Electroliquid Aggregation

Buoyed by a little bit of history; man, science, and a mad scientist can fly in any direction. In truth we are not all looking in improving the quality of life for people. The weight of gravity on one's shoulders, can only sink beneath the surface. In spite of man and the mad scientist best efforts to fly in any direction by merely flipping his hand..

Intersection Concept

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Behind vertical: Jaques-Yves Cousteau

In front vertical: Keith Campbell

As part of the development, I wanted to virtually play around with the visual mass rather than to set the hard points early in the cycle. The above concept focus on intertwining both client spaces and envisioning the idea of a meeting point. This idea could easily be pulled and scaled to fit within two separate vertical spaces. 

For this stage, I decided to switch the clients around the vertical plane to generate more ideas and push the design envelope. As witnessed by the images, Cousteau's space has been elevated somewhat and the use of blue lighting to give the impression of floating, and the mystic depths of the ocean. The image at the bottom right illustrates the attention of allowing a narrow corridor of natural light within the space. This is reference to Cousteau idealism and seeking for truth of the seas, which is found in his exploration works. The angle of the inner wall semantically shows forward motion, trying to encompass the feeling of a water craft preparing to dive. 

Campbell's space has been rotated 90 degrees but continues the somewhat pattern of symmetry, this continues on the underside of the structure. A large part of mass is extended on the structure to imply difference between volumes, as this whimsically plays with the notion of differences between the cloning debate. 

Again light is used extensively to further define space, convey contrast between material subjectively, and emphasis the play with natural and artificial lighting within the overall structure. Adding a little bit of whimsical play with my design (as part of my personal creative design rhetoric), the external structure plays with the component of visual mass suspending by a counter-balancing, visually-lighter mass. The premise is a throw back to Cousteau's quote of having the ability to fly whilst buoyed by water (a sense of belief to the contrary). And a reference to everyday design attitudes towards what is feasible, and what is simply not.. 

Axonometric Sketches - Intersection

Initial Concepts - Cousteau + Campbell

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Jacques-Yves Cousteau:

The initial idea was to focus on the subject material "water". This was seen as the influential attribute for Cousteau's passion and dedication. The structure was to encompass the formation of the contained spaces, but envision a sight of freedom (spatial awareness to visual mass). To suspend the mass off the vertical plane, the premise was the relationship to below, the idea of an immaculate unknown quantity, as envisioned by Cousteau's research plight of the ocean depths. The blue lighting is in direct reference to the ocean depths, (though in tangent of the opposite inner structure), the idea of pristine truth.

The relationship of lighting carefully articulates the underside of the structure in blue, while the surface above remains exposed to natural light to provide the contrast between land and sea.

(Click on image for larger version)

Keith Campbell:

The focus of this concept was to visually arrange the structure and mass by symmetry. The attribute was of repetition which is in direct reference to cloning. The structure itself is design with height, as they implies a sense of religious structures, a somewhat idealism of the constant battle between science and religion (The ceiling slope looking beyond the heavens). Lighting underneath and behind the structure conveys the sense of floating, an unknown quantity referring to the use of the technology involved and the ethical principals involved. 

Lighting carefully provides contrast between the two separate client spaces between the vertical plane. It also emphasises the separation of the two rooms, again an insight towards separation and combining of genes as part of the work within the science laboratories. 

18 Sketch Axonometrics

(Left to right) 

Pages 1 to 4: Jaques-Yves Cousteau (chosen concept pg1 top)

Pages 4 to 6: Keith Campbell (chosen concept pg6 top left)

Experiment Two: Client Quotes

Alfred Nobel

"I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results."

"If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied."

Jaques-Yves Cousteau

"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to the earth. But when man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free. Buoyed by -water, he can fly in any direction - up, down, sideways- by merely flipping his hand. Underwater, man becomes an archangel."

Keith Campbell

"What I want to try to explain to people this evening is a little bit of the history and a little bit of the science behind cloning. But more importantly, what I would hope they go away with, is some of the positive uses of this technology. We are not all mad scientists. We are not all looking to clone ourselves. The positive benefits that this may have for human therapeutic medicine and improving the quality of life for people with certain genetic disorders.

References:

www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alfrednobe142899.html

www.people.ubr.com/education/by-first-name/a/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobel-quotes/i-intend-to-leave.aspx

"Poet of the Depths" Time, March 28, 1960, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826158-1,00.html

Campbell, Keith. Interview by the Marine Biological Laboratory, 22 June, 2001.

Final Concept: Exterior

The overall shape and form of the structure imparts a sense of continuity, in regards to relative proportion and balance between above and below sections as seen by the side view. 

(Left to right)

Three quarter perspective: 

Main entrance to the building, the whole structure is supported by a concrete beam running from front to rear. The overall shape is inspired by the constant cycle of the sun rising and setting in the Australian outback as seen in Gascoigne's All Summer Long art piece.

