The Clients

The clients are Facebook and Take2 Interactive. My knowledge of Facebook extends as far of my use of it, and I knew little about Take2 when approaching the experiment. As a whole, I knew that both were extremely technology based, and that to integrate a multimillion dollar technology based company and classical/neoclassical architecture was going to be extremely difficult, and quite fun! One thing was quite certain in my mind... I wanted both headquarters to be single level, as I was aiming to reflect the lack of hierarchy within the company. If I had used coke then I would have designed a multi-level building. This would have corresponded with the hierarchy in older architecture, but I went against this and decided that two single level headquarters would complement each other better. The following is a mashup of the three news articles from coke, facebook and take 2. http://www.insidefacebook.com/2012/05/29/facebook-introduces-trending-videos-module-in-news-feed-redesigns-trending-articles-layout/ http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-coke-likes-facebook-ads-20120619,0,5035863.story http://attackofthefanboy.com/community/gta-news-good-news-grand-theft-auto-5-noshow-industry-event/ Facebook Headquarters: Take2Interactive:

The Meeting Place

The meeting place was located in the very heart of the bridge, on the third tier accessed by two sets of elevators and a small set of inbuilt stairs. This is the obvious location for the space as it reside immediately in the centre of the link joining both headquarters. I wanted the space to be simple yet majestic, and the arches created within the aqueduct were perfect for accomodating this.

The Bridge

My immediate reaction to designing a bridge for the valley was to design something traditional with a modern twist that reflects the nature of both of the companies. My main influence in this instance was the aqueduct. A type of brige which I though highly complemented the valley as there are already ruins of aqueducts within the vallery.

Elevator

There are four elevators within the environment. They are activated with the keys e to p, across the top rows of keys on a keyboard. The first elevators lead people on both side to the first tier of the aqueduct. The next to the third tier, and also the meeting space. The following is a video of the elevators in action:

Table

The table consists of two seperate halves of an ellipse. Upon clicking the key "l" while within the level, the two halves converge, creating a unified ellipse. This is symbolic of the unity of the two companies. The following is a video of the table functioning. My initial desire for an old Victorian style table was overcome by the realisation of a need for repect for the unity of the two companies implied by the bridge, which then needed to be heightened by the centrepiece, the table. In this instance I overrode my desire for antiquity and authenticty and created a simplistic, sleek design, that exemplified the technological nature of both companies rather then the origins of the valley or other elements within the architecture.

Influences

As I wanted my architecture to be and exploration of old and new styles of architecture as well as reflect power and the personality of the two different companies I drew inspiration from wide ranging sources. A concept sketch for the bridge and headquarters further on in the design process. My influences throughout the development of my architecture have been ranging from Enric Miralles and Buckminster Fuller to more Classical Architecture as well as more Postmodern. The Facebook headquarters were inspired by the Museo de Contemporaneo de Castille y Leon as well as the columns in the Pantheon. The towers were inspired by my various reading on Italian architecture, while the large spherical intersecting shapes were inspired by the use of domes in Classical Architecture as well as the work of Buckminster Fuller. Enric Miralles:

The Contemporary Art Museum of Castille and Leon.

Textures

These are the 36 textures, 7 or 8 of which were used within the actual model. I used a combination of architectural pens in order to complete this exercize.