Folly Project & Calatrava study

  Through exploring Santiago Calatrava’s design of Saint-Exupery TGV Station in Lyon, France, I was able to draw connections to my own work and further my expand the plan for my project. The first resemblance in the TGV Station that related to my project was the use of only two main materials; for Calatrava, it was steel and concrete while for me, it was wood and canvas. The amount of material was an important connection, because plans can easily become overwhelming with too many components. Another feature that was bluntly similar to my design’s form was the arc shown by exterior of the building. My project had a closely associated fan shape, but was repeated three times and only touched the ground on one side, instead of the endpoints. On my fans, I cut out various patterns that would let only certain amounts of light underneath the structure to where the people would possibly gather. In Calatrava’s TGV station, he placed a pattern of windows down the spine of the roof of the building. Therefore, the travelers on the inside of the building are able to enjoy a play of light in the main walking area. I wanted to expand the use of this sort of pattern on my project, because my plan consisted of much less than Calatrava’s did and I still wanted to be able to create a similar experience for those visiting my structure as the Saint-Exupery TGV Station.  

Bibliography: 

Eardley, Cynthia. "Santiago Calatrava." Mutual Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <www.mutualart.com/OpenArticle/Santiago-Calatrava/C6FC760734B9E23D >.

"Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry (Railway station at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport) - Lyon, France." Waymark. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. 

<www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMFT6E_Gare_de_Lyon_Saint_Exupry_Railway_station_at_Lyon_Saint_Exupry_Airport_Lyon_France>.

Kennedy, Kathryn. "The World's 18 Strangest Train Stations - Strange Architecture and Transportation Infrastructure - Popular Mechanics." Popular Mechanics - Automotive Care, Home Improvement, Tools, DIY Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/infrastructure/the-worlds-18-strangest-train-stations-9#slide-9>.

"Lyon-Satolas." Fotopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <www.fotopedia.com/albums/60394ba6-693a-4e26-81f1-925162c8add6/entries/c1f64f65-1dfc-4d71-bd3c-b0df2e4e12f3>.

"Lyon-Satolas Airport Railway Station, Lyon." Galinsky. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <www.galinsky.com/buildings/lyonairport/ >.

"Santiago Calatrava." architectes de l'urgence. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <www.archi-urgent.com/encheres/santiago-calatrava/ >.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Bird I." The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/210016189?rpp=20&pg=1&rndkey=20130404&ft=*&where=Spain&who=Santiago+Calatrava&pos=1>.

"Work of Santiago Calatrava." Southern Methodist University - SMU . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/m0011photos-b.html>.

"archINFORM - International Architecture Database." archINFORM - International Architecture Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://eng.archinform.net/projekte/2824.

Instrument

The purpose of the project was to create an instrument based off a location. I chose the campus chapel and studied the silence that filled the area. I first thought of a conch shell, because of the theory that when you hold a conch shell up to you ear, you can actually hear the blood rushing through your ear drums. Therefore, it led to the idea that a place is so quiet you can hear the movement of your own blood. I expanded the size in order to create a room. The room will serve as an instrument that requires the user to walk through the turning walkway to change the amount of noise they hear. The user must solely rely on their sense of touch and hearing to master the instrument. The inside walls of the instrument are completely black to put all the focus on the noise. The outside of the instrument has a braided texture to encourage the user to run their hand across it, leading them inside of the “room”. The interior walls are smooth as to not distract the user from the sound of the instrument. A person’s height determines how far they can walk into the instrument due  to the constant lowering of the ceiling.
My next steps with the project are to glaze and Raku fire the structure.

Environmental Posters

For the poster project, we were to make submissions into an environmental poster competition (Posterheroes). I focused on how minimal a poster could be, while still luring in the viewer. Both posters have a larger graphic and smaller writing in order to bring the viewer closer to the poster to learn more about it.

Poster Competition and Graphic Design Study

I really enjoyed designing for the posterheroes competition. I felt that I learned a lot about white space and contrast in addition to color schemes and layout. Most of my success came through trial and error and infinite iterations. I did some research in order to begin to recognize and develop a style that would  be evident in my work.

Structure and Skin

The first idea that came out of my head is to create a geometric structure. By creating two same types of structure makes me to think how will the twin becomes one. Then I decided to add elevation between the twin which makes the basic structure become a whole thing. The sticks that placed in the middle not only shows shadow changing under the sun light, but also can be part of the structure, although I did not concern about the weight of the piece we are going to use. The tension that comes out from two sides make the whole object stands more strongly.

To develop my design, I researched the works done by Peter Zumthor, and I got interets in his Bruder Klaus Chapel. I found that although the chapel is small, it does not make people feel depression when they stand inside. I think this is an important point for a design that relates to people. He designed the whole experience for the people from the path to the chapel to the inside space of the chapel. When people walk into the chapel, the path is relatively dark, but after walking few steps to the space for praying will show in front of us. He used heavy material to make the door, even it is not easy for an adult to close the door. Once the door is closed, it provides people a quiet space to pray. And another thing he designed for people who pray is he made an open top for the chapel, because he thought when people are praying, an open top helps them to communicate with God. In the meantime, the open top makes the smoke more easier to come out when they are fire the concrete. Here is a link tells you how Peter Zumthor makes his chapel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmQ8h0xvXn4

After I researched on Peter Zumthor's Chapel, I realized the experience that people have when they are standing in front of the design or walking through is so important. Then, I created a wall with small holes by using different lengths of sticks. The experience that we walk though the pathway is we can see the land view differently. Considering the weather condition, we can see the rain drop fall down from the top when we standing in the pathway.

