Studio Bathan: March 2011

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Assignment Part A

Part A involves putting the information gathered into an A3 panel. Only re read the brief now so I've translated my research.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Santiago Calatrava - Lyon - Satolas TGV Station

Santiago Calatrava

Santiago Calatrava's TGV train station was designed as a station connecting the airport to the city of Lyon. Though the design looks like a metaphor of a bird spreading its wings, Calatrava personally intended to gain inspiration through that of a human eye. The main entrance welcomes visitors with a V shaped concrete connecting four arches of the building which by spectators comprises as the beak of the bird sculpture. Down the centre, creating a spine for the building is an arch systems with glass to bring in natural light to the central of the interior during the day. The side arches making the wings of the building are made from steel and glazed windows that are supported through reinforced concrete.

My Observations

This building is truly a unique piece of architecture as it holds great symbolism being metaphored as a bird in flight relatable to its purpose of an entrance to an airport. The overall element used here is cantilevers, steel archways and plenty of glazed glass. The night picture shows that even after dark, this building can be seen from afar as a sculpture as well as a functionable building that is admired by many.

Elements gained from this are:

Use of cantilever support
Design around the theme and its environment (Cafe chair)
Create a defying form that my question conventional ideas of a chair.

Information gathered from:
http://www.arcspace.com/architects/calatrava/Lyon-Satolas/
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/lyonairport/index.htm

Zaha Hadid - Vitra Fire Station

Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid's Vitra fire station was one of her first built projects. Originally designed to be a working fire house station within the Vitra complex, this building is now used to exhibit Vitra's collection of iconic chairs.
Hadid drew inspiration of the building from its surrounding environment. The linear element found on the main street leading to the Vitra factory as well as the factory itself gave birth to the concept being of a geometric, linear form. Hadid did not however want the design to be lost amongst it surroundings so she designed it to stand out and to be a point of boundary as it was bordering on the Vitra complex's edge. The design both internally and externally made heavy use of optical tricks that utilises angles to reveal interior space only through perpendicular viewpoints.

Example of the play of walls to create a view of internal through certain viewpoints

My Observations:

Hadid has used a good use of reinforced concrete, steel and aluminium in this design as it was needed to achieve such defying canopies such as the triangular span stretching out supported by tubular beams located at the fire house entrance. The use of linear lighting internally continues the overall linear theme the building has been designed under whilst also creating a sense of movement and speed thus associated to the then working fire station. The minimal mix of bold colour against a sea of white surfaces accentuate the lighting within the building itself. Its façade is visually intriguing whilst its internal looks fun to explore.

Elements gained from this are:

Use of bold colours against a neutral dominant palette adds dynamics
Design that uses edges to mask sides to create intrigue when viewed from an angle
Use of cantilevers and shapes that defy conventional structural approach such as the entrance piece.

Infromation gathered from:
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/vitrafire/index.htm
http://www.mimoa.eu/projects/Germany/Weil%20am%20Rhein/Vitra%20Fire%20Station
http://www.zaha-hadid.com/built-works/vitra-fire-station
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5uilaTZAHM&feature=related

Oscar Niemeyer - Cathedral of Brasilia

Oscar Niemeyer

The Cathedral of Brasilia is located in Brazil's capital city, Brasilia. On the 12 September 1958, the corner stone to the cathedral was laid. By 1960, the structure itself was completed. By 31 May 1970, the external glass panels had been completed and the cathedral dedicated. The concrete parabolic columns which support the sixteen coloured stained glass windows creates a unique form which defies the conventional structure of cathedral. With this design, Niemeyer proposed the façade of this cathedral to look like two arms stretching up onto the heavens. The Baptistery takes on an oval form to replicate the host. It is made of ceramic tiles and is connected to the cathedral through an underground tunnel. Within and around the cathedral lay sculptures of angels and apostles sculpted by Alfredo Ceschiatti and Dante Croce.

My Observations:

The overall structure from its exterior view, gives an impression of it being structurally solid as the dominant element are the parabolic concrete columns. However look at the cathedral internally, Niemeyer has made great use of light to create an open area which seems to have plenty of space. It's simplistic elements and use of blue, white, and browns still evoke a sense of modernism (though finished in the 70s) whilst also holding the symbolism that traditional cathedrals possess reflected in its architectural form.

Elements gained from this are:

Use of hyperbolic structure
Use of white and blue colours to promote harmony and modernism
Design for representation in the form ie: The columns representing stretching out arms to heavens

Information gathered from

http://www.aboutbrasilia.com/travel/brasilia-cathedral.html

http://www.thetopdraw.com/world_heritage_hi_res.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyv2w0nnEFg

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Alvar Aalto 41 - Paimio Scroll Chair

Alvar Aalto (1898 – 1976), was a Finish architect and designer. Through his life, Alto had adopted with the timely influences resulting in his works ranging from Classicism, International Modernism and to a more organic modernist style later in his career. Early in his career, Finland faced a rapid economic growth as a result, most of Alto's clients during his classicalism era were of the Industrialist nature. Aalto’s designs were radical and innovative and became known for his experimental approach to bending wood.

Other works by Aalto also follow similar design of the Paimio Armchair such as the armchairs 42, 45, 46, 401, 402 as well as the lounge chair 400 each employing the characteristics of bent wood with simplistic design.

Paimio Armchair 41 was designed in 1931 a period of conservatism and of time in which many European countries were still recovering from events of the great war earlier that decade. The realisation of the effect war had on raw material supplies helped bring about the design of the Paimio chair which is epitomises the simplicity of chair design.

Alto's influence for the Paimio chair was by Marcel Breuer’s Wassily Chair (1927) but instead of using steel, the chair was constructed using bent plywood. The main material used in this design is burch plywood. The seat is a thinner plywood sheet with curvature on its top and bottom possible through bending the wood, This adds a springy characteristic as well as structural strength. The overall aim for the Paimio was to design a chair that gave wood a perception of soft comfort, with ergonomic intent to allow users to lean back and promote better breathing. Reason being that the chair was originally designed to be used in the patient’s lounge in the Paimio Sanatorium

Observational Drawings

The following are the three observational sketches need to be sketched whilst at the museum.
(Did not have an a4 scanner ready so I will re upload this with better quality)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

NGV Galleria

In our first class we viewed the contemporary design gallery in the NGV which featured chair designs that highlighted the likes of Newson, Bugatti, Ghery and Aarnio and their contribution towards the furniture
industry.

Carlo BUGATTI

Lad's Writing Desk & Chair, 1888 - 95