The Phoenix – Final Entry

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Here is my final entry for “The Phoenix”. This challenge was ofcourse one of the most different and interesting ones I have taken up since it involves designing and visualizing both the old and the new converted structure. The new design revolves around not stripping the ruins of its historic image but at the same time breathing new life into it. The journey that the Smiths are going to step into here on has been depicted in few of the design elements used. To create an interest to the subject, I leave it to the viewer’s imagination to find the connection between the old and the new. Hope you all like it!

Rewilding Sizewell Nuclear Power Station – FINAL images

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Summary

Sizewell Nuclear Power Station is located within an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ in Suffolk, UK. There are 3 reactors – “A” has been decommissioned, “B” is operational and “C” is currently planned for the future. I propose to convert all buildings and site into a series of spaces where visitors can learn about rewilding and explore the importance of maintaining Biodiversity on our small planet.

The site is very large so I decided to focus on two main aspects. The first was an area of land immediately to the West of the main buildings where I proposed to re-wild the area by introducing large herbivores and allowing nature to take its path.

To help support and encourage wildlife, I introduced a lake by flooding some of the existing waterways. Around the lake I’ve designed some animal hides based on collage studies I did early in the process. It is here that visitors can join a “Sizewell Safari”group to observe the animals in nature.
My second area of focus was to create a new dramatic entrance to what is now the turbine hall of Sizewell B. This is where visitors will be able to learn about rewilding, biodiversity and book their Safari tickets.

Substance

This was my first use of the Substance suite and I found using Substance Designer made the material creation process fun. I’ve been able to create various bespoke, procedural materials with exposed parameters that have allowed me to re-use the same .sbsar in multiple places.
The most ambitious exploration for me was to create the lake Substance. Using only 1 external input (a hand drawn black & white shape in Photoshop) I was able to create complex displacement, diffuse colour and roughness. In addition I generated various bespoke, editable output masks, that I used as maps to drive Forest Pack Pro. This allowed me to easily explore plant layout options and species distribution by simply adjusting the exposed parameters.
I also managed to create a procedural timber material that was used for all of the timber – the entrance canopy structure and shading fins, the main staircase and the animal hides cladding.
The turbine hall cladding and context buildings also share the same Substance.
Using Substance Alchemist I managed to create new materials very quickly from texture maps I already had – mostly for the hard landscaping.

Photography

All of the animal photos used in the images were taken by myself.
The existing site “Sizewell B” is an active Nuclear Power Station and is therefore secure and hard to access. I therefore had to look online for reference photos. The best ones of the existing site I found were some incredible aerial photos taken by John D Fielding on Flickr. He kindly allowed me to use some of them as reference images.
Boston United Football Club aerial image - their new Jakemans Community Stadium - Lincolnshire UK

Interior reference of the turbine hall used to model the existing structure was from a promotional video on YouTube called “Take a tour of Sizewell B nuclear power station”.

DOWNLOAD LINK TO FINAL IMAGES:
https://we.tl/t-n1KyWAJABH

Culture Lab

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The 3 images tell the story of breathing life into the old, experencing the new and a moment in time. It would be a really great if this historical gem is put to use again as a centre of knowledge for the youth and that is what prompted the building choice. The different scenes have have a different feel and story, reflecting the environment, scenery and users.

The first image captures a wet evening in June right in the thick of rainy season. The rain just drizzled to a stop, just in time for sunset as it settles on the horizon underneath dark rain clouds washing the sky in rich hues of violet. My inspiration for this scene is a hobby i have of photographing sunset and the unique feel of a sunset just after the rain is what i wanted to recreate.

The second image is at dawn, the city wakes to a cloudless warm tropical sunrise. People dashing to work, the project is in a relatively quiet area for city centre and the render is visualises a quiet morning. I have walked this location in the early hours of the day and noted how serene it felt even though is located in the Central Business district, and that feeling was what i was inspired by.

The last image is what i hope to see in future, a young lady reading in the late afternoon sun of her heritage and learning new ways of thinking and doing things. We are in need of idea incubators and spaces to grow and learn more about our history, this scene is more of a hopeful future where this becomes a reality.

Forgotten sanctuary

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My entry for the “Converted” challenge is “abandoned Catholic churches of Ukraine”. With this work I would like to draw attention to the massive deterioration of abandoned architectural monuments.

