PORTFOLIO | Robyn Ho

PORTFOLIO ROBYN HO

A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PRACTICE THAT BRIDGES INTERIOR DESIGN AND ART CONSERVATION

BACKGROUND ROBYN HO QUALIFICATIONS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & MEMBERSHIPS

2017

Master of Cultural Materials Conservation, Paintings // University of Melbourne

2017

Arduino and Microcontrollers Workshop, AICCM Objects & Electron SIG Symposium

2006

Bachelor of Design (Interior Design), Honours // RMIT University, Melbourne

2017

Introduction to KE Emu museum cataloguing software, University of Melbourne

2015

Chemistry Bridging Course, University of Melbourne

2014

Worksafe Australia Construction Induction Course (‘White Card’)

2014-PRESENT

Australian Institute of the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM) Ordinary Member

2014-PRESENT

International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA) – Member

2014-PRESENT

International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art Asia-Pacific (INCCA-AP) – Member

2011-PRESENT

Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) – A+ Member, Affiliate Level

CONSERVATION & ARTS EXPERIENCE 2017

I am a graduate from the Master of Cultural Materials Conservation (Paintings) program at the University of Melbourne. Whilst pursuing my interests in conservation, I have continued practicing as an interior designer and design educator with fifteen years of professional architectural experience. Throughout my varied academic and professional pursuits, I have consistently been interested in creating and documenting ephemeral spatial experiences. An interest in the complex and impermanent social, spatial and material relationships with cultural material and interior spaces has been a consistent theme throughout my interdisciplinary practice.

Pursuing these research interests in ephemerality within conservation practice provides a fascinating area of negotiation where the traditional role of the conservator can be redefined. I enjoy a multidisciplinary practice that bridges both design and conservation, an approach that I believe will be beneficial in contending with the complex conservation and documentation needs of contemporary works.

Conservation Research Assistant // ‘Trades Hall Living Heritage’ Project, University of Melbourne Grimwade Centre of Cultural Materials Conservation, Melbourne

2016-PRESENT ‘AICCM Bulletin’ Editorial Assistant // Australian Institute of the Conservation of Cultural Materials 2016

Artefacts Conservation Volunteer // Alpha Archaeology, Melbourne

2015-PRESENT

Collections Management Volunteer // Robin Boyd Foundation, Walsh Street House

2015

Wall Paintings Conservation Intern // Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, China

2015

Conservation Volunteer // ‘Live Conservation’ Project, National Gallery of Victoria

2015

Conservation Research Volunteer // Chinese Wall Paintings Project, University of Melbourne Grimwade Centre of Cultural Materials Conservation, Melbourne

ARCHITECTURE & EDUCATION EXPERIENCE 2005-PRESENT

Various Design Roles // Six Degrees Architects, Melbourne Senior Interior Designer, Researcher and Quality Manager // Studio Manager (interim) and Quality Manager // Associate // Senior Interior Designer // Interior and Graphic Designer //

2011-PRESENT

Major Design Thesis Assessment Panel, External Critic // RMIT University Interior Design (Hons) Program

2008-10

Sessional Academic Lecturer // RMIT University Interior Design (Hons) Program History / Theory, Design Studio and Communications

2007

Research Assistant // Urban Interior Research Laboratory Design Research Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne

2006

Sessional Academic Tutor // RMIT University Interior Design (Hons) Program

2002-05

Architectural Assistant // NH Architecture, Melbourne

AWARDS 2017

AICCM Student of the Year and ADFAS Scholarship // Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials and Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Societies

2017

Research and Graduate Research Scholarship // The University of Melbourne

2015

Melbourne Global Scholars’ Award // The University of Melbourne

2015

Outstanding Conservation Volunteer // Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials

2006

Thesis Book Prize // Interior Design (Hons) Program, RMIT University

2006

Finalist, Jane Scally Fellowship Travelling Scholarship // Interior Design (Hons) Program, RMIT University

PUBLICATIONS & CONFERENCE PAPERS 2015

AICCM National Conference (conference paper) // AICCM Vallier E, Kopij Y, Roberts M, Ho R, Tse N 2015, Teaching and research in the examination of the interior paint scheme of the Victorian Trades Hall Old Council Chambers

2007

CraftCulture (online review) // Craft Victoria Ho R 2007, ‘Solutions for Better Living’, in Murray K (ed.), Craft Culture.

2006

Sensuous Intellect (book chapter) // RMIT Publishing Ho, R 2006, ‘Designing for the Sensuous Intellect: A Manifesto’ in McLeod R (ed.), Sensuous Intellect, RMIT Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 168-175.

2005

Artichoke Magazine (journal article) // Architecture Media Ho, R 2005, ‘Chaos in a Measured Dose’ in Artichoke, vol 18.

SKILLS

CONTACT

COMPUTERS

Advanced: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat), Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint), Autodesk AutoCAD

A 2 Byron St, Footscray, Victoria Australia 3011 T +61 4 0872 1177 E robynlho@gmail.com W robynho.com

Intermediate: File Maker Pro, KE Emu, Autodesk REVIT, Microscoft Access, Google Sketchup, MYOB bookkeeping

Basic: Autodesk Revit, 3D Studio Max, Zoho / Salesforce CRM

LANGUAGES

English (native) Cantonese (speaking conversational level)

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PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

CONTENTS

SELECTED PROJECTS

CONSERVATION 2 INTERIOR DESIGN

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

14

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CONSERVATION INGE KING, WODONGA FOUNTAIN, 1972 MASTER OF CULTURAL MATERIALS CONSERVATION THESIS, 2017 RESEARCH ABSTRACT The study centred on the development of evidence-based research for the conservation treatment of Inge King’s sculpture, Wodonga Fountain, 1972, with treatment expected to be undertaken by the City of Wodonga in 2018. The artwork by such a significant Australian artist provided an unprecedented opportunity to study Inge King’s materials and techniques, as well as provide potential insights into the conservation of modern outdoor painted sculpture.

The project investigated the artist’s intent and original appearance of Wodonga Fountain, and used this understanding to inform the technical study of potential topcoat products. The mixed methods research incorporated: review of available literature; comparative analysis; interviews with the fabricator; and, consultation with paint manufacturers. These methods highlighted the potential of new polysiloxane technology for recoating the sculpture. Subsequent accelerated ageing and scientific analysis compared polysiloxane’s performance with established polyurethane technologies, revealing polysiloxane’s superior durability and, colour and gloss retention, making them a suitable candidate for coating outdoor painted sculpture. The research culminated in treatment recommendations that balanced preservation of the artwork’s integrities, conservation ethics and pragmatic issues, whilst also revealing the ethical, legal, technical and material, and communication complexities faced.

Using a holistic study of the Wodonga Fountain to frame the enquiry, the thesis provides practice-based insight into the wider challenges of outdoor painted sculpture conservation practice in Australia and an assessment of new protective coatings on the market.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS The 15,000 word thesis undertook the following research methods: _Archival research and literature review _Interviews with the artist’s fabricator _Consultation with coatings manufacturers and fabricators _Critical making through MIG welding experimentation _Accelerated ageing Polysiloxane and polyurethane coatings: UVA, thermal, moisture and in combination _FTIR-ATR analysis of aged samples _Gloss and colour spectrophotometry Existing sculpture, other sculptures insitu and aged samples

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Seeing from ‘a thousand different angles’: Conservation of Inge King’s Wodonga Fountain, 1972 and outdoor painted sculpture.

