Friday, 23 March 2012

Initial Folie



The first assignment for the semester was to design a folie; a sculptural installation with a function to accommodate users. The folie had to fit in a 5m x 5m x 5m area and be able to accommodate a minimum of two people. The Folie’s purpose is as a ‘learning space,’ an area for a small group to be taught in someway about something. For this project we were placed into groups of four.

It is important to consider the existing facilities encompassing the area and what types of people frequent the site at what times and for what purposes. Security & lighting must also be observed as the folie design is a public space and it must be ensured that the public feels comfortable enough to attend the area at night and day. Well lit, open spaces will encourage circulation and discourage the area from becoming an illeagal drinking destination.

Our group met and discussed the potential of the Howard Smith Wharves Site and any ideas that had been though of. We were very interested in the development of Brisbane and the drastic changes that had occurred in the surrounding areas. Research was undertaken into the history of surrounding areas and into the Howard Smith Wharves themselves and it was decided that 5 places would be chosen to analyze in order to teach the public more about the area.

It was decided that the most interesting and simple way to observe and portray the development of the areas was to provide images of the sites as they have been historically and a way of viewing them as they are today.

An in depth discussion and observation was undertaken into the different learning techniques of individuals. It was decided that a combination of reading, experiencing and observing was the best way to encompass the majority of learning styles. Using a variety of methods was utilized as a way of keeping the process interesting. Research was undertaken into different forms of viewing and a successful example of periscopes being used in a public environment was found.


WALK into Skittle Lane in Sydney's central business district next month and you may think you're in Liverpool, Bankstown or Parramatta.
Four giant optical ''periscopes'', made of ductwork and painted bright yellow, will adorn the airconditioning shafts and downpipes of the small brick-walled lane. Peering inside each ''portal'', visitors will be able to watch films playing continuously as they depict scenes from the three western Sydney suburbs.
The project, Peri(pheral)scope, is one of seven laneway projects to be installed in late September as a part of the City of Sydney's Art & About festival.


This solution was utilized, as it was interesting, appealing and fit in with the context of the area. It was decided that an image with a short very relevant piece of text would be placed upon a periscope so that each historical site could be viewed as it was historically, understood through the information provided and experienced as it id today through the periscope image.


We began creating a rough draft of the possible design on google sketchup.




It was important to create a space that was easily accessible and welcoming to passers by, whilst still providing a private and quiet environment for the public to learn. An investigation was undertaken into the angles the periscopes would need to be built at in order to access the nest possible view of the five chosen historical sites. Images were sourced for the informative plaques within the Folie. More precise design was undertaken into the interiors and changes were made to the original sketchup image in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing and practical with thought given to lighting (natural and artificial) ventilation and other natural forces.

Final Follie Images:








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