Contemplation and commemoration in a culture of amnesia Re-interpreting Flagstaff Garden
Post graduate YR2_thesis project_individual work
Living in a culture of amnesia, we all belong to part of an ocular centrism world that Juhani Pallasmaa stated in the ‘Eyes of the skin’ to be “perceived predominantly by the privileged vision under the elimination and suppression of other senses, reinforcing a sense of and simultaneity”, in which nowadays, we become disconnected from the nourishing land and water that used to give birth to all creatures of living form, now replaced by concrete blocks of buildings and busy streets. Existing Public spaces in the civic domain provoke no sensory experiences, nor is it capable of housing emotions or personal feelings. The city becomes an empty vessel that drifts long from its past and history, rejecting ideas of commemoration and contemplation. Yet research on historic and contemporary rituals across different cultures has proven to us that public spaces which care for our emotional wellbeing have long existed to be an integral part of us that cannot be separated from everyday living. Using Flagstaff garden as a testing ground, the project explores opportunities to work with the existing condition of the site, engaging with both its physical and intangible qualities on activating sensorial experiences that help to constitute spaces of commemoration and contemplation. The new generation Flagstaff garden would enable users of the next century to regain the ability to root their own feelings, memories and narratives in public spaces, while having access to the forgotten narratives of the past. It would grant people, especially city dwellers with ample space and opportunity for commemoration and contemplation, bypassing the culture of amnesia.
Melbourne General Cemetery Radius(km) 20
Momuments in Melbourne CBD Bali Memorial
The Memorial fountain commemorates the innocent victims of the 2002 Bali Bombing. 202 people perished in the bombings, including 99 Australians and 22 Victorians. The memorial features a fountain, which includes 202 lights, one for every person who lost their life in the catastrophe.
Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner The work is produced in commemoration of two Tasmanian Aboriginal men, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, who were publicly hung in the first execution conducted in Melbourne on the corner of Bowen & Franklin Streets (Behind the City Baths) on January 20, 1842. in 1842. Their execution was the biggest story of the day in the newspapers. It is understood that Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were buried on the site of the Queen Victoria Market between sheds E and F.
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Melbourne General Cemetery
8 Hour day Monument
John Batman’s grave
A monument commemorates the 8 Hours Movement which was initiated in Victoria in 1856. The monument was originally unveiled in Spring Street in 1903. In 1924, the monument was removed to Russell and Victoria Streets and unveiled for the second time on February 13th, 1924.
The monument commemorates John Batman ( 1800 -1839) who is best known as a founding father of Melbourne. Batman was buried in the old Melbourne cemetery (since 1922 the Queen Victorian Market), but no headstone marked his grave. When interest in Batman arose 40 years later it was near impossible to establish his burial place. Once found, a bluestone monument was erected in his memory in 1881 and publicly unveiled on the 3rd June 1882.
Queen Victoria Market (Old Melbourne Cemetery, 1837 -1922) Flagstaff Garden,West Melbourne (The colony’s first burial ground) Melbourne CBD
EXISTING SPACES FOR COMMEMORATION OFTEN STAND AS NEGLECTED OBJECTS AND SPACES IN THE CIVIC DOMAIN IT IS CRUCIAL TO TREAT INCORPORATING COMMEMORATION INTO PART OF CIVIC LIVING AS AN ALTERNATIVE STARTEGY IN RESPONSE TO CEMETERY SHORTAGE
STARTING POINT
Main Mediums people employ for rituals that carry the purpose of contemplation and commemoration. Burning man
Different Fire Rituals across Japan
FIRE SMOKE
The Ritual of Awumbuk Burning of incense
WATER A FAREWELL TO THE DECEASED
Drive the spirit of the deceased away (Indigenour smoke ceremony) Send the spirits back collectively after welcomed them home several days earlier before the ritual. (Gozan no Okuribi, Kyoto + festival，China)
Indigenous smoke ceremony
COMMON ASPIRATIONS DERIVED FROM RITUALS
A CLEANSE Ward off evil spirits, heal and cleanse the place and the participants. (Indigenour smoke ceremony Protect participants against plague and illness. (Fire Rituals across Japan)
+Burning Insence)
WISHING FOR GOOD FORTUNE ON ALL KINDS OF MATTERS A worship of ancestor and god, the smoke being a visible substance carrying the wishes to heaven and gods (Burning Insence, The Orient)
ALLOWING REST AND RESET FROM EXPERIENCES OF STRONG EMOTIONAL REACTIONS overcome emotions resulted from separating with friends or relatives and return to an active life .(Awunbuk)
A COMMEMORATION OF THE LOSS OF BELOVED ONES
Hope for the regeneration and prosperity of the coming year. (Fire rituals across Japan) Pray for abundant harvest, family safety, safe delivery/pregnancy, disaster/bad-luck prevention, and property protection against fire hazards. (Fire rituals across Japan)
express emotion and reflect on the loss of friends and beloved ones.(Burning man)
CULTURAL RELEVANCE
(physical+mental)
NOISE DENSITY GLARE TRAFFIC
Sites of construction, destruction, demolition and road works are carried out constantly that shaped the identity of an city in evolving. Such image simultaneously established an implied pressure on city dwellers under a symbolism of speed and efficiency.