2 | Inge King (1915-2016), Wodonga Fountain, 1972, as seen on October 2016 © City of Wodonga.

Robyn Ho Bachelor Design (Interior Design) (Honours), RMIT University Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the Minor Thesis component of the Masters by Coursework (Cultural Materials Conservation) 27th October 2017 Grimwade Centre of Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne

1 | Thesis publication: Seeing from ‘a thousand different angles’: Conservation of Inge King’s ‘Wodonga Fountain’, 1972 and outdoor painted sculpture.

3 | Colour and gloss spectrophotometry and colour swatch comparisons of the sculpture’s original paint finishes, as well as other public works insitu.

4 | MIG welding experimentation

5 | Interviewing the artist’s fabricator, J.K. Fasham, inspecting other works by King.

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

PS1-05

PS1-07

1730 cm-1

ARTIST TITLE DATE DESCRIPTION DIMENSIONS

Absorbance (A.U.)

PS2

1850 to 1750 cm-1

a

b

1470 to 1450cm-1

0.22

1600 to 1550cm-1

0.08

PU1

0.06

1700

1600

1500

1400

0.00 1900

Wavenumber (cm-1)

Seeing from ‘a thousand different angles’: Conservation of Inge King’s Wodonga Fountain, 1972 and outdoor painted sculpture PROJECT WORKS Research and thesis publication. 1 March - 27 October 2017.

IMAGES Photographs by Robyn Ho unless otherwise noted. Reproduced with permission of the City of Wodonga.

Thesis available at: https://goo.gl/7J5EjG REPORT PROJECT TITLE

JAN 2018

PU1-03

PU1-05

PU1-07

a

b

0.18

1800

1700

1600

1500

PU2-02

PU2-03

PU2-04

PU2-05

ca.

1189cm-1

0.22

PU2-07

1722

1800 to 1750cm-1

1650 to 1550cm-1

0.16 0.14

PU2

1455cm-1

0.12 0.10

0.16 0.14

1800 to 1750 cm-1

PU1

0.06 0.04

0.04

0.02 1600

1517cm-1

0.00

1100

PS1

PU2

PS2

PU1

PU2

PS1

PS2 (not tested)

PU1

PU2

PS1

1.2

1.1

1.1

1

1

1

0.9

0.9

0.9

0.9

0.4 0.3

0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3

0

168 336 504 672

840 1008 1176 1344

Exposure time (h) UVA 340nm at 1.2W/m2, 60°C

0

168 336 504 672 840 1008 1176 1344

Exposure time (h) approx. 100% RH at 60°C

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3

0

PU1

PU2

1.1

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

0.1 0

PS2

1.2

0.2

0.1

0.1 0

0.8

0.2

0.2

1100

Wavenumber (cm-1)

1.2

0.5

1252cm-1

1600

1

0.6

1377cm-1

0.08

1.1

0.7

1640 to 1580cm-1

0.10

1.2

0.8

ca.1189 cm-1

0.12

Wavenumber (cm-1)

PS2

1685

cm-1

0.18

0.06

Wavenumber (cm-1)

PS1

cm-1

0.20

0.02

1400

PU2-01

0.24 1725cm-1 1686 cm-1

0.08

0.02

1800

PU1-02

PU1-04

0.20

0.04

0.02

PU1-01

0.24

0.10

Inge King (1915-2016), Australian / German Wodonga Fountain 1972 Painted steel sculpture (polyurethane, welded mild steel) 1520mmH x 2040mmW x ~1500mmD

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

PS2-07

0.12

ca.1550cm-1 0.08

0.00 1900

PS2-04

PS2-05

1735cm-1 1670cm-1

1660 to 1470 to 1600 cm-1 1450 cm-1

0.04

7 | (a) Unaged test panels and (b) FTIR-ATR results of the aged polysiloxane (PS) and polyurethane (PU) protective coatings studied.

PS2-02

0.14

0.10

0.06

b

1695 cm-1

0.12

PS1

05

07 | Control 0h

Absorbance (A.U.)

PS1-04

04

a

04 | 100% RH 1344h 05 | Cyclic (RH, thermal, UVA) 1344h

Colour change (ΔE)

PS1-03

01 | UVA 627h 02 | UVA 1344h 03 | Thermal 60ºC 1344h

Colour change (ΔE)

PS1-02

03

Colour change (ΔE)

0.14

PS1-01

07

Colour change (ΔE)

b

01 02

Absorbance (A.U.)

a

Sample key

Absorbance (A.U.)

6 | Protective coatings samples after accelerated ageing. Samples were analysed using FTIR-ATR and colour and gloss spectrophotometry.

0

168 336 504 672

840 1008 1176 1344

Exposure time (h) ambient RH, 60°C

0

0

168 336 504 672

840 1008 1176 1344

Exposure time (h) Cyclic: UVA 340nm at 1.2W/m2 & approx.

100% RH, 60°C

8 | Colour change analysis of aged polyurethane and polysiloxane finishes proposed for the resurfacing of Wodonga Fountain.

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CONSERVATION CARL PLATE, UNTITLED (BURNT TREE TRUNK ON LANDSCAPE), 1946 CONDITION The surrealist abstract landscape painting was in an unstable condition with significant tears, extensive ruptured tenting and cupping, localised blind cleavage and cracking resulting in loss in the brittle paint layer. Most notable was the patchy non-original brown coating concentrated at the top and left of the picture.

B B D

B

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS Due to time limitations, treatment focused on the bottom face-left corner. Considerable attention was taken to identify the original paint layer (non-artists’ oil paint) and introduced coating (shellac and/or mastic). The brittle paint layer and hard non-original coating made removal problematic, relying much on time-consuming mechanical removal under magnification. Tear repair was difficult due to the fragile cotton canvas.

The following treatments were conducted: _Non-invasive Examination and Condition Documentation Photography (RL, raking, transmitted, UV), documentation _Testing and Sampling pH, solubility, mechanical, Tg, surface tension, FTIR-ATR, cross-sections, microscopy, cleaning tests (solvents, aqueous, solvent and lipase gels) _Consolidation Paint cleavages, flaking paint, temporary sutures to tears _Mechanical cleaning Brush vacuum, scalpel removal of coating _Wet Cleaning Aqueous (Orvus™) clean, solvent-based removal of coating (2:1 ethanol: white spirits) _Structural Repairs Heiber thread-by-thread tear repair (partially completed due to time restrictions), temporary polyester sailcloth patch

2 | Mechanical cleaning (x10)

572mm sight and image

TREATMENT STRATEGY Restore structural stability and reduce the non-original coating to reinstate colour intensity and pictorial unity. The bottom right quadrant was least affected by the coating and treatment aimed to visually match this area to avoid excessive removal of original material.

770mm sight and image

a

B

TREATMENT AREA

1 | Overlay diagram showing condition before treatment of recto side, with treatment focus area denoted

4 | Tear repair using manually applied tension

a

b

tears and punctures

areas of blind cleavage

paint loss

thick coating accretions

tenting

stretcher cracks

aging and spiral cracks

paint additions on surface

cleavages

indentations D: dents B: bulges

b 3 | Photomicrographs (x50) comparing area after treatment (a) with similar colour in untreated area at the bottom face-right (b) used as a visual reference

5 | Tear repair using Trekker™

c

d

6 | Photomicrographs (x10) showing thread-by-thread repair from the verso side before treatment (a), during first attempt with manual tension (b) and during second attempt with the Trecker™ device (c, d).

