The Arts Block | Design 3A Portfolio by Anthony Richardson

the arts block srd363 design 3a anthony richardson id | 213151412

contents 01

introduction

workshop 01 | urban + site analysis

workshop 02 | precedents study

initial concept

concept development

interim review

design development

workshop 03 | sectional study

final review

reflection

01 introduction

the brief the brief for artifex:fabrica was to design a scheme for a multi-use building for a predetermined client within an existing urban environment. The project includes a studio, residence and gallery for five artists, with a focus on architecture and place. while not recognised today, the area once stood as the centrepiece in geelong’s theatrical heart with three theatres, the geelong theature, the regent theatre and the corio theatre.

storage area (for art work)

100m²

total area (approximate) 425m²

‘exhibit’ component

a public exhibition space in which the resident artists may display their works

the project includes a number of uses and elements, and must include the following spaces and components....

‘dwell’ component

total area (approximate) 650m²

a residence for 5 artists - each no more than 40m² in area

the residence must be of a compact size that suits the urban context for which you are designing. there will be five permanent artist’ residents to be accommodated on site. the arts will live on site for any period up to 6 months at any time, therefore the dwellings must feel like ‘home’ whilst remaining appropriately scaled for the urban context. secure bicycle storage unit - for up to 15 bicycles. the artits staying at the ‘fabrica’ will not require motorised transport. instead, the requirement is to provide space for up to 15 bicycles in secure storage.

public exhibition space (for 100 people) 500m² storage space (furniture, signage, etc) 50m² reception / lobby / public entry 50m² public amenities (restrooms, cloak room, etc)

the exhibition gallery must be a space or spaces to exhibit the work of the resident artists for the period that they are in residence. the gallery is a public use typology, but should be considered how the public interfaces with it as an entity. the site is approximately 5,140m², with the total area approximately of the uses being 1,300m².

total area (approximate) 225m²

‘create’ component

a studio space in which the resident artists can develop their works administration area and/or office 25m² meeting or conference room 50m² workstations/computing facilities 50m² functional workshop area (well ventiliated) 100m² open working area 100m² http://2.bp.blogspot.com/

the clients the following artists will form the first residents in the ‘fabrica’. the residences must be designed according to each of the artist’s profiles, taking into account their style, personality traits, working habits, influences and artistic direction.

thomas mckenzie

shari wales

william jeffrey

yuka lee

martin smith

thomas is an artist specialising in traditional landscape oil paintings. hailing from the gippsland region, most of thomas’ work has revolved around the subject of the picturesque coastline along bass strait. thomas is begging to establish a reputation for his fine technique, which often involves the celebration of the natural ecologies of victoria’s southernmost rugged coastline. thomas has come to geelong as part of his personal study tour to paint the south-west coast. he enjoys surfing, reading, cooking for his friends and has generally a very outgoing personality. thomas’ paintings range in size, from 300x300mm pieces to 2x1m canvases. he usually produces one canvas per week, when in fully effective production mode.

shari is a wood sculptor. she is currently on a working holiday in australia and has landed in geelong to complete a commission for a local school’s new campus, which has just been built in the region. naturally, shari enjoys most forms of art but relishes working one-on-one with the community on projects that will enhance their sense of pride by celebrating their culture and history. shari loves collaborating with other artists, even if it just a quick over a cup of tea. her work ranges in size according to the availability of timber resources, but does not tend to exceed an approximate volume of 10m³.

billy is a qualified graphic designer who has earned a name for himself as one of sydney’s most prolific street artist. billy is in geelong to complete a number of commissions for local council, including the painting of some large-scale murals. he is staying at the ‘fabrica’ to take advantage of the access to a studio and to be amongst other artists where he hopes to develop some new ideas for his artwork. billy works mainly in ‘paste-up’ medium, often printing his art onto paper and using a special wheat paste to attach it to walls. he is hoping to work on some new compositions whilst in residence.

