Architecture
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By Natalya Aleksandrovna Pavlova
MW Spring 2015
Table of Contents o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Cover Art from The Distinguished Institution The Table of Contents- Page 2 Tools- Pages 3-4 The Yellow Suprematism- Pages 5-8 The Classical Suprematism- Pages 9-12 The Little House- Pages 13-16 Parisian Corner- Pages 17- 20 The Distinguished Institution- Pages 21-26 Additional Underground Garage Model- Page 27 The Grand Roof Top Garden- Pages 28-33 Truth- Pages 34-36 Natural Forms- Pages 37-40 Storyboard for The Distinguished Institution- Pages 41-42 Storyboard for The Grand Roof Top Garden- Pages 43-44 Written Reflection- Page 45
Tools used during the journey of Arch 101 Different thicknesses of cardboard Felt fabrics X-aco Cutter Heavy duty Box Cutter Jewelry Wire Scissors Wire Cutters, and Wire bender Hot glue gun and Gluesticks Sticks, strips of Balsa wood Tape
Cutter mat Sketchbook Tacky Glue Superglue (Krazy and Loctite Brands) Metal Ruler A wonderful assistant to help apply glue in awkward places
• My first iteration was a recreation inspired from the abstract works of Malevich the “Suprematist Composition 2”, seen on the left. • The shape I choose to reinterpret is pointed out by the bright red arrow in the top right corner; the blue rectangle with 3 longer green rectangles. • The challenge was to create a building, a 3 dimensional space out out of the 2 dimensional shape I decided on.
The Suprematism art movement rose in Russia in the early 1900’s with the focus being on geometric forms. Holding true to the aerial view you can see the relatively large primary point of the building which follow along with 2 crossing rectangular beams.
The Yellow Suprematism
With the base work of simple geometric shapes, it seemed boring to have all the points to my building be at the same height and dimensions, so I decided to alternate heights There are three distinct sections to the model, each a different size, going from small, large, then medium Difference in levels in constructs inspired by suprematism can be seen by Nikolai Suetin in St. Petersburg at the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (Bottom right)
The Process and Passage to Advancement This being my first model, I did not start with much knowledge. I did not pre-plan or do any measurements. I took low quality cardboard and starting cutting soon realizing my walls did not fit together nicely, and my cuts were sloppy. An attempt to cover the poor planning is yellow wallpapering. Which still can’t hide the chaotic window sizes and placements. But these mistakes only made headway for my future models.
The Classical Suprematism
Continuing onto the second iteration “The Classical Suprematism�. Some pre-design was done with some simple penciled lines, squares, triangles, and rectangles on the white material board. As seen below. With this model I decided on a different material due to past difficulties, and I also noted the pearl white surface to be more appealing.
Progress
Inspiring play on shapes was inspired from a model from a classmate, Jonathan.
Inspirations It is clear that “The Classical Suprematism” is inspired from Malevich and my own previous work but a new feature I added was the columns.
This came from Chapter 1 of “Thinking About Architecture- An Introduction to Architectural Theory” by Colin Davies. The Chapter largely consists of Ancient Greek Architecture, with pictures of The Parthenon (top right) , and The Erechtheion (bottom left), all ancient buildings featuring massive beautiful columns.
The Little House
Inspiration & Process
My initial idea for my model was a petite house. I began cutting my cardboard, by now I have learned to use one piece and simply make indents to bend the cardboard into a 4 walled structure. But as I finished the base of my building it looked a bit boring. I wanted the front of the building to look like a completely ordinary house.
But as you continue around the structure you begin to see a little viewing around with three openings to see the back of the property. A nice sunny Bohemian like attic to enjoy and unravel after a long day at work. With sun peaking out from glass openings from the roof and off to both sides. This iteration looks nothing like the others, that’s because I wanted to make it look like a little house with a little surprise in the back of the structure.
• Wooden piece was placed for support of the roof
Parisian Corner
Inspiration and Process The inspiration for piece number four comes from my own appreciation for Parisian Architecture. The outer surrounding shorter standing is to represent store fronts, grocery stores, or recreational areas for reading, socializing. The larger structure is the center is a combination of offices and apartments. (different window sizing identifies which are which).
Smaller windows for the staircase area
Massive window for viewing of the city from the offices
Pre-Design Sketchs
The Distinguished Institution
When first entering the grounds you will see many garden areas for students and visitors to enjoy the fresh flowers, and shady trees. Along with bike racks, benches, seating areas, food kiosks, and many lamp posts for night time use of the building. If you go behind the building you will find an array of fields and activity areas for the students to enjoy. Everywhere on the premise you will find flags representing the school/company. The building has an old institution feeling such as that of a colonial college (Princeton). With a combination of looks and new innovations in and along the building stepping onto the campus gives you a sense of empowerment and excitement to be experiencing a new age higher educational establishment. When first entering one of the many doors that wrap around the exterior of the building you will get your first glimpse into the first floor. High profile academic work shape the walls along with past students. With its high dome cold ceilings your first experience of the building is one of fear. You feel almost overwhelmed just by the sheer size of the hallways in comparison to yourself, along with a strong consciousness of pressure that is placed on any individuals that attend.
