Interrogation Of Space
Model Building & Drawing Exercises
Unit 2 Leader, Amira Osman, gave the students a series of
design development tasks to investigate for five days which all dealt with an
analysis indoor and outdoor spatial form(s) in their thesis projects. On the
first day, the students sketched out a series of quick sections to interrogate
what kind of spaces their built form(s) would possess. Which spaces would be
seen as communal meeting spaces and which areas would be less public? Where do
the users enter the space(s); what is the most valuable space in the design and
where do the entry and exit points lie within the chosen site? How does natural
light and air enter these spaces?
From the second to the fifth day, students were asked to
begin formulating and visually presenting these spatial forms with the use of
quick models but they needed to create initial sketches to understand how they
would initially build them. Students then needed to photograph these models and
sketch over them to indicate the spaces formulated by the indoor and outdoor
architectural programs.
With my initial sketches, I was entirely focused on the
spatial forms and activities within Old Park Station but after analysing the
site as a whole, the typography as well as taking into consideration the view
from Nelson Mandela bridge to the north east as one enters Newtown, it was
decided that new built forms needed to be designed towards the north and south
western edges.
There is a new housing development taking place towards the
south eastern edge on the site, which is an extension of the existing
Brickfields housing development located towards the south across Carr Street.
The north western edge of the housing development was chamfered at a 45 degree
angle and a plaza/piazza was also proposed next to the development in order for
Old Park Station to be a focal point when entering the site from Carr Street.
The new built form located to the west of this development has to respond to
Old Park Station as well as the new extension of the Brickfields development.
It also has to act as a holding space and pull factor into the site, moving
individuals up towards the Old Park Station structure.
The new built form proposed towards the north of Old Park
Station was placed towards the north western side of the site so that
individuals, who travelled from the north end of Nelson Mandela bridge, would
have an unobstructed view of Old Park Station’s iconic landmark where they
could observe the various social and cultural activities taking place to the
north end of the site. This view point would act as a catalyst, having Old Park
Station as a landmark to refer to, in order to invite young adults into the
area through the various activities pertaining to youth culture. The north
western built form would have a link towards Old Park Station from the existing
vertical circulation point located to the west of the concrete platform.
Once all built forms have been established, the site would
be entirely activated with a variety of social and cultural activities
occurring during the day and at night allowing for some days to have 24 hour
public passive surveillance.
South Western Built Form – First Attempt:
Bearing in mind the main concept of disassemble and assemble,
I wanted to explore that notion through the spatial experience when one enters
and exits the buildings on site. The building appears to dissipate or
dematerialize at the building’s entrance and develops into a solid form towards
the Old Park Station structure. This building needed to be positioned at a 45
degree angle towards Old Park Station, keeping the heritage structure as a
focal point from Carr Street. An outdoor seating area, softened by a green
landscape, has a view towards the proposed plaza/piazza, which I transformed
into a public park with two large water features. This decision was made as the
existing Brickfields development across from Carr Street has an absence of a
water facility. The proposed park would drive those residents into the site to
utilize this feature.
North Western Built Form – First Attempt:
During the design process of the facade, I took into
consideration the ramp facilities that skateboarders and BMXers use within a
skate/BMX park. I also considered which spaces would have a light weight
structure and which spaces would have a hard interface with elements that
parkour sportsmen would utilize. The building had to be kept as a single story
at the entrance from Old Park Station’s concrete platform and increase in
height towards the back in order to not impede on the view of the steel
structure and there would also be a transition in height and spatial forms as
one moves through the building.
North Western Built Form – Second Attempt
The curved built forms were created at different platforms
bearing in mind of different materials and areas where natural light would
enter the buildings. The positioning of the buildings celebrate the outdoor
activities happening on this level bearing in mind the viewpoint of Old Park
Station from Nelson Mandela Bridge. Parts of the proposed built forms have open
elements and treated edges for parkour sportsmen to utilize as training grounds
on site, with a grand entrance into the proposed education facility that will
house a library, studio and classroom spaces for photography, fashion design and
the culinary arts. The southern block will act as a link from the northern part
of the site to Old Park Station’s plinth into the existing vertical access
point that will form a connection towards the proposed south western block on
the site.
North Western Built Form – Third Attempt
The second attempt of designing the built forms were
unsuccessful as it did not correspond with the proposed built form located to
the front of the site due to its curved appearance. These two forms therefore
need to read as one element bearing in mind the concept of assemble and
disassemble. Taking the building concept from the front, the same type of
structure was introduced towards the back. The building elements that were
proposed were too great and need to be broken up more so that the programs and
experiences related to each building read differently when visiting the space.
The forms also need to be investigated more in a spatial way and which areas
need to be highlighted and treated differently with built form and landscape.
