MOCK FIRM COMPETITION [the birth of a name]

After the first day of class, we all took one to two days to contemplate how we thought this building should start to be designed. We were asked to come up with a concept and make a sketch model or two of the building and aspects we wanted to concentrate on. A small critique/presentation was held, by which we were placed into groups by those aspects that were similar. Since this was a mock firm competition, the group we were assigned would become our "mock firm." We were to then come up with a name, a structure, and a history within the firm. A marketing packet will be constructed for us by the 4th year professional practice class.

My particular group decided on the name "Tertia Studios." The latin word for 3 is Tertia. 3 is an important number to my group for several reasons. We are third year students in our 3rd year of the interior architecture program. There are also three main principles, or partners, in our group.

initial concept explorations

Sweden’s early history began at the end of the Ice Age that brought the first inhabitants to Scandinavia. The receding glaciers and warmer climate turned the barren land into lush plains and forests. As the years went on, climates changed with the seasons and the people moved southward toward the coasts. The cycle reversed and the inward land became fertile again. The back and forth movement of the people from the land to the sea, farm to boat, characterizes Swedish culture. Contemplating this idea of land and sea migration, i’ve considered the idea of having two separate buildings that work together to create one essential building. They would take on the form of a wave movement and fit together within the negative spaces of the sister tower. Pushing back toward the land and again back toward the sea.

The idea of land and sea working together speaks to Stockholm, Sweden specifically in that the city is built on fourteen islands that rise gracefully from the water. Swimming and fishing are activities that occur even in the heart of the city. Ferries, boats, and cruises shuttle you around the city and allows for many ports for trading and exit. The sole purpose of the skyscraper is to provide a building for offices and other commercial uses. It will provide places for people to work both individually and together: just as the land and sea works both individually and together to keep the city vivacious.

Consider: “Everything in moderation”

Swedes tend to be very humble in nature and consider boasting to be unacceptable. They prefer to be quiet and listen rather than making their own voice heard. Excessiveness, flashiness, and boasting are abhorred within Swedish culture.

The challenge is to create a building that speaks to the strength that Scandinavia holds in the field of architecture and design without offending the humble culture of the Swedes.

Skyscraper Precedent [Rodovre]

Above is a slideshow of a few diagrams that I created to better understand my skyscraper precedent. I chose to study a building that wasn't actually constructed, but rather was entered into a contest similar to our mock firm competition of this year. My precedent was the Rodovre skyscraper that was designed to be located in the municipality of Rodovre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building was designed around a series of pixels. The "sky village" originally began as a block and was subtracted in some places and added in others to become and interesting design. The building is interesting in its sense of flexibility. It can be used to accommodate a predominately large market for commercial offices, residential, hotel spaces, restaurants, or retail. The way that the pixels are organized throughout the building creates sky terraces for the people within the building to use as yards or gardens. They are located in a strategic place to allow for adequate amount of sunlight, but placed in corners so that the spaces do not suffer wind damage.

Workplace Precedent {Larkin Building]

Above is a quick slideshow of a few diagrams and construction documents that reflect the design of the Larkin Administration Building by Frank Lloyd Wright. I diagramed specific aspects of the workspace, such as form to site, light to form, hierarchy, circulation, structure, and organization. This exercise encouraged me to look at the space on an analytical level so that I might better understand how workspaces are organized. From this particular precedent, I gained a knowledge of hierarchy in the sense of quality of workspaces depending on the position within the company. Wright designed the space also with a large central atrium that was surrounded by balconies. The rows of seating and desks were very structured and resembled a grid pattern that was also reflected in the rest of the space with the conflicting vertical columns and horizontal balconies.

Rodovre