Studio4_ Ass6_1137663_FOLIO by Dongyao Zhang

SUSPENDED A Mine and Fossil Museum Experience in Mount Isa, Queensland Dongyao Zhang 1137663

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ‘Field’ Assignment 01 - Group p5

2. ‘Float & Anchor’ Assignment 02 - Group p 12

3. ‘Ground: Above and Below’ Assignment 03 - Group p 28

4. ‘community center for mount isa’ Assignment 04 p 42

“Outback at Isa is the hub of Tourism in North West Queensland. Your one stop shop to explore what the region has to offer. They are an award winning visitor information centre and run the Hard Times Underground Mine Tours, Riversleigh Fossil Centre, The Isa Experience Heritage Display, The Outback Park and Mount Isa Regional Art Gallery.”

‘Field’ Assignment 01 - Group

The Hard Times

The focus of the assignment was to fully understand the site and discover information on the site, and to present the discovered elements in the form of Forensic Site Plan, Kit-Of-Parts Drawing, and ‘Impression Drawing’.The assignment was completed in a group with Bolun Zheng, Chuenfan Lee, Dongyao Zhang and Yuhui Zheng. In the first week of the studio, when we studied about Mount Isa, we were attracted by the city’s mining elements. The kits of parts collected items in the city that is related to its mining history and operation. The drawing depicts the transitional experience from aboveground to belowground and the system from input to output.

Outback at Isa

The Isa Experience Heritage Display

The Riversleigh Fossil CentreMine

For the Forensic Site Plan, we expressed as much information as we could find, such as the location of the original buildings, the geomorphology, and the distribution of vegetation, etc. In the southern part of the site, we drew some equipment related to the mining industry, to link our kit of parts drawing.

Kit-Of-Parts Drawing

The Mining System Transitional Experience

Through our research, we each found some impressive points, and through group discussion, we concluded a kit of parts mobility, “The main character sets out from a mineral-related location, picks up a mining tool, goes to the pit, and starts mining.”

The system of mining depicts a transitional experience of movement, scale, and time. Our group perceive the mining operation as a dilemma, a landscape created by Anthropocene that has brought both opportunities and risks to the vast soil of Mount Isa.

Scale

- This part of the journey begins with an entry into the old mine, which is narrow and deep, dark and hot.

Structure

01 John Campbell Miles Clock Tower Landmark

02 Head Frame Icon & Infrastructure

03 Tent House Settlement

Equipmment & Transportation

- The movement of the ore cars is based on the tracks through which people work and constantly transport minerals.

06 Mining Drill

05 Dumper Truct

04 Steam Tractor

07 Mining Tunnel

08 Mining Cart

09 Carriage

Mining & Transportation

Output

- With the development of technology, mining cars have become progressively more powerful, and the larger volume can improve the efficiency of mining.

10. The silver comes from the lead-zinc-silver ore bodies. Lead ingots would then be exported to Britain for the extraction of silver. 11. Zinc concentrates rened from lead-zinc-silver ores would be transported 900km to the city and port of Townsville.

10 Silver

11 Zinc

12 Lead

13 Copper

12. Historically, ores contained lead were smelted on site. However, a report by Queensland Health report in 2008 indicated that lead smelting operation had caused more than 10% of the local children to suﬀer from blood contamination. 13. Copper ores were smelted on site for producing blister copper for sale and then rening at MIM’s copper renery in Townsville. The mine contains one of the world’s richest deposits of copper.

14 Silverware

15 Zinc Parts

16 Car Battery

17 Copper Wire

The impression drawing shows the dilemma of Mount Isa. Mining operation brings

wealth to the place, which attracts people to settle in the city. In the meantime, it generates problems that push people away. The town structure creates this come-and-go phenomenon that we would like to research about the mobility of the place.

The worker is like a bird, only temporarily staying

Mining tourism supports a part of mount isa

Severe pollution is driving the population away

Underground mining occupies a major portion of the work

Mineral reserves are still abundant

2. ‘Float & Anchor’ Assignment 02 - Group

For assessment 2, we focus on the concept of mobility of mount isa. We did four mapping based on city mobility, social mobility, mineral mobility and tourism mobility. Combining these concepts,the model of our group is mount isa flow. This design is based on the characteristics found in AS1, and a specific analysis of mount isa was launched. We found that the city is a developing city, and many elements are moving towards a goal. Based on this, we analyzed the mobility of the city in more detail, and then combined the four parts to complete our impression model.

