Developed Floor plans *sketch
(experimenting different ways the building will be transparent)
(sturctural column diagram)
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Week 12 Design Process – Transparency Concept (Building Development)
(Building Concept sketch)
Diagram of building orientations
Spatial layout on imediate site
(Layout development sketches)
Week 11 Design Process – Programming and Spaces
(Plan Sketch of Building views)
Week 11 Blog Question:
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.
Week 10 Design Process – Sustainable Learning Center (Research)
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.
Week 10 Blog Question
Why is it important to reflect on your design process and what can you learn from this?
It’s important to reflect on design process as it allows you to pick up on areas or problems that haven’t been considered about. Design is something that can always be improved. As designers we need to understand that society changes and as architects we must be able to understand how to provide and shape the potential changes of the overall urban development. It is important to reflect back what the key elements are that we are trying to change and how are we affecting society by doing so.
http://socialinnovationmn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Design-Thinking-fo-Educators.jpg
Week 9 Blog Question
How can you apply the notion of critical thinking to the testing and assessing of your design ideas?
Depending on what the notion is, the way of testing and assessing changes the outcome of a design. I believe there are all sorts of ways that people design. Firstly when an idea comes to mind it is crucial to also see it in all different perspectives of scale. The immediate site, master plan, the city then a comparison and deeper understanding needs to be made with this idea to different cities. During this process research is crucial as most likely, a similar idea or concept has been thought about or done somewhere around the world. Compare it and consider the different ideas that other people have come up with as it is just adding stronger elements to the idea and concept of the design.
Through this, understanding of the immediate culture needs to be assessed as the underlying notions of culture and society varies in many different ways. A great understanding of this is needed as a designer as we are designing for society and community and not for ourselves and our ignorance by just observing.
As designers, research is a very important aspect that needs to be done diligently and in a broad manner as it’s the different ideas and understanding of the society, technology, sustainability etc that determines how we execute our design and give us a base to test and assess the outcome of our ideas. It is a validation of why and how our design will work.
Week 9 Design Process – Cultural Change
(Diagram of cultural change)
By going back to basics for the last week and seeing the site analysis again in broader context as well as cultural building analysis, it was interesting to see that all learning centers are away from the parklands. The closet one was the Queensland Maritime Museum however; it’s not a very interactive building as well as people don’t come to Southbank just to see it.
However in the bigger context and the main point of designing a new building needs to relate back to cultural change. The relationship back to cultural change has been slowly forgotten during the process and needs to be evaluated.
The question of what am I trying to culturally change and why was analyzed through this week’s process as the essence of the project was being forgotten.
When looking directly on the site, learning areas are minimal especially on the parklands. Secondly around the heart of Southbank (Streets Beach) there are not many green spaces around the swimming area other than the hill area in front of the beach and sand areas.
(Diagram of Green spaces on immediate site)
(Graphic representation of buildings in Southbank)
(siteplan of interaction areas)
Diagram(of Interaction and POI)
When looking at Southbank and the culture of the site, there are not many interactive areas for people to enjoy. The playground for children limits interaction to only a particular age group. The most interactive area on the site is the beach area.
Things to change on site
– Interaction opportunities with the community as well as Southbank itself
– Learning resources of Southbank
– A POI on Southbank other than Streets beach.
Week 8 Design Process – Back to Basics
(back to basics development thinking)
Going back to site analysis, the question of proposing an interactive children’s learning playground needed to be questioned in a more in depth perspective. First of all it’s the only urban parkland in the city of Brisbane. Secondly, the expo of ‘88’gave an opportunity to Brisbane to create something different to the site.
The question of what was working on the site and what makes Southbank so iconic to Brisbane was challenged and how can we push a culture change to Southbank.
The original idea of children’s learning playground is not validated enough. When on site and seeing the existing open green spaces and playground, people are still not attracted to the areas.
Why are people so attracted to the existing site? People love it due to its landscape and its relation to water.
Families mainly go the Southbank for Streets Beach. Question Why? Why not stay at home in their pools or go to a swimming pool closest to their neighborhoods?
- Free Entry to the public
- Natural landscaping (even though its manmade)
- Point Of Interest in Brisbane as a meeting point/relaxation point.
- When in the area, you are a part of a community, and have that opportunity to have direct interaction with people and have that feeling of being somewhere ‘lively’
- QLD is iconic for its relaxation and easy going vibe in comparison to Sydney and Melbourne. Southbank is a direct example of that culture of QLD.
The contrast to the busyness of the urban city to Southbank balances the element of being in a place full of people (community) and the cultural and relaxed atmosphere of the area.
(Diagram of Brisbane Parklands and Nodes to where people are attracted to the site)
(map highlighting green spaces)
hyunamanda 
