This week while preparing for formative submissions I have continued working on the layout and zoning for the design.

I have gone further into different iterations and have put in more thought into the circulation through the exhibitions.

To help me think about how I want to zone the exhibition galleries of the different films I thought it would be beneficial to create collages that express the atmosphere and iconic elements of the films, and how the rooms might feel.

When going through the floor plan iterations I have also thought about utilizing the front of the building more, so I have decided to keep those rooms as private ones that will be used mainly by staff of the museum. That means that they are gonna most likely be kept as offices and storage spaces.

I have also worked on finalizing the floor plans with the primary and secondary structure and the downtakings that will go into the formative documents.

During the week I have been editing and working through my accommodation schedule, looking at the sizes of the spaces that will be included. This is still a work in progress but it has changed since I first started it.

At the moment the main exhibition galleries are divided into the specific films I am including in the museum, but that just means a big space labelled the film’s gallery. As I progress with the zoning I intend on being more specific with what those big spaces will be divided into. Like what specific sets or scenes of each film are going to be referenced.

My initials thoughts regarding what I want to include are Shallow Grave’s kitchen and living room. I would also like to include the character’s bedrooms, but if the space and ideas do not allow it I also do not feel like they are essential.

Local Hero’s red phone box, Gregory’s Girl changing room and clock.

As for Trainspotting, the toilet is one I want to included due to how iconic and identifiable with the movie it is. Another space that is quintessentially Trainspotting is Mother Superior’s flat.

On Monday we started looking at creating our Conservation Reports:

Working on it made me realize I need to do a bit more research on my building in regards to its listing and conservation area. And I will work on identifying the conservation issues.

I also aimed to figure out the calculations in accordance to the building regulations for occupancy and toilets. After Thursday’s tutorial I felt this was a necessary step to take on at this stage to properly plan and zone.

During Monday’s class we were challenged with expressing our theme and think about it in abstract form. For me, this developed into a set of drawings that express my current thinking.

I was trying to think about the atmosphere and feel of the exhibits.

We also worked on starting out our floor plan layouts in different ways. This helped me identify that my building actually allows for more exhibition space than I had initially thought and it also made me think of thinks I had missed to add into my accommodation schedule like maybe fire escape and lockers. After class I kept developing the plans.

On Thursday we worked on more three dimensional aspects of the design. Thinking about the atmosphere in 3d but still abstract.

We used different approaches. After that we went back to the words that would explain our approach to the building. Mine were adapting and inserting.

We were then tasked with expressing the connection of the spaces, thinking about transparency, cellular and other key words that would relate to our design.

Finally we were tasked to describe our project in a few sentences:

“A Love Letter to Scottish Film”
A museum dedicated to higlighting the diversity and complexity of Scottish films by exhibiting some of the most iconic films created by and for Scotland.

I feel like the description does need more refining. I have also been developing my SketchUp model during the week.

This past week I focused on precedent and film research. For precedents, I analyzed the Shanghai Film Museum and the Academy Museum. Both were very helpful to study because they helped me align my storytelling in the context of museum exhibits. Both museums are multi-leveled and address film in a different way so it was very exciting to see both approaches.

I also spent a lot of time watching Scottish films and analyzing which ones would be beneficial to include in a film museum. After immersing myself in the different films I have shortlisted some that I find significant in representing Scotland in the film industry and that I enjoyed as well. The films are: Braveheart, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Gregory’s Girl, Local Hero, Stone of Destiny, and Sunshine on Leith.

Based on these films I intend on selecting a few and creating a meaningful narrative that goes with my goal of creating a space that celebrates Scottish filmmaking.

During Monday’s class, we started questioning our own design briefs as well. This helped me figure out what aspects of the brief I should refine as well as define more clearly for myself and the people who will engage with my project.

When thinking about the spaces I plan to include, I went back and worked on the list and connections some more.

For this week I also aimed to research more on my stakeholders. I started looking at the statistics for museum-goers and continued thinking about who my type of film exhibit would be directed to. I believe a good demographic to cater to would be people ages 16 and up and not necessarily a children’s museum. When thinking about people 16 and up that is obviously in a very broad sense so I created different visitor profiles to help guide myself through my target audience thought process.

