Experiencing space: Lindy Atkin at TEDxNoosa 2014

well here we are at the J most of you would have come through this entrance the start this morning after parking your car in the car park out the side right now we're sitting in this space identified on the aerial photograph there's the car park on the side there's the entry at the front what I'd like you all to do is hold up in front of your hands and make a space this space that we're all sitting in right now has three locating coordinates X Y and Zed or altitude latitude and altitude but it's the things that surround us that make this base way the way it feel the way it feels so whilst this spec's feels like it does now space used to feel like this take away the floor the walls the roof the light and the sounds and it makes for an in completely different experience to illustrate another example of how the quality of a space is made take our studio in the noosa hinterland My partner and I Stephen Guthrie found this piece of land about 15 years ago and this is the pace of the space that we started with the vacant block of land with to mature existing blood woods and easterly outlook and visible from the street through a series of five steel portal frames which were prefabricated off-site and then brought and craned into sight the space began to change in character the relationship the evolving relationship between the internal and the outside changed between the ground the view the trees and the sky this is a space designed to evoke in inspire create creativity and to provide a space for its occupants and visitors to experience an inexcusable link to the landscape and space is surrounded by different materials which makes it feel the way it does the warm timber floors the natural plywood ceiling the expansive area of gas opening glass and the all-encompassing overall space the space is contained within an envelope which hovers above the ground and sits between the two mature bloodwood trees which have been here a long time before another contribution to the way a space feels is the quality of the light in this country we enjoy relatively equal hours of light and dark in fact two weeks ago is the autumn equinox the way spaces feel depends upon different conditions of daylight and artificial light one of the first experiences of space or a series of spaces being made for me was the Sydney Opera House in the in the early 1970s when I was living in Sydney as a child and for a few years in a row for my birthday we would go to the top of the Australia square tower at the summit revolving restaurant and I'd look out to the Sydney Harbour and see these huge cranes hauling massive concrete shells onto the site and when the construction was finally completed we could go and visit the spaces it was incredible how the sheer presence of the structures invoked a feeling of awe and reverence visitors flock to the public spaces and they still do just to experience this mad main space which used to be an old tram depot my fascination has always been from the extraordinary expression of the structures which form the spaces and create a legible and literal story about the way the building is made and how it works tactile surfaces and warm materials surround the volumes inviting movements through the curvilinear space with patterns of sunlight emphasizing the forms and geometry extensive anticipation is highlighted story journeys the large glazed light filled foyer leads to lower lobbies darker compressed and more ambiguous and then the excitement is unfolded on entering the voluminous and sumptuous interior of the con at all a celebration of all of the senses as a student of architecture and many famous architects make an impression and eventually inform a way of thinking about making spaces possibly none more so than the architect the Swiss French architect Luca Visio the chapel at Ron Champa has been described as one of the most important examples of 20th century religious architecture there's my partner Steve and 80,000 visitors visitors come to this building every year so you can imagine how long I had to wait they're staying for blue sky and one person imposing but inviting in a curious way the presence of this monuments impressive and permanent if you keep a mental image of this slide when you look at the next photograph you'll see the effect that the many small and varied openings have on the interior space imposing but inviting in a curious way the space contained within this Chapel is exhilarating at the same time as being serene incredibly beautiful and light in color is amplified by crafted apertures this is one of the most memorable spaces I have ever experienced the architect's artwork adorns the glass panels injecting a glorious richness and depth which has been described as radiating while vividly like rubies emeralds and amethyst and hovering atop the walls the roof hardly touches creating an intense strip of light along with the low afternoon light illuminating the space and spaces can also feel incredibly different in varying weather conditions eerie mist and fog can engender a solemn atmosphere which has a soul and an intrinsic spirit of place in communicating the essence of spaces during design drawing such as Peters auntie's for his thermal bars and the Swiss Alps country up spatial qualities of serenity in timelessness from the outside there are very few clues as to what happens on the inside the forum and the treatment is somewhat monumental and austere from the inside the spaces are orchestrated to encourage a series of simulation stimulations