creates this stronger threshold between dry and wet areas.

Personally, I really liked this second iteration because of its simplicity. I realised that direction could be achieved by the simple tilting and overlapping of paper.

This also creates strong harsh lines of shadow that could too, help with direction.

With the ideas gathered from this simple iteration, I think I am finally in the position to produce better and more well-thought out sketchmodels.

Playing with different planes allows for small details to be more apparent. For instance, I envision my pool to be made of glass, allowing users who plunge to see

- 16/03

LINE / PLANE / MASS / PERFORATIONS

For this piece, I wanted to devle a little deeper and explore how tectonics could alter the perception of time given the small area. I have realised that slight changes in the position of mass to alter paths and the use of lines for different rhythms of shadows, manipulate our perception of time.

Personally, the perfectionist in me is very excited when it comes to making these small details to create cinematic experiences for users. I know it is morally wrong to play with human fear, thus in the future I need to be careful with how I design the space to avoid claustrophobia and a visibility hazard.

With a narrower pool, it elongates the ‘distance’ and reduces the human scale.

It makes the swim more overwhelming, thus users are propelled to swim faster, which is apt for a cold bath.

- 16/03

LINE / PLANE / MASS / PERFORATIONS

Being very satisfied with the previous piece, I wanted to follow through with the same idea but create a more ethereal feel to it. Instead of using shadows to influence speed, I went by with traditional walls with simple cut outs as barriers.

At this stage, I think I have gotten a better grasp of creating atmospheres especially when it comes to a cold bath because I have a strict set of guidelines for it in my head. If I could restart, I would do the same with my flowerbath iterations.

I really like the simplicity of this form.

However, with this type of lighting and the slowness that comes with it, I think this iteration would be more suitable for a bath that is in between of gathering and directional .

- 16/03

LINE / MASS

After doing several sketch models, I am starting to enjoy it and I think this could be my new method for idea generation, besides sketching.

I am exceptionally pleased with this iteration as I was able to incorporate my idea of using shadows to influence speed and elongate the path without having to add dense mass that could be a little overwhelming. The slight tilting of columns also frames the space without it being tooo heavy.

I think could improve on the presentation of all the pieces, by adding a humans so as to define the scale.

- 16/03

COLOUR SCHEMES Initially, I found this exercise very challenging because the are so many types of colour schemes to explore besides warm tones and cool tones. Another possibility would be to include a combination of both tones in a single composition. But with that being said, there are so many permutations of shades and placements of colour, and thus nailing it down to 4, made it difficult.

Though not the best, I felt that my method of choosing two grayscale compositions to manipulate the scale of the space was very effective. It made things more structured and easier to compare when more colours come to play. However to improve, I think it would be best to come up with more permutations of colours in each category such that a more thorough evaluation could be made.

For this piece, I darkened the ceilings.

It gives an impression of a lowered ceiling, which compacts the space vertically and reduces it to human scale. This makes it less overwhelming and more intimate. In addition, going with the plan that the walls would be windows to a garden, it shifts the visitors focus from the architecture details to the outside environment. Less attention is directed to the other occupants too, giving a sense of privacy.

However, with this colour combination, the bouncing of light against the different surfaces would be less apparent which reduces the need for such dramatic detailing. In addition, these shades must be chosen carefully to balance out the space and to avoid claustrophobia.

I wanted to explore other ways of reducing scale, thus decided to darken the walls and compact the space horizontally instead.

Comparing the two images, this method is less drastic and claustrophobic. it wraps the visitors in this space.

Even though the focus is shifted towards the architecture detailing, instead of the windows, the space seems more calming.

However, more attention is directed towards the other users which reduces privacy.

I redeveloped the first iteration by adding stronger colours to give a more playful touch to the space.

Even with a strong pop of colour, the same as before applies, the users’ eyes are redirected towards the exterior.

Even though I felt that the previous exercise, really helped me with the placement of colours , I felt that my choice of colours are too vibrant to give off the same impact as the one in grayscale. I did not envision the colours to be this bright such that it looks tacky. To avoid this mistake in the future, I intend to swatch out more colours and carefully decide their shades before adding it into the composition.

Similar to the previous, this iteration was a redevelopement of the second iteration. Personally, I felt that the colours are more muted, compared to the first, which made the same level of impact as the grayscale version. After learning from my mistake, I swatched the colours on a piece of paper before rendering it in, which helps to a certain extent. Though I am not completely satisifed, I think the last bit to making the best shade choice comes with experience, something that I wish to acquire in the following weeks.

COLOUR SCHEMES After doing the flower bath, doing the colour schemes for the cold bath was much easier. The cold bath is more likely to be ‘cool’ toned, which narrows down the range of appropriate colour schemes, especially when I do not intend to bend the rules too much for this project.

Likewise, I carried on using the previous method. However, after doing the two final colour schemes, I was not very keen on

pursuing either. I think the strong pop of colour that worked for the flower bath did not work here. Instead, I feel that doing it grayscale proves to be more effective, in conveying the idea of spatial exaggeration.

For this piece, I darkened the longer walls.

It gives an impression of a narrower pool, which elongates the ‘distance’ and reduces the human scale. It makes the swim more overwhelming, thus users are propelled to swim faster. The careful selection of colours helps heighten the experience especially when space is compromised.

Personally I feel that playing with colours to add fear in people is very interesting, though morally wrong. Thus these drastic shades must carefully chosen to avoid claustrophobia and a visibility hazard.

For individuals to swim slower as safety precaution, I decided to do the inverse of darkening the shorter walls.

It gives an impression of a shorter pool which makes the swim less overwhelming.

Comparing the two images, I prefer the previous because it translates the message across better. But given that this is not likened to an amusement park, I think this rendition is equally as powerful.

I redeveloped the first iteration by adding stronger colours to give a more playful touch to the space.

Compared to the grayscale version, I felt that the bright pink makes the space less intimidating, thus potentially reducing issues of claustrophobia and visibility hazards.

