Monday, May 4, 2009

Jaques-Yves Cousteau's Laboratory

(Click on image for larger view)

1. The use of artificial lighting to give a connection between the ocean depths. The lighting carefully gradients diagonally upward (left to right), to semantically convey the motion of diving into the unknown. Cousteau's laboratory was chosen to be positioned off the vertical for this very reason of playing with spatial arrangements, it's noted it can easily been seen as an object floating on the surface of a vast ocean.
2. Moving from the meeting space towards the entrance Cousteau's laboratory.
3. The stairs immediately lead down to the working space indicating a sense of sinking initially. It was important to have a high ceiling as this relationship between user and structure imparts a sense of floating, provided by the lighting. Natural light was an important theme of this space, seen by a ray of natural light penetrating. This particular idea links the ocean to nature, and is a metaphor of hope for Cousteau's work and his love of the seas.
4. To emphasise the ray of light penetrating the structure, careful attention to allowing light filter from the sides opposed to directly above. The roof cascading downward also is a metaphor to a single drop of water (and an analogy used frequently to a start of new ideas and nature).

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