Grape's: DANCE AQUADITORIUM

The shophouse project thai I proposed is 'DANCE AQUADITORIUM' 

and the concept is mainly focusing on 'CONCEAL REVEAL'

Erotic effect created on facade, the ideal of living facade and shadow movement that will attract public people into curiously questioning the idea of the inside. So facade seems conceal yet it reveals some hint and mystery onto the outside. It is "conceal what should be concealed and reveal what should be revealed" of the function in each volume. From the beginner dancers till the advanced dancers appropriately express on the skin of the building. This stimulates the sense of persuasion the outsiders (Audience) toward the insiders (Participant) by the vision.

PROTOTYPE: WHOLE STRUCTURE MODEL

(DOUBLE SHOPHOUSES)

1:50

FINAL: SECTIONAL MODEL

(ILLUSTRATED SINGLE SHOPHOUSE)

1:20

EXPERIMENT THE EFFECT: INSIDE-OUTSIDE

Grape's site research: THONBURI

Concept: 'Conceal Reveal'

Focus on: Advertisement on facades and Visibilities

The development of transportations over time:

Grape's shophouse: model behind the scenes

Video:

Pictures:

Grape's shophouse research: "SPACE AND ZONING"

Grape's Video

CW06 

http://vimeo.com/61417507

The shophouse that I study is located around Thonburi, Bangkok. Actually my early home was at the area. I quite familiar with this house's typology. This shophouse is surrounded with neighbor all in three sides, placed in the middle of the row.

As my previous project about erotic concerning with 'Conceal Reveal' as a conceptual framework, then I chose to study the similar topic in the shophouse research. The term of 'Conceal' can be defined as enclosed space, dark atmosphere or lack of natural light and ventilation area. In other word, sometime refers to a 'Private space' of intimate relationship in family or group of members that occupied and living in the house. While the other term 'Reveal' represents as an open space for public usage for instance, commercial space on the first/ground floor of the house, also show a space of bright and luminous to natural light during the day and area with openings like windows, entrance door and outdoor areas. It can be called 'Reveal' to the public or other people who come for commerces and services.

GENERIC SHOPHOUSE: Elements

• Changeable building - multi-functioning usages
• Continuous beam
• Shared columns
• Party wall
• Cantilever eave
• Fire-resisting wall
• Stair divides space, indicates zoning
• Reinforced concrete construction
• Brick wall
• Locally available materials

Sketch structural elements: Beam and Columns

Sketch plan: Dimensions, Ground levels and Programs

MAJOR PROBLEMS:

• Lack of natural lighting
• Poor ventilation
• Noise Pollution
• Less privacy and security

Diagrams: Space and Zoning

Grape’s documentation and post-analysis on Conceal-Reveal

PHOTOGRAPHIC OBSERVATION

Conceal-Reveal: The installation itself becomes a division between people in either side. The partitions seems to be conceal the insider as if it protect and obscure them however, actually it turns into a revelation of their exposed gesture to the outsider.

Look at the people in both sides in response to the context effects. It provides the sense of voyeurism; some ones secretly keep watching other doing some activity silently.

Audience and the installation during the review

Critiquing by INDA’s instructors and guest. 

VIDEO 'CONCEAL REVEAL'

POST-PRODUCTION AND SUGGESTIONS

     Actual experiment on site, the installation and spotlight position came out to be slightly misplaced so that made a bit blurred and occurred indistinct shadow on the inside, the participant's position. Therefore, some instructor said that "it is not likely to be reveal or clearly expose from inside but what actually happened was the insider tried to be really expose a gesture instead, just in order to show to the outsider intentionally." by this I thought that it might because all the audience knows what they supposed to do at that time in the case of reviewing the installation. Apart from that I agreed in the issue of intention due to the existing site condition which somehow too hidden and not typically used by the pedestrians that much. So if the installation could be moved to more busy circulation traffic, the effect might be more powerful and provide more unintentional gesture from people who often use the space. However I personally chose this site because actually it is a hidden path for some people around such as security guards, some of bicycle rider and the smokers who really occupied the space behind to do their activity on purposes. Maybe if it was placed on the active circulation as the suggestion, the results might turn to be too obvious and somehow people may act intentionally like the instructors did as well.

     During the presentation, it was very fun with the instructors and guests who were the participants playing with installation but the audience became too intentionally watched them like seeing a movie due to they sat on the bench nearby so it likely to be watch some performance rather than secretly watching. Lastly I was pleased with the effects as it meant to be. People inside cannot see people outside, they can only see what is going on with them by the shadow. And people outside see the moving activity and keep watching what is going on next until the participants finish their movement.

