SECOND HAND INTENSIVE ELECTIVE FLORES & PRATS DONG WOO (DANNY) KWAK S3278341
CONTENTS
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
00/ THE FIRST DAY
The impetus of the studio was defined by the emphasis given to Observation from the very commencement of the week. The site was thoroughly experienced over a duration of hours, and groups were asked to choose a particular fragment of the site that interested them. Negating the usual design process of using technology to discover the ontology of site, we were directed to use only pen, paper and ruler to obtain accurate measurements of the site and recordings of both the quantifiable and immaterial.
INVESTIGATIONS
The wool factory occupies a traditional warehouse structure upheld with a fundamental steel portal frame. The silhouette of the facade is shown in a combination of various inconsistent geometries inferring that the building has been through several construction and reconstruction stages. The newer warehouse building sitting adjacent to the older structure remained a laneway for loading goods to trucks. The level is raised to fit the height of the truck; though the openings have now been obstructed with timber planks and plastic, restricting vehicular movement. The frosted glazing allows for natural daylight to filter through, yet provides a notion of privacy to the visitors.
POINTS OF INTEREST ON SITE. LEFT SHOWS DETAILS ON EXTERNAL BUILDING. DETERIORATION, REMOVAL OF BRICKWORK TO ALLOW FOR INSERTION OF SERVICES. SECURITY WINDOWS. RIGHT. THE CONNECTIONS OF ORIGINAL FRAMEWORK, WINDOW ENCASINGS, PAINTWORK, UNUSED PIPES, FLOOR TRUSSES, HANGS FOR BALLET STORE GE. HOW DO YOU CAPTURE THIS HISTORY WITHIN THE PROPOSAL?
CHOSEN FRAGMENT
PLAN 1:20
PLAN 1:50
ELEVATIONS 1:20
SECTION 1:20
SECTION 1:50
Observations of the surrounding context from the Second Day:
02/ THE SECOND DAY
Wool Building: Almost one domestic house scales into this building The warehouse communicates and advertises its own function. Facades are different in scale; windows are different in scale, size, appearance, material.
Second Warehouse: Occupies a liminal scale; neither here or there; neither domestic, nor industrial Three disjunct pieces to the building. Warehouse does not participate directly to the street; enclave; one closed continuous brick facade; almost mute, silent; a real storage facility. Trinkets found at the warehouse seemed to encapsulate the context around it in what we deemed as a ‘freeze-frame’ or ‘time capsule’. The attitudes of the mechanics and tradies seemed to be ‘as found’ and had an ephemerality to its existence in the warehouse. Neighbourhood: Human scale, domestic scale.
BUILDING 1 STRUCTURAL VIEWS OF ATRIUM AND ATTIC SPACE. THE EXPOSURE OF THE IRON AND COLOURING OF THE BEAMS, COLUMNS AND TRUSSES. THIS PROVIDE POTENTIAL OF INSERTED PROGRAMME. LIGHT FILLS THE SPACE THROUGH SOUTH FACING CEILING WINDOWS.
BUILDING 2 INTERNAL. A FORMER MECHANICS SHOP, WE SEE THE MEMORY OF FORMER ACTIVITIES, WALLS USED A BOARDS FOR POSTERS AND MAGAZINE CLIPPINGS. MAKESHIFT OFFICE SPACES AND UNUSED MATERIALS
AS FOUND OBJECTS
The contradiction was made heavily evident in the welcoming body language of the gatekeeper Vern and dance lobby receptionist, and our ultimate rejection in accessing any of the inner areas of the building. Thus, the illusion of openness is a veil for exclusivity, and the relationship between private and public becomes contradictary. This subsequently changed how occupants used the building, with workers carrying keys to open doors across the corridor, loitering in empty cubicles, or pretending to be busy when asked for access, turning hostile. We discovered several holes around the site that were the by-product of deteriorating services inlays. With restricted access to the site, these peepholes gave us information needed regarding the internal spaces behind the walls.
