Recollection . . .
I ended the week with disappointment and in a complete stand still with my project. I did not know exactly what i wanted to do with it nor how i wanted all the elements of the program to fit together. I was a bit confused on the idea of working with four concepts throughout this entire process, and by Thursday evening my brain would not function. I could not be creative at all. I could only design what i saw in the models. I hate being that literal.
Contour Tectonics . . .
Over the weekend, I began thinking of how layers overlap. I want to construct a concept model based on overlapping. There are several that i have in mind. One, is overlaying string to see how it moves and see the spaces that are created when they are working together. From this i began thinking that maybe not all of the areas simply overlap when met with each other. The next concept model would consist of several layers of cloth (being that the only model I was drawn to was constructed out of the cloth Last week), and they would be overlaid and stitched together creating a space in-between them. They would be positioned with a glue and water mixture just to experiment with the idea that may be overlapping areas could possibly jut up or coincide into the ground. They may be able to hold the idea of a structure that might be rising from the ground. From this second model I want to take photos and draw it to determine how the movement of my contours could move through the site. I still want to keep it more a gradual moving landscape and try to stay away from sharp, bold moves within it.
Rethinking the Programming of the site . . .
Through reading of Cemeteries, and the idea that the entire garden evolved within cemeteries, I began to think that maybe the memorial is not one specific area but encountered in different ways throughout the entire site. I was thinking that a structure could be included in different areas to signify the remembrance of the past; not only those lost in Katrina, but also the reconstruction that had to occur following the event. The structures could change from one area of the site to another. They could be metaphorical in a sense that it would not have people’s names on it, but allow the person who is moving through the e landscape to remember whatever is most obvious of their own experience. Just a symbolic structure of some kind. Maybe a pole that was 9′ tall for Katrina and stepping stones constructed in a certain fashion to remember the rebuilding of the cultural elements that had to be put back together.
I think i would like to create different paths leading though one space to another perhaps by placing a structure that will guide the observer. I think that while working on this project I am becoming more and more interested on the ideas of how spaces can be occupied and connected at the same time. I like how the idea of overlapping initiated this process. I would like to explore it more as i continue to move through this project.
Ways that overlapping may occur within my site: vertical elements overlapping, overlapping of geometrical shapes, overlapping of materials based on an iconic reference of migrated cultures to Louisiana, and the overlapping of spaces created within the site.
I like your idea of creating a space in between layers, like a void. I remember Cat always wanted us to find the opposite of the concept we were creating. It’s this whole inside and outside, positive/negative.. etc that make a space “one,” yet dynamic. ya ya ya
Sounds like you’ve now got an idea of how to move forward. The idea of layering to create spaces is interesting and I kind of see how that might help determine topography throughout the site.
I think that you have a good grasp on how to use a concept as a design tool. It is something that still has not clicked for me. I’m sure i am thinking about it too much. or just not in the right way. It is a big part of the design process that we are supposed to be figuring out and you have taken it and are using it. you’re good to go.