VANESSA LU, ARCH1101 2013

Saturday, 29 June 2013

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Bonus video of the circulation of the school, and moving lifts.

Uploaded SketchUp model (school + folly + elevators)

I wanted my gallery to be light and airy, and have a space for after-hours presentations and informal or small lectures. There are no windows and minimal textures as to not distract from the view. Ramps were used for optimal viewing and circulation.

On the ramp to the third floor of the gallery

In the informal lecture theatre of the gallery

The main lecture theatre is a place for teachers to impart their wisdom. The skylights and domed ceiling are evocative of the sky, and instil excitement and wonder in the students.

The library has an open plan and a very simple layout to maximise usage of the space. Study areas and the lift encourage students to utilise the library.

Second floor of the library

The studios, workshops and computer labs building consists of several levels and a central walkway. The walkway provides some separation between the classes for noise control, while letting lots of light in since there are few windows.

There is a downstairs study space for students to go directly after classes.

Studio rooms and the walkway

Ground floor study area

The offices have a simple, compact layout since there are few staff. Shared offices and entrances encourage socialisation.

Following current models, there is a student office at the front for students to address concerns about their program.

Please refer to the video for more information on the school.

FOLLY AND ELEVATORS

The folly was informed by my concept that you must create new concepts from old concepts. I interpreted this as a hierarchy, putting the dean's elevator at the top while the students arrive at a lower level.

Folly, with applied texture and a view of the valley.

Elevators both mid-flight. The quarter cylinder lift, for the dean, rises out of the dean's office and above the valley. The dean can survey the school and valley and relax before attending the lunch.

The spherical lift, for the students, takes a more direct route down under the school and straight to the folly. This is much more efficient, and maintains the hierarchy. The lift starts within the library to instil a sense of greater knowledge and inspire students before the lunch.

Student's elevator, accessible from the library.

Dean's elevator mid-flight.

36 CUSTOM TEXTURES

DESIGN PROCESS: HYPERRATIONALITY

I was inspired by the design process for the Seattle Library by Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas of OMA. I saw their design process as "hyperrational", statistically analysing the current and future spatial requirements for the library and then arranging the boxes according to environmental factors and circulation.

Below is an infographic of my design process.

The final hierarchy decided on were the teaching spaces taking precedence. Since lecture theatres, studios, workshops would be utilised everyday by both teaching staff and students, it had the highest usage and therefore deserved the central position. Within that, lecture theatres were at the top in accordance with my theory that you can break the rules once you know the rules. However, circulation was also very important as I did not want any unused spaces, so the school was ultimately arranged according to a mixture of the two.

AESTHETIC PROCESS

Zaha Hadid once designed an opera house as a necklace: the theatres were the "jewels" of the necklace, suspended by a "chain" of surrounding operational spaces.

Aesthetically, I wanted my school to emulate something similar. It would then naturally become a school that was a bridge across a valley. The "jewels" would be the buildings of the school.

The "chain" would be the circulation spaces, so the students and staff could admire the surrounding environment. Within the buildings, there were few windows so they could concentrate on their work. I wanted the bridges to be even more functional, so some span across two buildings to provide shade, while others have seats and trees built in for social spaces.