yuka is an illustrator from japan who is in geelong on a teaching exchange for several months. her position at one of the local high schools will see her teaching media and visual communication students about the basics of illustration. while yuka is here she plans to work on her latest project, a book compiling the last decade of her career as an anime cartoonist. yuka is an introvert, who likes to contemplate her work in private. she is often compelled to sketch at night, being inspired by the stars in the night sky. working with others in a common space is something she is not adverse to doing, but does highly value her own private space, even in an open plan area.

martin is a mixed-media portraitist. he is in town on a sabbatical from his regular job in the uk. martin is an expat, and having been raised on the bellarine peninsula, he is practically a local. martin is classically trained and began his career using oils and acrylics, but has developed his composition technique to include many other mediums including paper, card, gold and silver leaf as well as natural materials such as timber and straw. martin is a very outgoing person, willing to learn about art styles and techniques and collaborate quite spontaneously in the studio environment.

the oil painter

the sculptor

the street artist

the illustrator

the portraitist

site photos

the site the site is located in the heart of the cbd of geelong, with three street frontages; - little malop st - yarra st - ryrie st the site is approximately 5,140mÂ˛ with an unusual boundary line which encompasses several different buildings including centrepoint arcade, victoria fitness academy and a couple smaller businesses.

first impression the visited the site twice at two major times, midday and at night time, and both yielded some similar but also different results in terms of a first impression. the site, regardless of the time of day, has a very weak presence in the urban context and doesn’t leave a mark on you to make you want to return. it doesn’t make you go ‘oh wow’ or even take a photo to remember it. to be honest it is a very under whelming site. there isn’t a real sense of safety when visiting the site, particularly on little malop st, and at night time much of the area is poorly lit you are taken over with a constant feeling of vulnerability. the nearby bus stop down the end of little malop st can cause a gathering of “less desirable characters” to hover around the area, making it uneasy for people to properly enjoy the mall. while there are quite a few negatives, the positives are quite notable and exciting to explore such as the strong pedestrian-focused little malop st with its wide footpaths, tree lined street and nice material choice under your feet, it really creates a place where you want a strong focus to be on. ryrie st is also good in that it has a strong foot traffic and would most likely be the main source in where you bring people into the site. although at first look yarra st is rather bland, the street is apart of a greater scheme to redevelop and with yarra st having the longest street frontage of the site this opens up for great potential. overall the site at first glance may not appear great or amazing, but when you start to consider the potential and possibilities, the future and what it could be, then the site starts to become more attractive. issues like security, safety, presence, place and pride in the area can be solved through good architecture, so while it may not be present now it could be if the site is done right.

02 workshop 1 | urban + site analysis

figure ground analysis the figure ground analysis produced some interesting results and highlighted some poor qualities which could be addressed throughout the project. as with most cbds you expect density, which means plenty of black space, however comparing to a melbourne or a sydney, geelong is nowhere near dense enough to have a similar effect. in saying that, there are some spots with large amount of white spaces which someone may interpret as “open space” however if you were to overlay this map with an aerial view you’d see that the “open space” is merely car parking and not for humans to enjoy. the outskirts of the cbd has the true open space with johnstone park, the waterfront precinct and austin park, however in the actual cbd there is a lacking of greenery for dwellers to experience.

building use analysis itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no surprise that the cbd consists primarily of commercial use, with retail focused around the two main shopping centres (westfield and market square) and down moorabool st which is another major road in geelong. there are some civic and special use buildings sparsely located (with the hospital taking up a couple blocks). cafes and restaurants are well diverse throughout the cbd (the map may not have picked up every single cafe, restaurant or eatery) which makes the area a great cultural place with plenty of places to meet with friends/family. these cafes/ restaurants/eateries are usually around laneways or smaller streets, however still face some of the major streets such as ryrie and yarra.

