Vivian Wong Midterm Portfolio Spring 2013 Arch 101
Week 1 - Ice Breaker Iteration 1 Iteration 1 Objective: We were to build a model that would convey our own three characteristics that we have. - Eager Reader - Often Cautious - Seldom impulsive As I was thinking about its overall form, I thought of a cube. Seeing that I am often cautious, I contain and hold back some of my thoughts and actions. It would act as a space. The words that lay across the faces of the cube would act as bars containing whatever was inside this space, which would be me, my thoughts. In turn it can also mean that I keep things out with those bars too. I thought that having words/texts in my iteration would easily convey that I was an eager reader. I learn later, that I was wrong.
Week 1 - Ice Breaker Iteration 1 There is only one face where there is no “bars”. This is the side where I let myself be a bit freer in the sense of being seldom impulsive. As thought a little more about the overall shape, I felt the cube was a little too simple, so I doubled it so it wouldn’t look the same on all sides. Reflection: - When building my first iteration, I was very literal and maybe even a little too abstract.
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 2 Iteration 2 Objective: Transform your piece by improving on its weaknesses and incorporate the ideas talked in class. - Remove the text - More complexity (no box) - 3 different medias What makes a cube a cube? I wanted to see if I could transform it into something more complex but still retaining the original box form. ” Seldom impulsive”. I though t it would be better if I were to show that aspect with tangled/ scrambled wire that would then hit each face of the box and only one part would break free
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 2 I then ran into a problem where there was nothing going to hold the wire in place because the box I had made was but only a skeleton. The wire would have to sit on something. Then I thought of adding another media that would have the characteristic of a book. Paper. I could wrap the skeleton with paper but it then wouldn’t be transparent. I would have to show the wire and the skeleton of the box. Where would I leave holes for you to be able to peak through just enough to see the inside or all the way through?
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 2 What kind of shape would it be if there were openings? How many openings can I make in the cube for it to still retain its shape to have it easily identifiable? Sketching out the possibilities, I came up with one that I liked. I built the skeleton and then realized that it didn’t have much structural integrity.
One sheet of paper was not going to some the problem. So in the end I pasted 5 sheets of paper together all offset by a Âź in to make it look similar to the pages of an open book and also adding to its structural integrity.
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 2 Reflection: - Using paper made it very blocky and unwelcoming. It hid the unique shape of the wire. - The frame was successful because of the implied spaces. Many people understood what it was. - My ideas were not clearly conveyed. - I wanted the face to be translucent at the very least. -The faces ending up taking up much of the model and was a bit over whelming
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 3 Iteration 3 (optional) Objective: Transform your piece by improving on its weaknesses and incorporate the ideas talked in class. - More complexity (no box) - 3 different medias - Transparency - Hierarchy My strongest characteristic should maybe take the overall shape. That way the hierarchy is clear. What made a book a book? What do people associate books with?
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 3 What do people see that make them instantly think of books? What I felt most books have in common was the imagination and information contained in the book could burst out of the pages like they do in my head when I read. Sketching through my ideas, I finally got to one idea that I felt I could work on a bit more. To simplify the shape, I went into the bare bones of a book. It has 2 large planes that have any number of smaller planes of the same shape between the two and then a spine or a core that holds it all together.
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 3 The two larger planes (“Covers”) make a 90° angle with six smaller planes rotating along the same pillar(“spine”) but stays within the 90° angle. The six smaller planes (“pages”) are of 3 different sizes but same ratio. They show a relationship with each other. There is also a hierarchy within the pages in size. They are staggered vertically in a fashion where their corners do not meet each other. A wire is weaved fluidly through the smaller planes. It is juxtaposed against the sharp 90° angles all the planes have but it also unifies the piece. The wire represents the growing and shrinking climax of a book. The wire that flows fluidly through the “pages” of the book is restricted by the pages but at one point it breaks free for just a moment.
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 3 The book itself represents most of me in which I love to read and how I am an eager reader. The craft in which the iteration was made, I felt, showed how I am often cautious with how it looks very delicate with the fine wood used to construct the pages. The wire still represents my thoughts/ideas and actions in how they follow the path the pages give and then goes on a little detour for just a moment and then continues in its original path. Reflection: I was genuinely happy with what I created. The level of craft took me off guard. There was much more intent and meaning behind what I built that I was very happy with it.
Week 1 – Ice Breaker Iteration 3 The kit of parts was very simple shapes but when put all together it made a complex form.
