Landscape Studio 1 -- Exploration

The Potter CafĂŠ Open Space

Name: Shengjie Wu Student Number: 813055 Subject: Landscape Studio 1: Explorations 1

Table of Contents

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SITE ANALYSIS ----------------Plan 1:100 --------------------Sketch -------------------------Brief -----------------------------Plants Information ---------Plan 1:500 --------------------Refelction ---------------------

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CONCEPTUAL MODEL ---Challenges ------------------Process -----------------------Illusional Photography --New Scenario --------------Refelction ---------------------

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FINAL DESIGN --------------Concepts --------------------Diagrams ---------------------Rendered Images ---------Reflections --------------------

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SITE ANALYSIS

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PLAN 1:100

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Project Name: Flatland? – making plans Project Location: The Potter Cafe Open Space Scale: 1:100

Sketch

Standing at one spot, looking inside and outside

The sketches are based on one point of the site. When I was on the site, I took a photo of the views of looking outside and inside, to see how the site interacts with the surrounding environments.

Then I found that the site is somewhat enclosed by the two elm trees. In a way, the views from both of the inside and outside are blocked by the branches and the foliage, so it kind of isolates the site from the surrounding environments. In another way, the trees also provide some dramatic and mysterious feelings for the site. Also, the canopy separates the site from the traffic on Swanston Street, for which it makes the site more suitable for studying, relaxing and socialising. As the site is an open space, the trees also provide a shelter for people and create more shades in summer. Moreover, the boundary walls seem a little bit unnecessary for the site. It cuts the whole site from the Potter cafĂŠ and limits the accessibility of the open space.

Thus, after the sketches, I found more problems and opportunities of the site, for which they helped me form some initial ideas of refurbishing the site.

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Brief

Constrains:

Opportunities:

Inefficient space usage: only four tables Plain square open space, can be on the open space refubished and reconstruct easily

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Arguable usage of the site: the Potter Cafe kind of claim that they own the open space

Can be used for the cafe, the students of the university and the public at the same time

Context: Lack of linkage to the surrounding buildings

Isolated area suitable for studying, socialising and relaxing; needs more connections to the surrounding environment

Aesthetic: Unattractive

As it facing to the main traffic street, potentially can be made into an accent and activity hub

Plants Information

English Elm

Coast Banksia

Sticky Wattle

Botanical Name: Ulmus procera Uses: shading Traits: deciduous, autumn colour, architectural form Origin: Western and southern Europe Climate: cool, temperate

Botanical Name: Banksia integrifolia Uses: screening, shading, bush garden Traits: evergreen, robust, low maintenance, birdattracting Origin: Australia Climate: temperate, subtropical, tropical

Botanical Name: Acacia howittii Uses: hedging, screening, shading, bush garden, under power lines Traits: evergreen, robust, low maintenance, birdattracting, fragrant flowers Origin: Australia

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Project Name: Flatland? – making plans Project Location: The Potter Cafe Open Space Scale: 1:500

Reflection

When I was doing the site analysis, I was really surprised that I could learn so much more details and information about the site. Although I passed by the Potter CafÊ open space nearly every day to get to MSD Building, I didn’t find that much problems, opportunities and information about this area. I used to think that the site is just a very ordinary area and it does not have that much potentials to be turned into an attracting and interesting place. It does make me think of something that I used to ignore and inspires me to explore more about it.

After doing this assignment, it also really helpful for me to learn about how to draw contour lines. Initially, I thought the site is a very smooth and relatively flat area with a slight slope at front, but after drawing the contour lines, I found that the space is not a very flat ground and there is a bunker underneath which I have never noticed before. Thus, it was a quite interesting experience to learn so much about such a small site.

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CONCEPTUAL MODEL

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Original Objects

My object for this project is a set of metallics hanging bulbles. I found the geometric 3d shape and the lights created by the metallic surfaces are quite interesting. Therefore, I want to discover more about what kind of new shapes and lights it will create, if I make some changes to it.

Also, inspired by the scattered sopt lights, my initial idea of reconfiguring this item is to explode this solid ball into pieces and reassemble this object.

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Challenges

At first, when I was cutting the ball, I found that it was not easy to cut, because of the hard and rigid material of the object. When I was cutting it, the blade was bended and got stuck in the gap between the two plastic pieces. When one surface was cut off, the edges are quite uneven and these cut surfaces are in a regular shape. Also, each edge of the surface needed to be cut many times. Then, I decided to manipulate the object in another way, instead of physically cutting it.

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Therefore, I started to explore more about the object digitally, instead of physically. I created a 3D model of the object in Rhinoceros, and then I began to cut, to bend and to intersect the surfaces of this polyhedron. In the digital model, I can find more conceptual elements and forms of this object. Then, when I finished exploring this item, I flattened the solid geometry into simple surfaces for laser cutting, for which, in this way, I can get many pieces with the regular shape of the polyhedron.

