model 1:100

Material

Material: Litracon.

Litracon is a light transmitting concrete and was developed by Aron Losonczi, a Hungarian architect. It is a combination of optical fibers and fine concrete. It is 96% concrete and 4% optical fibre. Shadows conveyed through the material are rendered crisply and the light colour is unchanged. I chose this material as it gives an eerie and mysterious feeling to the surrounding. Unlike the glass where the light are direct and strong, the light produced using this material is diffused and soft and the shadows produced are evocative. 

perspectives

 Image 1: 2 point perspective of the rooftop.

Image 2: 1 point perspective of the use-space with the shadow casted on the floor. 

plan poche

 

Image 1: Plan poche

In this poche, I drew how the shadow is casted across the rooftop. The shadow plays an integral part in this rooftop. In the circulation area, the shadows are rectangular, long and controlled to direct the young woman to the use-space. Also, the circulation area is a transition space for the young woman from the outside world. Hence, the mood I intended for the circulation is mysterious and dark. Whereas, in the use-space there is more light and the series of square shadow signifies for the young woman to sit there and look through the skylight to the clouds and blue sky outside. 

parti

Image 1: Plan parti

The circulation encloses the use-space to isolate the young woman even within the rooftop. The bounding of the use-space will ensure the privacy of the young woman as the use-space is almost concealed if we look from the exterior.  A square is chosen as the use-space because it is inherently nondynamic and doesn't suggest movement. Whereas rectangles accommodate movement more naturally.

Hence, the circulation also serves the purpose as concealing the use-space from the exterior as well as movement.

Section and Axonometric

Above: Section poche.

Below: Axonometric

In the section, I tried to illustrate the material and the lighting for the use-space. The lighting is controlled and comes from above where I imagined the young woman will look up the sky and forgets about the misery that is happening around her. The use-space is wider and has higher ceiling to elate the young woman while grieving. The material used will be thick to create a sense of heaviness.

Project 2-Site

The Anne Frank house (left) at the Prince Canal, Amsterdam.

The Anne Frank House seen from Google Map.

The site that I chose for this project is the Anne Frank House which is situated in 'Prinsengracht' (Prince's Canal)  in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The reason why I chose this site is because of the isolation that Anne Frank faced while she was hiding from the Nazis.

Amsterdam has a cool oceanic climate and winter temperatures are mild, seldom below 0 °C. Amsterdam's average annual precipitation is less than 760 mm and most of the precipitation is in the form of protracted drizzle or light rain, making cloudy and damp days common during the cooler months of October through March.

During the brainstorming process, I came up with a story where the young woman is reading a letter written by her dead lover who were killed by the Nazis. However, she managed to hide herself and spent most of her days reading the letter written before her lover was killed. While reminiscing her rendezvous days with her lover, she would go to the rooftop to isolate and grieve.

Spatial narrative: A rooftop for a young woman to isolate and grieve and hide from the Nazis.