THE CAPTAIN’S LANDING
LUKE DODD 2016
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THE CAPTAIN’S THE LANDING CAPTAIN’S LANDING
iv LUKE DODD Tutor / Daniel K. Brown Victoria University of Wellington, School of Architecture / 2016
ACKNOW~ LEDGMENTS
TY Thank you to my supervisor Daniel K. Brown for his extreme dedication and guidance through the design process. I would like to express special thanks to my good friend Joshua Joe-McIndoe for fantastic moral support throughout the project. I would also like to thank my life peers Luke Petterson and Callum Leslie for superior support in the studio environment. Also an extended thank you to Paul Hillier and Serdar Aydin for providing drone footage and images of the site at Owhiro Bay. These support channels have been incredibly influential to my learning and I will benefit from them for years to come.
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ABS~ TRACT
The Captain’s Landing
The ever-changing nature of the south coastal site of the Owhiro Bay Quarry proposes an endless battle between the constant erosion of history and the dangerous means by which this process operates. As the landscape around us provides us with beautiful glimpses of the past, a space to dwell upon these moments is essential to the continuing writing of the history of the site. The dangerous traverse between the rough seas and the land is courageously endeavoured by the captains of the sea. Some were not so successful in bridging this gap, which the three shipwrecks have revealed as they rest on the sea floor to the east of Owhiro Bay. The site for this design intervention is located in Owhiro Bay on the harsh South Coast of Wellington in New Zealand. Looking out to the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands from the decommissioned quarry, the shipwrecked boats and their captains who bravely went down with their ships watch on as ferries cross by along the horizon. This design intervention investigates and proposes a safe means of bridging the harsh transition from sea land - one where a captain can land ashore safely so that his feet will remain dry, whilst providing these glimpses of the history and journeys embarked before them. Through translating the multitude of horizons into a smooth journey, and seeking remembrance of the fallen captains of the past in which the rough waves and tidal changes are constantly taking away, Owhiro Bay will live on and facilitate new journeys for the people of the sea.
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CON~ TENTS
INTRO~ DUCTION
SITE ANALYSIS
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Introduction to the project and what will be achieved.
Analysis of the site for the project at Owhiro Bay and the wider context of Wellington.
PRELIM~ INARY CONCEPT DE~ VELOP~ MENT
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A collection of quickly collaged images that experiment with possible site dynamics and interventions.
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DESIGN IN~ FLUENCE
PRELIM~ INARY DESIGN
DEV~ ELOPED DESIGN
CON~ CLUSION
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Analysis of design influences and how they relate to the project.
Exhibition of preliminary design.
Exhibition of the developed design.
Concluding the project and where to from here.
INTRO~ DUCTION
R / View from the bridge A view looking back at the cabins from Red Rocks as the visitors explore the coastline while they stay.
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The seafarers journey across the seas is one that is exciting and explorative, equally dangerous and stressful. Easily bridging the gap between sea and land and providing a safe and relaxing place to stay for a few nights to unwind, but still feel close to the captain’s heart and boat is what this investigation intends to achieve. The desired architectural solution will be arrived at through sketch development and exploration of design problems in the form of photoshop collageing images that solve the issues surrounding the journey. Three-Dimensional modelling will resolve smaller details and refinements of the overall design. Limitations to the design investigation include the need for careful consideration of public and private spaces as this site is used popularly by the public, aswel as people who live in a few small cabins further down the beach. Programme is to be restricted to cabins so that the landscape is not dominated by the architectural intervention. Structural issues will result as the site consists of hard and dense rock that will be hard to penetrate with foundations, so the intervention will have to rest above the landscape, and maybe be nestled in further down by the sea where the land is softer.
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SITE ANALYSIS
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The rough materiality of the beach site is divided by natural processes as waves push sediment up to certain positions along the beach. Grasses catch sand like a net to form dunes or bodies on the land. An accessway marks the passage of humans along the coastline and acts as a divider between the land and the sea. The composition of the site proposes many contextual elements in which a design outcome will be responsive and respectful of the site, but will also be meaningful in its references.
