Supplementary Assessment: Completed Section Drawings

SECTION A 1:100

SECTION B 1:50

Exemplar 5: Norman Foster - Clarence Hotel

CLARENCE HOTEL BY NORMAN FOSTER

What drew me into this section of the Clarence Hotel by Norman Foster was the horizontal depth of the image, achieved through combining a section cut with a perspective shot as well as effective shadowing. This section also incorporates real photographs of the existing context and neighbouring buildings which allows a better sense of what the building would look like in its proposed context.

The main heroic space of the building is coloured and secondary spaces are left white and shadowed creating an effective contrast. The use of colours through a gradient (in case this, dark drawing up into light), in the heroic space guides the views eyes up the image and creates vertical depth. This vertical depth is further emphasised by the perspective aspect of the shot. The eye level of the viewer is placed at ground level making lower levels appears lower and higher levels appear even higher, adding to the quality of the section. As my building is longer than it is tall, I think it will be difficult to emulate this vertical depth however, I liked Foster’s contrasting effect  between private and public space, high traffic and low traffic spaces and hope to bring aspects of this into my drawings.

People and objects are also placed numerously throughout the section. However, through the use of transparency, we are able to gauge which spaces of the building are perhaps private or public, service or significant spaces. I think this use of transparency will help in my portrayal of different spatial relationships in my proposed building. 

REFERENCE

Foster + Partners. (2008). Clarence Hotel, Dublin, Ireland [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10121&q=clarence

Exemplar 4: Richard Meier - Hans Arp Museum

HANS ARP MUSEUM BY RICHARD MEIER

I have chosen this section specifically in contrast with the other sections I have chosen as a basis for comparison. No colour exists in the image except a light blue background and, similar to Exemplar 1 and Exemplar 3, background buildings are shown transparently allowing the main section not to be overshadowed.

Although it is obvious that this drawing lacks the energy, colour, activity and life that the other exemplars possessed, it is still quite evident that it is still not a construction drawing. The manner in which it portrays information and the type of information it is portraying is more formal. As the information being portrayed is different, this requires a different technique to be implemented. The lack of colour, shadowing and sparse use of people in the section shows a lack of quality of space, however, allows focus to be placed on the structural elements of the building and the external façade pattern and detailing. Spatial relationships are also considered.

Although the techniques of this drawing differ substantially to my other chosen exemplars, I feel that it closely resembles my own personal drawing style and is a type of technique that I can draw, work upon and emulate when completing my projects. However, as the idea behind that section for this part of the assignment is to represent the quality of the space in my section, my goal would be to combine this drawing technique with the other colouring techniques of the other sections in order to portray the spatial quality of my project, through my style successfully.

REFERENCE

Richard Meier & Partners. (2011). Royal Alberta Museum [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.arthitectural.com/richard-meier-partners-royal-alberta-museum/press-release_arch-drawing_page_10/

Exemplar 3: Renzo Piano - Greek Cultural Centre

GREEK CULTURAL CENTRE BY RENZO PIANO

Unlike Exemplar 1, which gave the illusion of a 3D image, this second section, also by Renzo Piano is a section of a 3D model. I believe this gives the image a horizontal depth, often difficult to portray in a 2D section image. I feel that one of the purposes of a section image is to portray what happens in a space at the section cut. The addition of a 3D element to a section also allows information that occurs behind the section cut to be shown. This 3D element is something I would like to incorporate into my drawings. Piano also utilises the same background gradient technique as in the first image, whereby a strong blue sky fades to a lighter hue/white allowing the building to come forward.

The complimentary colours of orange and blue are used to great effect in this image. Unlike Exemplar 2, the orange in this image is used to highlight areas of high traffic, where many users would congregate, as well as high focal areas of the proposed buildings. Service areas, car parks and less important spaces are shaded a cool grey-blue which works in contrast with the orange coloured areas. As mentioned in my Exemplar 2 blog post, this use of complimentary colours is a technique I plan on utilising in my drawings.