EROTIC INTERPRETATION

   Generally the word erotic often related to sexuality, sometimes involving sex and relationships. Actually it produced from a set of emotions, which express from or to some people. It is intimate but mostly prohibit. It is the contradictory, which also called by the revelation and concealment of an activity. Hence, the provided sensuality depends on the position that can be divided by participant(s) and audience. However the Erotic in which pertain to architecture is the way to add a feeling into a solid structure, in other word, to engage some action and to involve an emotion into something considered mundane, emotionless and still. My erotic architecture project is the mean to emphasize the moment of emotions which people usually hide and keep it as a secret. In this case ‘Voyeurism’, by experiencing in the installation, some of your feeling will appearing and revealing naturally as such focusing on that particular moment and feel the sense clearly likewise knowing more of yourself. Nevertheless, the part of people will be considered by their positions. The intervention was the division between people inside and outside thus to be known as the participant and the audience. Then they could feel the temporarily internal sensuality that arouses by allurement of perceptual visibility. They could feel differently in their position, for instance, participants see only themselves inside whilst being the audience may watch and wonder what happened in there which cause them the awareness of the erotic sensibility that enhanced by the erotic architecture itself.

Grape’s installation drawings: Conceal-Reveal

SCRIM FABRIC PROPERTIES

A scrim or gauze is a very light textile made from cotton, or sometimes flax. It is lightweight and translucence. Scrims both reflect and transmit light. This means that if a light from a front-of-house position is shone at a scrim, then both the scrim and everything behind it will be lit.

This can lead to a variety of interesting effects:

• A scrim will appear entirely opaque if everything behind it is unlit and the scrim itself is grazed by light from the sides or from above.

• A scrim will appear nearly transparent if a scene behind it is lit, but there is no light on the scrim.

• A dreamy or foggy look can be achieved by lighting a scene entirely behind a scrim.

If a light is aimed a­t a scrim, the image will appear on the scrim, but also any objects behind the scrim will be lit by the pattern as well.

MATERIALS

The installation’s construction materials are consisted of 9 pieces of 2” by 4” inches Para wood, Linin scrim fabric 2.8 meters by 4.5 meters dimension and two white-xenon spotlights 50 watt including portable battery. The tools including metal nails, hot glues and staple gun.

CONSTRUCTION

The vertical structure’s height is 2.20 meters and horizontal member is about 2 meters in each side. There are connected together by metal plates, nails and hot glue. Then stretching the scrim fabric onto the panels by a staple gun. Trying to hide the joist rigidly and cover it tightly with fabric. Later put the xenon spotlights in opposite to the panel positions about 2-3 meters further away.

INSTALLATION LAYOUT

The intervention is placed in perpendicular; composed of two adjacent partitions adhered to each other. The bases are connected both on the ground and above to firmly stabilize the structure and to avoid falling down back or forth.

INTENDED EFFECTS

It’s the act of doing things together; where you, the viewer, can be part of the experience.

You can both be a part of participant and audience just where the position you are in.

Hence, creating a temporarily moment of peeking or watching other people doing some activity without the awareness of him-herself. As if you are a voyeur.

HOW?

Activity involving human gestures and movements that seems to be expose to each other while trying to be obscure from other who is irrelevant with the event or in this case, the observer that peeping at some distance.

Grape’s installation development: Conceal-Reveal

SITE ANALYSIS

Location

In front of The Faculty of Architecture.

Near the main entrance door.

Traffic / Audience

Both Pedestrians and drivers

Existing Condition

A space where located outside but it has an area inside which is a hidden    pathway behind a line shrub.

‘Public Yet Private spot.’

Approaches to site

·      Entering from the main Gate of the university.

·      Accessing from the footpath or driveway on one-way road.

·      Pedestrian from another way comes straight from other faculty across the opposite street and crosswalk.

·      Walking out from Architecture Faculty and then turn right.

EXPERIMENTATION

First Prototype: Waxed Paper

Waxed paper (also known as paraffin paper.)

Paper impregnated or coated with purified beeswax. The oiling parchment applies on paper make it semi-translucent or moisture-proof.

Largest size available: A0 (118.9 x 84.1 cm.) only.

Final Mock-Up: Scrim fabric

Miniature Installation on Site: Composed of wooden frame, stretched scrim fabric and showed different ground levels of the existing site.

CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAMS

VISUAL FRAMEWORK

The intervention tries to define the boundary of whom the audience is and who it is doing the watching.

THE PARTICIPANT:

THE AUDIENCE:

CONCEPT BY POSITIONS

The retroflection of one’s shadow (subtraction of light) and one’s figure image (addition of light) and its accompanying sensations

ACTIVITY TIMELINE

POSSIBILITIES