To many axial lines were introduced into this scheme which made it difficult to
read on what I was trying to achieve with the proposed buildings and therefore
need to be simplified.
North Western Built Form – Fourth Attempt
Upon the fourth attempt, the building forms with their
different programs were further disassembled in plan. The two buildings were
modified in their shape and outdoor spaces through the exploration of spatial experience
and materiality as shown in the 3d sketch of the north western entrance from
the top of the concrete plinth. Taking into consideration the viewpoints
towards Old Park Station, the buildings were positioned to not obstruct the
main viewpoint from Nelson Mandela Bridge and their building fronts needed to
face the outdoor activities proposed on the northern part of the site. The
axial lines were also taken into account where three axial lines were
integrated into the design proposal. These lines were offset from each other to
create a transitional series of open and covered corridors linking the north
interventions to the south interventions via Old Park Station’s vertical access
point. This plan was still not successful as the main intended pathway was
still too complex and did not read well within the site.
North Western Built Form – Fifth Attempt
The intention of the main movement corridor throughout the
site was diagrammatically overlaid onto the site where it was interrogated on
the basis of how each building program would sit on this pathway throughout the
site and how the transition through this access route would differ as one moves
through it. The path’s two end points would be at the junction of Nelson
Mandela bridge to the north and the piazza/plaza space to the south of the
site. This pathway acts as the urban skeleton in the framework, much like a
spine that connects the various proposed activities from the northern end of
the site right through to the southern end. This pathway needs to act as a
buffer with activities spilling out from it and how the pathway meets the
building edges in different ways. It was decided that the main pathway would be
more fluid in its shape, than that of the rigid build forms, as it is a journey
through the transition of activities proposed on the site. The building forms
on the site also need to be identified as individual buildings, in their
massing and materiality, so that it is easily distinguished by the users when
entering the area.
The northern block, which is the education facility, was
stepped back from the pathway with an accentuated edge for parkour sportsmen to
utilize in their training and this corner is the more prominent assembly point
into the building from the pathway. The pathway leading to the north western
block, which is the indoor club/bar area and outdoor concert space, was treated
with landscaped elements with a seated space that is open to the elements. This
area performs as a disassembly point of built form and an assembly point for a
landscaped edge.
The north western block was positioned so that the main pathway
acted as a mediator between the indoor club/bar area and the outdoor concert
space, where the covered podium or stage is located away from the pathway so
that it acts as a holding space for the users along this corridor. These two
areas, which have been disassembled by the proposed pathway, have the
opportunity to spill out onto each other when these two areas are fully
activated with music events. If the outdoor concert space is not used for music
events, the space could be utilized for outdoor teaching classes, graduation
ceremonies or sporting training spaces for parkour and skateboarding sportsmen.
The intention of these outdoor elements is to constantly have them activated so
that they are not only used for one public social purpose. When moving away
from the north western block, the pathway transforms into a semi-sheltered
bridge which guides the user towards the concrete plinth of Old Park Station.
Taking the angle of the proposed Brickfields housing development extension, it was mimicked
within the Old Park Station steel structure formulating the angled entrance
into the pop-up exhibition space which is stepped back exposing the steel
skeletal elements of the heritage structure and opening up the view of the
outdoor concert space, a further articulation of the main concept assemble and
disassemble. The exhibition space is enclosed with glass panels so that when
one is inside the exhibition area, the views towards the outside are not
obstructed by walled up elements, celebrating the activities occurring outside
as well as inside.
The vertical access point on the western edge of the site
will be disassembled and assembled with a staircase and elevator which will
have a glass interface in order to being in natural light into the concrete
podium and celebrate the transition from the top floor to the bottom floor.
South Western Built Form – Second Attempt
Due to the angle of the main pathway, the built form located
towards the south western area was rotated in order to follow the path leading
into the piazza space. The allocated ground floor parking was relocated
underground to give space for a student housing development so that it
responded to the proposed housing development by ASA Architects, located to the
south eastern edge of the site.
The southern block on the western side of the site will be
activated with ground floor public retail that spills out towards the street
edge.
The eastern housing developments on the ground floor street
edge will be activated with public retail towards the south edge, spilling out
onto the streetscape, and public social spaces at ground floor level on the western
edge facing the piazza/plaza area. The north eastern block will be activated on
ground floor level by introducing public commercial spaces with a landscaped
buffer towards the concrete podium of Old Park Station.
Old Park Station’s concrete podium will be disassembled by
removing the mezzanine floor so that there is enough head height to introduce
formal public retail spaces onto the edge that faces the piazza/plaza area.
These spaces will spill out onto the landscaped buffer towards the southern
proposed interventions. Due to the placement of the public commercial spaces to
the north eastern block, a suggestion would be to introduce an indoor public
secure swimming pool within the eastern portion of the concrete podium as the
existing Brickfields Housing Development has an absence of a water facility.
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