spaciousbachelorparty

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A final post.

After installing the bathroom, I quickly went on to figure out how I was going to render my bathhouse. At a first google, VRay stated it was available on Mac. After further inspection I realised Vray was only available within Sketchapp and even at that, it didn’t seem to be available on MacOS at all. At this stage I got extremely stressed for how I was going to complete my render to a desired standard. I then went through dozens of forums and found the key render plugins for Mac were Keyshot and Blender. Both of these were not available on my outdated MacBook. It was at this stage I figured I’d bite the bullet and apply for a grant onto campus in order to be able to use Vray in the way I was taught as it seemed to make the most sense to me. It seemed I never got an email back explaining if I had been granted access or not so wrote that off as an option. I reached out to a few class mates to see what their options were and it seemed that Rhino 7 was the best option to render as it had an extremely simple user interface. But then came more problems. My MacBook being outdated I was unable to install Rhino 7, along with me using Rhino5 to create my model I realised there would be even more trouble trying to import a Rhino5 model into a newer model. At this stage I realised I had to figure out a way to use Rhino7 by any means possible as the due date was getting closer and closer. I reached out to the only friend I knew with a MacBook that would be able to handle CPU rendering but they were quarantining in Piha. I then resorted to my family computer that is extremely old but seemed to have the new MacOS that allowed a download of Rhino7. I began to render within it with everything seeming to run smoothly but then found a new can of worms to unravel. Any time I entered the correct render view in high quality my project would crash. For this reason my snapshots of my final render are extremely pixelated though I’m sure it will be understood this is nowhere near the final product I envisioned and sacrifices have to be made for these odd circumstances. Another attempt I forgot to add was connecting through RDP/VRC to a computer within school. For some reason I found my computer couldn’t load the page to book a session unless I was using a VPN. I believe this comes from my internet provider creating a firewall for websites that are deemed un secure. With this it meant that my IP address would change so I couldn’t become a host.

My second biggest issue is any actual material added would come out extremely pixelated. At first I assumed that due to my model being made in a 1:100 scale that the materials used for walls etc were extremely undersized. I then scaled my model up to a correct size and this didn’t fix the issue one bit. At this point I just used colours within paint and simple materials such as terracotta for the floor. I hope my vision is still able to be seen within these circumstances.

I found the Sections to also be extremely difficult though I do believe if my calculations were correct it is scaled correctly.

Within this I realised that correctly rendering lighting within my model was far from achievable with my families Mac’s CPU not being able to handle it, for this reason I added lighting within photoshop.

I was pleasantly surprised for how the neon lights came out within photoshop and how they responded to the environment.

Naturally with the overall situation it’s quite clear this is nowhere near the standard I had expected with Vray being extremely accessible on computers that can handle the CPU rendering, though I understand no-one from my peers to lecturers had any control over the situation and am ok with how it turned out. As said before within this final blog post I’m sure it will be understood no-one could complete work to a standard desired.

Thank you

Max O’Loughlin.

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Bathroom.

Snapshots of installing bathroom, figured it’d be good to install.

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Furthering finishing.

After my previous blog post, I had a clear vision in what was needed in order to complete my bathhouse to a complete standard whilst producing a bath house that conveys my original idea of creating an angelic atmosphere to escape to. I have now completely finished and furnished my model. Though I believe I have a few rough edges to go over before I finalise my render. 

Since my last snapshot of modelling, I’ve changed a number of things. The first thing being the positioning of the pool working in turn with the stairwell leading down to the sensory tank room. I found its original positioning was extremely clustered and didn’t provide a clear walk way for those using the space. I’ve made the long length of the pool skinnier to almost resemble a lap pool though this pool will exclusively be used for an ice cold plunge in a sense. With the other aspect of the pool being much more of a relaxing climate resembling a shared spa. 

I’ve installed my cryotherapy tanks within the space along with a chair and table and bowl for users. My hopes for these little details is to make users feel exclusive as though the space has been only thought out with them in mind, and not turned into a expense saving generic bath house. Along with this space I found the entrance carved out of the broken brick was still too inclusive for such a personal space and again, pulls back my idea of being a sacred place. It’s for this reason I’ve installed curtains. Along with this I think the contrast between high quality curtains and the decaying surface of brick will provide a beautiful contrast. 

