Biodiversity Condenser - AA3 DS6
My final task at Reading was the to demonstrate my ability to design a building with a complex program. My proposal derived its goals from multiple stakeholders: client and locals, but also, government, society and unknowable future users. At its core the site strategy and facility promote biodiversity with methods ranging from roof material selection to provide habitats for spiders, to reworking all the public pathways in the landscape to isolate an area dedicated to biodiversity from human intervention. The second goal was for the project to have as low embodied carbon as possible and utilize passive design methods to reduce operational costs as well. There was also an emphasis put on the reduction of materials where possible. The third goal was for the local community to buy into the first two goals and benefit in a tangible way from their upkeep. The combination of these three goals led to each design decision being viewed through different lenses and resulted in a complicated web of reasons as to why it would work.
Potato Utopia - AA3 DS5
This project focused on the two things. The ability to draw small and detailed and the difference between utopia and dystopia. In summary it emphasised that buildings only exist because of the people that are inside of them using them everyday. My proposal focused on getting back to a slower way of life. My marsh dwellers farming potatoes have a much simpler diet and are far more exposed to the elements than the typical westerner today. Removing the subject from my own lived experience allowed me to examine how shelters and workplaces are taken for granted.
Making Connections - AA2 DS4
This second year project delved into abstract inspiration. By examining the form, function and meaning Alvin Ailey's ballet Revelations I was able to draw metaphorical allusions that informed my own work. The proposal was to renovate a listed property and provide a local Reading dance troop a new space to train and perform.
