CEC Work Placement 1

As part of my CEC Work Experience I will be working with Annie Lovejoy, and Treloan Coastal Holidays a camping and caravan site run by Deb’s and Pete Walker. The site is located in Portscatho Cornwall, a ferry ride across the water to St Mawes, and then about five windy miles over the Roseland Peninsula. The campsite has beautiful views of the sea, which is just a quick walk from the site.

Deb’s and Pete are eventually aiming to create a green and sustainable lifestyle at Treloan for themselves and also the holidaymakers. The campsite already has many eco innovations. They have pigs preparing the ground for a vegetable plot, chickens, a polytunnel for more plants and as well as this they aim to provide an eco holiday, with great incentives; like walkers and backpackers are able to stay at the site for a reduced rate if they arrive by bus or train because they travel with less of a carbon footprint. The site has eight mobile homes and plenty of space for lots of caravans.


Annie Lovejoy is studying for a PHD at Falmouth, and she and her partner Mac Dulop along with the support of Deb’s and Pete, will also be adding to Treloan by introducing new artistic and ecological activities to enhance the overall experience of Treloan as well as creating the beginnings of an Artist led community.

Annie and Mac have put together public art programmes in the past, one such was Barton Hill a Primary School and Children’s Centre in Bristol. Annie and Mac were lead artists in the project and they helped to redevelop the site, the project involved a participatory design process ensuring that the school childrens’ ideas and input were incorporated into the completed designs of the school. Examples of which are shown on Annie’s website; Shedsite.

My participation in the Caravanserai project will be to create some signs for the site. The signs will be a selection of directional and informative signs, for example

• Signs for road, which tell people to keep their speed down

• Signs for the toilets

• Signs for the recycle bins

Debs and Pete are clear about what kind of signs they would like, and their are certain unavoidable restrictions for instance the signs must be suitable for the outdoors and long lasting. The idea is to make the signs as quirky and individual as possible as well as making them from recycled materials and or found objects where possible. Over the next few weeks I will be adding information about my CEC placement to my blog. My ideas for the signs – and any other kind of inspiration which is relevant.

Cityscape

I don’t know whether I saw this on the net or in the library first, but I found Arne Quinze’s work really interesting. I quite like the principal, making an object out of lots of little things to create a form, which looks solid but in fact is not.

http://www.designverb.com/2007/09/19/cityscape-arne-quinze/

The process must be very laborious, I have always wondered how these designs are made, whether or not the object is planned from the placement and fixing of the first piece and then painstakingly followed right to the last, or simply cobbled together – by the look of Arne Quinze’s piece ‘Cityscape’ former would seem true.This piece was made to be placed in Brussels in conjunction with the premiering of the Mini Cooper on 14 September 2007. The shapes give the impression of being geometrically formed, not unlike a computer-generated image that has been reproduced. Though on Arne Quinze’s website the opening page contains a quote which states:

‘I love chaos, I’d like to freeze one of those sublime moments when the logic of
chaos, the only thing that is real, reveals it’s incomparable beauty and harmony.’

http://www.arnequinze.tv/#/en/home/

So it seems that his choice, would be to avoid this kind of comparison.

http://www.designverb.com/2007/09/19/cityscape-arne-quinze/

There is another similar piece he made called 'Uchronia', this was produced for the Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada 2006, and as the name suggests, the sculpture was created as a centrepiece and burned during the festival.

When I first saw his work it reminded me of Anthony Gormley’s piece ‘Quantum Cloud’ 2003 which was designed using a computer programme that randomly recorded points from an image of Anthony Gormley’s figure, these were then rearranged in 3D to form Quantum Cloud, which is 30m high and made using 1.5in steel rods.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pawoodhead/131007750/

Though I have not seen it apart from in pictures I think that the idea is very clever. I would imagine that it looks like a mass of metal rods, but then on closer inspection, the piece appears as a body within.

Going back to Qunize an interesting comparison, which he makes is the similarity of cityscape to a flock of starlings, a natural occurrence which creates awe in the spectator, and an absolutely stunning example of this was taken by photographer Richard Billingham, called 'Starlings Roosting on West Pier’ 23 October 2006.

When you observe the Starlings, the curves and the lines they make when they group together and then divide seem to create clouds across the sky which are in constant movement. They do somehow relate to to the idea of an 'organised chaos'.

