Christopher,
These projects are great opportunities; is this a studio problem or a real
job?
Off the top o' my head, without benefit of research, I'll offer:
Housing: Should have very flexible, not overly defined, living spaces.
Different cultures use spaces in different ways, so it isn't fair
to impose too much upon them. If you know the homeland of the predominant
visitors, you might be able to skew the design their way a bit, but don't
forget the occasional non-prevailing visitor! Don't be like Corbu at
Chandigarh (sp?) and impose a Western floor plan on rural Indians.
Relation to University: Look at the word: UNIVERSity! OPEN, OPEN, OPEN! They
and the university community at large are part of a global culture.
Defensible Spaces: Tricky as different cultures define them differently. You
may begin by doing some research to find possible similarities among cultures
(sounds tough, though!). Maybe flexibilty, or a multitude of space-types,
may be in order. Then the users could define their own "turf" finding their
personal connection with the building (?)
Worship Spaces: I'd think there's enough commonality here to make a nice
interfaith chapel that would accomodate a variety of beliefs. Groupings
may be small, so a number of chaplets may work well.
Good Luck! Mail me if I can help further---well, if I've helped at all!
Mark
These projects are great opportunities; is this a studio problem or a real
job?
Off the top o' my head, without benefit of research, I'll offer:
Housing: Should have very flexible, not overly defined, living spaces.
Different cultures use spaces in different ways, so it isn't fair
to impose too much upon them. If you know the homeland of the predominant
visitors, you might be able to skew the design their way a bit, but don't
forget the occasional non-prevailing visitor! Don't be like Corbu at
Chandigarh (sp?) and impose a Western floor plan on rural Indians.
Relation to University: Look at the word: UNIVERSity! OPEN, OPEN, OPEN! They
and the university community at large are part of a global culture.
Defensible Spaces: Tricky as different cultures define them differently. You
may begin by doing some research to find possible similarities among cultures
(sounds tough, though!). Maybe flexibilty, or a multitude of space-types,
may be in order. Then the users could define their own "turf" finding their
personal connection with the building (?)
Worship Spaces: I'd think there's enough commonality here to make a nice
interfaith chapel that would accomodate a variety of beliefs. Groupings
may be small, so a number of chaplets may work well.
Good Luck! Mail me if I can help further---well, if I've helped at all!
Mark