03/ THE THIRD DAY
With further observation and interaction with the occupants on and around the site, we gradually came to realise that the privacy of the site was rather conditional. Although seemingly a publicly and easily accessible building, we found ourselves squandering to penetrate the brick walls which separated the corridor from interior. This ultimately hints at the flow between the building, as walls and floors have been demolished to make way for new occupiable space. As such, privacy between void and wall, and between owner and trespasser becomes a social system of hindrance.
UNPACKING SITE OBSERVATIONS TO DETERMINE POINTS OF INTEREST AND PROPOSED INSERT
PETER ZUMTHOR - THE THERMAL VALS
BATHHOUSE
DOCUMENTATION OF MODEL MAKING. OUR AREA OF INTEREST IN THE ALLEY OPENING INTO THE BUILDING. WE ARE CAPTURING THE TRANSITION FROM ONE BUILDING TO THE OTHER, THROUGH THE ALLEYWAY. ACTIVATING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TWO ENTITIES.
DESIGN
OUTCOME
SITE AND CONTEXT COLLAGE. WE WERE INTERESTED IN CAPTURING THE EXISTING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE FOUND ARCHITECTURE. TROUGH GENERATIONS OF REUSE THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURAL SUPPORT REMAINS VISIBLE THROUGHOUT. NEW PROGRAMMES ARE INSERTED WITHIN THE EXITING FRAMEWORK. THIS IS HIGHLIGHTED BY CONTRAST OF RED AND MONOCHROME.
WE PROPOSE OPENING THE EXISTING ATRIUM TO INSERT A LEISURE CENTRE. THIS WILL INCLUDE LAP POOLS AND TERRACED BATHTUBS ALONG THE NORTH INTERNAL FACADE. POOL LANES ARE INSERTED BETWEEN STRUCTURAL GRID AS NOT DISTURB THE EXISTING STRUCTURE. A RED SCREEN MANEUVERS THROUGH COLUMNS TO SET UP A DIVIDE BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PIRATE SPACE, ACROSS THE ALLEYWAY WILL BE A CAFE TO FURTHER THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BUILDING THROUGH THE ALLEYWAY. MODEL SCALE 1:50
reflection The key teachings from Studio Second Hand were observation, as found, and fragment, urban artefact. By observing built architecture we can understand not only what the building is made up of, but what has happened through time and its consequences. These consequences may generate fragments and despite its physical attributes, a new design may be generated that belongs to the wider scale. However, all these can only be done by practicing the abovementioned observation. The former wool warehouse of ‘Young Husband’ has been transformed to a point where only in the façade, thick brick wall, portrays the former identity of a warehouse. Though time, it housed many different programs, underground cinema, cabaret, a ballet school and their dress wardrobe etc. nowadays; there is no one owner of the large building but variety of small businesses tucked away in corners of the site. By observing the existing condition, we can notice the former truck passage has transformed itself into interface between different private sectors. Without using any walls or enclosure, this bluestone void has become the shared space within Young Husband building. This space originally was dedicated only to passing trucks only being interacted for loading/unloading goods became the go to place for a break in natural sunlight or starting a conversation with others, transformed into a social space like small lanes in medieval towns. This is why we decided to choose this space with much nontangible architectural qualities to document and take fragments. By documenting thoroughly of the chosen sector, we found this narrow zone was actually the connecting element allowing circulation of people and nature as well as reaching outside the site boundary and allowing outsiders to come in. Our decision for a concept design was to utilise this ability of connection and augmenting it by designing a bath house and a pool, concession program of a café to the adjacent building. Using the quality of water as equalising element to connect the inhabitants and outsiders as well as the building itself, ultimately creating a relationship. The key in our concept was to make people walk into the middle of the site to access this body of water which is visible from outside. Our aim is to welcome the outsiders and blend into the existing condition. The water respects the warehouse building as it utilises the grid columns and beams to create a lap pool and enables circulation to the mezzanine, preserving the heritage building feature and activating unused space. Again the design was able to be formed because of the observation and understanding the ‘as found’ condition. Then finding the fragments which led to somewhat alienated program that fits into the existing condition.