NE LANCE
journal.
MELBOURNE SURVEILLANCE MUSEUM
SEMESTER 1 2020 STUDIO 39 REMEMBER ARCHITECTURE LUCY LEVER-BRINE
Hello. My name is Lucy Lever-Brine
My hyphenated surname means that within about five seconds you could find me on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, about four different university websites, on the alumni website for my high school, and on social media accounts of my friends and family. You could probably dig up my old Myspace account if you searched hard enough. As a millennial/Gen-Y-er, I have grown up amidst the explosion of technological advancement in the 21st century, having been exposed to the infinite universe that is the internet from a young age. Things have come a long way since the MSN chat rooms of my youth. Most of the everyday activities I engage in include forms of technology and data collection, which have been substantially accelerated in 2020 with almost every aspect of my life making the transition to online platforms. I am daily presented with alerts from websites asking me to accept cookies, or advertisements popping up on Instagram minutes after I search something online. I am aware that my data has been collected online for a long time, yet these days the data collection and tracking is so blatantly obvious that I find myself numb to it. My investigation into creating a museum to showcase exhibitions about surveillance technologies has led me down a path of fascinating, thought provoking and sometimes slightly alarming discoveries that seem to become more and more topical as the year goes on. As a budding architect I believe architecture has the power to facilitate change and inspire discussions and opinions as a vessel amongst the social cityscape. I don’t believe architecture can be passive, as design must always have an agenda behind it. It is up to architects to design spaces within which life takes place, helping to facilitate experiences and emotions through the means of the built environment.
PART 1: INTROUDCTION
Studio 39 REMEMBER ARCHITECTURE This studio was expertly led by Shervin Jaberzadeh, Alison Pedder and Greg Gong of Denton Corker Marshall, a practice widely renowned for its spectacular civic and commercial buildings both in Melbourne, nationally and internationally. With 2020 marking the 20th anniversary of DCM’s Melbourne Museum and the opening of their latest museum project, the Shepparton Art Museum, this year’s studio brief required students to design their own small to medium scale museum in Melbourne. Over the course of the semester, students were encouraged to investigate the role of the museum in their cities and societies, and how this role may have changed over the last twenty years. Several of DCM’s civic buildings served as excellent case studies to form a basis for the students’ direction. The knowledge acquired through these investigations equipped students with a sound understanding of how museums may be designed for the future, and how architects play a vital role when it comes to cultural and social engagement within societies.
Sketch for the Shepparton Art Museum Competition, 2017 01
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE MUSEUM? The role of the public museum and its image in the cityscape is not what it used to be. Historically, the public museum was used as a civic tool to educate and enlighten the masses. However, it is only over the last fifty years or so that we have seen the museum emerge as a form of entertainment. This change has been spurred by the emergence of the power of the consumer, and the rapidly changing, technologically obsessed, commercial society we find ourselves in today. It has become evident that today, historical artefacts are no longer the sole focus of museums, despite remaining a core function for many. We are living in an economy where experiences are staged and consumed, and consequently, architects are continually having to reconsider who and what the museum is intended for. With an ever-increasing influx of tourist visitors, and museums becoming more accessible that ever, museum design must continue to incorporate flexible spaces for new programs and contemporary exhibitions that appeal to visitors of today - spaces that people can engage with rather than contemplate. Despite the museum type becoming more and more diversified, museums still act first and foremost to display content of some kind, whether it be a science museum or a corporate museum. It is the way in which these objects are being displayed, and their synthesis with other programmatic spaces, that is different to the ‘original purpose’ of a museum, but it is a necessary transformation that is taking place in order for the museum to stay relevant in the civic realm. The diversity of museum types is simply a reflection of the diversification of content available in our ever-changing societies.
CHANGING CONTENT Museum expert Paul Walker has suggested that museums of natural history are recieving much less attention than they had in the past, with people becoming more interested in art museums and museums that offer unique architectural experiences. The Natural History and ethnography museum’s connection to colonial enterprise has caused them to lose stature as influential structures in the public realm. This has led people to no longer view these institutions as important as they once were, as most people do not see the world from the colonial point of view, and connections to colonialism are seen as an embarrassment. There has been a great rise in interest surrounding museums that are built to commemorate uncomfortable and even painful topics, such as the Jewish Holocaust Museum in Berlin. Museum architecture must then change with its content to provide respectful and impactful experiences for the 21st century visitor.
Images: nytimes.com/2019/03/20/arts/design/natural-history-museum-diorama.html archdaily.com/91273/ad-classics-jewish-museum-berlin-daniel-libeskind/
Case Study
NEW POWERHOUSE, PARRAMATTA The change in the museum visitor’s desire for more flexible programming and exhibitions is demonstrated in the winning competition design for the new Powerhouse Museum that will be moved to Paramatta, described as the city’s “largest cultural investment since the Sydney Opera House”. Not one of the four renders produced for this competition by the architectural team of Moreau Kusunoki and Genton show the museum with artefacts in them. Instead, one of the core renders (Fig. 5) displays the museum as a massive outdoor entertainment venue at night, whilst the two renders that show the internal space demonstrates the building’s ability to act as both a social gathering space and a flexible space where the possibilities for its use are endless (Fig 6, Fig. 7). This design presents a forward approach when considering the role of the museum advancing into the future. Museums will have to be transformed into multi-functional, adaptive spaces in order to match society’s needs.
Images: maas.museum/new-powerhouse/
Images: maas.museum/new-powerhouse/
Museum Architecture
MAKING A STATEMENT Museum architecture is having to become more and more spectacular and innovative to keep up with visitor’s needs to be constantly wowed and presented with something new and exciting. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly competitive, as there is a lot of freedom that can be had with its design, especially when accommodating such a range of changing and additional functions, as well as acting as vessels for housing artworks, exhibitions and awe-inspiring artefacts. Essentially, museums, like many other civic institutional buildings, are having to become products themselves that are marketed to customers as massive, sculptural works of art that can be admired and consumed as a whole. Spectacular architecture allows a building, namely a museum in this case, to stay relevant and occupy space on the city’s skyline by branding itself as an attractive product to be consumed by its viewers and visitors.
