First of all, I would like to talk a bit about the brand OPPO. OPPO is a Chinese smartphone producer, having 3 additional production spaces in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. The company produces especially smartphones for low income people, but still having high class smartphones in their product palette as well. The N1 for example is OPPO's current flagship smartphone and can compete with Apple's Iphone 5s and Samsung's Galaxy S4.
For more information about the brands and about the social groups around OPPO please have a look under this link. There a 2 booklets that I made as a part of the research analyze for the flagship space that I currently working on.
Before I am going to talk about my design intentions and how they are related to the OPPO company, I wrote a brief that would explain my ideas and thoughts of the space as well as what functions it should have:
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
THE PROJECT FOR THE OPPO COMPANY SHOULD ADDRESS THE PEOPLE FROM THAILAND WITH LOW INCOME. PEOPLE WHO EARN 20,000 BAHT PER MONTH OR MINIMUM 300 BAHT PER DAY ARE CONSIDERED AS PEOPLE WITH LOW INCOME.
PEOPLE FROM THIS CLASS LIVE AND INTERACT MOSTLY AMONGST THEMSELVES. THEY LIVE UNDER MINIMUM CONDITIONS, MOSTLY IN SO CALLED SLUMS OR IN PROVISIONAL HUT BARRACKS. THEY OWN SOME TECHNOLOGIES, MOSTLY PHONES OR SMARTPHONES, TELEVISION, RADIO AND TABLETS.
THE SITE IS IN KHLONG TOEI DISTRICT, WHERE THE BIGGEST SLUM IS LOCATED. BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT AS WELL. THE EMPORIUM AND THE LUMPINEE BOXING STADIUM ARE LOCATED IN THIS DISTRICT AS WELL AS THE NANA PLAZA, WELL KNOWN FOR PROSTITUTION AND GO GO HOSTESS BARS. ALSO THE KHLONG TOEY MARKET, BANGKOK'S LARGEST WET MARKET AND THE EASTERN BUS TERMINAL (EKKAMAI) ARE IN THIS DISTRICT. THE BTS AS WELL AS THE MRT ARE RUNNING THROUGH KHLONG TOEI.
THE PEOPLE USE TOOLS FOR INTERACTION, TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY OWN LIKE FOR EXAMPLE THE SMARTPHONE AS COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR SENDING MESSAGES OR MAKE CALLS AS WELL AS USE AS A TOOL FOR USAGE OF INTERNET. THE PHONE BECOMES A TOOL TO CONNECT WITH THE UPPER CLASS SOCIETY AND IT NEEDS MINIMUM 2 PEOPLE FOR THIS INTERACTION TO HAPPEN.
THE TABLET BECOMES A TOOL FOR PLAYING GAMES (UP TO 4 PEOPLE) OR WATCHING MOVIES TOGETHER (UP TO 10 PEOPLE). IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SEEN A LOT. PEOPLE GATHER TOGETHER TO WATCH MOVIES, NEWS OR THEIR FAVORITE LAKORN SERIES. THIS CREATES A FAMILY LIKE ATMOSPHERE. SINCE PEOPLE LIVE CLOSE TOGETHER, EYESIGHT OR VISUAL CONNECTION BECOMES A TOOL OF INTERACTION AS WELL.
THE PROJECT SHOULD INCORPORATE THIS ATMOSPHERE OF FAMILY, IT SHOULD THUS BE A SPACE FOR SOCIAL GATHERING AND EXCHANGING, FOR PEOPLE WHO USE OPPO SMARTPHONES AS A CONNECTION DEVICE TO THE UPPER CLASS. THE SPACE SHOULD FEEL WARM AND THE MATERIAL CHOICES SHOULD BE AFFILIATED WITH THE MATERIAL OF THE BARRACKS FROM THE SLUMS. THE PROJECT HAS TO FULFILL FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS; CERTAIN FUNCTIONS SHOULD BE ACTIVATED BY USING THE PHONE. TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE EMPHASIZED AS WELL, EXPRESSING IT TO THE PEOPLE LIKE THEY WOULD SEE IT IN THEIR OWN HOUSES LIKE EXPOSED INSTALLATIONS. IT SHOULD FEEL FUNCTIONAL AND THUS SHOULDN’T BE HIDDEN FROM THE EYES.
PEOPLE FROM THIS CLASS LIVE AND INTERACT MOSTLY AMONGST THEMSELVES. THEY LIVE UNDER MINIMUM CONDITIONS, MOSTLY IN SO CALLED SLUMS OR IN PROVISIONAL HUT BARRACKS. THEY OWN SOME TECHNOLOGIES, MOSTLY PHONES OR SMARTPHONES, TELEVISION, RADIO AND TABLETS.
