THE LANDSCAPE
The composition of the landscape
immediately associates itself with a futuristic setting through the floating
islands which are connected through minimalist bridges which don’t draw
attention away from the surreal landscape.
The main idea behind this formation of
landforms is to emphasise the philosophy of Kisho Kurokawa and the metabolic
movement he proposed. By creating a landform suspended in mid-air and slowly moving, forces
the architecture around it to constantly adapt and react to a changing
environment. Therefore, the monuments
essentially follow metabolic architectural discourse as they challenge
preconceived laws of form and function and disregard one of the most
fundamental laws of architecture and engineering; gravity.
TOP MONUMENT
Holl’s monument is an exploration of his
inextricable connection to the natural landscape and how it dictates the
structural, and spacial forms of his architecture.
The winding ‘s’ shaped monument
deliberately conforms to a horizontal position as it aims to seamlessly
integrate with the environment, rather than intrude. It does, however, achieve
a slight incline so as to impose greater importance upon itself as a monument
should.
This monument effectively achieves Holl’s
design process which takes into account porosity, light and its collaboration
with the surrounding site through a sustainability which aims to preserve
memory of architectural site and landscape.
It is this symbiosis which is exaggerated through the waterfall which is
touching the monument and falls down to the second monument displaying their
‘metaphysicial connection of electroliquid’ collaboration.
The textures used throughout this monument
follow the notion of an interweaving of the man-made, and the natural. As the
lines cross over each other the geometries create patterns which evoke similar
design principles to the monument’s bio-mimicry of the stream’s movement behind
it, and the waterfall below.
Ideas of prospect and refuge as well as
porosity and light are emphasised through the, the punctured voids throughout
the ‘s’ shaped structure.
THE SPACE IN BETEEN
The suspended islands connected by bridges
create a multitude of meeting places in between as well as providing views of
the monuments from many angles. The meeting places aim to attract audiences
through the placement of trees and grass to promote the circulation of
inhabitants from one side of the islands to the other.
Electroliquid integration is evident in a
slightly conceptual form. As both architects respond to their surrounding urban
and natural environments, I felt that a connection to the natural world through
the waterfall, as it transverses both monuments would be more effective than an
artificial prism. Therefore, both monument are reacting to and connected to
their wider natural environments which are forever changing.
BOTTOM MONUMENT
Kisho Kurokawa’s monument follows the
design principles of metabolic architecture in that it responds to an
ever-changing landscape. This is evident through the symbolic connection as the
waterfall drops through the monument to create an evolving architecture. The
form of the structure was influenced by vegetation such as trees and the
modular philosophy of living also proposed by Kurokawa. This allows for the
organic upwards shape of the structure. As the stairs travel through the
monument, the idea of an infinite journey as the inhabitant encircles the
pathway becoming a way in which abstract symbolism is used through the form of
a tree.
The texture used is created by studying the
chaotic nature of fissures and cracks in the ground. Symbolically, the textures
connote the rejection of traditional architectural forms present in metabolist
philosophy, hence the cracks present a collapsing structure. However,
aesthetically, the texture adds further depth the building.
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