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The Public in the Urban Aspect
DANIIL SOLOMOU
Exploring the idea of a genuinely public space in the urban aspect through various Nolli-styled maps.
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A Nolli map is a type of ichnographic map focusing on open civic spaces. Showing the plans of public spaces and blacking out other privately owned buildings.
Studying three vastly different cities across Europe (Nicosia, Amsterdam, Glasgow) and exploring what the public means. Through this exploration, you can identify a city's values and socioeconomic history and how it morphed into what it is now.
Floating House On The Clyde CHARIS RITCHIE
For this project I decided to tackle the imposing local threat of flooding to Glasgow and discovered there was a danger zone determined across the area of the River Clyde, estimating which landmasses will be underwater in the next 3 decades. Through physical experimentation, I came up with a ‘floating’ modular structure inspired by pontoons used in the ‘Floating House’ design in Canada. My design would adapt to the changing water levels over time and spark a change to adapt larger scaled structures using the same method. The modular structure would exist to educate the local community on gradual flooding.
The name of the project is the “Wellbeing Garden”. Reflecting upon my experience with nature and its impact on me as I came to Glasgow as a student led me to studies on the impact of nature to the mind. Namely, the Stress Reduction Theory, the Biophilia Hypothesis and the Attention Restoration Theory. This prompted me to consider how making a nature space available to students at the Glasgow School of Art in the city centre would contribute to their wellbeing.
After suffering two devastating fires, the shell of the beloved Mac posed itself as a perfect host for the garden. It offers plenty of light as it has no roof, it creates an opportunity for the garden to have multiple levels, and it allows garden users privacy, as its walls act as a barrier from the outside world. The garden features meandering paths, an abundance of vegetation, calming water features, a greenhouse and a view over the city from the top floor.
