Reading 3

Reading 3 - What is home?

Building, dwelling, thinking (Martin Heidegger)

Consider: Dwelling

Consider: Building

Ask: "What is it to dwell?"

Ask: "How does building belong to dwelling"?

Dwelling and building = activities which are separate

Ask: "In what way does building belong to dwelling"?

I found the example of the bridge given by Heidegger to understand this concept.

A bridge is a built thing. Is it a building? It is built, it is constructed, people do not dwell here, people do not dwell in a market, in a railway statoipm, power station or stadium. It is not a dweling. It is a building.

When a bridge bounds two objects, two pieces of land its prupose is to bring those pieces of land together, its design causes those two spaces to now lie across from one another. The bridge has brought together the water, the bank, the land and unified them as one. I like this idea Heidegger proposes (it is an obvious one once realised but often I find I do not think this way) he states: something that is itself an actual location, only that thing has the ability to make a space a site. Before the bridge was created there was no location. Instead Heidegger claims that "a location comes into existence only by virtue of the bridge" (52).

I can apply this to a house or to our folie. Before we designed the folie this was Howard Smith Wharves, a very lange all encomapssing space. If we were to build a folie off of the jetty in the corner under the cliff, suddenly the space becomes a site. The site of the folie.

A hill was just space before a house was built. Once that house was built the space became a site. The site of the house. The house is a location. The bridge is a location. Our folie, a location.

Spaces which we pass through on a daily basis are provided to us by locations. The nature of the spaces we pass through is rooted in the type of buildings that constiute the nature of the location. Therfore, space cannot be external nor internal, nor can the experience of space be any of those things.

Spaces = let into by the dwelling of humans

I also appreciate this next example:

"When I go towards the door of the lecture hall, I am already there, and I could not go to it at all if I were not such that I am there. I am never here only, as this encapsulated body; rather, I am there, that is, I already pervade the room, and only thus can I go thorugh it" (53).

Basically, your body is not a single thing, there is always a relationship between your body and a space. You must occupy that space to be there, but you do not need to be inside the room to get inside it. You approach it from the previous space, it is the act of dwelling. You are in one space to pass onto another, you are never only just in your body.Now you are in a location.

If we as humans are able to dwell, then we are able to build and understand that there is a relationship between dwelling, being in a space, understanding that space's purpose for dwelling, then we can build.

A home is not a house - Reyner Banham

Mehcanical services of a house - piping, ducting, lights, wires, inlets, outlets, antennae, conduits, freezers, heaters, flues and other complex hardware.

Banham claims architects are wary of services and the implications of services on a building. Seen by architects as a cultural threat. Banham also claims services are treated with causion as they are too new to have been properly worked into cohesively, with the wisdom and vision of architecture. He discusses this is relation to the qualities of house and home. I understand this to be the qualities of a building, a plain old buliding, and a house which has distinct and cherished characteristics.

Banham addresses briefly the issue of privacy.

Claims - Americans prefer suburbs.

He discusses controlled and uniform environments, claiming controlled enivronments are places in which the inhabitant has the power to make changes to his or her level of comfort. Whereas a uniform environment is an environment in which the user has limited control because parametres have already been set.

Finally, I appreciate this one idea laid out by Banham

The idea that a house, like a body is not a single entity. It does not live in its own little world and even if it did it would still not be alone as it would be occupying additional space. Banham suggests that a house or a home is a service core set in infinite space in which it is a small part of the "Great Out There". I take this to mean that he sees a house,home, building as something that is built and then encompasses views, air, surrouding noises, space, colours ect. It does not just rest on its own unimpeded, neither does the surrounding space sit there unhindered.

Reflection/Application:

FOLIE!

Folie according to Banham's principles does not stop activating space as soon as you exit its 5x5x5 bounding box. The FOLIE is in itself a core, perhaps with less services as Banham originally listed but never the less a core in which a location (as Heidegger mentioned) is created. Its presence, its building creates a location. Within that building, within that location the 5x5x5 is obstructed by views, by sounds, smells, colours, spaces, topography ect. The FOLIE no matter how neatly packaged within its little 5x5x5 box is always going to have a relationship with the site - the site that was created by its building and the spaces between the site that man can occupy are now also present. The FOLIE is now not a drawing, not a building but is a folie which sits within a bigger picture. 

