.... Hard at work

Reflection of current status of Assignment 1

WK 6 Reading Thoughts

Reflecting back on WK 5

WK 5 Studio Reflection

Reflection on Wk 5 Lecture

WK 5 Reading Thoughts & Reflections

Reflecting back on WK 4....

WK 4 Studio Reflections

Reflecting on WK 4 Lecture

Group brainstorming notes 2

Reflections on WK 4 Reading

Reflecting back on WK 3...

Today I also started a FB page so the group could communicate with eachother 24/7.

Reflection on WK 3 reading: The Aspatial City by J.V. Zelfde

This reading discusses the fact that we now live in a world that is dominated by the ‘unseen.’ The hidden communication networks of wi-fi, mobile phones and other wireless devices have altered the way we utilise time and space on a daily basis. Social media has added an extra dimension to our world and in this 4-D virtual reality distance is reduced and time feels like it’s sped up.  A city used to be defined by its physical form but now it can also be a city based in virtual time. I believe this has (and will continue to) cause a loss of space identity and loss of connection to true context. Although the physical world has limited spaces and boundaries, the virtual world with all its boundless space cannot exist without the physical… like a parasite it must feed off the living.  This 4^th dimension will only continue to exist if we let it and therefore we have a choice on whether we utilise it. Is this system really the way we should be heading for the future. With all the communication avenues open to us, I feel we make less effort to keep in contact with each other than ever before. Everything is less personal and disconnected from reality. With all this ‘extra space’ and communication possibilities everyone is busier than ever, so how is this extra dimension really helping us? In this sense, this technologically advanced world feel like its missing something…like it’s incomplete.  How can we make this virtual technology more personable? I believe this will only happen if an entity is definable, the space touchable and the context recognisable. If looked at this way, the virtual world will always be lacking.  Therefore, how can I incorporate the technological world into my future architectural designs without it overshadowing the physical spaces and the personal interactions they create?

Wk 3 Studio - Initial Group Brianstorming session

Reflection on WK 3 Lecture

Reflecting on Wk 3 Reading: Shearing Layers by S.Brand

This reading has given me a new outlook on how I conceive the make-up of a building.  Previously I had thought buildings compromised of a series of components that all worked together to produce a building.  However, I now realise that these ‘components’ are better looked at as active layers to which none can exist without the other. This reading describes this layering classification as, “The 6 S sequence” and notifies that different parts of a building/ sequence change at different rates.  It theorises that every building consists of the following six layers; Site, Structure (skeleton), Skin (exterior surfaces), Services, Space Plan (Walls, ceilings, floors, etc) and Stuff (furniture).  The Site is the most crucial layer as it will outlast longevity itself and it is the foundation to the whole. All constructions must conform to its terrain in order to exist. On the other hand of the sequence is the ‘Stuff’ which has the lowest rate of longevity and the quickest and easiest rate of change.  This sequence description reminds me of a play in which the Stage represents the fixed Site, sets are the Structure and Skin, equipment as the Services, scenes are the Space Plan and props are the Stuff, as they move constantly.  This analogy directly relates to our assignments, in which we have to think about a future development and consider it in terms of its future context/ story, by setting the scene/ stage, and inhabiting it with realistic characters.  In terms of incorporating this analogy into the now, the components of daily life can even be broken down into these components.  Should we as designers have a checklist in the future that ensure that these six layers have been incorporated into all future developments and to the degree it has been done? It could be a checklist of ‘dwelling livability’ that tells possible inhabitants of buildings’ positive (and also less desirable features) and compares it to the ‘average building liveability.’  In this way, users will be more aware of the capabilities of the buildings they inhabit.

Reflecting back on WK 2...

Another intriguing week indeed…To me the highlight was still watching the inspiring movie, Robots of Brixton by Factory Fifteen. The following still images from the movie resonated with me as I felt they encapsulated the Architectural context of this specific future context. The amazingly vivid style of their future Brixton setting made me wonder how I would be able to create a believable future for my scenario.

 (Factory Fifteen 2011).

(Factory Fifteen 2011).

Invention research:

After the lecture it spurred me to have a look at some technologies that are nearly in use or are soon to be in the near future. I came across a few interesting developments from Gizmag (2003-2012) such as;

·         Disney patents reality cakes – advertising to be beamed onto birthday cakes.

·         Modular solar panel homes which can exist alone or in a modular tower.

·         Part garden, part machine – a landscape type sculpture that moves.

There were so many interesting new products and ideas on the horizon and I will endeavour to keep up-to-date with current developments throughout the semester. Will any of these ideas be able to be implemented into my future storey/ scenario? Perhaps I could in turn, develop my own new invention?

Theme selection:

With regard to my choice for theme group I am hoping to get into the Woodford/ Regional group or the Paddington/ Suburban group.

Reflecting on WK 2 Reading: A History of Greenwashing: How Dirty Towels Impacted the Green Movement by J. Motavalli

Greenwashing!... Finally I have a name to put to all these ‘so-called’ sustainable, apparently energy reducing systems and products that are bombarding the market. I have noticed these now suddenly ‘green’ companies flood the market in recent years with the heightened awareness of global warming.  However, to be seen to be green does not mean they are actually any better than any other competing product on the market. However, ‘seeming green,’ appears to have won over the general public.  I believe society is not given the true reality into what makes a product truely more sustainable.  For instance, the embodied energy that goes into some ‘green’ products could actually be just as/ more damaging to the environment than other so called ‘land-fill products.’  Large energy consuming companies like BP have also scrambled to revitalise their look by evolving their logo into a green and yellow flower in the hopes it will blend with the trend (BBC 2012).

 

BP revitalised its logo in the hopes of ‘looking’ more sustainable (BBC 2012).

