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THE DA VINCI CODE - EXTENDED READING

I started reading this book in the summer, the concepts throughout the book are hard to grasp, and take a few reads to understand the full gist, I unfortunately never finished the book so i am currently attempting to read it again. Whilst reading the book, I noticed that I would like to explore religious aspects of design, perhaps looking into monumental buildings. Italian interior design and architecture would be an interesting area to research further with the Catholic history that impacted design heavily and still does currently. This could perhaps be an idea for next years big essay...

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Unit 8

The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes

This documentary series follows architect Piers Taylor and actress and property enthusiast Caroline Quentin as they discover the world's most extraordinary Homes

Case study 1 - Maison Aux Jeurs by Lacroix Chessex 

Maison Aux Jeurs is a chalet located in the Swiss mountains Les Jeurs, near Trient. Designed as a mountain retreat by Lacroix Chessex a Geneva architectural firm, founded by Simon Chessex alongside Hieronyme Lacroix. The pair share the belief that architecture inspires two key factors: “a thorough analysis of the site, in which micro and macro scales are directly related, and a careful and critical reading of the brief that is given to us”. Essentially striving to approach a new project with no preconceived ideas and clearly taking into consideration and fully understanding the client’s brief. 

Celine Gay des Combes Unternaehrer, a professional harpist and husband Oliver Unternaehrer, a Geneva- based attorney dreamed of having a retreat in the mountains to spend holidays and weekends, a holiday home, to escape their busy city lives. Their “vision was to build a house that would be a place to welcome friends and family, that would fit well in the local and mountain landscape, yet that would be modern”. 

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Notes - 11th Feb  Value, Values, Ethics, Consumption

‘Nothing can have better value without being an object of utility’

Karl Marx                                                                                                                The notion of value: the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth or usefulness of something.

Perceived Value                                                                                                       -determines the price the consumer is willing to pay for a product or service .    - often it has little to do with the actual monetary value of the item. Rather, Perceived value is based on the product’s theoretical ability to fulfil a need and provide satisfaction, known as utility

The labour theory of value, Capital 1867                                                                 The value of a commodity can be objectively measured by the average number of labour hours required to produce that commodity.                                             If there is no use for an object, then it is economically worthless in trade or use, regardless of all the labour spent in creating it. 

“Value in use” - Express the utility of some particular object                                  = frequently little or no value in exchange + contrary

“Value in exchange” - The power of purchasing other goods which the possession of that object conveys                                                                          = little or no value in use                                                                                   E.G. WATER VS DIAMOND

Ethics are the vehicle to our morals, They’re our morals in action. Ethics enact the system we’ve developed in our moral code.                                                    Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of actions or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be.                                                                                  Morals are formed out of values. They’re the actual system of beliefs that emerge out of a person’s core values. Morals can be specific and context - driven rues that govern a person’s behaviour. 

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SUSTAINABLE CITIES - 25th Feb

What does a city need to make it function well?

Transport - access                                                                                      

Importation of goods - food + water

Accommodation

Education - Institutions

Job opportunities - companies bring their work/ investments

Greenery, parks - Nature, good air quality 

Waste collecting - sustainable resources + materials + transport methods

Money investments

Healthcare, hospitals, education - infrastructure

Culture - diversity, different ethnicities - mixed economy 

Town squares - social hotspots - cheap transport or free

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TATE BRITAIN

WILLIAM BLAKE 

This exhibition presented the largest amount of works produced by William Blake, over 300 pieces worth. This exhibition is one I will never forget. The amount of people it had attracted made it difficult to appreciate all of Blake’s work. The most crowded exhibition I have been ever to, this changed the way i viewed his work, it was as if I knew the demand and popular his work is, that I tried to take in as much as I could, at first I tried to scan every piece and make sure I didn’t miss anything, but as I walked further into the exhibition I decided to take my time and really try to enjoy the few pieces I could. Blake’s sketching style a shown below really caught my attention. The detail in his work is evident, a simple sketch that really highlights the person and their character. 

