Second year architecture portfolio

Blurring Boundaries |Thomas Ferm|

Contents

Seminar

Site

Dance centre Design

Parti

Any Place | Semester 2

Introduction

The most significant theme for me in this project was the communication of movement as this an inherent characteristic of dance. I experimented with different surface treatments, to both the dance studio volumes themselves and the canopy enclosing these volumes in order to establish a balance between this communication and a vital requirement of the studios, privacy. I felt that an opaque glass surface to the studio volumes would to a certain degree allow a sense of interaction between dancers either side of the boundary walls. Nevertheless there would be very slight glimpses of these silhouettes at night from the exterior of the building thanks to the lighting concepts that I explored.

Thanks to the ‘light ceilings’ within the two studios, the volumes would appear to glow at night, projecting dancers silhouettes, which would seem to dance upon the opaque walls of the studios. In addition to this response to movement, I felt that routes through the spaces of the dance centre would allow the creation of a promenade, similar to that explored by Le Corbusier in his Villa Savoye. The journey begins upon following a gentle ramp which runs around the perimeter of the internal volumes, allowing a smooth transition from the surrounding urban

square to the first floor, home to the changing rooms and the secondary studio (accessed via a landing). Off this landing is a split staircase giving the opportunity to access either the informal performance area or the dominant primary studio where the journey culminates. The façade serves to ‘mask’ the volumes when viewed from the exterior, allowing interplay between complete privacy and exposure.

The siting of the centre allows the creation of a ‘square off the gardens’ thanks to the façade addressing the existing buildings opposite, whilst creating, in a way, a beacon to the community, due to its proximity to some of the busiest areas of the site (ultimately attracting the most attention).

Image of design

seminar|site|parti|dance centrePromenade Architecturale

The term ‘promenade architecturale’ or the architectural promenade was a concept important to the work of Le Corbusier and involved the experience of movement through architecture. In reference to the Villa Savoye, Corbusier states, “Arab architecture has much to teach us. It is appreciated while on the move, with one’s feet; it is while walking, moving from one place to another that one sees how the arrangements of the architecture develop.” Thus our movement through spaces almost allow us to ‘feel’ them and ultimately alters our perceptions of them.

The application of this concept in the design of the villa Savoye was recognised by Sigfried Giedeon in his 1941 piece, Space, Time and Architecture when he proclaimed “It is

impossible to comprehend the Savoie house by a view from a single point; quite literally it is a construction in Space-time. The body of the house has been hollowed out in every direction. A cross section at any point shows inner and outer space penetrating each other inextricably.” This allows us to view the villa Savoye as a series of relatively simple volumes (for example the first floor salon is a rectangular space) however the interplay between these spaces with their composition, massing and the sequence of movement through them give the overall building a sense of complexity. In addition Giedeon also put forward the point that “To see the system of movement as a key to space remains an exception in architecture. In other areas, e.g. dance, such ideas have been conceived.”

Initial designs for the villa featured a ramp as the only means of circulation through the building, however in the finalized design a staircase was added. The ramp can be seen to blur the boundary between the spaces as well as easing movement as Corbusier describes “the very gentle ramp ushers one effortlessly to the main living level.” These two circulation methods also create different types of movement, with the staircase being used by servants to quickly gain access to the upper floors, whereas the ramp, as mentioned above is a more gradual ascent.

Le Corbusier envisioned the experiential promenade of the Villa Savoye would begin from the exterior from the seat of an approaching car, with a view of the Villa appearing from amongst the

mature stand of trees at the boundary of the meadow. Upon arriving at the house, the car was to pass underneath the suspended volume (with a portion of the plan adapted to accommodate the turning circle of a car) and the occupants would exit the car and be greeted by a sweeping transparent wall, revealing the ramp inside. Upon reaching the first floor, the ribbon windows would draw the people through the floor plan, thanks to the amazing surrounding landscape that could be glimpsed at from within. The promenade ultimately culminates at the top of the Villa, where people are drawn to the light source that the solarium provides. As one ascends, there’s a developing view of the roof garden or as some proclaim, the ‘courtyard in the sky’ around which the plan was developed.

seminar|site|parti|dance centre

As a result the circulation within the Villa can be classed as vertical, as one moves from the ground up to the sky. As Daniel Naegele puts it “the suspended terrace suggests spatial novelty. It coalesces the interior and exterior, allowing us to look from the terrace through the living room and through again to the ribbon window, the head of which coincides with the horizon line in the landscape to the left.” Furthermore he points out that “framing seems to encourage the sensation of space.” Corbusier was adamant that the solarium was necessary “in order to crown the ensemble.”

