Pod design

I have been looking at some designs for my pod rooms within the micro hotel that protrude from the facade of the building as seen by the zooxanthellae parasite. I did not find any specific pod designs as per say, but I have been looking at some of Zaha Hadids work that portrays the general aesthetics I have been looking for. The pods need to be functional and at the same time, because of their limited size, very comfortable at the human scale and proportions. This type of design could very well be reminiscent in my final designs.

Concept skethching

 below are a few images I have been working on in class this week. Mostly just starting to picture how I am going to design my pods, I think I will muck around in 3DS MAX this week if I have any sudden bursts of inspiration.

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is the ideal form of parasite for my hotel design, because architecture is essentially creative the idea of destructive parasites in architecture to not convey. The following form of symbiosis parasite has given me many ideas for my building design both functionally and aesthetically.

The Human Parasite

This idea of the parasite has many meanings and consequences, and that is why I need to take the time do concrete the design parameters that face my design. I have come up with the idea of the human parasite, because in a way the parasitic building attached to the storey bridge is not alone as a parasite. Since the human will be living and functioning within the building, man can also be considered as a parasite. The following definitions help to define the parastie in order tot find my Concpet parameters.

Parasites by nature are inherently selfish since they do not return its host's favor; it is parasitic for its own well being and gives its species an advantage in the long run. The analogy between biological and architectural parasites is limited; Architecture is creative, it will always produce something and can therefore not just merely be at the expense of the host. Architectures intentions are sympathetically for its users. This  led me to another form of parasite know as Symbiosis.

Symbiosis means that two organisms live closely together. Parasitism is a version of symbiosis. "Two organisms which are phylogenetically unrelated co-exist over a prolonged period of time, usually the lifetime of one of the individuals. The host and the parasite live together. The parasite uses its host to comply with its needs of survival and reproduction. But it also understands it host; it knows how to use it to its full potential without killing it. This concept is much better fitting for architectural applictaion.

Another limitation on the design of my building is the community. When the parasite is embedded the immune system of the city comes into action, because the parasite always is a provocation against what already exists. Just like architecture, which is passive and needs people to represent it, the city also needs people to defend it. The parasite activates the battle between the people who support the transformation (thus the parasite) and the people who want to maintain the city as it is. They are the ones who are provoke by the parasite. This means the parasitic building must be well like amongst the community, or it will ultimately fail. The previous information provides the basis on which to form my design parameters that are needed to ebsure a purely parasitic micro hotel .

Concept Parameters:

+ The Parasitic hotel must have a host, in this case the storey bridge, and in some way must draw form it.
+The parasitic hotel must be in a symbiotic relationship with the host.
+The Human parasite may also be a secondary parasite that draws from the symbiotic relationship between the Hotel and the bridge
+The Origional concept must be met, in this case drawing the parasitic human to the site to enjoy its aesthetics.
+ The parasitic human and the communtiy (Immune system) must appreciate the symbiotic relationship or it will face rejection.
+ The Human parasite is complex and must have more than simply sleeping facilities to be wholly fuillfilled.

SOUND

I happened to be crossing the storey bridge by foot this week, and I took the opportunity to explore the site (not that theres many places to go once on the footpath). The foremost sense within the space was sound, and not necessarily in a good way. The continuos bombardment of traffic across the bridge created a monotonous thudding on gaps in the bitumen became mind numbingly annoying. Anyway, I might be getting ahead of myself here (just needed to get it down), but it reminded me of this this little diddo on a blog I visited some time ago. I think the possibly to take this exterior monotonous sound and turn it into an interior symphony. If you could imagine the squares in the attached link being triggered by passing cars, the effect could be quite harmoic.  

http://annapro.tumblr.com/post/3012256960/ambitious-danceallnightlong

{Ideologies of a parasitic community}

So in this weeks tutorial I joined my group and we began discussing the concept of creating a larger parasitic community. Our group consist of the recreational aspects of our classes community, and includes a restaurant (Kris), a bar/club (James) and a shopping centre (Jonathan). These additions create the perfect combination for my micro hotel, as I have been planning for a purely functional setup which unfortunately does not take into consideration bars and shopping facilities, however, now the facilities will be available to my guests.

