Final Model

The Concept 

Numerous notions have been explored in the development of a design that brings many opposing constituent to the foreground. The two companies in question, Facebook and Take-Two, engage in virtual realities, where often connections are only implied and by no means tangible. 

With this in mind a play between transparency and solidity is explored in both structural elements, implying ideas of the transparency of connectivity that the two companies dapple in and define as a product to be sold. 

Facebook - A void, a gap between two places

 

The Facebook Headquaters was to be a dynamic space, that was not obviously fixed or attached to the the surface. To design a tangible product for Facebook a company whose incentive is to sell a virtual reality seemed quite ridiculous. However the task came with a bazaar desire to conceptualise and visualise something that is essentially invisible to the naked eye.

In tern, the main picture visualised was a massive void, a gap between to places. This void was to be accommodated by the bridge, where the aqueduct bridged the gap between the two alternate sites. This notion of a void is also explored in both buildings, where the boundaries between the exterior and interior environments are blurred. The Facebook headquarters almost float, ever so slightly touching the ground, the surrounding environment seeping up into its core. Any sense of closure is broken down. Rather one is exposed to the surrounding environment.

As evident in the Sketchup model, there is a clear junction between the past and present with a marriage between old and new. Ones connection to the past is exposed. This is true of facebook, where ones past activity is almost put on display.

Surface Value - The Palette was to be raw, having an embodiment of rich textural variety.

View from existing infrastructure, showing an impression of Annandale's Terrace Architecture presence.

Play between transparent and solid elements

Traditionally the Arch as a structural element is made up of many components that are co-dependent on each other to stay structurally sound and essentially stand up to the loads generated. This could be said of Facebook, the company being dependent on society in order to sustain its existence and in some senses society is becoming increasingly more dependent on Facebook for its social stimulation.

 

Take Two - A Visual Experience

The Take-two headquarters seems from the exterior to be a simple box. Yet, from above it is hollow, the interior spaces being bellow the surface. 

Take-Two about the visual experience - Vertical and horizontal connections through window slits in all the facades. This allows one to see snippets of the exterior environment and essentially reality. 

 

The Bridge  The Annandale Aqueduct, an existing structure located at the site in question has a physical and raw presence that is unquestionable. It does not have to prove its existence. Rather it acts as a tangible form that bridges the void between the two structures. The bridge gradually disappears into the landscape as to imply a gradual lose of reality so readily excepted in today society. The bridge, built in 1896 and still in use, has a structural solidity and soundness, acting as a metaphorical reminder that humanity seeks physical and emotional connectedness that cannot be replaced by any virtual imitation as represented by the void in the landscape between the two buildings. 

The Aqueduct is also a metaphorical chain, linking the two constituents. Furthermore it implies movement,a flow of information, something that is ever changing, where time and space and notions of ones past and presence are blurred.

 

The Landscape