After reacting to the crit I received last week, I decided the most beneficial way to act was to quickly design a new scheme and test out some alternatives to the circulation scheme I had explored in the Final Draft submission.
The biggest challenges of this scheme were reversing the concept of "looping" and restricting the atrium. However, with the restriction of the atrium, I was allowed to explore and open up other spaces far more, giving a sense of balance to the building.
There are still issues with this design, but I think there are some very different aspects here that work far better than Scheme 3 (the final draft submission).
Here are the most significant criticisms (bold) and suggestions given during the design crit last Friday. I am currently working on a scheme that responds to these criticisms.
Large voids would appear frightening and disconcerting
Restrict the atrium to 2 levels
Looping paths with the potential to be “endless” would amount to frustration and anxiousness
Paths lead to a specific point
Corridors restrict visual cues and direct movement too strictly
Deconstructing the corridor by added open spaces
Lack of visual aids disguises the destination of paths
Adding colours Exaggerating thresholds Different materials for different paths
The complexity of the building acts in a negative way, culminating in frustration
Using controlled complexity to allow for exploration, but reduce anxiety
The spaces lack flexibility
Under-designing spaces to allow for a myriad of uses by the user
Large ceiling heights cause the user to be disempowered
Spaces should be human scale
Lack of consideration of medical practicality
Full height door frames Ceilings must be able to support loads Visual connection to amenities
Here is the Poster and Experiment Document for the Final Draft Submission.
The video will be uploaded as soon as possible.
Sanctuary - Experiments and Experiences
Final Draft Submission for Graduation Studio Project (ARCH7202)
This animated poster advertises a series of experiments that were taken by 4 subjects in relation to my current design.
The poster aims to both outline the effects off Alzheimer's (loss of memory, character and serenity) as well as what I hope to include in my building (memory - spaces that help facilitate poor memory, character - unique and different spaces, serenity - spaces of peace and comfort). Images used are from my research matrix from last session, that outline my research into the architectural and artistic inspirations for the following categories:
Light
Shadow
Juxtaposition
Tectonics
Memory
Scale
Weight
Thresholds
Paths
Nodes
The poster flows as a short narrative, exploring symbolically how memories make up who we are, and if they fade our very character is threatened, and in turn its difficult to experience a sense of piece. This final part of the poster shows a small amount of the front façade of the current design for my building.
The Experiments
I conducted 3 experiments with 4 different subjects, in which they move around and commented on my design for an institute for early onset Alzheimer's. The subjects knew the purpose of the building and its location, but not the function of the rooms.
The experiment was undertaken with a conversation tone, allowing the subjects to suggest ideas and comment on the building in their own time as they explored the building. After this initial phase was completed, 3 specific experiments were carried out.
The 3 experiments were:
1. First reactions to the atrium. What words would you use to describe the atrium? Is it confusing or disconcerting?
2. From a certain point, move to the room/entrance/back garden.
3. Is this room public or private? Intimate or communal? Still or active?
The results brought up interesting faults of the building that I had not immediately noticed as well as many unique ideas on the potential uses of the spaces. Surprisingly, none of the subjects felt the ramp in the atrium was particularly confusing.
This is the third time I've thrown a "progress" of Scheme 3 into Crysis to check how things work. This process has helped me work out ceiling heights (originally, the ceiling heights were far to large), areas that didn't work (eg. I had a corridor that felt too narrow), and helping me plan spaces (is this room large enough or too big?).
Of course, the building presented in the video below is far from finished. Some rooms are still in their "placeholder" form, before I've gone through and changed doors, windows, ceiling heights and additional walls. After completing this process I will be going through and adding extra detail, before focussing on colours and materiality and then finally on furniture, plants, and AI wandering throughout the building.
(Sorry for the dodgy letterboxing of the video, it was just a quick render)
Progress screenshot of Scheme 3 for the Final Draft submission. Still making significant changes. The ground level "tree" area needs some more "trunks" on the ground level.
The embossed pattern on the right most wall is a leaf-less tree outline. Plants will creep down from the top of this wall (plants will also be at the base of the wall).