Front:

This illustrates the overall dimension of the building relative to people. It also highlights that each side of the building is different following the theme of light and shade, imparting a symbolism of life and death (by use of different shaded materials) of Hall's central theme.

Top:

The topography is very much in unison of the overall theme projected, witnessed by the free flowing lines. This view shows the differences between mass from left to right, and plays with the contrast of hard materials such as concrete and glass, to soft materials such as the exposed timber decking.

Lower quarter perspective:

This allows opportunity to see into Hall's studio. Parkland is situated specifically to allow people to sit and meet, and gives the artist to peer above at their interactions.

Side:

The main entrance tapers at the right side to create a flow in effect for pedestrian traffic. This is seen as the side where a road would be parallel to, and thus providing a welcoming entrance to the outside world.

Final Concept: Above Studio

Artist: Rosalie Gascoigne

Keyword: Monotonous

Art Piece: All Summer Long

Materials: Timber, plywood, concrete.

The above studio is inspired by Rosalie Gascoigne, taking into consideration the important attributes and material elements from her work, in particular focusing on her art piece All Summer Long. The overall premise of this space was to focus on Gascoigne's explorative escape on Australian landscape. She is known to have discovered personal freedom through the means of witnessing the diversity of landscapes, in particular the visual depiction of Australian outback which is the main attribute taken as inspiration.

Creating a sense of space and openness to the outside world was the main objective. Since Gascoigne uses landscapes as inspiration, it was imperative to allow a view to the outside world. The large floor to ceiling windows also allow the constant cycle from morning, noon, and night, and keeps intact the sensation of the horizon. Biased on her work, All Summer Long, which captivates the long dry spells of the outback, most of surfacing and overall detailing are harmonious and soft. 

Keeping with the attribute of monotonous, the tonal pallet is limited, while keeping to the warmth feeling timber and plywood contributes.   

Final Concept: Gallery

The main idea of this space was to bring together the works of both artists in a unified way. As part of the overall theme of the structure based on the attribute of contrast, each space starting from below moving to the top level follows a spatial feeling from heaviness to lightness. As such the effect of the gallery is the balance between the two, that allows enough light to penetrate but at the same time plays with heavy materials to enhance shade in certain areas. The staircases are central to the building as it acts like a divider between the gallery space underneath, and creates flexibility for curators with greater space availability for art pieces on the floor. 

The staircase leading up the top studio space is inspired by Rosalie Gascoigne. Based on the majority of her works the stairs have a fragmented feel to them, suspended by supporting beams from the ceiling. Having the staircase suspended from the ceiling carefully allows more interactive use of space underneath, while creating intrigue for those peering upwards. The stairs are fabricated using plywood which is then moulded and set using proxy resins to allow the manufacturing of a single piece (without part lines or unnecessarily fittings). The idea was to have a continuous singular shape, which is a repetitive theme seen in her work. Using wood as the main material relates back to her work All Summer Long. The platforms help to break the height of the stairs and give the opportunity to stand and pause as you glaze at the artworks in the gallery. Using a polycarbonate material with it's transparent properties enables a strong structure, and the ability to see through.

Being a gallery and a meeting point of people with common interest, I thought it was important to give a sense of space as seen by the height and open entrances between front and rear of the building. In effect the openness allows more freedom so the artworks can be viewed without the clutter of your eye of sight being blocked.

Final Concept: Below Ground

Artist: Fiona Hall

Keyword: Vigorous

Art Piece: Understorey Collection

Materials: Sheet glass, concrete, braided wire cable, exposed earth (soil).

The corresponding images focuses on the artwork of Fiona Hall, in particular the collection of intricate sculptures that illustrate a certain juxtaposition between life and death. The premise of this studio space is to display a sense of dynamic energy and contrast, whilst focusing on the natural world which is the intersection of nature and culture, the very essence of Hall's majority of works. 

Allowing natural light into the studio was an important element, as such a glass ceiling is fixed to one corner of the studio. This highlights the theme of life and death, as symbolically one peers above and outward to the heavens. It allows Hall to view the social aspects at play above the mezzanine level, watching and listening to people talk about her work of societal dilemmas and intriguing events. 

The walls are dissected into a play of angular lines and planes, whilst mimicking retainer walls made of concrete and filled with the very earth surrounding it. Again this focuses on the contrasting effect playing with man-made and natural materials, while symbolising a direct contrast of forms based above ground (softer, harmonious surfacing). The use of glass sheets elevated off the structure for the stairs and flooring directly relates to the main material used in her Understorey work. Rather than having stepped staircase I decided using runners leading to the gallery level, as it implies that life is a slow and unwinding journey, as witnessed by the images above. 

The overall impression is a studio area that needs to capture growth/life, while portraying a contrasting vision between death.

Animations: Section, Exterior, Above/Below Datum

IMPORTANT NOTE: After the videos were uploaded to YouTube for some reason they lost frames, in spite of the original copies intact. I have spoken to my tutor Vinh who has allowed me to repost the videos hoping to fix the issue.

SketchUp Model

Click here for model located at Google 3D Warehouse