22 Jul 2009 | 2 comments »
The main ideas that drove my project were creating positive outdoor space seeing as most of the artisans work outdoors. The courtyard is the hub of activity and everything built is meant to support it. Since the association supports many artisan trades, the design called for minor courtyards which allow for more privacy and seperation of activity, unified through a major courtyard in the center. The major courtyard in the center has a public counterpart on the exterior wich allows for public markets to form when needed. The building structures are designed with passive cooling strategies in mind since little to no electrical cooling sytems will be used.
Space use
Circulation and inside/outside work areas
Bird's eye sketch from southeast
Scale model viewed from northeast
Sketch model of artisan workspace with gabion stone walls and double roof
22 Jul 2009 | no comments »
My primary design goal for this project is to provide a comfortable and pleasant working environment for the artisans of Koutiala using appropriate local materials and labor. I am concerned with creating spaces that have ample lighting and ventilation, which has been one of the main influences driving the organization of buildings on the site, as well as the form of each building. The floating roof structures have several purposes: 1) to collect rainwater for storage in underground cisterns, 2) to allow natural ventilation throughout the buildings, and 3) to reflect daylight to the underside of the skylight and then into each building. The collected rainwater can be stored in self-constructed ferro-cement tanks below each building to be used by the artisans in their crafts and to irrigate the landscaping on the site. I hope to make this artisans’ center into an oasis with vines and trees providing shade; a greenhouse and garden can be used to grow edible plants and/or plants useful to dye fabrics or for other crafts. Another important feature of my plan is the central building that houses the communal meeting area and an internet cafe. I thought that the internet cafe could increase the success of the artisans, by allowing them access to customers from all over the world, in addition to being a source for supplies and new techniques.
22 Jul 2009 | no comments »
The idea of growth and life forming around a solid mass is very important in this project. The main meeting space is thought of as the heart, with branches of artisan meeting spaces branching out to form a major and several minor outdoor courtyards. These artisan spaces are adaptable, so they may be combined or separated as well as opened to the outside or closed off. The roof will lightly float above the solid foundation to bring in light and ventilation to keep the work spaces comfortable.
22 Jul 2009 | no comments »
I am trying to create a modular design for ease of building in phases. Layers of shade, flexible studio space, and outdoor work space are components of the concept. I got some good feedback during the midterm and am excited to incorporate the changes.
22 Jul 2009 | no comments »
Just thought I should talk briefly about the project. You probably can’t see much in this format…but we should be able to send you a PDF if you would like to see more. So..getting on… I was basically working with a central meeting hall that acted as an anchor to the community of artists and comfortable pools of shade for the outdoor working spaces. The models above show a possible work space with generous roof. The smaller model is for the entire site development and is suppose to evoke a feeling of the shade created by the angular roof forms.
21 Jul 2009 | no comments »
Continuation of developing the concept into details.
21 Jul 2009 | no comments »
The building currently has two major areas. The first is an outdoor market along the street edge and the other is an inner courtyard for the artisan studios. The market side also includes a small restaurant for the food crafts to sell and present their skills. The studios consist of an interior and exterior workspace that all share the large interior courtyard. The organization of the studios is determined by placing similar crafts together and having varying degrees of separation from each other so that workspaces don’t get cluttered by other artists. There are also a few residences in the courtyard that are separated by slotted screens that add privacy while still maintaining connection to the courtyard. At the apex of the courtyard is the gathering space. Its placed outside and is sheltered by a large canopy roof so that meetings can take place in shaded spot and not in a stuffy room.
21 Jul 2009 | no comments »
Bonjour Koutiala!! Comment ça va? The site is organized into 3 major groupings. The market and “industrial crafts” on the west, the offices, meeting rooms and less “industrial crafts” like weavers, tailors, bogolan and jewelry makers in the center courtyard, and finally, transitional housing for widows, housing for apprentices and a caretaker, space for children to be cared for while their mothers are working and a garden on the east. The garden makes use of a space that is hard to fit a building into. The garden can provide income as well as food for the residents (widows and apprentices of the Artisan Center. The market at the threshold of the center gives the artisans a place to sell their products locally, and can be a gathering place for the neighbors in the community.
Questions: Does the area need to connect to the neighborhood to the north? Is it important for the children of the nearby school to use the area? Is the road on the southern perimeter the most important access point to the property. Is it important for the buildings to be completely enclosed by walls, or is it OK for people to be able to pass through the property?
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