midterm review

This past week we have been developing our projects conceptually and deciding where the significant program will be located. In regard to program the diagram on the lower right, visually explains how I am separating the reading room space and book stacks.













Below is the current model I am exploring with site relationships with the existing library and humanities building.














Another issue I have dealt with this week is the level change which exist in my site of around 12 feet and how the library will address the drop in grade. At first I was thinking of lifting it up of pilotis as to not disrupt the ground circulation that occurs in front of the humanities building, but after exploring it, I decided that took away from the program space and movement of spaces that are created on the interior.

The midterm review on Friday I thought was extremely helpful and informative, giving a lot of feedback on how how to push to project further and keep experimenting. Some suggestions that I was given which I will be exploring are:

- exploring the concept of light and shadow and that light is just as important as shadow and how integrating that idea can read as another layer to my building
- push relationship between the shadow of the actually library, perhaps how shadows may move across my building
- move away from the pancake stacks on the bottom of my building and how the concept of light and shadow can be just as expressive on top and bottom
- included bold drawings of shadow as well as charcoal drawing of section
- experiment more in model

MIT project

I found a few project done at MIT which reminded me of our mapping project. the image is a link to the site.

site exploration

Before visiting UNAM I had a location where I thought would be best for the location of my library. This has changed as my design has progressed and after the site visit.

This was the area to the left of the library where the grid of the quad interacts with the forested area.

The concept for my project, is representing shadow as an transitional area, where two different condition meet and overlap. The limanality that occurs is representational of the shadow, and this decides the site as well as programs internally.

The condition of the forest area where I had imagined the library to be located was more rigid than I had previously thought. In fact, the grid of the quad continues into the forested area. This is a high traffic area between the parking lot and the campus particularly the library. Many students were relaxing in the shade provided by the canopy of trees reading for class or hanging out with friends. Below are some pictures of that area.










After exploring the the area surrounding the library, my site location was no longer prevalent. I began exploring two other site options.


The first site I considered was shifting the entire design back, pulling the cubes back into the forested area in turn pulling the core of the building into the parking lot. The expressed cubes were still prevalent and correlated with the grid that continued though that area.

or

The second variation was flipping the building so that it can fit between the back of the library and the humanities building. The main form pulls into two long rectangular forms that relate to the order of the campus as well as the humanities building. The cubes are expressed along the back of the building along the edge of the forest, the began to dissolve as they move further away from the library, also serving as the connection piece between the library and the (other) library.


I decided to use the second site, I felt that it had more connection and related better to the site as well as having more complexities. The form of the building would be close to the ground, the majority of the program space would occur underground. I started to explore how the interior spaces would exist and began to represent the same concepts that I been exploring. These include dissolving the order of the grid and having the grid not only apply to the cubes which began to express themselves but to the organization of the spaces of the program inside.


The next step from here is deciding where each of the two main programmatic elements, the book stacks and the reading rooms, are located and how they are expressed.

visiting UNAM

The opportunity to visit the site in Mexico City was astounding. Before going I had mentally preparing myself for the sheer size and scale of the UNAM, but even after studying the library and campus there was no way to visualize the huge open spaces and atmosphere that devoured the campus.

first attempt

We have began to start designing our final project for the semester. All previous assignment so far have only been conceptual project to help us understand and provide an underlying aspects of influence towards our final design. Today we presented our first three schemes, considering a number of aspects. Including our previous mapping assignment, our project manifesto, The Library as Shadow," and the position of the site of our (other) library.

For the first scheme, it had to be purely formal based off one of the three maps that we made previous. I used my first map to form my first scheme. I took the strips of the area that I was representing as Mexico city and began to manipulate then as spaces and forms that could possible exist.









For the second scheme, we had to use our concept which we had represented in the first two maps we produce, to develop a design off of. My concept for the previous project was mapping the relationship of the limanality that exist between the irrationality of Mexico City and the rationality that is UNAM campus.









Here is the first map that I have been referring to for my schemes


The last scheme was a free choice. I tried to represent, was a exploration of shadow. I was still in the process of trying to figure out how my project manifesto would integrate its way into the project, although not my most successful, it was an attempt.


Here are some sketches and process work from my sketchbook.













We are leaving to go to Mexico City today to visit our site!! I am really existed to go, it should be an amazing trip. While there I am going to be exploring the highlighted area for my library location and conducting site analysis.

The Library as Shadow

For our assignment, we are each assigned a project manifesto, I received, The Library as Shadow. The project of the studio is to expand the library by creating an (other) library, the manifesto acts as a "lens" of which will influence the design process and become an organizational metaphor. what does "library as shadow" means to me? and how do I represent it in my work? these are questions that I have began to explore. First of all, light and shadow cannot exist without the other they are interlinked. Shadows can be thought of as spaces created by light or as an area covered in darkness. A shadow is formed only in reference to a position of an obstruction of an object or space. Shadows are constantly changing and malleable. This aspect is closely related to that knowledge and books constantly being formed and created and constantly changing. Perhaps the space that exist inside is representative of that constant changing shadow to represent this quest for knowledge and power that books represent. Shadows deal with inherent voids and what lies between and among our constructed shapes.












I useful source is "The Secrets of Shadow" which explores the meaning of shadows. There are 50 example of architects who are referred to as "shadow seekers" from around the world, including architects Tadao Ando and Sverre Fehn. Each contributed their own work that reveals the importance of shadows in contemporary architectural concepts.

final maps

Final productions of the three maps for our project, Maps(in) UNAM: Site as Text.




The map above is the first map which explores how to construct and represent a map as something reverseble, detachable, and modifiable and build it as a mix between a model and drawing. As I have perviouly stated in previous posts it explores the relationship between the irrationality of Mexico City and the rationality of the UNAM campus. I believe this is my most successful map and most fully developed. I was able to explore different representation of forms the different areas and transition space that resulted though the merging of different zones. This exploration will be a starting point for the rest of the design of the (other) library which we will be designing this semester.

Map 2, is a axonometric drawing that depicts the same area and concept as the first map. It is shown as a reverse figure ground, where the transition area that I explored in the first map become the volumes of focus. The volumes on the left are the open areas that exist within the campus and are scaled in relationship to the the height of the UNAM campus while the right side demonstrates how the transition area that exist between the irrationality and rationality is not contained to one specific spot but how these spaces are filtered into both the Mexico City side and the UNAM campus.

The last map, is created in a similar manner to the other two maps but is not related in consideration of the zone and concept explored in the first two. The concept is related to the pervious assignment, Boite-en-Valise/Boite a Miracle, and then related back to the UNAM campus in relationship the the zone where the library is located. The concept that I explored last project was anaylzing the facade of the library and extracting volumetric elements that I felt were promient, and pulling thoes element inside. I address the site of which the library sit on and addressed in the same manner. By pulling and pushing volumtric spaces.