Exercise BRIEF
Consider the examples of massing models that we have added to Google Drive. Working in your Project Groups draw on your research to date, including the site narrative, typology investigations and contamination research to create initial massing models for the site. For now, the massing model should assign areas within your site to each typology as well as public space which will become the fourth element in your project.
initiatives
This iteration is a redesign from the first iteration of the massing model. Taking the key element from the first iteration, this iteration intends to find more connections with the surroundings as well as keeping the demand from the neighbourhoods. Taken from the feedback, we take a look into the government proposal as well as some more information about the community. From the demographic research, there is a significant amount of unemployment within the community while more highly educated people at the same time. It results in high demand for affordable housing. It is also a very diverse community where individuals from all over the world settle there dwelling in the neighbourhood. In particular, there is a strong Graffiti culture in Collingwood.
ps: This image is a screenshot taken from the Openstreet Map and drawn on Procreate.
planning
Drawing a conclusion from the demographics & demands, I decided to increase the proportion of residential blocks. Therefore, in my second iteration, I add more residential block on the top of the commercial retail shops. The secondary school is moved backward to the Queen Parade side, where there is less effect from the noise pollution from the Alexandra Parade. I add in an elevated garden standing on the middle of Alexandra Parade, inspired by the high line park in NYC, trying to connect with the nearby parks and enhance the connection with Edinburg Garden. The graffiti gallery locates underneath the park, to give an official playground to the street artist in the community. Part of Smith street is turned into a pedestrian street with the tram line running in the middle & retail store at either side.
Circulation & details
In this diagram show how pedestrians circulate within the site. I maintain the idea of the rooftop garden over the commercial blocks from the first iteration. The arrow shows all the access to the site, all meet at the middle focus point: a big open plaza, where we welcome individuals to celebrate festivals. For the residential, I proposed them as collective housing as shown in the precedent picture below, sitting on top of the red brick styled commercial. It increases the number of housing, as well as strengthen the bonding within the community as they share the public facilities. It also presents the idea of 'new' & 'green-looking' building contaminating the 'victorian'-like commercial buildings, within the intention of embracing the Fitzroy industrial background history. The precedents below shows the expectation for the design details in this planning.
D e s i g n
Massing model 2nd iteration