Image: guggenheim-bilbao.eus
The ultimate example of such spectacular architecture is the buggenheim Bilbao by Frank Gehry, completed in 1997. The building is first and foremost praised for its unprecedented sculptural qualities that became an instant worldwide hit. Of course, the design has its critics, but the building’s success as a tour-ist destination that contributed to the revival of an entire city’s economy was no mean feat. The Guggenheim Bilbao paved the way for a new age of spectacular structures that strove to achieve a similar outcome, whilst fulfilling visitors’ thirst for new, exciting attractions, with many creating never-before-seen designs, each attempting to out-do the last.
MUSEUMS ONLINE
With many museums transcending the virtual realm and becoming online entitites, the original definition of the museum is being constantly challenged. This is especially relevant in 2020, as museums have been forced to close their physical doors and move their collections online. Despite the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in this immediate shift to online display, it has become clear that museums are having to fundamentally change their modes of display and production to adhere to the reality of most people being able to access entertainment through personal screens, from anywhere in the world. It remains to be seen whether museums will be able to transform into complete online entities, but the current hybrid nature of the museum’s architecture and programs having a strong online presence, as well as museum displays being increasingly accessible to a wider audience online, has brought a positive change to the museum typology. Emily Vearing, conservator at the Powerhouse Museum, does concede, in her opinion, that the physical object will always trump the digitised version, however this is coming from the point of view of an employee of the museum industry, and perhaps the point of view to visitors (to whom the museum is trying to engage in the first place) could be different.
Images: www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/great-court-at-the-british-museum/ britishmuseum.org/collection
Denton Corker Marshall Case Study 1:
MELBOURNE MUSEUM The stand-out feature as you approach the Melbourne Museum are its huge cantilevered canopies that create a grand sense of arrival, causing one to feel as if they are being grabbed by the builiding and brought inside. The Melbourne Museum responds to the diverse needs of the modern museum visitor in its array of additional, entertainment and educational-based programs that accompany its galleries that display a range of cultural and natural history artefacts. This has resulted in a complex of eccentric buildings laid along an axis and held together by a structural grid and canopy, including an IMAX cinema, exhibition hall, Children’s Museum and Aboriginal Cultural Centre. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, the brief required a design that would respond respectfully to its neighbour, but not overpower it. The building was lauded for its exceptional design and radical organisational approach, and continues to stand as a defining feature in Melbourne’s skyline today.
Images: dentoncorkermarshall.com
Denton Corker Marshall Case Study 2:
AUSTRALIAN PAVILION, VENICE BIENNALE
The Australian Pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennale, to put it most simply, was designed as a white box within a black box that acted as a container for art. The project was an important one, as DCM had to design a building that would express a whole country artistically and architecturally to the world. Large operable panels functioned to change the nature of the building and signify whether it was open or closed. When closed, it was a sculpture, and when open it signified the building’s story.
Images: dentoncorkermarshall.com
Denton Corker Marshall Case Study 3:
SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM (SAM)
In terms of the scale of museums, the design for the Shepparton Art Museum is unique, with its relatively small footprint and unsual height of five levels (considering its footprint). Although geometrically strong and clad with shining, man-made materials, the building still succeeds in both establishing itself as a beacon as well as melding effortlessly with the landscape without interrupting the tranquility of its surrounding park and lake. Its internal programs and galleries are focused around a large Circulation Galleria, making it a bright, welcoming destination for museum-goers.
Images: dentoncorkermarshall.com
Room Briefed Area (m²) Public Spaces Visitor Centre 250 Entry 175 Shop 50 Cafe + Kitchen 250 Bar + Lounge 175 Auditorium 125 Toilets 175 Zone Total 1200 Gallery Spaces Artist in Residence 50 Workshop 100 Galleries 1250 Special Gallery 300 Zone Total 1700 Administration 200 Storage Preparation + Conservation 100 Collection Storage 450 Crate Storage 75 Workshop Storage 75 Waste Room 30 Loading 150 Facility Management 20 Zone Total 900 Circulation 500 Plant + Services 500 Total Building Area 5000
Shepparton Art Museum
RETURN BRIEF The Shepparton Art Museum is currently under construction, and is expected to open to the public later in 2020. The studio was provided with DCM’s Return Brief for the SAM, that stipulated functional spaces required for a museum of approximately the same size. Students were requried to analyse the brief, and then alter it to suit their own museum, whilst adhering to its general size requirements. An updated Return Brief will be provided at the end of this journal to include all research and design processes that were undertaken this semester.
PART 2 : MUSEUM TOPIC Exercise 01 - Why?
OBJECT OF SIGNIFICANCE: CAMERA When tasked with choosing an object that was significant to us, I decided on the camera for several reasons. I use this object to capture all the important moments in my life. From birthdays, to reunions with friends, to cute animals to travel and adventure, Cameras help me to remember the past and look back at experiences that I want to keep with me for the rest of my life. Remembering these experiences envokes a number ofemotions and help me to “re-live” enjoyable moments of my life. The purpose of a Camera can vastly change depending on the situation in which it is found: 1. Camera as GREETING: cameras at the front of apartment blocks or office buildings allow those inside to see who is ringing their doorbells without having to face them in person. These cameras are a one-way form of surveillance that improves security for people inside buildings as well as acting as an initial form of technological greeting. 2. Camera as VANITY: cameras on peoples phones are used for capturing a number of moments, but maybe one of the most common of those is the ‘selfie’. The ‘selfie’ is more often than not a self-indulgent device in a world where looks are becoming increasingly important and can be used as a person’s ‘brand’.
Exercise 01 - Why?
OBJECT OF SIGNIFICANCE: CAMERA (Contd.) 3. Camera as SURVEILLANCE: cameras are used in a number of public places, including my local Woolworths, in order to deter people from shoplifting or identify those who have been shoplifting. 4. Camera as a FASHION STATEMENT: in the age of such advanced technology, there has been somewhat of a resurgence into ‘retro’ fashion statements, namely young people using old film cameras. Carrying and using film cameras can be seen as a kind of fashion statement as well as a rejection of technology. 5. Camera as WORK: the business of using a camera in work (photography) is a huge worldwide business. Photographers are in high demand, and produce highly varied work that can be seen as a craft that must be practiced in order to master.
Exercise 01 - Why?
