David Heath Concise ADR by marieluise jonas

AUSTRALIA’S HEARTLANDS REDIRECTING SUBURBIA

DAVID HEATH S3136499

AUSTRALIA’S HEARTLANDS

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

v vii ix

METHOD

ONE

SITE CONTEXT

TWO

OPEN SPACE TYPOLOGIES

THREE

PREFACE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE CITY LEARNING FROM THE CITY

FOUR

EXPERIENCING THE CITY

SIX

PRECEDENT STUDY

EIGHT

REFLECTING UPON THE CITY

NINE

THE SUBURB LEARNING FROM THE SUBURB

TEN

EXPERIENCING THE SUBURB

TWELVE

PRECEDENT STUDIES

FOURTEEN

REFLECTING UPON THE SUBURB

SIXTEEN

THE NATURE STRIP WHERE HAS THE GREEN GONE?

EIGHTEEN

THE NATURE STRIP

TWENTY

ITERATION ONE DESIGN WITH THE NATURE STRIP

TWENTY-TWO

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

TWENTY-SIX

REFLECTING UPON ITERATION ONE

TWENTY-EIGHT

COMPONENTS OF THE SUBURB THE FOUR COMPONENTS

TWENTY-NINE

THE GREEN

THIRTY

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

THIRTY-SIX

THE DENSITY

THIRTY-EIGHT

THE BUILT

FORTY

REFLECTING UPON THE COMPONENTS

FORTY-THREE

ITERATIONS WITH COMPONENTS ITERATION TWO

FORTY-FOUR

ITERATION THREE

FORTY-SIX

REFLECTING UPON ITERATIONS

FORTY-EIGHT

BIBLIOGRAPHY

FIFTY-ONE

PREFACE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THE TOPIC OF THE SUBURB HAS BECOME THE DESIRED AREA OF STUDY THAT I HAVE WANTED TO UNDERTAKE. “WE” LIVE IN THESE PLACES WHICH COVER VAST AMOUNTS OF LAND AND ‘LET THERE

COMMUNITIES WITH THE COMBINATION OF THE DEPENDENCE ON THE AUTOMOBILE HAD DESTROYED NEIGHBOURHOODS AND DOWNTOWN AREAS. ALSO BEGUN IN

THIS TREND HAS

AUSTRALIA.

BE NO MISTAKE ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS NATION SINGULARLY AND RELENTLESSLY PURSED THE QUINTESSENTIAL SUBURBAN LIFESTYLE IN EVERY MAJOR CITY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE

20TH CENTURY’1,

FROM LOOKING AT AERIAL PHOTOS OF MY HOME TOWN (GEELONG) A STORY OF WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM, WHERE WE ARE NOW AND HINTS TO WHERE WE ARE

YET MANY PEOPLE DON’T QUESTION HOW THEY ARE

GOING IS NOTICEABLE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENCES IN

FORMED AND EVEN HOW THEY FUNCTION ON A LARGER

THE NEIGHBOURHOODS.

SCALE.

OLDER NEIGHBOURHOODS CLEARLY HAVE MORE GREEN,

ONE EXAMPLE OF CHANGE IS

MOSTLY IN THE FORM OF THE BACKYARD.

NEWER

THE FIRST INDICATION THAT THIS WOULD BE A TOPIC

NEIGHBOURHOODS DON’T SEEM TO HAVEN THIS SPACE,

FOR DESIGN RESEARCH THAT WOULD APPEAL TO ME

THERE AREN’T ANY BACKYARDS.

WAS FROM EXPERIENCING THE EMOTIONS FELT FROM THE FIRST TIME DRIVING IN A NEWLY BUILT SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT.

THE OUTDOOR LIVING CULTURE THAT IS QUINTESSENTIALLY AUSTRALIAN HAS DISAPPEARED AND NEEDS TO BE FOUND AGAIN.

FROM MY EXPERIENCES OF GROWING

UP ON A FEW ACRES OF LAND, I FELT SORRY FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THESE HOUSES; THEY HAD NOWHERE

BY CHALLENGING THE CURRENT IDEA OF THE SUBURB AND NEIGHBOURHOOD, THIS DESIGN RESEARCH HOPES

TO BE OUTSIDE.

TO START PEOPLE SEEING THEMSELVES AS CITIZENS

THEY COULDN’T EXPERIENCE ANYTHING WHY SOMEONE WOULD CHOSE

BUT BEING IN A HOUSE.

NOT CONSUMERS.

TO LIVE IN AN AREA OF JUST HOUSES AND BENDING ROADS?

THE IDEA OF CHOOSING TO LIVING IN SUCH AREAS DID AND STILL DOESN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE TO ME. AFTER BEING FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO SPEND TIME ABOARD I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EXPERIENCE HOW OTHER COUNTRIES AND PEOPLE LIVE. THE BIGGEST DRIVER TO WHY I WANTED TO CHALLENGE HOW “WE” LIVE IN SUBURBIA WAS FROM A TRIP TO THE UNITED STATES. DRIVING FROM COAST TO COAST I SAW HOW GATED 1 SALT, B. ,2001, THE BIG SHIFT: WELCOME TO THE THIRD AUSTRALIAN CULTURE, THE BERNARD SALT REPORT. MELBOURNE: HARDIE GRANT BOOKS, P.4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD IS DEAD. THE OPEN

THIS RESEARCH IS GUIDED BY THREE KEY POINTS IN

SPACES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBURB ARE

ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE AND EXPRESSING A NEW WAY

GONE.

TO DESIGN A SUBURB.

RECENT STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE BUREAU

STATISTICS INDICATE THAT SIZES OF HOUSES BUILT

TREND OF BLOCK SIZES DECREASING WHILE HOUSE

ONE – NON CONVENTIONAL - SUGGESTING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LIVING

SIZES ARE INCREASING.

THAT IS MORE ORIENTATED TOWARDS RESTORATION

IN NEWLY DEVELOPED SUBURBS ARE FOLLOWING A

THIS HAS RESULTED IN AUSTRALIAN HOUSES, ON AVERAGE, BEING THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. THE VERY IDEA OF AN AUSTRALIAN WAY OF LIVING HAS BEEN LOST TO INTERNATIONAL IDEAS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT. THIS THEN HAS A DAMAGING AFFECT ON A LARGE PART OF THE AUSTRALIAN CULTURE. ALTHOUGH THE BACKYARD SPACE HAS DISAPPEARED THERE IS STILL ONE SPACE THAT IS A MAJOR CHARACTERISTIC OF MOST NATURE STRIP.

AUSTRALIAN STREETSCAPES, THE

AUSTRALIA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN

VALUES THAN CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS.

TWO – AUSTRALIAN [LOCAL] - DEVELOPING DESIGN FORM WHICH IS DETERMINED FROM THE GROUND UP, MAKING THE EXISTING FEATURES OF THE LAND COMPLETELY DETERMINE THE SUBURB’S FORM AND FUNCTION.

THREE – A STRATEGY TO CREATE FORM - PROVIDING A STRATEGY THAT CAN BE USED ON ANY SITE BUT STILL PRODUCES A LOCALISED DESIGN OUTCOME.

THE WORLD TO CALL THIS SECTION OF LAND BETWEEN THE ROAD EDGE AND URBAN PROPERTY BOUNDARY A NATURE STRIP.

THIS MEANS AUSTRALIANS HAVE A UNIQUE ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATURE STRIP COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES. THIS THEN DRAWS OUT THE QUESTION, WHAT CAN THE NATURE STRIP BE?

THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO RETHINK THE SUBURB, TO CREATE A NEW WAY THE AUSTRALIAN SUBURB IS THOUGHT, DESIGNED, BUILT AND LIVED IN.

PART OF THE METHOD TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF WHAT THE NATURE STRIP IS, FOUR COMPONENTS OF WHAT GOES INTO MAKE A SUBURB. THESE COMPONENTS ARE; THE GREEN, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE DENSITY AND THE BUILT. BY REPRIORITISING WHAT IS DEALT WITH FIRST CHANGES THE DESIGN OUTCOME. THE AREA IN WHICH THIS DESIGN RESEARCH IS BEING CONDUCTED IS LOCATED IN THE AREA OF MOOLAP, A SUBURB SITUATED BETWEEN THE CITY OF GEELONG AND AN OUTER SUBURB CALLED LEOPOLD, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BELLARINE PENINSULA. THIS AREA HAS BEEN INDENTIFIED TO BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE

GEELONG URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY.

QUESTION HOW WILL THE USE OF THE NATURE STRIP, AS A DESIGN TOOL, PROGRESS THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY AUSTRALIAN SUBURB’S FORM AND FUNCTION?

INTRODUCTION IN POPULAR AUSTRALIAN CONSCIOUSNESS, EARLY AUSTRALIA OFTEN SHIMMERS AS A SHAPELESS, WILD LANDSCAPE PEOPLED BY A COLLECTION OF SCOUNDRELS, DREAMERS AND LARRIKINS. A MODERN DAY AUSTRALIA COULD BE DESCRIBED AS; TAMED, INTERCONNECTING, YET CONFUSING, STRING OF SPRAWLING SUBURBS, LACKING ANY OPEN SPACE AND IDENTITY, LINKED BY ROADWAYS ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY THE AUTOMOBILE. THE IDEA OF THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM STILL EXISTS, TO SOME POINT. TYPICALLY THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM FOCUSED UPON OWNERSHIP OF A DETACHED HOUSE (OFTEN SINGLE STOREY) ON A QUARTER ACRE SUBURBAN BLOCK, SURROUNDED BY A GARDEN, WHICH FEATURED IN THE BACKYARD A HILLS HOIST AND A BARBECUE.

AS CONVENTIONALLY CONCEIVED IS NO LONGER PROVIDED’2. IT SEEMS THAT A LARGE PART OF THE

AUS-

TRALIAN CULTURE IS BEING LOST IN NEW SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS.

ALTHOUGH THE BACKYARD SPACE HAS DISAPPEARED THERE IS STILL ONE SPACE THAT IS STILL A MAJOR

AUSTRALIAN STREETSCAPES, THE NATURE STRIP. AUSTRALIA IS THE ONLY COUNCHARACTERISTIC OF MOST

TRY IN THE WORLD TO CALL THIS SECTION OF LAND BETWEEN THE ROAD EDGE AND URBAN PROPERTY BOUNDARY A NATURE STRIP.

THIS MEANS AUSTRALIANS

HAVE A UNIQUE ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATURE STRIP COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES.

THIS THEN DRAWS

OUT THE QUESTION, WHAT CAN THE NATURE STRIP BE?

THIS DREAM LED TO SUBURBS WITH LARGE OPEN

THE EMPHASIS OF THIS RESEARCH IS ON HOW THE

SPACES THAT HAVE ADVANTAGES FOR BOTH THE RESI-

POTENTIAL OF THIS UNDERVALUED AND OFTEN OVER-

DENTS AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY.

LOOKED PUBLIC RESOURCE CAN BE BUILT UPON,

THE PRESENCE

AUS-

OF SOFT LANDSCAPING AROUND THE HOUSE PROVIDED

THEREBY NOT ONLY ENHANCING CONTEMPORARY

A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGE FOR THE

TRALIAN SUBURBS BUT INFORMING THE OVERALL SHAPE

COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THEIR APPEARANCE, ENVIRON-

THE PRESENCE OF TREES

PROVIDES SHADE: MODIFYING THE MICRO CLIMATE AND

MENTAL HEALTH AND CHARACTER.

GIVING AESTHETIC PLEASURE.

THERE IS GENERALLY A HIGH DEGREE OF BIODIVERSITY. THE PLANTED AREAS

THUS IT IS THE INTENTION OF THIS RESEARCH TO UN-

ALSO AID THE PROCESS OF STORM WATER DRAINAGE

SETTLE PRESENT POPULAR IMAGININGS OF THE SUBURB

BY RETAINING WATER AND REDUCING RUN-OFF. INDEED,

AND TO ADVANCE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE

OPEN SPACE IS SYNONYMOUS WITH THE TRADITIONAL

LIAN SUBURB’S TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY FORM, FIGURA-

IMAGE OF SUBURBIA.

TION AND FUTURE.

AS DESCRIBED BY TONY HALL IN HIS BOOK, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD, ‘IN THE EARLY 1990’S A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN AUSTRALIAN SUBURBAN FORM BEGAN’1. THE DWELLING NOW EXTENDS NEAR TO THE REAR BOUNDARY OF THE PLOT

AUSTRA-

Hall, T 2010, The life and death of the Australian backyard, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, p x

PROVIDING LITTLE, IF ANY OUTDOOR SPACE, ‘THE BACKYARD

Hall, T 2010, The life and death of the Australian backyard, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, p 41

METHOD THE METHOD FOR CONDUCTING THIS DESIGN RESEARCH IS THROUGH A NON-LINEAR WORKING PROCESS (MOVING AWAY FROM STARTING AT THE LARGE SCALE BEFORE ZOOMING IN ON THE SMALL SCALE) INSTEAD WORKING

THIS DESIGN PROCESS CAN BE ORGANISED INTO FOUR MAIN GROUPS; EXPERIENCE, REPRESENTATION, RELATION AND FABRIC. A BRIEF EXPLANATION FOLLOWS OF THE APPROACHES.

AT MULTIPLE SCALES SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHILST USING DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO CONSTRUCT, UNDERSTAND AND DEFINE THE SPATIAL QUALITIES. IT WAS THROUGH

EXPERIENCE EXPLORE THE SITE AT A 1:1 SCALE, TO GENERATE

EXPERIENCE THAT ENABLED THE DESIGN RESEARCH TO DE-

IDEAS THROUGH A PERSONAL INTERACTION WITH THE

VELOP AND TO EXPRESS THE IDEAS OF THIS LARGE AND

TIES THAT WILL BE A DRIVING FORCE OF THE DESIGN

COMPLEX SITE.

RESEARCH PROCESS.

THE PRIMARY METHOD OF ENGAGING WITH THE

WALKING WAS CHOSEN AS THE PRIME WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE SITE AS IT IS THE OLDEST WAY OF EXPERIENCING THE LANDSCAPE, ‘THE ACT OF CROSSING SPACE STEMS FROM THE NATURAL NECESSITY TO MOVE TO FIND THE FOOD AND INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR SURVIVAL’ 1. IT DIRECTLY CONNECTS ONE TO THE LAND-

YOU ARE ABLE TO GAIN A TRUER UNDERSTANDING OF SITE AS “WALKING IS USEFUL FOR (LANDSCAPE) ARCHITECTURE AS A COGNITIVE AND DESIGN TOOL, AS A MEANS OF RECOGNISING GEOGRAPHY IN THE CHAOS OF THE PERIPHERIES, AND A MEANS THROUGH WHICH TO INVENT SPACES, TO INVESTIGATE THEM AND MAKE THEM VISIBLE”2 .

