Building Development - Mid Semester Break

Finally, it is time to begin the drawings! Firstly i needed to work out a floor plan:

During the design of this i had to constantly think about what rooms would be sitting on top of other rooms and i came to the conclusion that i needed a model. Here are a few snap shots of my model: (Thoughts on how the stairs system would interlock are the black marks)







Here is only a small number of the possible arrangements:






The stair system was quite hard for me to figure out. I needed to think of a way to make my floor plan adjustable and flexible. Here was some initial ideas about a trap door system that i refined for my presentation:



Having a developed floor plan and a stairs system made it possible for me to then play with the form in section. I decided to focus on 2 contrasting arrangements to show the diversity of the proposal. Here are 2 drawings in development:


Now that i had figured out the basics of my design i thought i should start fine tuning some of the details, such as how the rooms would move and lift... i was able to come up with a system of rails and hydraulic jacks. Here are some drawings in development:



Even though my building has this ability to move and interact with the sun, wind, rain etc i feel that it is lacking in its ability to interact with people. This prompt me to think about how my building could respond to a persons movements through out and around it. I eventually realised that its circular form could be utilised on its facade! the facade could somehow move as people move. I explored this idea and came up with an idea that the face of the building could be a 'dynamic facade'. Here are some concept sketches:

Building Development - Week 8b

Now that i know my concept, its associated abstract research, and building typology it is time i started to actually design something!

Firstly i needed figure out what market my gym was targeting and what rooms are needed. I decided to target the average business person- because commonly in the past people were taking their lunch break down in the area and exercising. It made sense to therefore create a gym that wasn't designed to have that 'lets just get massive' atmosphere. It must have a positive, non judgemental feeling. Having a high level of interaction seen between the users will help assist in achieving this. There's something about exercising in groups or among other people that feels good.

My gym will also hold 'learn to swim' classes for young children. Parents will have the opportunity to watch their children and at the same time fit in their 30 minutes/hour of exercise, making their ever busy lives slightly easier.

What rooms will my gym need? Here is a page showing my ideas, maybe not all rooms will be included but this gives me an understanding of what options i have:


Now from here i explored many different avenues in an attempt to produce a form that worked. Initially i was working with ideas that seemed to lead to dead ends. I started by splitting my building into a possible 3 levels. This is a page showing a possible arrangement:


I was attempting sectional massing models to give me a sense of the form in elevation, this proved useful but was easy to follow to literally and get stuck on a boring rigid and limited design. Here is an example or some draft work:


This was leading me to believe the gym had to be designed around a form similar to this conceptual sketch:


This then pushed me to think about how i could get people to move up and down this structure. A central core would be needed, it could hold the elevators, fire escapes, toilets, bathrooms, and service rooms/ power board room. A rough design i came up with can be seen below:


I then decided i would like to play with the form of the buildings exterior, here is 2 options i came up with:



I then realised that each level could be independent from the rest. This would make it possible to rotate freely and re orientate itself to best suit where the most people are located inside the level. It also made me think about patterns the building would create if sections were missing from each level. Here is a possible form:


Having sections missing from each level also gives the opportunity to 'shift the blocks' move module to module to fill in gaps and shift up and down levels:


I then decided to simplify my gym requirements into something that would fit on one level and still provide users with a complete workout opportunity. I broke my gym up into the main areas and referred to my precinct study, what was a possible floor layout that would suit both male and female users while taking inconsideration that everyone is different:


Looking at this arrangement made me see the sense in the circle! having a circular building would make it possible for modules to slide on top of one another and enable the building to rotate freely around 360 degrees.

Deciding to Move back to my first circular design with the rooms being placed around a core, i could see the possibilities opening up to me. I decided to record some early ideas that i refined for my presentation:


For this idea to work i need to figure out the dimensions of my modules as they will form the rooms and movable sections to my building. Here are some ideas for the weights room; i need to consider how much gear will be needed in each room and allow for room for people to move freely at all times; also i was able to take into account which types of gym gear and exercises would best face inward or outward:


I calculated based on my precinct study that i would need each room to be around 12 meters long and 6 meters wide. This along with transport restrictions influenced the size of my modules:


Also now that i have reduced my rooms to one level there is no need for a core and i can replace it with the pool - fitting with my idea that parents could overlook their children while they themselves can exercise. Having this circular template also prompts visual interaction between users from one side of the gym across the pool to the other.

