MICHELLE GAN - ARTEFACTS COMBINED by RMIT Architecture

MICHELLE JENNICA GAN

A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 1 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Reframing

Ornament

“In the finest of these flourishes, we can read signs of goodness in a material register, a form of frozen benevolence. We see in them evidence of those sides of human nature which enable us to thrive rather than simply survive. These elegant touches remind us that we are not exclusively pragmatic or sensible: we are also creatures who, thrive in elaboration.”

ALAIN DE BOTTON

We find beauty in the revealed dialogues between our occupancy and these handmade fragments but seek a fairer balance. “In order not to mock such details we need a culture confident enough about its pragmatism and aggression that it can also acknowledge the contrary demands of vulnerability at play – a culture, that is sufficiently unthreatened by decadence as to allow for visible celebrations of tenderness.”

Criteria Through Three Lenses

LA BELLE INSEULT WILLIAM MORRIS

Reca Victo Mem

alling orian mory

The houses recall a past they have grown witness to by unearthing depictions in painting. The objects are positioned to serve a purpose and form the identities of their owners, decorating the homes as their humanised proxies. THE REJECTED POET WILLIAM POWELL

Icon grap Abstra

nophic action

Each object is made iconographic to extract its pure geometrical nature, its layers, and its facets. A key to revealing moves that can transform yet sustain its nostalgic visual memory. HELEN MAUSDLEY

Form Funct Disasso

mal + tional ociation

The ornament is altered through mirroring, slicing, bloating, and multiplying to serve a new functionality for the modern resident. These encompass pragmatism, flexibility, porosity and tactile engagement. SUZANNE JONGMAN

Heritage Interiors

Reframing Ornament

Cornice – Integrated Seat

Archway – Operable Window

Ceiling Rosella – Unfolding Table

Brick Edge – Rotating Lounge

Stained Glass – Sunken Lounge

Stained Glass – Display Case A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 1 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Bay Window – Entry Portal

Wallpaper – Wardrobe

Fireplace – Kitchen Counter + Central Heating

Iron Filigree – Rotating Stair

Iron Filigree – Stair Chest

Cornice

Victorian depictions of cornice and skirting moldings An Evening at Home Edward John Poynter 1870

Abstraction - Elongated froms on moldings are exagerated for their linear properties.

Skirting and Cornice Molding

Take away a section from the bottom of the cornice

Attached a rounded pipe of the same material, re-attach the retrieved section from earlier.

Find 2 identical chairs, any will work. Saw off 1/3 of from each.

Keep ornate elements like legs and arm detailing

Use these kept objects to attach the chair to the cornice extrusion made above. Repeat on the other side.

Integrated seat formed from a blend of skirting and cornice moldings.

“Rounded profiles break away from cornice and skirtings that once shrouded the convergence of ceiling, wall, and floor. Reaching down, it lends a resting seat for two, its arms reaching for the other to become one.”

Integrated seat - plan and section

Integrated seat view

Integrated Seat

Archway

Victorian depictions of a drawing room Corner of a drawing room Emma Minnie Boyd -- 1889

Abstraction the archway form is mirrored and multiplied to create an oculus

Victorian Hallway Arch

Extract archway from hallway, separate the two attached corbels

Replicate the left archway to mirror the original form. Turn two corbels on their side.

Manipulate corbels to create openings for safekeeping.

Attach these to the point of convergence of the mirrored arch.

Fill the cavity with glazing. Open and close the awning to control privacy.

“Existing archways that once lined tight hallways, now inspire a folding window connecting the bedroom to the outside, opening to allow whispered conferences in the night.”

Operable window Elevation and Section

Archway window - View in action

Operable Windo

Rosella

Victorian Depictions of the Rosella - The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York DiningRoom 1866

Abstraction - The Rosella is broken into layers for its radial arraying geometry

Ceiling Rosella

Separate Rosella into layers by separating the base into 3, detaching the floral pendant and extracting the light fixture.

Turn separated set of objects upside down, with the light facing the ceiling.

Flatten base ridges into an even plane for the top layer, duplicate the silhouette for two more layers beneath.

Subtract top surface with Rosella floral pendant.