This past week I worked on my chosen building’s model. I used the 1:100 scale as I felt this was the most appropriate to start to understand the complexities of the building. Creating it as a sectional model also gave me a chance to relate how the voids and staircase section at the front of the building would work outside of plan. Seeing it in 3D was very helpful and beneficial.

Equally, as I was creating my CAD plans from the already existing plans I started to analyze the building more thoroughly and get a better sense of the interior space overall.

I luckily managed to get existing elevations for the building as well but as I worked on the model I have come to realize that the exterior is the part I need to work on understanding more properly.

And based on the feedback from tutors and classmates I plan on refining my CAD plans further.

I am also currently working on my theme. I have come to the conclusion that I need further research into the film industry in Scotland and am aiming to prioritize establishing a more understandable approach, for me, of Interiors in Scottish Films Through the Decades this weekend.

During our Interior Workshop we worked on individual collages and models in the last day. I used the time to experiment with my existing ideas on the theme and expressing them in collage and model form.With the collage I wanted to play with the idea of different ages and interior design styles.

With the model, I tried to represent my ideas around the film industry and an exhibition dedicated to such a topic.

Additionally, as I continue to work on the CAD plans for my building, I was able to find neighboring building plans that help me figure out the height dimensions on the South and North elevations so I will be using those to complete my own elevations.

As I continue to research my theme I am planning to dive deeper into the Scottish Film Industry and its history to help me formulate more ideas in regards to my focus and what my project should have etc.

As I continue to work on my theme I find that I am struggling to pin point the focus I want to go with. I am currently exploring the idea of creating the Interior Design Exhibition through the decades and using films as a medium for it, more specifically using interiors in film (i.e. set design and settings).

I am in the process of researching multiple avenues and ways this could be achieved. One being using films of each decade or anther way would be using more recent films but set in those specific time periods. Another aspect I have been considering is the geographical settings of said films, would they be all Scottish films or maybe only UK based ones vs. aiming for an international approach and looking at films from around the globe.

At the same time I am also questioning if I am happy with shifting my project from a design centric theme to include the film industry or if I would prefer to keep it strictly well defined in solely design and interior design.

For my building, I have been able to get most of the plans and sections I need from the City Plans portal so I am working on turning those into my own CAD drawings. As for the elevations which are not as readily available, I will start working on creating my own.

This week was spent focusing on choosing a site for the project. Previously I had looked at the MacDonald Fire Station but with further consideration on the location, I discarded that as an option.

I looked into buildings close to other museums as I thought it would be beneficial to be located near the city center and with similar museums and exhibits near by as I find that when people travel or visit this sort of institutions it is convenient to visit several in one day.

I found that several university buildings fit the criteria so I researched Minto House and the Talbot Rice Gallery. I felt that the structure of Minto House would not be ideal for my theme and I did not find it particularly captivating at first. The Talbot Rice Gallery felt ‘too hidden’, it is inside Old College and the entrances might be a bit confusing which I did not favor.

Dovecot Studios was another option I considered, but ultimately did not go with. As I really liked the Minto House location, I also considered its neighbouring building, Adam House. I found the interior of Adam House more simple yet interesting. As I researched its history, that is what really made me want to choose the building. As it expressed defining design styles and a more intriguing historical context I felt would relate to my theme more closely.

When I was between multiple options, I made an effort to visit each building to make my final decision because I wanted to be sure it ultimately felt right.

During this week I focused on refining my theme and what story my exhibition would tell. For me to get a better sense of the type of exhibition I wanted to create I decided to visit The Museum of the Home in London, as it was the perfect case study for my project due to its close relation theme wise.

Since I was already in London I also planned to visit other museums as well. I felt this would help me think about my theme and the type of building I should be looking at for my project. I visited the Design Museum and I would have also liked to revisit the V and A but I did not have enough time.

The Museum of the Home was very helpful in giving me an idea of how much space recreated rooms showcasing different decades would need and the visit also helped me identify the way they effectively used story telling for each of the exhibits. Their focus was on British Homes and the people that lived in them (i.e. their lifestyles and customs that translated into their living space)

The Design Museum was less helpful in my theme research but the visit made me realize I want the space I create to be more cohesive and to have one theme overall, meaning that it focuses on one subject. Design Museum was a very large space and had different exhibitions throughout, exhibitions that did not necessarily relate to one another which ultimately was not as appealing to me.