SITE AND UNDERSTAND THE EXISTING SPATIAL QUALI-

REPRESENTATION THROUGH MAPPINGS AND FROM PERSONALLY EXPERIENCING THE SITE, FORM A BASIS FOR REPRESENTATION IN THE LIVING TYPES (SOCIAL CONTEXTS) AND THE ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES. THIS STAGE CREATES EVIDENCE AND ALLOWS FOR JUSTIFICATIONS OF ANY DESIGN.

SCAPE THROUGH ALL THE SENSES.

RELATION AS THIS IS A LARGE SITE AND THE SITE’S POSITIONING BEING OF SIGNIFICANCE, AN ANALYSIS OF THE SURROUNDING CONTEXT AND WHAT IT CONNECTS TOO WILL GUIDE THE OVERALL AIM OF THE RESEARCH.

FABRIC THE APPROACHES WEREN’T JUST USED IN A STEP BY ARRANGE AND REPRIORITISE EACH APPROACH QUICKLY

CONVEYING AN IMAGE OF THE AESTHETIC APPEARANCE, ALLOWING THE ABSTRACT REPRESENTATIONS TO DELIVER SPATIAL QUALITIES, BUT ALSO BE OPEN TO

AND ACCURATELY IN RELATION TO WHAT WAS BEING

THE NEED TO RESPONSE TO THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF

REQUIRED WITH THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS SITE.

IMPLEMENTATION.

STEP PROCESS; THEY HAD THE ABILITY TO ADJUST, RE-

CARERI F 2002 ‘RAUMERFAHRUNG DURCH GEHEN – EXPERIENCWALKSCAPES, WALKING AS AN AESTHETIC PRACTICE, EDITORIAL GUSTAVO GILI, BARCELONA, P.P 18 2 CARERI F 2002 ‘RAUMERFAHRUNG DURCH GEHEN – EXPERIENCING SPACE BY WALKING’, IN WALKSCAPES, WALKING AS AN AESTHETIC PRACTICE, EDITORIAL GUSTAVO GILI, BARCELONA, P.P 25 ING SPACE BY WALKING’, IN

SITE CONTEXT THE AREA THAT THIS DESIGN RESEARCH IS BEING CONDUCTED IN IS LOCATED IN THE AREA OF MOOLAP, A RURAL SUBURB SITUATED BETWEEN THE CITY OF GEELONG AND AN OUTER SUBURB CALLED LEOPOLD, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BELLARINE PENINSULA (FIGURE 1).

THE FINDINGS THAT CAME FROM DOING THIS MAPPING LED TO THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE GREATER BELLARINE REGION, WILL HAVE A

45% INCREASE IN POPULATION BY 2030, NOT INCLUDING THE ARMSTRONG CREEK DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO HOUSE BETWEEN 55,000 AND 65,000 PEOPLE WITHIN THE NEXT TEN TO FIFTEENTH YEARS, THE FATE OF THIS REGION IS UNDECIDED. WITH CURRENT TRENDS IN RESIDENTIAL HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE SURROUNDING FARM LAND AND OPEN SPACE IS UNDER PRESSURE TO BE SUBDIVIDED INTO HOUSING ESTATES (FIGURES

FIGURE

3+4+5).

1 - AREA OF SITE IN RELATION TO BELLARINE PENINSULA

THE SITE WAS CHOSEN FOR TWO REASONS. 1) THE GEELONG CITY COUNCIL HAS IDENTIFIED THIS AREA TO BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE GEELONG URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY AS DESCRIBED IN THE CITY OF GREATER GEELONG COUNCIL PAPER; ‘GEELONG EASTERN BOUNDARY REVIEW – FINAL REPORT JANUARY 2009’ AND 2)

FIGURE

3 - CURRENT LAND USES Portarlington

154%

THERE HAS BEEN A NEW SUBURB BUILT HERE WITHIN THE

Geelong

207%

LAST FIVE YEARS WHICH ALLOWS FOR A COMPARISON

Clifton Springs

174%

STUDY THROUGHOUT THE DESIGN RESEARCH.

St Leonards

343%

WITH A SITE CHOSEN TO CONDUCT THE DESIGN RESEARCH

Waurn Ponds

WHAT WAS FIRST REQUIRE WAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF

3,455%

THE SITE IN RELATION TO A GREATER CONTEXT (FIGURE

Leopold

215%

2).

Queenscliff

833%

Ocean Grove Barwon Heads Torquay

157%

194%

791% BASS STRAIT

FIGURE

Pt Lonsdale

244%

1991-2030

4 - POPULATION INCREASE

2 - GREATER CONTEXT OF GEELONG FIGURE

5 - URBAN PENINSULA

OPEN SPACE TYPES IN AND AROUND THE GEELONG AREA AFTER MAPPING THE DIFFERENT LAND USES ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA, THE MAJOR TYPOLOGY WAS OPEN SPACE. WHAT ARE THESE OPENS SPACES? IS THERE ONLY ONE TYPE?

WATERWAY AND LAKE

IN UNDERSTANDING HOW TO DESIGN A SUBURB RELATING TO THE LOCAL IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTAND THE AREA’S SPACES IN A DEEPER WAY.

LISTED HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE OPEN SPACE TYPES LOCATED ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA AND AROUND THE GEELONG SUBURBS. THERE ARE TEN MAJOR DIFFERING TYPES IN THIS AREA.

UTILITIES AND SERVICES

CONSERVATION, HABITAT AND HERITAGE

FORESHORE, BEACH AND OCEAN

LANDSCAPE AND AMENITY (RESERVE/COMMON)

UNDEVELOPED

POSSIBLE FUTURE USE

LINEAR / LINKAGE

INFORMAL PARKS

SPORTING

LEARNING FROM THE CITY WHAT COULD BE LEARNT FROM STUDYING THE CITY CONTEXT TO INFORM THE SUBURB? AS THE SUBURBS FUNCTION TO POPULATE THE CITY, IT IS IMPORTANT TO FIRST UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CITY OFFERS. A SITE WAS CHOSEN WITHIN THE GEELONG CITY TO USE AS A CASE STUDY. THIS WAS THE BLOCK SURROUNDED BY MOLAP ST, MOORRABOOL ST, RYRIE ST AND GHERINGHAP ST (FIGURE 6).

FIGURE

9 - PUBLIC SPACE WITHIN THE CBD. MAJORITY IS STREET LIFE AND WATERFRONT ORIENTATED

Major Nodes on

cti

e nn

loc

e nt

Major Paths Moorabool St.

Ryrie St.

Malop St.

FIGURE

Western Beach + Eastern Beach Road

10 - MAJOR NODES AND PATHS

6 - CITY SITE

THE FIRST STAGE OF UNDERSTANDING THE SITE CAME THESE INCLUDE: PATHS BOTH MAJOR AND MINOR (FIGURE 7), WHAT AREAS OF THE FROM THE USE OF MAPPINGS.

CITY ARE FOR PENETRATION AND AUTOMOBILE ACCESS

(FIGURE 8), PUBLIC SPACES WITHIN THE CBD OF GEELONG (FIGURE 9), MAJOR NODES AND PATHS (FIGURE 10), HOW THE ALTERATIVE CONNECT THE CITY THROUGH THE EMPTY BACK BLOCKS (FIGURE 11) AND DEFINING IMPORTANT BUILDINGS AND AREAS AROUND THE SITE(FIGURE 12).

FIGURE

7 - PATHS

MAJOR

FIGURE

11 - LINKING THE CITY’S EMPTY AREAS THROUGH MIDDLE BLOCK CONNECTIONS.

MINOR

FIGURE 12 - DEFINING IMPORTANT BUILDINGS/AREAS AROUND SITE. FIGURE

8 - PEDESTRIAN AND AUTOMOBILE ACCESS PEDESTRIAN

VEHICLE

AFTER THE INITIAL APPROACH OF UNDERSTANDING THE SITE THROUGH MAPPINGS A COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT WAS CREATED (FIGURE

13). THIS FRAMEWORK WAS CREATED AS THE SITE CHOSEN DOESN’T FALL UNDER ANY CURRENT COUNCIL GUIDELINES. IT SITS NEXT TOO THE WESTERN WEDGE FRAMEWORK AND CENTRAL GEELONG: LOOKING FORWARD PLAN (FIGURE 14). THE FRAMEWORK WAS DEVISED AS AN URBAN STRATEGY DOCUMENT PRESENTING AN OVERALL VISION FOR THE SITE. WHAT THE URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK AIMS TO BE IS A STRATEGIC RESPONSE TO A NEED OF RE-CENTRALISING DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY CENTRE, WITH AN INCREASE IN POPULATION THROUGH MIXED DENSE APARTMENT LIVING AND WITH THE NEED TO REACTIVATE THE RETAIL SECTOR BY REVITALISING STREET LIFE WHICH IS CULTIVATED THROUGH THE CHARACTER OF “OLD”

GEELONG AND IN

CONJUNCTION WITH THE JUSTIFICATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT UPGRADES/IMPLEMENTATION.

THE RICH HERITAGE

AND HERITAGE SETTINGS OF THE AREA WILL BE RESPECTED AND REFLECTED IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF NEW DEVELOPMENT.

FIGURE 13 - THE CREATED COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT

WESTERN WEDGE DEVELOPMENT

CBD PRECINCT

NON-DEFINED SPACE

FIGURE 14 - NON GUIDED SPACE OF THE CITY

EXPERIENCING THE CITY AS THE SITE WAS EXPLORED THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF WALKING A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SPATIAL

WHAT WAS MOST INTRIGUING FROM THE CITY WAS THE ABILITY TO FIND NEW WAYS OF MOVING THROUGH IT. LANE

QUALITIES WERE REVEALED.

WAYS AND ALLEYWAYS CRISSCROSSED THROUGH THE

UNDERSTANDING AND READ-

ING THE TOPOGRAPHY WAS IMPORTANT AND ALLOWED FOR

BLOCK ALLOWING FOR MULTIPLE READINGS OF THE SITE

THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIND “HIDDEN” SPACES BEHIND THE

AND PROVIDED AN ACTIVE WALK WHERE THE SURPRISE OF

BUILDINGS.

FINDING NEW SPACES UNFOLDED.

THE FOLLOWING IMAGES REPRESENT THE SITE AND THE FIRST ATTEMPT OF USING EXPERIENCE OF WALKING TO UNDERSTAND A SITE.

DIFFERENT BUILDING TYPES SIZE/AGE/STYLE - CHANGE IN SPATIAL QUALITIES AND MATERIALS - UNDERSTANDING/READING OF TOPOGRAPHY ACTIVE/INTERESTING FRONTAGES

BUSY, NOISY FROM CAR TRAFFIC CITY STREETS ARE USED AS A THOROUGHFARE ONLY

REDUCE CAR TRAFFIC IN LANE WAYS

MAIN ST.

HIDDEN SPACE

MAIN ST.

HIDDEN SPACES THAT CAN BE FOUND (EXPLORE) PROTECTED FROM ELEMENTS

ALT. MOVEMENT

MAIN MOVEMENT ANOTHER WAY TO CONNECT WITH CITY

Malo

LANE WAYS TO GEELONG

Moo rabo ol S t.

Ghe

ALLEY WAYS.

ring h

UNDERSTANDING THE CITY THROUGH IT’S LANE WAYS AND

ap S

p St.

RyRryie ie SSt. t.

UNWELCOMING

PART PEDESTRIAN PART VEHICLE

VEHICLE

PEDESTRIAN

PRECEDENT STUDY THE C.B.D STRATEGY OF BALLARAT DOCUMENT OF 2009 (FIGURE 15) PRESENTS MANY APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING A REGIONAL CITY WHICH IS COMPATIBLE AND INFORMATIVE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF GEELONG. THESE

STREET ACTIVITY AND LIFE, DURING THE DAY AND EVENING

TWO CITIES SIMILAR SHARE HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF BEING

THIS PROFILE WAS GATHERED THROUGH LOCAL COMMUNI-

SETTLED AROUND THE SAME TIME.

TY CONSULTATIONS AND THE PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS

THE CAR IS THE MOST

DOMINANT MODE OF TRANSPORT AND BOTH ARE APPROXI-

AND MAKING IT EASIER TO MOVE AROUND THE

C.B.D BY

ALL MODES’1

IN IDENTIFYING KEY PROBLEMS AND PRIORITIES.

MATELY ONE HOUR DRIVE FROM CAPITAL CITIES, FURTHER MOBILISED BY MAJOR HIGHWAYS AND AIRPORTS IN MAJOR REGIONAL TRANSPORT CORRIDORS (FIGURE

16).

FIGURE 15 - BALLARAT C.B.D STRATEGY 2009

ALTHOUGH GEELONG HAS TWICE THE POPULATION OF BALLARAT BOTH ARE CONSIDERED WITHIN THE MELBOURNE 2030 DOCUMENT AS REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRES AND INTEGRAL PARTNERS IN DEALING WITH ISSUES OF POPULATION INCREASE. THE C.B.D STRATEGY OF BALLARAT DOCUMENT OF 2009 LISTS SOME KEY PRIORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT AS; ‘CREATING A HEART FOR THE C.B.D, ENCOURAGING

SOME EXAMPLES OF THE PROBLEMS INDICATED ARE; ‘THE C.B.D HAS NO “REAL HEART”, INACTIVE PUBLIC SPACES WITH NOT ENOUGH ‘LIFE’ ABOUT THE CITY, THERE IS A RESISTANCE TO MOVING ABOUT THE C.B.D ON FOOT, WITH THE WEATHER AND TOPOGRAPHY CITED AS THE REASONS. HOWEVER, THIS COULD BE PRIMARILY DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN THE STREETS, FEELING OF EXPOSURE TO THE WEATHER, MIXED RETAIL OFFER AND THE RELATIVE EASE OF CAR PARKING’2 WHAT IS MOST USEFUL ABOUT THIS VISION IN REGARDING TO GEELONG IS THE TANGIBLE DEFINING OF VALUES BETWEEN LOCAL PEOPLE AND PLACE, SUCH AS; ‘THE CITY’S HERITAGE REPRESENTED IN IT’S MAGNIFICENT PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND STREETSCAPES, IT’S FRIENDLINESS AND WELCOMING NATURE REFLECTING ITS COUNTRY ROOTS, IT’S TOPOGRAPHY WHICH IS UNUSUAL IN A CITY HEART (FIGURE 17) AND PROVIDES INTEREST AND LINKS WITH THE PAST.’3

1 2 3

BALLARAT C.B.D STRATEGY-2009 P.4 BALLARAT C.B.D STRATEGY-2009 P.3 BALLARAT C.B.D STRATEGY-2009 P.2

FIGURE 17 - LOCAL IDENTITY THROUGH TOPOGRAPHY FIGURE 16 - GEELONG AND BALLARAT IN CONTEXT TO MELBOURNE

REFLECTING ON THE CITY WHAT WAS GATHERED FROM FIRST LOOKING INTO THE CITY WAS HOW ITS SPACES ARE USED AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL FOR THESE SPACES COULD BE.

THE MOST INTERESTING

ASPECT THAT WAS GATHERED WAS THE STRANGE ABILITY OF A RIGID STRUCTURE (STREET PLAN) COULD INCORPORATE UNIQUE AND INVITING SPACES (FIGURE

18); THIS IS

DUE TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE BUILDING FORMS OVER THE CITY’S HISTORY.

