Initial Brainstorming:
What do I want to create?
- Essentially a centre for youth that is safe but enjoyable. Providing a range of spaces to cater for a range of different ages participating in a range of different activities - I want to make the library flexible. I don't want to include rows upon rows of shelving and storage for material resources but instead want my library to be more of a virtual learning and study centre - where the architecture, the views and the space created within are the resources. While the library will be fully enclosed, my aim will be to draw the outside in; a fundamental element to the building's design, appearance and function.
Concept:
- Just as the site acts balancing/ and as the culmination point of built form and the natural environment this building acts to combine these two elements. It is proposed that screening will provide this balance with the screening taking on the form of abstracted mangrove roots.
Monday, 7 May 2012
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Week Five & Six :: Project Two
Learning Centre Exemplar Analysis
Surry Hills Community Centre [
- Environmental Atrium filtering
cleaning of air as it comes down through the building
- Air brought in from top of
building (cleanest), funnelled down a series of glass shafts, washes over a
series of filters – including using plant material to organically filter the
air). Then passed around the excavation
of the building known as the thermal labyrinth – this naturally cools the air
before it goes back into atrium space – back filter through and into the
building.
– Power
generated on site
– Automated
devices (including louvers automatically responsive to the sun)
– Services
– two floor library (ground and lower level), Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre
and Function Hall (level one – provides advocacy and information to the local
community, also run markets, classes, etc) 26 place child care centre (level 2)
– Free
Wi-Fi
Reflection:
The main thing that appeals to
me about this learning centre is the childcare facility on the top floor. I
particularly like the open room (featured in these two photos) where the focus
is on play and the opportunities for “fun” appears unlimited thanks to the openness
of the space. I like the idea of incorporating something like a sandpit (as in
the Surry Hills child care facility), garden or small waterpark-type area into
my learning centre; focusing on natural resources to teach the importance of
the natural environment and our natural ecosystems such as the mangrove
ecosystems.
Week Five & Six :: Project Two
Learning Centre Exemplar Analysis
Rolex Learning Centre; Lausanne Switzerland [by Tokyo based Architects SANAA]
- The
aim was to provide (for the university campus) “a place to learn, to obtain
information, and to live”.
- The
building has been designed to be open and free flowing.
- “Round
courtyards provide light and focus the continuous space”.
- One
of the main concepts behind the design involves relating the building back to
the natural landscape (mountainous). The building has an undulating form; even
sections of the floor are domed; representative of the rolling landscape
beyond.
- Building
spans a large area but is low to the group – so not to block the views beyond –
rather to echo them
- One
main entrance to the building provides a clear entrance axis.
- Spaces
within are defined by contours of the floor, circular light wells and patios.
- Different
views from within the building allow visitors to connect to the space and
orientate themselves.
- “The
proposed program [of spaces] offers a new living space, opens up the
possibility of new teaching approaches, everything being integrated into one
single building as place of assembly and breeding ground for enriching
encounters and synergies”.
Source: http://www.archicentral.com/rolex-learning-center-lausanne-switzerland-sanaa-3752/comment-page-1/
- Open
7am – 12am
- Intended
as a place not just for university students but for members of the public to
explore.
- Architects
thought of the building more as a “park”.
- Organic
movement through the building.
- Creating set paths (straight lines) we can
only create crossroads – curves and more organic space we create diversity with
interaction – create “dynamic interaction”
Reflection:
This library, I feel can only
work on a large scale because its overall form is based on large spanned domes and
the availability of a large area of land. The form is fairly complex and inside
it appears to be a bit of a maze with only the view of outside allowing one to
orientate themselves inside. Many people have blogged about this library and
some have the opinion that much of the interior space is wasted with steeply
sloping and arched floors that cannot be used for study areas or storage areas
for books and resources. I do see their point and can acknowledge that there
would not be a place for a building with this form like this one in every city.
However, the architects explained that this building was built to function more
as a “park” for the entire community, rather than just a study space for the
University’s students. I see that the architects responded to their site
probably in a similar way to how we responded when designing our folies at the Howard
Smith Wharves. By this I mean that they have interpreted the site as having one
key element and from there, formed a concept and developed a very literal design
based on this. In their case this concept was the rolling hills and it is clear
that they have succeeded in responding to the site and making the most of the
views to the bay. I plan to respond and go about the design process in a
similar way to design my library.
Week Five & Six :: Project Two
Learning Centre Exemplar Analysis
Kindergarten Terenten [Feld72]
- Located
in a Mountain Village in South Tyrol, Italy
- South
Tyrol is a border region; an area defined by the overlapping of three cultures;
this is expressed through the architecture.