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Process

Project Name: Site or Machine – conceptual models Project Location: The Potter Cafe Open Space

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My final model retains the top and bottom star shape of the original polyhedron. The middle part of the model is composed of the same surface shape of the polyhedron but they have been rearranged and some of them are intersecting with each other to form an exploding shape. The idea of this model is mainly inspired by the reflective surfaces of the object, for which the scattered lights it creates make me think of the situation of the Ian Potter CafĂŠ Open Space. The target site is kind of isolated and it is surrounded by three large buildings and the front area is blocked by two large trees, as well, so I was thinking of having more elements penetrating into the site, such as lights, shadows and even people. Thus, the concept of the model is to reach out into further areas and to occupy more flowing spaces by breaking the original restrictive shape and using more dynamic elements.

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Illusional Photography

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New Scenario

After taking some interesting photos of the model in particular angles, I put the model into some new scenarios to see how it will look like when it is in a different environment.

The first photo is about putting the model into a marine environment. It makes the model look like a another huge limestone, standing in the ocean. The scattered pieces are like the spindrift around the huge stone.

The second one was taken by accident. The camera accidently captured a dramatic light at dark, as shown at the left part of the photo. I added a fire flame to the right side of the photo in Photoshop, to see the contrast made on my model between a blue light and a red flame.

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Reflection

For the conceptual model, the main techniques I have used are explosion, reflection, intersection and reassemble. This assignment is quite inspiring for me, because manipulating with an already established object is a quite different task from my other design studios. Usually, when I am making a model, I can choose the materials which fit to my design most. However, for this assignment, I need to think how to reconfigure a fixed object into my design. It was quite challenging for me, for which the material was not very easy for me to cut or twist. Then, I found that I could extract some invisible qualities from the object to make a model, such as lights, shadows, reflections and even the geometric shapes.

After doing the model, it does open my mid about designing, for which design does not always ideally follow my own perspectives and I have to do some changes or even concession to fit the design into the reality or the actual site. Sometimes, when a design is constrained by some conditions and materials, there will be some alternative ways to achieve the approaches y manipulating with other qualities or properties of the site or the materials.

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Final Design

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Concepts

Geometric Patterns (elements from the conceeptual model) -- Using abstract patterns as motif, making the site into an accent

Transition from Abstraction to Concretization-geometric pattern to design meanings to physical experiences

Ecological -- Rainwater harvesting system is used for watering the turf and the other water usages of the surrounding buildings

Design Approach

Shadow -- the open space is designed to use intangible things, such as shadow, to reach out to the surrounding environment (having an impact to the surrounding buildings)

Drama -trees are kept for creating a visual suspense for the site

Material -- the main pipe strcture using stainless steel, the voronoi frame using glass with azure hue; the voronoi pattern pieces using mirror and green glass

Immersion to the nature -- the voronoi frame of the structure is designed into a water splash shape connecting the whole structure; some of the voronoi pieces are mirrors which can reflect the surrounding environments, as some of the pieces are made up of glasses which allow people to see the other objects through the structure

Modernity Encountering Primitiveness -nature merging into the industrial-like structure

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Precedents

Jardin d'eau et de lumière, Gabriel Guevrekian

La Place Petar Zoranic, David Bravo Bordas

The Garden of Water and Light by Gabriel Guevrekian inspired the main concept of my design. The Garden of Water and Light upsets the typical garden design styles and impressions. It adds more conceptual elements and give more abstract meanings to the garden. Inspired by this typical modern garden, I made my deisgn also in a modern style with some abstract concepts, such as geometry, shadows and nature.

When I was doing the design, I was thinking of growing plants on some panels of the structure to approach the idea of merging the structure into the nature. However, it seemed that the panels have very thin layer of soils and they are fully exposed to sun, so the condition isn't very ideal for growing plants. Then I saw the sculpture of Split made by Tony Heywood. The high reflective materials can also achieve the effect of making the structure merge into the environment. Therefore, I make some of the panles into mirrors to reflect the surrounding environments.

Split, Tony Heywood

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To make the site more connected to the basement part, I included a transparent glass on the ground which can allow people to see through to the underground and have more interactions with the people in the basement laboratory. This idea is inspired by the transparent exhibition glass floor of La Place Petar Zoranic.

Conceptual Shape

The idea of the voronoi frame is derived from the shape of water splash and the shadows and lights created by water. The overall shape of the structure imitates the temporary shape formed by a water drop. The design approaches to achieve a seamless combinaton between modernity and nature, so the structure has the steel pipes as a symbol of contemporary industry while the blue transparent voronoi frame represents the natural flowing water. Thus, the whole structure means that the nature runs through the whole contemporary industry, influencing almost everything of the modern society. It also correlates to the core ecological concept of the structure which uses the rainwater harvesting system to benefit the whole site.

Related back to the conceptual model, one of the ideas is based on the concept of exploding a solid into pieces and reconfiguring the fragments. This final design also maintained the idea of explosion and reconfiguration, as it has the centre circular glass as a core and the other parts reaching out to the surrounding area. Especially when it is at night, the light at the centre will shine through the structure and create some interesting scattered patterns on the building walls, achieving a fansy visual effect of exploding.

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Process

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Structure

Concrete Strip Footings

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Rainwater Harvesting System

Sprinkler Pump Rainwater Source

Filter Overflow Water Tank

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PLAN

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EAST ELEVATION

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SECTION

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PERSPECTIVE

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