EXTRA NOTE!

About my valley, its based on the kashmir valleys in India, primarily of this photo;
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGX3owUWsuT_2IGIfmJ4WzHBWFucmnBBfj5xMcp9siX_Qq73H8HjhOhAj6EwV-ldGjbqDVnsQcfhApwTpm0W52c4iSJTKAhWvPhDRnGBq4ynSc-yq8LkyOWmLLg8FDm6JITvX2hlimQ/s1600/kashmir2.jpg

Final Submission: Experiment 3

The concept for my project grew from the back story I created for this experiment during the mash-up section. I created a partnership between Facebook and TakeTwo Interactive, where they aimed to create a 'social media center for gaming' thus allowing their power as a corporation to grow. This led me to create two intertwined bridging systems, a public pathway and a system of interconnected spaces (with the very idea of interconnectedness being core to my overall concept) that compromised the Facebook and the TakeTwo Interactive headquarters. I experimented with interconnected H figures during the exercises, but went in a very different direction for my final product. Similarily, the textures exercise forced me to think about movement between spaces, which I found to be interesting in it's application to the final product. I took the idea that Facebook, who's main business idea consists of connections between people, would be the ones primarily undertaking the initiative for the partnership, and so I created the long, reaching series of spaces that comprise the Facebook headquarters.

The TakeTwo Interactive headquarters on the other hand are more reflective of their business model; a series of different studios working on separate projects; this reflected in the semi-circular lay out of the offices.

I also made the use of glass to highlight important spaces (such as the bosses offices which were located towards the center of either headquarters, as opposed to the smaller common offices spaces), empowering them with the day lighting and magnificent views.

There is also a central, common space between the Facebook headquarters and the TakeTwo Interactive headquarters, for leisure and eating. This helps reflect upon the idea of this partnership between the two corporations by providing a physical direct link between them.

The elevator and dining table further emphasise this idea. The elevators first come together to meet, and interlock before they travel together towards the small island with the dining table. The dining table is shaped as such to focus the attention of the two VIPs towards each other, with framing elements furthering this idea of the connection between the two VIPs and by extension the corporations.

NOTE: in case its too clear, the Facebook headquarters are the first four spaces from the side with the car, followed by the central common space, and then the four spaces of the TakeTwo interactive headquarters.
LINK TO CRYENGINE FILE: http://www.mediafire.com/?roqjw8jsw6fkgrj
LINK TO GOOGLE WAREHOUSE: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=184b9109e5477f856aa91c3f670adde

Progress

After much work the design was made much more complex, and the concept greatly changed towards the final product.

18 Perspectives

MashUp

Facebook's power continues to grow at an unsettling rate with its partnership with TakeTwo Interactive following, the board of directors rejected the two-billion-dollar bid by EA. This partnership, a primarily the initiative of Facebook, aims to create a social media center for gaming, thus further allowing Facebook’s power to grow, with a source quoting that if Facebook was a government agency, its power would be as undisputed as it would be frightening. This draws parallels to Coca Cola’s providing the king [of Swaziland] with the economic strength to crush opposition and continue “milking the country.” It seems that we are moving into an era where the power wielded by massive corporations is beginning to have a larger and larger impact on our lives, whether it be the effects of Coca Cola’s operations in Swaziland or the fear [of] what Facebook and its ilk are doing with the reams of personal data they hoover up in our wake as we go about our business on the internet. As such this newfound partnership between Facebook and TakeTwo Interactive needs to be considered for its implications and the increasing power it gives to the corporations involved.

