Web-Like Space
Shigeru Ban's Works
I looked at how Shigeru Ban uses wood, particularly lumber and timber in build structures. Some of his designs also incorporate wood that Japan is famous for. His design is also infused with other materials(E.g concrete, glass) and looks minimalistic and raw.
There is a balance and irony in the mixture of timeless, classic, old material used together with industrial, semi-modern materials. It almost feels to me as Shigeru Ban is trying to elevate the aesthetics and value with his wood with other materials.
Form Inspiration ll
Being stuck on the design based off of plants and animals, I kept coming up with very literal designs. So i went back to look at a watering hole and how to preserve its shape and imprint in the soil.
I found that the oval shape closely resembled that of an elephant's footprint, and I decided to build a floor plan around the outline of an elephant's footprint. With this, I hope to draw a closer relation between my final design and the watering hole.
Form Inspiration
Structure form inspiration based on exotic savannah plants. I feel that the form of my design would fit into context if I referenced it from other elements within the same collateral context.
Acacia Tree
Baobab Tree
Candelabra Tree
Fynbos Flower
Small Gatherings in Borough Market
Even at the other far end of Borough Market, gathering and herding to engage in eating(leisure) and getting out of the rain(shelter seeking). Again, everyone was muddled together, there were no seats as well. I question the lack of seats once again as it would serve as a convenience to diners but inconvenience to pedestrians. Could my space actually accommodate small crowds with seats but keep human traffic disruption to a minimum?
Small Gatherings in Borough Market
Small groups of friends, families or couples to eat or stroll around. Gathering in groups to do so. People were muddled together with no real sense of direction and just wandering around the market with the human traffic flow. I considered how I could design a space that can solve this problem in an urban space.
Borough Market Resting Area
This was a seating space right outside Borough Market, it was overcrowded and lots of people were overstaying their time on the seats. It brings me back to my point of overstaying before, but thankfully this space is outside the area and does not cause obstruction. It also heavily emphasizes my concept of gathering in a secure place, crowd following and herding.
Primary Res - Borough Market
There wasn't any space or seats for children and their parents to have a breather to eat and rest.
Primary Res - Borough Market
Primary Res - Borough Market
Gathering, standing and dining at an open area in Borough Market. It seemed to me that there were a lack of tables and seats. However from another perspective, I feel that having tables and seats would obstruct human traffic passage, not only by blocking the walkway but also giving passer-bys the chance to sit down and maybe eventually, sitting for long.
Primary Res - Borough Market
It was a rainy day at Borough Market and I noticed lots of couples, friend groups and families gathering under a shelter to have their food. The rest of the crowd were following and herding around the same area.
Primary Research - Hanging
Primary Research - Hanging
Primary Research - Playing
Primary Research - Pushing
Primary Research - Tugging
Primary Research - Dripping
Pri Research - Floating
Design Museum Light Exhibit
Purple Light, according to my research on Plutchik's wheel of emotions, represents boredom. In this exhibit and often many other music shows, it is used to depict a sense of mellow fantasy and mystery - it inspired me to make my design lilac. Purple is also a neutral tone between blue, representing loneliness, and red, representing frustration and I see it as a balance of both moods to quiet the mind for sleep.
Paul Cocksedge, Spiderweb Auditorium
Playing with tension and arrangement of wires. It makes me wonder if I can make my space elevated to create a greater sense of being immersed in it or give it a better value of experience.
I like how the lines bounce light due to its reflective purposes and takes on an organic form despite being linear. I want to try and achieve something similar in my outcome.
I feel like spiderwebs encompass a sense of mystery, bridging the irony in my concept of creating a leisure/lounge space by enclosing or entangling people with the material association and material properties of the seats within the area.
Secondary Inspiration
I looked at how other famous architects used plant shapes to make a structure look fluid and dynamic. I feel that the buildings incorporate a sense of direction in the structure.
Zaha Hadid - Qatar Hotel (Desert Flower)
Poem Pavillion, Dubai Expo 2020 (Interior Mood by Lighting, Ambience, Direction)
Exterior (Dynamic, Visual Interaction)
Salmon Migration
Migration for animals is the act of moving from one area to another. In a human's context, this would be moving from one habitat to another, this distanced moved could be small or vast, like travelling abroad and gathering in another area. Gathering is not restricted to a big group and can be a small family as well in my perspective. Speaking of travelling and the movement of migrating, I looked into harsh climates that were used at luxury spaces but on the other contrasting hand, how humans travel(migrate like animals if you combine both contexts) to harsh conditions for leisure but other humans suffer from it.
Buffalo Migration
Gathering Cavemen
Even in primal times gathering was already ingrained in us. Cohesively, to enjoy ourselves, entertain ourselves, fulfil our desires, just like other animals. We also unite in times of crisis be it large or small scale, to avert it together. The only difference is due to human evolution and advancement, we seek a more complex and fierce change when we want to experience something new, out of the ordinary.
Savannah Watering Hole
The animals of different species and sizes gathering reminds me of how different humans of age, race and sizes gathered in Borough Market to eat and stroll around, albeit having to seek shelter from the rain.
Human Locomotion
The two images of locomotion in animal and human symbolises and reminds me that we, at a primal and survival level are very much the same where we gather together to avert undesirable circumstances and when offered security and safety, enjoy the luxury to have leisure activities and socialise.