- Mountainous
region – the building was designed to fit within its environment
- Building
emerges from the site – from one side it appears to be a clear building, on the
other it looks as though it is part of the landscape.
- The
scale of the building is relative to the surrounding village development and
considers the perspective of the users; children.
- The
design concept of this building “is intended to give meaning and identity to
this defined space – something special amid an everyday environment without
generating jarringly harsh contrasts”.
- Three
different buildings “houses” are on the site – connected by glazed walkways.
These buildings are different shapes and designed with the children in mind –
the different shapes help the children to get their bearings and “understand
the spatial and social organisation”.
- Aimed
at creating “differentiated spatial structures, rooms that provide as much
potential as possible to simulate children’s independent activities,
orientation, communication, social interaction and aesthetic receptiveness.
Rooms that can be flexibly used as stages for children’s activities, but also
as quiet retreats”.
- Windows
placed around the day care centre draw different views of the mountains into
the building.
- From
each classroom children can access the garden.
- Building
links nature and architecture
- Part
of a new kind of learning revolution that will inspire and encourage
“imaginative minds”.
Reflection:
I do enjoy the overall aesthetic
of this childcare facility; however, it was actually the picture of children in
the small room, with green foam pieces (seen above on the right) that attracted me to this building. I
find the use of humble spaces like this one really intriguing and imagine
they’d be really inviting for children; similar to spaces in those maze mania
type places (as shown in the photo directly above). I like the fact that the main elements to
this building include natural light and open space and the fact that the
building has quite clearly been designed in response to the surrounds; not to
blend in but to work in cohesion with the surrounding architecture and with the
mountain it is located on.
Week Five & Six :: Project 2
Learning Centre Exemplar Analysis
Caboolture Hub [Peddle Thorp Architects]
-
Hub is to be a community meeting place with a
library, art gallery, learning and business centre, café, retail outlet and
creative studios all within the precinct.
-
Activities and features of the library include family
and local history area – genealogy and local heritage resources, an area
dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture known as the
Welcoming Place, study spaces with in corners and pockets of the library’s main
resource and collection area, meeting rooms, and a computer classroom that can
be hired out, a teen zone with online gaming facilities, reading collections
and “chill-out” space and a children’s area with educational toys and resources
as well as an interactive tree – “which brings the outside into the library”.
- The hub was born out of the need to develop a
“life long learning” facility for the Caboolture area that uses space
efficiently and effectively. The hub was developed on the site of the town
square with the idea that it would be prominent and accessible to the
community.
- The building has been designed - so
that it meets a number of different needs to facilitate the entire community –
from young children to retirees.
- The
spaces are designed to be flexible and somewhat ambiguous in their uses, with
the building being largely open plan and easy to move through.
- Building was to “promote
life-long learning and play an important role in the cultural fabric of this
region”.
- A
number of free events and workshops are also offered through the library – for
everyone from babies through the seniors.
- A number of
energy efficient features incorporated within the building including the use of
a lot of natural light, water recycling facilities, the use of materials suited
to the environment and climate of the area and low energy consumption (with
quality equipment selection and passive design principles).
My Reflection:
The Caboolture Hub is one of the
most relevant exemplars to our design project. The building; although designed
on a much larger scale and as a complete learning centre precinct, can be drawn
from extensively to gain ideas and inspiration for our learning centre. The
library incorporates a number of different resources and flexible spaces in
which to learn. There are a number of organised and disorganised activity
spaces; particularly for young children and teenagers; I will draw on these
ideas when researching activities to incorporate into my library. One particular space mentioned very briefly is
the “interactive tree” in the childrens area. From what I can deduce the tree
functions as a cubby space with desks to draw, colour and read at and as a
storage area for books. As my folie concept and learning experience is based
around the mangroves, I feel as though incorporating something similar to this
tree into my library’s children’s centre would work well. I also like the aesthetic of the hub and the
variety of spaces (both indoor and outdoor) that the building provides. As my
concept is so linked to the natural environment I do feel it will be important
to have both indoor and outdoor spaces; perhaps combine the two.
Week Five & Six :: Project Two
Learning Centre Exemplar Analysis
Seattle Library [Rem Koolhaas]
- Main challenge with this site is the 8.8m height difference between the boundaries on two different streets.
Seattle Library [Rem Koolhaas]
- Main challenge with this site is the 8.8m height difference between the boundaries on two different streets.
- “Although the
library is sculptural, it is not in any way an attempt to make a form. The
library’s appearance comes from pushing boxes around to stay within the height
and setback restrictions and zoning codes”. – Architect Joshua Ramus, partner
at the Rem Koolhaas Office for Metroplitan Architecture.
