Peer Review 3

Peer Review-Team Simplicity Studios

Team Simplicity Studios focused on the transition between Utopia and Dystopia and the different degrees of transition which can be physically involved with the structure of stairs. They were tasked to create two sets of stairs representing each of Utopia and Dystopia with their overall abstract theme of stimulating senses and integrating experiences. They focused on the interaction with people and the emotional response rather than the physicality and the functionality of the stairs.

As a group which journeyed through the Plant room design process, their utopian stairs were heavily influenced by the elements of the Plantroom. Its organic elements were emphasized through their idea of living plants which surrounds and embraces the naked sinuously curved walls. Through the growth of plants, the empty wall fires up with vines of colour and texture which naturally beautifies the relaxed enclosure which creates an out-from-the-world concept. With such ideas, they created a section drawing which could express the emotional experience people could feel and the functionality of the stairs and other architectural structures which the steps were embedded to.

On the other hand, their dystopian stairs were much more interactive and involved, more like an exercise. The structure of the stairs was quite uneven and they were placed in a spontaneous manner, i.e. they weren’t placed relative to one another. This related to the idea of dystopia where things are not ordered and there is a sense of loss. Every step also had vertical beams on the sides that went up to the ceiling so they would act as handles. In order to climb the stairs you would have to use these handles and literally pull yourself up since the steps are placed a meter or so high. You would find yourself leaping and jumping and really concentrating on your next move and trying to find the easiest path to the top. This they said was kind of like climbing a mountain which can be an arduous task so it related to the idea of dystopia and how things aren't easily obtained. These set of stairs highlighted the idea of overcoming obstacles and having freedom of choice. Once you got to the top you had the privilege of making use of an amazing view and looking over what you had just achieved. They said that in a way these particular stairs had the idea of utopia and dystopia tied in one, for you had the challenging task of overcoming the obstacles and pushing yourself to get to the top but once you got to the top the sense of accomplishment was rewarding enough to make the journey worth it, which we thought was a very neat idea. This relates to their overall theme of stimulating senses and integrating experiences through their design, and incorporating the transition between utopia and dystopia.

They did mention that their CNC cuttings didn't work as it was a computer problem and though they did try multiple times, they couldn’t overcome, so they didn’t have any CNC cuttings to show us which was unfortunate.

Overall, their utopian stairs were less interactive compared to the dystopian stairs and focused on the abstractive side of experience such as sight and smell. 

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Peer Review - Des.

Team Des. were tasked with creating a means of transportation between their two hotel designs on Waiheke Island and in Auckland city that incorporated a renewable and non-renewable energy source of some kind. The idea was to create a means by which occupants could fly over from one point to another (one hotel port to another) and one non-flying transport that would achieve the same intended goal. With their vehicles designs, Team Des. looked into the application of a port area into the overall structure of the design of their hotel on both sites. 

        The team had shown extensive research into various design concepts and how they related to their own design ideas and the idea that neither vehicle conveyed a set definition as to what a utopia or dystopia is but rather that that is all dependent on how the occupants within the vehicles interpret it to be. This gives meaning to the reinvention of a design to convey both and yet neither the idea of a utopia and dystopia-like atmosphere.

The team also used 123D Catch to create 3D versions of a hair brush and a coffee cup as starting points for the development towards ports incorporated into their hotel designs. To further develop their ideas for a hotel development, the team sought to capture 'movement' in the form of a short animation/movie to show this movement within nature, for example the movement of leaves in the wind etc. 

        After the first stages of development, the team came about using a different medium to explore their ideas than the coffee cup used in their 3D creation; a plastic bottle. Des. explored the idea of deformation, melting and deforming the bottle to create a more abstract and significantly more interesting form. This lead to the discovery that when the bottle was melted it created a highly abstract form from the exterior and a simpler, cleaner, sinuous form from the interior.

The team created and two vehicles and explored the different variables of weight, weight distribution and size of materials etc, and recorded the many experimental trials, seeking to improve the design at every stage. The first design trial was a plastic bottle that was filled with an air and alcoholic vapour combination that when ignited creates an instantaneous burst of energy that leads to an immediate forward thrust ( an immediate propulsion system ) that acted as a non-renewable fuel source for the transport design. The second transport design was a simple flying lantern that involved the same design principles as a hot air balloon (the heating of air to create a dense rise of steam that with convection lifts the balloon into the air). Team Des. also designed a third vehicle. Their mock up test model was created using a plastic cup with plastic straws inserted into the bottom that is placed on top of a plastic plate. when the cup is filled with water it then rushes out from the straws, seeps beneath the plate and creates forward momentum to move the vehicle.

The team become interested in the idea that their hotel could be a very elaborate and abstract form that was buried underground as a means to convey an interesting aesthetic. There basis was to create a form from which the occupants can interpret the ideas of a utopia / dystopia like environment in their own way. Team Des. presented a large amount of work, research and development that detailed their vehicle designs and their hotel form and structure. The overall presentation was well prepared and themes were well conveyed in a fairly professional manner that was easy to understand.