The Bath Room: Body

Showing posts with label Body. Show all posts

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

Re-designing the bathroom_Iteration 4.1

Iteration 4.1 looks at the form of the bathroom through analysis and reflection of the bathroom diary, translation of movements within the diary into shape and form and transformation of form into spatial gesture.

Sketch of original movement diagram which heavily influence the form of Iteration 4. This highlights the comparison between the movements I make and space I use within the bathroom, and the rectangular room provided.

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

"first we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us"

Architecture and Order; Approaches to Social Order.
Ch: Ordering the World: Perceptions of Architecture, Space and Time.
Michael Parker Pearson & Colin Richards.

P. 8 - routine.
P. 2 - 3 - Winston Churchill - "first we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us."

Francis Bacon "Houses are built to live in and not to look on".

Requested Amos Rapport's House Form and Culture.

Books that arrived today in the post:

Purity & Danger - Mary Douglas
Design Your Life - Ellen & Julia Lupton
in praise of shadows - Junichiro Tanizaki
Bathroom Unplugged - Hebel & Stollmann (again)
Architecture - The Subject is Matter - Jonathan Hill
Occupying Architecture: Between the architect and the user - Jonathan Hill

Alain Paiement "Lio"

Alain Paiement. (2003). Lio. Archival ink jet prints, semi-matte paper; mounted on dibond (aluminium-plastic material). Exhibited: Mattieu Foss Gallery; Mumbai.

Image retrieved from here.

This image strikes me the most out of Paiement's four bathing images in his Surfacing Over There exhibition in Mumbai, 2011. It strikes me because the perspective highlights the size of the shower space to in comparison to the size of the body that has to shower within it. The shower gel - in it's own small storage shelf - looks better fitting on its shelf than the body does to the shower.

The relationship between the body and the shower head being held is also quite awkward, the direction of the body in comparison to where the shower head is hung differs in direction - this demonstrates to me that thought as to where the shower head would go for this person hasn't been considered on a personal basis, and is the result of being manufactured and mass-produced. On a similar note, the body is facing away from the shelves (top right of the image) - is this choice or is the body forced to stand in this way?

Monday, 19 September 2011

Idea for Iteration 2 development_sketch

Just a quick sketch to show what I mean by duration and size of sink etc.

Re-designing the bathroom_Iteration 1

Translating the movement diagrams into a 3-dimensional space.

Working drawings showing progress of the space formation. Work in progress.

Below and above, demonstrating the space formation in relation to the existing bathroom. This shows the areas of my bathroom I used over a week-long period.

Sunday, 18 September 2011

More writing...Intro cont.

BATHROOM TO LORNA

Eczema is just a layer of this project, it demonstrates a level of individuality that is shared by a limited amount of people around the world. This could be compared to, for example, being a single mother looking after a 3 year old whilst wanting to have a shower, or similarly, having a visual impairment and longing to be independent in the bathroom. All examples are unique. Design could be personally driven and accommodate such layers of individuality through the cross-over between spatial design and product design through the designer.

This is a very personal history of my Eczema that explains why the mentality of the bathroom as a chore has emerged for me. I intend to cut down so that it doesn't become the main parameters of the project, it is only a layer. I do not want to design bathrooms for persons who have Eczema.

To me, the bathroom is a room that I dread entering, however once I am inside and “doing something” I begin to enjoy myself. I grew up in Scotland, in a small village 25 miles from the nearest town. From birth to 6 months, my mum and dad noticed that I was constantly covered in a red, blotchy rash from head to toe and at age 6months I was diagnosed with Atopic Eczema. Throughout my 24 year life so far, I have undergone countless treatments for Eczema – most of which involve treatments that occur within the bathroom, or after having a bath. These treatments included:

Chinese Herbal Medicine (bath additives)
Dry-Wraps (bandaging done in bathroom)
Moisturizing and Cream Application (done in bathroom)
Bath Emollients (added to baths)
Wet-Wraps (wet bandaging required to be done in bathroom)
Oat baths (bath additive and used similar to soap)
Potassium Permanganate baths (bath additive)
Ichthammol and Zinc bandages (coated bandaging done in bathroom)
Ichthammol and Zinc skin application (applied as a cream in bathroom)
LIST CONT.

The bathroom became a room where I would be treated for my Eczema, almost like a hospital, where a simple bath or shower meant a strict routine to maintain my skin. Entering the bathroom was the beginning of a long tedious ritual to keep my Eczema under control. Gradually as I got older, I grew out of my food allergies and today I am only allergic to eggs, nuts and animal fur, which will induce an Eczema flare-up. However, the bathroom became a chore, and this mentality has stuck with me for as long as I can remember.

My Eczema makes the bathroom an experience unique to me, and instead of hiding it, how can I incorporate it into my re-design of the bathroom.