I love how my final model has been laid out and feel as though the space flows extremely well, I will be talking with Xavier regarding installing things such as water fountains and changing rooms/ toilets though to my understanding these features aren’t needed. 

It is obvious my next step now is to add material to my building and finalise a render. I have explored my methods after the original idea of going in class obviously can’t be done due to these odd circumstances. I have found Vray to still be the best rendering tool as it is available on my current laptop and offers a free 30-day trial.  I believe the biggest challenge within rendering is making sure the lighting within my space is correct. 

In terms of my planning for lighting, I have progressed slightly. I have finalised that the only room to have naturalistic lighting is the cryotherapy tanks. Both rooms have been fitted with a wide skylight to send light seeping in from above. I’ve chosen to only use natural lighting in this space as I believe too much will take away from the artificial atmosphere I’m creating with the key tool being LED lighting within. Within shared spaces such as the sauna, main room. I’m still deciding if I want to use colour coded lighting or simple tones varying from white to black. As of right now, I believe I will still use a warm LED light within the sauna to amplify the feeling of warmth. For the underground space, I’ve attached a few models I would like to use as inspiration for how the overall space feels and believe the illuminating blue light from within the sensory tank along with a dim LED white will create a great feeling. 

My next blog post will be showing snapshots of the final rendering and my process within installing lights. I’ve just come to realise I will be needing to create a brief changing room and will upload photos of this within my next blog post.

Max

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A vital update.

After a lack of blog posting, my original idea was to preferably release a blog post once my final idealisation for my bathhouse was completed. As I have run into a few trip ups and believe my ideal time frame may be compromised, I figured it was un realistic to keep putting off any updates for my lecturers to see. This blog post will give an understanding for everything I have been doing since the Semester break and last blog post.

A week before the semester break is when I presented my idea to Xavier, I was glad to see that my idea was easily spoken with Xavier seeming to understand exactly what the overall feeling of creating a sacred almost angelic space is supposed to convey. An extremely personal space those go to in order to better their mind, soul and wellbeing through a varying range of physical therapy that requires you to stay in control of your mind. 

The most valid point I took away from my presentation that Xavier raised is that in the current model I’ve made, Everything is in an open space environment with an awful lot of cluster. The space does not allow you to move freely with a layout that looked more like a night market than a interpersonal environment. We continued to speak about it and I realised I was simply being far too ambitious with the amount of activities to complete within the bath house. 

 The biggest points I took away is that there is an extreme lack of a personal touch. I began to see how little my layout truly lives up to it’s purpose, the second point being that I should refine the amount of activities I’m offering and simply have 3-4 that are much more personal and result in a much cleaner layout. At this point I felt an extreme halt in how to move forward.

During our discussion once Uni had returned online, we were discussing ways I could move forward going back and forward with ideas. I was showing Xavier a photo that captured exactly how I wanted my bath house to feel, it was a bath surrounded by two types of brick and rock, I loved the underlying tones of the blatant contrast of having a beautiful porcelain white bath surrounded by ‘dirty’ materials that look as though they’re on the verge of decay. I’ve been trying to understand why I love this contrast in particular so much and have concluded my reasoning. It reminds me almost as though there was a ancient bath house that once was used 1000s of years ago, with a variety of contemporary furniture and technology installed that nods it’s head at the past use of the environment. I knew I loved this but couldn’t vocalise the rough almost dirty style with a contrast, So I continued to research and find out more about this original image. When I found the Williamsburg Bathhouse located in Manhattan New York, I felt as though I was looking at my dream idea being brought to life. I immediately found many similarities, it coveys itself in an extremely angelic sense creating an environment that is ultimately shared yet has personal spaces only suitable to house 1 at a time. I could see a very slight hint of Turkish heritage. 