I felt one of the downfalls of this image is the lack of context and neighbouring buildings, which makes it difficult to get a sense of how the building may look and feel in its proposed site. The image however stands as a great comparison to the other exemplar section images which do show the building in context. I also felt that the section line and structure of the building at the section plane should have been darker, bolder and coloured black in order to visually define the borders of the building and natural ground line. These are elements I will be incorporating in my drawings.

REFERENCE

Piano, Renzo (Architect). (2009). Building Section [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.architecturecaribbean.com/blog/2009/08/04/

Exemplar 2: Richard Rogers - Centre Pompidou

CENTRE POMPIDOU BY RICHARD ROGERS

Unlike the other exemplar section drawings I have chosen, the most noticeable thing about this drawing for me is how flat it appears in comparison, at first glance. I attributed this to a lack of shadowing.

Upon further analysis I found that this lack of shadowing resulted in a lot of white space which compliments well the high amount of colour used in the image. This intense colouration gives the section life, energy and activation. I concluded that the lack of shadowing, has worked immensely well in this case and had it been added, may have been to its detriment by appearing too busy. The high amount of colour implemented also risked having the image bleed out, making visual navigation difficult for the viewer, however this is supplemented well with the copious amounts of white space.

Visual navigation is important for this section in particular as a lot of activities and information is being portrayed. Because of the clever use of white space and colour, the various parts of the section are able to be distinguished from one another allowing the viewer to take in different parts of the building as they peruse.

The background of the section is a very strong blue which differs from the other exemplars which employed lighter shades of blue as a gradient, allowing the building to be highlighted as the focal point. In the case of this section, however, orange hues are noted throughout the image, in particular the building structure. As blue and orange are complimentary colours, the strong blue background compliments the orange hues, making them appear brighter and stronger, bringing these parts of the building forward against the blue background. This clever use of complimentary colours is something I would like to use and extend upon in my two sections.

On the topic of colour relationships, it is also observed that the surrounding, neighbouring buildings depicted in the section are coloured a dull grey making the white space appear whiter and enhancing the overall image.

In completing my drawings, I believe it is important to first decide upon the kind of information I would like to portray and the method that would be best to use. The above section in comparison to the first exemplar is a good example of this as they both are the same type of image, however they portray the qualities of the spaces differently. At this point in time, I am leaning towards using similar shadowing techniques from Exemplar 1.

REFERENCERichard Meier & Partners. (2011). Royal Alberta Museum [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.arthitectural.com/richard-meier-partners-royal-alberta-museum/press-release_arch-drawing_page_10/

Exemplar 1: Renzo Piano - Harvard University

HARVARD UNIVERSITY BY RENZO PIANO

The strategic use of shadowing in this section by Renzo Piano, gives the 2D image an illusion of a 3D image as well as adding to its horizontal depth. The colour of the background is a gradient sky blue which fades down to a lighter hue towards the building allowing it to stand out in the image.

It is also noted that the yellow/orange colours are used to highlight areas of high traffic and also perhaps, the most important space of the building. Less important spaces, car parks and service areas of the building are left uncoloured to emphasise the importance of the coloured spaceS.

I found that the most predominate thing about this image is the bold, black section line. This is contrasted with the structural elements of the building which are shown in red where the section is cut to contrast with the bold, natural ground line. What I’ve also noticed is the ratio of the building along the streetscape. The building only occupies ¼ of the street; this allows the surround neighbouring buildings to be depicted accurately and allows the viewer to gauge the relationship of the building within its context.

On the topic of context, the existing buildings in the background of the image are transparent allowing the sky to bleed through. I believe this is so the existing buildings, which are observed to be significantly larger than the proposed, don’t overshadow the image, taking away from the focus point. I’ve also noticed that the trees in the image that sit along the cut of the section are shown as solid entities, however, as they recede into the background, they also become transparent and lighter, drawing focus back to the elements that sit on the section plan.

I plan on employing many of these techniques and elements into my sections, in particular the use of a strong section line, gradient background and background building transparency as I believe they are the strong points of this image. I do believe however, due to the long nature of the site, it may be difficult to incorporate such a wide streetscape into my drawings.

REFERENCE
Piano, Renzo (Architect). (2008). Harvard Univesity [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.nysun.com/arts/harvards-three-art-museums-will-share-one-name/80353/

Week 15: Project 2 - Feedback

The following is some of the feedback I received from my Tuesday presentation. Good points to build on from for future projects!

• The design does not communicate a “Transit Centre”
• Getting trees to grow under space is “ambitious”
• Is there a need for such a big ramp?
• Big green space; should have been developed further
• Pods could have run on smaller lanes
• Development needed on area of drop off/pick up zone
• Why make another road underneath when there is a road out the front? 

Week 15: Project 2 - Final Presentation Panel

FINAL A1 POSTER

Week 14: Project 2 - Plans

FLOOR PLANS

GROUND LEVEL

GROUND LEVEL

01   Lobby

02   PRT Transit Information Centre

03   Public Amenities

04   PRT Transit Pick Up/Drop Off Zone

05   PRT Transit Service Warehouse

06   Mixed-Use Communal Green Space

UPPER LEVEL

UPPER LEVEL

01   Paddington PRT Head Office

02   Stairs to Roof Top Area

03   Mixed-Use Communal Green Space

04   Clean Tech Gym

05   Bicycle Cage

06   Ramp

07   Bike Lane Access to Bicycle Cage

ROOF TOP LEVEL

ROOF TOP LEVEL

01   Mixed-Use Communal Green Space

02   Paddington PRT Office Balcony

CIRCULATION PLAN

CIRCULATION PLANS

Week 14: Project 2 - Photoshopped Perspectives

WARMINGTON STREET PERSPECTIVE

SITE PERSPECTIVE

LATROBE TERRACE PERSPECTIVE

RAMP PERSPECTIVE

PICK UP/DROP OFF ZONE PERSPECTIVE 1

GROUND FLOOR GREEN SPACE PERSPECTIVE LOOKING UP TOWARDS GYM

PICK UP/DROP OFF ZONE PERSPECTIVE 2

Week 13: Project 2 - Design Progression

The image below is a summary of my past few weeks design progression, showing briefly  and very succinctly where my initial concept design began and where it is now.

FACADE DESIGN

Regarding the arson attack which destroyed the Tram Depot located at the site and the development of the Paddington Central Shopping Centre that exists there now:

“After the remains of the depot had been cleared, which took some years, the City Council sold the block and a shopping centre, now known as "Paddington Central" was built on the site. This was redeveloped in the late 1980s, with the new building's roofline echoing the pitched gables of the tram depot.”

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddington_tram_depot_fire

EXISTING VIEW OF PADDINGTON CENTRAL FROM LATROBE TERRACE

Above is an image of the current Paddington Central shopping centre roofline which, as noted in the above quote, echoes the gables of the tram depot building which was destroyed in the fire. For the design of the transit centre, I have attempted to further echo this pitched gable design subtly through the façade of the transit centre. The design of the facade also endeavours to emulate the roof line of the existing character housing in the area.

PROPOSED VIEW OF PADDINGTON PRT CENTRE FROM LATROBE TERRACE

PROPOSED VIEW OF PADDINGTON PRT CENTRE FROM WARMINGTON STREET

Week 13: Project 2 - Preparing for the Presentation

Below is one of the images of my Power Point presentation which illustrates the progression of my form and how it relates to the existing nature of the site.

Regarding my presentation, I will be presenting with a Power Point Presentation and my 1 x A1 Poster.

Week 12: Project 2 - Design Progression

This week was spent on adding balustrades, windows and doors – small touches to enhance the overall feel of the space and also to give it a bit more of a sense of scale. Next week and the following, more time will be dedicated to photoshopping specific elements into scenes in order to illustrate the user experience of the Transit Centre.

