Pimboon Wongmesak: Fraternal Twins

Project 1            Phase 3

Pimboon Wongmesak 

Yarinda Bunnag

Fraternal Twins

The key concepts of Milstein Hall was about it being a connector between two buildings, and my toy was based on structural balance and the hybridizing of shapes, similar to how OMA (the architect of my case study) works. For this phase, I then decided to create a building that brings all of the aforementioned concepts together. 

Cornell University is a campus that has two halves: the lower half which is the academic campus, and the North Campus where it is the residential area. It is split in the middle with this very large, pretty gorge, offering all aspects of nature (earth, water, trees, the air), etc. 

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As it is large area, and I wanted to create something that is a 'connector' of sorts, I landed on the idea of a bridge, which would connect the two sides of the campus together. As architecture students, we usually get remarks that we never leave our faculty building, and so I thought I'd play with that idea and create something that would make the architecture students here never have to leave the 'building' for real. To never leave the building, programs and activities necessary to 'live' must be included, and since Milstein Hall (and its connections) pretty much have everything related to academics, I decided to fill in the bridge with things more related to recreational/residential programs. 

Thus this structure is a bridge but with pockets of programs incorporated in it, and the programs include a dorm, a cafeteria, and this 'retreat' area, where it's a space for stressed out students can hang out and regain their life. So the bridge connects the two sides together, but also acts as a 'merger' between the academics and the residential. 

The massing and form of the structure was done primarily based on my toy and how OMA works - they put a bunch of shapes together and they somehow make it work and make it look like a single shape, and for the toy, explores concepts such as interlocks and balance: how can I form something with a bunch of shapes and make it stay? 

As the site is really unique, I also wanted to take advantage of it to the most I could, so the shapes and form/what program also reflects that. 

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As above, the resultant from is a bunch of shapes put together, but all structurally support each other. The different colors differentiate the different programs and materiality (nature part). 

The first part is the tunnel, which connects directly from the underground floor of Milstein Hall, and also connects Rand Hall and the Foundry together (underground). It then goes through the ground of the gorge with a small incline, so that it emerges out well below the 'surface'. This first part plays with the element of earth, so the tunnel is hardly finished and is made of raw earth. 

The next part is the walkway (the large gray triangle), which is a two solid walls of concrete enclosing you, forcing you to go in one direction, and barely seeing anything. It's a continuation of the earth tunnel, but with more light allowed through (transition), but also plays with the irony that you're technically in the air, but there are walls enclosing you and you're essentially stuck in here. Cuts in the ceiling allow light to shine in different patterns throughout the day. 

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It then opens up to a large glass box, literally floating in the air. This is where the cafeteria is, and it takes advantage of being in the air in the middle of the gorge, surrounded the gorge(ous) views of trees, the stream, the waterfall and lake, etc. It's made of glass to accommodate maximum view, but also express the feeling of lightness and being suspended. 

It then transitions into the dormitory area, near the edge of the gorge wall on the other side. As it is near the 'ground', it has more access to trees - which is what this part takes advantage of - the trees, leaves, etc. The main finishing of this space is wooden beams, to enhance the 'woody' feeling. The unique part of this dorm is that you don't have the conventional rooms - as mentioned earlier, architecture kids don't really stay in their rooms, even less so to sleep - and so the rooms are literal capsule blocks of 2 meters, and are stacked and compressed together, and only holding the bare essentials of what is needed (bed, storage, some entertainment screen).

As the structure is thin, all the dorms have the view of the trees/branches/leaves, so they really feel connected as part of that environment. There are internal ramps to allow circulation between the three floors. The dorm area forks out to two directions, and both of them hold exits on the second and third floors (the two lower floors).

The retreat area (the stick support) is connected to the third floor of the dorm, and you go there to go down a series of circular stairs/ramps with one destination in mind - the retreat space. It is much like an inverted observation tower, you don't do anything but anticipate what is at the end. The space is a mess of unorganized furniture placings, including sofas, TVs, pingpong tables, bookshelves, tables, seating, beanbags, etc. The highlight is the large windows that open up to a patio of sorts, where students can go out and jump into the gorge and enjoy the water. 



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The exit of the bridge has been mentioned - the four doors on two levels of each side of the dorm. The point of exit is an interesting one: it literally exits out to the middle of the gorge wall, in the middle of the trees and earth and you get fully exposed to the nature/environment all in one go. Imagine being cooped up in this structure (and the academic ones) for a term, and then finally exiting out to this absolute change.



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As the structure is (really) long, to maintain a reasonable mass similar to that of Milstein, it has been made really thin. Making it thin, in a way, also enhances the feeling of each environment because its literally forced upon you, and if you continue your daily routine each day, it may be convenient for you as it is really straightforward and has all that you need, but a the end of the day, you're still enclosed and 'contained' in this space - never really going outside even if it feels like it. 



