Studio 18: Like Humans_Design Journal_Broad by jsxrad

LIKE - HUMANS

Critical Studio Journal 01.03.21 - 11.06.21

Jessica Broad // Studio 18 Semester 1, 2021

CONTENTS

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

p. 44

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

p. 102

Week 13

Week 14

Semester in Review

p. 6

p. 12

p. 18

p. 24

p. 28

p. 30

p. 34

p. 52

p. 60

p. 78

p. 86

p. 110

p. 168

LIKE - HUMANS

“The successful companies of the second machine age will be those that bring together minds and machines, products and platforms, and core and crowd very differently than most do today.”

- Andrew McAfee, Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future

LIKE - HUMANS

WEEK_ 01 Mass Customisation / Mass Standardisation

REFLECTION

FUTURE

Gilles Retsin’s work in the discrete architectural movement has the potential to revolutionise the future of construction and sustainable design. Although it is sophisticated and logical in it’s harnessing of computational design, the underlying design agenda is concerning. Retsin’s critical position as a designer echoes ideation of an imposing universality upon the built form of the future. I worry that the accelleration towards a computationally synthesised built environment leaves behind the materialists and the humanists - those who enjoy the warmth of an old fireplace and the history behind a brick facade.

Taking this criticism of Retsin’s work, I’d like to explore how discrete architecture can be personalised as well as responsive to context.

I am always hesitant when designers postulate grand unified theories of what a ‘utopian’ future may look like, and I see a comparable agenda between the modernists and those of the discrete architecture movement. However wellintentioned the initial outlook for the future may be, I fear the same outcome of a kind of repetition, a ‘one size fits all’ approach that spits out the same massproduced housing we criticize today. The eventual banality of it’s application en masse becomes it’s undoing, and I would not be surprised if the reactionary response to this becomes centred around in a contextually responsive, ornate reimagination of discrete architecture.

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Gilles Retsin Real Virtuality, 2019

Component Assembly Diagram Source: Gilles Retsin Architecture // retsin.org

Exploded Assembly Diagram Source: Gilles Retsin Architecture // retsin.org Real Virtuality Photography: Studio NAARO, Metsawood

Construction Process Diagram Source: Gilles Retsin Architecture // retsin.org

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

PARTS Fabrication and Assembly

LOGIC

Iteration Fine Grain Aggregation

Computational Process

Sides to Sides Ends to Ends Angles to Ends Ends to Angles

520 Aggregated Pieces

Iteration Large Grain Aggregation

Iteration Parallel Configuration Removes Angles

Sides to Sides Ends to Ends Angles to Ends Ends to Angles

Sides to Sides Ends to Ends Angles to Ends

150 Aggregated Pieces

Iteration This iteration is closest to the precedent

Iteration No End to End creates improper connections

Sides to Ends Ends to Sides Angles to Ends Ends to Angles Ends to Ends

Sides to Sides Ends to Ends Angles to Ends Ends to Angles

Sides to Ends Ends to Sides Angles to Ends Ends to Angles

207 Aggregated Pieces

WHOLE Part + Logic

Whole constructed from aggregated parts

Parts assembled from plywood components

Augmented Reality Projection in Space

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WEEK_ 02 Part / Logic / Whole

REFLECTION This week we were assigned to reconstruct the precedent project and define the design agenda through analysis of the part, logic and whole. By carefully studying the precedent, we were able to more closely identify the component types and their relationship to each other.

have going forward to help us in the design of our part as part of the next phase.

Each part is a rotated square shape, forming a diamond. Parts have male and female ends and right angles pieces allow for aggregation on the x, y and z axis. The parts are fabricated using a cnc machine to mill plywood, which is then assembled into a part by a number of workers. Parts are then assembled with the assistance of augmented reality, and fastened togwther with tensioned pins. We took away a major critcism from this study, which was: is this mode of production and construction scalable, applicable and efficient in a real world context? We don’t think so.

FUTURE Drawing on this criticism, Mitch and I thought of ways Real Virtuality could be improved upon. Could it be made from a more sustainable material? Could the part catalogue be condensed? Can tension rods be substited or replaced with an internal mechanism within the part? Can a part be easier to fabricate, as less labour intensive? These are the questions we

Reference_01 Source Reference_02 Source

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

PARTS Fabrication and Assembly

‘Real Virtuality’ is a statement piece that acts to reflect the wider proposal that Gilles has for architecture and the construction industry.

A proposal to abandon the surfaces and typological properties of past architecture and embrace the qualities of aesthetics generated by computational arrangement.

Giles’ work looks at building components as data. Components can be arranged in many ways, a component that may be generic on its own, but complex in its arrangement. This system allows for infinite iterations

Construction Methodology

CONSTRUCTION METHOD

Part Assembly

Structural components are generated with the use of CNC milling. Parts are composed of 9mm and 12m plywood, cut from a 2400x1200mm sheet Structural elements are held together in tension with the use of lateral steel rods. Each component is made from approximately 16 individual plywood pieces

Variation of Parts

L - Female

L - Male

Straight

Flat

LOGIC Computation and Fabrication

Components

Parts

Super-Structure

Cluster

Structure

TYPE A Embodied Energy: Embodied Water: Embodied Green House Gasses:

TYPE C 3.0m3 3.2m3 0.17m3

Embodied Energy: Embodied Water: Embodied Green House Gasses:

$10.75 Per Piece

$7.30 Per Piece

TYPE B

TYPE D

Embodied Energy: Embodied Water: Embodied Green House Gasses: $11.00 Per Piece

5.9m3 6.4m3 0.34m3

Embodied Energy: Embodied Water: Embodied Green House Gasses: $5.00 Per Piece

7.4m3 8.0m3 0.42m3

4.3m3 4.7m3 0.25m3

WHOLE Part + Logic

AGGREGATED STRUCTURE Components: Approx. Embodied Energy: Approx. Embodied Water: Approx. Embodied Green House Gasses:

296 Pieces 1,524m3 1,650m3 87.32m3

Rough Cost: $2,520 (Excluding sub-components, labour transport and metal pins)

Rule Grammar End to ends, sides to sides

Globa Box

Fil

Wasp Basic Part Creating part from brep and inputting connections

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

al Constraints x shape Brep

Filter by Name ltering part by name and retriving geometry

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Splitting Geometry Into surfaces for colour application to ends

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WEEK_ 03 Part + Component

REFLECTION

connections. It was also noted that we need to determine a suitable mechanism for connection, and we want to ensure the connection is universal and does not include protruding elements on the finished face of each component. We are begginning to look at the design of lego pieces.

