slc x hyper-realism
Through collaboration, the objective of this project was to create a hyper-realistic model of an interior space, conveying the atmosphere of “you are on a mountain and it’s snowing,” through the use of photography and model making. The relationship between the space and it’s digital context was explored as the project progressed
hyper-realistic < physical >
hyper-realistic model conveying the atmosphere of "you are on a mountain and it's snowing"
reference photo: ryerson student learning centre
icon • index • symbol
An icon demonstrates a strong resemblance between the scan of the model and the atmospherically interior space. The surface of the 3D object shows specific detail to the interior space, displaying features as a photograph would. A photograph is an example of an icon signifier because it resembles what’s being represented directly through its physicality. This is why, I have used photographic collaging to enhance the physical representation, which can be seen through the detail of the door and metallic texture on the wall. The atmosphere, you are on a mountain and it’s snowing, has been carried through the colour scheme of cool tints of blue, creating feelings of cold and distant emotions. The distortions of the ground plane through the scan achieve a bumpy like texture, resembling snow.
An index is a sign that shows evidence of the object being represented, relying on a physical connection to the original object. In this case, when the model was 3D scanned, it created a texture image of the model. This texture is the physical connection to the interior space of the SLC. For this index, the texture of 3D scan was graphically manipulated by adding colour and layered multiple times. Atmospherically, the texture has been layered several times creating motion, representing the movement of snow, but also representing the different floors of the SLC. The colours set a specific atmosphere, representing the diversity of students studying at the SLC from different faculties all over Ryerson.
A symbol does not directly resemble anything but instead, we as a society have agreed upon a meaning for it. In interior design, our language is built on culturally agree upon conventions, in this case, an orthographic plan. This mesh plan means something specific to us interior designers, differentiating from what other people outside this industry think. In this plan, the thicker line weights indicate a greater proximity compared to thinner line weights representing a greater distance. The lighter gray colour as the background was chosen to add an airy atmosphere representing a cloudy snowy day.
hyper-realistic < digital >
These iterations of the use of icon and index were my most successful collages because they complimented each other very well in terms of technicality. For these collages, I used the image of the interior model as a base outline. I used the clipping mask tool on illustrator to create an outline and masked the icy texture. This icy texture took on the facade of the interior, resembling the shape and form of the window columns of the SLC building. The background texture used was a crumpled piece of paper, representing the working environment of the students inside the SLC. The usage of these two textures, one icy and other paper, show indexical like qualities within the collage because it can be used as evidence of the space that is being represented, relying on a physical connection to the original space and atmosphere. The use of icon is presented by using the shape of the original space of the interior as a masked textured surface. The shape of the space resembles the original space directly through its physical representation, therefore, creating an icon.
