METHODS
A combination of methods was used to carry out this research. In terms of traditional design research, architectural drawings and diagrams have been the primary research vehicles. Using inspiration from Laccaton & Vassals treatment of facades, I roughly sketched a series of construction and assembly studies of the intimate spaces I wanted to create a sheltered transitional space for the public and semi-public spaces on the ground floor, balcony spaces, winter gardens and bay windows.
1:50 axonometric drawings were used to progress this thinking of creating an interactive, intimate façade that can be integrated into the design of the previous building. The steel beam and cross-laminated timber floor structure are fixed to the facade's original structural beams and columns and align with the existing fenestration. In the scenario that I have chosen for this axonometric drawing, the café on the ground level is afforded with a canopy from the floor plate above, which can be utilised for signage and hospitality space at the café's discretion. The Common Ground member on the first floor has opted for a winter garden for their bespoke intimate space. The Common Ground occupant who lives on the second floor has opted for a prefabricated insulated window seat and bay window to maximize their bedroom's habitable floor spaces. This structure would be built off-site and inserted into the steel façade structure. The last drawing in this series is the facade populated with the Common Ground inhabitants, their plants and belongings, and the visitors in the public realm. This level of detail depicts the intimacies, the relationship or indeed, the lack of connection the occupants have with one another – according to the specifications of the inhabitant. For example, the "Common Grounder" with the winter garden tends to his plants in a space with a solid connection to the public realm below, while the resident living in the space above is reading in a private nook with a view out over Bray Promenade. |
A diagrammatic study was undertaken at 1:200 to determine whether this façade of intimacies proposed in the one 1:25 drawings can be applied across the entirety of the schemes façade. Unlike the Lacaton & Vassal's Bordeaux scheme, this co-housing scheme is located in the densely built area of Bray promenade, sharing boundaries with other buildings on either side of the scheme. The scheme also has a retaining wall to the rear of the site. These will not be suitable areas for this façade to manifest itself. The areas of existing balconies where the scheme has a sawtooth resemblance in the plan were also removed as these would become pinch points and problematic areas to detail effectively. This could detract from the intimate spaces already created prior to this research. Areas of particular sensitivity were noted in these diagrams. In particular, areas of varying ground plain, caused by the series of terraces and gardens that transcend the slope of the site. These are areas where the updated façade will have a unique relationship with the ground and basement space.
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REFLECTION
Accompanying the research methods carried out through architectural drawing mentioned above, I documented the rationale of the decisions that I have made through a reflective diary. This helped to document design decisions that may not have been expressed by a means as tangible as drawings and diagrams. This was also a vehicle to document the research that has been carried that ultimately guided the project in a direction that was neither as applicable nor as relatable to the research questions initially posed. In qualitative research specifically , the issue of bias is still disputed in many texts as there is no consensus on how much researcher influence is acceptable. As a result of this I choose to keep a reflective diary in conjunction with this research project to make my experiences, opinions, ideas, and feelings visible and acknowledged as part of the research process. The purpose of this diary is to demonstrate the importance of the use of reflective journals to engage with the concept of transparency in the research process, as well as to investigate the impact of critical self-reflection on research design.
Reflection is a metacognitive process in which professionals and students actively and purposefully consider their feelings, reactions, thoughts, beliefs, knowledge, responses, and experiences. (Dewey, 1993)