The Conversion of Saul c.1800 Ink and watercolour on paper.

Conversion of Saul is part of Blake’s biblical watercolour series, that were produced in 1800-05. In these images Blake explores themes of divinity and spiritual illumination, as well as different attitudes towards discipleship (which he presents in terms of ‘ideal’ and ‘deficient’ responses to Jesus/Christ).

‘Blake includes some medieval motifs in his composition. Thus Saul sits atop a magnificent yet prostrate white horse. Yet in a nod to the Renaissance iconography (cf. the Michelangelo version elsewhere in this exhibition), a flying Christ dominates the top half of the composition. He is bathed in light and surrounded either by a heavenly host, or perhaps by the souls of those whom Saul was persecuting (see Acts 26:9–11). Christ appears to be pointing Saul in the direction of Damascus. His robes almost touch Saul, suggesting a mingling of the human and the divine that was for Blake the ultimate aim of discipleship (Billingsley 2018: 127–31).Saul himself is young, muscular, and attired in the Roman style (cf. Caravaggio’s depiction, also in this exhibition). He too has spread his arms in what may be a simple sign of total acceptance of his mission, or more symbolically a cruciform gesture (an acknowledgement of the consequences of that acceptance). Blake believed that anyone could share in the ‘Human Form Divine’ (in short, Christ), so long as they altered their way of perceiving the world (Billingsley 2018: 11–13).Thus here we see the moment at which, for Blake at least, Saul, a known persecutor of Christians, definitively opened his field of visionary perception. The dark and huddled mass of his travelling companions in the background of the image, only one of whom has turned his head to see the vision, form an important visual counterpoint to the man who, in becoming Paul, is the ‘ideal’ disciple’.

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SHAPE, FORM & MATERIALITY

21st Jan

Artists, Designers & Objects

Richard Deacon, Tony Cragg

Presentation link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WQtZladtUTW3UgYMJmO9skQ7iJhPTfrX/view?usp=drivesdk

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Royal Academy of Arts

ECO VISIONARIES EXPO

This exhibition showcases work of artists, designers and architects who are responding to ecological issues of our time.

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, The Substitute

‘The Substitute explores a paradox: our preoccupation with creating new life forms, while neglecting existing ones. A northern white rhino is digitally brought back to life, informed by developments in the human creation of artificial intelligence (AI)’. In March 2018, the last northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) was announced dead. This paradox aims to explore if human beings would protect a resurrected rhino.

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INVISIBLE CITIES

- CREATIVE WRITING

Travel to home Over the moon over the stars I’ve travelled far and wide to find this place called home... Cities over the mountains, cities on the mountains, cities on water, cities above water... Nothing quite compares to a city with both. 

I find myself reminiscing on my childhood days spent in Dharamsala, overlooking the Himalayas, the scenery magical. Playing football in the field, hail season, trousers dragging by behind like a wave, the weight of the world beneath me. 

A summer’s day, a special summer’s day in New Delhi. The locals admire a glistening smile on a radiant blue eyed - blonde girl, unaware she grew up in a gloomy London. 

Cities of people, gondoliers with their wide-brimmed straw hats, women with their arms full of groceries and children hanging on by mamas feet dragging along behind. Present in the moment not lost in the past or the future... 

Que sera sera ~ what will be will be. 

I was a child back then, how little did I know...

To enjoy the precious moments, appreciating the now, no indulgence in where one might go and live, no reminiscing of what life used to be in an old remote town where the world was simpler and mother had all the space in the world to raise us as thoughtful and caring young children.                                            This city that had changed all of us, for good and bad and given us the opportunities we so desired. But now do we miss the old remote town? Or do we enjoy the now? Or do we wish to move on and embrace with open arms a new city, one to perhaps to call a new home? 

