Alternative Responses

My meeting is between smooth and rough - this is a development from my skate park experience in which smooth skin meets rough concrete on a daily basis. A skatepark is a place of adrenalin and adventure as well as the home of many painful accidents, cuts, bruises, bumps and bleeds. Here is an experience/journey map developing further insight into my idea: 

Brainstorming 5 alternate responses to the meeting between smooth and rough. First I brainstormed different textures, materials and surfaces that remind of both 'smooth' and 'rough'. Then with these in mind I thought of five alternative responses to the meeting between smooth and rough. 

Skate Park Boat Shed Drawing

Sketch Up Video:

I added sound effects from the wheels of a skateboard skating against the ground; this adds more dimension to the video and gives a better understanding of what the skatepark experience is about.

Sketch Up Screenshots: 

My site before adding texture, colours, and details

My site after adding colour, texture, and finer details such as shadows and people

Experimenting with different styles on Sketch up

Collage and Drawings: 

Drawing my site, elevation and section plans and incorporating mixed media collage into it; collaging colours/textures from magazines to create a graffiti wall on the back wall of each boat shed, and also putting each plan into perspective by adding a real 'skater' to the skatepark. 

Collage: 

I researched more into skate parks and skate culture by looking at magazines and using images, textures, and words and turning them into collages. I collected images that relate to skating - such as skaters, skateboards, ramps and bowls, skate brand logos, graffiti art, wall textures, and skate apparel. 

These images relate to skateparks, tricks, and locations.

These images are textures and colours that would collage together well to create the effect of a graffiti wall. 

Magazine with skate material 

Magazines and pages I collected to create collage

Developing My Idea

After researching into skateparks and the skate culture I realised that when creating this meeting of a skatepark, it provides a lot more than simply just a place to skate. Skateboarders gather together for the experience, the excitement, the adrenaline and to have fun. After asking some of my friends who are passionate skateboarders I noted down some of the main things that are enjoyed in the 'skating experience' and what I will need to provide in my space to cater for these needs. 

• Excitement - what new lines you're gonna do, sound of the wheels on the concrete Provide: smooth nice concrete for the skaters to skate on

• Adrenaline - work on new lines, new skills, and new tricks Provide: plenty of challenging ramps, rails, stairs, pipes, anything skateboarders can work on to improve their tricks and get a good adrenalin rush.

• Social Aspect - catch up with friends, hang out Provide: Hangout spots, some benches, tables, patches of grass. 

• Develop new skills/show them off - being good at something, being able to impress other skaters Provide: Good lighting so tricks can be seen during night skates as well

• Good vibes - sound of pumping music Provide: Sufficient outdoor speakers 

• Clean spot - clutter free skate zones Provide: Rubbish bins to keep the area skateable

Not everyone who goes to a skate park is a pro skater, so for the not so keen skateboarders I want to provide them with means of entertainment as well

• Legal graffiti walls - for the artistic youths, this is a great way to keep them entertained as well as a cool decoration for the skate park 
• Skate pool - high tide the skate bowl can turn into a swimming pool, skaters can skate and swim on a hot day and everyone else can join in for a swim. The bowl will have a drain in it to drain out the excess water when the tide is low again. 

Meeting: Skatepark

A place for enthusiastic skaters and the likes to come hang out, go for skate, sit down, listen to music and just generally have a good time. 

Research

Skateboarding was invented in the 1950's, by a group of Californian surfers who thought of the idea to 'surf the concrete'. Throughout the decades, skating had its ups and downs but during the 80's and 90's skateboarders became so passionate about the progression of the sport they began building ramps in their back yards and going 'pool surfing'. The invention of the VHS in the 80's also played a major role in the progression of the skate culture, where major skateboarders started recording their moves and tricks which then went viral to kids all over the world. 

The first of many skateparks opened in Arizona late 1965, kitted with concrete ramps on an open lot, it fuelled the burning passion which the huge skate culture had for the sport. Skateparks have since then been opened in all shape form and size, indoor, outdoor, with concrete, wood, metal, with lighting with speakers, and many other things. The world largest skate park currently is in Shanghai. 

Heres a short video that shows a glimpse of the affect the skate culture had on the youth of America and the westernised world. 

Some inspiration of the themes, colours, moods and objects that might be involved in my skating experience.

Graffiti art commonly plastered the bowls ramps and walls of skate parks, as well as skate stickers of famous skate brands and gears. 

Material

I wanted to choose a material that could help depict the true 'beach' vibe, the texture of the sand, the foaminess of the ocean. So I played around with a couple of ideas, my first is foam. I cut it and painted it to portray the foam of the ocean... 

Another material I played around with is soap, this was also used to recreate the foaminess of the ocean which would naturally surround a beach bar.

Beach Bar Boatshed Drawings

This week I focussed a lot more on using mixed media to portray a sense of depth and perspective within each drawing. I also spent a lot of time watching Sketch Up tutorials and trying to learn the basics so that I can develop my skills even more for next week. 

Sketch Up Video:

 

Sketch Up Screenshots: 

Photoshop Collage:

Collaging with Pen and Textures: 

Developing My Idea

Researching further into the idea of creating a beach bar within a boatshed, which represents a meeting space between friends/family. 

History

The first 'beach' bar was created in Los Angeles in 1933 by Ernest Grantt. The bar served a wide variety of exotic rum drinks (including the popular "Sumatra Kula" and "Zombie cocktail") as well as Cantonese food, and displayed many artefacts that Gantt had collected on earlier trips through the tropicsBeach bars are generally designed to evoke the South Pacific.

Sip 'n Dip Lounge, a well-renown beach bar, added the feature of having women dressed as mermaids swimming in the pool within view of the bar's patrons. As a result of the "mermaids" and the retro attractiveness of the beach theme, in 2003, GQ Magazine rated the lounge as one of the top 10 bars in the world. 

Drinks

Many beach bars have their own house specialty drinks, the recipes for which are often carefully guarded to prevent imitation by other bars. Various kinds of rum and blue Curacao are common ingredients, along with tropical fruit juices and bitters. Cocktails can be very complicated and dramatic, served in decorated vessels with intricate straws and decorations. Cocktails are often garnished with paper cocktail umbrellas, live flowers or plastic animals.