Three sides to every story.

One of my final projects for university this year required us to do a site analysis of Macquarie Place, a small historical park near Sydney's Circular Quay.
From the site analysis we had to construct a 3D model, as well as a 3D component, that communicated our conceptual response to the space.
My overall concept was based around the idea of there existing three sides to every story. For Macquarie Place, it's first 'side' was its existence as the heart of colonial Sydney. To represent this I made a 3D graphic illustration of a human heart and used the red and blue colours of the heart (and that also relate to the colonial history of Australia by being the nationalist colours of England) within my 3D piece.
The second 'side' was its abandonment due to being overshadowed by towering skyscrapers and a modern city that was built up around it (and over it). This was represented in the second graphic, the symbol which is also used in the 3D piece and conveys the paths of movement around Macquarie Place. The most popular path is that on the side of the park, whilst the second most popular route people walk is one that rushes past the historical aspects of the site.
The third, and final, 'side' to the story was that there are some individuals who do see the historical monuments, albeit to use them as their own personal skatepark. This was represented in the final graphic which tracks the movement of a skateboarder that I filmed in the space, as well as the triangular monument aspect of the 3D model being spliced into sections by the blue paths, symbolising the movement of the skateboarders across the monuments.

Presentation

3D model

Macquarie Place, The heart of colonial Sydney

Macquarie Place, the abandoned heart

Macquarie Place, skating over history

Endotopic and Exotopic.

My most recent university project was to explore endotopic and exotopic forms through balsa wood sculptures. The project brief stated that an endoptopic form was one that implodes within a frame and an exotopic form explodes externally from a frame. For this project our endotopic model was to use geometric shapes, forms and ideas, while our exotopic form was to be organically driven.

In designing our two sculptural forms we had to use different weight of balsa wood, develop our visual diaries, construct sketch models and undertake measured drawings of the form. Balsa, and glue, were the only materials that we were able to use. 

As I began to undertake research I thought of the idea of winter and hibernation, and the simply act of curling into oneself to make one warmer. I came across an image of a squirrel huddled in snow, it's paws tucked into it's body and it's tail curling upwards and wrapping around itself. From this I decided to base my endotopic form on a squirrel and my exotopic form on flames.

I formed both through cutting the balsa with a scalpel and stanley knife, and curling some of the balsa in boiling water and glass cleaner for long periods of time before drying the balsa curled around multiple wooden spoons (see below), and on the inside of bowls - one piece took five days to dry! 

Here are the final models:

Here are some of the technical drawings for the squirrel:

Spatial design.

The final project for my other studio class was to pick a specific site within my university, and, having analysed it through applying ‘Goethean scientific methodology’, improve it.

My space chosen was effectively dead space, a place where no one felt welcome to relax or to meet, and a place that lacked suitable seating despite being well positioned as a mid-campus ‘pitt stop’.

We were to undertake an iterative process and to develop our ideas specifically through model making.

My key aims were to provide: seating, a welcoming area, and shelter.

My first model provided bench seating as well as a ‘wind shield’ due to the area often resembling a wind tunnel.

Moving on from that I created an Olafur Eliasson-inspired tunnel to make the path nearby more interesting and engaging. Thus tunnel also came about due to Paul Jackson’s 2011 book Folding Tecniques for Designers: From Sheet to Form.

Moving away from that idea, and after experimenting with folded cardboard I formed this shape.

When I moved the two side elements of this design around I noted its resemblance to a moth and so decided to enhance this. The lines in the ‘wings’ were experiments for in-built seating.

From the moth idea came the notion of having a light bulb moment, yet initial drawings of a giant light bulb monument revealed this to be impractical. Nonetheless, I liked the idea of creating some kind of sculptural form along with seating.

I moved away from cardboard and began to experiment with geometric forms and balsa wood.

Yet I still wanted the area to be practical and so I returned to a simple bench seat with a cover.

I then combined these ideas, albeit in a chaotic kind of way.

I once more returned to the idea of benches and created two variations.

From this I formed a frame with sheltered areas. With this formed, I experimented, again, with types of seating.

I was pleased with the frame and so built a copy on which I attached the reclining seats of the final model. This model provides seating and shelter while also being site-specific within the university and due to its placement outside a bookshop, as the frame and shape of the seat reflects the shape of an open book.

And finally, here are the presentation boards displaying an A1 abstract spatial analysis, photographs of the site, plans, elevations, sections and renderings of the final design.