AR O ALEXA RAE ONGOCO PORTFOLIO
MASTER of LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE with DISTINCTION BACHELOR of ENVIRONMENTS Major in Landscape Architecture SELECTED WORKS 2012-2015
HELLO! Over the past 5 years of education in Landscape Architecture, my practice has seen a continuous refinement of itself, exploring and challenging new and old theories, expanding on my repertoire and working to align myself in a field so large as what Landscape Architecture has to offer.
for all stakeholders, and this is demonstrated through my Masters thesis of Vacancy in Suburbia that looks at being able to use landscapes that we have at hand, street landscapes that are placed with not much thought, and using them as agents in re-working the current Food Transport Network.
My practice as it stands today is an accumulation of issues in our natural landscapes and ecosystems that are largely affected by our own actions - our rapid urbanisation as well as our technological and industrial revolutions.
I hope that through this portfolio, I can narrate to you a story that has shaped my own thinking and practice, finding elements of each woven together and worked upon, from investigating the way our cities and towns function to challenging them and offering new dynamic possibilities in their mechanisms, down to challenging human nature and the interaction and relationships between others.
A ‘gardener’ is what Bart Brands says is what Landscape Architecture calls for. A gardener that is able to seamlessly sow ecosystem services and processes within our complex cities. I believe that an ecological urbanisation is the tool that the ‘gardener’ needs. A Landscape Architect has the power to work two elements of urban and ecology effortlessly together to become a powerhouse of production and benefits
‘... they are an interwoven mesh of urban and rural, of city and countryside, of artificial and nature. It is the ideal landscape. The ideal city of the 21st century needs, now more than ever, a gardener.’ (Bart Brands, ‘The Ideal City is the Ideal Landscape’)
CURRI CULUM VITAE ALEXA R. ONGOCO Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 11 July 1991 alexa.ongoco@gmail.com +61 4 325 736 75 issuu.com/alexaongoco EDUCATION Master of Landscape Architecture with Distinction RMIT University, 2013-2014 Bachelor of Environments with Major in Landscape Architecture University of Melbourne, 2010-2012
SOFTWARES
EXPERIENCE
Adobe After Effects ••••• Adobe Illustrator ••••• Adobe InDesign ••••• Adobe Photoshop ••••• AutoCAD ••••• Google Sketchup ••••• Rhino ••••• Rhino for V-Ray ••••• Grasshopper • • • • •
JACK MERLO DESIGN
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
AutoCAD (Preparing Base Plans, Sections and Elevation Drawings) Photoshop (Rendering of Plans, Sections and Elevations) Plotting and Printing Reception Duties (Preparing and Sending documents for email correspondence, filing and archiving, Answering and Making phone calls to clients)
2013 AILA Professional Practice Award “For Excellence in the Landscape Architecture Professional Practice Course” 2012 The AECOM Australia Prize for Urban Design and Landscape Architecture “For Excellence in Landscape Studio 3: Urban Open Spaces”
VCE Enter of 93.60 Sacred Heart Girls’ College, 2004-2009
2012 Student Profile in ‘The Generator’ Magazine Student representative for the Landscape Architecture Major of 2012
South Yarra, Victoria, Australia One of the Top 3 Landscape Design firms in Australia, award-winning Jack Merlo Design focuses primarily on private residential housing, including apartment complexes. Junior Landscape Architect (1 Year) July 2013-July 2014
REFEREES
SIDH SINTUSINGHA
WIE MUN LEE
Senior Lecturer in L.Arch University of Melbourne +61 3 8344 7191 ssint@unimelb.edu.au
Senior Landscape Architect Jack Merlo Design +61 3 9866 5550 WieMun@jackmerlodesign. com.au
CONTENTS The following content in this portfolio is designed to give a spread of my own work spanning the past three years of my education, with scale, ideas and applications all explored in variation.