Re-attach extracted light fitting to the center.

Extract petal forms from floral pendant and scale up for a seat. At point nearing the bud, extrude down to create a standing support.

Fold out the Rosella table to increase capacity from 4 - 12. Pull open the central floral pendant for a rising platter to hold dishes and candles.

“A ceiling rosella that once adorned a chandelier is overturned into a dining table, unfolding its layers for a group of 4 or 12. It lifts its petals upwards to hold lit candles and warm dishes.”

Unfolding table - plan

Unfolding Table view - in action

Unfolding Table

Brick Edge 13

Depictions of the brick edge - Hill End Residency - Russel Drysdale 1948

Abstraction - the brick patter nation is multiplied and repositioned as an object that tessellates

Ceiling Rosella

Separate Rosella into layers by separating the base into 3, detaching the floral pendant and extracting the light fixture.

Turn separated set of objects upside down, with the light facing the ceiling.

Flatten base ridges into an even plane for the top layer, duplicate the silhouette for two more layers beneath. Subtract top surface with Rosella floral pendant.

Re-attach extracted light fitting to the center. Attach a rounded surface to its midpoint.

Extract petal forms from floral pendant and scale up. At point nearing the bud, extrude down to create a standing support. Array these around the edge in sets of 3.

Take the bottom most layer and place it on top as an enclosing ceiling.

Extrude its outline down to create semi private walls around the created space.

Take the form of the edge bricks and project them onto the extruded surface.

From opposing sides they latch open and close to create the rotating lounge. A semi private interior, ready for flexible use.

“Moving through, the house presents its patterned bricks that once embellished the corner as a latch system. It is enclosing a rotating lounge for private conversation over a rosella table within.”

Rotating lounge - plan and elevation

Rotating lounge - View - in action

Rotating Lounge

tained Glas 17

Victorian Depictions of Stained Glass Mariana - Sir John Everrett Millais 1851

Abstraction - the stained glass ability to tell tales is graphically distorted as a metaphor for a fluid narrative

Stained Glass

Extract stained glass from door frame

Lay the stain glass plane on the ground, map out its geometry

Duplicate and mirror around pattern to desired arrangement.

Lift edges in a 45 degree angle to create back rests for the sunken lounge.

Take the outline of the pattern as form for cushions and upholstery.

Inflate the form accordingly.

Arrange and rearrange the loose cushions to your liking. Create infinite variations to this mosaic.

“Upstairs, a living room allows space for restorative thoughts. Stained glass, once telling a tale of a painted picture offers itself as sunken lounge of mosaic puffed cushions, to be formed and formed again to the residents’ desires.”

Sunken Lounge - plan and section

Sunken Lounge - View in action

Sunken Lounge

Stained Glass

Extract stained glass from door frame

Lay the stain glass plane on the ground, map out its geometry

Create a glass blown form accordingly.

Take the same outline to form a support to hold the glass form created.

Join these two objects with a frame and legs.

Select a part of the stained glass mosaic.

Create light fixtures in their pattern.

Arrange the created objects accordingly. Attach handles to each container to open, close and store possessions within.

“In the corner, it too becomes an inflated display case. It transforms in colour as it opens to lock away an invaluable heirloom inside. ”

Display Case - Plan and elevation

Display Case - view in action

Display Case

ay Window 23

Depictions of the Victorian Bay Window - Afternoon Tea - Emma Minnie Boyd - 1888

Abstraction - The bay window is drawn as a portal through rather than a buffer from the outside.

Victorian Bay Window

Replace the top valances with a cast form.

Take away the stained glass, map and carve out shelving to its two side angled walls.

Split the day bed and angle them against the wall, emptying them out for shoe shelving within.

Place a doorway at the center to form a threshold buffer for privacy before entering a room.

“A threshold to the bedroom is shaped from a familiar bay window. A hard layer is cast over is old valances, while a soft curtain buffers for privacy before entering in. Its seats carved out for keeping shoes and slippers, while angled walls carry shelved negatives of windows for vases and coat jackets. ”

Entry Portal - Plan and Section

Entry Portal - View - in action

Entry Portal

Wallpaper 27

Depictions around Victorian Wallpaper - The Awakening Conscience - William Holman Hunt - 1853

Abstraction: The Wallpaper is broken down into sections. Floral patterns are viewed in mass that can be extruded up or concaved down.

