TOPOS GRAPHIA EXPERIMENTS WITH TOPOGRAPHY
TOPOS : “PLACE” GRAPHIA : “WRITING” To articulate a Topography is to study the location and position of each element on a landscape, and outline it’s function and utility.
Creating interesting Topographies allows us to create space that is navigated in nuanced ways, a multiplicity of vantage points, and vignetted experiences. Topographical integrations across different scales, different programs and different sites have featured in our work in many instances, and the results have always been to integrate seemingly disparate parts of challenging sites into coherent experiences. We’ve tried to document 5 such experiments, the beginnings of which lay in understanding Topography in a different ways.
TOPOGRAPHY = NUANCE By engaging with topography, we tend to create nuances and vignettes, with varying perspectives and eye-levels, differing experiences of volume and scale, and of light and shadow.
TOPOGRAPHY = PLAY Navigating topographies creates a sense of involvement and play, allowing a meandering yet information rich environment to engage users. Each twist and turn, each rise and descent introduces new vistas and perspectives.
TOPOGRAPHY = CHOICE Creating nuanced topographies allows users to choose within a bouquet of options. Private and public, visible or hidden, social or anti-social, Topography opens up many options for engagement.
TOPOGRAPHY = EFFICIENCY Topographical planning pre-supposes a clarity of process, since the factors used to articulate topography include functional elements of site level, site conditions, service requirements and existing vantage points. Aesthetic decisions are usually parked for later, which allows for a more efficient, less shallow end result.
TOPOGRAPHY = DIVERSITY WITHIN UNITY Topographies create a singular navigational experience, that allow a unifying idea to permeate through the space, moving towards a central theme. However, within the end result are concealed multiple diverse spatial nuances, that allow for great variety of experience. This expressed duality of topographical navigation is magical to harness and explore.
#1 TOIT
TAPROOM / BREWPUB AND KITCHEN
At TOIT, we aimed to create a singular Topographical experience that synergised all the existing levels at site, while accommodating a complicated hidden services layout. The idea was to create a unique navigational experience, where guests would be able to occupy the entire ‘ruin’, and have a different experience every time. Using the Topography allowed us to create an extremely minimal colour and material palette, one that allowed the form to emerge strongly. Materials were selected to evoke the flavour of the iconic Chettinad homes, allowing the brand to create a subtle South Indian tropical vibe.
VOLUMETRIC / TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPPING
VIGNETTES / MATERIAL EXPLORATIONS
RENDERED PERSPECTIVES
Through topography at TOIT, we tried to • Reconcile the navigational experience over large spans in an effort to unify disparate parts of the site • Create areas of privacy, semi-privacy and public access through purely levels and navigation • Create shared services routes, air conditioning and kegged beer in a more efficient way by intelligently manipulating levels across two bars • Create distinct vantage points for live events, bar nights, group dinners and create varying energy levels for different guest experiences • Give each zone an experience of all the basic design elements, lights, signature views and lush greenery.
#2 SALTWATER CAFE
CAFE / RESTO-BAR
At Saltwater Cafe, faced with a very challenging site, the idea was to completely reformat the guest experience. We integrated an old store room, that was 3’ below the existing floor level into the main Cafe, using an interesting topographical exploration. Favouring an extremely restricted 2-material palette, allowed us to focus on the form, while experimenting strongly with cut and fill within the guest areas. Being designed for Bandra, we wanted to create a space for regulars, without any strong design element jumping out for attention, and serve as a neutral backdrop for the Modern European creations prepared by Chef Gresham Fernandes. We wanted to evoke the earthiness and texture of the parent SaltWater Grill experience, as an allusion rather than direct influence.
We sliced the site into 6� slices, trying to integrate navigation and functionality, with seating and eating surfaces, to arrive at a dispassionate formal solution first, without any preconceptions of materiality or texture. The idea was to solve completely the site related issues of integration and levels, and add on any required aesthetic layer after.
By studying existing site alignments, we split the intent into two kinds of experiences, one more formally aligned with the large windows, for the all-day Cafe experience. The other more intensely corrugated layout that integrated across multiple levels, and also took into account column rhythms and circulation.
The clarity, timelessness and simplicity of the menu served as the largest inspiration for the design. The idea of the Restaurant and the Food syncing in terms of their ethos was the largest synergetic factor in our design intent. Design that jumped out for attention, or creating meaningless drama would do a great disservice to the food, and we were extremely conscious of this.
Through topography at Saltwater Cafe, we tried to • Create usable guest experiences out of previously unusable parts of the site, creating viable revenue models • Create different experiences by re-orienting guests along a 45 degree axis • Achieve a timeless base idea, and recede quickly into the background to set the stage for regulars. • Create a synergy with the simple yet detailed creations of the kitchen • Stitch up portions of the site across 3 levels, and achieve a harmonious minimal expression of form
#3 THE HOUSE UNDER A HILLOCK
RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE
The site is located at the foothills of the Phansad wildlife sanctuary in the Raigad district. Being an eco-sensitive area we aimed to design a house that had minimal presence in the landscape and worked for the ecology of the area. Our approach was to bury the house partially into the contour and allow the landscape to extend all over it to form a terraced hillock. This works well to insulate the house from the hot summers while also providing a large, green, gathering space during the cooler months. The house itself is a modest six rooms but extends out in every direction to gather a large part of the outside as part of the experience inside.