A FLOCK OF STARLINGS:
The final result has the astounding precision of a startled flock of starlings,
that hangs still in the air, just for one moment, in perfect formation, before
dissolving in a seemingly chaotic pattern, but without touching each other,
in perfect control. It is a moment in which the DNA of disorder reveals it's
order. Elements or particles that seem to be organised at random suddenly
synchronise and combine into a revelation of the sublime.
City Scape, Arnie Qunize, pg 19

City Scape, Arnie Quinze pg73.

Bidonville view 03.04.09
http://www.arnequinze.tv/#/en/works/bidonville-view-030409/

Milan 4321

In Milan at the 'Salone Internazionale del Mobile', we will be exhibiting in a satellite show with other international universities alongside the main exhibition, which showcases all that is new in the world of furniture design. Our stand will be showing work from the MA's groups including textiles, craft, graphics and furniture design. This is part of the floor plan, we are number 3.

The stand will look something like the image below but much better. (My first attempt at sketchup, tried to copy Andy's mackete, doesn't look anything like it!!) The stand has got an asymmetrical canopy from which their will be suspended lights on a timber frame.

The lights have been kindly donated by Selux Lighting. Selux is providing us with a selection of spot lights and strip lights which will be attached to a computerised track system, with integral dimming.

Over the last couple of months I have been in contact with Selux to arrange the sponsorship. I was able gain sponsorship because I worked for Selux before I came to university, and had a good working relationship with them.

Working at Selux I was able to appreciate the benefits of architectural lighting. We do not encounter architectural lighting schemes in a domestic setting, but we do see them in retail, hotels and generally in the public arena.. I understood that this kind of lighting is not an afterthought, and as such becomes an integral part to the design of a space. Which means that when the building is designed the lights will be planned for and incorporated into the design.

In Cornwall Selux provided lighting for Geevor Tin mine, the lighting is spread over descending floors providing continuous light lines, and as with many other cases the lighting is essentially adding to the architecture by becoming part of the interior design of the building.

Spaces are complimented and changed by the lighting schemes, and in some cases the lighting becomes more important than the building itself. Below are some Selux project examples.

Hochwasser-pumpwerk Köln, Deutschland

The walls and roof of the building have a flat lighting effect. The colour of the light changes according to the water levels of the Rhine. This is achieved via an electronic control system, called DALI EUTRAC ® software. The DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) computer creates different lighting scenarios, when the water tower is white this means that the levels of the Rhine are normal. The redder the water tower is the higher the water levels are.

The pumping station in Cologne exists beneath the water tower, and the water tower is a significant landmark and acts as an early warning system to the residents of Koln.

http://www.dali-ag.org/main.php?n=gz8a&a=sel&i=75
http://www.selux.co.uk/selux/uk/en

Below are images of the ‘Ordupgaard Museum’ in Kopenhagen, the extension to the main gallery was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid and the lighting schedule by Selux

Selux is also a hugely successful company with offices all over the world. They are also very environmentally conscious and focused on quality and longevity, this has allowed them to maintain a leading presence within the lighting market.

Milan 54321

I finally booked my ticket today, I'm going to Milan... omg!!!

http://www.blogfromitaly.com/atmospheric-milan/

http://www.photo-visible.com/photos/photo_en260.aspx
Duomo di Milano - Milan Cathedral Italy

and this the campsite.. but google maps could have taken this photo at any time.

This could equally be it, this is on the other side of the road, and there is some
kind of water park there too, with flumes, might be a bit cold in April though.

Humans mimicking nature

The thing that struck me most about this plant were the petals, and the fact that it was quite and unusual and pretty flower. When the flower was fully in bloom, it is beautiful to look at, perfect symmetry, the petals were trumpet shape and also quite thick, with flecks of pink.

This flower, though I don't know the name of it, is very similar to a painting by Georgia O'Keeffe, called White Trumpet Flower (1932), below:

http://www.myfreewallpapers.net/artistic/pages/georgia-o-keeffe-white-trumpet-flower.shtml

Georgia O'Keeffe was a feminist, famous for her paintings of flowers where she would comparatively depict the forms of flowers to female genitalia, drawing on the likenesses within nature. This is an example of one of her less overt paintings - though the connections can still be recognised. Going back to the flowers at Trebah, I took a photo of one these flowers which had not bloomed and the petals reminded me of flesh. And looking at them alongside O'Keeffe's painting, there are definite similarities.

