Design Studio 1 | archistudent

Introduction to architectural design as a self-expression, through the design of a full-size space for one's own habitation, taking into account basic awareness of a human body, human senses, materials, construction and site.

Serenity

In the bustling city of New York, everyone dreams of a calm and serene personal space; an introvert informant like my character would need a private and discrete space. Throughout the whole process of designing a space for my character, I have focused on these few criteria.

The Dance

The dance is danced in a group with a leader leading the other dancers. A strong bond between the dancers enabled the group to have synchronisation. Through this dance, I’ve became more expressive and daring. I have also learned an important quality of being a leader, which is to be considerate towards others.

ARC 1116 - Architecture Design Studio 1

In this project I have explored more on my self qualities and had been able to pick out a theme for myself. I have also learned to express this theme of myself through art; not only through drawing but also various types of art from my course mate's work.

First Impression

After coming out with a few ideas, we have decided to use the concept of "three" which is to have three areas to represent the three of us. Initially, the idea was to have three seats in an enclosed space with holes on the walls. However, we scrapped the idea off because of the limited space we are allowed to use.

We then developed the idea and decided to use panels instead of a solid wall to control the amount of light entering the space. We used height and the roof to enhance the lighting effect and also create a significant difference between the three spaces.

The design actually signifies our first impression towards each other. Bright associates with cheerful and comfortable; moderate brightness implies that, wel, moderate; and dark relates to quiet and confined. The time we spent together have formed a bond between each other, just like the triangle which can be seen.

In this project I have worked with two other members to design and build a 1:1 installation which represents us. No doubt I have learned a lot about teamwork. My team mates and I have further explored on self representation in a group. Besides that, I have learned about space and how a human body relates to a space I have also explored a lot on how a space affects a person's senses and mood.

My very first idea was to have a private “working” space, a relaxing space and an open space to escape from work. Initially I focused on the working space, making it larger compared to the other two spaces. The first two designs even have a centralised organisation with the working space as the common space.

I have finally settled with a design with two even-sized spaces: the private space and the open space. The open space is enlarged to create a sense of freedom when entering the space. To enhance this feeling, the connecting space leading to the open area is made smaller and narrower to contrast the two spaces. In the private space, natural lighting comes only from one window and the openings in the roof. It is rather dark and confining. To counter this, the walls were made higher. This also enlarged the window for more natural lighting.

Plan 1:50

Left Elevation 1:50

Right Elevation 1:50

Front Elevation 1:50

Natural lighting enters the private space through the roof and window.

Large window at connecting space overlooks the city

Greeneries at open space in contrast with the concrete jungle

In this project, the students were required to create a character that links to the self and create a sequence of spaces for the character. I have used my knowledge of self-representation, anthropometry and senses from the previous projects for this project. The new learning outcomes in this project includes how materials affect a human's senses and the use of spatial relationship to control a person's experience in the spaces.