Initial Ideas

Having selected our brief and established our group, we individually worked on relaying our initial ideas onto paper. This was an important step, as we could sort through and consider our own thoughts first (and make these visible) without becoming muddled in an explosion of ideas in group discussion. This also made it easier to present ideas to our own group after.

We initially presented our work to class members working on other briefs, as a way of getting even more initial input prior to meeting with our groups. The following are some points raised in discussion:

• The variety of ideas I depicted was seen as a good starting point.
• The idea of making costumes accessible was intriguing – while not necessarily practical due to the fragility of many costumes, it was appealing to the imagination as a source of play during boredom. Can possibly be explored and adapted further!
• The gradient of emotions I suggested was agreed to be an interesting take on the brief. Working between ‘boredom’ and ‘optimal anxiety’ is an effective way of making these emotions constructive for creative work, and for finding nuance in applying these feelings architecturally. As well as offering a transition into more concentrated atmospheres, a gradient creates the option of seeing how these emotions interrelate. The gradient could be curated out of adjacent spaces with differing atmospheres, or the two emotions could even be utilised together in the same space.
• I spoke about a possible barrier that the Performing Arts Centre can break down is that between the Arts and the rest of the university (and making it appear inviting/open in some way). Perhaps including a circulation path for all through it could be a tool for this?
• This would also tie into the idea of surveillance (and the emphasis on feelings created through interrelationships between people): people walking through the Performing Arts Centre could become witnesses to rehearsals, for example, creating some hyper-awareness and helpful anxiety in the students.
• The outdoor theatre is appealing for inviting the surrounding university community to become part of the proceedings, and also interact with the site’s physical environment.
• In my Atmosphere Diagram, I depicted anxiety as a concentrated explosion – while this is certainly a valid and actionable idea, my peers noted that my other idea of the glass box appears to hold a sense of sterility. It achieves the same emotion through different means (surveillance and the presence of others versus physical building characteristics).
• The idea of reflection (and self-surveillance) was seen as an intriguing way to apply this on an introspective level (relationship with the self is often seen as very important for performance creativity).