A key point pointed out by Xavier is the use of lighting used to add to the underlying sense of an angelic space. Within the photo from the Williamsburg bathhouse, there was a circular skylight bringing in lighting overhead pouring in on the user and it’s surrounding. We both agreed that this use of lighting boosted the overall feeling of the space entirely. I realised at this stage how greatly lighting would convey my overall meaning to the space. I researched deeper into my artist model and found my answer for a question I had asked myself a long time ago. I originally had the idea of pairing certain design with the idea of my activities revolving around exposing your body to either extremely hot & cold temperatures. I originally pulled this off by making those spaces with colder connotations to be designed with much sharper and adjacent angles and for the warm spaces to be designed with smooth curves that reflect the nature of exposing yourself to these conditions. I noticed the shared spaces such as sauna and pool were using lighting to achieve this with a much cleaner outcome. I will be adapting this and use red and purple neon strips to provide a rich undertone to specific spaces. In terms of personal spaces only housing one or two people, natural lighting will fill these places but with a limitation, as I want my final outcome to look almost under-lit but just enough lighting. Along with this if the natural light is far too overpowering I believe it will affect the atmosphere of the entire basement. A feeling almost as though it’s a secret place that has to remain dimly lit to remain hidden yet provide an ambience. 

In terms of an actual re design and progression I started by removing every aspect apart from my bath house apart from my sauna. As this is a shared space and I do already enjoy the design present as it fit’s well in the space but will need to review it. 

I began basic sketches of my concept from a floor plan to drawing some perspectives. I had re organised my ideas into a cleaner format leaving a Sauna, sensory tank, cryotherapy  and a pool concept that combines an ice bath with a normal temperature pool. I found through these drawings that there simply wouldn’t be enough space for me to create these intimate spaces for the ‘private’ activities such as cryotherapy and sensory deprivation tanks. I then came up with a design that would leave the space flowing in a nice walking manner but have a private space. I’ve decided I’ll make the sensory deprivation tanks in an isolated room underneath the bath house. Construction on this can be seen in rhino modelling I’ve begun creating the space outside of the bathhouse to later install. The other private space has been installed at the end of the bathhouse for cryotherapy. I was troubled trying to think on how I could possibly design a wall to create a private space. Upon first research relating back to Turkish heritage I was going to place two wall dividers similar to the one added for each room. When it came to embedding a pattern into these pieces, Rhino crashed multiple times and couldn’t handle it. Along with this I began to loose interest in this design as I found it looked quite messy and didn’t suit the overall them. I have instead installed two ‘brick’ walls that have been carved out to create an entry. I believe when it comes to rendering I will give the wall a look as though it has been plastered on had concrete poured over it with an underlying brick showing scarcely underneath. Though still in the brainstorming stage.

Moving forward I will be focusing on finishing my complete model within Rhino of my space, then moving towards rendering and focusing on light installation. I have attached a new list of materials I believe will highlight within my bath house.

I apologise to lecturers about my lack of blog posting and hoped to include everything updated from my last post to today within this. 

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It seems as though I reached a maximum capacity for images posted in one thread. Apologies for any relapses. 

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Discoveries

After an absence in blog posts. I feel as though I am finagling my path to go down and ready to write another entry. From the very beginning as shown I knew what I wanted my bathhouse to translate. An extremely intimate space in which one goes to push their bodies to the absolute extreme on both ends of the spectrum. A space in which one can go to clear the state of mind they’re in and come out of this space feeling re born.

I have successfully listed what materials I would like to use on both interior and exterior. A mix of concrete, scoria either in natural form or in bricks and wood. At this stage I hit a wall, I could not figure out how to relate my natural findings and purpose within the interior with actual meaning. I couldn’t even figure out how I would design the functions within the bathhouse.

I did a few sketches along with the modelling exercise within class and found this broke down the fall I kept hitting but did not show me guidance for a way in which to go. I started by extruding the floor plan to what I considered to be a rational sizing. The first thing I knew was I wanted to install a wide, skinny glass pane on the scoria wall facing the courtyard. I made the pane high to avoid onlookers within this personal space.

To further create a distancing between passer-byres and those using the bathhouse came from a statue located down in the viaduct as well as my material studies. The statue at the viaduct is constructed with a bunch of chrome steel rods that intertwine to create a mesmerising structure that is transparent but blocks quite a bit of clearance between the on looker and background. You can see this in my modelling on Rhino 5. I didn’t want this structure to be standing alone in an environment it has no familiarity in. When properly rendered I will be adding ferns found in the courtyard garden to wrap around this structure and become something entirely new. I believe this is a great medium that sits nicely between the courtyard and interior of the bath house. Another inspiration of this came from the steel fence vaguely placed around the bathhouse as it is a construction zone.

