Spatial Fabrication Studio

Sections:

When drawing the longitudinal section I traced from the original building drawing, on Rhino. I think exported to Adobe Illustrator to colour in. During the process I made the decision to leave the theme of the drawing plain looking so that the focus would be on my intervention, on the bottom floor.

Once the materials were applied to the interior I rendered section A and B, including the wireframes.

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As for the short sections which I had captured from Rhino. For producing my drawings I used a clipping plane to cut through a section of the building. I also developed wireframes of the sections in the process.

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Sources for cutout figures:

http://www.cutoutmix.com/neutra.html
https://black-img.com/Cut-outs

Plan

When creating my digital plan drawing I exported the wireframe from Rhino and edited the line colour and information into it. I then took it into Photoshop to overlay the floor, walls and furniture with colour.

I thought my design was still missing the ‘flow’ throughout the space. I drew a quick concept of what could convey this idea. I tried to imitate the curved lines from Michael Hayden’s ‘Sky’s The Limit’.

Although this was my draft concept, I installed the drawing into the site to see the effect that it would make and if it would achieve the flow throughout the space. It showed the right idea and the use of colours suggest the energy and liveliness of the atmosphere.
I wanted to test more colours into the drawing – I researched which colour is the most energetic in the spectrum and the answer was violet, because in visible light it has the highest frequency. In ‘Sky’s The Limit’ Hayden uses a rainbow colour palette, therefore it sounded appropriate to use violet in the floor drawing.

Update: Once installing my second iteration into the site it felt that the connection of flow throughout the space was not as strong. The first detail I made had a strong relation tying each entrance on either side together. I will continue to use the original detail in the site and explore other ways of manipulating the coloured pattern perhaps through the LED lighting intervention wall.

When colouring my multicoloured light box installation, I inserted the detail behind as a guide to use. The effect of continuing this coloured pattern up the wall made the atmosphere feel blurry, which is was aiming for since my space is a walkway. Movement and flow is key in this design. Something I also found is that all of the colours together projected a violet glow – making the energy of the space feel even more fuzzy.

Installing the Light Box Segments in the site

When I started to build the installation wall I did not really know what it was going to look like, but I knew the scale of it and how it was going to sit in the space, from my modified floor plan. I started by extruding random trapeziums, duplicating and stretching them to different scales and sizes. I continued this method along the whole of the front part (Lorne St side) of the south wall. For the centre of the installation that I wanted to extend to the middle of the space, I first created a plane then used the same method of making each light box segment down the triangular plane. For tidying up and shaping of the installation I used the tool boolean difference. I then merged the triangular light segments to the Lorne St side segments.

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In making the Queen St side of the installation, I traced my hand drawing template of a section of the light box installation and extruded each curve. This was a much more simple method than what I had been doing. I duplicated the block of light box segments alongside the triangular installation entrance, until it reached the end of the Queen St wall. I then traced the outline of the curve detail on the floor and extruded the outline as a solid, then placed the solid on the sections of light boxes I had created and used boolean difference to press the curved shape into them (like a foot print).

Making the Booth Seating + Tables

I researched the standard dimensions of a booth seat and the materials needed to make.

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To make the booth seating more fitting in the colourful light interior, I will run an LED strip along the back of the booth seats.

Changes I made when creating my Rhino model:

• Made the stairs end of the bar counter lower so all people (including children and disabled people) can access it.
• Cut back the bar counter when I realised the installation came out too much interfering with the walkway.
• Made the theatre doors beneath the installation twice the original width and blocked off the other doorway next to it – to make the theatre entrance feel more spacious.
• Replaced the Lorne St existing entrance doors with a ‘garage’ door (same idea as Imperial Lane).
• Inserted the swirl pattern detail in the floor to test the effect it made in the space and realised it looked fitting and decided to keep it in permanently. This detail ended up influencing the main colour theme in the walkway + installation.

Perspectives of Rhino Model before Material Application

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The plan above shows my developed concept of the lobby of the St James Theatre. The dotted lines along the south wall show where my installation will stand. The installation will consist of light boxes made from polycarbonate with colourful LED lighting (rainbow pattern). I am not sure exactly how they will be attached to the wall yet, probably with black steel rods. The installation will bulge out near the centre of the space and there is a triangular opening in the installation to the entrance into the theatre (inspired by Kengo Kuma). There are three booth seats on the opposite side filling the space from the right side of the stairs to the wall. Materials I am considering using for the seats are a timber frame with upholstery and a black corduroy/velvet cover. The seat cushion will be a different colour. The bar will remain the same as the exisiting copper bar in the lobby space but the end (near the stairs) will be cut on the same angle as the stairs and hole in the installation. I have also considered eliminating some of the wall behind the bar (underneath the stairs) to use the underneath space as a pot wash/food storage area for the cafe, however that detail is not too important to include in my design.

