Spatial Design Practices (Final Blog)



In the first session, we were red part of a story which was describing a scene with its characters while our eyes were closed. Then we had to draw and create all our imagination from what we heard which was our first practice and taught me how to create a form from what I heard and analyse the differences between my drawing and the others. 



The other key point that was mentioned many times during Spatial Design Practices, was the Planet Earth. That information was mostly about sustainability, climate change and Earth's conservation and their connections which nowadays should be considered in every environmentally friendly architect's project.

 But our main path as an architect started with a Stick! It became part of my body for a week and that was the main reason to have more interaction with the world around me, it made me pay more attention to the people and their reactions.

In the next task, we had to choose a domestic object which was at home and just used for the purpose that it was made for. I chose a measuring tape. It was going to change my observation! I carried the tape all around my site and started to discover new things with it. Its flexibility taught me how to change my observation, I learned from its measuring feature and its numbers how I can be more accurate and I found a new level of awareness of my surroundings. 


 Now that was time to find out more about colour which I named The Language Of Colours. In this task, some important factors are involved such as the taste of each person and the objects of interest to each one but I think the main goal of this mission was about the combination of colours and its impact on our decision. 

We have the opportunity to find out more about combinations and connections in EPC Workshop. At this task, we learned how to connect physical objects which are not related to each other but after combination, they would create a story.

But how we could sort the information and analysis which we collected during these four weeks?! The session which was about Critical Thinking and mind storms, answered me! 


Now I was ready to discover more about my site by utilizing all the tools that were given to me during the previous sessions. It was time to map my site. I started to walk on my site several times and watch others' reactions (Stick), then looked around deeper to find out more about the details (Object For A Walk) and finally, I could create the map below which had information about population, green spaces, residential areas, commercial areas, tourist attractions and pollution. After collecting the information, was time to sort and analyse them (Critical Thinking). Then I sorted information about my site and have to find their connections (EPC Workshop).



I had many options to choose from. Since many tourist attractions were located on my site, I decided to focus on Tourism Industry in Portsmouth. As I was inspired by the data about climate change and sustainability, I chose to start my research about the connection between Tourism and the environment. Tourists play an important role in economic development but on the other side, I believe that their negative impact on the environment is undeniable so I decided to first, find out more about Eco-Tourism and then the ways that I can introduce Eco-tourism to Portsmouth.

Urban Eco-Tourism is referring to reconciling concrete and nature. It is a relatively new form of Eco-Tourism that takes place in urban settings and shares the same goals for sustainability and community development as traditional Eco-Tourism but applies them to large cities, industrial wastelands, and post-reductivism agriculture sites, as opposed to more nature-based venues for traditional Eco-Tourism. Destinations in these locations may take the form of linear parks, farm-to-table restaurants, rewilding parks and biking trails.  (www.wikipedia.org)
www.flickr.com
 Wetlands Park

In the first step, I decided to design for both local people and tourists. I chose to bring Urban Eco-Tourism to Portsmouth in two different formats. Firstly, I selected a location which has high vegetation density, then started to design it by putting Invitation Concept into consideration which would encourage people to have more interaction with nature. Secondly, provide a food statin in this place to introduce farm-to-table foods to aimed groups.

According to my project, I had to do site selection and thinking to concept in parallel. I chose a location near University Lbry and Revelin Sports Centre, which is reconciling concrete and nature (According to the Urban Eco-Tourism definition). Then I noticed the tallest and oldest Oak tree in my site and decided to but it in the centre of my design to attract and invite people to nature. I selected this tree as a representative of nature because it contains both flora and fauna.


Designing a corridor which guides people to find the way could be effective in my project so I started to find a suitable material for my corridor's wall. Since the topic of my project was supposed to be advertising Eco-Tourism, it had to be made entirely from sustainable materials so I chose grass and soil for my walls. This idea was inspired by a structure which was located in my site, it was a curved step which was made exactly from grass and soil. Then I started to create a form with grass walls around the Oak tree which was inspired by maze (the maze has always been inviting to me). This project was designed to invite people to the nature, increase their interaction with green spaces and draw their attention to nature conservation.



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