- Spatial organisation - is
the most important and defining feature of this library.
- Each
platform is flexible in it’s function but still defined and organised into
“spatial compartments” with specific functions.
- One of the first
operations when reforming the library was to consolidate all the spaces and
define platforms according to a more specific purpose; this included defining
their size, level of flexibility, circulation palette and structure amongst
other things.
- The
spaces between the platforms are the intermediate spaces; as you move from one
functional space to another.
Reflection:
The design of
this library, at first, appears to be based on the architect Rem Koolhaus’ ideas
and experiments with sculptural form. Instead; however, this library is about
efficiency of space and organisation. There is a big emphasis placed on the
collaboration of the library resources and the time spent organising the
“platforms” of the library around the most ergonomic and resourceful use of
every space within the building. The library’s form itself was developed in
response to maximising its size according to regulations, height restrictions
and setbacks. I think the shear scale of the building and the number and
prestige of the resources it houses make it hard for me to look to this
building for direct ideas and inspiration for my library at the Wharves. I can;
however, appreciate its organisational system in the sense that platforms are
broken up to serve specific functions and different spaces within these
platforms serve further functions.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Week Five & Six :: Project Two
Learning Centre Exemplar Analysis
Royal Library Copenhagen [Schmidt Hammer Lassen]
-
One of the most significant architectural
landmarks on the Copenhagen waterfront. Building is known as the “Black
Diamond” – clad in black granite with clean-cut surfaces and sharp angles.
-
Located on the river front in the historic part
of Copenhagen; its redevelopment has prompted a development boom along the
waterfront.
-
Surrounded by a number of important historical
buildings including the Danish Parliament, Christiansborg Palace, The Danish
State Archives and a number of significant Museums.
-
The library incorporates a number of different
facilities including a café and a restaurant, a bookshop, exhibition space,
scientific and literary institutions, a roof terrace, a 600-seat concert hall/
conference space.
-
Old library (dating back to 1906) linked to new
building through a clear axis; this is demonstrated literally through the
walkway over Christians Brygge (a main road separating the new building from
the old). The axis runs through to the atrium of the new building on the water
front.
-
Glazed section breaking up the solid black
granite exterior – providing insight into the dynamism of the space inside. The
central open atrium is naturally ventilated and enables travel throughout the
building. It also provides most of the natural light to the building’s inside
spaces.
-
Building appears to be “floating” on the water
with a glazed vertical strip running along the base of the building (as seen in
this picture).
-
Building broke from tradition designed in 1993
with construction finished by 1999.
-
The building’s inclined river façade, reflection
across its shiny surface, glass panel along the bottom giving the appearance of
“floating” and the placement of windows, etc all suggest movement. This is in
contrast to the feeling of solidarity and rigidity suggested because of the
shear size and presence of the structure.
-
Interior of the building is designed to be
vastly different from the exterior – atrium has a very organic form – wave like
shaped mezzanines appear to be cutting through the building. There is a lot of
natural light penetrating this space and the view out to the harbour also adds
to this feeling of the organic. Light
also penetrates through from a large skylight in the atrium; this, along with
the glass curtain wall looking over the water outside are the two main sources
of light.
Reflection:
I do find it slightly
more difficult to relate to this building; perhaps because of its scale but I
think more because of its huge façades. I find the building to be very
dominating in the site; but that’s not to say that it’s not successful. I particularly
like the façade of the building that is seen from the river with the glass
atrium in the middle. It responds to its surroundings in a different way to
most of the other buildings I’ve examined. It stands in stark contrast rather
than trying to mimic or fit in with the surrounding buildings. Perhaps; however,
the key element to this building is the use of highly reflective materials on
the exterior including glass, and most predominantly black granite that picks
up and echoes reflections of the water and the surrounding buildings and the
movement of traffic and pedestrians outside. The use of these materials well
and truly gives the building the prestige it needs to exist in this area of the
city; surrounded by a number of important historical buildings I’ve realised
that it needed to be dominating and “heroic”. Inside I think visitors would be
surprised by the buildings lightness and openness. The atrium is filled with
these free-flowing forms that are the floors of the library, with mostly very
open plan spaces existing within the floors. The building appears to respond
well to the needs of the city and, at a closer look, also responds to the
surrounding streetscape and riverfront. I probably won’t take much inspiration
from this building for the overall design of my learning centre as I feel that
the Howard Smith Wharves don’t really call for such a grand scale building; but
I do like many elements of this building as I have mentioned above.
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