building height analysis geelong has a rather low city centre with the tallest buildings being somewhere around 4-6 storeys, with 2 storey buildings mostly dominating the cbd. the two main shopping centres are more dominating with approximately 3 storeys, and some of the taller buildings on the corner of major streets or towards the edge of the cbd (such as the geelong hospital and the tac building). itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understandable that the cbd is full of 2 storey buildings given the period the city was built in, with a rather stagnate progression of construction in the city which leaves it low, which very well suits the â&#x20AC;&#x153;regional cityâ&#x20AC;? tag geelong has attached it and a 30 storey building may not fit well contextually. planning has also restricted heights to 30m (approximately 7-8 storeys) and can not block views to the church from certain points.

site model the site model (built by other members in the group) allowed us to visually see the scale, massing and space of the site and surrounding blocks. the fall of the land was also made clear through the model and were able to easily view the site without being distracted by the detailing of the buildings where scale was more important than the type of window or parapet.

03 workshop 2 | precedents study

house at matsubara architects | atelier hako architects location | matsubara, setagaya, tokyo, japan area | 86mÂ˛ year | 2011 features | - tiny corner lot - kitchen, bathroom, storage to north and living areas to south - lot of built-in storage such as shelving program | - garage + bathroom on ground floor - living + kitchen + dining on next level - bedroom, storage + terrace on upper level with more storage above - terrace has no roof, open to the sky material + structure | - mainly white interior with timber stairs and black window frames breaking it up - the construction method is unknown but the exterior is finished in black cladding. I chose this precedent to study due to its small site coverage and area. as well as the formal layout of the dwelling is intriguing. What I particularly like about the house at matsubara is how well considered each area is and the design takes advantage of the volume as well (through the use of the small study space). I feel as though if the wall separating the kitchen from the living/dining were removed and be more open plan, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be an even greater sense of space on that level. what I may take from this dwelling and apply it to my own is the multi-level design for the residents, by perhaps separating living from sleeping not through walls but through volumes and levels.

study space

storage

terrace

living

terrace bedroom

bathroom garage

section | 1:50 upper floor plan | 1:50

dovecote studio architects | haworth tompkins location | snape maltings [music campus] area | ?? year | ?? features | - corten steel shell lifted into place as whole - nestled within ruins of another building - flexible in its use program | - studio - kitchen - storage - mezzanine level material + structure | - corten weathering steel cladding - plywood internal lining this precedent was chosen for a couple key reasons, one was the simple small open space which was flexible in its actual use. and two, the idea of creating a space within a ruin of an old building, connecting to the history but also providing a space where new history could be made I found to be quite appealing. probably the thing I like most about the project is the simplicity inside the studio in terms of detailing and lining with plywood which gives a nice warmth. one thing I dislike about the project is the lack of detailing for window placement, where in the ruins you have two openings however the new studio didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take advantage and put windows to look out of the ruins. however, the part Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll draw my most inspiration from will be the simplicity inside the space and the basic layout, and apply that to my studios in the project.

mezzanine

entry

main floor plan | 1:50

ruins

kitchen mezzanine above

studio

kitchen

section | 1:50

buda art centre architects | 51n4e location | kortrijk, belgium area | 4,240m² year | 2012 features | - biggest part of the structure is re-used - two pentagons, one as an entry pavilion, the other hollows out the building internally - wide range of uses program | - laboratory for manufacturing - multifunctional space - music venue - roof terrace - exhibition space for artists material + structure | - pavilion from recycled yellow brick - re-used much of the existing structure this building had a few good reasons to be chosen as a precedent for my project, which included incorporating a wide range of functions in the one building, adaptive re-use and the material palette and the rather “raw” interiors. parts of the centre I really liked were the pavilion, the large void which connected the levels and the materials used throughout. there’s not much I dislike about the project, everyone was done so well. the inspiration I have drawn from this building does involve the entrance pavilion, large volumes with voids and a rather “raw” palette. in terms of a gallery/exhibition space, volume and the materiality is rather crucial and by adopting similar ideas from this project to apply to my own, it can create a rather pleasant space.

