Conclusions. Model 1.250

Organization of the Spaces. The relation between them in volume.

I’ve been working on the model on scale 1.250 in order to understand the relation between the different volumes on the platform. It has not been easy to do so due to the considerable span that exists between both sides of the river. I did the model on soap, differentiating the different uses by using different colors. In order to understand the model is therefore necessary to know the color coding.

1. offices.

2. Residence elements. (rooms, common rooms, canteen, etc).

3. Laboratories.

4. Library.

5. Workshop Rooms.

6. Café/Bar

7. Auditorium.

Having set up the color coding I decided to place them as the last proposal of voids had been developed. From there study how the relation of the different sizes would be. Also to understand how the auditorium and the residence would be place on the bridge.

These are the two main elements that are not properly placed or that somehow do not feel right and according to the rest of the building and the narrative.

First position.

Once I had placed the volumes of the different rooms I could check that they were working in general quite well, with the exception of the auditorium.

The hall of residence.

I started to look for the placement of the hall of residence. I first re thought if the idea of placing them on over the labs was good idea, or if it was better change it to the other side of the bridge, right next to the café. I thought about the pros and cons and there in terms of construction there is one big pro. If we have the café and the hall of residence all in one, we only have to place one kitchen, or if we place two, then they would only have one single installation for both. But there is one very big conceptual constrain. It wouldn’t make much sense to place the rooms on this more public area of the TLO. It didn’t quite make sense. Also this is the area with the highest rate of noise would be produced. Therefore I think that the best place of for the Hall of residence is over the labs and workshop rooms.

In this image you can see it how it relates with the possible auditorium in terms of total high.

But once I had placed the rooms over the labs and the offices I noticed that they are predicted to be half the width of the lower rooms (offices, Workshop rooms and labs). How would this relation be? Would the rooms be outside creating opens spaces only used by the rooms, or would it be better to have a upper side circulation for a more private movements?

I investigated both.

To have it on the outside with a parallel private circulation on the higher level.

Or:

To have the rooms in the inside, creating spaces that look to the outside?

After the pros and cons I decided to place it on the inside in order to have a parallel private circulation only for the hall of residence. This would allow me to have this double layer of privacy also in the circulation and would reduce the problems in terms of vertical circulation. Also it would be better since the rooms would have direct contact with the landscape.

But when I took this picture and saw the situation from the horizontal plan I noticed that things were not working.

Yes, we were having the parallel private circulation but there were too much space without a clear void. Also I there weren’t any void only for the labs and with a more private side.

I thought then on changing some of the volumes of the hall of residence together with the volumes of one of the labs and one of the meeting rooms.

With this change we would have the void that was lacking in this area and also reduce the continuous endless vanishing point of the bridge. Once I had done this it was time now to think how these nucleuses would connect. Because I had changed the placement of one of the parts of the hall of residence now I had also to change the circulation in this area. I first thought on having several three different set of stairs, one for each block, and to isolate the different blocks from each other. But then, I thought again and it wouldn’t have any sense to do that. It would go against the whole idea of the TLO and the whole narrative that I have been developing along the project. This option was discarded.

The idea if we want to connect both three nucleuses is to create a set of platform or bridges inside the bridge.

I tested this idea on the model and it worked quite well. Some things have to change regarding the sizes. The labs and the rooms cannot be much smaller so the shape of the platform of the bridge will have to change slightly, either the space appear to the outside as cubes that break the “perfection” of the platform, or we create a new curve that adapts to these new demands. This will depend very much on the dialogue that we want to establish between the building and the surroundings and also it will depend on the different layers of transparency that the building may have. Something that still has to be studied.

Once I had solved the problem with the hall of residence I decided to focus on the problem of the auditorium.

As I said in the last videoconference there was something wrong with the auditorium. The proportions were not the correct ones according to what has been previously designed and to what was put as an example on the Neufert. I first of all did the volumes in order to see and understand how these related with the surrounding volumes.

Once I had this I looked to the proportions and started to think and “play” with the volumes. I noticed that the width was not enough for the auditorium and that I had been so far adapting the necessary measurements to the initial shape of the bridge.

Therefore I decided to not have much in mind the initial shape of the bridge and to use this one only as a reference for my de organization, but not as a rule

The result on the first test was:

I first thought, what if we add more depth on the area where the stage is? I did so, but still things were not fitting and also I was starting to create an auditorium that was too big for this project and for the needs that we had to cover.

I decided then to re think the volumes of the auditoriums and make a contra proposal.

What if we have the auditorium that comes out of the bridge?

With this movement I was sure that the measurements and the proportions were the correct ones. But the auditorium would have to come out of the initial proposed shape. This is not a big concern since as I said before this shape is a reference, the initial shape.

By placing the auditorium outside of the shape of the bridge now I have move part of the program in order to maintain a more or less clear equal size of the two voids that surround the auditorium.

So I believe that is last option is the best one. Now I have to investigate, how the relation of the auditorium within the context of the surroundings is. Would the auditorium we placed over the water? Would it be on supported on the island?

So far I decided to place it partly floating over the river in order to have a direct relation with the water. This is only an Idea and I am open to feedback and am still developing it.