Assignment 2B

The University Living Room

Program

A living room is traditionally a place where people can sit and talk and relax and can be used for general social and leisure activities. You will refine this description based on your observations of the site and the more specific and newly assigned program below.

Program:

1. Spaces to rest / recline / repose

Consider the position of the body, should one be able to rest in a supine or prone position? Or is a lounge position sufficient? Should the space be semi private or completely private? What kind of materials and lighting support the notion of rest in a public place?

2. Spaces for contemplation / study / concentration

Again, consider the body position, should one be sitting upright or lounging? Will people be working alone or in groups? Are solitude and privacy important?

3. Spaces for conviviality / socializing / eating / drinking

Are people perching or sitting? Or both? Do people eat alone or together? How do materials shift from being appropriate for rest and repose to being appropriate for eating and drinking? How can the lighting transform the space as you move from one form of “sitting” to another?

Use the body positions and dimensions from graphic standards to guide you as you position the body in space.

So far you have spent several hours observing and documenting the site in an attempt to understand how the end user has chosen to occupy the space. You should allow your observations to help guide and inform the design decisions you make as you move forward. For example, if you observed that during the day a large number of students study there wearing headphones to block out noise, you may decide that your university living room will be composed of partially enclosed study pods made of a sound absorbing material. If, through your observations and documentation, you noticed that a large number of students sleep there with their faces covered you may decide that a large low lit sleeping space for tired students that allow the body to be in a prone or supine position is appropriate. If you observed large numbers of students eating there you may decide that the material you use need to be easy to clean and hygienic. Let your observations of the living room users help inform your programmatic organization of the space, the materials and the lighting that you choose. Write a 1 paragraph statement that describes what your program will be specifically, your program will have three major components to it as indicated in the program specifications above however you determine the extent to which and the location. We will continue to refine this statement throughout the project.

To begin, in modo, insert the bridge space model that you made in assignment 1 into the existing conditions model of the student union building (you may choose 1 floor or your model may intersect floors – you may demolish as necessary). You will probably have to rescale it in order to make it fit inside the perimeter of the space. Consider it’s orientation, scale, and relationship sectionally to other elements such as the floor and stairs. Analyze the form and ask your self how the bridge space and existing conditions can be modified to accommodate the programmatic requirements. This may mean deleting polygons to open up for views, it may require adding and moving polygons in order to create seating or extending edges to create places to lay, etc…

You will not be “buying” furniture for your sunken living room, rather you will be designing it and it should be integral to the bridge space itself. Additionally, you should consider lighting, materials and color. (You may not use more than 3 colors or materials.)

Deliverables

Ultimately, each team will make a physical model of their sunken living room proposal. You may consider making your model out of a material other than paper this time. Think about the material you would like to use and how you want to connect the pieces. For example do you want to glue the overlapped tabs together? Do you want to laser cut rows of small holes along the edges of the surfaces and sew your model together? Do you want to perforate your edges in the laser cutter and fold the surface? Do you want to glue the edges together without tabs? Do you want to modify the tabs so they interlock? Laser cut your 2d pattern in order to fabricate your 3d model out of plywood, polypropylene, acrylic, rigid paper or another material of your choice in consultation with your studio critic. You may even consider using more than 1 material. Could it be made of different materials or colors or have different transparencies? (no more than three materials may be used)

Drawings are not only representational; like the physical and digital models they are also devices for evaluating ideas and presenting positions. As the final approaches, you will be developing section drawings that support an argument for your project. Section drawings must document key performative and/or organizational aspects of your spatial proposition. For example, if your proposition focuses on visual connections for people eating, section cuts must be carefully located to document key aspects of this agenda. All sections must show deep space by calibrating line-weight and line-type. The vertical section must include scale figures performing relevant activities (walking, sitting, resting, eating, etc).

Mon. Oct. 04: Desk critiques – print out 6 views of your insertion on 8.5 x 11 paper

Wed. Oct. 13: Pin UP with outside Jury (documentation, renderings, plan and section, study model)

Mon. Oct. 18 Desk Critiques

Your final review is Monday Oct. 27, 3:30 – 6:20pm. Plan your time carefully and work efficiently during the next week. Continue refining the material execution of concepts while developing final drawings and models. Do not simply redraw or remake what you already know.

Wed. Oct. 27 Final Review

What’s due:

Documentation printed on 11 x 17 paper

3 renderings printed 11 x 17 glossy paper

plan and section, scale TBD, each drawing printed on 11 x 17 paper

physical model, scale TBD