It Endssss!

I finally figured out how to end the project! Thanks to a precedent shown in one of my daily classes, I have come up with a very elegant way of directing the user toward the terraces. I have used a series of benches that evolve from the existing lines of the project. The lines continue out into the landscape until they reach their turning point. From there they turn toward the terraces to shown the user that they are supposed to make the same turn. The benches also have some similar forms to the ones shown in an earlier post. Take a look!

HOW IS THIS THING SUPPOSED TO END?!

I'm struggling with the idea of how to end my burial space. I have gone through a few versions including my previous post on the benches. It has evolved to the excavation of land at the bottom of the burial area to create a balcony over looking the river bed and mountains below. My biggest problem is finding the form and reason of where I want it to end. The space needs to be proportional to the existing cemetery along with my addition. The first picture shown is the first balcony sketch that shows the points where the fingers end, and transposing that onto a point about 30-60 feet away in spaces.

(rotated really weird?) it's saved in a horizontal orientation on my computer

This second picture is showing my second idea done in model. Drawing wasn't producing any results for me so I started working in model again and used the angle produced by the first terrace off of the burial space to create the cut angle of the ends. The angle helps direct the public towards the terraces that are used to get back to the entrance. 

Benches and Ending the Burial Area

I am now faced with the challenge of how I want to end my burial area. I originally wanted it to slowly fade into the landscape with a series of trees that get less dense as you move away but I feel like I might be able to add a little more on top of that idea. From a precedent I found a few days ago (you can find it a few posts down) I got the idea of adding benches at the end that look like the fingers rise out of the ground one last time and fold back to create a nice seating area. This will only happen at special places because a line of benches at the end is just too predictable of a solution. Where there aren't benches, I am thinking a small deck to help create the boundary from cemetery to open site will look very appropriate.

Here are some sketches and a small model to help you visualize my thoughts.

Chapel/Ceremony Space Pictures

In this last photo you can see the structure starting to form that will in some places peel away from the overhang similar to the "arches" at the entrance to the existing cemetery.

The entrance to the chapel space has a piece of the roof pulling up, inviting the visitor to enter the chapel here. That same piece will also extend back into the chapel space to appear as though it is falling and it also blurs the distinction from outside to inside.

A Daily Dose of Architecture: Today's archidose #575

A Daily Dose of Architecture: Today's archidose #575: Here are some photos of the Spain Pavilion -- "Living Nature" -- at the Floriade 2012 World Horticultural Expo in Venlo, The Netherlands. A...


Found this on another blog. It has a very similar idea to mine where the forms of the building look as though they are rising out of the ground and wrap around to create a space underneath.

update again?!

it's been a productive night and I FINALLY figured out how I want my chapel/ceremony space to look. I took a quick video of the model to get a better feeling of how it would look from a first person standpoint.

chapel space/ workers space

The next thing I've been working on is the chapel space and the workers shed. I am planning on incorporating the chapel into the slope on the opposite side of the terraces and have it facing out towards the views in the landscape. The mountains will make for a very nice, peaceful backdrop to have a ceremony in.

Here are the current diagrams I have drawn up to show where these will go in relation to the rest of the project.

terraces

The next step in my process was to figure out how I want people to move from the bottom of the site back up to the parking area/entrance. I dont want people to filter back through the graves unless they really would like to, so I was thinking of putting a series of terraces up the side of the area I am working in. The form follows the drawdels and the casting i did earlier. 

In the picture, the white spaces are the benches/ water feature that will be incorporated into the terraces. The water will flow behind the seating area creating a small boundary to the wall. On the wall you will see all of the names of the people buried in the cemetery engraved into the concrete.

The terraces give the viewer a chance to step back and view the burial area without fully engaging it. The small areas created in the terraces allow for small contemplation areas and the sound of water will give a soothing feeling to help relax emotions. 

Here's a series of drawings to help you visualize this idea.

Post Mid Crit

Since the second mid crit, my project has evolved a lot. I have pushed all of the fingers together and created a much more dynamic landscape. There is no longer a disconnect between pieces and overall the project now flows much better.

I used my site model to determine where the fanning of the fingers would happen. Taking the white string, I found the convergence point of the existing forms, and placed a nail at that point. From there I used a series of brown strings to represent where the fingers would be placed and at what angle. Using the strings as guidelines, I started to carve away at the site.

My idea when pushing the fingers together was that you wouldn't be able to walk straight down one path from top to bottom. You would have to engage the landscape and traverse from one finger to another. Once you have moved from one side to the next, that original side now becomes the graves and visa versa. There is constantly a movement from walkway to burial wall. From the outside, it is hard to tell where exactly people are burried and what is a walkway because the forms are very similar.

