17. Description of Process
This concept came to be after research into the past of the site
and visiting it multiple times along the last few weeks. When I first
arrived I noticed a difference in visibility based on where one is
standing. This became the first experience. As I progressed along
the trail heading from the West to the East, I noticed a discomfort
as the trees' numbers decreased. This discomfort that was felt was
the cold. The trees at the site provide a sort of shelter, and as one
walks away from the larger trees that cause the most shielding
effect, the environment becomes more uncomfortable. The third
experience had much to do with approaching the river. As a person
walks from the parking lot toward the river, one begins to notice an
earthy smell. Almost like when it is about to rain that you can smell
it. Through these experiences the concepts developed. Some
concepts did not work due to their lack of interaction, but one
seems to be promising.
Editor's Notes
The object of the project presented to us was to design a building that would combine the park, the community and the river. We can see that in this sketch. The top left is a sketch of the park, the right part is an aerial view of the community to the East of the park, and then the river connecting.
As the first assignment we were asked to map our senses.
It sounds kind of weird right? That’s what I thought.
Basically we needed to portray three things that we experienced visually.
Of the three experiences I had, the first was the wind and the cold.
I noticed as I walked the trail from West to East that I could feel more discomfort from the wind as I walked east. This was due to the treeline.
This I represented with the darkening of the color blue that we commonly associate with cold, and the enclosing rectangle.
The second experience had to do with the line of sight according to your location on the park. If you were standing on the north side of the site you could not see past the levee which has the trail on it. This I represented with cones of vision according to what obstructed your line of sight.
The third thing that I experienced which is found most clear in the third iteration is the smell of the river, as you walked from the north side of the trail, past and towards the river one would begin to smell a sort of earthy smell, very much alike to when it’s about to rain. This I represented with lines. The thinner the lines the less one smells and the thicker the slides the stronger the smell.
For our fourth assignment we were asked to represent the site linearly. There is a slope up from the north of the trail around the parking toward the trail. Once you walk past the trail the landscape then slopes down into the river. This I represented with the thicker lines. I then went on to representing the darker trees with what look like roots from my perspective and the flourished trees I simply represented with vertical lines.
These were more sketches related to how the landscape was to be 3D modeled.
These were sketches of my first concept developments
I began to take the shapes from the 2- dimensional mapping and basically extruded them into what I believed to be the kind of buildings that would relate to the experiences.
This is the concept that I am most happy with at the moment.
You can see that the entire building is meant to be for exhibition.
The way I translated my experience was that you would enter from the trail and you would not see much, kind of representing the lack of smell, then as you approached the river, everything would become clearer, just as the smell did.
On the bottom left is the idea for small pavilions placed around the park as shelter and picnic spots that would be placed according to the cones of vision from the experiences.
This is a second concept that I am developing. To represent the cold and wind, I created buildings that are completely enclosed, where I originally felt the least amount of wind. As a person walks towards the east along the trail, the building will begin to dissipate in order to give the experience of a lack of shelter.
This is what it would look like if we include the trees and some people.
This is the design that I have developed the most. It is a little bit clearer than the sketch, and you can see the cones that are to become picnic spots.
This was an analytical map to ensure that the cones would be placed in the correct place.
This is the 3D model of the other design, which I plan on adopting as the required office building.
This is a rendering of the site
Probably everything I just told you in less words.
I will continue to work on my design in the hope of finding the one that works best for the purposes and requirements of the assignment.
