Manifesto Embodiment | Phenomenology
Rachael Da Fonseca
Context Context Introduction Legibility Contextual sensitivity sustainability Accessibility Poetics of space Conclusion References
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Third-year final reflection on personal work and my continuous growth comparing these too inspiring precedents of other architects. Allowing me to set out what kind of ARCHITECT I want to be? The principles that I have mainly considered throughout my designs are contextual sensitivity, sustainability, and the poetics of space. Designing with each principle in mind and how each one can be interconnected with the next. Doing this through different geometric building forms that fit within its context.
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Embodiment and Phenomenology A manifesto can never stay the same and will always change and develop into something new or be continuously added onto. As one’s principals change through their own learning experiences. This is a collection of the principals I have learned, to help drive my design process from a basic concept into a fully realized building.
be deduced back to a basic geometric diagram showing the concept development. The second-year Freedom park project shows conceptual development diagrams. Where the triangular shapes of the site’s contours, were used to design the roof elements of the building that produced a very experiential interior space.
The five main principals I am exploring are first legibility which is very important. As it is the first impression your design will have on people, contextual sensitivity which is an important principle to me and is one of the main principals I consider when designing. Sustainability a principle that should be considered by every designer as it is our responsibility to control the impact we have on the environment. Accessibility principals should always be considered when designing to not only follow the basic regulations by try to go above what is expected. The final principle is the poetics of space, where all the principals can be joined together to create a poetic experience through your design.
Legibility The legibility of architectural drawings and presentations is very vital as it is how we express our ideas and concepts onto paper for other people to experience and understand. Showing the process of the design from the beginning to the end product. Drawings are what we give to clients to get architectural jobs, engineers, and contractors to help bring our designs ideas into reality. They are our language, expression, and communication towards others. Within most of my designs, they can
Figure 1:Freedom Park conceptual development diagrams.
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An architect with an inspiring graphic style is Bjarke Ingels who uses a very playful approach in his presentation drawings. His concept drawings are quick and easy to understand geometric diagrams, that express the process of the concept’s development. Bjarke uses his playful ideas throughout his work. As seen in his manifesto and website both being very eye-catching and drawing the viewer in. His manifesto is written in a comic book style. “Architects tend to skip the text bit and flip to the page with the images, right?” Ingles says, “so were like sneaking the medicine into the pudding.” (Wiles,2009) He thinks through what people want to see and will understand. To produce his graphic presentations and a lot could be learnt from him.
Legibility doesn’t only stop with presentations and drawings but should also look at the legibility of space. How are spaces planned around one another? Can anyone move easily through one space to the next? Needs the planning of circulation routes that are set out and easily identified. Figure 2:Circulations around the central axis for the easy legibility of space. Drawn by author.
The student commons design above shows the circulation of people vertically in the center of the building then moves horizontally to each wing. With the circulation around central lightwells. Clear and set out routes through the building that are planned around central elements help make legible spaces.
Contextual sensitivity Figure 3&3: BIG Architects conceptual development diagrams. (BIG :2015)
Contextual sensitivity is one of the most important principals in the process of designing because as much as Architects can strive to design the best buildings possible one can never truly know how it will be realized within its context. With this, there are so many factors that need to be considered for a design to be site sensitive. The height of the surrounding buildings may influence how many floors your design should be restricted to.
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The programming and use should be considered with the surrounding programs and as to what is needed within the community. It's important to consider what could be an addition to the building that can help to provide back to the community. Materiality choices of the building considering the predominant materials used and found within the surrounding context. Using local materials has large sustainability benefits and can create a sense of belonging. An inspiring precedent by Francis Kere shows these concepts of contextual sensitivity in his Gando school design. The school was the first school built within the community. The entire school is built from local materials and built by people within the community. Providing people with the means to get an education, while teaching people new skills on how to build clay structures to be durable and last through the rainy seasons. (View images 4 and 5)
The building should also respond to how people move on and around the site. This can affect if people will be drawn into spaces or will produce dead space. This can also affect how people move through and around the building. When these movements occur if designed well can create a seamless flow from space to space. If a design is successful in being contextually sensitive, it can create a sense of genius loci in the connection created with the building and its context.
Figure 4:Francis Kere Gando primary school plan and sections showing thick clay walls. (Kere:2009)
Figure 5:Gando surrounding villages shown with the yellow circles. Red circle the only school within the area. Drawn by author.
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Figure 6:Student commons pedestrian and vehicular movement diagram. Drawn by author.
The image above shows my student commons design where the form of the building was produced by the movement of people through and around the site. Which in return produces two public spaces on the site, that gives back space to the city.
