Urbanisation

URBANISATION

Studio Project Site: Wu Kai Sha Beach
Place: Near to Ma On Shan



The beach and buildings behind













The beach and the pier views













Formal Site Plan of the beach and the peripheral










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Analysis
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A beach is normally a natural landscape, which is the connection between land and sea in the world. I don't know whether this is the natural one or the man-made one, yet, i see it as a natural one first.

This beach at Wu Kai Sha is not very big. There is a pier in the middle of the beach and the pier is extending outward to the sea. There is also a walkway beside the beach which is about 2 meters higher than the sea level. Behind the beach and the walkway are urban areas with residential buildings, roads, and recreational buildings like stadium and shopping malls. These are the major urban forms appear around the beach.

Among all, the critical parts of the overall form of the site are 1. the beach with sand (indicated by blue frame); 2. the pier (indicated by red frame); 3. the walkway (indicated by green frame). These are the critical parts because the function or the intention of having a beach there is for the recreational and transportation purposes. The peripheral residential buildings and roads are totally different elements, therefore, they are not among the critical parts of the form.

As i observed in the site, i realised that we can take something from the site. For instance, some residential buildings are built very close to the beach. It is good for residents to gain a good view there, but it may disturb the silence of the beach, and pollute the beach by noise or air or water, etc. It may be better to have those residential buildings built further behind the beach.





















Based on the normal usage of a beach, i think we can give 3 elements to the site.

1/ Firstly, we can give a watch-house (indicated by red frame) to the site. There in front of the beach is the magificent Tolo Harbour seaview, with far away sea, mountains and reservoir. People go to there to appreciate the view. A watch-house can give such function, with differnet platforms at different levels for experiencing the view and scenaries.

2/ An enclosed area or prevent-shark-net near the seashore. Many people go there to swim or to do some water activities like paddling boats and fishing. It will be better to provide safety for them.

3/ some kind of toilets or exchange room. People going there to swim may find it difficult to get washed or to exchange their cloths. A washroom can do !

Technics

Image: HSBC headquater in Hong Kong











































Critical Parts
The HSBC headquater building has a form consisting of cross bearings and columns, which enchorge the building firmly. They are the supporting elements, the structures. Thus, the critical parts of this building form is 1/the column sets, and 2/the triangular shape bearings.


















First principle
The use of the forms of columns and triangular bearings may be inspired by the hangers. We use hangers to hang wet clothes on a bar or frames for drying. By that, the clothes will not fall down, so it maybe strong for a building to adapt to this type of ''hanger'' structure. So, the first principle of this form maybe the hanger form.

















Natural phenomenon
An example of natural phenomenon according to the first principle i supposed is the fruits on a tree. For instance, in an apple tree, apples grow at the branches. They are attached to the branches firmly by the structure like a hanger. Perhaps, this natural phenomenon can explain the first principle i supposed.

Habitation

This is one of the routines in my life - to open a window.
Why does it play a critical part in my routine? As we all know, we open windows for ventilation. It connects the external and internal part of a room. Apart for ventilation, windows are there to provide a path for light to illuminate the room. In an architectural sense, windows regulate the space of a room. That is, when windows are closed, the area enclosed within the room is only a definite space; when windows are opened, there is a connection between the inside and outside of the room, so, the room is no longer definited by that space, the space can be connected.





















Then, this is another room that accomodates my routine mentioned above. This shows the school bus of cuhk, where at the ceiling of the bus, there are some kind of openings which can be opened. Their function are also for ventilation of air and for some degree of illumination of the area inside the bus. With that, the space of the ''room'' of the bus can be changed according to the degree of opening of those openings.

Space + the Room 2

Assignment 3

Solid + Void

In a room, probably solid refers to the roof, wall and floor, while void refers to the spaces. In the photo showed a railway station, the intention of building such a station is to provide services to all the passengers. Therefore, physically, the solids should be the ones which functions to make it a ''station'' that works. The solidsmay unclude windows, columns, glass bars, roof, floor, etc. Voids are the free spaces inside the station, which is separated into 2 areas, including area for passengers who have paid for the fee , and the area for the passengers who haven't paid the fee. Meta-physically, a station need to give passengers the sense that it is a place for them to travel on the train, it should be a useful and professional one, thus, the container or the outlook of the station is in a rectangular shape.By the solids of like, columns, glass bars, and some walls, they separate the station space(void) into 2 areas, giving that physical function to separate passengers and non-passengers in the whole space. So, this is the relationship.

