UNCG EXPERIENCES
Monday, February 11, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
INTER[IOR] INTER[VENTION]
This project’s challenge is to understand the special
character of the place and to sensitively introduce design solutions within the
built fabric that help stimulate life within the environment. For this
challenge two inter[ior] inter[ventions] were designed by chosen objects from
nature.
The first interior intervention takes inspiration from the
veins of a magnolia leaf for the double-height entrance lobby of the Art
Institute of Chicago. The existing skylight structure in the institute will be
replaced with a new skylight that derives its form from the rhythm of veins and
the color of a magnolia leaf.
As Norberg-Shultz explains, "color is one of the things
that determines the environment character." The color of the magnolia leaf
introduced in the skylight, draws attention to the play of light and color in
the entrance lobby. The rhythm of the veins give a sense of movement to the
space, thus reinforcing the genius loci of the place.
The second interior intervention is in the one of the floor
of Spertus, Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago. The space
was designed to be an art gallery. But now it is a space for public event,
which resulted in the exhibit area being shrunken to a small area hidden from
the event space with curtains. The new design brings the essence and
characteristic of a seashell, which are layers, protection and enclosure, to
the exhibition to protect and define a specific space for the precious objects
of exhibition. As Norberg-Shulz (1980) states “…enclosure becomes a center
which may function as a focus for its surroundings”, the objects of the
exhibition are being protected while the area has its own definition. This is
because of the arrangement of the exhibition. Also, since “the enclosing
properties of a boundary are determined by its openings” (Norberg-Shulz, 1980),
the external wall shows part of what is hidden behind it in order to invite and
engage people to the small exhibition.
Source: Norberg-Schulz,Christian (1980). Genius Loci: Towards
a Phenomenology of Architecture. Academy Editions.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
LIGHT AND HUMAN HEALTH
The human
body is so complicated and very sensitive to our environment. Numerous recent chronobiological
studies have revealed the influence of light on our health, both mentally and
physically. Our natural circadian causes
our body to behave with different responses to light patterns. When daylight decreases our body produces a
hormone called melatonin that promotes sleep.
This hormone is sensitive to both natural and artificial light. Another factor the human body has with light
is the effects of blue wavelengths in decreasing the levels of melatonin.
Cancer is a
common disease among night shift workers and shift nurses, who have to work
against the body’s natural instinct of being awake during the night. There can
be architectural solutions for this problem by having both dark and light
spaces designed specifically for the workers activity needs.
Lights relationship
to the body’s health requires special attention to individual needs. Each
person may have different preferences to the amount of light, color and
intensity of light. It is necessary to
think about the individuals using the space, and create a design with controllable
lighting systems. Designs for the elderly, and individuals with disabilities are
critical because of the quality and quantity of light necessary for their
movement and activities in the space.
These
findings reveal the important roll of interior architects in design
considerations of daylight on interior spaces.
Creating spaces that cause less
Seasonal Affective
Disorder (SAD) by balancing the amount of red and blue light in their
artificial lighting design creates a space with less undesirable physiological,
mental, and behavioral effects on the end user.
REVEALING THE NATURAL LIGHT
As described
in the “Light Revealing Experience” essay, our experience of light comes from
places that we know: the house that we
grew up in, our school, the cities that we’ve lived or visited, and many other
environments.
During
winter, one of the most pleasant moments of my childhood was when I felt the
morning sunlight on my skin. The morning light shined through a large picture window
and filled the living room. Although the size of the window caused energy loss during
the summer and winter months, the area that it lit up was warm and soothing.
Often, living or spending time in a place can
help us understand the attitude, and patterns of light. Such is the case in my current home, when it
had taken me an entire year to figure out the intensity of the sun light as it
shined into the dining room during the summer months, and specifically the
afternoons. The different qualities of light can dramatically alter our understanding
of the Sun’s movement. Observing the transition of the light in a small cozy
dining room as a source of heat and light, even when the window shade is drawn
to prevent the suns glare, is enchanting. This experience reveals different roles
of light throughout the day.