Main Studios
Each project focuses on a specific theory or question that guided my research, as well as dictating the techniques and style of drawings used. Each project is summarised with a up to five keywords, the size of the project, a scale of a top-down or bottom-up approach, a scale from public to private work and the site’s location.
MLArch Thesis, 2014 RMIT University
The work shown has been consciously refined and selected to narrate you as the reader through the main positions and arguments of each project.
Vacancy in Suburbia Systematic, Ecological Framework, Integration, Opportunistic,
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BEnvs Landscape Studio 3, 2012 University of Melbourne “2012 AECOM Australia Prize for Urban Design and Landscape Architecture” Urbo-Philliac 16 Re-Activation, Boundary Exploration, Geometric Rigour
Construction Detail
Research and Design
Extra Curricular
MLArch Professional Practice, 2013 RMIT University “2013 AILA Professional Practice Award for Excellence�
MLArch Karres en Brands Intensive Studio, 2013 RMIT University
Model Making, 2014 Self Guided Exploration
Coursing the Divides Town Identity, Revolutionizing Industry, Appropriation, Process, Re-Connection
Urban Mappings Contrast of Open Spaces, City Organisation, Nolli Mapping
Edinburgh Gardens - Playground Design Attention to Detail, Precision, Consideration
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MLArch Design Research Seminar 3 , 2013 RMIT University Topographic Incursions 30 Undetermined Movement, Appropriation, Derivation, Lexicon of Patterns
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INFOGRAPHIC OF THE PROPOSED AND APPROPRIATED FOOD NETWORK FROM ONE CURRENTLY UNSUSTAINABLE TO ONE THAT CREATES LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE, CHALLENGES SOCIAL BOUNDARIES AND BOOSTS LOCAL ECONOMY. INCLUDED IN THE SUBURBAN POLLINATORS DEPLOYMENT KIT
VACANCY IN SUBURBIA M. LA THESIS
“Landscapes may be more instrumental in its effects (harvesting stormwater… enhancing biodiversity, maturing complex ecosystems, providing space for new public uses and programs... and the like) than when simply painted as a benevolent scene, perhaps beautiful but inevitably passive in its effects” (James Corner, foreword in Michel Desvigne’s ‘Intermediate Natures: The Landscapes of Michel Desvigne’.) Vacancy in the Painted Landscape explores how these “painted landscapes” in suburbs (front yards, nature strips, road wedges, etc) can exist as something more. Therefore, Vacancy in this case, is much akin to a hotel vacancy, in which, there is still room for accommodation, or rather, potential for a more beneficial and effective use.
My research aims to rectify this thinking, by integrating ecology into our own systems and making it locally accessible. The project uses the guise of the Suburban Pollinators (a community-council fused organisation) as a platform to explore this integration through eco-agricultural systems and working towards a New Urban. This new model rethinks the current food system – a major contributor to habitat and biodiversity loss through disconnection (through associated infrastructures) for species between the urban and the rural – and retrofits it within the painted landscapes of Keysborough – the case-study site used for its plentiful open spaces and both existing and upcoming residential and road developments, which saw the removal of hundreds of thousands of square meters of agricultural land.
The project is used to critique current-day thinking that separates ecology from a symbiotic existence in every day activity. There is an imbalance between recreation and ecology, focusing on one or the other (Nina Marie-Lister, ‘Sustainable Design: Ecological Design or Designer Ecology’)
The Suburban Pollinators delivers a way in which ecologically driven design can have much larger implications on a community, changing the way we play, live, eat, learn and interact. The painted landscape instead, now becomes one that is productive, social and considerate that not once is removed from ecology.
Systematic, Ecological Framework, Integration, Opportunistic
L SIZE
2/10 PUBLIC > PRIVATE
8/10 TOP-UP > BOTTOM-DOWN
(Suburb of) Keysborough, Victoria, Australia METROPOLITAN MELBOURNE
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CITY OF GREATER DANDENONG
KEYSBOROUGH (SITE)
Ecological Dependence: As part of the deployment kit, each Suburban Pollinator member has the opportunity to choose which scheme they would like to become a part of. Regardless of the seemingly individual decision, members make their choice based on what neighbouring members have chosen as each Kit of Parts relies on the other in order to produce viable products. In this way, an ecological and sustainable link and greater ecological awareness is created.