Week 2 - Kit of Parts Iteration 1 Iteration 1 Objective: Reconstruct your previous iteration in Sketch up and also lay out all the pieces that go into the making of your iteration. Making the kit of parts was first the easy thing. With the simple shapes that came with my last iteration, it was a breeze. I struggled with joining the pieces at the precise angle I had needed them to be at. I had attempted at making the wire weave through the “pages� multiple times but came up unsuccessful.
Week 2 - Kit of Parts Iteration 1 Trying different methods and even combining some of them did not get me the curves I wanted to make and so I had in the end left that part out. Reflection: I had extreme difficulty making the curvilinear shapes and it was hard to make the curves accurate enough. The great thing about sketch up is that you are able to defy gravity and ignore real world problems when working on a design. It’s a great tool to quickly bring your ideas to life.
Week 2 - Kit of Parts Iteration 2 Iteration 2 Objective: Construct a new iteration in Sketch up and also lay out all the pieces that go into the making of your iteration. Experiment more with Sketch Up. I have always been entertained by puzzles. I have always dealt with 2D puzzles or a single plane puzzle. Recently I received a 3D puzzle from a dear friend of mine and it felt closely related to what we have discussed in class. I had a hard time with seeing and imagining something that could look complex in any angle that had no base. And there, I had it in my hands
Top : Perplexus Epichttp://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/gejv5.ydtk4/v/vspfiles/photos/6043-2.jpg?1355831201 Bottom: Perplexus Epic Close up http://www.party-time.sk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/perplexus-epic-close-up.jpg
Week 2 - Kit of Parts Iteration 2 I then realized that I have been very closed minded towards what shapes and forms that could fulfill those requirements. What I noticed was that in this 3D puzzle, you had to move this metal ball all throughout the maze. After playing with it for a half hour, I realized that they reuse the paths by having them double sided. The ball would move on top and on the bottom of the plane.
That inspired me to think “outside the box�
Top:Kit of Parts Bottom: Back
Week 2 - Kit of Parts Iteration 2 Mazes guide you restricts your movement. You often will find dead ends, for that is the point. There is a way through it but you need to one learn from your mistakes you made. Sometimes you may need to back track and think in unconventional ways. All mazes don’t have the same solution. It’s very much like life the way I think about it. This is where I got my second inspiration for my iteration. The front has these smaller “walls” that don’t penetrate through the surface it is on unlike the larger planes.
Week 2 - Kit of Parts Iteration 2 I kept one untouched so I can do a quick compare and contrast between the front and the back. Reflection: Looking at the model in Sketch up, it helped me in seeing the difference easily. When adding on the smaller planes, close up it felt right and seemed to make the iteration look much more complex compared to the back. As I started to fill out the front with the small planes, I started to realize that it started to look very thick and cluttered. It also then stared to look more and more like an actual maze and that wasn’t quite what I had wanted.
Week 3 – Narration Iteration 1 Iteration 1 Objective: Construct physical model from previous iteration. Further develop your design with Sketch Up. The Kit of Parts of mazes are vertical and horizontal planes. Typically the horizontal planes are the one you can step foot on and the verticals are to restrict your movement. In my iteration I had the idea that I will use a total of 3 planes per axis (x,y,z) rather having the vertical planes stop at the point of intersection with the horizontal, I made them pierce each other. Now it doesn’t have a base and it can be seen in different angles. I organized them in a way where planes that were on the same axis would not touch.
Week 3 – Narration Iteration 1 You would only be able to make large circles and inevitably find yourself in the same place you started. If you were to place yourself anywhere on this maze, you would not be able to get to the other side. You would not be able to see and experience the whole maze. The only way for you to get to the other side is to think in an unconventional way where you can climb or step onto a different axis plane and continue there (by defying gravity). That would be the only way you would be able to move through the maze and in the sense “move forward”
Week 3 – Narration Iteration 1 I found myself in this maze and it scared me. I found myself going in circles and never going anywhere. The circles I was making my whole life were so large that I didn’t realize that I was making them until now, 19 years later. I started realizing that I was thinking the same thoughts in a relatively same situation. My thought process and work ethics never changed. I was doing the same thing in the same situations hoping for a different outcome.
Week 3 – Narration Iteration 1 I noticed the similarities in the situation and made a note to myself to not make the same mistake. Then I formed some solutions that I have not thought about and tried to apply them. Now I feel a very noticeable difference and I finally feel like I am “taking a step forward� and really going somewhere. I feel like I have finally moved on from that one space and into another.
If I could put a name to this little model, I would call it life.
Week 4 – Proportions Iteration 1 Iteration 1 Objective: Take your previous iteration and apply the proportion study. I took the same form of the previous iteration and changed the ratio on all the pieces. I angled them all at a 60° based off on the largest plane which acts as this design’s datum. I put a grid of 5”x8” on each of the planes and had them intersect each other at those points.
