Why are scaled models an essential tool and technique in your design process as future architects?

Physical models give a clear understanding of the scale of the building, on site as well as the quality of spaces. It gives designers a base to imagine what it’s like to be in a space and the overall building. Through this you can understand the design in a physical context. The difference between a 3D virtual model and a physical model is that a 3D model shows the building in a greater detail of the overall building in terms of 3D perspectives, sections and the elevation, however a 3D physical model allows a more in depth understanding in terms of the scale and allows you to think and develop the design more along the process of making a 3D model.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Architectural-Model/4363025

After a greater understanding of the site, what was missing culturally was the learning and interactive culture. We have play, eat and relax however there is no learn. This week research of interactive learning centers as well as technology in order to understand what the building can provide to the community in Southbank.

As technology evolves, the world evolves with it. As Brisbane is 10 years behind many 1st world cities when it comes to innovation and technology, it is important that Brisbane in the future can evolve and catch up to the standards of leading cities around the world.

AMPHBIOUS ARCHITECTURE

Amphibious Architecture submerges ubiquitous computing into the water—that 90% of the Earth’s inhabitable volume that envelops New York City but remains under-explored and under-engaged. Two networks of floating interactive tubes, installed at sites in the East River and the Bronx River, house a range of sensors below water and an array of lights above water. The sensors monitor water quality, presence of fish, and human interest in the river ecosystem. The lights respond to the sensors and create feedback loops between humans, fish, and their shared environment. An SMS interface allows citizens to text-message the fish, to receive real-time information about the river, and to contribute to a display of collective interest in the environment.

Instead of treating the rivers with a “do-not-disturb” approach, the project encourages curiosity and engagement. Instead of treating the water as a reflective surface to mirror our own image and our own architecture, the project establishes a two-way interface between environments of land and water. In two different neighborhoods of New York, the installation creates a dynamic and captivating layer of light above the surface of the river. It makes visible the invisible, mapping a new ecology of people, marine life, buildings, and public space and sparking public interest and discussion.

http://www.sentientcity.net/exhibit/?p=5

VIRTUAL SPACES

QUT, the cube is a great example of interaction learning, however it would be better if it was located in a more open and public area for the whole community to get involved.

Virtual Reef

The Virtual Reef provides an immersive, simulated underwater experience that invites users to engage and learn about the Great Barrier Reef’s unique ecosystem.

The Virtual Reef is a life-sized marine ecosystem expanding across two levels of the new Science and Engineering Centre. Multi-touch technologies enable the user to manipulate, intimately explore and interact with the reef world, specific behaviours and relationships.

Australia’s leading marine science and interactive and visual design organisations, QUT and the Queensland Museum, bring knowledge and research of the underwater world to your fingertips through multi-touch screens and projectors.

Users will have the opportunity to go beyond the cinematic experience and interact with the marine world. Each interaction has associated content designed to complement the aims of the National Curriculum and provide an exploratory learning experience.

ECOS

ECOS uses interactive data and illustrations to help people understand how everyday energy use impacts people in a “green” building.

Inviting play and reflection on the role of green buildings, ECOS presents data on the Cube using a simple and interactive game-like application. The data shows how energy consumption and generation impacts people in a variety of climates within a five-star rated green building like the Science and Engineering Centre (SEC), where the Cube is located.

ECOS incorporates live weather data into an interactive illustration and places a fictional green building into different climates, allowing users to play with the parameters of the buildings and observe the results and the possible impacts on people.

ECOS promotes behavioural change bydemonstrating the factors that influence sustainable energy consumption andgeneration.

The SEC contains its own sources of green energy and has a complex sensor network that can offer detailed information on energy consumption and generation. Future versions of ECOS may tap into the sensor network to further illustrate green principles based on live data in the SEC.

http://www.thecube.qut.edu.au/projects/ecos.php

http://retaildesignblog.net/2013/04/15/virtual-reef-interactive-multitouch-installation-by-pro-av-solutions/