Design Studio 3 - Portfolio

KAVIN A. DAWKINS

DESIGN STUDIO 3 ACADEMIC YEAR 2014 / 15

Kavin A. Dawkins

Design Studio 3 Academic Year 2014/15

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember.

Involve me and I learn.�

-Benjamin Franklin

MEMORY CLIMATE OUTLOOK TECTONICS

Table of Contents

RITUAL

Assignment 1

RITUAL

Assignment 1

A ritual can be described as an established or prescribed series of procedures done for religious or ceremonial purposes. The space which accommodates these ceremonial activities are highly dependent on the way humans interact, position themselves and focus during the ceremony. For this assignment students were required to design a suitable space for a given ritual.

RITUAL

Lecturer: David Cuthbert No. of Sessions: 5 Configuration: L- Shape (long-side)

For this project I was assigned Sunni Funeral as my ritual. This is a tradition Islamic ceremony which takes place upon the death of a member of such religious beliefs. Generally, the entire ceremonial process takes place at several different locations where cleanliness is vitally important. The ritual consists of 5 stages:

RITUAL - REFLECTION

- Caring for the Dying - Ghusl (washing of the body) - Shrouding - Salat-al-Janazah (ceremony) - Al Daffan (burial) Due to the fact that the Salat-al-Janazah is the ceremonial aspect of the ritual; I chose to design a space that would be mainly to accommodate the ceremony as well as the other important aspects of the ritual. As a result four main spaces were created Entrance, Shoes Storage, Cleansing Area, and Worship Area. The space was differentiated in terms of public vs. private, where the Entrance, Shoes Storage and Cleansing Area were public and the Worship Area was private. The transition from public to private area was found to be that of an S-like Circulation. Though the general public is welcomed, this was done to ensure that the overall privacy of the ritual is still maintained.

The design proved to be effective as it met the requirements that needed to be made without obstructing the ceremonial aspect of the ritual. I personally liked the design as a different light was shed on the public to private transition by my designated lecturer. However, there was room for improvement where the design was concerned. Further accommodations to the ritual could have been implemented into the design Ghusl was concerned. None the less I enjoyed the project overall as it was a great kick start to second year.

- Ghusl (washing of the body)

RITUAL - ANALYSIS & PROCESS

- Caring for the Dying

RITUAL - FINAL IMAGES

RITUAL - FINAL IMAGES

Assignment 2

MEMORY

Assignment 2

Memory, an act or instance of remembering or recalling past events. For this assignment we the students had to think of this project as creating a way to retain information through architecture. The objective was to design an instillation that would be both representational as well as experiential for a a past historic event in Jamaica.

MEMORY

Lecturer: David Cuthbert No. of Sessions: 5

MEMORY - REFLECTION

For this project I was assigned The Search, an event that took place in 1939 where a group of school boys along with their accompanied teacher where lost in the treacherous wilderness of Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Their journey started from Kingston after which they got lost for five days and were found on a mountainside in the Swift River Valley, Portland on December 24th. The scenario was known as ‘The Christmas Miracle’ of its time due to the date they were found.

During the designing process for this project I took the emotional phases expressed by both the missing party as well as their loved ones. Such emotions were found to be excitement, anxious, fear, sad, despair and thrilled where the feelings were expressed visually (expressive piece). Each of the feelings were taken in the order of their journey,where they started off feeling excited about the journey; anxious towards what to expect on the journey; feared what will happen to them after getting lost; sadness from missing their loved ones; despair after five days had passed; thrilled to be found by the search parties. To create this architectural experience most of the emotions felt were implemented so that they could feel what the missing party went through as they progressed through the installation. As a result I created a journey in which persons could walk through the space and reveal the emotions of the event.

Despair was found to be the emotion that stood out the most, hence, making me focus my design around that emotion. The instillation was accessed from a path that curved while progressing through it; where it is bordered by rectangular pillars that increase in height as you ascend as well as a solid wall that both eventually merge onto the main part of the instillation and prevents one from seeing the next stage of the instillation. Continuing through the space one would enter into the main part of the instillation (cylindrical structure) where they would experience the hardship that the lost party went through giving a sense of despair before finding their way out of the instillation.

However, there was an issue with my design concerning the contours placed in the main part of the instillation where it was seen as being too literal in this project. This issue could have been resolved by placing more cross members going across within the cylindrical structure instead of using contours.

MEMORY - ANALYSIS & PROCESS

MEMORY - FINAL IMAGES

MEMORY - FINAL IMAGES

Assignment 3

CLIMATE

Assignment 3

Climate is considered to be meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind that characteristically prevails in a particular region. The assignment requirements were to design the skin of a building 6 meters in height for the faces of the given configuration. The skin was also required to mediate a differentiation in the design of a public space and a private space.

CLIMATE

Lecturer: Desmond Hayle No. of Sessions: 5 Configuration: North-East

CLIMATE - REFLECTION

For this project I was assigned North-East as my configuration and the first thing done was to do research as well as sun path tests to see how buildings were affected by climate after which I started designing for my assigned facade. Taking my configuration into consideration, I found out what was the best shading method to implement in designing for the morning sunlight on the Eastern facade, as well as the midday/ afternoon sunlight on the Northern facade; while checking the sun path for each season (Winter, Equinox, and Summer Solstice). Lastly, I considered how day and night breeze impacted ventilation to ensure people would be thermally comfortable in both the public and private areas.