After studying retsin and his discrete architectural logic, we were tasked with designing a part that could be aggregated according to a defined logic. Considering our precedent study, I was interested in how the discrete elements that compose the architecture can be assembled more easily than Retsin’s CNC milled timber components that rely on steel pins. From this, I was primarily interested in creating a part folded from a net, which does not require any internal frame for additional strucure, and could house insulation to form a prefabricatied component. Other ideas include a ‘cross’ shape with tongue and groove joints and lego like pieces with friction fit connections. I was also interested in how these parts may ascribe to a heirarchy of structure, with steel, timber and non-structural interior elements. These parts could also then vary in length according to use to form a the basis for parametric design. By the end of this week, we had settled on developing a part that was heirarchical in scale and sturcture with parts connecting side to side as well as end to end.

FUTURE Comments made during class focused our attention toward the internal piece as the part. From here, a part library can be developed that focuses on how components aggregate and intersect at

Right: Part Library and Components Steel, Timber, Internal Finishes Pages 18-19: Initial part sketches Week 03

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Steel

Timber

Tertiary

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

1: 20 A3

0.5m

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Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 04 Part Development

REFLECTION

FUTURE

We were encouraged to develop our first part from last week. Noting that the design only allows connections along one axis, we needed to develop suitable connections that allowed for connections on three axes.

Criticism this week involved the legitimacy of a ball and socket joint as a suitable connection between structural elements. In addition, I know that more parts are needed in order to allow for connections on all axes. We want to investigate the idea of developing an internal part that could have sheet materials applied to it, so as to conserve material and be easier to contrsutct. I feel there’s a lot to work out, and I do question how a ball and socket joint would be able to serve well for connecting large structural components. I’m also starting to find group work challenging with a limited technical capability as a team.

Following feedback, we also wanted to utilise a heiracry of parts: steel, timber and an interior finished piece. Rather than using a foldable net we thought to have a subframe structure that an external, foldable ‘skin’could be wrapped around.

We wanted to investigate a universal, concealed connection type that would be suitable for steel, and that allowed for easy assembly. Pursing the agenda of easy constructability, we turned to LEGO design as a precedent. LEGO, a form of discrete design, has a strong focus on reconfigurability and constructability with simple but effective connections.

Moving forward I know that I’ll need to refine the parts, work out the connection angles and create a larger part library for more aggregation opportunities.

We integrated a design based off the Brick Link 3730 Lego part, a ball and socket joint. This could be formed from steel to be used as a part within steel, timber and interior components. This would employ the use of a universal sized pin as the connector between parts. End connector pieces would utilise male/female ends for additional strength. Developing this dramond shape, parts could be aggregated together to form megacolumns and flat face walls as well as more dynamic clusters.

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Part

Timber

Block

Male

Female

Node

Steel

Block

Male

Female

Node

Socket Joint

Straight

Collum

Multi

Components (Timber) External Structure

Internal Finish

Connection

Aggregation (Test)

Components (Interior)

Components (Steel) Components (Interior)

Joinery 1:1

Part Connection 1:2

Studio 18 LikeHumans Assignment 2: Aggregate (Part) Mitchell Pollard Jessica Broad Week 04, March, 2021

Cluster type Steel Primary Structure, Timber secondary, Sheet finish

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Part Library Scale 1:20, PLA 3D Print

Part Model Scale 1:2, Powder Print, Resin Print, Plywood Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

LIKE - HUMANS

WEEK_ 05 Mid Semester Break

REFLECTION This week I spent time focusing on the brief and translating our discrete system into a housing typology. We wanted to incorporate as much space as we could within each residence, given the large size of the site. This directed us towards generating detached dwellings, that would each have a large communal space and outdoor area. I’m finding that there are limited opportunities to aggregate in various ways to generate ineresting moments. Due to stress and trying to focus on being able to meet the required deliverables, I’m fiding that manual aggregation is the best way to ensure deliverables are met. However, as I continue in this process, I find the outcome somewhat over rationalised. I also took a break this week to focus on Exlab as well and take time away from the city over the break for a few days, so limited progress was made this week.

FUTURE Going forward, I want to make more interesting moments within the building. To do this, building in furniture and adding visual intestest through the internal finishing layer will be the best way forward. I’m finding the diamond shape restrictive, and the shape was taken from an arbitrary decision. This was probably a mistake as the angles of intersection are restictive and require an extensive part library.

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Private Space

Shared Space

Quarantine Housing 3 Bedroom, House

53 Degrees

254 Degrees

Part Detail Connection Angles are irregular

WEEK_ 06 Develping for Mid Semester Review

REFLECTION This week I just focused on producing content for the work, including submitting a 3D print file for the steel frame, buying timber for the model and lasercutting a plinth.

We decided to incorporate the use of glass within the timber component as windows, with sheet metal applied to components as roofing. Group work is challenging being the only one of us tht knows to how to use Rhino, and each of us have very different tases in graphic presentation. I’m at this point, finding I’m doing the majority of modelling and have done all model making so far. I’m finding the diamond shape restrictive and hard to aggregate. I think working in grasshopper would have produced more interesting designs, although I appreciate our concept and the inclusion of a heirarcy of parts.

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Sheet material fixed to component family 3

Finish material applied to component family 3

Steel structure aggregated with component family 1

Manufactured timber folded over component family 2

PART LI

Internal/External Finishes

Timber

Steel

09 1: 10 A3

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

250mm

500m

IBRARY

12 Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 07 Mid Semester Review

REFLECTION

FUTURE

The criticisms of the project at mid semester review were primarily focused on a lack of architectural resolution aligning to the complexility of the aggregation system. While I fully agree that the architectural outcome in mid semester was unresolved and simplistic, I feel this was somewhat a factor of the quantitty of deliverables. In addition, not utilising grasshopper at this stage contributed to a lack of exploration. While I believe the project was resolved to a reasonable level of detail for the assignment, I am persuaded to interrogate the parts and logic at a fundamental level and start again. The major points of feedback from the presentation are listed below:

Given the criticisms of the project at midsemester review, I’m interested in exploring a new part system and aggregation logic. Revisting Retsin’s logic and manifesto on discreetness and serialisation, I feel it’s important to limit a part library to two or three elements which may vary in scale. Using these parts, it’s then important to allow form to be generated according to program rather than assigned.