Over the stairs, through the modern escalators, above all levels lies the Marina Bay Sands, a platform on top of the world, overlooking from breathtaking heights, the Singaporean landscape

Home is where the heart is, the heart is filled with family and friends. Those joyous moments by the fire, on a cold winters day playing emmatriben and munching on those roasted chestnuts. Yes I think I like it here. Klagenfurt will do for now.

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INVISIBLE CITIES

- FINAL OUTCOME

Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities where Marco Polo conjures up tales of a vast amount of cities to the Kublai Khan, ultimately to be representing the city Venice. After reading this book I interpreted it as a tree, Venice being represented by the seed, the roots of the tree that support it, then the brunches grow, in significance of all the tales of the other cities, tales that grew from one city: Venice. 

The branches signify all the tales of other cities Marco Polo had described stemmed from the root of Venice.

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ECO VISIONARIES - READING TASK

The Guardian, Rowan Moore

Where are the architect’s who will put the environment first?

Built environment = 40% of UK greenhouse gas emissions                                   design of building + planning of cities - help counter climate crisis

Concrete = destructive                                                                                            Cement = 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.                                        Architects, contractors, clients, engineers and everyone else : Must consider   1. How far stone might have to travel from quarry to site.                                     2. Whether or not a building’s components will end up as landfill when it is demolished.

“In-use” costs - heating, ventilation, lighting, water, waste, maintenance               VS                                                                                                                           “Embodied energy” - construction + demolition, quarrying cement, smelting steel, firing bricks, shipping materials to site - putting them in place - taking them down, disposing of them. 

Performance VS Decades/ Centuries - to pay back the expenditure of energy that went into it’s construction 

Airports - Designers cannot control how much air travel there is, however can help make as green as possible? Is refusing commission solving a problem, or will another designer take on the project? 

Grimshaw Architects, Foster & Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects - signatories of Architects declare, have opted for the latter.                                                       - Currently working on terminals : Heathrow, Mexico City, Beijing 

Jeremy Till, Head of CSM - “You cant have a carbon - neutral airport”

Radical Recycling                                                                                                    Ma-tt-er, London - based Materials research design studio - Possibilities of natural + recycled materials - plaster made from mussell shells, floors made from seaweed, denim from old jeans, compressed into a load - bearing material.

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Company Report 3

Studio Ashby

SOPHIE ASHBY

Led by Sophie Ashby, creative director who formed this dynamic team of twelve experienced designers,focuses on residential and commercial design spaces. This practice has projects based mainly in Europe and the UK.

Ashby “draws on her love of antiques, colour; contemporary world art” engaging with material and textural components from a natural palette, uninfluenced by the sway of fashion, which dictatesthe latest trends. In following a ‘contemporary’ style of art Ashby draws her inspiration from an authenticsource, making her work entirely distinctive. These distinctive features are visible in the selection of furniture, art and lighting, which deliver an ‘electicrichness to each interior’.

The creative approach Studio Ashby follows isaimed to engage with the people who will occupythe space, considering their ‘interests’ and ‘desires’,to fully support their design needs.

This approach of revolving the design around the client is captivating, I appreciate this strategic and more fluid process where this becomes a collaborative project, with the client’s and designer’s input forming the end result. The designer having observed and understood the client’s interests.

Floral Court, Covent Garden

Neo Bankside, South Bank

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Company Report 2

UID Architects

KEISUKE MAEDA

UID Architects is a multidisciplinary practice thatspecialises in architecture, interior design, furniture, product design, exhibition and many more...Formed in 2003 by Keisuke Maeda in HiroshimaJapan, the philosophy behind the firm’s designstyle is rooted from Maeda’s strong belief “that tocreate architecture is ‘to create an environment’ “. A distinctive feature of Maeda’s design approach ishis consideration in aiming to create a harmony andbalance in our interaction with the natural elements,how we communicate and interact with thesevarious elements to develop harmony and balance. The firm takes on various projects, focusing on work in residences, renovations and public buildings.