THE CITY’S ABILITY TO CREATE SPACES

WHERE THE EXPERIENCE OF LOOKING COULD SUSPIRE AND INTRIGUE ONE TO TAKE A DIFFERENT PATH IS CAPTIVATING.

THERE ARE A FEW MAIN POINTS THAT HAVE COME FROM ONE IS THE NEED TO CONTINUE AND ENCOURAGE THE URBANISING OF THE URBAN (FIGURE 19),

FIGURE 23 - BUILDING OF COMMUNITY

THIS STUDY.

GIVING IMPORTANCE TO PEDESTRIANS WHICH WILL CREATE A STREET CULTURE (FIGURE

20). THESE WEREN’T JUST

ASPECTS THAT WERE TALKED ABOUT THROUGH A PREC-

BALLARAT’S CBD PLANS, BUT COULD BE FELT IN THE STREETS OF GEELONG THAT THIS WAS MISSING. ALLOWING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES (FIGURE 21), DENSIFYING THE CENTRE (FIGURE 22) AND ENCOURAGING A STREET LIFE (WHICH WILL BUILD UPON A SENSE OF COMMUNITY) (FIGURE 23). THESE ARE THE ASPECTS THAT NEED TO BE BOUGHT INTO THE SUBURBAN LIFE, IF THEY ARE NOT ALREADY THERE. EDENT STUDY OF

FIGURE 20 - POTENTIAL STREET CULTURE

FIGURE 19 - THE BUILDING UP OF THE URBAN

FIGURE 18 - UNIQUE SPACES ALONG A GRID

FIGURE 21 - ALTERNATIVE ROUTE PATHS

SYSTEM

FIGURE 22 - DENSIFYING AROUND THE CITY CENTRE

LEARNING FROM THE SUBURB THE SAME PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND THE CITY WAS USED IN LEARNING ABOUT THE SUBURB AND SITE. FIRST A GENERAL MAP WAS CONSTRUCTED TO INDICATED THE DISTANCE THE SITE IS AWAY FROM THE CITY CENTRE THAT BEING SEVEN KILOMETERS (AS THE CROW FLIES) (FIGURE

24).

(TRADITIONAL SUBURBIA) AND RURAL MEET. THE MAPPING THAT INFORMED THE MOST WAS THE SUBUR30). THIS MAPPING CLEARLY SHOWS A TIME LINE BETWEEN GENERATIONS OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS, THAT BEING THE NEWER THE DEVELOPMENT THE MORE CUL-DE-SACS ARE PRESENT. BAN ROADS (FIGURE

FIGURE 25 - ROAD INFRASTRUC- FIGURE 26 - IMPORTANT NODES TURE

FIGURE 24 - SITE AND SUBURB IN RELATION TO GEELONG CBD

AFTER THESE GENERAL MAPPINGS WERE CONDUCTED ON EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADS (PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SUBURBAN) (FIGURE 25), RESIDENTIAL AREAS, INDUSTRIAL AREAS, COMMERCIAL AREAS, FARMING AREAS, IMPORTANT NODES (FIGURE 26), PARK LANDS (FIGURE 27) AND WATER WAYS AND ALSO FLOOD AREAS (FIGURE 28) WHERE INCLUDED. AFTER COMBINING THESE MAPPINGS TOGETHER, A VERY DISTINCT LINE EMERGED (FIGURE 29). THIS LINE CLEARLY ILLUSTRATES WHERE THE URBAN

FIGURE 27 - PARK AND PUBLIC

FIGURE 28 - FLOOD AREAS

LAND

FIGURE 29 - PERI-URBAN LINE RESIDENTIAL MEETS RURAL LIVING

FIGURE 30 - UNDERSTANDING AGE OF DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ROADS

AGAIN AFTER THE INITIAL APPROACH OF UNDERSTANDING

3. PROMOTE HIGHER RESIDENTIAL DENSITIES WITHIN ES-

THE SITE THROUGH MAPPINGS A COUNCIL FRAMEWORK

TABLISHED URBAN AREAS

DOCUMENT WAS CREATED.

4. RECOGNISE THE AMENITY OF THE BELLARINE PENINSULA AND ITS ROLE AS A TOURIST DRAW CARD, AND A RESIDENTIAL AND RETIREMENT LOCATION (FIGURE 33)

THIS FRAMEWORK WAS CREATED AS THE SITE CHOSEN DOESN’T FALL UNDER ANY CURRENT COUNCIL GUIDELINES. THE GEELONG EAST URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK (FIGURE 31) COVERS THE AREA OF MOOLAP, IN ITS BASIC FORM STRETCHING EAST FROM COPPARDS RD AND FINISHING ON THE EDGE OF LEOPOLD, ON MELALUKA RD. THIS AREA IS THE GATEWAY TO THE BELLARINE PENINSULA AND INCLUDES ACCESS TO THE IMPORTANT WATER SYSTEMS OF

REEDY CREEK AND LAKE CONNEWARRE. POPULATION TRENDS HAVE RAISED SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS ABOUT FUTURE GROWTH ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA. WHERE WILL GROWTH BE LOCATED AND HOW WILL IT BE MANAGED? THE GEELONG EAST URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK (2011) SETS OUT KEY ACTIONS FOR THE CITY OF GREATER GEELONG AND THE BELLARINE PENINSULA COMMUNITIES WHICH AIM TO PROACTIVELY AND SUSTAINABLY MANAGE CHANGE IN THE MOOLAP AREA. THE GEELONG EAST URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT SETS OUT THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

1. MAINTAIN NON-URBAN BREAKS BETWEEN THE TOWNBELLARINE PENINSULA (FIGURE 32) 2. LIMIT NEW RESIDENTIAL GROWTH ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA TO DESIGNATED AREAS AT OCEAN GROVE AND DRYSDALE / CLIFTON SPRINGS, WITH LIMITED FUTURE EXTENSION TO THE LEOPOLD TOWNSHIP SHIPS ON THE

FIGURE 31 - THE CREATED COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT

FIGURE 32 - IMPORTANT PUBLIC SPACE THE BELLARINE RAIL TRAIL IN MOOLAP

FIGURE 33 - LAKE CONNEWARRE

EXPERIENCING THE SUBURB EXPERIENCING THE SUBURB WAS ALSO DONE THROUGH EXPERIENCE WAS DONE IN COMPARISON TO THE CITY. IT

BY WALKING THIS AREA AND HAVING AN OPEN MIND OF WHAT TO LOOK AT, ALLOWED FOR SURPRISE TO INTERVENE. THE EXPECTATION WAS THAT OF A BUSY SUBURB

WAS CAPTURED THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF STILL PHOTOS,

OF CARS DRIVING PAST AND PEOPLE EITHER WALKING OR

WHICH WERE TAKEN AT EVERY FIVE PACES.

RIDING BIKES, ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS WALK WAS CON-

WALKING BUT A MORE DETAILED RECORDING OF THE

TO BETTER

CAPTURE THE EXPERIENCE, EACH TIME A PHOTO WAS SHOT

DUCTED DURING THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.

NOTES WERE TAKEN IN RELATION TO WHAT WAS FELT OR

CAME BY THE AMOUNT OF QUIETNESS THE WALK HAD TO IT

WHAT WAS THOUGHT TO BE SIGNIFICANT TO THAT MOMENT.

AND MIXED WITH AN OVERWHELMING AND GREAT FEELING

THERE WAS A DESIRED ROUTE THAT THE WALK WAS GOING TO TAKE. THIS WAS ALONG THE LONGEST PERI-URBAN LINE THAT COULD BE SEEN IN THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS,

OF LONELINESS, AS ONLY THREE CARS PAST AND NOT SEE-

BUT THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE WALK THE ROUTE

WHICH RESULTED IN TAKING AN OPEN GRASS DRAIN WHICH

CHANGED. (FIGURE

LED BACK INTO SUBURBIA (FIGURE

34)

ING ANYONE WALKING OR RIDING.

BUT SURPRISE

THIS WAS ENOUGH TO

GO LOOKING FOR SOMETHING, TO EXPLORE AND TO FIND,

35).

WORDS LIKE PEACEFUL, CALM, QUIET, ISOLATION, LONELI-

THE FOLLOWING IMAGES REPRESENT THE SITE AND THE

NESS AND BORED ARE A SLIGHT OVER VIEW OF HOW THE

FIRST ATTEMPT OF USING EXPERIENCE OF WALKING TO

EXPERIENCE CHANGED. IT WASN’T UNTIL THE WALK PRO-

UNDERSTAND A SITE.

CEEDED ALONG A LARGE WOODEN FENCE LINE THAT FEELINGS CHANGED FROM CALM AND QUIET TO BECOMING THAT OF ISOLATION AND BOREDOM.

AT THIS TIME OF BOREDOM,

ATTENTION WAS DRAWN OUTWARD TOWARDS THE FARM LAND IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING TO ENTERTAIN OR BETTER EXPERIENCE. HORIZON LINE

LARGE HOUSES

EXTENDED OPEN SPACE

+ WALKING TRAILS

FIGURE 34 - WHERE THE CHANGED

EXPOSED TO ELEMENTS

OPEN SPACE

The Walk START

Open feeling

Peaceful

Quiet

Foot path finishes

Spacious

No foot path

Car speeds past

New road

Feel isolated

Notice opening

Notice a path

Ditch

Soft Grass

Strangely Quiet

Looking to farm

Hear cows

“natural” path

Bored

Drain

Buzz of power lines

Tarin in distance

Link to suburbua

Long fense

Housing type change

Hear kids playing

1st house to face rural

Calm

Uneven surface

Bored

No wind

Empty Street

Road surface change

Lonely

Point of most change

Bored

FINISH

FIGURE 35 -THE WALK; STARTING IN SUBURBIA, LEADING OUT ALONG THE PERI-URBAN AND FINISHING BACK IN SUBURBIA

PRECEDENT STUDIES THE FIRST PRECEDENT, ARMSTRONG CREEK, IS A NEW SUBURB DEVELOPMENT STARTING TO BE BUILT ON THE

GEELONG (FIGURE 36). IT IS A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL HOUSE BETWEEN 55,000 AND 65,000 PEOPLE, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 25% OF GEELONG’S POPULATION, OVER THE NEXT TEN TO FIFTEEN YEARS. SOUTH OF

THROUGHOUT MANY ARMSTRONG CREEK DOCUMENTS A STRONG PROMOTION OF A NEW WAY OF LIVING IS EXPRESSED (FIGURE 37). WITHIN THE SAME DOCUMENT A PLAN OF ONE AREAS, WHICH IS PREDOMINATELY RESIDENTIAL CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE MAJORITY OF RESIDENTIAL SPACE IS FOR CONVENTIONAL HOUSING TYPES (FIGURE 38). A BREAKDOWN OF ONE AREA OF THE DEVELOPMENT, THE WARRALILY AREA, SHOWS AGAIN THAT MORE THAN HALF OF THE DEVELOPMENT IS FOR CONVERSIONAL LOW RESIDENTIAL (FIGURE

39). IT CONTRADICTS ITSELF MORE

WAYS THAN ONE. IT IS STILL AN AUTOMOBILE DEPENDENT TYPE OF LIVING, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE PROPOSED RAIL UPGRADES AND LIGHT RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDS.

THIS

PROJECT IS MORE DEVELOPER CONTROLLED THAN COUNCIL DUE TO THE CONVENTIONAL “NEW” IDEAS THAT ARE BEING INCLUDED IN THE DESIGN.

ONE THING THAT SHOULD BE NOTED FROM THIS DEVELOPMENT IS THAT THEY DO USE AND WORK WITH SOME OF THE EXISTING FEATURES OF THE LAND, THAT BEING

FIGURE 36 - AREA WHERE ARMSTRONG CREEK IS TO BE BUILT

STRONG

ARM-

CREEK ITSELF (FIGURE 40).

FIGURE 37 - THE IDEA OF A NEW WAY TO LIVE

FIGURE 38 - A CONVENTIONAL HOUSE FOUND IN NEW SUBURBS

LOW RESIDENTIAL - 51% PARKLAND - 23% ROAD, WATER TREATMENT & MIXED USE ZONE - 11.5% CEMETERY - 5% SCHOOLING - 4% MED. RESIDENTIAL - 3.5% URBAN CENTRE - 2%

FIGURE 40 - FOOT PATHS AND PUBLIC ACCESS IS CONTROLLED BY THE CREEK

FIGURE 39 - AREA GIVEN TO CONVENTIONAL HOUSING

THE OTHER PRECEDENT THAT IS BEING LOOKED AT IS CALLED RIVERSTONE AND IS A GATED COMMUNITY (FIGURE 41).

ALL NEW DEVELOPMENTS DO CHANGE LOCAL TRAFFIC CONDITIONS BUT IN THIS CASE IT HAS INTERRUPTED WITH EXISTING ROADS.

THE EXISTING ROAD (HILLS RD) HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY BLOCKED OFF (FIGURE 43). IF YOU LIVE BEYOND THE ESTATE YOU HAVE TO ENTER THE ESTATE ITSELF AND RECONNECT TO

FIGURE 41 - RIVERSTONE AT BATESFORD

THIS DEVELOPMENT IS LOCATED WEST OF GEELONG, APARMSTRONG CREEK IS FROM GEELONG CITY (FIGURE 42). PROXIMATELY THE SAME DISTANCE

HILLS ROAD.

THE ESTATE IT LOCATED IN A RURAL AREA. FARMING IS THIS MAKES THE IDEA OF FOOT PATHS AND STREET LAMPS IDIOTIC, WHICH IS WHAT HAS BEEN INSTALLED ON REQUEST OF THE COUNCIL (FIGURE 44). THIS NEW RURAL LIVING OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN STILL OPERATING ALL AROUND IT.

COMPROMISED AS IT IS MOVING MORE INTO A TRADITIONAL SUBURB.

AS THE COUNCIL REQUIRED A LARGE ENTRANCE GATE OFF THE HIGHWAY (FIGURE 45), LAMPS, FOOT PATHS AND MANY GIVE WAY AND STOP SIGNS, IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS PRECEDENT IS MUCH MORE COUNCIL INFORMED/ DRIVEN THAN ARMSTRONG’S DEVELOPER MOTIVES.

Riverstone

Geelong CBD

FIGURE 42 - SIMILAR DISTANCE TO GEELONG CENTRE AS ARMSTONG CREEK APPROX. FIFTEEN MINUTE DRIVE.

