The Learning Spaces follow an overall gradient of privacy to exposure, aiming to encourage ‘optimal anxiety’ in users as they progress. These spaces have each also been assigned an emotion as per our ‘Anxiety Scale’
1:500 contour model
Both 3D Printed
Final Pin-Up
My contribution:
- Technical work for all plans and sections on Rhino and ArchiCAD
- Part of team for Illustrator processing for plans and sections
- Lasercutting and 3D printing files for model making
- Point of contact for organisation across project
The feedback from the Crit provided a valuable learning experience. The critics’ focus was mainly on how we had handled the outdoor spaces – one critic suggested a plain green lawn instead of the blocks of the amphitheatre space, while the other felt that the terraforming could have been clearer and more extreme. Another critic remarked that ‘boredom’ seemed to be a harsh terms to use, and mentioned that the outdoor spaces didn’t seem to follow the same gradient as the indoor space.
These comments helped me to realise how a project may appear divisive, even if one has worked to make it less so. I also came to understand how any architecture project, academic or in practice, requires an intimate knowledge of the brief to fully grapple with the ideas presented – I find myself when looking at others’ projects that knowing the brief makes me feel much more secure in my understanding of it.
It was necessary as per the brief to have two theatres, so using the transforming the green space using the language of the amphitheatre into something more active and multi-purposeful was suitable to the target community. Passerbys are plunged into this world and momentarily experience its chaos. Admittedly my group did struggle with terraforming. I am personally pleased with how the result does not overpower but, rather, complements the built structures, however I can see how to the outside eye it may not appear drastic enough. Finally, I sincerely do believe in the power of architecture to change perception – whether this be of a word, a concept or a community. With the research conducted into boredom and anxiety, I feel as though we did effectively harness these seemingly-negative emotions into a playful varied proposal that celebrates its users and their craft.
'What is a Wall?' & Other Questions 