MA; Interior + Spatial Design

During my MA studies, I became particularly interested in how we can create spaces that are better connected to the people that use and move through them. I began to see how over time we have created these socially and spatially splintered environments, particularly in respect of the pedestrian and those with different sensory abilities. Taking a look at the urban pedestrian and the spaces through which they move, my project centred around creating spaces that more thoughtfully consider the diversity of the individuals and their needs, movements and behaviours. I found that these spaces were often illegible and key elements to spatial design, such as wayfinding and circulation, seemed completely disregarded. Exploring ways in which we can spark a conversation between the architectural entities and the inhabitant, this spatial conversation also aimed to be legible in different forms. In a sense, space should be polyglot in its communication. Redesigning architectural elements (such as the wall and the terrain), the aim was to reinstate space for the urban pedestrian in ways that were more unique, more wonderful and importantly, more responsive to its inhabitants. I see this as a vital part of the environmental, social and spatial framework of the urban human experience. Let us have walls that emulate the body and terrains that nudge to the wonders of walking. A symbiosis between the writer and the performer, this project takes the everyday and creates a literature in the architectural allure.

Site Plan

Highlighting the chosen pedestrian zones of focus on the site, this site plan-esque piece expresses the foundational ideas to the project: The physiology of the pedestrian + how it fits into the space through which it moves, a yearn for pedestrian/transition space that more thoughtfully considers the diversity of its inhabitants, the coded haptic cues that lie within these zones and, this aim to create space that is diverse in its legibility (polyglot communication).

Hatching 3D Elevation

Studying and inspecting urban haptic cues found along the commute, I begun to view them as this coded language. In this piece, I translated my ethnographic research of this surficial language into a coded visual language that represents the textures and what they are communicating, to me. Rather than using hatch patterns often found in architectural plans, I visually communicated this coded surficial language (creating my own language) through letters, symbols and punctuation marks to symbolise my interpretation of the textural examination. Layering it on top of 3D shape visualisations of the space in which they exist and merging them into one unique form, it symbolises the connections between the spaces and this sense of a journey; with annotations of each space/surface I specifically inspected.

Textural Drawing Extrusion

Wanting to present the project ideas through typical architectural drawing, with a twist, this extruded hatching sketch is an expressive interpretation of floor textures that can be found in the city. Throughout the year-long duration of the MA, after a writing task in the first few weeks of the course, I became increasingly interested in the intersection of language/writing/text and space. To provide context but to also add layers to the beholding experience, the drawing is accompanied with a small extract of expressive, emotive writing.

Emotive Writing Text link

Body Speaking Wall Models

With two key architectural elements chosen as a focus to spark this spatial conversation - the wall and the horizontal surface - I designed these 'body speaking walls'. After meticulous tests, research and iterations, these two forms were chosen. Intended to be implemented in the transition zones on the site, and with directionality considered, one was designed for 'to work' and the other for 'coming home'.

Handcrafted by myself, I built a scaled segment of each wall design by layering + glueing sectional view CNC cut pieces of plywood onto an internal dowel balance fastening. 600x500mm, free standing.

THE HAND

THE SHOULDER

Body Sections

Again taking a traditional architectural drawing method; sections, but this time using the human lens, I inspected the designed 'body speaking walls' in relation to the whole and specific parts of the human body. As it passes by and interacts with the architectural element, in its anatomically performative states of daily motion, could we imagine this intricately woven and crafted spatial affinity between place (architectural entity/wall) and person?

The Architectural Braille Handbook

This handmade embossed book is another added layer to the tactile experience and sensorial understanding of the redesigned exterior pedestrian space on the site, Waterloo Station. Pressing my body parts into different materials (mattresses, clay, tin foil, bubble wrap), I created the texture from these imprints using 3D modelling software. Implementing the final developed imprint into the pedestrian zone of focus, the wrinkled terrain aims to welcome and reflect the presence of human beings by nudging to human anatomy through its form. Importantly, the texture aimed to highlight that spatial experience should be collective and inclusive. The experience of the built environment is about everybody and the unique texture (but also the different ways that it is presented in this project) shows the affordances that disabilities, such as blindness, can bring to our designs.

Projection Film Stills

To further explore the physiology and motional form of the pedestrian, this film was created. Projected onto the hand crafted wooden wall models, this moving image piece further explored the relationship between the inhabitant and the form of these designed ‘body speaking walls’. It aimed to express the role these two elements play in understanding and forming connections with our environment.

CRITICAL RESEARCH PAPER

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