To move forward, I feel that it would be good to continously test out cool tone and warm tone accent colours.

Narrowing down to one colour conveys the message more strongly as it does not clash with the stark contrast.

It also reduces the permutation of colour schemes making it easier to decide on an appropriate scheme.

Similar to the previous, this iteration was a redevelopement of the second iteration.

Personally, there is nothing that I liked about this version.

Though the initial swatches looked promising, it turned out tacky when placed into its composition. From this exercise, I learn t there are no shortcuts when choosing colour schemes. For future schemes, I would try my best to test out the swatches in composition before settling on the final permutation.

FAZENDA BOA VISTA Personally, I really enjoyed reading up about this project because of strong yet subtle symbolic references and the well curated space.

KARLSH

However, similar to the previous precedent, this example engages a lot with the site, which is challenging given the lack of natural features on our site.

To improve my future research, I should be more selective with my examples such that the site conditions are more consistent.

SPA

HAMN KALBADHUS COLD BATH

ATIAL PROGRAM AND NAVIGATION

FAZENDA BOA VISTA I realised that there are a lot of strong ideas in this building. But given the nature of our site, especially the lack of natural landscape, I can only consider factors like their colour scheme and spatial program for my bath house.

Their use of a single shade throughout the building is promising in my bath house because it makes the small rooms less ovewhelming. However, puting empahsis on the natural environment as means of drawing peoples attention elsewhere may not be as successful for this site. Thus, it might be better to shift

Material and Colour Palette White is the only colour used throughout the building, because it gives a sense of peace, quiet, relaxation and purity. Colours are used sparingly, and in each setting, only one stark bright shade is used.

Response to Environment The tone and at times shade of white does not change much with time. The only way to for visitors to feel the presence of the environment is through the small windows and the reflection of water.

This puts emphasis on the bathing process and the ‘ water itself’. In these images, the windows are lined along the water so as to draw people to the far end of the pool, encouraging the fool bathing experience.

the focus to the interior architectural details instead.

Their spatial program takes the user through a long, horizontal and curated path which is possible given the large premise. However, with my bath-house I would need to figure out a way to translate the this curated program vertically.

This would be very challenging because if I were to continue with this, it is very likely that users will be traveling up and down stairs often, which is not ideal .

SPATIAL PROGRAM

Rocky path that leads to a small entry This helps when the building is in white, and the main entrance is small and obscure.

Trees are hidden with the white long wall This creates a sense of mystery and anticipation.

Trees act as buffer This acts as a form of privacy for customers in the massage room Walls defining each room extend lengthwise and juts out from the roof at various heights This gives visitors an idea of what is going on within the building

RESEARCH INTERESTS After leaving the Chakra idea behind, I was at the stage of panic because I was initially very confident with it. However, under my tutor’s advice and encouragement, I decided to look back at my two potential ideas of ikebana and movement of water.

Negative Spaces Across all forms of art, be it Le mayeur’s painting and especially ikebana, there was an underlying principle of balancing positive and negative spaces.

In ikebana, the voids in an arrangement helps the flower ‘breathe’ and makes the composition more soothing to the viewer.

These voids form the background that is often forgotten but very important in directing the user’s eyes to the focal point.

With water often being focus of the bath house, I thought of bringing the attention back to the users, thus turning water into the negative space. With this motive, I plan to bring the ‘presence’ of water to all the spaces, even the rest areas. This would pose many good opportunities to present water as different tectonics such that it acts as materiality and diffuses into the background. In addition, I could also explore the movement and flow of water from one space to another.

At this stage, I am very pleased with how I did not completely give up on the previous ideas as some bits have turned out to be rather useful.

04

SITE COLLAGE Personally, the only thing that stood out to me was the contrast between the effortless flow of water in the bath house and the strict geometry within the site, such as the brickwork, cobble-stone path and the Carlton grid.

However, after looking at everybody elses work, I got a better idea on how to improve and that is to dig deeper into the history of Carlton and the neighbouring facilities. Though there was nothing particulary interesting, looking more into this may allow me to find the current problems and loopholes that I could tackle in my project.

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MATERIALITY With my idea of turning water into the ‘negative space’ of a painting, I wanted to explore how water could be used as as walls, floors and ceilings. With this in mind and the feedback I got from the tectonics exercise, I wanted to ‘shape’ water such that it performs as a point, line, plane and mass.

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Tadao Ando’s Awaji Yumebutai, Awaji Island, Japan Taken from my personal collection - 30/12/2018

WATER - POINT / LINE / MASS

Walls - Different Water Intensities I took this photo during my exchange program in Japan. In this Ando piece, he shows how water could act as a point, plane and mass.

Personally I like how the water droplets at different intensities, could perform as an opaque wall, perforated wall or make the wall completely dissapear. This idea would be very useful in varying wall types

across a period of time. For instance, after the person has finished one bath, the ‘water wall’ could dissapear, leading him to the next program With different intensities, the water droplets could be used to change the tectonic of the pool, making it a plane and or a mass.

Hiroshi Nakamura’s Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan Taken from Dezeen

WATER - PLANE

Patterning - Water Ripples In the Optical Glass House, Hiroshi Nakamura uses the rippling effects of water to produce wall patternings in the form of shadows, Similarly, water here becomes somewhat invisble. Light becomes the focal point, and water continues to take the role of negative space. Though not as strong as the other precedent, I felt this detail is worth mentioning because it provides alternatives on soft and patternened light into space.

Patterning - Water Droplets I also took this photo during my exchange program in Japan.

It was raining that day and the water droplets stained the glass, making me initially somewhat frustrated that I could not take

a good look inside, having taken a long 2h commute to arrive. The glass panels were also slightly inclined, making it even harder for the rain drops to trickle through.

However, after a while, I felt that this made the experience all the more memorable.

