site animation video
In order to visualize our proposal in a more immersive way, we rendered an animation video here. Enjoy!
Nature Contaminates architectre
Fitzroy Gasworks is located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri People, where it used to supply gas to Melbourne from 1859 to 1927. It is now being remediated and aimed to provide commercial, residential, and educational services to the North Fitzroy community. Our interpretation of contamination is through the overarching idea of nature contamination and the positive relationship it has with architecture; thus, developing it as in an ecosystem.
The landscape of our site was informed by the original use of various gasworks companies spanning from the mid-1860s to the 1970s. The depression within the centre of our site is specifically referencing the excavation of contaminated dirt from the original gasworks site.
Furthermore, the excavation of the site relates back to the bluestone quarries which were scattered throughout Victoria during the colonial period. Bluestone is heavily present in Melbourne’s urban architectural history with many of its early buildings built with bluestone including precedent like The National Gallery of Victoria. Bluestone is also most known for its use in Melbourne’s pavements in the city. Therefore, much like how Bluestone is used currently, we have also used bluestone for our walkways and pavements across the site and also in some of our buildings as well.
masterplan development
Our nature orientated idea was in response to task 03; which was to research contamination in fields other than architecture. One contamination which was researched was in reference to DNA contamination, specifically in how DNA can be contaminated through modification. Our interpretation of this modified contamination of nature was, how nature could modify or (contaminate) architecture or Vice Versa, throughout our proposal there is a theme of nature vs architecture, how they oppose each other and how they compliment each other. This series of diagram here show how our landscape developed from mid-semester into what we have atm.
section & plan
The sections illustrate how the creek has reclaimed the excavated land within the centre of the site. There is a contrast between the northern chunk and the southern chunks, as the northern is more landscape southern is denser & vertically developed. It also shows the integration of contour concepts. Some plants such as the Callistemon Bottlebrush are used extensively throughout the superblock and in our building designs. Our group decided to use as many native Australian plants as possible to accurately replicate the environments needed for many animals to use in our site. The Bottlebrush is native to many temperate climates of Australia including New South Wales are parts of Tasmania, the Bottlebrush also provides food for many common bird species in Melbourne’s urban area such as the Rainbow Lorikeet, Crested Pigeon and Noisy Miner.
cross programing
Based on our own typology research conducted earlier within the semester, we have decided to have our programs cross-contaminate each other in various moments, for example, the residential and commercial programs are almost completely cross-contaminated as in almost all the apartments there is some sort of commercial program on the ground floor. This was done in order to integrate our building designs and programs more fluidly throughout our site.
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ps: The poster is edited by Zhiliang Yan (Robbie) & Dorothy Tse.
The design of the architecture precinct aims to reflect the experience of traversing through an area in which the architecture and nature are almost connected in a seamless manner. Multiple apartment buildings were designed in order to replicate how nature has eroded the architectural qualities of apartment buildings with vines, trees, and shrubs growing up some of the facades of the apartments seeping into any open space they can find, the type of species that will be chosen for this rewilding process should be native to the local area of Fitzroy North should coincide with the kind of nature that previously habited the site (gum trees, bottlebrushes, grasslands and some rock faces).
Furthermore, the residential precinct aims to bridge the gap between architecture and nature, this will be most identifiable through the wild landscape that invades the apartment complex on all levels including the rooftop which acts as a public space for residents to commune within the context of the landscape.
This idea of connecting architecture and nature in a seamless manner is further illustrated through the Alexandra Pde side facing apartments. The geometry of the apartment architecture was highlighted in order to show a contrast between the Smith St apartments and the apartments located above the commercial area. The facade is designed like a mountain face such that the building is almost embedded within the landscape. Due to the heavy traffic noise of Alexandra Pde, there are no windows located on the southern façade, having most of the windows located on the northern façade facing the natural landscape of the site. The wide-open mesh façade allows for commissioned artworks to be made by local artists.
The residential precinct is closely linked to an elevated ecological park which connects many of the programs together. The ecological park is located directly on top of the commercial which links the two programs together as people can circulate through the residential precinct and down into the commercial offices. Throughout the Green corridor are several areas used for public exercise, inspired by the free exercise machines located in many public parks in Melbourne.
dorothy commercial office
The site is originally the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri People, where they treat the site as a wild natural environment that nourishes life, I defined the natural historical past as the purest form of the site. The architecture on the other hand is the “impure”. The concept of the pure form (nourishing life) is visualized in a symbiotic relationship in the office, where plants have a place to grow inside the architecture. The native species links back to the historical nature which improves the air quality and also the wellbeing of the occupants.
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The visual form of the office is a reflection of the landscape and water sensitive urban design in the site. Through exploring how the landscape can inform the architecture and their relationship, I believe the landscape is a “soft” element while the office is the “hard” form and so the office complex has a relatively sharp and edgy form compared with the curvy landscape. Besides, landscape is an element that pushes and interrupt the architecture form further. As you could see in here, the void entrance of the office made a great contrast with the landscape in front of it, extending to idea of how nature “contaminates” architecture.
The big native gum tree in the middle of the conservatory acts as an element to visually connect each floor between the office and the roof garden. This activates the “green heart” of the office and encourages staff to go out for breaks, meetings or just contemplation. Materials and structures are shown in its simplest form: concrete, glazing and landscape, showing the building functions on its own. Aiming to create a natural co-existence and a better working environment for all workers, views are maximized by using glass as the façade material. This allows workers to enjoy the scenery. Conservatory, essential for micro-climates and also vital for our psychological well-being, creating a symbiotic relationship with the workers. On the other hand, cross programming is also visualized in this render. The difference between inside and outside blurs and is made less distinct by the wide view out to the horizon line, furthering pushing the boundary of office. This is because the conservatory is associated with the residential projects on top of the Green Corridor and becomes an integral part of the office typology.