ROOF TOP + UPPER LEVEL BEFORE

ROOF TOP + UPPER LEVEL AFTER

RAMP LEVEL BEFORE

RAMP LEVEL BEFORE

Week 12: Reading 01 - The Architect’s Role in Urban Regeneration, Economic Development, and Sustainability

The article talks specifically about the themes of urban regeneration, environmental sustainability and economic development and their relevance today. It discusses the issues that affect these three themes, specifically issues that occur well before the project is received by the architect. Due to this, the architect is viewed as having limited power. In saying this though, the article emphasises the importance of collaboration in order to achieve a successful sustainable project.

Drawing on from this, the proposed sustainable Paddington Precinct was seen, from the outset, as the precinct to set an example for the growth of sustainable cities in Brisbane. It is evident after reading this article however that without a holistic contribution, collaboration and approval, the precinct will stand alone, limited in its ability to affect how development occurs in outer Brisbane, Queensland and furthermore, Australia.

The article has got me into thinking that in order for the precinct to be successfully nationally, it has to be successfully locally. And not just statistically successful (how many units of electricity can be harvested by how many people to power how many pods) but have the approval, collaborative input and invested passion of local governments, architects, developers, investors, politicians, residents of the precinct and especially the general community.

Reference:http://pcparch.com/firm/bibliography/essays/the-architect-s-role-in-urban-regeneration-economic-development-and-sustainability

Week 11: Project 2 - Design Progression

As my concept design for my form drew heavily from the natural slope of the site, I researched existing architectural forms which dealt strongly with curved landscapes and slopes in order to gain some inspiration and knowledge as well as learning from what has been done previously and seeing what is possible.

The following exemplars are taken from http://big.dk

These exemplars were great in getting me thinking as to what I could do with my site. The following images shows the different stages of modelling and experimenting with my form. Drawing on from my blog post in Week 10, I have begun breaking down the concept mass into varying levels in order to start generating spaces and determining which spaces will go where and their relationship with other spaces.

Week 11: Reading 01 - Biomechanical Energy Harvesting

As mentioned in my reflection of my Week 7 Reading, I felt that more researched needed to be conducted into the idea of how the Power Generating Grid would work in order to make the concept more feasible. In my research I came across an article titled “Biomechanical Energy Harvesting” published in Volume 319 of Science on 8 February, 2008.

The first paragraph of the article starts with the sentence “Humans are a rich source of energy” which is the concept fuelling the Power Generating Grid from Project 1. My initial thoughts about the Power Generating Grid were that different pressure points would be created by people walking on it. The differences within these pressure points could then be converted into electricity. Similar to the idea of “Electric Clothes” in the article “Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow” by Maggie Koerth-Baker (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/03/magazine/innovations-issue.html). In this case, differences in temperature are converted into electricity, which I believe could also work for this proposed Power Generating Grid in Paddington.

This article however details the garnering of electricity through a device carried on the wearer; a “biomechanical energy harvester” used in generating and collecting electricity through walking via a device attached to the knee. The device is aimed towards charging prosthetic limbs and medical devices through minimal effort.

Perhaps our initial ideas for the Power Generating Grid for 2062 were a bit too ambitious for 2020 and this is a more rational alternative.

The biomechanical energy harvest that the article is talking about is one worn on the knee:

SOURCE: REFER BELOW

 The article also mentions that similar devices have been create that harnesses electricity from the compression in the shoe sole. However, in comparing one device to the other, this was not found to be as successful as the device that attaches to the knee. Drawing on from this idea though, the concept of having a device inserted into the sole of the shoe in order to generate electricity through compression could work successfully on a larger scale, especially if implemented in a sustainable precinct such as the one proposed for Paddington.