•

Part library is large because of diamond shape (connection angles)

•

Ball and socket connection creates unwanted movement

•

Architecture under-utilises system complexity

•

Steel in a structural heirarchy is not needed and timber can be further utilised

The most challenging aspect of this will be designing connection points that are not so complex as so limit efficiency and efficacy.

I have also been finiding groupwork with Mitch one-sided and that the majority of deliverable work has been driven and produced by me. Given this, I feel that I am able to continue the project on my own and have an interest in doing so.

Right: Mid Semester Models 20.04.21 Pages 30-37: Mid Semester Presentation 20.04.21

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Discrete Dom-Ino - Library

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Internal Perspective Discrete Dom-Ino, Mid semester assignment 0

Mid Semester Model 1:20

The Discrecte Dom-Ino System Aggregation for Application Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Discrete Modernism

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Discrete Architecture Gilles Retsin ‘Blokhut’

Mid Century Modernism Mies Van Der Rohe ‘Crown Hall’

Kit of Parts

Dom-Ino System

Discrete Modernism

Discrete Modernism Heirarchy of aggregated parts

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Land Zoning - Geelong LGA Rail Line (Geelong - Melbourne)

Princess Freeway (52km to Melbourne Central)

Lara Railway Station

Beach Road

Avalon Airport

Avalon Coastal Reserve Port Phillip Bay

Hovells Creek

Princess Freeway (52km to Melbourne Central)

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Rail Line (Geelong - Melbourne)

1: 100 000 A3

2km

4km

Site and Context Analysis

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

(2021):

98716

(2041):

393216

1: 100 000 A3

2km

4km

Site and Context Analysis

Lara Train Station

500m

Lara Village Shopping Centre

Avalon Airport

Corio

Avalon Air

port Boundar

Avalon Coastal Reserve

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

1: 30 000 A3

1km

2km

1 km

1.5 km

System Analysis Steel Suppliers

Greater Melbourne

Timber Suppliers

Avalon Airport

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Proposed Masterplan

Service Road Avalon Airport Car Park

Housing Assembly and Storage

Landscape Buffer

COVID Testing Clinic

Avalon Airport

Property

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Boundary

1: 2500 A3

50m

100m

Line

Beach Roa

Landscape Buffer

Park

Part Library

Internal/External Finishes

Timber 05

Steel

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

1: 10 A3

250mm

500m

Component Library

Component Family 3 Linings/Claddings Non-Structural

Component Family 1 Steel Primary Structure

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Component Family 2 Plywood Secondary Structure

Component Family 3 Linings/Claddings Non-Structural Sheet Material Fixings

Assembly Logic

Sheet material fixed to component family 3

Detail 1 Component Family 1 Structural Steel connection detail

Detail 2 Component Family 2 Structural connection detail Sheet material fixed to component family 3

Finish material applied to component family 3 Steel structure aggregated with component family 1

Detail 3 Component Family 3 finishes and furnishings connection detail

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Manufactured timber folded over component family 2 1: 10 A3

250mm

500mm

Assembly Logic

Aggregation of non-structural elements Part family type 3

Aggregation of primary structure Part family type 2

Aggregation of primary structure Part family type 1

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

Experience: Sectional Perspective

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

1:30 A3 1m

Experience: Sectional Plan

Bathroom

Bedroom 02 Backyard

Kitchen

Dining Bedroom 01

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

1:75 A3

Courtyard

Library / Study

W/C

Bedroom 03

Dwelling Typologies

Dwelling Type 2

Dwelling Type 1

2 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom Kitchen Dining Living Room Courtyard

3 Bedrooms 1.5 Bathrooms Kitchen Dining Living Room Courtyard Library

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

1: 150 A3

Discrete Dom-Ino

AR Assembily

Studio 18 LikeHumans LOGIC Mitchell Pollard // Jessica Broad Semester 1, 2021

10m

WEEK_ 08 Afforable Housing - Lessons from Soviet Russia

REFLECTION Khrushchyovkas are a type of high density housing complex developed in the early 1950’s when Nikita Khrushchev was secretary of the Stalinist Communist party. They continue to dot the skylines of many Eastern European countries that were held under Soviet reign during the height of the reigime. While we have learned of the failures of this social experiment, the utilisation of new technologies and strucutral systems to create affordable housing is one of the successes we can learn from. Although they conintue to be used today as affordable housing, they are becoming increasingly delapidated and are requiring laborious and costly refurbishment. Khrushchyovkas that cannot be made fit for purpose are either demolished or continue to decline in quality.

value of community made possible through this type of housing, the Khrushchyovka could be discretised as a 21st century extension of a 20th century logic.

FUTURE I’m interested at looking to history as a foundation to base my conceptual framework upon. I find some interesting parallels between the birth of modular/ prefabricated design and discrete/ parametirc design. Modular design evolved as a result of the machine age, through the use of industrial fabrication methods, and discrete design has evolved as a result of the second machine age with CAD technologies. When I redesign the part and logic, I want to return to something simplistic that works. Retsin has achieved this, and I want to revert to his work and study it in order to determine how a simple part can be made complex through it’s design considerations.

•

Khrushchyovkas were built between the 1950’and 1970’s as a subsidary of the Soviet Union

•

Some were intended to be temporary and last about 25 years, and some permanent.

•

They were built across Estonia, Russia, Ukraine and other Soviet countries

•

They housed shared amentities

•

They utilised prefabrication techniques, with bathrooms prefabricated and craned into place on site

Discrete architecture could be utilised to improve upon the maintenance and refubishment problems evident within this form of social housing. Looking at the

Serial Housing Construction in the Soviet Union, P. Meuser 2012 Zupagrafika, Eastern Block Houses David Navarro & Martyna Sobecka, 2019

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Club 100, Russian Embassy Property, Built 1977-78 David Navarro & Martyna Sobecka, Zupagrafika, 2019, ISBN: 9788395057434

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Typical Khrushchyovka Floor Plan Sandra Kolacz, The Fourth Republic, AA 2017, 2017

AFFORDABILITY •

A professor’s family and a factory worker’s family are neighbours within the apartment block

•

A typical apartment costs $6 per month to rent

•

Based on an average monthly income of $120 per month, the rent amounts to 5% of total income, and utilities amount to another 5%.

•

Electricity is metered, and gas, water and heating are charged prorata per building

•

Rent coveres approximately half of the maintenance cost, and the USSR pays for the construction cost and the other half of maintenance cost.

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

DESIGN FOR INDUSTRIALISED STANDARDISATION Design is derived from the limitations of the technology, that is, precast panels and erecting machinery. “Design for all but the ‘‘unique’’ building is based on sets of co-ordinated modular dimensions to allow the lowest possible number of system components.’’ (pp.33)

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PART

LOGIC

WHOLE

Source: Serial Housing Construction in the Soviet Union, P. Meuser, 2012

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

House Block Hackney, London

Block West Knowle West, Bristol

MOBO RC4, UCL Bartlett

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Source: Gilles Retsin, Instagram , 2020

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Apartment Type F One Bedroom

Apartment Type K Two Bedrooms

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Apartment Type F One Bedroom

Apartment Type K Two Bedroom

Moisei Ginsburg, Narkomfin Building Cross Section Diagram

Double Height space gives appealing spatial quality

Shared corridor and entry space

Moisei Ginsburg, Narkomfin Building Upper Three Levels, Axonometric

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 09 Early Aggregations, Part Redesign

REFLECTION I wanted to simply the part geometry based on feedback from mid semester. In changing direction, I revisited Retsin’s work. Looking specifically to the ALIS (Automated System for Living) I was intersted in a simple block style. This creates flat surfaces, on which furnishings, fixtures and fitting can be attached to, and I want to incorporate services within major structural parts.

Retsin’s ALIS uses just one block, made from CNC milled plywood. Using tensions rods to join parts, it limits the scale of construction. To combat this, I’m thinking of employing the use of CLT, which can be milled in similar ways to plywood. Taking inspiration from flat-pack furniture as a means of assembly and production, I find it important to design parts that are simple to make and assemble. I’m thinking of using cam bolts in order to acheieve a concealed fixing that is strong, but reconfigurable. Major structural elements will need a different connection type in order to take structural load. Furniture connections will be limited to secondary infill elements.

FUTURE Going forward, the script will need to be refined. Darcy is helping me to sequence the process, so that two aggregations will be perforned. This allows for greater iterative exploration, and the ability to have greater control over the process. Resolving the part will need to happen in order to fabricate a prototype and ensure a feasible design strategy.

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

ALIS Gilles Retsin Automated Living System, 2020

PART CL

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

LUSTER

1: 50 A3

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Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

ST R

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

1: 1000 A3

25m

50m

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INTIAL AGGREA

Infill Aggregation 1 Infill part type

Wall Strcuture Oriented the same direction

Floor Plates 2 Floor Types

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

ATION OUTPUT

Conceptual Isometric Structure and Infill

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 10 Design Thesis - Spatial Democracy for an Affordable Future

THESIS Patterns of urbanization mean our cities rapidly densify and change, with most of the inner-city housing stock commodified by wealthy city dwellers. Those who cannot afford critical resources needed to maintain or adapt the spatial quality of the environment to their needs, are threatened by a housing typology which quickly becomes unfit for purpose, dilapidates toward disrepair, and faces demolition. Discrete architecture offers a resolution to these two challenges. It offers adaptability with the ability to replace and reconfigure individual parts as well as the democratization of space through personal agency over environment. Controlling the building program, living configuration and replacing ageing parts is how discrete architecture benefits the social and affordable housing initiatives of the future.

Within this block, professors lived adjacent to factory workers, who all shared a dining hall, daycare, gym and kitchen facilities. Aimed to foster personal development through a transition to ‘higher’ forms of social living, 3 housing types were offered for younger singles and couples, smaller and larger families. The Narkomfin building, while recognizably used as a tool to uphold an oppressive political regime, was arguably successful in the ability to integrate various socio-economic classes within the single tectonic. With a rent to own scheme, inhabitants can sell once they have paid off their apartment, and future buyers may choose to combine and reconfigure apartments to suit their needs. Alternatively, inhabitants may choose to downsize and sell a portion of their floor area, thus utilizing discrete architecture to reconfigure.

The desirable location of the site, at 154 Leicester St, Carlton offers the opportunity to attract and integrate students, professionals and low-income families within the one facility. Here, inhabitants from a variety of socio-economic classes are neighbors rather than segregated by suburb. Acting as a social condenser, it opposes traditional contemporary housing options available across inner Melbourne. Using a ‘rent to own’ scheme as well as a program of shared facilities, each dwelling can be afforded at a competitively lower price. The Narkomfin building by Moisei Ginsburg, a famous example of Soviet modernist housing, serves as a useful precedent here.

Right: Billions Ward Roberts, 2007-2010

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

LIKE - HUMANS

DISCRETE AS DEMOCR

DENSIFICATION OF CITIES Urban lifestyle is aspirational, convenient and provide spaces for meaningful social interations

PROBLEM 1: This lifestyle becomes expensive and unttainab for more financially exposed members of societ with housing becoming less affordable

PROBLEM 2: Buildings that are no longer fit for purpose and require maintenance are demolished to make way for newer, more expensive dwellings

SOCIAL CONDENSER AS CON

STUDENTS

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

SITE: 154 LEICEST Good location = Good

RATIC ARCHITECTURE

DISCRETE ARCHITECTURE AS A SOLUTION

AGENCY over space

Operability, Replacability, Reconfigurability

ble ty,

ADAPTABILITY over time

NTEXTUAL RESPONSIVENESS

PROGRAM: NARKOMFIN BUILDING, MOISEI GINSBURG

TER ST, CARLTON incentives to live there

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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PARKVILLE

154 LEICESTER ST

NORTH MELBOURNE

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 10000 A3 0

250m

500m

CARLTON

T, CARLTON

CBD

Suburb Boundary

Low Income Housing

Apartments Currently for Sale

Student Housing

FITZROY

CONTEXT ANALYSIS MELBOURNE CBD, CARLTON, FITZROY, PARKVILLE, NORTH MELBOURNE

18% Local Area DWELLINGS:

7.1%

38,786 in 2016

Nationlly AGE DEMOGRAPHIC HOME OWNERSHIP

Adults aged between 25 and 29 68% are renters Other 32% are homeowners

POPULATION:

DWELLINGS:

94,813 in 2016

38,786 in 2016

LIVING CIRCUMSTANCES

HOUSING STOCK

36% are singles

Houses

42% are families

Apartments

22% are sharehouses

Other

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Wellington St Social Housing Prefabricated Panel Construction

