3/17/2010
2/10/2010
Juice Bar
Your client owns a small cafe on Byres Road and wants to convery it into a juice bar. He recognises that for new business to succeed he will need to attract a different clientele who are prepared to pay comparatively high prices for freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable drinks and organic hot and cold snacks and who will expect to enjoy them in a well designed environment. He needs to maximise seating and favours two person tables (800x600) but is willing to consider other options for some customers if he can increase numbers. Storage and snack preperation will take place in the kitchen at the rear of the site. Drinks will be prepared at the counter, at least 4.5metres long in the front area. The floor to ceiling height is 3250mm and the windows at the front stretch from floor to ceiling. Customer access to the lavatory must be retained.
1/22/2010
Several Hundred VOCs*
In the face of this dizzying electronic vending binge, there remains a solid market for traditional printed and bound books and the slow, face-to-face selling of objects.
You are asked to submit proposals for a city dealership in antiquarian books.
• Antiquarian in this instance = scarce and therefore collectable.
• It is called Several Hundred VOC’s.
• It caters for a niche market and is staffed by enthusiastic experts.
* The shops name is derived form an article in the journal Analytical Chemistry, it is an abbreviation of volatile organic compounds. These combine to create the characteristic smell of ageing paper described above.**
The bookshelves are located at the rear section of the shop, displayed on 'floating' shelves.Bespoke full height large frames, in the shape of classic armoire wardrobes sit in front of the shelves, rendered in a black acrylic that is semi-transparent. A long bespoke viewing table stretches along the back of the shop, with pull out plan chests where smaller collectables can be kept. On top sits a glass plinth from which customers can study the books more closely. The far wall is decorated with a large burnished metal mirror, which elongates the space and ties in with the tin ceiling tiles (http:///www.tinceilings.com).
A consultation area doubles up as a cash desk, with space for a laptop and telephone. Here the shop owner will be able to speak with customers, pricing books and looking up any necessary or requested information. The wall behind, features patterned wallpaper (timirous beasties)and provides space for the shop owners more personal objects, for example their favourite books, antiques, paintings, and personal photographs.
The selection of reading chairs in the space would be second hand, possibly from auction or antique dealers. To tie them into the overall look and feeling of the space and give them their new function, they would be upholstered in fabric which has the same pattern as the feature wallpaper.
The display window acts as a 'live display'. A space where two people are able to sit, either to wait for consultation or simply to read a book. The large expanse of glass slightly tinted to avoid sunlight damage to the books.
At the centre of the shop sits the main feature. A custom made, spiral bookshelf. Which surrounds the support column in the centre of the store. The column wfinished in the same burnished metal as the mirror.
To the left of the window is a cabinet which houses larger books. With Black acrylic cabinet doors, and again a viewing plinth on top, on which the books can be rested and properly examined.
The small windows in the space are made of two panes of glass, between which printed paper is pressed. This diffuses light in order to protect the books from UV and also acts as a feature point, the pressed parchment reminiscent of stained glass windows.
The toiler sits within the confines of a wood panel curved wall (the same dark wood as the flooring throughout).
The main feature of this bathroom, are the Scrabble tiles, used to cover the bathroom unit and one wall. (wooden scrabble tiles)
(Still to come- Floor Plan, Elevation Drawings and Sketches)
11/16/2009
Skin, Ribbon, Envelope [part one]
Gathering information on surfaces from examples in the field- build up a collection of material observations. Consider properties such as colour, texture, tactility, acoustic properties, mass, opacity and temperature, as well as contextual matters, where did you find them, why were they chosen for their specific location, do they perform well there?
11/04/2009
Room for thought
Brief: Design a room(s) where two people can speculate about the future..
Your proposal must incorporate two ready-mades (chairs) supplied.
Two people enter the space from opposite ends. They each take a seat in the chair that is furthest from them. One climbs two steps to sit in the ear chair, the other descends the steps to sit in the bubble chair passing one another half way.
The chairs face one another, aligned. The bubble chair suspended from the lofty ceiling, the ear chair elevated by the heightened mezzanine.
Both chairs represent personal enclosure, they each create their own space, a self contained ‘room‘.
The sitters experience a sense of isolation whilst remaining aware of their external surroundings.
