Presentation

 

 

 

Presentation Poster

My final poster design - it's a little bit cramped but I wanted all of those images on there.

The building also took on a name during the poster making process - AIRED  Biomimicry- Australian Institute of Research, Education & Design of Biomimicry.  This simply came from me needing a bolder heading to stand out from all these drawings, but the idea has really grown on me.  Especially as a landmark, I think its important for such buildings to have some kind of a 'name'.  GOMA is sort of an example of this.   I guess it also kind of works on another level as well, AIRED in terms of generating knowledge and awareness of Biomimicry.  Just the presentation to go now.

Elevations

Eastern Elevation

The Eastern elevation shows the glass atrium structure on the waterfront building.  This area's intent is to be an open, airy and naturally lit cafe space which fades out into the exhibition area.  Green curtains of vines hang down either side of the passageway, with the intent of creating the feeling of walking through two giant vine curtains into another realm, filled with projections, plants and activity, an inside/outside space.

Southern Elevation

 The front, southern elevation shows the pathway upwards.  I think the building looks a little bit too bulky from this perspective, almost taking on the shape of a rhino or something.

Western Elevation

The western elevation is probably the least aesthetically pleasing, although it's photovoltaic cladding is vital to its resource autonomy goals.  Practicality wins over aesthetics on this side of the building.  I've tried to warp the photovoltaics up onto some shade structures as well though for a more interesting form.  Once again, green curtains drape the entrance to the internal areas.

Renders

I've been spending a lot of time on photoshop lately, although it's nice to finally have some results.  Below are a couple of renders that i've just finished.  Base renders were done in sketchup, but pretty much everything was re-done in photoshop.

This is the Hero shot - it shows the whole building form in the site with some rough landscaping around it.  It also looks less bulky from this angle, and much greener which is a relief - I was beginning to think that i'd made a concrete monster.  The people in the render also really show the scale I think - it's a really  big building.  This is something that has actually been on my mind alot lately.  The scale of howard smith wharves, and all its surroundings - are big.  The story bridge, cliffs, site, river are all really large elements in the city that meet at one point, so I think that a small building, or one that isnt clearly visible would be very easily lost in the site.  So this got me thinking about the buildings relationship with the urban environment, and i've come to the conclusion that this institute for biomimcry would be both a landmark and a node.  It's big, new and visible from New Farm, Kangaroo Point, the CBD and the story bridge.  It's different building functions also attract a wide variety of users, and provides meeting places such as a cafe, and I think that this is enough to create a node, therefore activating the dead site - which has been my main goal from the start.

This image shows the internal passageway which is something that I don't think i've described well enough.  It's intent is to be an inside/outside space.  Above it, the green roof twists around half closing it in, and at each end the green curtains drape down, filtering the light.  It will be a space with interesting and frequently changing lighting, walls around it but not above it, and large openings at the end of each path.  As well as this, the large supports for the green roof above are to be overgrown with bromeliads and plants, creating an almost tropical - jungle feel.  Above the glass doorway a projection will be cast onto the concrete wall, adding to the changing lighting and activity, with large images shining above you walk into the main public building.

This shot just shows the building cascading upwards to the top of the cliff, and the entrance into the main public building.

Just a quick render to show some of the city context behind the building, and also the minimal impact on Bowen terrace.  My intent here was to have the building just poking up over the top, so that anyone on Bowen terrace would just catch a glimpse of it, and be intrigued and drawn towards it, to then look over the edge of the cliff to a great undulating green roof inviting them down to the waterfront, into the Howard Smith Wharves.

Floor Plans

I've been playing around with the floor plans trying to figure out the most space efficient way of presenting them, and I think i've settled on this:

I haven't put too much detail in these in terms of interior fit-outs, instead i've just named each rooms purpose.  I think this just results in a cleaner look, and i'm not really sure how much detail is required since they are primarily presentation floor plans

Sections

I've produced these two sections which actually took surprisingly little time.  I've never used sketchup before, but the section tool in it is amazingly easy to use, and generate decent results from with little work.

I've been trying to reflect my intent for the lighting in each sectioned room through shading.  Section B - B also shows the aviary really well, which i've been having trouble capturing.  It also shows the interior pathway's form really well.

Diagramming

I've been working on some diagrams that I want to use in my presentation to clearly display how the building form has literally been sculpted by the site analysis, as I think this is a pretty important aspect of my design - that it is actually considered and not just a wayward form.

This diagram shows the progression of the public building on the waterfront, and how it evolved from a rectangular box to a warped trapezoid shape, dictated by the sun paths.

This diagram shows the 3 core buildings underneath the green roof, and their purposes.  

I really like this diagram, although it's pretty rough.  It shows how the solar area is directly reflected in the building form.  I think this also fits my vine concept pretty directly as well.

3D Modelling Progress

My time has mostly been spent on fixing up the model to a finished product including modelling all of the stairs where the slope is too steep for a ramp, and ensuring glass railings line the sides of the green roof.   I've also been playing with rendering programs after taking my model from rhino into Sketchup.  Below are a couple of test renders that i've been working on.

There's a lot of post processing work to be done on photoshop, but i'm pretty happy with how the views turned out.  I've also been working on pulling out some elevation and section renders, which are below.

 Perspective Sections

Section

Eastern Elevation

Western Elevation

Northern Elevation

Once again, lots of photoshop work to be done on these drawings

I've spent a bit of time thinking about diagrams as well, although none have really been resolved well enough to be uploaded.

Design Development

 A lot of time has been spent working on the model, separating it all into layers for later rendering, working on floor plate definition and modelling the living machine tanks and pipes.  There has also been a stairway added from the top of the research facilities building to the top of the cliffs, meaning the entire way can be traversed on foot.  I think that I actually really like the view from Bowen terrace at the top of the cliff, as the building just sticks out, raising questions of what is beyond sight.  A glass atrium has been added to the waterfront structure as well, which will flood the cafe and exhibition area with natural light, and the 2nd level floor plate has been recessed to further this open, light environment.

I've spent a fair bit of time working out the ground plan, creating an emphasis on the the pathway through the complex.  It's 5 metres wide at its thinnest, which I think is plenty of room to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians.  It also steps in towards the entrances of the buildings to lead the users into the facilities.  Bench seating, tree's and planter boxes will all be added, and a projector will focus on the upper half of the public buildings wall inside the passageway. 

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CONCEPT SKETCH

SPATIAL ADJACENCIES

PATHS OF MOVEMENT

ROOF PLAN

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

From last week the design was tweaked with the aim of creating a traversable surface connecting the HWS with the top of the cliffs.  The 30metre upwards climb to the top of the cliffs meant it was impossible to do without the use of lifts.  The design has been re-focused on the original concept of vines, taking on a more organic, winding form.  The undulating green roofs are all habitable and paths will be included to promote this.

Green curtain walls have been added to both sides to create an exciting space inside the building forms, with natural light shining in from above and being filtered from the sides.  The aim is for the user to feel surrounded and immersed by nature and biomimicry.  There are now 3 building forms; the tallest one against the cliffs will contain the scientific research labs, the middle one will be the public library, and the waterfront structure will house the foyer, cafe, biomimicry exhibition centre and public lecture theatre.

The box on the waterfront will be developed into a tidemill that harvests energy from the ebbs of the tide.  This energy will be used primarily for pumping the water through the living machine systems (yet to be modelled).