OUGD502 - Studio Brief 2 - Final Pitch Presentation and Notes

Final Pitch Presentation and Notes 

 

- The concept takes inspiration from the Arts and Crafts roots of the university building 

- The design also highlights successful features of the existing building 

- The concept aims to take these features of the building and Arts and Crafts movement to create a contemporary and creative environment 

- Research into the history of the university found that the original building for the college - Vernon Street - was built in an Arts and Crafts style.

- This was used as a basis for the design to represent the heritage of the building 

- The design takes influence from some of the features of the Arts and Crafts Movement 

- Characteristics included :

Simple forms  

Truth to materials - there was a focus on using raw materials 

Natural imagery - such as stylised flowers and plants 

Traditional crafts of the countryside -  uses traditional skills and crafts 

Handmade - there is a focus on craft

- To help with considerations for the interior of the university, we looked at interior fashions that were linked to Arts and Crafts

- Interior styles included :

Flowers in simple arrangements or potted house plants 

- Stained glass windows

- Tiles with different natural patterns 

- Colour schemes included cream, terracotta, mustard yellow, olive green, deep blue and deep crimson 

- We documented main features of the building which were effective and prominent through the university which we wanted to emphasise more within our design 

We found that there was:

- an eclectic mix of lighting from wall mounted lights to hanging fluorescent lighting  

- lots of light is found within the building through the use of large and varied sized windows  

- a mix of materials are used throughout the building such as metal , plasterboard, tiles , foil etc  

- high ceilings in quite a few of the studios making them seem larger  

- tiles 

- We also looked at the plans for the new building to find out some of the structural features that will be used in there 

- We found that there would again be a focus on high ceilings which we could utilise

- Suspended strip lighting will also be used in the new building 

- On the front of the building anodised gold metal with a leaf design will be used as a statement piece. 

- We also did some target audience research into what students though of the current wayfinding 

- It was suggested that although a majority of people said the wayfinding was easy to understand there was a high proportion of people who found it difficult to use. This was further shown when looking at the comments as there was a suggestion that people had potentially don't use it or hadn't noticed it.

- We also documented the different wayfinding around the building.

- Things that were found were:

the room numbering system throughout the university was confusing 

there was a mix match of different wayfinding systems through the university where bits had been added

the wayfinding is grey throughout the university which looks quite boring 

when you reach a wayfinding point there is often a lot of information on them making them look quite cluttered

- We also asked students in a survey what environment inspires them, it was found that nature and colour were the two top points, whilst in the comments section there were suggestions of the impact of light.

- From this research we decided to focus on the three aspects colour, nature and light that students thought were inspiring

- We then aimed to enhance these through the continuation and emphasis of existing features int he building 

- Arts and Crafts would be used as an overarching theme for each of the aspects and these aspects would be represented using some of the characteristics of the Arts and Crafts movement.

- When looking at features of the building we found that nature was already being introduced into the university in the Printed Textile studios, so it was considered that a similar thing could be rolled out across the university.

- Nature would be represented through the use of pocket gardens through the university 

- The high ceilings within the university would allow tall indoor plants to be used enabling different environments to be created.

- An aspect of Arts and Crafts interiors were potted plants and cut floral arrangements so it was considered this could be another way of integrating nature into the university.

- Within the university it was found that large windows within the studios allow lots of light to come in.

- It was considered that stained glass which was a feature of the Arts and Crafts movement, could be used as feature piece within the university to play with light and colour. 

- Panels would be used intermittently around the university but not overly used in studios because of the need for bright light in studios. 

- The stained glass would use a leaf pattern to reflect the natural aspect of the Arts and Crafts movement. The shapes for these designs would be quite large to maximise the amount of light that would come through the window.

- Colour would be used in the wayfinding around the university to make it stand out more

- One of the features of the building that was interesting was the use of neon / fluorescent lights, it was considered that this could be used for the wayfinding system as this came in a variety of colours. 

- Wayfinding trees would be created to reflect the natural element within the Arts and Crafts movement.

- Each course would have its own coloured branch, with the colours used being reflective of Arts and crafts colours and the lengths of the branches reflecting the distance away from the course / area.

- Each course would also have a neon light with the name of the course

- The room numbering system would be based on what course / area the room is used for the and would then be numbered within the area e.g. Photography room 1 would be P.1

- Each of the rooms would be numbered using a tile in reference to the Arts and Crafts movement. A similar leaf pattern to the stained glass would be used on this and the colours used for each area would be the same as the wayfinding trees.

- For the interior we looked at Arts and Crafts furniture and fittings to see which elements could be used and how they could be made more contemporary.

- Metal framed lampshades were used as an Arts and Crafts design, it was considered a similar style could be used however in bright colours to make them look more playful.

- Pattern was very important in the Arts and Crafts movement so it was considered that natural patterns could be used in cushions for furnishings. Having pattern on the cushions would create contrast against the single coloured sofas and chairs. 

- Arts and Crafts furniture used quite strong forms, finding similar shaped designs but with a singular colour would make the design more contemporary and allow for things to be added to the sofa e.g. cushions .

- Window seats would allow nice vantage points outside