all of the sensors with intriguing and strategic visual and physical connections to the outside journeys allow the unexpected discovery of diverse spaces with doors and corridors leading to unknown havens the texture of materials light and sound creates stillness in a contemplative environment natural and artificial light filters through to each space differently via squares in the roof and via slots in the roof they're very similar in manner to the light at Roshan and at night the light glows from beneath the surface of the water highlighting the locally sourced stone which is the vowels nice or a quartzite further altering the visual spatial quality of the site of the building interconnected spaces lead from petaled field nurturing lightly aerated water through two chilled spar bars and scorching hot baths and underwater passes connect for the interior to the exterior where openings there are glimpses of else and the surrounding reality seemed almost surreal in this context a feeling of euphoria and total immersion if prevails when you floating in there weightless space it was during this visit to demo vowels that we met the architect Peter Zampa and he's nearby house and studio and the sensational adventure that we experienced at thermo valves encouraged us to explore more of this amazing architects work after some tests showed us some of his sketches and models that he had made for a project in the Arctic Circle this this time only one meter above sea level instead of a kilometer above sea level we knew that we would have to see it when it was finished so four years later we made the pilgrimage to the very most northern tip of Norway a tiny island called Varro which has only reached by boat or tunnel here's Stephen me reflected in the glass facade with Peter Sumter's building in the background this extraordinary monument was constructed in memory of the 91 people convicted of witchcraft and executed in the 1600s on this very site two components make up the memorial Sumpter's 125 meter long suspended tented hall and the artist Louise Bourgeois which is American based French artists her black box on the right at midnight in summer the quality of the light turns an eerie blue seemingly casting a spell over the landscape as a community which originally survived on its fishing industry there are still fear remnants of the tools of the trade in particular these old fish drying structures Sumpter drew very literary from these rudimentary structures and use the forms to suspend the tented Hall from the frames entry to the hall is very long timber amp walking on the ramp entry induces curiosity and some trepidation of what to inspect inside small illuminated windows suggest that souls still reside in the space and then the enormity of the gesture is revealed in black a long black tunnel with bare light bulbs dangling in front of each of the windows one light to each person executed all those years ago each person has a story and each light is located at a height to represent their age men women and children the space is charged with history and emotion and it continues seamlessly forever fire flames amplified by convex and concave mirrors contain in the black glass box conceived by Louise Bourgeois a gesture of the despair and anguish of the people burned alive a space that is forever etched in my memory ice-water another extreme environment Iceland this is where the continents of the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates come together or in this instance they're coming apart we haven't been to this place before so it is with anticipation of a space that is exciting the physical divide of the continental plates and an historical and pivotal place in Iceland's history shifts of up to eight millimeters per year are part of the reason that Iceland endures such an active geological and volcanic experience of Fire and Ice but the diving here is what beckons fresh clear water with an incredible and/or inspiring series of underwater spaces the ladder leads to the entrance anticipation the rush heightens immediately as you enter the water the change of environment from air to water is always sudden and in a way traumatic but then the serene stillness pervades and you begin to breathe slowly and constantly and adjust to the surroundings your heartbeat slows to a calm rythm magical light shows appear and highlight near moonlight spatial qualities some divers have even described it as as close to a spacewalk as you can get without being in space it has also been said that Silfra is a dive site where even the best underwater pictures cannot give justice to the real experience of being suspended in it's clear waters and that the most wondrous sites are in Sulphur a Cathedral which is 100 meter long fissure where you can see from end to end we can make space feel the way we want it to feel we can choose the tools to build the space with the materials and light and sound and smell and touch space to me and us in our architecture practice is all about the experience the experience and the memory of how spaces can make us feel they need to evoke an emotional experience and spaces should always inspire thank you [Applause]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 20,264

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Keywords: tedx talk, tedx, ted, ted talks, Experiencing Space, TEDxNoosa, TEDxNoosa 2014, ted x, TEDx, Lindy Atkin, Architecture, Architect, ted talk, tedx talks

Id: hWYnO1uknnQ

Length: 13min 40sec (820 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 16 2014