Some of Maeda’s work includes; The Holocaust Education centre (Hiroshima, 2007), Machi House, (Hiroshima 2011) and Peanuts (Hiroshima 2011- 2012). Peanuts was intended to be used as a nursery, the interior consists of curved wood material withthe white structure surrounding. With the naturallight that enters the building, these materials worktogether to create a balance with the natural elements. In this balance there is a presence ofsimplicity and minimalism, which is also a featurethat reoccurs in many of Maeda’s projects.

Peanuts (Hiroshima 2011-2012).

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Unit 6 Company Report 1

ZAHA HADID Architects

Founded in London In 1980 by Zaha Hadid, an IraqiBritish architect who was presented with manyawards for the recognition of her achievements, one of which was receiving the honoured titleDame by Elizabeth II. Hadid is renowned for being“Queen of the curve”, intending for her workto consider challenges of the 21st century andprovide opportunities in her creations. Burnham Pavilion designed in 2009 in Chicago, USA is asmall structure that was commissioned to celebratethe 100th anniversary of the Burnham Plan. The structure is formed with curves which have beenwelded into shape for the inner and outer layer.Theouter layer of the fabric changes colour, serving as a screen to view video installations in the pavilion. Zaha Hadid Architects noted; “The presence of the new structure triggers the visitor’s intellectual curiosity whilst an intensification of public life around and within the pavilion supports the idea of public discourse”.

Burnham Pavilion (2009)

I feel inspired when viewing projects that Hadid has contributed to, her unique design approachto “contribute to society’s progress and ultimatelyto our individual and collective well-being” gives meaning to her work. Hadid is a significant role model for me, as I also wish to consider the challenges that are present in this modern day, in particular the global environmental crisis. I would like to create opportunities in my designs also, having a strong interest in eco-friendly schemes thatwill help battle these current challenges.

Even after Hadid’s death, her legacy still continues as Zaha Hadid Architects continues to thrive.

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What is Interior Design?

The purpose of Interior Design is to transform spaces, into environments that have a dynamic resonance with all those that enter. There should be meaning and purpose behind the design approach. These interiors should take into consideration the needs of the user(s) in the space, and achieve anaesthetic and functional space to correlate with them, adding design components such as furniture,colour and materiality are key in the process of creating and enhancing. Interior Design is a multidisciplinary hybrid field that embodies elements of Product Design and Architecture, encompassing furniture, layout and structure. In this combined field of specialisms, there are categories for the different sectors, one is to provide for the public realm that can be utilised by everyone and another to work in private spacing. As designers, we contextualise our practice; we inherit a space, building or site and understand thereis a relationship that considers a sense of the past that will be brought into the present. In inheritingan existing space, we bring a new set of activities and a new narrative - to transform an existingprogramme. Sustainability must be considered increating a renewed space, whether it is to adapt,reuse or reprogramme. In contextualising ourpractice - location, size and zoning for the activitiesmust be part of the design plan to show strategicand narrative thinking, Materiality is one of the significant aspects of Interior Design, this concept of touch, feel and smell, trigger the senses to make a space personal.The exteriorof a house for example, the position and style ofwindows and light features – directly resonates when entering a space. In transforming the environment of a building or site different strategies can be considered; Installation is an architectural - sculptural approachwhich creates a temporary image, in the placing of a sculptural piece which transforms the perspective of an environment, this is created with a 3-dimensional effect.An example of an installation in Tate Modern is the Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View createdby Cornelia Parker, an environment that strategically occupied an entire space, encouraging the audienceto walk through it to fully engage with the work ofart. Installation is an entirely unified experience with the mass scale providing an intense environment that focuses on the experience of the viewer.

Cold Dark Matter:An ExplodedView,Cornelia Parker

The process of Intervention is to intertwine new and old elements, aiming to result in a positive and healthier behaviour change in the user. John Pawson, a renowned UK architect, intervened in thedesign of the Home Farm creating his own personal retreat. Pawson did this by forming a ‘link’ betweenthe cottage and the barn, intervening on the original design forming an interdependent bond between the old and new elements.

