Further Development: Scaling and Different Views

I have drawn up the front view of my lighthouse as this was one of the comments left on my feedback sheet and as well as doing this, I started looking into how I could keep my drawing to scale, as I would need to draw in a door, windows and stairs, all things which would need to be the right size for a person to fit through. I did a little research into how tall different lighthouses over the world are, and how tall I could make mine. As my drawing was already around 20 centimetres tall, I worked off of this and decided that 1 centimetre would be representative of 1 metre, making my lighthouse around 20 metres tall, which is around 65 feet. In doing this, this will also help me to scale the model when I create it in Maya, as I can use a 6 foot human object to make sure that I have the scale correct and can measure the height of my model.

Below I have shown what some of the specific parts of my model will look like when created and also have explained what texture will be used for them.

Developments and Feedback

Following the group critique, I have researched into textures for different parts of my design so that I can add the texture in to show what each part is. For example somebody left the comment "Look at pier reference for the wooden beams" I searched using google and found a great image to use as a reference and then added detail onto my model.

As you can see I have added this sort of texture onto some of the wooden beams to show what this will be like in my final design. Another comment left on my feedback form was saying I should add more detail into my design. I have done this by adding more brickwork throughout and shading where needed so that it is more obvious what each texture will be, bricks, wood, glass, concrete, etc.

After adding these extra bits of detail, we had another small critique on the same forms again. (see below) following the feedback given on this sheet, I will be drawing up different views of my design, and also moving it into photoshop and painting it to show what colours I will be using as well as finishing off the textures throughout.

Critique: Positive and Constructive Feedback

We were each handed sheets which we left in front of our work for others to fill in, we each then went around the room and filled the sheets in with one piece of positive feedback and then one piece of constructive feedback to help the work be developed. Here is what my peers have written about my developed initial sketch.

I have taken their feedback into consideration and will be making some changes to my design.

Developed Sketch

I've taken the design which I liked the most and drawn it out again bigger so that I can develop it to make it better and to add more detail onto each part of it with various textures and whatnot.

I drew this one using a ruler rather than freehand so that I could keep it in proportion and to ensure that the lines were straight.
As you can see I have started by just adding small bits of texture to different parts of the structure to just show what these parts will be made of, the building itself will be bricks and the roof will be tiles.

Initial Designs

After creating my mood board, I have drawn up 6 initial designs of my own, taking influence from the different structures for each of them, I've also numbered these in order of which I like the most and want to develop and use for my final idea. My favourite of these initial designs is centre on the bottom row, and this is the design that I will be developing further.

Mindmap and Moodboard

I have created a mindmap to show my various inspirations and initial ideas for my project as well as a moodboard of different lighthouses throughout history, and also from many different parts of the world, showing lots of different designs for the building, I have also included some tattoo designs which really appealed to me, as well as my own tattoo underneath my moodboard.

Initial Research

I have done a lot of research into the history and evolution of lighthouses through the years, starting with ancient times.

A lighthouse is a structure (most usually a tower of sorts) which is designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses to be used as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, safe entries to harbours and can sometimes even assist in aerial navigation.

Ancient Lighthouses

Before the developments of ports, mariners would be guided by fires on hilltops, and since raising the fires would improve visibility, placing the fires on a platform became a practise that led to the development of the lighthouse. In these earlier times, lighthouses would function more as an entrance marker to ports rather than warning signals. The most famous lighthouse from ancient times is the Lighthouse of Alexandria (or the Pharos of Alexandria), this was between 393 and 450 ft tall (being one of the tallest man-made structures for many centuries.) and was located in the city of Pharos, Alexandria, Egypt. 

Modern construction

The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18^th century, as transatlantic commerce became more and more used. Advances in structural engineering and new and efficient lighting equipment allowed for the creation of larger and more powerful lighthouses, including ones exposed to the sea. Lighthouses were also beginning to be used to provide a visible warning against shipping hazards, such as rocks or reefs.

The Eddystone Rocks were a major shipwreck hazard for mariners sailing through the English Channel, the first lighthouse built there, in 1698 by Henry Winstanley, was an octagonal wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions secured in the rock. This was the first tower in the world to have been fully exposed to the open sea.

Advancements in Design

The civil engineer, John Smeaton, rebuilt the lighthouse from 1756-59, his tower marked a major step forwards in the design of lighthouses and remained in use until 1877, he modelled the shape of his lighthouse on that of an oak tree, using granite blocks. He also pioneered the use of “hydronic lime” which is a form of concrete that sets underwater, and developed a technique of securing the granite blocks together using dovetail joints and marble dowels, which served to improve the structural stability greatly. Smeaton also had to taper the thickness of the tower towards the top, to do this he curved the tower inwards on a very gentle gradient, this brought an advantage of allowing some of the energy of the waves to dissipate upon impact with the walls. This lighthouse was also the prototype for modern lighthouses, and therefore influenced all subsequent engineers.

One influence of this was Robert Stevenson, who created the Bell Rock Lighthouse in 1810, which was one of the most impressive engineering feats of that age. This structure was based upon Smeatons initial design, but also featured several improved features including rotating lights, which alternated between red and white.

The source of illumination for lighthouses had generally been wood pyes or burning coal, this was until Swiss scientist Aimé Argand invented the Argand lamp in 1782, revolutionising lighthouse illumination with its steady smokeless flame. Early models used ground glass which was sometimes tinted around the wick, while later models used a mantle of thorium dioxide suspended over the flame which created a bright and steady light.

South Foreland Lighthouse was the first tower to successfully use an electric light in 1875, but this did not become the generally used light source until the 1960’s, as the vaporized oil burner was much more widely available, and then the Dalén Light was developed in the 1900’s, this was the predominant form of lighting for this time. This light used Agasmassan, a substrate, to absorb the gas allowing safe storage, and hence commercial exploitation. Dalén also invented the “sun valve”, which automatically regulated and turned it off in the daytime. In the 1960’s, electric lighting had become completely dominant, and therefore was used in all lighthouses.

FMP: Light The Way

Here is my project proposal outlining my idea for my final major project and what I will be aiming to create for it.