Reference Museum: Map Collection: Rare and Historical Maps This map collection at the University of Melbourne comprises of approximately 15,000 items, with a number of Australia and Pacific maps, as well as old maps documented by explorers throughout Asia. The collection is physically archived in a private room, and most items have been digitised and made accessible by students and staff online, however there are still a number of maps that are only accessible physically. The current collection is due to be moved due to renovations at the University, so there has been a big push to have all items digitised before the move so everything can be accessed online. The Librarian in charge of the collection says the room in which the items are held cannot be desciribed as a ‘museum’ because the items are not on display and not accessible to the public. He claims that if it were a museum then he would be able to call himself a ‘curator’ rather than a ‘librarian’. Most of the items are archived and kept in large shallow drawers, and books are arranged in a library-style on shelves. As the entire collection is having to be moved, it is currently in a slight state of dissarray, with maps and books piled on top of one another haphazardly ready to be transported to storage. The collection is under constant surveillance due to the value of a number of its items, with security cameras and physical surveillance by the librarians and university security guards. The collection is only able to be accessed physically wtih the Librarian’s permission, and access card.
Exercise 01 - Why?
Reference Object: City of Adelaide; Environs of Adelaide on Mercators projection: Plate 20 from: The royal atlas & gazetteer of Australasia / by J.G. Bartholomew. London : T. Nelson and Sons, 1890 I chose this map as I grew up in Adelaide, and so the map makes a lot of sense to me. It is interesting to compare the city of Adelaide now to how it was documented over 100 years ago. As one of the main capital cities of Australia, an map of Adelaide would be valuable to the University of Melbourne’s collection. The way maps were documented by early European settlers can give us insight into a European style of town planning, and how cities were organised to maximise form as well as function. The planning of the city of Adelaide follows lines of a grid, that make moving around the city and orientating onself extremely easy. The grid is mimicked by a number of important suburb plans in the wider region. This map could be useful to students at the university who were studying the history of town planning, as well as students in urban design and architecture.
After presenting the different types of our chosen object to the studio, we were tasked with chosing the most evocative image of the five we had taken. This image would then form the basis for our museum topic. Chosen Object: Camera as Surveillance Hence, my museum would become a
MUSEUM OF SURVEILLANCE This image stood out as the one with the most depth and social commentary attached to it. Its many layers would allow me to tease out several aspects that could be investigated in my new museum’s design. I found it interesting that the surveillance in the case of this image was so obvious, as usually when we think of surveillance, we think of secrecy and censorship. It is almost as if the camera is saying “you shouldn’t have a problem with being filmed if you haven’t done anything wrong.” This is the basic understanding of all surveillance that is intended for ‘safety’ or ‘security’ purposes, but how can I be sure that I am not being filmed for other purposes? That my information isn’t being tracked or hacked by other entities hiding in the shadows? This image further demonstrates the play between sight lines and thresholds - I am taking a photo on my phone of the television screen that is showing me being filmed in real time by the camera on the left. I am not looking directly at the camera - the device that is watching me, but at another device that is showing me being filmed. These aspects could be investigated in both the design of my building, as well as the content that could be displayed within it.
Preliminary Manifesto: Surveillance is a phenomenon that has morphed throughout the 20th century in order to become one of the most common yet contentious topics in the world today. In the middle of the 20th century and perhaps most popularly in the book 1984 by George Orwell, the idea that ‘someone is always watching’ was seen as a dystopian, fictitious idea that would ultimately doom the human race. However, as technology advanced more rapidly than anyone could have ever imagined, constant surveillance in the 21st century has become the norm. Humans have almost conceded that they are powerless to stop their constant surveillance, and even joke about their phones listening to their conversations, and face and voice recognition being able to be used by Artificial Intelligence to impersonate them (even though it’s very probable that all these things could be happening). The building is going to address the concept of being watched, and always watching, and how sometimes we know or can even see we are being watched and don’t even bat an eyelid because it has become such a common occurrence. Today in 2020, countless devices are used as surveillance on politicians, celebrities and even you or I to gather data for companies and benefit the flow of the economy. In our rapidly changing technological society, how will surveillance change even more? Will people continue to lose trust in each other because they are afraid they can’t do or say anything wrong?
Defining the Museum Subject
SURVEILLANCE
Surveillance involves the monitoring of behaviour, activity, or gathering of information intended to be used to manage, direct or influence. The Cambridge dictionary defines surveillance as “the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the police or army, because of a crime that has happened or is expected.”
As the idea of “surveillance” is so broad, I need to be specific about what aspects of it I am trying to emulate in my design. I want to begin with the image of my object, that I took at Woolworths with the security camera and the screen that was showing me being videoed. In turn, I was taking a photo of myself being recorded by the camera, adding an extra dimension and element to the action of being recorded. The overarching notion taken from this image is that of being watched, and knowing that your personal identity and data are being recorded somewhere unknown. I want to predominantly bring to attention the fact that people are constantly being watched and under surveillance in most aspects of their normal lives, including at the supermarket. There is a strong discourse surrounding the ethics of surveillance, and what information is actually being gathered and for what purpose, questioning who it benefits and how it is being used to control the individual. This dialogue has been widely debated throughout much of the 20th century up until present day, and has been dramatized in popular culture in the form of dystopian film, literature and art. The idea of surveillance is inextricably linked with the concept of authority, and I want to further investigate how buildings of authority or buildings that emulate power have succeeded in establishing dominance in their urban spheres, and how architecture can be used to instil fear, discomfort and compliance within its inhabitants. Museum conceptual topics: • Security cameras • Facial recognition • Technology tracking + Spyware • Government/Political Power
WORD BRAINSTORM: SURVEILLANCE
SECRET WATCH
DISTRUST
LISTEN SPY FOLLOW INVESTIGATE PHOTOGRAPH CATCH PREDATOR
TRICK EXPOSE REFLECT REVEAL DISTORT HIDE REAL FAKE ISOLATE CENSOR IDENTITY DISAPPEAR TRANSPARENT VISIBLE
INFORMATION OBEY
PERSUADE DECEIVE FEAR INSTINCT DISCOMFORT SUSPICION
HACK ANARCHY RESISTANCE ANONYMOUS
CONTROL AUTHORITY COMPLY ENFORCE DOMINATE PUNISH STRICT
POWER PROTECTION SAFETY DATA STATE GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY SIRI SCREEN
SURVEILLANCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE At such a turbulent time as the current political, cultural, and social climate we find ourselves in today, the discourse surrounding Surveillance is becoming more and more prevalent. When it comes to discussing this topic to form a basis for my brief development, it seemed obvious to start at the place where my chosen image was taken – Carlton Woolworths – my local supermarket. This would serve as a platform to spring from when considering the content of my museum: how many forms of surveillance can be found in the average person’s daily routine? The fact is, everyone is aware that they are under some degree of surveillance most of the time, but most people don’t seem to mind very much, conceding that they are powerless against the authoritarian, often state-led forces of surveillance. This is especially prevalent given the abundance of technology that is integrated into our everyday lives, and these days people joke about their phones being able to listen in to their conversations, and how face recognition could be used to steal a person’s identity. The most common form of surveillance found in our every day lives is of course our mobile phones. Everything can be accessed from these personal hand-held devices, and most people never leave the house without them. Phones can be used to collect location data, and many online apps accessed from the device may require some form of personal information. Similarly, it is widely accepted that our computers and search history are being tracked, with most websites using ‘cookies’ to gather and store information that will provide you with personal ised advertisements. CCTV Surveillance cameras are installed by the millions around the world, and are often monitored by automated computer programs rather than humans, which poses many risks in itself. Their purpose is to monitor and observe to keep the public safe, which is more or less true, but there has been growing uncertainty surrounding this issue of who is actually able to access this information.