Stingless Australian Bees within the genera Tetragonula.
BEEHUB
Jars of Honey
27-90kg of Honey per year (one season), per hive
Bags of Compost
0.911L compost, per 18 days, per composter
COMPOSTER
Fresh Produce (Soil)
Butterfly species include Small White, Lemon Migrant and the Common Grass Blue
3732.40L fresh produce per front yard
Native Trees Planted
5910 native trees per suburb, planted on front yards and median strips
PLANTER BOX/ FLORA BOX
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CORRIDOR disrupted, low connection
FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE (MATRIX 10-60%)
PATCH high, concentrated biodiversity, disconnected
PATCH low, concentrated biodiversity
FRAGMENTED WITHIN SUBURBIA (MATRIX 10-60%)
BARRIER houses, roads prevents crossing between patches
VARIEGATED LANDSCAPE (MATRIX 60-90%)
STEPPING STONES increased plantings act as conduits made of small intermediate patches
INTACT LANDSCAPE (MATRIX >90%)
CORRIDORS over time these patches can develop into permanent corridors, aiding the flow of biodiversity PATCH high biodiversity and connectivity
t0
8
t1
Ecological Frameworks: Parallels between Landscape Ecology theory (left) and the achievement of The New Urban (right), using patches, corridors and matrix calculations to produce connected urban landscapes - both physical and social.
PHASE 1 - INITIAL PARK MARKET LOCATIONS - SUBURBAN POLLINATORS MEMBER BASE GROWS
Bottom: The New Urban will see changes in fencing boundaries, increased high density living, as a result of greater awareness of ecological services (increases in permeable surfaces and plantings to name a few)
PHASE 2 - TEMPORARY LAND USED AS INTERMEDIATE PARK MARKET
THE NEW URBAN - COLLECTION HUBS INTRODUCED - ECO-TRAILS PROPOSED
t10
t18
9
Top: The impact the interventions and products of the Suburban Pollinators (coloured) will have on Keysborough and suburbia, creating the New Urban. The community is connected on a physical and social level and an increase in knowledge and action for ecological services and systems is delivered. Details: A catalogue of the different schemes and profiles that will be characteristic of the New Urban.
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HOMEOWNER, HOMEGROWER NATURE ENTHUSIAST SCHEME (1 of 3)
BACKYARD CORRIDORS THE SOCIAL NEIGHBOUR
BACKYARD CORRIDORS EXPANSIVE LAWNS
Designed for the Homeowner to produce native vegetation that will attract bees and butterflies.
Co-share your Townhouse front yard with your neighbours and produce a patch large enough for growing crops and decks for a quick barbeque together.
Open up your backyard and move your fence line back by 2 meters and you can produce a connected, somewhat-provide corridor to socialise with your neighbours through, as well as provide a sanctuary for native fauna.
COLLECTION HUB HARVESTING & DROP-OFF
ECO-WALKS BIKE TRAILS
HOMEOWNER, HOMEGROWER THE NUTRITIONIST SCHEME (2 of 3)
PARK MARKET THE MEETING PLACE
Intermediate Hubs to drop off or pick up your produce between Park Markets
Connected corridors that remove the idea of a ‘bike-lane’ and introduce a ‘bike trail’ using road wedges and widening them.
No need for mass plantings, the Nutritionist keeps it simple with their Front Yard arranged for maximum composting with Compost Decks.
The Park Market is the neighbourhood’s meeting place for fresh produce: Compost, Food and Vegetation, as well as providing facilities for Education and Recreation.
