Prologue

This exhibition showcases the outcomes of the first project from AD3001 Studio III: Interior, Architecture, and Urban Design by BA-AD Year 3 students for the First Semester of AY2022-23.  This exercise is inspired by the recently expanded Oil Street Art Space and the opening of an Emergency Vehicular Access (EVA) next to the project.  The length and prominence of the access at this location invites artistic intervention to realize its potential as a public space. 

The EVA has a specific dimension to enable fire engines to drive through and therefore it is usually free of any obstructions that might endanger public safety. This allows a widely unobstructed view and movement of pedestrians who would experience the long distance of walking. To create interesting patterns of floor paving will animate the pedestrian experience of the EVA. The paving may also relate to the buildings along the path to further enrich people’s experience of the urban environment.

There are numerous examples of famous street or plaza paving around the world.  The Romans were among the first to exhibit their ingenious paving patterns in their cities and towns.  Medieval builders and masons such as the Cosmati family have left with us their extraordinary floor designs in the naves of cathedrals and churches.  Since the Renaissance, artists and architects have been fascinated with perspectives and invented with experimentation all kinds of paving designs with perspectival distortions and illusions.  

Students are encouraged to explore different means of creating a unique paving pattern by studying some of these historical examples.  Their challenge is to create an extraordinary environment of a 2D design within a 3D context.  By creating a 3D model of their design, their project is then transferred to the VR environment which enables the spectator to experience perception of the floor design with movement – a tool otherwise unknown to designers before the paving is done physically.

We have entered a new era of visualizing and experiencing our design before its realization.  Please enjoy the students’ creations from the project.

Desmond HUI

Professor and Head 

Department of Art and Design

BA-AD Year 3 Studio Teachers

Laura CAVANNA (Co-ordinator)

Desmond HUI

Samuel SWOPE