March 2018

We decided to review why our previous design looked very much like Peter Opsvik’s Garden, here are the key ideas:

Analyzing Garden into elements
A. Thick and thin supports
B. Branching out from one main support
C. Multiple circles in the whole installation
D. Seats are very high off ground
E. Use of different pattern to differentiate leg rest/seats and backing

What we have in previous design
1. Branching out from main body
2. Multiple elliptical shapes in whole installation
3. Use of different form to differentiate leg/seats and backing
4. Seats are high off the ground
5. Have one really high light source
6. Almost similar size for all the support

We made this to compare what did we have in similar with Gardens so that we can fine tune our next version and make sure it does not look too much like Gardens but still echo the form of tree.

Form of Tree that we are echoing:
A. Branching
B. Thick Trunk VS Thin Branch
C. Crown-shaped canopy with center being the highest

Below are some sketches that we have done up in experimenting to change the forms for seat/seats:

The main concern was the form of ‘branches’. Curvy branches made it looks less like a tree, so we went for straighter cut (refer to second last rows).

Connectivity between seats is an important design element we’d like to emphasize on, as it brings out the characteristic of Fruitfulness.

Gradual height ascendance towards the center defines the characteristic of Positive Outreach.

Seat form/sitting posture was intended to represent the element of Nurturing. However, we are unable to visibly translate it into the composition (we’ll be reviewing the seats).

Here is the revised version –

Moving forward, we would like to explore

Contrasting thickness/tapering of the ‘branches’
Enhance characteristic of Nurturing – form of seat backing

This week’s agenda: Form ideation of seating sculptures.

The initial idea was to complete a series of seating sculptures inspired by the more prominent form in trees: Banyan’s vertical canopy, Tanjong’s long and wavy-edged leaves and Binjai’s fruit.

KS suggested that we redefine these elements into a singular piece instead. We also keep in mind of the purpose of seat is to invite social interaction.

Research

Peter Opsvik’s Garden (1985) demolishes the typical sitting position and allow people to sit freely in their most comfortable postures.

Globe Garden (2014) with a more natural colour palette.

We find this piece of work inspiring as it allows users to sit anyhow they’d like to, just like how we behave in nature – we can choose to sit on the floor, a rock, or lying on sand by the beach for example.

Ideation

In our case, we have a general idea of colliding nature (represented by the 3 types of trees) with human interaction (repopulating the communal plaza as main objective). Interactiveness is kept analog and simple, solar panel technology will be included as a providence of light source during night time.

Here are the primary sketches in form exploration (very random sketches that helped us think):

Integration of three elements into one is challenging and we found ourselves separating them as we further explored. We tried to simplify our form into: