John Hejduk designed a theme park for world war II victims in Berlin, which is called Victims. The theme park is looked as 'architectural monsters' because the style is scary and it includes thorny elements. The reason for designing the 'architectural monsters' is striking, John Hejduk wants people to remember world war II and feel the victims' emotion. He emphasized that 'they are not diagrams but ghosts. (1986)' He suggests that architecture should be meaningful. Each component in the park has a role, and he wrote a poem for each one. The roles are matching the characters in world war II, such as a nurse and a doctor. He gave each component a story, and these components are connected in the story and real function. His sketches are messy and horrible. He mentioned that 'drawings and tracings are like the hands of the blind touching the surfaces of the face in order to understand a sense of volume, depth, and penetration. (1986)' So his sketches have a strong visual impact. Viewers can feel the emotion and story through the sketches. He well considered the construction of the park, includes the time period and the plant's growth. In this park, he used the only transportation is a trolley track. This helps the park organized and fast pass through.
In my work, I designed a park for punk rock fans. In traditional, the theme of the park is a cartoon. They are suitable for children but dull for adults, especially for punk rock young people. So I designed the park theme of punk. This is a place where punk fans can enjoy the rides and concerts. In my park, the facilities include a swing, a jungle gym, a Ferris wheel, a tower, a restroom, a theater, and a fountain. The swing, jungle gym and Ferris wheel are all punk style with thorns. My inspiration is from animals, but as I developed, I change it into more architectural style. The theater, the restroom, and the bubblers are not in normal outlook. In order to be coherent, they are designed to be scary. As John Hejduk suggested, 'to precisely polish internal thoughts, an atmosphere of a particular kind is needed. (1980, p.116)'. When visitors are relaxing or sightseeing, I would like to give them a strong feeling of punk and rock. When people walk into the park, they would be surrounded by a horrible atmosphere. The entrance is a multiway tunnel. People can use a tunnel to reach the edges of the park. It shortens the time taken in walking and helps to organize people in the park. The external facilities include a bus stop and a car park. People from the bus stop can directly go to the tunnel. The parking area and the park are linked.
I used hand drawings first and digital drawings in the final. At first, I sketch the ideals as John Hejduk did. The sketches are conceptual and rough, but it creates the feeling I wants to express. In development, I used digital tools to help drawing. My designs are 3 dimension. When I have trouble imagining the shape, I use a computer to create a 3D model. And draw in digital. The computer 3D model inspired me a lot because it is easy to change shape. The digital drawing is convenient because it can zoom in or out quickly and erase easily. The design style I used is like John Hejduk's style. The style express 'architectural monsters.' He connected the function and the monster shape.
After the assessment, I understand the city in a new way. The buildings are not only functional but can also be meaningful. When I observe the city, I should try to understand the metaphor behind the design process. During the design process, it is also important to involve aboriginal culture. Thus the buildings are not cubes, and they can be different stories.
Hejduk, J. 1980, 7 houses : January 22 to February 16, 1980, Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York.
Hejduk, J. 1986, Victims, Architectural Association, London.