The bubble chair swallows external sound, creating a space with a unique acoustic, amplifying this sense of isolation whilst giving the sitter an atmosphere for thought- for speculation. It’s transparent material creates a paradox to this feeling of privacy- light can enter from all directions and the other sitter is able to see into their space.
The ear chair provides it’s sitter with a similar acoustic sensation (or lack of) with a solid opaque structure surrounding the body. Contradicting the bubble chair, it casts a large irregular yet defined shadow.
The sitters do not speak, instead they speculate their own future privately but are still able to see one another, make eye contact and observe the others space. They could be writing, drawing, meditating, it doesn’t matter. Both sitters are free to move about the space, although there are no other objects within it. They can swap places. They are free to leave at any time.
Elements within the room mirror characteristics of the chairs. The mezzanine level on which the ear chair sits appears to be floating and casts a strong shadow below. The two side walls feature panelling with strong geometric shaping.
Transparent poles fitted with LED lights can be sequenced to create movement within the room, they too reflect this idea of suspension.
Day light enters through two skylights positioned at either side of a large light panel. As time passes and the natural light changes so too does the space, the shadows lengthening and changing direction.
As night falls the central panel of light on the ceiling takes over, the quality and colour of light changing very slowly over time.
The changes in light and sound within the space create a looping sensation with the passing of time.
The room plays with the concept of void space - the area beneath the two platforms, the gap between the large side panels and the glass exterior walls, the space beneath the bubble chair and between the large suspended poles. These spaces have no specific function, but they create further depth within the space through the manipulation of negative space and light. These void spaces represent room for thought, too narrow for a physical passageway the sitters can allow their thoughts to explore these spaces.
The room could be anywhere, it has the potential to be a movable space. A change in location would present a shift in atmosphere and mood with changes in light and surrounding colours and conditions. The gaps in the side panelling allow the sitters to see out beyond the space, framing the external surroundings. It could be relocated- indoors or outdoors, in the centre of a busy street, in the quiet corner of an art gallery- in a field.
The chairs face one another, aligned. The bubble chair suspended from the lofty ceiling, the ear chair elevated by the heightened mezzanine.
Both chairs represent personal enclosure, they each create their own space, a self contained ‘room‘.
The sitters experience a sense of isolation whilst remaining aware of their external surroundings.
The bubble chair swallows external sound, creating a space with a unique acoustic, amplifying this sense of isolation whilst giving the sitter an atmosphere for thought- for speculation. It’s transparent material creates a paradox to this feeling of privacy- light can enter from all directions and the other sitter is able to see into their space.
The ear chair provides it’s sitter with a similar acoustic sensation (or lack of) with a solid opaque structure surrounding the body. Contradicting the bubble chair, it casts a large irregular yet defined shadow.
The sitters do not speak, instead they speculate their own future privately but are still able to see one another, make eye contact and observe the others space. They could be writing, drawing, meditating, it doesn’t matter. Both sitters are free to move about the space, although there are no other objects within it. They can swap places. They are free to leave at any time.
Elements within the room mirror characteristics of the chairs. The mezzanine level on which the ear chair sits appears to be floating and casts a strong shadow below. The two side walls feature panelling with strong geometric shaping.
Transparent poles fitted with LED lights can be sequenced to create movement within the room, they too reflect this idea of suspension.
Day light enters through two skylights positioned at either side of a large light panel. As time passes and the natural light changes so too does the space, the shadows lengthening and changing direction.
As night falls the central panel of light on the ceiling takes over, the quality and colour of light changing very slowly over time.
The changes in light and sound within the space create a looping sensation with the passing of time.
The room plays with the concept of void space - the area beneath the two platforms, the gap between the large side panels and the glass exterior walls, the space beneath the bubble chair and between the large suspended poles. These spaces have no specific function, but they create further depth within the space through the manipulation of negative space and light. These void spaces represent room for thought, too narrow for a physical passageway the sitters can allow their thoughts to explore these spaces.
The room could be anywhere, it has the potential to be a movable space. A change in location would present a shift in atmosphere and mood with changes in light and surrounding colours and conditions. The gaps in the side panelling allow the sitters to see out beyond the space, framing the external surroundings. It could be relocated- indoors or outdoors, in the centre of a busy street, in the quiet corner of an art gallery- in a field.
11/02/2009
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