Module 1.
Diagraming Design Precedent
Brief
In Module 1, we are assigned to some of the most well curated pavilion designs around the world. We practiced our modelling skills with the assigned pavilions and improved our analytical ability through diagraming the precedent on its thresholds and circulations. The project being explored on this webpage is the Teahouse Ø designed by Pan- Projects in 2019.
Teahouse Ø - Pan - Project
Located on the Sydhaven canal next to the skolen i primary school, fabricated and built in 2019, the Teahouse Ø is the first pavilion being built in a series of pavilion projects planned on the Sydhaven Canal, with the aims of exploring and open up the canal of Copenhagen as public spaces and realms of urban activities. The pavilion was built based on the concept of reflecting the changing phenomena by water and light, as well as the environment and its surrounding context through time and space. Teahouse Ø is constructed with timber structure and covered with Styrofoam cladding, with acrylics tubes and panels as walls and posts, which not only creates a beautiful analogy of water upon which it floats, but also contributes to the concept of reflecting the surroundings through spatial movement and seasons.
Modelling the Precedent
To recreate the model of Teahouse Ø for precedent analysis, my first focus was on the curved surface of the roof and the base. I began my modelling process by tracing out the plan and elevations provided, as well as the timber and acrylics structure based on construction plan and sections. The structure of the pavilion was erected in vertical dimension, and the orthographic modelling to achieved by extrusions. However, the curvature of the pavilion was designed on diagonal surfaces which makes the edges of the claddings more difficult to attain. To resolve this, I extruded the traced plans and elevations after matching them at right angle, then use the intersection command to extract the intersecting line segments between the geometries. After all the edges of the claddings are extracted and assembled, a wire frame of the pavilion is generated, and surfaces are created by using sweep2 command on the four edges of the various geometries. Thickness of the surfaces are generated before finally splitting them by the extruded surfaces from the plan and elevation drawings to exhibit the well curated arrangements of the cladding panels.
Site Condition
Before discussing about the circulation of Teahouse Ø, we need to be mindful that the pavilion was designed to be floating on the canal, it’s location and orientation are constantly changing. Hence, the site plan is produced to simulate the routine of the pavilion. factors influencing the circulation path varies due to pavilions surroundings, its locational and orientation relationships with the context, as well as the lighting conditions. To analysis the circulation configuration, I focused on two circumstances, the first one being when it is docking, and the second one is when it is floating on the river.
Circulation Analysis
Sun path has the main influence on occupants’ thermal comfort, which impacts their selection of the circulation path. Teahouse Ø locates in an area of high latitude, where the sun angle remains low. Circumstances included ranges from the highest altitude of the year (being 57.5°) and a lower altitude of 38.3°. As shadows are more desired within an interior space, people are likely to sit in the central part of the mat. Meanwhile, they tend to be farther from the entrance to maintain their privacy.
While entering the pavilion, there are three static points along the pathway. for they provide opportunities for interaction. When people are about to enter the pavilion, they would first have a glimpse of the entire pavilion, appreciate its aesthetics, then walk through the entrance with their attentions attracted by the clerestory, allowing them to stay connected to the outside. Finally, they sit down at a cozy location and become fully embraced by the privacy.
Primary circulation is the singular path of entrance and exit. The front panel and the width of the entrance allows only one of the actions to be conducted by one person. Some visitors may need to bend down due to the height of the pavilion, which helps them slow down their movement during the transition of privacy. Secondary circulation would link the central area to the corners of the pavilion, as some might attempt different angles and positions for variety in view and experience. In the scenario where the pavilion is floating, the interior becomes more difficult to access and hence the building envelope defines a semi-enclosed space separated from the public realm of water. It then acts as a point element in space which generates circulations (of boats) circumambulating the pavilion.
Experiential Collage
The collages below shows the experiential view of the pausing points, where opportunities of interaction with built and natural environments occurs, which has been discussed in Circulation analysis above
Thresholds Analysis
Threshold is the space where different areas connect and transition, a space where interactions among different realms occurs (Hertzberger, 1991).
The clerestory of the pavilion allows direct solar access for the interior space creating a sense of openness within the interior. It is designed in an oblique angle, which in most cases, diffuse sunlight to creating a stable and cozy natural lighting throughout the building envelope. When direct sunlight is allowed into the pavilion, sun ray would be molded into a rectangular configuration as an extension of the clerestory, blending the boundary between nature and architecture.
The transparent screen of acrylics tubes and plates on the vertical dimension creates an ambiguous boundary between the inside and the outside. The various shapes of ripples are projected by the reflected sunlight, and diffused by the acrylics screen, exhibiting the concept of guiding people to perceive the changing phenomena of water. When being viewed from a distance, the acrylics screen produces an illusionary picture of the scenery from behind the pavilion which further merges the pavilion with the environment. By allowing airflows across the facades, occupants also remain a sense of connection to the exterior environment. These factors contribute to the permeation between inside-outside, architecture-nature, while still maintaining a sense of enclosure for people.
When the pavilion is docking, the frontal shades expands beyond the realm of the pavilion, showing welcoming gestures to the visitors. However, as they progress into the pavilion, the back panel, being a distance away from the deck, suggests the limit of one person for entrance, which prompts the mental preparation for the visitors to enter a space of privacy. Meanwhile, as visitors walk through the entrance defined by the acrylic panels, the drop of the ceiling increases the degree privacy.
All the factors contribute to the intention to create a semi-enclosed space allowing people to take their procession, with a high degree of privacy, separated from the water as a realm of public activities.
