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2.2 HL SC AN Konrad Koltun |11071356| White Water portfolio *ger. anschluss (annexation) + schloss (castle)

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Introduction


intro duc tion

This project was set in Graz, Austria and involved designing a kayaking centre adjacent to River Mur. I would like to initially thank my tutor Dominic Sagar for enabling my imagination and at the end teaching me how highly conceptual ideas become concrete in architecture. My approach to the project was affected heavily by my research and observations which told me how such a complete city like Graz has potential to go wrong. My idea was based on manifesting the problems of the community of Graz and tackling possibilities of solving them through controversy inspired by G端nter Brus - an artist introduced to us during the visit in Graz. Konrad Koltun

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cont ents 4

Contents


Site analysis

Key processes

Proposal

References

Immediate context problems Wider context problems ‘Beach for the Rich, extreme sports and hip-hop

6 8 10 12

Concept Subverting a message Duality of expression Masterplan development More Precedents Design process collage

14 16 18 20 21 22 24

Masterplan Roof plan Section AA Section BB Hybrid Concept Elevations Plans Sequentials Model Technical resolution

26 27 28 30 32 34 36 38 46 58 60 68

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Site ana lysis Site analysis


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Immediate context problems

[1]

Right from the beginning I wasn’t concerned that much with the immediate historical and UNESCO heritage context, the site spoke the language of misery hidden within this fine city and revealed the true nature and barely noticeable social problems.

Matt Iliffe, James Taylor-Foster

poor young foreign

[1, 2, 3] The projecting of voices was very evident and found throughout the entire site. There was a combination of graffiti writers just tagging short statements or sticking posters and stickers around the site with more organised messages. Lastly the graffiti artists also contribute with pieces of deeper meaning like the piece talking ab about gold seekers (ironically the river has traces of them, but not enough to provide big enough income). [4] Hobos’ cave made me realise that even in a city with rich historical and cultural heritage people still face the same problems as anywhere else. [5] Alternative sculptures summarised the awkwardness of a site dramatically different from a much more conservative city centre. 8

Site analysis

rich old conservative

[6] Taking over the fabric by people made me think about transforming of the public place by people and unification. [7] Franciscan priest who stepped up against the Nazis, teaching his students about their evil nature for which he was killed. This is significant amongst the voices on the site side which told me that wasn’t exactly over with. [8] Climbing wall seemed important to me because it reminded me of the strong ties between extreme sports and hip-hop culture across central and eastern Europe. [9] At last this picture shows me interviewing people on the site from whom I gathered that they felt the tension between two city sides (conservative and rich against young, foreign and poor).

[4]


[3]

[2] [5]

[6] [8]

[7]

[9] White Water

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Wider context problems I think it’s quite noticeable that apart from pragmatic site analysis my attention was drawn to wider urban and even national scale problems which were key and informed a lot of decisions during th design process.

After the WWII the Allies and Austrians considered themselves

victims of Nazi aggression

The big Austrian Lie

and therefore of that many Nazis in Austria were never prosecuted. As the result of that modern artists such as

Günter Brus expressed what they considered a Nazi spirit in the nation through often ‘outrageous’ performances. They believed that it still had a huge effect on the society and I think it causes the problems in the city considering all the evidence in form of what is projected on the site.

dailymail.co.uk

30%

OF AUSTRIANS VOTED FOR FAR RIGHT WING PARTIES in 2008 This statistic is scary as that kind of figure was enough for the Nazi party to gain power in Germany in 1930s. The motives seem exactly the same: economical low and the blaming of foreign for all the country’s job issues.

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Site analysis

legal

Burschenschaften

Rolf Steininger(20012), Arnulf Meifert

illegal

This diagram explains the connection between the legal and illegal far right wing/Social Nationalist movements and organisations made by the Burschenschaften (a secretive organisation).


Proving unbalanced - Visualising population statistics

districts

means

Foreign

Young [10-29]

districts MASTERPLAN

means

70

% of EU

30

This diagram visualises the mapping of foreigners on the city sides and we can notice that the west has a higher number of them and in that more of them are EU which only reinforces the discriminate comments I had been hearing from people.

