Users Current users
future users
Family
Tourists
Parents would usually bring their kids or babies out for a stroll in the park. This could be seen with many people pushing baby prams and kids running around. I think it is a good site for family bonding session. The site has the potential for educating kids too. Parents could teach the kids a thing or two about Melbourne’s history when they visit the memorial park. They usually want the site to be peaceful and save from the kids.
Since the park is just beside the Federation Square and near CBD area, they would always be tourists around. However, most tourists would not walk up the stairs to the field. This is probably because they think that it is only a field and there’s nothing to see, despite the nice views of the city and Yarra River.
Students There’re also a lot of students on the park. They are easily noticed as many of them are in uniforms whom I presume are high school students. Most seem to be observing the surroundings and the jotting down information of the park instead of just strolling around. It seemed to me that they are on the park for a reason. They are most probably on field trips and doing their assignments.
Teenagers Youths from the teens to 20-something could also be seen here. They seem to be just leisurely waking and relaxing. Some of them are couples while some are alone or in groups of 2 or 3. They like to lie on the grass of the field relaxing or some can be seen just reading books. They like the calmness and serenity of the field as there’re less distractions.
Athletes Most athletes are joggers and cyclists. Joggers mostly jog in the morning and the evening. They would sometimes jog up the stairs that leads up to the field but most still prefer to just jog on the pathway below. Cyclists can only cycle on the lane prepared by them so they can’t go up the stairs. Therefore, on the field, is no cyclists. However, on the laneway, they sometimes cycle too fast. Those who are walking might not find it relaxing enough as they need to be aware of their surroundings.
Hence, with the proposal of the site, it is hoped that more tourists will be attracted to it and would find out the nice views from the site. They would also be able to visit and know more about the history of Melbourne through this Memorial Park.
Those who are interested in history With the Melbourne Memorial Park, hopefully, those who want to understand more about the history of Melbourne would also visit here. This group of visitors would take interest of the history. They are not that concerned of the calmness and serenity of the park. They are the group that really gets the purpose of the memorial park, which is to commemorate the history of Melbourne and John Batman’s exploration.
Diasbled visitors Throughout the time of my observations, I’ve not seen any handicapped visitors. This might due to the lack of handicapped facilities on the site. For example, to get to the field, there’s only an available way of access which is through the stairs. This is really inconvenient for the this group of people. They won’t be able to enjoy the opportunities. Hopefully, the memorial park would be disabled-friendly so that they would get the same opportunities.
Senior Citizen There’re also less senior citizens visiting the field. I hope that my new designs would increase the number of older visitors. This may also be due to the inconvenient staircase. It is quite long and might be tiring for some of them to climb up. Hence, they would choose not to go there. Hopefully, the site would be a place that senior citizens would choose to go to gain peace from the hectic city life.
Issues
Agenda Timeline
1. Access Currently, people are not attracted to the field. Most people will just walk or jog around the laneway provided but not many will go up the stairs. I noticed that most people do not take much notice of the field. This is probably due to the fact that they think there’s nothing on the field. Cyclists also can’t cycle up the field because of the stairs leading up. The site seems like a “rock” to the park, where most people know of its existence but is ignored.
As a designer, my job is to create space and experience for the visitors to my site. This is a memorial park in the memory of Batman’s exploration of Melbourne. With the field with a wide view of the city, I could give the visitors a glimpse of Melbourne from it’s historical era to modern era. I want them to understand a little more about the city’s history after they’ve finished visiting
2. Facilities The facilities on the site Is also not very convenient and they lack of disabledfriendly facilities. The stairs make it harder for senior citizens and disabled to access to the site. This further decreases visitors to the site.
3. Disinterest in History Another issue is that most people are not interested in history. Most people might think that it is boring. Only a minority would want to know more about it, therefore there will be less visitors. In my design, I need to incorporate curiosity and spark interest for my visitors so that they will take notice of it and eventually knowing more about Melbourne.
4. Topography The site has got uneven surfaces which makes it hard for designing. The slopes on the ground might also be dangerous as some areas are quite stiff and will be dangerous for disabled and senior citizens. Stairs leading up to the site, which is inconvenient for cyclists, disabled and senior citizens.
“ I want to create a feeling of timeline to my visitors, like as if they are travelling through time. What I really want out of this park is to allow the visitors to understand the history of Melbourne without using words. “
Agenda WATER WAVES My inspiration came from water waves. On a close up look on water wave, it is a transition from being part of the water until it disperses into water droplets.
My concept works the opposite way though. The water moves from being one and then separated into many but my concept is that many separated things are then eventually combined into one. The history of Melbourne starts from the aboriginal where it is more dispersed and separated as the aboriginals are divided into a few tribes. Melbourne at that time is not managed under any town council yet, which is just like the dispersed water droplets; it is separated. When John Batman explored Melbourne, it slowly expanded, more lands are owned, and became more united. This is like the part of the water wave which is less dispersed and still part of the water. It is bigger and more “united�.
Site Response Top View
The stairs which goes up to the field has been inconvenient. So I decided that the stairs should be changed to a slope. This makes it easier for disabled on wheelchairs. It is also easier for cyclists to cycle up. This resolves of my issue of problems with facilities.
The slope is also now a curve instead of just a straight line. I think it is less boring if it is a curve. It might increase the curiosity of the visitors and they more might walk up to the site.
Because of the size constraints, I decide to place my design on the upper right of my site. This is because the part where the land is the least steep which is more convenient for the kids, disabled and senior citizen. If I were to place my design on other parts, they might be too steep and would be dangerous for these people.
Side View