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ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO: EARTH S1, 2016 HERRING ISLAND’S BOOK OF SECRETS

(AMOS) TZE WAY NG 737960

Hannah Steenson + ST03

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1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS 1.1 Point/Line/Plane1.2 Mass1.3 Frame & Infill

2.0 HERRING ISLAND. SOMETHING LIKE A PAVILION 2.1 Site analysis2.2 Conceptacle2.3 Concept & Sketch Design 2.4 Design Development2.5 Final Design drawings2.6 Final Design Model

3.0 REFLECTION

4.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

5.0 SUMMARY PAGES

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1.0 THREE RELATIONSHIPS

1.1 POINT/LINE/PLANE1.2 MASS1.3 FRAME & INFILL

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1.1 POINT / LINE / PLANE

In Point/Line/Plane techtonic, i try to explore the progression of point to line to plane in my blog photos and found Steven Holl’s Kiasma Museum(middle) and Donald Judd’s artwork (left) best represent it . Steven Holl’s museum photo shows the extrusion of lines from a plane surface

creating another plane surface out of it showing the connection between line and plane . Donald Judd’s linear block arrangement represents a point that is repeated to give the illusion of a straight line.

Lines are essentially repeated points at minimal intervals making them seem like the smooth ‘lines’ they are. The picture i’ve taken on the right shows how everything starts from a point as all lines and planes converges to a point at the end through certain point of view,which in this case , the point of

horizon.

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In my design model , i wanted to show how through different point of view , we could see a progression of point to line , and when rotated , a progression of line to plane. At the same time , i wanted the model to also show that a point could bring out a plane too with points being repeated at big intervals instead of short intervals in an area arrangment .

DESIGNING POINT / LINE / PLANE

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1.2 MASS

For mass, it was the one i find most easily relatable to the name of this subject, ‘Earth’. Earth ,also defined as the ground in one of its definition , are known to be SOLID for it has the sense of weight & gravity to it as well as something you could very well ‘feel’ & ‘touch’ even through a picture like

the Mount Everest on the top left .

At the same time , mass can also be represented by a void through the spatiality created such as in cave or lakes . This could be done by subtraction of mass or just the addition of it .

Like the picture of brutalist architecture below , it shows how addition of a refined mass on top of each other to create a space as well as a sense of brutality as something evoked from the spatiality it created. Through this spatiality/void of mass, the light comes into play which influences the void/

spatiality within, evoking feelings like fear or hope .

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LIGHT SLIT JAGGED ENTRANCE

SECTION

BACK ELEVATIONFRONT ELEVATION

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DESIGNING MASS

In designing a mass model , i wanted to represent something that has both the LIGHT ( which evokes a feeling in the space ) as well as DARK ( which gives a real feel and touch to it ) element in it .

Through the subtraction method on a mount-esque mass , i was able to create a void within the middle which require a DARK path to get into it ,controlling the user’s body movement as they get in .

The LIGHT element was created with thin light slits made on the whole mass’s surface into the void within .The feeling i tried to evoke from these slits is a sense of hope and weightlessness in contrast to the weight term associated with MASS .

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1.3 FRAME & INFILL

In Frame & Infill techtonics , as opposed to MASS , does not take gravity into consideration, where anti-gravity is one element of the techtonic. It is thought to be something that doesn’t hold many heavy and mass objects hence giving the idea of transparency ,lightness to it .

Alex Selenitsch mentioned that the FRAME is something of permanence while the INFILL is something temporary. Permanence of FRAME can be seen as something that is just there to holding the INFILL whilst INFILL is something transient and controlling the space (feel and see )to convey its

message.

In the example on the left , KOTARO HORUICHI’s Liaison Cubique employs repetitive cube frame stacked onto each other to create this permanent frame that is required to hold the INFILL ,which is represented by the lighting fitting within the cube as well as the table top that sits

within the frame , hence the INFILL here provides the functional space . The lighting which can be turned off shows the transience of INFILL. Also , the INFILL lightings and table are arranged in such a way that shows fluid and dynamic around the frame .

