Reflections on project part 1

Yesterday I presented my proposal to Yasu Santo, Ian Weir, Phil Crowther and Andrew _ (from Donovan Hill Architects). I enjoyed presenting the project, however, I was well aware that not all aspects of the design was resolved.

I think that my presentation was perhaps based too much on technical aspects of the buildings rather than the intentions and aesoteric intentions. I worked quite hard to resolve structural concepts for the proposal, however, I concede that presentation of the full resolution with respect to site was not as well communicated. ian was quite right to say that the site was not represented, however, this was also intentional with regards to one of my key design strategies: that the buildings be adaptable. I do now understand however, that a more thorough representation of the many ground planes that occur on the site would have been beneficial in presenting my proposal. This is something that i will keep in mind for the future.

It was intersting to note that I did provide sections of the spaces, however, spatial qualities were not emphasised in them. Perhaps some scenographic drawings would have provided me with a good opportunity to do that. One thing that was a significant factor throughout this project though, was time. i do feel as if i spent my time well working through the forms, scenarios and methods of construction, however, I did not pause often enough to consider whether these solutions could be considered... architecture.

One of the main intentions of the project was to provide the client with the opportunity to compose the solutions as she saw fit. The danger, in hindsight though, was that the solution could be devoid of site specificity! i did feel as though I had fulfilled the brief with the project and pursued many ideas after meetings with Yasu, however, I feel that the project is still in its inchoate stages. I feel as though alot more client feedback while we were developing our designs would have given me the opportunity to brutally assess the factors governing the design. i could have then removed rigid artefacts and replaced them with more relevant factors.

I will write some more soon.