In January of 2023, I participated in a 6-week architecture program hosted by the nice folks at Index NYC. We covered the basics of architectural thinking, analyzed floor plans, and learned to use Rino for rendering. I learned about the difference between studying the site, elements, programs, and activities. This post is a transcription of my final presentation.
The Project
The client (my course mate) wanted to build a listening and hanging-out space in Asia. She requested the following features for her project:
Elements
I first focused on the key elements of the project: openness, raw & minimal materials, good acoustics, bringing outdoors indoors, floor-to-ceiling windows/doors, modular furniture, and diffused light. While traveling in Asia I was surrounded by inspiration.
Site
The client indicated Malaysia as a desired construction site. I did some research on the climate, geography, and existing architectural projects in the region. There were many inspiring examples of repurposed industrial projects with open-air plans.
Using the typical architecture as inspiration, I then created a mock plan of a bare-bones industrial site which we could repurpose for our project
Program
In architecture, a program describes the function of different architectural features in the designed space. The client defined the following program:
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private outdoor space
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good air circulation
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modular furniture and furnishing
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shelves for books or knick knacks
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seating and dining area
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a floating space or island for coffee and bar
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open working space that would be forgiving of dust or dirt from pottery or woodwork and can easily be clean
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whole space be equipped with hifi system and can be used as a listening room
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fluidity in the usage and minimal designation in space so it would be flexible and transformable when needed
Adjacency Study
Using the program, I started studying the relationship between the different use cases, which informed where the architectural features should be places relative to each other.
Rendering
To finish the project, I created a render of the finished speculative space. Here's the result of that process:
