PROJECT 2- HSW Site Visit.

IDEAS FIESTA- HSW OPEN DAY.

On the 20th of April, Brisbane City Council hosted an open day at the Howard Smith Wharves as part of the Ideas Fiesta event. This provided an opportunity to enter the site and explore the existing buildings, their materials and the manner in which they are constructed. 

A series of images depicting interesting aspects of the site are shown below. Comments and observations are included with relevant photos. 

The entry to the site is shown int he photo above. This illustrates the the relationship between the Story bridge and the Howard Smith Wharves. 

This is photo of the underside of the boardwalk. The use of timber structural elements is interesting, considering the adjacency to the river and how prone the space may be to flooding. 

The internal structure of the existing wharve buildings is pictured above. The structure was predominantly timber with corrugated iron cladding and roofing. 

The boardwalk space is still in a relatively good condition and provides an interesting space.

The underside of the Story Bridge and the steel structure that it is made up of was in my opinion aesthetically pleasing. The repetition throughout the structure and the manner in which it sits above the site create an interesting effect and spatial experience. 

The timber slats within the wharve buildings create an interesting space within the structure. The contrast this creates with the metal roofing material provides an interesting relationship. 

The corrugated iron cladding that makes up the skin of the building was an interesting material within the site. The bends and imperfections of the material create an aesthetically pleasing and almost sculptural effect. 

The space between the existing buildings is a possible location for the interaction centre. This space has a relationship with existing structures and a connection to the river. It would also provide views back towards the city. 

The above image pictures the interior roof structure of the exiting buildings. The contrast between the timber structure and the silver insulation materials is interesting and provides a stark contrast in materially. 



All in all, the site visit was very useful and provided some interesting points of inspiration. 

PROJECT 2- Task 1- Exploration Models.

TWO MODELS. TWO MATERIALS. 

The first task set to us was to create two models of our interaction nodes from the previous project, that represented two different and contrasting materials. 

The nature of my interaction node made this task slightly challenging and highlighted the fact that the current form may not be suited to this type of development and exploration. The original node is not one single structure, and consisted of various parts made from different materials. This made it difficult to represent the structure as one single material and as a singular form. The Model produced were effective in their own way, but various parts were still somewhat detached from one another. 

I chose to create one model out of timber, in an attempt to unify the various elements of the node. This was successful to a degree, but as i mentioned before, it was made difficult by the fact that the node is not one complete form. The timber model displayed some interesting aesthetics within the node, in particularly the relationship between various tones of the same colour. Images of the model produced are shown below.

The model highlighted the variety of shadows that the roof structure could produce, something that i found interesting. 

For the second model i chose to try and represent something more transparent and not as solid as the original node and the timber model. Although this model does not represent a particular material, the characteristics of the structure created is what i was more interested in. The wire frame and translucent material created a light and less imposing structure. 

The model could be perceived as a steel frame with various plates of translucent material covering portions of it. Images of the second model are shown below. 

As previously mentioned the translucency and transparency of the materials was what was being explored and as shown in the images, the materials conveyed this effectively. The transfer of light through the structure was found to be very effective. 

PROJECT 2- Introduction.

A MATERIAL BASIS FOR FORM. 

Material is a key factor in determining the form and expression of a structure. Various materials possess vastly different characteristics and implementing them into an architectural form can produce interesting and delightful spaces. 

I am particularly excited to work within this theme, as i find model making to be a very useful design tool. Effective, small scale models can provide critical information about a design, in a more effective manner than drawings. They provide a 3 dimensional platform to work off and allow the structure to be viewed as a whole and as it would be if it were to be constructed. 

Exploring the characteristics of various materials and how they change and manipulate various spaces in is another aspect of the theme that greatly interests me. Expressing materials in small scale models, as they would be in the final structure, allows us to gain an understanding of the aesthetic nature of the space. It also allows for fast and easy adjustments to be made, if a certain element is not satisfactory. 

Designing around materials allows the project to become as realistic and relate-able as possible. The use of small scale models provides a life like feeling to the spaces and allows us to imagine what they would be like and what sort of spaces will result. 

Bathroom Model created for Arkhefield. 

Above is an example of a material based model. I created this model of the interior of a bathroom space, as the architects were particularly interested in the relationships between the various materials that they had chosen to use. The model represented the materials as realistically as possible and the outcome was found to be both useful and informative towards developing the design.