Beginning from “One Room”, a study of one’s bedroom, and ending with “Five Spaces” carved from the urban solid of Downtown Los Angeles, this project uses scale models, architectural photography, and hand drawings to produce narrative moments of interior space.
Above Bedroom photo and model photo
Right Bedroom study photos, 1-1/2”=1’ model
This 2-week study, led by professor Gesa Buttner-Dias, is an exercise in understanding natural light in interorior space through the study of one’s own bedroom.
After observation of the various light conditions in the room throughout the day, a single photo was chosen, a moment in time with its own particular light conditions, which give unique effects to the room.
Using only paper material, the 1-1/2”=1’ model was constructed solely for the purpose of recreating the photograph of the actual room. Careful consideration and several tests were needed to match the conditions of the natural light from the bedroom photo. Careful study of the differences in natural light conditions due to time of day, seasonality, and nearby environmental factors (such as material and color of surfaces, etc), led to deeper understanding of the behavior of natural light within interior architectural space.
Above Five Spaces Photos
Right Five Spaces Chunk Model, 1-1/2”=1’
Below Photographic model, foamcore board & water
How can natural light be brought back into forgotten interior spaces deep within the city?
This project uses an existing parking garage in Downtown Los Angeles as a given condition treated as a solid block. By carving voids into this solid, five distinct interior spaces are created, each with their own realtionship to natural light, which enters from above and two sides.
The five spaces are arranged so that light gathered in one space spills over into the next, thereby bringing light into even the deepest interior spaces.
Models of different scales and materials were built to study light phenomena within each space, as well as the sequence of transitions from one space to the next. Ultimately, the project is presented through a series of drawings and carefully staged model photos describing moments in which one might encounter light while travelling through this space.
