Team ACJX FRAMING AN ATMOSPHERE Arch 101
Professor: Jerry Lum Student: Craig Dias
Surprising Tranquility Before the beginning of the final project I had, admittedly, never walked out to the courtyard behind Batmale Hall. I was in fact so surprised by it that it literally took my breath away. Such a nice area hidden from the rest of the campus. The buzz from the traffic of students lost against the distance between, the trees and leaves and the towering Batmale. There was a serenity to it that was unmatched by any other place on the campus though this may be due to my lack of awareness of the City college campus as a whole. Still, I was very taken by the experience. Walking around the site, the view of the hillside became an important feature. Being at the site in its secluded atmosphere allowed the view to take its prominence. Walking along the main causeway of the campus finds the hill obstructed, by the fence lining the football stadium, by the library and by the distraction of students all around you. The plaza on the 4th floor of Batmale Hall allows the most unobstructed view but feels less private, less intimate then the tranquil site behind it. This seclusion and tranquility which brought the striking effect of the view to light became another set of prominent features that caught my attention.
Still, specificity was needed. While the site a a whole contributed to the atmosphere surely there was a point that captured my subjective experience at its best. I walked back and forth along the site, soaking it all in. The western most portion of the site offered the most unobstructed construction ground. Flat and open, it allowed for grand, large designs to be erected. However, due to the lack of trees growing at its farthest end, this portion of the site lost a bit of the secluded atmosphere of the site. The concrete wall ringing the courtyard interfered with the view of the hills as well and the angle of view itself was too shallow, not allowing the full breadth of the hills to fill your view.
The eastern most portion of the site, as would become apparent, was the second best site, capturing the atmosphere that I enjoyed so much. It had the most trees growing around it forming its own natural wall. The view was quite good and there was ample room to build. The steep hillside offered some unique challenges to any design but could be easily implemented to make something astounding. However the trees always seemed to cut the distant hill in half, never allowing the full gentle curve of the slope to live. There also lacked any form of coverage on its eastern most side, based on the area I thought we would build on, leaving it feeling secluded from the south and west but totally exposed on the east. It was close but still not quite perfect.
Perhaps it is fitting then that I found my place sitting between two trees, flanked by both sites. Here I found the best natural frame of the hills, with the branches hanging from the trees above working with the sharp downward angle of the concrete wall lining the stairs to create a diagonally shaped frame that moved in tandem with the horizontal movement of the distant hill. The two trees worked as markers establishing the invisible boundaries of this particular site. The concrete wall, now no longer obstructing this view still hid the site from the courtyard below. This also served to enhance the secluded atmosphere.
Standing there, basking in the sunlight of the day, I could think of only one response to the site; to build and design something that left this atmosphere intact, that brought this subjective experience to the forefront and make it possible to pause for a moment comfortably to simply enjoy it. To me, framing the site and its atmosphere was framing the invisible as the whole site itself had been invisible to me until those very moments.
First Iteration With the idea of framing the site and its atmosphere in mind, I began the work of designing for the site. At this early stage, it was unclear how to frame the aspects of the site that I wanted to bring attention to; however designing something that allowed people to relax and stare off into the view ahead was a clear direction. Though the answer seemed simplistic, designing a bench jumped into my mind. It could achieve the goal of leaving the site as unmarred by my own interactions with it, allowing its own innate qualities to come through. The original designs incorporated the curve and slope in the hill, an attempt to move with the topography of the site. I cut concave shapes into its silhouette, shapes that worked with the receding planes of the studios below as well as the sharp angular changes of the stairs and concrete wall. These concave shapes would also allow a small group of people to sit together while the flat planes along the edges of the bench would allow for a single person to sit and relax. Giving the bench elements of transparency came up around this point. By making the flat surfaces clear, the bench itself would become a literal frame. Filling the inside with dirt form the site would make it apparent that the dirt was being used as more than just a foundation to build on. The bench would no longer be a solid geometric shape protruding out of the ground but something that felt like a natural element of the site that had never been noticed before. It would, in theory, appear to be growing out of the ground itself.
