Bo Amoafo
Bo (She/Her) is a second year student from Victoria University of Wellington.
Check out more of her work here.
Hi Bo! Thanks for sharing your work with us through our website link! We’re excited to be able to showcase your projects!
As you’re in your second year, how did you find your first year at Victoria with competitive entry and did you look at going into other disciplines before deciding on Architecture?
I actually really enjoyed the first year! and controversially I'm thinking a little more than second-year…In first year we had so much creative freedom and were really encouraged to experiment and iterate heaps!
I actually considered going into Landscape Architecture, as we did this class where we rotated through an assignment for each discipline and I really enjoyed the physical model making we did in the landscape component and how Landscape Architecture lends itself to the integration of people, buildings and the wider environment.
What led you to choose to go to Victoria University to study Architecture?
I’ve always wanted to go to Vic! I grew up in Welly but moved to Christchurch during college and just always wanted to come back. Wellington has the connected and creative nature ingrained into it, which has personally made it an amazing city to study architecture in!
Taylor’s Mistake
Shelly Bay Library
Definitely! Wellington is a beautiful city to study in! Now that you’re studying architecture, what inspires you as you create your projects?
A lot of my work is inspired by this paradox that, yes we shape architecture but great architecture has the ability to challenge us.
Is there an example of a space that you have experienced that has worked well or poorly and how has this helped shape your opinions?
I think that two key spaces that I tend to look to that have cemented this link that I make between people and space can be found in church architecture and library architecture.
They are two really different types of spaces but I think that they are both spaces that historically have been designed well and in such a way that the architecture holds the user within the space.
Your models how a really strong relationship with light and space. Who is your inspiration architecturally and what is the relationship with your work?
I’m a big fan of Louis Kahn and Olafur Eliasson and the way in which they use physical mediums to create an atmosphere. I am a big fan of Tadao Ando's work too.
I think that my focus on light comes from that narrative designer mindset - I consider light as this thing that can be played with and manipulated strategically through architecture. When I'm designing, usually working through elevation, I'm thinking to myself, where is the user within the space and how do I want them to feel as a result of light!
What are your favourite projects so far and how do you like to design them?
My favourite project is a physical model I did for the proposal of a library! The Shelly Bay Library Project is a three-part project which explored:
Form and Site;
Form and Light; and
Form and Materials.
Each part of the project was separate but they were reliant on compounding knowledge and understanding. I think that where this came together for me was in the Form and Light part of the assignment, where I started physically modelling.
I create rough sketches and enjoy physical modelling throughout the design process. Through modelling in 3D, I am able to gain a much richer understanding of form between varying scales. When designing, I try to create a space a user would walk into and smile!
Building on these ideas, what is your process when creating spaces focused on atmosphere?
As a designer, I like my work to tell a story and evoke emotion. I am really inspired by the idea that as designers we have the power to intentionally make people feel a certain way when they are in a space we design. While this can be really confronting, I actually think it's super powerful!
I often try to envision myself as the person within the space and I focus on a few really simple design moves that I can make or exaggerate that will have a really big impact. I like to think that it is ok for architecture to disorientate the user as long as that is the intention, for example, where can I manipulate the space to make a user circulate the way I want them to.
Taylor’s Mistake
Taylor’s Mistake
Somes Island
What are other projects that you have done and what did you learn from them?
Taylors Mistake Bach was an assignment I did as a part of a construction paper. The brief was super broad and focused on identifying what a 'bach' was to us. For this assignment, I was really inspired by the idea that this bach would be a space where people could detach from life and interact with the site!
For this assignment, my iterations were driven by the spatial verbs skew and split. The iterations were both related to these initial architectural concepts and I feel that in the final project they were communicated effectively.
Looking back on this first-year assignment, and looking at some of the work I've done this year I'm reminded that really pulled back and considered design is effective!
Journey Through Space was a project that allowed me to envision space in a really creative way and create really fun collaged renders looking into the master planning of a community on Matiu Somes Island. The concept was centered around creating a self-sufficient, Te Reo only island for people to stay at and be fully immersed in the culture.
I was inspired by the idea of creating a place of community through 'places on incidence' where shared facilities on the island were planned in such a way that circulation allowed people to socialise and connect both with each other and with their surrounding context.
Looking back on the project I feel that my approach was too broad and that focusing in on an area of interest is sometimes more rewarding and results in a more resolved proposal.
Finally, your uni experience has unfortunately been punctuated with lockdowns. How have you found these, and have they had any impact on you as an individual/designer?
I am not a fan of Lockdown! I personally find that I get more work done in lockdown but during lockdown this year I found myself questioning why I had decided to study architecture.
I think that a really big part of that was because I had lost my community. Coming back post Level 4, studio classes have really fed my interest in architecture!
I have personally found that it is through conversations, problem-solving, and late nights doing assignments with peers that I learn the most! I feel super challenged as a designer and genuinely love Architecture School!
Thanks for sharing Bo! Good luck with your final presentations!
Photographs and work supplied by Bo Amoafo
Interview by Cameron Rossouw
