MArch application portfolio

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Jonathan Michael Davies

Bachelor of Design in Architecture with Honours First Class & University Medal (Allied Arts in Architecture)



Index Centre for Hydroponics - Venice

02.

Campus Redevelopment - APHS, Parramatta

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Accommodating Permaculture - Woolloomooloo

06.

Re-Naturing Spaces - La Perouse

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Theatre of the Experiential - Prague

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11. 12. 14. 15.

3DS Max, AutoCAD, Photoshop + AutoCAD. Semester 2, 2008.

ArchiCAD, Photoshop + physical modelling. Semester 1, 2009.

ArchiCAD, Photoshop + physical modelling. Semester 2, 2009.

ArchiCAD, Photoshop + physical modelling. Semester 1, 2010. ArchiCAD, Photoshop + physical modelling. Semester 2, 2010. confronting the silhouette vivisection programmatic axonometric exploded axonometric

Scout Hall Redevelopment - North Epping

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The Seagull - Chekhov’s Existential Sobriety and Experiential Subjectivity

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19. 20. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

ArchiCAD, Photoshop + physical modelling. Semester 2, 2010.

ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Rhinocerous + physical modelling. 2011. site plan development of St Michael’s College circulatory axonometric the path of the ‘knight of faith’ studies of illumination constructional axonometric unfolded section of the intervention

01.


Centre for Hydroponics - Venice The nature of this project was entirely open; provided with a city for context, one simply had to justify the choice of program. Identifying an absence of arable land and low levels of local agriculture within Venice, I chose to direct my project along sustainable lines. To re-engage Venetians with a form of permaculture suited to their city, I proposed the development of a hydroponic centre that would simultaneously grow fresh produce and filter the lagoon’s water.

Site plan.

South elevation.

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Site section.

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Campus Redevelopment - APHS, Parramatta Redeveloping a high school campus involved consultation with staff and students to ensure the precedent of social sustainability: to respond to the real needs of the school, we had to establish a dialogue with its population. I identified the need for an academic and social hub for the school, developing a design proposal for a library to define the campus entrance and provide flexible teaching and social spaces. Introspectively designed around a central courtyard, the library was programmed to function as a repository for the school’s academic materials, provide a technologically capable learning space, and create a flexible volume that could attract investment and support from the local community.

04.


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Accommodating Permaculture - Woolloomooloo This co-housing brief demanded the integration of a useful community space into a residential development accommodating three families with very different needs. My primary concern was to create the chance for sustainable, community-based initiatives, introducing communal allotments and a space to host produce markets. The residential component of the project was designed around this ‘green corridor,’ representing a combination of hyper-rationalised solar geometry and site access to ensure success of the communal garden whilst providing comfortable, adaptable accommodation that suited the eclectic families.

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Re-Natured Spaces - La Perouse Presented with a site that was both culturally sensitive, a sacred site and graveyard to indigenous Australians, and unspoilt by human habitation was a challenge of contradiction: that it should be developed to service a golf course (with an existing, perfectly adequate, clubhouse) was insulting. Convinced the brief was inadequate, I - with the encouragement of my tutor - developed my own response to the site. The emphasis was to be put on the journey of an individual from land to ocean, from the security of the manicured artefact of the golf course to the ferocity of the ocean. A path was mapped that would draw golfers from their clubhouse, quitting the course and crossing the dunes; traversing rocky coastal cliffs, the path suddenly descends into a crevasse. Amplified by the structure inserted into the fissure, the crashing of waves on the rocks bellows through this narrow passageway. The structure itself contrasts the cliffs: a continuous plane of concrete, treated to appear chalk-white, it glows against the black-stained sandstone. Suspended from the artifice, the pathway goes on; hugging the wall of the structure, waves crashing below, it continues into a precarious cantilever that projects over the tempestuous sea. Circulation folds back on itself, the path to the entrance cutting through the structure and skirting the cliff face on the opposite side before delivering patrons to the interior. Every motion has been conceived to emphasise the powerful beauty of the ocean and the unsuitability of this land for development.

08.


09.