Piecing Things Together When we first came together as a group the way our designs coalesced seemed rather fortuitous. Jingwen and myself both had the same idea for creating a sitting area to rest, a small place for people to reflect, meditate, contemplate. We both were using hard, geometric shapes to achieve this, with Jingwen opting for a sectioning approach to her construction. Xiong and Alice had chosen to explore the use of curved shapes in their design with both spiraling upwards to the sky. Though at first glance the two styles were polar opposites of each other, it seemed to me that both were just dying to come together. It was here at the start that we encountered our main hardship; outside obligations. Alice, our Design Lead, was unavailable during this time, held back by her own work schedule. Though we could have used here design sense in the beginning, she came through for us over the course of the project right when we needed her most.
I asked the group for copies of their schedules to get an idea for what the future of planning group outings would be. Our main conflict was that while Jingwen and Xiong could have time after their busy day of classes, I would be unavailable due to working at night. Even meeting in the morning was challenging, and at times impossible, as I worked in the mornings and night Thursday through Saturday. Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays were the only times we could dedicate the entire day towards realizing our goals. What would become a hallmark of our group however was our willingness to find small bits of time to work anyways, never using our schedules as an excuse that held us back. Believing in giving credit where credit is due, I would like to make a personal commendation to Xiong whose work ethic was invaluable to the completion of the project.
...Then we came to the Mountain Though we came up with a few iterative designs at the start it was only when we all stood together at the site that things began to take shape. Construction of any geometric shapes was fairly straightforward because, other than the ground it would stand on, its construction was independent of its surroundings, at least in terms of actually building it. While we wanted it to respond to conditions and elements found at the site, none of these would directly impede our construction; even if it did, the effects would be negligible and easy to compensate for. This was not the same for the tensioning element of our design. Any design we came up with would be directly impacted by the elements around us. We went through a number of considerations; what branches were strong enough to support tensioned lines, materials for he lines that could support the tensioned pull, as well as holding against the force of the wind that would inevitably put our design to the test. How do we account for this force? This seemed especially concerning at the time as the tensioned elements were a spiral that would placed above and around our bench to demarcate this space as our sitting area.
Standing at the site, trying to figure out construction methods was the first time we began working together as a whole group. Though we lacked experience in actually building a design of our own, our previous meetings had us all in agreement for our final goal. While we knew from the start that the trees would play a crucial role in our design, it wasn't until we stood underneath their canopy that the challenge became clear. Tensioning a spiral was entirely possible but couldn't rely solely on the trees; supports of some sort would have to be built in order to anchor the lines securely. The criss-crossing of the branches also posed a problem; tying anything to the ends of these branches ran the risk of snapping them in two and could easily interfere with any vertical designs we tried to do.
Facing this construction obstacle was daunting yet the constraints simultaneously helped to inform our design. We decided to entertain the idea of placing a large sheet, anchored to the two trees and ground, acting as a wall. This seemed like a good starting point; not only did the construction seem more feasible and secure, it would serve to direct peoples attention to the view we wanted them to see. Building any sort of heavy wooden frame felt too intruding for our intentions. The sheet, still in its infancy as a concept, felt more natural, more open, able to move and react with the breeze without the need for building additional supports.
With the Wind Moving with the flow we started fleshing the idea out further. Still unsure of how any lines we tied to the trees would actually react, we started off by imagining a set of lines strung between them, secured to the trunks of the two trees. The idea was to use this as a clothes line, tying multiple secondary lines to it, then anchoring these lines to the ground. The sheet could then be tied to these secondary lines. Still, the wind was concerning, Perhaps we could cut patterns out of the fabric, representing the movement of the breeze; projecting images of trees and leaves onto the sheet, then cutting these out was another idea. Our first attempts at adding complexity to our design, we thought the shapes or patterns would not only make for more visual interest but also as a way to negate the force of the wind. Going further with this idea, we tried splitting the sheet up into smaller rectangular pieces, sectioning our “wall� with added gaps between the sets, giving it an added rhythm. To bring further attention to the breeze, we considered hanging bamboo pieces from the lines, creating an arch way for the space while adding to the tranquility of the space as they knocked together.
