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BIM + MEP Visualization
Riyadh Metro Stations, Visualization workflow within Revit modeling using FBX to export to Max and V-Ray, used several BIM and MEP links and other max 3D models for detailing urban ambiance:
Seeds for the Coming Together, a Competition in Senegal 2017
A proposal for Kaira Looro Competition. 2017.
Beatriz Fernández-Ávila.
Alejandro González.
This is a new place for the divine and the profane, for the day to day, versatile and accessible. In the outside it will have a strong presence, befitting a space for worship, but it will not compete with the surroundings, it will not negate the landscape of a Senegalese town. The means in this places are very limited, and construction methods are precarious. Because of that we have taken into consideration local workforce, and we only use materials that are obtainable in the vicinity.
The chosen design is a symbol of union and encourages people to come together despite what their culture and beliefs are. It takes in high esteem the environment, but manages to create new public spaces for the town and intimate spaces for religious purposes. Two axis collide in a point that becomes the inception of the project. Those axis divide the outside in four different ambiances that will promote relationships between people in different ways, and happens to leave great possibilities in the interior, that may harbor all kind of activities. In order to achieve this, it is essential that the interior is able to change at any time to meet any specific requirement, even unforeseen events that might happen in the Third World.
First hand-made sketches, some are cut into pieces so we can test moving them or spin them around.
The previously mentioned axis are materialized in the form of great walls, and around their intersection, an oasis of peace emerges. It is designed to encourage a feeling of community, reunion, communication between all people no matter their creed. Both walls confer the main image for the place and are heavy enough to confer great presence overall. They are created out of blocks that are placed randomly, and because of this, holes are left behind, some of which will be filled up with debris from the old structures that are going to disappear making way for this new project.
The circle is a common symbol for most religions, along with the natural light provided by the sun itself and the necessity of some kind of spiritual feeling. Because of this, the interior rooms that are all underground are shaped of the form of this circle. From the outside, it is seen only slightly above the street level so that the huge walls remain the leading elements of the project. In this way, the interior will always be fresh despite high temperatures, and all public spaces outside will have their own different touch, as everything that may happen in the inside is reflected in the outside. The orientation of the two walls was chosen after a very precise study. It respects the Muslim faith as it is the most common religion in Senegal by a huge margin, but also respects Christian and Animist beliefs.
The qibla is facing Mecca, the Christian space has the most important light source in the East side, and the relation between sun and earth, which is of great importance for Animists, is represented in the patio. This Animist beliefs ended up changing those from Muslims and Christians in Africa, therefore, the complex as a whole tries to honor that fact. New intentions for spirituality and monumentality are created playing with light, sizes of elements, opacities, and feelings.
A sheet of water makes way for the accesses, it gives the entrance a subtle touch of mysticism for those that approach to the building from the main street from the North, which is where the most people will come from. Underneath, a space is saved for a new drinking water installation, so it can be stored and distributed through a manually operated water source. The perimeter of this sheet of water has the height of a place to sit on, so it has the function of a continuous curved bench.
To the South there is a new open space that surrounds the patio. To the East the retention wall of the Muslim room is facing the main street, and its design invites people to come along or stay for a while. The most private square, as it is hidden from the hustle and bustle of the town, surrounds the Christian room to the West. The boundary of the flat roof of this space also serves as a bench, encouraging people to relate and chat.
Therefore, there are three resulting rooms inside, that may be used in several ways. Despite the room to the East having been designed for the Muslim religion, the one to the West for the Christian and the patio to the South as a symbol of the Sun and the Earth for Animists beliefs, everything can be adapted to be used in other ways. This is achieved with walls that may move, slide or rotate.
Sunlight enters mainly through the patio, but can also enter through a perimetral line that lights up the qibla in the Muslim room, through little skylights in specific points and also through the holes of the main walls.
To start off, an excavation down to 5 meters below street level is needed. The terrain is well known and easy to move and treat. Then the foundations for the walls and for the main circle already described are executed. The main material is laterite stone. It is obtained in quarries that exist nearby and that will give the red color to the walls. The laterite blocks should be of equal shape but variable length and also should be easily carried. The result will be a random pattern that marks horizontality, leaving holes now and then, but with enough consistency. The blocks will be simply placed one on top of each other. Debris as a material is also used as a memory of the older worship buildings that will be gone. The little random holes will let light pass to the inside in several points. These walls will be a monument themselves, a memory of everything we want to achieve. There will be openings in these walls for people to pass through in the lower level.
