The past week has been a whirlwind with final preparations. The seven of our group had divided up tasks from our central design strategy to complete our presentation.
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We decided that we would present a development booklet of ideas, three A1 sheets, a film, a 3D computer generated game, development models (1:200) and a final model (1:100).
We felt confident in the amount of work produced and aside from a few minor clashes of opinion within the group we were all happy with the final body of work that we were to present.
The first group presented a film which was made up of a series of illusionary experiments within the courtyard. This was an interesting approach and the film had some fascinating moments, but overall I felt they had not achieved a solid group design and aim and due to only presenting a film it seemed that there was a real lack of presentation material.
Our group began by playing our film on the projected screen. It is a film that explains our conceptual development through to our final design but is linked by the central theme of the ‘illusion of depth in space’.
Overall we felt the film was a success and was the perfect springboard for our presentation. After the film, we talked through our presentation sheets and development document, leading into an explanation of our process recorded through a series of models. I believe Will Alsop was happy with the amount of work the group presented and was surprised when we told him there was still another stage of our presentation. We had taken the computer generated model and turned it into a game; starting in the courtyard - the objective was to move through the installation and up the changing levels to the top floor. We created this to engage our tutor with the whole of the installation and not simply aspects of it. He enjoyed the game and was complimentary to the amount of work we produced.
The final groups concept was aimed at making Will Alsop’s offices more accessible from the courtyard. The idea of having practical connections was one of our main concepts but theirs was very much focused towards Will Alsop whereas ours had been for all the tutors and students using the TU courtyard.
The group then moved onto their models, where they had produced a beautifully made 1:100 version of their installation; as well as a 1:1 model that showed their experimentation with light and atmosphere.
I believe the work they produced was successful due to its simplicity and channelled focus. The models and film were very well put together but my only criticism was that there was not enough of a focus on the illusion they were trying to create within the space.
I returned home happy and confident that we had done well. We have to wait for the marks; there may have to be some changes made for our portfolio presentations but overall I was pleased with our group work and final review.
Our studio viewing the final group's model
Will Alsop inspecting the final group's 1:1 atmospheric model
