Making Spaces

2nd Project was once again a completely new experience. Something that I have always wanted to do but never given the opportunity and having the small amount of experience from the previous week I seem to be progressing in such a small period of time.

The Brief

For this project, I had to design a new urban public space concept for a connected society. Asking myself how can the design of a public space help people connect in a society where we seem to be less social everyday with the advancements in technology. People prefer to be inside surrounded by technology that makes them feel safe and connected from a far without the fear of getting hurt.

Theses are the kind of questions I had to ask myself when designing a urban space for the future Dundee. The brief also said that once our individual spaces were complete we would place them together to create OUR DUNDEE. Spaces that would help either get us to be active with others or a space that could calm us. Giving us a space that we can relax and come together as a group to be social.

Group Task

Before we were to begin researching our own urban space concept, we were split into 15 groups of 5 to go out into Dundee and investigate different locations in which our spaces could be placed. My group (group 2) was to walk to Magdalen Green where we were to take pictures of the location for the class and ourselves. I found it to be a nice location but not one I wanted to use. Keeping to mind that it was a Monday afternoon when must people tend to be working but nether the less we made our findings. There was the occasional dog walker or elderly couple out for a walk. It is a long stretch of bright green grass with a band stand in the centre. Once we took our photos and had a look around, we reported back to class. Every group explained what their location was and the potential it had. This was a productive class that without we needing to had a good look into some of the locations in Dundee.

First Task

I began by researching into simple questions such as “What is a public space?” and “Why would someone use it?” Questions that would help me design a concept that fits all the criteria. Generating ideas was a long, tiring process that had to be done but definitely worth it. It allowed me to see other work that was out in the world and designers such as James Turell and Richard Serra. These designers have shown how simple shapes and lights can be used in exciting and innovative ways. The more I researched, the more I was inspired. Looking into pop up spaces for kids or architecture folly. All different themes and styles so I could decide on mine.

Second Task

Moving on from research, I started to sketch quick ideas of what my theme could be and structures that would be interesting for a space in Dundee. I decided upon a space theme that would be interesting for all ages and allow the people of Dundee to have a wider look at the world. Keeping to the theme of future Dundee also. Then started to sketch ways in which the public could interact with the space. An interesting idea was a way they could enter the location. I began designing different platforms and buildings to make in futuristic and fun.

Third Task

Once I had a concept, I acquired some materials to create a prototype of my space. Something quick given the time we had been given. I used a 150mm x150mm foam square to be the base of my prototype. It is easy to cut into foam so I cut into the foam where I wanted my walls to be and pushed card into the slots to get an idea of what the structure would look like.

Final Stage

Onto the final model by drawing on a 150mm x 150mm piece of MDF where the walls will be placed as seen in the image above.

Using kappa board for the walls of the building and the entrance walls doesn’t allow for easy manipulation but it is a strong material. By using the resources at the university shop I purchased a polystyrene ball as a dome roof and a bag of gravel for the ground. By using a hot glue gun to assemble the building and spray mount the MDF to have the gravel stick to it.

Conclusion 

This project has been successful to get me to think about modelling a building and a deeper understanding of the the city of Dundee. I think it was a successful final design and presentation especially alongside everyone’s models as a collective project.

Group Project

Brief Overview

This project was full of surprises. Having thought that our first group task would be something completely different. This task was difficult for me as I have never done anything like it.

The Tizio Lamp. Lamps are now forever ruined for me.

The task was to build our own tizio lamp using the materials in the workshop. This included materials like cardboard, kappa board, paper, card or… anything we could get our hands on. We were given the entire day to complete this task as a team and break the ice at the same time.

First Stage

We began by taking photos of the real tizio lamp to get an better idea of the parts required and how its put together. Moving onto our sketchbooks to make a few quick sketches to understand the mechanics of it. That progressed quickly because some of the group like myself didn’t grasp it at the start but with help of my team mates we learnt how it was built. Continuing in our sketchbooks to note down dimensions of each part of the lamp was an essential part to having an accurate model. Once that was taken care of we allocated jobs to members of the team. Some were better at cutting out materials, some were better at using the hot glue gun or some just happen to be holding the knife. 

Second Stage

Moving onto the practical side, we start to see the team really come together. It wasn’t without its issues but we tackled them as they appeared. Whenever a member of the team either couldn’t do something or just needed advice we assisted.

While one person was making the base of the lamp, others were making the frames. We used a large amount of cardboard for the base to make it as heavy as possible to support the rest of the lamp. The frame was also made out of cardboard. Looking back that might of been a mistake.

Final Stage

All the pieces were coming together. It was now a case of attaching the correct pieces. For example the leg frames were wider so it would be stronger at the base of the lamp. Building up adding frame by frame it became increasingly obvious that weight was going to be an issue. Once we placed the mid section on and then the top lamp section, it seemed as though the highest point was the heaviest bringing the rest of the model down with it. So we had to go back and redesign the top so it was almost equal to the wait lower down. The next half an hour consisted of weight distribution. We finally did it, possibly with the help of an additional material or too. Rubber, maybe a pebble. The final lamp was something to be proud of by the end.

Solo Project 

This project was to design anything as long as it was inspired by the tizio lamp or an element from that lamp. I found this particularly hard as this time I had no help from my class mates and I struggle with modelling. My ideas were originally to stick with a lamp but create my own with a similar style to the tizio. Spend a long time sketching different ideas that would be simple enough to create out of cardboard and kappa board which is something I have never done before. In my previous course doing Visual Communication, in a way you could draw anything as long as the idea came across to your audience. While here I knew this had to be created which made me hold back.

Then moving on from the sketching, I began drawing out some frames from cardboard that would be used to make a simple crane like lamp or it could become an arm or anything. I was fascinated by the way the dowels worked in the tizio lamp and wanted elements of that in my own. By created different lengths of frame with different widths I started to attach these to see what I could create.

This showed promise with the way the frames can turn allows for a lot of movement. I then tried using kappa board as a material. Tried different dimensions and now added a base.

Here is my process of my solo project. Wish I spend less time sketching and more time modelling but lesson learned. For the future I need to schedule my time better and have a final model to present. I learnt a lot from doing this though. Once I started to model it became easier to get on with it.

Conclusion 

I found the group project to be a great way to work as a team at what I thought was a difficult task. Also as it was the first day in first year I think most of the class was nervous and it was a excellent way to break the ice and get to know some of the class.

From a technical point of view, I believe I have already learnt a lot in the past few days about modelling. What would be a stronger material to use for this part and if I used that material would it be too heavy at this part etc.

My main issue has been worrying about a model I haven’t even got started on yet. I need to force myself to get stuck into the crafting process and realize if the initial model doesn’t work the way I want, it’s okay. It has always been my issue. I’m a perfectionist. I hope to change that part of me over the next year and dive into these projects head first.

Thank you for reading