CONTAMINATION STUDY
As part of this site audit, locate discrete examples of ‘contamination’ in your Superblock. This could include contamination between program types, such as residential apartments above retail shops, self-storage units or residential developments inhabiting old industrial buildings. Observe where program bleeds together or provide evidence of usage has changed over time. Regard contamination in terms of dispossession, vacancy, occupancy, possession, superseded uses, clustered intensification, appropriated space, temporary residency, tenancy, ownership, subjugation and trespass. Consider where awkward ‘neighbours’ may contaminate adjacent usages. Identify different types of contamination. Refer to Pet Architecture Guide Book as an example of how you might show some of these contaminations.
In this contamination study, we took on exploration in our allocated superblock area to find some fairly quirky contamination models. Our group begin our narrative via building a site block model, as our superblock area is quite complex, which composed of the Smith street commercial area, the Collingwood Residentials & the warehouse's cluster in Clifton Hill. Summarizing from our selected examples, they all have a fascinating connection with their surroundings, either insertion as a result of cluster intensification, or property being dispossessed/alienation. We categorized them into labels and decided to depict them with a playful 'toy block' theme to show the hierarchy and the connection. It's a really meaningful study as we find more background information about the superblock area, as well as the unique 'contamination' situation going on in North Fitzroy.