hannahmortonblog

[hannahmortonblog]

Today I have spent my day on another detailed drawing, this is of the internal glazed area, enclosing the staricase. I still need to go over a few things such as getting the correct lineweights and adding some more detailed annotations.

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This week I have been concentrating on the measurements and gradient of my entrance ramp. I wanted to make sure I got this right by looking at the building regulations and also the metric handbook to try and understand how to work the ramp out correctly. This was a lot harder than I expected as the gradients specified in the metric handbook are all based on ratios, which took me a while to work out as I knew the rise I needed but wanted to check the length and the degrees to which the ramp would rise across this length. To make it even more complicated my ramp is also curved in more than one place which made it harder to get the correct length of the ramp.

Finally I managed to do it, and I have actually learnt a lot on how to understand what needs to be considered in specifying a ramp in a design. I think this will be useful in the future as I will have a clear idea of the calculations that need to be made.

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After my tutorial last Friday I have re-evaluated the staircase design to a more simple pattern going up the space, with the visual replicating some sort of vine going up through the building. To ensure this fits with building regulations this will be a glazed handrail with the steelwork pattern going up the side.

Obviously, this is still a working progress, but I think with all the furniture and fittings added to this section this staircase design will be more effective than the previous one.

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First Video Call Tutorial

I had my first video call tutorial today where we discussed the changes in the new brief due to the COVID-19 situation meaning that all the university building are closed.

After going over the brief changes, I went through the work I have done since my last design crit; such as president study research and beginning my detailing in my design.

Points which were brought up were factors such as specifying fire-rated glazing and how to specify colours to ensure the right colour is selected in the construction process as a brief description colour can be interpreted in a variety of different ways.

Furthermore, some things I am going to consider after this tutorial is looking at the staircase from a sectional view on the exterior of the glazing so that the staircase sits behind the glazing in view. Another area to consider is where the entrance pathway ends in relation to the access to the accommodation stair

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Looking further into some of the other detailing I have decidied to more onto the stair design. This is mainly inspired by victorian ironwork staricases and balconies. During the desiging of this staircase I have been closely following design regulations and the metic handbook, this is the main reason I have created an intricate design to ensure that the minimum space between the spindels is met. At the moment, this is still in the design process and might change along the way.

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This week I have been looking at areas which I can do my detailed drawings on and I have seclected 5 possible areas, these include; a water filtration system, glazed wall, staricase, food dispensary area and the servery counter.

To get my head back into detailing, I have started with the counter and tried to figure out how this bespoke piece would fit together. I have also looked at materials and finishses which I could use. for example, the combination of different thicknesses of MDF and flexi MDF, laminated in a deep navy, with a reclaimed wooden top.

By breaking this piece down I have been able to consider in more depth how I want it to look and fit in the space. Furthermore, it has allowed me to concentreate on the material spesifications, where as before I only had a rough idea what I might have wanted it to me made out of.

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Today I have been looking into victorian patterns and fabrics to lightly influence and inform my design for my final project.

I have found that fabrics used in the Victorian era was most commonly cotton, linen, silk and wool. Throughout this era the use of colour is often thought of as dark and drab but in actual fact, colour was generously applied. In fashion, men’s clothing was often dark blues, greys, light fawns and plaid. Women’s clothing used a liberal use of silk and eastern influences shifted fashion towards colour and pattern. Patterns were incorporated though, board stripes, passementerie braids, guipure lace and floral patterns.

Victorian interior often used dark colours such as burgundy, plum, navy, ruby and emerald. Curtains were heavy velvets and silk with floral prints throughout. Curtains were often lined with muslin or net, with suspended brass poles and brass hold backs. The quality of materials used reflected the social status of the family. Furthermore, the design of the curtains were specific with the folds,so that the cloth trapped the cold and acted as an insulator.

I have looked into materials and patterns used in the Victorian ears as the design of the Victorian ironwork and glazed greenhouses has inspired me to look further into this era. I feel that by adding details such as the use of patterns and colour will add more depth to my design. Furthermore, this would also link back to the buildings history as a Victorian mill. By adding hints of Victorian style into this building this will relate back to the original date of the building and should work with the buildings architecture. Although, I will have to be careful to not overdo this aspect and just try to hint towards this.

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Continuing my president study research I have found this Mesh Tower By Laisné Roussel in France.

This 11.9meter high structure is inspired by greenhouse design and is constructed with white painted steel, and wrapped in a thin metal mesh. Meandering vertically up the tower is the staircase which loops round the blossoming greenery hanging from the centre. Throughout the journey up the stairs there are intervals which allow visitors to look out on the surroundings through arched openings. The architectural team on this project describe this as a “wander vertically in a fruity and flowery garden and provides access to the belvedere where one can contemplate the surroundings.” This design sits outside the front of the La Sucrière contemporary art building, and acts as a marker for the entrance to start your journey though the building.

By looking at this design, this has given me some inspiration for my design and also reaffirmed the strong connection between the effectiveness of metalwork along with greenery. This in particular inspires me to develop my stairway into more than just an access though but to turn extenuate the journey of traveling through the building and experiencing each stage of the closed loop cycle, from growth to the food we eat.