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The small valley between the carpark and the quarry is home to a small stream which carries rainwater from the hills marks where the land meets the sea. Viewshafts from high up in the quarry out to the ocean in which the quarry steps are mimicked by the waves and ferry paths across Cook Strait. This relationship is constant through time with only variations in weather.
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Owhiro Bay Quarry The old quarry along Owhiro bay is marked heavily in the land with its large steps indicating the rich history of the site and the surrounding context. The Owhiro quarry was formed in 1905 when the first gravel was shovelled from the hill and quarrying began a few years later. The year 2000 brought the purchase of the old quarry by the council in which smoothing of the harsh contours took place as a result of public concern over the environmental effects of such a large intervention in the natural coastal landscape and processes. The contours themselves can be observed not only in plan like fingerprints in the land representing the identity and history of the site, but in elevation as oversized steps in a pathway up to the sky.
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A / Location Overview The Eastern most tip of the South Island can be visibly seen from certain points on the quarry which aren’t blocked by the hill leading around to Red Rocks. This reference to the South Island is important because from the site you can observe all of the modern day connections between the two lands. The Cook Strait Ferries pass by along the horizon numerous times a day, and planes fly in and out of Wellington’s South Coast, taking people between the Islands, connecting the two lands across the body of water.
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NORTH WELLINGTON CITY
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SOUTH ISLAND
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COOK STRAIT STRAIT FERRY COOK FERRY PATH PATH
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OWHIRO BAY
41°20’44.0”S 174°44’44.0”E LOCATION SOUTH COAST OF WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND 1 2 3 4
QUARRY BEGINS 1905 WELLINGTON & CYRUS 1874 YUNG PEN 1982 PROGRESS 1931
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1/ Important viewshafts from the quarry towards the South Island, the horizon lines occupied by the sea, waves and the passing ferries, and acknowledgement of the three shipwrecks on the south-eastern side of Owhiro Bay are important because they are perfectly framed by the hills of the bay.
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2/ The valuable views of the connection between the North and the South Island, along with the diagonal axis of New Zealand forms the basis of an orthogonal grid marking these points. Shifting the axial grid to connect the two islands.
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3/ Not only does the vast Ocean house valuable points of interest, the land does too. Scarred hills and cliffs, streams and pathways define the site, so the grid cloaks the land aswel.
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PRELIMINARY CONCEPT DEVELOP~ MENT
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A / Rebuilding the Quarry This photo collage brings together images to represent a village of workers who are tasked to rebuild the landscape that was taken away in the quarrying process. Ships bring in rock and stone to the jetty, which is then craned over to the quarry and assembled. The bridged landscape forms a village above and temporary workers live in huts along the coastline. R / Ship came in to harbour These three boats are nod to the shipwrecks on the edge of Owhiro Bay. They carry the lives of the passengers onboard and their luggage, and have settled in the bay for many years to come, This image is the most influential toward the development of the project through their form and ideas backing them.
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L / The Aeronautical Archive The ravine towards the right of the Quarry houses an archive of planes that are past their use by date. They enter vertically and are slowed down to a stop via catch ropes like on an aircraft carrier. They are stored in the archive for years to come. A / Stargazers These watch-houses are cited all along the coastlines of New Zealand and monitor the stars to ensure that they aren’t up to their usual antics of crashing into earth and causing trouble. They also house plants to sell to locals so that they can pay for power and internet.
