Buildings are the structures that the people of a story inhabit, and work with the environment to communicate the society and culture of the species. Artists and creatives can produce environments ranging from great cities and towns, to architecture in vast open lands where life could be present.
Through the creation of my own buildings, I want to communicate the history and culture of the species that are a part of my own narrative, as well as their technological advancements and the effects they have on nature. I aim to make these buildings immersive by adapting some of the techniques used in existing examples of real life architecture into my own designs.
Some examples of immersive buildings can be found in natural architecture. Many artists have made sculptures from natural elements which provide unique understandings of buildings being a part of nature. I believe these buildings to be immersive, and their elements communicate a timeless narrative about the simplicity of life and the freedom of nature.
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| Arena Salix at Schlepzig, Spreewald, Germany, 2004. (1) |
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| Reed Chamber, Wildland and Wetland Centre, Arundel, Sussex, England, 2002. (2) |
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| Just Around The Corner, New Harmony, Indiana, 2003. (3) |
I have researched into a book called Natural architecture by Alessandro Rocca (4), where I found examples of natural architecture from art movements such as "Sanfte Structurum", and artists such as Chris Drury and Patrick Dougherty.
By reproducing the detail and architecture of these buildings, I have learnt how each one has been constructed, as well as how they manage to represent the natural elements that they are made from. This has helped me to also understand how natural architecture becomes a part of the environment, while still being inhabitable spaces. This results in these buildings feeling real and immersive.
The first series of mini-experiments was based on changing the architecture of the buildings. I began by illustrating a series of drawings that show each natural structure emulating a different architectural style. I chose to emulate the styles of Gothic, Neoclassical and Post-Modern architecture with this series, by adapting the characteristics of each style into the natural form of the buildings.
Next, I created drawings of natural architecture in different natural shapes/forms, including a large tree and a mountainous landscape. The inclusion of buildings that are a part of these organic shapes helps to create immersive structures that could be inhabited, and remain one with their environment.
I believe these were effective experiments because by changing the architecture, I was able to see how the natural elements impacted the buildings in order to make them feel immersive. I was also able to understand what architectural styles were not effective in achieving this immersion.
The next series of mini-experiments looked into changing the location of the natural architecture, and how changing the environment the buildings were in could change how they are perceived. Firstly, I experimented with drawing one of the natural architecture examples in a rocky, desolate area. This portrayed how these different forms of nature conflict with each other, and may break the immersion of these structures being created in the sparse environment.
The other mini-experiment in this series took another of the examples and put them together to illustrate a dense, populated area. As the opposite of the previous mini-experiment, this "city" of organic buildings achieves its own surrealist style.
I believe these were effective experiments as changing the location helps to remind me that the architecture of the buildings cannot simply stand alone and has to play off of other elements, such as the environment, and their asymmetrical nature is capable of leading to interesting results.
The final series of mini-experiments was about presenting natural architecture in dynamic contrast in specific ways. The first mini-experiment was a natural contrast of one side of an organic building being alive, while the other half is wilting and dying. The illustration is composed of various vines, flowers, and branches in the form of a non-organic building.
The last mini-experiment shows how natural structures grow near sources of strong sunlight, with shadows present in the areas hidden from the sun. Shape and colour are used well to indicate nature's need for sunlight in order to grow and prosper.
I believe these were effective experiments because they represent the balance between life and death, and how this could affect architecture made from natural elements, as well as showing the range of forms that could become inhabitable buildings.
From these experiments, I have managed to identify the characteristics of examples of natural architecture which will assist me in creating my own buildings that effectively communicate a narrative. These characteristics are a strong link to the nature of the environment, rounded shapes/forms, and an element of asymmetry. With these aspects in mind, I created an experimental response that relates to one of the fictional worlds from my Final Major Project.
This response is in the form of a poster, advertising a city on one of the alien worlds from my FMP. I have used characteristics of natural architecture and adapted them to the history and culture of the Chron'lar species. This resulted in an alien world that communicates narratives through the natural composition of buildings and the environment. I also added writing from the Chron'lar alphabet/language to the poster that translates to "Neos. Thodox. Home."
In conclusion, this experiment led me to explore immersion through buildings present in various examples of natural architecture, as well as revealing the narrative that these buildings communicate through their visual language.
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(1) Sanfte Strukturen, (2004). Arena Salix. [image] Available at: http://www.sanftestrukturen.de/Weidenbau/2004/2004.php [Accessed 9 Feb. 2017].
(2) Drury, C. (2002). Drawings for Reed Chamber. [image] Available at: http://chrisdrury.co.uk/reed-chamber/ [Accessed 9 Feb. 2017].
(3) Dougherty, P. (2003). Just Around The Corner. [image] Available at: http://www.stickwork.net/featured [Accessed 9 Feb. 2017].
(4) Rocca, A. (2007). Natural architecture. 1st ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, pp.72, 155, 166.
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