Surveillance in 2020
COVID-19 Over the last few months since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of tracking technologies throughout the world has grown astronomically. Several measures have been implemented to try and stem the spread of the virus through quarantining and tracking outbreaks. The most common form of surveillance that has been used to battle the pandemic is the use of smartphone location data. In Australia, the Covid safe app has been met with equal amounts praise and skepticism. Understandably, many people do not want to download an app to track their movements, as there is much distrust in authoritaries to properly handle this information, with grave risks if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Australia’s measures are relatively relaxed, however, compared with other countries around the world. In Hong Kong, people who arrive into the city are forced to wear electronic tracking bracelets and in Paris, surveillance cameras in the metro system are being used to detect whether people are wearing masks or not. In Poland, citizens who are quarantined must use an app called Home Quarantine to prove they are self-isolating by sending a picture of themselves at home when requested by the app within 20 minutes or face a fine. In the USA, aerial drones with temperature sensors and other apparratus to detect people in public who may have the virus can detect fevers, sneezing, respiratory rate, and whether people are keeping their distance from one another. And perhaps most bizarrely of all, it has been reported that drones in China are being used to spread information about the prevention and control of the virus by ‘yelling’ at people in public who are breaking the rules during the pandemic. In Chengdu, a small group of residents were appraoched by a drone that began to speak: “Playing mahjong outside is banned uring the epidemic. You have been spotted. Stop playing and leave the site as soon as possible.” Chinese authorities are also tapping public cameras to run facial recognition searches, and citizens are being tracked through their phones.
Surveillance in Pop Culture: Literature
1984 by George Orwell This book forms the basis for much of my initial inspiration for the Museum of Surveillance. Although published in 1949, Orwell’s dystopian future in his novel has come to fruition in a scarily accurate way. In the novel, Big Brother (an unknown governmental force) controls the country’s population through surveillance – monitoring the citizens’ every move with the authority of absolute power. The fear of constantly being watched and knowing that they will be punished if they rebel in any way, forces citizens to live their lives in strict adherence to the harsh rules established by the government. Different types of surveillance used in the novel extend to Telescreens (that can hear and see everything the citizens do), small microphones hidden throughout the city, and the Thought Police, who monitor people they assume to be thinking against the government. The concepts generated by this classic novel that I could translate architecturally in my museum could include spaces that make the inhabitants feel like they are being watched or followed, strictly controlling their movement throughout the building for fear of being reprimanded. Screens and microphones that document the presence of the visitor, blatantly demonstrating a collection of their data could be implemented to bring more attention to the presence of surveillance in their everyday lives.
Surveillance in Pop Culture: Film
The Bourne Films In his article, Surveillance Cinema (2012), Garrett Stewart suggests that the detective genre in film has evolved into “surveillance film.” Although the idea of surveillance remains at the helm of this film, rather than discovering the who-done-it of regular recon films, it is the search for Bourne’s own identity that is investigated. The camera shots often cycle around some variant of a spy cam, while the hero tries to avert his face and disappear into a crowd. The complexity and technological advances of surveillance in the films is obvious – with chunky computer screens, surveillance photographs and bulletin boards with thumbtacks on a map making up most of the surveillance in the first film (The Bourne Identity). By the third film (The Bourne Ultimatum), surveillance technology takes on a predatory nature, employing geo-tracking, mobile phone hacking and crowd-screening. The surveillance in the films is operated by the governmental power authorised with keeping the state safe, yet the viewer sympathises with Bourne as both he and the government powers try to establish his true identity. Within my museum, these ideas could generate a strong discourse around how surveillance aims to reveal who we are as people from a different perspective, through being shown form different angles through camera and screen, just as I was in the Woolworths security camera screen. This could bring about creating thresholds of different transparency that reveal what is behind little by little. Creating experiences where one is being chased or watched, as displayed in the films, could also be recreated architecturally by implementing voids that purposefully ‘look down upon’ the building’s inhabitants. This could equally be recreated in small, uncomfortable spaces that make the visitor feel like they are being backed into a corner, forcing them to flee, although they don’t know what it is they’re fleeing from.
