AS I STEPPED INTO MY SECOND SEMESTER OF ARCHITECTURE, I FOUND MYSELF GRADUALLY SHIFTING FROM ABSTRACT IDEAS TO MORE GROUNDED, REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS. THIS SEMESTER BECAME A TURNING POINT IN HOW I UNDERSTOOD CONTEXT, NOT JUST AS A SETTING, BUT AS A LIVING LAYER THAT SHAPES DESIGN DECISIONS. THROUGH INSIGHTFUL SITE VISITS AND ANALYTICAL CASE STUDIES LIKE THE TOTTORI TAKAHAMA CAFÉ, I BEGAN TO GRASP HOW ARCHITECTURE RESPONDS TO ITS ENVIRONMENT WITH INTENTION AND SENSITIVITY.
WORKING IN TEAMS ALSO DEEPENED MY APPRECIATION FOR COLLABORATION. IN OUR P2 GROUP PROJECT, WE EXPLORED SPATIAL FLOW AND FUNCTION THROUGH THE DESIGN OF A "REALLY USEFUL STAIRCASE," WHICH WE NAMED BATU BELAH. IT CHALLENGED US TO THINK BEYOND MOVEMENT, INTO INTERACTION, PAUSE, AND ENGAGEMENT. THE SEMESTER CULMINATED WITH P3, MY INDIVIDUAL DESIGN FOR A COMPACT BACH, WHICH I CALLED MANYAR NOOK. INSPIRED BY NATURE AND SIMPLICITY, IT BECAME MY PERSONAL INTERPRETATION OF HOW ARCHITECTURE CAN FEEL BOTH INTIMATE AND EXPRESSIVE. ALTOGETHER, THIS SEMESTER SHARPENED NOT ONLY MY DESIGN SKILLS BUT ALSO MY ABILITY TO OBSERVE, REFLECT, AND RESPOND AS A YOUNG ARCHITECT IN THE MAKING.
P
R O J E C T 1
T O T T O R I T A K A H A M A
C
A F
É KENGO KUMA & ASSOCIATES
IN PROJECT 1, I LEARNED A LOT FROM STUDYING THE TOTTORI TAKAHAMA CAFÉ, ESPECIALLY HOW ARCHITECTURE CAN CONNECT DEEPLY WITH ITS NATURAL SURROUNDINGS. THE CAFÉ’S SIMPLE DESIGN, USE OF TIMBER, AND STRONG CONNECTION TO THE SEA TAUGHT ME THAT GOOD ARCHITECTURE DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE BOLD. IT CAN BE CALM, QUIET, AND THOUGHTFUL. THIS CASE STUDY HELPED ME UNDERSTAND HOW MATERIALS, ORIENTATION, AND SPACE PLANNING CREATE ATMOSPHERE AND EMOTION. IT ALSO TAUGHT ME TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO CONTEXT AND HOW A BUILDING MAKES PEOPLE FEEL INSIDE.
TOTTORI TAKAHAMA CAFÉ
WE STUDIED THE TOTTORI TAKAHAMA CAFÉ, AND IT’S A PROJECT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER BECAUSE IT COMPLETELY CHANGED HOW I SEE ARCHITECTURE. THE CAFÉ’S QUIET PRESENCE, USE OF NATURAL MATERIALS LIKE TIMBER, AND STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEA SHOWED ME HOW POWERFUL SIMPLE DESIGN CAN BE WHEN IT CONNECTS WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS. I WAS INSPIRED BY HOW THE SPACE FEELS CALM AND WELCOMING, EVEN THOUGH IT’S SMALL AND MINIMAL. THIS PROJECT TAUGHT ME TO FOCUS NOT JUST ON THE FORM, BUT ALSO ON THE ATMOSPHERE AND EMOTION A SPACE CAN CREATE. IT REMINDED ME THAT GOOD ARCHITECTURE COMES FROM UNDERSTANDING THE SITE AND DESIGNING WITH CARE AND PURPOSE.
DIAGRAMS
THIS SEMESTER, I HAD MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE MY OWN ATTEMPT DIAGRAMS FOR MY BUILDING DESIGN, AND IT WAS A VERY EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE. AT FIRST, I WAS UNSURE HOW TO TRANSLATE MY IDEAS INTO CLEAR VISUALS, BUT THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR, I SLOWLY LEARNED HOW TO COMMUNICATE MY CONCEPT, SPACE PLANNING, AND DESIGN INTENTION MORE EFFECTIVELY. MAKING THESE DIAGRAMS HELPED ME UNDERSTAND MY PROJECT
ON A DEEPER LEVEL, BECAUSE I HAD TO THINK NOT JUST ABOUT HOW IT LOOKS, BUT HOW IT WORKS AND WHY IT MATTERS. IT TAUGHT ME THAT DIAGRAMS ARE NOT JUST FOR PRESENTATION, BUT A POWERFUL TOOL TO HELP DEVELOP AND REFINE THE DESIGN ITSELF.
P R O J E C T 2
B A T U B E L A H B A T U
B E R T A N G K U P
GROUP PROJECT OF MATTBENNETHS
NICOLE MINGJIE
AIN NAJIHA
A N D T E S T I N G D I F F E R E N T C O M P O S I T I O N S , I S T A R T E D T O S E E H O W T H E D E S I G N C
U L
C A P T U R E A S E N S E O F M O V E M E N T A N D
T E N S I O N . I T F E L T L I K E T H E S T R U C T U
W A S G R O W I N G O U T O F T H E T E R R A I N , M E R G I N G W I T H T
DESIGN PROCESS SKETCHJOURNAL
P R O J E C T 3
M A N Y A R N O O K
BACH DESIGN BY MYSELF
C O N C E P T
MY INITIAL DESIGN CONCEPT WAS INSPIRED BY THE FORM AND MEANING OF A BIRD NEST A STRUCTURE THAT IS LIGHT, ELEVATED, PROTECTIVE, AND INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO NATURE. I WANTED TO TRANSLATE THIS IDEA INTO AN ARCHITECTURAL SPACE THAT FEELS SAFE, NURTURING, AND QUIETLY POWERFUL. AS THE CONCEPT EVOLVED, I DECIDED TO COMBINE IT WITH A LIBRARY, WHICH I FELT NATURALLY RESONATED WITH THE NEST: BOTH ARE PLACES WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS GATHERED, HELD, AND NURTURED OVER TIME.
