Oasis II was our second big design project of the year. We had to regenerate a run down part of campus by installing an art installation which drew people away from their path and into your site. Our site was a small, unused part of the campus next to Blackwell's book shop at the end of the Marlowe building. It was a rectangular but rather long site which made a design relatively simple.

We started the project off by seeing how best we could draw people off their path. We decided to experiment using different variations of wet floor signs and string on a very wet day. It was so interesting to see that despite us only putting two wet floor signs out and running a single piece of string across the main path, so many people refused to step over it and decided to go around and onto the site. Some people were angry that it was obviously a wet floor but they still ended up going around the obstacle. When the signs were blown down by the wind, people then felt more comfortable stepping over it. See the video for some evidence of this. 

My design was inspired by the works of Richard Serra. That is, using big pieces of rolled corten steel to make curved spaces in public spaces. I wanted to take this further and introduce a sort of game for the visitors. This would be acheived by the use of sliding doors where people in one corridor can move a door to create a passage for themselves, but in doing so would cut off a passage to people in neighbouring spaces. This would be used in conjunction with different levels and shaped walls which made you feel like the walls were closing in on you. 

I wanted to introduce a sense of nature. I introduced trees in the centre of the larger spaces to encourage people to relax there. The trees offset the harshness of the corten steel and the other hard surfaces. I wanted to frame views all around the site so there is an elevated seating area that catches a glimpse of Canterbury Cathedral, another space that looks out towards the grass area in front of the Marlowe. Finally I wanted every visit to the site to be a different experience as you explore a new space or take a route you had never taken before. I think that will make it very dynamic. 

On the whole I was really pleased with my final designs and I think I rendered my drawings nicely. My design was a set of cylindrical drums connected by gangways and corridors to one another. Off of these main drums were small spaces for quiet reflection. I was pleased with how I delivered my crit, everything was well structured and my crit panel seemed genuinely enthused and interested. We had a long discussion at the end about alternative things I could have done. I think the biggest area I could improve was with the model. I had not given any indication of what the drums would be made of and this was quite misleading. I will need to remember this for the future.  

Tags: crit, design, oasis II