FIGURE 44 - TURNING THE RURAL INTO THE SUBURBAN

FIGURE 43 - AN UNNECESSARY CHANGE TO LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE FIGURE 45 - A GATED COMMUNITY OFF A HIGHWAY IN A RURAL SETTING

REFLECTING ON THE SUBURB BY LOOKING AT THE CURRENT SUBURBAN TYPOLOGY THAT IS BEING CONSTRUCTED WITHIN THE REGION WHERE THIS

QUESTIONING THE STREET LAYOUT AND DESIGN - DOES A SUBURB NEED CAL-DE-SAC’S? MANY OF THE OLDER SUB-

DESIGN RESEARCH IS BEING TAKEN, A GREATER UNDER-

URBS THAT WERE SHOWN THROUGH THE MAPPINGS WERE

STANDING OF THE DIRECTION THAT THIS AREA IS MOVING

BUILT AND FUNCTION ON A GRID SYSTEM OF STREETS

TOWARDS HAS BEEN REVILED.

WAS INTERESTING TO SHOW CASE TWO SIMILAR BUT DIF-

(FIGURE 70), WHY THEN DOES THE MODERN SUBURB HAVE CAL-DEL-SAC? ALSO WHAT IS REQUIRED, IN THE TWENTYFIRST CENTURY, SUBURBAN ROAD? AUTOMOBILE ASSESS WILL ALSO WAS BE A MAJOR PART, BUT SO TO DOES FOOTPATHS AND BIKE PATHS. A MULTIPLE OF DIFFERENT ROAD

FERENT SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS, ONE PROMOTING A

CONFIGURATIONS IS REQUIRED TO MEET ANY NEW DEMAND

DEVELOPER MIND SET AND THE OTHER A COUNCIL.

THAT IS PLACED ON THE SUBURBAN ROAD (FIGURE 51 +52). THIS IS A QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED

THE CONTINUING PRACTISE

OF CAL-DE-SACS HAS BEEN MADE VERY OBVIOUS THROUGH THE MAPPINGS OF THE AND AROUND THE SITE AND HAS BEEN SHOWN QUITE STRONGLY IN THE PRECEDENTS. IT

THROUGH THIS DESIGN RESEARCH HOW CAN THE LESSONS USED FROM THE CITY BE PLACE OR ADJUSTED FOR THE SUBURB? (FIGURE 46) . THERE ARE A FEW MAIN POINTS THAT HAVE RISE FROM THE IDEA OF A FIVE MINUTE WALK ORIENTATED SUBURB LOOKING AT THE CITY AND SUBURB SEPARATELY. THE FIRST LOCATED NEXT TO TRANSIT IS ONE WAY TO LESSEN THE INVOLVES THE USE OF HIGH DENSITY HOUSING OPTIONS

DEPENDENCE ON THE AUTOMOBILE AND SEEMS TO BE AN

IN BOTH TYPES OF LIVING EITHER IN THE CITY OR THE

UNDERLINING ELEMENT IN BOTH CITY AND SUBURB PREC-

SUBURB (FIGURE

EDENTS AND COUNCIL DESIRES (FIGURE

47). THIS WILL HELP WITH THE LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WHICH ISN’T CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AND ALSO GIVES A GREATER OPPORTUNITY FOR DIVERSITY. THIS IN TURN COULD POTENTIALLY BE A CATALYST IN URBANISING THE SUBURB (FIGURE 48) AND IF THE MORE

53).

THESE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE RISEN FROM THE TWO CASE STUDIES (CITY AND SUBURB) NEED TO BE TEASED OUT THROUGH THE REST OF THIS DEIGN RESEARCH TO BETTER

INNER SUBURBS WERE TO BE REDESIGNED OR DEVELOPED,

UNDERSTAND WHAT IS REQUIRED (FIGURE

THE CURRENT DIRECTION OF MOVING AWAY FROM THE CITY

STANDING EACH ELEMENT THAT IS REQUIRED TO FORM A

WOULD BE REVERSED (FIGURE

NEW SUBURB, THROUGH THE EYES OF BOTH THE COUNCIL

49).

54). UNDER-

AND DEVELOPER WILL PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION WITHIN THE DESIGN PROCESS EITHER AS A SET OF GUIDELINES OR THE ABILITY TO CRITIQUE OR QUESTION STANDARD THINKING FOR DESIGNING THESE SPACES.

FIGURE 46 - FIRST CONCEPT PLAN INCORPORATING MIXED HOUSING TYPES, A GIRDED STREET PLAN WITH DIFFERENT SPEED ROADS, AND THE IDEA OF A FIVE MINUTE WALK SUBURB

FIGURE 47 - DIFFERENT HOUSING TYPES CHANGE THE SPATIAL QUALITY FROM SUBURBAN TO URBAN. FIGURE 48 - MOVING THE CITY INTO THE SUBURB

FIGURE 50 - WHAT STREET PATTERN FUNCTIONS BETTER? FIGURE 49 - REDIRECTING GROWTH BACK TO THE CITY

FIGURE 51 - TYPE TWO OF A MULTI USE ROAD

FIGURE 52 - TYPE ONE OF A MULTI USE ROAD

FIGURE 53 - CHANGING AUTOMOBILE DEPENDENCY FIGURE 54 - ELEMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED IN A SUCCESSFUL SUBURB

WHERE HAS THE GREEN GONE?

THE BACK YARD HAS GONE. IT HAS DISAPPEARED FROM CONTEMPORARY SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS. ALTHOUGH HOUSES HAVE GROWN IN SIZE, THE SIZE OF LAND THAT

BENEFITS TO THE INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLD INCLUDE: LIGHT AND AIR, AN OUTDOOR ROOM, CHILDREN PLAY, GARDENING AND EVEN ACCOMMODATING CARS.

THEY OCCUPY HAS STAYED MORE OR LESS THE SAME SINCE THE

70’S, APPROXIMATELY EIGHT-HUNDRED METRE

SQUARED TO NINE-HUNDRED METRES SQUARED (FIGURE

55). THIS IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE GREEN FROM SUBURBIA. COUNCIL REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO FRONT SET BACKS HAVE ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS DISAPPEARANCE, AS A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF LAND MUST BE GIVEN TO THE FRONT YARD.

THE BACKYARD PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE NOT JUST FOR THE RESIDENTS BUT FOR THE GREATER COMMUNITY,

BENEFITS FOR THE WIDER COMMUNITY INCLUDE: AESTHETIC VALUE, MICROCLIMATE, BIODIVERSITY AND STORM DRAINAGE. CURRENT TRENDS OF LARGE HOUSES AREN’T GOING TO STOP SUDDENLY. IT IS A CONSTRAINT THAT NEEDS TO BE WORKED WITH, NOT CONTROLLED (FIGURE 56). TONY HALL ARGUES THAT ‘AT THE HEART OF THE ISSUE OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BACKYARD IS SOCIAL CHANGE’3 AND THAT THE ‘URBAN FORM OF A LARGE HOUSE WITH

‘THE BACKYARD HELPS CREATE A RESIDENTIAL AREA THAT IS LANDSCAPE DOMINATED, BRINGING WITH IT ECOLOGICAL,

LITTLE NATURAL LIGHT AND VENTILATION AND MINIMAL

CLIMATIC AND AESTHETIC ADVANTAGES TO THE COMMUNITY

PRESSION OF…SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES IN

AS A WHOLE’1. IN TRADITIONAL SUBURBIA WHERE EVERY

SOCIETY’4.

HOUSE HAS A BACKYARD IT COULD BE SAID THAT THERE IS AN ‘ALLEY OF VEGETATION CONTAINED IN BACKYARDS’

BACKYARD IS BEING DRIVEN BY AND IS THE PHYSICAL EX-

AUSTRALIAN WHAT SPACE COULD BE USED TO REDIRECT THESE SOCIO-ECONOMIC REASONS WHY THE “GREEN” HAS GONE?

WHICH ‘PROVIDES A GREEN SPINE WITHIN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD’2. IT IS THE REMOVAL OF THIS GREEN SPINE THAT

ALTHOUGH THE BACKYARD SPACE HAS DISAPPEARED

HAS ALTERED HOW THE CONTEMPORARY SUBURB IS USED

THERE IS STILL ONE SPACE THAT STILL EXISTS; THE NATURE

(FIGURE 56).

STRIP.

THIS SPACES COULD BE USED AS A REPLACEMENT AUSTRALIAN TRADITION OF LANDSCAPE WITHIN SUBURBIA. TO THE BACKYARD AND REFLECT NEW

BENEFITS OF BACKYARD SPACE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COMMUNITY ARE MANY, AN EXAMPLE OF SOME BENEFITS ARE LISTED BELOW. 1 HALL, T 2010, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD, CSIRO PUBLISHING, MELBOURNE, P 20 2 HALL, T 2010, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD, CSIRO PUBLISHING, MELBOURNE, P 29

3 HALL, T 2010, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD, CSIRO PUBLISHING, MELBOURNE, P 94 4 HALL, T 2010, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD, CSIRO PUBLISHING, MELBOURNE, P 149

FIGURE 56 - CARINA QLD, THIS AERIAL VIEW SHOWS THE CONTRAST BETWEEN NEW AND OLD SUBURBS

1950’S / 1960’S - AVERAGE BLOCK SIZE = FIVE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY METRES SQUARED - AVERAGE HOUSE SIZE = ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY METRES SQUARED - AVERAGE BACKYARD SIZE = TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY METRES SQUARED

NOW - AVERAGE BLOCK SIZE = FIVE HUNDRED METRES SQUARED - AVERAGE HOUSE SIZE = TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN METRES SQUARED - AVERAGE BACKYARD SIZE = SIXTY METRES SQUARED

FIGURE 55 - THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BACKYARD, AVERAGE BLOCK HOUSE AND BACKYARD SIZES

FIGURE 56 - POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE HOUSE PLAN TYPES

THE NATURE STRIP NATURE STRIP IS AN ICONIC FEATURE OF THE AUSTRALIAN STREETSCAPE. VARYING IN DESIGN AND APPEARANCE,

THIS AESTHETIC UNIFORMITY OF NATURE STRIPS, COUPLED WITH THE MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESIDENTS,

NATURE STRIPS REFLECT THE CHARACTER OF THE LOCAL

PROMOTES A SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH SOCIAL

AREA AND ITS RESIDENTS, PROVIDING SPACES FOR SOCIAL

CONFORMITY AND IMPOSED MORALITIES PREVAIL, THE EX-

INTERACTION.

TENT BEING PARTIALLY DEPENDENT ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC

AUSTRALIA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY TO DE-

CONDITIONS OF THE SUBURB (FIGURE

SCRIBE THIS LAND BETWEEN THE ROAD EDGE AND URBAN PROPERTY BOUNDARY A NATURE STRIP.

60+61).

THIS MEANS THAT

AUSTRALIANS HAVE A UNIQUE ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATURE STRIP COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES (FIGURE 57). THIS POSSES THE QUESTION, WHAT CAN THE NATURE STRIP BE? (FIGURE 58)

TREVOR HOGAN (2003), IN HIS PAPER TITLED ‘NATURE STRIP’: AUSTRALIAN SUBURBIA AND THE ENCULTURATION OF NATURE, LOOKS AT SUBURBAN CULTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO CONCEPTS OF NATURE AS A COMPONENT OF THIS SUBURBAN ‘NATURE’.

HOGAN VIEWS NATURE STRIPS AS IN BETWEEN SPACES, BETWEEN OUR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIVES. HOGAN ARGUES THAT ‘THE ‘NATURE STRIP’ IS A THEATRICAL SPACE THAT OVERLAPS BACK – AND FRONT – STAGE BEHAVIOUR IN EVERYDAY LIFE – A THRESHOLD SPACE THAT BINDS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MORAL ORDERS, BEHAVIOUR AND RESPONSIBILITIES’2.

THE FACT THAT SUBURBAN AUSTRALIAN NATURE STRIPS HAVE REMAINED UNIFORM IN APPEARANCE SINCE THIER INTRODUCTION IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY REFLECTS THE UNQUESTIONED ACCEPTANCE OF THESE AESTHETICS BY THE GENERAL POPULATION TODAY.

IN HER RESEARCH PROJECT TITLED ‘THE NATURE STRIP: AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RESOURCE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES’, DHARINI MEENACHI-SUNDERAM

THE QUESTION THAT THIS RESEARCH ASKS IS - HOW CAN

QUESTIONS THE LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING NATURE STRIP

DESIGN OF A SUBURB?

AESTHETICS, ARGUING THAT THEY ARE AS OFTEN’ UNDER-

A STARTING POINT FOR A DESIGN OF THE SUBURB IS THE

VALUED AND OFTEN OVER LOOKED PUBLIC RESOURCE’1.

BEGINNING STAGE IN ANSWERING THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS

THE RESEARCH PROJECT INVOLVED AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF 59), USING METHODS OF OBSERVATION AND QUESTIONNAIRES.

RESEARCH;

THE USE OF THE NATURE STRIP BE THE CATALYST FOR THE

BY USING THE NATURE STRIP AS

NOT CONVENTIONAL, AUSTRALIAN [LOCAL], A

EXISTING NATURE STRIP CONDITIONS (FIGURE

STRATEGY TO CREATE FORM.

1 MEENACHI-SUNDERMAN, D. AND THOMPSON, S 2005, ‘THE NATURE STRIP: AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RESOURCE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES’, BACHELOR OF PLANNING THESIS, FACULTY OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, SYDNEY, UNIVERSITY OF NSW., P 1

2 HOGAN, T.L. (2003) ‘“NATURE STRIP”: AUSTRALIAN SUBURBIA AND THE ENCULTURATION OF NATURE’, THESIS ELEVEN: CRITICAL THEORY AND HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, P.55

FIGURE 57 - ASSOCIATION = ATTITUDES

FIGURE 58 - STARTING TO CHALLENGE WHAT THE NATURE STRIP COULD BE

FIGURE 59 - THE DIFFERENT CONDITION TYPES FOUND IN AND AROUND THE GEELONG AREA. MOST NATURE STRIPS CONSISTED OF GRASS AND ONE TREE, BUT A HANDFUL WERE FOUND WHERE THE OWNER HAS EXTENDED THEIR GARDEN ON THE NATURE STRIP CREATING A NEW TYPOLOGY

FIGURE 60 - THE TRADITIONAL NATURE STRIP OF GRASS

FIGURE 61 - A NEW TYPE OF NATURE STRIP, CONTINUOUS PLANTING CREATING A BUSH ENVIRONMENT IN SUBURBIA?

DESIGN WITH THE NATURE STRIP USING THE IDEA OF THE NATURE STRIP TO INFORM THE OVERALL SHAPE OF THE SUBURB FIRST STARTED WITH A CONTINUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT EXPRESSED IN FIGURE

58 WHERE THE SUBURB COULD BE A MIX OF 63). THESE DE-

PLANTINGS AND OPEN GRASS (FIGURE

VELOPMENTS ONLY FOCUSED ON THE NATURE STRIP IN ITS CURRENT FORM OF APPROXIMATELY TWO METRES WIDE,

FIGURE 65 - THE DIRECTION OF THE NATURE SHOULD INFORM THE DIRECTION OF THE ROAD

WITH THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF IT FOLLOWING THE ROAD PATTERN.

FIGURE 64 STARTS TO RETHINK THE

NATURE STRIP AS A PUBLIC PARK (SPACE) WHICH COULD

USAGE OF EACH SIZED NATURE STRIP WAS CREATED TO

SURROUND THE HOUSES.