In terms of the interior, I knew I wanted to look inspired by the Turkish bathhouses from historic times with its beautiful symmetry and use of marble flooring. But this related back to materials and not necessarily the actual layout of the activities inside. I took a pen to my studio notebook and began simply where I believe each structure would feel naturally placed to create a pathway between the different actives. For example, starting with the sauna then moving to the cryotherapy tanks, to the sensory deprivation tanks, to the ice bath/plunge and finishing with a relaxing spa. It was in these drawings I found the use of curvature as symbolism. The activities that require mental strength and determination are designed with sharp, straight architecture and forms whilst things such as the spa and sensory tanks with an easier, relaxed purpose would be carved with smooth curves and soft edges being a basic metaphor and in my opinion bringing a deeper meaning to the space.

My next step will be to add materials both within my physical model as well as my model within Rhino to bring a realistic feeling to the space bringing me a time to experiment with different combinations along with a setting for lighting. The images attached show my handbook brainstorming, my research and inspiration for the outside structure and a basic render of how my bathhouse will be presented.

Max

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After going back to the site today, I decided to do a full 360 tour of the building to grasp the entire environment regarding materials. These are my thoughts on how I’d want to move forward

After originally hating the scoria wall facing the courtyard, after a closer inspection I realised it would diminish the natural beauty within this wall. The clay type pigments along with it’s rough finishing brings a unique character to the building that would not be found if to be replaced. I will be basing my colour scheme for the exterior layout surrounding these colours.

With this in mind, I have been looking at scoria made bricks, I find this could be the perfect medium between the scoria pigment that is wanted as the original scoria rocks are aggressive and pass off a sense of defensiveness giving off a sense that people are not welcome. The scoria bricks still have a roughness to them but not nearly as aggressive. Examples will be posted.  

After searching around the building I found interesting brick patterning running alongside the building. Photos will be attached for reference but I enjoy the use of the displaced blocks as it intrigues the viewer and gives a sense of welcoming and opening due to the bricks looking as though one could simply pull them out and have a look at what lies within the building. Could be a layout used within the scoria bricks.

With another viewing of the site, one material that never truly stood out to me before was how much wood had involvement within the site. From the courtyard trees to the entry balustrade from this side of the building.

A common theme I noticed throughout all of my visits to the site is the draft/breeze that comes through the site. I was thinking on ways to personify this and figured by adding on to my original idea of having a slim but long glass pane running across the scoria wall (1. To let light seep in within the bath house 2. To bring a medium between the outside and interior.) if greenery were to be placed along this window to add a bit more privacy to the intimate space it would encapsulate the movement of the wind bringing this nature to life.  

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Sketches of exterior of bath house 

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Activities to include within bathouse

Sensory Deprivation Floating

Basic sensory deprivation tanks have been around for years, but the newer, pod-like versions are popping up in spas all over the country. Most come with lighting options, and you can choose to listen to music or guided meditations while you float in body-temperature water. After an hour, you put on a robe and sip lemongrass tea. It’s a treatment that’s begging to be made fun of. But there are physiological benefits to floating, says C. Shanté Cofield, DPT, founder of The Movement Maestro. The average tank uses around 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt, which contains muscle-soothing magnesium. Plus, a decreased-gravity environment can help reverse the bodily compression that comes with running, resistance training, and sitting. However, the psychosocial value may actually trump the physical. “Stress is stress is stress,” Cofield explains. “Some people go to the gym to relieve stress, but you’re, in fact, adding another stressor to your body.” Scheduling (and paying for) dedicated solo time to relax and breathe may be the best thing you can do to aid recovery.

Whole-Body Cryotherapy and Ice Baths

While both are remarkably uncomfortable, there is a difference between whole-body cryotherapy and a bathtub full of ice cubes. While an ice bath will constrict blood vessels, cryotherapy’s extreme temps (-200 degrees Fahrenheit and lower) actually shunt the blood from the limbs and toward vital organs. The theory is that, once you step out of the tank, the warmer, rebounding blood brings more nutrients back to extremities. Cofield is hesitant to recommend either as a recovery modality. “It can help with pain, obviously,” she says, but studies go back and forth on whether cold-induced vasoconstriction is a good long-term practice. “Are you not getting waste byproducts out of the area?” she asks. “Are you impairing the normal functionality of the system?” Unless you’re in a competition that includes multiple events in a short period of time, you may be better off skipping the deep freeze.