The rain droplets obscured views from the outside, adding some form of privacy which was very much needed in this mourning space. In addition, the contrast of the linear lines from the timber and the speckled glass, added dimension to a the whole compositon, making the interior very desirable.

Though this detail may lack strong architectural reasoning, I feel that the obscurity and the trickling of water down the glass panels adds to the atmosphere and energy of the space.

Hiroshi Nakamura’s Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Hall, Saitama, Japan Taken from my personal colllection - 30/12/2018

Hiroshi Nakamura’s Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Hall, Saitama, Japan Taken from my personal collection - 30/12/2018

WATER - PLANE

Mirror - Still Water In Hiroshi Nakamura’s Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Hall, the mirror-like qualities of water multiply the landscape, making a person feel engulfed by it. This also draws the users attention to nature rather than the internal space, which indirectly serves as privacy.

I picked this precedent because I felt Nakamura was very clever in his positioning of the pool of water, such that it was able to respond to the site and resolve the brief, through a very simple design. I think this serves as a reminder to me that less is more and I should do the likewise.

In addition, in line with my previous ideas, though massive, water somewhat becomes invisible. It takes the back seat and the role of negative space. It transforms into the background and nature becomes the focal point.

However, unlike this precedent, our site does not have any landscape for us to borrow. Instead the reflection of bodies on the pool of water with privacy issues and the reduced human scale could be something to explore in my project.

SOLID MATERIALITY Other than experimenting with water, I wanted to look into materials that interact with light and lighting.

Patterning - Diffused lighting During my visit to Kengo Kuma’s Nezu Museum, my favourite detail was the translucent rice paper ceilings. The patterning complements the high foliage density of the surrouding trees, but at the same time gives a weightless feel to the space.

For the bath-house, using this material could significantly balance out the heaviness of the surrounding brick and cobblestone. Giving an airy feel to the space is would also be more relaxing to the users who come to the bath-house for stress relief.

Kengo Kuma’s Nezu Museum, Tokyo, Japan Taken from my personal collection - 30/12/2018

Patterning and response to environment - Soft lines of light Instead of creating a harsh single-line of light, several soft lines of light could be casted with the use of glass bricks, similar to what Hiroshi Nakmaura has used in the Optical Glass House. Glass bricks blend in well with the Carlton brick buildings but also balances out the heaviness of the space.

In my bath house , this also an alternative to windows that could dually resolve privacy issues.

In addition, similar to a sundial, the line movements shows how the space changes over time. I aim to incoporate these features to make my atmosphere more dynamic and appealing to our senses.

Hiroshi Nakamura’s Optical Glass House, Hiroshima, Japan Taken from Dezeen

Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Mechernich, Germany Taken from Archdaily

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Tadao Ando’s Benesse House, Naoshima Island, Japan Taken from my personal collection

05

COLOUR SCHEMES / ANALOGUE MEDIA PRECEDENTS

With COVID-19, I was given more time to work on studio, thus I focused on colour schemes, one of my weaknesses.

I came across Lauren Tsai’s work when I saw her in ‘Terrace House’, a Japanese reality TV show. Her works are very imaginative and mystical, one of the atmospheres in my bath house. Though her choice of colours are on opposite ends of the colour wheel and of different tones, the shade and intensity she uses are surprisingly complementary to one another an soothing to the eye. To learn from her, I intend to use the same colour palette as her, before I develop and form my own.

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix

ANALOGUE MEDIA I was also not satisfied with my analoge media exploration previously, thus decided to look at other precedents.

I was on Netflix and one of the suggestions was the Tale of Princess Kaguya by Isao Takahata. In this film, I was taken away by their graphics, where instead of the usual Disney 3D max or blocks of colours, each frame was a painting. I loved this film so much because it was very refreshing to see modern films that takes its user back in time by not just the story but also the grahics.

I took her escape scene as reference because the strokes used are very strong

and dark, showing speed and anticipation. Though not completely reflective of the bath house, the texture and the dark atmosphere could be useful in showing shadows and light in my project.

My previous explorations with the mixed media was useful in helping me to analyse each frame and the media used. However, I was unable to reproduce the exact same piece at the moment. In my spare time, instead of directly painting it into a bath house setting, I think I should start recreating the exact frames from the movie.

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix Black oil pastels - blunt end with soft grazing Black water colour - diluted and dabbed with tissue on on top of clean wash of water colour White dry pastel - smoothened out with orange dry pastel Pink water colour - diluted with black and layered with black wash on top Burnt sienna with orange water colour - diluted with black and layered with black wash on top 6B/8B graphic pencils - blunt and smudged

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix Black ink - diluted on rice paper/translucent paper 6B/8B graphic pencils - blunt and smudged Black charcoal - texture and softly grazed Black oil pastels - blunt

Escape Scene from The Tale of Princess Kaguya Screenshot from Netflix

WATER - PLANE

Mirror - Still Water In Hiroshi Nakamura’s Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Hall, the mirror-like qualities of water multiply the landscape, making a person feel engulfed by it. This also draws the users attention to nature rather than the internal space, which indirectly serves as privacy.

I picked this precedent because I felt Nakamura was very clever in his positioning of the pool of water, such that it was able to respond to the site and resolve the brief, through a very simple design. I think this serves as a reminder to me that less is more and I should do the likewise.

In addition, in line with my previous ideas, though massive, water somewhat becomes invisible. It takes the back seat and the role of negative space. It transforms into the background and nature becomes the focal point.

However, unlike this precedent, our site does not have any landscape for us to borrow. Instead the reflection of bodies on the pool of water with privacy issues and the reduced human scale could be something to explore in my project.

Water Colour on Water Colour Paper and edited in Photoshop

WATER EXPERIMENTS

After failing to achieve the same ‘lively’ effect as Isao Takahata, I felt that I needed to change my direction.

Personally, I was unimpressed with my final outcomes because they felt very ‘dead’ as opposed to when the paintings were wet. Thus, I decided to take pictures of my wet paintings and use them my future textures instead. It gives off the glistening and ‘live’ effect of water that I could not achieve when painting it out.

