Monday 20 May 2013

Elevator


I made an elevator which flies over the giant hole in my Tunisian canyon. 


Here is my guy at the beginning of his ride. 


Here he is half way up, looking at the lovely view.



Here he is after being crushed by a returning elevator. He wouldnt get up.
Elevators aren't toys people. They are the number 3 cause of premature death in Tunisia.
Consider this a warning.


2 Point Perspectives























Monday 13 May 2013

Tunisia - Country of Origin



Despite being born in Australia, I don't identify much with that culture. I identify much closer with my North African heritage, from the food, to the music, to the landscape. Having family from over 3 North African countries, I chose the country with the most interesting landscapes (and best food!), my grandfathers birthplace of Tunisia. 
Tunisia has many landscapes, from beautiful seaside towns such as Sidi-Bou-Said, to busy cities such as Tunis. I chose rather to focus of the desert of Tunisia, with large cliffs and canyons.
For a better idea of what Tunisia looks like, watch Star Wars as much of it was filmed there (not so much the space scenes...)








18 Single Point Perspectives

Looking Down Low Plan

Stretching back

Far away in the distance

Eye level View Supporting Structure

Sitting on the Horizon

Open Plan on top

Intersecting at Many Levels

Low and Far

Stretching Back

Changes in height at eye level


View From Below - Overintersecting

Many Intersections - Many Paths



Cantilevered at eye level

Cantilevered to the distance



View from above

Hanging down

Looking up at hanging Folly

Changing Heights













Sunday 12 May 2013

Article Mash-up - EXP 3


From most angles, it resembles nothing so much as a small child’s precarious stack of blocks.  But cut back to scale, the functional simplicity, elegant abstraction, geometric patterning, subtle textures, and other characteristic features of modern design still are capable of evoking a sense of beauty and even of serenity. One very pragmatic reason is that architecture is a very slow form of communication: it may take several decades from the moment a concept arises somewhere to the point where it becomes mainstream knowledge within the industry, and then even more time before it reaches the general public. From some angles, as displayed in digital renderings and a scale model by the architects last week, the structure’s profile looks positively svelte — even a trifle fragile, as if it might topple in a stiff wind. This does not necessarily make it bad architecture. It just means that some things are built with other purposes than usefulness and long term sustainability. And those purposes might not be known by or agreed upon by the end-user. Perhaps one small way out of that dilemma is to see all of modernism as a useful backdrop to a future yet to be designed.A total transformation is under way in the area — providing a source of satisfaction for developers, angst for artists who loved the beaten-down warehouse district the way it was, and torn loyalties for city officials committed to revitalization.






Red:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/realestate/04NjZo.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=remkoolhaas&adxnnlx=1368410697-WEaFcoH9StDWIMAuLsu57Q

Green:

http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2013/05/modernism-past-the-dynasty-and-the-mad-men/

Blue:

http://www.archdaily.com/366888/a-crash-course-on-modern-architecture-part-1/

Saturday 4 May 2013

Downloads

Download my Sketchup Model

Download my Cryengine Model

Final Submission

This is my final submission of my monument to Neri Oxman and Erich Mendelsohn.

This is a monument to Mendelsohns Expressionism, and Oxmans multifunctional design. The meeting space in the middle requires students to walk through the monument, before reaching a cantilevered platform, giving a panoramic view of the environment, giving a strong connection to the location. 


Here are my past submissions:

Electroliquid Aggregation Text
12 Concept Axonometrics
6 Combimed Axonometrics

36 Textures









These views of my monument, at both day and night, show how it manages to be both an expressionistic, yet multifunctional monument. It adapts to the landscape by following the shape of the cliff, yet manages to still showcase aesthetic beauty. The use of cantilevers and large block shapes borrow from Mendelsohn, whilst the use of these shapes as staircases, and viewing stations, comes from Oxman.




These large stairs reflect Mendelsohns expressionism and love for big and bulky shapes. They do not need to be this big, but they are so purely for aesthetics, thus adhering to his Expressionist theory.



This meeting space in the middle allows for students to meet, while getting a 360 degree view of the landscape, connecting them to the environment. Its placement means the students are forced to traverse the monument to get there. Its cantilevered form lends itself to Mendelsohn, whilst its multi-functional benches and viewing holes come from Oxmans theories.




The staircase which leads down the monument is multi-functional in that not only is it a staircase, it also provides a view as one walks down it to the vast landscape around. The bottom part of the staircase is not only structural, but also serves as a sundial, with shadows telling morning from evening.





The entire monument is held in place as shown above, by a structural column which is placed in the cliff. In order to be multi-functional, stairs lead down this column into a viewing room, which gives the student walking around, one final view of the entire space where the monument sits.