Author: ciaraannmaher

This week we made a material, texture and colour palette. This helped me to start thinking about the materiality of my design and how I could depict my concept trough my choice of materials.

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I chose a neutral and natural palette to add to the sense of creating a bridge between the urban and natural environment. This mood board will initiate ideas of how I can take the materiality of the space further.

Image Reference List:

https://www.cheaptilesonline.com/product/ice-stone-white-internal-satin-matte-tiles-600×1200/

https://www.shutterstock.com/search/polished+concrete

https://calicoproducts.com/product/01-concrete-stamps/proline-super-skins/seamless-roman-slate-super-skin-concrete-stamp/

https://www.expressions-ltd.com/products/concrete-hand-texture-roller-heavy-slate-9-inch

https://3dexport.com/3dmodel-rock-texture-100204.htm

https://www.woodchipandmagnolia.co.uk/products/concrete-texture-effect-wallpaper-wm-014?variant=50267743379

https://www.istockphoto.com/nz/photos/copper?sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=copper

http://yklmetalrecycling.com/services/brass/brass-bg/

https://protectaqua.com/Page/7/What-is-wood

https://ardec.ca/en/p/209/brio-wooden-walls-and-ceilings-oil

This week I focused on developing the entrance. In my previous model, I showed the ramp leading down off of Mount St into the space but I wanted to design the space so that the experience of the bath house begins before entering it. I wanted to explore how I could use plants to initiate the immersion into the bath house. My concept is blurring and manipulating the thresholds between urban and nature. I didn’t want the occupants to go from the urban environment of the city straight into the nature and forest embracing space of the bath house because it wouldn’t fit with my concept. This is why i decided to add plants to gradually immerse the occupants as they travel down into the space from the ramp. I wanted the entrance itself to be an experience.

I wanted to play with the south wall of the basement in the entrance space. In the above sketches I look at extruding floating plant boxes from the wall. I also considered making them glass and act as a window to allow more natural light into the space. I liked this idea but I felt it was too fixed and didn’t have any movement or fluidity to it.

I then drew inspiration from the plant wall that covers the facade of the library in WG building on AUT City Campus. I like how the plants are loose and create a barrier and threshold but is still easily manipulated and moved.

This idea of having hanging plants in my entrance articulates my concept of challenging and blurring threshold points create a flow between the inside and outside world and urban and nature. Having the over hang of the upper levels of the Dadley Building gives me the opportunity to have these plants more free flowing and create more movement within the cold, flat, urban space.

This week I began on my digital Rhino model of the space and a plan on Rhino. Even though I have not finalized my design, I have found it easier to visualize the space and explore concepts in the digital model so I have been exploring ideas through a combination of sketches and digital modelling. Doing a digital version of the Plan allows me to add and remove ideas easily and without too much hassle.

This week I have considerd a lot more of the practical aspects of the design. Because I am designing a bath house that includes bathrooms, refreshment area and provided towels, I need to have cleaning suplies and somewhere to store any other practical necesities for the space. After this realisation, I decided I needed to manipulate my floor plan to allow for a storage space. I also felt like my design had made some areas feel and look neglected with no use so I wanted to reconsider the layout of the space. Below is a quick sketch to help me get a better understanding of how I could change the layout to work better.

Also this week, further developing my rainwater concept for the refreshments, I changed my idea to having a larger, buried tank under the car park to allow a larger volume of water to be held and also allowing me to use the rainwater as part of my water wall. Something I mentioned was the affect town supply water has on your skin and hair, so by having a rainwater water wall, I am helping solve this problem.

In my design I have a large open space at the far end of the basement that leads to an opening out onto the pocket forest. I wanted to put some kind of relaxing seating area in this space to allow people to sit down out of the bath and experience the forest differently. Here are some of my concept designs.

Something I struggled with in designing this space was not affecting the flow of movement through the space. Because the space is so narrow and long, I struggled to design an area that utilized the space well and didn’t neglect any space. I also struggled around designing around the columns at the far end of the basement. These are the only columns that are rounded and they don’t sit flush against the wall so I struggled in designing around and including them.

I still haven’t finalized the design of this area, but when I develop these initial concepts, I need to think about how I can be inclusive of these structural pillars.