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HOMEOWNER, HOMEGROWER “THE FARMER” SCHEME(3 of 3) Breakdown of Components
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
STORAGE UNITS
BIKE TRAIL
Gate
CARPARK
4. 3.
2. 1.
Beehub 5m Native Vegetative Buffer Zone
Outdoor Seating & BBQ Facilities
STORE/CAFE
1. THE MARKET
THE PARK MARKET Breakdown of Components Section: Community Co-Op (Revised Backyard Living)
Market Space/Nursery
2. THE PARK
Vegetative Buffer Zones
Bioswale
3. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
Continuing Bike Trail
4. COMMUNITY CO-OPERATION
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A.1
A.2
A.3
A.4
B.1
B.2
B.3
B.4
Left Page, Set A: 1. Suburban Pollinators Deployment Kit and Logo. 2. Inside the Kit, a portion cut of the new Pollinator’s home locale, plus two infographics comparing the existing Food Model network to an appropriated Food Model within suburbia. 3. Inside the Deployment Kit, members will receive 1x Vacancy in Suburbia (Information Guide about the Suburban Pollinators and their responsibilities) and 1x Kit of Parts Deployment Kit 4. Detail of laser cut map on underside of the Kit Left Page, Set B: 1. Homeowner, Homegrower ‘The Farmer’, detail of front yard arrangements 2. The Collection Hub. Gradual ramps aid in bike logistics 3. ‘The Social Neighbour’, small townhouses face inwards and offer up backyard space for a communal front yard 4. Educational Facilities of the Park Market behind the ‘Market’ center. Right Page, Image C: The New Urban - the Food Network appropriated to suburbia, a section through Keysborough. Balsa Wood, White Card and 3D Printing.
C
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BOUNDARY DEFINING, BOUNDARY BREAKING UNION LAWN, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Awarded the
“2012 AECOM Australia Prize for Urban Design and Landscape Architecture “
URBO-PHILLIAC
for Excellence in Landscape Studio 3: Urban Open Spaces
B. ENVS L.A. STUDIO 3
Urbo-philliac is my final year, first semester design that was intended to push the boundaries of physical space. The design located in University Square (Union Lawn) looked to creating a cohesive University cohort that overlooked different disciplines and allowed for communication, interaction and acknowledgment between all students. Inspiration was drawn from the city of Melbourne not only for form, but for a certain phenomenon as well: that of Static vs Dynamic. The physical city is cold and dreary, with large buildings that block out light (static), however once people are added, life it seems, is injected and dynamics are introduced. These ideas were directly incorporated into the design, using screens of various shapes and sizes to define the functions held. These screens and their functions were then mixed with the initial concept of wanting to re-define public
space, and hence, a multitude of grids were used to form the plan. Functions within Concrete Lawn were defined by the amount of personal space needed, and therefore, were placed onto the corresponding grids. For example, small screens (in height and width) were used could be used as chairs. Thus, they were placed on a smaller, more intimate grid with smaller squares, based on measurements directly relating to personal space. The way personal space was re-defined, was be creating new measurements based on the template measurements. Rather than having a 50cm gap in between a seat, the gap was removed completely, meaning that for a two-seater bench, regardless of who sat down, each user would end up in contact with the other. While this design had the potential to create awkwardness and annoyance in each user, the desired outcome was that each user would acknowledge the other in some way.
