Tuesday, 17 April 2012

KEY WORDS & NARRATIVES

VERTICAL GROWTH

INSPIRED BY THE GROWTH OF VINES UP A VERTICAL SURFACE I AIM TO ADAPT THIS TO THE CONCEPT OF THE BUILDING.  VINES GROW VERTICALLY AND SPREAD THEIR LOAD ON ANOTHER SURFACE IN A PARASITIC MANNER SO AS TO FULLY ENHANCE THE AMOUNT OF NATURAL LIGHT WITH MINIMUM ENERGY EXPENDITURE.  THIS WOULD MEAN THE BUILDING WOULD LITERALLY RISE OUT OF THE SHADOWS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLIFFS, INCREASING VIEWS FROM AND TO THE SITE.  BUILDING VERTICALLY ALSO CLEARS THE BUILDING FROM THE GROUND FLOOD LEVEL.

[vines attaching & spiralling to a post]

LIGHT ACTIVATION

A PART OF MY FOLIE CONCEPT WAS ACTIVATING THE SPACE BY MAKING IT CLEARLY VISIBLE AS AN INTERACTIVE AREA.  THIS WAS ACHIEVED THROUGH COLOUR AND LIGHT SO THAT THE HOWARD SMITH WHARVES PRECINCT WAS CLEARLY NOTICEABLE FROM THE CITY, NEW FARM AND KANGAROO POINT.  THE BUILDING WILL MAINTAIN THIS CONCEPT BY LIGHTING UP EFFECTIVELY IN SOME MANNER SO AS TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF THE BUILDING, AND HENCE FURTHER ACTIVATING THE SITE.

[Glowing Material Sustained by Solar In-take]


[Light activation in Folie project]

INTEGRATION (INCREASED CONNECTIVITY)

THE BUILDING AIMS TO INTEGRATE SUCCESSFULLY INTO THE SITE BY BEING A PHYSICALLY UNOBTRUSIVE STRUCTURE THAT ENHANCES THE FLOW OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE SURROUNDING SUBURBS.  BY LINKING THE HOWARD SMITH WHARVES SITE AND THE TOP OF THE CLIFFS, WHILST INCREASING PASSAGE FROM THE FLOATING BOARDWALK THE BUILDING SHOULD ENHANCE CONNECTIVITY.



NODES

NODES WILL BE A PART OF THE CONCEPT SO AS TO MAINTAIN A FEELING OF PLACE AND HUMAN SCALE IN A RELATIVELY TALL BUILDING.  THESE NODES WILL SEPARATE SPECIFIC SPACES SUCH AS THE RESEARCH LAB AWAY FROM THE FOYER.  RUNNING WITH THE VINE CONCEPT THIS WILL ALSO BE A MANNER IN WHICH THE 'VINE' SPREADS ITSELF ACROSS THE SUPPORTING ELEMENT.

[Conceptual sketch displaying nodes & vertical
parasitic form]

CENTRE FOR BIOMIMICRY - PROGRAM

CENTRE FOR BIOMIMICRY - DESIGN / RESEARCH / EXHIBITION
Drawing upon the design discipline of biomimicry, this 'learning centre' will be one that teaches the general public about this relatively new discipline - whilst also creating possibility for further research on the topic, and educational classes on biomimicry.  In short, this learning centre will be somewhat of a 'flagship' centre for biomimicry within not only Australia, but the world.


SPATIAL PLANNING
The following diagrams asses the necessary components of the learning centre, identifying the program & functions and aligning them.  These images display the progress from initial ideas through to somewhat of a building form.

PROGRAM



SPATIAL ADJACENCIES



VERTICAL POSITIONING



Thursday, 12 April 2012

Time-lapse

This video helps to visualise the amount of sunlight cast on the howard smith wharves during the course of a day.

http://youtu.be/m-AxWnTCGqc

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Design Inspiration


Design Inspiration




Site Analysis


Solar Analysis



These solar analysis diagrams highlight the shadows cast on the site by the cliffs.  To obtain maximum natural lighting, and also a greater amount of surface for photovoltaics the building form should rise vertically into the maximum solar area and out of the shadows of the cliff.

Site Analysis

SITE ANALYSIS

Perspective view of the site from the sky - site boundaries highlighted red.


EXISTING / POTENTIAL ENTRY POINTS

This map highlights existing entry points (assuming the floating boardwalk will be rebuilt) whilst suggesting potential sites for creating entry points.  City cat stops would be viable options on the riverfront, whilst an elevator could link the site with the parklands on top of the cliffs above.

SURROUNDING SUBURBS
This map highlights the surrounding suburbs in the immediate context.  Each suburb contains a differing demographic.  The brisbane CBD and Fortitude Valley have a comparatively high commercial use, whilst the other surrounding suburbs are primarily residential.

DEMOGRAPHICS OF SURROUNDING SUBURBS


The tables above indicate the demographics within the surrounding suburbs.
Below is a brief analysis of these demographics, displaying the significant population percentage between the ages of 18-64 in all of the immediate suburbs.


MAJOR NODES & ACCESS ROUTES
This map shows the major nodes of activity and the manner in which they would access the site.  These nodes differ greatly in the amount of use during week or weekends.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

This map displays the surrounding major public transport routes and walking radius.  The city cat & bus network provides the most readily available transport systems close to the site.  These transport routes also effectively link the site with the major nodes of activity shown above.

WALKABILITY
This image clearly displays the areas within a comfortable 5 minute walking distance.  


NOISE POLLUTION
This map displays noise pollution immediate to the site.  The story bridge is the primary concern, with the area directly underneath it being quiet loud.

FLOODING

Flooding is a real concern for the site as it has flooded numerous times in the past.  The map above documents the flood-line from the 2011 flood which covered the entire site.  The image directly above is from the same floods.  In terms of designing to account for this, I believe that designing vertically with a sturdy yet relatively open ground floor plan will minimise damage to the building.  By designing vertically, the majority of the building will be out of harms way in terms of water damage from the floods.