Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Final explanation of each space - A deeper level of thought

My overall building explanation explaining the in depth symbolic meaning throughout:

The Meeting Space:
“It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness." This quote by Thomas Jefferson is the underlying factor in which the meeting space was based around. The meeting space was to be the joining of the two worlds in which the two clients live - those being the fashion and business. There are many components of the meeting space which are key elements in creating the tranquil feeling of the room. The idea of the room creating new birth or in some cases re-birth of ideas. This is seen from a special element of the meeting space, and that is the flowing water that surrounds the room. The reason why this is such a special element is that it symbolises the Japanese idea that water is the source of life and by having it surround the building it is providing a constant and everlasting source of ideas for the clients. This was another important issue in the design of this building, as I wanted the meeting space to be the area in which the two clients could part with their busy worlds and just take personal time and relax from the stresses of their everyday life. A place of tranquility. In the meeting the inclusion of the metal gold is also important. It is seen in the lighting colours, sculptures and the table and chairs. The metal gold shows how the two client’s power has given huge amounts of wealth and influence.
The way in which a room is entered can influence the impact in which a room has with its occupants. In the case of my meeting space the entrance is modeled around a secret vault. The reason behind this is that the meeting space is meant to be a secluded location of which the access within it is reserved for the privileged. The idea of a vault is further seen through the sliding metal bars as you enter the meeting spaces ‘vault’ entrance. This is to show the security and type of sanctuary in which the meeting space provides the clients with.

The above space (Donatella Versace):
In this space the idea of the client controlling the surroundings is ever present. This action of controlling the surroundings is seen in many areas of this space. Firstly the observer of the space will notice as he/she enters the office it appears to be very small with a wall on each side and nothing beyond, however this notion of space and the architecture interacting with an occupant’s presence is witnessed by as the occupant explores the space, the rooms build themselves around the occupant depending on their position. This eluding to the idea that power is about ultimate control and order.
Versace’s space has many qualities about it which enforce power and have deep significant meaning. The first quality is the ever increasing levels rising towards Versace’s office, implying the pinnacle of power and that she is at the top and the overseer. The rising tears also imply that people need to look up to her giving a sense of her authority and power.
Another quality of the space is the dissolving of the walls as approached. This is symbolic as it represents the stepping stones to her ultimate success. Having reached her office and peering back the occupant is able to look back and see where you have come from and how you have reached the top. As you climb the levels it can also be interpreted that the dissolving of the walls represent the achievement of certain mile stones/ or the overcoming of barriers in reaching the top of success and ladder of power.
Another significant aspect is the teleporting device. This represents the rare opportunities that are provided when having huge power and influence.

Her lift:
The lift which travels to Donatella Versace’s space has meaning implied to it as well. The main one is the extent of the curves which penetrate out of this elevator. The idea for this is that it is meant for Donatella Versace and is a portrait of her power so I wanted to design a lift which is like a palace and represent elegance, power and grace.

The below space: (Zhang Yin).
Zhang Yin is a self made woman of power. Her space exemplifies many aspects of power both through appearance and symbolic meaning.
Firstly this is seen in the lifts tunnel approach to her office space. The tunnel represents her focused determination to achieve and succeed in both life and the business world. This is shown by the fact that once the occupant has entered the lift they are taken in a very formal, direct and confined path towards her space. The circular shape of the tunnel and the rings which form the tunnel are symbolic as they portray the notion of passing through varying hoops and levels of power and success in life.
The shape of the space itself is an aspect of the space which shows her power. Having reached a certain level of success the opportunities that arise from the power grow ever bigger. This is seen from the shape of the building expanding and growing as further explored.
Another significant aspect is the teleporting devices which are used to relocate occupants throughout the office space within Zhang Yin’s office. This represents the rare opportunities that are provided when having huge power and influence.
Having success means although you are at the top of your field (in her case business in china) you still need the support systems below to sustain that power. This is evident in her space through the climbing levels of which allows the occupants on the higher levels to view down upon the people below. This also representing the power that the people higher up hold.

Her lift:
The lift which travels to Zhang yin’s space has meaning implied to it as well. The meaning behind it is that through the twisting of its structure in order to create its form, it is a portrayal of the journey in which she has undertaken to get to her level of power and also shows the connection that power, struggles and life lessons have in forming her being.

Lift room:
The lift room is the heart of the whole building in determining which direction you wish to travel. This space of the building is more of a controversial area of the building. In this location I wanted to combine the notion of meeting but not actually connecting. There are many ways in which this is achieved in this room. The first way is that this space is the place in which the two clients must journey through in order to enter the meeting space. The reason why this was done is that it is symbolic of a final step, the final stage of taking control of something, and in their case it is the act of taking control of the vault entrance of which connects them to their meeting space.
This room also has some very interesting connections to the act of held back connection. This is seen through the room actually working and interacting completely around the occupant, this seen by as the occupant (clients) walks past a wall, the wall actually moves with their movements, as if alive. This is a contradicting element of the room as it demonstrates the act of someone trying to takeaway and gain the power and control from someone else, this is symbolic of the constant competition that the two clients must face at their level of business. It is also a nice element in the room which helps to break away from the norms of what a wall is meant to be.
And lastly the room has another component which demonstrates the controversial nature of the room, which is to show connectivity without actually connecting. The component which does this is the lighting in the room. The way in which this is achieved is that through the use of the texture on the walls and the positioning of the lighting fixtures I was able to show how the illusion of windows (in this case stain glass) can make a room appear as if it is open and connected to the outside environment, when actually it is secluded and held back from fully connecting with it.

Exterior:
In the case of the exterior i designed it to look like a mix between a modern office block and a futuristic creation of art. The meaning behind this is because i wanted to display the idea that was put forward by Theodore VonKármán, (c.a. 1957), that ``Science is the study of what Is, Architecture builds what Will Be.''
Also the exterior was designing to be relatively plain and uninformative. This was done as in today's societies, and strongly in the clients, there is strong emphasis on appearance but also on the secretive nature in which their work revolves around. So it has been designed to look plain but when entered inside it takes on a completely different personal from the one being previously displayed.

2 comments:

David said...

so when is your novel on this design being published? hahaha nice stuff chris (Y)

Anonymous said...

u know this is really very interesting as it helps to really explain your building.