As you continue on into the building you will make your way up more classrooms and ascend onto the rooftop garden on the east side of the building. A beautiful set of stairs sit on top of the structure with a different assortment of greenery. There is multiple areas of sitting around the gardens and small pond areas giving the viewer a variety of perspectives. The gardens can be seen as a much needed relief and allows the visitor to unwind and be overcome by serene thoughts. Immediately upon making your way across the roof top gardens you will find a huge glass balcony that overlooks the next metropolitan city just over the river. The city towers in comparison to any buildings on this side of the river. There is a stunning mountain backdrop with just the right amount of snow enveloping the mountain side. And at night when the city lights up you can have a seat on one of the benches lining the vast glass balcony. The end is an experience that can be different for everyone. You can be afraid of the glass structure and the overwhelming power of the view. Or you can be excited and be inspired by the aesthetic architecture just across the river.
Cleaner cuts and lots of preplanning‌
The ProcessFor something with this many openings and spaces inbetween structures, a lot of planning went into this. With many rough sketches of measurements in inches to make sure all the inner structures fit into the outer structures. (one is included on the following page).
Pre-Design
Addition Underground Garage Model
The Grand Roof Top Garden
You have made your way on top the rooftop garden where you are welcomed by a serene scenery of grassy walkways trailed with flower beds and benches for peaceful viewing opportunities . As you continue into the gardens on the east side of the building you will find a delightful seating area just before you begin your ascend up the immense green staircase. There is a combination of shaded and sunny seating allowing for variety. this features always for a sense of comfort either before your way up the stairs. Or to relax from the travel down. Due to the shape of the structure it is difficult to visualize what is atop the mighty staircase reaching into the sky. Your curiosity peaks and you make your way up the staircase. The structure is high with clear ramps increasing your fear level as you make your way to the top. At the top you are rewarded with an amazing view that no one else receives. You are now at the highest point of the building enjoying a petite garden in comparison to the larger gardens below. You gain a sense of superiority and confidence. You feel as if you are on top of the world, looking onto the smaller world just below.
Inspiration and Process The inspiration to my rooftop garden climax model was transformed from my original design due to creative indifferences I had with myself and my past design. As you can see in the original model in The Distinguished Institution the staircase has all the same length steps. This changed in the second form of the garden staircase changing the form to have the staircase almost ascend into the sky having the steps growing smaller and smaller in length as you go up. The Process was not difficult in planning because the measurements and cuts were very few in counting. The real challenge was to get the model to scale. As you see in the model 2 single balsa wood pegs stand, each at 他 of an inch to represent a human figure standing at 6 feet. Adding the small ornamental details to the model was the most troublesome, to cut and get everything to scale. A future note for my own process that I learned was to always be prepared and have ornamental details to have, such as shrubbery to add for texture as plants in my model.
Pre-Design Sketch and Inspiring Images
Truth
Inspiration & Process
Due to my lack of knowledge of wire, I purchased unforgiving wire that molded easily but left a footprint in the wire of where it was previously bent. First attempts to make this model was to glue the metal pieces together, which did not work very well, which let to twisting . This let to weak edges and and a unbalanced structure. A key lesson that was learned is not to use full metal, that there needs to be different textures. For example next time I would make columns and weave the wire through holes I would punch through both sides.
Natural Forms
Inspiration and Process
My inspiration came from looking at seashells. Shells come in different shapes and sizes. But a common feature is parallel lines or holes/rivets in the shells. Which was something I wanted to incorporate in the building. I did so by gluing multiple strips of balsa wood around the structure, along with punching and burning holes into the paper. The wire I added on the top to represent the true metal beams that would be supporting the glass dome viewing center on the roof of the building. I also wanted to not make another square model so I decided on another shape, circular.
Different views allow for different perspectives, Nature is always changing and moving. I took photographs of different possible positions my model could lay and stand as a structure to see different possibilities.
The hole punched holes were added for the sole purpose for holding the wires in a neat clean way
The structure is set on a small island off the coast of a popular beach. With a short ferry ride you arrive at the your destination to find a viewing center with repeating grooves, and small ridges along the surface. Delicate holes run along some of the grooves and ridges allowing tricks of light to go in and out of the building. There are normal sized and larger windows but there are few to encourage visitors to visit to rooftop dome to view the scenery of the beach and ocean. Allowing for a different perspective.
First Storybook
Second Storybook
Written Reflective After creating this PowerPoint and going over my own works and the process of getting to some of these models it has become clear to me that it is an ever evolving process, which I continue to learn and improve with every model I complete. And it is A LOT of work that can not be pushed aside and needs to be prioritized. I look back and look at past mistakes and improvements I have made not only in design, but in how I am able to build models as while. I have learned tricks of the trade from classmates and from class meetings and my own trial and error (for example I was not able to photograph the original Truth model in time before it got squished in my truck, with the knowledge of having to Jerry proof my models I will research wire types before committing to one.) Though it does seem with most of my models a pattern of symmetry occurs, and a distinct design pattern with windows I did not seem to break through with, hopefully with time and the continuance of model making I can completely break free of that. After reading the text, and addition readings for the class, it is clear to me I favor a combination of Classical and Gothic Architecture and I may begin to incorporate these features in future models.
“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”Winston Churchill