Sometimes Right, but Sometimes Not;
Sometimes a Separation, but Sometimes a Connection
RISD ARCH 2101, Making of Design Principles, Fall 2020, Project 1
This project attempts to reconcile the opposition between right angles and non-right angles that coexist in one system. The grid appears as a set of right angles when viewed directly from above or below. However, when viewed in perspective, oblique angles and sheared elements start to appear.
Interlocking System
The formal language was refined and developed through the next iterations for this project, embracing this new idea of two interlocking sequences of spaces. The two sequences are carefully set apart from each other by a void space which also interlocks with one another.
Sometimes a Separation, but Sometimes a Connection;
Defining the Relationship Between the Sky and the Ground
There are two sequences of spaces, one being a habitation for a botanist and the other one being a habitation for a geologist. A habitation of a botanist has a close relationship with sunlight coming from the sky, while a habitation of a geologist has a close relationship with the ground.
The relationship between these two habitations are defined by a void space in between. This void space could be a separation between the “sky” and the “ground”, but the emptiness in the space could also be a bridge connecting those two. Botanist’s habitation, which sits on top of all, does not absorb all the sunlight coming from above, but gives up some of it for it to reach spaces down under going through the void space. This structure defines the relationship between the sky and the ground as sometimes a separation, but sometimes a connection.
Thresholds
