Exemplars

Early in the design process I reviewed a series of exemplar projects that I believe helped inform my subsequent design decisions. I have included a couple of these for reference.

Exemplar 1 - The Pod Pavilion by Studio Nicoletti Associati (2011)

Located: west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Part of statement from the architects:

‘The Pod is formed as a series of elliptical sections of variable widths and heights. Slithers of windows brings natural daylight into the spaces below. Internally the pavilion is divided into two parts: one zone is dedicated to the office area and the other contains the main showroom. The building appears to be sliced diagonally into a series of ribbons which wrap up and over the building creating a dynamic space within, forming a layered protective shell. The structure is fabricated from tubular steel members with the exterior skin made of spectrally reflective aluminium panels. The exterior skin colour shades change’s depending on the reflection of the sun, dynamically’. Source: http://www.contemporist.com/2011/05/20/the-pod-pavilion-by-studio-nicoletti-associati/#more-30854

I found the layering of the structure and the clever use of natural light most interesting on this project.

Exemplar 2 - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art by Steven Holl (2007)

Located: Kanas City, Missouri, USA

Citation from AIA (2008) Honour Award:

‘The addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art places five translucent, rectangular boxes - called “lenses” - on the eastern edge of the museum’s campus. The new addition engages the existing sculpture garden, transforming the entire museum site into the precinct of the visitor’s experience. The expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art fuses architecture with landscape to create an experiential architecture that unfolds for visitors as it is perceived through each individual’s movement through space and time’. Source: Architecture Now! 6 by Phillip Jodido.

I found the interesting aspects of this project to be the use of natural light and the relationship of the building to the landscape - creating a unique user experience for every visitor to the museum.

Siting & Strategy

Building off our “Procept” Proposal

I interpret the “Procept” - our group proposal = not State level and not 100% Local level therefore my proposal will address a regional level ‘partial’ governance mechanism.

 

       

      
  Original gap definition                                                                     “Procept”group proposal

Distribution Strategy

Above can be seen our strategic approach of distributing a part of our governance system to different places. I chose Western Sydney to locate my proposal. I will be focusing on the values of social inclusion, social immersion and ultimately social capital.

Regional planning context = Metro Sydney 2036 (produced by NSW State government)

Main objectives of the regional plan:

• Equity
• Affordability           So who's responsibility is this?
• Livability

Influences on the above objectives: employment, transport, appropriate housing, infrastructure, and services.

In order to further understand the regional governance context, please refer to the previous entry Australian Governance - Additional Research on how our current Federal Government, NSW state government and Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils operate. Additionally refer to Metro Sydney 2036 map below.

Source: http://metroplansydney.nsw.gov.au/Home/MetropolitanPlanForSydney2036.aspx

Why Parramatta?

After reviewing regional contextual elements such as: existing infrastructure, proposed infrastructure, projected population growth and cultural diversity, I made an informed decision for the placement of my ‘partial’ governance facility. I decided on the City of Parramatta.

Parramatta has a population of over 170, 000 people, of which 52, 206 come from a non-english speaking background. With residents from many different cultures, Parramatta is an ideal locale for a cultural based facility. It also has an $11 billion dollar economy and as a result Parramatta is a major provider of business and government services (it has the second largest CBD in Greater Sydney), making Parramatta the ideal locale for a ‘partial’ governance facility. In short, Parramatta is seen as the ‘capital’ of the Western Sydney region - a perfect location for my proposal.

Parramatta Park Site

The specific site chosen for my proposal is at the entry to Parramatta Park, entering through the Tudor Portal visitors arrive will arrive at my proposal. The site is well placed to connect to other facilities and infrastructure in the CBD. See map below.

Additionally, this site has been chosen as it lies on the axis of Old Government House and the first street in the region, George Street. It also lies at the entry to a park, taking cues from both our Federal Parliament House in Canberra and the NSW state parliament house in Sydney city, refer maps below.