Before I get too caught up in the design of my hotel itself, I wanted to explore the adjacencies, location and routes of access to the site. The general consensus for the location of our recreational wing was one of the storey bridges peaks. This position provides immaculate views, unique site restraints and possibilities as well as undeniably iconic aesthetics. We also looked at suitable access options, and because of the unique site, there are fairly limited options due to limited existing paths. However the central column for the bridges peak seems to be the most sensible option, however this may well change as the design evolves. The following diagram show the site location  (green) and also the possible access position (red).  

Because the access and lobby space would not be necessarily reflective of any one of our designs, it had to convey some sort of uniqueness while still feeling generic within the space. The following image shows a quick sketch of mine that portrays a possible aesthetic for the entrance to our recreational space. The second sketch below shows how the lobby space may utilised work and paths throughout the storey bridge may be. I would like to see an open plan sky-walk between entities as the location is too surreal not to interact with its environment.  

(second sketch done by James Ryan)

There is still however the issue of how this point will be accessed, by both pedestrian customer traffic and supply and delivery traffic. Due to the width of the footpaths and distance from closest parking the existing access is not very suitable. The most common sense solution would be to have an off ramp from the storey bridges current road to any exterior drop off space, however as this is a fairly difficult proposal, the logistics are yet to be planned.    

An architectural analysis of the para(site)....

The following analysis of parasitical architecture is a series of abstracts from a document i found on the net. this is just a general overview of the information contained, but I believe this analysis will help me to conceive proposals for my design in the coming weeks.

-The parasite is selfish since it does not return its host's favor; it is parasitic for its own well being and gives its species an advantage in the long run.

-The parasite has to understand the working of its host and exploit this knowledge in order to survive. Such relation between parasite and host, in which the former takes advantage over the latter, is also imaginable in architecture. However, this cannot lead to the destruction of the host, since this would also mean the end of the parasite.

-The analogy between biological and architectural parasites is limited; Architecture is creative, it will always produce something and can therefore not just merely be at the expense of the host. Architectures intentions are sympathetically for its users.

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Thought: A series of events that may very well become apparent in my design:
Storey Bridge (Host)---------> Building (parasite)--------> Inhabitants (Parasites parasite?)
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-Parasitic architecture can be employed as a mediator between the changes in society on the one side and the urban system on the other.
-Parasite provokes, explores and breaks open both physical and mental boundaries in order to offer opportunities for the elusive and new propositions.

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Thought: How can the parasite be used to enhance the hosts shortcomings. Obviously during construction the storey bridge didn't account for unforeseeable advances in technology/society/styles, how can the parasite link new with old.
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-The immune System- When the parasite is embedded the immune system of the city comes into action, because the parasite always is a provocation against what already exists. Just like architecture, which is passive and needs people to represent it, the city also needs people t defend it. The parasite activates the battle between the people who support the transformation (thus the parasite) and the people who want to maintain the city as it is. They are the ones who are provoke by the parasite.

- Course of life- Life and death of the parasite are depending on the force of the immune system and of the support for the proposed changes. It will disappear if there is too much provocation, if there is too much resistance against the parasite. If however, the parasite does a proposal that is widely supported by the society it will in fact change the physical system of the city. The parasite brings society and the urban structure closer.
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Thought: The definition of parasitic architecture expires in this case: A new structure comes into being.
So does that mean our design has to have some level of resentment, if it integrates seamlessly than could it still be considered a parasite? or does it become part of the host? The parasite should never be depended upon, or ideal for the situation. 
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-Symbiosis- Symbiosis means that two organisms live closely together. Parasitism is a version of symbiosis. "two organisms which are phylogenetically unrelated co-exist over a prolonged period of time, usually the lifetime of one of the individuals. The host and the parasite live together, but only the parasite benefits while the host is harmed. The parasite uses its host to comply with its needs of survival and reproduction. But it also understands it host; it knows how to use it to its full potential without killing it.