Re-Activation, Boundary Exploration, Geometric Rigour
S SIZE
5/10 PUBLIC > PRIVATE
7/10 TOP-UP > BOTTOM-DOWN
University of Melbourne (Union Lawn), Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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COLUMNS
Wayfinding Points Set in directional line towards each of the 6 major disciplines of the University of Melbourne. Columns can be used as meeting points or places to sit in front of Wayfinding + Alternative Nature + Gathering PUBLIC 7.6m
PUBLIC (13.5x13.5m2)
Large Gatherings Open grand space located within center of site and determined by 4 entrance points, creating a common meeting point. Gatherings + Exhibitions + Lectures SOCIAL 3.6m
SOCIAL (6.28x6.28m2)
Large Gatherings Multi Functional due to adjustable screens. Located along main circulation axis Live Performances + Vendors + Market Stalls
SOCIAL - PERSONAL (4x4m2)
Larger Circle Groups or Multiple Smaller Parties The link between social and personal without the commitment. Benches face away from social boundary, offering privacy and quick getaways PERSONAL 1.2m
Gatherings + Meeting Place + Pit Stop
PERSONAL (2x2m2)
Up to 6 Close Friends, 4 Colleagues or 2 Strangers Scattered on the inner edges of Union Lawn for longer meetings and away from main circulation INTIMATE 0.45m
Rest + Catch-up + Meet
INTIMATE (3x3 0.8m2)
1-2 person(s) Spread towards the outer edges of Union Lawn under the shade of the canopy Private + Meet
BASE PLAN
Above: Stacked Axonometric showing the layers of site made of different types of personal space defined by screens in a grid-like system. Right: Image of Union Lawn currently. (Image by A.Ongoco, 2013)
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B
A
A
1:150
EXISTING TREES Lophostemon confertus Native Native eucalypt Native Ulmus procera Exotic Ulmus x hollandica Exotic B
A
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A
INTIMATE (3x3 0.8m2) Private + Meet
SOCIAL - PERSONAL (4x4m2) Gatherings + Meeting Place + Pit Stop
PUBLIC (13.5x13.5m2) Gatherings + Exhibitions + Lectures
Left: Masterplan of Union Lawn. Contrast of hard and soft surfaces. Natural features are kept to the edges of the site. Right: Activation and use of screens, and positioning of screens on site. Spread: Sections through site showing relation to existing buildings and contrast of hard and soft surfaces. Screens and beacons reflect the undulating skyline and material palette of the University’s buildings.
B
COLUMNS Wayfinding + Alternative Nature + Gathering
B
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The Beacons Are Lit: Night time activation of space - site transforms into an open exhibition space or outdoor function area. The lights from screens and beacons attract students and visitors from afar.
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EDINBURGH GARDENS SOUTH PLAYGROUND (IMAGE CRED: A.ONGOCO 2013)
EDINBURGH GARDENS PLAYGROUND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
As per the brief, a budget of $AUD 25,000 was given to redesign a portion of the Edinburgh Gardens South Playground and prepare the revisions of a drawing set originally produced by Simon Ellis Landscape Architects for the City of Yarra. Any and all changes as well as additional drawings were required to follow the Australian standards and included in the revised drawing set. The playground itself consisted of quite an interesting and colourful array of equipment from a spider’s nest to play on, colourful wooden boards to run in between and draw on, to a set of bridges running over a moat of plants and leading to a pergola for children to claim as their own fort. To add to the already entertaining playground, a softfall rubber racing track was chosen to fill in space along the west end of the site’s extent. A series of existing bike racks encouraged the design, being on the northern tip just outside the fence line of the playground area and approximately 14m away from entrance to the track. The section proposed for the bike track is currently occupied by two picnic tables, of which, both displaced with one to the center-north and the other to just below the racing track along the south-west end of the playground. Both tables still close to BBQ facilities.
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In keeping with the theme of colour, the design included a set of colourful wooden standing boards painted over with chalkboard paint. The intention of the boards being used as changing signs for children to draw, learn and act out traffic signals while using the track with small manual vehicles including scooters, bikes and roller blades. A sand pit with plywood edging was used to surround the track and aid as a padded surface should a child on a bike or running through fall down. The softfall rubber of the actual track also provided a soft landing in above said cases. Viola haderacea (Native Violet) was used as a groundcover, with soft shrubs and low plants with hints of colour including Dianelle revoluta ‘Little Rev’ (Blue Flax Lily) and Abutilon x hybridum (Chinese Lantern), while larger plants with bold colour including Strelitzea reginae (Birds of Paradise) lined the playground’s fenceline.