Posterheroes Competition

This poster speaks to the mindset of the public towards renewable energy.  Many people falsely believe that it is a thing of the past, an old fad that has died away and will not come again.  However, the truth is that our earth does not have the available resources to continue consumption at the rate at which we do now; unless something is changed, our society as we know it will end when we use up all of resources.  This brings relevance to the idea of more sustainable energy sources.  If we wish to have an enjoyable future, we must transform our opinion of such energy sources from one of indifference to utmost importance.  We must redefine youth to mean the old ideas from the past are now the new ideas for the future.

My second poster relates to the idea of equality.  Made from the same mold by the same God, all humans are equally important, worthy of love, and beautiful.  The ability to judge others does not lie with any one of us, for we share our failures, weaknesses, and sins.  God is the one who decides our worthiness.  Our job is simply to treat others well in the hopes that we can better another's life, thereby bettering our own.  Different nationalities or physical traits mean nothing when we all join lovingly to prove that we are innately similar.

The caption on the bottom of the poster reads: "Regardless of nationality, we are all one race; the term Homo sapiens does not discriminate.  The integration of peoples is fundamental to a healthy future."

Folly Structure - Influenced by Santiago Calatrava

Santiago Calatrava’s design of the Athens, Greece Olympic Stadium led me to question the design of my own project.  His trademark arching beams seemed to follow the curve of my triangles.  My inability to determine if the strings held the beam and roof in tension or simply visually connected the two made me reconsider how my object interacted with its environment.  Should it curve toward the eye for a smoother appearance or be turned into the landscape, creating a type of dragon tail jutting out of the hill?  Also, I noticed a slight similarity in the way the strings in his design radiated between the beam and roof – somewhat like how my subsequent triangles all depend on the initial base triangle.  From these observations, I shall first decide which side of my object will face the viewer; then, I will need to realize if the object is supported by the middle triangles or the end triangles. 

Posters

To find a right heart for a patient becomes super hard nowadays due to few people is willing to donate their hearts. Donating your heart after you departs, which means part of you will lives in another body and continue living in the world. Some of the people against it because they think we should keep the dead body complete in order to show our respect, but I believe donating our hearts is a beautiful thing. In my graphic design, the little person in white cannot live without the little person in black. The person in black gives part of his heart to the little person in white to keep him alive. Although he is in the dark, he is a pushing hand to give energy to the front person. We should be proud to being a donor, and that will be a new start of our life.

Changing once mind may begin with the definition of it. I made the lemon light into vocabulary card in order to redefine the words “Lemon”. Children learn new words from vocabulary cards, and my new version of lemon may changes the idea of lemon in the next generation. Nowadays, people are using electricity in a big quantity. The sour lemon has charged electrics that will make current through it after insert two pieces of metal. It is achievable if we use hundreds and thousands of lemon to build our electrical supply source one day. Lemon is easy to grow on the lands, why not take advantages of it, not only eating them, but also using them as battery.

Poster-Heroes Competition

Designing a poster took a lot more effort, time, and planning than I originally thought. I took influences from Alexander Rodchenko and Americana Fight Posters. My intention behind the poster was to draw a comparison between two types of energy. There is a lot more to Graphic Design than I thought, and I would love to pursue it further in future endeavors.

Folly Structure and Skin-- Fay Jones

I studied the work of Fay Jones and was immediately drawn to the structures he designs that play with light in an exquisite and delicate manner, like the Thorncrown Chapel. The combination of light, shadow, and reflections create a staggering ambience. I especially appreciate how the three components juxtapose fragility and delicacy. I find that finding a balance between fragility and delicacy is difficult to execute beautifully, and Fay Jones exemplified the perfect composure between the two. Furthermore, Jones expressed light, a complex element, in an uncomplicated light: simple and repetitive. The beauty of his work inspired to me to explore finding a balance between complex and complicated. I first began modeling a folly with twisted repetition accomplished by altering size combined with the delicate pull from the tensile. However, I began to focus more on the delicate tensile and simplified the structure, giving me the opportunity to create a skin that played with light gently in unison to the rope. This led me to further my study of the skin for the folly. Amidst creating a skin for our very own studio’s architecture folly, I desired to learn how to use a tensile element like rope to become a skin through layering, weaving, or wrapping, yet refrain from becoming a complicated disaster. The pictures below illustrate the different patterns of overlapping rope to let in more or less light. I enjoyed as well as became frustrated with the sensitivity of the tensile. Moreover, I learned how the wood could overwhelm the thin rope because of the thickness of the wood and vice versa, so I found it important to explore a balance between the two different materials as well. 

Form Study

Doubling surface area through folding. I explored several different folding techniques in order to double the surface area. Throughout the duration of this study, as a class we continued to learn more computer programs. The last model was initially made on Rhino and rendered on 3ds Max.

Acoustical Study

The acoustical study captured a lot of my interests. Having been involved in performing arts such as choir and band throughout my life I had a lot of questions about the design of a concert hall. The site I chose to investigate was the Squires Recital Salon and it's acoustical features. After studying about the techniques used to enhance music I made a couple diagrams of my findings. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to design an instrument that imitated a decrescendo-noise starting out loud and getting softer.