Victorian Wallpaper

Select sections where shelving, a wardrobe, and a bed would be positioned. All remained space is used as a pattern to distort and elongate.

Take the first section and extrude backwards to create a wardrobe. Within the space, break the extrusion to create sliding doors. Add handles for ease of use.

Take the other sections and extrude a small section out for shelving. Add notches to the vertical facets for small hanging items.

At the bottom most section, extrude foam out in that form to create a bed and frame.

“The house prepares itself for sleep after a long evening. From its preserved wallpaper, once holding prints of exotic flora, extrudes a wardrobe encasing a night robe within.”

Wallpaper wardrobe Plan and elevation

Wallpaper wardrobe View - in action

Wardrobe

Fireplace

Victorian Depictions of a Fireplace - Preparing for a Walk Samuel Baldwin - 1850

Abstraction the fireplace, an object for delivering heat is multiplied and connected as a network that can work in conjunction to each other.

Victorian Fireplace

Retrieve the decorative corbel

Turn both onto their opposite sides

Place the pieces as handles for cupboards. Do this 6 times, retrieving corbels from elsewhere around the house, or creating replicas.

Take the form of the fireplace. Replicate and scale down 6 times.

Arrange accordingly.

Add desired fittings and fixtures for chosen method of cooking. Seal off fireplace openings with no fixtures with steel mesh to allow heat to flow through the house as you use the kitchen.

Attach unit to the space of a fireplace, attach cupboard above.

“In the kitchen, a burst of playfulness breaks from the sterner brick walls outside. An old fireplace that once held trinkets over its mantle, shifts into a functioning kitchen. Scents of burning yellow gum fill the air, its heat both boiling a stew above, and residually moving through from within the walls. ”

Kitchen Counter + Central Heating - Elevation and section

Kitchen Counter + Central Heating - view

Central Heating

Iron Lace

Victorian Depictions of Iron lace balustrades - Sofala - Russel Drysdale 1947

Abstraction - The iron filigree is overlayed into a form, in this case a stair, and radiated. An object

Victorian Iron Filigree

Create the outline desired to form a step, in this case a spiral stair.

Fill the outline with the pattern of the iron filigree.

Extrude the outline down to support the step. Attach a balustrade to the wider edge.

Add hinges and notches to the stair chest to allow for movement and storage within.

Orient each step around a circle

Radiate around for desired number to reach required height.

Rotate the stairs around a central pole, folding it open and close to connect and separate levels of the house.

“Across, Iron lacework that once hung from the gutters of a veranda, is now an filagree formed stair. Rotating open and closed, breaking connection from the ground to the upper levels as one retreats upstairs.” “Occasionally, the stair step pleats open to admit belongings of its owners, shifting in hue as it safeguards possessions within.”

Rotating Stair - Folding Plan

Rotating Stair - View - In action

Rotating Stair

Stair Chest - Section

Stair Chest - View - in action

Stair Chest

Each home, each ornament, like each individual is unique. Rooted in my curiosities a process emerged to liberate and reclaim heritage. Through this operation, we are equipped to operate at any time period, any architectural or even non-architectural medium.

We close the cabinet of curiosity, surrounded by ornament readapting heritage for a new intimacy. No longer suffocated by outdated protocols, we begin to impose our identity through the architecture. We look forward to the endless possibilities, wondering what could have been and curious of what is yet to come.

MICHELLE JENNICA GAN

A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 2 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Reframing

Ornament

MICHELLE JENNICA GAN

A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 2 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Reframing

Ornament

Heritage Facades

Reframing Ornament

Chimney – Solar and Communications Tower

Window Grille – Curtain Integrated Window

Party Wall – Extending Hamper

Lion Mould – Hand Basin

Corbel – Corbel Bathtub

Corbel – Corbel Toilet A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 2 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Crown – Picnic Bench

Crown – Mobile Bar cart + Library

Architrave - Bed

Balcony – Accessible Lift

Verandah – Rain Collection and Hammock

Gabled Roof – Sun Roof

Chimney

Depictions of the Chimney - Mechanic’s Magazine Mechanical & Children Chimney Sweeping, the contrast - 1934

Abstraction - The chimeny’s facets are unfolded like a cardboard box, alluding to a change into more suistainable material.

