In Architecture Studio 1, first-year Master of Architecture students sharpened their spatial thinking skills by each designing an addition for a confined space between two adjacent academic buildings. The studio began with a pair of design exercises.

In the first exercise, students were asked to create an "exquisite corpse" — a small, cubic space that would connect with similar spaces created by their classmates. Each student was assigned a square on a grid, and each square had a two-dimensional pattern drawn on it. Liam extruded that pattern into a series of conic volumes.

Drawings showing different views of Liam's first assignment.

The studio's second exercise called upon students to expand upon their designs from the first assignment. Liam took one of the cones from his first assignment and mirrored it to create an angular structure with several levels of program space. "The bottom cone is treated as a void within a solid, and the top as a solid within a void," he says. "Both twins are cut by the bounding box of the project to create moments of aperture."

Perspective rendering of Liam's two-cone structure.

Liam began his final design by experimenting further with cone geometry. He produced a series of models and drawings in which he manipulated different conic shapes and intersections.

The cones.

He settled on a bisected design made up of two cones. The lower cone would be a populated space, where visitors to the building could sit or circulate in an open, public setting. The upper cone would be topped with a large skylight, allowing it to act as an illuminated void in the centre of an enclosed studio space. "The geometry of the cones was based on an angle that would allow the most sunlight to get through the top," he says. "The bottom one was angled to allow for stairs to be possible."

An axonometric view of Liam's design.

The addition's main entrance would be at the bottom of the lower cone. From there, visitors could either freely circulate into a nearby public café or amphitheatre, or they could ascend a staircase set into the slope of the lower cone's surface. The staircase would lead to studio space on the third floor. This is where the upper cone's presence would begin to become more noticeable.

A plan showing the interior of the upper cone.

"The upper cone is like a staging area," Liam says. "It's an area where students would be able to build installations or art pieces, which would then be viewable through a window from the street."

A section, showing the different floor heights of the adjoining buildings.

Around the exterior of the cone, a series of gently sloping ramps would allow visitors to circulate easily between the two buildings on either side of the addition, despite the fact that they have different floor heights.

Looking up, past the computer lab's cut-out.

The top floor of the structure would be an enclosed computer lab. A cut-out in the upper cone would would allow sun to filter down through the skylight and into the work area. On the roof, the skylight would form the centrepiece of a secluded garden.

The forecourt.

The conic design would also be visible from the street, where a circular forecourt would hint at the curvaceous world inside the building. Generous glazing in the facade would allow passers-by to see the interaction of the two large geometric forms.

Instructor: Tei Carpenter