Different zones of the opened office are made in different colours and plant themes to create a “greenwood” in different seasons to further extend the ideas of the nature idea. In this render, its theme is the autumn, where Carolina jasmine is grown along with the tree-formed pergola inside the meeting room. I try to produce season-themed meeting rooms in the office to respond back to the natural history of the site, where nature is the dominant feature.
Roof pathways and skylight are used as connective elements to integrate the pedestrian flow of the park with the new circulation for museum visitors. The path extends the experience internally and externally. The museum merges into the landscape as the form of the concrete wall that splits and carves into the ground to form an entrance. The void in the side entrance attempts to create a transition experience from an opened space into a confined space.
After walking through the confined side entrance, the first thing the visitors see is an internal small garden with native species that reference the historical view along the Yarra River. The tree dome ceiling in the middle further extends their view. This is occupied with the extended canopies of trees planted in the interior. The large skylight is designed to be massive to capture a large amount of sunlight and as a subtle interrogation between the visitors on the roof garden and the visitors inside to reflect the transparency and open attitude of the society towards the history past of the site.
We also decided to add a student-owned cafeteria, located near the cultural museum, providing needs for visitors to the museums & opportunities to students developing social skills. A series of bluestone benches are designed for people to sit down & chill.
final presentation
final presentation
public facilities
We also have a series of public services within the middle of our public plaza including skate parks and connecting public transport. Another tram stop is designed, located where Hodgkinson St and Council St intersect Smith St. It is the entrance of our site from Smith Street as it is located right in the middle of the Apartment Precinct and the Education, which allows access to the main natural element within our site. Pavilions are located to draw people towards that area along with the educational/communal library which is also an area of communal focus, it is hoped that this stop can help circulate more people towards our site and provide transportation for any students travelling to the educational area.
The residential precinct of this site was designed with the purpose of appealing to the ever-growing vegan and carbon-free lifestyle that has developed over the years of the 21st century. The design aims to provide the residents of Fitzroy North with accommodation and housing that is communally self-sufficient in as many ways as possible, including communal laundry areas and communal gardens which can be used to grow organic produce to consume or to sell within the indoor community market to the local community.
jordan residential
ruins concept
This idea of connecting architecture and nature in a seamless manner is further illustrated through the Alexandra Pde side facing apartments. The geometry of the apartment architecture was highlighted in order to show a contrast between the Smith St apartments and the apartments located above the commercial area. The facade is designed like a mountain face such that the building is almost embedded within the landscape. Due to the heavy traffic noise of Alexandra Pde, there are no windows located on the southern façade, having most of the windows located on the northern façade facing the natural landscape of the site. The wide-open mesh façade allows for commissioned artworks to be made by local artists.
ecological park
jordan residential plan
Nature Co-existence IDEA
dorothy office plan
The museum recognizes the importance of the nature and history of the site. Noting that the Yarra River with its real Aboriginal name Birrarung - River of Mist and Shadow, void and light contrast is experienced in the museum. Being located within a waterway precinct on the site, the museum is intended to integrate and embed into the landscape.
dorothy cultural museum
landscape integration
The visual language of the education building is designed to reflect the Industrial history of North Fitzroy. I interpreted the quarry as the artificial and impure form as it disrupts and exploits the natural ecosystem. The exterior of the education building is intentionally designed to imitate the profile of a cliff, which I conceptualized and turned into triangular panel expressions. This makes the exterior of the educational building seem more solid. The wilderness of the Australian landscape is also seen in the educational building, where the natural elements looming on top of the educational building which highlights the idea greenery retrieval. The facade material is specially designed with a rough bluestone tiles, referencing the history of Victoria’s bluestone quarries. This gives a more enclosed outcome and also juxtaposes well with the clean reflective glass panels.
robbie vertical education
I aim to create a contract experience with my education building. In contrast to the enclosed look of the external facade, the internal is more exploded & open. The sharp contrast of environmental experience when you enter the main hall void is presented by the following visualizations.
CONTRADICTORY EXPERIENCE
In the education building, floors are closely connected via the idea of a green archive, formed by a series of slopes connecting the greenery at each level. This is significantly inspired by the Vagelos Education Centre in NY, providing unique circulation experiences. The greenery is some open biological gardens located on various levels, influenced by the previous contamination model study model ‘the gardener’. It does not just provide a comfortable studying environment but also an opportunity for students to have hands-on experience in biology studies.
GREEN ARCHIVE CIRCULATION
& BIOLOGICAL GARDEN
Whilst the education building takes up a significant chunk of the site, I have decided that it would be beneficial to share some of its facilities to the public as well. The inclined rooftop of the library is being turned into an amphitheatre with organic forms influenced by the landscape. It gives access to the outdoor basketball court and the library underneath is open to the public during the weekends. It has a separate entrance, located near the tram stop to benefit the shared-use within the community.
CROSS PROGRAMMING
& DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY
robbie education plan
PUBLIC AREA: WUSD
To implement a sense of nature we researched into native Australian environments and how we could replicate that in our superblock, especially in the nearby river wildlife that is quite unique to the Melbourne urban experience (Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers). We decided to replicate a riverlike environment by having a pond/river which runs into the centre of the site which will collect rainwater and provide a habitat for native Australian wildlife. The landscape of the site is carefully designed to replicate the wild Australian landscape that was lost due to development and we wanted our architecture to also respond and to reflect some elements of the natural Australian landscape.