Surveillance in Pop Culture: Graffiti
One Nation Under CCTV by Banksy Banksy’s (once again controversial) work in London in 2007 depicted a child in a read sweatshirt painting the phrase “ONE NATION UNDER CCTV” whilst being watched by a police officer and dog. Interestingly, the mural was painted underneath a CCTV camera on the building, but still managed to maintain Banksy’s anonymity. The work aimed to criticise surveillance (excessive use of CCTV cameras in public spaces, especially the tube, as well as online) that was and still is a contentious issue in the UK. This isn’t Banksy’s only work that criticises surveillance, stencilling the words “what are you looking at?” on a blank wall faced by a CCTV camera. Graffiti is one of the most widely employed forms of anarchist expression, that has been around for many years. It is often done in secret, with punishment enforced if one is caught graffitiing or besmirching public property with spray-painted slogans. Graffiti is often used as a form of political resistance, to bring to light taboo topics, contentious topics, or topics that are not widely discussed. Splashing slogans, or imagery that brings obvious attention to the fact that people are being watched in my building could be effective, counter-devices to further accentuate ideas of visibility and secrecy within the museum. As mentioned above, many people are blissfully unaware that they are being watched most of the time, as surveillance is so deeply integrated into our lives, however if blatant slogans such as ‘they are watching you’ or ‘stop watching me’ were displayed throughout the museum, the atmosphere may shift to one of suspicion and discomfort.
Surveillance in the 20th century
TOTALITARIANISM AND MASS SURVEILLANCE Totalitarianism is characterised as a political system or form or government that exercises extreme and unlimited control over public and private life. Totalitarian power restricts all opposition, and is considered the most extreme form of authoritarianism. Totalitarian regimes have been known to embody longstanding political repression, complete control over the economy, strict censorship of the press, relentless government propaganda, restrictions on speech and their most distinguishing trait: the use of mass surveillance. Although mass surveillance has been defended as necessary in the fight against terrorism, crime social unrest and the protectoin of national security, it has often been criticised for violating privacy, civil and political rights and freedoms. There are constant fears that the increase in mass surveilance could cause the development of a surveillance state, or a totalitarian state, as seen in the 20th century. Some of the most well known leaders of totalitarian states during this time were Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin. George Orwell’s 1984 realised the worst fears of a totalitarian future.
The future of Surveillance
Facial Recognition Advancements Most people’s nonchalance at falling under the gaze of a CCTV camera is due to their knowledge that they are more or less passive machines that act as portholes for people to look through - only then does it become useful. Most surveillance cameras function more as a deterrence or to provide evidence if something goes wrong. But this passivity is changing. Artificial Intelligence is equipping digital eyes such as surveillance cameras with the brains to match - giving them analytical powers with no human supervision. This could be a good device to more easily spot crimes and accidents, but also raises alarming questions about the future of privacy and the risks to social justice. Studies have shown that AI systems absorb the racial and sexist prejudices of the societies that program them, from image recognition software that places women in kitchens, to criminal justice systems that suspect black people over white people. These dangers must be resolved before widespread AI surveillance systems embed themselves too deeply into society.
PART 3 : SITE INVESTIGATION Exercise 02 - Where?
EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS The Melbourne Surveillance Museum will be located at the Carlton Woolworths shopping precinct where my chosen image was taken. The precinct is a tired mall that desperately needs an upgrade. The choice to situate a Surveillance museum in the heart of a retail and hospitality hotspot aims to critically demonstrate how deeply surveillance is integrated into aspsects of our everyday lives, especially in activities we engage in on a daily basis, such as shopping. Observations of site conditions at different times of day: Morning: Slow traffic, several deliveries and garbage truck. People going about their daily errands and getting their morning coffee from one of the many surrounding cafes. Two Jehovas witnesses positioned themselves at the front of the restaurant next to the site. Midday: A great deal of pedestrian traffic crossing the median strip to the precinct from businesses on the opposite side of Drummond St. People also used this median strip (that I was sitting on too) to relax and take their lunch breaks. A large tour group came past and stopped at the adjacent restaurant to talk about its history. Many people with bikes - Drummond St is much more bike friendly than Lygon St. It acts as a peaceful thoroughfare from the city to the Northern Suburbs. Demographic: families, elderley, disabled, professionals, immigrants from the social housing down the road. Many of these people would sit on the bench at the front of the Woolworths entrance. Evening: The surrounding restaurants opened up in the evening, yet the street was much quieter compared to the surrounding streets such as Lygon St. Most people visiting the site were young adults doing their last-minute shopping.
View South (Drummond St)
View North (Drummond St)
Heritage building sits to the right of the chosen site
Services Access (Cochrane Place)
LAYERING THE SUBJECT OF ‘SURVEILLANCE’ ON THE SITE - COLLAGE
COCHRAN E PL
LYGON S T
ELGIN S T
EXISTING CONDITIONS The site for the museum will take up the entire Woolworths shopping precinct. The building is not heritage listed, and does not aesthetically enhance the buildings around it, instead detracting from their heritage characteristics with its dull red brick. SITE AREA: 4420m²
FARADAY
ST
DRUMMON D
ST
The proposed building footprint will follow a pathway through the site between Drummond st and Lygon St. The following site analysis diagrams will help to facilitate additional appropriate design responses for the building.
10M
COCHRAN E PL
LYGON S T
ELGIN S T
SURROUNDING BULDINGS The two most important surrounding aspects of the site are the Carlton Cinema Nova and the Woolworths at the basement level of the site. As the cinema is accessed through the current mall, a new entry will need to established in my design. Similarly, I intend to retain the Woolworths (as it is a vital feature of the suburb), and so it will require an updated entrance that will both be easily accessible, and enhance the design of the museum at the same time.
HOSPITALITY
FARADAY
ST
DRUMMON D ST
RETAIL RESIDENTIAL CARLTON CINEMA WOOLWORTHS OFFICE BUILDINGS MISC. PUBLIC BUILDINGS 10M
MOVEMENT AROUND SITE
COCHRAN E PL
LYGON S T
ELGIN S T
The most pedestrian and bicycle-friendly side of the site is at Drummond St, with much less vehicular traffic than Lygon St. Drummond St has bicycle lanes that are almost as wide as the car lanes, and there is already a large amount of bicycle racks. Pedestrian traffice is encouraged by the respite area provided by the median strip, and people often come here to relax with their coffee or on their lunch breaks. The building at the Lygon St side will have to be designed delicately so as not to interrupt the heavy flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic along it.
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SITE ACCESS With the site spanning the width of the block from west to east, there is an opportunity for two main entrances into the building. This will encourage a thoroughfare between Drummond St and Lygon St and consequent further use of the building. A service access lane (Cochrane Pl) is already used for Woolworths deliveries and can be shared with the museum.