The FRAME and INFILL composition determines the aesthetics of it as INFILL could pop in and out or on one plane with the FRAME to show which element is more important or interesting to show . Like on the the Liaison Cubique , the lights and tables INFILL are popped into the space within

making them the focus of the space within.

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DESIGNING FRAME & INFILL

For my FRAME & INFILL model , i designed something that shows the changing importance or interesting thing to show through interchanging position of INFILL with the FRAME as it weaves in and out and along the plane of FRAME.

I’ve also used a different color for each section to represent the dynamism of Infill whilst the frame is only represented by a single colour.

As permanence , the frames are there just to hold the INFILL ,which in turn controls the perception (hear,see,feel) as each coloured section tries to depict , with the black section trying to represent an ‘entrance’ INFILL through its blockage , the white section curled up around the middle to represent a private space accesible through the intersecting green&red INFILL which represents the flowing stairwell . All of these couldn’t hold up without the FRAME.

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HERRING ISLAND

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2.0 HERRING ISLAND. SOMETHING LIKE A PAVILION

HERRING ISLAND

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2.1 SITE ANALYSIS

When i was at the site , i realised that some of the existing sculpture were well hidden and takes a keen eye to spot the pathways leading to it.I wanted my pavilion to be relatively easy to take a pathway to whilst trying to avoid a very dense area ,avoiding overcrowding, like the middle-right area that has many human hotspots. One thing that puts me off when i was at the site was the constant rattling & rustling sound of the leaves which may or may not be snakes gliding around so i tried to pick a site that is away from these mapped out snake hotspot.

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2.1 SITE ANALYSISVIEWS X EXISTING SCULPTURE

The site also has a stunning view of the river and CBD at the background which i wanted with the pavilion as it also represents the journey to a new future through the history you leave behind . It also brings the idea of Point/Line/Plane as the view goes from a long line along the river to a point at the CBD.

When exploring, i stumbled upon the

Steerage, an existing sculpture representing

a boat that is a metaphor for journey.

With this, i wanted to take visitors onto the voyage of the

past (secret) as they chance upon the

frontal sculpture first, then discovering an entrance infront the

bench.

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SECRET VOYAGE OF THE PAST

CHOSEN SITE The Steerage is an exist-ing sculpture of granite

boat at the westernmost point of the island . It is a metaphor for journey in

life.

OBJECTIVE

Drawing onto this point , i wanted to take visitors onto a voyage of the past (secrets of the past) as they chance upon the frontal sculpture first,

then discovering an entrance infront the bench, going down into a carved out space below the steerage that shows literal interpretation of the historical past. The below shows the historical events that are to be

shown through the pavilion. The pavilion itself, is a time capsule attempt-ing to control observer’s journey through the time.

River channeling through the site which used to be a basalt quarry.

eventually forming an island .Then yarra river flooding occured.

was also a repository for silt dredged from the river and

levee banks made to prevent flood.

HISTORICAL EVENTS

1928 1930-19761934

HISTORICAL EVENT

2.1 SITE ANALYSIS

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CHOSEN SITE

CHOSEN SITE When i first explored the island , the only history of the island noted to me was a text on a board which prompted me to wanting to recreate the history of the birth of the island in a physical story-telling form instead of just text.

I did research on the historical event to determine what kind of event that is to be shown through the physical form of pavilion.The pavilion itself, is a time capsule attempting to control observer’s journey through time.

2.1 SITE ANALYSIS

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2.2 CONCEPTACLE

ROUGH X SMOOTH WEIGHTLESSNESS X MASS

Conceptacle represents what our main idea was about . In my case , it was about ‘control’ & ‘weightlessness mass’ . I wanted to control people through the view,and time(history) i created in my pavilion . The ‘time’(history) being represented by ROUGH X SMOOTH , ‘view’ by WEIGHTLESSNESS X MASS.

So, i used plaster of paris moulded using a plastic container with a smooth surface on one side . This gives a smooth shiny surface on one side and a rough ,rugged and scarred surface on the other .

