Material Modelling | Week 4

"Transformation"

I decided to use the simplicity of a cube structure and shape to define the word I have chosen. For the poster, I decided to illustrate the transformation of a cube that started as a void, then slowly developed in 3 different stages into the more detailed cube.

For my model I have constructed a series of cubes that grow in size to indicate the direction I want the eye to move, from left to right. This is how I wanted my model to be read. My cube structure starts as a 2d image, on the surface of the board, that slowly grows to a 3d shape, with structures, and finally transforms into the final solid surface with intricate lined detailing on its surface. I came into this class with a white canvas, but with a basic outline as to what I was about to learn. As the weeks progress, so does the foundation of this model. The final cube represents a much more refined version as compared to the very first cube in the model. 

Overall this workshop was really fun and although it took me awhile to "loosen" up and start thinking more freely and abstractly, I eventually started to get the gist of it and really like how we were given the freedom to express our thoughts and feelings into models that did not have to resemble things that were to be built in real life. There were no boundaries in that sense. I felt it was a great way to express thoughts to be developed into something that could be used in our design schemes in later stages of our thinking process.

Material Modelling | Week 3

The smell of spring, bright and cheery, magnified by the smiling sun shining upon the park as I walk through its grassy green paths, birds chirping in the air. All the living things are starting to come out of hibernation; trees with fresh sprouted young leaves, flowers blossoming, adults laying on the grass reading books and children playing ball or Frisbee amongst themselves. It was the feeling of happiness and joy, the celebration from a dull gloomy winter to the jubilant vivid colours and sounds of spring.

Everything around me was distinct in textures and patterns, with the patterns of nature differing the textures of the urban city directly next to it. Starting from Hyde Park, I begin to snap photographs of textures and patterns of any object that played a part in identifying its environment. Upon exiting the serenity of the park back into the hustle and bustle of the urban city, the sun slowly disappeared into the clouds. It seemed like the weather was trying to play a part in my walk that controlled the mood of the environment.

The winds grew really strong, causing one to mischievously think if it were possible to be blown away. The organic textures and patterns of nature and its fresh vibrant colours now disappeared as fixed repetitive rigid lines of the urban city took over. With the tall, handsome and majestic buildings towering over one’s head, it left a portion of the blue sky as its only link to nature. 

Material Modelling | Week 2

Week 2's exercise was to interpret an article that was given in class from Week 1 and gel it together with an architect's work to create a model that would relate to both subjects. The article I read was the "The Visible and  the Invisible" by Maurice Merleau-Ponty. The architect's work I chose was the Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind. I felt that article kind of related to Libeskind's work in that sense like how he created spaces and feelings that were actually invisible physically but visible to other senses. I decided to focus on this one space of the Jewish Museum which I found rather intriguing; the "Holocaust Void". The void had a single window at the top like the light at the end of the tunnel, while the rest of the space gave a feeling of emptiness and sorrow, making one yearn more for the freedom beyond that tiny window of light. 

For this model I decided to re-create my version of the void in relation to the article I read. Though it isn't very obvious in this picture from a single angle, I actually used many pieces of white cardboard sticks which I cut to encase a void in the middle of the mass. I did not want to create an obvious void, rather my intention was to let one feel the void's presence within the mass. 

Overall I think I wasn't very successful in this exercise because the model is rather perforated, making the void in the middle rather difficult to spot. 

Storyboarding | Week 4

For the final assignment of this workshop we were told to storyboard our bath house project. This was extremely tricky to do because we were actually still in the early stages of our design schemes. This assignment made me finalize my bath house scheme earlier than planned so that I could try to imagine the spatial experiences of the user. For this storyboard, I decided to use the dark bold lines of the black liner pen and linear shading to emphasize on the roughness of the concrete material which I chose to use in my bath house project. I found this exercise extremely helpful in picturing what spaces could look like without computer aided softwares with the quick sketch of the pencil and lining of the pen.

The orientation of the storyline was to be read from left to right (1st row), right to left (2nd row) and left to right again (3rd row). So the first image shows the picture of what one might see when approaching the entrance of the bath house. He'll walk past the waiting area with built in seats and into the courtyard where the changing rooms are located. After that he will begin the journey of bathing by entering the sauna room, which contains steps that lead into the hot bath. The passageways are filled with hot water as one moves through the different cubes. He will exist the last bath by entering the external cold bath that is situated beside the sun beds where he can relax after the whole activity. The stairs at the end are where it leads back up to the courtyard where the changing rooms and showers are located.

Storyboarding | Week 3

Following Week 2's exercise, we were told to visit one of the buildings in UNSW listed and my chosen building was the Lowy Cancer Research Centre. This building appealed to me because of its long green rectangular tubes which run the lengths of the facade, splitting into two directions at the opposite end. I wanted to take the opportunity to explore this building further so I picked it to draw my experience through storyboarding. 

The technique I picked was Lines and Pencil. The facade had many beautiful repetitive lines and patterns and I wanted to focus on that aspect of the building. Therefore I chose to draw it with simple lines and no shadings whatsoever to focus on the shape and pattern of the building.