SUMMARY OF THESIS? Through practice-led research for deisgn, I intend to investigate personal aspects of the bathroom for myself, and translate these into a bathroom design that is a result of the practice-led research conducted and discussed throughout my Thesis. The ultimate goal is to create an individual bathroom; a bathroom designed for myself, and that accommodates my own individual routines, rituals, actions and movements within the bathroom, aspects which are not visible in current bathroom design, specifically my current home in Rolleston.

Highlighted through design investigations, a Bathroom Diary and analysis and reflection of these. (incomplete sentence)

How can I make the bathroom a more enjoyable experience?

How can I re-enthuse myself about entering the bathroom through design?

Friday, 16 September 2011

Movement Diagrams_Rediscovering the Bathroom_Overlayed

Previous work I did completed. Showing a week of movement diagrams over-layed on top of eachother - this visualizes the space within the bathroom that is used throughout a week.

Highlighting the areas that are occupied often - structure and occupancy is white. This diagram visually demonstrates that the sink is the most used area, followed by the shower and lastly the bath.

Here I am demonstrating the form in plan of the movement taking place within the bathroom. This diagram has no concept of time though, it is a flat form.

And once again, just showing the plan-form without the existing walls and structures. It is drawn purely from movement. It also suggests that it is quite an awkward form to negotiate - or that the bathroom is an awkward layout. This is reinforced in Re-configuring the Bathroom diagrams, where the conclusion is that the bathroom layout is as such because the products cannot fit in the room (the Bathroom) any other way.

Thursday, 15 September 2011

Starting to write about the Bathroom Diary...

The diary as a tool for research is very beneficial - from this I have drawn up tables, graphs, diagrams, lists and re-designed my existing bathroom room, all through reflecting upon diary entries.

Diary

Pedgley - diary

- Written

- Visual

- Blog

In order to further clarify to myself what actions, rituals, and routines I perform on a daily/weekly/monthly basis I decided to keep a Bathroom Diary. This diary became my companion, occupying my thoughts whilst I was in the bathroom and becoming my place to reflect upon my actions later whilst writing my recollections into it.

The diary is a valuable tool for recording my daily actions in the Bathroom. I used it to be as specific and personal to myself as possible. My own affliction with Eczema alters my routines and rituals dramatically, as the bathroom has become more of a chore than a place to relax for me. I tend to scratch my skin when it is exposed and after bathing become dry and irritated rapidly so I apply my moisturizers, creams and steroids as soon as possible. Personal routines, rituals and actions are important in the design of my bathroom, as the bathroom is one of the few places I feel comfortable exposing myself.

The bathroom is already a very personal room in the domestic house. It contains multiples of personal belongings and has seen the most intimate of encounters. The touch of soap and body lotion covering skin from head to toe, the rubbing of bubbles and lather through one’s hair and the collection of persons hair and skin, all in the name of hygiene. The bathroom keeps hidden what the rest of the rooms in the domestic house do not want to show, nor do its occupants want guests to see – a hair covered hairbrush, deodorant for rubbing onto the underneath of one’s arms, female sanitary products, cotton-wool buds for cleaning out my ears…CONTINUE.

I found that I spend most of my time in the bathroom admiring myself, checking myself out in the mirror above the sink, or checking myself for imperfections on the surface – dry skin, stray hairs on my eyebrows and nose, or checking for toothpaste around the edges of my mouth.

The time spend in front of the mirror was enhanced by my daily routine of brushing my teeth, having to stand directly in front of the mirror whilst brushing my teeth. Performing a monotonous task such as this whilst in front of the mirror, I found it very difficult not to look at myself. Occasionally I found myself drifting off into thought – often thinking about the Bathroom Diary but more often than not I have no idea what I was daydreaming about. I would brush my teeth, pick up my toothbrush, apply toothpaste, switch on and off the taps, brush my teeth up, down, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, slow and fast, spit out into the sink basin and rinse my toothbrush – finally placing it down on the sink in front of me, directly under the mirror. As caution I would check the corners of my mouth and lips for white toothpaste to avoid future embarrassment or another visit to the bathroom to look in the mirror.

The shower was the next item I spent most of my duration in the bathroom for. Preparation, undressing, checking myself out in the mirror (again!), putting on my shower cap, stepping into the shower, washing myself, applying soap, washing my hair with shampoo, conditioning my hair, washing myself again, shaving my legs and underarms, washing myself again, squeegee-ing the shower cubicle, opening the door and stepping out, drying myself, moisturizing myself, getting dressed and finally, leaving the bathroom.

Lastly, I used the bath. Once in the entire time I kept my initial Bathroom diary did I have a bath. This was time-consuming in terms of having to perform the same actions as a shower, but having to run the bath before hand and constantly check on it. Other than the once I bathed in it, and the daily prop it has become for ease of moisturizing my legs, it was seldom used or acknowledged.