Final Panels at Correct Size

This is the final panel.
Hopefully this will provide a better view of the finished product.
The group members which contributed to the making of this poster include, Ivy Verlaat, Adam Perring, Pete Mitchell and myself, Lauren Tanner.

Final Panels

Final Panels

Final Panel can be viewed below. This is an image reduced in size. Text is difficult to read. Full scale version supplied via CD.

Unfortunately we had some printing issues. Laminating was unprofessional and the printing was slightly black.
The main Hero Shot was also very pixelated, despite its clarity on the disk. This will be noted during the next presentation phase.

Some Diagrammatics from the Presentation I completed


First diagram: How the form was conceived - through a series of angular folded patterns from two pieces of paper of equal size. Why angular and triangular? Due to inspiration from the bridge and the hardness of the bunkers.


Second Diagram: This diagram shows how we employed tectonics. How we manipulated a material and pushed it beyond its original function. We also pushed form and how the space is not a "traditional learning space". How did we do this? By revealing that any one surface could be any one thing, one is not necessarily a floor, or a wall, or a roof, the form can be twisted and turned upside down and can still serve the same purpose - it will still evoke the emotional and learning experience necessary. You do not need a floor, wall and roof system to learn.
Second Diagram

Final Panels

Final Statement and Overall Message and Learning Experience conveyed through a poetically written piece. 

Poetic piece chosen over an academically written statement as this shows more emotion, evokes the necessary feelings within the reader and communicates the integral idea (as Yasu reiterated to us) of why people enter the space, why they want to go back and what they see and feel from afar and from within the space. 


An invisible sheath enrobes the entire site in precious, traumatic memories. Camouflage air raid bunkers, a rare sliver of history. We are reminded of the lives lost. A bridge, elevated, imposing, looms. We are reminded of the lives lost. The water, slaps the edge, sparkles innocently in the rain. We are reminded of the exquisite terror of nature. Too many lives lost. 


Folie is stark in the darkness. White. Curiously disturbing. Its radiance contrasts against the austerity of the cliff. Whiter. It floats gently on the water’s edge. Offers us a new perspective of understanding through experience. Slight in form, powerful in message. Activate space, activate memories, activate knowledge. We consider…


Folie is lit, hollow but eager to be awoken. The user enters. Activated. A figure disappears. A silhouette manoeuvres about. Ghostly. A small soul floats within the folie. We watch it from the bridge. Folie is alive with memories. Humming. A glimpse of shadow catches on the cliff face, giant, elongated. A moment captured. Quickly released it is gone. More shadows arise, rousing the aged cliff face. More silhouettes linger. The space is living, its tempestuous past slowly revealed. Off the bridge now, the ethereal movements encased in white are ours. A shadow is cast. It is mine. I wave to the memories. I will return. 


The sheath is no longer invisible. We experienced. White. Just for a moment. We understood in all white, ours, theirs, all the dancing shadows, the souls that still live, the events that yearn for a flicker of understanding, of a moment of time. We learnt of an ancient space. We gave a thought. We activated knowledge. We wave, to the lives lost. 

One user within space, one user outside space. Shadow is captured. 

People interacting with folie. What is a floor, what is a wall, what is a roof? Tectonics. 

Our Folie:

We used folded opaque paper to generate this form.

Paper was folded 3 times each.

We used a dark space, light and little people at a scale of 1:100 to communicate the shadows, lightness and effect of the folie - the shadows and lightness are pivotal to understanding the "memories", ghostliness and the haunting souls that were wanted to communicate.

User - enters folie one side - exits the other

User - whilst walking through space passes over a projection light that sits in the ground a small way from the folie

User- shadow is captured

Others - other people walkinng around the folie may still come into contact with the light projection - their shadow is cast only to the cliffs. 

Projection light - is technically out of the 5 x 5 x 5 bounding box but holds no structural integrity and  is not the form of the folie, it is simply a light installation. 

Diagrams - these are images we will be using in the final presentation. We want to represent shadows during different times of day. These images best communicate this. Also best communicate how user interacts with folie. Demonstrates how the folie has a much larger effect on the site, despite being confined to a 5x5x5 bounding box. 

