I have taken some photos of the final using a lamp to emulate the Sun. The shadows created by the light and the model are very interesting and vary a lot throughout the structure. This creates a more interesting environment to be in. Furthermore, because there is so much more light than shadow, the whole design starts to compliment how open the space actually is. The tower opens up floor by floor to provide more freedom as you progress up it.
You are given glimpses of nature (which increase up the tower) using the customised weave to create controlled & framed views. The tall tree to the side is an ever present part of the tower, working it’s way in through the side of the building to interact with the structure and it's users.
The tower caters not only for the initial student target audience, but indeed for all.
Multiple types of wood are used, the tower is not confining itself to just one.
Below is a short video showing a flyover animation of the observation tower.Selecting the right type of timber is a key part of designing the observation tower both aesthetically and structurally.To start with, I am interested including a wide variety of types of wood within the design, as opposed to just one. Regarding variety, I do not want overwhelm the tower with too many different types of timber as this will be too visually distracting. I am more interested in providing an experience. The Arboretum is filled with species from all over the world, I would like to mirror this in my design.
http://www.crisiboy.com/2013/10/30/these-wood-types-are-just-a-few-examples-of-what-i-work-with-there/wood-furniture-13/http://www.rensup.com/BlogImages/types-of-wood-4.jpg
http://crosbydesigns.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/types-of-wood.jpg http://www.galerielakaye.com/slides/furniture/trobbins12_wood.jpg http://www.ezhez.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/wood-samplesnamedwood-4gif-xw6zpmk0.gif I have created some computer renders of an initial idea which I have my observation tower, they can be viewed below.Please click on the images to enlarge them: This amazing house in Nara, Japan has made clever use of an inspiring weaving technique.
The architects have also supplied several orthographic drawings and details or the house and it's construction which are fascinating to examine. The image below is perhaps the most interesting of the supplied drawings, it shows how the weave is constructed. It is a clever, but yet simple construction which relies of slotting together. It is interesting to see that in actual fact this weave system is an illusion. It is not actually a weave, so much as several smaller components interlocked. This allows for a number of different configurations which can be adapted to vary in size vastly, ranging from small, thin lines, to huge, whole walls. This house has inspired me to experiment with this technique in my own design and think about this could be implemented. It is actually a very relevant idea to my design concepts and indeed to the personal briefs which I have set myself, for example I wish to block sight into the surrounding houses from the tower but do not wish to create too much of an obtrusive structure for people looking into the park. This idea of weaving walls may very well be the solution to this.http://www.dezeen.com/2011/06/24/wood-block-house-by-tadashi-yoshimura-architects/
With my tower design having a focus on the top of trees and having a different view/ perspective of the park, I thought it interesting to look at 'tree top walks'.
The perspectives from these tree top walks are incredible and inspiring. They have encouraged me further to explore utilising this kind of experience in my design. http://www.illawarrafly.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/IllawarraFlyTower-from-bottom_BANNER_2.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/28/article-1216669-069D924D000005DC-286_468x286.jpg
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/pictures/2013/7/25/1374755854959/A-tree-top-walk-in-the-Sa-010.jpg I feel it is important to know about the type of trees which I am focusing on around my design. The primary tree is very tall, and this will be one of the main interactive features of the structure.
Below: A picture of me underneath the tree for reference. Knowing my own height, I was able to estimate the tree's height by counting how many of me fitted into the height of the tree and multiplying it by my height. http://www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/garden-attractions-A-Z/false-acacia.htm
http://eol.org/pages/583072/details http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/business/climatechange/2columnsubpage/267332.html http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/arboretums-parks-gardens/arboretum-nottingham-1.asp http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/british-natural-history/urban-tree-survey/identify-trees/tree-factsheets/f-to-j/false-acacia/index.html |