HELP DEFINE THE SPACES.

THE RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

A NATURE STRIP LESS THAN FIVE METRE WIDE

- MAJORITY

PLANTINGS AS THE SIZE IS TOO SMALL FOR SAFE PLAY TO HAPPEN

TEN METER WIDTH - PLANTING AND SMALL OPEN SPACES ARE ALLOWED AS THIS SPACE IS BECOMING SIDE ENOUGH FOR BALL SPORTS

FIGURE 63 - LETTING “NATURE” TAKE OVER THE NATURE STRIP

TWENTY METER WIDE NATURE STRIP IS PREDOMINANTLY OPEN WITH TREES ONLY FOR SHADE AND PROTECTION AS THIS SPACE IS LARGE ENOUGH FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY ON

WITH THE USE OF DIFFERENT HOUSING TYPES, AS DESCRIBED IN FIGURE 56, EACH HOUSE HAS A BACKYARD WHICH IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE NATURE STRIP. THIS IDEA PUT ACROSS THE SITE WOULDN’T REFLECT THE CHARACTER OF THE LOCAL AREA; THEREFORE IT IS MOVING AWAY FROM THE OBJECTIVE OF A LOCAL SPACE.

SAFELY (FIGURE

66 +67).

CHANGING THE WIDTH AND SIZE OF THE NATURE STRIP ALLOWS FOR A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT ACTIVES TO OCCUR ON THIS SPACE (FIGURE

65). A RULE SET FOR THE

FIGURE 64 - OPENING THE BOUNDARY OF PRIVATE/PUBLIC

FIGURE 66 - AS THE NATURE WIDENS THE PLATINGS SPREAD

FIGURE 67 - EXAMPLE OF HOW THE NATURE STRIP WOULD “BREATH” IN AND OUT, CONTROLLING THE ROAD AND DENSITY OF PLATINGS ALLOWING FOR A MULTI OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES

THE FOLLOWING SET OF IMAGES DESCRIBES THE PROCESS OF HOW THE NATURE STRIP AND SUBURB WERE INITIALLY DESIGNED. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AS THE DESIGN HAS GROWN FROM THE GROUND UP AND IS THE START OF A STRATEGY WHICH COULD BE USED AWAY FROM THIS SITE AND STILL CREATE A SUBURB DIRECTED BY THE NATURE STRIP

AFTER EXPERIENCING THE SITE THROUGH WALKING AND KEEPING CLOSE TO THE OBJECTIVES, THERE WAS A DESIRE TO KEEP AND USE THE EXISTING KEY FEATURES ON SITE AS THE BASE FOR THE SUBURB TO FORM.

THE MAIN FEATURES ARE MAINLY TREES AS THE SITE IS VERY FLAT.

FIGURE 69 - EXTRUDING THE LINE ACROSS SITE

AT FIRST THE IDEA OF EXTRUDING A LINE ACROSS THE SITE TO INFORM THE NATURE STRIP LAYOUT WAS USED (FIGURE 68+69). THE LINE THAT WAS EXTRUDED CAME FROM THE FLOOD MAPPING. NEXT THE EXISTING FEATURES WERE LAID OVER THE EXTRUDED LINES (FIGURE 70) AND A STREET PATTERN EMERGED WHEN THE TREES WERE LINKED TO THE LINE (FIGURE

71). WHAT WAS QUICKLY REALISED WAS

THAT THIS WASN’T DOING TO ACCOMPLISH THE ENVISIONED RESULT.

FIGURE 72 EXPRESSES THE START OF LINKING

THE EXISTING TREES TO EXISTING ROADS.

FIGURE 70 - LAYING EXISTING FEATURES OVER EXTRUDED LINES

FIGURE 71 - LINKING TREES BACK TO EXTRUDED ROADS

FIGURE 68 - MAXIMUM FLOOD LINE FROM THE BARWON RIVER

FIGURE 72 - CONNECTING SITE INSIDE TO OUT

THE NEXT STAGE, ROADS THAT FACED THE SITE WERE EXTRUDED ACROSS THE SITE WHICH CREATED THIS GRID LIKE PATTERN (FIGURE

73). AGAIN THE EXISTING FEATURES (TRESS) WHERE PLACED ON SITE (FIGURE 74). AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION MADE WAS IF THE FIVE MINUTE WALK WAS APPLIED TO THE EXISTING TREES, MAJORITY OF THE SITE IS INTERCONNECTED THROUGH FIVE MINUTE WALKS. FIGURE 75 IS THE NATURE STRIPS AND ROADS IN ITS MOST BASIC FORM. THIS WAS CREATED BY USING THE GRIDDED LINES TO CONNECT THE TREES. THIS IN TURN CREATED THE HOUSING BLOCK SYSTEM AND DEFINED WHERE THE MAIN ROADS WERE TO BE SITUATED. IT ALSO SHOWS, ROUGHLY THE NATURE STRIPS (FIGURE

76). FIGURE 73 - THE EXTRUDED ROADS CREATE A GRID OVER THE SITE

FIGURE 74 - EXISTING FEATURES OVER LAID WITH THE FIVE MINUTE WALK CONCEPT

FIGURE 75 - THE NATURE STRIPS BEGIN TO BE FORMED

FIGURE 76 - THE ROUGH PLAN OF A SUBURB CREATED FROM THE GROUND UP

AFTER SOUND REFINING, AT THIS SCALE THE MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE SUBURB HAVE BEEN FORMED. FIRST THE NATURE STRIPS THEMSELVES, WHICH ARE ACTING AS A CONTINUOUS PARK LIKE SYSTEM (FIGURE 77). THE MAIN ROAD SYSTEM HAS BEEN PUSHED AND PULLED BY THE NATURE STRIPS TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE RIGID GRID SYSTEM (FIGURE

78).

THE HOUSING BLOCKS (FIGURE 79), THE HOUSING BLOCKS CURRENT AVERAGE

SIZES ARE BASED ON TWO THINGS.

SIZES OF SUBURBAN BLOCKS AND THE DESIRE TO ALLOW AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

THE SMALLER THE BLOCK THE

LARGE THE NATURE STRIP IS, GIVING THE OCCUPANTS THE ABILITY TO HAVE LARGE OUTDOOR SPACE.

THE NATURE

STRIP HAS BECOME THE BACKYARD, PROVIDING THE AES-

FIGURE 78 - ROADS INFORMED BY THE NATURE STRIP

THETIC VALUES, MICRO CLIMATES, BIODIVERSITY THAT IS MISSING FROM NEW SUBURBS.

FINALLY THE FIVE MINUTE WALK CIRCLES COVER THE SITE LINKING LARGE (TWENTY METRE PLUS) NATURE STRIPS.

IF YOU LIVE WITH A SMALL NATURE STRIP A LARGE OPEN SPACE IS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE (FIGURE 80).

FIGURE 79 - HOUSING BLOCKS OF ALL SIZES

FIGURE 80 - THE ENTIRE SUBURB IS LINKED BY LARGE NATURE STRIPS

FIGURE 77 - THE NEW NATURE STRIP

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK THE FOLLOWING IMAGES SUGGEST THE TYPE OF SPACES THAT COULD BE FOUND WITHIN THIS FIRST INTERATION OF A NEW SUBURB (FIGURE

81-86). THE IDEA OF A HOUSING

DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN REVERED WITH PRIVATE ACCESS TO THE DWELLING AT THE REAR, ALLOWING THE NATURE STRIP TO BE A PEDESTRIAN ONLY SPACE.

AS SEEN IN THE PLAN (FIGURE 87), COMPARED TO THE SUBURB PRECEDENTS WHERE THE “GREEN” HAS DISAPPEARED, THE GREEN HAS NOT ONLY STAYED, BUT ENCOURAGED. THE NATURE STRIP HAS BECOME THE BACKYARD, PROVIDING THE AESTHETIC VALUES, MICRO CLIMATES, BIODIVERSITY THAT IS MISSING FROM NEW SUBURBS.

FIGURE 82 - A TWENTY METER NATURE STRIP

FIGURE 83 - A TEN METER NATURE STRIP

FIGURE 81 - A TWENTY AND 5 METER NATURE STRIP FIGURE 84- A TWO METER NATURE STRIP

PROPOSED - AVERAGE BLOCK SIZE = FOUR HUNDRED METRES SQUARED - AVERAGE HOUSE SIZE = TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN METRES SQUARED - AVERAGE BACKYARD SIZE = FIFTY METRES SQUARED FIGURE 85 - SHOWING THE AVERAGE SIZE OF A HOUSE AND BLOCK

FIGURE 86 - ZOOMING IN ON A TWENTY METER NATURE STRIP WHICH WOULD BE USE AS A PARK MORE SO THAN A “PRIVATE” NATURE STRIP

FIGURE 87 - THE MASTER PLAN INCORPORATING ALL LEVELS OF THE DESIGN. THE GREEN SPINE HAS RETURNED.

REFLECTING ON ITERATION ONE THIS FIRST ITERATION HAS SET UP MANY BASIC PRINCIPLES AND SET THE SEEDS FOR CREATING A STRATEGY. IT HAS DEMONSTRATED THE IDEA OF USING EXISTING CONDITIONS TO HEAVILY MANIPULATE THE DESIGN OUTCOME. THERE IS ONE KEY ASPECT OF THIS ITERATION THAT SHOULD BE KEPT THROUGH OUT ALL FUTURE TESTING’S, WHICH INVOLVES THE SIZE OF THE BLOCKS. CURRENTLY

THE NEW SUBURB?

BY HAVING REAR ACCESS WHAT HAS EFFECTUALLY HAPPENED, THE TRADITIONAL HOUSE AND SUBURB HAVE BEEN FLIPPED. THE FRONT IS NOW THE BACK AND THE BACK IS NOW THE FRONT. HAS THIS THEN

THE SMALLER THE BLOCK THE LARGE THE NATURE STRIP

OF THE SUBURB?

CREATED A NEW TYPE OF SUBURB OR DOES USING THE NATURE STRIP AS THE CONTROLLING FORCING FOR THE OVERALL DESIGN SIMPLY REARRANGE KEY COMPONENTS

IS, GIVING THE RESIDENTS THE ABILITY TO HAVE LARGE OUTDOOR SPACE.

THE NATURE STRIP HAS BECOME THE BACKYARD, PROVIDING THE AESTHETIC VALUES, MICRO CLIMATES, BIODIVERSITY THAT IS MISSING FROM NEW SUBURBS. BY COMPARING THE NUMBER OF HOUSES AND PUBLIC SPACE OF THIS DESIGN TO THE RECENTLY BUILT

THROUGH THE COURSE OF PROJECT A AND ITERATION ONE TWO SKETCHES WERE DRAWN (FIGURE 89+90). THEY WERE CREATED OUT OF FRUSTRATION, CONTEMPLATION AND PROCRASTINATION. IT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS THINKING’S OF WHAT AND HOW A SUBURB COULD BE. THE MAIN

SUBURB THAT SITS NEXT TO THE SITE, WHAT IS SHOWN

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS THAT AS THE DESIGN

IN THIS ITERATION IS A RETURNING OF THE GREEN FOR

RESEARCH HAS MOVED FORWARD, THERE IS A REALISATION

NOT ONLY THE INDIVIDUAL BUT FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A

THAT THE SUBURB HAS AND IS MUCH MORE COMPACTED

WHOLE, WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE NUMBER OF DWELL-

AND TIGHTLY SOWN THAN FIRST THOUGHT.

INGS (FIGURE

CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF THE DIFFERENT ITERATIONS

88).

THIS MAY

AND THE SKETCHES WILL BE ONE OF THE INDICATIONS OF

THERE IS HOWEVER A FEW ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE

THESE CHANGES.

CONSIDERED IN FUTURE ITERATIONS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN

COMPONENTS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO SUBURBAN

ADDRESSED IN THIS FIRST DESIGN.

DESIGN.

THESE INCLUDE THE

HOWEVER THEY HELPED TO INDICATE

LOCATION OF ANY SHOPS, A TOWN OR URBAN CENTRE AND HOUSING DENSITY AND THEREFORE HOUSING TYPES.

ONE

QUESTION ARISES, IS ONLY HAVING REAR ENTRANCES TO THE BLOCKS PART OF THE CORRECT FORMULA FOR

FIGURE 89 - POSSIBLE ARRANGEMENT OF SUBURBAN COMPONENTS

CURRENT

ITERATION ONE

= 165 HECTARES TOTAL AREA = 346 HECTARES = 2 HECTARES PUBLIC SPACE = 50 HECTARES HOUSING BLOCKS - 1615 HOUSING BLOCKS - 1200 TOTAL AREA

PUBLIC SPACE

THREE HUNDRED METRES SQUARED OF PUBLIC SPACE PER HOUSE

FIGURE 88 - COMPARING CURRENT WITH PROPOSED

FIGURE 90 - REALISING COMPACTNESS

THE FOUR COMPONENTS WITHIN SUBURBAN DESIGN AND URBAN DESIGN THERE ARE MANY COMPONENTS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED. IN THE

THE DENSITY

MOST BASIC FORM THERE ARE FOUR COMPONENTS THAT WILL

AS PART OF PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES THE TRADITIONAL LOW DENSITY, SINGLE STORY DWELLINGS ARE NOT THE ONLY OPTION AVAILABLE. THE

BE USED IN THIS DESIGN RESEARCH; THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE DENSITY, THE BUILT AND THE GREEN.

DENSITY USED FOR THIS RESEARCH WILL BE BASED UPON

THESE CATEGORIES ARE COMPLEX AND EACH WORD IS LOADED WITH DIFFERENT MEANINGS. FOR THE PURPOSE OF

THE NUMBER OF DWELLING UNITS IN A CERTAIN AREA.

THIS RESEARCH THEY NEED TO BE DEFINED SO THEY CAN BE

THERE LOW DENSITY, MEDIUM DENSITY AND HIGH DENSITY (FIGURE 93). LOW

USED MORE APPROPRIATELY.

DENSITY REFERS TO CURRENT SUBURBAN CONVENTIONAL

ARE THREE CATEGORIES THAT WILL BE USED;

DWELLINGS, MEDIUM DENSITY REFERS THE A DOUBLING OF

THE GREEN

THE LOW DENSITY, FOR EXAMPLE TWO BUILDINGS OCCUPYING THE SAME AMOUNT OF SPACE AS THE LOW DENSITY OR

THROUGHOUT THIS DESIGN RESEARCH THE TERM ‘THE GREEN’ HAS BEEN USED TO REFERENCE THE BACKYARD. THE

A BUILDING OCCUPYING THE SAME AMOUNT OF SPACE BUT

BACK YARD TYPICALLY CONSISTS OF A LARGE AREA OF LAWN

REFERS TO A TRIPLING OF THE LOW DENSITY.

WITH ANY PLANTING ARRANGED ON THE FENCE LINE.

