The issue of representation is central to the development and extension of Architectural Computing. This studio draws on the histories and theories of architectural representation and recasts them with the ‘lens’ of computation. I aim to draw from precedents to systematically re-present significant moments in architectural history. My adaptation of Frank Genry's Vitra Design Museum is the medium through which this has been achieved.
These are JPEG images of my printable .pdf poster. Overall I think my final product was quite successful in portraying my re-envisioned version of the Vitra Design Museum. Using both Crysis and SketchUp gave a variety of mediums to express my design and I think my chosen layout emphasises this.
References: Adobe Acrobat Adobe InDesign Adobe PhotoShop Adobe PremierPro Crytek Crysis Wars Google SketchUp Google Warehouse Microstation V8i Microsoft Word Sony Vegas Movie Studio www.blogger.com
The design of the Vitra Museum is an attraction in its own right. Many people visit it not only to see the exhibitions behind its walls, but to admire the complex architectural work of Frank Gehry. The deconstructive style of the museum has become almost a trade mark throughout his designs. Unlike many of his other buildings, the Vitra Design Museum has a very limited amount of materials, and includes curved surfaces to break up Gehry’s usual angular shapes.
Being an internationally renowned building, it was seen fit to keep it in its natural form. A building this striking and abstract seemed like the perfect design for a museum. A place where exhibits of art and design are showcased. The current collection focuses mainly on furniture and interior design by some of the world’s best known designers and architects from the 19th century onward. After deciding that it would remain a museum, the main focus became the exterior of the structure. Continuing the flow of complex angles and bringing a slight sense of symmetry to the building. Making it appear just as striking no matter what angle you view it from. Previously the museum had a clear from and rear, almost looking plain from certain angles when compared to what it had to offer. Now additional curved walls have been added to increase the symmetry of the buildings, along with more angular shapes protruding from the roofline (as seen in the images below).
The museum used to be embedded in a meadow filled with cherry trees. In this environment the intensity of the architecture seems out of place. The located gave the vibe that an old farm shack should be there rather than an internationally recognised masterpiece. For this reason the museum was relocated in the heart of the city. With skyscrapers as a back drop, here it could be more greatly recognised for its design. Acting as a centrepiece to a city it can now attract more tourists and design enthusiasts. Being in a central location it will also attract more clientele. The overall scale of the building was also increased. At first glance the museum seems to have a large and powerful presence, however originally it wasn’t in fact that big. Scaling up the museum presented a few problems, such as the windows, doorways, and exhibit spaces increasing. Doors and windows were adjusted to suit, but the increased display areas were used to the advantage of the new design. Being of a larger scale the building became more powerful, grandiose and even intimidating. This works well with higher ceilings inside and larger spaces. Even though a great deal of the new space won’t actually be used it is this vacancy that increases the desired effect. The material for the outside of the building has been changed to sandstone blocks. The current material of the Vitra Design Museum works well with the casting shadows of the roofline. This however is only effective because of its location. In the city there will be other building and objects getting in the way of these sharp shadow lines. For this reason the outter material used for the construction of the museum is sandstone blocks.
Currently the museum produces workshops, publications and museum products, as well as maintaining an archive, restoration and conservation lab and research library. This will continue with the new re-envisioned design along with the guided tours of the Vitra premises. With it already being a tourist a modern architecture enthusiast hot spot this will only increase with its added angles and new city location.
Second Draft Layout:
After analysing my first layout, this is what I came up with for my second draft. Utilising the same fonts as draft one, but with the implementation of a different grid layout. With the black background I think that the heading becomes even more powerful with the panoramic shot of a city skyline. I decided to keep the silloetted images of the museum, but rather than be part of the title, use them as a footer for the layout. The images in the top right corner of the original Vitra Design museum do seem slightly out of place, as they are not representing the re-envisionment of the museum. Possibly changing these to images of the new model in both Crysis and SketchUp would be more successful.
This shows some images and a video of the re-envisioned museum after its initial export into Crysis.
Video Editing Concept:
My plan is to import my SketchUp model into Crysis. I've found a level called City_Assault that would suit the type of city that I wanted my museum to be located in (screenshots seen below). Another reason I want it in Crysis is that you can get a much better feel for the environment and produce much better animations than in SketchUp.
First Draft Layout:
This is the initial design I came up with for my layout. I kept it relatively simply because I think that simple can often be the most effective when it comes to layouts. After following my grid layouts this was the result... I used the silloette of the modified museum in the heading, and chose a font that I think suited the abstract design of the museum.
Here is an example of some of the textures I plan to use in my re-creation of the Vitra Design Museum. I have included not only roofing textures, but wall and floor textures. I tried to get a broad spectrum of different textures all in high resolution.
More Detailed Research on Chosen Architecture:
Frank Gehry Case Study - THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAO
Developmental Sketches:
These are some sketches from Gehry during the developmental stages of design for the Guggenheim Museum. They show the general outline of the building. Also note the abstract drawings methods used in the conceptualisation process and their similarities to the abstract finish of the completed project.
Plans:
These floor plans show the layout of the museum. Levels two and three are used mainly as exhibitions whilst the first floor is used for installations. These layout techniques, although reasonably basic, successfully show the outline and arrangement of space within the museum.
The above video delves into the styling and representation techniques of Frank Gehry. I found it very interesting and it gave a good insight into the design and construction of his buildings. It also shows the approach he brings to design and project development.
During the design process of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain many different universities were experimenting with computer technology in the design process, in the quest for a paperless studio. The Guggenheim was the first large scale project that implemented the use of CATIA, which was a program designed to digitise complex three dimensional forms. Even though the technology had been used for many years in the automotive and aerospace industry, it had not yet been utilised in an architectural sense. References: http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2006_Sketches_of_Frank_Gehry/2006_sketches_of_frank_gehry_014.jpg http://www.arcspace.com/studio/gehry/images/14.gif http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/secciones/planea_visita/informacion_museo_avisos.php?idioma=en http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57_1AFXUTro http://loguestudiodesign.com/ Learning from the Bilbao Guggenheim, Anna Maria Guasch and Joseba Zulaika, 2005 Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa: museums, architecture and city renewal, Joseba Zulaika, 2003 High Resolution Renders Of Re-Envisioned Model:
These images show the final model with its new modifications, especially the Tokyo/Spain shots. The additions to what was the rear side of the museum can clearly be seen, including skylights. In keeping with the style of Frank Gehry, the shape of the additions were kept constant with the current roof line.The structure now no longer has a defined front and rear, and looks equally complex from all angles. A curved wall was also added to the back to make the museum become more symmetrical.The roof line was blended from old to new to make the additions seem original and flowing. Different cities have been used as backgrounds to give a vast expression of the models new proposed city home. The materials used can be seen in the texture montage.
After going over the lecture from Wk9 these are the initial proposed grid layouts for my A1 posters.I found it very interesting to again read over how the eye is drawn to, and follows, a layout. I have tried to utilise the methods shown in the lecture to convey my own ideas.
Initial Re-envisioning ideas for Vitra Design Museum:
Here I imported a city from Google Warehouse and surrounded my Vitra Museum model with it. This way I would see what the museum would look like in a cityscape environment. I also scaled it up in relation to the surrounding buildings for a more powerful presence.
These images show some rough additions made to the rear side of the museum. I tried to keep the complex angles flowing rather than just have a flat roofline. This includes another skylight for additional interior lighting.