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PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

TREATMENT AREA 7 | Recto side before treatment, with treatment focus area denoted (shown dashed)

ARTIST TITLE DATE DESCRIPTION DIMENSIONS

Carl Olaf Plate (1909-77), Australian Untitled (Burnt tree trunk on landscape) 1946 Oil on canvas 572mmH x 770mmW x 25mmD

TREATMENT

16 February - 5 April 2015 (132 hours) Conducted as coursework for Conservation Assessment and Treatment 2, Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne Photographs by Robyn Ho Reproduced with permission of the Carl Plate Painting Trust and Cassi Plate Treatment report available at: https://goo.gl/mCErfz

IMAGES

REPORT

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

8 | Recto side after treatment

a

b

9 | Detail of treatment area before treatment (a) and after treatment (b)

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CONSERVATION MARY NORRIE, UNTITLED (RED CIRCLE WITH FIVE STRIPES: ORANGE, RED AND BLUE), C. 1970 CONDITION The minimalist colour field painting was stable except for acute damage in the form of a major indentation and associated cleavages of ground and paint layer. Considerable surface dirt, white fibrous accretions and localised areas of paint loss were very prominent.

Numerous paint accretions, indentations and abrasion marks were evident on the tacking edge.

0,0

centre bottom

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS The low Tg, high swelling capability of the paint (potentially PVAc) and the high gloss stippled finish of the surface required careful selection of treatment materials and techniques. Treatment relied primarily on aqueous surface cleaning methods and laborious mechanical removal of accretions. Due to time restrictions, infilling and inpainting was only preliminarily completed. Being my first treatment, this project demonstrated the difficulty of aesthetic treatments to colour field paintings.

_Non-invasive Examination and Condition Documentation Photography (RL, raking, transmitted, UV), documentation _Testing pH, solubility, mechanical, Tg, surface tension, cleaning tests _Consolidation and Humidification Paint cleavages, localised flattening of deformations _Mechanical Cleaning Brush vacuum, scalpel and eraser removal of accretions _Wet Cleaning Aqueous (carbonated water) clean _Structural Repairs Reattach canvas _Infilling and Inpainting Reinstate losses to paint layer with pigmented filler (Flugger™ putty, silicon microballoons, watercolour paint, dry pigment), localised varnish layer (30% w/v MS2A in white spirit)

783mm image

TREATMENT STRATEGY Minimise any visual detraction that may affect appreciation of the surface texture and colour intensity, in line with works of this style.

The following treatments were conducted:

2 | Aqueous surface cleaning

20 x 20mm grid 765mm diameter sight face-left

centre

face-right

1 | Overlay diagram showing condition before treatment of recto side 3 | Localised humidification

a

b

5 | Comparative details of bottom face-left recto: before treatment (a); and, after humidification and consolidation of cleavages around the major indentation (b)

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CLEANED

top

NOT CLEANED

a

4 | Mechanical removal of accretions

b

6 | Comparative details of top-centre recto: before wet surface cleaning and scalpel removal of blue accretions under microscopy (a); and, after treatment (b)

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

7 | Recto side before treatment

ARTIST TITLE DATE DESCRIPTION DIMENSIONS TREATMENT

IMAGES REPORT

8 | Recto side after treatment

Mary Norrie (1917-2005), Australian Untitled (Red circle with five stripes (orange, red and blue)) c. 1970s Mixed media and synthetic paint on cotton duck and composite board 765mm diameter x 28mmD 28 July - 14 August 2014 (52 hours) Conducted as coursework for Conservation Assessment and Treatment 1, Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne Photographs by Robyn Ho. Reproduced with permission of the estate of Mary Norrie Treatment report available at: https://goo.gl/xDYvmi

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

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CONSERVATION CHINESE (YUAN DYNASTY), WINE PREPARATION, 1271-1368 CONDITION The mural section had been removed in situ from a tomb discovered 2014 in Hengshan county, North Shaanxi Province. Originally located at the lower register of the tomb, the painting was received for treatment with layers of cotton gauze obscuring the recto, applied in situ for removal. The friable mud layer on the verso was very thin at approximately 1mm thick, with an irregular surface topography, cracks, numerous major losses and multiple species of mold.

2 | Consolidation of original mud

TREATMENT STRATEGY To remove gauze support and adhesive used for removal of the painting insitu whilst retaining as much of the original materials as possible for eventual display housing to be later conducted by others.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS The thick layer of Paraloid B72™ applied in situ directly on the paint layer made removal problematic. Issues included the underbound pigments, the thin plaster skim layer and thin mud support susceptible to removal with mild mechanical action.

The following treatments were conducted, supervised by the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, China: _Non-invasive Examination and Condition Documentation Photography (RL), documentation _Mold Treatment Ethanol: water cleaning of original mud layer on verso _Mechanical Cleaning Smoothing of original mud layer for treatment _Consolidation Paraloid B72 to original mud layer and applied mud substrate _Humidification Flattening of deformations _Structural Repairs and Lining Application of additional mud substrate to verso, lining with permanent polyester fabric support with stone/Primal B60A™ adhesive for eventual display mounting by others _Wet Cleaning Solvent (ethyl acetate) removal of cotton gauze on recto using a cotton wool poultice, removal of applied adhesive coating using tissue poultice technique

3 | Additional mud substrate application

mm

0

100

1 | Overlay diagram showing condition before treatment of verso side

tears and punctures

black mould

surface depressions

white mould (thick accretions only)

surface protrusions

inscriptions

cracks

convex warping

yellow mould

5 | Mechanical removal of cotton gauze from the recto, after cotton wool poultice

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4 | Affixing polyester support © SPIA

6 | Tissue poultice of recto surface to remove the thickly applied coating © SPIA

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

7 | Recto side in situ before removal from the tomb wall © SPIA

8 | Recto side after treatment, before housing for display

a

ARTIST TITLE DATE DESCRIPTION DIMENSIONS TREATMENT

IMAGES REPORT

Chinese Wine Preparation Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368 Wall mural 590mmH x 902mmW x 1mmD (image) 8-27 October 2015 (32 hours), in collaboration with Madeleine Roberts Conducted as coursework for Conservation Internship, Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne.

Photographs by Robyn Ho unless otherwise noted. Reproduced with permission of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology (SPIA) Treatment report available at: https://goo.gl/4P8XKv

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

b

9 | Detail of left figure before removal of the coating (a) and after cleaning (b), showing effective retention of the original paint layer during treatment

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CONSERVATION JOHN HERBERT, MOSES BRINGING DOWN THE TABLES OF THE LAW, 1872-78 NGV LIVE CONSERVATION PROJECT OVERVIEW Part of the volunteer team undertaking the conservation project, Live Conservation, conducted in the public gallery space of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne from April to July 2015.

Project involved a team of NGV and volunteer conservators to treat the large-scale oil painting and associated original gilded frame.

Members of the public were invited to watch and engage with a team of conservators, providing a rare opportunity for visitors to see conservation in action and to learn about the role of conservation.