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DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES
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As the site fits so snugly between its surrounding buildings, there is little point in creating setbacks anywhere on the site other than at the east side on Drummond St. This will allow for a better connection with the heavily used median strip whilst continuing to value the quiet, calm nature of the street compared to the bustling Lygon St. The building will need to either match the height of or rise above the tall surrounding buildings to make a statement, and adequate thoroughfare and movement through the site will need to be maintained to ensure its continued use as a multi-functional block. SITE BOUNDARY MAIN ENTRY SERVICE ENTRY
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SURROUNDING BUILDINGS CARLTON WOOLWORTHS CINEMA NOVA CARLTON 50M 100M
A Surveillance Museum in the heart of Carlton:
WHAT WILL IT ADD TO THE AREA? Once the vibrant, most popular heart of Melbourne’s food culture, over the years Carlton (and Lygon St in particular) has become completely oversaturated with restaurants and shops, causing people to look elsewhere for a more up-to-date, niche dining experience. The countless Italian restaurants seem to offer no more than a quick, hearty meal of pasta or pizza, and the struggle of the retail industry in the area is evident by the many vacant shop windows displaying ‘For Lease’ signs. This area needs a reboot - something completely different that will arouse the curiosity of regular visitors, as well as enticing new visitors. A suburb that has always been so traditionally ‘Melbourne’ is evidently struggling to keep up with the interests of the 21st century consumer. As described in Part 1, a building that makes a statement will be able to contribute both economically and visually to the tired image of Carlton. The museum will deliberately intend to stand out as a spectacle amongst the traditionally “Melbourne” suburb of Carlton, contrasting to the surrounding heritage buildings with strong, oversized features. It will become the newest destination on the circuit of Melbourne’s inner north attractions - just a short walk from the Melbourne Museum and Royal Exhibition Building at Carlton gardens. In addition to the obvious entrance on Drummond St, the museum is also accessible via Lygon St. With no setback and mirrored windows and doors at the ground floor level, the building will delicately slip in amongst the array of restaurants and shops along Lygon St. From this entrance, the museum will intend to attract people that happen to come across it whilst engaging in other activities along Lygon St.
A Surveillance Museum in the heart of Carlton:
WHO IS THE AUDIENCE? The audience for the Melbourne Surveillance Museum will consist of two major groups: those who pruposely visit the museum as a destination, and those who happen to come across it by chance and enticed in by its mystery and thought-provoking content. The museum will not only be a destination for tourists, but a place that houses installations based on a widely discussed and debated theme, aiming to attract people who are interested in contributing to the ever-changing discourse surrounding the topic of surveillance. It will also serve as a place to provide people with information so they may be better educated on the topic. In addition to the obvious entrance on Drummond St, the museum is also accessible via Lygon St. With no setback and mirrored windows and doors at the ground floor level, the building will delicately slip in amongst the array of restaurants and shops along Lygon St. From this entrance, the museum will intend to attract people that happen to come across it whilst engaging in other activities along Lygon St.
PART 4 : EXTERIOR BUILDING IDENTITY Architectural Precedents
FASCIST/TOTALITARIAN ARCHITECTURE Architecture has the unique ability to leave behind a symbol of the psyche of a time and place. Historically and into the present day, regimes have utilized architecture to symbolise strength, power and exercise authority over the collective psychology of its citizens. Fascist architecture took many cues from classical, monumental roman architecture by employing simplicity and symmetry. These structures, cold and foreboding, were built to demonstrate an unrelenting power over its people.
THE HEADQUARTERS OF MUSSOLINI’S ITALIAN FASCIST PARTY, 1934 Mussolini was one of the strongest and most terrible Fascist leaders during WWII, second only perhaps to Hitler. During his rise to power, the headquarters of his Italian Fascist Party used its facade to act as a set display for the 1934 elections in Italy. The ‘SI SI SI’ Propaganda reflected voting procedures where electors could only vote ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ to different members of the one (Fascist) Party. This building marked the beginning of numerous propagandistic buildings that broadcasted Mussolini’s achievements and objectives during his reign.This particular facade demonstrates a similar representation to Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984.
PALAZZO CIVILTA ITALIANA Nicknamed the ‘Square Colosseum’, the Palazzo Civilta was inspired by ancient roman architecture, also known as ‘Rationalism’. Built under the direction of Mussolini, the building’s scale is imposing, and is engraved with Mussolini’s speech announcing the invation of Ethiopia.
Preliminary Sketches
ARCHES + UNIFORMITY
Architectural Precedents
BENTHAM’S PANOPTICON PRISON DESIGN The Panopticon can be described as an example of totalitarianism in architecture. Designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham, the institutional building enables prisoners to be observed by a single guard or watchman in the centre. Inmates know and feel they are being watched at all times, but they cannot know specifically when they are being watched, and are therefore motivated to act as though they are being watched at all times, compelling them to regulate their own behaviour.
Preliminary Sketches
SURVEILLANCE FROM ABOVE
Architectural Precedents
THE COLONNADE For centuries, colonnades have been used as architectural devices in royal and religious buildings to demonstrate symbols of power and authority. In a historical building, the promenade through a colonnade will lead one to a space of authority. The promenade or axis that runs the length of the colonnade culminates in the entity that holds the power.
Architectural Precedents
CANTILEVERS This rigid structural element extends horizontally and almost impossibly to the untrained eye. It seems to defy gravity and is free from obstructions below. The cantilever is a literal demonstration of being towered over by a large entity - creating a physical reaction and perhaps certain discomfort as such a large, heavy structure sits above you and you wonder how it hasn’t fallen down on top of you. The cantilever also often acts as an entrance indicator. People know they must go under the cantilever to get inside the building.
Architectural Precedents
BLOCK STRUCTURES Large, simple geometric architecture exudes a particular feeling of strength, power and perhaps foreboding. Paired with heavy unwavering materials, they demonstrate a sense of permanence - yet their coldness is not necessarily inviting. These masses are so simple yet they seem to say a lot without saying anything at all. This is further demonstrated by the lack of windows, not allowing anyone to see in and stirring a sense of secrecy but also curiosity.
Preliminary Sketches
STRONG GEOMETRIES, LIMITED FENESTRATION
Preliminary Sketches
BUILDING FOOTPRINT EXTRUSIONS
Exterior Building Identity
MASSING 1 Extrude site boundary to rise above surrounding buildings
Exterior Building Identity
MASSING 2 Subtract large section of extrusion to create a plaza to connect with existing median strip rest area on Drummond St, resulting in a much needed public space for respite.
