Grace

MArch5 - Term Abroad VTech - Kent School of Architecture

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 Intercrit | 29.02.16

Water Purification Theatre and Spa

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Site Location: Plot of land South of Oronoco Bay in Alexandria, VA Adjoining Land: Potomac River Design Scheme: Water Purification Theatre

Context The cleanliness of the Potomac River has long been an issue, worsened by the doubled flow of the District’s raw, partially treated sewage into the river between 1932 and 1956 (according to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin). There have been efforts to improve the conditions and quality of the river water over the years, however concerns remain for certain areas, such as around Oronoco Bay, my chosen site.

Synopsis The water purification theatre will intake water from the river around the Oronoco Bay area and draw it into the plot of land directly south of the bay. The water will traverse through a series of stages each playing a hierarchical role in the purification of water, while simultaneously forming different interactive performance areas for the public and the actors.

Introduction to Technology I will be looking at the process of water purification in general, and focusing in on the way water is treated in particular in 2 stages (settling and filtration) in connection with the technical to create new and interactive spaces.

A few areas I am thinking of looking into will be: - filtered materials and how light interacts with them - evaporative cooling and transitional spaces

Methodology (draft) - Peter Zumthor thermal baths. - Roman baths process and heirarchy of bath organisation depending on temperature - Querini Stampalia, Carlo Scarpa: purposeful flooding, letting water into certain areas at different times of the day depending on the tide is something I am interested in for my theatre - Toshio Shibata’s photography of man made landscapes - Filtration analysis through experimentation with water, stones and plaster

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Back at kent

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Case studies

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Solar analysis of beacon skin

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December Crit | VTech | WAAC

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Perspectives and sections | VTech

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Ground design from levels of dissolved oxygen in the Potomac River

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Sketch plans of beacon

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Model

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Four Beacons

1- ‘The Descender’: (settling beacon) where the natural weight in the dirt particles causes them to descend and settle at the base of the building.

2- ‘The Transcender’: (filtration beacon) where the settled water passes through a range of filters from coarse to fine, where the remaining suspended impurities are removed.

3- ‘The Priest’: (disinfection + fluoridation beacon) where the water is post chlorinated to destroy harmful pathogens and then fluoridated to inhibit tooth decay.

4- ‘The Policeman’: (ammoniation beacon) where ammonia is added to combine with residual chlorine because when they are combined the purified water conditions are preserved for longer.

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The Multitechture of the Archimedia

Assignment 04 - Music and Feelings

For the fourth assignment we were asked to use music to help our design.

RECTO We were asked to assign and explore a series of different feelings to/within our design and then choose a piece of music to perfectly describe each feeling.

VERSO On the other side of the drawing we were asked to discover the ‘Grace Note’ of our building, the secret hidden moment that isn’t expected by the visitor, yet is a revelation of beauty.

Explanation

RECTO In this drawing, the points at which pollution data was collected from the Potomac River in 4 different locations around the site, can be seen faintly connecting back to the site (one green, red, blue and orange) beneath the main drawing of my 4 beacons. Each beacon is relative to the distance at which the data was collected. My aim is to recreate the feeling that the water experiences, for the human.

The first beacon (green) is stage 6 of the water purification process, where ‘settling’ happens. Here, the dirt particles are naturally separated from the water particles, as they are heavier than water. Therefore the dirt falls all the way to the bottom of the tower, leaving the clean water at the top. The feeling I associated with this beacon is the feeling of falling, of going down, while things rise above you. To represent this feeling I chose Requiem: Dies Irae by Verdi (first 15 seconds).

The second beacon (yellow) is stage 7, where ‘filtration’ occurs. Here, the water passes through a series of layers with different sized openings to remove any remaining debris. There is a clear separation in spaces by a factor (the white planes in the drawing), and a movement that is clearly affected at the point it hits that factor before entering the next space. The feeling I associated with this beacon is the feeling of passing through thresholds, of following a clear beat that brings you to the next space. To represent this feeling I chose Symphony No.9, 2nd Mov Karajam by Bruckner (start at 0:40).

The third beacon (blue) is stage 8 of the process, ‘disinfection’, where chlorine is added to the water to remove any final impurities. The feeling I associated with this beacon is confession, where all bad sins are removed. First there is the build-up and stress of finally admitting to bad things one has done, then comes the actual removal of the sins with deep harsh sounds, and finally the purity in the sin-free man is expressed by happy melodic sounds where he feels liberated at last. To represent these feelings I chose RV 315 l’Estate, III Movimento “Presto” by Antoni Vivaldi (start at 1:27).

The fourth beacon (red) is stage 9, the final stage of the process, ‘ammoniation’, where ammonia is added to the water to preserve all the accomplishments in cleaning that have happened in the previous stages. The feeling I associated with this beacon is protection / safety, the feeling of security. It was very hard to find a piece of music that differentiated between ‘happy notes’ and the feeling of safety, I chose Transcendal Etude No.6 “Storm” by Lyapunov (start at 4:10).

VERSO Considering the feeling for the ‘settling beacon’ is the feeling of falling, which refers to the acceleration of gravity, my ‘grace note’ involves a play on the axis in which gravity works. This is about something hidden and unknown behind the flow of water that is falling down the center of my tower. The idea is that, as we fall down the center, we experience a notion of disorientation, and gravity is suddenly perceived as a lateral pull through the separation of water (hence the people walking on a different plane).

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Work in progress | VTech

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Synthesising data into forms and spaces 4

Spaces are defined by wrapping enclosures which enables a harmonious relationship between performance and water filtration.

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Synthesising data into forms and spaces 3

Showing what spaces can exist and how they might be connected

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Synthesising data into forms and spaces 2

Sketching over the drawings I created as a step towards form finding and always keeping in mind how a performance space might work combined with each step of my process. A mix of pumps / channels / filter falls that become part of each space inside the building, with purified water fountains as the final product falling through spaces.

Each component highlighted separately in images a - d, show how I translated the mapped data, from the 4 locations around my site, back into 1 drawing.

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Synthesising data into forms and spaces 1

These drawings represent how spaces might work, including a step in the  process of water purification. For example, in stage 5/6 the water passes through a series of chambers where it is mixed to provide best conditions for flocculation. This could be magnified in scale to become a performance area where this part of the process is simultaneously happening around the scene that is being performed.

Each component highlighted separately in images a - d, show how I translated the mapped data, from the 4 locations around my site, back into 1 drawing.

Each component highlighted separately in images a - d, show how I translated the mapped data, from the 4 locations around my site, back into 1 drawing.