Equus - Second Design

The second design runs off similar logic to that of Van Doesburg, turning the right angle relationships by 45°. I noticed that in my earlier design the 45° relationship between the entrance and the elements was a primary feature of expression. They seem to contradict each other in their nature and also in their formal design, the square being so restrictive and the diamond running like a sprawl across the plaza site. This design simply rotates the diamond shaped elements a further 45°, and then explores form in this aspect.

One of the first problems encountered was a purely logical one. The stairs would not work in two directions as they did in the first design. They've been modified in two distinct ways to compensate for the slope of the plaza. The first simply takes a western turn at the end of each flight, and the other an eastern turn. The stairs proportions/sequences are also now expressed through the wall supporting it. This is an idea I had for the entrance staircase but has been translated to the other staircases in the design. The small cracks in between each wall element express the stairs density and rhythm, similar to the phospho-lipid bi-layer surrounding a cell. The staircases have now become thresholds between the classes of elemental units, and I've chosen a different design for the entrance staircase, which I will talk about later.

The relationship between the classes of elements and the stairs also change. They can be rotated a further 90° to the orientation of the house and still maintain their square relationship with the other classes of elements.

The second issue addressed in this design was the defining factor the units had on the 'wheat stalk corridor'. A more open plan relationship happens here, the vagueness of these elemental units boundaries is increased with the reduction in the defining walls. What now defines the corridor is the supporting elements for the diamond roofs that soar over each elemental unit.

The 45° turn in the relationship between diamond and square seemed to me to remove some of the expressive quality of the sprawl of units down the plaza. A new expression was found in the growth of the slope up to these square units, a change in topography caused by this symbolic structure. Growth is expressed as a golden section exponential increase in the size of similar faux box elements.

The entrance staircase also has a different design. The entrance is more of a gash first between these two large rock-like structures, later forming a cleft as you descend. Its depth is enhanced to the occupant by large deep cuts in the facade of these rocks. The tower, off the centre of the entrance, gives the citizen a unique vantage point which looks directly down at the final unit. This tower seemed like an apt symbol for the father, though it is pretty glib in its sexual connotation, and not nearly as romantic as i'd hoped.