josh wrathall

Monday, May 19, 2008

Model Photos of Final Design - Built

Model Photos of Final Design - Building Stage

Design Idea 4 - Final Design

The following sketches represent some plan and section views of my final design. The design itself allows the figure to be led through the room by the bar top and the light coming through to enjoy drinking his wine on a couch or out on the porch. This is the final design which is developed.

This model inspired me in materiality, particularly the red, glassy material. The reflectivity of it, and the way light plays with it intrigued me, and it led me to use it as a means of leading the figure through the design as a means of circulation.

Design Idea 3

The sketches below again address the idea of a wine wanting to retreat 'down the winding corridor' to his cellar where he can drink his wine undisturbed by anyone else. The bottom cellar room is shaped like a bottle also, with light funneling through the neck.

I wasn't particularly happy with the design on sketchup as it was too literal, yet displayed less functionality than what the design deserved for the figure.

Design Idea 2

This idea was formed on the basis that a wine-drinker would be comfortable in a Greek-style villa of neo-Renaissance architecture, combing archways, columns and domes, with glazing, and angled openings.

Design Idea 1

This idea came about when thinking about drinking wine, the idea of going down into a private cellar; a nook where the figure is comfortable.

Precedents for Task 2

Research on Windows, Doors and Light

The Architecture of the Window (1995) Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani

- a compilation of essays, from the history of the window (from ancient Egypt to Louis Kahn) to the concept and meaning behind the window

- Fritz Neumeyer looks at how the window creates a more fluid space, while other Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau writers, discuss the apparent ‘friendliness’ and ‘happiness’ a window brings.

- the benefits of horizontal and vertical windows are also discussed

- Marco Romanelli describes the window as being an object to look at, as if it were a piece of furniture

- others debate the pros and cons for using windows as a connection between interior and exterior, as something to look through

Thoughts from Musings on Windows and Doors

- windows allow the experience of the outdoors without the glare

- allows light to penetrate the darkness and dullness

- the Spring garden is viewed through a frame, ie, window

- window makes an interior life possible

Pieter de Hooch (1629 – 1681)

- student of Jan Vermeer

De Hooch’s paintings commonly:

- focussed on interiors of houses to the upper class, fashionable people

- saw activity and life with a maid or servant performing a chore in the background

- contained a high element of Chiaroscuro (Italian for clear-dark, is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark, showing the shadows of the human body for example)

- admit sunlight through large window openings

- were clean and accurate, while brilliantly emphasising the play of light and shadow

An Interior, with a Woman Drinking with Two Men and a Maid-servant (1658) Pieter de Hooch