Peer Review 4

Peer Review-Group 13

2 Plantrooms

Lu-man Riches

This week, for our peer review, we critiqued group 13, the Lu-man Riches, who were doing the plant room workshop. They explained to us that in this workshop they were to create two plant rooms, one for the Waiheke hotel and one for the city hotel. These plant rooms were to be based on their three atmosphere images, which were images depicting growth, especially of nature. Therefore their plant rooms were based on the idea of growth and a continuous sense of evolvement.

Their first hotel had been laser cut out of perspex and was cut in the shape of leaves, linking to their idea of growth. These leaves and vines had created an almost distorted cylinder, with a base plate at the bottom where people could walk on and view the plants above and around. It was quite neat how these leaves and vines engulfed and encased the whole structure and it reflected their idea of growth constantly being around us, in everything that we see and experience. We also realized that some of the outer leaves were slightly burnt and scorched. At first it was unclear as to what they were trying to portray but they soon explained that they had burnt them on purpose so that it continues their idea of growth and the different stages it can reach, such as death and decay. This gave the design a dystopian outlook, but you would have never thought of linking nature/growth to dystopia as they have always held positive connotations. When asked where the plant room was situated, they explained that it was placed close to their hotel, an extension of their hotel more like, just like in the process of growth something is always an extension of something else.

Their second plant room, which we were really impressed with, was laser cut in the wood material. It had an overall triangular prism shape, made out of a series of elongated diamonds. We thought the diamond shapes were much more successful in terms of aesthetic appeal, than the leaves, as they were a more refined form of leaves, thus subtly portraying the idea of growth rather than making it really obvious at first glance. The repetition of the diamonds signified this sense of continuity when it comes to growth. They also had a black reflective base for their model, which proved very successful as it reflected the interior of the plant room, and made the plant room seem much larger than it actually was. This extension of the model onto the base plate emphasized their idea of growth and its seamless continuity. 

Even though we appreciated the effort that they had put into their plant rooms, we felt that their presentation of their plant rooms i.e. the work that they had pinned up, wasn’t sufficient in portraying their ideas for their plant rooms or their hotels. We had to ask a lot of questions in order to understand where the spaces within the plant rooms were and where the plant rooms were placed in relation to their hotels. We thought their presentation would have been much more successful if they had given us an overall image of where their plant rooms were placed within the hotels and how they were linked to their overall dystopia/utopia idea of their hotels.

[Peer Review: Group 33]
18th September 2012
Between 2 Floors
Theory:
“Perception of the same idea can be so different depending on the experiences that accompany us throughout our lives.” 
The Utopian stair design was influenced by the organic curvature and fragmenting of the nautilus shell. The structure showcased multiple internal enclosures due to the revolution of gradual elevated triangular modules, creating a dome which could be seen as completely different structures depending on the viewer. The structure can be seen as a roof or staircase due to the revolving and layering form of the nautilus shell, this dual perception was carefully crafted and reflects the teams embedded philosophy that drives there architectural language.
The Dystopian stair design  was a layering and juxtaposition of spontaneous shapes. The staircase ensured a physical interaction with the user conjuring a natural determination and effort to conquer the staircase and the challenging ascent/ descent which is the “arduous task” as mentioned in the blog description. Users ought to feel less engrossed in the natural surroundings and more compelled to experience the stairs. The theory of Team 33 is again applied in the design where the team explained that the cross section of the stairs could be seen as sections of the sides of windows layered one on top of another, what is interpreted in each of the stair design depends on the experience that accompanies the viewer.
The theory of the team is explained within a TWEET (140 words or less).

Architectonics:
The CNC components for each stair design was not presented at the Peer Review. There was a delay in the printing process thus we were not able to view them in real life. However from the ArchiCAD renderings presented a lot of promise for what was to come. The team stressed about the limitations faced with CNC and how it is important to bear the limitations in mind when designing.

Programme:

The designs of both staircases echo important aspects of “The Ultimate City” and from this they have extracted the necessary tenants to form a philosophy and ideal in which they have carried through to there physical and digital outcomes. The philosophy is mentioned above in the Theory paragraph. 

Performance:

The Utopian stair is an underground staircase. A sense of enclosure and claustrophobia is what struck me. The user will be lead in a direct path with no room for free exploration as the staircase gradually spirals up entering the surface world. The wall enclosure would segregate the soil and dirt from underground from the users.

The Dystopian stair embraces the growth of greenery in the cavities on the spontaneous shapes as shown in the sections presented. The surrounding environment plays apart in the aesthetic of the design, however it should not detract the user experience away from conquering the stairs.

Form and Space:

A strong sense of form and shape is reflected in the numerous digital renderings of the stair designs shown through close ups, sections, perspectives, axonometrics etc. The relationship between the hotel and staircase has been well explored even when the team has not completed the Between 2 Walls workshop. This foresight and attempt to think beyond is well commended and they will have an advantage to other groups whom have not been as proactive in thinking. 

Media:

The use of digital media is obvious in this team. The digital renderings from ArchiCAD and the beautifully presented sections have gone through numerous cycles through programmes such as Photoshop, Illustrator, ArchiCAD and Rhino. They have shown well mastery of these digital programmes as well as incorporation of water colour and mutlimedia elements in there presentation.

Group 33 Blog Link:
des101jjs.blogspot.co.nz
[Alan]