THE DESIGN IS ELEVATED LIKE A TREEHOUSE, SUPPORTED BY A CENTRAL CORE AND WRAPPED IN WAVY TIMBER LAYERS THAT MIMIC THE TEXTURE AND LAYERING OF TWIGS IN A NEST. THE USE OF DIFFERENT STRIP THICKNESSES CREATES VARIATION IN LIGHT, PRIVACY, AND ENCLOSURE, SOME PARTS MORE OPEN, OTHERS MORE COCOONED, JUST LIKE A REAL NEST. INTERNALLY, THE SPACE IS DIVIDED INTO QUIET READING ZONES, CURVED BOOK WALLS, AND A WINDING CIRCULATION PATH THAT INVITES EXPLORATION AND PAUSE.
F E E L I N G S
AT FIRST, I WAS NERVOUS ABOUT WHETHER COMBINING SOMETHING ABSTRACT LIKE A BIRD NEST WITH A PROGRAM AS STRUCTURED AS A LIBRARY WOULD WORK. BUT AS I STARTED SKETCHING AND BUILDING THE PHYSICAL MODEL, I FELT EXCITED AND DEEPLY CONNECTED TO THE IDEA. THERE WAS SOMETHING CALMING ABOUT DESIGNING A SPACE THAT SYMBOLIZES GROWTH AND LEARNING, ESPECIALLY IN A SUSPENDED, QUIET SETTING. IT MADE ME REFLECT ON HOW ARCHITECTURE COULD FEEL ALMOST ALIVE SOMETHING THAT HOLDS PEOPLE GENTLY, LIKE BRANCHES HOLDING A NEST.
EVALUATION
ONE OF THE STRENGTHS OF THIS CONCEPT IS ITS SYMBOLIC CLARITY. THE LIBRARY DOESN’T JUST EXIST INSIDE A NEST FORM—IT EMBODIES THE VERY ESSENCE OF WHAT A NEST MEANS: PROTECTION, LEARNING, AND GROWTH. THE WAVING TIMBER STRIPS SUCCESSFULLY CREATE A SENSE OF MOVEMENT AND NATURAL LAYERING, WHILE ALSO PLAYING WITH LIGHT, SHADOW, AND VENTILATION. HOWEVER, SOME PARTS OF THE FORM FEEL TOO ABSTRACT AT THIS STAGE—I NEED TO FURTHER EXPLORE HOW USERS INTERACT WITH THE SPACES, AND HOW THE FURNITURE AND BOOKSHELVES ARE INTEGRATED INTO THE CURVES.
ANALYSIS
THE PROCESS HELPED ME UNDERSTAND HOW FORM AND FUNCTION CAN GROW FROM A STRONG METAPHOR. THE TIMBER LAYERING SYSTEM BECAME MORE THAN JUST A VISUAL IDEA—IT INFORMED HOW THE SPACE IS EXPERIENCED: SOME LAYERS OPEN UP TO VIEWS AND LIGHT, OTHERS COMPRESS FOR INTIMACY AND FOCUS. THE VERTICAL STRUCTURE SUPPORTS NOT ONLY THE FLOORS BUT THE IDEA OF ASCENDING KNOWLEDGE, LIKE A JOURNEY UPWARD THROUGH THE TREE CANOPY. I ALSO BEGAN THINKING MORE ABOUT SENSORY QUALITIES HOW SOUND MIGHT BE SOFTENED, HOW NATURAL LIGHT MIGHT BE DAPPLED, AND HOW STILLNESS COULD BE DESIGNED.
THIS CONCEPT TAUGHT ME THAT ARCHITECTURE CAN BE BOTH CONCEPTUALLY DEEP AND SPATIALLY SENSITIVE. BY BLENDING THE IMAGE OF A BIRD NEST WITH THE FUNCTION OF A LIBRARY, I FOUND A WAY TO EXPRESS MY BELIEF THAT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS SHOULD FEEL ORGANIC, INVITING, AND SAFE. THE MODEL HELPED ME VISUALIZE HOW STRUCTURE AND STORY CAN COME TOGETHER—HOW POETIC INSPIRATION CAN GUIDE REAL DESIGN DECISIONS.MOVING FORWARD, I WANT TO REFINE THE INTERIOR CIRCULATION AND BOOK STORAGE SYSTEMS TO WORK MORE FLUIDLY WITH THE CURVED ENVELOPE. I ALSO PLAN TO STUDY TREEHOUSE AND ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE PRECEDENTS, FOCUSING ON HOW LIGHTWEIGHT, ELEVATED STRUCTURES CAN SUPPORT FUNCTIONAL SPACES. ADDITIONALLY, I’LL TEST MATERIALS THAT CAN REPLICATE THE TEXTURE AND LAYERING OF TIMBER IN A MORE CONSTRUCTIBLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY. I HOPE TO KEEP NURTURING THIS CONCEPT INTO A SPACE WHERE BOTH ARCHITECTURE AND IMAGINATION TAKE FLIGHT.