The textures of the paper peeking out also adds another dimension.

Despite struggling for days, I am very impressed with where I have arrived. With this, I intend to document my process rather than just scanning my final otucome. This also teaches me to be more carefree with this project and be open to any form of experimentation.

Water Colour on Water Colour Paper and edited in Photoshop

RULES AND SPATIAL PROGRAM Learning from my previous studios, I work best when given design rules to abide to. Thus similarly, I have written out a list of fixed deas that I wish to incorporate. Though it limits broader exploration, reducing the number of permutations helps me go deeper in my ideas and makes me less confused.

After setting out the rules, some key aspects I noticed was the placements of entries and exits, privacy from one bath to another, and the sequence of rooms.

Thus, I mapped out the flow of the spatial .

program, by putting myself in the shoes of a visitor and an employee. I think this method helps me curate the experience better as it forms my arguements.

I intend to use this method in the future as well, but I need to remind myself to be lenient because sometimes, better ideas could pop out from outside the guidelines

RULES AND SPATIAL PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT After getting too much into the spatial configurations and practicalities, I started drifting away from my concept on ikebana and negative spaces.

I needed to incoporate the idea of breathable negative spaces on the program level. At that point, I was unconvinced with my own definition of negative spaces and how it should be incorporated in the bath house. Thus, I continued to list out the permutations of negative and positive spaces and evaluated each iteration on

what it would mean as a concept.

This method defined the aim for this project which made me confident. I wished I used this method earlier on because, it would have saved me time and made me less frantic. The instability of my projects usually affects me emotionally, thus giving some direction and guideline helps me progress alot.

IDEAS LEADING UP TO INTERIM

INITIAL BUBBLE DIAGRAMS During idea generation, one of th challenges I faced was getting lost in ideas.

Sketching everything out was my mode of self expression, and it got to a point where everything I thought of was poured onto a paper with no filter. Though that was good in the beginning, I was obliviously branching out to new ideas without following through the previous ones.

I only thought of the parts I liked and ignored the rest.

Thus, one exercise I did was consolidating and limiting myself to three bubble diagrams. This was good because it

forced me to push through with one idea and finish the parts I did not like. It also forced me to have some form of scale, which was lacking in the quick sketches.

Nonethess, my scale was still far off and this was exceptionally worrying for my changing rooms. With changing rooms being less flexible, I should have finalised the dimensions of my changing room first before proceeding with the bubble diagram.

ITERATION 1

This was my favourite set of plans among the three because they had a more straightforward circulation.

Iteration 1 - Before

Iteration 1 -After

(+) cafe could have higher ceiling (+) cafe is a seperate entity from baths but can still witness bathers moving from indoor to cold bath (-) though isolated, massage room should have direct access from changing rooms (-) think of program in BF under ramp up (-) think of cade access to admin and change rooms

(+) simpler (+) spatially effective (+) happy with change rooms circulation (acess to admin, to bath, after bath and cafe) (+) massage and outdoor bath on another mide level to show ceiling height difference in cafe (+) courtyard only for cafe, not maximised (-) no space for a ramp to enjoy the glass brick facade.

Iteration 1 - Before

Iteration 1 - After

ITERATION 2

This was my second favourite set of plans because it was more experimental .

Iteration 2 - Before

Iteration 2 - After

(+) pond above cafe detail (+) transition of indoor to cold to flower bath and outdoor (+) ramp against brick glass facade (-) unresolved staircase from outdoor bath to changing rooms, might clash into admin, details of differential floor levels but circulation will be more convoluted.

(-) unconvinced if could fit staircases underneath cafe to BF, also clashes with route to cafe (-) spatial program void betwen BOH and BF baths

(+) void between glass brick and baths (+) spatially effective (-) awkward clashing of bathers path and cafe path from change roo (-) unresolved staircase from change room to the BF baths and GF bath (-) no ramps to maximise glass brick facade, only enjoyed by cafe (-) potential prolems with scale

Iteration 2 - Before

Iteration 2 - After

ITERATION 3

This was my least favourite because it was rather convoluted which may pose future problems.

Iteration 3 - Before

Iteration 3 - After

(+) ramp (+) entry at Elgin Street (+) potential void to the north (Elgin and Rathdowne St) so as to maximised effect of glass brick (+) staircase to outdoor bath (-) potential scaling problems

(+) steam to entry, connecting two levels (+) pond maximised, for cafe and to delineate private (massage room) and public (outdoor bath) bath (+) ramp (-) complicated changing room circulation (-) gap between change rooms

Iteration 3- Before

Iteration 3 - After

FINALISING THE CHANGE ROOM The changing room was the most challenging areas for me to design, because of the tight constraints and rules I have given myself. On top of seperating out the dressed and undressed people, I wanted to seemlessly seperate the entering and exiting undressed bathers.

Though not shown, there were many iterations of changing rooms. This was because, everytime I changed the overall plan, I would make a new accompnaying changing room. If the changing room was not ideal, the overall plan would be completely scrapped, landing me to square one. After going through this process, I realised that it was not effecient and I would get even more demoralised, which reduced my productivity.

Thus, though late, I decided to finalise my changing room and make my plans through there. This method proved to be more effective because I was also able to eliminate the overall plans that were not working. The change room also needed

precise measurements. With my hopes on keeping the glass brick facade as detached as possible, it narrowed down the posssible positions of my changing room.

As the requirements of the entering bathers and the exiting bathers are different, this method gave me an opportunity to analyse their different needs, and thus design accordingly. My favourite detail would be shower/ changing space for exiting bathers. I was able to tap on topics I enjoy, such as creating soft barriers between wet and dry. Creating soft barriers has always been a favourite part of architecture and I hope to explore that further in future projects.

