Sunday, October 17, 2010
Design Progression
Week 12 was spent practising animations of the cityscape, using the target and free cameras in 3ds max. We also toned down the colouring of the city and Barangaroo, to bring our hotel island back as the focal point of the scheme. The new building colours reflect the 5 programming categories, and the existing city of Sydney is shown in white, with the new white lattice inhabitable bridges weaving from the precinct back into the city. We also managed to bring two existing models of the city together in max, to build a more comprehensive view of the city (Harbour Bridge AND Anzac Bridge).
Even with the new building colours set to matte materials and pale shades of the original 5 colours, the precinct still beams with vivid technicolour! The plans show the gradual bleed of colour from our hotel island, through the Barangaroo Precinct into the city. Most of the renders are city views, so this week we will render some closer views and finalise the animated pans of the city for the final presentation. We have also come up with an unusual presenting technique and are looking forward to the dramatic setting we hope to achieve, in conjunction with our existing lion/zebra metaphor. We have also come up with some names of people who might be interested in attending our presentation; Elizabeth Farrelly, an independent journalist who has written about the Barangaroo site, Lendlease representativies, Architecture Review or Architecture Australia representatives, and some of the digital media staff here at the university.
Even with the new building colours set to matte materials and pale shades of the original 5 colours, the precinct still beams with vivid technicolour! The plans show the gradual bleed of colour from our hotel island, through the Barangaroo Precinct into the city. Most of the renders are city views, so this week we will render some closer views and finalise the animated pans of the city for the final presentation. We have also come up with an unusual presenting technique and are looking forward to the dramatic setting we hope to achieve, in conjunction with our existing lion/zebra metaphor. We have also come up with some names of people who might be interested in attending our presentation; Elizabeth Farrelly, an independent journalist who has written about the Barangaroo site, Lendlease representativies, Architecture Review or Architecture Australia representatives, and some of the digital media staff here at the university.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sketches & Urban Design
The sketches below have been inspired by reading on urban design principles and represent the universal concepts that have been employed within our project.
There are a few common threads that emerge through the diagrams:
services: the presence of services within a design can be handles in a few different ways, concealed/revealed, internal/external, universal/local
floor space: the dimensions of floor space dictate its possible use.
large open spaces are enabling spaces proving flexibility of use
mid sized open space allow for circulation with small pockets of enabling spaces
small sized spaces become set function being primarily circulation
floor levels at different heights that are not just stacked on one another allow for cross visual relationships which provide connection and synthesis of space.
mass and volume proximity: building mass can act to shelter elevate and articulate gateway.
contrast is an important element in expressing language, the differentiation speaks to what something is compared to what it is not.
This sketch below simple shows the articulation of mass and the trick that is currently being used at Barangaroo... a simplistic mass can be made to look more interesting through the X-ray representation of the internals however, once constructed the mass will not embody this same quality but rather read as hard forms.
There are a few common threads that emerge through the diagrams:
services: the presence of services within a design can be handles in a few different ways, concealed/revealed, internal/external, universal/local
floor space: the dimensions of floor space dictate its possible use.
large open spaces are enabling spaces proving flexibility of use
mid sized open space allow for circulation with small pockets of enabling spaces
small sized spaces become set function being primarily circulation
floor levels at different heights that are not just stacked on one another allow for cross visual relationships which provide connection and synthesis of space.mass and volume proximity: building mass can act to shelter elevate and articulate gateway.
contrast is an important element in expressing language, the differentiation speaks to what something is compared to what it is not.
This sketch below simple shows the articulation of mass and the trick that is currently being used at Barangaroo... a simplistic mass can be made to look more interesting through the X-ray representation of the internals however, once constructed the mass will not embody this same quality but rather read as hard forms.
Bring on Drama and Boldness
In the recent edition of the Sydney Morning Herald Weekend edition October 2-3 2010 Elizabeth Farrelly wrote an article regarding the current proposed Barangaroo.
Her main argument is that "as a partner to Bennelong and the Opera House, Barangaroo should be brilliant, but it's way too polite"
we agree.. check out the full article below:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/bring-on-drama-and-boldness-20101001-160zm.html
Her main argument is that "as a partner to Bennelong and the Opera House, Barangaroo should be brilliant, but it's way too polite"
we agree.. check out the full article below:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/bring-on-drama-and-boldness-20101001-160zm.html
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Public Urban Environment Principles
The following sketches are ideas and images that appeared in a number of public space texts, including 'Path-Portal-Place' , 'Urban Design: Street and Square' and 'Making People Friendly Towns.' We felt we each needed to think separately about our building's relationship to the city before we could develop its connection, and to do this intelligently, we needed to conduct some research into the field and look at successful urban environments and 'principles' that reinforce the city and are desirable spaces to inhabit that contribute to the city's character.
Through coming up with our own favoured 'principles' each, we would benefit from our partner's alternative 'principles' and it is hoped a marriage of the two, will develop the building's insertion into the city fabric.
My initial sketches were very simple diagrams consisting of basic place-making techniques that were particularly relevant to our 'unusual' building form and typology!
My diagrams developed into sketches after reading and seeing the delightful sketches in 'making people friendly towns.' I then decided to devise my own principles based on the sketches the author proposed. These are my attempts of drawing his sketches and utilising them as strategies for successful urban environments.
Whilst looking for successful building insertions, I came across Stephen Holl's Beijing city study for his 'Mixed Hybrid' Tower, which combines a number of towers with bridges, and provides shared spaces for a mixed use development. What I found most distinctive about this building was one of his initial diagram studies below, that shows the transition from 'past' horizontal architecture, to 'present' vertical architecture, to his proposed 'future' hybrid space. This simple diagrams conveys a very powerful idea that is currently sweeping across the globe. As mixed use development becomes the norm, and inhabitants demand new approaches to tower and city design, architects are responding with vertical towers linked by ribbons, that tie the towers into a succinct fabric, a network of mixed uses. I see this as a key idea to explore in our connection to Sydney's existing urban fringe, our Barangaroo tower can be linked vertically and horizontally with ribbons or walkways, that bend and twist back into the city, grounding and laying the roots for this otherwise 'alien' insertion.
Through coming up with our own favoured 'principles' each, we would benefit from our partner's alternative 'principles' and it is hoped a marriage of the two, will develop the building's insertion into the city fabric.
My initial sketches were very simple diagrams consisting of basic place-making techniques that were particularly relevant to our 'unusual' building form and typology!
My diagrams developed into sketches after reading and seeing the delightful sketches in 'making people friendly towns.' I then decided to devise my own principles based on the sketches the author proposed. These are my attempts of drawing his sketches and utilising them as strategies for successful urban environments.
Whilst looking for successful building insertions, I came across Stephen Holl's Beijing city study for his 'Mixed Hybrid' Tower, which combines a number of towers with bridges, and provides shared spaces for a mixed use development. What I found most distinctive about this building was one of his initial diagram studies below, that shows the transition from 'past' horizontal architecture, to 'present' vertical architecture, to his proposed 'future' hybrid space. This simple diagrams conveys a very powerful idea that is currently sweeping across the globe. As mixed use development becomes the norm, and inhabitants demand new approaches to tower and city design, architects are responding with vertical towers linked by ribbons, that tie the towers into a succinct fabric, a network of mixed uses. I see this as a key idea to explore in our connection to Sydney's existing urban fringe, our Barangaroo tower can be linked vertically and horizontally with ribbons or walkways, that bend and twist back into the city, grounding and laying the roots for this otherwise 'alien' insertion.
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