Precedents1 Influences and Informing

Intersections: An Ornately Carved Wood Cube Projects Shadows onto Gallery Walls.

This artwork was created my mixed media artist Anila Quayyum Agha. It showcases an elaborately carved cube with a light in the centre of it, projecting a beautiful pattern of shadows onto the surrounding gallery walls. Intersections is made from large panels of laser-cut wood meant to emulate the geometrical patterns found in Islamic sacred spaces.

The casting of shadows is breathtaking and although the room is predominantly empty, apart from the carved cube in the centre, the shadows that are cast around the room fill the room for the eye. The space doesn't need to be filled with anything else otherwise it would be over cluttered. I could take the simplicity of this into consideration and play with the shadows and allow them to fill the space. Also this is an enclosed room which wouldn't allow any natural light into the room, to do something similar but to suit my clients ritual I could have some sort of elaborate sky light - although this wouldn't project around the full room.

This design is of a screened entry area, but it also creates and ever-changing texture of light and shadow. This is because of the always moving sun, the patterns from the screen will move around the wall that they are projected on but also the screens themselves may be moved to make more or less light be shone into the entrance way. The screens also provide privacy - and adds interest to the exterior while letting in the light.
As I want to show the aspects of both light and shadow, I could use these within my design, even on the roof, but with an open area to let a bigger amount of light into the interior.

This design is allowing sun to come through, allowing light for the space to be used but also blocking out the harsh sun so the space can be used more frequently mostly in the summer where the sun is higher, brighter and had more warm to it. This assists as an in-between, allowing more living to be done within the space.

Although the shadows so add extra life to the space, it feels quite inclosed like being trapped inside an area, where as my design needs to be slightly more fresh and open like my client has said.

These slats across the terrace allows a lot of sun light to enter the space, also giving interest and many shadows to the space. These would tend to create a nice flow from indoors, as the slats draw our eye out from standing inside, oppose to an open area which would just be an outside space. The slats make it feel like an extension.

FO-SHOU 

By Mansilla + Tunon

“The design stands out for its airy appearance, amoeba-like shape and bamboo exterior.”

This design is an a prizewinning Museo de Art Contrmporáneo de Castilla y Leòn in Spain. The house was one of the last commissions for Mr. Mansilla, who passes away in February 2012.

The house has been described as having “two skins” – the bamboo pole skin, which is to provide the effect of living within nature and serves as a curtain to the skin of glass. The lit up building at night is relevant to a traditional Chinese lantern.

This building intrigues me because of the outter layer of “skin”, the bamboo skin. I feel like it creates an amazing effect and design of the building, and makes it pleasing and interesting to the eye. This design really appeals to me because of the structural bamboo poles but also because of the lines that are formed. Not only the vertical lines but also the large curved windows that form the perimeter shape. I enjoy the absurdity of the shape in comparison to a square shaped house. I think the light from the inside enhancing the outside bamboo poles work, but for my design as I am working with natural light I would try to switch this so that natural light from outside could form a feature of my designs structure but reflecting inside the design. This does look very closed from the top view which I would try to open up within my design as I am hoping to achieve a bright and airy space.

Other work by him also include...

The design below is by Wolveridge Architects. It is a modern coastal residence situated in Blairgowrie, Victoria, Australia. Unfortunately I couldn't find too much information about this design, but I like the way that it is so open, yet it still has the aspect of casting shadows. The cut out roof, and open plan area of the living room/lounge to the vertically lined wooden deck really open up the space. The roof is able to then cast shadows not only outside but also as the day turns into the afternoon and evening the shadows lower and reach further into the house. The details of the shadows is all that the space needs, apart from the other materials such as wooden paneling and a small area of soil, the area doesn't need anything else.

This house below is near Tel Aviv by Israeli architect Pitsou Kedem. It has weathered steel screens that cast chequerboard patterns of sunlight and shadow across the internal surfaces of the house. The building is mainly a concrete shell that extends around a courtyard, but also frames the large glazes surfaces or openings containing the gridded metal screens. These see-through surfaces perform several purposes - controlling the amount of daylight that enters the building, limiting views from outside and helping to set boundaries between various internal and external spaces. This type of design does help me to see the possibilities of different options, but I don't like the choice of material, as the steel feels quite dark to me. Over all it looks right for this design but I don't think the material would look right for mine.

After having a look at other works, the main things from these works I am looking at to influence mine are:

- casting of shadows, also forming patters

- not fully enclosed

- spacey

- life/greenery

- raw materials

- bright natural light

- homely and inviting

These key features are related to my clients brief as the morning sun wakes her up. I will create a light and open space as the sun light energises her in the mornings and the shadows that are cast within her room are what she expressed within her aesthetic gestures.