Home Farm, John Pawson

Insertion is to approach an existing building or siteand create a bespoke element intended to fit in the existing site, this is a noticeable distinct feature that is added, being completely independent from theoriginal site. The structure of the original site andnew insertion are separate, and can be identified as two elements, with the insertion being new and having a contrasting difference in the materiality.The Staircase In the Sackler Gallery in the Royal Academy of Arts is an example of an insertion.The material of the staircase, brass railing and glass stepscontrast entirely to the original brick wall structure surrounding it, and transforms the whole experience of the user’s.This design solution was discovered to unlock heaps of light.

Reappropriating is to adapt and reprogramme thenarrative of a space using the old narrative, this hasbeen done in the design approach towards Tate Modern by the architectural practice Herzog & DeMeuron, using the old and original narrative of theBankside power station and reprogramming it to become a new gallery intended to display modern ar t.

In Conserving an existing building, there is a preservation of the context, this approach is sensitive to the old and historic value, renewing and revitalising is the design approach to this strategy. The conservation of the Neues Museum in Berlinby David Chipperfield restored this museum which had been bombed during the WWII, lying derelict ever since.The original design Prompted by Fredrich Wilhelm IV stored a series of archaeological artseries, to inspire an appreciation for classical antiquepieces.The museum was regarded to be the greatest monumental Prussian building of it’s era. The conservation of the museum has been designed to preserve the context, with the significance of thewhole structure and sequence of the space beinglegible to the old and historic value in the originaldesign in 1849.

Nueues Museum

Sackler Gallery Staircase - RA

Part of the roles and responsibilities of an interior designer is to ensure ethics and moral principles are followed in the design practice. This code ofethics safeguards the health and safety of clients, andthe design practice. Designers are agents to social change and must take into consideration their inputinto the environment from their design practice. Responsibility lies in making decisions and creating aspace that pleases the user(s) and either benefits or has a neutral effect on the environment.

Ethics - is a code of conduct that a business follows, considering honesty, integrity and the upholding of clearly defined principles. Creating a sustainable design is an ethical matter in contributing to the wellness of the environment. The specification of material and product choices is a significant factor, and the use of materials suchas concrete and cement are unsustainable.The use of destructive materials contributes to 8% of theworld’s carbon dioxide emissions. A responsible practitioner understands their impact on the environment and will take into account that the built environment is responsible for 40% of greenhousegas emissions.

Interior design being a multidisciplinary practice, offers many different roles. Depending on the type of position a person has, their responsibilities willchange accordingly.

Some examples of the roles would be...

A conceptual based role will be involved in planning and consulting, responsible for the on-site building or construction.This is a technical role.

Another role would include the branding andmarketing aspect, being responsible for promtotion through social media and other media.

Testing of the design proposals - creating prototypes,1:1 scale models which is an ergonomic type of role.This role is responsible in refining the design and optimising it for the end user(s).This role aligns itself to the product design field of interior design.

These and other elements contribute towards thisfield of specialisms, known as interior design.

Bankside Power Station

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Elliasson

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The State Russian Museum

DMITRY ZHILINSKY 1927-2015 (Left) Gymnasts of the USSR 1964-65

ALEXADER DEINEKA 1899-1969 (Right) Race 1932-33

KAZIMIR MALEVITCH 1879-1935

(Left) Suprematism (Supremus NO.56) 1916

(Right) Aviator 1914

Last year for inspiration I was looking into Malevitch’s work, linking to my Suprematist project, looking into shapes and geometrical structures. To see his work up close in this St Petersburg museum was quite satisfying. The composition on the left is one of my favourite pieces he has created, the layout is space like, reminding me of an aircraft ship.

Whilst visiting family in Russia over Christmas break, we took it upon ourselves to immerse into the arts, my brother’s father in law being a professional water colour painter guided us through these tours. 

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St. Petersburg

ILYA REPIN