After getting some feedback in my formative presentation, I have decided to develop my space further and look more into refreshment area. The reason why I didn’t put these in my design as of Week 7 as because I wanted to spend some time to really look into these spaces and make them more of a design feature and fit in with the rest of my design so far. After some further research into the benefits of rainwater, I started developing a concept for a water tank conecting to a refreshment area.

I wanted to keep the refreshment area simple as it isn’t a key factor in my concept but I still wanted it to be a feature within the space. In order for it to link to my concept of nature infiltrating the space, I wanted to make it as organic as possible. I decide to have exposed piping in the north west corner of the space looking out to the forest. The piping is a very urban feature but exposing it makes it more organic and natural, blurring that threshold between nature and urban and furthering the idea of nature and the forest infiltrating the basement of the Dadley Building.

At this point I haven’t decided the path of the piping but I know I want it to be gravity fed to create a more organic flow of the water. At this point, I have focused more on the tank its self and sizing and how I can position it underneath the overhang of the upper levels of the building. Below are my quick process and development sketches I did while working out how I could best design the tank to hold the rainwater.

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I decided that the best way to design the tank was to have an angled bottom to allow water to flow down towards the pipe as it is gravity rather than run by a pump. Below is the final measurements I decided on for the tank.

I personally have lived most of my life drinking rainwater as I live in a semi-rural community with no town supply water. I grew up to be conscious of my water consumption and was always taught to reduce the amount of water I used, especially in summer when tank supplies would get low. Because of this, I have a greater apreciation for water. I want to involve this concept of understanding the connection between our natural environment, Ranginui (Sky Father) and what comes out of the tap when we turn it on in my refreshment area design. I want my design to make the bath house occupants more aware of the part they play in the larger context of their surroundings and how we aren’t separate from everything else, but a part of it and play a role in how it evolves, changes and develops.

Rainwater is the purest form of water. After some further research into the benefits of drinking rainwater, I found that rainwater actually has”lower levels of pollution, mold, pollen, and other kinds of contaminants compared to our public water supply.” (https://rainwatertanksdirect.com.au/blogs/safety-drinking-rainwater-benefits/) . I also found that rainwater has alkaline pH level. This not only has detoxifying affects but it also promotes healthy digestion. Many minerals and chemicals are put into town supplies to kill off bacteria and germs. Although safe to drink, sometimes too much is added to the water resulting in health problems. Because rainwater doesn’t have these chemicals and minerals, it promotes healthier skin and hair. This is something I noticed myself when travelling and using town supply overseas; my hair and skin got progressively and especially dry.

I always notice the difference between town supply and tank water and always feel so much better and healthier when I drink rainwater. As a self-acclaimed water snob, this feature of rainwater collection in my design is something I really want to look further into and implement.

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.

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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.

This week we practiced presenting in our groups. This exercise, although very casual, helped with getting me used to communicating my idea and concept to a group in a small amount of time. It also allowed me to get some constructive feedback on how I can change and develop my idea further over the break. For me this was really helpful to get more opinions from people I may not generally talk to about my design to get a different point of view.

This week I made a new model to fit into the site model. I also explored some new ideas in this model. I changed my entrance to the north side of the basement (Mount St) where I put a ramp leading down from the above street (below right). I decided on just putting a ramp to allow people in wheelchairs to access the bathhouse easily. The reason why I chose the layout of the ramp that I did was because I wanted to utilise the outside space and make the movement flow into the building. I also want to explore more with what I can do with this entry space.

I also added in this design a water wall (below left). This is a divider between the pool area and the changing and refreshments area. This is a device that is attached to the ceiling and disperses a stream of water down to the ground. The reason why I put it along the whole width of the basement was because I wanted it to act as a way or people to cleanse their bodies before entering the pool and after the pool.

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In this design I also moved the refreshments table to where my original entrance into the basement was. I also added a window above the station to allow as much natural light into the space as possible. The pocket forest stops a lot of natural light getting into the low lying space so lighting is something I really have to consider. I want to further develop this refreshment space to make it more interesting and enjoyable.

One other alteration I made to the space was opening up the north wall at the far end of the space (above center). This opening allows the forest to flow into the space and also allows the guests to fully experience the forest. This is one of the best ways I can bring merge the forest and the bathhouse. The space next to the pool and directly in front of the opening is gong to be used for a relaxing seating are. I want to look further into how I can make this a design feature in the space, not just some loungers and a table.