Research - Week 8

After endlessly changing my mind on what area of research i would like to focus on it came clear to me that it was neither muscles or transport. I was focusing on areas of research that had a tendency to relate more so to the function of a building rather than a form. Then i decided to step back and re look at what i had already researched and it came clear to me that i had overlooked responsive architecture. To me it seemed like responsive architecture would lend itself to influencing the exterior form. I therefore decided to research another topic:

- The sun flower interacting with the sun

I found it interesting that a sunflower orientates its flowers surface to track the sun. It does this because this is how it is able to soak up as much solar radiation as possible which is needed to for photosynthesis in turn keeping the plant alive. It rotates its face by storing water molecules in the shaded section of the stem just below the flower. This builds up pressure that twists and contorts the stem controlling its orientation. This can be seen below:


While designing my building i would like to in a way think like a sunflower. My building could re orientate itself to best suit the ever changing conditions. It could twist and contort itself to give the people inside the best possible quality of living.

Here is a page of research and ideas, in PINK is my reflections:

Research - Week 6b + 7

I have found myself researching in a very literal sense focusing mainly on function. I would like to begin to research something that could possibly inspire the form of the building. This brings me back to the concept of interaction.

What actually is interaction?? While researching interaction in relation to design i stumbled upon 3 major types of architecture:

- Interactive architecture - having a digital/ technological focus
- Responsive architecture - responding to climate, using nature as an example
- Dynamic architecture - constantly moving forms


If i could incorporate something from each of these my building would have more depth of meaning. The exterior could be responsive to the wind, sun, rain, temperature etc (macro); While the interior could interact digitally with the users (micro); At the same time i would like to explore dynamic architecture as i believe it could be the answer to timelessness in architecture. Imagine a building that can constantly change its form. I have decided to try and research in a more abstract manner to attempt to help drive my form. I had a few ideas that i followed through. They were to research:

- Muscle fibers interacting with energy

Muscles need energy to contract, and to contract they use the filament theory. This can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdHzKYDxrKc&
Here is a page of my research:


Here is a basic analysis of the structure of a muscle:


- Transport systems interacting with the city

The transport systems get more dense as they get closer to the CBD. Bus routes, train lines, city cat stops and major roads all run into the city as a 'transport network'. When looking at a large scale the city can be seen as a node point, or a point of 'interaction'.


Perhaps my building could have a point of interaction where everyone gathers and disperses from following their own routines.

- I also looked into what the values of modern architecture are and what needs to be improved to foward architecture into a better tomorrow.

Here is a page of research and ideas, in PINK are my reflections:

Research - Week 6

What is modular architecture? To better understand this i decided to check out a few designs that really explain how you can create a "system" of modules. Here is one that stood out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urXM7A1AgAM

This video showed me that having a system for the design has many benefits. Most importantly it makes it possible to easily expand on the design, reuse modules, relocate modules, disassemble the construction, and transport the building to the site.

This is important to think of if we are to avoid creating rigid buildings that will soon be future ruins. Every component should be useful for always more than one thing.

Over the week i have been thinking about my building typology and what the site needs. Taking into account the previous users and how the site has once functioned helped me come up with a list of possibilities:

- restaurant
- study centre
- fitness centre
- 24 hour gym
- mixed purpose complex
- art gallery
- showroom
- appartments

During discussions in the tutorial it came clear to me that a fitness centre has the potential to flourish with the concept of "interaction" and as the site already attracts large numbers of people who exercise it made sense to design something that would appeal to them.

To understand exactly what is needed when designing a fitness centre i took a field trip to Club Coops. http://clubcoops.com/home?subSiteId=1

This proved very useful. As my concept is interaction i decided to look at how and what people interact with when at the gym. The image below shows elements of the gym that are fundamental to both its function and to provide the users with an enjoyable and unrestricted experience:


This got me thinking, is there a way to further develop these current elements such as a standard filing cabinet system or television at the front of each exercise area? Can i create a more interactive system?

I also spent a period of time recording the movements of people throughout the gym. It became obvious that there was a common pattern between members routines. It was easy to see how males and females used the gym in a different manner:


From the field trip i was able to see what people like and dislike about Club Coops. During peak hour it was noticed that peoples attitudes were different - people seemed less willing to make eye contact with each other and more willing to argue and compete for the gear. Also all paths were crossing over each other and people were moving back and forth from one side of the centre to the other. This raised the question - is this due the layout of the rooms and their hosting function?? (Something to think about in my design)

This also made think maybe gyms need a modular design. If the main problem is that there is to small a floor area for an ever growing ammount of memberships then a modular design system could fix this. Imagine a gym that could grow (in a way like a sunflower can)

Here is a page of ideas:


Here are a few photos from my precinct study: