Using the Powers of 10 as a reference, a cinematic shift in scale, from the micro to the macro on a linear path. By looking at the classic thonet chairs, the sleek and sweeping curves inspired me to design the chairs like a piece of fabric. The pleating in the fabric is achieved through appropriate spacing which is modern in appearance. The colours used for the chairs are classic Blue, Purple Plum & Ochre Yellow which then merges with the floor.

​

Further the extended fabric becomes the walls for the classroom where some creepers grow, and children can learn in a green environment with a central courtyard.  This creates a ripple fold drapery effect, where few furniture is draped that creates an exciting feeling of some surprise element in the design. Ripple fold draperies have the advantage over other styles as they don’t have the same appearance from either side. The main idea was to create a huge classroom with many different spaces to interact, so that the students can learn from each other.  

​

Perpetual experiments were made with curvaceous, fragmented volumes for their theatrical fluidity. Designing a classroom as a concrete shell structure, made up of thin flat slabs. These slabs are jointed along their edges to construct three-dimensional structure. This design has 3 types of classrooms, in different scales and functions according to the space requirement of the program.

​

There are wrapped surfaces which have a great advantage for shell structures because they are formed from straight form boards even though they are surfaces of double curvature which are called as conoid and hyperbolic paraboloid shells. Looking at the materials used, like recyclable polypropylene and translucent fabric it will move in the wind and reflect light to evoke a living object.The conventional idea of a chair as piece of furniture in the form of art bends and twists in unconventional ways and the material forms a single continuous idea.

​

The natural environment changes and adapts throughout time, and this self-forming process has inspired this design.

During the summer months in southern California, the sun can be intense and also during winters it gets very cold.

So here the draperies are used more for privacy, aesthetics and also for giving comfort to the inhabitants by heat gain prevention, providing warm temperature during winters as they can be effective heat blockers and cold wind catchers which is a shading device technique applied in the form of design to the structures.

​

At the entrance of the site, the fabric wraps around the existing morphosis classroom to blend in with the concept.

An abstract form which focuses on the new architectural possibilities that is emerged from creating inventive design as a symbol of the urban boundaries using advanced technologies. The colour scheme is inspired by the California landscape and the environment. Using Colours to Enhance Learning and Influence Mood. The colour Yellow creates a positive feeling, maintaining discipline and encourages creativity.

​

The landscape merges around the structure which gives it a look as if it is wrapping it. A floating bicycle track design around the structures for the students. An amphitheatre with the flow of the contour levels of the site. Winding pathways lead between the volumes to form connections between the classrooms to encourage relationships. The large pockets left between the units is filled with many shrubs or plants and trees that reach above the roof canopies.

​

This site is transformed into an ideal indoor-outdoor study environment. Without skimping on greenery, each classroom has an indoor & outdoor space with a courtyard which is surrounded by plant life.  The design is contrasted which straight and curved contours in the form of extruding cantilevered decks. Its undulating forms seamlessly flowing with the classrooms as its organic curves and spiralling peaks are juxtaposed against the mountainous backdrop.

​

The concept was to maintain the original form, but it took things to a state of simplest expression, using shapes filled with flat color, texture, pattern, randomness, and gesture. The idea was to conceive an architecture that fosters a more open, free, and safe learning space. This design focuses on spaces that are open, accessible and connects fluidly with the surrounding landscape as well as with the adjacent urban fabric.