Week 11 Design Process

During the tutorial last week I showed Jesse my ideas about the different experiences possible with the water, and thought that it would be interesting if I could combine them all into one building. I started looking at placing one experience above another, as a lot of the experiences require the user to be at different levels in the water. I thought that it would work best if people spiraled around a circular building, progressing through different experiences. This way of moving would allow people to access different levels of water and experience in a way that flows and allows access to books on each level.

This layout would result in a series of circular floor plans, and when it comes to levels that are used for administration and storage, these floor plans could be divided up into sections rather than having uses split completely over different levels.

Layering of experiences and idea of spiraling down through building

Spiraling down through building and floor plan concept

Section showing different water experiences (Bottom level reflection, 2nd level water above, 3rd level large window  on wall, 4th level narrow window on wall, 5th level walking on grate above water)

Conceptual floor plan

The library space with the bookshelves is arranged around a central open space, so that when the user stands on the very bottom level and looks up, they can see through the holes on each level to the very top of the building. I found this image, and the central space is what I am trying to achieve, just slightly smaller and on multiple levels.

(unfortunately, this image was found on pinterest, and there was no reference to what building it is or who designed it)

As the user spirals around the building, they are also able to see the books on the book shelves from the page end rather than the spine, offering the user another interaction with the objects of the library.