Refection: Its angular, but it doesn’t feel like it had enough order. Maybe I should have done it at a 45°
Week 5 – Space Iteration 1 Iteration 1 Objectives: Construct different spaces with a matrix Sketch Up was hard to make spaces with on the spot, so I wanted to sketch it on paper. I found that I think better on paper. The Spaces were weren’t easy to construct without having the same themes repeat.
Week 6 – Space(Cont.) Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Objective: Construct a design in Sketch Up where you incorporate “A Tectonic Journey of 3 Diverse Spatial Experiences”; - Welcoming and comfortable - Awesome and monumental - Intimate and tranquil I started with a radial organization with inter locking spaces. As you walk up to this building, you will be greeted with a large welcoming space leading up to the entrance. As you walk up the stairs, walls and a little roof start to form on the landing that tapers in as you walk across. With the walls tapering it guides you to the small entrance.
Week 6 – Space(Cont.) Iteration 1 This makes your experience much more intimate as you get closer to the entrance with the walls and roof in such close proximity. The entrance is a thick wall that tapers out wards that then pushes you into the new space with still the roof from the entrance above you. You then come across a wall blocking your view to the new space you’ve entered. You have a choice between moving to the right or the left. As you leave the comfort of the walls and the roof from the previous space, there is a drastic change in space that catches you off guard.
Week 6 – Space(Cont.) Iteration 1 In the main monumental space, there is a large skylight that lets light flood the room. There are no windows on the sides of the building that are close enough for you to touch so aside from the skylight, there are no other windows in this space. The sky light is shaped in a way where it makes an interesting pattern on the walls. This tickles your curiosity and pulls your eyes up to the source of the only light in the room. As you see where it comes from you realize that it’s far from your reach and in the voluminous space, you feel much smaller.
Week 6 – Space(Cont.) Iteration 1 As you walk around the space you find a ramp leading you out of the building. I chose a ramp than stairs so you won’t need to focus on where you’re stepping so you won’t miss a step on stairs and fall to your doom. With a ramp you can walk at your own pace. The walls connected to the building once you leave it, open at such an obtuse angle that they somewhat disappear. At the same time, with them actually being there, it helps with the transition to the garden area. There are two large trees at that grow near the edge of the walls and the branches covers the corners to make this open space more intimate. With the trees, blocking the wind naturally, the space becomes much tranquil.
Week 6 – Space(Cont.) Iteration 2 Iteration 2 Objective: Construct a design in Sketch Up where you incorporate “A Tectonic Journey of 3 Diverse Spatial Experiences”; - Welcoming and comfortable - Awesome and monumental - Intimate and tranquil I started with a clustered organization with interlocking spaces.
Week 7 – Nature Frame Iteration Iteration 3 Objective: Build a frame model (bare bones) from your previous iterations that has a relationship to the site. Build its site. I started with a couple ideas, where I would take my first iteration from week 6 and build it on a sloping site. The Tranquil space will slope down close to a lake where you could get closer to nature and be close enough to even touch the water in the lake. I ran into a problem when I thought about the ratio of ramps. It wouldn’t have fit my design in the way where I wanted the hill to have a steep slope so the hill would be a natural “wall”.
Week 7 – Nature Frame Iteration Moving on to the next idea, I decided to have the location be a Cliffside. The building would be built into the Cliffside and you would enter at the top of the cliff. The overall shape was very boxy and boring. There wasn’t anything very complex about it and it didn’t show any characteristics of the site. This third idea, I thought of incorporating the characteristics of a rock into the main form of the building. I wanted the building to mimic the land in a fashion where it could blend right into it.
Week 7 – Nature Frame Iteration Rocks are sharp, sturdy and strong. They don’t quite follow a rule of how they are formed by weathering so take many shapes. Each one is unique. With this in mind I started with a clustered organization that later then formed into a much more radial organization. In the sketch, the building took very extreme angles and formed a bit like clusters of crystals. When I thought a bit more about the design, it showed no structural integrity so I made the walls vertical. That way it would be able to bear the load especially for the monumental space.
Week 7 – Nature Frame Iteration The building is in front of a steep hill in a mountainous region. The building uses this hill as a natural wall that shelters the building and creates a very intimate and tranquil area. There is a massive 360° skylight in the largest room that fills the room with light any time of the day. The sloping roofs mimic the site in where it’s a mountainous region.
Vivian Wong Midterm Port folio Spring 2013 Arch 101
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