Key Role

Wall is the key role in this form. The station space is not fully enclosed by walls, because there are windows on some of the walls, to provide ventilation and the light lumination to the inner spaces of the station. Also, there are quite a number of entrances without walls, to let through people and light as well. Moreover, some areas of offices are enclosed by other walls and glasses, and serves the function to separate passegers from staff, giving a clear idea of where to seek help in the station. Thus, walls here facilitate the intention of this building.

Space + the Room

PART 1

Picture 4 café museum friedrichstrasse (adolf loos)













I identify
the following as the solids:

~ Columns
~ Arch
~ Furniture (Tables, Chairs, etc)
~ Plant
~ pictures
~ mirrors
~ Roof
~ Wall
~ Floor
~ Human








the following as the voids:


~ spaces between the columns
~ middle empty space
~ Spaces between brass rails of the light bulbs
~ Virtual image spaces from the mirror
~ spaces between the tables












the following as the relationship between the solid +void:



















1. The mirrors are the solids, reflecting any images from the front view. Lights from outside the window or the lights inside the cafe will be reflected by the mirrors to the empty spaces(viod), brighting up the whole room.
2+3. In the 2nd relationship, the columns act as solids while spaces between the columns act as the void. The columns block lights outside the cafe from entering the cafe. Similarly, in the 3rd relationship, the 3 walls are solid without illumination, but the wall with windows can bright up the cafe by letting through the lights into the empty spaces(void) inside the cafe. In both cases, there are areas having illuminations while areas without illumination. This forms a contrast of dark and light inside different areas of the cafe, providing a feel of INDOOR, separating the outside from inside.
4. There are many tables and chairs (solids) inside the cafe, but in between those tables and chairs, there are free spaces (void). These free spaces provide a path for customers to walk through. Also, those spaces gives them an relaxing feeling, while may help improve their appetite.
5. The spaces between the columns (void) let through lights from outside. And there are many tables placed exactly behind the windows(solids), i.e. between the columns, therefore, light from outside the windows can illuminate those tables. In addition, customers sitting at those tables can have a good view of the areas outside.


the following as the key role in the form, and the relationship between the container and the void:

Key Role: Among the three parts, i.e. floor, wall, roof, roof plays the key role in this form. As this lighting system in this form, cafe room, is mainly located on the two sides of walls, the illumination in the middle path of the cafe will not be too strong. Thus, the shape of a dome of the roof provides a concave surface inside, to converge the light from everywhere, down to the middle path of the cafe. This anables full illumination of the whole cafe both at daytime and nighttime.

Relationship: The container of the cafe is approximately in a shape of trapezium, as it seems to be located at a corner of the crossroad. The middle part of the interior space is made into a trapezium shape as well, but the top part of it is made into a round shape one. Probably this makes a space(void), composed of two long rectangles, matching the shape of the crossroad. The space(void) is parallel to the roads, giving a relaxing manner to customers.

PART 2
picture taken from a Westrail station

I identify

the following as solids

~ station entering machine

~ glass separators

~ columns

~ signals

~ human

~ walls

~ windows

~ lanterns

~ roof

~ floor

~ aided floor lanes

the following as voids

~ empty spaces of the two sides of entering machines

~ spaces between the entering machines

~ spaces between the rails of the signals

relationship between solids and voids:

1. The entering machines (solids) are there for passengers to get through after paying the fee. So, the spaces (voids) between the machines give a path for passengers.

2. There are many glass separators and entering machines in the station, seperating the station into two areas, namely, the areas for passenger who paid the fee and the areas for passenger who haven't paid. Thus, this combination of solid and voids give us a clear decribption of the meaning of the area, e.g. to separate passengers and by-passers in the station.

Key Role :

The wall maybe the key role of the form, because it has the function of separating the two different areas and also the offices and shops in the station. Moreover, the windows at one of the sides of wall enable the lighting of the station by natural sunlight, reducing the light used inside the station.

Relationship between container and void :

The station container is probably a cube or rectangular structure. It is a geometric form, giving us a feeling that the form serves formal and useful functions, which is a characteristic of the train station.

1st assignment (1/9/08)

The picture shows a group of architectural buildings in Europe, in which the emphasis is probably on the spaces of that area. The branches of roads for cars and human are narrow, so i sketch to show the spacial aspect of the roads between the bulidings. Also, there is a bridge connecting the two buildings for human to get through the buildings, which is one of the focuses of the photo. Last but not least, the windows can represent the buildings, and they are the characteristics of the building communities in the photo, so they appear in my drawing. As a whole, i want to show the form and space of the whole groups of buildings in the photo.