School is back, and fourth year design studio started with a one-week charette. We were given a small plot of land downtown (25' x 85') and told to design a monument to architectural space. Doesn't get much more vague than that, right? I decided I wanted to make an intimate space in the middle of downtown - a place for reflection and meditation - to get away from the stress and noise of urban life.
I was feeling pretty good about my design - until our critique yesterday. They said it was claustrophobic, I had designed a shoebox, lack of context, etc.... One critic said it reminded her of a Richard Serra piece (that's not so bad, right?) The worst part of the charette is that it is graded anonymously, and there's no chance to defend your design. So, I observed as my design was ripped to shreds. Final drawings are due on Monday, and even though I still really like my design, I need to come up with some changes. I'm thinking if I deconstruct parts of the wall I might be able to keep the rest the same. We'll see. It's going to be a long weekend.
well...from what I can tell I like it. the section reminds me of a project I did in fifth year for housing. although I can't see everything, I think your idea of deconstructing the wall is in the right direction. as usual, I think adding greenery (maybe growing up the "bench" as a king of cushion) will definitely add dimension to the vertical surfaces and open up the space (shoebox comment). also, if there is a way to add slots in the exterior wall that capture moments of the chaos around might also help, but you have to be careful about how you do it...I would try to stay away from that if you can.
ReplyDeletemaybe its more about looking at the sky...that's what richard serra is all about (you should feel good about that comparison). you go in and you look up. it is true that your design should stand by itself, but its a little unfortunate that it was an anonymous crit. remember simple is better, so if you want to do something like this, less is more. we can talk more via email if you want.