The precedent
AA Bad Hair pavilion, 2007
2006/7, Bad Hair Pavilion,
https://woodarchitecture.wordpress.com/woodtechnology/summer-wood-design-pavillion/
The inspiration of this pavilion came from an Architectura Association student, Margaret Dewhurst. Her concept for the pavilion is based on thoughts to reflect a similar visual effect on architectural form from her own wet hair drying over her face.
As she stated the pavilion, entitled "Bad Hair" is "made of glue-laminated strands that crisscross over a sphere and sweep to the floor to enclose the passer-by in a shadowy tangle”
The pavilion has located on a square near a small pathway. It is 4.3m tall and 17m wide, constructed in 4 seperate layers, with areas touching the ground provides seating to visitors (refer to image above).
Diagramming
"Diagram is a tool that describes relationships & prescribes performances in space."
"A diagram is usually specific to space....always have spatial correlation."
"The diagram relate to processes that may occur not only in three-dimentional space but in several other dimensions of reality."
—— “Between ideas and matters”
Alejandro Zeara Polo
Polo believes the diagram is vital on informing methodology and instrumentality of specific things to the readers, especially there are overlaping cultures and globalized society. The diagrams could be a language that allow all readers to understand. In her thought, the diagram should not be building form itself, rather, it shoulld illustrate "several dimensions" of building information/ system. In other words, the diagram needs to have multiple layers of readings.
In this subject, we have been given an existing pavilion design from a list of three selected precedents. The slids on the left are the drawings of the Bad Hair, which include the plan, section, elevation etc. All these drawings are essential to inform us the position of each layer of this pavilion, how it was construsted, and more importantly, the key of its structural design.
The main difficulties to model this precedent work would be reading, analyzing and understanding the drawings, to communicate and to absorb the information behind them.
Please click here for details and modeling process.
isometric view of the Bad Hair
Circulation
The circulation diagram normally demonstrates movement, density and efficiency of a space.
For Bad Hair pavilion, considering its location, I believe the main point that influences the flow of occupants would be the narrow pathway next to the pavilion. That's why majority of circulation happens there.
Based on the form of this pavilion, the inner area I could define it with "dynamic", it has no formal stopping point, which I believe most circulation path under the shelter would keep flowing through the pavilion.
The seating has set outside around the pavilion, which is defined as "static point". Occupants on these points would easily and better looking away from the pavilion (assuming the pavilion is a wall, normaly people will not sit facing the wall)
Threshold
A threshold "provides the key to the transition & connection between areas with divergent territorial claims, and, as a place in its own right, it constitutes essentially, the spatial condition for the meeting and dialogue between areas of different orders"
—— “Lessons for students in Architecture”
Herman Hertzberger, 1991
For this pavilion, I consider the spatial changes from two basic aspects: the timber structure itself and the seating area.
The seating area around the pavilion is abviously a space in between interior and exterior. It is also a static space which creates threshold to other dynamic space around it.
The timber structure itself could be considered as threshold of privacy and sight. As the timber structue layer increases, the space would change from public to semi private then to complete private, so as the accessibility of sight, as layer increases, it would be more timbers fill the gap and blocking the view. In this case, the Bad Hair didn't achieve full privacy and blocked sight, but a certain degree of these two aspects as demonstrated. People would experience differently as they walk in and out the pavilion. That's why I would call the timber layers a kind of "threshold".
AA Bad Hair_3D model