For generations, Russians have swatted themselves with a venik, a fragrant bundle of birch, oak, or eucalyptus twigs, while together in a wet sauna. The potent branches aid in digestion, respiratory breathing, and all sorts of immune-related health issues. We were, of course, most curious about the effects on the skin. Turns out, the essential oils from these leaves contain natural astringents which open up your pores, stimulate circulation, and exfoliate dead skin—all when vaporized in super high heat and humidity. A fan of tea tree oil for rogue pimples? Think of the experience like a natural acne spot treatment for your body, in overdrive.

Along with these, I would like to include

* Sauna (obviously) * Ice bath

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After talking with Rafik. I’ve understood that I want to reflect on the current environment of the basement in order to move forward with the design.

These are the aspects I’ve decided to focus on.

The two main materials I’ll be using to complete is clay brick and concrete. I have attached examples of brick and believe it is a delicate and modest transformation of the scoria wall pre-existing in the section of the basement looked upon by passer goers of AUT. With the few trees already standing in this environment I would like to add a bit more greenery with the purpose of creating another layer between the intimate space I plan on making and passer-goers. Either using moss or some type of weed/plant that will wrap itself around a structure, I would love to install a few metal poles that solidify the foundation for greenery to grow entangled on these poles. With inspiration coming from the current construction fences stood there.

I want the space to humbly exist but once inside to be a life changing atmosphere.

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Photo’s taken by myself throughout excersies based upon the site of the bath house construction, along with a natural spring running throughout the CBD. 

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I begin my research with cultures. As the common occurrence for each of these bath houses is some form of tradition that comes with it. From a social aspect to being seen as a place of worshipping for certain religions. There is certain heritage that comes with the idea of developing a bath house. 

For my bath house, I’d like to create an experience. I want this to be a place where people come to push their bodies to it’s limitations whilst still remaining safe and health benefits remaining in place.

I myself, attend a bath house and there is a severe lack of words in my vocabulary that can explain the experience of sitting in a room with a temperature of 80 degrees then moving your body to an ice cold shower. To push your body to the limits makes you have to have a complete and utter control over your brain. You reach a dream like state where your brain goes into a hyperdrive of trying to stay alive. It is once you can control these urges to leave that you find yourself in the most peaceful state.

I guess what I’m trying to say is I want to have this bath house push people to the absolute maximum of what the brain think it can handle and then forcing the user to have to control this state. Once they have finished the experience they realise how much more control they have over emotions and urges and reach a zen like state.

With my purpose set, in terms of the actual design of the place. I will be uploading different examples of bath houses from Turkey to Rome to Japan and commenting on aspects I would like to bring in to the set perimeter. 

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Water Experience/Linking

A personal water experience that stays prominent in my memory is surfing. Putting yourself against the strength and unforgiveness of Mother Nature.

This memory starts and finishes in North Piha. When first going out in high tide you will find yourself wading for a good 100 metres across extremely lumpy ground that has been carved by the strong currents. This task in itself will wear down the stamina from within you.

Congratulations, no more wading. You find yourself deep enough to hop on the surfboard and paddle out. Good luck. The infinite rounds of waves rolling in could be compared to a levelling system with a video game with slight periods of intermission between these waves giving you just enough time to not lose courage.

It is this chaotic relation & atmosphere I had with the ocean I want to bring into the bathhouse in a controlled setting.

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Purpose Research

The function of public baths has always been focused on cleanliness; however, there were many other aspects to public baths as well. For some cultures, baths were important religious places, while in other cultures baths also served as places to socialize. Baths were sometimes frowned upon, particularly as baths were also sometimes known for various sexual acts or prostitution, but their utility was often even seen during periods when they were not frequently built. In more recent periods, baths began to fade as indoor plumbing began to make bathing more of a private act, although social aspects of baths have not entirely disappeared in many cultures. 

- https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_bath_houses_become_popular%3F