Lets start this presentation from where Formative Assessment ended….actually started a new process with deeper meanings, ideas and concepts..
FIVE WORDS :
THEIR MEANING, CONTEXTS AND EXPLORATIONS THROUGH PRACTICE
EXPERIENCE :
A WINDOW gives Holistic and Haptic Experience.
It welcomes the smile of the sun every morning and
the wind hitting its pane,
Its material and textures make it cozy or cold
around to touch.
......TOUCH
It loves the aroma of wet earth and fresh flowers,
The smell of coffee around & what's cooking next door.
......SMELL
It enjoys the relaxing sound of the wind,
and shivers with the sound of thunder,
The pitter-patter of the rain and
chit-chat of people around,
are all heard by the window.
......HEAR
The view from the window is like a painting
which is set before, it is ageless and renewed daily
with variations of light, distance and people.
......SEE
A wooden window gives a feeling of warmth and coziness,
a steel, aluminium one makes the space feel cool.
The Window often listens to and relates to
the stories and emotions of the people sitting by it.
......FEEL
CONTOUR : Patterns are Contours
PUNCTURE :
AFFECT :
Scale Affects Spaces
Natural Textures & Surfaces Affect Spaces
NARRATIVES :
Undulating Free Play Areas area NarrativesMulti
Multi level Plazas establish Narratives
Interactive Spaces create Narratives
Moving on with these Five words… They were all now connected with my practice as I created these narratives, drawings, models, objects which evoked their new meanings..Now I was trying to create ideas/ concepts for my research project through these.. These words showed connections with each other..They slowly started interacting with my research project and I could start using them as ideas and concepts.
CONCEPTS : The Contingency of Knowing, Doing & Saying
The conceptual model with the tubes (straws) was made to define the word ‘contours’ as ‘patterns‘. This was a suggestive pattern which could be an interesting play for kids. Through deeper explorations, I thought if I could give these patterns different scales – its meaning would change. So they could be just windows where children could sit and look out or cozy spaces where they could sit indoors. The material which these would be made with could change to give each one a different feeling. These would form spaces where children can play with loose objects. Some could be just translucent. The pattern could also be the roof of the space with undulating mounds of greens which would form free play spaces outdoors. One of these could just be scaled and projected out to become a slide which connects the outdoor to indoor. Some of these together could form steps to reach higher up- where one of these could be a telescope to look out. These cylindrical shapes could form musical stepping drums at different levels. Few of these could be solid and form draw/ paint surfaces for children. Few of them could have concave and convex mirrors on them for play. While connecting inside out the pattern could encourage interesting peek-a-boo sessions.
Remember Lite Brite? For many of us design-types, it was a sort of Photoshop of our childhood. Someone has taken this basic concept of creating with light and color pegs and expanded upon it – literally. At the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Technology, there is a large-scale version of this childhood favorite. Approximately 6 x 5 feet, the giant light and movable pegs are a huge hit
Some Outdoor Ideas which I am exploring for the Roof :
Starting from this word Contour – now this model is giving clues to make an Experiential space which can be Punctured by colorful kids and Affect them by giving a holistic learning experience through free play creating numerous interesting Narratives for life.
Readings:
This article has inspired me towards creating a more Biophilic Design for my research project which I will try exploring more in the coming week.
This article helped me define my research proposal and locate it. I would like my research proposal to be a prototype of a community space for children which is easily accessible locally and invites social interaction in a neighborhood. This will also be my next aim – to locate the project.
Bibliography:
Akanksha's Design Explorations 