Cast from stone
by VISI BLOGGER Lorenzo Nassimbeni
Following on the pictorial manifesto I described in my previous blog post, I’m excited to describe the design and construction process of a project that similarly locates itself in the area where the disciplines of fine art and architecture meet. In contrast to the rather romantic dream-like urban setting of Venice, host of the previous story, this design project roots itself in the suburb of Newlands, Cape Town.
Architect Antonio Zaninovic approached me to conceptualise a mural that would respond to and eventually form part of the overall composition of a house of his design. I had viewed and understood the architectural drawings for the building, after which I set the design process for the commissioned mural in motion by visiting the building.
At the time of my visit, the building was about 70% complete in terms of its construction. The essence of the building was strongly evident. I sat in the garden courtyard of the building, and began to draw in freehand my instinctive response to the house.
I produced a drawing that represented my understanding of the essential concept behind the design of the house. That drawing represented a conceptual idea, which I had distilled to diagrammatic format, and upon which I would base the design of the commissioned mural.
Image 1 above is the drawing I did while visiting the building. It shows my understanding of how the building places itself relative to the landscape that forms its context. The mountain backdrop to the house is a strong informant, as is the forest which it faces. The ground plane building is designed in conceptual terms by the architect to be seamless with the landscape, to let the landscape in where possible. A strong, faceted landscape wall forms the boundary to the garden courtyard and addresses the mountain view, while the cube-like ground floor living volume is flanked by a horizontal landscape plane, addressing the forest at the other extremity of the house.
Image 2 shows the site for the eventual commissioned mural. It responds directly to the mountain mass behind it, which one reads to be similarly composed of three major elements.
Image 3: My design response was to translate the essential conceptual drawing, which represented my understanding of the 'site section' of the building [Image 1], into a formal mural composed of three elements. The first is the rectangular, faceted element on the left of the composition, which was conceptualised as a conctete mural panel. It would be designed to do two things:
1] Represent the centrally-placed folds of the mountain behind.
2] Draw its geometric proportion and composition from the major rectangular plan elements, which made up the ground floor plan of the building itself.
The second element was designed to be a simple line struck as an expansion joint in the plaster of the central wall. This line would represent the simplicity of the house, and its sensitive and seamless relationship with the landscape.
The third element was designed as a brickwork shelf, borrowing its geometric proportion and composition from the horizontal landscape plane at the front of the building, which addresses the nearby forest.
Image 4 shows the folds of the mountain to which I refer. The concrete mural panel would borrow from the proportion and geometry of the ground floor plan of the building to create impressions and extrusions in a concrete tablet, which would be directly responsive to the mountain itself. The direct link is made between the essence of the house geometrically, and the land mass of the mountain, which is a major landscape informant.
Image 5 depicts the proposed three-dimensional form of the entire mural composition with faceted concrete mural panel (based on the geometry of the ground floor plan of the house, and responding to the folds in the mountain behind), expansion joint line (representing the simplicity of the building and its seamlessness with the landscape), and the brickwork shelf wall (representing the horizontal landscape plane at the front of the building, which addresses the nearby forest).
Image 6 shows the beginning of the construction process. On board at this stage was colleague and fellow architect, Cameron Barnes. I began to create a sample mock-up for the concrete mural panel. This photograph shows the mould that I made from polystyrene, which I hoped would create a smooth finish to the concrete. The impressions and extrusions in the concrete panel mural would be based on the relief shown in this model mould.
Image 7 shows a timber mould that I made, again with my colleague and fellow architect Cameron Barnes. This technique would prove to result in a finer sample product, with a superior finish.
Image 8 shows the completed cast concrete mural panel sample. Notice that it's a sliver of the concrete mural panel as shown in Image 5. I was very happy with the outcome, and would proceed to the next stage, which would be to create the timber mould for the overall concrete mural panel.
About Lorenzo:
Lorenzo Nassimbeni is an architect working in the medium of wallcovering and fabric design, fine art and mural design. His work is inspired by the South African and international built environment, and is architectural in every aspect. Lorenzo is noted for the focus he places on the area where the disciplines of architecture and fine art meet. His design methodology is simple and essential in that he uses the medium of drawing with black ink on white paper as the basis for his products.
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