The reason for the decline of these Catholic churches is the affiliation of modern citizens to a different religion – Orthodox. Most of these churches were built by the Polish many years ago, who at that time governed the current lands of Western & Central Ukraine. These buildings have fallen into disrepair for many reasons and the main one is rather simple – the locals belong to another denomination of Christianity. Currently these buildings are being destroyed, mostly, by weather conditions, as well as lack of care and restoration.

The saddest thing in this story is that nobody will restore these churches in the future. Many of them are found on the outskirts of small and almost deserted villages. Restoration of such buildings does not make any economic sense, they will not become cultural or tourist centers. What is more, currently more and more people are leaving those villages and are moving to big cities or abroad, looking for a better life, therefore, these small deserted villages are becoming even more deserted or abandoned completely.

For my project I didn’t choose one specific building. My project will emphasize the common features of these churches.
My renovation has nothing to do with religion – my dream is to give these structures a second life in the sense in which they will be of interest to potential visitors – by turning them into Museums, Art Galleries or Exhibitions. However, this building can only exist in the form of digital art.

In this project I focused on the interior as well as sculpture, which is the main exhibit. My goal was to make the installation organic in its shapes, as well as contrasting with the classic architectural forms. As a material I used beads – this way I refer to the traditional local art.

Hope you like my project and I’ll be happy to hear your comments and suggestions.
Good luck to all participants of the challenge and many thanks to Ronen for organizing such an inspiring challenge! 🙂

Red Barn

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Red Barn is a converted utility shed elevated above a lake inspired by Central Otago in the lower half of the South Island, New Zealand. The area is dominated by ranges and basins. Central Otago is a massive block of schist, part of the 85-million-year-old Zealandia continent. I was inspired by the rugged beautiful landscape and the rich history when I visited the area a few years ago. From whaling to farming to fruit to gold the area has had a very diverse past. There are lots of historic buildings that helped serve these industries – some beautiful and some not so, but most are very functional.

In designing Red Barn, I took the quintessential kiwi “shed” you see scattered throughout rural New Zealand and reimagined it as a holiday home. Sheds by nature are simple structures designed for maximum function at minimum cost. I created a piece of vernacular architecture that honours the essence of the shed, without looking out of place nestled into the rural landscape.

Red Barn from the outside is simple in form clad entirely in corrugated iron finished in red oxide paint containing a mix of locally sourced iron ore and oil. The barns roof and central doors both front and rear slide open simultaneously when in use. When unoccupied the barn closes to protect itself from the harsh weather. When in its closed configuration only four windows are visible limiting the amount of change in material showcasing a more monolithic silhouette. In its open configuration a central glass atrium is revealed, and the roof creates wings that cantilever high above the ground.
The Interior is finished with locally sourced raw materials that complement the surrounding landscape that are rugged and beautiful and rich in texture. Timber lined walls, floors and ceilings on the upper level and concrete floors on the lower level. Schist feature walls and Pounamu (greenstone) inspired mosaics in the kitchen and bathrooms. The plan is simple with 2 bedrooms and a shared bathroom wing on either side of the upper-level split by a bridge that spans the atrium. A spiral staircase takes you down to the lower level with open plan living. The entry door leads you directly into the atrium, but the barn can also be access through a utility room that flanks the kitchen. There is a small bathroom/laundry/wet room located behind the living room too.

The idea was that the atrium space could be used for many different functions such as seating over spill for larger gatherings, a play area when the weather was bad, studio/craft area, maybe you could house a large telescope and gaze at the stars when the roof is opened on the northern side of the atrium.

The furniture is simple and minimal to help inform the rawness of the area. I tried where possible to use locally designed furniture and fittings.

Everything is contained within the footprint of the barn to limit its impact on its surroundings and to keep that “shed” like feel. When you are outside you are truly outside!

Animation:

THE PARTHENON DELICACIES

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The first image represents how the revamped structure looks in real world. It gives an idea of how the old and new architecture blends. I have added the glass facade in the same shape as the parthenon.The broken columns are completed with the wire mesh.

The second image shows the utility of the revamped structure. Dining area with a bar at the end. Each table has a vase with an olive branch which is a symbol of Greek goddess Athena. There are Greek sculpture which are added as a part of decor. So the visitors can enjoy art and food together. Coffered ceilings are used so as to maintain the feel of the original structure.

The third image shows how the old and new architecture when combined rightly brings out a beautiful result.