Thinking about Julian Hakes...

Is Julian Hakes still relevant?

Julian Hakes designed The Mojito Shoe designed from the inside out. Definitely relevant in the wider scope of the topic, but not in relevance to the bathroom. Hakes should go towards the beginning of the Thesis/Sketch Essay to build up information on the topic.

Julian Hakes

Mojito Shoe – Julian Hakes’ Mojito shoe is a carbon fibre shoe with leather ‘inner’ for comfort and a rubber ‘outer’ for grip. I say ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ loosely as it’s hard to differentiate between inside and outside with this shoe. “Most shoes are designed from the outside in – they are designed to look good on the foot. As an architect I did the opposite and designed them from the inside out – I looked at how the foot moves, how it transfers the body’s load.” [1] Hake’s is a London-based architect who specialises in building bridges – the Mojito is a result of Hakes asking himself, “if the design of a shoe was an evolution of the early sandal and how can new materials and design techniques provide new solution?” [2] The Mojito shoe – despite being a shoe - questions designing from the outside in, and opens up opportunities for other disciplines, such as Spatial Design, to design from the inside out, designed from the how the body moves and translated into a better design solution.

[1] Dezeen » Blog Archive » Mojito shoe by Julian Hakes. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2011, from http://www.dezeen.com/2009/09/23/mojito-shoe-by-julian-hakes/

[2] Dezeen » Blog Archive » Mojito shoe by Julian Hakes. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2011, from http://www.dezeen.com/2009/09/23/mojito-shoe-by-julian-hakes/

Thinking about my previous work (BDes)

My first question is are we allowed to include previous work from another year? And secondly how much of it?

Here is what I am thinking of including. It will obviously need tweaking/edited.

My Body. My Home.

This journey started for me last year upon studying the last year of my Bachelor of Spatial Design at Massey University, when I began to investigate my relationship to my home, located on Wellington’s popular Cuba Street. My initial interest was sparked through time-lapse, but I found static objects too boring when the effect and affect produced was a result of an external force to what I was actually looking at – such as the sun, or Wellington’s infamous winds. I decided to film the affects of time-lapse on myself, initially sitting on the front steps of The Old Dominion Museum under the scorching sun with a tri-pod in front of my face. I focused the camera in on my facial expressions – which I later found to be known as ‘display affect’ – and filmed myself scowling, twitching and sweating under the sun’s rays. ‘Display affect’ is the sign of emotion expressed subconsciously through posture, vocalization and facial expressions.

I decided then to set off to my home on Cuba Street; BODYLAPSE (2010)[1] maps my body’s response to my home, and in turn, the rhythm of that space through my body. I filmed myself sitting in my lounge as one of four sun shadows passed over my body, through plastic ceiling apertures; the only source of natural light into this room. The subconscious relationship between body and home was visible through nose twitches, excessive blinking and other subtle gestures. This was the beginning of my investigation into the relationship between my body and where I live, how the body affects my home and in turn how my home affects my body.

From filming my body in my home I progressed to use my body a drawing tool, drawing the physical relationship between my body and it’s environment in Sensorial Space (2010). I covered an unfamiliar room’s floor and walls in white bed sheets and clear tarpaulin and placed a large bottle of paint into the centre of the room. I dressed in a black singlet top and skin-tight leggings and excluded myself from visual and auditory senses – wearing a blindfold and earmuffs. Using my body, I felt my way around the space. For 30 minutes, this unused cupboard was transformed and the relationship between my body and architecture became heightened. Where the paint on the body collided with the architecture, the body and architecture become ‘one’ for a moment.

My final, and probably most successful, investigation into the relationship between the body and architecture was The Bed Sheet (2010). In a state of complete passiveness I went to bed covered from head to toe in a thick layer of fake tan and make-up. As I lay dreaming on my white bed sheet my body was drawing the relationship my body and my bed. In the morning when I woke, I looked in the mirror; the face staring back at me looked nothing like the night before; paler, blackened sunken eyes and smears of red around my jaw. The bed sheet was no longer white but covered in pasty pale brown markings. One pillowcase was bright white against the dirty sheet; the other was covered in red blemishes, black smudges and pale brown imperfections.

These investigations were all very helpful in demonstrating the relationship between my body and my home. The Bed Sheet was the most useful for informing my design development however, as it visually demonstrated the space my body occupies while I’m asleep, in comparison the bed I sleep on. The rounded blob of brown fake tan on the white bed sheet indicates that my body doesn’t occupy a Single, Queen or Double –sized rectangular shape, but a Me-sized shape.

[1] Smith, L. (2010). BODYLAPSE. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=zm4BZQrwS0Y