Developing the design

Due to the non-uniform shape of the blocks that we were to use to construct the sculpture any developement had to be done through a vernacular process rather than a drawn. From this we quickly discovered that the egg shape was not possible as the overhang/bulge could not be created safely. The design changed and adapted through many different styles and techniques until restin on the final design as follows:

Design 1: A simple cylindrical design with a slate roof.

Design 2: A tower consiting of layers of dressed stone and rubble stone separated by rings of slate.

Design 3: A spiral of slate cutting through a rubble built mound.

Thanks be to trolleys…

Oli and his trolley

Freshly 'harvested' Endcliffe slate

Source of slate

A Stone Egg??

Today we all met up in the studio for the first time since combining groups. Our tutorial allowed for the discussion of problems with the actual design and the project management. The main problem faced was a structural one with the consultant engineers pointing out that the top dome area of the structure, as it was constructed on the model, would be difficult to build successfully as it would collapse inwards on itself.

top dome area of stone egg

The first step in moving our design forward from this model stage was to build the egg shape from the stone we already. This would enable us to test our design and make sure it was possible to build without it collapsing.

It was evident that we needed more stone so Robyn and Velin set off to the very helpful stonemasons at Capital Stone Masonry. After getting lost several times they eventually arrived at the stone masons and managed to collect a number of the more regularly shaped stone blocks. We decided to clear some space in the studio and sort out the stone we already had before building our egg.

The site…

Taking full advantage of the closing of the arts tower we headed to our section of Barnsley…

We found:

B2 vs E4: The Design Competition!

And so the day of the design competition arrived! We began with a brief introduction to the day in lecture theatre 6. Basically we had a few hours to come up with a proposal for a structure built of stone which was to be used as a place for conversation.

To the Studio!
11am and we were straight to work! We started off by moving and arranging the stone pieces we already aquired in their current state. Eventually we came up with the idea of creating a seating area with two seats facing each other to encourage conversation.

a few working sketches of our design

our creation!

This seating area was just in its early stages. If we were to recreate it in Barnsley we planned on collecting a lot more stone to enlarge the design so there would be enough room for two to sit. Also we would have liked to experiment with different tools to find a way of working the stone so that our design could be refined. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be as E4 were defeated by the power of the B2 egg!

Egg = Rebirth…duh!

Design Competition (B2)

Idea 1: THE JIGSAW

This idea was put forward without much consideration before the day of the design competition and although at the time it was embraced for its encouragement of  interaction after only a few minutes deliberation it was deemed unsafe and binned!

Idea 2: THE WISHING WELL

The concept of this idea was loved amoungst the group members, however it is unfeasable for a rubble built stone structure to hold the water that was integral for the design, so this too was abandoned.

Idea 3: …THE EGG!!

The design was firstly inspired by the idea of leaving a thought/wish behind in some way, much the same as prayers are left behind in the ‘wailing wall’ Jerusalem. The form of the structure was chosen to represent the rebirth of Barnsley (of course!!) and was loosely based on several designs by Andy Goldsworthy.

Prayer notes in the 'Wailing Wall'

Work by Andy Goldsworthy

Capital Stone

Despite the snow a stone trip was finally aranged; giving us the chance to see first-hand the processes that lead to the finished stone used in the architectural world. Essentially, we found, this involves the use of a 24m circular saw and a giant mono blade capable of reducing meters of stone to usable sections within the hour. This is then passed on to the stone masons who then re-apply, by hand, the finish that the saws previously removed.

Enormous Saw!

The owner of the company,  imparted his knowledge with great enthusiasm and we left feeling confident and brimming with stone info. We even managed to secure a healthy supply, albeit limited by size and shape, of stone!

Pile of Stone