CONDITION The work was painted over an original preparatory drawing on paper used by the artist to create a wall fresco in the House of Lords at Westminster Palace, London, and mounted on a canvas support. At the time of its acquisition in 1878, this was the largest and most expensive painting ever purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria. Due to its increasingly fragile condition, as well as logistical difficulties created by its size, this work has not been seen by the public in living memory.

TREATMENT STRATEGY Treatment aimed to stabilise and restore the painting for display at the NGV International.

1 | During treatment of the gilded frame within the gallery, with the treated painting behind.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS In addition to interactions with the public, the following treatment processes were conducted, supervised by the conservation staff at the NGV: Painting: _ Consolidation of flaking paint Paint cleavages, localised flattening of deformations _Wet Cleaning Aqueous based surface cleaning (pH adjusted water) _Infilling and Inpainting of losses Paper fills, watercolour inpainting Gilded Frame (oil and water gilding): _Wet Cleaning Aqueous based surface cleaning (pH adjusted water) _Infilling and Inpainting of losses Acrylic inpainting

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2 | Surface cleaning of the painting.

3 [top] | Infilling of losses on the painting. [bottom | Interaction with the public.

4 | Inpainting on the frame.

5 | Surface cleaning of the frame.

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

6 | During treatment of the gilded frame.

ARTIST TITLE DATE DESCRIPTION DIMENSIONS

7 | Installed work after treatment.

John Herbert (1810-1890), English Moses Bring Down the Tables of the Law 1872-8 Oil on paper mounted on canvas. Oil and water gilded timber frame.

3.4 metres H x 6.5 metres W

PROJECT TITLE NGV Live Conservation PROJECT WORKS Conservation treatment conducted in the public gallery.

TREATMENT April - July 2015 (45 hours), supervised by Sandi Mitchell and Holly McGowan-Jackson.

PROJECT ROLE Conservation Volunteer, in collaboration with a project team of 23.

IMAGES

Photographs by National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)

AWARDS

2015 AICCM Outstanding Conservation Volunteer (co-recipient)

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

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CONSERVATION VICTORIAN TRADES HALL, OLD COUNCIL CHAMBER, C. 1876 TRADES HALL LIVING HERITAGE PROJECT - PHASE 1 CONDITION The Old Council Chamber is a nationally significant site, and is in a state of disrepair. An architectural paint was applied in the 1960s over the 19th century decorative paint scheme. The University of Melbourne was engaged to conduct this research by the principal heritage architect.

TREATMENT STRATEGY Detailed examination and treatment recommendations for all key architectural elements, with the aim of potentially uncovering or reinstating the original painted decorative scheme.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS Works primarily involved insitu conservation investigation and treatment testing. A detailed report was prepared to inform further conservation works. I was primarily involved with report editing and structuring, overpaint removal testing, Munsell colour matching and obtaining samples for analysis.

2 | Alkyd overpaint removal on site

The following treatments were conducted in collaboration with six conservators and supervised by Dr Caroline Kyi: _Non-invasive examination and documentation _Treatment materials and methodology testing Solubility, mechanical, cleaning tests (solvents, aqueous, solvent gels) _Uncovering witness patches and analysis of original materials _Sampling Paint cross-sections and microsamples, microscopy, FTIR-ATR _Munsell colour matching _Reporting Structuring report, graphic layout, drawing diagrams, editing content

3 | Original stencilled wall decoration without overpaint

1 | Portrait revealed in the north frieze, performed by Dr Caroline Kyi

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4 | Uncovered wall stencil and dado frieze

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

5 | Photograph of Old Council Chambers, c. 1889

ARTIST TITLE DATE DESCRIPTION DIMENSIONS

6 | Old Council Chambers interior, June 2017

Australian Victorian Trades Hall, Old Council Chamber c. 1876 Victorian interior wall paint scheme 12090mmL x 7670mmW x 4860mmH (room dimension)

PROJECT TITLE Trades Hall Living Heritage Project - Phase 1, Carlton, Melbourne Australia PROJECT WORKS Conservation treatment investigation to uncover the original decorative scheme of a nationally historic interior.

TREATMENT 12 June - 30 June 2017 site works (84 hours), reporting (70 hours) Conducted as , ‘Trades Hall Living Heritage Project - Phase 1’.

PROJECT ROLE Research Assistant, in collaboration with a project team of six.

IMAGES

Reproduced with permission of the Grimwade Centre

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

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INTERIOR DESIGN VICTORIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS, GRANT STREET THEATRE UPGRADE, 2014 PROJECT BRIEF This project at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts involved the upgrade of a valued heritage building – the old police drill hall. Prior to this project, the Grant Street Theatre was a purpose-built drama theatre. The brief was to modify it, so that it could operate as a flexible art space suitable for day and night use for the teaching and performance of theatre, dance, drama and music programs, as well as an event space and jazz bar.

DESIGN STRATEGY The previous history of the space was recognised in the design through the nuanced use of materials and spatial design. The shape, height and scale of the original drill hall were accentuated by the use of timber cladding to highlight the gabled truss structure and to hint its past function as a draining space for the mounted police.

During exploratory demolition, a wall datum in indian red paint was discovered on the original brick structure. This provided an opportunity to celebrate the building’s history and this datum was reinstated, however in a new way. Subtle use of white tiles and paint in gloss and matte finishes, as well as acoustic panels were installed at this datum as a ghostly reminder of the building’s past. Indian red was utilised on the external steel window framing to recognise the building’s industrial past.

1 | Approach to the entry from the street © Six Degrees

2 | View of bar from foyer © Six Degrees

3 | View of bar © Six Degrees

4 | Timber screens and wall treatments to foyer / event space © Six Degrees

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS As part of the team from Six Degrees Architects involved in the Sketch Design and Documentation phases, I undertook the following tasks: _Spatial Design and Layout Contributed to planning of internal spaces _Materials and Furniture Specification Selected all materials utilised in the project, co-ordination of overall design aesthetic and its detailed application, co-ordination of the building specification _Architectural Documentation Drawing of internal spaces and detailing joinery for construction _Client Design Presentations

5 | Cross-section through bar, foyer and theatre © Six Degrees Architects

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PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

6 | Multi-function foyer and event space © Six Degrees

PROJECT ROLE

Victorian College of Arts, University of Melbourne Six Degrees Architects (www.sixdegrees.com.au) Grant Street Theatre Upgrade, Southbank, Melbourne Australia 2015 Upgrade of existing heritage theatre to a multi-function teaching/event space. $3.0 million Heritage listed theatre with 119 tiered seats and a large flat floored performance area of approximately 12m x 14m. The spaces include flexible theatre / rehearsal space, dressing rooms, foyer, bar, box office and bio box.

Senior Interior Designer, in collaboration with a project team of four.

