Photoshop composition, inspired by thinking about the spaces which humans operate within and move around. I sat in the car for hours watching how people move slowly beside their car, as through they feel safe, and then dash inside to pay. This drawing represents the actual motion of getting petrol from the pump to the car. It is interesting to think about these marginalised spaces within a petrol station, humans are not as obvious as cars in a petrol station nevertheless they are just as necessary. Could you make a place within a petrol statin which makes a pedestrian feel comfortable?

Sustainable cities - build for the pedestrian.

I saw a really interesting documentary on Bogata, where they achieved social improvement through the opening up of public space and building a series of 'pedestrian highways' across the city in conjunction with reinventing the public transport system. This allowed the people who were living in poverty an alternative environment to their small houses and they started to come outside and this helped to build a city community.

This links closely with the idea behind my project, I am anticipating that in the future when there is (hopefully) less need for petrol stations they can be transformed into spaces for the pedestrian. A combination of the local environment of Vauxhaul which is very anti pedestrian and my thesis which brings up the question of the hostile city, and modern cities being built for cars rather than the real inhabitants.

Reference - Michael Wesely.

These photos were taken with a slow shutter speed over a period of up to 3 years showing the changes in the city. These are interesting in terms of thinking about capturing a process (of construction in this case) and can be related to what I am trying to do in terms of capture/ study the space that is not used by cars in the petrol station (i.e. how the human interacts with the space).

Preserving the Icon

The petrol station is an important icon in the landscape and in the future hopefully the amount of them that are in use will begin to decline. Can we transform them into monuments that remind us of their original use.

'Ruscha's work holds the mirror up to the banality of urban life and gives order to the barrage of mass media-fed images and information that confronts us daily.'

I like the idea of creating an installation within the environment that interrupts the balinisation of the city environment, by providing something for the pedestrian in the specific area of Vauxhall which is primarily designed around the vehicle.

Ed Ruscha, Standard Station 1966. 

Analysis films exploring time lapse.

view my first films here.......http://vimeo.com/user5820041/videos

from analysing a petrol station with a similar layout I was able to create some mapping of how pedestrians operate within the space. These show pedestrian movement across the forecourt. 

inspiration

A cool time lapse film.......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGcd6PN7EE

This installation was built in 2010 from 45 km of clear tape  by designers For Use/ Numen in Berlins' Airport.

Drive-by Shootings

David Bradford is a New York cab driver/ photographer, therefore the majority of his photos of city life are taken from the viewpoint of his car. This provides an interesting composition and also a new perspective almost like a childs' view as everything towers above you.

These are some photos I took whilst in the car - this is another disused petrol station, although this currently stands empty it was in full use only a few weeks ago and yet there are already bulldozers parked beside it. Land rarely stands idle.

Ecobuild Pavilion Idea

Memories

When I started to think about developing a pavilion for Ecobuild, the idea of the familiar dimensions really stuck. So I began to think what the consequence might be if you were to re- create the environment to the same dimensions in another location. You wuld recognise the environment, but might not be able to work out what it was when out of context (within a building for example). It would only be through your memory that you would be able to 'place' the environment and establish that familiarity. I really like the idea of displacement of an existing environment in another location.

Geometry, Implications for repetition.

Following some time to think, I decided that I want my project to relate to the experience you encounter. The petrol Station is an interesting environment to consider in this way because practically all are built to the same dimensions, based on the turning circles of vehicles. Therefore you feel a familiarity to your surroundings when within one. This standardised geometry could be interesting to think about in terms of site displacement.

Here I used my existing sketch-up model and adapted it, thinking about design possibilities; I was experimenting with replicating some of the geometric shapes to create a new environment that was similar yet a totally different experience. 

Ceal Floyer, Lisson Gallery.

The Lisson Gallery is one of my favourite spaces in London, I discovered it when I was doing a project last year. I love the layout and the connection it has with the street environment. The space is great for installations and the current installation by Ceal Floyer is a series of plinths that emit music at intervals. It makes you aware of the space and the music makes it interactive, although i couldn't understand the connection with movement and sound (if there was one). 

'Floyer uses double-takes and shifting points of view to force the viewer to renegotiate their perception of the world.'

The experience of wandering in the space between the plinths had a similarity to the derelict petrol station I am working with.  The vertical geometric shapes made an environment to negotiate through much like a petrol station. 

Framing.

I wanted to explore the idea of framing and manipulating views further. I thought that the speedo material could be incorporated here. I made some wooden frames to act as supports for the material - the speedo one worked best - I like the irregular form from the different pieces of speedo - how the material behaved affected the shadows in particular. 

I then took these to the site to experiment - I made some films to show how the view could change - the catch is that the view would only change if you interact with the  fabric as the wooden frame supports it. I want to develop a design that promotes interaction with both the environment and other people. Here I like the idea that layers like this could hide things that one could reveal. 

1:20 site model

Conditions

Pen and Ink drawings investigating the site conditions.

1st Crit

site model. 

This was a quick sketch model to experiment with the idea of framing, I wanted to create something interactive so I was thinking about mechanical pieces which could move to create new views. If these were overlapped throughout the site you could see views through views leading to something specific or nothing at all.

no solid forms

computer model of site.

        

     

                                          

                                    

Viewpoints

films from vehichles

Initial Sketch Models

The channel 4 logo is an obvious example of a structure based on alignment. I thought that my project could involve trying to get people to move to 1 particular area within the site and only then would they be able to see my project. Something like a ghost that appears and disappears as you move past. 

 Exploring Alignment and implications for structures. 

Experimenting with viewpoints and vistas

These structures reminded me of the work of Christo, this project for New York's central park in particular. 

The notion of views and alignment made me think about depth of field particularly in relation to the geometric forms of a petrol station. 

Interactive Spaces

When in a petrol ststion there is almost a ritual that many people follow; interacting with the pumps and negotiating other cars. I like the idea of unwritten rules/ etiquette people follow.

One of my main interests in design lie in trying to reconnect people with the city environment through interaction with space and each other, this could be an interesting site in which tot explore this.

The question of how to encourage people to interact with their environment is one thing that city planners often struggle with.

Exploring perspective

 Balcony, 1945, Escher.

I normally choose to draw in 1 point perspective, so I set myself the challenge of learning how to draw in four point perspective. It took several attempts but eventually I managed to make sense of it. I think it works well as a way to view the interior of a petrol station which follows a geometric grid based on turning circles.