Exterior Building Identity
MASSING 3 Elevate north section of mass to create large cantilever to demonstrate the main entry point
Exterior Building Identity
MASSING 4 Skylights over atriums to control light into the atriums, clearly establishing flexible veritcal circulation areas of the building.
Exterior Building Identity
MASSING 5 Add colonnades to both entry points of the building - an external one on the Drummond St side, and internal at the Lygon St side to accentuate the procession towards the entries.
Exterior Building Identity
MASSING 4 Retain and improve existing entry to Woolworths from Drummond St, dramatize the plaza with sweeping steps to the Drummond Entry.
Materials Board
EXTERIOR FINISHES As demonstrated in the architectural examples for exterior identity, the museum’s exterior will make use of weathered concrete to demonstrate its imposing nature and permanence. The simple form of the building is enhanced by its material choices, with faint echoes of totalitarian architecture (bordering on brutalist).
Materiality + Context
STRONG GEOMETRIES, LIMITED FENESTRATION
Facade Alteration 1
TRANSLUCENT POLYCARBONATE This material was intended to demonstrate the play between solid and transparent forms, echoing the sentiment of the museum - to create illusions but never be able to see anything clearly, always maintaining some form of censorship through the materiality. Unfortunately, the intention was not realised, as a translucent facade such as this one allows an interaction between people outside and the people wtihin the building. This type of material would better suit an installation in the building’s interior, as the building’s facade intends to keep the internal functions of the museum as secret as possible, so the person on the outside will have to enter it to discover its contents rather than being able to view it from the outside. The facade would also require a reduction in gallery size in the elevated cantilever, as corridors would be required all around its perimiter to ensure light and temperature could not drastically enter the galleries.
Facade Alteration 2
ANGLED FINS Another failed attempt to play with sight lines between the exterior and interior of the building. Angled fins ensure that views can be manipulated when peple are situated in or around the building in different locations. From one spot, the facade would look close and inpenetrable, and from another you would be able to see straight inside. This option adhered to conceptual reasoning for a museum of surveillance, but ultimately, a stoic, strong concrete facade with as little penetrations as possible was deemed more effective in demonstrating a building of power and authority.
Exterior Building Identity
CONCEPTUAL COLLAGE This collage demonstrates the atmospheric and philosophical feeling that one would be presented with when approaching the building from the Drummond St side. The viewer is sitting in their car, seemingly watched by a dark figure to the left, whilst looking at the building to their right. Their creepy gaze is reflected in the car’s rear view mirror. They are looking at a towering structure that is spying on a tiny figure on the ground with a huge magnifying glass - asking them hypocritically who they are looking at. This hypocrisy the conceptual crux of what oversized, authoritative buildings are all about. They are so large and imposing that they are almost begging to be stared at, but at the same time they do not want to be looked at, and keep their contents a secret.
Final Render
DRUMMOND ST EXTERIOR
Final Render
LYGON ST EXTERIOR
PART 5 : INTERIOR BUILDING IDENTITY
Architectural Precedents
SKYLIGHTS Skylights are an incredibly useful device in both large and small buildings to control light into spaces that for structural or aesthetic reasons, cannot employ wall-based windows. They carefully control both the light into the buildnig, and the person’s sight lines within a building. With no distractions out windows except the expanse of the sky above, the visitor is forced to concentrate on what is inside the building. Conceptually, the skylight also acts as a viewport or ‘eye’ into a building, surveying it all-seeingly and all-knowingly. Large, circular skylights are situated over the two atriums in the museum that both serve to direct circulation throughout the building and galleries. Rather than using different materials to demonstrate these pathways, the skylights use light to achieve the same end.
Material Precedents
SEMI-TRANSPARENT THRESHOLDS
As mentioned when discussing the transparent polycarbonate for the facade of the building, the material encourages a play between people, objects and the thresholds between them. Surveillance is often used to censor, and materials that show the truth but perhaps not the whole truth are the physical manifestation of this concept.
Material Precedents
CONCRETE GRUNGE Similar to the building’s exterior, a grungy dark concrete will be used throughout most of the museum. This is a further demonstration of a cold, imposing, fascist/brutalist-inspired building of power. The building aims to create feelings of uncertainty and suspicion within its visitors who are aware that their movements are being recorded, and the materiality of this grungy concrete further adds to the atmosphere of discomfort. Concrete is extremely versatile, thermally effective, easy to clean and cheap. This factors are important especially when considering such a large museum such as this one.
Material Precedents
WHITE WALLS + POLISHED CONCRETE FLOORS White plasterboard will be utilised in several of the galleries to contrast with the dark, grungy concrete panels. The most traditional material used in modern museums - plasterboard allows for a blank canvas for the artist to do what they want with a space without interference of decorative or obstructing elements. Polished concrete floors throughout the museum will allowsthe space to seem even bigger and creating reflections that add another dimension to the play between vision and sight lines throughout the museum.
Material Play - Test Renders
Materials + Performance Requirements
Materials + Performance Requirements
ACOUSTICS
CONSTRUCTION REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
The concrete materiality of the building will cause it to echo, however this element will add to the visitor’s confusion of the senses, as they are already experiencing with sight lines (and is intentional to confuse them into not knowing who is watching or talking to them)
Museums are classified as CLASS 9b BUILDINGS by the Australian Building Codes Board
Galleries have the opportunities to install floating floors if more sound absorption is required.
“Class 9b buildings are assembly buildings in which people may gather for social, theatrical, political, religious or civil purposes. They include schools, universities, childcare centres, pre-schools, sporting facilities, night clubs, or public transport buildings.”
SLIP RESISTANCE
FIRE HAZARD PROPERTIES
Due to the concrete floors, slip resistant materials will be required at entrances.
Concrete is incredibly resistant to fire, and its use throughout the building ensures the materials comply with the fire resistance material requirements for Class 9b buildings in the NCC. To further comply with fire hazard requirements, sprinklers will be installed in all ceilings. Exit travel distances in accordance with Clause D1.4 of the National Construction Code 2019 are no more than 20 metres from any given point in the museum.