IMAGES

Photographs by Alice Hutchison. © Six Degrees Architects

CLIENT DESIGNER PROJECT TITLE COMPLETION PROJECT WORKS BUDGET PROJECT BRIEF

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

7 | View from bar through to event space, showing subtle wall treatments and timber screen design elements © Six Degrees

robynho.com | 15

INTERIOR DESIGN MELTON CITY COUNCIL, WESTERN BACE (BUSINESS ACCELERATOR AND CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE), 2015 PROJECT BRIEF Envisioned as a community hub within the City of Melton, the facility is comprised of 3000sqm of office space, training and business function centres, café as well as an outdoor area across two buildings in this once green-field site. Originally conceived as a five on the Green Star rating scheme, Six Degrees Architects instead delivered a six star accredited building, representing ‘world leadership’ in environmentally sustainable design. The BACE facility offers affordable spaces for lease, vocational education, co-working spaces and meeting rooms accessible by local businesses and the community.

1 | East Elevation © Six Degrees

DESIGN STRATEGY The functional aim was to encourage communal and collaborative work practice through providing comfortable and enticing common spaces. Through spatial layout and materiality, the corridors, cafe, reception, outdoor spaces and incidental meeting spaces were emphasised. All color treatments and materials, commissioned public artworks, timber screens and the domestic type furniture were concentrated in these informal spaces, with the monochromatic office interiors and extensive plywood cladding providing a neutral and warm backdrop.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS As part of the team from Six Degrees Architects involved in the Sketch Design, Documentation and Contract Administration phases, I undertook the following tasks: _Spatial Design and Layout Contributed to planning of internal spaces _Materials and Furniture Specification Selected all materials utilised in the project, co-ordination of overall design aesthetic and its detailed application, co-ordination of the building specification, ensure all building materials comply with Green Star requirements and obtain all certification _Architectural Documentation Drawing of internal spaces and detailing joinery for construction _Client Design Presentations _Project Management Instructing builders and answering queries, assisted co-ordination of builders and consultants, attending site meetings _Coordination of Green Star Accreditation Authoring reports, co-ordination of consultants reporting 16 | robynho.com

2 | Reception joinery incorporating concrete block, timber and steel © Six Degrees

3 | Typical timber screen and cafe servery / display detail © Six Degrees Architects

4 | Activated incidental meeting spaces in the corridors © Six Degrees Architects

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

5 | Cafe interior © Six Degrees

CLIENT

City of Melton

DESIGNER PROJECT TITLE COMPLETION

Six Degrees Architects (www.sixdegrees.com.au) Western BACE, Melton, Melbourne Australia 2015

PROJECT WORKS Two new buildings and associated civic and landscaping works BUDGET $13.0 million PROJECT BRIEF On a previous green-field site, Western BACE provides multi-purpose office, meeting, training and business facilities for the town centre PROJECT ROLE Senior Interior Designer, in collaboration with a project team of seven IMAGES

Photographs by Alice Hutchison. © Six Degrees Architects

AWARDS

2016 AIA (Vic) Sustainable Architecture Allan and Beth Coldicutt Award 2015 Australian Sustainability Awards - Large Commercial

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

6 | Informal meeting spaces at reception © Six Degrees

robynho.com | 17

INTERIOR DESIGN IMPERMANENT INTERIORITIES, 2006 BACHELOR DESIGN (INTERIOR DESIGN) THESIS RESEARCH ABSTRACT How can impermanent interiorities be introduced into existing interior spatial practice through designing for meeting activities?

Analysis of existing meeting typologies

THE UNCONVENTIONAL CENTRE

C ol l ins St

This project began by identifying

Workplace

existing meeting typologies that were

Hospita lit y

already occurring in the area that I could

Reta il / A r ts / Med ic a l

generate a space for them to all meet.

Residentia l Proposed Site

I collated them into the general headings

C ol l i n s Pl a c e

IMPERMANENT INTERIORITIES

artistic/retail spaces.

Analysis of the different meeting scenarios

the fragile encounter of meeting

was then according to the experience

Through designing for and enacting meetings, potential modes of negotiating with impermanence within the permanence of the built form are proposed. Interior Designers are reinterpreted as activators of impermanency, highlighting the forgotten presence of time in architectural space. By facilitating episodic meetings with material, phenomena and relations, the impermanence intrinsic to human experience can be engaged within existing Interior Design practice.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS Production of a research publication and design project. The research publication was awarded the Thesis Book Prize from the Interior Design (Hons) Program, RMIT University, Melbourne, for most outstanding thesis book of the graduating year.

Workplace Reception Of f ice Conference Room/s Brea kout / K itchenette Hospita lit y Ca fes Ba rs Restaura nts Foodcourt

of interiority that it produces. This was conducted with a combination of observations on site and imagined

Reta il / A rts / Medica l Reta il Shop Ga ller y Cinema Medica l Wa iting Room

experiences of the environments that I could not get access to. In my research, I identified five characteristics of meetings in which to

Residentia l Hotel L obby Hotel Room Private Living Room Private Dining Room Private Bedroom

evaluate these meeting situations. These were: GROWTH, TIME, EQUALITY, DENSITY and DIRECTION. Upon entering the Unconventional Centre,

THE UNCONVENTIONAL CENTRE

SITE PLAN

VIEW OF EXTERIOR

Flinders L a ne

To engage with this issue, I am proposing a potentia l model for a convention centre to comment and highlight the impermanence intrinsic in our spatia l experiences. A convention centre is a complex or building whereby a series of meetings can occur concurrently. In this project I have attempted to negotiate bet ween the actua lities of meeting experiences and the design conventions in which meeting spaces have been previously generated. Convention centres have predominately been concerned with a f lexibilit y of function and volume. How can a convention centre employ changeabilit y of experience, not just physica l volume, and engage with the issue of impermanent interiorities ?

A method in which this could be achieved is by engaging with another convention of convention centres, of meetings occurring autonomously without interaction. If meetings could be a llowed to interact and meet, each meeting experience would be shaped by other meetings. Could this aim to facilitate interaction bet ween meetings provide changeabilit y of experience, to introduce impermanent interiorities ?

N

Flinders St

delegates are required to complete a questionnaire on their meeting requirements

increase in privacy

to successfully assign a suitable meeting environment. The above five attributes also constitute the questionnaire.

TIME the Unconventional A newThroughout system of design conventionsCentre, was

Assignment of space within building according to ‘growth’

Restaurant

there are a series of subtle and gradual then developed to spatially indicate and undulations in the floor plane. This is to guide effect these interiority relationships within the movement of the inhabitants towards designated meeting areas in the environments. the propositional Unconventional Centre.

The relative amount of time occupied by the formation of the meeting in these meeting areas is indicated by their floor level. An area within the individual rooms where most time is spent meeting would be at a lower floor Movement of people and ideas level than other areas where quicker meetings

GROWTH

are performed.

Areas in the building were assigned according to the privacy required for those meetings, with the most public meetings in hospitality scenarios being located closer to the street. Privacy was continued in assigning the individual meeting environments to levels in the building with the most private being

Bar

increase in privacy

The research is tested through a design project entitled ‘The Unconventional Centre’, a reimagined model for a convention centre in a four storey building containing seventeen environments, inspired by the spatial installation work of Mike Nelson. Each meeting room is posed as collection of disparate archetypal spaces, each one analysed according to the five qualities identified and their typical materiality. Inhabitants transverse a series of unrelated spaces to arrive at their designated room, constantly questioning the identity of their surrounds. The thesis reflects on how spatial archetypes are defined in human collective memory. Interaction between meeting parties occur throughout the building, questioning the autonomy of meetings in the traditional convention centre model.

