In an oversized book, Jean Nouvel has brought together some of his projects from 1993-2008 and titled the book “Jean Nouvel.” This section was discovered in this book and I believe it represents Nouvel style and outlook on architecture. The building that the section was developed for is the Performing Arts Center situated in Seoul, Korea, which was the winning project from an invited competition. Nouvel’s intentions were to develop this building so that nature and music would somehow be united (Nouvel, 2008, pg 452). I picked this section because the building had the same idea and intentions I was aiming for (but sadly missed the mark). The section brought together an artistic element to the drawing, which made is unique and different from the other sections that were selected. The location of the building is situated in the middle of an island surrounded by the city, which is well detailed in the section. In my final project I tried to achieve a similar idea connecting the natural elements of water and the surrounding city. It is important in this project to learn how to communicate the design through a section, and I believe I can achieve this, if I focus on designs that had a similar intention to my own.
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This section represents relationships with the occupied internal spaces and the external context of the building. The relationship of the building and its surrounding context is conveyed through this drawing, which allows a better understanding of the design and the possible social impacts on the surrounding society. This section communicates the relationship between the public and the spaces within the building, through the use of colour and detail. The important elements are highlighted by using colour and added detail, which allows the viewer to understand the focus and elements of the design. This adds depth and a mood, helping to communicate the experiences of the internal spaces. Unlike other sections developed by the other architects, Nouvel’s section does not need labels on the drawing to communicate functions and relationships of the internal spaces. This is communicated through the scale and the added detail such as the light outlines of objects such as cars and trains which assist in describing the function of the spaces and scale. Possible applications of materials are represented by using different thickness of lines and textural elements. By layering images of the city, trees, the mountain and other elements have assisted in communicated the buildings relationship to its context. The buildings spaces and its relation to the public (that will occupy them) is communicate through the detail, showing its function and architectural elements.
****after discovering Jean Nouvel's website (and that the project was available for viewing) instead of scanning in the section that was in the book. I just simply took the section (which is the same one) from the website. Just due to better quality and viewing. *****
Reference List:
Other External Links to Support Section:
Section TWO- Morphosis
In ‘Morphosis Buildings and Projects’ the Phare Tower is one of the teams recent designs that has started to be co structured just this year and is located in La Defense, France. I didn’t choose this section for the same reasons that I chose Nouvel’s section. This section has a neat and tidy element to it, which makes it simple to read and understand. The section is simply plain, which in some complicated sections, is the most beneficial way to communicate the design ideas and intentions.
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The section represents the structural elements of the design and the materials that would be applied to the building. The section is strong in detail and the pure element of it being white lined on a black background. The detail is focused on the structural elements such as the supporting poles and the skin of the building. Apart from a couple of train objects and a tree, the section doesn’t focus on any other architectural element. As a result of this focus the drawing has no depth, exposed by its lack of colour and shading. By showing the sectional cut through the thick walls with a shade of grey, has softened the section, so that it isn’t dominating the page more than possible other drawings. This type of section would be best used to communicate to an engineer, as it doesn’t focus on the spacial qualities of the building. Due to this focus on the structural elements, the internal spaces that are shown in the section have to be labeled in order to relate to them. Even though the simple numbering system attached in relation to the legend solves this issue. It doesn’t give any understanding of the internal spaces. In this section, by focusing on the structural elements has produced a section that is simple but to the point approach and would be the most beneficial for communicating a structurally concentrated design.
****after discovering Morphosis Architects had a official website, the section was taken from it so that viewing and quality was better ***
Reference List
- Mayne, T. (2009). Morphosis Buildings and Projects. New York, United States: Rizzoli International Publications
- Morphosis Architects. (2011). Phare Tower. Retrieved from http://morphopedia.com/projects/phare-tower accessed the 18th July 2011
Other External Links to Support Section:
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http://morphopedia.com/projects/phare-tower
Section THREE- Richard Rogers
In the ‘GA Document Extra 02- Richard Rogers’ the Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport was stated to be an expansion of the ever growing airport. The building is suppose to act like a link between many different forms of transport and this has lead to a building that incorporates about four different transition points. These points and connects are very important element of the design, and this section represents that. I chose this section because it is detailed, but it serves its purpose in communicating the buildings prime function and needs without suffocating the drawing.
This section is similar to the other sections, with the pure elements just being black lined with a white background. However the most dominate element of the section is the number of people that are represented and the walls and floors that of being intercepted. These are solid black figures, which is why they stand out so strongly. The quantity of people drawn would be to represent the function of the spaces, which are busy spaces that hold a lot of people all at once. By studying the section, even though some elements dominate the drawing more than others, there are many thin lines that are very detailed. These show different types of transport that is used within the facility; main structural elements; circulation spaces and the outside environment. Even though the section doesn’t have depth, it does have necessary detail to communicate the functions, circulation and structural elements used in the design. Function especially is important and is very well communicate through the simple use of lines. This type of section would be most beneficial in most cases due to its sufficient detail in most of the elements and doesn’t focus on just a one. Rogers has drawn a well communicated section that is adequate at representing is prime function and needs.
Reference List
- Futagawa, Y. (1995). GA Document Extra 02- Richard Rogers. (ed. Y, Futagawa) Tokyo: A.D.A. Edita
Section FOUR- Steven Holl
This section is very different from the rest as described in ‘Architecture Spoken’ to be sponge which transformed the building into a dynamic metaphor. Simmons Hall in Massachusetts Institute of Technology situated in Massachusetts prime function is accommodation for the students. It is stated that there are these large opening are the lungs of the building, bringing needed light and air circulation (Holl, 2007, pg 122). By using a metaphor to describe the final concept of the building, it has helped produce an interesting but well commuicated section. This section allows me to learn to communicate the designs conecpts using the simplists of techniques but in the most beneficial way.
Within this section is depth and focus but still has simplistic elements that communicate the intention of the section. Holl’s section focuses on a spacial element by using a grey shade to add depth, which is a similar approach to Nouvel’s section where he uses colour and shading to achieve this. Unfortunately due to the primary focus there is no other detail elsewhere on the section, instead these other spaces are represented by numbers. This simplistic approach only communicates one element of the design to the viewer, therefore other sections and drawings are needed to understand the design more. This section represents the metaphor of the building well, but no other elements are presented which makes it difficult to understand the whole building.
Reference list
- Holl, S.(2007). Architecture Spoken. New York, United States: Rizzoli International Publications
Other External Links to Support Section:
Section FIVE- Norman Foster
Carré d`Art situated in Nimes, France is stated to connect to the surrounding context through shaded courtyards, frequent flights of steps, and open terraces (Pawley, 1999, pg 96). The function is a series of art galleries and a library, which is slightly shown in the section. I choose this section due to its surrounding context being shown in the section which is an important element to the design. The various thickness of line work is also unique, as no other section had used this same technique.
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The relationship to the surrounding context is important in any design, however in Fosters section, it is shown to be highly important due to the surrounding building proximity. The context in the section is drawn with light, thin lines, but still with plenty of detail. The lines than vary for the thickness of the road; footpaths and various structural walls in the actual building. Even though there is consistent detail throughout the whole drawing, Foster’s building still stands out, due to the use of thicker lines. Within the section, the circulation spaces and possible terraces and courtyards, are not as highlighted in this section as the context.
The primary focus is to communicate the relationship the building has to its surrounding context and the creation of public space between these buildings. Foster’s section would be great to use when discussing social impacts on the surrounding society and its important historical buildings.
Reference List
- Pawley, M.(1999). Norman Foster: A Global Architecture. Italy: Thames and Hudson Ltd
Other External Links to Support Section:
