Week Ten: Building Form Inspiration

This is a recent project called the Plassen Cultural Centre by 3XN Architects located in Molde, Norway, which I found related to some of my ideas gave me some spatial inspiration:

The cultural center combines an interior concert hall surrounded by a library, cafe, exhibition space and performance areas.

"The architectural solution is a structure where almost all surfaces and spaces have more than one function."

Buildings roof and existing staircase create:

-outdoor amphitheatres

-cafe with outdoor seating

-recreational area with splendid views

-exhibition space for the building’s gallery

-staircase on the side of the building is an essential link between the city’s upper and lower districts.

Use of materials: 

By Night: the bright granite used on exterior surfaces is contrasted by a warm red light coming from the heart of the building.

By Day: "The warm color scheme of the interior combined with the solid hardwood floors and plenty of natural light result in a friendly and informal environment, which together with the many entrances make the building seem inviting and accessible to all."

"The cultural center is an obvious meeting point."

The cultural centre is a connecting device in the city, creating a link between the upper and lower districts of the city through the presence of a large existing staircase. The cultural centre has evolved this place into a social gathering area, providing cafes, entertainment, learning spaces, as well as stairs for seating and eating. The stairs are what links the whole building together and provides the building with flexibility and mutliple functions/capabilities. They provide an informal and improptu meeting spot that welcomes any pedestrian passing by to sit and have a rest. The stairs and the many entrances make the building seem inviting and accessible to all - its is nondiscrimatory and exists to be enjoyed by the whole of the city.

Source: http://www.archdaily.com/279891/plassen-cultural-center-3xn-architects/

Week Ten: Spatial Ideas

Below are some esquisse sketches showing some preliminary spatial ideas for the site:

Public interfaces at each side of the block to entice people into the building.

Increased Access to the site from both Adelaide St and Burnett Lane by creating  a public thoroughfare through the site.

Openness/ transparency of the Ground Plane.

Greenspace spreading from the site down the street and lane.

Internal greenspace - courtyard.

Building circulation - pedestrian flow through building between Burnett Lane and Adelaide St.

Urban Plaza - Ground floor activity.

Courtyard activity.

Week Ten: Building Form Concepts

The building form is to reflect the interactive nature of the buildings functions in its establishment as a new social node for the Brisbane CBD. The building form will be conducive of social gathering, learning and collaborating. The building will also lend itself to the various sights of Brisbane that can be seen from this site; the urban grit of Burnett Lane, the magnificient City Hall and King George Square beyond.
In the 2020's, Brisbane's expansion and increasing technological advancement will establish it as a tourist destination and this building will be a place where both vistors and locals alike can come together and experience the culture of Brisbane.

SO what describes the culture of Brisbane? Brisbane has a very diverse and multi-faceted culture. I would say that the culture of Brisbane is one that is inclusive and nondiscriminatory. Brisbane has a culture that celebrates and welcomes all walks of life. The dense communities within Brisbane in 2020 will be increasingly multi-cultural and diverse and I imagine that these communities would be interactive and collaborative in their lifestyles, work and social activities. Social interaction is a key aspect that needs to be retained in society in the future; in a world of increasing technology, efficiency and privacy, there is risk of isolation and loss of physical contact.

I am hoping that my building will reflect these aspects of the Brisbane culture and encourage the continuation of social inclusion, gathering and activity amoungst locals and tourists and across all walks of life; blurring the boundaries of different cultures and social groups.

Week Nine: Building Functions that Serve a Future Purpose

In a city of advancing technology, increasing population and it's establishment of itself on a global scale as a conference centre, I really want to create something that will serve these aspects of the future city and will have a positive impact on it's surroundings. Everything has become centralised including schools, housing, libraries, workplaces, transport systems and recreational areas. My idea is to create a building that will service the community and meet their needs both culturally, socially and technologically. The city will also attract an influx of tourists to the city with its establishment of itself on an international scale and thus needs more destinations for tourists to visit. The building will be a place will act as a platform where tourists and locals may meet and interact in their exposure to culture.

I am thinking about creating a building  which combines greenspace for recreation and user interaction, educational and technological facilities for study and classes, as well as cultural facilities.

Greenspace

This space will be for community interaction and social activity. It will also provide a meaningful link between Burnett Lane and Adelaide St, extending to Ann St through the laneway behind the City Hall. This greenspace will be a designated green zone in the city in which infrastructure is increasing and buildings are densifying.

Learning/Study Spaces

These flexible spaces will provide the community with technology facilities including a free WI-FI zone, gathering spaces for work and study and facilities as well as classrooms for arts education (dance, visual art, performance art etc.)

Cultural/Art Facilities

The building will incorporate cultural facilities that encourage cultural diversity, as well as serve as entertainment purposes. It is my vision that the expression of culture, through the arts, will attract the community and tourists to come together to be entertained. These will include such areas as a performance space, exhibition space etc.

Week Nine: Key Timeline Events from Future Scenario in Project One

2014
Brisbane successfully hosts G20 Conference and takes place on the world stage. Local infrastructure is improved for the event and $50 million are injected into Brisbane’s economy.

2020
A congestion charge is placed on the Brisbane CBD to limit the amount of drivers coming in and to
encourage more people to use public transport. Brisbane hosts the interational conference of
renewable energy.

2023
The government begins a “green-space revitalisation” programme to make the CBD more attractive. Legislation allows businesses and shops to operate 24hrs a day causing the
number of people living in the inner-city suburbs to rise.


2025
The number of people using public transport has increased resulting in a city-wide upgrade.
New train lines are built connecting Carindale to the CBD via New Farm.

2028
The number of people living within the inner-city suburbs reaches a new height, more people begin to live within the city centre. Brisbane plays host to the Global Healthcare Conference.

Week Nine: Urban Analysis

To help me with the determination of my building functions, I thought it would be a good idea to do some site analysis for the Burnett Lane site. Below are my key findings, summarised in sketch diagrams and dot points:

Social Nodes:

One of the things that stood out to me in the site analysis was the presence of the two large "social gathering" spaces in the site: King George Square and Brisbane Square. Both public square act as platforms for social interaction and activity. I propose that the new cultural centre will create an integral link between these two public spaces, thus strengthening their relationship.

Cultural Nodes:
There are limited cultural nodes within the CBD itself, and even these are quite minor. Cultural nodes are a major attraction within cities, both to locals and tourists. By transforming the site into a cultural precinct it will draw a diverse range of people to the site.

Accessibility:

The streets surrounding the site are very busy, predominantly one way streets. These restrict pedestrian flows to traffic lights and sidewalks. In the imagined future scenario of a congestion charge being placed on the CBD area, these streets would drastically reduce in traffic, and call for the need to accommodate cycling and pedestrian-oriented transport, as well as the proposed rapid transport system (pods).

Views Analysis:

The site offers unique views of different aspects of Brisbane; to the north we have views of Adelaide Street, the old facades of Brisbane and King George Square to the far right, and to the south we have the urban grit of Burnett Lane with views of exciting graffiti art on the building facades bordering the laneway and we are able to experience the verticality of the site.

Photos of site


Streetscape:

The existing streetscape consists of heritage listed original facades of buildings from the first level upwards. This is an import feature of the site to preserve and in order to continue the character of the street, this heritage listed facade should be maintained:

Physical Attributes:
Sun/Wind Analysis:

The building will receive most sun between midday and late afternoon. The site will not receive much light in the mornings in winter.

Wind Analysis

Functional Analysis:
Building typologies in the area: predominately commercial and retail, with some residential - apartment/hotel typologies.



Greenspace Analysis:
Limited greenspace in the surrounding CBD and Fortitude Valley areas; imagined scenario injects more greenspace into the site and the surrounding CBD.

Week Nine: Tutorial Reflection

I had a chat to DaVor today about my ideas for the community building so far and he was concerned with the amount of programs that I wanted to include within my building. He was also concerned about the large open space that I wanted to use as a multi-functional space including sports centre, convention, exhibition and lecture space. He wondered whether this may not get used as much as I thought - and after thinking about it, I agree with him. A sports centre that size requires the gathering of a whole team to use it and this may only occur once a day or so. Conventions, exhibitions and lectures are the same - so if I were to use it for these functions, this space may go wasted for most of the day. For such a large space it does not seem practical.

Anyway, I have chosen to re-evaluate the functions of the building and appraise which ones seems most relevant to the site and my future scenario, as well as function together to create a successful building for the site in 2020.