Feedback from Hella to adjust changing rooms to optimise space and allow lift access for disabled

Entering

Disabled

Exiting

From Final Presentation Revised change room to subtlely seperate entering and exiting undressed bathers whilst still giving emergency access to lift for disabled

06

07

INTERIM FEEDBACK

From all the feedback given to me, I intend to start from revisiting my ideas of ‘ma’, the negative spaces. For this presentation, I felt that I took the definition of ‘ma’ to the literal level, meaning adding many voids within the building and long pathways (such that it looks ‘empty’ in plan and section views).

To dig deeper into my concept, I plan to explore ‘ma’ on a more intimate level, such as introducing thresholds for users to pause, feel the silence and emptiness. Currently, I can only think of exploring different door configurations, after taking references from the pictorial definition of the ‘ma’ character.

To introduce pauses and silence, I believe I should start by having only one focal point and dampening the remaining senses of the user. Similar to Shen’s feedback, I could use these thresholds to ‘clean’ the palette before bringing the users to a space with the focal point.

This could be in terms of views towards the sky, sounds of raindrops, etc.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN For this project, I focused on rain water harvesting because my building has several water features that serve architectural purposes, rather than having baths and human contact. I have merged the ESDdesign texhniques from the two precedents and revised it to suit my purpose.

However, ESD will not be my primary focus because the main aim of the studio was to learn about creating different atmoshpheres rather than designing environmentally sustainable bath houses and the tecnicalities. But with this being said, learning about this could inform me on how I should I direct water and arrange my programs accordingly.

Bercy Chen’s Studio’s Cascading Creek house Taken from Archdaily

Sander’s Pace Architecure’s Cape Russell Retreat Taken from Archdaily

JOURNAL REFLECTION

What did i do better this time round to past projects? What helped me achieved this?

I think my graphic presentation skills improved. Personally, I felt the images were more of collective rather than individual entities.

I think setting a time limit for each drawing helped me achieved this. It not only makes me move faster, but also refrains me from adding too many details to each piece. One of my weaknesses is focusing too much on one piece and subconsciously giving it a distinct character, after being too engrossed in it.

Moving quickly from piece to piece also makes me mentally envision them as one piece.

I also think the time spent during the holidays brushing up on my software skills paid off. Not only was my more fluent in each software, but I also had a structured workflow, allowing me to move faster from one software to the next. Being more confident digitally, also reduced my mistakes and inadequacies in analogue.

What past mistakes did I repeat and why?

Similar to last time, I spent too much time perfecting my plan and working on the overall 3D model. I kept repeating this mistake because I wanted to perfect my sequence of spaces before working on the individual baths because I thought the atmosphere of the baths could be created on an individual level.

Another mistake I repeated was sketching everything by hand in different scales, making my spatial programs not workable in the end. This is because it is second nature for me to get my ideas in quickly in the spur of excitement.

Where did I make important decisions?

When and why did I make good decisions, when and why did I make ones that were not so good?

An important decision I made was my facade and overall external form. This was done at the start of concept design. Personally, I felt that this was a good decisio because as it narrowed down the choices for my spatial program.

By setting my facade as a simple glass brick to capture the change of time, I was able to decide which space needed this experience and where it should be placed.

What worked well and what did not work well at this review? Are these reflective of strengths and weaknesses of my work in general? How can I improve this further?

Contrary to the feedback given, I think my plans worked quite well. I felt that my sequence of spaces really took privacy into consideration, particulary the subtle segregation between the fully-clothed bathers and those who were not. I also really liked how there is a sequence to the bathing spaces, so as to feel the full experience, which I am very keen on sticking to. To improve, I should also create small affordances to allow bathers to skip baths.

In my opinion, I was not satisfied with my sections. They were too planar and it felt as though they were simply stacked upon each other, even though there were voids.

But to be fair, bringing 2D plans into the 3D has always been my weakness, and this interim is an improvement because, I felt that I justified my voids well. To improve on my 3D further, I should focus on my individual bathing experiences.

Creating depths in pools could influence the experiences above and below, which could help me engage more with the 3D.

What did others do that I wish I had done? What would help me to incorporate/achieve this?

I really liked how Lauren and Joo translated their tectonic into both a plan and section. Though I wanted to stick to a more elegant and linear form, I wished that I could be more daring by adding more variety into my form and sape of space. I think leaving my interim aside and looking back at my previous tectonics would help me gain some inspiration and creativity in varying my form.

What did I do better at this review than others? What do I like about my project and what would I like to change?

I think I really depended on my concept to justify my design decisions, which helped the crits understand my scheme quickly.

At the current moment, I only like my spatial sequences and I am not passionate about my concept.

Though it worked previously, I am using the same design process, which makes it a little boring for me. Previously, I also aimed on taking a different approach for this studio where I am not strapped down by the rules I have created. I want to design more freely based on my fluctuating emotions, such that this project is more of an abstract art piece rather and pre-planned still-life painting.

08

STRUCTURAL PRECEDENTS One of the main structural doubts I had was incorporating trees above the ground level.

For trees above the ground level, I looked into the 1000 Trees Project in Shanghai.

I found this project a while ago because I was very intrigued with its form, rather than its structural characteristics at that time.

Though I was unable to find the section details, I think I can still borrow the idea of using the base of the trees as columns.

As these columns are directed straight through the basement, the varied distance between each columns could create affordances for different activities to take place and obscure views. It is linearity is suitable for the rigid and strict chacracteristics of the tai resting space.

The problem with this method is that it limits the growth of the roots horizontally.

Should I choose to not use columns, a very thick slab is needed to contain the roots, as seen in the Opitical Glass House section. The problem with this method is that the trees must be very carfeully selected, in terms of maximum root length and depth. This method also limits the growth of the roots vertically and horizontally.

Precedent research was very useful in this instance because it not only resolveed my doubts structurally but also suggested new ideas in which I could maximise the use of each component.

