models part 2

Jasmin's part of the task,
her model showed how the drawbridges work; scale: 1:20




the openings of dr. caligari drawings were also amended:
floor plan:

section:



below are inspiration pictures that are reflected in our folding models:

Exhibition Design for 'Vision Machine' Musee De Beaux Arts, Paris:

More Liquid Architecture and Information Forms Floating Through Cyber Space, Soft Babylon:

The American Mysteries, 1985:

architects do it with models

we have been given another task which involves creating 3 models that portray our room/opening for dr. caligari.
it was decided that i would make 2 of the models and that jasmine would fix the previous section and floor plan and make the third model.
the models are as follows:
1) a model showing the draw bridges and depth of the room.
2) a model showing the window and skylight openings of the room.
3) a model showing how the draw bridges work.
the technique we used throughout all three models was folding.

model 1- scale: 1:50





model 2- scale: 1:20

open wide, come inside

the next task we were given was to design an opening for dr. Caligari.
i worked with jasmine.

we decided to create a series of openings between two rooms, using drawbridges to link
the two spaces together as well as incorporating windows and skylights into the space.

our inspiration came from non-conventional openings from various architecture:

steven Holl, art and architecture:

le Corbusier, notre dame du haut:

le Corbusier, villa savoye:


our design:

jasmine - section, 1:20


hannah - floor plan, 1:20


i used a variety of media (markers, pencil, charcoal and dry pastels) maintaining the colour scheme that jasmine established.
i used pastel and charcoal to show the raw, brutality of concrete material that our space for dr. caligari is made of. the film itself is very mysterious with many shadows, my floor plan is very ambiguous with many dark areas - showing the spatial elements of the openings with different levels of light.

first site visit

last week, we had a studio visit to the HSW site underneath the story bridge (Brisbane).
we were required to get into groups and analyse the heritage tram sheds.
my team member for the class is Jasmine.
http://jasminhankinson.blogspot.com/ - this is her blog.
jasmine and i selected a section of the tram sheds and recorded the basic measurements for our allocated section.

photos of site:




rough section:


section redrawn:


whilst i was redrawing the section, it became apparent that we are still missing a great deal of measurements, and many site visits will need to be conducted.

i think i know how to cure him now

the cabinet of dr. caligari was watched a number of times and the spaces depicted and the character of the psychotic doctor were carefully analysed. We were required to design a space for dr. caligari to occupy.
it was determined that the character had unusual traits. in addition to the legitimacy of his character being questionable, he is very eccentric and withdrawn. physically, he is short, which he overcompensates with a tall top hat and like your typical mad scientist, he is bent on bringing chaos to those around him. his one physical attachment is a somnambulist named cesare, which i felt deserved a space within my room design.
the main spatial elements of the movie were raw, hard and industrial:


as can be seen from the stills, the areas that the characters inhibit are very raw. the path and window have a very industrial feel and these lines and angular structures were used in my design. i felt that dr. caligari's personality would be well represented by these same structural elements, but more exaggerated.
he is a psychopathic doctor whose ideas are outweigh his conscience and restrict him from rational thinking. the room for dr. caligari would be a confusing series of technical and raw elements, the central focus being on cesare. there would be a very limited amount of emotion in the spatial qualities, only portraying feelings of anger and an obscurity from reality- as the world of caligari was created by a mentally unstable person. the drawings represent these elements within an architectural envelope.

room for dr. caligari:
section 1:20 :

floorplan 1:20 :


lines and shadows were heavily used. the main focal point is cesare's chamber in the centre of the room. the series of rusted gears and cogs represent the idea that this space is somehow not real, in the head of someone whose gears aren't churning properly. the nails in the left hand side of the room (section) invoke a sharp, dangerous sensation. there are many dark unknown corners and spaces in the film which emit a sense of danger. these nails are only shown in the unlighted parts of the room (furtherest from the windows) exaggerating the raw yet confusing spaces within the uninhibited corners of the film.

we think he's going to kill us all

So, it occurred to me that i should explain myself:
I'm Ham, a third year architecture student and this is my blog.

I was recently introduced to The Cabinet of Dr Caligari in class and it is basically the best thing since flavored milk.
you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73BUxJLI

Dr. Caligari is basically the most elegantly dressed crazy man.

To paraphrase Sheldon Cooper: "Dr.Doom, Dr. No, Dr. Octopus...It occurs to me how many villains have high degrees, graduate school should do a better job of screening them out."

It also explained what Janie's mother is always going on about in Harriet the Spy.

I associated the movie with particular artists, and they served as inspiration for the first task of this class. (Please watch the movie for fear that my post may become esoteric)

Mondrian:


Luis Bunuel- Film still from Un Chien andalou, 1929:


Rene Magritte- Elective Affinities, 1933:

and so it begins...

folie design for the HSW site in Brisbane.
the panels themselves are pretty self-explanatory; click to enlarge.