Awarded the
“2013 AILA Professional Practice Award for Excellence “ in the Landscape Architecture Professional Practice Course
Attention to Detail, Precision, Consideration
S SIZE
1/10 PUBLIC > PRIVATE
1/10 TOP-UP > BOTTOM-DOWN
Edinburgh Gardens (South End), Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia
Revised Drawings: Revisions to the existing Edingburgh Gardens South Playground Grading + Drainage Plan Drawings
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Left Top: Planting Plan drawing revisions Left Bottom: Surface Finishings drawing revisions Right Details: Details of Race Track Components and surfaces
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FROM MINE TO PLANTATION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF LOY YANG COAL MINE, LA TROBE VALLEY, AWAY FROM INDUSTRIAL-FOCUSED TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS SITE. (DRAWN IN SECTION, AXONOMETRIC AND PLAN)
COURSING THE DIVIDE
M. L.A. KARRES EN BRANDS A preconception of La Trobe Valley sees it as an energy resource for the sustenance of Greater Victoria. What this (mining) industry reveals about the landscape however, is more than simply a product. It has its own integrity, operating on a fine scale. This proposal seeks to bridge the disjunction between preconception and experience, achieved by moving you through bushland, industry, commerce, rural and urban landscapes. Latrobe valley is currently divided into the rural, urban and industrial. Coursing this divide will bring about interdependent communities and an appreciation of interstitial space, not usually recognised . A series of staged interventions and actions intend to operate stratigraphically, re-shaping the region.
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Power Station set to close, the towns of Morwell and Traralgon and Moe, respectively will lose not only their town’s source and income and ultimately their identity which they have been so dependent upon. Rather than leaving the mines left open in the ground or working to fill them up, the proposition of a sustainable, interactive and generative plantation project is able to redefine the mining landscape and return to the towns, a new identity - one that is not so dependent on industry, but one that is mutual and respected.
The processes of industry within the landscape are able to reveal ephemeral processes which can operate beyond a means of production. By actively engaging the stakeholders of industry and community, a partnership which is mutually beneficial can be formed. It considers the full complexity of site with a positive and moderated outcome.
The mines are open up to the public, which previously were cut-off and segregated from the community. Plantations with native trees of Eucalyptus regnans (Mountain Ash), Eucalyptus globulus (Blue Gum) and Pinus radiata (Radiata Pine) are used for their durability and fast growth rates to rejuvenate the soils, and are planted within the mines to provide new landscapes for the community to hike through and be used as a resource for the Australian Paper Mill, a less prominent but ongoing industry within La Trobe Valley. Each mine is given their own individual identity and character based on their physicality, radius to the town and experience.
In particular, the processes of paper-making and mining are fused together. With Hazelwood Power Station, Loy Yang Coal Mine and Yallourn
(Coursing the Divide was done as a group of three. All images and diagrams are of my own work and not those of my colleagues)
Town Identity, Revolutionizing Industry, Appropriation, Process, Re-Connection
L SIZE
5/10 PUBLIC > PRIVATE
8/10 TOP-UP > BOTTOM-DOWN
(Mines of) Morwell, Moe, Yallourn (Suburbs of) Morwell, Moe & Traralgon, La Trobe Valley, Victoria, Australia
EXISTING CONNECTIONS Equestrian Club Farmer’s Market
M P
H S T
Hiking Sports Rail Trail
PM Paper Mill Mining Connections
Recreational
t
Mine Plantation
Cooling Pondage
E FM
Equestrian Club
M P
Farmer’s Market
PM Paper Mill
H S T W
Hiking Sports
W
R
Walking Trail
U
University Cultural
Landfill I
Multi Cultural Community
U
University
Recycling
t
Mine Plantation
Tourism
Education
Transfer Station
C DC IP T
Proposed Research Facility
GW Green Waste
Transport
Rail Trail
Transfer Station
GW Green Waste
Industrial
CP
Education
Recycling
Industrial
Recreational E FM
W
Landfill
