Gatehouse
i.e; to grant another arrangement to found matter
i.e; to add salt to the matter
i.e; to use the found matter in another time and function, in the form of objects.
Matter is, by definition, something that interferes with our senses and bodily perceptions through its weight and the space it occupies. Once we identified the great bodily impact that matter causes in perception and the senses, we tried to rediscover the way of using the found matter of existing objects on site.
We then started asking questions: What are the existing matter's possibilities? What can be done with those objects? Which future use should be assigned to those objects? How can their reuse make more sense? What are the constraints determined by the program and function? Also, with a need for observation imposed by the program, transparency became of the most essential relevance as a design premise, along with the will to use the set of found-objects and the context of the site, in which the landscape conveyed a profound antagonism between nature and the built environment. With this in mind, we formulated an equation based on three different premises: that the design should re-dispose, re-organize and re-geometrize the relationship between the found objects.
I remember, in conversation with a friend, using culinary imagery to illustrate architectural idea. One can say that all the ingredients were already on the table.
6 – Reinforced and pre-stressed concrete beams (found-objects matter)
2612 – LSF Steel Profiles – Omega design (found-objects matter)
2 – Reinforced Concrete Porticos – Poured on site
304 m2 – Glass
Salt – to taste
The design was developed in four stages, which would allow for each ingredient to be built and identified independently. Therefore, in sequence, we would have: reinforced concrete porticos poured on site, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete beams, steel profiles – omega design, glass and salt.
The design aims to examine the way of appropriating matter from found-objects and the role of this concept in Architecture in a transdisciplinary reflection. The re-casting of the found-objects in a new function and use seeks to answer a set of contemporary challenges.
