Pancharee Rujiraarporn - Project 1.1

Matrix - Didactic DNA

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Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa

Steven Holl

Philosophy - the building itself must inspire the people inside the building.

- facade relation to site -

Whole - Each facade has different carvings and different materials to suite the environment it is facing. 

- interactive space, circulation and organic voids -

Part - Steven Holl's character is not cubic forms stacked but to carve out organic forms from what appears to be cubic box. 

In this building in particular, his intention was to create as much interactive space as possible and therefore you can see that each main public space is widely fitted in the middle along with the circulation of the building.

- analysis of material boundaries -

Detail - Steven Holl uses the idea of differentiating boundaries of matter and voided parts by using a translucent glass as a material on the voids and what appears to be an aluminum looking brick on the mass skin. On the other side of the facade where privacy is needed, he uses this patterned material on top of the aluminum skin to block views from other people but in the mean time allowing light to come through.

Hunters Point Community Library, New York

Steven Holl

- facade relation to site -

The facade facing the river is more widely voided in comparison to the facade facing other buildings

- interactive space and circulation -

Because this building is a community building the space itself is much more public compared to the institute. The circulation, however is combined into the layers of floors, there are no specified circulation area.

- analysis of material boundaries -

Again the skin is a thin solid concrete layered on top of a steel structure for support, however, the voids are transparent glass.

Administration Information Building, Liverpool University

Xi'an Jiaotong

Opus Office and Hotel, Dubai

Zaha Hadid

- facade relation to site -

Both buildings created voids according to the environment condition, Xi'an created according to air ventilation whilst Zaha considered the landscape views of the building user since it's a hotel. 

- interactive space relation to its use -

The Administrative building has a very wide exterior public space which is a rooftop garden on the voids, this creates an extremely new experience. The opus hotel however is very very private keeping privacy for every guest.

Both buildings are cubic form with organic voids.

- analysis of material boundaries -

Zaha uses this blue curvy glass material for the voided boundary layered on top of a strong curvy steeled structure on its organic voids. Xi'an uses layered wood facade in order to keep privacy but in the same time letting in lots of natural light, mostly similar to Steven Holl's material.