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This weekend I have continued to research into some president studies. Another location I have looked at is Kew Gardens and the different buidling they have.

Kew Gardens dates back to the early 18th century. as a royal palace and today is globally renowned for it’s scientific institution into plant and fungal research. Kew Gardens has huge beautify enclosed glass houses to grow an array of exotic plants species and uses white painted ironwork though-out. These glass houses include the Palm House, the Temperate House and the Princess of Wales conservatory. Each house has its own purpose.

The Palm House was completed in 1848 and is home to tropical plants from some of the most threatened environments in the world. Furthermore the house contains plants that are endangered in the wild or even extinct.

The Temperate House is “world’s largest Victorian glasshouse” was opened in 1863. It is home to 1,500 species of plants from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands. All the plant species contained within its walls need to live in conditions above 10oC to survive. To ensure this was able to be maintained the temperate house has undergone a major renovation that spanned over five years. The building was opened to the public again in 2018.

Princess of Wales Conservatory opened in 1987. This building has ten temperature controlled zones which enables them to home carnivorous plants, cacti and succulents. Due to the different temperature zones as you walk through the space you experience dry tropics and emerge into the dense, steamy zones.

By looking at this study it has enabled me to see that there is a huge variety of plants which can be grown indoors with the right equipment and temperature controlled zones. Furthermore, I have been able to looking into the aesthetics of the detailed ironwork alongside masses of vegitation. This solidifies the effectiveness of the aesthetics and I believe using this as inspiration for my design will give me a firm look and feel and enable me to give the user an experience as well as providing a purpose.

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Since my last design crit I have researched into some more president studies towards my final major project. One building I have looked at is Barton Arcade in Manchester. Here is some of the information I found:

History Barton Arcade was built in 1871 and features Victorian ironwork from Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Glass domes, 3 tires of balconies, U-shaped arcades with mahogany handrails. The building was restored in 1980’s and although the original shop fronts and the original decorative tiled floor are no longer there the Victorian architecture remains. The building was designed and built by Corbett, Raby and Sawyer and was inspired by the Galleria Vittorior Emaunele II in Milan. The original use was a shopping arcade which was extremely popular in the late 19th century with middle class female shoppers, with it being an enclosed space with relative safety. .

Current Use The building now contains food and drink venues, retails spaces and office suites.

By looking at this building as a president study this has inspired me to include sections of Victorian style ironwork though-out my design in areas such as stairway handrails and am aiming to add details like this into other areas of my design.

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Today I have been finalising Portfolio ready for one to one with the graphic designer to prepare for print and taking into account the feedback from Jenny from Koncept ID.

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Manifesto 3D piece This week I have been trying to develop my digital manifesto into a physical piece. I have used 3 A6 canvas', water colour, writing and stitching to create a multi-layererd piece. The aim of this is to attempt to portray what is important to me, and what I aim to achieve as a designer. For me, this has been a valuable task to explore myself as a design and in addition to this I have also enjoyed being more tactile in creating these pieces as the majority of my work is usually digital as it is nice to create physical pieces one in a while even if they are just very simple.

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Portfolio Review

Add visuals from each project and a brief explanation which includes the brief and how you tackeld this and what your solution was. Also add a small title to each visual to explain what they are looking at Today I had a one to one porfolio review with Jenny Denton from Koncept ID. We went over my portfolio so far and discuessed the work I have done. At this stage I was unsure as to the best way in which to present my portfolio, whether to keep it really simple, I was unsure of how many visuals to include and exactly what text I needed. This review was really useful as Jenny helped me to iron out my portfolio by giving me advice such as to add visuals from each project aswell as plans and elevations and a short explaation which includes the brief that was set and the solutions which I developed. She also advised me to add a title to each visual to explain what the reader is looking at clearly.

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Design Development crit I had the opportunity to present for my Design Development Crit today. For this, I presented my general arrangement plan, a lighting plan a rough FF&E table, Ideas for materials and finishes and visual which a sketch maquette. For this crit, I tried to improve on the feedback which I was given for my first crit which was to make sure everything is annotated which makes it easier for the audience to understand as you are talking. The feedback I got from today crit was really helpful as it was mainly giving my advice on case studies and precedent studies I can look at to get inspiration for the aesthetic I am aiming for. This included looking into Victorian ironwork; this can be seen at Barton Arcade. Other places that were suggested to research into were Neuse Museum, in Berlin, King Street in Manchester looking at the Raffa store staircase. Further advice was to look at the Neo-classical approach.

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InDesign Refresh

In this session, we discussed areas of InDesign that we were unsure about, for example, I wanted advice on how to add colour into an InDesign document effectively. We also went over binding portfolio technique, layouts for a screw bound portfolio, this method will be useful as it allows you to add and take away pages without ruining the document or having to print out a whole new document. From this session, I am going to book in a one to one with one of the graphic designers. Here we will be able to discuss how I can print and bind my portfolio and run through the layout of my document to create a compelling portfolio.

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This week I have managed to refine my design as I was strugelling to position my accommodation stairs in relation to my void and the spaces to which I need to include in my design as there are areas that need maximum sunlight. After a tutorial we ironed out the possibilities and I have decided where I will need my accommodation stairs and how my void and concept will fit as one design.

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Disertation Deadline Day!