I also tried to show weightlessness and lightness from FRAME & INFILL in something that is heavy and MASS-like by putting in thin slits across the surface which stops the illusion of a one whole mass . These slits also comes in different patterns , smooth and rough sort of like an Infill onto the Frame of the mass surface.

All of these was to show how the future was represented by a smooth, clean-cut ,new, machine-aged production vs. a rough ,rugged, battered, scarred and raw surface that has been tempered and marked by the histories of the human & nature’s past .

So when i refer back to my conceptacle , i know that i wanted to show how i could control people’s movement and emotions according to the view & time(history).

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2.3 CONCEPT AND SKETCH DESIGNS

PETER ZUMTHOR - THERME VALS

ROUGH X SMOOTH

WEIGHTLESSNESS X MASS

Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals is a good representation of the idea i had in mind with the WEIGHTLESSNESS X MASS & ROUGH X SMOOTH mentioned in conceptacle. He has used thin slits across the width of the roof and along the side grooves of the megalithic concrete roof to make it seem as if

something as heavy as concrete could be floating and light. These slits also allows natural lights to come in for creative uses. It also helps draw attention to the spot where the light falls on . Meanwhile , the use of different texture concrete surface on the roof ,flooring , and wall shows the ROUGH X SMOOTH difference incoprorated into one space which controls the users view and feeling through the space. The lines on the rough

concrete wall shows movement as people move around each corner as well as being a representation of the locally sourced material used.

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2.3 CONCEPT AND SKETCH DESIGNS

2.3 CONCEPT AND SKETCH DESIGNS

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2.4 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

PHYSICAL HISTORICAL STORY-TELLING

Excavated Space ::

River Channel (1928) ::

Flood (1934) ::

Levee Banks :: (1930-1976)

the earth below the sculpture is excavated to make space for the historical representation in the pavilion.

To represent this, a slit is cut across the ground in the middle of the walk , across the whole width within which the water from the yarra river flows through .Slits are also made on the roofs above the river slit to allow lights in which symbolises the beginning.

During winter times , the weather would be more prone to heavy rains causing higher tides of river leading to overflow of the water into the pavilion space through the slit opening . Works in conjunction with Herring Island’s seasonal opening period being closed during winter . Now the containment of the water in the space represents a way of preventing flood as well .

Through my discovery in my exploration of the site , i’ve decided upon the story-telling of the island’s history in a literal ,physical form through my pavilion design. Thus every design aspects of it has some relation to the historical event . Below shows how the historical events mapped

out before is to be represented.

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Formation of island (1928) :: Even though the island was formed way in the past(1928) , the naming and the idea of a park only come to realisation in recent years which is why the representation of the island is the last stop of the journey .

A separate concrete platform facing the west side is placed 4-5 stone steps away from the pavilion which represents the current island and the way to get there is through a boat(the pavilion+steerage) which represents how the public get to Her-ring island ( through punts) .

Observers would then be able to relax at the island and soak in the view infront of them .

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2.5 FINAL DESIGN DRAWINGS

The painting shows the cross section of the pavilion at the site and how it interacts with the nature elements surrounding it. This would be during summer days when the tide of the river is still low and the pavilion is not flooded .

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2.5 FINAL DESIGN DRAWINGS

GROUND FLOOR PLAN UNDERGROUND FLOOR PLAN

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FRONT ELEVATION

SIDE SECTION

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WEIGHTLESSNESS X MASS

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2.6 FINAL DESIGN MODEL

ROUGHNESS X SMOOTH

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2.6 FINAL DESIGN MODEL

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PERSPECTIVE

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3.0 REFLECTION

The Earth Studio has been a learning process since day 1 till the last day. The very first thing we did was exploration of techtonics which at first i struggle with as it was a design process that is more abstract and that was something i couldn’t wrap my head around. As a result , i often took way longer time than i should to come up with an idea that could well represent what each techtonics were meant to represent. It definitely affected my model making craftmanship too but in the end, through the tutor’s(Hannah) guidance, precedents research and lectures(Alex) , i was able to grasp a better understanding of the techtonics and improve my architectural language and understanding of how architecture affects and at the same time , being influenced by the surrounding.