Carlton Terrace House Brick Construction

Fitzroy House Contemporary Sustainable Construction

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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HOUSE IN TAKATSUKI // TATO ACHITECTS

16 Floor levels, spaces defined by floor heights volumetric thresholds Storage beneath floors, kitchen cabinet becomes a bookshelf Presents a similarity to the Narkomfin building - shared space through distorted boundaries

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Rooftop Terrace Bookable Space

Communal Kitchen Resident’s Access

Shared Terrace Bookable Space

Workspace Shared Space Workspace Bookable Space

Workspace Collaborative Space

Terrace Residents

Learning Hub Computers, Library

3 Bedroom Apartment

Shared Kitchen

2 Bedroom Apartment

Terraces / Outdoor Area

1 Bedroom Apartment

Shared Workspace

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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REVISED PA

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

ART LIBRARY

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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PART ASSEMBLY - PART 2A

18mm Birch Plywood Screw Fixings 1:20

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 10 A3 0

250mm

500mm

Part 2A Infill Cluster Cam Bolt Fixings Not to scale

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

M6 Cam Lock Screws Parts 2a, 2b

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COMPUTATION LOGIC 1A STRUCTURE: CLT WALL 60mm Thick CLT 500mm depth

VOIDS: COUNCIL BOUNDARY LIFT CORE OPENINGS

1B STRUCTURE: CLT Floor 60mm Thick CLT 300mm depth

AGGREGATION 1 STRUCTURE

1C STRUCTURE: CLT Floor 60mm Thick CLT 300mm depth

1D STRUCTURE: CLT Floor 60mm Thick CLT 300mm depth

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

171 ST

E ST

13050

19600

2A INFILL: Birch Plywood 18mm Thick 250mm Depth

AGGREGATION 2 INFILL

2B INFILL: Birch Plywood 18mm Thick 250mm Depth

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 11 Part Refinement and Fabrication

REFLECTION This week I really spent time developing and refining each part. I incorporated tension cables within the floor parts, which can run in both directions. Large cam bolts with a 20mm diameter will be employed to connect floor parts together, and a steel bracket will be used at each end of the wall compoents to connect floors to walls. An access panel will be cut into each wall panel to fasten wall parts. Services will be able to run through floor and wall components to allow wet areas to be placed in various spaces, rather than positioned in alignment with each other between levels. I will be fabricating a small cluster, comprising of parts 1B, 1C and Wall at 1:5. Elastic will be used to represent tension cables, and HDPE pipe will be shown through a small acrylic window. Program: I want to introduce intermediary floor plates, to promote interaction between residents and further the concept of the social condenser. Intermediate floor plates could be utilised as a shared living space. Given the patterns of current urban lifestyle, people spend less time at home and more time at work or out with socialising. The lving space is becoming more reduntant as time passes, and condensing this space could moake housing more affordable. Some mass housing of the communist era in Russia features shared living spaces, and I think this could be interesting to incorporate in a discrete context.

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Preliminary Aggregation Output Purple shows intermediate floors between levels as shared living space

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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PART LIBRARY

PART 1A - FLOOR 60mm CLT 300mm Thick

18mm Birch Plywood 60mm CLT, Internal Steel Bracket 1:20

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

PART 1A - FLOOR 60mm CLT 300mm Thick

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

PART 2B - INFILL PANEL 19mm Birch Plywood 250mm Thick

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Cluster Assembly Service Co-ordination 1:25

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Cluster Assembly Structure and Infill 1:25

PROTOTYPE CNC FILE

2400.00

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

1200.00 Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 12 Finding the Narrative

REFLECTION

“While the modular project seeks to establish a framework for unity, the discrete paradigm seeks to establish a framework for diversity.”

DEVELOPING A CRITICAL THESIS

I spent time this week researching the philosophy of discrete design. Through reading selected chapters of the book Architecture for the Commons - Participatroy Systems in the Age of Platforms by Jose Sanchez, I found the perceptual connection between modular and discrete design. This allowed me to see how modular and standardised design perpetuates a bottom up approach, while discrete in bottom up, and open eneded.

“without a feedback mechanism like the input of a social system, these simulations remain examples of deterministic top-down design... On the other hand, discrete design makes explicit a protocol for co-ordination, oten via a standardized joinery, allowing for new units to alter the definition of a whole.’’ ‘Open ended system: a mechanism that allows the system to self-regulate and maintain itself in a dynamic equilibrium.’’

My notes from the book are below: “...Tech progress now offers us many ways to slim, swap, evaporate, and optimize our way out of using resources. As a result we continue to consume more, but our consumption is now dematerializing.”

‘Units are, and should remain autonomous, allowing for spontanous couplings that aquire meaning and value.”

SUMMARY:

Discrete architecture can offer a different form of optimisation, an optimisation for the many, that seeks to reduce the barrier of entry and generate postive externatilities in the form of combinatorial surplus from the production of design. “Discrete design aims for a distributed and open-ended form of tectonic coordination, where families of compatible parts are able to define valuable patterns in their local context. Discrete is a movement of social participation, co-ordination and distributed value production with inevitable formal consequences to the constituent parts of buildings.” - p. 60

Innovations in digital fabrication and discrete design systems allow us to depart from the rigidity of modular, standardised top-down paradigms. Rather, the discrete establishes a framework for emergent diversity through reconfigurability, adaptability and maintainability. In this way, social housing can be reimagined through spatial democratisation.

“The problem of modularity is the inherent universaility in it’s ambitions toward economic efficiency, predicated on the notion of ‘the average man’’ - p.61

Architecture for the Commons - Participatory systems in the age of platfroms Jose Sanchez, YEAR, P.58 - 72 Right: A boy plays outside a Soviet Era building, Kiev, Ukraine Erik Messori, Al Jazeera, 2019

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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INDUSTRIALISATION AS OPTIMIS

ONE SIZE FITS A

Wall Prefabrication, 1960’s Kyiv, Ukraine

Prefabricated Wall Construction, 1960’s Kyiv, Ukraine

Concete Panel Prefabrication, 1960’s Kyiv, Ukraine Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

Construction in Troeshchina neighborhood of Kyiv, Ukraine

SATION AND STANDARDISATION

ALL TYPOLOGY

THE KHRUSHCHYOVKA Soviet mass housing of produced through standardised industrial fabrication methods for the purpose of optimisation and efficiency. Different apartment building series contained different types and numbers of prefabricated elements. The number of series that each house-building factory could build was limited by how many types of panel it could cast. During the first decades of prefabricated construction, popular concerns emerged over the uniformity and visual inexpressiveness of the massconstructed apartment buildings.