E
E-Waste Facility
Cultural
Proposed Transfer Station/Landfill
Multi Cultural Community Proposed Social Housing
I
Railway End
Chairlift Discovery Centre Industrial Park Tourist Attraction Proposed Social Housing
Railway Station
Rail Trail
Equestrian Club Farmer’s Market
M P
H S T
Hiking Sports Rail Trail
PM Paper Mill Mining Connections
Mine Plantation
Education
Recycling
Industrial
Recreational E FM
t
Transfer Station
U
University
GW Green Waste W
Cultural
Landfill I
Multi Cultural Community
U
University
PROPOSED CONNECTIONS Recreational Cooling Pondage
E FM
Equestrian Club
M P
Farmer’s Market
PM Paper Mill
H S T W
Hiking Sports Rail Trail Walking Trail Rail Trail
Recycling
Industrial
CP
Mine Plantation
Transport
R
Railway End
t
Transfer Station
Tourism
Education Proposed Research Facility
GW Green Waste W
Landfill
E
E-Waste Facility
Cultural
Proposed Transfer Station/Landfill
Multi Cultural Community Proposed Social Housing
I
C DC IP T
Chairlift Discovery Centre Industrial Park Tourist Attraction Proposed Social Housing
Railway Station
Before and After: Current connections of La Trobe Valley compared to proposed connections that give opportunity for social, economic and geographical connections with each of the towns, and changing each town’s identity from being something purely industrial to an identity of much greater variety. Main towns of Moe, Morwell and Traralgon are highlighted
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DISCOVERY CENTER
WATERFALL VIEWING
OPEN PARK
LOY YANG (TRARALGON) COAL MINE
YALLOURN (MOE 1. PLANTATION PROCESS
1.1 LOGGING
Appropriating Mines and Integrating Industry with Residential and Community: The Paper process - influenced by the closeness of the Australian Paper Mill (A.P.M.) within the La Trobe Valley is extracted and expanded upon the three main sites in an attempt to provide richness of nature and an exposure of industrial elements to the community. The processes are appropriated per each site’s geological and geographical features, resulting in mixed-use of sites, and particularly in the case of Hazelwood, a social setting is activated and explored.
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2. PULP & DE-INKING AT THE AUSTRALIAN PAPER MILL (A.P.M.)
PAPER IS PRODUCED
3.A INDUSTRIAL AERATION PROCESS (A.P.M.)
3.B APPROPRIATED AERATION PROC Depression
BUILT HIGHWAY
TO MELBOURNE
KLANDS
EXPLORATION THROUGH REGENERATIVE FORESTS
HAZELWOOD (MORWELL) POWER STATION
E) POWER STATION
PLANTATION PROCESS
RECYCLED Paper Water
D CESS
ALGAE IS PRODUCED Oxygen
UV Filter
PAPER IS PRODUCED 4. SEPARATION (A.P.M.) 5. PULP & DE-INKING (A.P.M.)
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PLASTER, FOOD DYE AND SALT. MODEL INVESTIGATIONS TO EXPLORE AND RE-WRITE CITY MOVEMENT
TOPOGRAPHIC INCURSIONS
M. L.A. RESEARCH SEMINAR “The theory of Chaos is one that easily contradicts itself. It is a science that tries to predict the behaviour of seemingly and inherently unpredictable systems. These systems are seen on a daily basis; the ability to self organise without a conscious knowledge of its surroundings. Fireflies are the most common example. On a given Summer’s night, fireflies land in a tree and their tail lights begin to pulse. These pulsations are irregular in comparison to each other and in accordance only to the individual. Suddenly, the pulsing is even, beating in time as if the tree itself is pulsating light energy. This is chaos. A random event that has an unseeable logic behind it; rules, perhaps inherent and programmed within. This logic is invisible and more often than not, seemingly void. In our cities today, there is a phenomenon in which, while buildings and roads are static (cannot
move), dynamic movement is present all along its surface. There are forces at work that define how people and vehicles move, where buildings are situated and how roads intertwine these constructed topographies. The following is a snippet of a series of investigation into these invisible forces through a relay of experiments and analyses back and forth between plaster experimentation and site observations in order to make sense of how dynamics can be used as a mechanism for redesigning cities. Can we propose a mechanism that is based on dynamics to allow for open-ended design that continue to re-write their rules and thus, create an ever-changing surface?”