THE SITE IS IN KHLONG TOEI DISTRICT, WHERE THE BIGGEST SLUM IS LOCATED. BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT AS WELL. THE EMPORIUM AND THE LUMPINEE BOXING STADIUM ARE LOCATED IN THIS DISTRICT AS WELL AS THE NANA PLAZA, WELL KNOWN FOR PROSTITUTION AND GO GO HOSTESS BARS. ALSO THE KHLONG TOEY MARKET, BANGKOK'S LARGEST WET MARKET AND THE EASTERN BUS TERMINAL (EKKAMAI) ARE IN THIS DISTRICT. THE BTS AS WELL AS THE MRT ARE RUNNING THROUGH KHLONG TOEI.
THE PEOPLE USE TOOLS FOR INTERACTION, TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY OWN LIKE FOR EXAMPLE THE SMARTPHONE AS COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR SENDING MESSAGES OR MAKE CALLS AS WELL AS USE AS A TOOL FOR USAGE OF INTERNET. THE PHONE BECOMES A TOOL TO CONNECT WITH THE UPPER CLASS SOCIETY AND IT NEEDS MINIMUM 2 PEOPLE FOR THIS INTERACTION TO HAPPEN.
THE TABLET BECOMES A TOOL FOR PLAYING GAMES (UP TO 4 PEOPLE) OR WATCHING MOVIES TOGETHER (UP TO 10 PEOPLE). IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SEEN A LOT. PEOPLE GATHER TOGETHER TO WATCH MOVIES, NEWS OR THEIR FAVORITE LAKORN SERIES. THIS CREATES A FAMILY LIKE ATMOSPHERE. SINCE PEOPLE LIVE CLOSE TOGETHER, EYESIGHT OR VISUAL CONNECTION BECOMES A TOOL OF INTERACTION AS WELL.
THE PROJECT SHOULD INCORPORATE THIS ATMOSPHERE OF FAMILY, IT SHOULD THUS BE A SPACE FOR SOCIAL GATHERING AND EXCHANGING, FOR PEOPLE WHO USE OPPO SMARTPHONES AS A CONNECTION DEVICE TO THE UPPER CLASS. THE SPACE SHOULD FEEL WARM AND THE MATERIAL CHOICES SHOULD BE AFFILIATED WITH THE MATERIAL OF THE BARRACKS FROM THE SLUMS. THE PROJECT HAS TO FULFILL FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS; CERTAIN FUNCTIONS SHOULD BE ACTIVATED BY USING THE PHONE. TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE EMPHASIZED AS WELL, EXPRESSING IT TO THE PEOPLE LIKE THEY WOULD SEE IT IN THEIR OWN HOUSES LIKE EXPOSED INSTALLATIONS. IT SHOULD FEEL FUNCTIONAL AND THUS SHOULDN’T BE HIDDEN FROM THE EYES.
THE SPACE SHOULD BE FEELING CLEAN AND VISUAL CONNECTION SHOULD BE POSSIBLE, FOR THAT FEWER OBSTACLES SHOULD BE IN THE WAY. THE FEWER THE BETTER.LOTS OF NATURAL LIGHT SHOULD GO INTO THE SPACE AND TOGETHER WITH THE MATERIAL SHOULD CREATE THE WARM FEELING. THE MATERIALS SHOULD ALSO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL CALM, FAMILIAR MATERIALS LIKE WOOD SHOULD BE USED FOR THAT. THE IDEA OF THE SPACE IS TO MERGE SIMPLICITY WITH COMPLEXITY WITH HONESTY IN MATERIALS AS WELL AS IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPACE.
In order to achieve this, I thought about the structure as well as the choice of the materials and what/how they are referring to the OPPO brand as well as addresses the low income people.
For the space I said in the description that there shouldn't be obstacles that could block visual connection. For that I was inspired by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Crown Hall (Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture) and the structure idea of trusses, that are explicit addresses, and the ceiling, which is hanging from those trusses, creating a space below without any columns.
Like Van der Rohe I will address the structure for my idea is to refer to the functionality of the OPPO smartphones as well as the barracks that most of the people live in. But the trusses would get some new shape, new design and additional function in order to create this idea of being innovative, what OPPO clearly try to sell to the costumer.
The best example: the OPPO N1. Having all the functions like another smartphone, its only difference is the rotations camera, which makes it possible to make photos at different angles. Or the touch sensitive back, which is new on a smartphone, but is also already known on the back of Sony's PSP Vita. So in reality OPPO isn't as innovative as it tries to be. And this is why I want to change the form of the trusses to something never been seen before and add a additional function to it.
Another element of my project is the soil. unlike other spaces, I will use the soil as an important part of the flagship space. By digging into the soil i will create a space within the earth, using the trusses to hang the roof and protect the space below from rain and sun. There will be no facade for that. In the slums usually the barracks have a sorry excuse version of walls or facades with openings cut into it. But ignoring that fact and add another fact that the people in the slums live in very dense spaces and thus privacy is kept minimum makes a glass facade or a solid concrete wall look like out of place. The barracks are also on soil level, so they are using the soil as an air conditioner in a way, since the soil is colder.
The materials for the roof are metal and steel/aluminum, materials which the people in the slum are familiar with, since most of the barracks are made out of corrugated metal sheets and RHS used to give the wall some stiffness and structure.
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