1000 Trees Porject Shanghai Taken from Dezeen

Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura Taken from NAP architect’s official wesbite

STRUCTURAL PRECEDENTS Close proximity between trees and water was another one my qualms.

To resolve the issues of close proximity between trees and water, I looked into two different types of environments, one more ‘natural’ and one more artficial.

For ‘natural’, I looked into the Art Biotop Water Garden. It looked as though water is added into the garden, showing that water is the positive space and the plants are the negative space. I think I can use their idea of moulded concrete water tanks if I choose create a more organic form.

To create a more artificial environment, I looked into the Gallery of Vanke Sales House and the Gallery of Jiangnan but was unable to find a section detail for both. Unlike the Art Biotop Water Garden, it feels as though the trees were added to the ‘water’, showing the trees as the positive space and water as a negative space.

From the pictures, I presume that the same method of concrete tanks were used, but for both water and the trees.

Art Biotop Water Garden by Junya Ishigami Taken from Dezeen

Gallery of Vanke Sales House Taken from Archdaily

Art Biotop Water Garden by Junya Ishigami Taken from Dezeen

STRUCTURAL PRECEDENTS For the structure, I planned on using structural walls, similar to the Therme Vaals by Peter Zumthor.

The use of structural walls throughout, eliminates the use of columns. This allow for a clean, mass-like canvas, for water and light reflections to bounce off.

It also takes the users attention away from the ‘architecture’ itself, allowing it to be the background and the negative space of this painting.

As I have always used columns for my previous studios, I realised that working with walls are a little trickier. The load paths must continue, meaning the length and position of the walls above must synchronised with the ones below.

I resorted to using columns for my back of house and changing rooms because

they are currently tighltly fit between 100mm wall partitions. Changing them to structural walls creates more restrictions in configurations and workable spatial sequences.

This exercise was very important because it made us realise the weight of water and the amount of machinery that goes into it. It influences my sections and plans to a great extent . I felt that it was very timely to have this exercise after the interim, because if given before, it would be too much on my plate and would also prompt me into thinking too crticially in the beginning.

PLANS AND SECTIONS READJUSTMENTS One of the main mistakes I made during interim was sketching everything out freely on paper, without a scale in mind.

Thus , to ensure my ideas are more workable, I decided to print out my interim plans and made adjustments from there instead. This method proved to be more successful because my ideas started to make more sense, making it easier to materialise.

One problem that I encountered with this was drawing out too many ideas and alternatives. Similar to my problems previously, I explored too many ideas briefly without thinking if it works in the 3D.

realising this, I jumped straight into my rhino file and started making adjustments from there, and this made me progress faster.

However, I did not regret these mistakes.

After working digitally, I started to think too critically, making it very difficult for me to bounce back and think creatively. Thankfully, the previous ideas I drew out became my new tool box of ideas when I had idea blocks.

09

FACADE PRECEDENTS For the facade, I wanted to continue with the the uniform glass brick. This is because of our site conditions.

With our height limit of 10m, and an overlooking gas station, there was no potential for beautiful views, I focused on creating an internal environment, that blocks out as much noise and busy views as possible. However, with it being at a strategic corner, instead of using of daylight, I wanted to directly ‘use’ the sun path as my response to the change of time.

I have chosen it specifically as brick because of the diffused and lined shadows it casts and also to pay tribute to the brick dense neighborhood of Carlton. I also wanted to use its density to show mass, differentiating the interior and exterior. I have also used its translucency to also obscure the views from outside.

My previous precedent was the Optica Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura because it was fairly similar to my current site, a tight neighbourhood. I also really enjoyed this precedent because it does not completely mask the interior when looking from the outside. However, from the inside, the outside seems to be completely masked, only revealing traces of daylight. Similarly, for my building, I wanted to make the glass seem 75% opaque from the outside and 90% opaque from the inside. This is because I want pedestrians to feel the presence of activities inside the space and the users to experience something completely different from outside.

From the ouside, the silhuotte of the tree could still be seen. This could be because this is taken from a distance.

Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura Taken from Archdaily

Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura Taken from Archdaily

From the inside, nothing much could be seen. This could be because the focus is brought to the patterns on the wall, pushing the users attention away from what is beyond the brick wall. In addition, the user could be standing closer to the brick wall, thus the view becomes more obscure.

Diamond Glass Art Gallery by Jun Murata Taken from Dezeen

FACADE PRECEDENTS Other than Hiroshi Nakamura’s Optical glass house, I was also very intrigued with Jun Murata’s Diamond Glass Art Gallery in Osaka.

As an antique shop and gallery, the glass bricks are used as a compromise between privacy and spaciousness, two seemingly contrasting expectations by the client. This precedent was stood out to me because of the way they varied the glass blocks. By using different textures and opaqueness, various patterns and colour tones are made across the walls, each different throughout the day.

I also used this example to compare and contrast the difference in construction techniques.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNICALITIES

The type of reinforcements were the main differences between the two. As the scale of the glass brick facade is far larger in the Optical glass house, the glass bricks are customized in a way that it resemble beads, strung in a loom or an abacus. This method was possible because the facade was non-load bearing.

However, this compromised aesthetics as additional lines of wires could be seen.

Thus smallers glass bricks could have also been used to divert the users attention away. On the other hand, in Jun Muratas, to show the different textures, larger glass bricks were used. As the scale is rather small, reinforcement and mortar

Diamond Glass Art Gallery by Jun Murata Taken from Dezeen

Taken from Construction.com

between the bricks would have been sufficient.

However from the two examples, my bath house, is leaning towards the construction techniques used by Hiroshi Nakamura.

This exercise was very useful because it prompted me to question why different types of glass bricks were used in each scenario and how constructability affected the selection of materials and appearance. In the future, I should look into the constructability of my components when making desing decisions.

Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura Taken from Design Boom

OVERALL BASEMENT PLAN (REVISITED) After interim, I felt that my basement floor was the most unresolved. Though from a glance, it may seem convincing, but after taking a deeper look, I realised that it was illogical and the planning seemed haphazard.