The idea behind creating a topographical solution was to heavily integrate landscape into the home, as a seamless experience. Each level then gets it’s own unique situation, and the entire home gets tucked into the landscape in an indistinguishable way.
Initial models exploring Topographical arrangements with roofscapes, landscapes terraces, and surrounding contours as part of the same compositional tapestry.
The house topographically exists as a pinch on the landscape. In time, the house returns back to the terrain we took it from.
Through topography at The House under a Hillock, we intended to • Articulate a house for all seasons, relevant and responsive to it’s parent topography • Return the house to the landscape as soon as possible, by creating a visceral connection to the surrounding contours • Render the house invisible, without any egoistical expression on the eco-sensitive site • Be more adapted to the extremes of weather, by creating naturally cooled exterior volumes using shading and deep planters • Offer unique experiences to each sub-space within the overall topography
#4 THE GRID
BREWPUB / RESTOBAR
Our first few design ideas involved diagramming typical brewhouse layouts, where the brew process exists in a silo mostly as a backdrop, and the guest experiences are a separate part of the plan. We started wondering what it would be like to sit amongst the brew. What would it be like to create a multi-layered, multi-levelled topography that allowed a large number of nuanced experiences within the large volume available? The Grid was a unique site in it’s span, a large neutral rectangular double-height volume that was open to receive any insert. We decided to occupy the site at all levels and in a maximal way, allowing varied experiences within the overall Topography.
Our design inspiration came from the multi-levelled Topography of construction scaffolding, and the unique experience of walking it. The visceral connection with the site that one is able to feel while walking on scaffolding is one we tried to recreate at the Grid
Our first layout involved solving the major relationships on plan, and then complicating those relationships across a 3Dimensional checkerboard of sorts. The idea was to really jumble things up, much like a Rubik’s cube, and use that as an inspiration for a Topography.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
7'-8"
19'-8"
SERVICE STATION
GENTS TOILETS
LADIES TOILETS
30'-4" SLIDING ACOUSTIC PANELS
RISER = 8"
5
4
3
2
1
STAIR TO SMOKING TERRACE
BANQUET AREA
UP
15'-6"
ENTRY
ENTRANCE FOYER 128 SQ FT
49'-9"
LOUNGE SEATING
26'-9"
UP
32'-1"
19'-8"
7'-8"
NE
STORAGE BELOW LEDGE
RECEPTION
SIGNAGE
GREEN COURT
DANCE FLOOR CASHIER SWING SEATING AREA
15'-7"
3'-11"
UP
15'-9"
RISER = 8" 1 2
45'-5"
3
MICRO-BREWERY AREA FLOOR LAID TO SLOPE 39'-10"
4 5
15'
14'-11"
DRAIN
KITCHEN 800 SQ FT
7'-9" 7'
SERVICE ENTRANCE
Electric meter panel
1000 x1275
1250 x1275
1000 x1275
1000 x1275
1000 x1275
GENTS TOILET 3400 x4058
LIQUOR STORAGE
SE 1000 x1275
SERVICE ENTRY/ EMMERGENCY EXIT
LADIES TOILET 3150 x4058
KIOSK
KIOSK
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
MALT STORE
WORKING PLAN : THE GRID KOLKATA
S
S
. .
KITCHEN 800 SQ FT S .
E X H A
E
U X
S T
H A
H U
O O
S T H O O
EXISTING RCC BEAM
.
