Why I chose the Bordeaux.
The freedom implied in the word representation provoked me to be more creative with this project and push through boundaries which modelmaking can confine you to. I was glad to see within the brief one of the buildings Incorporated high-tech architecture, that concluded in my head which one I wanted to do and what I should do to represent the high-tech architectural style. This was the Bordeaux law court building designed by Roger Stirk Harbour & Partners. There were several things I thought worth representing such as concept, contrast, engineering, style, material and craft.
The concept of the design style was to create a sense of openness and transparency reflecting the principles of the French judicial system.
The contrast of two architectural styles from different times, the new integrating with the old. The contrast of materials and the aesthetics they convey through their raw caricatures / qualities.
The design and engineering incorporated in the cooling system of the building.
The high-tech architectural style founded by Richard Roger.
The use of cedar in artisan boatbuilding, reflecting Bordeaux history of international trade.
These were all things I considered representing in my model. However, to represent them all was unrealistic in the time frame I had. I ruled out the design and engineering of the cooling system as it would require a large scale of a cut through model with more detail put into the representation of the cooling system than the building itself, which is not what I had in mind.
I chose to represent the concept, contrast, high-tech architecture and material and craft. Because I wanted to Incorporate the new integrated with the old,I had to achieve a broader perspective of the lay of the land. For this I chose the scale ratio of 1 to 250, which meant I still had to do a cut through but if I went any smaller, I wouldn't be able to achieve the silver soldering I had in mind for the high-tech architecture.
Materials
Copper coated steel rods, representing high-tech architecture.
Silver soldering seemed like an appropriate method to employ due to the use of steel in high-tech architecture. This consisted of the supporting framework to the undulating roof. The copper coated surface to the steel rod was not the material I wanted to represent, so I sand blasted the finished framework to strip the copper away. Through doing this I got rid of the left-over flux and grime and achieved a consistent finish, making you see the framework as a whole, instead of Individual pieces that have been assembled. I kept this as my finish as I didn’t want to paint over the steel, a part of this building's representation was the raw finishes to the materials used, which was ideal for conveying their Contrasts.
Mortar, making the foundations of the building.
Mortar is essentially premixed cement that Is primarily used for re-pointing. With this material I decided to mould and cast it. This was my first time moulding and casting mortar, so there are a few things I would have done differently such as adding extra strength by placing chicken wire to the mould and making the surface less porous by mixing plaster with the mortar. Also, the finished effect look more Industrial than artisan so adding some fine light coloured sand would have achieved that sandstone colour that the medieval architecture consists of.
Acrylic plastic, representing the openness and transparency.
The use of acrylic seemed most appropriate for two reasons. The first being having the chance to use the laser cutter and learning a new skill in practice. The second being the concept of the buildings design, which is the openness and transparency of the French judicial system Roger Stirk Harbour & Partners wanted to convey. In their overview of the building, they described the glass walls as a “great glass curtain beneath the undulating copper roof.” I thought of this description as being theatrical in the sense of revealing through the veils what goes on, making the whole of the building seem more accessible for public space, considering the jury consists of the public. However, keeping the court rooms private by having them elevated off the first floor and windowless except for the sky light. I also made the copper undulating roof out of acrylic due to the scale and perspective you would view this model, I thought that the openness of the building would have been taken a way from if I had used a metal sheet of copper to create the roof.
Cedar, representing the artisan boatbuilding.
The court room pods are made out of internal maple-veneered panels and western red cedar strips on the exterior. Both of these woods had been used by Artisan boatbuilders in the past which was a key contribution reflecting on Bordeaux history. The use of artisan carpenters was employed to position and fix these panels. I used cedar strips to craft me four 1 to 250 scale court room pods, there were a few things I did to convey concept and finish. By using acrylic rods as the support to the court rooms emphasized the sense of privacy, as a minimal amount of transparent acrylic almost creates an Illusion of the court room pods floating and suspended out of reach. I used a dremel to hollow out the sky light windows on each pod and inserted 1mm styrene off set from the surface to create attention to detail. Finally, I finished the smoothly sanded surface with bee's wax, making the grain of the cedar pop and adding a warm sheen to its finish.
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