The next step was to think of a way to direct the public in the areas I want them to move. To do this I am using a series of trees placed according to my study of an original draw-del.

In the draw-del you can see how the nails form rows in some places but implied walls in others. By opening these rows up, you invite the user to explore that row. By creating an implied wall, you tell the user to go somewhere else. So I took the nails and placed them precisely where I would like people to walk around, and pull them in different directions. 

Mid Crit Update

Friday was our first mid crit for this project and I'd say mine was pretty productive. I have a good amount of feedback to work with in preparation for tomorrow's second crit.

I was told that I should pull all of the fingers that fan out into the landscape right next to each other and allow them to be walked on top of. By pulling them together and using more undulation, I create a more dynamic landscape where the ground beneath you becomes a columnberium (sp?) and then back down to a walking surface again. At the same time, the walls to your left and right are doing the same thing. To further explore this, I used a drawdel and made a small landscape.

Final Project

So we are now into the mid phases of our project for the semester and it's been a while since I have updated this, mainly because I've had so many ideas going on in my head that I don't know which one to pick. Currently I am at a point where I have a pretty good understanding of what I would like to do for the rest of the semester and have a solid foundation to work off of.

This is a pretty accurate perspective I sketched from the exit of the contemplative space. You are being released into the field of graves inserted into the ground along a radial axis. There are breaks along the "fingers" that allow for people to pass smoothly in between rows. A better idea of the site plan is shown in the next picture.

earlier version

newest version

You can see the existing cemetery on the right hand side and my addition fanning off to the left. I used the same 15* angle that was already present in miralles and pinos' plans, and mimicked it for four more rows of graves. The fifth row on the left is the contemplative space which is meant to draw you in the same way the chapel does. I angled the walls to help funnel people in and they reflect the design I created with my plaster casting.

The newest section cuts

Here you can see my most recent section cuts through every row. After the group returned from Barcelona, I found out there were a series of small plateaus in the area I wanted to work. This actually helps my idea and gives me more dynamics to work with so I was fairly excited to hear that.

Now I am working on scaling the design to the final size for the presentation tomorrow and will post updates of what results from it.

Drawings without paper

It's been a while since I've written here, so I'll add a few new things to show was was reviewed in my crit today. Today was a combination of the entire semesters work up until this point to see how I have progressed into the action of exhumation. Beginning with the book carving, I explain my thoughts behind the carving and opened up to group discussion to compare and contrast other carvings in my studio. My carving was a display of modern architecture from a certain point in time that is in the center of the text book I was given which was right around the industrial revolution. On the left, you can see back into time and as the skyline gets deeper, you dive deeper into time and reveal older buildings. On the right, you look forward into time and see the buildings closer to our current time period.

From the book carvings we moved into the drawdel. My drawdel was a look at the transition of spaces moving along and through the chapel at Igualada. The sections are not set at a certain dimension from each other but look more at the special occurrences in the building. I was interested in seeing what happens as a person enters the building and moves through the space, and what causes certain wow factors. I used anything that popped out at me when viewing the site through our series of photographs and videos such as openings, changes in surrounding, overhead voids, views, etc. Shown in the first are the special occurrences that happen and the second shows the views present at all of these points. In both drawdels, the pieces extend off the page. In the firsts it is to emphasize that this building is embedded into the ground and seems like part of the landscape. It appears to continue infinantly. In the second, the string extends off the page to signify that the views begin and end outside of the chapel and are not restricted to staying inside the building. 

Now onto drawings without paper. The point here was to show the same drawing in a different medium and reveal certain aspects that might not have been visible in the original drawdels. I chose to use a plaster casting rather than a wax because I liked how the plaster looked much more natural and has the same characteristics of concrete. It reminded me a lot of Igualada itself soley because of the medium. The wood was added into the plaster to help emphasize the roof conditions at certain areas and help show how the roof seems to be embedded into the ground. The board form like mold supports the idea that the concept was taken off of individual sections and not the entire chapel as a whole. In the wire drawing, you can see the same sections being shown at an axonometric view oriented in a vertical fashion. 

Drawdel (correct spelling)

Update on my drawdel: Done.

The second drawing is looking at the views that happen along the same section cuts that the drawdel uses.

interesting video

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1857110/how_to_write_shape_relief_alphabet/

The Drodle (Drawing Model)

 The transition of entering into the Igualada cemetary.

Connection of the major points on the site

 sketching ideas for transition

sketch of the transition of views

1 hour or less

Given a very confusing poem, this is what I interpreted it to be. I looked at the use of white space and bold faced words to find significance.