Explosion + Falling apart of Cousteau's Lab/Ramp

The explosion and sinking of Cousteau's lab symbolises the freedom man has once they 'sink beneath the surface'. The weight they once carried sinks to the bottom of the sea and disappears. Their memories of this heaviness on their back is forgotten, and he is free.

Filefront

Link to map:
http://files.filefront.com/13696395

The Ramp

The ramp is divided into 2 parts. A zig-zagged part that's on the wall connected to Nobel's lab, and a 2nd part which extends to Cousteau's lab.


Once the viewer steps out of Nobel's lab, they realise that the division from the lab is continued onto the zig-zagged part of the ramp. The different materials on each side of the division relates back to the duality of the quote.

The materials that make up the turning part in the ramp becomes darker as u go up (as shown in the image above). It also gets heavier in a sense, and builds up towards the explosion towards the end.

An overall look of the material applied to the other side of the ramp


The idea of the ramp was to incorporate the ideas of the 2 quotes. In the post on 'Electroliquid aggregation', i have identified the main concepts behind the design of the ramp - the main idea being division. With that in mind, i combined he idea of explosion from Nobel's quote and the weight of gravity from Cousteau's quote while creating the ramp. The materiality of the ramp becomes darker and heavier as u go up, and it gets to the point where it cant support itself and falls apart [gravity] in an explosive way. The red lighting is used here once again to highlight the division (also used in Nobel's lab space and the other division part of the ramp on the wall).


Close-ups of the explosion from below.


Entrance to Cousteau's lab. The walls slanting in allude to the heaviness of the lab.


Looking back out onto the wall from the inside of the ramp connecting Cousteau's lab.


Another view of the ramp - looking from the water.

Note: Quite a few of the screenshots (like the close-ups of the explosion from below) and the last 2 posts were taken standing on the broken pieces of the ramp

Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Lab [Addition Space]

"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free." - Jacques-Yves Cousteau



Interior of the lab. You have to crouch down (hold down shift) to enter it. The converging walls (shown in the image above) and the dark texture that's applied on the interior further emphasises on the weight that the viewer is carrying on their shoulders.

Looking through the opening which the viewer drops through and 'sinks' into water. (screenshot taken while falling)

Looking up after the viewer is submerged in water. They can clearly feel the weight that was pressing on them while they were within the lab and now they are 'free'.

Alfred Nobel's Lab [Subtration Space]

"Alfred Nobel's discoveries are characteristic; powerful explosives can help men perform admirable tasks. they are also a means to terrible destruction in the hands of the great criminals who lead people to war." - Pierre Curie


Interior looking outwards. The slanted walls slopes towards the division which makes the viewer focus on it. I also chose to apply a dark texture to the interior as opposed to a lighter one as it might draw too much attention to the walls itself.

Looking back inside standing on the ramp.

Overall Nobel's lab taken from afar, standing on one of the broken pieces of the ramp.
(More detailed explanation in the previous post)

Lecture 7

This image shows the division between light and dark space. My whole concept explores the division between 2 mediums - by sinking down through the earth and into water; division between two contrasting results from the same idea as expressed in the quote - "Alfred Nobel's discoveries are characteristic; powerful explosives can help men perform admirable tasks. they are also a means to terrible destruction in the hands of the great criminals who lead people to war." In my UT2004 model, I have used contrasting light to highlight this division present throughout my space.
I have translated this idea of 'division' to my lab carved inside the wall (for Alfred Nobel) literally by dividing the space in two with an indentation. The slanted walls emphasises on the line of division. There are 2 lines that follow through up and down the whole wall along the same division. They represent the duality of the quote, where 2 contrasting results can come from the same idea.



This division also continues through the ramp. The beam of red light that runs along the line highlights this duality.

Electroliquid Aggregation

Alfred Nobel:
"Alfred Nobel's discoveries are characteristic; powerful explosives can help men perform admirable tasks. they are also a means to terrible destruction in the hands of the great criminals who lead people to war." - Pierre Curie

Jacques-Yves Cousteau:
"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free." - Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Conclusion:
There is a division between everything. Powerful explosives can be used to perform admirable tasks as well as a means to terrible destruction. From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. But by sinking beneath the division between earth and water, he becomes free.

36 Custom Textures

New images - Added ramp & meeting space

The whole environment


Looking up through the division of my ramp


Meeting space


Transition between the ramp outside and the meeting space


Transition between meeting space and the outside space

Brainstorm for ramp