The Alley

The Alleyway - a Performative space which allows for scripted and unscripted activites to unfold. Functioning much like an urban street, the alley draws the the site and different spaces together in a new and interesting way.

Functions can change depending on time, for example during the day the cafe can serve lunch to businessmen, at night it can function as a restaurant, or a space for street performances.

The Gallery

Upper level with studio and creation boxes

Lower gallery level for exhibiting original works.

Modelling.

These are exterior shots of the building, showing the gallery entrance, alley and different appraoches through the site.

The two images below show the concert stage, and how the music room opens onto the central park area for performances.

Folie Development

The idea for the canopy in the alleyway is developed from my folie. Drawing on the chaotic nature of the installation, I put a series of interseecting bars across the top, with a glass plate across them. This covers the alleyway, and creates interesting shadow displays across the ground that change with the sun.

'Dead zone' - Concert park/alleyway

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Below are a number of functional iterations within the levels of the building. blue is individual, orange - creative, green - social, and purple - auxillary. This shows how the functions in each space could change at any given time.

Activity sections I had a sketch of earlier. These show the correspondence between the spatial and conceptual system within the library, integrating the physical and digital components of new media.

Mapping the activity sections of the building. This shows the relationship between the spaces, and how the physical aspect of the library functions. I find this a much more interesting way of doing sections than the regular 2D ones, so intend to use a similar technique in my final presentation. Shows the performative and concept aspects much clearer. Will possibly use 3D sections.

Sketch of possible form for the building. I decided to go with a geometric 'carapace' draped over the structure, which opens in places to reveal glass windows in the gallery, or urban material such as masonry and cocnrete in the alleyway. This allows me to give different qualities to different spaces.

Potential movement around the site and sketch plan of the ground level. Notice the new addition to the alley, as well as the modified kitchen/cafe area. Toilets have been situated on the ground floor, and are accessible to users in the gallery, or from outside in the park area,

The idea of 'creation boxes'. These are designated areas where users can edit and upload their work to the library system. They function as the central creative nodes within the building, and one of the major links between the physical and digital programmes.

Building Blocks.

Revising the integration between digital and physical aspects of the library. The most important function of the building is its ability to combine these, and what exactly the physical function of new media is. We know that New media is based on interactivity between users, so the physical functions will be based on the exhibition and display of work in an interactive and social way.

Creating the central 'dead zone'. This space is intended to be the most liveley, and freeform of spaces, function like an urban street and allowing users to do whatever pleases them. Also brings the site into the building, as a foyer for the gallery and theatre spaces, and an interesting path of transit.

The Next Stage

The aim of the New media Centre is to link all the creative nodes within the surrounding city in one place, in the hope of redeveloping the HSW site. There are many surrounding facilities, as identified in earlier site analysis, so the challenge becomes how to combine them in one central location.

A revised function diagram. I decided to remove many of the individual funcitons, and focus on the social and creative aspects of the concept, as these were the most exciting nd the most necessary in order to combine the digital and physical aspects of media production and exhibition. We need to ensure that users have a reason to come to the library, and not just view everything on the internet, and the social functions provide something you can't get from home.

Going back to the central concept

User Experience - A scenario

This is a scenario created by our Hong Kong counterparts, detailing the typical experience of two different users to our Library. The interaction is developed from the 'New Media' concept. Check it out.

'The Alley'

These are renders of the alleyway, showing the space. The shelter provides space for passers by to stop and read a book, or for market stalls to be set up or street cafe vendors to sell their cuisine.

The Stage

One of our major aspirations for this project is the inclusion of scripted events, which are incorporated within our library model. Apart from the public lectures, individual workspaces, film and art exhibitions, and reats and eating areas, we decided to include a concert/performance area. This has been integrated with the sound production sutie, as they both include many of the same functions and software. Through a movable wall, which opens onto the central square, we have allowed for the possibility of community concerts and performances, without losing any function of space within the building.

Performative Aspects

This diagram shows the proposed changes in spaces during different times of the day. These functions are based on who is occupying the space, and their desires. For exmaple, the lounge area provides a great place to eat lunch and socialise at midday, but would provide a quieter study area at less busy times. The sound production room is also used primarily for creative purposes, however becomes the focus of major social activity during performances and concerts held on the weekend.

Further diagram of user flows and intensity at the different times proposed. The primary function is displayed underneath each image.

Creating Spaces

These are the final spatial allocations and functions within the building. These are very loose, as many of the spaces will function differently at different times. This will be displayed later, but for now this is the architectural program we are running with.

Note the sound production room, and the suite's ability to open into a stage setting. This allows for concerts and performances to be held in the central square, while saving space and storing the required equipment for both rooms.

Form + The 'Dead Zone'

The idea of a 'dead zone' has been studied extensively by Gil M. Doron, with a focus on the uses and performative aspects of these spaces. A dead zone is basically a large area of uninhabited space, which allows for scripted and unscripted activites and events to unfold. He believes that "as the landscape becomes more heterogeneous, so will the communities who inhabit the square", an idea I personally find very interesting, and intend to explore for this project.

Currently, the Howard Smith Wharves site consist largely of uninhabited space. We decided to channel this area into a defined area, which would eventually become two parts: A central square, and a performative alleyway. This offers visitors to the site an alternative movement route, as well as a dynamic, uninhabited space to allow these scripted and unscripted events to unfold. We intend to develop this 'dead zone' into an area which allows for events such as markets, community rallies, concerts and performances, film screenings, and many other social functions, based on the users occupying the site. 

Another design consideration we came to is the idea of locating the 'book boxes' outside the library. This encourages interaction between library users and the site, as well as removing the barrier between the physical collection of books and passer's by, fully integrating the design into the site. This would also allow for 24 hour access to the physical collection. A shade system would also be proposed, in order to shelter users from the elements when retrieving books. Each pillar of books would be watertight, and allowed to be submerged during times of flooding.

Architecturally, our search for form began with a program of the proposed site, and the potential activities we wished to include:

After optimising and stacking the program, then cutting out the proposed 'dead zone', we came to this rough form. Now to work out spatial allocations and functions.