Being at the major conjunction of different traffic mode, noises from surrounding roads and public transport circling around the city are the dominant source of sounds you would hear. Surrounding buildings form the cityscape that appear unavoidable despite the vegetation provides great canopy cover. Slopes created by the topography and street infrastructure(seatings and lighting) laid out following edges of the road determined the way people seat and engage with the landscape. Building reflecting a strong glare from direct sun exposure, leading to discomfort to the eyes. Medium Density Building Blocks
High Density Building Blocks
A cookie-cutter space Flagstaff
High Density Building Blocks
View to docklands through the gaps of buildings Yarra River - The ‘Birrarung’ LEGEND Green Space Waterway
View enforced/dominated by tall buildings surrounding the site
A fragmented landscape shaped by geometries enforced by organised road networks and bounded building blocks, promoting a sense of order
A closer look at flagstaff garden nowadays, its limitations and struggles
Significance of wetland
An indicative Map of what landscape could look like before colonisation
Supported the regular meetings of clans from across the entire territory of the Kulin. These gathering provided opportunities for a range of necessary activities such as exchange of marriage partners and the enacting of religious and initiatory ceremonies. (Presland, 2014)
Waterway
Legends
Hill
Wetland
BRACKISH GRASSLAND (EVC 934) Predominant structure BRACKISH LAKE AGGREGATE
The specific location chosen for a settlement by Europeans in the Port Phillip area in 1835 was determined largely by the presence of a reliable source of portable water (Presland, 2014)
GRASSY WOODLAND
EASTERN HILL
(EVC 636)
Coastal Salt marsh
FLAGSTAFF HILL WEST MELBOURNE SWAMP BRACKISH LAGOON BOUVERIE STREAM
volcanic activity and lava first formed the land we stand on today.
The widest section of the river known as ‘The pond’ is a natural basin in the river that was also deeper, through the action of the water falling over the rock ledge. This natural pond became the place for docking and undocking boats in the earliest days of Melbourne. (Presland, 2008)
Water of Birrarung once locked in mountains, in the huge lake called Moorool, or Great Water.
the source of fresh water secure livelihood - a variety of natural materials markers to the boundaries of clan estates
BATMAN’S HILL THE ‘Falls’ BIRRARUNG THE ‘Pond’
Significance of Birrarung(The Yarra) COASTAL SALTMARSH (EVC 9)
EMERALD HILL
SANDRIDGE LAGOON
WOI WURRUNG
The forming of glaciers and dropping of water level, exposed the topography and forming indigenous flora and fauna.
BOON WURRUNG
Pre-1836
Flooding raises the sea level up again, forming Birrarung and its tributaries.
1836 An early view of Melbourne from the south of the Yarra, probably reconstructed after 1836.
Mapping of yarra river and its tributaries. based on resource retrieved from: https://www.vewh.vic.gov.au/rivers-and-wetlands/central-region/yarra-river#!
The formation of the land and water - The foundation of Melbourne
R. Hofmann, after 1838. Oil on linen, mounted on masonite. Melbourne, 1836. Retrieved from http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/node/868
People’s connection to land and water at the edge of vanish right after colonisation
I. Type of space Create place of gather for
cater for solitudes
joyful celebrations and solemn ceremonies
Capable of guiding and shifting people’s focus A place that would not separate from mental and physical distractions people from the historic layers produced by the urban environment and narratives associated the site, rather, retelling history, reating it as a to subtle landscape layers and elements, such as earth,topography, soil, water, tangible form of commemoration wind, cloud, fallen branches and leaves of landscapes no longer visible COMMEMORATION
CONTEMPLATION
II. Purpose
- PERSONAL/COLLECTIVE -
Allow people to commemorate the loss of their beloved ones through mediums employ for rituals such as fire, smoke and water - COLLECTIVE -
Acknowledge the relationship people once had with land and water and remind city dwellers of the vibrant ecosystem long gone after the arrival of europeans
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Allow people to enter a designated mind space achieved through: filtering surrounding noise with the flow of water Utilising ground line markings to lead people walking among the eucalyptus, tracing the uniqle qualities of the landscape and feel the tranquilly it offers from the ground up Allow calming and soothing of mind
Reactivate public spaces in Flagstaff Garden for commemoration and contemplation
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Design Intent
EL
Eucalyptus Leucoxylon (Yellow Gum)
ECA
Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum)
ECL
Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum)
Using vegetation layer as a starting point to distinguish different site characteristics ECA
Eucalyptus polyanthemos (Red Box)
EP
AC
Angophora costata (Smooth barked apple)
CM
Corymbia maculata (Spotted gum)
EL
ECA
ECL
ECL
Elm ECL
Eucalyptus +Corymbia, Angophora
ECL CM CM
Eucalyptus Planting
AC
ECL
Morton Bay Fig
EP
Oak
EP
Other variaties
Corymbia citriodora (Lemon scented gum)
Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River red Gum)
Lophostemon confertus (Brush Box)
Deciduous
Native
Evergreen
Exotic
Elm centred boulevard planting
Informal Planting
SITE IIIA CALMING PLACE TO BE FOUND
Eucalyptus Planting
AT THE EDGE WHERE CLEAR SKY REVEALS ITSELF AGAINST THE EUCALYPTUS
SITE IIPASSAGE TO THE HILL TOP WHERE WATER FLOW DOWN TO COMFORT LOST SOULS
Elm centred boulevard planting (Linkage to Colonization)
Informal Planting (Possible the location of the old cemetery)
SITE ITHE ORIGIN OF A NEW JOURNEY FROM GOODBYES TO DEPARTURES THROUGH THE BURNING FIRE
A’
PLACE FOR COTEMPLATION
A break down of different layers of the pavilion FIRE
SOIL
PEOPLE
EARTH (Soil)
Spatial diagrams - Access and Occupation
AIR (Light and shadow)
The act of limiting entrances to the pavilion encourage people to find their way through the surrounding vegetation.
