Alfie Arcuri

2008-11-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

2008-11-05T03:27:00.000-08:00

I believe that community is about connection and interaction between different people.. It’s a unifiable system of integrating different demographics and personalities… My Community Centre design has derived entirely on this notion…

2008-11-05T03:03:00.000-08:00

Refer to older posts for the exercise one investigation of the words: reciprocity, insertion, materiality, infrastructure and threshold

2008-11-05T03:01:00.000-08:00

My design started to evolve after my trip to Melbourne mid-semester. The recent building boom in Melbourne has ignited the resurgence of public space in urban design. I find public space very important especially in community design, as it allows people to stop, sit down and interact with one another in a relaxed environment.

Federation Square was probably the most important precedent in my design as it helped me to determine the character of my building. It integrates every aspect of which I consider to be vital in community design:

- public space

- transparency allowing interaction between people

- transparency allowing people to animate the building

- reflective materials creating an everchanging character to the building, almost giving it life.

Other buildings which inspired my design process were Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye and Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin.
After studying these buildings the importance of circulation became a dominant component of my design. Similar in Villa Savoye, the ramp became the focal point of my design. I wanted the ramps to be central to all spaces… the role of the ramp was to connect the different cultural institutions which were all to be designed as singular buildings. The ramp will allow spectators to view into the different space such as the café, gym hall etc until they finally reach the roof top lookout signalling the end of the interactive journey.

Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier

Jewish Museum of Berlin by Daniel Libeskind

2008-11-05T02:51:00.000-08:00

The drawing below is from my Exercise 2 submission. I tried to emphasise the character of my design as well as the buildings spatial characteristics. The interaction between people between different spaces as mentioned earlier, is very clear in the drawing. This characteristic stayed consistent throughout my design process.

2008-11-05T02:44:00.000-08:00

The final submission

2008-11-05T02:40:00.000-08:00

My community centre is made up of various cultural institutions including: multiu-purpose rooms for Randwick’s high percentage elderly population, a social café, Large Multi-purpose Gym hall, Small Gym and Offices. Each of these institutions are presented as a series of disconnected spaces which are connected by circulation paths... Thus, allowing the community to be the “connectors” of the spaces. The fluent program creates a variety of spatial experiences. The extensive glazing is strategically positioned to form various vistas allowing spectators to experience multiple spaces as well as the ocean and Coogee oval simultaneously. The glazed facades of the Café and the Large Gym Hall, animated by people dining, socialising and playing sports, become emblematic of the social role of this public building in Coogee.. Thus, emphasizing the importance of public interaction and communal bonding in my design.

Another design aspect, of which I felt to be crucial in community design, was the allocation of public space. The ‘strict’ accentuated entry opens up to a large open area in front of the grand stand which provides space for people to just sit, talk, run around and interact with one another. The Large multipurpose hall has its own designated garden courtyard, fitted with bi-fold doors to the northern elevation and landscaped with deciduous trees creating an ideal environment for morning aerobics or exercise activities. The multi-purpose rooms opens up into a sunken garden courtyard adjacent to the Large Gym hall courtyard which creates a beautiful spatial experience between the two spaces. The café area also has its own outdoor balcony, which looks straight onto Coogee oval, allowing for a space for people to interact while discussing the football or cricket game at hand. With the provision of multiple open spaces I have encapsulated all elements of 21st Century communal bonding and social interaction.

Design Exercise

2008-10-15T03:23:00.001-07:00

2008-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am glad I get the opportunity to present my submission again as it is a lot less stressful presenting on a blog as opposed to the front of the class.

I decided to explore the words reciprocity, insertion, infrastructure, materiality and threshold in an abstract form and then represent them as drawings (below).

Image one resents my idea of reciprocity: a reciprocal relationship between landscape and architecture, it’s where an exchange occurs between the two, resulting in an organic continuum of a site

Image one also represents materiality and establishing a sense of continuity between the architecture and the site

The drawing also represents threshold in relation to the built environment, where the two worlds (architecture and landscape) come together and overlap…. And transformation begins to take place.

My second drawing represents threshold but can quite obviously represent insertion also. The drawing best signifies the transformations established by thresholds. At the same time I try to represent insertion, by demonstrating a break into a static environment. A sense of activity is initiated between the “once” dark and gloomy space with evidence of a new exciting realm appearing.

The third drawing interprets the materiality of a site and translates it into a built form. I tried to establish a sense of continuity with the site where the architecture emulates an organic growth.
The drawing also represents insertion, in the sense that this “growth” becomes apart of an urban continuum but also initiates a break into that continuum.

Drawing four represents infrastructure. I thought that because the assignment is set in Sydney I would represent infrastructure in the chaotic mess that is Sydney’s roads…It represents all of Sydney’s busiest roads overlaid against each other, with no where to move but to sit and wait for the congestion to ease.Just looking at this image makes one feel nauseous..

The last drawing represents an insertion, alluding to image four and contrasting to image three. I try to represent the effects of an insertion where the executors are not conscious of the environments to which they are performing the insertion, and neglecting to contribute to the continuum of an urban realm… this can in my opinion cause a bleeding affect.To clarify this statement, some would regard Blues Point Tower by Harry Seidler as an insertion not contributing to the urban realm of the North Sydney community, the backlash Seidler received is what I represent bleeding as a bleeding effect..

MAPPING
With the mapping and tracing exercise I tried to represent the cultural aspects of ‘Coogee Life’

The middle drawing represents my cultural map of Coogee, and the values that best represent Coogee life including family, socialising, fitness and the beach.