With further exploration on making my installation I sketched my idea of details to add in the site. The first is based on how I want the atmosphere to feel more than the actual look of the intervention. The bottom drawing is incorporating the idea of the triangular entrance/doorway based on Kengo Kuma’s V&A Dundee Museum, with bright neon coloured light boxes.

Lowbrow.

Lowbrow. is an eatery located in Queens Rise food court, Auckland CBD, owned by Jordan McDonald and Kyle Street. The interior of the small eatery is based on Offbeat Decor (inspired by the “lowbrow” art movement) making customers feel a lively experience. (https://www.metromag.co.nz/food/food-restaurants/lowbrow-culprit-metro-review) The black interior featuring the black framed roller doors with timber flooring creates a ‘dark’ dining experience, while reflecting pink neon lighting on each surface. On the left hand wall lies a bold neon pink/red coloured sign, which helps sets the tone of the atmosphere.

I think the neon logo sign is very effective, engaging customers to dine in. The the materials of the tables and chairs reflect the neon pink lighting around the room beautifully. It is interesting to see a very simple black and wooden interior being transformed into a busy and fun experience, due to the use of colour and lighting in the space. Simple and effective. I also like the simple style of the tables and chairs with a dark undertone.

Happy Boy Eatery

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Happy Boy Eatery is located in Royal Oak, Auckland. This ‘social-media-ready‘ area opened in July 2017 by designers Celeste Thornley and Jasper and Ludo Maignot. The purpose of Happy Boy was to attract younger + older users of social media (particularly Instagram) who can share aesthetic food and interior pictures on their platform, that way encouraging more people to visit. The use of colour, neon lighting and graphic design in the interior is also captivating, making the room feel more buzzy/lively.

This example will be very useful when choosing the colours and materials of my walkway design. They achieved the neon light reflecting off the coloured acrylic tables, ceiling and floor nicely. This has inspired me to use reflective materials to convey the busy and lively look of the atmosphere. The way the doorways have been outlined by neon/LED strip lighting, has made me consider using this technique for my bar/cafe.

Imperial Lane

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Imperial Lane was designed by Fearon Hay Architects and built in 2012. Imperial Lane is a ground level connection between Fort Lane and Queen Street, occupied by street dining.
“Vertical shafts are cut through the floors above the lane, introducing light into the space and a language of opaque glass and steel to complement the ‘found’ brickwork, timber truss, stone and dilapidated concrete of the original fabric.” (https://www.fearonhay.com/imperial-buildings).

This is very similar to my own design concept of the St James Theatre lobby with the shortcut walkway/dining area. The architects of Imperial Lane did a great job in keeping the materials of the passageway area, the same as the existing building. This has inspired my decision making in materials and keeping the heritage building theme throughout the space, as well as my own contemporary neon installation. I am aware the scale of this laneway is a lot bigger than the lobby of the St James Theatre, so I have less space to work with if I am transforming the space into a cafe/bar area as well.

V&A Dundee Museum

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V&A Dundee Museum designed by Kego Kuma, was built in 2018.

Kuma’s V&A Dundee Museum has inspired me on how I could build my installation physically. I am interested in the structure of the exterior of the building in particular and the triangular entrance. I am attracted to the way the exterior looks more like a support structure than a finished exterior with solid walls and the joining of each slab. I have considered designing an entrance in my installation similar to his, possibly into the main theatre.

My next step for moving forward is to put my ideas in developing more sketches and designing. At the moment I feel like in my perspective, the colours do not represent the speed and movement in the space that I want, but there are some aspects that I like (such as the jagged pattern of the staircase). I could suggest basing my next sketches on focusing on a detail of my design, like the bar/cafe and how it would be created considering the busy walkway, to ensure that it will not interrupt the speed of moving throughout the space.
While being stuck with how to use colour to keep motivating people to move through the space, my tutor proposed to me some questions to think about: Why does my artist model create installations for large public areas with lots of movement, and how does he encourage people to keep moving with the colours he uses?

I did a rough drawing with a different concept and colour palette, also inspired by Happy Boy Eatery, located in Royal Oak.

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Cafe Detail

For the tables I wanted to consider using a reflective material to make the neon lights reflect around the room. I was inspired by the Modern industrial table look.

