Theme Group First Meeting - Week 5

In this tutorial we discussed what would be the "wrong" thing for Howard Smith Wharves (HSW). Ideas that were thrown around enabled people to understand and speculate on what is possibly the "right" thing for HSW. Some popular findings across the tutorial group were that; The worst possible ideas for the site is to:

- not reconnect the site to its surrounding suburbs
- not take into consideration the context - the cliff, storey bridge, river, buildings etc
- not implement more access points to the site
- not make it into a nodal point
- not consider the Q100 Flood Levels
- unnecessarily build into the river
- not consider the existing users
- not activate the site
- not consider the life cycle of the building

We also critiqued each others folie designs, sharing opinions on the values associated to it and begun to propose built typologies for HSW. The image below is from project one:

Associated text: Data recorded by water quality monitoring stations through out Brisbane is received by the structure. Users can send the structure a text message containing the suburb and area code for where they live and receive a message revealing the areas precise water quality data. The corresponding panel locates the area and illuminates.
(This is how my project interacted with a user)

This brings me to the value taken from the folie design. Mine is "interaction". This raised the topic of Haptic architecture:
http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uugjeDl_tPc

Folie Presentation - Week 4b

Presentation week! After i had completed my set of drawings and scanned them into the computer i then added text over the top. I played with a few different layouts and this is what i presented as my finalised design:

Folie Development - Week 4

Now that i have the design of the folie i need to figure out ways to communicate it through my drawings. Knowing i needed to communicate the design concept, context, tectonic, function, and user experience I begun producing good copy drawings:









During this process i was constantly laying the drawings over an A1 size page to construct the layout of my presentation:

Folie Development - Week 3b

Time to experiment with the form! Instantly i knew that i would like to somehow give the structure a way of interacting with the people passing it. This meant it must have some function that can in a way 'communicate' with people. I'm not yet sure of what this function will be but i know i would like to make the interaction more personal to the individual user than just an overall water quality of Brisbane. I then decided to have a look at the areas of Brisbane in relation to the river.

This image shows how i was experimenting with the notion of 'areas' along the river.


If i could turn these into separate zones then my structure could perhaps locate a persons house/suburb and give them the quality of water in their area- it could also compare it to the surrounding areas.

This gave me the idea of having a series of separate panels representing each zone; but what shape should they be? After looking at images of the site once more a shape started to become clear. Both the cliff and the bridge have this straight lined, triangular, jagged form.

Keeping this shape in mind i begun to play with trace overlaid on the top view of the Brisbane river. Here is some of the development:




After a while i was able to refine my form to this:


How would these panels be held up though? These images show ideas on the panel presentation:


This presented the opportunity to place a shower and a platform in the center of the panels. This is to enhance the statment of the water quality - would you like to shower using the rivers water?

Finding it hard to draw my ideas i decided to build a physical model. This helped tremendously, as i had only been playing with ideas in elevation and plan this allowed me to bend and twist what was a flat image into a new form. I was constantly thinking of what shape would best prompt interaction between it and the passing people. Concave? Convex? Above head? or on ground?

I came to the conclusion that a convex structure would best attract attention, opening up the panels in this form enables pedestrians to see the structure from all angels. Here are some model snap shots:

Folie Development - Week 3

It is time to start refining my ideas. What am i designing? for who? and why?

Simple bubble diagrams have helped me do this. The pink shows the path i have chosen to follow.



From this exercise i have decided my folie will:
- be an interactive artistic structure/art installation
- target people in passing so it must visually catch peoples attention
- provide the public with information about the water quality in their city
- send the message that its individuals who make the difference

Folie Development - Week 2b

What characteristics of the site jump out to me?

- the old wharves
- the fact that its currently a construction site
- the bridge
- the water quality, especially after the recent floods
- the cliff and vegetation growing on it
- the line of shade cast by this cliff
- it once was a highly active thoroughfare used by various types of people, particularly for exercise

Even though this is only a few main points it has helped me group my ideas and i can now start to brain storm ideas of possible folie typologies.

I now know that i would like to target the people who use the site for exercise and mainly in passing. I would also like to portray a message to the public about the current water quality. I think this is an important issue not only because its currently a hot topic as of the effects caused from the floods but also because the water quality is something that we all are responsible for. I intend to explore this further.

Folie Development - Week 2

This week we have begun developing our folie ideas. I have spent my time thinking about what angel i would like to approach this assignment from. Should i create an art installation to make a statement? a structure that hosts a function? an area providing simple seating, water fountains, tables etc...?

Currently I'm not sure exactly what to design but from the lecture i took away the point - "your inspiration should come from the site" so i decided to have another look at the site and hopefully take away a few ideas to develop.