Canis Major

CANIS MAJOR Josephine Li

“Andria was built so artfully that its every street follows a planet’s orbit, and the buildings and the places of community life repeat the order of the 1 Constellations and the position of the most luminous stars” -Italo calvino, Invisible Cities

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invisible cites, includes A collection of passages describing of a place that does not

exist, but so presently does to Marco Polo a Venetian Traveler. The book itself, is almost his travel journey of cities he dreams to have visited. Kublai Khan, an emperor whose request were these stories from Marco, is reluctant to the validity of these cities, they very much exist in a subconscious state of mind. A city from one point of view varies from the next. A city, 3 public space, home, place resonates differently with whom chooses to experience it. Like Khan, these cities are invisible to me. They exist differently in my mind than they do to Polo. I think it is these narrative passages that are unique and allows the reader to illustrate their own perception of what is invisible. i chose to create an observatory from the invisible city of andria (found in cities & sky 5 ). Its a city built to reflect the laws of the solar system. it follows the order of the sky.

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Table of Contents Part one

Process Work

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Parti 11 Plan 13

prelimnary elevations 15-19 Part two

Process work 23

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updated floor plan

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section 27

elevation 29

isometric projection 31 Part three interior render 35

atmospheric drawing

part four

context diagram

conept diagram

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“thus the days on earth and the nights in the sky reflect each other�

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Part one

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Process Work Cities & The Sky 5 : theme exploration & parti Exploration

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Parti the points were created through the action of dropping a marker from different heights. through connecting these points an abstract constellation is formed.

These Voids were derived to represent the walls, playing in x,y,z directions

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Plan 1:100 order a theme of order and chaos is a working theme with this design. where in plan, the building remains simple, in “order�.

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Right interior wall elevation

1:100

chaos once in elevation and section, the complexity and “chaos� of the building is more prominent. where, what seems complex has a simple concept behind it.

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Right Exterior wall elevation 1:100 chaos

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Right combined wall elevation 1:100 chaos

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“our city and the sky correspond so perfectly”

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Part Two

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Process Work

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Front Elevation

1:600

section

1:600

ISOMETRIC VIEW

1:600

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Second iteration floor plan 1:300 the building still remains in order through canis major, however its walls start to follow the chaos of the solar system.

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Section 1:300 in section, you begin to see the fortress of walls that surround those inhabitating the space observing the stars. the scale choice assists in the sensoral experience of the distance between galactic elements in the solar system.

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Elevation

1:300

An inset glass roof was chosen to allow total observation of the sky. it allows for a subtle detail opposed to capping off the geometry, and hiding its “chaos�

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Isometric 1:300

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“That any change in andria invovles some novelty among the stars�

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Part three

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South - East View this perspective looking out to the south-east view, begins to reveal the buildings context beyond the stars. it sits near the edge of a cliff, just over the water.

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Atmospheric drawing this drawing explores the sensoral experience while inhabitating the space. from a first persons perspective, the stars engulf the visitors of the observatory when they look up

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“each change implies a sequence of other changes, in andria as among the stars: the city and the sky never remain the same�

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Part four

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context diagram canis major is located in the islands of lofoten, norway. these islands are perfect for viewing the northern lights. its rocky landscape, overlooks a sea of water below, and the constellations above.

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41 Moskenesøya Canis Major

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concept diagram to remember how we got here, andria, the, “city and the sky correspond so perfectly�. canis major, where the sky’s brightest star belongs, outlines the order of this observatory. where the lines and points of the constellation translate from sky to earth, to become the walls of canis major.

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“Convinced tht every innovation in the city influences the sky’s pattern, before taking any decision they calculate the risks and advantages for themselves and for the city and for all worlds�

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bibliography Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. Great Britian: Martin Secker & Warbug Limited, 1974.

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