Poche Renderings and Axonometric

Section

Plan

Axonometric

Developing Ideas

Here are some original ideas.

Planning the layout of the mountain and the sectional cut was a key first step to understanding how my model would be built and out of what material.

This is a rough sectional poche as I started grasping the general structure of the model.

I build this quickly as I began exploring ways of building the cave in the mountain. My original idea was to layer the entire mountain as white card and as the layers of the cave started forming I cut holes that grew larger then smaller as the layers went up. I ended up making the model with balsa strips instead of a solid block for a number of reasons. Firstly, balsa is a better representation of the materiality of a mountain than white card; it is too emotionless and blank. It is also easier to make the actual building in the model out of white card because it is very precise. Secondly, a model of full layered white card would be very expensive as opposed to using 20mm balsa strips.

This is the final way I came up with to create the cave. I layered 8 or so 2mm pieces of balsa together, glued them down and used a Stanley knife to etch away pieces at a time. It was very effective and seemed to have a raw, cave-like quality which suited the narrative.

Project 2: Room and Narrative

I chose a 17th century painting by Pieter de Hooch to use as the basis for my narrative. This is his oil on canvas entitled 'Mother's Duty' and as i studied I found many interesting connections within the painting and used it to form my narrative.

The original concept is based on the map which can be seen above the doorway. This was a symbol for the knowledge the Dutch believed they had for the land at the time; exploration was peaking and an intimate knowledge of the land was being established. This led me to create the character of the cartographer, a map maker working on this knowledge and transforming it into tangible maps. I then created this painting as the setting for his family left at home as he is out far in the lands making his maps. His wife waits patiently, consoling the daughter who is longing for her father to return. The light is tamed, giving a sombre mood while his dog waits looking out the door for his master. The window in the background is a symbol for the distance, the future. This led me to create my narrative as such:

The tireless cartographer works ceaselessly in his lofty and silent abode.

The Final Model - Villa Muller

Parti and Poche

Poche - Plan

Poche - Section

Parti - Enclosure

Parti -Structure

Parti -Circulation

Parti -Program

Parti -Geometry

Building Process

Our group decided to build Villa Muller using a 'face plate' and separate smaller components behind it. Each room would be treated as a pocket, appropriate for the concept of poche. From the 2D concept of the faceplate we would construct backwards towards the exterior walls. This piece for instance was stuck onto the faceplate as one entity and treated as one room. Any room you could not see behind this was not built.


This is the open plan style of the main hall and its stairs that lead up to the dining room and boudoir. Below is a comparative image.




Above and below are images of our exterior walls. These walls were then cut when the faceplate was fully completed and created into two 3D elements.

Working Model

Building a quick model such as this helped us understand the general section cut and the proportions of the building.This is not the final section we decided to make. The Section ended up occurring roughly equidistant from the east wall as it is from the west, seen here.
This quick model also allowed us to confirm white card as our material of choice. It allowed us to make very clean cuts and large individual pieces. Balsa would have been much more tedious and would not have produced as clean a model in the same period of time.