My reason for including this in my blog is that I wanted to show that as humans we are obsessed with our own vision of ourselves, and the need to convey this obsession is apparent in all forms of human intervention, from art, to mathematics, with 'The Golden Ratio', phi: Φ where we recognise symmetry as beautiful, and sub consciously seek it out. We are also able to identify this feeling in designed spaces which reflect this symmetry - an example of this would be Feng-Shui.

http://goldennumber.net/beauty.htm

Creating harmony and balance by the juxtapositioning of objects so that they compliment each other, in theory channelling the flow of energies so that no object is in opposition to another object.

http://inventorspot.com/articles/bring_home_harmony_with_a_weekend_zen_garden_14389

This and similar tools have been employed in architecture and art and design for years, and we take for granted this ultimate connection to nature and the body which has informed our 'aesthetic, gestalt, habitus' forever.

Looking at images of 'Expo pavilion for Aichi' which was referred to in an article by Peter Higgins called: 'Lines, words, pictures and sound'; http://www.designcouncil.org.uk you are able to recognise the structures as being influenced by nature, they have the organic look of skin, and would seem permeable, which I would think is incongruent to the specific needs of a building. The fact that these buildings exist suggests that the connections between the things that we make and the things that we see are ever present and exploited experimentally and also for definitive results.

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/japan/japanese_expo_pavilion.htm

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/japan/jpgs/polish_expo_pavilion_ingardenewy210508_05.jpg

Expo 2005: Japanese Architecture, Nagioya Japan, was based on 'ecological solutions and sustained development', the Polish pavilion relied on symbols which were recognised aspects of Polish history namely Chopin, the pianist and Wieliczka salt mine. The structure is meant to be both the shape of a salt crystal, and a grand piano. Made from willow using traditional methods 'Notice the Beauty' designed by Ingarden & Ewy Architekci was recognised for it's sculptural qualities, as well as fulfilling the brief by creating a sustainable and ecological solution to the architectural problem: 'reconstruction of the long-deformed relations between man, nature and architecture'. (Expo Pavilion Japan Building : page - Adrian Welsh / Isabelle Lomholt) I think that the structure not only embodies sustainability and technological advancement but also as I mentioned before draws on the relationship between humans (nature) and buildings (human intervention) in that the building itself due to the colour and lighting and texture is suggestive of the translucence of skin, thus lending itself to the comparison; the human body.

http://img.expo2010china.com/expoen/pics/12/12601.jpg

A further example of humans mimicking nature would be the 'Japan Pavilion' at Expo pavilion for Aichi 2005, the theme of the exhibition was 'Nature's Wisdom', and as stated in 'An Exhibitor's Impression of Aichi' the piece manifests the notion of 'blood and flesh' and 'skin and hair', essentially through the immediate recognition of the object, we are able to gain this insight.

These examples for me prove that the influence of the body is clearly used as a vehicle of expression outside the territory of art, patently illustrated by these examples at Expo 2005 in which the architects have examined and exploited the structural form ignoring the traditional relationships to material and instead taking their influence from nature.

The Dark Crystal (1982) by Jim Henson and Frank Oz

I have just remebered the name of the film that the forest at Trebah reminded me of, it's 'The Dark Crystal'

I'm going to watch it with my nieces maybe they will like it as much as they like the 'Spiderwick Chronicles.' I haven't seen the film since I was very young, but I remember even then it was a great film, quite magical. You can't help but swept away by the fantasy of it all.The amount of work that must have gone into the making of all those puppets, even the ugly ones.

Below is a picture of the 'Mystics', these comparativley are much prettier than the 'Skekis', which are the monster looking ones in the picture above.

http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/dark/review.html

Which leads me back to the trees at Trebah

See what I mean. Below is the original trailer for the film from youtube.

Trebah

Last week I went to Trebah gardens with Rowina and spent the afternoon taking photos, something I haven't done for ages. The gardens are really beautiful, full of extraordinary plants and flowers, nothing like you can see anywhere else in England or so I understand, and having never experienced it before, I think that it must be true. Something about the sub-tropical temperatures.



When I saw these plants I became a bit obsessed, they look to me as though they are some kind of slinking creature that has just dragged itself out of the bog. Bit like zombies, or a forest out of Lord of the Rings, or one of those weird 80's movies. In fact they reminded me so much of one of those 80's movies (but I can't remember the name of it) that I have been trying to find it to watch it - but I can't describe it or remember the name so I've not had much luck. So far I have watched The Neverending Story, and Labrynith and it's not either of them, I just remember these creatures.


I'm not sure what they are called, but apparently they naturally die off in at this time of year, they are cut back and covered in their own leaves which are huge, and they act to keep the frost off them. They are amazing to look at.
After seeing the ugly things, I took a stroll to the beach which comes off the bottom of the gardens.