However, in the effort to look more ‘green,’ BP has still been criticised for their emissions and the disastrous oil leak last year left little to admire (ABC 2012).  I believe that the only way to really reduce greenhouse emissions is if large global companies reduce their dependency on finite resources. We as users should not buy their products if we do not agree with their green stance but the problem herein is that we have all become so dependent on their products/ services, eg. our dependency on fuel and the lack of a suitable replacement.  Like in this reading, I do not believe small things will reverse global warming but I do agree that we have been too wasteful in the past and that it is beneficial for our environment to be more purposeful with what we do use.  People need to be more aware that just because something has a sticker on it saying its ‘green’ does not mean that it is in the sense they might be thinking.  I encourage articles such as Motavalli’s as it helps to unveil the truth about the ‘green movement’ that we are currently experiencing. I feel the majority of companies are exploiting this trend and acting superficially ‘green’ as a marketing ploy to increase revenue.

 As future designers we have been left with a heavily burdon... how can we design practical, aestheticly pleaseing and environmentally friendly developments that actively work for its users? Can this challenge be used to spur needed change within the future industry?

Reflection on WK 2 Reading: Urban Form and Locality by H. Barton

Neighbourhoods form the heart of our communities but are these hubs really master planned with the users in mind? In a climate where people are readily moving to the cities, we must ask ourselves why is this happening?  Is there not enough facilities or transportation available for people to utilise in these outer suburban areas? Or perhaps the facility locations are hard to access and/ or the road networks hard to negotiate and require extensive driving time? With inner city space becoming scarce, we need to be able to produce not only functional dwellings but efficiently working suburbs. This reading proclaims that there are four interlocking dimensions of form that all impact on the functional success of suburbs. These forms are; the degree of dispersal or concentration, the degree of segregation or intermixture of urban activities, settlement density and fourthly, the Shape of the suburb. All these factors contribute to how a suburb works and ultimately produces a set of characteristics (for positive or negative) that are particular to each suburb.  Currently there ‘is disagreement between researches about ‘the significance of density, the validity of the compact city strategy and the appropriate role for new settlements.’ However, I don’t believe that having one formula to produce new suburbs will necessarily mean that it will work well in every context or for every target user/ community. Although I do believe it is important to set up guidelines for incorporating mixed use facilities, green spaces and a strong transport and road networks for each suburb targeted at future needs rather than what is required at the now.  I believe that providing for the future in the beginning would ensure the community had room to grow for the future and would perhaps minimise then need for people to move to the cities.  Before reading this reading I had no idea that the shape of a neighbourhood impacted functionality as much as it does!  Concentrated linear bands are known to reduce transport times and also let more green spaces filter into the suburb.  Having a road network that works really does save time as before the M7 was built there were multiple ways to get to the North-side of Brisbane but few where direct and many congested.  The M7 now cuts my travel time to the City/ Fortitude Valley by over half and is much more direct and functional and as such I often use it multiple times a day.

Overall, this reading has tried to debate the options required for the future vitalisation of the suburban form.  However, I believe this will be a long debated subject with which no specific answer will ever perfectly fit. Like any individual home, master planning of suburbs must be considered in each individual context and setting.

Reflections on WK 2 Lecture

I had no idea that I would feel so inspired about Architectural Fiction as I do after seeing the Wk 2 lecture.  Based on Future visions and scenarios it definitely lived up to its title.  The initial 1927 Metropolis clip by Fritz Lang dared to dream of an extreme futurist city, which no doubt at this era would have greatly dazzled the imagination of all.

However, it was the clip called Robots of Brixton by Factory Fifteen that took my breathe away.  This movie successfully designed a futuristic context where robots co-existed with humans and as such, adapted human like behaviour and problems. The lead up to this event depicts humans creating robots to fulfil menial tasks that humans no longer wanted to do. However, with the increase of the robot population the robots themselves were struggling to find work. History repeats on itself and shows that even with technology advancements, the population – whether human or robot, experience the same problems. As such, the movie mimics the events of the 1981 Brixton riots (Guardian News and Media Limited 2012). The animation and rendering in this movie are truly superb and enables the viewer to vividly enter the world of the Robots of Brixton.  The movie cleaver plays out the daily life of a robot, shows the streets they inhabit, built-forms they use and they emotions they evoke.  Also, the way the movie unfolds discretely shows the Architectural context into which this ‘alternate’ city exists. Perhaps this movie also tries to tell us that technology itself is not the answer to everything.  Perhaps as a species we are not learning from our mistakes and as such, are destined to repeat history?  Therefore, it does not matter what technology we have or how we implement it, if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we will never truly move forward.  In addition, how can we as future Architects, adequately design for the future when we can never be quite sure what the ripple effects can be? In this sense, perhaps advanced technology could actually create a more damaging risk?

 

I found this clip very inspiring and although an architectural entity was not the main point in its fictitious story, I admire the approach they took in developing a story from a context.  In relation on my upcoming assignment we need to think about a story and then think about what would become a good building in the context of the specific site.

The ‘What If’ Scenarios….

Four different sites with four different scenarios were discussed during the lecture and will be discussed in the form of charettes during studio time.

·         CBD / Urban – consider a congestion charge. How would this effect the built-environment?

·         PADDINTON CENTRAL / Suburban – what would happen if shopping wen digital and retail stores stopped selling good but stayed open to provided customers the opportunity to view/ try goods?

·         WOODFORD / Regional – what if the Woodford Folk Festival became a self-sufficient community?

·         Virtual – What if the QLD Gov. strategy was to resolve Urban, Suburban and Regional Issues Virtually?

 

Future Scenarios - A good place to start…..

·         Research the Statistics of the site’s suburb.

·         Research new Technology. See what is already available or what is almost available. New inventions actually have a dramatic cause and effect on the built environment.