5th yr Major Project: All Under One Roof

ALL UNDER ONE ROOF

Can private enterprise subsidize affordable housing? Can rampant commercialism deliver social space?

And can heavy retail survive the lure of online shopping?

In her project, Shu tackles all these questions head on through the exploration of ‘hybrids’ by tackling a real development in the mid metropolitan suburb of Doncaster. Shu imagines a housing/ commercial/public space development where DIY morphs into unitised housing that is built by Bunnings and then lifted into place atop a submerged warehouse with public space at the ground plane.

But in another twist, Shu proposes one part of each unit becomes a display home where customers can visualise ‘in-situ’ the opportunity of each product sold by Bunnings. units would be subsidised by the corporation and in Shu’s mind, the unaffordable may accessible. Other units overlook the ubiquitous aisles as vetrines of homemaking

visiting These become desire.

The concept is extended further- the big garden centre becomes an urban park, the kid’s playground becomes the focus of a broader local community garden and the DIY auditorium an outdoor venue for the local school.

Could this really happen and are we uncomfortable with such an overwhelming grab by the private sector of the public realm? Some of us may be understandably a little squeamish but Shu has demonstrated that architects and architecture can tackle these issues through a thoughtful understanding of the issues and a thorough exploration of how building types may hybridise into the future to tackle real world issues.

Text by Stefano Scalzo

prologue

The concept of hybridisation originates from genetics and refers to the cross breeding of different species.

concept

Doncaster

Melbourne CBD

site

pedestrian trajectory

Civic & Edu Precinct

counci

public transport hub

l st

Westfield Doncaster tower st

d sons r m willia

prop os walk ed ing path

doncaster rd

connector

typical mixed use

cross breeding

intermingling

overlapping

cross informing

experiential hybrid definitions

Ponte Vecchio,Italy Taddeo Gaddi

Vitrahaus, Weil am Rhein Herzog + De Meuron

precedents

Lyons Housemuseum, Kew Lyons Architecture

Bryggehusprojektet, Copenhagen OMA

precedents

Precinct 3 North East DoncasterBoulevard Forecast dwellings - 563

Civic & Education Precinct Westfield Shopping Town - Retail - Commercial

-

Primary School Community Theatre Library Town Hall

Residential Blocks

project brief

Brief : Satisfy the needs of

?

Bunnings Warehouse + The council + perform a Civic Duty ?

project brief

The project also addresses the future of retail: the move to online shopping & subsequently the lack of tactile experiences of a product before purchase, using this opportunity to suggest the possibility of privately subsidzed housing.

project brief

intent

intent

design considerations

High Rise

Apartment living Garden

Slightly Elevated

Bunnings

Housing

Display/ “Tacitile Shopping�

Cafes

Public park

Ground Level Water Feature

Civic Square

Timber Yard

Basement Car Park

design considerations

t

ee

gh

hi

r st

design considerations

Communal park

design considerations

design considerations

design in progress

design in progress

design in progress

outdoo livingr

bunnin cafegs

btoim arbe dsr

paint kids playground to civi c prec inct

ti pots dryamrbe iv d r admin e centre

landsc aping tr hiail reer loadin g bay

ng hti lig

bunnin cafegs audito rium

co mm un /npvaeg a urtcie seh l ry

co gammu rd na en l

nursery

bunnin gs aisles

water plants w es tf ie store ld

ca rp ar k

li nk

design in progress

design in progress

design in progress

design in progress

bu

nn

in

gs

st

re

bu po nn ol in gs

et

civic & edu precinct link

car

par

k

ri to au di

bu co nni mm ng un s al pa ga rk rd en

um

bunning & high s aisles street

we

st

fi

el

d

ca

rp

ar

k

li

nk

design in progress

SmartSpace Catalogue

5x5m modules catalogue impression

upper & basement floors

KIDS PLAYGROUND

TIMBER YARD DRIVE THRU

NURSERY AUDITORIU

M DISPLAY UNI

TS

DISPLAY UNI

REET

TS

DISPLAY UNI

TOWER STREET

COUNCIL ST

TS

INDOOR PLANTS DISPLAY

MAIN ENTRY

CAFE & LIGHTING DISPLAY CARPARK ENTRY

DONCASTER RO

AD

ground floor

schematic section

outdoor auditorium

“suburban street” & display units

dusk view from doncaster road

sausage sizzle at main entry

“human ant farm�: view from warehouse/high street

What if

a private corporation could subsidize affordable housing? It seems Bunnings Warehouse is moving towards a display-heavy retail outlet just as main competitor Masters Home Improvement has launched their impersonal, flash-heavy online shopping service.

Would YOU let your home be open as a display unit from 9am – 7 pm? Sharing a part of your house with the Wesfarmers Group might rightly give you the creeps… But what if you could finally own property and meet more friends in return?

With your neighbours’ door open during business hours, you could sheepishly step into their front door, hoping to bump into that chatty fella you saw cooking last night through your Tahiti Mahogany blinds you purchased on a residents’ discount. You’ve heard of a couple who met at the Poolside after she slipped on the ash coloured non-slip tiles into his arms, they held a lavish wedding ceremony amongst the fern display with their cash saved on body corporate fees.

A few windows of the display units face onto the Bunnings Warehouse below, that Mr. Pradesh, a regular passer-through, calls the human ant farm. It draws the customers upwards into the corridors above, snag sandwiches and curiosity in tow. Their kids are running amok at Bunnings’ nursery picking ladybugs off the Petunia plants. Your elbow rests on the acrylic island bench top as you recall the solitary corridor of your old 15th floor apartment unit…

Perhaps it’s not so strange having your front door wide open at 3 pm on a fine Sunday arvo.

epilogue

Major Project RMIT Master of Architecture Program Special thanks to Supervisors: Stefano Scalzo Nicholas Ling

SHUYEN PHOON 2012 shuyenphoon@gmail.com