Thursday, August 21, 2008

Design Two: The Internal Struggle



Once again I played with the idea of separate modules joined as one whole. Rather than ‘group’ the spaces, I wanted to pull them apart, creating more of a journey for the occupant – a journey for what? Based on my philosophical ramblings, that’s up to interpretation.

I wanted to use more linear elements, closed, dark and internalized. This house as the name suggests is about the internal struggle individuals and society face and how the two influence each other. Does one element really make a difference to the structure? Does the whole design influence the nature and position of each element? Once again, up to interpretation.


There is very limited interaction with the external environment forcing the occupant to look inwards – but still be able to glimpse the outside. Each space is of similar form, slightly altered, some are wide with a thin window, some are thin with a thin window, some are just thin, some are just wide. The idea of verticality and the shifting of position is derived from the notion of how humanity are ever changing, shifting, altering in form, appearance, mood, beliefs, values, etc. We change as individuals, we change as a society.


The built model also didn’t differ too greatly from the digital model. I subtracted a few elements, changed the positioning and forgot to cut a few windows. As with the first model, I was unsure as to where this tower and mirror would go, I struggled with the idea, as I thought it to be ‘too easy’ – everyone knows what a tower is…right? In this model I also used water as my ‘mirror’ and there is two ‘towers’, the long hallway, very thin, cramped space, high ceilings, almost…probably oppressive, doesn’t encourage the occupant to linger, reflect on themselves, but for each individual this feeling of discomfort will be for a different reason…encouraging that individual to recognize a particular aspect of themselves. The other ‘tower’ is the space surrounding the house. An open area, it invites the occupant to ‘have a look’.

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