While walking within the 'triangle' I noticed a huge contrast between being in the city, and being in the park. The city was cold, dull, and even though was parked with cars, looked uninhabited. There were hardly anyone on the streets and everything just seemed be sort of 'controlled,' or running in a scheduled, linear system. For example, at the time we were in front of the Arena hotel, majority of the traffic on the roads were taxi drivers, buses, or large truck drivers. They all seemed to know where they were going. High raised buildings were in close proximity to one another, and at some points I felt claustrophobic. There was barely any greenery. And when there was, the scene seemed as though nature was forced to compliment these modern buildings. I noticed that modern building materials such as glass, steel and concrete were dominant in the CBD.
On Constitution hill, I enjoyed the fact where I got to overlook all the messiness of the CBD. Not only did I feel more connected to nature, I didn't feel claustrophobic because the park was actually quite open, sunlight wasn't completely blocked out by a nearby buildings, but rather slightly obscured by the trees in the park, I felt safe, and surrounded by warmth. I felt relaxed. I felt awakened to the fact that we should appreciate nature more. This became the basis of my design. I wanted to incorporate the gathered feelings I experienced in the park, inside the space.
IDEA: I decided that I needed an 'open space.' I wanted to wake up in a space where I didn't feel so claustrophobic. To emphasize that idea of 'space,' I decided to show a transition from a dark, tight, cold space, to an illuminated, open, and warm space.
For the entry, I decided that I should use concrete slabs. The entry would be flat roofed (as seen in section) to make one feel as though they were in a tight, dark, cold box. This entry way was also a representation of my experience in the CBD.
At the end of that 2-3meter entry, you would see a light. This light is the area that steps into the open space where one would wake up in. In that open space, I decided to emphasize the idea of 'space' through the shape of the floor plan (a narrow entry way that opens up) and the height of the roof within that space.
Within this open space, I wanted to feel the way I did in the park. I then decided that I would use carpet on the floor to provide warmth. To push the idea of 'safety', I decided to have some open space within the structure. Just so I didn't feel completely enclosed, and that there was sound entry in the structure. The idea of safety is also emphasized in the buildings relationship to the ground. As seen in section view, the sleeping space is actually supported off the ground. This is just so that while I'm sleeping, I'm not being disturbed by people passing by through the park at night.
I thought about the light entry into the space. I wanted to bring the idea of obscured sunlight entry from the trees, and incorporate it into the structure using a timber and glass canopy of some sort. Timber because it's more natural than concrete (or any other building material that could provide warmth). This canopy would cast random yet very interesting shadows onto the carpet floor - to make one feel as though they were lying under trees.
I thought about how the structure would look like at night. I wanted to structure to represent a moon flower. A moon flower blooms at night, which gives a sense of being protected at night. To show this, I decided that maybe it would be nice for the structure to light up, or have some light shinning along the side of the building to look as though the building is 'awake'.
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