The three main problems with it was: 1. stairs in massage room seemed out of place 2. dead end, no passage to changing rooms, only immediate passage to 1F baths 3. illogical fire escape stairs 4. small courtyard My game plan was to resolve all these problems first, hoping that the rest woudl naturally fall into place. Though this method was successful, it took longer than expected.

During this process, I faced periods of indecisiveness. This was because I wanted to incorporate too many ideas and still wanted to link it seamlessly to the levels above.

One method I did was mapping out all the portions from above that I wanted to bring to the basement (reflected in the section of plans and readjusments). I also limited myself to only one sheet of paper. This made me filter out what was important and made it less confusing for me. However, there were too many areas and the layout of the areas above kept changing. This made it very challenging for me as I was hopping from one area to another.

One of the feedback Hella gave me was that I needed to focus on a few key areas and that it was not necessary for every space to reflect the concept. This comment took the load off me quite a bit, helping me progress much faster.

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COLD BATH (REVISIT)

During the interim, I felt that the design of my cold bath was not ‘powerful’ enough.

It had too many disjointed design details, which created many ‘small’ experiences. This was not ideal because of the small scale of the pool.

Thus, I restarted by creating a new design aim: ‘to feel the sharpness of water’ and picked only the design details that was consistent with my new aim. This method was useful because it made me take a step back and take what was necessary. Surprisingly, this was also recurring in my design aim for each space, ‘ to null out periphery senses and focus on one experience’.

I had very constructive feedback from Josie, Hella and Joo. They provided me

arguements behind which design detail I should keep and which I should. This helped me with indecisiveness.

Nonetheless, with second opinions, my mind continued to wonder off as they provided me new alternatives, which I got excited about, and subsequently overwhelmed.

To resolve this issue, I took several breaks along the way and only used the design details that stood out to me. (The journal pages are not spaced on a weekly basis to reduce the pressure of decision making) Though at one time, I felt that it was pity to not take up everything but convinced myself that I could use these design details elsewhere to form stronger arguments.

Cold Bath Sketch model

Cold Bath Josie’s Handwritten Feedback

FLOWER BATH (REVISITED) I was most proud of my flower bath because I felt that the design details meshed well together and fulfilled my design aims (exploring the planar qualities of water).

Nonetheless, as I had to make my overall plans more logical, the plan for my flower bath had to change inevitably.

By removing the stairsways up, there were more space within the bath. I also had to remove the tree to the right, as it was illogical to have such a narrow courtyard space (as brought by Sarah during interim) . These new changes prompted me to explore the other planar qualties of water further.

My feedback session with Josie was very helpful in particular. By introduing compulsory up-lighting in the pool, it gave me an opportunity to divert the bathers attention upwards, rather than towards the horizon. This replaced the need for a

Interim flower bath plan

tree to the right side of the bath. This also provided an additional ‘activity’ in the pool, which made it more dimensional.

It also resolved privacy issues towards bathers using the right side of the pool , by averting their attention.

The use of artificial lighting also prompted me to think about how this bath could be used at night. As per Josie’s input, uplighting at the base of the tree could allow the shadows from the leaves to be reflected on the pool.

For my past projects, I have always failed to consider how spaces could be used and activated at night. Though in this bath I have started to consider it, I still used a lot of artificial components to bring the space to life. In future projects, I hope to embrace the external night environment and bring them into my designs seamlessly.

Revised flower bath plan

Fire bath Josie’s Handwritten Feedback

Kaleidoscope Taken from Wikipedia

ADDITIONAL LIGHTING AND LECTURE NOTES

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MASSAGE ROOM (REVISITED) My main aim was to maximise the potential of the pond, thus I started out by analysing the different postures adopted in each bath. The postures used in the massage room were more planar in nature, which was consistent with the planar qualities of the pond. Thus I thought it was apt to leave them side by side.

The process of designing this room was very different from the other baths. I was tapping more onto the aestheticqualities, rather than the arguements. My key motivation was to add variation to my overall section. Though I was not accustomed to this method of designing, I enjoyed it very much. It was based on instinct and fitting baths in based on dimensions. It was more liberating and surprisingly, ev-

erything else miraculously fell into place.

For instance, as bathers usually spend quite a lot of time in the resting space before entering the massage, the resting space needed to reflect the change of time. Miraculously, this space was right beneath the tree with the falling leaves, which conveyed that idea. From this new design method, I have learnt to trust the process and not to constantly focus on the endpoint.

FIRE BATH (REVISITED) Similar to the massage room, I decided to put aside my concept and collect images that I enjoyed, and work from there.

However, I continued falling into the same trap. I was hoping to link all three programs under an umbrella tectonic-concept ; the drinking fountains to the fire bath and the pond nearby. It got to a point where i was very lost.

To be more productive, I took the advice from my peers and carried on with the rest of my day. This advice proved to be very useful as I started collecting mundane images of water droplets in my head such as thick steam and light water sprinkles. By analysing their difference in ‘weight’, despite being almost of the same tectonic, I was able find a link between the fire bath and the drinking fountains.

Taking my mind off architecture for a bit has always been a good way for me to generate new ideas. However, with a tight schedule, I am often tempted to maximise each and every moment. A part of me also worries that I will procrastinate and would not be able to find the ‘eureka’ moment if given the short time.

Nonetheless, I have discovered that I could always be ‘productive’ doing chores that do not require much brain power, such as cutting out architecture people, or organizing my files. This could , to a certain extent, relief me from my guilt of not optimising my time.

SOE RESTING SPACE (REVISITED) I was rather pleased with my tai and shin resting spaces as they both had their own distinct qualities. Resting is equally as important as the baths themselves, thus I was compelled to make my soe resting space as memorable as possible. Similar to the other baths, I was in a design rut.

shift giant swing my grandfather made.