Model View

Mappings

-The crime in Mount Isa

There is a history of murders and unsolved crimes in the Mount Isa region. Historically, the Mount Isa region has been an economically and socially unstable area. In the 1930s, entrepreneurs seeking economic gain from the region’s mining and farming lands caused significant social change. The introduction of class structures disrupted the social balance of the region. These social structures were a fundamental influence on the types of crimes committed. During the depression and World War II, the influx of transient workers into the Mount Isa area greatly increased crime rates. Burglary and violent crime increased greatly. It was a period of social, political and economic stress. There were tensions between social groups, mining and agricultural industries, and classes.1 This pressure was no longer as prevalent, but crime rates were still high.2 From 2012 to 2018, the crime rate in North West Queensland increased from 7,310 to 9,842. The violent crime rate in north Queensland is more than twice the Queensland average.3 Particularly in the Mount Isa region, the crime rate is four times the state average.4 This can be explained by the relatively low socioeconomic status and high unemployment rates in the Mt. Isa region.5

1. Diane, Perkins(July 1993). “Crime in the North West”. History Department, University of Queensland.

2. Queensland Crime Statistics”. Mount Isa. Retrieved 2019-05-10. https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/mountisa/queensland-crime-statistics/ 3. Paul, Wilson;Robyn, Lincoln (1992-11-01). “Young People, Economic Crisis, Social Control and Crime”. Current Issues in Criminal Justice. 4 (2): 110–116. 4. Paul, Wilson;Robyn, Lincoln (1992-11-01). “Young People, Economic Crisis, Social Control and Crime”. Current Issues in Criminal Justice. 4 (2): 110–116. 5. Felicity Caldwell(2018-11-15). “Queensland has the worst unemployment rate in the nation”. Brisbane Times. Retrieved 2019-05-12.

Social Mobility -Population loss driven by high crime rates. -From the current status of the city to potential problems.

Social Mobility This is descript the social mobility of the mount isa, in the middle is the current statues of the city which is the culture and entertainment of the city is unstable and fragmentized that lead to the potential characters here which is the population structures is not in balance，the main type of work is temporary and the unemployment rate is high，that lead to crime here is higher than other place，the result is worsen the population loss

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The number of young people is much higher than the number of older people

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Recreational and cultural facilities reﬂect the economic level

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Mainly concentrated in 20-40 years old

City content and culture have a sense of division

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High unemployment leads to high crime

Migratory Mapping Mount Isa is a mining town of transition. Each year, 20% of people move to a new place for home. Amongst them, people come, stay and leave the site frequently. At the end of 2019, 18% of people have left for good. In the mapping, it depicts both the instantaneous fly-in-fly-out newcomers as well as the people who dwell for long. The fast movement of people are denoted by the swifty curves whereas the slow transition of residents are notated as organic, horizontal lines.（Made by Bolun Zheng）

Minerals mapping The ore was firstly mined from underground mining pits and then was concentrated and smelted into concentrates and rough processed minerals, and then they will be transported to townsville where near the export port on the east of Queensland for further refining. After refining, those highly processed minerals including copper cathode, silver, lead bullion, gold will be exported to other countries or transported to other areas of the country. On the eastside of queensland, the government is planning to further develop renewable energy, such as wind, solar , hydro and biotech energy. Facilities for producing renewable energy depends on those productions of minerals, renewable energy has become an emerging opportunity for those mineral products. The production of minerals started out as a dirty and polluted process and ended up being a clean energy, this change in the flow is both dramatic and fascinating. （Made by Yuhui Zheng）

Tourism mapping According to some statistics, there are around 10 times more domestic visitors than international visitors. This drawing maps out some touristic spots and potential interesting place to visit and famous events. Events mainly happen From June to October and outdoor, which is cooler and drier weather compared to other months.（Made by Chuenfan Lee）

Migratory Moment The render of the drawing depicts a sense of fragmented, moving and flowing regards to our vision for the future of Mount Isa. The strong sense of direction represents both the migratory direction towards the east along Barkly HighWay, as well as the current fragile transitioning of the city.（Made by Bolun Zheng）

Crime Moment This moment is under the crime explode medel part to look up, The broken forms represent city imagery which is the concept from the mapping, unstable and fragmrntizied and is view is showing the pressure the city is facing 24

Minerals Moment

Tourism Moment

The lower left section represents the cross-sectional distribution of different mineral deposits, while the right route through the city is the main circulation and transportation route for minerals, and the end of the road represents clean energy and hope for rebirth. Viewed from the map plane, the vertical flow of layers of natural minerals and the horizontal flow of the city form a sharp contrast, but also to shape different spatial forms which is quite similar to our site.（Made by Yuhui Zheng）

Elements with tourism characteristics become a landscape here（Made by Chuenfan Lee）