The manner in which the spaces have been enclosed and related to the point at which they almost seem to coalesce give the Villa Savoye a sense of unity and this is explored by the dictation of movement in creating

Corbusier’s promenade architecturale. The methods of circulation give the opportunity for experientially opposite journeys, with the staircase allowing an immediate ascent, creating clear boundaries between the floors/ spaces in contrast to the ramp that serves to bring the whole program together with a gentle ascent. to conclude, Le Corbusier stated that “In this house [the Villa Savoye], we are dealing with a true architectural promenade, offering constantly varied, unexpected, sometimes astonishing aspects. It is interesting to obtain so much diversity when one has, for example, allowed from the standpoint of construction an absolutely rigorous pattern of posts and beams.”

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Exploded axonometric showing circulation methods

seminar|site|parti|dance centrePiccadilly Gardens|site index

Location Plan

Exisiting Site Plan

Proposed Ground Floor Plan

A

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Piccadilly Gardens is a green open space in Manchester city centre, situated at one end of Market Street (a busy shopping area) and to one edge of the Northern Quarter. Piccadilly runs eastwards from the end of Market Street (from the north west) to a point where London Road begins: to the south of this are the gardens and paved areas utilised throughout the year. The area surrounding the gardens is a major trans-port interchange, with commuters commonly crossing the green area on their way to and from work.

Market street

Parker street

PiccadillyPortland street

lever street

oldham street

Mosley street

seminar|site|parti|dance centre|Model of site and wider context 1:1000

Creating this site model allowed me to gain a greater understanding of the spatial quali-ties of both the site and its surrounding context of the city. As you can see the square alters the pattern set by surrounding streets (which are relatively narrow) allowing a huge open area to exist.

Using the term square or gardens is a loose description, as it is currently neither. The area is too large to be seen as a square (and is only closely surrounded on two sides) and the green areas don’t seem to be utilised as much as the Victorian sunken gardens once present on the site.

Therefore I have chosen to site the dance centre towards the north of the square, thus creating a square of its own with the existing buildings.

seminar|site|parti|dance centreSite Index | “24 Hour gardens for a 24 Hour city”

Piccadilly Gardens features a wonderful lighting scheme by world renown designer Peter Fink. This transforms the gardens at night, allowing some of the ‘electricity’ of movement in the area to be com-municated at night. This makes it very much a 24 hour gardens for a 24 hour city and I feel that this adaptive appearance would make for a thouroughly interesting aesthetic.

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Daytime Lighting

Nightime Lighting

Section A-A


Top left: Diagram showing highest concentration of movement through the sight hichlighted in blueDiagram showing site’s connection to major transport links - Piccadilly (SE) and Victoria (NW) train stations

Types of movement through and around the site

Following an analysis of the site, which is said to be one of the busiest sqares in the world, I have an understanding of which areas receive the most footfall. This allowed me to site my dance centre in an area where this movement could be interacted with by either creating an intriguing sight or possibly by interacting with it.

By choosing a siting close to the north of the site, i feel that the adaptive appearance of my scheme will be appreciated by more people passing by, as well as the cafe (on the ground floor) serving a purpose as not only a cafe but also as a link between the square and the gardens beyond.

seminar|site|parti|dance centreVolumetric explorations

Following my analysis of the spatial configuration of the site, i felt that a volumetric exploration would be valuable to the dance centre design, as it would allow for the establishment of a promenade, similar to that of the Villa Savoye. Thus the start of the journey could be considered and ultimately the culmination of this journey too with differing arrangements of the rough volumes given in the brief.

Wooden parti model arrangements (1:500)

Axonometric diagrams illustrating the different volumetric arrangements (1:400)


Exploration of ramp circulation method, to potentially allow the creation of a promenade of discovery

The arrangements on the left hand page explore raising the volumes off the floor by the means of pilotis. Nevertheless after further arrangements, i felt that the organisation of the spaces above could provide an adequate ‘promenade’ whilst utilising the space within the footprint of the volumes unlike those opposite.

seminar|site|parti|dance centreTransparency|precedent study

“The art museum is made of glass and steel and a cast concrete stone mass which endows the interior of the building with texture and spatial composition.

From the outside, the building looks like a lamp. It absorbs the changing light of the sky, the haze of the lake, it reflects light and color and gives an intimation of its inner life according to the angle of vision, the daylight, and the weather.”

- Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor’s Kunsthaus Bregenz was conceived as a ‘ daylight museum’ thanks to his implementation of what he called “light ceilings”. Voids inbetween storeys allow natural light to penetrate during the day, lighting an etched glass ceiling (giving the spaces the illusion that they are daylit from above). There’s a seemless transition at night as artificial light complements and ultimately replaces the natrual light, continuing the illusion of daylight even at night.

This series of images illustrate my parti concept of the communication of movement across a boundary of opaque material. Privacy is maintained even up to the point when people within are in contact with the glass, with silhouettes seeming to dance upon the surface of the wall material.