Retrieved from https://www.mcombo.com/products/ivinta-modern-industrial-oversize-dining-table-desk-table-council-board-rustic-and-modern-style-thicker-table-top-rustproof-metal-frame-for-for-living-room-office-6090-seas-dt

We were asked to take 40 minutes to reflect on the purpose of our intervention and mind map:

My design intervention is a light installation in the St James lobby. The main factors I am focusing on are: colour, light, movement and blur.
In the lobby will include a cafe/bar and can be used as a walkway – space is open and used almost all the time, so the theatre lobby is considered as a public space too (busy environment).
Artist Hayden’s installations are designed in large public spaces where people are moving at a fast pace, hence the reason I’ve decided on making the lobby space a shortcut from Lorne Street to Queen Street – so people can get to their destination more quickly.

Pitch Proposal

This week we were asked to design a door handle, to activate the entrance threshold of our site. It should in someway reflect our own design intervention with colour and material. Or the detail could be an addition to the heritage building or a contemporary insertion.

I started off by drawing 10 sketches of my ideas of the door handle detail:

When sketching my ideas I wanted to explore different ways to approach the door handle design. I mainly focused on Contemporary design. When I think of a good door handle, I think simple and solid with good grip.
In the top drawings I thought more classic (using more simple colours) but tried to include my intervention – focusing on repetition and pattern. Though classic Contemporary door handles are not very significant to my intervention and artist model, my own preference of door handles has always been to go for the simple look.
The drawings below represent my intervention better: I wanted to focus more on movement and colour. The results turned out rather wacky and busy looking, though still holding a solid structure.

Below are some pictures I researched that inspired some of my sketches:

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To move forward with developing three iterations of door handle designs, I will need to have a better understanding of my design.

When choosing to develop a door handle detail out of the sketches, I decided on two designs. The large rectangular door handle for the grand doors and the squiggle-looking door handle for the other doors. I mainly liked the contemporary feel that both designs had in common, showed in different ways.

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In terms of materials, I applied bronze to the smaller handles and my grand door handles are made from polished aluminium. Mainly because I wanted to continue the use of reflective materials and surfaces through the doors of the interior.

For my first attempt at transforming my surface models into the site, I basically played around with different effects on photoshop and inserting parts of my models into the site. Since artist model Michael Hayden’s light installation projects many lines and colour, I wanted to kind of replicate that idea with light into the space.
My first intention of creating my installation was quite different to how it turned out. As you can see on the perspective drawing theres a distinct square pattern on the left wall and roof – initially I wanted to create neon light boxes, similar to Hayden’s installation in the O’Hare Airport terminal. However due to my lack of photoshop skills, I was not able to figure out the colour and light at the time.

For further development on my surface design, I will focus on how the light is projected and smaller details. In my site analysis I was also interested in the many layers of paint that had decayed over time, so I could play around with layering and overlapping as well. I also want to use Rhino for my final proposal, so I will have to figure out how to replicate this idea in a 3D drawing.

Since my design is focused on movement, I made the decision to accentuate the stairs (relating to the idea that in Hayden’s works, it’s about moving through the space). The linear shadows from one of the surface models I created, stood out to me in particular. It was not on purpose but the linear shadow pattern created a similar image to one of Hayden’s other works, therefore felt relevant to insert the shadows into the space.

In my collection of surface models, inspired by my artist model Michael Hayden I focused on movement, colour, pattern/repetition and scale.

Hayden’s works are generally designed in large public spaces where people are constantly moving around. He uses many bright colours and I noticed a recurring theme of displaying them in dark spaces.

The first model I made was very much focused on repetition and movement. The look that I was trying to achieve was from point of view of the person in the space, and how the scale of the installation decreases the further person looks in the space. That being the reason the scale shrinks in my model, trying to achieve that same effect.
In my second model, the thread entangled was to represent the movement of the people through the airport terminal space. This model conveyed the busyness and chaos of the energy of each person moving through the terminal. I also wanted to highlight the skinny curved linear pattern in the ceiling of Hayden’s installation – thread is also representing this aspect of his design.
For my last model I wanted to see how I could combine both models into one. I applied the scale, colour and movement. It was interesting to see what shadows the thread made against the colourful wall of my model, which I think communicated the scale aspect well.

In general, each model created interesting shadows that I could apply to my design in the site.

Feedback I received from my group:

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The feedback from my group members suggested for me to explore with more reflective materials, photographing in different lighting conditions and coloured lighting filters.