It was simple but it would bring me so much joy. I remembered how the wind would rapidly rock me through when my stubby legs could barely reach the floor.

It showed how nature could interact silently, without us even knowing.

My aim was to make this space as simple as possible, but what I saw on my Pinterest feed, was to some extent too artificial.

They all had a common theme of a ‘static’ resting space, subtraction and addition from mass. They were too ‘architecture-like’, and I felt that it was somewhat disconnected from nature.

Thus, though it was not sophistically architecture-like, I thought incorporating simple elements like these would make it meaningful and fulfil my design aims. By introducing simple yet familiar design elements, we might be able to take our minds off the ‘aesthetics’ of the place and really focus on the external environment instead.

Things slowly fell into place, when I came across an old photo myself on this make-

Diana Memorial Fountain Taken from Landezine

Lungo Mare Bench Taken from Architonic

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CONCEPT (REVISITED) Personally, I was not convinced by own concept during interim, despite reassurance from Hella and the guest crits. I felt that there are more layers to ikebana and the way I described it was too much like a guidebook, and not a form of self expression. I felt that I was not doing justice to its art form and to myself, an artist.

I felt that the way I incorporated it into my scheme was similar to way I incorporated chakras into the bath house (one chakra, one room = fulfilment). This was the trap Hella warned me of in the beginning of this studio, which I too, was afraid of falling into.

Sorting out the concept was my biggest struggle in this studio. Many of my ideas are intertwined and if not explained properly, could be read off as superficial.

Thus one of the methods I used was penning it down as a flowchart and writing a script together with it. The flow chart, helped me get the main gist of ideas and essentially the flow of the presentation.

Writing a script made sure that I stuck with the same train of thoughts and that the ideas in the flow chart are valid and do not repeat.

This was a very long and tedious process but it served me very well. It was useful because my concept was a little up in the air and prone to various intepretations. Thus writing a script made it easier for me to explain my ideas to others, and for them to follow.

Even when explaining my ideas to others, I also tend to drift off, especially when I am not fully convinced myself. Thus writing this script also helps convince myself.

Nonetheless, I faced a lot of challenges writing the script, such that it impeded on the progress of my designs. Thus, though not ideal, I treated the design and the concept as two seperate tasks.

Working backwards and tying it to seem chronological was a first for me. However , this was necessary at time because my mind was constantly not in the right state and would shut off completely, especially when I was doing such a personal topic.

Draft concept which I left off because I was too ovewhelmed

Draft concept - testing out different ideas and directions

List of ‘confirmed ‘ spaces I wanted to include in my project

Consolidated ideas and reasoning

Possible slide progression

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PRESENTATION FORMAT The presentation was very important for me because of the nature of my topic.

After trying to explain it to my sister, I realised that my ideas are very conceptual and difficult to follow. Thus, I needed to ease the audience into the topic and devote at least a third of my presentation on explaining the concept. In addition to Dhanika’s remark on taking advantage of this situation, I planned on creating a set of images, linking up to a small animation, ideally. With my concept based on negative space, I thought, I could also express this in the presentation itself.

Consistent to how I wanted to express negative space intangibly, I could do that too in the form of short pauses in my presentation. I could space my ideas in, so as to create tension. Doing it in a film, also allows me to show negative space visually by using various individual frames.

I am also worried if my presentation sounded too serious. It is a topic that is open to intepretation and not completely scientifically proven, though there are some research articles backing this claim up. My presentaion was a mere opinion of my views and alternative to how we could ‘appreciate better’. Thus, if it followed the usual structure of an architecture presentation, it might come across as a dogma of ideas. This was not my intention because the basis of my concept is on the aims of art, a humble representation of an opinion. Thus, I decided to use simple images that do not lean too much into architecture.

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FEEDBACK AND READJUSTMENTS I received very constructive feedback during the presentation.

One of feedback that Yui gave me was that she did not see much changes from the interim. I somewhat agreed with this comment because I used post interim to convince myself of my concept, and take out the unecessary design details in each bath. I also reworked on the circulation and the baths in the basement, which I did not bring up during presentation.

These design changes was made more for aesthetic purpose and less so related to my concept. Nonetheless, I still needed to make these changes so as to make my plans logical, something I have left unresolved in the interim.

Another feedback she gave was creating ‘ma’ externally, for instance a gap between the neighboring building and the footpath. This was something I overlooked in the project, but still vey important because externally, I still wanted to make my bath house camouflage and be transparent to the external environment.

In my section and plans, I showed no context of neighboring buildings, which made my intention of ‘transparency’ ironic.

She also raised issues on the dark entrance to Pinky’s lane and I felt this was a lost opportunity on my end to introduce ma.

Another constructive feedback I received was from Sam. He told me that the presentation would have been better if I jumped into the architecture earlier, rather than having the beginning commentary. Ironically, this to me was good news as it meant that my concept was valid and did not require that much explanation to ease users into my scheme.

I have decided to do some minor adjustments to the external facade and site map in response to Yui’s feedback. I also realised that my rhino model seem to be underused, despite spending the crux of my time perfecting it. Thus, I adjusted my spatial program slide with an axonometric for it to look more architecture-like. I also made minor adjustments to my lighting sections (material addition and section line) based on what my studio mates presented.

site response - landforming

Relatively flat site

Main pool of water covering site

Closing off the building

Opening up the top

reduce noise levels and immedi-

exposure to external environment

ate views of busy neighbourhood

RATHDOW N

E ST

ELGIN ST

0

ELGIN

ST

External

Internal

Camouflages into the brick dense neighbour-

Obscured views of the outside but the active sil-

hood of Carlton

huottes allows bathers to feel the energy of the acitivies outside

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10

20

spatial program

1F

outdoor bath

shin - heaven liberating and free

cold bath

line and point indoor bath

flower bath

GF soe - man changing rooms

balance between both plane and line

massage room BF tai - earth grounded, rules, discipline mass and plane

fire bath sweat chambers sweat stones sounding stones