Chimney

Separate sections of the chimney accordingly

Take the cap and replace this form with antenna and communications equipment

Take the crown and replace this form with any rounded wiring required for electricity

Separate faces of the chimney stack, laying them flat

Replace each face with solar panels, install hinges and pulleys to allow movement according to the sun.

Use energy collected from the sun delivered by a chimney stack

“Attached to it, the chimney stack that once only omitted clouds of black smoke now basks in the sun lifting its solar panel clad arms to harness its energy.”

Solar and communications tower elevation

Solar and communications tower view - in action

Solar Panel

Grille

Illustrations of Victorian Iron Grille Styles

Abstraction - The Arched window and grilles are portrayed as an object consisting of layers able to be manipulated.

Arched window with security grilles

Separate grilles

Turn these upside down and attach them to the top half of the window

Detach the ends of the grilles

Replicate the form in a more fluid approach, rounded edges for a more comfortable grip

Connect each rod with curtain drapery

Operate the curtain window by pulling the handles down, igniting orbs at its base when it is fully closed.

“Old iron grilles initially positioned to ward of intruders, now reinforce a flexible privacy. They offer handles to draw soft curtains closed, igniting orbs at its base.”

Pipe Integrated Phone

Curtain Window with Speaking Phone - Section

Curtain Window with Speaking Phone - View In action

Curtain Window

Party Wall

Depictions of the Victorian Party Wall - The Party Wall - Charles Dana Gibson 1903

Abstraction - The ornament attached to the party wall is broken into facets, open for interaction.

Party wall decorated with Queen Victoria’s Face

Extract section and face accordingly

Divide face molding into 4 even parts

Attach retractable beams behind each section of the face

Extend each face out as desired for a hamper to hang planing, laundry or posters

“A parting wall once a cause of neighbourly dispute, mediates by offering an adaptability for both sides. The moulded face of queen Victoria tapers out into beams to accept a poster on one side or creeping vines from the other.”

Extending Hamper Elevation

Extending Hamper - View in action

Hamper

Lion Mould

Depiction of Victorian Fountains - Fountain Gate - Matthew Digby Wyatt - 1851

Abstraction - Animal moldings found in the home are layed down as containers for holding water - benefiting from their concave shapes.

Lion Molding

Turn the lion head in its face laying it to face the ceiling

Attach a tap, and mirror accordingly to form a hand basin as shown.

“Past the kitchen, a bathroom takes over what was once a dark isolating hallway. Basked in light, water pours from the spout into a lion moulding that once guarded the parting wall. “

Hand Basin - Section

Hand Basin View - in action

Basin

Corbel

Depictions of Victorian Bathrooms - Bathroom Perkins Harnly - 1953

Abstraction The negative of the corbel shape is used to deliver water or form bathroom fixtures.

Corbel

Take the corbel and turn it on its side

Scale this up to match the size of half a bathtub, mirror this to create a cavity

Measure the dimensions for a shell to wrap encase this, divide the shape to as many facets desired and inflate it in glass.

Encase the corbel form within the glass blown shell

Enjoy a warm bath within a corbel formed bathtub

“The sweet smell of lavender wafts through the air as the mirrored corbel bathtub pools with warm water. Its transparent from framing the corbel that once supported the same lion’s face.”

Corbel Bathtub section diagram

Corbel Bathtub view

Corbel Bathtub

Corbel

Take the corbel and turn it on its side

Repeat this step, coat this form in a layer of porcelain

Attach the required fixtures for a toilet flush system

Encase this object within a glass toilet shell

Place in the desired location

“Next to it, a matching toilet encasing a flush system within using the corbel silhouette for its purpose.”

Corbel toilet diagram

Corbel toilet view

Corbel Toilet

Crown

Picnic on the River Ouse, William Kay Blacklock 1872

Abstraction - The crown molding is viewed for its division rather than its intricacies. Each section is given the ability to rotate and unfold.

