David Paul Ramos Arch1101: March 2020

Sunday, March 29, 2020

The Circulation Cross

DETERMINING THE SITE

This exercise begun the design process of Experiment 2 by considering the width, length and height of a 3D cross which will later form the foundation of the bridge as the pedestrian circulation of the site.

As such, I needed to think critically about this cross form in regards to how it was going to connect to the square house and which surrounding buildings I had to consider. It was imperative to think about the end users of the potential school and how students may transverse the area. I didn't want to obstruct any existing buildings or means of travel, and I almost certainly didn't want to destroy the existing landscape of the UNSW Kensington campus through obnoxious placement of the cross near the walk way. This form of thinking is crucial as the surrounding buildings which connect to the new school of architecture will be making a statement on future architectural education.

Do I want to encourage further sustainable practice, renewable energy and low carbon living? Perhaps connect the new school to the Tyree Building - but how can I do this through thoughtful design?

Thus, I continued to experiment with numerous different cross forms and ways of movement using different variations of the cross form. I had attempted to even modify the cross arm's dimensions and form - but this wasn't much help in changing how I visualised early pedestrian traffic.

I used a student map of the UNSW Kesington campus to identify where existing vegetation and traffic surrounding the Squarehouse. This was pivotal for two reasons - it forced me to consider the placement of important trees so the bridge doesn't disrupt the natural environment and also consider the accessibility or more so visibility of the existing urban environment.

Since the source was 'Student VIP', a popular host for tertiary university students, the data may present a sense of bias which can provide some input into the design decisions with moderation.

In the buildings I considered
The Squarehouse had 48 hearts
The Blockhouse had 36 hearts
The Roundhouse had 25 hearts
and the Fitness and Aquatic centre had 3 hearts

The data can be indicative of a few things, but the most obvious options are that these buildings are very popular OR these buildings have low visibility and are hard to find as informed by the 'Lost on Campus' function. Both possibilities should be considered in terms of the building's context and spatial distribution within the urban environment.

Overall, I personally ruled out the 'Fitness and aquatic centre' here. While it would be great to encourage architecture students to engage in physical well-being (especially in consideration of how important well being is for a strenuous strand of education), the building can be deduced as 'unpopular' and poorly positioned on the outskirts of the UNSW Kensington campus. Additionally, there is also a considerable distance between the Squarehouse and the Fitness and Aquatic centre which may be detrimental to the existing urban environment, if a bridge were to be formed between these two buildings, especially in consideration of the 'Pool lawn'.

Through careful thinking, my satisfactory choice was to start forming the bridge near the main walkaway next to the where the path diverges into the Blockhouse tunnel. I wanted the bridge to have a subtle relationship with the natural environment where it would be full immersed before it becomes an interconnected bridge between buildings. The pedestrian circulation would form paths to different buildings until it connects to the roundhouse where it wraps around its circular shape and could potentially be used as a common space or social hub for architecture students.

The biggest design challenge here is how to manage the entrance to the bridge without destroying and obstructing too much of the existing trees. If trees or going to be blocked - I am better off removing them altogether, but I should avoid this as much as I can.

CONNECTED BUILDINGS

THE BLOCKHOUSE

The Blockhouse was a chosen to be connected not because of its merit as a singular building, but how it can interplay with the new architectural school on a bridge. The Blockhouse's roof can be rennovated into an interesting new space for the architecture students while the bottom floor of the school (or under the bridge) can synergise with the social energy of the Roundhouse as it currently serves as 'vendor' for student amenities such as used textbook resales.

THE ROUNDHOUSE

Perhaps the biggest, yet mundane statement I will be making for the school of architecture is having common spaces positioned above the Roundhouse. Architecture is infamous for being a draining degree for students, forcing them to sacrifice social interaction, sleep and potentially well being. By placing a student area above the Roundhouse, I may be able to encourage positive student relationships and well-being which will be beneficial for architectural education.

LUMION RENDER

Experiment 2 Introduction and Precedence

EXPERIMENT 2 - THE BRIDGE

On March 16th 2020,

Experiment 2 was unveiled in Studio amidst the growing concerns of COVID-19 and the transition to online learning.

The brief was as follows:

"Imagine you are the Dean of a school of Architecture or Engineering. Your school has 100 students who are drawn from all around the world and are supported by scholarships. Your challenge is to design a school that forms a bridge spanning buildings in an urban environment. The urban environment is the lower part of the "UNSW Sydney" Kensington campus; the central building is the Squarehouse (building E4 on this map). In addition, you will design two moving elements that modify the students view of the school when they see it from locations on the ground plane vs locations above ground level. These different points of view will reinforce or challenge your particular "Theory"."