entry pavilion

large void area

section | not to scale

ground floor plan | 1:250

04 initial concept

the initial idea the initial concept revolved around open space throughout the site, for public use with some private for residences. while undertaking the urban block analysis I was soon discovering how little open space there is in the cbd, besides the waterfront precinct, johnstone park and austin park (which are all on the edge of the cbd) there is very little in the actual cbd. with little malop st potentially being a great pedestrian activated street frontage, and ryrie st being a bustling street as it is, I wanted to connect these two streets with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;greenâ&#x20AC;? corridor which would have grass, paving, trees and seating. a second link would come from yarra st and intersect with the main corridor, with the buildings filling in the space in between. the design wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t based around an architectural idea or form, but rather a more urban design, urban block approach.

yarra street

little malop street

ryrie street

05 concept development

shifting and moving the design idea started to shift and move forward from the initial concept of two green corridors and more towards a larger courtyard/forecourt arrangement with the main public uses backing onto this space. the courtyard would allow for a place of meeting, relaxation, entertainment (through acts and performances) and even work.

public square a public square with amiptheatre style seating was the next phase of design development, where the public could view sporting events, news, major events, movies and the like. behind and underneath the seating would be standard shops for rent, however I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really sold on the idea of having a large dedicated seating arrangement for any viewing area.

the yard + hub I started to develop some ideas besides the open space which included starting to expand the design beyond the brief and turning the site into geelongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arts hub with flexible spaces to accommodate the ever-changing artists coming through. the courtyard would shift focus from being an urban outdoor space to a place where artists could effectively work outside without worries. the courtyard would simply be known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the yardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with some grass, compacted gravel and the open space for work benches to experiment with art on a larger scale. the hub would accommodate more types of art including film, music, digital, architecture and more, to go with the painters, sculptors, street artist and illustrator. a pavilion now being added which acts as a secondary gallery space, or a market place, or an exhibition area, however the artists want to use it. the main gallery features drop-down walls which have the ability to rotate, allowing a huge variety in floor plan layouts for galleries/exhibitions where you can have all walls down for a full-on painting exhibition, or have all walls up for a large open area or have some up and some down for a mixture (which would be typical).

the grid while I was laying out the site in basic blocks and started to measure to get areas I noticed that a 5m x 5m grid system seemed to fit pretty well into these areas. by using the grid I could easily designate where structure would go, functions and ensure it would all be straightforward.

the residences the residences would be just a square box, breaking the 5x5m grid and being 6x6m (36mÂ˛ total) with plumbing at the entry. the main area has a wall, which rotates (like the gallery walls) which has the bed attached and a base for basic living (eg couch) and by rotating you (as the resident) can decide how you want your space orientated. for example on a hot summer day you can rotate the room so the living is on the south during the day and in the cool. or if you want to lay in bed all day and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a nice sunny winters day, you can rotate the room so the bed gets plenty of northern sun exposure. this allows the artists to really personalise their living, and adapt to the area. it gives a strong flexibility in the continuous use of the dwellings and perhaps a new model of housing in general when we are able to make the space orientate the way we like based on personal preference and dayto-day weather conditions.

the facades the facades (besides little malop st) would be a plywood panel with perforations in to generate a pattern, and behind these panels would be a series of leds that would light up. during the day you get this wonderful plywood facade with these patterns, and at night the shadows and lighting effect would be something entirely different. the design of the perforated patterns wouldn’t be up to me, but rather it becomes a whole new art form on its own, with artists coming in and “buying” a panel or two. using software and a laser cutter in the studio they can create their own facade, and every 6 months, panels would be taken down with new ones put up in their place. so one exhibition someone may come and marvel at the facade, but in 8 months time when there’s a new exhibition (and new facade), this visitor will be shocked and able to appreciate the new facade artwork. a heritage overlay on the little malop st facade, trying to work it into the design that fits with plywood was difficult until I had an idea. what if I was to generate a file that had the little malop st facade in perforation form, so although the original facade may be knocked down a new plywood one would go up and still reference it, only with holes and lighting behind it. this would bring the old facade into modern times, and if a panel was to get damaged you could easily just cut a replacement.

