During reading week I went home, therefore I didn’t have access to my PC or any programs relating to the project. However, I conducted research that was extremely valuable and made me inspired to return to Falmouth and work on my shop.
One significant piece of spontaneous research I did was on my train journey back home. Whilst I was on the 6 hour train journey back home, I sat by the window and look at all the houses as I passed by. Many houses, particularly in Plymouth, had a Victorian feel to them, so I started to question why that was. This is the list of features I came up with while I was on the train that many houses featured that I hadn’t thought of and would be necessary to add realism to my shop, once again referring to the brief.
- Drain pipes/guttering
- Chimney pots at tops of chimneys
- Multiple chimneys
- Roof spikes
- Trim between door and doorway
- Bricks on side of house
I did some further research to find out what these ‘roof spikes’ are and it turns out they’re called ridge tiles. Their purpose is to act as a bridge between two roof planes, keeping out water (Te, 2021). I then searched up specifically Victorian ridge tiles and looked on Google images to see what kinds of ridge tiles were used in Victorian construction.
(Dreadnought Tiles, no date) (Ace Reclamation, no date)
The main trend I found were ridge tiles with patterned holes cut through the top. I liked how the clover/club pattern looked and felt as if it gave a lot of character to a building so I decided I would create some in Maya when I returned to Falmouth. Modular construction would come in useful here as I would only need to create one ridge tile and UV map it, then duplicate it multiple times to create a full set.
I also visited Kings Lynn, Norfolk, during reading week, which I found features a lot of interesting Victorian style architecture. This inspired me greatly, not only in terms of construction elements but also the colours of the brickwork and roof tiles – earthy red and brown tones paired with light cream stone and brick worked well together.
At home I also got into contact with my Uncle who works for an architectural visualisation company in Australia to discuss potential work experience after graduation. We discussed programs used in my work and his, and showed my some of the projects he was working on, utilisng 3DSMax primarily to construct cinematic prototypes for clients. This made me eager to get back and work on my shop further, knowing that I could be working toward such projects in the future if I continue progressing my skills in environment art.
Although during this part of the week I didn’t get any actual work done, I gained a lot of ideas and motivation to jumpstart me into action when I got back to Falmouth.
References:
Ace Reclamation (no date) Reclaimed Crested Ridge Tile, acereclamation.com. Available at: https://www.acereclamation.com/Reclaimed-Crested-Ridge-Tile/2713.htm (Accessed: 17 February 2023).
Dreadnought Tiles (no date) Case study - reroof of Victorian House, Reroof of Victorian house with Dreadnought clay tiles. Available at: https://www.dreadnought-tiles.co.uk/reroof-of-Victorian-house (Accessed: 17 February 2023).
Te, P. (2021) Roof ridge tiles – all you need to know!, Concept Roof Cleaning. Available at: https://www.conceptroofcleaning.co.uk/roof-ridge-tiles-all-you-need-to-know/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20purpose%20of,to%20keep%20out%20the%20rain. (Accessed: 17 February 2023).
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