Sustainability Sustainability is a principle every architect should consider when designing. As architecture is a contributor to pollution and the destruction of our planet. So, it is our responsibility to make the smallest impact possible. Doing this by considering passive design concepts such as the building’s orientation, natural ventilation, material choices, power and water supply, and usage. When designing and considering the
different passive design concepts. Instead of adding onto the existing design to meet sustainability concepts, the designer should let the different sustainability concepts be expressed within the building's design and overall concept. My student commons design shows the integration of sustainability into the main concepts of the design. As the main large atrium of the building serving as the vertical circulation, but also creates a stack for natural ventilation. The atrium also brings in lots of natural light. Within the wide spaces of the building wings. In addition, there are light wells to bring in natural light and ventilate spaces. Adaptive timber louvers are also used to control light and heat gain or loss within the internal spaces.
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Figure 7: Student common sustainability concepts. Drawn by author.
The basic sustainability concepts of passive heating and cooling can be seen in Francis Kere's design of the Gando primary school. But although simple they harmoniously create a building that is perfectly designed for its context. The large span and elevated roof allow for movement of wind through the building creating cross ventilation.
To cool the interior spaces within the hot environment of Gando. The thick clay walls keep the internal spaces cool during the day and release the built-up heat during the cooler temperatures of the night. This is a project where you can see the connection of the design decisions that are informed by sustainability concepts. Which in return responds to the site and its needs.
Figure 8:Sustainability concept ideas of Francis Keres primary school design. Drawn by author.
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Accessibility Accessibility has to be one of the lowest considered principals by architects and needs to be made more of a priority. My short experience of this being the design tour around the Witwatersrand University where we had to take turns to experience how to move around campus in a wheelchair. The experience was very eye-opening of the difficulties to get from one building to the next, ramps are always tucked behind buildings and hard to find and take twice as long to get to your final destination. Even most of the auditorium spaces are not accessible for wheelchair access. This shows that the current regulations are not enough in ensuring accessibility for all people. Ramps need to be positioned at main entrances for easy access into the building. The size of passages needs to be considered to have enough space for easy circulation between spaces. Considerations for other disabilities such as blindness should also be taken when designing. The Hazelwood school designed by Alan Dunlop architects uses an array of easily accessible ramps and circulation through the building. Allowing easy movement from one level to the next. They used different textured materials along the walls giving the students something tactile to lead them through the spaces.
Figure 9:Plan of Hazelwood school with curved ramped passages throughout the building. (Gandhi :2016)
Figure 10:Hazelwood school design with textured walls for guidance through spaces. Drawn by author.
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The poetics of space The final principle being the poetics of space, the poetic experiences that are created through our designs. How are spaces interconnected with one another? What experience is created when moving through the building? The thresholds and scale of spaces should work interchangeably with the programming of space. Giving more space to certain programs than others. The scale is a design concept that can be used to create very different experiences. Large scalespaces can feel light, open, and powerful. Where smaller scale spaces feel more enclosed and intimate. The design expression or style can affect the poetics of the space and how it is perceived by different people. To design beautifully poetic spaces each design decision within the space should be considered carefully, with each decision having a meaning or concept behind it.
In my design of the Museum for Johannesburg, I play with the stacking of public spaces to create layers of different interactions and gatherings. Where two different groups of people can gather around the same circular element but on different levels of the building. Creating a level of connectivity between the two separate events.
Figure 12: Circular gathering spaces created by the auditoriums dome structure producing a concave space on the upper levels. Drawn by author.
Figure 13:International African American museum. Site sensitive concept. Drawn by author.
Figure 11: Museum section showing the stacking of gathering spaces. Auditorium and amphitheater. Drawn by author.
The poetic spaces created in the design of the international African American museum are that of the large public ground level. Which is created from the design choice to honor the sensitive history of the site by leaving it as untouched as possible. The center of the site is designed to be the heart of the building. As it is the main center of circulation and the main source of natural light. Each space is 8
thought out to the next with each one having its own unique experience while still being interconnected within the design.
Conclusion The process of designing a successful building would include the combing of all five of the above-mentioned principles legibility, conceptual sensitivity, sustainability, accessibility, and the poetics of space. Each principle is thought through and considered individually to try achieving the best design response. These principals could not only be thought of as individual principals but as complementary principals where each idea informs the next creating interconnectivity between the entire design. Allowing for each design element to feel intentional.
References Gandhi, S:2016 Hazelwood school [Internet] available at https://shivanigandhiblog.files.wordpress.co m/2016/12/hazelwood-school-study-3.pdf Accessed on 04/10/2020. Ingles, B :2015 Via 57 West [internet] https://big.dk/#projects-w57. Accessed on 02/10/2020. Wiles, W: 2009 Bjarke Ingels [internet] available at https://www.iconeye.com/architecture/feat ures/bjarke-ingels. Accessed on 25/09/2020
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