Theatre of the Experiential - Prague My concept was the process of dissection as a form of reconciliation between an individual and mass; a device to reveal unknown secrets about one’s own body by association with the corpse of another human (formerly known as ‘being’) rather than purely objective scientific study of dead tissues. Experiential demands dictated crafting moments, constructed scenes of intimate interaction, that facilitated a projection of one’s self into the dissection. Through these architectural interventions - an entrance that passes through the silhouette of the cadaver, timber scaffold that simultaneously demonstrates the individual and the collective structure, mirrored glazing that visually places one’s self within the mass - one is confronted by the anonymity of death and the loss of individuality. The architecture of the spectacle thus allows for the play between the anatomy of the individual and the mass, the definition of unique bodies and aggregate forms, of elements and constructions. It choreographs human interaction and creates a theatre in which one can experience the anatomical, the confrontational, and the philosophical.

Context plan.

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11.




An axonometric depicting the circulation and programmed volumes within the cathedral.

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An exploded axonometric that demonstrates the layout of the theatre of the anatomy.

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Scout Hall Redevelopment - North Epping The section below illustrates an Architectural Technologies assignment to propose a new, timber-framed, structure as a replacement for the North Epping Scout Hall.

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The Seagull - Chekhov’s Existential Sobriety and Experiential Subjectivity “All I wanted to do was say truthfully to people: ‘Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!’ – the important thing is that people should realise that since, when they do, they will most certainly create another, a better, life for themselves.” - Anton Chekhov Born from a fascination with Russian literature and theatre, my dissertation focuses on The Seagull (1896), Anton Pavlovich Chekhov’s first ‘mature’ work as a playwright, selected as the archetypal example of his personal beliefs. Critically analysed as a fundamentally Existential text, The Seagull was interpreted as a demonstration of the necessity of decisive action when the individual is confronted by choice. This was supported by a comparative analysis of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling (1843), considered one of the earliest examples of consciously Existential literature. Following research on Chekhov and analysis of his work, including personal letters to acquaintances and relatives, I concluded there was sufficient evidence to support the assertion that Anton Pavlovich’s personal beliefs were fundamentally Existential. Concerned primarily with improving standards of living, he believed social reform could only be achieved through the individual and their ability to affect change. His dramatic works, composed as examples to his contemporaries, simultaneously demonstrate the ridiculous nature of mundanity and the extraordinary potential possessed by each person. Belief in the potency of the individual is an extension of the redemptive function Chekhov catalyses through comic processes, presenting the inertia of normalcy: this informs individuals of the necessity of overcoming trivial distractions that might prevent their happiness. Nina’s struggle through personal and professional anguish reveals her strength of character and facilitates a reconciliation with reality that Konstantin cannot comprehend. Unable to, or perhaps incapable of, determining the source of his dissatisfaction, too compulsively aware of his intellectual vanity to allow constructive introspection, Konstantin commits suicide because he despairs. Nina can overcome adversity because she characterises Kierkegaard’s ‘knight of faith,’ one whom possesses faith and is able to act on the strength of its absurdity. Konstantin is Kierkegaard’s ‘knight of eternal resignation,’ unable to truly believe, unable to act, and thus condemned to inertia and failure. As analysed in Fear and Trembling, a leap of faith is required to demonstrate belief, embracing of absurdity to overcome those obstacles in the path of the believer. It matters not to the individual if God witnesses their act of devotion: if an omniscient spectator could be objectively defined it would negate the core principles of faith. Faith is purely subjective - it cannot be qualified by objective observations. To accompany the dissertation a physical simulation of the Existential process was proposed in the form of a speculative architectural intervention. Designed within the abandoned St Michael’s College, a residential college owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, the architecture was derived from the existing conditions of the site to embody Chekhov’s introspective processes. 18.



1

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The development of St Michael’s College and the Chapel of the Resurrection to its current form. Starting with the parochial house (1), this extends to start accommodate students (2)

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3

4

before a further extension (3) and finally the addition of the Chapel of the Resurrection (4).

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The path that simulates the ‘Knight of Faith’ showing the incremental rotation of the route.

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