Late Victorian Terrace Crown Molding

Take the middle section of the crown, separating them in half to attach hinges in between for a fold out table. Separate sections of the banisters, enough for a seat. Attach hinges to these for easy rotation.

Attach legs to these sections that drop down for support when fully rotated.

Use table for a picnic with whomever you please.

“The crown moulding that once declared ‘Jubilee House 1851’, is now grounded as a folding picnic table for the residents and their neighbours. “

Picnic Bench Plan

Picnic Bench View - In action

Picnic Bench

Late Victorian Terrace Crown Molding

Take the middle section of the crown, replicating the rounds at the top and turning them upside down.

Slice the middle crown in half and attach hinges to the middle to allow for manipulation. Replace the rounded forms with castor wheels.

Attach wheels to the base of this crown

Take the remaining rounds and replace the ends with extendable light fixtures.

Take a section of banisters

Copy this and stack one over the other

Repeat this step creating a set of four, then lay a surface above and on the sides.

Attach more castors to one side of its base

Repeat process twice for a bar cast end and a library end. For the bar cart, take away banisters and replace with glassware and bottles that mimic its shape. For the library, loosen banisters to allow them to be taken away and replaced with books as desired

Attach all pieces together for use. Take the library bar cart around the house as a mobile entertainment unit.

“The same crown rearranges itself for both day and night into a bar cart and library. On one end, banisters are replaced with the glasses and liquors; and on the other, they come lose to be replaced by books of any kind. While the centre pediment unfurls into a lighted bench.”

Bar cart - library elevation

Bar cart - library view in action

Bar Cart - Library

Architrave 29

Depictions of the use of an architrave - Street musicians at the door - Jacob Ochtervelt 1665

Abstraction - The architrave silhouette is softened and offest in a gradient

Door Architrave

Separate two sections of the architrave accordingly

Elongate the bottom section to the proportions of a bed

Inflate each section in the desired material for a bed

Reattach two sections as headboard and bed

Enjoy a nights rest over a architrave formed bed

“An architrave that once adorned a doorway is seen through a reflection of a mirror. Its image enlightens the form of an inflated bed for tonight’s rest.”

Bed

Architrave Bed plan diagram

Architrave bed view inflated

Balcony

Depictions of the first elevator - The flying chair - Louis XV

Abstraction - The terrace elevation is broken into sections to break symmetry and play with accessibility to the fron.

Late Victorian Terrace Balcony Veranda

Take a section of the balustrade, reserve this for the next step. Cut out a section large enough to fit an accessible lift.

Take the double hung window and replace the glazing with a sliding door for an elevator. Place the necessary equipment for a lift in the cavity created. Wrap the reserved balustrade around the lift to create support from within.

Take the lift up and down as access from the street into the house.

“At the corner, the terrace unfetters its inaccessible balcony, breaking its symmetrical elevation. The iron balustrade folds inward while its double hung framed windows form into doors for a lift to the level above.”

Accessible lift - section

Accessible lift view - in action

Accessible Lift

Verandah

Depictions of Veranda culture - The back veranda - Russel Drysdale 1942

Abstraction - the veranda is seen as an theshold connection to the outside. its surfaces used for social purposes and water containment.

Verandah

Begin with the roof awning

Split the surface in sections of 4

Replace the middle 2 with tensile fabric

To allow these to drop down into hammocks, attach a frame and draw strings to the end points.

Take the iron filigree and support columns

Inflate the form of the iron filigree, replacing the material with fabric. These will later be used as bags to hold and collect rain water.

Section the column out accordingly. Replace the bottom half with a garden hose attachment. Scale up and hollow out the top section for a funnel to collect rain water.

Connect the transformed elements

Use the veranda as desired, watering the plant bed at the base when enough water is collected, and drawing the hammock down for rest.

“The front veranda, once a space for surveying incoming guests, alters itself into an apparatus for rest and care. A section of its steel roof is replaced with taught fabric, dropping down as a hammock when needed. Its iron fillagree, now an expanding rain catchment system, delivers water through a hose shaped from the slender columns to nurture a garden bed at its feet.”

