Through my bath house design, I am trying to create a relaxing, calming and tranquil atmosphere. I am trying to infiltrate the space with the atmosphere of the native New Zealand forest. The reason I want my atmosphere to replicate the forest is because of the physical, mental and emotional benefits immersing oneself into the forest. With this atmosphere I want to achieve a design that gives the bath house occupants a better understanding of the wider life force of the forest and the role they play in it.
I aim to create this atmosphere through the use of soft, light colours, natural and organic shapes and nothing too bold. I also aim to create this flowing, serene atmosphere with the with the sound of the falling water wall and the opening up of the north wall to the forest. By creating flow between the interior of the basement and the pocket forest, I am allowing the atmosphere of the forest to infiltrate the space.
This week I experimented with my draft model in the larger site model with the pocket forest and light. I needed to develop an idea of atmosphere further and playing with lighting and sun light helped me do this.
I liked how the light filtered through the trees giving an organic and natural lighting and shadow affect in the space. This gave a calming and relaxing feeling, an atmosphere I wanted to look into and develop further. Although from direct sunlight, the lighting affect in the space is not harsh and has a soft, calming and relaxed feeling to it.
This experiment also made me consider the artificial lighting in the space. My design is situated in the basement of the Dadley Building meaning minimal light and the pocket forest and surrounding buildings also manipulate and restrict the amount of natural light in the space. I want to create an open feeling in the space and I feel that having a light atmosphere will make it feel more open whereas a dark atmosphere will feel more enclosed.
Spatial Design by Ciara 