Program Concepte Diagram

‘Ground: Above and Below’ Assignment 03 - Group

So from our mapping task, we have concluded that the city is formed by 2 invisible forces, the south to north vertical stretching by the mining industry from the past and present, and the west to east pulling force driven by the formation of a community from the present to the future. For the landscape proposal, we want to envision a future for the city and what’s going to happen on the site. We see the circulation of the journey as a spectrum that connects the heavy duty mining past with the community friendly future. Their movement on the site depicts the journey of the migratory experience which are experienced by the locals at Mount Isa. For tourists, the circulation starts from the mining experience underground, from historical and the past, slowly revitalised to a regenerative future. At the end of the journey, the visitors will reach the east of the site, where the communal space is. Journey-wise, the underground composes circulative space, whereas the above-ground creates space for slowing down and gathering.

Communal interior Space

Moving to the next program, there is an interior community space for both tourists and locals. The concept came from the mapping we did in as2, during analysis the mount isa, we found the city is not in strong connection, fragmented, and the crime rate here is high. for thinking about the future of mount isa, the program is what the city could be or what the city needs. So in the landscape, the function of this place is to give the people here a relaxing experience, the visitors whatever tourist or locals, these in connection, and feel saf

‘Unfolded’ Section and Plan Our group for this design is divided into four parts, two map routes, with the goal of serving both tourists and locals. From left to right is the tourist route, from the underground venue to the activity area to the indoor area and finally to the outdoor area, while the recommended route for locals is from the outdoor area to the indoor area, then to the activity area, and finally to the optional tour of the underground tunnel or to the end of the journey.

Renewable Energy Garden The first two programs are the underground tunnel and semi underground renewable energy garden. Firstly visitors coming from the north parking lot will see a L shape building blocking their view of the inner site. After passing through the check-in inside the western reception hall, tourists start their underground mining journey. Through a tunnel connected to the elevator, tourists will go straight down to the main area of the tunnels. After experiencing the hot and dark underground tunnel, they will come to a place where renewable energy facilities are grow from the underground to the above ground, brought the wind light, water for underground space,, where start the of journey of purification. and then the passengers came to a relatively open underground renewable energy garden, and then going up through the gentle slope from half underground space to the ground to see a clean and tranquil garden of renewable energy on the ground. These transitions of experience symbolize the flow of mineral energy, which also provides tourists and the local community a place to experience and stay, bring them love and hope. （Made by Yuhui Zheng）

Event and Hotel Building After experiencing the history and future of mining operation and environment, our site has an event and hotel building that would like to give some exciting and surreal experience to attract the flow of people. When they arrive the entrance, they can see a sunken space framing the existing tunnel entrance and new tunnel entrance to the event space. The space is cool and able to show the rough texture with steel structure and panels that creates an interesting lighting atmosphere. There may be structures that bring in skylight or allow light permeating from under to above ground to signify events happening. Connecting to this space is an atrium to the hotel, visitors can see the depth of the building and are able to take the elevator back to the above ground level.（Made by Chuenfan Lee）

Communal Open Space At last, you reach the communal space, and oasis around the lake. In examining the existing condition, we found our site has two issues that makes it not welcoming, 1. The lack of shading and resting space, 2. The lack of local people during off-season. Thus, we speculate this area to be a communal gathering space that allows kids to play, people to stay and activate the site use beyond tourism. This location is both the end of the tourism trail, and a starting point for communal visitors. Not only can they come in vehicles from the north like tourists, but it also encourages the nearby residents to walk in and visit. For the landscape proposal, the precedents explains the relationship between users and the natural elements, and using landscape as a shading device. The two reference images at the bottom depicts our speculation of how we might incorporate the site trash as an artifact to create a point of interest, signifying the monumentality of the past.（Made by Bolun Zheng）

After a series of reflections, the design of a communication center about a variety of spatial feelings was mentioned. Next, the project will be expressed from the testing of the building form at the beginning of the design, to the testing of the internal content of the building, and then to the final finished design.

3. ‘Community center for mount isa.’ Assignment 05

- As a part of the museum, the Communication Center is an important hub that takes over the programs, the flow, the views, and the culture. Here, visitors are not only limited to tourists, but actually locals have a stronger degree of accessibility. The building is subtle yet obvious, it is perfectly integrated into the environment and can be easily noticed, it is a new possibility created specifically for mount isa. It is a place where people relax and play, combining movement and quiet, where multiple emotions are woven together, where there is no absolute independence, everything is connected to each other, revealing their connections. It is also a safe enough place, like a fortress expressing the determination of peace and stability. It is trustworthy enough, both inside and outside. As a building, a structure, a symbol, it expresses the future that mount isa can reach.