As we began the work on our small scale model however we asked ourselves a simple question; why are we trying to string this line across the two trees? Was it the best method for achieving what we wanted? Was there a better way? Looking at the small scale tree in front of us, we imagined the possibilities of attaching the lines to a single tree rather than the clothes line method hanging above. Immediately our design began to sing. Stringing the lines down from a single tree gave them a clear point of origin, anchoring them securely to the tree as well as to the site as a whole. It gave the impression of sun rays streaming through the leaves while still acting as a barrier. As we adjusted the positions of the sets on paper, this method also made the “wall� more dynamic; in theory, walking around the space would give the sets the impression and rhythm of moving shutters, opening and closing as you moved around. Building on our idea, I sat at home on my computer and made a quick concept in 3Ds max for our group to reference when we built our small scale model. Already I could sense that we were onto something though the idea was still very rough. After showing it to the group, they too agreed that we were headed in the right direction. With some initial feedback form Jerry we proceeded down the path we chose, adding additional layers of complexity to push our design to the next level.
We opted for the use of triangular pieces of fabric attached to two lines strung from the tree trunk to ground stakes below. These stakes would be buried underneath the ground to mask their presence, giving the impression that those lines erupted from the tree and anchored themselves directly into the ground. Instead of using a nylon rope for these lines, we chose to use mono-filament fishing line with a 60lb tensile strength. Having as much, and at times a higher tensile strength than rope, the use of fishing lines added to the idea of being as unintrusive as ossible; being so thin and clear meant that only when standing right next to them would a person be aware of their prescence. Later, as we began actual construction of our design, it became clear that they way the lines reflected light, seemed to play with the light as you moved around the space, added to the atmosphere. This was one of those happy accidents we all love so much. Adjusting the height on the trunk of the tree where we anchored each set of lines, we decided to also wrap ehse sets around the tree eventually curving out further from its origin, moving with the foundation wall behind it. To reinforce the effect of the sets acting like moving shutters, we decided to adjust the local orientation of each set along the curve, twisting them from closed to open. Working in tandem with this perceived motion, we also played with the heights the fabrics on each set reached to. This downward rhythm of the fabrics twisted with the lines and curve on the ground beautifully.
Though we completed the small scale model near the end of the project, we were able to use the 3d model as a reference point, allowing us to move right into building the full scale design. As suggested by Jerry, we used 2ft rubber straps as our anchor points on the tree, wrapping them around the trunk. Drawing a curve around the base, we then placed ground stakes along the curve, testing out the look of the shape. Satisfied, we moved right on to tying the lines to the stakes, making sure our knots would hold and the lines were taut, strong. This process moved along swiftly so we soon after buried the stakes under the dirt, covering them up.
From this point we began attaching the fabric to the lines. Though the knots Jerry had introduced to us were secure, the slickness of the fishing line made the knots slide up and down, especially when the wind grew in force. At first we applied bits of tape above or below the knot to increase the width of the line just enough to hold the knot in place. Thought it worked at times, it was a crude method that only worked in the short term as we built forwards. Eventually we would use splitshot which we clamped to the lines, effectively holding them in place. Cutting the fabrics was challenging as we lacked a standardized system for working out their dimensions. We did try to achieve a sense of uniformity, eventually deciding that a variant on a 30-60-90 triangle was the best shape to use, accentuating the stretch of the fabrics up the line. This was one of the most exciting times on the whole project for me; the moments we began to build a design we had planned out on paper. There felt an immense pressure, a great challenge to clamber over yet when I stepped back to look at what we had done, I could feel nothing but excitement, elatement at the prospect of seeing it complete. Whether for better or for worse, I felt pretty good in the moment.
Final Bound Designs for the bench were finalized around this point. We decided on a simplified version of what is known as a gabion bench. Using uncut 2x4's, except in length, saved time in the end but was difficult to add visual interest to. We tried to give it a varying silhouette change to account for our lack in scale differences between the pieces. We added the back piece for added variation in its silhouette but also as an indirect way of framing the view we wanted people to look towards. Once we got started putting the fabrics up, the process moved along smoothly with no conflicts or delays. It was a time consuming affair though so we left final construction of the bench for the end. Simplifying the bench proved useful as it gave us more time to focus on the lines and securing the fabrics. Our original plan called for a pair of benches, side by side, with an attachment that angled into the ground, again reinforcing the impression that these elements sprung out from the tree itself. To frame the site, we had considered chicken wire, or even gluing fishing lines to the legs of the bench, dense enough to create a “fence�, then filling the middle with the dirt and mulch from the site. Unfortunately time constraints called for compromises so we sacrificed our design to accommodate.
