FINAL PANELS

REFLECTION

REFLECTION

Looking back on this project there are some things that I would change and some things that I would do the same. Indecisiveness early on in the project definitely put me under the pump for later on. Although, working under a tight deadline actually improved my design skills. Sure, some things could have been pushed a little bit further, but all in all my project I believe was thoroughly investigated and designed. I enjoyed the design process, and I definitely gained some much needed skills. Tutor-student interaction was good. The more I did, the more I got out. Therefore the final tutorials were of much more importance to me than earlier ones. I’d like to think that this design reflects myself and four years of university design work.

The end of one chapter …….

The start of another ……..

FLOORPLAN EVOLUTION

LEVEL 1 EVOLUTION

LEVEL 2 EVOLUTION

LEVEL 4 EVOLUTION

LEVEL 5 EVOLUTION (level 3 evolution is based on the same original Phase 1 and 2)

Final Alteration

THE FINAL ALTERATION

The final thing to do, to complete the alterations was to push the lower residential floor into the mountain to complete the sharing of the light well running acroos the back wall of both residential floors.

ORIGINAL BUILDING WITH CAFE LEVEL SITTING IN BETWEEN THE RESIDENTIAL FLOORS

THE FINAL RESULT, WITH THE CAFE LEVEL NOW BELOW THE SECOND RESIDENTIAL LEVEL. THE SECOND RESIDENTIAL LEVEL IS NOW PUSHED BACK INTO THE LANDSCAPE AS YOU CAN SEE

Light Study

LIGHT STUDY

A light study a 4th floor residential room with the new combined light tube. As the pictures show, sunlight is sufficient throughout the day.

Expensive $$$

EXPENSIVE BUILDING?

I know that this building will be mighty expensive.

However, I did not want to do anything by half measures.

This building represents every single person in Australia. Cutting corners trying to save money and time would not fly with me or the Australian public.

western facade V2.0

WESTERN FACADE (change)

The decision to scrap the original western façade treatment was made based upon two main reasons.

The first being that my original idea would not have allowed enough natural light to penetrate the western windows. With so much of the building being located underground, this natural light is in high demand throughout the building.

Secondly, the surrounding trees and plant life would I believe provide efficient sun shading. Trees and vegetation can create micro-climates around buildings and lower temperatures during hot months and raise temperatures during cold ones. Therefore, this active living system would be sufficient.

A system louver system is all that is needed. Effective and not an eye sore.

FIBER OPTIC LIGHTING

FIBER OPTIC LIGHTING

Fiber Optic Lighting will be placed throughout the building to give a nice natural light feel to the spaces located deep within the Earth. Fiber optic systems such as the Parans one work by using a light reciever located on the roof which captures natural light and filters it through a cable which can bend or stretch up to 30m long.

THE ORANGE STARS REPRESENT FIBER OPTIC LIGHT FIXTURES

toilets

STACKING TOILET BLOCKS

Three main public toilet blocks exist. These three toilet blocks have been placed in close proximity to central spaces within each floor.

However, they do not line up on plan. This would be a nightmare for builders, contractors, plumbers etc. to construct. Standard practice usually involves plumbing corridors lining up in all floors. 

A relocation of two of the three toilet blocks would see this stacking effect.

GLAZING

Why so much glazing you ask?

The majority of the glazing is facing South. Therefore this glass will not be exposed to DIRECT sunlight. As for the eastern glazing, a large amount was placed facing this orientation to try and capture as much morning sunlight as possible. Finally, the western glazing was fairly large and ambitious due to the cold weather within Canberra.

tilting the atrium

TILTING THE ATRIUM

Tilting the atrium was suggested in the critique. By doing this I am able to capture more sunlight and distribute it deeper into the floors below. Obviously I would have to alter each floorplan, but this is just showing the effect.

12pm

ATRIUM LIGHT TESTING (original)

ATRIUM LIGHT TESTING (original)

The original atrium recieves a decent amount of light. However not enough. Stay tuned for the alteration of the atrium.

carpark redesign

CARPARK DESIGN (revisited)

One comment during the critique was directed at the design of the car park. I did not want to put the car park into my design but I felt it necessary being a government building. The design of the car park was not supposed to be ‘architectural’. I wanted people’s attention to be focused towards the building and the light tower.

BEFORE

Nether the less, revisiting the car park, I agree that it is an eye sore. To rectify this, I simply cut the car park into the landscape, similar to the building itself. In doing this, I can hide the majority of the parks.

One suggestion during the critique was to put the car park in empty spots left by excavation next to the building. Due to the sheer complexity of the building footprint, this proved to be not practical. Driving down 8 metres or more to access a small car park just does not seem 100% practical I think.

AFTER

Crit Notes

PREPARED CRIT NOTES

Swapping Levels

SWAPPING LEVELS

ORIGINAL

 

NEW

One suggestion brought forward after the end of semester critique was to enable the two RESIDENTIAL sectors to share the same light well. This was always my intention. That was until the landscape was modelled up and I realised how STEEP the actual site was. A very steep gradient meant that the lower I go, the further the levels had to move forward out of the mountain.

I revisited the issue after the critique…..

NORTH UNDERGROUND ELEVATION

First of all, I swapped the position of the second residential sector (orange) for the position of the welcome and café sector (red). I then had to push pack the residential floor to align it with the light well from above. Externally I prefer the old formation, as the middle café floor separates the two nicely. However, sunlight wise, this new formation is much more superior. Light testing revealed that the upper light well received much more sunlight than the lower one. Therefore, the lower residential floor is now able to share this brilliant natural sunlight.

SINGLE LIGHT WELL

Revisiting the 4^th level floor plan to accommodate its new light well and overall position would be the next step towards this alteration if I was going ahead with it.

Atrium testing

ATRIUM TESTING

So after consulting with my tutor, it was agreed that I need something to tie everything together. Something that will make the levels into one whole building. A light well (atrium) is the answer. Early testing looks good.

Stay tuned ......

Hempcrete

HEMPCRETE

HEMPCRETE has no equal as a natural building product sequestering carbon dioxide for the life of the building. By combining water, hemp aggregate and lime-based binder to produce excellent thermal insulating and acoustic properties, hempcrete;

·         Buffers temperature and humidity,

·         prevents damp and mould growth,

·         making inside the building a comfortable healthy environment.

·         It is fire and termite resistant,

·         lightweight and forms a hard wall surface yet is vapour permeable to help reduce humidity and prevent condensation

http://www.hempcrete.com.au/

Hempcrete will be my material of choice. The advantages of Hempcrete are simply to good to pass up. If I am going to design an environmentally conscious building, I need an environmentally conscious exterior skin. Hempcrete will ensure my design is a healthy one.