HOUSING DOUBLE THE PEOPLE AND FINALLY HIGH DENSITY

FOR

THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH, THE GREEN IS IN REFERENCE TO OPEN SPACE, WHERE THIS IS NO ONE FIXED TYPE OF CONDITION, ITS SURFACE IS OPEN TO THE SKY, TO SERVE CONVERSATION AND URBAN SHAPING FUNCTION IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES (FIGURE

91).

FIGURE 93 - HOW TO ARRANGE DENSITY

THE BUILT FIGURE 91 - AN EXAMPLE OF OPEN SPACE NEAR WATER

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

THE BUILT REFERS TO THE HUMAN MADE SURROUNDINGS THAT PROVIDE THE SETTING FOR HUMAN ACTIVITY PREDOMINATELY THE DWELLINGS. IT DOES NOT REFER TO THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN OF EACH DWELLING RATHER THE

INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN REFERENCE TO THE STRUCTURES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THE OPERATION OF THE SUBURB. IT WILL REFER TO ALL HARD TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE, MOSTLY FOR TRANSPORTATION USES. THIS WILL INCLUDE;

ORIENTATION OF THE DWELLING, SET BACKS, PLAN TYPES

THE ROAD NETWORK WITH THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROAD

PRIVACY (FIGURE

EITHER SHALLOW PLAN,

L-SHAPED, DEEP PLAN OR SQUARE

PLAN AND POSSIBLE POSITIONING OF KEY FEATURES OF A DWELLING, E.G. WINDOWS AND EXTERIOR DOORS TO HELP

94).

SIZES DEPENDING ON TRAFFIC FLOW, BICYCLE PATHS AND PEDESTRIAN PATHS TO PROMOTE THE LESSENING USE OF THE AUTOMOBILE AND A TRANSIT SYSTEM ALLOWING THE INCORPORATION OF A LIGHT RAIL SERVICE (FIGURE

92).

FIGURE 94 - POTENTIAL ARRANGEMENT OF MEDIUM DENSITY DWELLINGS

FIGURE 92 - LIGHT RAIL BLENDED WITH “THE GREEN”

THE GREEN AFTER REFLECTING UPON ITERATION ONE AND BREAKING DOWN THE REQUIREMENTS OR CATEGORIES (GREEN, INFRASTRUCTURE, DENSITY AND BUILT) IN WHICH THIS

NEED IN THIS DESIGN RESEARCH TO COUNTER ACT ANY

RESEARCH WILL WORK IN IT HAS REVEALED THAT THE

CREEK SYSTEM THROUGH THE SITE INTO THE EXISTING

GREEN HAS BEEN THE DRIVING FORCE BEFORE ALL DESIGN CHANGES.

AS DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY IN THE CHAPTER ‘WHERE HAS THE GREEN GONE?’, THE GREEN NOT ONLY

REEDY LAKE. THE FIRST IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS WAS DONE BY CUTTING A LARGE ‘GREEN’ LINE THROUGH THE SITE (FIGURE 95). THIS STRAIGHT AND DIRECT MOVE-

PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL BUT FOR

MENT CREATED A SINGULAR POINT WHERE WATER COULD

THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE BY PROVIDING A LAND-

BE DIRECTED TO AND CREATED A LARGE OPEN SPACE THAT

SCAPED DOMINATED RESIDENTIAL AREA WITH ECOLOGI-

WOULD BENEFIT ANIMAL MIGRATION THROUGH THE SPACE

CAL, CLIMATIC AND AESTHETIC ADVANTAGES. IT MAKES

(FIGURE 96 ).

EXCESS WATER RUN OFF.

ONE WAY TO CONTROL POTEN-

TIAL EXCESS WATER IS BY CHANNELLING IT THROUGH A

SENSE TO TRY AND HAVE AS MUCH ‘GREEN’ AS POSSIBLE.

FIRST THIS WAS DONE BY INCREASING THE OVER ALL SITE NORTHWARD TOWARDS THE BELLARINE HIGHWAY BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY THE BELLARINE RAIL TRAIL. THIS

THE MAJOR ISSUE THAT IS CREATED WAS A COMPLETE AND UTTER DISREGARD TO THE LAND, WHICH CONTRADICTS THE

SECTION OF THE RESEARCH FOLLOWS THE DEVELOPMENT

HAS TO COME FROM THE LAND (FIGURE

OF HOW BEST TO INCORPORATE ‘GREEN’ INTO THE SITE.

ING THE ABILITY TO POSITIVELY ADD A WATER ELEMENT TO

SECOND KEY POINT OF THIS RESEARCH THAT THE DESIGN

97 ). STILL WANT-

THE DESIGN, A MAPPING OF CURRENT DAMS AND CREEK

AS THE SITE IS RELATIVELY FLAT, WITH ONLY A SLIGHT GRADIENT GOING DOWN TOWARDS REEDY LAKE, A MAJOR ISSUE THAT COULD OCCUR IS FLOODING. LOOKING BACK TO THE PRECEDENT OF ARMSTRONG CREEK, FLOODING

IMPRESSIONS ON THE SITE WAS CREATED TO FIND THE

OF THE SITE WHERE THIS SUBURB IS BEING CREATED HAS

NENTS (FIGURE

BEEN SUBJECT TO FLOODING OVER THE WINTER MONTHS,

EMPTY OF FULL OF WATER (FIGURE

BEST NATURAL WATER SYSTEM (FIGURE

98). NEXT WAS

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SYSTEM INTO THE CURRENT DESIGN AND HOW THIS WOULD ALTER THE OTHER COMPO-

99-101) AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN WHEN 102).

WHICH HAS RESULTED IN CONSTRUCTION OF THE SUBURB BEING DELAYED BY SIX TO TWELVE MONTHS.

WITH THIS IN

MIND A MANIPULATION OF THE TOPOGRAPHY MAY BE

FIGURE 95 - THE GREEN LINE

FIGURE 96 - A LARGE OPEN SPACE WOULD HELP INVITE LARGER ANIMALS

FIGURE 97 - UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT WATER SYSTEMS

FIGURE 99 - WATER SYSTEM ADJUSTING BLOCK SIZES

FIGURE 100 - WATER SYSTEM ADJUSTING DENSITY

FIGURE 98 - REVEALING THE A NATURAL WATER SYSTEM ACROSS THE SITE

FIGURE 102 - SECTION OF CREEK, EMPTY AND FULL

FIGURE 101 - WATER SYSTEM ADJUSTING INFRASTRUCTURE

WITH THE ADDITION OF A WATER ELEMENT INTO THE DESIGN, INCLUDING A CREEK SYSTEM AND DAM SYSTEM, AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW A DAM IS CONSTRUCTED IS IMPORTANT (FIGURE

103). THIS WOULD ALSO HELP TO

PROPERLY INFORM THE WAY THE WATER SYSTEM WOULD ALTER THE OTHER COMPONENTS.

AFTER TESTING HOW TO CONNECT THE WATER TO THE OTHER COMPONENTS A QUESTION WAS RAISED ABOUT THE DAMS THEMSELVES AND WHAT COULD THEY BE USED FOR IF EMPTY?

BY ALLOWING ACCESS INTO

THE DAM WHEN EMPTY WOULD CREATE A CONTINUOUS TRANSITIONING SPACE THAT WOULD HELP BETTER CONNECT PEOPLE TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS (FIGURE 107) AN IDEA OF USING THE DAM IN SECTIONS TO ALLOW A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT ACTIVES WAS TESTED (FIGURE 108).

FIGURE 103 - UNDERSTANDING DAM CONSTRUCTION

ZOOMING IN ON ONE DAM ALLOWED FOR THE TESTING OF HOW THE RESIDENT WOULD MEET THE WATER

(FIGURE 104). IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ACCESS TO PART OF THE WATER IS MADE AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC, PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF A PART OF THE SHORE LINE WOULD DISRUPT A SENSE OF CONTINUATION THAT THE ‘GREEN’ HAS AND ALSO WOULDN’T ALLOW THE SPACE FOR WATER, IF MAJOR FLOODING OCCURRED, TO FLOW PROPERLY. CONNECTING THE PRIVATE WITH THE PUBLIC WITH THE

FIGURE 105 - TESTING TRANSITIONAL ZONE BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

WATER SHOULD BE CONTROLLED BY THE MANIPULATION OF THE GROUND (FIGURE

105). THE LAST TESTING

APPEALS THE MOST AS IT TRIES TO USE A SERIES OF GRADIENTS TO PROVIDE A SMOOTH CONTINUATION OF THE LAND’S TOPOGRAPHY WHILST STILL PROJECTING VIEWS AWAY FROM THE RESIDENTIAL (FIGURE

106).

FIGURE 108 - BREAKING THE DAM INTO SECTIONS.

FIGURE 104 - THE MEETING OF PRIVATE, PUBLIC AND WATER

FIGURE 106 - THE USE OF A MULTIPLE OF GRADIENTS

BY BREAKING THE DAM INTO SECTIONS WOULD ALLOW DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TO OPERATE, GIVE BETTER ACCESS TO THE DAM AND RESIDENTIAL BLOCKS (FIGURE 109) AND ALLOW BETTER CONTROL OF WATER LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE WATER SYSTEM.

EACH SECTION SURFACE COULD BE LINED WITH A DIFFERENT MATERIAL PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A GREATER RANGE OF PROGRAMS (FIGURE 110). THE DIFFERENT MATERIAL TYPES COULD BE FOCUSED ONE THREE MAIN TYPES USED FOR DAM CONSTRUCTION; CLAY BASE, CONCRETE BASE AND A GRASS BASE. THE CONCRETE BASED SECTION, ONCE EMPTIED OF WATER COLD BE USED AS A SKATE PARK, THE GRASS SECTION A SEMI NATURAL AMPHITHEATRE.

FIGURE 109 - A PATH ACROSS THE WATER

FIGURE 110 - THE DAM BROKEN INTO SECTIONS WITH DIFFERENT MATERIALS, CONCRETE, GRASS AND WATER.

FIGURE 107 - GIVING ACCESS TO THE DAM IN A CONTINUOUS STATE OF INFLUX

APPLYING A SIMILAR IDEA FROM TESTING THE CONNECTION OF THE DAM TO THE PRIVATE THROUGH THE MANIPULATING OF TOPOGRAPHY WAS USED TO TEST HOW THE NATURE STRIP COULD CONNECT TO THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ROAD

(FIGURE 111). THE IDEA BEHIND EVERY TESTING WAS HOW TO GIVE THE NATURE STRIP AND THE HOUSE MORE PRIVACY/PROTECTION FROM THE ROAD.

THE TESTINGS

THAT INVOLVE RAISING THE GROUND SURFACE SLIGHTLY INCREASE THE OVERALL WIDTH OF THE BLOCK AS A SLOPE IS APPLIED TO BETTER TRANSITION BETWEEN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC.

THE LAST SECTION ILLITERATES ONE WAY

IN WHICH MORE ‘GREEN’ CAN BE ARCHIVED WITHOUT THE NEED TO DECREASE THE HOUSE SIZE.

THE HOUSES IN

FIGURE 111 - POTENTIAL NATURE STRIPS THROUGH SECTION

THEORY ARE DOUBLE STORY, ALLOWING FOR A SMALLER SPACE TO BE ALLOCATED FOR THE HOUSE PROVIDING THEN A LARGER NATURE STRIP.

UNTIL THIS PART OF THE DESIGN THERE HAS BEEN NO REAL CONSIDERATION TOWARDS ACCESS TO THE HOUSES. IN ITERATION ONE ACCESS IS GIVEN THROUGH A SERIES OF REAR LANE WAYS WHICH IN THEORY TURNS THE SUBURB INSIDE OUT.

THERE ARE TWO

BASIC OPTIONS THAT ARE EVIDENT IN THE PLAN THAT THE ‘GREEN’ HAS HELP TO CREATE (FIGURE

112). THE

FIRST IS THE REAR ACCESS OF THE HOUSES THROUGH LANE WAYS AS SEEN IN ITERATION ONE (FIGURE

113)

AND THE SECOND IS BY HAVING DRIVEWAYS ACROSS THE NATURE STRIP AS IN ALL SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS

(FIGURE 114). BY ZOOMING IN WHAT IS REVEALED IS HOW DIFFERENT THESE TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS CAN CHANGE THE SPATIAL

FIGURE 112 - NEXT STAGE OF HOW THE ‘GREEN’ HAS CHANGED THE SITE, SHOWING DENSITY

CONFIGURATION OF THE NATURE STRIP.

THE FIRST,

WITH THE ACCESS AT THE REAR, CREATES AN UNINTERRUPTED NATURE STRIP THAT WOULD PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE FOR PLAY.

THE SECOND BREAKS UP THE NATURE

STRIP INTO SECTIONS AND SUGGESTS OWNERSHIP WITH THE HOUSE IT SITS IN FRONT OF.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT WAS TRADITIONALLY HERE IN TERM OF PLANTINGS IS IMPORTANT. THE ‘GREEN’

WATTLE. SHRUB SPECIES SUCH AS STICKY BOOBIALLA, SWEET BURSARIA AND SILVER BANKSIA FORMED MOST OF THE MIDDLE STOREY. THE GROUND STOREY WAS DOMINATED BY KANGAROO GRASS; ASSOCIATED SPECIES INCLUDED GREY PARROT-PEA, SMOOTH PARROT-PEA AND FLAX-LILY. IN RIPARIAN AND DAMPER AREAS, GOLDEN SPRAY, SWEET BURSARIA AND HOP GOODENIA GREW WHILE COMMON TUSSOCK GRASS DOMINATED THE GROUND STOREY (FIGURE 115).

AREA OR NATURE STRIP NEEDS TO CONTAIN WAS MANY INDIGENOUS SPECIES AS POSSIBLE TO HELP IN THE RESTORATION OF THE LAND.

THIS AREA WAS ONCE

PREDOMINANTLY AN OPEN WOODLAND COMMUNITY THAT ALSO INCLUDED AN UNDER STOREY OF VARIOUS SHRUBS AND GRASSES. THE

DOMINANT TREE SPECIES SUCH AS RIVER RED GUM, SWAMP GUM AND DROOPING

SHEOKE GREW ALONGSIDE OTHER SPECIES SUCH AS BLACKWOOD, CHERRY BALLART AND GOLDEN

ACACIA IMPLEXA - LIGHTWOOD EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENSIS RIVER RED GUM

ALLOCASUARINA VERTICILLATA DROOPING SHEOKE

EUCALYPTUS OVATA - SWAMP GUM

FIGURE 115 - EXAMPLE OF TREE SPECIES

FIGURE 113 - REAR ACCESS ALLOWS FOR A CONTINUING NATURE STRIP

FIGURE 114 - THE DRIVEWAYS ACROSS THE NATURE STRIP BREAK THE ‘GREEN’ UP

THE INFRASTRUCTURE THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THIS DESIGN RESEARCH CAN BE BROKEN DOWN INTO FOUR CATEGORIES; ROAD TYPES, LIGHT RAIL, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN. THE POSITIONING OF ALL FOUR MAY DETERMINE OR BE DETERMINED BY THE DENSITY OF HOUSING AND KEY AREAS OF INTEREST.