10 000+

Actual amount of young

1 000

This diagram mapped the amount and density of young people around the city and I found that they seem to be longing for the spot in the centre. It looks like a rat race imposed by the system to become successful and non-collective. White Water

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‘Beach for the rich’, extreme sports and hip-hop When we asked about the site in summer we got a lot of criticism that it is oriented for the ‘rich kids’ of Graz. The extreme sportsmen act barely as secondary entertainers and graffiti artists as decorators for ‘rough and uncomfortable’ concrete surface. I think that this site should be more than just a place where people get entertained throughout the year, it should be about development of self and expression which is exactly what hip-hop and sports encourage.

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Site analysis


JWP a hip-hop group from Warsaw, Poland in a video with several extreme sportsmen.

Our site occupied during summer with possibilities to extend it’s ‘noble’ function throughout the year,

In eastern and central Europe the ties between hip-hop and extreme sports movement are strong as they came from USA simultaneously. White Water

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Key pro cess Key process

separated despite bridges


what seems to be Graz authorities’ solution

university venues

kunsthaus kayaking centre

hauptbahnhof

I noticed that Graz authorities strategically plan the new developments to stitch the city together. However most of the time the developments are to increase the land value around the development (like Kunsthaus) and move the problematic, poor community away from their COMFORTABLE city rather than actually SOLVE THE ISSUES.

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Concept Niches, extending the canvas

‘Polska Walcząca’ (Fighting Poland) on a brick wall on Oddolańska Street in Mokotów district, Warsaw, 1945 r. (photo Eligiusz Brudziński)

Graffiti was once one of the weapons against the Nazis in a limited arsenal during the occupation of Warsaw. I saw the same kind of opportunity in the graffiti movement in Graz - in similar kind of people wanting better future for themselves and their children free of Nazi terror. Nowadays the terror translates to subtle discrimination and tensions more than anything, but young people with pro-globalisation mindsets usually are key in changing this. I thought this was a good reason to preserve and enhance the roughness and contrast the bottom of the site creates in opposition to the top of the site. Apart from that the idea is to spread it over there too. Graffiti traditionally used to happen and still usually happens in semi niches, non-places, places of transition where the piece is visible and makes a statement but also where the writer isn’t necessarily seen making it for obvious reasons.

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Key process


If advantage or profit is to be found in it, then the old is swept away. (...) what had been annihilated in the earlier frenzy of growth now becomes an object of adoration. And former objects of utility now pass for rare and precious works of art.

Precedent: East Side Gallery, Berlin | budgettravel.com

One of the initial sequential ideas envisioning the extension of the canvas for graffiti writers to project more and more.

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Subverting a message The controversy The intent was to organise the niches in a geometrical order on the site, I thought this also needed to have a strong message that sparked a lot of ideas. The idea was to base the niches on the swastika plan and break it up so the actual message wasn’t visible in order to express the traces of the ideology that still fundamentally influence lives of Austrians and in this case those who live in Eastern Graz.

‘The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.’ - George Santayana 18

Key process


Uncomfortable topic

Side A

Uncomfortable topic

Side A

Side A

Side B

Side B

Side B

Side A

Uncomfortable topic

Side A

Side B

Side B

The graffiti and a misted message that I am trying to convey are meant to reflect a simple model of human interaction in which when an uncomfortable topic arises, when the two sides of the discourse don’t interact it is impossible for them to stay close, as there will be more and more uncomfortable topics that will emerge. The graffiti helps in this process as it is not afraid to rise difficult topics, and so don’t I. White Water

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Duality of expression The justification In the brief for the Vietnam War memorial there was supposed to be no political message, however many thought that ‘memorial says one thing: only the dead, nothing besides, remain. Its purpose is to impress upon the visitor the sheer human waste, the utter meaningless of it all.’

Message

Graffiti

Kayaking/ Extreme sports

The winner, then student Maya Ying Lin managed to subvert a message and cause a debate by playing in my opinion on the ‘no political message’ requirement. She designed an experience that moves through very simple mean of reflection and listing the names in a chronological order of death. In my case I wanted to express the devastating effect the Nazi spirit still has on the society, but with the programme that formed from my research I could also express the extreme experience where the perspective is broken and procession almost uncomfortable.

Expression of devastation

Expression of extreme experience

An obvious precedent for that was Daniel Libeskind, he also proved useful for his approach to memory and masterplanning linked to that subject.