FIRE
Lawn LEGEND
Fenced + Entrance/exit of Flagstaff Station
Accessibility Garden beds
Accessible Inaccessible Indicative flow of people
- The semi open stucture of the pavilion allows moderate amount of light to filter through and kept the space darker than the surroundings. - The light and shadow allowed people staying at the pavilion to notice the passage of time in a visual way
- The main element explored in the intervetion belongs to fire. Inspired by the application of fire from rituals across cultures, it is regarded to be the focal point of the site, the place people gather and commemorate. - it is also a contemplative element that provide light, heat, color, combining to achieve a calming environment for contenplation.
FOCUS ELEMENTS
Canopy with trunk
PLAN @1:200
Timber Main/front access to the pavilion
- Soil is selected to to bring people close to the land. It strip off a covered up landscape/world that always aiming to make people comfortable, clean, well represented, it exists as a ‘pure’ substance that support us whenever we go. -The unique sound generated by walking on the soil hoping to provide a different mind space which facilitate people with contenplation.
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Concrete Secondary/back access
Potential Access from William St Street Access Indicative flow of people
Potential Access from La Trobe St Street Access Indicative flow of people
Main/front access to the pavilion
Secondary/back access Design intervention
SITE I
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As topography travels uphill towards the hill top, The introduce of water
water flows downhill to highlight the uprising nature of the topography Existing Topography
DESIGN STARTEGY
Spatial diagrams - Access and Occupation
UPRISING TOPOGRAPHY
Access around the design intervention
Spaces for gatherings
Location of seatings (Existing + Added)
Sight of view (indicative) from seatings
LEGEND
EARTH (Slope)
Hill Top Elevation at 36m
- The slope enabled the connection between the lower elevation and the hill top, it is highlighted through introducing water on site. - The site is devided into 3 spaces by three sides to accommondate the needs of both collective gatheing and soltary activity, yet the circulation remain open for passersby.
Canopy with trunk Concrete
- Water being a medium of filtering the noise from adjacent sports amenities.
Timber
Water
Water Design intervention
VEGETATION
Existing central stage
- The sound and movement of water flowing through the designated course and falling into the pool of water at the end create a soothing effect in the landscape.
- The intervetion directed users to be walking and sitting among the vegetation, allowing them to pick up more subtle details of the landscape through wearing the light filtered through the tree leaves, taking a look at a fragile leaf fallen on the bench or end up moving with the water flow.
FOCUS ELEMENTS Pedestrian PLAN @1:200 Lawn
Lawn Central stage
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SITE II
ECA
EL
Seatings ECA
ECL
ECL
+
ECL
=
ECL CM CM AC
ECL EP
Line markings on the ground EP
EP
Eucalyptus polyanthemos (Red Box)
AC
Angophora costata (Smooth barked apple)
EL
Eucalyptus Leucoxylon (Yellow Gum)
CM
Corymbia maculata (Spotted gum)
ECA
Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum)
ECL
Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum)
Prominent Vegetation
Intervention
SCALE BAR 1:500 0
10
20 30
40
50
100
Street Level Pedestrian
Pedestrian
Lawn
PLAN @1:200
Vegetated retaining wall 0
Grass
Fallen bark EARTH (GROUND QUALITY)
AIR (SKY AND CLOUD)
Fruits Leaves
Birds
Canopy
Sunset Rain
10
20
30
BARK
Clouds VEGETATION
Changing light of the sky
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LEGEND
Sweeping leaves
Canopy with trunk Height Scale
FOCUS ELEMENTS
Design intervention
SITE III
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