GLASSBLOWING ACADEMIC BUILDING
Project Brief:
After spending the first half of the semester master planning for our craeft themed college, it was time to move on to the next phase of our project. Our college campus featured four different craefts, one of those being glassblowing. I was tasked with designing this glassblowing building for both faculty and students while also keeping in mind the public appeal the art of glassblowing has. Lastly, as the site was already a dense forest area, the buildings sustainability was also a focus when designing.
Concept Designs
Parti Designs
We spent the first part of concept design by developing parti diagrams in rhino, and then choosing 3 that we liked the best to further develop them into a building while also enhancing the overall design concept.
Concept 1:
In my first concept design, I wanted to focus on the organic and curved nature of glassblowing. When glass is heated to such extreme temperatures it no longer becomes a solid, but rather a fluid liquid. This can produce curves and bends in almost random spots so I wanted to take that and apply it to a building design. All the walls and overall building outline are curved, with two different main parts of the building, public and private. These parts were connected by their roofs which were green roofs to promote more sustainability.
Concept 2:
In my second concept design, I wanted to find a combination between the more geometric themes of glass and organic themes. Glass can be flat, like large panes, but also organic, like a curved vase. At the bottom of the building, you'll see mostly those geometric shapes, almost like building blocks sticking into this organic shape to "hold it up" and give it support. As you move up the building you'll see those building blocks end, and the rest of the building turns into a very organic shape both within the walls and roof. This look is also used to create more of a sense of public and private space divided between the floors.
Concept 3:
For my third concept design, I wanted to focus on both the fluid and connective features of glass. Almost like how the bottom of a vase is also connected to the handle, which is also connected to the top of a vase, and all in a way that doesn't create sharp angles or points but rather one surface. So for this building, its made of different organic shapes, and they all come together at different points. One part is the roof of one and the wall of another, and all of them are coming together at some point.
