Blog Interior Scholarship
Juni 2020
Bloggerin: Lara Grandchamp
Urban dovecote

This term, I had the opportunity to join a workshop led by a group of researchers who investigate new ways to produce wooden façade using advanced digital tools. https://www.masterstudiodesign.ch/en/research/code-facades

I purposefully chose to work on the dovecote for two reasons:
The first one is that, originally, dovecotes had a strong historical statement of local craftsmanship. The second is that I wanted to tackle the problematic of the overpopulation of pigeons in cities and think of a concept that would provide them a safe and healthy place to stay as well as using it to control their population. In short, bringing the use of the dovecote (also called pigeon loft) back to a contemporary and this with the help of a new technology. A perfect fit to this workshop’s tasks.

Problematic
Dovecotes can be found in many different places around the world and have been used for centuries. They were quite imposing buildings, built with the same materials and style as the housings around. Until the industrial revolution, only the wealthy could afford to have pigeons. But from the 19^th century on, they started inhabiting cities. There, they would constantly find food, which induced them to breed rapidly – up to six times – all year long. Pigeons don’t nest in trees, but prefer cavities. Buildings are therefore appealing to them. But their very acidic droppings (used originally as fertilizer) badly damage façades and roofs.

Currently, urban populations of pigeons are dealt with quite drastically (by trapping and killing them). But this hard method hasn’t been able to solve the overpopulation issue.

However, a new method has come up in the last couple of years: the contraceptive dovecote. How does it work? The dovecote is the home of a flock (up to fifty couples), which is supervised by a team of specialists. This team would do the maintenance of the dovecote, provide the birds with clean water and sometimes food, and also control the amount of eggs laid, by replacing them by dummies.

Research
I tried to figure out, with the help of specialists (biologists, geographers, vets, architects) what would be the ideal dovecote for both the flock and the caretakers, and how a balanced relationship between humans and pigeons in an urban environment could be achieved. They brought my attention to a lot of aspects and details (what a complex topic!), which I summarized into a design brief and started working on the architecture programme.

I came up with a proposal consisting of a tower split into 3 zones:

1. A storage space located on the ground floor, where grains, canvasses, and other equipment could be stored.
2. A separate entrance hall to reach the pigeon loft, where tools and overalls could be stored, and a workstation.
3. The pigeon loft, with enough for an easier maintenance and interaction with the birds.

I really wanted this little tower (7.70m high) to blend within its surrounding. So I went out to do an inventory of different aspects of the city of Basel, where I planned the dovecote to stand. I also paid a close attention to the urban furniture, how old and new mixed together, to get a good overall feeling of the city. Basel is a lovely blend of old and new, with the historical part and the industrial part of the harbor. Many towers are part of the landscape. I was particularly keen on the round towers, which I find to be softer visually. Also, as the dovecote would be made out of untreated larch wood, the impact of the weather and the sunbeams would provide some interesting shades. I really wanted this aging wood being part of the design.

I was searching for an expression of local craftsmanship for the façade. Keeping in mind the notion of the sun exposure and the different weather conditions we have here in Switzerland throughout the year, I directly thought of how farms and alpine pastures had their façades and roofs covered by shingles.

The advantages of shingles are mainly that they keep the place well tempered. A roof can last for about 50 years, and façades even longer. The craftsmen and -women have their personal touch, the way of bringing the sun to the household. Shingles still hold a strong tradition in Switzerland. It’s a very hard and long work, but everyone is seduced by the aesthetic and the grand gesture they provide to a very modest building.

These aspects were essential for me to be included in the making of the dovecote. Depending on where it is built, the design of the shingle façade could then be customized, providing the building with a local language in terms of architecture or landscape. The shingles used in this project would be of a new kind. They would be cut using digital robotic, after being designed and configured by a 3D programme.

After a successful presentation, we are willing now to try to build it with the team. Let’s see how it will happen in this early post-corona time!

Blog Interior Scholarship
Bloggerin: Lara Grandchamp
“Blowing Glass”

This semester, along with nine other master students, I got the opportunity to design and realize a project using a beautiful but highly complex material: glass. This workshop was made in collaboration with a small glass factory (with two glassblowers) based in Switzerland, near Bern, called Niesen glass.
Having only a couple of days to complete the project, we had to dive into the different methodologies of the making process, so as to understand all of the taking and ending required in the making before designing the pieces. Glassblowing is a very ancient technic and hasn’t changed much over the centuries.

To know more about the glassblowing history and method, check the following page:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing

 

Concept of my work

Intrigued by the fact that glass holds a memory within its material, I decided to push the definition of memory further.

Personally, I approach the notion of time as having no begging nor end, but rather a build up of layers (memories), which are intrinsically linked, to emotions. Through one’s life, one gathers its own, personal, collection of emotions; which defines their life’s journey, their identity.

 How my personal collection would look like? ? What if each of them would be gathered together, such as a Wunderkammer?

Going through the important events of my life, and defining the roles and repercussions each of them held, I started to play around with sizes and shapes. I found it more appropriate to start off with rather plain shapes, ones that evoke somehow playfulness albeit a certain preciousness. As for their general size, I wanted their shape to be agreeable to be held in one’s hand. Like holding a precious charm that one could carry around in his pocket.

I also found it interesting to bring together with these pieces different technic to render glass. For instance, some of the pieces were first casted into red sand. This process requires first producing the shapes of the pieces (I used clay) to imprint them in the sand. Once they are taken off, the hot glass will be poured into their print left hollow. As a result, the side of the piece facing the sand has got its granular feel on its surface. The other side, were the glass was poured, is smooth and uneven, bearing the marks of the scissor’s cut. The colour’s powder is laid first on the surface of the sand, as it isn’t possible to mix it with the clear glass beforehand. For some pieces this process worked well, for some not. That’s part of the learning process.

Another piece was done using the “cracked” process (plunging the hot glass into water before reheating it). During the first try, it exploded. The second worked out perfectly.

I wished I had had more time to make more pieces, as the more time I spent in the factory watching the glass blowers working, the more I got to understand their working method. However, I am pleased with the result we got.