Week 9 - Theory

This week, I was tasked with communicating my theory for my models through a 100 word expository style paragrah. It was supposed to follow this order.

• 1 x 100-word written statement. (Min 100 words, max 120 words) The statement will introduce the title of your project, the intent of your communication approach and then explain how you accomplished your objectives using an example of one of your projects. Use the “Expository Writing” format, as below:
             1. Title:
             2. Topic sentence (outlining the subject you will be examining                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_sentence).
             3. Thesis (or statement you are trying to prove). 
             4. Argument (supported by 1 or more pieces of evidence or facts).
             5. Conclusion (proving or disproving your thesis, it doesn’t matter which, be honest)

This is my theory.

Reconnecting People with Nature through Architecture

Nature is an ever-present and inescapable, therefore, we will achieve greater success embracing it rather than rejecting. It is well-known that surrounding yourself with a natural landscape can improve your emotional state and physical well-being, reduce anxiety and stress and improve your general well-being. The final model focuses on bringing nature into the room with the hexagonal ‘bee-hive’ shaped plan, the ‘tree bark’ feature wall and the leaf shaped roof where light shines through the ‘veins’. Light passes through this model to imitate a canopied space, similar to a jungle. This space supports a quick transition from a relaxed to a focused state of mind to increase productivity and reduce stress.

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The second task for this week was to prepare a 3 minute presentation going through the thought process behind my models. This was my script:

Speech Script

Hello, my name is Johan Chalache. Today, I would like to go through some of the models that I built during this course and the thought process behind them.

The main concept behind some of my builds was to find a relationship between nature, light and the room to optimise the rooms for their use. The relationship between nature and architecture is one of the most relevant topics to date due to the ongoing crisis with climate change. However, in these models, I only look at a superficial relationship where some natural forms are used in the build, which is also known as biomorphism. I thought that nature was an important topic as it is extremely important in improving a person’s mental and physical well-being as well as reducing stress and anxiety.

This is the second model that I made, and the main focus was light. Specifically, allowing as much light into the room as possible. The model is quite small because it uses a 1:40 scale. It is made out of regular paper and it shows. To accentuate the importance of light in a room, I added a small balcony where the walls were mostly windows. this gave the room as much light from all angles. This also gave the room an extra smaller, elevated space which can be used in different ways for example a reading or relaxing area or even a plant area, just to bring more nature in the room.  

This is the third model that I made, and the main focus was light. Specifically, allowing as much light into different parts of the room. The model is a 1:20 model and uses card paper. I split the room up into sections to separate the study and sleeping area. To get light into all parts of the room, I put a mashrabiya as the separating wall. This allowed for an aesthetically pleasing design while allowing light both ways. Furthermore, the roof is slightly arched to allow for more light.

This model was the final model and probably my best model. It directly follows the study of biomorphism and has numerous hints at nature. The first and most obvious is the roof, which is leaf shaped and has light holes where the veins of the leaf would normally be. Second is the hexagonal plan, which is similar to a honeycomb. Finally, the feature wall is textured and made to look like tree bark while letting light through small slits.

I got inspiration for this room while studying for another class, computational design theory, where I was learning about nature in architecture. The structure which inspired me was the botanical gardens in Colombia.  

Here are some of my other models as well. This first one is a 1:20 exact replica of my room. This was just getting used to the model making process. The next two focus on different ways light can be brought into the room. The second model has to be one of my favourites since you wouldn’t expect to see something like that.