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.

The New Media Library

The basis of these diagrams is the 'book box' system that our teammates in Hong Kong have come up with. In focusing on a New Media archetype, we have decided to include the physical side of media, by allowing each individual a box. This limits the library collection (due to spatial constraints), and allows each individual their own space within the library. This may be expanded over a number of years to create a larger collection.

We have also decided to incorporate the digital theme into our Library programme. This is mainly focused on the creation of original work, such as art, music, poetry, research and literature. This is freely accessed by the community, and if it is rated highly enough then the author of the work may be asked to demonstrate their knowledge publicly. The 'Library' will include facilities for the production of all these works, as well as spaces to present and exhibit the shared knowledge.

Reinvigorating the Library

After much discussion and debate, we have decided this best represents our goals for the Howard Smith Project. We have decided that the traditional Library programme is inefficient, and doesn't allow for the possibility of original work and expression. We intend to create a space which encourages user's to interact, share their knowledge and collaborate in order to develop individually and collaboratively.

Deconstructing the City

Brisbane - Deconstructed

The City can be broken up into many identifiable parts, each of which has a significant impact on the demographic of people in any given district. In order to truly uncover the potential of the Howard Smith Wharves site, we must analyse the nearby grid, and understand the types of people interacting with the nearby city.

As can be seen from the diagram, there is a wide range of people to cater for, with a nearby High School,  Tertiary Institutes, the trendy youth culture of the Valley, Families which reside in the Newfarm Area, and Proffessionals working in the CBD.

User Urbanology

Urbanology Analysis Allows us to further explore the specific areas of the city, and identify the demographics and user groups which frequent, utilise and develop these places. A wide range of demographics can be found operating within specific parts of the city.

Further analysis into the current usage of the site will allow us to identify what functions and programs are most needed in our design proposal for the Howard Smith Wharves site.

Performative Design

The dynamic nature of performance based environments means there is almost endless ways that people can interact. However, there are a few distinct types of performative spaces:


ACTIVITY-BASED


These environments are designed around a specific activity, which may involve one person or a whole community. They may be installations, only existing for the duration of a few hours, or structures that last for years. The Open Burble Project in Singapore is an excellent example of activity based performance. 

Commissioned by the Singapore Biennale, members of the public come together to compose, assemble and control an immense rippling, glowing, bustling 'Burble' that sways in the evening sky, in response to the crowd interacting below. This massive structure, the form of which the public has themselves designed, exists at such a large scale that it is able to compete visually in an urban context with the skyscrapers that surround it. 

Just as the participants are the composers of the Burble's tall form, so too are they the ones to control it. They hold on to it using handles with which they may position the Burble as they like. They may curve in on themselves, or pull it in a straight line - the form is a combination of the crowd's desires and the impact of wind currents varying throughout the height of the Burble.

USER-BASED


User-Based spaces are functional spaces, in which the user designates the function of the environment. This could be achieved through modular forms which have a variety of uses, a multi-function space which is used by different groups for different activites, or any of a thousand different environments.


A perfect example of this kind of space is a park, which is all at once a sporting field, a reading area, a place to eat, an exercise route, and an incredible amount of other things. 


TIME-BASED


These Spaces may have dynamic qualities based on the time of day that they are being used. A notable example that I have personally experienced is the Vietnamese street.

These streets come alive at night, full of activity as vendors and customers alike bring their chairs and stalls out onto the pavement and even road itself, enjoying the food, drink and interaction with one another. However, during the day the street is very busy,being used mostly for commuting purposes.


The development of these kind of spaces is integral to our design proposal for the Howard Smith Wharves site, and we may draw influence and inspiration from a myriad of projects. Once we have determined the necessary functions for the site,  we may decide on a specific type of performative environment to create, in order to best serve the community, to inspire and entertain.

The Art of Performance

What happens when a space becomes needy.

When they refuse to remain static, and be ignored by the individuals occupying them.

Performative architecture is all about interactivity - individuals must perform to experience the space fully. These spaces are ultimately user-oriented or user required, defined by what we need while our actions and experiences are defined by what the space needs from us.

The notion of performance might be a helpful approach in the process of organizing a non-linear environment where the correlation of body and space is of importance, where inhabitants both generate and become an integral part of the environment as they engage with it. When activated by the interaction between the user and space the environment exists simultaneously as a durational 'performance' and an immersive installation
environment. (Johannsen, 2006)

The Comment Wall - Where User's can write their thoughts directly into the 'Urban Diary'

These spaces create a 'virtual reality', a durational space in which users must immerse themselves and perform in order to sustain the experience. However these spaces are not completely virtual, and must pertain to the laws of real world. In order to better understand our interaction with 'virtual spaces', such as these performative programs, an American architect called Marcos Novak developed the term Eversion.

Novak has determined that we, as physical beings cannot completely immerse ourselves in the virtual environment, however merely by existing the environment leaks out into the performative spaces. 

Performative Architecture + Collaboration

A New Project:

The purpose of the thematic investigations is to examine Architecture as being more than just about formal and aesthetic invention. There is a fundamental belief in this theme group that the value of Architecture can extend beyond formal excellence and visual interest. There is an attitude here that Architecture in the future needs to not only accommodate existing needs but to set up conditions that might allow and suggest new potentials and possibilities. As Alex Wall puts it, it is “less design as  passive ameliorant and more as active accelerant, staging and setting up new conditions for uncertain futures”

Performative seeks to describe an Architecture that is more than just about formal and aesthetic invention. It is about an Architecture that provides agency for particular events, whether expected and existing or emerging and new.

Architectural defines the discipline context of thematic enquiry

Territories seeks to suggest that the outcomes and purpose of the thematic enquiries are not necessarily about static “buildings” as such, even though physical structures are certainly part of the outcome, rather it is about the various dynamic and potentially temporal domains that are engendered by the physical structures proposed.

To be Finalised.

Folie - A Dramatic Installation

The first project we've been given for the year was to design a Folie, a structural sculpture designed to activate a space. My initial reaction to the site we were given, The Howard Smith Wharves, was a strong fascination with the cliff face, and its potential for an installation which could potentially draw people in from the surrounding area, as well as offering a unique viewpoint to observe the river.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                      "Thinking is more intense than knowing, but less interesting than looking" 

                                                                                   - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

This single idea, along with the challenge of utilising the natural cliff face led me to design a simple lookout, in a new location. Regular geometry, contrasting with chaotic wire formations form the basis of the design, creating a platform for viewers to think, rest, and observe the world from a new angle. 

Initial sketches of the design included a series of light screens, to further highlight the installation, and create a unique spectacle on the face of the cliff, in the hopes of actively encouraging pedestrians to visit the area. Experimental hand modelling techniques were then used to further the design, with light and form being manipulated and explored. 

  These methods lead to the final design below, a striking form, illuminated on the cliffside. The design is at once a lookout, and a architectural beacon. A neon signpost, offering a vivid attraction to the city, and a method of drawing new visitors to the area.