Then the circular retaining walls will be executed, with the necessary width. Starting from their foundations, they will go up between 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters above street level, depending on the room and the final function needed. It will be built using traditional methods with stone. Next, the terrain may now fill all exterior spaces and be compressed. Only the most exterior ring will be marked with stone in the pavement in all the perimeter, to highlight the idea of circle so that the limit between what is divine and what is profane can be seen and felt at street level.
The entrance is designed in the exterior in the form of an L-shaped 2 meter width corridor that breaks through the entire project down to the main center. One side of this corridor has a staircase and the other has a ramp, both leading to a -4 meter floor. It is also designed to prevent floods with floating stone pavement, hiding possible water accumulation and improving healthiness. The next part will be the roofing, leaving skylights where needed. All roofs are flat and horizontal, using traditional methods in all cases. The lighter walls are made of woodwork, a wooden solid frame and a non-opaque panel for each section. These walls are those described above, that will let different spaces to be customized.
We have tried to take into account all aspects that come into play: sense of community, economy, religion, monumentality, environment, society, position, orientation, sunlight... Everything plays a role in the design and should be noticeable in one way or another. In spite of so much complexity, great simplicity has been achieved. An idea to gather the people, to help them subsist. A very obvious use of primary forms, which are common symbols to all beliefs. It is adaptable, unpredictable, ever-changing and versatile.
Final Model
Beatriz Fernández-Ávila.
Alejandro González.
Idea:
This is a new place for the divine and the profane, for the day to day, versatile and accessible. In the outside it will have a strong presence, befitting a space for worship, but it will not compete with the surroundings, it will not negate the landscape of a Senegalese town. The means in this places are very limited, and construction methods are precarious. Because of that we have taken into consideration local workforce, and we only use materials that are obtainable in the vicinity.
The chosen design is a symbol of union and encourages people to come together despite what their culture and beliefs are. It takes in high esteem the environment, but manages to create new public spaces for the town and intimate spaces for religious purposes. Two axis collide in a point that becomes the inception of the project. Those axis divide the outside in four different ambiances that will promote relationships between people in different ways, and happens to leave great possibilities in the interior, that may harbor all kind of activities. In order to achieve this, it is essential that the interior is able to change at any time to meet any specific requirement, even unforeseen events that might happen in the Third World.
First hand-made sketches, some are cut into pieces so we can test moving them or spin them around.
The previously mentioned axis are materialized in the form of great walls, and around their intersection, an oasis of peace emerges. It is designed to encourage a feeling of community, reunion, communication between all people no matter their creed. Both walls confer the main image for the place and are heavy enough to confer great presence overall. They are created out of blocks that are placed randomly, and because of this, holes are left behind, some of which will be filled up with debris from the old structures that are going to disappear making way for this new project.
The circle is a common symbol for most religions, along with the natural light provided by the sun itself and the necessity of some kind of spiritual feeling. Because of this, the interior rooms that are all underground are shaped of the form of this circle. From the outside, it is seen only slightly above the street level so that the huge walls remain the leading elements of the project. In this way, the interior will always be fresh despite high temperatures, and all public spaces outside will have their own different touch, as everything that may happen in the inside is reflected in the outside. The orientation of the two walls was chosen after a very precise study. It respects the Muslim faith as it is the most common religion in Senegal by a huge margin, but also respects Christian and Animist beliefs.
The qibla is facing Mecca, the Christian space has the most important light source in the East side, and the relation between sun and earth, which is of great importance for Animists, is represented in the patio. This Animist beliefs ended up changing those from Muslims and Christians in Africa, therefore, the complex as a whole tries to honor that fact. New intentions for spirituality and monumentality are created playing with light, sizes of elements, opacities, and feelings.
First 3D model, already measurable and high quality materialization to learn about senses and spatial proportion.
A sheet of water makes way for the accesses, it gives the entrance a subtle touch of mysticism for those that approach to the building from the main street from the North, which is where the most people will come from. Underneath, a space is saved for a new drinking water installation, so it can be stored and distributed through a manually operated water source. The perimeter of this sheet of water has the height of a place to sit on, so it has the function of a continuous curved bench.