For my eastern facade, I created a compilation of vertical pillars which were also tilted to provide shade from the morning sun. As the vertical pillars ascended they each transitioned into horizontal components which moved towards the northern facade. This was done to create an interesting transition to the northern facade without being affected by sunlight of course. As for the northern facade, the entire surface was tilted in order to create a overhang that would in turn fight against midday/ afternoon sunlight during the summer. As for the horizontal member that transitioned from the eastern facade they continued and stop in a pattern that mirrors the eastern facade. In order to make the private space more private, the height was lowered to 2.5 meters. To accommodate more ventilation during the summer openings were also placed on the northern facade where a vertical opening was placed to the top of the skin and a horizontal opening was placed at the lower part of the skin to suit the public and private areas.

From this assignment I was more than satisfied in the aid received from my designated lecture as it enabled me to better understand more than just the movement of the sun in this region, but also how and why certain elements are applied to structures in order to conform to shading. In addition, I was able to understand how wind passes through a structure at different times of the day to suite different settings and functional spaces.

CLIMATE - ANALYSIS & PROCESS

CLIMATE - FINAL IMAGES

CLIMATE - FINAL IMAGES

Assignment 4

OUTLOOK

Assignment 4

When it comes to attain views at different angles outlook is the term that should be use. For this assignment, we were required to design a space that creates a journey towards a grand view of a poui tree situated near the structure. The structure was however situated on a slope and had certain dimensional limitations.

OUTLOOK

Lecturer: Desmond Hayle No. of Sessions: 5 Configuration: Courtyard

OUTLOOK - REFLECTION

For this project I was assigned Courtyard as my configuration and immediately knew what I wanted to do with my design. Sometimes viewing something from different angles and directions makes the subject far more interesting and elegant. So as a result I made my concept for this design one that would create a journey to the grand view of the poui tree while giving glimpses of the tree and playing with lighting in order to created excitement and anxiousness while progressing through the structure.

In order to create this feeling a slight angled opening was placed on eye level at the entrance of the structure where the bright vibrant yellow glare coming from the poui tree immediately captures ones attention making them want to enter the structure. Upon entering the structure one will see a ramp leading up towards the grand view in a direction that opposing the poui tree. While ascending into the space one is deprived of all views of the tree, however, the light penetrating the structure through slits in the wall adds to the excitement of the journey and peeks one’s interest forcing them to continue proceeding to the grand view of the tree. After reaching the first landing one would then see another glare from the poui tree caste against the wall making them want to proceed in that direction meanwhile walking under a canopy of light. One would then reach the second landing and get another glimpse of the tree where after proceeding up the final ramp they arrive at the the grand viewing area (rounded to better the viewing experience) where they have the option if standing up and getting a closer view of the tree or sitting down in a elevated courtyard area.

The use of ramps within my structure allowed the accommodation of disabled personnels. In addition, seeing that the tree is located towards the south-west of the structure, both the southern and western facade of the structure was shaded using a cantilevered roof. In doing so the entire structure itself was then cantilevered in a way that mirrored the slope to show that the structure is in opposition to the view given from the upper flat of the land.

In the end I was pleased with the design and quite enjoyed this project. None the less I felt a bit uneasy about the aesthetic appearance in the sectional views of the structure. As I further applied and involved myself I began to understand the use of frames to give different viewing experiences of a subject within a space.

OUTLOOK - ANALYSIS & PROCESS

OUTLOOK - FINAL IMAGES

OUTLOOK - FINAL IMAGES

Assignment 5

TECTONICS

Assignment 5

Where tectonics is concerned it is the art or science of construction where structural features are analysed. For this assignment we were required to design a mobile pavilion that accommodates special events such as concerts and plays. The pavilion was required to have a canopy that covers 56 meter squared to offer protection from the elements and a 20 meter squared floor raised 1.5 meters above ground level with no more than 4 loading points.

While designing the pavilion when detached should be able to fit within the back of a lorry.

TECTONICS

Lecturer: Michael Lorde No. of Sessions: 5 Configuration: B

TECTONICS - REFLECTION

For this project I was assigned configuration B, where my pavilion was situated at the top of a slope having a canopy that extending towards the south-west. For my first concept of my pavilion the flooring was to be held up on three loading points, however, due to the weight of the pavilion an additional loading point making it 4. All of the load points ran through the floor making it more structurally stable. The materials used were timber for the members and aluminium for connections suitable for its application.

The structure consisted of 4 loading point 4”x10” timber members that was braced using an aluminium casings that had bolts running through it and the timber for futher bracing. These in turn were used to support the floor and the roof. The flooring was made using 2”x8” timber members for the skid, 2”x6” timber members for the joist and 2”x8” timber members for the flooring. Those members were connected to each other using hurricane ties and joist hangers where needed. The implementation of a dry wall, made of timber members and covered with ply wood, was made making both a threshold onto the stage as well as for roof support. As for the roof of the pavilion scissor trusses, made entirely of timber, were used to help created a butterfly roofing and connected by using mortise and tenon joints. As for the roof covering it was covered was acrylic roofing material that mimicked the shape created by the scissor trusses.

The project on a whole to me was surely beneficial as it required the implementation of other classes (Digital Design Media and Structural Design). Furthermore, learning about suitable dimensions of timber to use as well as the different connection method to use from the help received from my designated lecturer. The most interest part of this project was showing the exploded para-line of my structure.

TECTONICS - ANALYSIS & PROCESS

TECTONICS - FINAL IMAGES

Joist Hanger

Exploded Paraline

Bolts Reinforcing Scissors Truss

Hurricane Tie Brackets

Mortis & Tenon Joint Reinforcing Wedge

TECTONICS - FINAL IMAGES

“ In the end for one to be truly involved in his/ her passion, means you shall learn and be educated, hnce having the key to success in life.�

- Kavin Dawkins