Materials + Performance Requirements
STRUCTURE The building will predominantly feature a concrete one-way cast in-situ slab structure. Most of the beams will span approximately 10 metres. 1m ceiling cavern allows for beam thickness and services to fit between ceiling and the 150mm concrete slab. Thinner floors that require less structure for example in the atriums, will employ a steel I-beam framing system. Elements of the museum’s structure also enhances its design by creating colonnades at both entrances of the building. This is particularly prevalent at the Drummond St side of the building, where the elevated box forms a cantilever that requires substantial support. The cantilever will require a large steel bracing truss system braced back to the east side of the building. Exposed concrete columns adds to the grungy atmosphere of the building internally. Column placement will be demonstrated in plan views in the next section.
PART 6 : ZONING
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Mid-Semester Zoning + Preliminary Plans
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COLLONADE ATRIUM (CIRCULATION) GALLERY
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STORAGE SERVICES/PLANT SHOP
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Final Form
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Services and plant are located at the rear of the building. The entire back of house area is dedicated to one floor that is not accessible to the public.
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Final Form
FUNCTIONAL ZONING SECTIONAL AXO
EDUCATION/DISCUSSION SPACE
KTICHEN BAR
AUDITORIUM EXHIBITION STORAGE
MUSEUM SHOP ADMINISTRATION CLOAK ROOM
BACK OF HOUSE PLANT + STORAGE
Vertical Circulation
L4.5
BOH + SERVICES
L4
A large service lift runs from the loading dock area at the ground floor throughout the building up to the top floor to enable easy transport of large exhibition pieces. Additional back of house access lifts have key cards that transport staff to the Administration floor (and cannot be accessed by the public). Fire exits are placed to ensure points of egress are no more than 20m from any point in the building.
L3.5
L3 L2 L1 GF
SERVICE LIFT
BOH ACCESS LIFTS
FIRE STAIRS
EMERGENCY EXITS
S P G E A C L I L A E L R Y
N Y I R A E M LL A G
Final Form 3
GALLERY ZONING
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S P G E A C L I L A E L R Y
N Y I R A E M LL A G
The galleries are situated towards the front of the building and are staggered throughout to create a journey throughL its exhibitions. Galleries are IA Y EC ER through the atrium which accessed SP ALL G provides orientation in a structure with limited fenestration, and reduces museum fatigue
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Final Form
GALLERY ZONING SECTIONAL AXO
SPECIAL GALLERY 3 WHERE THEY CAN’T SEE US
MAIN GALLERY 3 (L4) ARTIFICIAL EYES MAIN GALLERY 2 (L3) ARE YOU IN CONTROL? MAIN GALLERY 1 (L2) TOTALITARIAN POWERS AND DYSTOPIAN FEARS
PUBLIC COLONNADE GALLERY WOOLWORTHS UNDER ATRIUM
SPECIAL GALLERY 2 BODY ECHOES SPECIAL GALLERY 1 OUT OF REACH
Vertical Circulation
L4.5
PUBLIC
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The visitor’s journey can begin from either Drummond or Lygon St. From both directions the visitor will find themselves in the main atrium, where they will have to ascend the stairs at the perimeter of the atrium to reach the upper levels. Lifts are also availabe in both atriums if needed. The museum’s bar and kitchen can be directly accessed by the public without having to enter the museum by a single lift that will take them directly to Level 2.
L3.5
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VERTICAL CIRCULATION - PUBLIC
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VISITOR PATHWAY
PUBLIC LIFTS
CIRCULATION ZONES
MAIN GALLERY
SPECIAL GALLERY
VISITOR TRACKING PLAYBACK
THE FUTURE OF SURVEILLANCE
SPECIAL GALLERY
MAIN GALLERY
TRACKING VISITOR MOVEMENT
SURVEILLANCE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
MAIN GALLERY
CONTEMPLATION
SPECIAL GALLERY
POWER + AUTHORITY
OBSCURED INTERACTIONS
SURVEILLANCE IN THE 20TH CENTURY
EXHIBITION SEQUENCE
Mission Statement - Exhibition Spaces
MELBOURNE SURVEILLANCE MUSEUM The museum will explore how surveillance practices have transformed from their modern,technological inception during the 20th century, to their rapid implementation in today’s society at the hand of authoritative bodies, and how surveillance may further impact our lives in thefuture. This will be done by showcasing a collection of artworks and installations that serve ascommentary and resistance to how deeply surveillance has become and willcontinue to be imbedded into every day practices, encouraging a discourse around the power of authority to gather the information it does, and question its true purpose and scope. The museum will alsoexplore the concept of personal identity, and how privacy and information is constantly debated in the surveillance discourse. This will allow the museum to involve its visitors and their perceptions of their identities in the making and presentation of displays using interactive installations. The visitors’ interactions will be recorded at certain parts of the journey through the museum, and replayed back to them through installations, encouraging both deliberate and inadvertent interactions with others as well as their own digital selves.
Gallery Exhibition Examples
COLONNADE PUBLIC GALLERY Demonstrating power and authority
Gallery Exhibition Examples
SPECIAL GALLERY 1 OUT OF REACH Obscured Interactions
Gallery Exhibition Examples
SPECIAL GALLERY 2 BODY ECHOES Tracking visitor movement
Gallery Exhibition Examples
MAIN GALLERY 1 TOTALITARIAN POWERS AND DYSTOPIAN FEARS Surveillance in the 20th Century
Gallery Exhibition Examples
MAIN GALLERY 2 (L3) ARE YOU IN CONTROL? Surveillance in our everyday lives.
Gallery Exhibition Examples
MAIN GALLERY 4 (L4) ARTIFICIAL EYES The future of surveillance and Artificial Intelligence
Gallery Exhibition Examples
SPECIAL GALLERY 3 (L4) WHERE THEY CAN’T SEE US Visitor movement playback and contemplation space
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CHECK IN
LOADING DOCK
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ATRIUM
VISITOR LIFTS
BACK OF HOUSE CIRCULATION
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BACK OF HOUSE SERVICE LIFT
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MAIN GALLERY 3: DIGITAL EYES
SPECIAL GALLERY 3 WHERE THEY CAN’T SEE US
UPDATED RETURN BRIEF: MELBOURNE SURVEILLANCE MUSEUM