FACEBOOK ARTICLE (http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/facebooks-power-should-worry-us-all-20111009-1lfu0.html)

TAKETWO INTERACTIVE ARTICLE (http://news.smh.com.au/technology/deadline-passes-in-ea-bid-to-buy-taketwo-interactive-shares-20080517-2far.html)

COCACOLA ARTICLE (http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/01/coca-cola-power-swaziland-promote-social-justice/)

Textures

Prelim Bridge + Landscape

Bridge forms a shell into which the two office spaces fit into. Facebook's building is f-shaped, reflective of its logo and similarly Take Two's is t-shaped. This reflects the idea of interdependencies within power, where these bold structures fit into this shell to become a whole; which works with the backdrop I've created for this project as a partnership between these two companies. The elevators will come out along the underside of the bridge, where they will meet and interlock, thus cementing the idea of these interdependencies. This combination of the two elevators will then go to the meeting space which will extend over the river.

The bridge itself spans across the valley and over a river. It will eventually connect to roads that continue over on either side. The landscape is based upon the Kashmir valleys in India.

The access to the office spaces is through a ramp that sinks into the bridge into shared parking spaces which then follow into the office spaces themselves.

Final Submission: Experiment 2

 The two initial concepts that I used are;

Aalto: Reflection as a way to create infinite space and ambiguous boundaries and alters spatial awareness.
Kuma: Mimicing natures form in the assembly of the building as a way to integrate with nature.

To combine these two concepts into one electroliquid geometric aggregation, the following concept was defined;
Integrating with nature by creating ambiguous boundaries, between building assembly and the environment. Reflection as a means to highlight the importance of nature as an infinite space, which we inhabit.

I then considered the social impacts of this geometric aggregation and found that it could influence the final work in two overlapping ways;

(Students)
Architecture students aim to create a more natural environment with biophilic properties, as opposed to engineering students who aim to create structural features as the primary feature of the building assembly.
(Architects)
Aalto’s architecture was more involved with the buildings forms itself, whereas Kuma’s architecture attempts to incorporate the natural world and forms.

Both of these have the similar idea of a meeting between natural environments and the built environment, which became a primary focus in my design. Also, considering how i was really mixing the two ideas (for the students), i decided that a singular common access point could suffice, rather than allowing them all to approach distinctively.

In this picture the three main parts of the built environment are broken down into Aalto's monument (orange), Kuma's monument (red) and a meeting place in between (yellow). 

The idea of entwining nature and structure is displayed by the rib like exterior monument feature, with the rocky cliff face showing through. Also the opposite waterfalls again integrate nature into the structural features.

This view shows how the structure from above, allowing for us to better understand how Kuma's monument (the one primarily to do with nature out of the two) juts out away from this assembly and creates a platform with a panoramic view of the sunrise .

 This view accentuates the idea of the ribbed structure as built into the cliff and thus incorporating nature.

 The light texture was used in the dynamic area of the structure (stairs) as this space was designed for people to move through, and as such should have minimal impact.

 The dark texture was used to highlight the importance of the places where the ribbed structure was adjacent/incorporating nature. The somewhat organic feel to this texture was also relevant.

The medium texture was used on the main meeting space as it would make less of an impact than a darker texture, but while still giving this central meeting space importance. The somewhat tiled look to this texture was also relevant in its application of a more generic meeting space.









SketchUP file:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=fbac9482eaaa5c6261aaec233ffc17b7
CryEngine file:
http://www.mediafire.com/?s109s24b4cf7lc7

Textures

Images

Two Pictures

 Reflection as a way to create infinite space and ambiguous boundaries and alters spatial awareness (Kuma)

 Left:
Vertical framing and grand steps creates a climatic method of approach (Aalto)

Six Axonometrics

 Left:
Placement of planes as a filter of light (Kuma)

Right:
Verticality of elements stresses importance of landscape (Aalto)

 Left:
Vertical framing and grand steps creates a climatic method of approach (Aalto)

Right:
Reflection as a way to create infinite space and ambiguous boundaries and alters spatial awareness (Kuma)

 Left:
Mimicking natures forms in building assembly as a way to integrate with nature (Aalto)

Right:
Horizontality and low scaling of building complements the discreteness and invisibility of architecture (Kuma)