FOL-

LOWING ON FROM ITERATION ONE WITH THE ADJUSTMENTS MADE BY LOOKING CLOSER AT THE GREEN, FIGURE

116

SHOWS WHERE HIGHER TRAFFIC IS EXPECTED COMPARED TO LOWER.

BREAKING DOWN THE REQUIREMENTS OF EACH TYPE OF ROAD. MAIN ROAD THE MAIN ROADS (FIGURE 118) WILL CARRY THE MOST AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC. ACTING AS A COLLECTOR ROAD IT WILL NEED MORE LANES FOR AUTO TRAFFIC THAN THE OTHERS. ITS REQUIREMENTS ARE: FOUR LANES FOR TRAFFIC, TWO LANES FOR WALKING AND TWO LANES FOR BICYCLE (FIGURE 119). SECONDARY ROAD

COMPARED TO A LOWER TRAFFIC ROAD?

WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED IN A HIGHER TRAFFIC ROAD THE AMOUNT OF

SECONDARY ROADS (FIGURE 120) ARE TO BE USED FOR LESS SPEED THAN THE MAIN ROAD TYPE. IT WILL BE USED AROUND RESI-

LANES IS ONE FACTOR THAT WILL DETERMINE WHETHER

DENTIAL HOUSING THEREFORE PARKING SPACES WILL BE REQUIRED

ONE ROAD IS DESIGN TO CARRY MANY OR FEW CARS.

AND THE LANE SIZES WILL BE SLIGHTLY SMALLER TO ENFORCE A

ROAD TYPES FOR THIS DESIGN RESEARCH HAVE BEEN BROKEN DOWN INTO THREE TYPES; MAIN ROAD, SECONDARY ROAD AND RESIDENTIAL ROAD. ALL THREE WILL HAVE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS EXPECT FOR ALWAYS HAVING BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN LANES.

SLOWER AUTO SPEED.

THE REQUIREMENTS ARE: TWO LANES FOR

TRAFFIC, TWO LANES FOR WALKING, TWO LANES OF PARKING AND TWO LANES FOR BICYCLE (FIGURE

121).

RESIDENTIAL ROAD

WITH A DESIRE TO LESS

TRANSIT LINE HAS REPLACED ONE OF THE ROADS RUNNING

THE RESIDENTIAL ROAD TYPE (FIGURE 122) IS MEANT TO BE THE SLOWEST SPEED FOR AUTOMOBILES. THE LANE SIZES WILL BE SMALLER AGAIN, ENCOURAGING AN EVEN SLOWER SPEED THAN THE SECONDARY ROADS. THE REQUIREMENTS ARE; TWO LANES FOR TRAFFIC, TWO LANE FOR WALKING, ONE LANES FOR PARKING AND TWO LANES FOR BICYCLE (FIGURE 123).

NORTH-SOUTH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SITE (FIGURE 117). IT WAS PLACED HERE TO ALLOW THE MAXIMUM NUMBER

LIGHT RAIL

THE DEMAND OF THE AUTOMOBILE A LIGHT RAIL SERVICE WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGN OF THE SUBURB.

THIS WILL HELP TO PROVIDE MORE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO ACCESS AFFORDABLE HOUSING/LIVING. THE

OF DWELLINGS TO BE WITHIN A FIVE MINUTE WALK OF THE LINE.

THE LIGHT RAIL (FIGURE 124) CONFIGURATION WILL HAVE NO AUTOMOBILE REQUIREMENTS BUT HEAVILY FOCUS ON PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLING. ITS REQUIREMENTS ARE: TWO LANES FOR WALKING AND TWO LANES FOR BICYCLE (FIGURE

FIGURE 116 - EXPECTED HIGHER AND LOWER TRAFFIC CONDITIONS

125).

FIGURE 117 - PLACING A LIGHT RAIL SERVICE INTO THE DESIGN

FIGURE 118 - ARRANGING COMPONENTS FOR MAIN ROAD TYPE FIGURE 119 - FINAL LAYOUT OF COMPONENTS FOR MAIN ROAD

FIGURE 120 - ARRANGING COMPONENTS FOR SECONDARY ROAD TYPE

FIGURE 121 - FINAL LAYOUT OF COMPONENTS FOR SECONDARY ROAD

FIGURE 122 - ARRANGING COMPONENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL ROAD TYPE

FIGURE 123 - FINAL LAYOUT OF COMPONENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL ROAD

FIGURE 124 - ARRANGING COMPONENTS FOR LIGHT RAIL

FIGURE 125 - FINAL LAYOUT OF COMPONENTS FOR LIGHT RAIL

THE DENSITY THE ARRANGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL BLOCKS COMBINED

HIGH DENSITY BLOCKS COULD INCORPORATE A TYPE

WITH STACKING OF DWELLINGS IS TO BE BASED MAINLY

OF MINI VILLAGE ATMOSPHERE, CONTAINING A MILK

UPON THE NATURE STRIP SIZE.

THE LARGE THE NATURE STRIPS THE DENSER THE LIVING SHOULD BE. BY PROVIDING THREE TYPES OF DENSITY LIVING OPTIONS, LOW, MEDIUM AND HIGH, IT OPENS THE SUBURB TO A WIDE RANGE OF DIVERSITY. THE HIGHER DENSITY LIVING OPTIONS SHOULD BE LOCATED WITHIN A FIVE MINUTE WALK OF MASS TRANSIT AND CLOSE TO SHOPPING FACILITIES.

MEDIUM

DENSITY SITS A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY FROM MASS TRANSIT, BUT STILL WITHIN A FIVE MINUTE WALK, LOW DENSITY LIVING SHOULD SIT THE FURTHEST AWAY, BUT STILL HAVE FIVE MINUTE WALKING OPTIONS TO CORNER SHOPS (FIGURE

BAR AND EVEN COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL USES.

THIS

WOULD HELP UNNECESSARY TRAVELLING AND PROMOTE WALKING.

THE ‘GREEN’ COULD MOVE INTO THE BLOCK

ADDING EVEN MORE OPEN SPACE TO THE SUBURB. IT WOULD ALSO JUSTIFY THE USE OF TALLER BUILDINGS AS THEY SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN URBAN AREAS THAT ARE SERVED BY TRANSIT (FIGURE

131).

ZOOMING INTO A RANGE OF BLOCK TYPES FOR EXAMPLE, A BLOCK WHICH HAS A DAM (FIGURE 132), ONE WHICH HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A MEDIUM OR HIGH

126).

DENSITY BLOCK (FIGURE

ONCE DENSITY IS LOCATED IN THE LARGER BLOCKS, THE ARRANGEMENT OF PLOT SIZES BECOMES IMPORTANT. WHAT WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A

133) AND ONE WHICH HAS A COMBINATION OF LOW AND HIGH (FIGURE 134) AN IMAGE IS ABLE TO FORM OF HOW THESE SPACE COULD LOOK AND FUNCTION.

LOW DENSITY BLOCK AND A HIGH OR MEDIUM DENSITY BLOCK?

BREAKING THE SIZE INTO PARTS IS ONE WAY OF FINDING DENSITY (FIGURE 127). A LOW DENSITY

IT IS AN ON GOING PROCESS TO FIND THE BEST WAY TO ARRANGE DENSITY. A REOCCURRING POSITION IS THAT

BLOCK SHOULD ALLOW EACH INDIVIDUAL PLOT TO

THE LARGER THE NATURE STRIPS IS THE DENSER THE

DIRECTLY CONNECT TO A PART OF THE NATURE STRIP

LIVING SHOULD BE.

(FIGURE 128). MEDIUM DENSITY PLOTS COULD BE BROKEN UP THROUGH THE BLOCK (FIGURE 129) AND HIGH DENSITY WOULD BE MORE PARTS LAID OUT SIMILAR TO THE MEDIUM (FIGURE

THIS WAS CLEAR IN ITERATION ONE,

EVEN THOUGH THE ISSUE OF DENSITY ISN’T PRESENT, THE SIZES OF PLOTS WERE BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE NATURE STRIP.

130). THE MEDIUM AND

FIGURE 126 - ARRANGING DENSITY IN RELATION TO TRANSIT AND URBAN CENTRE

FIGURE 131 - TRYING TO FIND AN ARRANGEMENT OF BUILDINGS IN A MEDIUM OR HIGH DENSITY BLOCK

FIGURE 133 - SUGGESTION OF HOW HIGH DENSITY LIVING COULD OCCUR, ALMOST A MINI CITY GRID SYSTEM.

FIGURE 132 - THIS SUGGESTS A PRIVATISATION OF THE WATER FIGURE 134 - THE BLENDING OF TWO TYPES OF LIVING

FIGURE 127 - FINDING A WAY TO ARRANGE DENSITY IN LOW, MEDIUM AND HIGH.

FIGURE 127A - LOW DENSITY

FIGURE 127B - MEDIUM DENSITY

FIGURE 127C - HIGH DENSITY

THE BUILT THE BUILT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCEPT OF LIVING FOR PEOPLE. LIKE ANY SHELTER IT IS A BARE REQUIREMENT FOR SURVIVING. IT IS HOW THE BUILT IS ARRANGED AND CONFIGURED THAT ULTIMATELY DETERMINES THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PLOT, THE BLOCK, THE STREET AND THE SUBURB.

OCCUPIES THE ENTIRE BLOCK, WHICH IN TURN IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF THE GREEN DISAPPEARING.

NOT ALL THE

PLOT SIZES WILL BE A RECTANGLE, AS SHOWN IN ITERATION ONE, PLOTS VARY IN SIZE AND SHAPE DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE NATURE STRIP.

CURRENT LOW DENSITY SUBURBAN BUILDINGS TEND TO BE ONE STYLE, DEEP PLAN. TO ALLOW MORE GREEN INTO THE SUBURB AND NOT COM-

THE ARRANGEMENT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF DENSITY LIVING COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS STACKING (FIGURE 135) BUT DOESN’T ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF ORIENTATION OF

PRISING THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN METRE SQUARE

THE DWELLING OR PROVIDES A SMALL WORKING SPACE

PLAN,

HOUSE SIZE A CHANGE IN SHAPE IS REQUIRED.

PLOT

DEPENDANT LOW DENSITY HOUSES COULD BE; SHALLOW

L SHAPED OR SQUARE PLAN (FIGURE 136).

FOR THE INDIVIDUALS. IT DOES PROVIDE A CLEAR SPATIAL INDICATION OF THE HEIGHT THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW, MEDIUM AND HIGH DENSITY.

ONE CONSTRAINT WITH THE BUILT IS ACCEPTING THE CURRENT SIZES OF HOUSE. THE AVERAGE SIZE OF A NEWLY BUILT RESIDENTIAL HOUSE, WHICH FOR THIS RESEARCH IS CATEGORISED AS LOW DENSITY, IS TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN METRES SQUARED. THE ISSUE THAT THIS CAUSES, ESPECIALLY IN CURRENT SUBURBS, IS THE HOUSE

FIGURE 136 - SIMPLY WAYS TO HELP GENERATE MORE GREEN AROUND THE BUILT

FIGURE 135 - INDICATING SPATIAL RELATIONS TO THE BUILT DENSITY

MEDIUM AND HIGH DENSITY BUILDING COULD STILL PROVIDE A LARGE FLOOR SPACE PER LEVEL, BUT THEIR ARRANGEMENT IS MORE CRITICAL THAN THE LOW. AS THE BUILDING HEIGHT INCREASES THE ISSUES OF DEALING WITH SHADOWS, PRIVACY AND EVEN PRIVATE WORKING SPACE BECOMES IMPORTANT.

THE PLOT FOR HIGHER DENSITY LIV-

ING HAS MANY CONFIGURATIONS COMPARED TO THE LOW

(FIGURE 137). THESE DIFFERENT TYPES CAN HELP WITH THE SPATIAL FEELING OF AN AREA, BE IT MORE URBAN CENTRE OR COMMERCIAL ZONE.

SET BACK WILL PLAY A VERY IMPORT ROLE IN DETERMINING A STREETS FEEL (FIGURE 138). THE DESIGN HAS TO BE CAREFUL IN THE APPLICATION OF SHORT SET BACKS IN RELATION TO THE DESIRED SPATIAL OUTCOME OF EACH AREA.

A SHORT SET BACK WITH A TALL BUILD-

ING WILL IMPOSE A MUCH MORE URBAN TOWN FEEL, COMPARED TO A LONG SET BACK WITH A SHORTER BUILDING.

KNOWING THE BREAK DOWN OF THE OVER

ALL DESIGN OF THE SUBURB IS CRITICAL IN PROPERLY MANAGING THE BUILT FORM.

FIGURE 137 - POSSIBLE HIGHER DENSITY LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

FIGURE 138 - CONTROLLING THE SPATIAL FEEL AT ROAD LEVEL

REFLECTING ON COMPONENTS

FOUR THAT HAVE BEEN EXPLORED ARE THE MOST BASIC

THE FIRST ITERATION WILL SEE THE GREEN SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FIRST, WHICH WILL CONTROL THE INFRASTRUCTURE AS THE SECOND COMPONENT, WHICH WILL

THAT WILL ALLOW A SUBURB TO FUNCTION.

DETERMINE WHERE THE DENSITY WILL SIT WHICH WILL

THERE MIGHT BE A NUMBER OF OTHER COMPONENTS THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED OUTSIDE OF THESE FOR BUT THE

CONTROL BUILT

ALTHOUGH THE FOUR COMPONENTS SET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS REQUIRED IN EACH PART, WHAT HAS BEEN SHOWN AND DESCRIBED IS ONLY AN INTRODUCTION INTO EACH COMPONENT.

THEY NEED TO BE TESTED THROUGH

THE SECOND ITERATION WILL THE GREEN AGAIN CONSIDERED FIRST, WHICH WILL DETERMINE WHARE THE DENSITY GOES, WHICH WILL MAKE THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLACE-

ITERATIONS OF THE DESIGN TO SEE HOW THEY SIT NEXT

MENT THIRD AND THE BUILT WILL BE CONSIDERED LAST AS

TO EACH OTHER AND WHAT MAY NEED TO BE CHANGED

A RESPONSE TO ALL THREE.

IN ORDER FOR EACH COMPONENT TO WORK PROPERLY.

HOWEVER THROUGH THE COURSE OF USING THESE IN ITERATIONS TO SEE HOW THEY MIGHT CHANGE WHEN EF-

THESE FOUR COMPONENTS MAY BE QUITE DIFFERENT,

FECTED BY ONE ANOTHER, THE KEY PRINCIPLES IN EACH

WHAT WILL CONNECT THEM HOWEVER IS THE FUNDAMEN-

COMPONENT SHOULD NOT BE LOST.

TAL PART OF THIS RESEARCH; THE NATURE STRIP.

THEY SHOULD BE

THE

ALLOWED TO CHANGE WHEN REQUIRED BUT ALSO PROVIDE

NATURE STRIP CONNECTS EACH COMPONENT TOGETHER

A STRONG POSITION ON WHAT METHOD OF CHANGE MIGHT

AND ALSO CONTROLS EVERY ASPECT ABOUT THEM.