E x ist ing Meet ing Ty polog ies or Environment s

Spring St

of workplace, hospitality, residential and

E x h ibit ion St

Interiority is a fleeting and fragile condition. Specific interior spatial experiences are dependent on the abrupt collision of varying phenomena and means of perception. The ephemeral nature of interiority poses a challenge for the western practice of Interior Design, which predominately produces static constructions for an indefinite period of time. Meetings are a ritual that will ultimately dissipate, and it is this intrinsic instability that provided a research framework in this thesis. Through a series of exploratory design projects and engaging with Elias Canetti’s text ‘Crowds and Power (1962), a design process was proposed. Five qualities of meetings were identified: Growth, Time, Equality, Goal and Density. Analyses of these relational qualities are then attributed to spatial indicators: spatial arrangement, spatial volumes, distance and sightlines.

Cafe

Brea kout

Of f ice

Dining Room

Foodcourt

Living Room

Ga ller y

Meeting Room

Shop

Cinema

Reception

Bedroom

Medica l Waiting Room

(centra l meeting area for entire building - area of ma ximum grow th)

TIME

Hotel Room

Hotel Foyer N

Flinders Lane

on the top level. Privacy is an important issue in meetings as it dictates levels of access and thus the meeting’s ability for growth and change in both quantity of people and agenda.

Throughout the Unconventional Centre, there are a series of subtle and gradual undulations in the floor plane. This is to guide the movement of the inhabitants towards designated meeting areas in the environments.

The relative amount of time occupied by the formation of the meeting in these meeting areas is indicated by their floor level. An area within the individual rooms where most time is spent meeting would be at a lower floor level than other areas where quicker meetings are performed.

Facing Flinders St

EXISTING NORTH-SOUTH SECTION

Change of floor levels according to ‘time’

Finished f loor level from f loor slab (mm) [arrows denote down slope of ra mps] 40 0

20 0

350

10 0

30 0

50

250

0

Hotel t ell tel Foyer oyyer y er

Reception

Finished f loor level from f loor slab (mm) [arrows denote down slope of ra mps]

Livi g Living Room m

Foodcourt d

Shop op

Medica dica ic a l Waiting Wait W Wai t in ng Room Roo o om om

Of f ice

C Cinema

40 0

20 0

350

10 0

30 0

50

250

0

Lowest point of building to guide a ll inhabitants to the centra l meeting area

GROUND FLOOR LEVELS PLAN 1:200

N

18 | robynho.com

SECOND FLOOR LEVELS PLAN 1:200

N

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

Meeti Meeting ti

Hotel H o eell ote Room

Focus upon a central physical and/or ideological point The perception of density is the most significant quality that contributes to an experience of interiority and can be attributed to the physical and perceived distances between people. Distances were maintained from the observed meeting activities by the placement and selection of furniture, and also the ceiling bulkheads. The bulkheads condense space as well as locating a particular physical focal point or goal for the meeting

Minutes Meeting Type:

Work

Date:

12/04/2006

Location:

Six Degrees Office, Federation Square

Time:

9:20 - 9:35

Re:

Type up of UTAS Site Meeting for Pete

Attendees:

myself

Meeting Type:

Date:

12/04/2006

Six Degrees Office, Federation Square

Time:

9:20 - 9:35

Type up of UTAS Site Meeting for Pete myself

Meeting No.

13

Meeting Type: Location:

MEETING ROOM SECTION G-G 1:50

Work

Date:

12/04/2006

Six Degrees Office, Federation Square

Time:

9:20 - 9:35

Re:

Type up of UTAS Site Meeting for Pete

Attendees:

myself

Meeting No.

13

OFFICE SECTION J-J 1:50

SHOE SHOP SECTION B-B 1:50

Ceilings condense volume and highlight focal points according to ‘density’ and ‘direction’

Layout of furniture according to ‘equality’

Unconvention Centre,

13

Work

Location: Re: Attendees:

Minutes

RECEPTION SECTION A-A 1:50

habitant first enters a

Meeting No.

Minutes

lising space to separate A

ecent experience of

D

erior reality from the

ucted environments or

cal ‘sets’ inside. The

Fire escape / smokers

g environments were

Ma le WC

ed to be a series of

Fema le WC Store

ic moments of meeting C

neighbouring rooms on

L ounge Counter

R ECEPTION

Theatre

el. This was to highlight

riority by compelling

L ounge

Counter

tants to constantly

on the identity of their

r environment. It is

h the maze of corridors

LIVING ROOM SECTION K-K 1:50

HOTEL LOBBY SECTION D

CINEMA SECTION C-C 1:50

CINEM A

A

Display

Neura lising Space

M

M

Reception desk

gility of our experience

HOTEL ROOM SECTION H-H 1:50 HOTEL LOBBY Reception

Wa iting a rea

ere not directly related

SHOE SHOP

B

FOODCOURT

B

D

Catering

Disabled WC

Display

teraction between the

g rooms can be achieved.

C

Neura lising Space

oom has a corresponding

or that initiates the

N

GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1:100

tant to the environment H

e about to enter.

ver, to traverse the floor, BAR SECTION I-I 1:50

ust enter each corridor,

urney through various

nments colouring their

N

N

Fire escape / smokers

Neura lising Space

Ma le WC

ence of their intended

GALLERY SECTION F-F 1:50

CAFE SECTION E-E 1:50

It is through the inhabitants meeting with

Fema le WC

MEDICAL WAITING ROOM SECTION

the materials within the environments that their identity can be acertained. However,

g room.

Store

G

O

O E Table 2

C A FE

and thus to place that brief understanding

HOTEL of their surrounds under question.

ROOM Counter

Sta nding (10mins ma x.)

K itchen

E

Through movement, participants enact

MEETING ROOM

and experience the impermanence of Fa r view

F

GA LLERY Mid view

interiority.

F

H

Close view Table 3

the design of the floor plane requires the

Mini to move throughout the building bainhabitant r

Cha irperson

Table 1

Catering

Disabled WC

...bypass the shoe store...

Sta nding (20mins ma x.)

G

Neura lising Space

N

FIRST FLOOR PLAN 1:100

PROJECT TITLE Impermanent Interiorities: the fragile encounter of meeting COMPLETION 2006 PROJECT WORKS Research thesis and publication. Design project entitled ‘Unconventional Centre’ involving design and documentation of 17 interior environments in an existing four storey building in Melbourne CBD. PROJECT BRIEF Research conducted as part of an honours thesis for Bachelor Design (Interior Design) Hons, University of Melbourne IMAGES Robyn Ho AWARDS

2006 Best Thesis Book Prize, Interior Design Program, RMIT University

REPORTS

Thesis publication available at: https://goo.gl/CcfYC3 Thesis project presentation available at: https://goo.gl/43aVNH

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

TRAVELLING FROM RECEPTION TO THE FOODCOURT

Traverse the neutralising corridor...

...and walk past the cinema....

...to enter the foodcourt.

robynho.com | 19

INTERIOR DESIGN URBAN INTERIOR RESEARCH GROUP, UI COLLOQUIUM PUBLICATION, 2007 PROJECT BRIEF This publication was the culmination of discussions conducted at the inaugural Urban Interior Colloquium, October 2007, City Library, Melbourne. Urban Interior [UI] was a research laboratory comprised of multi-disciplinary researchers from the RMIT University School of Architecture and Design, in the fields of architecture, interior design, fashion and industrial design. The colloquium brought together researchers, government, industry and arts professionals to discuss the research activities of UI and to forge cross-organisational research partnerships and to share ideas in a Socratic dialogue format. In my role as a Research Assistant, I documented the proceedings which culminated in the production of a publication, in collaboration with Urban Interior. The publication summarised the themes discussed and provided a tool for further enquiry.