Residents/workers/occupants of the precinct could purchase the device which would be adaptable to a variety of shoe types, with some shoes being pre-fitted with the device. The device would connect wirelessly to the Power Generating Grid implemented into the existing road infrastructure and foundations, transferring the electricity into the main grid of Paddington. This self, sustainable supply of electricity would then be used to support the entire precinct (in particular the pods that make up the proposed Personal Rapid Transit System) without support from the main Brisbane Power Grid.

Walking, sports, gymming or any form of activity that requires physical exertion would be promoted in the Precinct which aligns with the precincts focus on health, social and environmental sustainability.

Reference:

Donelan, J. M., Hoffer, J. A., Kuo, A. D., Li, Q., Naing, V. & Weber, D.J. (2008). Biomechanical Energy Harvesting: Generating Electricity During Walking with Minimal User Effort. Science, 319(5864), 807-810. DOI: 10.1126/science.1149860

Week 10: Project 2 - Design Progression

At this point in time I feel it is important to start integrating the spaces I feel are required in my transit centre (detailed in a previous post) into my form and start defining boundaries and walls. This will be continued into Week 11.

Week 10: Reading 02 - The Bid to Ban Vehicles

One of the main ideas for the precinct is the phasing out of vehicles within the Paddington Precinct in order to make its proposed future of 2020 a reality. Thinking about how this would come about reminded me of the government’s initiative to phase out cigarettes.

Whilst researching I came across this article by Andrew Darby and Ami Corderoy titled “Big to ban cigarettes for anyone born after 2000” published on The Sydney Morning Herald on 22 August, 2012. The idea, as detailed in the article, is that anyone born after the year 2000 would be banned from purchasing cigarettes once they are of legal age.

It got me thinking – could a similar concept be use to phase out vehicles in the Paddington precinct? Perhaps only hybrid cars would be allowed in the precinct by 2010, perhaps only electrical cars by 2015 and then no vehicles at all by 2020?

Could this concept also be applied nationwide? Could vehicles that rely on fossil fuels be banned from being imported into the country and likewise, manufactured?

Reference:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/bid-to-ban-cigarettes-for-anyone-born-after-2000-20120822-24liy.html

Week 10: Reading 01 - Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stone

As there were no specified readings for Week 10, I have gone back and reflected on some from past weeks which had been assigned multiple readings. This week’s reflection is on the reading Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stone by M. Fackler, assigned to Week 2.

The reading is about “tsunami stones” situated along the coastline of Japan that mark the extent of inland destruction caused by past tsunamis. They stand as a reminder to future generations of the devastation made possible my tsunamis and warn not to build any lower than where the stones have been positioned.

However, as time goes on, the article notes that modern day Japan has become ignorant to the warnings of these stones and the message of their ancestors. Development spreads into low-lying areas, seawalls are built taller and reliance is put on advancing technology to quell Mother Nature. It was proposed by Masayuki Oishi that modern versions of these tsunami stones are needed.

This reading reminded me of the January 2011 Brisbane floods and the consequential debates that followed regarding the buying back of river side properties by the council and redeveloping them into recreational park lands or sporting grounds. A lot of conversations/discussions with peers, families and friends brought up similar viewpoints regarding the same issue of the inclination of future generations to forget what has happened in the past. Many of the people I spoke to seemed to believe that, although house prices in flood prone areas have decreased substantially, they are bound to rise again as the generations go on.

In this case, I believe there is a need for a “modern day tsunami stone” not only in Japan, but also in Brisbane and every other city prone to natural disasters. Although I admire the simplicity and straightforward message of the tsunami stones, I believe with the evolution of the way we live and the way messages are now conveyed in the virtual and digital sense, simple messages such as those of the stones can be so easily overlooked in today’s world. As also mentioned in the article, a heavy reliance on technology to prevent and repair everything will also eventually be out down fall.

What could be Brisbane’s version of the tsunami stones? Wivenhoe Dam was supposed to stand as a reminder of the destruction of the 1974 floods but how well did it remind us? Is changing legislation enough? What happens when the next generation is in charge of determining this legislation?