Buffalo Locomotion
Secret Studio by Fernando Abellanas
Since I am a product driven designer, this article I saw made me ponder about the possibilities of micro-architecture or large scale products, and products that influence a space to make it inhabitable or interactable. It changed my perspective on product design as being limited to being an object. It also made me think about the possibilities of products enabling a space to work, its amazingly thought provoking.
This was what influenced my idea on the right to be minimised and made more meaningful, interactive and emotionally valuable. After this I decided to make a playscape that was based of the words "Porous" and "Modular" for children, eventually proceeding onto pet spaces.
IKEA Flatpack, DIY Refugee Shelters
I was heavily inspired and touched by this design. It was done by IKEA a few years ago for war torn countries. It encompasses so much user empathy and attention for detail, in construction, concept and utility. It really brings so much more value to the design and bridging the relationship between human and design which I feel technology takes us away from.
Micro Parks HongKong
HongKong designers attempted to re-purpose disposed materials and spaces such as the backs of lorries, deserted chess playing areas and rooftops in the densely populated city of Hong Kong. It was designed to be customisable through a webpage and it arrived in huge suitcases that could be opened and used for a fixed period. It is very smart and feels very human, lots of empathy and kindness for the user.
Common Ground South Korea
I really love how an old, deserted object was re-purposed into an urban retail space and made modular. It really gives it a innovative and unique selling point. It also falls into my interest and keyword of modularity.
Tokyo Stadium Pitches
I took reference from how the current design of Tokyo Olympic Stadium 2020 looks and I tried to create a look that could compete with it and still feel like a part of Tokyo culture has been preserved with additional movement themes.
The forms designed tend to be symmetrical and round. As I look as this, I question myself if I can possibly do something to challenge this form that is already etched in peoples' mind and still create something iconic.
Inspiration for Structure
Africa's Big 5
I wanted to try taking colour palettes, form, a tropical mood and rural vibe and maybe how to dissect the building's spaces based on how these animals interact at a watering hole. I also researched on the power hierarchy of animals, perhaps I could use this to define the watering hole outcome for different levels of society in a human context.
Little Kulala, Rossusvlei
Speaking of travelling and the movement of migrating, I looked into harsh climates that were used at luxury spaces but on the other contrasting hand, how humans travels to harsh conditions for leisure but other humans suffer from it.
Desert Hotel, Amangiri
Lokal Hotel, New Jersey
Arctik Hotel, Findland
Climates, Living Conditions & Luxuries
In the midst of exploring themes or problems to design for, I broadened my scope into how climate change and status affects our luxury of activity, living qualities or sufferings. I particularly looked into El Nino, (A massive heatwave) and La Nina, (A heavy monsoon/storm).
It was ironic how the heat and cold caused extreme weather conditions which were desirable to those of high status that can enjoy the hotels and outdoor activities like snow skiing. But on the other end of the spectrum, it worsens the life conditions of the poorer people in villages and agriculture, etc.
About My Concept
- I started off exploring the negative space in the holes of cheese, both on the surface and on the inside when its sliced open.
- Inspired by this Porous essence and modular housing made with up-cycled materials like old shipping containers in Korea and HongKong, I decided to go with the spatial design route.
- I started off 2D and 3D conceptualisations for a retail space, which I then scaled down to a interactive picnic space, trying to push the Porous idea more visually. I then settled down on the idea of a playscape for children aged 6-12.
- After exploring different forms I could make with cubes, I explored different amenities I could apply on the cubes to fully utilise the space. I also made an effort to allow different approaches a kid could have to play in this space.
- I envision this playscape to be in neighbourhood parks, elementary schools or even in big retail/urban spaces which have open spaces nearby (E.g. Near museums with open spaces around). It has much more passerby frequency so more children can get to interact with the design, looking at their user journey, whether it is going home from school, grocery shopping with parents, or just passing by along the way.
Structure 3 - Porous Urban Commute Space/Installation
In an attempt to showcase "Porous", I made more literal shapes that were inspired by the negative spaces in swiss cheese holes into walls and seats that allowed the passage of human sight and sound, much like the nature of porous materials allowing passage of air or liquid particles. I still felt it was overambitious and too big of a scale, so for my following sketches I scaled it down into a playscape for children.
Structure 2 - Porous/Modular Interactive Space
This space was inspired by container parks and concrete pipes turned into urban retail spaces and micro-apartments. Specifically, Common Ground (South Korea) and HongKong micro-apartments. It looks quite dynamic, linear and quite lacking in the visual communication of the nature of "Porous".
Structure 1 - Palm Curves
This structure was imagined as a small, interactive spatial section for commuters in larger retail malls so. It was inspired by the curves that runs across the palms.
Prototype Stage 1
I started off by using blue foam to make a basic shape
Prototype Stage 2
Next, I rasped it to give it curves and removes all edgy. This makes the product contour nicely to the hands and make it seem more soft and friendly. It also looks more modern.
Prototype Stage 3
Next, I applied a 2 layers of plaster so I could sand and smoothen it. It went through different phases of sanding with different GSMs of sandpaper.
Hands Test 1 - Markus
After Georgia advised me to think about how hands interact with the design through how intuitive it is, and how its design can communicate that, I took photos of how it fits in different hands to determine the common spots for the thumb. I then reworked how a Kalimba's long, thin keys looked.