Earth
Europe
Albania
In dealing with urban design one of the first issues that arises is the ma er of circula on. Cirucla on through a city, be it by foot or by car is vital to the func oning of a city. It becomes the job, therefor of architects to ensure that their design can permit an efficient path of mo on through a design. This is relivant to the site of Durres, as in Lulishte Center mutliple uses surround a plaza, one that can be home to the majority of foot traffic in the city. Major roads exist on either side of this plaza as well carrying the majority of the traffic in the area. Residen al, religions, touris c and administra ve building dot much of the site so finding ways to direct traffic in any par cular direc on becomes cru al. Thus the precedant of Wynyard walk and its affec veness as a cirula on aid in a busy part of Sydney. The interest to Wynyard Walk coems from its solu on of not building up, but through, taking an otherwise inconveniate walk way for patrons and drawing an easier path in the map. The map below address with yellow dots points of major interest on the site. Typical des na ons for those walking through the city. To historically make this trip one must cut through
bust intersec ons which themselves posses large amount of urban traffic. A walk way did exist, but it featured mul ple eleva ons and was not convenient. On the second page we see how Wood Bagot thought to simply cut through the urban site, crea ng a mixed above and below gound walkway, that could affec vely take the majority of pedestrians that would walk through the site. The aesthe c of this design also represents a similar “break” from the urban fabric. The usage of curves and waves create a different feel than walking through a city where you see nothing more than the edges of large glass structures. While visual interes ng, conceptually it compound the main focus of this design. All this lends itself to how such a project could inform my own. The issue of cirulaon and disrup on of the plaza could be averted, by simply building under it. This project relates in a way to the Chauvet cave analysis, as both make use of organic forms and shapes, but also in terms of organiza on. When dealing with a city, it is important not only to view it topically, but also what can happen under the surface.
Circumven ng dense traďŹƒc and provide a straight line path through the city of Sydney was a task not dissimilar to my design and my desire to circumvent the intersec on of vehicular and pedestrian traďŹƒc across Sheshi Liria
China Pavilion Milan Expo 2015 Tsinghua University + Studio Link-Arc
In the case of the China Pavilion I found a design that while smaller than my program, it accomplished several key tasks I hope to as well in my design. I am o en fascinated moreso by a building’s total composure and the way it makes me feel through the whole of its being. The China Pavillion is an interes ng design to look at. The great expressive wave through its roof creates a stark contrast with the surround urban context. The typical extruded box or rectangle is avoided in favor of curved wood framing. As the China Pavilion, the building served as a contrast to many things typical to a cultural pavilion. As the architects themselves described it, they saw their pavilion as a field of spaces. The composi on of the building was taking separate gallery and patron spaces and link them through a “field”. The undula ng roof serves to represent a cloud hovering over the fields below. Those fields were symbolized through fields of wheat
that accompanies mul media installa ons in the gallery spaces. The building is thus a single field of spaces to explore, linked only by the roof. What makes this successful is the ability of it to work on mul ple levels providing those within it a unique experience as they travel through the spaces in this “Land of Hope.” The pavilion provides a vast exterior atrium that feeds into the themed exhibi on spaces, each providing a new experience for viewers. There is a combina on of visual, tac le and atmospheric experiences through the design, a feature that I hope to use similarly in my design. Through cra ing different experiences, audiences can be er iden fy differences between spaces and appreciate on an individual level what each gallery provides. In the case of the China Pavilion it is the details of the history of different provinces of China.
Give equal experience above and below ground Making full use of the site, the programmatic spaces will be split evenly above and below ground to allow make both levels equally important. Upon ďŹ nal development of the program, the below ground spaces will fall within plus or minus ten percent of the above ground spaces.
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5 An issue that arose over time was the sporadic urban constructed that happened in Durres over the past few decades. With that, Durres larger, and this site more specďŹ cially can at times feel disjointed. A performance requirement with that becomes to create a visual and conceptual connection throughout the program. To do this constant sculptural forms will be used to link external spaces.
With the context providng a great supply of interesting history, there is not a great deal that singularly uniďŹ es the site at any point. Such a visual or sculptural element would work well to create an atmosphere of hollowed ground, that this place and its history is important. As such a requirment will be to use the central position of the plaza to feature a monument reprentative of the whole project.
A common thread with this project is the history of the site. In terms of the lack of focus seen on the site, creating monuments or forms that show the history of the site in a conceptual way.
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To avoid bogging down patrons with just the musuem and its length across the site, the musuem’s program will feature spaces mean speciďŹ cally for patrons. At every phase of the msuem where it transitions to another gallery, patron spaces, like cafes and reading areas, will be provided.
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