Reflection of Past Papers

What is your favorite project/piece of work that you have produced while studying Spatial design?

My favorite project was from second year design studio. The paper was focused on public/social spaces. I focused on observing, participating and intervening with Barry Curtis Park in East Auckland. I focused on becoming the local bird lady of the park and raising awareness to the biodiversity of birds and plant species thriving in these wetland areas. I was really proud of my presentation and i was able to become the designer of the park as I got to alter the space through my actions. With biodegradable cups filled with bird seeds which i scattered around the playground, I changed the way people used the space and changed how they experienced it. The kids and parents all interacted with my cups, scattering and throwing bird seeds about.

The park I selected my social space to be was of big significance round my life. It was developed when I was fairly young and it has been a large contribution in the growth of the community in my area of dwelling. The site therefore came a big driving factor in motivation to drive my project.

process, methods, outcomes

Making Connections: Reflect on the design work you have produced to date. Can you identify
connections between and across projects? Are there any recurring areas of interest? List down
what theses are.

Mind Map

Wintergardens: Things I’m interested in/ Things to consider:

• Meaning of all the sculptures and the artists who made them- how can I link the history of the art in the gardens to repurpose as an exhibition space.
• Could I use the style in which the gardens were built and inspired to reflect into a teahouse for visitors to enjoy and experience a taste of the period in which they were built?
• Could I reference some readings/stories or deeper meaning behind materials such as glass and reflect them into an exhibition space?
• Could I reflect the history of the site being on a volcano and incorporate the geological history into an exhibition or education space?
• I love the overgrown, wildness and unmanicured look to the gardens when they are not cleaned. I love the Secret Garden movie and maybe I could intentionally create a space that highlights the beauty in the wild?
• Consider the origins, location, meanings to the plantations, foliage and flowers growing in the gardens. Maybe carefully curate the plants which tell a better story of the past?
• Observe the way that light enters the space at different times of the day and year. Consider reflection in the water and glass and orientate the design to create an atmospheric experience of light, shadow, reflection, sound and movement.

Keywords of Interests: Neoclassicism, Materiality, Light, Reflection, Symmetry, Form, History, Atmosphere, Experience