In Pursuit of Thesis: Week Five

Well, it's that time of the semester again...that week where all hell breaks loose and your entire house is suffering from what can only be assumed is the plague. Dramatic? Eh...sure. Yet here we are. Unfortunately for all parties involved, I've been out of commission with a fever and body aches for just over a day which, in turn, means I didn't get a chance to take pictures of or scan images of my progress work this week. You'll just have to give me the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Regardless, I'll try to walk ya'll through my thinking moving forward this week. Generally speaking, I've been working on tackling multiple areas at once - in other words actually putting to pen and paper my ideas more holistically.

At this point, I'm still focusing largely on the entry and lobby area, the transition space between parts of the building (aka hallway) and the student lounges on each floor of the warehouse space. That being said, I'm playing with the ideas of using angular, designed elements with viewing windows as a division between the shared lounge spaces and the more "private" studios and classrooms. I've also been thinking about creating this same type of element in the hallway space (shown in green below). Using the same angular forms and possibly some interesting lighting or colored windows/skylights could create a really interesting and dynamic transition space that reflects the overall design concept.

What's proving to be most difficult for me is the inclusion of multiple perspectives throughout the experience of the space. I've decided to include an upper mezzanine level in the immediate entry space to allow students to experience the somewhat sculptural element there from below as well as above. And, on a somewhat off-topic note, I'm working on developing a angular seating element that is integrated into the stairs and wraps around an existing structural wall to connect to the lobby area. 

Looking at the more secluded spaces - like the student lounges and studios - I really think a lot of this will come into play with the division of spaces. In addition, I'm also thinking about extending either an opening or some sort of cohesive element through all four levels to allow users to see up to the skylights as well as down to levels below. 

Again, sorry for being a doof and not having my current process work included in this post! It's much more exciting with it and my sickly head didn't anticipate not going into studio today...pssh, excuses...I know. Pinky swear that I'll have lots o' visual goodies for you next week! Until then, here's some good ol' inspiration photos:

Love the light coming through the openings.

From getaddictedto.com

Inspiration for the hallways, who wouldn't want to experience that?

From Plenty of Colour

Interesting transition from wall to ceiling plane. 

Vertical and horizontal perforations.

From Sky Lab Architecture

Visually suggested 'windows' in an angular form. 

From pinterest

Cheers!