06 interim review

07 design development

expanding the grid where there was a 5x5m grid for each building previously, they were separated, however with the new arts block design, the 5x5m grid is laid out across the entire site. the buildings then align and speak to each other, being together on the same grid, which also effected the courtyard space and could become a reference point for users.... â&#x20AC;&#x153;meet me at d9â&#x20AC;?

facade treatment where in my previous design I had interchangeable plywood perforated panels, here I wanted something a bit more grounded and permanent as I did get some feedback a week after the reviewer that I gave the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too much freedom and a lot of artists need to be grounded and structured to work more effectively. I wanted to remain true to three materials, steel (structure), glass and timber, so timber panels and louvres were to be the main cladding. I wanted my louvres so that an artist could paste up their image onto it, and when closed (and protecting the interior) you can see the art (would be on little malop st and the studio facing into the courtyard), but when open it would create this distorted affect on the image and generate a whole new image. where the glass faces east and west, timber battens (vertically) would be installed assisting in blocking out the harsher suns.

08 workshop 3 | sectional study

09 final review

10 reflection

the project

the design

I found the project to be the most interesting one to date (including my tafe years) as it looked at a wide range of issues at both an architectural and urban design scale. the site itself was a challenge with not only the odd shape, but also the fall/slope (and having the entire site accessible for all), the large area compared to the program required area and issues such as overshadowing .

my tutor really pushed me this trimester in terms of design, and wasn’t afraid to tell me my design needed more work. from the very start I wanted to explore the outdoor spaces in relation to the gallery, studio, streets but more importantly the city as a whole. I feel this is evident throughout my design process and development and with the help from my tutor I am quite pleased with the way the outdoor spaces ended up.

I enjoyed exploring more the urban design and engagement with the city, whether it was through street elevations, entry points or even the outdoor space.

the experience this trimester has certainly been hectic, understandably with design being a two-credit subject, but even comparing to 2b (another two-credit but group work) it was more intense. some weeks were certainly tougher than others. sadly I did push myself too harder and the final weeks of the trimester I burnt out, which did make it difficult getting ready for final review when I had no energy. there were some late nights, all-nighters and tired eyes during this project, however in an overall sense its been enjoyable.. my tutor (scott eldridge) has been extremely helpful with his ideas, advice, wise words but more so just him questioning everything I did. I also had some engagement with sok and felt he was very helpful as well with his advice and ideas. one thing I did find disappointing throughout the trimester was the lack of student engagement, with many of them going into their own bubble during studio, and then not returning to studio until the following week, it made it difficult to collaborate with one another, something I feel is quite valuable.

the gallery is a building I was extremely happy with the end result, and while some details and spaces would need further development and refining, as a whole it is a space I am proud of. the drop-down walls are easily my favourite part of the design of the gallery, but the entire space with the two-levels, the void, small galleries, the facade and structure sits well with me. the pavilion is another part of the design I am proud of, although not part of the original brief it was a structure that formed from my ever-changing thought process. I felt it created a nice entry point from ryrie st, but also could work as a structure on its own. if I was to choose a favourite between interim-pavilion (with drop down walls similar to the gallery) or final-pavilion (just open with timber battens), I’d go with the final-pavilion. I like the idea of it just being open, not fully enclosed (even sections of the roof are “missing”) and being off from the geelong advertiser it sits much better in the street. in terms of the grid system I incorporated into the entire site, that was something I am glad I did as it allowed the layouts to be mapped out easily. It also gave me the opportunity to work out a facade that fitted into the grid and it also went deeper and allowed the buildings to connect and “talk” to one another. one of the more positive responses I received at final review was that the ground plane of the external areas were designed/thought about, and that is because of the grid layout but also a couple tutors encouraging to follow the grid outside into the courtyard.

look for me on instagram for a photo journey @ant_richo

#archilife #artifexfabrica #3a #theartsblock