The architectural issue? The Architecture of Theory and Practice.

The architectural convention? The Moving Element.

The architecural challenge? Articulating the relationship between Theory and Practice in the students chosen field. A school of Architecture/Engineering.

The Clients? Each. and. every. architecture. student.

THE 'FUTUREBOUND' IDEA - Foundation for Theory?

The 'Futurebound' idea is something I've talked about a lot now in the past year that I coined myself, especially after finally entering architecture school, a long awaited destination in my design journey.

It is a sense of design integrity, that is not a completely original idea, but is one that has been encompassed by the many great architects that have walked this planet. It calls upon the social responsibility that architects have to the people, to serve with great power. If the future is design and calls upon the individuals who shape our future cities, it is the architects role to facilitate the improvement of the quality of life of the people within society through the built environment. To be 'Futurebound'

I was inspired by Michael Murphy's evocative TEDtalk, Architecture that's built to heal (TED Conferences, 2016), which spoke about architecture as a "transformative engine for change" and this was the idea that inspired me. I was fully immersed into the world of architecture, as a student eager to always be learning, being inspired by others and to commit to my projects with the utmost importance of having heart. There were many things that inspired me throughout the years, that being teachers, friends and mentors, but while their influence can still be reflected in tiny nuisances in my work, this brilliantly articulated TEDtalk by Murphy was one that laid the foundation to the architect I am striving to become.

Therefore, by using an approach of empathy towards architecture students, it is ideal that the school should reflect the values and theories I uphold as an aspiring architect myself. One of social agency which embraces the people, to be 'futurebound', and through further development, will be the theory that is put into practice through movement to create an significant and distinctive school of architecture.

REFERENCES

Murphy, Michael. 2016. "Architecture That's Built To Heal". Ted.Com. https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_murphy_architecture_that_s_built_to_heal?language=en.

RAMOS DESIGNS

2016-17

Architecture/Landscape Architecture House Project for 'Gonzalez' family in South West Sydney

2018

San Marino 'World of Learning' Backyard Renovation

2018-19

HSC MDP High School Edmondson Park Design Development Proposal, Pio Catholic College...

EXPERIMENT 2 VISION

'A SECOND CHANCE' and a new chapter.

TAS & CAPA HSC Showcase night September 4th 2019. Clancy Catholic College.

The idea of a school is one that is familiar to me. At the beginning of this studio I said my most 'creative' project prior to ARCH1101 was my HSC Major work, a high school proposal that was ambitious enough to attempt to make a statement against a real life proposal. The project was concluded 6 months ago, and while the marks did deliver for the HSC, I still under performed due to personal reasons and the intensity of the year which is why I consider it a personal failure. Its interesting to think that out of all the projects over the years I could've chosen - my biggest project that was incomplete was still my most creative?

As such, in such a short time things have changed. I was once a high school student who attempted to envision his own high school and learning environment, now I am an architecture student designing a school of architecture with a twist. We are in a midst of a crisis and scenarios such as the Australian bush fires and COVID-19 provides an interesting perspective in how the built environment is totally shaped. This enables not an extra piece of criteria to fulfil for a studio experiment, but a means of thinking deeply about what a distinctive and significant school of architecture should contain. I am required to consider the following spaces in my design:

Lecture Theatre
Studio Spaces
Offices for Academic Staff
Offices for General Staff
Workshop
Computer Labs
Gallery
Research Space for Academic Staff
Meeting Rooms for Staff
Meeting Rooms for Students
Library

However, there is an opportunity to think critically about how the culture of teaching and learning has changed over the years and how it will change in the coming years. Opportunities for more development and research to think about the future and how peoples lives may change.

How might the Australian bushfires influence how architects think about the ecological costs of the built environment?

Will studio culture change because of social distancing during the COVID19 crisis?

As an aspiring architect, I should be asking questions such as these during the design of this school so it can be reflected in this new faculty of architecture in both its spaces and its intrinsic culture embedded by the architecture. I need to always be thinking of the clients, the spaces they need and how that might change overtime.

All together works with the futurebound idea, which is admittedly my vague and still developing idea of what architecture is or can be. If the school environment gathers students drawn from all around the world, I need to be thinking of ways to embrace that culture, to be both inclusive and diverse.

As Experiment 2 begins, I am quickly given perspective by the most recent project, Experiment 1: The Datum - I still have a multitude of opportunities that await me.

I am working with an eerily similar scenario, design brief and I am now challenged 6 months later to try again on my second school environment project. No matter how my projects turn out from here on out, I need to make a promise to be willing to learn and to make mistakes.
To try again and to preserve.
To always be thinking of the client and not myself because that is my responsibility as a designer and that is the architect I want to be.
To serve the people and benefit the goals of society - that is to be futurebound.