Readings One and Two

Brief Notes which have informed our design


Bure, G. 2008. Paris / La Villette. In. Bernard Tschumi. ed. G. Bure, 47-73. Birkhauser: Basel. 
- "a form of knowledge rather than a knowledge of form" (48)
- exploded diagrams on page 56, we took cues from these exploded axonometric and aim to include these of some sort in final presentation 
- job of the folie is to activate space - our folie needs not only to engage with the site physically, but also with its history and with its users. We plan on making the form of the folie something that can be physically manipulated by the user to encourage the user to repeat visiting.

Tschumi, B., 1987. Cinegram Folie: Le Parc De La Villette, Princeton, N.J: Princeton Architctural Press. pp1-27.  

- "variety of activities will encourage new attitudes and perspectives" (1)

- "a new model in which program, form and ideology all integral roles"(4)

- folie to be motivated by possible technological advances (4)

- la folie is a french term translating to 'madness' or 'insanity' - we were going to follow this line of thinking and produce a folie using high level of technology that surrounded the concept of hallucinations but found that the technology was informing the form, rather than the architecture informing the form and that tying the concept to the site was incredibly difficult (5). 

- framing - sequences, framing technology, space, mixed (12)

- We liked the use of models - physical models and how they created shadows and depth to the folie. We decided to utilise this in our design. (19)

Final Concept Before Production of Presentation

We intend to use similar diagrams in our final panels. Showing pedestrian movement and some others showing access and egress. 

Explorations of tectonics and structural capabilities. These ideas were not continued. 

Need to consider relationship diagrams, metaphor, perspective and narrative. Using above digram in final presentation. 

Looking at how to make the structural stable. Discussed encasing the opaque perspex in large  structural members that mimicked the bridge. These were decided to be too heavy looking and would ruin all attempts at the structure being a ghostly memory or reminiscent of this. The structure is now to be uncased within two lighter opaque skins of perspex, the shadow of the structure will still be visible.  

The folds are edgy and sharp - as is the bridge and the bunkers. The floor, walls and roof  are terms not applicable to this space. We ask instead, what is a floor? What is a wall? What is a roof? By employing tectonics and pushing this material we use it/manipulate it so that it acts as a type of walking area, wall area and shelter area. 

Silhouettes within the folie are integral to the concept of the space. Must be visible from bridge, city and cliff. Projections will occur from folie onto cliff. Will be people shadows as they pass though space. Will flicker onto cliff for a moment then disappear as the person passes through the projection field. This is what makes people want to come back to the site. Makes them want to engage again and again. We can see children especially taking a liking to playing in this projection field and encouraging therefore other families also to participate. 

Taking Cues from Gormley

Installation artwork - would like to use a similar effect with folie
Blind Light is by Antony Gormley


This artwork using humidifiers, glass, lights and water. Possibly other things.
This sort of effect is possible with opaque sort of glass combined with correct lighting so that the other materials are not needed. 


Photo by David Levene/Guardian. 2007. The Immersed Figure in an Endless Ground.  Accessed March 13, 2012.
http://pruned.blogspot.com.au/2007/06/immersed-figure-in-endless-ground.html

Design Development

Design Development

Concept/Idea 1: Hallucination 

- some sketches are still tied to this initial concept. Slowly sketches move away from this idea. I cannot tie this concept we decided on as a group to the site. Decide to come up with new concepts, designs, perspectives.

Concept/Idea 2:  Yoga/Exercise

- most of these sketches have not been put onto the blog. The concept and idea was unclear. Still attempted to design a space that could be used, as in lay on, relaxed on, mediated on. Learning yoga, meditation exercise  --  a reflection of the active community -- would be a space that I could see being used. 

Concept /Idea 3: Memories

- A space people walk through, made of sheets of opaque glass/plastic, you walk between these. The sheets are tensioned so they stand. At night the lights inside illuminate the space - when people pass through you see only hazy silhouettes from the city, cliffs or outside on the wharf. The passer-by or the walker, the cyclist perhaps becomes "the memory". The memory being about the war, the floods, the sites tempestuous past. The people walk on glass, pebbles, hollow timber raised walkway or steel - something that echos - a play with tectonics, sounds, emotive effects to create an experience. The peoples shadows/silhouettes, the mysteriousness of the site itself, the ghostly but peaceful nature of the transparent walkway, the verticality of the cliffs and the way the sheets of opaque glass/plastic sink into the ground mimics the cliffs and air riad shelters and forms connections with the site and the people activating the space. It is a quiet space, and will hopefully generate subtle emotions that remind people of the sites heritage.  

