Second Life

Project brief: Convert two office buildings into a commercial showroom of modern sustainable technologies. Including educationalfacilities and galleries for ”second life” art.

Size: 10 200 sqm

Location: Ormond Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland

A Knowledge Centre made for sustainable technologies, artists and designers. The concept is a reminder of our actions and to make it more interesting to engage the public to co-operate with each other was foremost in my mind.

I started to research the inspiration of how global warming has had an impact on our environment. The history of the site and the fact that the suburb was pre-Norman in the 1700th century also played a part. I wanted to link their way of using natural elements, craftsmanship and uses of materials such as wood to create complex constructions.

CONCEPT: Merge And Melting

My definition: The change to co-operate to reach a higher result. The concept is inspired by the client’s logo which reminds of a snowflake and the global warming. How our daily choices have an impact on the environment around us.

The idea was to design a reminder of our history and how we in ancient times used the existing surroundings to create a shelter for our needs. I define melting as the change of a shape before it is transformed to another substance. Merge on the other hand, is the combining of shapes (or humans) into a new relationship and co-operation between two or several parts. The fact that co-operation between different links creates higher quality and better chances to achieve a goal is key.

Development of Concept and Design With basic knowledge and information, I was able to start designing and develop my concept. I knew what I wanted to reach in the end - to create a reaction as well as curiosity and inspire the visitors. A Knowledge Centre made for sustainable technologies, artists and designers. To create a reminder of our actions and to make it more interesting to engage the public to co-operate with each other was foremost in my mind.

I started to research the inspiration of how global warming has had an impact on our environment, especially in relation to melting ice. I created my ideas through sketching, more conceptually at first. I found it easier to work with sketches in the beginning and then convert them into handmade 3D models. Experiments were also included in this stage. Exemplified by ice cubes, how they change shape during melting and how they later on merge together when put them back in the freezer. The soft shapes from the sketches combined with the idea to merge two rectangular “tissue” boxes together and change their shape and melt them through the floor slabs within the building.