Together, this meant that late-Soviet architectural solutions in urban residential architecture, as well as the practices of the architectural profession, were rarely a result of an individual designer’s initiative. Rather, they were determined by the cycles of large-scale industrial production, institutional and bureaucratic procedures of the centralized Soviet economy Moscow city authorities are to tear down about 8,000 blocks of flats built in the 1950s and 1960s in a major clearance programme that will involve rehousing 1.6 million people in the coming years

In the 1960’s the utilitarian aesthetic was diversified through the production of sections that could be put together in various combinations. This became known as the ‘block section method’.

Serial Housing Construction in the Societ Union, P. Meuser 2012, P.33 BBC News, Moscow to demolish 8,000 Soviet-era housing blocks 2017, www.bbc.com/news Below: The condemned: Living in a Khrushchyovka - Russia Beyond Vitaly Mikhaylyuk, 2017, https://www.rbth.com

Kyiv, 1980’s

Photos Below: Alexey Nikolayev, Stepan Zharky 2017, https://www.rbth.com

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Khrushchyovkas, Moscow and Kyiv

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

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“I don’t try making any repairs whatsoever, on principle. You think I want to live in this ruin? I don’t...But I don’t have any money to spare. The school my daughter goes to and the university she wishes to enrol in are right next door to us now, so we wouldn’t like to leave the neighborhood.” - Svetlana Dryga, Resident, Koptevo District, Moscow We made some repairs — replaced the plumbing, the wiring, and the floor covers. But, no matter how hard you try to give this apartment an overhaul, it still isn’t a comfortable place to live...once a child is born, you start to truly realize all the disadvantages of this apartment.” - Irina Kopyeva, Resident, Koptevo District, Moscow

The Condemned, Vitaly Mikhaylyuk

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THE DEATH OF THE

8000 homes in Mosco 1.6 Million resid $62 Billion ov Replaced with moder

E KHRUSHCHYOVKA:

ow will be demolished dents displaced ver 15-25 years rn panel construction

Designer

Fixed Module Defined by Designer

Closed System

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

CLOSED AND O

OPEN SYSTEMS

Open System

Autonomous Part

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Designer

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DISCRETE AS A DEM

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

MOCRATIC SYSTEM

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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100

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Planning my presentation order Week 12

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 13 Refining the Script - Grasshopper

REFLECTION

I also completed my prototype model. The Covid lockdown has meant I’m unable to get oil in order to oil each part as a means to finish it correctly. :(

Darcy helped me significantly this week when helping to orient a detailed block to an aggregation performed using simple brep geometry. The process was laborious, and it took me a long time to undertsand what was going on and how the script was operating. After a lot of pain, computer fails and borderline insanity, it got there! And it’s beautiful! Thanks Darcy!! The final script is diagrammed on subsequent pages, but follows a workflow that: 1. References a block (detailed geometry) and constrcuts a plane by deconstrcting the block and extracting two curves placed within the block 2. Creates an attribute assigned to this plane, and is connected to the was basic part 3. Uses a wasp basic part constrcuted from a simple brep with direction connections 4. Inputs all basic parts as geometry into a rule generator 5. A stocastic aggregation is executed using a corresponding rule grammar, constrainted to global constraints. 6. This aggregation is saved 7. A second aggregation is performed using intermediate floor parts and global constraints 8. The structural aggregation is loaded into another stochastic aggregation, and infill parts are loaded in addition. A corresponding rule grammar is applied 9. Simple geometry is generated OR 10. The detailed block is oriented to the simple block of the corresponding part type, and a data dam controls the output. 11. The geometry is baked.

102

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

Completed 1:5 Cluster Prototype Wall, Part 1B, Part 1C

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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COMPUTATI

ALGORITHM

01 DEFINE CONNECTION POINTS Create Structural Parts

DEFINE

Esta

04 DEFINE SECONDARY CONNECTIONS Create Infill Parts

104

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

APPLY TO

ION LOGIC

MIC PROCESS

STRUCTURAL LANGUAGE

ENCLOSE WITHIN CONSTRAINTS

ablish Rule Grammars

Aggregate Structure

O STRUCTURAL AGGREGATION

stablish Rule Grammars Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

ENCLOSE WITHIN CONSTRAINTS Aggregate Infill

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FINAL GRASSH

AGGREGATION 1 Sttructure Parts 1A, 1B, 1C, Wall

BLOCK INPUT Block Deconstruct to get plane

GEOM

STRUCTUR

106

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

HOPPER SCRIPT

AGGREGATION 2 Intermediate floors Part 1C.1

GEOMETRY SIMPLE

GEOMETRY INFILL, DETAILED

AGGREGATION 3 Infill Parts 2A, 2B

METRY

RE, DETAILED

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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DETAIL BLOCK

STRUCTURAL A

Using Elefront, C Scrip

REFERNECE

DECONSTRUCT

PART

BLOCK BY NAME

BLOCK

With plane at

Elefront Plugin

C Script to convert

block as attribute

RULE G

Aggr

to geometry

STRUCTUR

FC_SID F_SIDES F_ENDS FC_END F_END F_SIDE FC_END FC_SIDE W_END FC_FAC SF_IN> FC_SID

108

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

K ORIENTATION

AGGREGATION

pt and Plane Attributes

GENERATOR

regation 1

RE GRAMMAR

DES>F_SIDES S>FC_SIDES S>FC_ENDS DS>F_ENDS DS>F_SIDES ES>F_ENDS DS>FC_SIDES ES>FC_ENDS DS>FC_FACE CE>W_ENDS >FC_SIDES DES>SF_IN

STRUCTURE

ORIENT

AGGREGATION

BLOCK TO

Stochastic

AGGREGATION

GLOBAL CONSTRAINTS COUNCIL BOUNDARY (MESH CONSTRAINT > IN = TRUE) + LIFT CORE (MESH CONSTRAINT > IN = FALSE)

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

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WEEK_ 14 Finishing up

REFLECTION I spent this week producing final drawings after the grasshopper script had been completed (thanks Darcy!). It had been challenging to orient the detailed block to simple geometry after the aggregation had taken place. The complexity of the file means I had to split my workflow and use a ‘low resolution’model for larger operation like full sections, renders and external views, and use a ‘high resolution’model for drawings that require more detail. In future I would use the low resolution model for floorplans, which would allow me to produce more high quality detailed plans and diagrams. To do this, I used a combination of Rhino, Vray, Autocad, Illustrator and Photoshop. Project title: Moving away from the title Domus Alinea: The New House, I wanted to relate my title to my concept. The project is in it’s essence a critique of communist rationalist architecture and the standardisation that become of it. The Eastern Bloc were the politcal party in power during the time this architecture was implemented across Eastern Europe. While this party has a negative connotation to it, I wanted to use the concept of the’Bloc’as a foundation to frame my project within. A Bloc is defined as a group of people with a common interest, or similar motive, establishing a politcal position. Secondarily, each part is a ‘Block’.

