Habitation unit

Le Corbusier came up with terms such as 'habitation unit' and 'machine for living' to try and described what he was trying to create. When others took his ideas thay did not take all the principles that went with it,  some of which had dyer consequences for the residents placed within. This trying to find the one size that fits all may have started with the best of intentions but along the way forgot or ignored the fact that people are not all the same. Below is some quick sketches that attempt to combine the habitation unit, the machine for living and the lifes that didn't always fit the mould. Like a factor products line I intend to show most of the figures standing up right, tall and proper like the uniformed building's that thay are in. However I will make some of them appear to jump, stretch and crouch to show not all fit the mould.

I have created a mould from foam sheets, that were good due to there ease to cut, non absorbing and cheap in price. The first small example I have created from this with concrete has worked out great and and am being to feel positive about the route this has taken.  

stop working with retarder

i was told to use drain cleaner as a retarder also but found all it did was bleach the surface. though this could be another way to trancfer the images on to the concrete i do not know if i will take this on to the next leval. 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 will now focus on the shuttering and printing.

Start of the studio

This is the start of the home print studio I am hoping will not only help me with my course but also become profitable once I leave the college.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4iWbEVuRV0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Experiments with retardant

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. 
NEXT: Try again with new cement.

Interlocking structure

I made moldeds which from the 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 geting 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. 

Concrete retardant

Trying to find a concrete retardant was not easy sa 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.

Interlocking concrete prefabs

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 use repetitive multiples before.  I feel that the next step is to try and create a mold that interlocks with others to form a architectural structure.