Film Story Board

This is a story board I made to plan out a route around the city and inform the types of footage needed to illustrate the 'rhythm' of the city.

Film Concept

Play soundtrack while reading about the concept for the film.

Walking around the city of Palma, I was struck by the rhythmic nature of the urban grain. There is a clear pattern formed from contraction and expansion of the built fabric.

As you walk through narrow city streets of old Palma and Es Jonquet with tall buildings on either side there is a strong feeling of enclosure, often very shaded with an acoustic echo which reinforces the constrained nature of the space. There is a subtle sense of mounting anticipation when at the end of a long narrow route one sees a light space with a suggestion of more activity beyond.

These spaces, are public squares or could be defined as ‘city courtyards’ which are the pulse of the city. They punctuate its otherwise dense and claustrophobic nature, with light spaces for leisure and social interactions. These spaces can be varied in form, function, feeling but can be defined by their affect on the pedestrian walking through the streets. They offer a sort of relief from the narrowness and these spaces seem to be where Mallorcan daily life plays out.

The concept is to capture the rhythm of the city within a short film, which documents the nature of the spaces that have become the pulse of Palma, the ‘city of courtyards’.

The film will be edited to illustrate a proportional representation of time and space within the city. This will give the viewer a real experience of the 'lungs of the city' idea and will be achieved by speeding the footage up through the long and narrow alleys of old Palma and then slowing down to absorb the ‘pulse’ of light and activity in one of Palmas many public courtyard spaces.

This journey through the city will start in the district of Es Jonquet before traveling inside the old city walls and the old city and back to the site again through Santa Catalina.

The rhythm of the city will be highlighted along this journey with glimpses of key events, such as profiles of the local people going about their daily routines and influential architectural patterns, which form a rhythmic beat along which the city follows.

The music, ‘God moving over the face of the waters’ by Moby, was selected for its feeling of anticipation. It has two overlapping rhythms, the quick but slightly erratic beat relates to the narrow streets and lively activities, with a slow and steady interlude relating to the city courtyards with a feeling of space.

Below are some of my sketches from our field trip, which illustrate the types of spatial experiences I have described above.

Design Methodology Study - SCT Estudio de Arquitectura

Visiting Palma and being shown around the Museum of Modern Art by Vicente Tomás of SCT, was a part of the inspiration for me to design my year long thesis project in Palma (in the district of Es Jonquet).

Therefore, I have chosen to research the design methodology of SCT Estudio de Arquitectura, due to their innovative use of external / internal spaces and your creative approach to modern interventions within a historic context. I feel that understanding their specific design methodology will greatly help with my approach to the site in front of the windmills in Es Jonquet. As they are based in Palma and most of their schemes are in this region and often utilize courtyards I feel that this case study could also contribute towards answering my thesis question.

Site Selection - Palma de Mallorca

After visiting and analysing two potential sites (Isle of White Zoo, UK and Es Jonquet, Mallorca) I have selected to base my thesis project in Es Jonquet. The reasons for this decision are outlined on the pages below. 
This decision has changed the direction of my written thesis so that it relates more to my design project and personal interest of designing courtyards in a hot climate. The project will include a master plan for the district of Es Jonquet and I am in the process of developing a brief for the empty site to the west of the windmills. This is likely to comprise housing and an artisan centre and will be linked to the two windmills next to the site by a 'cultural square'.
The project will encompass courtyard design at micro and macro scales as an environmental design tool, looking at urban scale public squares and domestic courtyards.

Synopsis - First Draft

Can a Courtyard Typology for Housing become a Modern Vernacular which can promote Sustainable Living?

Date: September 2010

Summer Artefact - 'Conceptual Response to Climate and Resources'

Each person in Studio FMP was asked to produce a 3 dimensional artefact which represented our initial thesis proposal. As my proposal was not set in stone at the time and is still a fluid process, which is evolving day by day, I decided to plan something that I could make on our study field trip in Mallorca and leave in Mallorca after presenting it to the group. The watering can mould was cut in the UK (representing growth from nature) and the other materials were sourced locally in Mallorca. The idea of making an ice sculpture was to show a relationship with nature which I feel is important in design.  Materials and resources are being extracted from the earth in the building process but the building can give back to nature over time if designed with a deep rooted environmental consideration. The sculpture melted over a few hours in Mallorca strong sunshine, revealing the indigenous flora encapsulated within and the ice/water soaks back into the earth.

Summer Reading - 'Fishing from the Pavement' by Daniel Libeskind

    Product Description

The personal world of Daniel Libeskind, one of the most important international figures architecture is revealed here in connection to his craft.

Independent Review

June 22, 2006

By 

Karen (New York)

This review is from: Daniel Libeskind: Fishing From The Pavement (Hardcover)

If there is a more ridiculous or more pretentious book or architect alive today, I challenge anyone, anywhere to show them to me. It is a truism that whereas genius has its limits, stupidity knows know boundaries. - QED "Fishing From The Pavement". 

(www.amazon.com/Daniel-Libeskind-Fishing-Pavement)

The following image represents my thoughts on this book.

I found this book overly pretentious and more than anything when reading it, it made me question the role of the architect and public perception of architecture. This book illustrates a huge divide in the lofty thoughts of a revered member of the architecture profession and the sort of architecture that the public are interested in and generally exposed to.

Summer Reading - 'Dwelling Accordia' by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

    Product Description

This new residential quarter in Cambridge provides a new model for communal living. With 22 different house and apartment types on a tight semi-urban site, Accordia is a high-density scheme which replaces the standard pocket garden approach with a series of exhilarating public greens, communal gardens and intimate outside/inside spaces created by rooftop terraces and internal courtyards. The project is the result of an unusual collaboration between three of the UK's highly regarded architecture firms - Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Maccreanor Lavington and Alison Brooks Architects - and demonstrates that volume housebuilders can deliver high quality architecture. Widely regarded as setting a new benchmark for housing, this multi-award winning project is the first housing scheme ever to win the RIBA Stirling Prize, one of the world's most prestigious architectural accolades. (www.amazon.co.uk/Dwelling-Accordia-Paul-Drew)

The following page includes my notes and analysis on the book.

Summer Reading - 'Cutler Anderson Architects' by Sheri Olson

    Product Description

Established in 1977, Cutler Anderson Architects (formerly James Cutler Architects) is nationally known for its environmental awareness and attention to detail. Dedicated to design excellence, the firm has received six National Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects and over 30 other national and regional awards.Cutler Anderson Architects is currently involved in many projects both nationally and internationally, including residences in Mallorca, Spain, the Napa Valley, California, the Hudson River Valley in New York, the Big Island of Hawaii, the Capital Hill Library in Seattle, Washington, and commercial and mixed use projects in Bainbridge Island, Washington. 
(www.amazon.com/Cutler-Anderson-Architects-Sheri-Olson)


The following page includes my notes and analysis on the book

Manifesto - Supporting Essay

Manifesto

Writing my Diploma 1 manifesto last year was an important opportunity to formalise my opinions on a particular area which I have an interest and knowledge of and also has relevance within the time it was written due to the development of new government plans and legislation. The manifesto was written as a diatribe on mass housing in the UK, and one might say, is very negative in its outlook on the subject. However, this was supported by a much longer essay, which studied case studies of successful examples of vernacular housing in an attempt to draw positive conclusions for the future.

Mind Mapping Exercise

This quick mind mapping exercise was done to put down on paper my main interests and point of focus within the field of architecture. Once mapped out I realized that most of the points could be related back to both my Diploma 1 elective (sustainability) and manifesto on Vernacular Housing.