Here we see the value of doing a real world, small scale model. Doing so would have given us a clearer idea for how the fabrics would work and what shapes would work best. While the 3d model gave us a quicker starting point to reference, without using processor heavy simulations, the model would not react to real world physics. 3D shapes placed on lines in the digital space essentially float irregardless of their shape or perceived weight. This was not a problem when building the bench of course but would have made the process of cutting and tying the fabrics a bit more efficient. Still, I cannot complain about the construction process. We moved through the whole design piece by piece, building our foundations, refining as we went. I had decided to put the tensiled elements of our design up first for a few reasons. It was our “wow� factor, the most eye catching and captivating element in our design. Even if we were unable to complete the bench, having the tensiled fabrics up would be enough to make an impression. Being the most enigmatic element in our plans, starting with these gave us the maximum amount of time to work on them. I knew from the start that the bench, no matter what we did to it, would be relatively straight forward in deciding how to build it. Final costs of materials was unclear. Unsure of the sizes for the pieces we needed we bought small amounts to lower our costs and maximize every inch we could.
Reflections While the design of the bench turned out fairly well, we agreed with the critique during our final presentation from Amily stating that the two elements, the hard straight bench paired with the flowing, moving lines still felt separate from each other. I think if we had one extra week we would easily have completed the second bench, or even added more dimension to the bench itself, curving it as well to match the shape of our “wall”. Adding the additional piece that angled into the ground, towards the roots of the tree would have “rooted” the bench to the site more firmly. I also feel that staining the wood to a darker, richer brown would have added to the effect. Sturdy and strong, the bench did provide an excellent sense of security, if only subconsciously. When we sit on something, our center of gravity can only be supported by the seat we sit on. If its rocky, shaky, weak, we quite naturally do not want to sit on it. Though the design was simplified from its original state, I made sure it could easily support more than two people standing on it. This security I think would help people take in the site, allow them to relax and sit peacefully, content and happy. Coupled with the view it was quite nice to sit there and gaze at the hills; but, perhaps, that is simply my own bias speaking out. The tensile element of our design turned out beautifully in the end but was not the full vision we had shared. The pieces of fabric, again, lacked a strong sense of uniformity; cutting large shapes for the bottom that grew smaller as they were placed further up the lines would have also been a good decision. Not only would we have gotten more coverage in a shorter amount of time, we may have been able to string up more pieces further up the lines, generating the movement of the fabrics we desired.
Being my first experience managing a team to build and design a set of things we envisioned added to the pressure. Normally working solo, my work-flow can be a bit chaotic as the concept comes through. Working with other meant I had to have clear, concise explanations of the concepts at every step, building up piece by piece. Having to consider not only the design and its relation to the idea or atmosphere attempting to be created, but how to take this idea from concept to real world construction was a variable I had never had to account for either. Though it was extremely difficult, the end result was worth the time and effort it took. Navigating through this unknown territory made making a cohesive plan difficult, with it evolving day by day. Thankfully I chose a good order for putting things together that helped move things along. Delegating these tasks efficiently was a challenge I didn't quite meet which hampered some of our productivity. However, working as a team proved to be a rewarding experience, at least with this team. There was no overwhelming sense of ego that had to be dealt with from any team member. We all worked seamlessly towards one goal, listening to the ideas of each person and trying to work with it, regardless if we disagreed at first. Once this new concept was implemented, we took a step back and decided if it fit our end goal, our intentions. Most of the time things worked nicely, a credit to our teams intuitiveness and creativity; choices we deemed unfit were scrapped with not bickering, everyone simply moving on to the next idea. Alice's design sense helped incept the idea of tensioning fabrics while Jingwen's problem solving/spotting made sure we didn't miss a thing. Xiong's perfectionist attitude and untiring work ethic was invaluable along the way. Together we brought this design to life, from birth to concept, raising it off the ground, refining its character, to standing back and taking a moment to admire our work, until finally, like Tibetan monks, we cut it all down, leaving the site as though we had never been there. The last eight weeks have been some of the most difficult and thought provoking weeks I have ever had; I look forward to moving ahead and working on another creative puzzle.
Jingwen, Xiong, Craig
If you have made it to this point then I hope you have enjoyed what you’ve read. It is with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment that I finish these notes and thoughts, a feeling of inspiration towards making an uncertain future meaningful and worthwhile. Craig