Viewing and the Art of Being Viewed : HABITABLE SCULPTURE

Ja’afar, Mohd Fakri Zaky and Mohd Zin, Abdul Rahim (2009) Viewing and the Art of Being Viewed : HABITABLE SCULPTURE. Sustainable Tropical Environmental Design Exhibition (STEDex’09), 1. p. 34. ISSN 2180-0685

Abstract

This exercise is the first of a series of projects in the Mini-Eco Resort studio project. Having explored the ‘meaning of timber’ in the previous exercise (Prologue: The Spirit of Wood), students become more sensitive to the significance of timber in architecture. In this exercise, students produced a design made for timber construction. To achieve a strong design concept, students conducted research on ecotourism as well as ecological design issues. The project is called a sculpture instead of a wakaf or a viewing tower, etc. to avoid students from being constrained by their prototypes. The objective of this exercise is enabling students to develop a design idea to a buildable construction. The knowledge of timber construction serves as a vehicle to enhance the skill of manipulating spaces by rationalising structural principles. It was envisaged that this sculpture functions in the overall eco resort design perhaps as, a performance stage, a landmark, a waiting space, an informal discussion space or even a viewing tower. It can be a place where people can best view nature at 360 degrees from a high place. It may be a platform for watching birds or observing animals that pass by the jungle ground. It provides a high vantage point in the eco resort. Environmentally, the sculpture is a comfortable place where people may want to take relief from the tropical heat by exploiting the occasional jungle breezes. It provides protection for occupants against rain and harsh sun. The main construction material is timber on concrete footings. The space is naturally ventilated. The choice of roofing materials and infill panels (if any) should conform with the chosen design concept. The proposals presented by the students show various levels of understanding and creativity. Some are novel in terms of defining a natural ecological process or idea. Overall, there seems to be a good grasp of the inherent quality of timber construction and its potential in expressing an abstract content.

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