I chose the twisted Damascus steel as the prototype, starting from the form, adapting the form with functionality, and finally completed the design of the entire building.
The reason why I chose Damascus steel as the inspiration for the whole design is that the geometric patterns on the surface of Damascus steel. Due to its special forging process, it brings a water-like, fluid visual feeling to the steel, which commonly been seen as a homogeneous and stiff solid material. And these two visual sensations are difficult to trigger by a single object at the same time. However, these two kinds of feelings can be triggered at the same time by Damascus steel successfully. Thus, this kind of pattern is a kind of paradoxical, which means it is in line with the theme of the competition to extract such a forging processing technique and transfer it into series operations to develop the building massing. In addition, Damascus steel is made of multiple layers of steel stacked and forged, which means numerous pieces of steel can be forged into a single billet. The mathematical paradox which is turning numerous into one is fascinating too.
The second reason is that the forging process of Damascus steel provides an excellent way to connect the internal spatial structure and the elevation. The geometric pattern on the Damascus steel's surface reflects the interior structure, not a kind of separate or schismatic relationship. And also, the interior structure of Damascus steel is interesting too. There are multiple beautiful curved surfaces in it, which are created by the method to deal with its massing. The daily life of an architecture college student is often jammed with many kinds of complicated tasks: background research, modeling, drawing, final critique, etc. And most of these events will happen in the architecture department hall. Therefore, an architecture department hall with paradoxical and interesting interior space may add some fun to the busy and stressful student life of architecture students.
Thirdly, the reason why I chose No.1, Yard 6, XiaoZhuang, Chaoyang District, Beijing, The People's Republic of China as the site is that it is located at the edge of the core CBD area of Beijing, which is one of the most concentrated and hustle and bustle office areas in Beijing. Thousands of people pass through each morning and night. The building has a contradictory elevation, which contrasts with the surrounding skyscrapers with general appearance glass curtain walls. And also, there are numerous skyscrapers in this area, therefore there are no subway stations in this area. This makes it more likely that commuters will pass by the building by ground transportation, such as walking, taking a bus or driving a private car. Thus, commuters are more likely to see the building's elevation. As one of the most developed cities in China, people who work in Beijing have a huge work load and pressure, and such a building with a paradoxical feeling may passers-by who pass by the building and add some fun to the mundane work life.