Undetermined Movement, Appropriation, Derivation, Lexicon of Patterns
M SIZE
2/10 PUBLIC > PRIVATE
5/10 TOP-UP > BOTTOM-DOWN
Jolimont Railyard (Border of) Melbourne CBD & Richmond Victoria, Australia
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Dye Indicators: Sectional lines drawn from the seeping of dye through plaster model as a means of understanding how the surface is not always indicative of the underneath, in an attempt to redesign a city’s skyline and ground plane. (Plaster and Food Colouring)
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Above: Timelapse of Plaster model watching the undetermined effects of salt on dye and plaster Right: Sectional cuts through the model at areas where salt was dropped. Diagrammatic plan of the top of the model to understand the movement of dye
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Barriers/Attractor Space Spread of food dye.
Barriers/Attractor Found on spots of colour intensity.
Records through Time: Planar drawings of the final model, watching the influence of materials affecting the new layer forming on top. A movement language is created to add understanding to the drawings. Right: Sectional images of the final model as layers are added to each preceding. Sections are taken from the top of each layer to understand each preceding layer’s influence and then applied to real-time by appropriating to a city’s formation and development.
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New Barriers/Attractors Space Where two colours have mixed together showing a growth of barrier/attractor space
Dependent Movement Based on topography, dependent movement is now organised and therefore can be referred to as general movement for that particular surface.
General Movement Starting to become less linear and does not reach the full length of the site.
Hybrid Moments General + Barrier/Attractor At these cross overs, the general movement tends to change and the attractor acts as a pulling system.
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PARIS MODEL), DETAIL LASER CUT MDF BOARD
URBAN MAPPINGS
SELF-GUIDED EXPLORATION This exploration was inspired after the opportunity to travel to Paris as part of a family trip to Europe. Being amazed at the organisation of the city, being river-centric or with almost every road leading to the river, I decided to map it out myself with a laser cutter and mdf boards. The criteria of what was drawn included main roads and streets within the extent of the city, main roads leading out of the city and natural features of water bodies and parks. What came about was a nolli-style mapping that showed the geometry and heirarchy of a city, with the river as the almost life-source. What was also found was the distribution of large parks, being more abundant closer to the river. This was the second conclusion that came from the experiment and for me, a very large issue - the
distribution and ratio of natural parks in a city. Unfortunately, cities tend to lose their natural opportunities, being trapped within a concrete jungle. And it is this jungle which almost acts as the norm, for as when we come across a park, we are pleasantly surprised. For me this surprise was almost alarming, for it showed our disconnection with the natural elements. Our cities should not be so homogenous in built landscapes (buildings and establishments), nor should they contain large but very few parks. Rather, cities should attempt to find new ways of incorporating the natural features whether it be wider nature strips with denser plantings or more pocket parks spread throughout the city. The same criteria and new mindset was applied to the making of the Vienna model to test my theories and see how other cities were planned.
Contrast of Open Spaces, City Organistion, Nolli Mapping
S-L SIZE
N/A PUBLIC > PRIVATE
N/A TOP-UP > BOTTOM-DOWN
Jolimont Railyard (Border of) Melbourne CBD & Richmond Victoria, Australia
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Clockwise from Top: 1. Vienna from above 2. Canal Detail 3. Detailing of etched lines and open park spaces 4. Paris from above
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