The brief for the Folie was quite detailed and that was a constraint itself, sometimes ideas would grow to be bigger and bigger and there was always a need to simplify the concepts.
There were two criteria's that were thought about the most was the that the maximum space of the Folie must not exceed a 5mx5mx5m measurement and that the it was a learning space. Eliminating the previous concepts we focused on "Learning." What is learning and how does one learn? From this we discussed that learning and education isn't purely through books and memorising facts, that's a traditional stereotype which we wanted to stay away from. A tutor mentioned to us that learning can be an experience and a feeling that arises though an event or action. So from this, we wanted to create a space where people can experience something totally new.
Ideas we wanted to incorporate- Folie hanging underneath the bridge
- Learning through experience/perception (Movement)
- The importance of light in the space
- Space within a space and the internal space retracts out from underneath the folie.
The initial concept was to have the Folie hanging below the story bridge accessed via a walkway from the road. When people enter the room, it's complete darkness with only light splicing through peepholes (very small so you can't see out of it). It's a disorienting feeling. Suddenly the room begins to vibrate, rotate and then the room drops down to reveal that they were in a glass box. They are able to see the city from a new location, the whole journey to that is a learned experience.
Chosen site for Folie
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| Site of the Folie |
There were two concept sketches:
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| Concept 1 |
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| Concept 2 |