Federal Parliament House is a park

NSW State Parliament House borders a park

Australian Governance - Additional Research

Federal Level Roles

Through researching the governance system of Australia I came across the importance of committees in the guiding of government decision making. Committees are made up of members of parliament and are used to investigate specific elements, for example climate policy. This avoids the whole Senate or House of Representatives having to review all information on every topic, the committees go through this process and provide their findings to the arms of parliament as required. There are many types of committees, made up of different parts of parliament, for example Select committees and Standing committees. The public can also have limited input through committees. The Parliament of Australia Senate notes that ‘the role of committees is to investigate and to draw attention to what they find. They throw light in dark corners and give advice’ (http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/briefs/brief04.htm). In other words, committees play a major role in the scrutiny of government activities.

State Level Roles

The focus of this research is on the government of NSW. Their committees operate in much the same way as the federal system. Essentially they are noted to be the vehicle to ‘take parliament to the people’. Everyone can get involved, such as: experts in the field, representative organisations, effected public and interested public. Any of these people can influence committees by: making submissions, giving evidence at a committee hearings, or attending a hearing as a member of the public. Public hearings are held at parliament house in Sydney as well as in different regional areas around the state. Greater Western Sydney undertakes community cabinet meetings.

Source: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/GetinvolvedwithCommittees

Local Level Roles

The focus here is on Parramatta (further info in following posts as to why this area was chosen), which undertakes typical local council roles, related to areas such as:

·         Roads, footpaths and drainage

·         Transport planning, parking and traffic

·         Waste contract management

·         Natural area management

·         Community, family and library services

·         Community development

·         Town planning & urban design

·         Tourism and events

·         Arts & culture

·         Strategic planning etc.

Source: http://www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/your_council/council/about_parramatta_city_council

Regional Level Roles - WSROC

Formed in 1973, Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) represents 10 local councils in Western Sydney. The focus of WSROC is on improving the quality of life of all Western Sydney’s residents. Their focus is on transport, employment and regional planning. The idea is that as a larger group of councils, a more coordinated approach can be implemented to the abovementioned services. Currently WSROC operates under an indirectly elected system, with representatives of 10 councils coming together. Currently WSROC’s office is in Blacktown.

The 10 WSROC member councils (local) are as follows:

·         Auburn

·         Bankstown

·         Blacktown

·         Blue Mountains

·         Fairfield

·         Hawkesbury

·         Holroyd

·         Liverpool

·         Parramatta

·         Penrith

Source: http://www.wsroc.com.au/  

Written Statement - An Explanation

This is our final written statement for assessment 01 - to be read in conjunction with the panel:

This is a secondary piece, offered as an alternative statement, written in a story based format:

Final Panel - Outcome!

This is the product of our PROCEPT panel - a single flowing idea presented in a banner panel format. 

Development of Panel Diagrams

Identification of the core value - UNITY:

This series of diagrams relates to how we identified and developed a level below our strategy, before we were able to develop a capital strategy it was critical to identify what capital issues are facing the current governmental system. We identified that social values are something common throughout the nation, however in its present form different levels of government struggle to deal with many social values effectively. The gap we identified was one of communication between the differing levels of government - if we could somehow fill this gap we believe we can contribute to unification of the nation, hence our core value of UNITY. 

4 parts of the Distributed Strategy:

Following is a refinement of the earlier posted distribution strategy diagrams (our capital strategy):

The act of Sharing

The act of Connection

The act of Locality

The act of Functionality

Physical + Theoretical Infrastructure:

To ground our infrastructure we developed a concept which incorporated both a physical + theoretical infrastructure framework. Each framework was given equal importance and identified elements which when combined as a whole, will produce an architectural product. The physical aspect was deemed as being the presence portion of the proposal and the theoretical aspect was seen as forming the identity portion.

Physical Infrastructure

Theoretical Infrastructure

Symbol - Product:

Therefore a bringing together - a unified approach - of physical + theoretical = presence + identity for our nation. The intention is that this framework can be applied to the design of any partial parlimentary structures distributed throughout the nation. This will form the basis for each of our group members briefs as we move into the design phase of our projects.

Architectural Presence + Identity

See post above - Development of Panel Diagrams....