Introduction
Every third saturday of the month, Dundee hosts a farmer’s marketing front of Caird Hall. According to multiple people of various ages and backgrounds, the market always looks a bit bleak. My idea is to create a new market area which would encourage people to be closer to each other and to communicate with each other.
The initial idea was to create a market area which would be protected from the adverse condition of the weather such as rain. I got inspiration from seeing a trampoline for the shape of my market.
I was also inspired to create a form of shelter that people may use in winter or during a rainy period to seek shelter during periods where the market does not run. I thought of creating a space where the homeless could seek shelter if needed. The market would be placed in the land which is on sale on West Marketgait.
Development
I had an idea of “what if” the market was made in such a way but under the shape of the trampoline. I started creating ideas for such design and eventually found one which I was pleased with.
The market area of the construction would have 27 stalls which would accommodate each market stall and allow 2 spare stalls. The stalls each had 2-4 support beam on their respective corners to support the canopy ceiling which coincides to be a park. I took inspiration to have an elevated park from the jardins de la rambla de sants in Barcelona. My idea was that when the structure was not used as a park it could still server a function by being a park but also a potential shelter for the homeless in Dundee.
I made a template of the layout of the bottom floor, this allowed me to pinpoint where each support beam for the market was and to have a floor plan of the market. I then made the support beams using metal wires and placed them unto the foam base of the model. After placing all beams I removed the template paper. I then started making tables using wooden stick. The tables were made by cutting the stick into rectangle twice then gluing them together, after that I glued them to the base to create this.
I then made the base of the upper floor where the park would be. After doing that, I placed the base on the support beams to visualise if the shape was correct for the model. I also made a wall at the back of the market which has 2 layers of glass at either side of the wall to allow for light to pass through. The space between the 2 layers could be used to display typical Dundonian items or culture. I then created a the ramps on each side to allow users to go the park. I created the ramp with enough space to conform the safety regulation for wheelchair access.
I then realised that it may be a good idea instead of having a tree planted on the park area to have the tree planted in the market to allow it to grow into the park creating a natural canopy. Using this idea I placed fake grass in the middle area of the market where the tree would be. I then made a tree using the same metal wires as the ones used in making the beams of the market. I coiled the wires together to make each branch individually, then I place some tape over it to hide the metallic texture to it. I later coloured the tree in different shade of brown and gray to create a more realistic look to it. I then added the leaves texture using specialised model making leaves and bushes to finish the tree.
Despite the new addition of the hole in the middle of the park to allow the tree to grow, I still wanted to use translucent glass in the park to allow even more light into the market. Thus I made Half-moon shapes holes in the base of the park and using milk bottles, I created translucent glass for the park. I then place grass using the same fake grass as in the market.
The model seemed finished untill someone told me that it would be a good idea to have some scaled people inside the structure. I used little paper cutout and drew human shapes on them and placed them throughout the model to add some depth to it.
Conclusion and Thoughts
I think the project overall went well, The challenging part of the model was to make it 1:200 which made many of the work very finicky. If I had to improve it, I would add more details to the work such as a fence around the tree and around the park to add realism, I would also add benches and bins.