Through these factors, through stepping down into the site and making the passer-by aware they are entering a different, special space, it triggers a new sensation and also through the lights and the visual effects people will have a heightened awareness - it is through this heightened awareness that they will LEARN through EXPERIENCE (as we all do). Learn or become aware of a past integral to Brisbane and one that should not be forgotten. It is not a place to learn statistics but a new learning space where people are taken from their usual hectic schedules, deadlines, ect and are given a few seconds to remember, understand and learn about people affected by the past, especially if they were not affected themselves. 

  

The sketches below are the sketches which relate to concept 3. They are what I am currently working towards. We are yet to have another team meeting but have been discussing this idea over facebook. 

Site Photographs 2.0 - Reference and Inspirational Material

Site Photographs 2.0

The three photographs below were taken from the website referenced below. 

Dunn, P. 2003. "Air Raid Shelters at Howard Smith Wharves Petrie Bight, QLD, Under the Storey Bridge Used During WW2".(Accessed March 13, 2012) http://www.ozatwar.com/bunkers/howardsmithwharves.htm

The fourth image is courtesy of Ivy Verlaat.  

These images are important as they are the starting point for my design thinking process.

Here I begin to look at the significance of the air raid shelters used in WW2 and the cliffs and their verticality and their literal connection to the site. 

Points of interest:

1. air raid shelters are jagged random entities in the site. space should reflect the jagged, war torn nature of the cement bunkers. 

2. air raid shelters seem to grown up from the ground or likewise, they seem to sink into the earth. the space should possibly mimic this.

3. the cliffs as seem to sink down into the earth and arise from it. the space therefore with these connection I think should reflect this. 

4. Rather than 'plonk' the folie on the site - look at subtle ways to connect it to the site.

5. by embedding it slightly in the ground, public have to step down one or two steps to walk through space - when people step down and enter a space is triggers/activates a more emotion connection, they stop, concentrate more on where they are walking, what they are entering.

6. Stepping down creates a more influential entry and HEIGHTENS EXPERIENCE.

7. We  'learn through experience'. Whether it be in our jobs, life, relationships, study. Our space would use this idea.....create a space with emotional triggers, people experience emotionally = awareness = learning or creating a place of understanding through experience. 

8. People need to be engaged with space. Through light, shadows ect. Subtle elements like this are already found on site, can play these up to heighten experience and aesthetic appeal. 

This photograph was taken by Ivy Verlaat. March 5, 2012. 

Site Photographs - Reference and Inspirational Material

Site Photographs 1.0


Ivy Verlaat and myself conducted the walk together.
These are a select collection from Ivy's photographs that day.
Photographs courtesy of Ivy Veraat March 5, 2012 - 10:00-12:00pm

Brisbane Storey Bridge. View of one shed. Greenery dominates space. Verlaat, I. 2012.

Noted blue elements all over sites. Same blue used on safety signs, line marking ect. Verlaat, I. 2012.

Bridge, far view of cliffs and sheds. Dark and mysterious atmosphere. Verlaat, I. 2012

Shed. Heritage listed. Industrial. Verlaat, I. 2012

Cliffs are black and shiny with rain. Very green. River is pleasant. Space near jetty calls me. Verlaat, I. 2012.

These cliffs provide a nice quiet space compared to areas near sheds. Prefer this location. Can be viewed from bridge, city, river walk, cliff top. Verlaat, I, 2012.  

Exercise equipment available for public. There is a definite amount of physical activity occurring. Makes me think a space people can engage with, interact with, see results with would be a good space. Verlaat, I. 2012.  

Shed 2. View of city. If our folie was lit up, it would receive great views and people in city would be able to view it too. Verlaat, I. 2012.  

Jetty. So far this is the space I prefer.  Most group members agree. I have begun sketches of folie with this space in mind. Veraat, I. 2012. 

Industrial, Heavy.  Could use similar matrials or could juxtapose  with materials that are light in character. Verlaat, I. 2012. 