Precedent: East Vietnam War Memorial, Washington

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Key process

Precedent: The Academy of the Jewish Museum, Daniel Libeskind


Masterplan Development six degrees of separation

LAN

Graz 0

500 km

Graz

45°

500 km Jerusalem

38°

Mecca

Precedent: Alexanderplaz Masterplan

45°

0

Jerusalem

38°

Mecca

Precedent: Sacred Geometry

Stitching the city

Looking deeper at the precedents I realised that the expressions I want and metaphysical ways of connection need a framework. Six degrees of separation idea came after watching a document on Nazism and the story of Hermann Goering’s brother Albert who used his name and obvious connection to rescue Jews during ‘The Final Solution’. This grid of interrelation informed a lot of design decisions later on. White Water

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More precedents Sculpture park

Tito’s sculptures This is a selection of structures commissioned Josip Tito throughout the 1960-70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place, or where concentration camps stood. The enlarged one on the RHS is my main precedent as it’s a town hall with similar scale and desired detail. I looked at them because of overlapping history and proximity to Austria and what I wanted to achieve. cracktwo.com

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Key process


Details

Verticality and expressiveness of staircase responds to the Franciscan church, reinforces the procession of vertical circulation and allows for climbing.

architectuul.com

This one perfectly reflects the idea of splitting the building into it’s functions and allowing activity and circulation through and outside it at the same time.

This detail expresses the roughness and contrast of ‘light’ material against the heavy concrete so that the composition isn’t boring despite desired graffiti.

dequalized.com

dequalized.com White Water

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Design Process collage

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Key process Precedents


PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Apart from paper and model design and arrangement I did a lot of computer testing nearly every time I made major changes to the design in order to ensure high quality and integrity of all the requirements which was a time consuming process sometimes. I do not regret it, however I would probably do it by hand before going to drafting next time. The advantage of using CAD was quick 3D output.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT White Water

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Pro po sal Proposal

Masterplan


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Roof Plan

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Proposal


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Section AA

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Proposal


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Section BB

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Proposal


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Hybrid concept Hibernation - Environmental stance summer

The idea emerged in Graz when I thought about the different climate we approached there. The programmatic design in this case meant that no kayaking would be happening during winter when it’s too dangerous to teach it and therefore some of the parts of the building would be unused. Programming other spaces for that time would mean that more people would be directed in them and therefore less heating would be required. Also the initial idea of gaining power from water was wiped by lack of relevant detail for such a centre and instead I decided to make use of large areas of steep roofs.

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Proposal


winter

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Elevations To show the levels

South

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Proposal

West


North

East

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Plans level -2

[1] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

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Proposal

Female wet area Male wet area Storage Kayak landing External staircase tower Elevator


[3] [5] [2]

[6]

[4]

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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

level -1

[1] [7]

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Proposal

Semi-outdoor race/DJ hub


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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT


Ground Level

[10]

[9]

[12]

[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

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Proposal

Foyer Kitchen/reception Disabled toilet Office 1 Storage Speakers’ corner

[8]


[13]

[11]

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level 1

14] [15]

[16]

[14] [15] [16] [17]

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Proposal

Multifunctional area Link corridor Unisex toilets Office 2


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Proposal


The approach to the site happens outside the city centre. White Water

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The approach to the building. Sculpture park, project voices. 48

Proposal


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Proposal


Entrance - where two sides of the argument potentially meet. Graffiti happens in niches White Water

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Main area - canvas further extended, grid imposition. 52

Proposal


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Proposal


Tower - more niches, more activity, overlapping backgrounds. White Water

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Controlling and dividing the competition area from preparation. Putting on spot. 56

Proposal


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1:00 massing model. 58

Proposal


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Technical resolution Structure

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Proposal


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Environmental control

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Proposal


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Proposal


Detail Structure, envelope

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Proposal


Detail stairs, structure, finishes

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Reference list Arnulf Meifert. Gunter Brus (Monographies). Centre Georges Pompidou Service Commercial, n.d. “BBC NEWS | Programmes | More Or Less | Connecting with People in Six Steps.” Accessed December 3, 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/more_or_less/5176698.stm.

“1.jpg (JPEG Image, 2912 × 4368 Pixels) - Scaled (20%).” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.planetfear.com/images/cms/Articles/Weight%20Management/1.jpg.

“BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Austria Still Haunted by Nazi Past.” Accessed December 1, 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/Europe/7283899.stm. Daniel Libeskind. Countersign. London: Academy Editions, 1991.

“131.jpg (JPEG Image, 2048 × 1536 Pixels) - Scaled (58%).” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.adventurouskate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/131.jpg.

Daniel Libeskind. Radix-matrix: Architecture and Writings. Munich: Prestel, 1997.

“25 Abandoned Yugoslavia Monuments That Look Like They’re from the Future | Crack Two.” Accessed January 10, 2013. http://www.cracktwo. com/2011/04/25-abandoned-soviet-monuments-that-look.html. “All Sizes | Arena Outside | Flickr - Photo Sharing!” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabbiteyemovement/3263329664/sizes/o/in/photostream/.

“European Election Database - Austria.” Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/country/austria/. Gavin Stamp, and Heinz Gallery. Silent Cities: 1914-1919: An Exhibition of the Memorial and Cemetery Architecture of the Great War. London: Royal Institute of British Architects, 1977. James Edward Young. At Memory’s Edge: After-images of the Holocaust in Contemporary Art and Architecture. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2000. Jan Birksted. Landscapes of Memory and Experience. London: E. & F.N. Spon, 2000. Jan C Scruggs, and Joel L Swerdlow. To Heal a Nation: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 1st ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Kimberly Elam. Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition. 2nd ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Kimberly Elam. Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition. 2nd ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Malcolm Green. Writings of the Vienna Actionists. London: Atlas Press, 1999. Neil Leach. Rethinking Architecture: a Reader in Cultural Theory. London ; New York, NY: Routledge, 1997. Nigel Pennick. Sacred Geometry. Newbury: Capall Bann Publishing, 1994. Plowman, John. The Sculptor’s Bible: Surface Effects and How to Achieve Them. London: A. & C. Black, 2005. Rolf Steininger. Austria, Germany, and the Cold War: From the Anschluss to the State Treaty, 1938-1955. Berghahn Books, 2012. Sébastien Marot, and Architectural Association. Sub-urbanism and the Art of Memory. London: Architectural Association, 2003. “The Far Right Is on the March Again: The Rise of Fascism in Austria | Mail Online.” Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1160972/The-far-rightmarch-rise-Fascism-Austria.html. “The Vietnam Wall Controversy - About - Overview.” Accessed November 20, 2012. http://digital. lib.lehigh.edu/trial/vietnam/. Tony Deifell. Seeing Beyond Sight: Photographs by Blind Teenagers. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle; Enfield: Publishers Group UK, 2007.

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Media

References

“Anti-Nazi_graffiti.jpg (JPEG Image, 440 × 294 Pixels).” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.executedtoday.com/images/Anti-Nazi_graffiti.jpg. “Berlin Wall Art - My Budget Travel Photo.” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://mybt.budgettravel.com/_Berlin-Wall-Art/photo/15883759/21864. html. “Bunker 599 | Architectuul.” Accessed November 10, 2012. http://architectuul.com/architecture/bunker-599. “CityBeach Graz » CITYBEACH Best of 2010.” Accessed November 10, 2012. http://www.citybeach-graz.com/CBW/wordpress/best-of-2010/. “Dequalized.” Accessed January 12, 2013. http://www.dequalized.com/ page/10. “Histmag.org » Kotwica – Symbol Polski Walczącej, Symbol Nadziei.” Accessed December 21, 2012. http://histmag.org/Kotwica-symbol-Polski-Walczacej-symbol-nadziei-6492. “P1030211.jpg (JPEG Image, 2560 × 1920 Pixels) - Scaled (46%).” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.climbingoutdoors.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/P1030211.jpg. “Prince-charles-030609-xlg.jpg (JPEG Image, 614 × 600 Pixels).” Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/BM/princecharles-030609-xlg.jpg. “The Academy of the Jewish Museum Berlin by Daniel Libeskind.” Accessed December 10, 2012. http://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/21/the-academy-ofthe-jewish-museum-berlin-by-daniel-libeskind/. “Whitewater Kayak Rodeo, Part 1 of 2 - YouTube.” Accessed November 10, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ1bRbGIoY4.


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