Initial design MaquettesAs outlined earlier, my initial impression of the site lead me to investigate locating the dance centre to the north of the site near the busier pedestrian areas.

This would address the feeling that I got upon visiting the site of a lack of a ‘square’ in the city. Therefore this siting of the dance centre would create a smaller square to the top of the site.

These images show the relation to the surrounding buildings on the 1:1000 site model.

My first maquettes explored the possibility of raising the building off the ground on pilotis, thus returning a square underneath the building to the city.


View From Market Street, one of the major pedestrian routes Dance centre volume raised on pilotis

View of from Piccadilly

seminar|site|parti|dance centreLight ceiling analysis

As dancers require diffused light in order to get the best possible projections into the mirrors, I felt that by implementing a light ceiling similar to that at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, diffused light would pour into the studio spaces.

Design 1 - A clear glass ceiling provides a good amount of light yet the shadows are too harsh to provide a good reflection in the mirror. In addition the changing sky above may prove to be too distracting to dancers inside.

Design 2 - Light slits in the ceiling along the perimeter of the walls create an interesting pattern on the floor below (which would change throughout the day), although the amount of light is not sufficient.

Design 3 - An etched glass ceiling lit evenly from above provides excellent lighting as you can see from the image above. Therefore both of the studios in my scheme will feature this concept.

This series of images show the transition from day to night, using the ‘light ceiling’ (of design 3) allowing continual use of the studios, regardless of the time of the day.


The four images above illustrate the amount of light the artificial ‘light ceiling’ can provide, turning a relatively dark studio into one which appears to be daylit.

The images above show the appearance of the different types of light ceilings and how their exposure to distracting elements such as the changing sky may influence the dancers within. Clearly the third design is the most successful at simultaneously combining good lighting with few distractions.

This ceiling concept is most effective when there is a solid slab above the room to be lit, thus creating a special atomsphere in the studio when it somehow appears to be daylit from above.

seminar|site|parti|dance centreConceptual Volumetric Model

Image series showing the concept of the changing appearance of building volumes dependant upon the time of day created by the use of artificial lighting used within.

I feel that this image is successful at communicating the appearance of the internal volumes I would like to achieve, nevertheless their perception will change dependant upon the opacity of the facade used.

seminar|site|parti|dance centreMasking volumes

The photographs above show the concept of masking the internal volumes of the dance centre by applying opacity in a gradient style to the surrounding facades of the glass canopy.

Blurring the boundaries of spaces by utilising varied opacities creates an intriguing external appearance

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seminar|site|parti|dance centreSpatial Composition|Sections

Section A-A 1:200

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Section B-B 1:200

seminar|site|parti|dance centreSpatial Composition|Sections

Section C-C 1:200


Section D-D 1:150

Spatial Composition|Sections seminar|site|parti|dance centre

Exploded axonometric illustrating alternative circulation methods


Section E-E 0 1.5 3 4.5 6m

seminar|site|parti|dance centreFacade Designs|To mask or reveal

seminar|site|parti|dance centreMasking|facade design

seminar|site|parti|dance centreModel Images

Daylit dance centre creates an interesting visual effect, creating intrigue as to what lies within.


View from the west of the site Silhouette projected onto the wall of the primary studio - blurring boundaries

Aerial view revealing the informal performance area, otherwise masked by the facade View from across the gardens showing the illuminated volumes of the dance centre

seminar|site|parti|dance centreModel Images|Transitional appearance

Daytime - volumes are masked by the facade’s varying opacity Afternoon - with the volumes lit, more of the interior is revealed as silhouettes to the exterior


Early evening - Internal volumes even more evident, beginning to illuminate surroundings Evening - In full darkness the centre acts as a lantern illuminating its surroundings, drawing people’s attention

seminar|site|parti|dance centreVisualisations|architectural promenade

View from within the ‘atrium’ of the dance centre, showing the interaction possible between people up on the informal performance area, and the floors below including the passage between the gardens and the newly formed square.

Progressing up the gentle ramp towards the first floor, you are greeted with a greater view of the dance centre volumes above, with the opacity of the glass canopy blurring the view to the outside.


Further up the ramp, there are glimpses through the buildings volume to both the square below and the buildings opposite. Here silhouettes can come into play on the walls of the studio volumes.

Upon reaching the first floor, there is the option to progress to either the primary studio or the informal per-formance area. This area has a light airy feel, allowing views out to the buildings beyond the gardens, whilst maintaining privacy due to the changing opacity of the canopy facade.


EXTERIOR VISUALI-SATION

Visualisations|a beacon to the community

View from one of the busiest areas of the site at night - Illuminated dance centre complements Peter Fink’s existing lighting scheme


Treatment of the facade masks the volumes within, blurring peoples perceptions from the exterior

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Second year architecture portfolio

Documents

Transcript of Second year architecture portfolio