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DESIGN INFLUENCE
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BANGLADESH SHIPYARDS
Bangladesh Shipyards The historic references to seafaring and sunken ships bring the Bangladesh ship wrecking yards to mind. Decommissioned ships are beached in the muddy swallows of the coastline of Bangladesh as they are taken apart and their metals recycled. Similar to the site at Owhiro bay is the scars left in the sea and landscape from the industrial forces at play. Bringing the seafarers journey onto land and unpacking it is an important driver of the project. Images reference: http://www.martinhurley.com/bangladesh-shipbreaking-photos/
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LP / Satellite View of Shipyard Satellite views show the vast amount of ships left to be disassembled and recycled and the scars left behind by the large hulls. L / Section of a ship This image shows the scale of the ship and the imprint that it makes on the ground when it falls to rest. That is a person on the top.
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L / Worlds Largest Container Ship The construction of this container ship stands out to me in its composure and scale. The drydock on the sides hold back the landscape to make way for the hull of the ship to be built inside. This notion is translated into the project to ensure that seafarers can land safely on land in the harsh conditions of Wellington’s South Coast. Image reference: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread. php/589725-Hyundai-starts-work-on-world-s-biggest-container-ships
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PRELIMINARY DESIGN
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A / Mapping the Journey A collection of sketches exploring the ideas of a captain mapping a journey. R / Captain’s Plan Planning the docking process to land safely on shore so that his feet stay dry.
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TL / Site Plan Site plan of Owhiro Bay showing the drydock and the cabins sitting above the pool. BL / Site Section A section of the site running directly South through the Quarry, cabin and drydock.
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R / Dockside Perspective looking up the drydock as the captain comes to shore.
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R / Captain’s Landing This basic sectional view through the cabins doubles as a plan of what would be the structure and body of water within the base of the cabins.
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L / Cabin Cam A view of the cabins which are connected by the bridge above the pool. Entrance to the cabins is along the bridge. R / View from the Bridge Completing the journey from sea to land is a view from the cabins looking back towards the Southern ocean.
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DEVELOPED DESIGN
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SITE PLAN + FLOORPLANS
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A / Cabin Cam A site plan showing the relationship of the cabins and drydock to the Quarry and landscape. R / Cabin Floorplans Small arrangement floorplans show the directionality of the cabins in which one faces towards the South Island and the other two directly South.
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CABIN ONE
CABIN TWO
CABIN THREE
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Note: View next page for close-up floorplans
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ENTRY LEVEL / 0m
LEVEL ONE / 10m
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LEVEL TWO / 17m
LEVEL THREE / 25m
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LEGEND 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ENTRY DECK ENTRY FOYER / WASHING & STORAGE KITCHEN FIREPLACE BATHROOM LIVING BEDROOM LOOKOUT MEZZANINE ABOVE BATHROOM
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SECTION
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L / Site & Cabin Section This basic sectional view through the site and cabin two show the relationship to the landscape and give scale of interior spaces.
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L / View from the bridge A view of the journey along the bridge to enter the cabin. R/ View from Bedroom Looking out from the bedroom of cabin one towards the other two cabins.
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R / View from the bridge A view looking back at the cabins from Red Rocks as the visitors explore the coastline while they stay.
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L / Southern View This ‘Seagull View to the South Island’ looks down over the landscape and cabins, highlighting the connections between the architecture.
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R / Stairwell view Looking out from the stairwell of cabin two along the bridge. Each landing of the spiral staircase has two porthole windows looking out, framing small elements of the surrounding landscape.
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CON~ CLUSION
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The architectural response to the problem that seafarers face in their travels of the vast oceans is one that needs to bridge the gap between the sea and the land with ease. Through this investigation I have learnt the importance of the journey through nature. A captain’s journey from sea to land in particular is one that is treacherous and stressful, one that needs to be planned out so that the landing is smooth and their boat is not damaged in the process. The journey across the ocean and towards land and up to the cabins is one that is layed out seamlessly as the captain sails closer into the bay. He can see the cabins as reference points in the landscape as he sails toward the drydock, and when docked can easily walk up onto the bridge and into the cabins. With further development and refinement of the design, the drydock will need to be developed even further in order to fully ensure that the captain’s experience of landing onshore is safe and can be achieved with ease.
TY.