Mutualism- Mutualism is a more positive form of symbiosis. Both organisms benefit from their relation. Many forms of architecture are a form of mutualistic architecture. The 'parasite' in architecture is usually deployed to meet mutual benefits.

- The parasite is more than just an attachment to the body of the host. It knows all its weaknesses and knows how to manipulate it to benefit form it. To make parasitic architecture work it is important to know he weak spots of the host (the urban systems). At what spot can the architectural parasite be most effective? The architectural parasite also wants to manipulate the host to serve its needs, but that is also the frightening part. Nobody likes to be controlled by an external force. So in architecture it is important to convince the users (of the urban system) of the good intentions of the parasite. A parasite should explore and reveal new possibilities for the urban systems to function. Whe na group of people is convinced of the proposal of the parasite, they ca start defending it and persuade other groups to join them until eventually the parasite is accepted as part of the new urban system.

The parasitic structure

The thought of parasitic architecture has engulfed my design process, I have been drawing these currently irrelevant images (no context or reasoning) while I should be focused more on how this parasitic architecture is relevant to my proposal (which it very much is) and what the parasite needs and gives. Anyway there is reasoning behind these images, and the reason I am putting them up now is because it is a means to an end (Tarantino style). They are a resolution, and this blog is the story, here begins the 'Human Parasite'

IDEA!!

I found this image on the web, and i instantly took a liking to it because I think it represents the parasitic type of architecture we are after her. I could see this type of design in a smaller scale hanging from the storey bridge like a barnacle. The facade design also gives me ideas into the compartmentalisation of the building and how the structural can help to represent growing members without obstructing views or functional spaces.     

Exemplar Study

There are many challenges in this style of architecture, however, I think the link between my building typology, para-site and original concept will produce a unique form of architecture that I believe will be universally individual (If i do say so myself).

There are several design criteria I will have to consider in order to begin the design process which I will split into Exterior and Interior. This will be a quick rundown of the arrangements and features within the hotel itself and also the required design of the exterior space.


Exterior

- Site position (on/under/between storey bridge)
- Access/Parking
- Position in relation to peers building
- Uniformity with other members (design palette)
- Noise from bridge
- Exterior design
- Environmental factors
- Sustainability
- Relation to broader context

Interior 

- Agenda of facilities and functions
- Layout
- Continue theme on interior
- Views
- Size of sleeping qaurters
- Minimising costs
- Access to necessary facilities designed by peers) (restaurant/bar for example) 

 

I believe the Theme group Para-site will fit in perfectly with my folie concept. As you read before my folie was based heavily on the idea that it took most of its ethos from the site itself, 'living' off it if you wish. In our first tutorial I decided I would design a micro/capsule hotel of sorts, and I think this once again relates to living from the site in yet another dimension. The concept of a micro hotel is definitely not a new  one, so the role the theme plays is very important in produce a unique experience.

When I think of a 'para-site' or more concisely 'parasite', I think of a dependency on its host. It uses its host as a life source. Which is hopefully what I can achieve with this hostel, and efficient parasite that takes some of the life from the storey bridge (its aesthetics, history, presence), and uses it for its own benefit. However, where a parasite will sometimes deplete and kill its host, my design will aim at establishing a sustainable and productive environment.

The above ninja arithmetic gives a quick description of what I hope to achieve with my design. I started with the storey bridge outside the brackets, because that  is what all other components depend on. the next series of images display very much the functional aspects of my design. The sleeping bag represents a sleeping space that is cossy and familiar, with a sense of adventure. The hub identifies the layout of the design, I very much want the space to be a central hub amongst the group, in order for inhabitants to be located in a central area with access to any close amenities. The spider web is similar in many ways to the hub, however, the web is far less structured and  conventional, i would like the design to provides routes for rooms in order to provide as series of hallways that intersect at certain spots. Finally habitat 67, which for me defines a series of accommodation that fits together in a community, with a sense of ordered chaos. I have also multiplied it by 25% because the scale of the spaces and the number of rooms is far too big for what i will be proposing.