Rain Collection and Hammock Veranda section

Rain Collection and Hammock Veranda view - in action

Hammock

abled Roof 41

Depictions of the hidden attic - Attic - Williem de Kooning 1949

Abstraction - The gabled roof is tested as a potential space, its eaves folding up to open a platform from inside

Gabled Roof

Cut and half planes on the roof accordingly

Set out alternating material, one a tensile fabric and the other the existing roof tile. Take the pitch detailing in halves as handles to operate the tensile fabric open and closed.

Manipulate the sunroof as desired, pulling fabric sections open and closed, pushing roof gable halves open to admit views to the street.

“Above, the gabled roof that once faced the street with the Leonara name, hiding a dark attic within, opens and peels back. It is now a deck soaking in the fresh spring breeze.”

Sun Roof View - in action

Sun Roof Plan

Sun Roof

MICHELLE JENNICA GAN

A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 3 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Reframing

Ornament

MICHELLE JENNICA GAN

A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 3 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Reframing

Ornament

Heritage Gardens

Reframing Ornament

Ceiling Rosella - Amphitheatre

Crown - Conservatory

A R T E FA C T V O L U M E _ 0 3 MAJOR PROJECT 2021

Wallpaper - Planted Gardens

Rosella

Victorian Depictions of the Rosella - The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York DiningRoom 1866

Abstraction - The Rosella is broken into layers for its radial arraying geometry

Ceiling Rosella

Separate Rosella into layers by separating the base into 3, detaching the floral pendant and extracting the light fixture.

Turn separated set of objects upside down, with the light facing the ceiling.

Flatten base ridges into an even plane for the top layer, duplicate the silhouette for two more layers beneath.

Subtract top surface with Rosella floral pendant.

Re-attach extracted light fitting to the center.

Extract petal forms from floral pendant and scale up. At point nearing the bud, extrude down to create a standing support.

Construct amphitheater steps accordingly and array petaled seats along the edges.

Place Rosella stage within a shelter. Pull out platform layers from beneath to extend out the stage.

“The houses offer their ceiling Rosellas to be overturned for a sheltered stage within a brick altar - its layers opening into platforms for a performance. Across the water, petaled seats festoon the steps like garlands.”

View from within the sited amphitheatre.

Sited axonometric of amphitheatre

Crown

A Baroque Conservatory - A Shelter for Volatiles

Abstraction - The crown molding is viewed for its division rather than its intricacies. Each section is given the ability to rotate and unfold.

Crown Molding

Separate a section of the banisters

Extract the banister as modules and break into 3 halves to form vases for planting

String newly formed vases on a rope

Fill with propagating plants.

Take the top of the crown’s molding. Extend one of its arms to form the centerline base of the conservatory. This is determined by site provisions.

Create three dimensional form from its silhouette, replace stucco material with glass.

Continue form expansion by filleting downwards.

Create a mullion system to support the large glass planes.

Piece together new objects to form a conservatory, to be filled with plants of the most exotic varieties.

“A folly rises over the field, The stucco terrace walls fade into a conservatory, a productive container for the exploration and cultivation. The crown molding inflates into a glass silhouette while Banisters from above string its beads down lending a nursery for propagation.”

View from within the sited Conservatory

Sited axonometric of conservatory

Wallpaper 09

Depiction of a Baroque Garden - Hortus Palatinus

Abstraction: The Wallpaper is broken down into sections. Floral patterns are viewed in mass that can be extruded up or concaved down.

01 03

02 04

Victorian Wallpaper

Graphically manipulate wallpaper print into two or 3 flattened colors.

Set out garden beds for planting

Overlay pattern extracted onto garden beds

Place differing planting accordingly to match separated divisions.

“Sounds of rustling leaves whisper through the wind, as fields of green and gold fill the scene. Planting beds arranged in the order of Victorian wallpaper, bringing life to its lost vibrancy. ”

Planted Gardens

View from within the sited planted gardens.

Graphic plan of planted gardens

“Each home, each ornament, like each individual is unique. Rooted in my curiosities a process emerged to liberate and reclaim heritage. Through this operation, we are equipped to operate at any time period, any architectural or even non-architectural medium.”