110

Melbourne School of Design Studio 18, Semester 1

Jessica Broad Critical Studio Journal

BLOC THE HOUSE OF REPUBLIC

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BLO

Bloc - noun A combination of perso forming a unit with a com a bloc o

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

OC:

n: \ bläk \ ons, groups, or nations mmon interest or purpose of voters

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DISCRETE A tectonic co-ordinatio defining valuable patt Discrete is the formalis system, one which self equilibrium through spo able to aquire meaning t The evolution towards mass

E DESIGN: on of compatible parts, terns in local context. sation of an open ended regulates in a dynamic ontanous arrangements through their autonomy. of modularity customisation

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REAL VIRTUALITY

Assembled Autonomous Parts Gilles Retsin Architects, Retsin, 2019

PRECEDENT STUDY

CNC Plywood components make a part Gilles Retsin Architects, Retsin, 2019

Discrete Fabrication Process Gilles Retsin Architects, Retsin, 2019

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

Y - GILLES RETSIN

Part Aggregation Arrangement Gilles Retsin Architects, Retsin, 2019

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PART TYP

Component Family 1 Steel Primary Structure

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

Component Family 2 Plywood Secondary Structure

POLOGIES

Component Family 3 Linings/Claddings Non-Structural

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AGGREGATED

Detail 1 Component Family 1 Structural Steel connection detail

Detail 2

Sheet material fixed to component family 3

Component Family 2 Structural connection detail

Finish material applied to component family 3

Steel structure aggregated with component family 1 Detail 3 Component Family 3 finishes and furnishings connection detail

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

Manufactu over co

1: 10 A3

250mm

500mm

D ASSEMBLY Sheet material fixed to component family 3

o 3

d 3

d 1

ured timber folded omponent family 2

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WHOLE COM

Aggregation of non-structural elements Part family type 3

Aggregation of primary structure Part family type 2

Aggregation of primary structure Part family type 1

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

MPOSITION

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REVISITING P

HOUSE BLOCK,

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

PART DESIGN

GILLES RETSIN

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OLD CONCEPTS, N Technological inova reality of discrete ar

Discrete systems allo standardised modular from Soviet mass h

It invites us to app to the ideological

It’s through discrete’s a that we can revisi the goals of the s

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

NEW PARADIGMS ations now make the rchitectures possible.

ow us to move beyond r design, like that born housing initiatives.

ply a new paradigm l goals of this era.

ability to democratise, it and reinterpret social condenser.

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THE NARKOMF

MOISEI G

The Narkomfin Building Rear Facade Built 1928 Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

FIN BUILDING

GINSBURG

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THE NARKOMF

MOISEI G

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

FIN BUILDING

GINSBURG

Level 5

TYPE F LEVEL 4 -SINGLES AND YOUNG COUPLES Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

TYPE K LEVEL 1 - FAMILIES

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THE NARKOMF

MOISEI G

The Narkomfin Building Rear Facade Prior to recent refurbishment Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

FIN BUILDING

GINSBURG

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THE NARKOMF

MOISEI G

Apartment Type K refurbishment Ginsburg Architects, 2019

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

FIN BUILDING

GINSBURG

Penthouse Apartment refurbishment Ginsburg Architects, 2019

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DEFINING

THE SOCIAL C ROOFTOP TERRACE Shared by residents and their community

OUTDOOR TERRACE Shared by residents and their community SHARED KITCHEN AND DINING Shared by residents, communal dining SHARED LIVING ROOM Shared by residents from each level

ATRIUM Entrance CAFE Located on prominent corner COLLABORATIVE WORKSPACE Public workspace Primary Social Space Secondary Social Space Tertiary Social Space Limited Social Interaction

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

PROGRAM

CONDENSER

ROOFTOP TERRACE To facilitate interactions

ROOFTOP KITCHEN AND CANTEEN GYM AND DAYCARE LIBRARY

SHARED CORRIDORS To promote interaction between residents on all floors

SHARED AMENITIES To conserve building cost

Primary Social Space Secondary Social Space Shared Amenities Limited Social Interaction