2020-

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Experiment 1 FINAL

EXPERIMENT 1 SUBMISSION

Sections

The section is a pivotal illustration to highlight how far the original design had progressed from its his initial beginnings. Part of the challenge of the first studio was inverting the design process and to design an architectural form that was both 'significant' and 'distinctive' by using the section as the fundamental crux.

The first section. Interestingly, aspects of the original sketch are still visible and can be identified when compared. The stairs proved to be a powerful catalyst in shaping the final form and structure of the architecture around the datum. This is most prevalent in the seamless integration of stairs as part of the architecture as well as the open space - only protected by an unorthodox pavilion.

The east section of the architecture.

A north-east section of the architecture which was chosen through its demonstration of the distinctiveness and significance of the design. The stairs and the architecture are one in the same and were designed to blend with the building itself. This is encapsulated through Trent Jansen Studio's stairs which wrap around to the entrance of the workshop within the glass globe. Mountain and Moon's stairs wrap and spiral down the below datum reflecting an 'organ' system and maintain much of the original noun - visceral. Interestingly, much of 'biomimicry' was loss for the above datum during the design process in order to cater for catalyst of the stairs.

Perspective Images

Spaces

Exhibition Entrance

The exhibition entrance is located within the arches of the building which extrude out of the surface. The visitor is immediately greeted by sporadic architecture and varying 'directional' textures to create a sense of excitement and temptation to suit the exhibition environment.

Gallery Space

The gallery space is interesting as it is distinctive as a result of the architecture not being fully enclosed. Instead it is an open space, protected by an abnormal pavilion from above. This is justified to allow a sense of freedom and openness for inhabitants of the architecture. Not only is natural lighting prominent, but the open space will allow designers of the space to avoid a sense of entrapment from long studio hours - but also allow exhibition visitors to have an 'open mindfulness'.

Trent Jansen Studio Workshop (Above Datum)

Located in a glass globe above the gallery space, Trent Jansen Studio overlooks the surrounding natural environment from the highest and most centre point area of the architecture. The open circular space is restrictive and open through the glass panels to encourage productivity by generating a public space in which the studio work and progress can be observed by anyone.

Mountain and Moon Workshop (Upstairs - Below Datum)

Breakout space designed for studio duo, Audrey Allen and Ashton Cameron, the upstairs component of the workshop is intended to be the 'office' like component of the below datum. Located above on a strange circular, yet natural ring formation, administration like activities can easily overlook the more practical components of Mountain and Moon's design process through the void space and atrium.

Mountain and Moon Workshop (Downstairs - Below Datum)

Down the circular ramp and stairs, the below datum is intended to house all practical work of the Mountain and Moon duo. The uneven surface can serve as a 'miniature' display and storage area of their various works.

Stairs

Trent Jansen Studio Stairs

The stairs are integrated and blend with the surrounding geometry of the architecture, reinforcing its significance as part of the building itself. The work of Trent Jansen studio is protected during transit by the cob web balustrade and ridges exists on the stair treads to entrap the projects to avoid slippage.

Trent Jansen Gallery Stairs

The below stairs work to further drive the significance of the stairs through its multiple functionality made possible by its distinct form. The stairs have risers of varying heights which can be used for an individual to sit on within the exhibition space and are large enough to display smaller projects of Trent Jansen Studio.

Mountain and Moon Gallery Stairs

The Mountain and Moon stairs are distinctively mounted as part of the architecture as the balustrade is replaced by a ribbed wall with an 'insulative' texture to secure the stair treads, acting like a set of cantilever stairs. The ridges within the tread design further reinforce this significant concept and enable a unique aesthetic appearance.

Mountain and Moon Studio Stairs

To create an organic like appearance in accordance to the rest of the below datum, the studio stairs of Mountain and Moon are a set of spiral stairs with a disconnected balustrade. This downward spiral is crucial to the below datum design to enable high visibility of the entire space to allow all inhabitants, and more specifically the design duo of Audrey Allen and Ashton Cameron, to always be aware of what is currently happening within the studio.

Lumion Renders

The Architecture.

The Entrance. The 'insulative' texture is visible adjacent to the entrance which is used to act as 'ribbed' walls to structurally maintain the Mountain and Moon stairs to below the datum within a tunnel like space.

The 'directional' texture pervading the curvature of the architecture. Sporadic and in a ironic sense, directionless and chaotic.

The below datum and location of the Mountain and Moon studio space. The upper workshop with the 'natural' texture can be seen - distorted and wrapped with no clear cohesion.