FoldOut/InSite is a series of sheltering gestures—spatial interventions that sit between the comfort of interior textiles and the protection of exterior shelters. In response to extremities of weather conditions at the lookouts of Oku Reserve walking track, three soft structures unfold from satchel-like pockets strapped onto the sides of humble wooden benches. Developed through design research processes of movement analysis, extraction of embedded site narratives and material exploration, the blanket-like forms engage the body with gestures of covering, wrapping and cloaking. An ‘in-between’ space is performed through these embodied actions of sheltering and viewing-in-place.
FoldOut/InSite is situated within Oku Reserve, Island Bay. This short 15 minute walking track joins Oku Street with Severn Street as part of the City to Sea Walkway.
Tucked away upon its hill, Oku Reserve is a hidden gem. A dog walking, stroll taking, discovery-making track with magnificent views of the coast. If you are willing to brace the Cook Strait winds, Oku Reserve reveals a landscape of windswept plants, a churning ocean and a break from suburbia.
Three lookout-outs along the track showcase sweeping view of the South Coast. Throughout this project I have delved into the narratives of the standout sites visible from Oku Reserve. This includes Island Bay, Tapu-te-ranga Island and Owhiro Bay Quarry.
Seen from the highest peak of the hill, Owhiro Bay Quarry showcases the extreme topography of the South Coast. As a landscape once stripped of its resources for a growing city, small plots of vegetation is beginning to regenerate.
Next, the curve of Oku Reserve’s topography frames the island, Tapu-te-ranga. This small outcrop of land shelters the bay and carries tales of refuge.
Coming up from Oku Street reveals Island Bay, a sea-side community whose world reaching roots only strengthens its supply systems.
Following from my semester one research, I posed the questioned; how can the body create shelter in external environments without a rigid structure?
My initial explorations began within the site, stripping back the question to focus on the body. Through performative photographs, I investigated movements with soft materials that enact moments of shelter and comfort.
Movement drawing exploration:
My design process started with analysis of these gestures through drawing, looking at soft materials role in emphasising performed comfort.
I took my focus to towards three gestures in particular: cloaking, wrapping and covering which highlight textile materials role in emphasising movement.
Body gestures as narrative metaphors:
These movements also speak to the inherent narrative metaphors of the locations seen from the lookouts of Oku Reserve.
The act of cloaking speaks to the idea of regeneration, of Tane cloaking his mother Papatuanuku.
Wrapping evokes notions of refuge, intrinsic to the stories from Tapu-te-ranga.
The support systems within the Island Bay community, metaphorically symbolises the action of covering.
In response to site conditions, inherent narratives and the act of viewing, this project aims to create a space that uses the gestures of sheltering to design an ‘in-between’ space. Using the three explored movements, the design aims to engage the body with these gestures, The act of performing the narratives can establish meaningful relationships between body and site.
Initially, I negotiated designs that tried to balance soft materials and structure in my aim to facilitate my specific gestures.
Paper and calico folding:
Iterative design processes lead me back to working small scale with soft materials. Working with paper and fabric, I investigated movement created through folding patterns searching to mimic the chosen body gestures.
Through drawing, I began exploring ways the design could work in site. The existing benches located within each lookout provided ways to ensure that the design minimally impacts the site.
To bring up-scale my material explorations into reality, I began working with material in full-scale, working to make the folding patterns into a blanket material. This was key in the process finalising my design.
The overall experience begins at either ends of the track. On the existing entrance signs, a satchel containing a guide to Oku Reserve provides ‘guides’ to the design and the site. At each lookout, a ‘satchel’ like form is strapped to the ‘gesture’ benches.
Three lookouts which speak to the three gestures finalised the designs. Through a process of full-scale working with the prototype, my designs strategy relied heavily on actively doing the gestures with the protoype.
The three performed gestures, covering, cloaking and wrapping are engaged through where the blanket is strapped onto the bench design. Cover cloak and wrap.
The waterproof layer on the other side of the blanket also speaks to this design being in an exterior environment and provides a layer of protection from weather conditions.
As you can see, folding the blanket ‘away’ would become a point of phase two of this design. I have explored it a bit here with magnets.
The concept of the prototype was to mimic the ‘mountains’ and ‘valleys’ of folding techniques, through sewing between a triangular, polypropylene pattern which created ‘hinges’ enabled the blanket to fold.
The notion of a picnic became a driver in my design language, embodying the idea of creating comfort in an exterior natural environment using soft materials.
The design details are, again, drawn from the idea of a picnic.
The bench legs are abstracted from the idea of a ‘strap’ in the form of a bent, coated steel. The ‘satchel-like’ blanket compartments arise from the shape of the folded blanket. The colours were strong drawn from the prototype and materiality of soft textiles.
Looking out over Owhiro Bay, the satchel for the movement ‘cloaking’ sits on the back left of the bench, revealed through the direction of the view and the easiest way the body uses the blanket to ‘cloak’ the body.
Again, the placement of the satchel was determined through the ways that the body enacts the gesture of wrapping with the prototype design which was left to the side of the body when looking out in the direction of the view, Tapu-te-ranga. Wrapping symbolises refugee
Cover is the most unique of the designs based on it needing to come from behind and over head of the body, metaphorically representing a covering of community as you lookout over Island Bay.
FoldOut/InSite actively establishes relationships between the body and site. Physical gestures consciously acknowledge inherent site narratives and reveals that an ‘in-between’ space is performed through the embodied action of sheltering and viewing-in-place.
