PRIMER 2 : SCARS IN THE GROUND
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INTRODUCTION
Primer 2 is a project exercise where we design a piece of architecture that consist of a composition
of spaces and the circulation through spaces of emotions researched in prelude studies 1 , which
then manipulates light and materiality to heighten the user’s senses. As well as an architecture that tells us a story of the war heroes. The spaces and form of the architecture is being derived through
various architectural design concepts in relation to the war itself. In order to create this , many foundation works has been done such as site analysis , precedent studies and conceptualization
etc. There was also certain regulations to obey hence it was more challenging.
SITE CONTEXT
The Changi Chapel Museum exhibits the historical events of the war, a sensitive space that serves to educate the public, and provide an experience for the public to understand, respect and empathise with the war sufferings. Hence, the atmosphere of the place provides a sense of serenity and solemnity. The site for the memorial is an empty plot of turf, an uncondensed space and a forgotten space that has been neglected. It serves as a transitional space from the carpark to the chapel while the circulation for the memorial also provides a sense of convenience and fluidity such that the entrance and exit both connect to the pathway which leads to the museum.
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SITE ENVIRONMENT
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PROGRAM OF ARCHITECTURE
The function of my architecture is designed to be a memorial for those who have suffered and died during the Sook Ching War Massacre. The memorial is created to be an add on for the chapel museum as it only focuses more on the soldiers who fought during the war. It also serves as a place of reflection for visitors to reflect about the Japanese Occupation and understand better through the experience of spaces crafted to evoke emotions many people felt during that time. It is a post museum visit as one needs to know the knowledge first before experiencing the real emotions and atmosphere the war heroes faced.
PRECEDENT STUDIES
The design concept of my form is inspired by the Milwaukee Art Museum whereby it shows a certain form of relieve and freedom as it symbolizes a bird too due to its wing like structure hence its architecture gives a certain form of tranquility too. My first space which is negative space is inspired by the entrance of the Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art which gives a sense of uncertainty when one attempt to enter as one will not be able to see what lies under since it is dark and also gets more tensed when it gets deeper. My first space is also inspired by the Yad Vashem work on creating a second level which can be seen when below and this space creation gives the effect where people feel helpless when they look up as they might feel being controlled and watched and this gives a sense of anxiety for those who are under the glass. Moving on to my second which is a neutral
space , it is inspired by the Church of Light where both negative and positive ambience is created in the main hall through the play of certain form of openings as well as symbolism too in a big but dark room. My third space which is the most positive is inspired by the last room of the Yad Vashem where after going through a journey of indoor spaces , one will end up in a big balcony with the
view of the surrounding landscape and this gives a sense of relieve too due to its size and location. Lastly my exit is inspired by the water temple which has a peaceful environment on the surface but different on the basement hence it gives a sense of relieve when one exits out from below and return to nature again.
SITE STRATEGIES
The spaces of the architecture is created in a way where visitors have to go through the negative space first and ends up at a positive space. It starts out as a tight , deep , dark and small space which implies negativity and slowly increases into an free , open , exposed space which implies positivity. The spaces are positioned to the sun path to achieve certain light and shadow effects. The journey also starts out as complex due to tight space and sharp turns and movement but gets smoother and simpler to the end which fits well with the emotions in the spaces too. A denial and reward phenomenon is created by allowing user to view the last space before entering the museum but blocked by water hence they have to go through the museum and exit in order to see the entrance from another point of view.
DESIGN CONCEPT
My architecture begins with the form which starts of from a paper crane. A Tsuru from the museum was chosen as my design driver as it symbolizes peace and has a lot of meanings during the war. As my memorial is to remember the Sook Ching War Massacre , hence the 3 different beach sites and the technique of origami architecture folding is used to derived my form. By unfolding the paper crane , a template is formed and this template is being cut and folded to form 3 folded planes pointing towards this 3 beaches as a form of remembrance. The spaces are derived through the precedent studies and also on the second space , 30 columns representing the different massacre
sites are placed as a form of symbolic remembrance as well as supporting that emotion on that space.
PROCESS MODEL
FINAL MODEL
POETRY OF SPACEs
As one arrives at the front of the museum, he or she is greeted with a dynamic cantilevered structure resembling a paper crane and a peaceful vibe is immediately produced due to its setting and context. One would be able to catch a glimpse of the last space which have a tranquil setting but it is being blocked off by a pond while the exit is being hidden at the other side with the aid of the pond too. Hence, one would need to head to the chapel first. When one exits the museum, he or she will be equipped with knowledge about the war and ready to understand the emotions to a greater extend through spaces. One would see an obvious yet suspicious entrance of the memorial and from there the poetry of spaces begins. The reward of this journey is the last space of what they saw previously.