The maps surrounding the drawing represent the following issues:

(top and middle right) Analysing the contrast between public and private space around the site

(bottom right) Abstract representation of the suns path

(bottom middle) Areas of mass crowding as well as identifying a distinction between residential and commercial buildings surrounding the site

(bottom left) Traffic congested areas, alluding to my drawings of insertion and infrastructure and how insertions can lead to chaos and result in a “bleeding effect”

(top left) The scenic walk from Coogee to Bondi, an activity that has become a part of eastern suburb culture

(top middle) Circulation routes from main streets to the community centre site

Assignment 3

2008-06-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

Site: 252 King St (the 'old' St George Bank)

I selected this site because of its broken rectangular shape as it allowed me to incorporate hallway from street level to the gallery space.

The Artists who were the inspiration behind the design of my gallery were George Gittoes and Patricia Piccinini.

Gittoes presents his view on world and political issues through very graphic paintings, which in effect make spectators feel quite uncomfortable. His views come from first hand experience. Some of these views are expressed in the paintings below which inspired the layout for my art gallery design:

Piccinini works with a range of medium, creating sculptures of strange beast like createures with a uncomfortable human quality. The artworks below were also inspirations to the layout of my gallery:

I then started to design the gallery space as though i was the owner - someone who has a profound interest in bizarre, and provocative artwork... so strange, that it makes one feel quite uncomfortable...

This innevitably determined the layout and style of my art gallery. It had to have a clear path of circulation making spectators feel hesitant and uncomfortable, in progressing the spaces... the same emotions which the artworks evoke from the spectators.

There was to be a clear distinction between the artgallery space - the apartment space and the inbetween space (sales -lounge area).

Circulation was the most important aspect of my gallery design, this is due to the research i conducted on existing Sydney art galleries such as The Meyer gallery in Darlinghurst, United Galleries in Darlinghurst and others. I found that the best art galleries were those with clear circulation paths with artworks presented in a clean and neat fashion.

The Design
I wanted to break the static composition of the Newtown streetscape by eliminating the awning and introducing an angled facade which will direct people to walk with the angle. Once you enter the hallway you are smothered by a sloped roof which creates an impression that the room is growing smaller... you are also given hints of what lies within this strange building by the slits cut out of the wall... the sense of ambiguity created by the hallway and slits.. keeps spectators moving... wanting to know more about this space.

You then enter the gallery space which is illuminated by platforms housing strange sculptures by Patricia Piccinini... as the uncomfortable feelings emerge they are exemplified by the meshed walkway of the second level gallery space... the tactile nature of the circulation changes from concrete, to the aluminium staircase to the mesh walkway, making the spectator hesitant to continue.. these emotions i am trying to convey through the circulation allude to the emotions felt by spectators viewing Gittoes, Piccininis and the work of other artists of this kind.

The circulation finally leads the spectators to a 3rd level courtyard where they can sit in a tranquil landscaped setting, and reflect on the artwork they just experienced... \

PROGRAM:
Clearly defined public and private spaces by material changes and openings
Access from back lane to workroom to sales room to gallery space with roller doors allowing easy importing and exporting of artworks.

LIGHT
Light enters through A fibre optic front facade, similar to the one pictured below:

The 3 skylights in the aluminium roof are designed to relect a diffused light around the circulaton space, the glass awning enclosing the 3rd level courtyard will allow light to filter through the levels below.

PLANS AND SECTION

PERSPECTIVES - Illustrating the journey from King st sidewalk into the gallery space

ROOM SECTION

The Model and the Model Making Process

2008-06-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

THE MODEL!!!!!
In my model i used:
spray painted copper to represent an aluminium roof
Plaster to represent concrete walls

Resin to represent Fibre Optic concrete for the front facade

Fly screen to represent the meched walkway of 2nd level circulation

Perspex to represent glass platforms on level one gallery space

White card to represent the surrounding buildings

The Model Making Process.............

Laying the wall foundations

Creating the second level walkway and connecting the walls

Roof structure

The Completed Model and Drawings

2008-05-10T05:50:00.001-07:00

I took a very emotive and poetic approach in interpreting the painting Sun in an empty room.

The lack of furniture and human inhabitants conveyed a sense of loss either mentally or physically to the person who once occupied this space.

This emptiness could be symbolic of someone dying who had decided to give up on life.. believing there was no point continuing on with the norm if they are just going to die. I then furthered this idea by considering the person may decided to leave their familiar settings to just sit and wait or even escape.

This brought me to the sentence: An underground chamber for a young man to sit while waiting on his impending death

The idea of the sun being the only inhabitant in Edward Hoppers painting sun in an empty room, led me to the notion that although the dying man 'escaped' from the world and is 'waiting' on death, he will never be able to escape from the earth to which he is bound to as life and death is a continuous cycle. When you die, you become part of the earth. This idea is conveyed in my design through the roots of the tree which penetrate into the young mans underground chamber. The windows are positioned so that when the sun rises in the east and sets in the west light will enter this dark space. The young mans chair is positioned in line with the east facing window, meaning that every time the sun rises he cant escape from the light.
The perspex wall separating the underground chamber and the domestic space is symbolic of the mental barrier in which the dying man has created against the outside world.

The Model Making Process

2008-05-10T05:32:00.001-07:00

Assignment 2: Selected Painting, Sentence and concept sketch

2008-04-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

" A young man sits... waiting on his impending death.. he tries to break free from all that is familiar to him.. but he cant escape from the earth to which he is bound to"

Design Assignment 1: Villa Savoye

2008-04-09T13:09:00.000-07:00