The art collector is interested in cubism, be they painting, sculpture or otherwise.
Such a sculpture will be a good example of those that reside in the gallery.
Cubism and modernism almost go hand in hand. And in architecture modernism is synonymous with unnatural forms. Unnatural in that almost all of the typical examples have very rigid forms. A lot of corners and sharp angles, many unlikely intersections and interrupted lines. There is no smooth or flowing approach. Just jagged and sudden movements as if something is trying to break free. The strange thing is that while many would consider these as unnatural, they do not feel offended. These forms are not unsightly or ugly, but just different.
The following pictures were from a search on google and are examples of what caught my eye.
An otherwise boring and plain box is decorated with seemingly random placements of windows. These windows are all square of differing sizes. Very minimalistic, yet it catches the eye.
This seems even stranger. Still conforming to the angled approach but it varies in all dimensions, each section has its own plane for a façade and these planes intersect each other without rules. The lonesome horizontal rectangle feels like an arm, welcoming and stretching for a handsake.
The rectangle on the left is juxtaposed with the curved element on the right. However, even these are not touching directly. There is a sense of avoidance, curves and straight lines may not touch.
This one is not the best, aesthetically speaking. But it reminds me of a fortress or a sci-fi vehicle, in particular the four legged machines resembling a camel.
This is something definitely worth taking a picture. It exudes grandeur; there is no doubt that this is a castle of some sort… a modern day castle. It is interesting how forms, whose elements are very unlike each other but are similar as wholes.
These are very similar in style, though the top prefer verticality while the second horizontality. These are modern day caves. Ultimate protection behind and great prospect ahead, these appeal to the very nature of human instinct.
The site, 123 Victoria Street Potts Point, is very narrow and long. There is little opportunity for designs such as above, however, perhaps there is something to be done more subtly. There is freedom for vertical exploration since the site is on a very severe slope. Changes in level can be made in the similar spirit as modernist architecture.
There will also be a turf roof. This is because in my last tasks I was studying the Villa Mairea by Alvar Aalto. I want to experiment with the idea of combining traditional methods such as a turf roof and brick with modernist forms of colliding regular elements.
Initial exploration with Sketchup resulted in the following:
Using regularly shaped elements and stacking one on top of the other seemed to have produced a similar aesthetic effect.
I then created the model in Revit to produce:
Essentially the same as the sketchup model, but more refined. The turf roof is a stand out against the red-brown of the bricks. And a floating box that has a multipurpose use such as games, discussions or meditation.
In the end it looks more like a heritage house than a modern house. It turned out to be vastly different from what the Sketchup model suggested. Perhaps this is because of the red bricks.
I tried changing the exterior to white.
I think there is a marked difference between the two facades, particularly when compared with neigbouring buildings. Whilst they are also somewhat white in colour, the form of the building works to complement the white in this case to convey a more modern look, particularly the lack of entry at the front most (and also most obvious) facade. Previously the red brick was too 'loud' in its heritage statement diluting and distracting from the form itself.
