NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
TIMOTHY OU B. A R C H Year 2
TUTORS Tiah Nan Chyuan Esther Wong
CONTENTS 01
JOHN CAGE - TOTEM ANCESTOR
02
GILLMAN BARRACKS - SITE RESPONSE
01
JOHN CAGE - TOTEM ANCESTOR
JOHN CAGE -TOTEM ANCESTOR INITIAL READING Totem Ancestor is a contemporary piece that features sounds coming from a prepared piano. The unique sounds that emerges creates a complex mix of layers that induce a variety of confused feelings towards this piece. My parametric reading of this piece of music allowed me to form a hypothesis between the relationship of the rhythm and the intervals of each note relative to the next. Spatially, I translated this relationship between a sense of disorder within an ordered framework, through the use of a datum. My emotive reading of totem ancestor engaged with feelings of being entrapped, however, with a strong sense of direction. I felt that this feeling of being trapped was closely related to the dissonant intervals, musically referring to minor second intervals. However, I felt a strong direction leading out of this trapped spaces.
Parametric - Dissonant Intervals
Emotive - Entrapment
Parametric - Rhythm and Accents
Emotive - Entrapment with direction
TRANSLATION PROCESS START OF TRANSLATION Through my investigation, I concluded that the disordered’ variable has an ordered structure. Musically, I explained it as these
The translation process into space required me to look into controling these volumetric spaces. Using the (parametric-intervals) drawing, I then broke down the music into 14 patterns. I developed my own scale that translated the level of disonance felt in each segment into the size of varying circles. By doing so, I was able to control the size of spaces.
Parametric - Intervals
Parametric - 14 patterns
Emotive - 14 patterns
Linear expression of 14 patterns
Volumetric form of 14 patterns
TRANSLATION PROCESS The next series of drawings and models tries to spatialise the idea of a datum between the ordered and seemingly disordered. Quite literally, the intial models expressed this datum that axially connects and mirrors adjacent spaces.
Datum explorations
Datum explorations of 14 patterns
TRANSLATION PROCESS The next series of drawings and models tries to spatialise the idea of a datum between the ordered and seemingly disordered. Quite literally, the intial models expressed this datum that axially connects and mirrors adjacent spaces. There was an intial setting of the dwelling within Gillman Barracks.
Chosen site
Shifting Datums along an axis
Gillman Barracks 1:5000 Folding
Refinement
TRANSLATION PROCESS Contextualising the idea of a datum and framed views to the particular site.
FINAL DESIGN Framing views around the immediate site controlled the spatial hierarchy between disorientating interior spaces and spaces to release the tension within the dwelling. Taking the angle of the slope to be the datum, the rectilinear modules took shape around this connecting line.
Bridge - Top
Bridge - Bottom
Framed Views outwards
Vegetation - Top
Vegetation - Bottom
Datum
FINAL DRAWINGS
FINAL DESIGN
02
GILLMAN BARRACKS - SITE RESPONSE
G I L L M A N B A R R A C K S - M A G I C I A N’S D W E L L I N G With a colored lens of looking at Gillman Barracks through a couple’s perspective, I evaluated the chosen site according to - Private zones with concealed areas - Greatest number of factors that heighten the sensory expereince. i.e. spontaneous junctions, terrain, elevation, lighting
Sensory rich areas
Romantic Hotspots
Spontaneous junctions
Light changes
Terrain changes
1:750
SITE ANALYSIS Visual exposure
Level of exposure
Level of accessiblity
Degrees of privacy
Fenestrations of Block 5
Base Plan
SITE CONDITIONS
ck
1
Existing Staircase
Blo
Block 1 - Bottom of slope
Ma
lan
Immediate Site
roa d
Block 5- Top of slope
Loc kr oa d
Blo
ck
5
Sheltered Walkway
1:500
Ontop of Block 5
CARD MAGICIANS-DAN AND DAVE DnD practicing a card flourish Dan and Dave Buck are brothers who have pioneered an entire new form of card magic. Their humble roots begin at a young age and have perfected the technical skill of sleight of hand. Their mastery for the art has evolved since, and has become one that uses their sleight of hand mastery at its core. This new art form coined as cardistry, has sparked a frenzy of amateurs all over the world to learn this new art form. Cardistry is essentially juggling with cards. It is highly technical and requires hours of practice.
DnD branding As they became more popular became more popular, the commodification of their private lives into a brand, DnD began. They started to venture into other forms of merchandising, heightening their public image. Due to the extroverted nature of the art form, there was this public front that I tried to capture in the dwelling.
DnD performing a ‘spring’ This idea of how a public space could inhabit a private space, and vice versa, emerged. Bluring the boundaries between what constitutes as private and public. This idea, combined with the site analysis of public and private zones, became the starting point for my intial concept.
Private areas within public zones
ADDRESSING THE SITE The overall concept looked towards the existing circulation routes and proposing an intervention that was semi hidden in the terrain. This formed the starting point to think about public and private zones around the site.
Concept sketches
Immediate Site
1:750
Circulation spine
Visual Privacy
ic
at m ram g o r P ion t r e ins
Concept model
TRANSLATION PROCESS These set of drawings and models looked at developing a streetscape aligned with the main circulation path to create spontaneous social encounters.
TRANSLATION PROCESS Mezzanine floors were looked into the threshold spaces where staircases could become floors to increase opportunities of social interactions. This was to blur the boundaries between public and private spaces.
FINAL DRAWINGS
Second floor plan
N-S Section
First floor plan
E-W Section
Block 5
Block 1
Immediate Site plan