In
considering climate problems, engaging the lighting conditions into design
solutions allows light to play a major role in the creative process. As in Iranian historical architecture, empty
frames were used in various weather conditions. They were constructed from
wood, and then covered with glass to form a window. Also, they could be
assembled in a way to shape a wall for a balcony. These balcony walls had
successfully prevented the sun from shining directly into the space during hot
and humid weather conditions. This
design feature helped facilitated air circulation while creating beautiful patterns
and textures of light on the surrounding surfaces. Other design features of
these frames had them completely covered with various colors of glass for both the
hot and dry conditions.
Another
experience I can recall was walking through a historical shopping center called
a “Bazaar”, and seeing light as an image of nature. Typically, the Bazaar is a permanent enclosed
merchandising area with controlled climate conditions, and has streets of shops
where goods and services are exchanged and sold. Walking through with stores on
either sides, surrounded by sounds and attractions, is a surreal world. Suddenly,
I saw a beam of light coming through an opening of the ceiling as an unexpected
phenomenon. It was a pleasant surprise,
in an unlikely place.
The use of skylights
as a design solution can bring light to the inner portions of a building that
would otherwise be dim, but careful considerations in its application must be
anticipated. As in any design solution it
can be successful or unsuccessful. A successful example of this design features
is used by Steven Holl at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki,
Finland. Holl’s use of a skylight brings diffused light into the inner space, and
brightens the entrance hall in an artistic and spiritual way. An unsuccessful
attempt with the use of a skylight is the main building of the Engineering Department
at the University of Mashhad. The skylight in the lobby brings straight and
intense sunlight into the building. It has no filtration and makes it too hot
during the summer months. The designer disregarded the fact that light has two simultaneous
aspects of illumination and heat that might make visiting such buildings an
unpleasant experience.
In adding to
my past experiences of light, studying this course with detailed reading and
experimentation will be helpful in understanding the patterns of daylight, and the
manipulation I could use to create lively spaces.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
SOUND EXPERIENCE
Hearing Architecture
Majedeh Modarres Nezhad
Architecture can be heard. The first time I heard
architecture was during a visit to the famous rural town, Masuleh, in northern
part of Iran
when I was a student. Masuleh is a unique town with buildings that have been constructed
into mountain. While I was inside one of its houses, I heard sound of a stream,
which created a calm and peaceful feeling. This impression couldn’t be from the
building per se since it was dim and small. I figured out later on that there
was a river flowing beneath the town as well as under several houses, and that
flow was visible over the surface in some areas of the town. It was really
impressive to see how sound of water can create such a relief and calmness.
This building also has another magical acoustical characteristic.
At the entrance of the building, there is a square room with a curve
ceiling. If one whisper in one corner of the room, her voice can be clearly
heard on the opposite corner whereas no voice could be heard on the straight
line connecting the opposite corners of the room, although all the points on
that line are close to the speaker. The first time that I experienced this
phenomenon, I was obsessed with this pure magical characteristic of the space
that later on I found out it to be called creep: reflection of sound along
curved surfaces. In this case, the sound can only be heard along the curved surface
and not on any other point.
In the city of Isfahan, there is also a
grand mosque called Shah (Imam) Mosque. The hall under the main dome is
surrounded by stone walls and the dome itself is covered in colorful tiles.
This space has a special character: while standing at the center of the dome and
speaking, one can hear her sound loud and clear. This effect is mainly due to the
typo of material used as well as the shape of the dome: stone reflects the
sound and the dome amplifies its source which is located at the focal point of
the dome.
These are some of my past experiences in hearing architecture
before studying this course, and I am looking forward to experience and learn more
on how to design spaces while paying special attention to the issue of sound.
References
Binggeli,
Corky. (2003). Building Systems for Interior Designers. New York: J. Wiley &
Sons
Rasmussen,
Steen Eiler. (2000). Experiencing Architecture. 2nd Edition. Chapter
10, Hearing Architecture. Twenty Eight Printing, 224-237
Azad,
Hassan (2008). Ali Qapu: Persian Historical Music Room. Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics Vol 30(3). www.akutek.info
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