This project is my first attempt at designing exhibition spaces as this year has given me the confidence to pursue storytelling through exhibition interiors. My aim was also to upgrade my design knowledge that would add to my experience set, which led me to do an intense study about evocative spaces through set and stage designs.
I was thrilled to create the first drawing of my idea of an interior. As I completed the drawing, I wondered if it could ever change as I did not see why it needs to. Moving through the course, I could not help but add depth to what were initially just words, through designing, reiterating, and questioning relevance and reasoning. This course has set forth a starting point to keep defining my version of interiors throughout my design life.
The rain room is a space to reflect, breathe and move around, a space that dances with you. This complements the existing spaces in the building that does not include informal single-user spaces. The position of the site makes the project interactive and extends beyond its physical boundary. The space is inspired by the concept of a ‘nook’ a little personal interior that the individual carries with them as they leave the space. The journey into and within the space has been given importance in the project, the multisensory layers scripts a user-space bodily engagement. The scent of the mud bricks, the leaves through the brick wall pattern, and the reflection of water against the rubble floor as the sonic stone play its melody all add up to a completely relaxing experience.
A place for everyone to slow down and get to know each other. Moving deeper into the concept, I combined the idea of storytelling through art and narrative experiences. This project was called ‘daring’ and I knew why. There is no direct case study and no university or library that put together such functions. To resolve this issue, I created flexibility in permanence for students to choose or create new activities in different spaces. Courtyards and sets of vertical clusters were created to form playful links between levels. Each floor was given a suggestive set activity to make sense of the concept (even though it was beyond the brief) but it had to be done to make sense of the spatial functions. This project was indeed a daring experiment but also gave me a strong starting point to move ahead.