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FACILITATING A

RENT TO OW

PARTICIPATION DETERMINE DESIRED AREA FOR PURCHASE

0 YEARS

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

CONFIGU RENT THE SPACE AT THE END OF

5 YE

AFFORDABILITY

WN SCHEME

URATION TO BE PURCHSED F A 5 YEAR TERM

EARS

ADAPTATION EVALUATE NEEDS AND RECONFIGURE SPACE ACCORDINGLY

10 YEARS

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PART LI

BLOC BU

3600

1800 1800 1800 1800

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1800 1800 1800

3600

PART 2A - FLOOR CONNECTOR 60mm CLT 300mm Thick

3600 3600 3600

PART 1A - FLOOR 60mm CLT 300mm Thick

IBRARY

UILD KIT

PART 2B - INFILL PANEL 19mm Birch Plywood 250mm Thick

PART W - STRUCTURAL WALL PANEL 60mm CLT 500mm Thick

900 1800 1800

3600

900 1800 900

1800

3600

1800

900

1800 1800

900

1800

PART 2A - INFILL PANEL 19mm Birch Plywood 250mm Thick

1800

PART 2C - FLOOR HALF PIECE 60mm CLT 300mm Thick

900 900

1800

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DESIGNING FOR CONSTRUCTABI

AUTONOMY O

STRUCTURAL WALL TYPE 60mm CLT, Steel connections 1:25

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 25 A3 0

500mm

ILITY AND RECONFIGURABILITY

OF THE PART

STRUCTURAL WALL TYPE 1:20

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ASSEMBL

STRUCTURE A

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

Cluster Assembly Service Integration 1:25

LY LOGIC

AND SERVICES

Cluster Assembly Section Plan View 1:30

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CLSUT

DISCRETE AS DEM

01 BEDROOM WALLS AND FURNITURE

03 QUIET WORKSPACE

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

TERS

MOCRATIC DESIGN

02 COMPUTER LAB

04 CASUAL WORKSPACE

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GROUND FL

SOCIAL A

Cafe Entry

LEICESTER ST

Cafe

Main Entry

Foy Computer Lab

Legend Circulation Path

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 100 A3

2.5m

LOOR PLAN

AMENITY

Collaborative Workspace

Workspace

Store

Library Desk

Services

Lifts

yer

Store

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TYPICAL FL

LEV

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 1

Bathroom

Ensuite

Shared Living

Store

Legend

Kitchen /

Bedroom 1

Kitchen / Dining Bedroom Living

Ensuite

Bathroom

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 100 A3

2.5m

Bedroom 2

LOOR PLAN

VEL 2

Living

Bedroom 3

WIR Kitchen / Dining

Bathroom Services

Foyer Lifts Dining

Store

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RENTING

DEMOCRATISING AF

APARTMENT 1 175m2

A family of four need more space to accommodate for their growing family. Camille and Pat work in the area and have friends nearby, so they don’t want to move. Through the rent to own scheme, they signed a lease to buy the one bedroom apartment next door to them, turning it into an extra bedroom and bathroom. 3 Bedroom 3 Bathroom Living Dining

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 100 A3

2.5m

TO OWN

FFORDABLE HOUSING

PREVIOUS APARTMENT 39m2

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RENTING

DEMOCRATISING AF

SHARED LIVING

APARTMENT 2

33m2

68m2 + 33m2

Quin and Amy have just signed the 5 year lease to buy their first home. They want to live near their friends and place of work. They’re social people, so don’t mind having a shared living space. 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Shared Living Dining

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 100 A3

2.5m

TO OWN

FFORDABLE HOUSING

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PROG

SECTIO

Roof Terrace

LEVEL 8 Rooftop Terrace

LEVEL 7 2 x 2 Bed

LEVEL 6 2 x 2 Bed Terrace

Dining

Kitchen

LEVEL 5 Kitchen, Laundry, Terrace

LEVEL 4 1 x 1 Bed, 2 x 2 Bed

LEVEL 3

Lift

2 x 1 Bed, 1 x 2 Bed

LEVEL 3 2 x 1 Bed, 1 x 2 Bed

LEVEL 2 1 x 3 Bed, 1 x 2 Bed

LEVEL 1 1 x 3 Bed, 1 x 2 Bed Entry / Workspace

GROUND Cafe, Workspace, Computer Lab Legend Communal

Shared 1: 200 (Above) // 1:100 (Right)

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

1: 200 A3

10m

Lobby

GRAM

ON VIEW

PROG

AP AR

APARTMENT 3

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

SHARED LIVING APARTMENTS 1 AND 4

GRAM

APARTMENT 4

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LIVI

BEDR

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

ING

ROOM

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SOCIAL A

COLLABORA

Jessica Broad Studio 18, Semester 1

AMENITY

ATION SPACE

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BLOC: The House of Republic Studio 18, Semester 1 // Jessica Broad

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SEMESTER IN REVIEW Like Humans, 2021

REFLECTING ON DISCRETE DESIGN When interrogating concepts that explore the future of architecture, I consider how the nature of our reality has changed with technological progress. The importance of the second machine age, giving rise to CAD technologies cannot be overstated. Not only does CAD strengthen and streamline our ability to represent concepts accurately, it gives us the opportunity to maximize computational power to produce more generative architectures. We can quickly iterate, optimize and resolve complex models in detail, accelerating the design process and offering us outcomes we may be unable to conceive of through analogue methods. This comes in tandem with the evolution of fabrication practices, that allow us to prototype these ideas within a single workshop environment. Gone are the costly and timely production chains, and the use of highly specialized trades when it comes to testing and innovation.

Not only does it combat current practices that perpetuate a cyclical narrative of creation and destruction, Discrete Design invites democratic agency over the built environment. The adaptable and reconfigurable nature of the discrete means our environments can become more responsive to us, and our needs. If we choose to reconfigure, rather than demolish Melbourne School of Design Semester 1, 2020

This goes without saying there are challenges in it’s implementation at scale, with more work to be done by academics and professionals across disciplines. However, I have hope that our human desire to cultivate and civilize toward a more fair and just future continues to guide us down the path of innovation.

REFLECTING ON MY WORK

This fuels a type of creativity that gives us the opportunity to reimagine our architectural approach in radical ways. Discrete Design is just one approach, like parametricism, that has come into narrow focus within academia in recent years. It offers the antithesis to modularity, to standardization, to streets of buildings that fail to provide us with want we want from good architecture. It has the potential to return agency to the user, who can modify, adapt and reconfigure their environment as they choose. The ability to replace individual parts rather than the whole at large, invites Discretism as a pragmatic solution to challenges surrounding the discussion of sustainable development.

168

to rebuild our urban environment, we will be better be equipped to address broader socio-economic issues around equality of opportunity and access to affordable housing. We can introduce models that ascribe flexible ownership to users and depart from the monopolization of the urban fabric as we currently observe. We can integrate this new concept within existing capitalist infrastructures, rather than call for a revolutionary overhaul of the system as some popular narratives suggest.

While I found certain aspects of the work challenging, and the workload at times strenuous, I enjoyed the semester. I found it engaging and enjoyed exploring new architectural typologies that diverge from traditional ones we are likely to bring into reality in practice. The subject has driven me to implore the use of computation in future design explorations to make the process more efficient and generate iterative models. I feel my final project accomplishes something through a critical analysis of modular/prefabricated design and proposes a reasonable solution to the problems arising from such modes of production. Although group work was challenging, I feel it’s taught me more about myself, and how to navigate these types of relationships better in the future. Although I would have loved to have had the opportunity to do more fabrication, I’m grateful for the opportunity to have spent the majority of semester learning around the FabLab staff. Thanks for a great semester, and your hard work into making it an enjoyable and engaging one.

Studio 18: Like-Humans Conclusion

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