mid module

I found that my research was throwing up more questions than answers in particularly when it came to the history of modernism and the prefab. Really feel that my sketch book is not reflecting the volume of research I have done so far. This started out as a wide field and it expand more and more. I prioritise my research and had to be brutal about what I intend to read further into or drop.  I looked in to connections between Fritz Lang 'Metropolis' and the Dunbar number as well as many artists however the hardest part of the research was the materials.

Trying to find a concrete retardant was not easy as the practice of exposing aggregate is uncommon in Britain, never mind making a pattern from it. The French seem to know best so had to get some rough translation and took a lot more further research to really try to fully understand the use of concrete and retardants.  I believe I know have a rough idea of what to do so now feel it is time to experiment.  I made a mix of concrete and put in to two moulds to which I then used folded chicken wire in place of a rolling tamper (which cost a fortune) to try and push the larger stones of the aggregate down.  I then used a asitate stencil on one, as the retardant would soak through paper and left the other exposed as to reveal all its aggregate.  I sprayed on the retardant then waited the 24 hours before removing from the moulds. Unfortunately however the cement I used had been sitting open for over a year which means it had went off and cause the blocks once removed from the moulds to crumble. Having had more experiments now I feel as if I have spent far to long on the concert retarders and feel this will take far longer to perfect. At this stage I am calling time on the retarders.

I have took photos in London,  Glasgow,  Cumbernauld and Stirling of modern brutalist architecture and find a surprising number are made from pre-fabricated concrete or metal which all interlock once on site.  I feel this will aid me in my work as I have often used repetitive multiples before.  I feel that the next step is to try and create a mould that interlocks with others to form an architectural structure. I made a paper template which should have fitted but once I traced round it, cut it out and sanded they didn't quite fit in to each other.  I also made the window surrounds to thin and there for delicate which meant getting it out of the vacuum formed mould was difficult and led to parts breaking.  I feel overall however that this could be really successful and plan to take this further. I feel that this would also help to show this universal size that would fit all people's lives that the likes of Le Corbusier and frank Lloyd Wright were in search for. 

Next I am doing further experiments in to concrete, look at shuttering to create a shuttering styled mould to create better interlocking structures, and narrowing down the images I will use in order to create a silk screen.