To the South there is a new open space that surrounds the patio. To the East the retention wall of the Muslim room is facing the main street, and its design invites people to come along or stay for a while. The most private square, as it is hidden from the hustle and bustle of the town, surrounds the Christian room to the West. The boundary of the flat roof of this space also serves as a bench, encouraging people to relate and chat.
Testing several constructive options. How pieces could conform the building.
Therefore, there are three resulting rooms inside, that may be used in several ways. Despite the room to the East having been designed for the Muslim religion, the one to the West for the Christian and the patio to the South as a symbol of the Sun and the Earth for Animists beliefs, everything can be adapted to be used in other ways. This is achieved with walls that may move, slide or rotate.
Sunlight enters mainly through the patio, but can also enter through a perimetral line that lights up the qibla in the Muslim room, through little skylights in specific points and also through the holes of the main walls.
Almost final materialization. Laminar laterite stone for axis-walls, the rest in a more traditional and cheap way.
Building Process:
To start off, an excavation down to 5 meters below street level is needed. The terrain is well known and easy to move and treat. Then the foundations for the walls and for the main circle already described are executed. The main material is laterite stone. It is obtained in quarries that exist nearby and that will give the red color to the walls. The laterite blocks should be of equal shape but variable length and also should be easily carried. The result will be a random pattern that marks horizontality, leaving holes now and then, but with enough consistency. The blocks will be simply placed one on top of each other. Debris as a material is also used as a memory of the older worship buildings that will be gone. The little random holes will let light pass to the inside in several points. These walls will be a monument themselves, a memory of everything we want to achieve. There will be openings in these walls for people to pass through in the lower level.
A non definitive scheme about construction phases.
Then the circular retaining walls will be executed, with the necessary width. Starting from their foundations, they will go up between 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters above street level, depending on the room and the final function needed. It will be built using traditional methods with stone. Next, the terrain may now fill all exterior spaces and be compressed. Only the most exterior ring will be marked with stone in the pavement in all the perimeter, to highlight the idea of circle so that the limit between what is divine and what is profane can be seen and felt at street level.
Another scheme used through the design process.
The entrance is designed in the exterior in the form of an L-shaped 2 meter width corridor that breaks through the entire project down to the main center. One side of this corridor has a staircase and the other has a ramp, both leading to a -4 meter floor. It is also designed to prevent floods with floating stone pavement, hiding possible water accumulation and improving healthiness. The next part will be the roofing, leaving skylights where needed. All roofs are flat and horizontal, using traditional methods in all cases. The lighter walls are made of woodwork, a wooden solid frame and a non-opaque panel for each section. These walls are those described above, that will let different spaces to be customized.
Almost finishing out the feel and touch for the final presentation.
We have tried to take into account all aspects that come into play: sense of community, economy, religion, monumentality, environment, society, position, orientation, sunlight... Everything plays a role in the design and should be noticeable in one way or another. In spite of so much complexity, great simplicity has been achieved. An idea to gather the people, to help them subsist. A very obvious use of primary forms, which are common symbols to all beliefs. It is adaptable, unpredictable, ever-changing and versatile.
Final Model
Final design:
Designing in 3D right away
Take a look to this design:
Trying to come up with new ways for expressing ourselves technically and artistically, it's true that solving both with the same tool is nonsense still today. It is also true that digital tools are the new tools, and can perfectly complement traditional tools since the first day for any project to be produced. These tools I'm talking about are not 3D software, those are already tools of the past, today's tools are parametric algorithms, BIM, 3D analogical painting and printing, VR and RT rendering... but even these are already tools of the past, and in no time others will come up. Hand drawing is still mandatory, there is no doubt about that, sculpting is still mandatory, but not being up to date in the digital context is reckless in order to survive upcoming technology. Missing that context for just a couple of years will make coming back again such an impossible task.
With this mentality I have been trying to use today's most commonly used design software in new ways and I'm producing several infographic media that I have been uploading to YouTube, and I will be uploading several other complementary studies for that personal "tower project" I have in mind (which is just an excuse for me for all this research)
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