Experiment II - The Run Home

In my first year uni I studied Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" as part of a philosophy subject. On viewing Russell's lecture my memory was jolted with images of a video I watched on it. I remembered the importance of space and the perception of light having a subtle undertone in the philosophy and although not parmamount I decided to put this link up for something nice while also guiding me in my final stretch in the assessment, choosing my shades and applying them with meaning. Enjoy!

Experiment II - Light -> Dark

I have selected the 3 custom textures I will use on my monument, they are as follows in order of light to dark:

Experiment II - Custom Textures

After Russell's lecture on lighting we were asked to create 36 custom textures ranging from dark to light, 3 of which would be used on our monument, one dark, one light, and one middle tone. I chose to use my 6x6 in a different manner inspired by what Russell had said during his lecture about thinking out of the box. By this I mean that I did not use each page as a set style to play off rather 2 styles that range from lightest -> lighter -> light and dark -> darker -> darkest. The textures are as follows:

1-3 & 4-6

7-9 & 10-12

13-15 & 16-18

19-21 & 22-24

25-27 & 28-30

31-33 & 34-36

Stay tuned for my selected light, medium and dark textures for the final submission!

Experiment II - Placing New Monument Into Edited Terrain

With some editing of my monument I added materials to the Sketch Up design. For WEIGHTLESS I decided to add an aluminium based metal to compliment the sandstone I chose for the POROCITY aspect of the monument. The gathering balcony/meeting point, as well as the stairs and slab that runs throughout the monument would consist of a scored concrete to compliment both materials.

In terms of my evironment I really picked up the sides of the valley so that the rear and sides of the architecture to almost encase the monument leaving it feeling like only the front side open. My reasoning for this was to allow peeks through the spaces from inside the monument so that at every angle a completely different view would be seen whether it be a stone cliff face, a grassy knoll, the ocean, the lake, the sky or the surrounding trees. I believe this gives the impression that space is not merely free, rather it can be filled with an array of things and be percieved differently in different lights.

Above is the front view of my monument. It highlights the new concrete staircase, the front viewing balcony/meeting point where the view can be observed without anything in the way, and finally the monument where every view is different given the space. From this view you can see the raised sides and gully/valley like effect with the mountains in the background and glimpses of the sky. Although simple I think this design is effective as my idea of a monument is a basic layout with deeper meaning designed to make pause, think and contemplate without feeling inferior as part of the architecture. I am particularly fond of Eduarda Chillida's "Comb of the Winds" in San Sebastian and took influence from the piece.

This shot is taken from behind the monument amongst the valleys cliffs. I chose this shot because it shows off the floor plan of the monument and many of the "peep holes" and openings that are available for framing at every angle and the space that is created. I also like how the environment hugs up against the manmade elements, butting up against the walls showing the space isn't always just yours! It also highlights the numerous aspects visible for framing through the monument such as the sky, the lake, the hills and trees etc.

I can't help but think my environment and maybe even my monuments materials will change once again! I am thinking a river and waterfall like surrounds that will flow into the lake which will grow to the sea allowing for an even more spectacular space for the monument to frame. But until the final submission and advancements, enjoy!

Experiment II - Sketch Up Of Monument and Electroliquid Aggregation Concept

I mentioned in my previous post that I didn't pick any of the parallel projections I drew to be my final monument. In the end I decided I would create a monument from the designs I created for FRE OTTO - WEIGHTLESS and DILLER & SCOFIDIOS - POROCITY. This choice came about after reading into the Electroliquid Aggregation concept and the fellow student and myself would have with it! The monument I came up with on Sketch Up is double the size of my original Sketch Up image and both aspects of the amalgamation have been edited as to blend the two together to make up my Electroliquid Aggregation - SPACE. A meeting area has also been included and materials will be visible in my next post where my CryEngine scene and monument will look slightly different!

After talking to my tutor Narelle I came up with my Electroliquid Aggregation concept quote. This quote will guide the piece moving forward and has resulted in many a change to my landscape, images will be available in my next post. The quote is as follows:


"For both weightlessness and porosity to exist there is one vital component needed to create such effects, space."

This is my new, larger, more open, spaceous design. The ground level of the model is the POROCITY aspect consiting of boxes and openings where the landscape will be framed for visitors to enjoy. The large aspect of the monument is the WEIGHTLESS design with tall beams holding long spans with more beams jutting off to create a weightless and open feel allowing for more interesting shadowns and framing for the sky and terrain such as mountains and trees. Overall this will create a more open feel and bring the landscape in.

Experiment II - Parallel Projections Exploring Interconnection

As part of week two of the experiment we were to draw a series of parallel projections incorporating two of axonometrics drawn with one coming from each architect. Having previously drawn all of the axonometrics this task was a bit easier and I decided to seperate each of the models though I aligned them so it was known where they would sit when lowered, they are as follows:

F.O (EFFICIENT) & D/S (FUNCTION)

F.O (STRANGE) & D/S (POROCITY)

F.O (WEIGHTLESS) & D/S (NATURAL)

Funnily enough I decided not to pick any of these projections for my combination piece though this will be highlighted in my next post!

Experiment II - Sketch Up Image, A Brush With CryEngine & Things To Rectify!

Our second objective of Experiment II was to pick one of out axonometrics and create it in Google Sketch Up. The design I chose was my DILLER AND SCOFIDION design - POROCITY which is located in my previous post. The design in Google Sketch Up is as follows:

The second aspect of this objective was to get in touch with a new piece of software for use, CryEngine 3. After getting off to a shakey start and delving deep into the banks of YouTube and services provided by the lovely ARCH1101 staff I created my first landcape and found the setting for my monument. The images of my first attempt at CryEngine is seen below:

I decided on setting my monument in a valley overlooking a lake which is surrounded by trees and mountains. I soon discovered that my monument would be too small and decided to re-evaluate over the next task to rectify this problem.

The monument looked better on a different angle and with afternoon light settings though I was still not happy with the size of my monument. I also knew there was more to be done in terms of integrating the monument to the landscape as well as editing the landscape further though I was happy to get the ball rolling and take my first baby steps in terms of understanding the technology and the task ahead.