ANXIETY
When one steps on the threshold of the entrance, he or she is greeted with a flight of stairs towards the basement with waterfall cascading on the walls. As one goes down, the flight of stairs becomes narrower and steeper, the room becomes darker and the waterfall becomes louder and more engulfing. Hence, the user becomes more uncertain and wary of whats coming to them due to the setting. As soon as they land on the basement, they are greeted with a door to the next room which seemed to be very high. The space is tight yet tall, a glass divider is placed at the top of the space which connects the third space to it and this gives the user a sense of helplessness as they might feel controlled by those on top but at the same time it motivates them to continue the journey to end up there. The ceiling is being sealed off with frosted glass where little light penetrates hence this produce a sense of anxiousness for the user as they are unable to see light yet they know there is. Together with the transitional space, a sense of anxiety is being produce when one completes this 2 space. Furthermore this space is also used as the memorial service where one can reflect and remember those who suffered and lost their lives under the same exact atmosphere and emotions.
SANGUINE
Exiting the first space is a flight of stairs leading up to the second space and positivity is implied as the stairs goes up a level and also gets bigger hence its more comfortable for the user. The second space is the biggest space and there is both positive and negative ambience in it. The user will be greeted with lots of lighting caused by different fenestration all over the room and this gives a
sense of optimism in them after going through the first space. One will realise that they will be standing on columns flooring where there are 30 columns up to 2 meters high representing the different killing sites and it is covered by a transparent glass flooring. This will give them a sense
of fear or anxiousness as they might fear that the glass might break of the height of it, hence this is
considered the negativity and bad situation in that space. But they will also realise that the light
and spatial quality in that space overpowers this negativity hence the space is considered
sanguine, where one is able to have optimism even he or she is in a bad situation and this is how
the war heroes felt. Furthermore the lighting quality of the space will enable them to reflect and remember about the memorial columns in a calm state of mind. The space also allows for interactions due to its spacial quality.
RELIEVED
The last space is within the sight of the second space hence the user will be ready for it when he or she wants to move on. The last space is a few steps higher than the second hence when one enters the last space, there will be more positivity in there and since the space is an opened area, the user will also feel more relieved after exiting an enclosed space. At this space a mini pond caused by the waterfall of the surface large pond is used as the place of reflection. The peaceful and relieve setting in this space caused by the lighting and spacial quality allows one to be in a calm state of mind hence able to reflect at the pond about his or her journey throughout the memorial without being disturbed. Moving on, the user will pass by the glass divider he or she saw earlier on hence he or she will be able to reflect the whole journey again and appreciate it. Lastly, a flight of stairs leads them to the surface with water surrounding it, hence it gives of a feeling that the user has escaped from the water or the drowning effect and return to the surface once again to feel relieve.
MATERIAL AND LOADING
A steel skeletal frame system is used to hold and support the load of the folded plane geometry
which allows the cantilever effect to be achieved while maintaining its core stability. Load bearing wall system are used for basement foundation to further enhance load by the steel frames and maintaining the forms stability. Aluminium composite panel which is a lightweight material is cladded over the skeletal frames and walls to form its façade and has a white matte finish to represent the peacefulness and purity of a paper crane as well as blending well with the chapel’s façade. Monolithic reinforced concrete is precasted as the interior façade to provide a strong basement foundation as well as giving a stark contrast between the exterior façade while making the spaces more tense on the inside. Hence this gives an effect where the facade of this architecture represents the peace and result we have today while on the inside are those memories of those who have suffered during the war and it is because of their sacrifices that leads to result of the facade
and form. Furthermore, the whole structure floats on a big pong hence emphasizing the lightness of this architecture in resemblance to the paper crane.
PRESENTATION BOARDS
CONCLUSION
Through this primer, I have learnt how to be more sensitive towards spaces as well as creating an architecture that is form based. This project has allowed me to successfully explore different types of form making which has helped me to develop my designing skills in the future where else I have also learnt how to capture certain phenomenology in creating spaces which helps me to plan spaces more carefully in the future too. Not just in design skills, I have also learnt how to response a design towards historical context which had allow me to be more sensitive in designing certain architecture in regards to the given context. It has also improved my graphical presentation and layout as this project allows me to explore the use of presentation boards and representation of diagrams which can help me improve in explaining my design towards the audience.
