Model Making

As part of our design process we were to focus heavily on model making. I started off by making a basic shed model, from this I folded sides and ends to create different shapes and floor space.

For the first model I folded 2 of the walls and cut the roof to create a geometric opening to the shed, I then decided to do this to the other side of the shed as well to create a walk through building.

Next I decided to add roofs to the ends of the building, this created a very interesting and unique floor space and roof shape.

From this I started to think about how to create an inside outside experience.

I decided to add pillars to the outside of the building to create a space between inside and outside, somewhere where it feels like you are still inside but have the fresh air and smells of the outdoors.

After making my first few models I chose to then draw them into my sketchbook, this helped me understand basic shadows on the buildings.

Once I had my basic models made I decided to explore how shadow would effect the shape and foot print of the models.

I explored how different angles of light would reflect on the models, I took a lot of photos from different angels and light angels and found them all very interesting. I like how the shadow on the second image above looks a bit like the shadow of a bird, I found that quite fitting for this modules theme of nature disconnect.

Once I had my images I took them into my sketchbook.

In order to explore the shadows further I took some tracing paper and traced over the shapes the shadows made. Looking back at the drawings now I think it would have been a good idea to also do just the outlines of the buildings and shadows to see what kind of shapes they created. This technique helped me a lot when it came to understanding how shadow affected the shape of my models and showed me that shadow can change the way a building looks.

After this I did some research into beach defence buildings and castle arrow slits – this is expanded upon in my research blog.

I was inspired by how these buildings framed the view so created some models that incorporated the long and narrow slits.

I found these models (especially the last one) quite fidgety to make as the paper I was using wasn’t strong enough to hold its shape after I had cut out the shapes.I think if I had used a stronger material these models would have been a lot easier to make.

After this I started to research some materials that would work well with a ‘beach defence building’.

I fell in love with the weathered copper of the last image, however quickly realised that this probably wasn’t the best material to use as it wouldn’t fit in with the surrounding’s like I wanted the building to do. I also really liked the texture of the slate cladding (second from the right) as it added a subtle texture whilst still being a colour and material that would fit in with the surrounding buildings. After a long think about materials I decided to go simple and make the building out of concrete as this would mean the building looked like the others but with a more unique design, it would also connect the building more to the inspiration and history behind its design.

Refining My Concept

This is the model and concept I chose to refine. I chose this one as I really liked how the slits extended up onto the roof, I also thought that this design would create some really interesting shadows inside the actual building.

The first thing I did to refine this idea was focus on the slits.

I liked how arrow slits in castles get wider one the inside so I decided to take this and explore how I could use it to create an interesting feature out of my slits. I played with having the slits alternating direction and really liked this idea so decided to expand on it.

The next thing I did was take my model and make it on SketchUp.

By using SketchUp I was able to see where I needed to make changes to the heights and thicknesses of my slits to work with the angles and slopes of the roof. I also realised after making my initial SketchUp model that I hadn’t Added the thicknesses to the walls and roof so I went back on and did that.

After making the changes the model came out a little different, however, it turned out to be a lot more symmetrical and was now to the scale I had envisioned it to be.

This was the process I went through to get to my final design. I found the whole process very enjoyable but a wee bit stressful at times when things weren’t working out the way I wanted them too but I think I handled it quite well and managed to push through the difficulties and find ways to conquer them.

Stay tuned for my blog on the final stretch of this project.