Under bridge view. Alot of people tend to chose this space under the bridge for the folie. I am hoping we deter from this. Verlaat,, I. 2012. 

Bridge underside. Verlaat, I. 2012. 

Sweeping view of site. Shed 2 visible. Roof seems illuminated. Want to work with space beyonf the shed. possibly between it if light work is involved. Verlaat, I. 2012. 

Site Analysis

Site Analysis:

Howard Smith Wharves

3:30 Monday afternoon - corner Bowen Terrace Newfarm - sunny

  - joggers and cyclists predominately using space

  - car activity frequent

  - families, couples, small groups of friends

  - young active people, less older people

  - some shade of afternoon (could use more)

  - water activity busy, but quiet

  - whole area is busy but quiet

  - a retreat with a city view - the space is odd - unusual to be away from the city but in it at the same time

  - the feeling of untold stories lingers

3:30 - 5:30 Saturday afternoon - corner Bowen Terrace Newfarm - sunny, partly cloudy

  - still a lot of joggers, cyclists, children, families, couples

  - park on corner of Bowen Street New farm always busy

  - all space are busy but quiet

  - river activity is less

  - bridge is busy but traffic noise is muffled

  - space below has plenty of shade

  - green and lush cliffs

  - sheds give a cold feeling, a disconnect from city, there is a definite sense of heritage

10:00-12:00pm Raining Monday

  - quite a lot of car movement on Bowen Terrace

  - some people still exercising, much less than other days observed

  - rock/cliffs are wet, dark, some areas black, glisten in rain

  - area is shaded and dark

  - area  is hazy, foggy, mysterious

  - trees loom, everything appears dense

  - area under bridge is used but without people activating the space it would be sketchy

  - industrial signage everywhere

  - blue signage, blue paint, blue features noted

  - fences

  - industrial

  - juxtaposition between heavy bridge, verticality of city, elongated forms of cliffs, long sheds, lengthy jetty and walkways

OUTLET FROM CITY IN CITY

Suitable learning scenarios from my perspective:

 - area to relfect

 - relax

 - exercise

 - gain insight or become aware

 - space to engage with, a space for people to activate

 - a space for people to understand, appreciate, learn through experience, memories

 

Bridge = industrial heaviness

River = soft, calm

River = barrier, a natural installation - separating hard city from a secluded natural space

Sketches from site visit:

Group Options and Thoughts:
- the use of technology to create "portals". "The very big camera", "mercedes invisible car".
- perspective and geometry can be used to create differing perceptions. (Parallax motion + Moire)
- containers of space for people to inhabit - be seen, be hidden -- voyerism -- big brother
- We could explore a relationship of the passer by
- Sensory technology and levels to engage active people, children in an interactive play
* Hallucination is a personal experience that can affect others. 
   Even though the "others" are not hallucinating themselves.
* What happens when two hallucinations meet?

Initial Design Concepts and Ideas

Design Concepts - Goup Meeting 1


Define Hallucination: Perception of visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory experiences without an external stimulus and with a compelling sense of their reality, usually resulting from a mental disorder or as a response to a drug. (The Free Dictionary. 2012. Hallucination. Accessed March 9, 2012.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hallucination ). 


>    hallucination as a social factor, apart from the obvious mental illness affiliated with hallucations, we begin to look at the alternate realities and how currently through facebook, twitter, internet, skype, you tube ect. are living now this time of alternate reality. Our theme = socially relevant



>    technologies, mass communication devices are central to our reality, are part of our everyday communication, actions, reflections ect. = culturally relevant.


>    the use of technological devices - mostly facebook and skype and the news ways of communicating, seeing, hearing are politically contested by some members of society. It is a hot topic = politically relevant


Learning environment is still being debated:  has the potential to create mental awareness, has potential to display new interactive technologies, or a touch system that involves people communicating, interacting to get a result. A continuation and a drammatic extension of the technology we currently use, showcasing the positives and the advances we make through technology in simply being with, talking with, and doing with other people. 


Concept stage: "Hallucination is an experience of altered perception. The metaphor of an altered perspective may provide an opportunity to create a structural intervention on a place that is most notably a transient pathway."


Alternative realities, design which informs the presentation of light installations is explored through initial sketches.