2" DIA PAINTED PIPE SECTION
S
GLASS PARTITION ENCLOSURE
MICRO-BREWERY AREA
CHANDELIER INSIDE MS MESH CAGE
MALT STORE
EXISTING RCC BEAM
SWING SEATING AREA
BUILT IN MACHLIS SEATING
CO2
CHANDELIER INSIDE MS MESH CAGE
BAR LOUNGE SEATING
MS RAILING WITH MS WIRE MESH SCREEN
SLIDING ACOUSTIC PANELS
2" DIA PAINTED PIPE SECTION SCAFFOLDING
BAR SUNKEN SEATING
EXISTING RCC BEAM PAINTED
STORAGE BELOW
EXISTING RCC BEAM
UP
2" DIA PAINTED PIPE SECTION
ENTRANCE FOYER 128 SQ FT
2X3 PAINTED MS BOX SECTION
GENTS TOILETS 165 SQ FT
FROSTED GLASS PANEL
RISER = 8"
MS RAILING WITH MS WIRE MESH SCREEN
UP
BACKLIT WIRE MESH OVER EXPOSED BRICK WALL
2
2" DIA PAINTED PIPE SECTION SCAFFOLDING
LADIES TOILETS 126 SQ FT SHIPPING CONTAINTER
EXISTING RCC BEAM
A
MS RAILING WITH MS WIRE MESH SCREEN
CASHIER
3
2" DIA PAINTED PIPE SECTION SCAFFOLDING
8'X4' GLASS PANEL FIXED WITH SPIDER CLAMPS
EXISTING RCC BEAM
8'X4' GLASS PANEL FIXED WITH SPIDER CLAMPS
EXISTING RCC BEAM PAINTED
FRAMELESS DOOR ON PATCH FITTINGS
HOOKAH PREPARATION ROOM
SUPPORT FOR MS SIGNAGE
4
EXISTING RCC BEAM PAINTED
MS RAILING WITH MS WIRE MESH SCREEN
EXISTING RCC BEAM PAINTED
BACKLIT WIRE MESH OVER EXPOSED BRICK WALL
EXISTING RCC BEAM PAINTED
EXPOSED BRICKWORK WITHIN A PROFILE
5
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
STAIR TO SMOKING TERRACE
1
SHIPPING CONTAINTER
SERVICE STATION
BANQUET AREA
A
RECEPTION
UP
RISER = 8" 1
GREEN COURT
2
UP
5
3 4
DANCE FLOOR
Cold Room D
D
Store Room
SE
SECTIONS : THE GRID KOLKATA
We started visualising vignettes of experiences across this Topography, in two levels, a bit like playing multidimensional chess. The idea was to contract and accentuate functions across levels, and create a fun terrain to inhabit and populate.
An early idea was the LEGO bar, our ode to the hard-working city. Inspired from the scaffolding idea, we decided to create tiny vignettes of activity using LEGO, that were laid in a 6�x6� grid to create the entire bar.
The Topographies were accented by a two tiered lighting intent, that could create two distinct experiences across levels. The party mode visualised a warm, dining friendly light at the table level, and a different more active lighting mode at the ceiling level.
The executed LEGO bar featured a number of painstakingly assembled vignettes of a microcity, to populate a tinier grid idea. The LEGO bar took approximately 2 months of independent assembly time, in parallel to the main fit-out. The LEGO bar forms the entire frontage of the Bar at The Grid.
The Grid Topography offers unique vantage points that are exploited for different functions, like the DJ console, that floats above to offer an overview of the entire terrain to more effectively control energy levels at the Brewpub.
Through topography at The Grid, we intended to • Create surprising guest experiences, and a vast amount of experiential vignettes to create different repeat experiences • Use the Topography at multiple levels, and break the X-axis bias to topographical use • Experiment with varied guest eye-level perspectives, and offer unique vantage points, that eventually create premium or public zones • Create a spatial experience that doesn’t look empty at the beginning, a response to the massive site, by creating multiple spatial corrugations and hidden zones • Populate the entire site, and create nuances, without becoming a boring singular experience.
#5 THE FOLLY HOUSE
RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR
The Folly House was born out of the idea of a uniform flat plane that is then populated by moments of Topographical corrugation, through introducing objects of no apparent function. The interactions with these objects on the terrain of the home creates all the activities of the house. We populated the Folly house with all manner of oddities, and topographical anomalies, from the sunken seating area carved out of an original pool, to the multi-levelled kid’s room that was a retrofitted Jungle-gym terrain. Our main focus topographically speaking however, was the free-flowing terrain that was loosely labeled the “Living Folly”.
Initial concept sketch involved finalising the attitude to Topographical corrugations, and the notion of objects existing in a suspended ‘soup’ of sorts, with fluid and constantly changing dynamic relationships.
First formal interpretation of the ‘Living Folly’ to understand it’s usage and place within the overall Topography of the house.
RHINO SCULPT : THE LIVING FOLLY
ASSIMILATING FUNCTIONS AND TOPOGRAPHIES FROM VARIED MODES OF SEATING
Scale modelling to articulate variations in Topography, and understand functionality better.
TERRAIN STUDY MODEL
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS : WIREFRAME AND BASE CLADDING
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS : CLADDING
THE LIVING FOLLY : SOFA TOPOGRAPHY
THE LIVING FOLLY : LIVING ROOM TOPOGRAPHY
THE LIVING FOLLY : PLAY TOPOGRAPHY
THE LIVING FOLLY : PRIVATE READING TOPOGRAPHY
THE LIVING FOLLY : INTER-RELATIONSHIP
The underside of the Living Folly is handillustrated, to create a navigable experience for the kids of the house, exploring hypothetical worlds and fantasy travels, a map made in consultation with them
Through topography at The Folly House, we intended to • Create fuzzy relationships between objects, that exist as nodes on a larger topographical scale • Inject a sense of play, and engagement with the otherwise static domain of the home • Be a clear response to the cliches of luxury and lifestyle, by creating a custom designed, high involvement terrain through a detailed process with our clients. • Use abstract interpretations to suggest, but not determine relationships between objects in the home. • Code relationships into our Topographies, allowing the patterned ceiling to create connections with floor-based objects.
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