The designation of an actual location for us to build a pavilion on was a really good way for us to understand the proper design process , by exploring and understanding the location site first as we do our site analysis. With the knowledge from exploration of techtonics before , it helped me to explore Herring Island with a mindset that tries to see the techtonics within the site location as i try to find my own site to put my pavilion in/on.

In this studio , i realised that without any concepts/ideas , you couldn’t really develop a solid and sound design with a purpose behind it that makes all the development and designs logical. I tried to look back to the techtonics with the site analysis in mind to come out with an idea ,and with the guidance of Hannah and inspirations from the classmates , i felt that mass best represent what i wanted to design whilst incoporating elements of other techtonics. So the conceptacle i’ve designed holds the concept&ideas about secret that i wanted to convey ,which i constantly refer back to ,helping me stay on track on the idea i wanted to put through .

Throughout the design process , i’ve tried to come up designs using different medium drawing using different tools on paper and model making using new materials. Model Making was a challenging one to make but i felt it best convey the effect and atmosphere i try to achieve that drawings couldn’t . It also helped me discover some of the properties and new design of the new materials used through recommendations and feedbacks from Hannah. This studio also prepares us alot for presentation with constant presentations every other week helping me improve my confidence and coherence in giving a presentation through feedbacks from tutors .The requirement of an Earth Book also spur me on to improve on my digital software editting skills as i tried to come out with something presentable whilst making an book that conveys the message of my design.

The studio environment was also something i enjoyed as fellow classmates’ presentation really inspires me to work harder to achieve that level of work as well as the difference in the creativity everyone has that influenced my design .

All in all , this studio was an engaging and great exploration of design for me ,challenging me to think of designs in a more creative,free and abstract kind of thinking. It is definitely something that i still need to work on as ideation is key but this studio definitely improved my understanding of it. Technical skills involving model making , drawings, digital software editings are also some of the things that i felt i could i do much more with as i put in more time into it which greatly helps convey the idea of design from my mind ,to the world . Thanks Hannah , Alex, Brooke and the whole Earth Studio team for this subject !

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4.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Min Suk Cho 2012, Kiasma Museum , photgraph , viewed 8 March 2016, < https://folio.brighton.ac.uk/artefact/artefact.php?artefact=36262&view=10498>.

The Donald Judd Foundation n.d., Untitled , photgraph , viewed 8 March 2016, < http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-351-861-1411-1428-1430-1437-view-abstract-1-profile-judd-donald.html>.

Shrimpo1967 2006 , Mount Everest as seen from Drukair2 , photograph , viewed 20 March 2016, < https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Mount_Everest_as_seen_from_Drukair2.jpg>.

Brutalist Architecture n.d., photograph, viewed 21 March 2016, < http://america.pink/images/7/7/2/3/4/3/en/2-brutalist-architecture.jpg>.

Kotaro Horiuchi 2012 , Liaison Cubique , editted picture , viewed 11 April 2016 , < http://www.e-architect.co.uk/images/jpgs/japan/liaison_cubique_k141012_1.jpg>.

AERIAL PHOTO_HighDefinition n.d., aerial photograph , viewed 26 April 2016 , < https://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-5098412-dt-content-rid-18678126_2/courses/ABPL20027_2016_SM1/ABPL20027_2015_SM1_ImportedContent_20150114035541/aerial%20photo_HD%281%29.jpg> .

Herring Island 1:7000 scale plan view n.d. , aerial photograph , viewed 26 April 2016 , < http://services.land.vic.gov.au/maps/interactive.jsp> .

Stanley Barker n.d., Herring Island History, photograph , viewed 27 April 2016 , < http://www.herringisland.org/about.htm> .

www.archnow.com n.d., Therme Vals interior , photograph , viewed 22 May 2016 , < http://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/the-therme-vals/the_thermes_vals_3/> .

Heraldsun n.d., Herring Island , photograph , viewed 31 May 2016 , < http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/hidden-gems-18-places-to-see-in-victoria/story-fnkd6ppg-1226727070430> .

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5.0 PAGE SUMMARY

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