Home
Win Assakul
Inter 2

Light Crafted Architecture

Many projects we see today deal with issues concerning the use and availability of light. Of course it is a legitimate concern, due to the current climate we are in. Saving energy through ingenious lighting solutions has been the basis of current architecture and design. 

However, we often overlook the other potentials of light. Light can be more than just a source of illumination. Light provides us with vision, but can it also help us to see something which does not yet exist? Can it define and describe spaces that are not there and assist us in creating architecture?

I strongly believe that we can harness the qualities of light and use it as a design tool. If we can abstract the way we observe light, we can use it to shape, form and carve out spaces that provide inspiration for our design.

The British summer is a great example of how much we all value the sunshine. The longer days and warming light can coax a smile from the gumpiest of people and there is a noticeable shift in the population's mood.So perhaps there is potential in light not only as a design tool but also as a tool to bring happiness. 

Our site is in the heart of South Kensington a highly affluent area in London. However, affluence does not necessarily bring happiness. It can of course, help one to materialise various items that may induce temporary feelings of happiness. 

Drugs are taboo. Admitting that one has a drug problem thus opens a big can of taboo for everyone to enjoy. This is a major concern for the wealthy and the socialites of Kensington. Thus we never hear much about the misuse of drugs within this class of people. However, when we do, it is usually the cause for intense excitement and gossip.

I propose to break down these barriers. To materialise a bold and defiant architecture to celebrate the boldness and the bravery of the people who have so much to lose in admitting to this taboo. It is not to celebrate the use of drugs, rather, to celebrate the swift recovery of such persons once they have admitted. 

All through the use of light. 

----------------------------------

Win Assakul, Intermediate 2

Photogram showing rehabilitation clinic in section. A structure with its geometry designed and crafted by light can also be drawn with light. A series of masks are laid on to photo-sensitive paper and multiple exposures are made on to the same sheet. Aviary Photogram - bird's-eye-view Inhabitants can look down into the aviary from above. Running through the clinic, the aviary enables the birds to create a soothing atmosphere. Patients are surrounded by birdsong and are able to interact with them on the higher levels of the clinic.Section showing the possible inhabitation of the complex geometry created by surrounding light sources. Wood-printed figures surround the building, representing the rebirth of patients within.Shelters provide a space for patients to retreat into. Withdrawal is a difficult process and extremely uncomfortable. Many patients have severe negative reactions to external stimuli. A calm dark area is required. Patients are re-introduced to the benefits of sunlight. They are gradually and gently exposed to more light as their condition improves. Sunlight lifts the moods and aids in the withdrawal process, thus increasing the speed of recovery.Light is used as a design tool to generate a series of volumes. This geometry is then combined and hollowed to create intersecting spaces which can then be inhabited. Using light as a tool to carve the existing structure and create new volumes. Investigation into the the existing sources of artificial light and how they interact with the existing site and its apertures.An animation projected through smoke, a first glimpse into the possibilities of light as a design tool.