At the beginning of the design, I made a lot of attempts regarding the form of the building. In terms of volume, I first considered heavy-looking blocks and industrial-style buildings with local characteristics, and tried to use these elements to build up the initial idea of the building.

From the mine tunnel to the hard and thick form

Order exists in chaos

-The form of the building for modern architecture set in the mine, or a whole new architectural experience is mined out. The overall structure of the building is divided into two parts, the solid "rockery" and the permeable "geometry". The rockery on the south side faces the mining experience, while the geometry on the north side connects the newly created indoor and outdoor activity areas.

Slow experience, quieter areas Vibrant experience, noisier areas

Nature Park

Transition

Underground Mining activities

- Programs that can be included: Dynamic：Café, restaurant, souvenir store, indoor entertainment or ..... Static：Study rooms, studios, lounge areas or .....

Unobstructed interior circulation

Climbable rooftop rocks

Zinc

Sliver

Copper

By researching the characteristics of mount isa, my mapping descripted the social mobility of the mount isa, in the middle is the current statues of the city which is the culture and entertainment of the city is unstable and fragmentized that lead to the potential characters here which is the population structures is not in balance. The sparse infrastructure indicates the lack of recreational culture. With this in mind, my project proposes the design of a community center for mount isa

Lead

The community center is located on our site between the mining activities area on south and the natural landscape on north. The building form proposes a continuation of this relationship, with a solid volume to the mining industry to the south and an open frame facing the nature to the north, standing halfway above the lake. The formal elements of the building mass are derived from the silver, copper, lead and zinc ores that are abundant in mount isa, and through the “smelting” analysis of these elements, the irregular ore shapes are transformed into complex geometric shapes that are disassembled and simplified to form a single, regular structure. The building form is reminiscent of this, and is presented in a progressively streamlined form from south to north, divided by the degree of spatial restriction into a solid “ ready to be mined” area, a semi-open “ in-mining “ area, and an open “mined” area.

SITE PLAN 1:500@A1

Two types of lighttransmitting and nonl i g h t- t ra n s m i t t i n g architectural paneling

The proposed community center has five floors, including an underground passageway and a rooftop viewing platform. the ground floor has four entrances, with the north-south entrance connecting through each other, the north entrance by the bridge over the lake island, and the east-west entrance corresponding to the other programs of the museum, with the underground entrance below.

The form of the building plan has a decreasing upward trend

Main entrance leads to the natural direction to maintain full transparency

FLOOR PLAN 1:350@A2

STURCTURE EXPLOED DIAGRAM 54

The entire site is divided into three parts from south to north, each floor is similarly divided and connected by an elevator and staircases on the east and west sides. The northern observation deck side rises in a decreasing trial, with hollow areas on each floor retaining more views to the outdoors based on structural stability.

Regarding the three states of space, the first is the solid “to be mined” area, where each space is an independent space, mainly used for static-oriented activities, such as private studios, education business, catering, and so on. They do not disturb each other, and the different vertical hierarchies of each individual will check and balance each other’s connections. Visitors stay for longer periods of time depending on the program of each space. Because of the clear limits and privacy of the space, it can be used as an area of the building “ ready to be mined”.

Frame as one wall

BLOCK DIAGRAM

Frame as two walls

SECTION B-B 1:150@A2 58

Next is the semi-open “in-mining” area, where the space is divided by walls, installations, etc., preserving the overall openness and individuality. This area is relatively free and is mainly oriented towards more mobile projects such as souvenir counters and drinking establishments, where visitors stay for a short period of time according to the existing installations such as tables and chairs. Because of the flexibility and maneuverability of this space, it can be called the “ in-mining “ area. STUCTURE DIAGRAM Adding hierarchy to the interior by creating "furniture" that fits the building by transforming different simple geometries

SECTION C-C 1:150@A2

Finally, there is the open “mined” area, which is mainly used for viewing and relaxation. The open area of the building is located above the lake, and the lake water cools the building while shading the lake. This area is completely open, so visitors can choose their own viewpoint and experience the natural scenery of this area. It is a “mined” area of the building because it does not have a diverse program and is fully open.

SECTION C-C 1:150@A2

Above Ground Tunnel

The other side of the road The mount isa community center, as part of the entire new museum, is an important hub that takes over the program, the process, the landscape and the culture. Here, visitors are not only limited to tourists, but actually locals are more accessible. It is a place where people relax and play, where multiple emotional atmospheres are independent and intertwined with each other, and where clear atmospheric changes reveal their connections. As a building, a structure, a symbol, it expresses the future that mount isa can reach.

Frame view