DESIGN STRATEGY Interactivity with the publication object was the key design aim.

The publication consisted of two parts: a double-sided foldout A3 pamphlet; and, a set of double-sided flashcards with key discussion points from the colloquium. What resulted was a publication that could appear in multiple iterations, according to the whims of the reader. The flash cards were intended as a generative tool to spark further discussion.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS As part of the UI team, I undertook the following tasks: _Graphic Design Layout of publication, design of logo _Publication Production Printing, constructing the publication by hand

1 | The A3 pamphlet folds out, revealing the flash cards contained within Š Urban Interior

20 | robynho.com

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

2 | Details of the flash cards, containing key research themes arising from the colloquium. The white side projects themes integral to the research approach to UI. The black side detailed emerging research themes that arose. © Urban Interior

PROJECT TITLE COMPLETION PROJECT

IMAGES

UI Colloquium Publication 2007 Publication resulting from the inaugural Urban Interior Colloqium, October 2007, City Library, Melbourne Robyn Ho

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

robynho.com | 21

INTERIOR DESIGN TEACHING, 2008-10, BACHELOR OF DESIGN (INTERIOR DESIGN) HONOURS PROGRAM OVERVIEW I was previously a university lecturer, teaching various courses in the Interior Design program involved in design studios, design theory courses and design communications classes across all year levels.

PROJECT BRIEF The Archive: all that remains, Semester 1 2010, History / Theory 3, second year Students engaged with the archive and significance of through research of archival spaces. Research conducted through design projects and engaging with archival art, such as the work of Jenny Holzer and the Atlas Group; and theoretical texts, such as Jacques Derrida’s ‘Archive Fever’ and Michel Foucault’s ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’, amongst others. Small studio projects culminated the production of research publications, questioning the authoritarian role of the publication, archives and the archivist.

The Archive: all that remains

Site : Page, Semester 1 2008 - Semester 2 2009, Design Studio 1 & 2 - Communications, first year Taught Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator to First Year students in four week class rotations through the completion of a small design project that I had designed. Project brief asked students to design a propositional parasitic space in an existing site, through manipulation of site images through digital and collage techniques. Culminated in a group student exhibition and studio discussion.

What can remain of an interior space?

This class aims to develop methods of researching and documenting existing interior spaces. Our experience of these spaces are intrinsically fleeting as spaces ultimately change, are destroyed and are sometimes forgotten over time. The class will question the need for an archive of interior spaces and the forms this archive may take.

Of interest, Semester 2 2008, Design Studio 4 & 6, second and third year Taught in collaboration with a senior Faculty member, Roger Kemp. Students were asked to explore the manipulation of spatial phenomena (proximity, relations, material, and phenomena) through engaging with theoretical texts and small design project. Students identified a research question to pursue, produced a publication and tested through a design proposal for a hotel.

DESCRIPTION OF WORKS _Weekly lectures and one-on-one tutorials _Devising design project briefs and setting reading _Guiding studio discussions _Assessment of student work in discursive panel format

22 | robynho.com

Semester 01 ARCH 1105 History / Theory 3 Lecturer | Robyn Ho Image | Candid Höfer, Conway Library London, 2004

1 | Class poster for ‘The Archive: all that remains’ course

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

INTERIOR DESIGN WRITING OVERVIEW I have been invited to contribute writing to various publications which has involved reviews for exhibitions and conferences, and design theory.

Designing for the Sensuous Intellect Robyn Ho

PUBLISHED WORK

The ‘Sensuous Intellect’ is described as existing in the gap between sensation and thought, visceral bodily reactions giving rise to perception.1 To design for the sensuous intellect is to construct situations where such phenomena can occur. This emphasis on the response of the body suggests an embodiment of the viewer in relationship to the work being presented, an empowerment of the intuitive body over the rational brain of thought.

Designing for the Sensuous Intellect Contribution to the published papers presented at the international ‘Sensoria’ symposium, held July 2004 by RMIT School of Architecture and Design.

Yet designing for a sensuous intellect is to design to a process that inhabits the middle space between the immediacy of sensation and the variable time of thought.

To embody the participant yet disembody them, as they are encouraged to inhabit the virtual formless space of thought. Appealing to the sensuous intellect is to affirm contradictions, not to assert one view, but many simultaneously, their synthesis creating the participants’ perception, a middle ground that will exist in the ‘gap between sensation and thought’. This mirrors the processes of bodily experience, as humans sense their surroundings by ‘…no individual mode of sense alone, but all senses simultaneously…it is about intensity.’2

Ho, R 2006, ‘Designing for the Sensuous Intellect’ in McLeod R (ed.), Sensuous Intellect, RMIT Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 168-175.

168

Threadbox

To design for the sensuous intellect is to embody

Solutions for Better Living Review of ‘Solutions for Better Living’ exhibition at Craft Victoria curated by Kate Rhodes.

With any encounter, one must gauge the material with the most primal tool of perception – the senses – as our bodies and ‘…skin are the start of our relationship with the world’.3 It is the basis of the human cognitive processes to develop methods of understanding external information that stimulate the brain and give rise to thought. However, this process occurs quite subconsciously and without much consideration of the visceral interaction between the senses and its stimuli.

One does not ponder much on the individual characteristics of a smell, taste, sight, touch or sound, but the brain immediately skips to the cognitive processes which identify the source of the stimulus. Humans focus on the cognitive result rather than the experience.

To create works in order to primarily speak to the senses is to make the participants’ awareness of that initial procedure. If the viewer cannot recognise the usual signs that trigger patterns of thinking, then the viewer is forced by situation to utilise their senses. This empowers the body as it becomes the primary tool of perception, as if the work has coerced the viewer into ‘listening’ to their senses.

An embodiment of the viewer occurs as they become aware of their body and the viewer no longer exists as an amorphous objective Eye but as an active Viewer that exists in time and space and that interacts with the work. That embodiment also occurs for the creator as ‘…in creative work, the scientist and the artist are directly engaged with their body and existential experience…’ 4 However, interaction suggests an exchange, two parties giving and receiving. ‘The encounter of any work of art implies a bodily reaction. A work of art functions as another person with whom we converse.’ 5 Therefore, in creating sensual art works or architecture, the designer embodies the work, providing the construction an active role, a ‘life-force’, a body.

Ho R 2007, ‘Solutions for Better Living’ in Murray K (ed.), Craft Culture / Craft Victoria, online

To design for the sensuous intellect is to disembody

Chaos in a Measured Dose Review of the ‘InsideOut’ symposium held 22-24 April 2005 by Interior Design Educators Association.

Ho, R 2005, ‘Chaos in a Measured Dose’ in Artichoke, vol 18.

