Planning Options Building 1 (Gallery/Cafe) & 2 (Wellness Centre)

Building 1 - Gallery Planning Option

It was decided to combine the cafe with the gallery space as these are more active areas, where as the wellness centre is a quieter space.

Initial planning for Building 2 : Wellness Centre

Some basic sections experimenting with green walls wrapping the entire structure and rooftop farming.

View from the river inside the Yoga space. Clear glazing provides soothing views out towards the river space, whilst a green roof provides insulation eliminating the need for air-conditioning.

Initial Modelling

To investigate the 3D form I started some initial modelling with cardboard to see what I could create and come up with a building that was aethetically pleasing and dealt with the heritage structure.

I decided to focus on the forms surrounding the original building to have a minimal impact on the puncture of the historically significant structure.

At the same time the forms are reviving the older building, by drawing attention to it as it becomes a focal point along the river and once again giving it value.

I am interested to expose part of the roof so that the original timber framing can be exposed. As the corrugated iron roofing is very much dilapidated most of this would need to be replaced anyway and so it would no longer be original material. As this would be an immitation it makes it harder to determine was was the exisitng structure. Therefore an exposed roof or a new roofing system could be proposed so that it may be easily determined what is original and what is new. 

Lecture 08: Modular Architecture

PREFABRICATED & MODULAR ARCHITECTURE

FOUR MAIN CONSIDERATIONS

- IDEAS
- LOGISTICS
- AUTOMATION
- ADAPTABILITY

IDEAS

What kind of component would you prepare?
How do you assemble the components?

Lego (1932)
Revit, Archicad have component libraries which allow you to produce a building. The problem with this is that there is a limited number of components so the design can become the same and repeated.

The advantage of using Lego as a tool is its modular capability. It can allow you to be very creative.

Unité D'Habitiation (1952)
- Housing principle developed by Le Corbusier
- Extremely efficient by providing modular architectural design
- The modules can slot in to repeat the same thing.

Oil Rig Hotel
- Pre-manufactured components made cheaply and shipped to where they are needed
- Need to design how they can be shipped
- The elements are designed to the same dimensions of the shipping container otherwise it would be a very costly exercise
- This needs to be considered in our design


LOGISTICS

Infrastructure also needs to be designed
How they can be transported around? Its not just what people will see.
This is more relevant in the current digital age.
How will you construct the building?

1972 Nagakin Capsule Tower - Tokyo
- All the components of the building are modular, welded together
- Needs to fit onto a truck
- It is currently at risk of demolition, as the building sits on very valuable land. Many architects are opposed to this as the building was supposed to have a longer lifespan than a traditional building making it very sustainable.

One of the advantages of 3D simulation is that it allows us to see quite easily whether or not it can be built. (eg. Length of crane is enough to drop things onto the site?)

Walter Segal - Self Build System
- Council made available land for self building
- He designed a system so that normal people could build their own houses.
- A step by step construction using modular sizes of timber
- Successful in one way however it is not very active at the moment.
- Developed Calbuild Kit with John Frazer, a tool for calculating the cost of building (eg. depending on the number of glazed panels).

AUTOMATION

- Laser Cutting/Machining
- Pieces are generated using a CAD model
- Building components (Burst 2005)
- Building can be assembled on site


ADAPTABILITY

- People who are going to be using the building are the most important.
- Building must be designed to adapt to the changing needs of people

Muji House - Japan
-Order different modules for house.
- Same concept as Ikea

How can it be disassembled?
How can you minimise waste?
How can you re-use waste?
How can your building components be recycled at the end of the life span?
How sustainable is it?

Site Massing Diagrams

A massing diagram showing a rough layout of the buildings puncturing through the heritage buildings.

Calculating the buildable site area.



Acceptable site area with 3 buildings on site.

Decided to use a 2 building layout to enable more flexibility with the size of the buildings and allowing additional 1st and 2nd floors.

Rough layout of the buildings on site. The gallery is positioned closer to the CBD while the meditative spaces are located toward the quieter end of the HSW.

Week 7: Parametric Design

This weeks lecture by Ruwan provided some important demonstrations of software. He showed some of the main 3D modelling applications and proceded to give a demonstration of how the program works and how to create simple but effective models when designing.

These programs varied depending upon the type of contraints given by the design. Some of the programs he showed were Rhino, Grasshopper and 3D Studio Max.

This was very effective to give an understanding of in what situations the modelling program becomes effective. Some programs will not effectively support kinetic type architecture. He suggested that we go away and experiment with some new programs to find alternative solutions to the modelling process.

Sight Lines

A contextual analysis of the connecting suburbs, showing the transit routes from each to the Howard Smith Wharves. This is important in terms of how people will be accessing the site.

Sight lines from the proposed buildings. These lead the eye straight down the river path and take full advantage of the most aspiring views.

Showing the sight lines as people wander from the river toward the site.

Some initial planning investigating relationships between the activities. The gallery and yoga space are positioned directly on the riverfront.

Some interior planning options 

Use of a metal screen to create exciting and curious passages. This could be utilised within the design. Light is filtering to create shadows of repetition which lead the eye down through to the point at which they disappear.