BE ALLOWED.

NATURE STRIP CONTROLS THE ROAD’S LINE, THE SIZE AND

THE

ORIENTATION OF THE BLOCKS AND INTURN THE PLOT SIZES,

THROUGH BREAKING DOWN INTO COMPONENTS AND

IT ALSO WILL CONTROL THE BUILDING SIZES AND SHAPE.

EXPLORING THEM MOSTLY AT A CONCEPT LEVEL HAS GIVEN

THE GUIDING FORCE BEHIND THE NEW SUBURB IS THE NATURE STRIP.

SUPPORT FOR WHEN TO USE EACH COMPONENT.

THE GREEN IS THE MOST IMPORT ASPECT OF THIS DESIGN RESEARCH AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FIRST AT ALL TIMES.

THE OTHER COMPONENTS CAN BE ARRANGED IN ANY ORDER AND DON’T HAVE A SPECIFIC SECOND OR THIRD PLACE. IMMEDIATELY THERE ARE TWO ITERATIONS THAT CAN FORM.

ITERATION TWO THE SECOND ITERATION OF THE ENTIRE SITE WAS DONE BY

THE RAIL WAS PLACED ALONG A PART OF THE WATER SYS-

USING THE PLAN CREATED IN EXPLORING THE GREEN AS A

TEM AND THE LARGEST OPEN SPACE AREAS AS THE PLOT

BASE.

SIZES ARE SMALLER WHICH IN TURN CREATES A DENSER

THIS DESIGN USED THE FOUR COMPONENTS IN THE ORDER OF; THE GREEN, INFRASTRUCTURE, DENSITY AND BUILT. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS TO CREATE MORE SPACE FOR THE GREEN (FIGURE 139). IN THIS CASE, THE IDEA

NEXT WAS THE DENSITY (FIGURE 143). THE DENSITY

OF HAVING REAR ACCESS TO THE HOUSE WAS CHANGED TO

FOLLOWED THE RAIL AND IS SITUATED AROUND THE UR-

HAVING A GREEN SPINE RUNNING BETWEEN THE HOUSES

BAN CENTRE.

(FIGURE 140). THIS MEANS THAT ACCESS TO THE DWELLEACH DWELLING HAS A NATURE STRIP, AS IN TRADITIONAL SUBURBIA, THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BEING THE SIZE OF THE NATURE STRIP CHANGES AND MOVES IN AND OUT. COMPARED TO ITERATION ONE THE PLOT SIZES ARE SMALLER, HOWEV-

PLACED STILL FOLLOWING THE SAME LOGIC AS ITERATION

ER THE SIZES OF THE HOUSES THEMSELVES STILL MAINTAIN

PEOPLE CREATES A HIGHER DEMAND.

INGS IS DONE BY THE TRADITIONAL DRIVE WAY.

LIVING STRIP.

SOME MEDIUM DENSITY DWELLINGS WERE

ONE, WHERE THE SMALLER THE PLOT SIZE THE LARGER THE NATURES STRIP.

THIS GIVES AN EVEN SPARED OF AF-

FORDABLE AND MIXED HOUSING ACROSS THE SITE. IT ALSO GIVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE CORNER SHOPS WITH IN A FIVE MINUTE WALK OF MOST DWELLINGS, AS THE MORE

THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN METRES SQUARED WHICH IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED IN NEW DEVELOPMENTS.

WHAT

THE OVER ALL DESIGN OUTCOME (FIGURE 144) HAS

HAS BEEN CREATED HERE FROM THE GREEN IS THE PRES-

PRODUCED AN ITERATION THAT HAS CREATED MUCH MORE

ENCE OF MORE GREEN TO THE BACK AND FRONT OF THE

‘GREEN’, PLACED KEY INFRASTRUCTURE IN APPROPRIATE

DWELLING BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY IT HAS GIVEN A SAFER

POSITIONING AND INJECTED A RELATIVELY EQUAL AMOUNT

PLACE FOR PLAY TO OCCUR, AS A UNINTERRUPTED SPACE

OF HIGHER DENSITY LIVING OPPORTUNITIES. IT STILL SHOW

HAS BEEN CREATED BEHIND THE DWELLING (FIGURE

CASES MANY OF THE KEY MOVEMENTS FORM THE FIRST IT-

141).

ERATION BUT EXPANDS ON THEM. IT HAS A GREATER LEVEL

NEXT WAS THE POSITIONING OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE (FIGURE 142). THE LIGHT RAIL WAS CONFIGURED FIRST

OF DETAIL THAN THE FIRST, DUE TO THE USE OF BREAK-

AS THIS WOULD BE THE FOUNDING IMPLEMENTATION FOR

BACK INTO THE DESIGN.

ING THE KEY COMPONENTS DOWN AND REINSERTING THEM

THE ROAD AND ROAD TYPES, DETERMINING WHERE THE HIGHER TRAFFIC ROADS WILL GO.

FIGURE 140 - ZOOMING IN ON A BLOCK REVEALS SMALLER HOUSE PLOTS, BUT A LARGE ‘GREEN’ STRIP THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK AND EXAMPLES OF HOW THE NATURE STRIP MIGHT BE USED

FIGURE 139 - ADDING MORE ‘GREEN’ INTO THE SUBURB

FIGURE 141 - ADDING MORE GREEN

FIGURE 142 - THE CHANGE TO INFRASTRUCTURE FIGURE 143 - THE PLACEMENT OF DENSITY

FIGURE 144 - ITERATION TWO MATER PLAN

ITERATION THREE THE THIRD ITERATION STARTED FROM THE SAME PLAN AS ITERATION TWO. THIS ITERATION DIFFERS FROM THE

THAT WERE DESIGNATED AS A MAIN ROAD HAVE BEEN

PREVIOUS DUE TO ITS ARRANGEMENT OF THE FOUR COM-

THERE IS HOWEVER QUITE A CHANGE TO THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL ROADS. A NUM-

PONENTS.

BER OF THIS TYPE OF ROAD HAS BEEN DELETED FORM THE

THIS DESIGN USED THE FOUR COMPONENTS IN

CHANGED TO A SECONDARY.

THE ORDER OF; THE GREEN, DENSITY, INFRASTRUCTURE

DESIGN WHILE SOME HAVE CHANGED ORIENTATION.

AND BUILT.

IS DUE TO THE NEED OF HAVING A ROAD SITTING NEXT TO

AS IS THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS DESIGN

RESEARCH TO CREATE MORE ‘GREEN’ THE IDEA USED IN

THIS

DWELLINGS AT ALL TIMES.

ITERATION THREE WAS TO PUSH THE DWELLINGS TOWARDS THE ROADS TO CREATE LARGE ‘GREEN’ STRIPS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCKS (FIGURE

145). THIS MEANS THE

THE OVER ALL DESIGN OUT COME OF ITERATION THREE (FIGURE 150) IS A SUBURB THAT LOOKS TO HAVE MUCH

ORDER OF ROAD, NATURE STRIP THEN DWELLING HAS BEEN

MORE GREEN AND MUCH DENSER LIVING OPPORTUNITIES,

REVERSED.

WITH LESS ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE.

THE SPACE OF THE NATURE STRIP STILL EXISTS BUT IS PLACED BEHIND THE DWELLINGS (FIGURE 146). WHAT THIS CREATES WHEN PLACED ACROSS THE SITE IS VISUALLY MORE ‘GREEN’ COMPARED TO ITERATION TWO (FIGURE 147).

A POSITIVE OUTCOME

OF THIS DESIGN WAS HOW MUCH MORE THE DENSITY IS SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE SITE COMPARED TO THE LAST ITERATION. IT IS ALSO MOSTLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE LIGHT RAIL TAKING LESS BURDEN AWAY FORM PEOPLE IF IT WAS ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY THE AUTOMOBILE.

THE DENSITY WAS PLACED ON SITE AND DUE TO THE LARGER AREAS OF GREEN AN EVEN MORE SPREAD OF HIGHER DENSITY WAS REALISED (FIGURE

148). A LARGER

NUMBER OF HIGH DENSITY LIVING OPPORTUNITIES IS SHOWN.

ALSO THE AREA OF MEDIUM DENSITY HAS INWITH

CREASED COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS ITERATION.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE A DEFIANT CHANGE HAS OCCURRED (FIGURE

149). THE RAIL NO

LONGER FOLLOWS THE WATER INSTEAD IT STAYS CLOSER TO THE HIGH DENSITY AREAS.

MOST OF THE ROADS ARE SOME

THE SAME, HOWEVER THE TYPES HAVE CHANGED.

FIGURE 146 - ZOOMING IN ON A BLOCK REVEALS SMALLER HOUSE PLOTS, BUT A LARGE ‘GREEN’ STRIP THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK. IN THIS DESIGN THE NATURE STRIP HAS BEEN REVERSED.

FIGURE 145- ADDING MORE ‘GREEN’ INTO THE SUBURB

FIGURE 147 - ADDING MORE GREEN

FIGURE 148 - THE PLACEMENT OF DENSITY FIGURE 149 - THE CHANGE TO INFRASTRUCTURE

FIGURE 150- ITERATION THREE MATER PLAN

REFLECTING ON ITERATION TWO AND THREE THE TWO ITERATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED SHOW A VERY PARTICULAR WAY OF WORKING. THEY DON’T DIFFER FROM THE FIRST ITERATION, RATHER THEY BUILD UPON IT. THE FIRST ITERATION WAS MAINLY ABOUT FINDING A STRATEGY TO CREATE A BASIC FORM. THE METHOD USED

BOTH ITERATIONS HOWEVER DO STILL CONTAIN A LARGE LOW DENSITY LIVING AREA. THIS IS DUE TO MEETING DEMANDS AND WORKING WITH THEM, NOT CREATING A SUBURB WHICH IS ONLY HIGH DENSITY LIVING WHICH WOULD

FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD SIMPLY TAKE THAT BASIC

THE DESIRE FOR A LARGE HOUSE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE HIGH, BUT WITH PROVID-

CREATION OF A CHANGING NATURE STRIP SPACE AND ADDS

ING OTHER TYPES OF DWELLINGS OPENS TO A MARKET OF

DIMENSION TO IT.

BUYERS WHO CANNOT AFFORD A LARGE HOUSE, WANT TO

FIRST BY SUGGESTING TO USE FOUR

CREATE A CITY WITHIN A CITY.

COMPONENTS IN THE DESIGN OF A SUBURB DOES SEEM TO

DOWN GRADE BUT WISH TO STAY IN THE AREA AND EVEN

DUMB DOWN THE COMPLEXITY OF SUCH A LARGE PROJ-

RENTERS. IT MAKES SENSE TO PROVIDE THESE DIFFERENT

ECT. IN FACT IT IS ONLY BY DUMB-ING DOWN THE WHOLE

DWELLING SPACES IN THE FUTURE SUBURB.

IDEA OF A SUBURB THAT ONE IS ABLE TO TAKE STEPS IN PROPERLY UNDERSTANDING HOW ONE COMPONENT CAN

THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH BOTH THESE ITERATIONS IS THE THE BUILT IS SUGGESTED BUT DOESN’T HAVE A STRONG ENOUGH PRESENCE TO MANIPULATE THE DESIGN. THIS MEANS THAT

HAVE A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE AFFECT ON THE OTHERS.

LACK IN WHICH THE BUILT HAS BEEN DETAILED.

WITHOUT CREATING AND EXPLORING THOSE COMPONENTS, IN MOSTLY A CONCEPTUAL FORM, BEFORE USING THEM TO ADJUST THE DESIGN, THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP THE RE-

BOTH ITERATIONS NEED TO BE CONTINUED TO PROPERLY

SEARCH WOULD HAVE BEEN LIMITED AND THE OUTCOMES

UNDERSTAND THE HIERARCHY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TYPE

WOULD HAVE BEEN UNINFORMED.

OF METHOD.

THERE HAVE BEEN TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN

BY TRYING TO INSERT MORE ‘GREEN’ INTO THE DESIGN IN EITHER ITERATION, WHAT HAS BEEN RAISED IS A QUESTIONING OF NATURE STRIP IN THIS FORM; IS IT STILL CALLED A NATURE STRIP? OR HAS IT CHANGED INTO SOMETHING BEYOND A LEFT OVER SPACE OF LAND? THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS YES IT IS STILL A NATURE STRIP. IT IS STILL A SECTION OF LAND BETWEEN THE ROAD EDGE AND THE PROPERTY BOUNDARY. THE RESEARCH HAS

IN ITERATION TWO AND THREE. INTERESTINGLY THERE HAS NOT BEEN A LARGE VISUAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO.

HOWEVER, ONCE A BREAK DOWN WAS COMPLETED IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THEY ARE SOME WHAT DIFFERENT (FIGURE 151+152). BOTH HAVE A SIMILAR OPEN SPACE PERCENTAGE (SEVENTY PERCENT AND SIXTY-SIX PERCENT); WATER IS THE SAME AS IS THE ROAD PERCENTAGE. THE BIGGEST CHANGES ARE TOWARDS THE BUILT AND THE DENSITY. ITERATION THREE HAS A MUCH LARGER AREA GIVEN TOWARDS HIGHER DENSITY LIVING OPPORTUNITIES COMPARED TO ITERATION TWO. THESE SPACES ARE ALSO MUCH BETTER SPREAD ACROSS THE SITE. WITH THE

CHANGED SHIFTED THE IDEA OF THE NATURE STRIP INTO SOMETHING LARGE THAN AND MORE COMPLEX THAN ITS CURRENT FORM. IT ALSO IS THE GUIDING THREAD THAT CONNECTS THE FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS TOGETHER.

THREE MEDIUM DENSITY INCREASED BY TWO PER CENT

THE NATURE STRIP DEFINES WHERE THE INFRASTRUCTURE GOES, WHERE THE BUILT GOES AND WHERE THE DENSITY GOES. THIS RESEARCH IS CHALLENGING THE IDEA OF A

AND HIGH DENSITY INCREASED BY THREE PER CENT.

NATURE STRIP AND BY DOING SO IS CHALLENGING IDEA OF

SLIGHT DECREASE IN LOW DENSITY LIVING IN ITERATION

THE

OVERALL SPATIAL FEELING OF THE DESIGN THEN WOULD

THE SUBURB.

BE A MUCH MORE OF AN URBAN SUBURB COMPARED TO ITERATION TWO.

ITERATION TWO

LOW RESIDENTIAL PARKLAND

- 14% - 70%

WATER TREATMENT ROAD

- 6% - 2%

MED. RESIDENTIAL HIGH RESIDENTIAL URBAN CENTRE

- 5% - 2% - 1%

FIGURE 151 - BREAKDOWN OF ITERATION TWO

ITERATION THREE

LOW RESIDENTIAL PARKLAND

- 13% - 66%

WATER TREATMENT ROAD

- 6% - 2%

MED. RESIDENTIAL HIGH RESIDENTIAL URBAN CENTRE

- 7% - 5% - 1%

FIGURE 152 - BREAK DOWN OF ITERATION THREE

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