CONSTRUCTION AS ALCHEMY

Wall + Deck + Seat

In this subject, I was tasked to design a wall, deck and seat, understanding the construction methods and materials required to built them. It was important to use clear constuction drawings to show the constructability of the structures for engineers to built.

The Oval Pavilion is a good example in many aspects. In my work, I have incorporated design elements from the Oval Pavilion in terms of perspectives drawings, dimensioning, annotations, lineweights and materiality. I also have a clearer understanding on how to read plans and sections.

MODULE A - WALL

Celebrating the art of brickwork

Bricks are modular and can be laid in a repetitive pattern or used to form more complex patterns. There are limitless variations possible for one of most simple elements used within the construction industry.

In this module, I was tasked to design a design a single skin, continuous 110mm wide outdoor self-supporting and structurally stable wall which highlights at least one unexpected and intriguing material quality, celebrating the art and craft of brickwork.

My design was inspired by the demand of toilet rolls during the peak of Covid-19. The key design of my brick wall is in its unique shape and the corbelling of bricks that will bring the viewers attention to the wall. The curve design of the brick wall allows the wall a stable structure and they was no need for an engaged pier to be use. However, there were two challenges faced: one was to dimension the curve and the rotated bricks, and another was to create an opening large enough to meet the design brief. Corrections were made to the annotations and dimensioning after I received feedbacks for my submitted work.

MODULE B - DECK

A deck for sitting, watching, chatting

While bricks are used as a monolithic material, timber is typically framed. In this assessment task, you will design a timber structure using span tables to explore the principles of strength, span & spacing. Design & detail a structurally efficient linear platform/bench made from timber. The platform structure will consist of stumps on pad footings, bearers, joists & decking.

In this module, I was tasked to layout a 32sqm single level deck that relates to your brick wall and is no larger than an A3 sheet when drawn at 1-20, keeping the finished height of the platform at 550mm high while providing at least 150mm clearance to the underside of bearers to reduce timber decay.

I have to run all decking boards in one direction only and consider the structural efficiency of my design. Decking board edges may be curved, staggered or straight to relate to (or contrast with) your brick wall but keep decking board cantilevers under 200mm from the supporting joist.

To compliment the monumental brick wall, the design of the deck had to be curve. However, what affected my design was not the wall, but the 32m square size of the design brief and the choice of the joists and bearers to fit my deck. To utilise the maximum reach and cantilever of the structural elements, I have two different kinds of bearers for my deck. A key feature of the deck is how the wall meets the deck. I have individually cut the deck board at various angles and placed trimmer joists below to support the cantilevered parts of the edge.

I have made the following changes upon receiving back the final feedback from Lisa:

Create a double edge cladding for the stairs to make the design more consistent.
Corrected the Elevation 2 markers East to West.
Changing the stairs risers to 137.5mm instead of the initial 120mm to create consistent risers to the top of the deck.
Display the wall in the section cut.
Create more consistency in the edge cladding.

MODULE C - SEAT

A seat for play and relaxation

In this module, I was tasked to explore interesting and innovative design strategies and materials from tools acquired from the previous modules, presenting myself as a designer with the fundamentals of construction knowledge and good visual communication skills.

Taking inspiration from the bench design at Grand Mall Park (Yokohama, Japan), I designed a seat that would sit well with my overall curve design of the deck and brick wall.

16-012ao-cun-hao-si-forward-stroke-inc.j

Bench design at Grand Mall Park (Yokohama, Japan)

A material render using Vray.

My bench creates ambiguity in the functionality and the way people can sit on it. Some of my key ideas were to allow people, more particularly children to climb up the timbered slope and play. The slope starts close to the timber ground, giving a good height for children of any height to sit on it.

Safety was my priority when it comes to children, thus, I have designed a bench where the edges are clad with timber to create a form of safety for children when climbing up the seat and also allowing people to comfortably sit at the edge of the seat.

REFLECTION

I have learned many new things in this subject and have developed a good idea of how construction drawing conventions and annotations should be. The Oval Pavilion construction drawings have assisted in my understanding on how to draw and annotate plans, sections and details. I have picked up on these skills and had helped me improve on my clarity in construction drawings too.

Although the Oval Pavilion drawings are very complex, the clear display of views has allowed clear readability and understanding of the drawings. I found pages A65-06, A69-01 and A69-02 particularly helpful in detailing timber, SHS supports and concrete. Another page was the J-07 Plan on A65-07 that was helpful in my dimensioning of the brick wall.

I also learned the importance of the constructability of the design and the range of materials through the E-Learning. Some important things in the E-learning were load paths, structural joints, a range of material uses and properties, walls, frames, roofing systems, ESD considerations and prefabrication strategies. There was also a wide range of materials covered such as timber, metals, glass, plastic, rubber and composite materials. Through the lectures, I have learned more about the MSD building and I started to understand the construction processes at the construction site.

Thank You For Viewing