Technology Research

Sunlight Direct's Hybrid Solar Lighting: Fiberoptic Brilliance
Hybrid Solar Lighting channels visible light into buildings through a bundle of plastic optical fibers. These fibers hook into special luminaires that distribute the light indoors. As daylight wanes, a sensor kicks on conventional electric bulbs to maintain a constant level of illumination.

http://www.sunlight-direct.com/power-generation.php

  Sealing in Heat with Soybeans

Spray foam has become the insulation of choice in walls and ceilings for its ability to prevent air penetration from the outside, and retain heated or cooled air inside. Most expanding foams are petroleum-based, but BioBased 501 Insulation derives from soybean oil -- a renewable resource. http://www.biobased.net/


GreenGrid's Drought-Tolerant Roof Plants: Keeping It Cool

Surface temperatures on a flat, black roof can easily exceed 160 F on a sunny afternoon. The same roof covered in drought-tolerant plants will be as much as 100 degrees cooler -- dramatically reducing the cost of a/c. GreenGrid, a modular system of preplanted, recycled-plastic trays, presents a lightweight, low-cost alternative to permanent systems. In many cases, it can be installed atop existing roof gravels, residential or commercial. http://www.greengridroofs.com/system/index.htm






HelioVolt's Thin-Film Cells: Solar Cells on Every Surface

The rising cost of solar-grade silicon sparked a race to find alternative photo-voltaic materials; HelioVolt responded with a thin-film solar cell composed of copper, indium, gallium and selenium. The company's proprietary printing process can rapidly coat solar cells onto glass (above), metal and other construction materials, eventually making it cost-effective for even windows and exterior cladding to become power sources.

Incorporating Folie

  

- the folie in outcome expressed a quiet, spiritual mood

- memorial like

- poetic nature

- natural environment (overflowing tree) interacting with space

I decided to incorporate these elements into project two creating a quiet space of reflection for meditation, a gallery, café and gardens.

WELLNESS CENTRE

-          SPACES FOR MEDITATION

-          SPAS

-          MASSAGE

-          FITNESS

-          DRESSING ROOM/TOILETS

-          SAUNA

-          TREATMENT CABINE

Some examples of wellness centres:

Exedra Nice Hotel – Nice, France

 

Floating Wellness Centre Berlin

  

Floatation tanks

Les Bain des Docks

Week 6 : Dynamic Architecture - The application of animation software to architectural design

This weeks lecture was on dynamic architecture.

Florian discussed his experience of completing one of his final university projects, experimenting with modelling and the design process to create new ways of developing and enhancing the design by modelling.

He showed his process of experimentation at various stages both failed attempts and successful ones. The modelling began from creating lines at two different points and developed through their nodes of intersection.

This resulted in an outcome that was unusual and varied


Feedback from Tutorial session:

- Project 2 should be a schematic design proposal
- Brief to be fully defined
- Define proposed area of site
- Define technologies
- Design to be driven and enhanced by technologies

Discovering New Technologies

The focus of my selected theme group 'the new machine' is to look at emerging technologies as a force to drive and enhance a design.

A general internet search of emerging technologies will bring up Wikipedia which compiles a whole list of up and coming technologies. As a starting point this is very useful to learn about the various areas such as:

- Biotechnology, bioinformatics
- Energy technologies
- Information technology
- Material science
- Robotics and applied technologies

An area of interest that I identified as being of relevance to my initial folie project was biotechnology, more specifically artificial photosynthesis. As my folie was related to natural elements interacting with a nearby tree - photosynthesis as a natural process of converting carbon dioxide into organic compounds using the energy of sunlight seemed an appropriate choice.

                        

Week 5 Project Development

WORKED OUT A BRIEF FOR THE BUILDING

Aims: To create a space of quiet relief and contemplation in the inner city precinct of the Howard Smith Wharves. An escape from the bustle of the inner city, workers and residents can retreat to take some time out from their busy lifestyles.

Design Style: The design style will be focused on creating a highly sustainable and eco-friendly building that is driven by emerging technologies. Contemporary juxtaposed with the historically significant heritage buildings at the Howard Smith Wharves.

The site is to support 3 main activities. These include a gallery space, meditative areas and a cafe. Other related areas such as reception, toilets and change rooms are to be incorporated.

The project hopes to revive the Howard Smith Wharves and cater to an increasing need for spaces of relaxation and parkland spaces in the urban environment.


TECHNOLOGIES

The technologies that I am interested to include are:

- Artificial photosynthesis

An artificial leaf made of silicon, electronic components and low-cost chemical catalysts such as nickel and cobalt. These trigger chemical reations which enable the leaf to replicate the process of photosynthesis by turning water into oxygen and hydrogen, enabling the production of 'green' electricity.

The leaf is virtually the size of a playing card which has the capability to produce an electricity output for up to 45 continuous hours, without any instability issues. The leaf could also be used in conjuction with diverse hydrogen-based green technologies and could ultimately replace the inflexible photovoltaic solar cell.

How about a real 'green' city park that could also help to harvest solar power for powering street lights around town?

Read More: http://thecoolgadgets.com/artificial-leaf-photosynthesis-%E2%80%93-impressive-work-of-mit-dr-daniel-nocera/#ixzz1Km915rwm

- Solar Technology

Week 5 Design - Decision support: from analogue to social interactivity

This weeks lecture comprised a video of the Sagradia Familia explaining the building process. Complex modelling equations, physical models and computer technology were used to continue the builidng process over the last 150 years.

Theme Group: The New Machine

Ben Parker (our tutor) explained that the group was about using a particular emerging technology/technologies to drive a building.

A wikipedia list of emerging technologies was distributed as a starting point to discuss in groups.

Then looked at ideas/functions for the space

-  Memorial
-  Market
-  Sustinable Cafe
-  Performance Centre
-  Art Gallery
-  Museum
-  Meditation

A list of possible technologies was also made to be integrated througout the building.

- Chemical Industry
- Synthetic Biology
- Artificial Photosynthesis -Replicate the natural process of photosynthesis, converting sunlight water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen.
- Biomachines
- Biofuels
- Diffusion
- Concentrated Solar Power