Structural Model - shows connection of two sides + relation to site.

  
Views of the structure from different points - it's in the middle of this large, beautiful site, but still respects the place as it merges with it.

   
Structural Materiality of the bridge - hybridized shapes, and how each part/section is unique and relates to their own part of the environment (concrete (continuous earth), glass (air), wood (trees), steel (water)).


   
Interlocks - how it stays and balances.

   

Initial structural/shape models.

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Pimboon Wongmesak: Play Gifts and Manipulatives

Project 1            Phase 2

Pimboon Wongmesak 

Yarinda Bunnag

Play Gifts and Manipulatives

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In this phase, I developed a toy based on the key concepts and themes that I pulled out from my previous case study analysis. Milstein Hall was an addition to two existing, pre-historic buildings, and was added to solve the problem of needing more space. By doing so, it created an interactive, collaborative, flexible space, but most importantly, created a connection between the three buildings, and transformed the site into something new.

Thus, the main key concepts I pulled out were transformation, addition, and connection. It came from the notion that the two existing buildings are independent individuals, but add Milstein Hall (also an individual) and you have a transformed, dependent series.

The basis of my toy works the same way. It explores additions, connections, and transformations. There are blocks which come in two sets, and each set can be built into one complete form. However, the pieces can also be mixed and joined in different ways to create a whole, new unique form.

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The game helps players learn about connections, balance and structure. One piece is an individual shape, but they can be connected - and the individual shapes are now transformed. As players add on pieces, they can continue to transform what they are constructing, but also explore balance and structure and not let their form collapse. They can also learn about joints and how they can or cannot join pieces together.

There are two different types of joints: knobs and ledges. Make sure you don't get them mixed!

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To make the "complete" form, the shapes have been simplified to aid the construction of it. Adjacent shapes have shared surfaces and joint types - use that as a guide!

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Now to the main part of the game: hybrids! There are many ways you can connect the pieces together. Add pieces to a central piece, and see how far you can go without letting it fall over. Notice how the different joints work together, and how they can be adapted and matched. The surfaces don't have to be the same or match perfectly as long as the joints work (and it stays balanced!). With the right balance, any transformation is possible.

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Another reason why the blocks are shaped this way is that they are hybrids of different shapes: intersections, combinations of squares, triangles, circles, etc., creating hybrid pieces. When the pieces are together, they also create hybrid forms. In addition, OMA has a workflow where they also like to mash different, seemingly "unfit, incoherent" shapes together and create a seamless structure and form, so this toy also explores that aspect.

   

   

   

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Closer photos of what the joints and connections look like:

   

   

   

   

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And explorations of different forms/hybrids:

   

   

   

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A short video on how it's played:

Pimboon Wongmesak: Didatic DNA

Project 1            Phase 1

Pimboon Wongmesak 

Yarinda Bunnag

Didatic DNA

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The main case study project is Milstein Hall by OMA, based in Cornell University, Ithaca, in the United States of America. Below are images of individual plates based on a couple of other projects, as well as a small description about each one:

 Milstein Hall is a new addition to the Arts department, and is unique in the sense that it is not a stand-alone building, but connects with the two adjacent historic buildings, creating one large, unified space. The plate above explores the mass diagram (how the form of the structure came to be) as well as breaking down the elements, functions, and spaces in the building. 

This includes an exploded axonometric, so that viewers can see where each element or function is placed, and how they are connected. The sectional perspective shows the main circulation of the building. 

One of the main elements focused on is the dome, and how flexible it is. It's flexibility shows in how many different functions and uses there are. As an extension, one of the uses, the auditorium, is also flexible in terms of space usage and seating configurations.

The next building studied is the Higgins Hall by Steven Holl, in Pratt University. It is also not a stand-alone building, but a new insertion to old, existing buildings, similar to Milstein Hall. This fourth plate explores how the building has been stacked up, the connection between spaces, and the unaligned floors.

The sectional perspective shows the main circulation, whereas the exploded axonometric shows how each element of the building is placed together, (how the two sides come together), and how the space is conjured.

This is a comparative plate of the two buildings: it compares how each structure joins the spaces of the two adjacent buildings, respectively. It shows the connected space and the new, main area flow.

This seventh plate focuses on a new building, the Kusthal, by OMA in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Again, it focuses on the connection of space and how the circulation works as part of the program. This plate shows the plan and the programs, as well as the circulation. It also hows how the building is cut.

This focuses mainly on the connection of space and the overall circulation. It also has a site diagram, which shows the unequal level of the site and the surrounding elements, which includes a highway, a dike, and a park.

This final plate shows different sections of the building, and is used to show how they all connect together: through a series of ramps that run throughout, and how those ramps connect all the spaces and levels to a singular, long-flowing one.

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