Roger Kemp

Any creation ultimately intends to speak of some concept or idea. The space for thought is often externalised from the corporeal body, with no boundaries of matter or time, as ‘…you exteriorise perception from the body so that things become objects in space’.6 This is not to say that concepts are not ‘…schematic structures that emerge from our bodily experience’,7 but thought transcends the boundaries of the body and exists almost separately and outwardly. As the viewer processes the sensual information, the act of imagination transports that initial information into those ‘schematic structures’ that do not tangibly exist within the body. These schematic structures contain a series of recognition patterns which the information is compared to and some level of cognition is reached. Thought acknowledges the need for the body but in its cognition development, does not require the use of the physical body. Emphasis on ‘…the intellectual and conceptual dimensions of architecture further contributes to a disappearance of the physical, sensual and embodied essence of architecture’.8 Abstraction and conceptualism divorces the viewer from the boundaries of their actual bodies and the work and forces them to inhabit a boundless space of thought. Thought is an intangible construct, a visualisation that ensues from the tangible sensual stimulus of the work, the experience. Therefore, the viewer is embodied by the use of their bodies in the experience of the work, but then is disembodied as they are forced to think in a space outside or without their physical bodies.9

To design for the sensuous intellect is to deal with the now Sensual responses are of the now. Human senses are binary in the fact that they are either on or off, seeing or not seeing, and so forth. To design for the sensuous intellect is to construct moments of intense presentness, the moment of meeting between two interfaces, one of the viewer’s body, and one of the works.10 ‘The surface is where most of the action is…The surface is what touches the animal, not the interior.’11 That interaction with that surface only lasts for the duration of that touch, or sight, and does not extend past that, as a sensual experience can only be spoken in terms of what it is or was at that particular time as the occurrence of the sensual situation can only occur when those particular variables happen together. Designing a work that appeals to the senses is to construct a field whereby these momentary collisions can occur. ‘On principle, phenomenology liquidates the past and confronts what is new’.12 However, that collision of surfaces becomes a cataclysm for thought, which has associations with the past and of memory.

To design for the sensuous intellect is to deal with the past The sensual interaction of the viewer and work gives rise to thought as the current sensual experience is then compared to ‘schematic structures’. These ‘schematic structures’ can also be called memory or knowledge. When confronted with recognisable situations, one is familiar with the patterns of signs, yet when something new is encountered, new patterns are created and existing patterns are then altered.13 It is this shift of existing ideas that is the intent of any creation, the birth of new ideas. Concepts do not exist without some precedent that they have developed from, as thought does not exist as discrete moments unaffected by previous ideas but arises from the exploration of those foundation theories.

‘All experience implies the acts of recollecting, remembering and comparing’,14 as ‘…memory is important to perception as it brings past into the present – the folding of various durations’15 in the comparison of the current stimuli.

The senses, especially smell, evoke memory and nostalgia more effectively than any other method of communication. As Pallasmaa recalls, ‘I cannot remember the appearance of the door to my grandfather’s farm-house from my early childhood, but I do remember the resistance of its weight, the patina of its wood surface scarred by a half century of use, and I recall especially the scent of home that hit my face as an invisible wall behind the door’.16 This nostalgia and history is also evident in the use of materiality by architects, for example, Leonie Matthews’ use of fibreboard sheeting in her architecture as she associates that material with 1950s beach houses of the Gold Coast which are part of her childhood memories.17 To utilise immediate sensation and feeling in design is to enable recollection and activate the past.

170

1 | ‘The Sensuous Intellect’ book cover © Ross McCleod

171

To design for the sensuous intellect is to design with disassembly In exploring any proposition, one must break it down into its parts in order to understand the ways its components relate together to create the desired result.

Consequently, to utilise sensual stimuli as a communication tool for any creative work is to analyse and test the individual senses in order to apply them effectively and to understand their capabilities. As can be seen in this manifesto and in the Sensoria conference itself (with its breakdown of experience into phenomena, media and materia), the analysis of methods of designing for the sensuous intellect involves the separate investigation of component parts.

1 Paraphrase of Trish Pringle, ‘Phenomena Symposia introduction’, in Sensoria: Festival of Design Education – Phenomena Symposia, RMIT Storey Hall, Melbourne, 27July 2004.

2 Pia Ednie Brown, ‘Emergent Forms of Experience’, in ibid.

3 Michael Trudgeon, ‘Smart Futures’, in Sensoria: Festival of Design Education – Materia Symposia, RMIT Storey Hall, Melbourne, 29 July 2004.

4 Juhani Pallasmaa, ‘Hapticity and time: Notes on fragile architecture’, in AR, 1999, 4 (originally presented at 1999 RIBA Discourse Lecture).

5 Juhani Pallasmaa, ‘An Architecture of the Seven Senses’, in Architecture and Urbanism, July 1994, 25.

6 Ted Krueger, ‘Human environment interaction’, in Sensoria: Festival of Design Education – Phenomena Symposia, RMIT Storey Hall, Melbourne, 27 July 2004.

To design for the sensuous intellect is to design simultaneity

7 Johnson quoted in ibid.

8 Juhani Pallasmaa, op cit, 21.

However, one must remember that ‘…discrete items only exist if plucked from a continuum…’18 and that an accurate depiction of sensual experience is not distinct.

Sensual perception is not of focused vision but a culmination of a numerous points of stimuli that occur concurrently which immerses the participant. It is from the analysis of how this information can relate that the synthesis of all stimuli can be achieved, giving rise to thought and a singular concept, and possibly the middle point between sensation and thought.

Designing for the sensual intellect is to allow for corporeal bodily reactions and for cognitive intangible constructs to arise. The two words that make up the term are on some level contradicting each other, and that is an indication of how to approach design for the sensuous intellect – to affirm contradictions in order to find a middle ground.

9 Though according to Robyn Hampton, ‘Thinking is not all in the head’, but is linked to the movement of the body, which in turns embodies or gives a body to the thought process. This does not disrupt the thesis of this text, but just reaffirms the simultaneous contradictions of designing for the sensuous intellect. Robyn Hampton, in ‘Brain Gym’, in Sensoria: Festival of Design Education – Phenomena Symposia, RMIT Storey Hall, Melbourne, 27 July 2004.

10 Paraphrase of Pia Ednie Brown, op cit.

11 James J Gibson, The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1979, 23.

12 Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space: The Classic Look at How We Experience Intimate Places, Boston: Beacon Press, 1994 (orig. published 1958), xxxii.

13 Paraphrase of Pia Ednie Brown, op cit.

14 Juhani Pallasmaa, op cit, 25.

15 David Thomas, ‘Duration of light’, in Sensoria: Festival of Design Education – Phenomena Symposia, RMIT Storey Hall, Melbourne, 27 July 2004.

16 Juhani Pallasmaa, op cit, 23.

17 Leonie Matthews, ‘A theoretical approach to material’, in Sensoria: Festival of Design Education – Materia Symposia, RMIT Storey Hall, Melbourne, 29 July 2004.

18 David Thomas in ‘Duration of light’, op cit.

172 173

2 | ‘InsideOut’ symposium poster insitu © IDEA and Stuart Geddes

PORTFOLIO | ROBYN HO

JAN 2018

3 | ‘Designing for the Sensuous Intellect: a manifesto’ book chapter © Ross McCleod

robynho.com | 23

CONTACT ROBYN HO A 2 Byron St, Footscray, Victoria Australia 3011 T +61 4 0872 1177 E robynlho@gmail.com W robynho.com