The Final Word

SRD 364 has been completed. I can not believe how fast the semester has gone. And I am amazed at how much I have achieved this semester.

SRD 364 was a challenging unit but also a great one because the projects were more realistic, in particular Projects 2 +3. I learn't a great deal as well. Two things I have learn't this semester I can list off the top of my head are; 1. How to make a video using movie maker and 2. How to make a model using the laser cutter!

Of course I couldn't have done it alone, (and I didn't) so a thanks goes out to my fabulous group 16 members; Koula and Emma. We can truely say that we worked hard this semester because we really did. I can't even remember how many times we met up at Emma's apartment (central meeting point) to work on Projects 1 + 2 and all the times we worked in the studio from 9-5. This is a huge effort considering we all live in Melbourne and we all catch the vline train to and from uni. But I guess looking back now this was probably a positive. Oh and I can't forget to mention that I believe our group worked successfully because we all contributed equally; Koula contributed her knowledge, Emma contributed her laptop and I contributed the biscuits which I would bring to class nearly every Thursday! LOL.

Thanks guys, I feel lucky to have had such a good group and I hope that you have achieved as much out of the projects as I have.

Melanie.

Project 3: Presentation Poster

Take a closer look at my poster! It contains; plans, sections, details, an environmental sustainability diagram and internal/external perspectives of my design.

Project 3: Final Design

My design for project 3 has been finalised, glued together, modelled in sketchup, illustrated, printed, presented and finally reviewed by Jeremy.

Now I'll explain it.

In point form, to make it easier.

• We were asked to design a sustainable school in Torquay.
• The project tied together three key themes; sustainable design, learning environments and connections with the community.
• I had to design the admin, entry foyer and auditorium (well I didnt have to but I wanted to!)
• Our group's concept was 'open and adaptable.' This was a bit challenging for me because I wasn't really designing any 'learning spaces.'
• My design's main focal point are the curved lvl timber beams which are exposed and finished in order to reveal the timber's warmth and tactility.
• In contrast to this, I utilised timber on the facade to achieve a 'sheathing' of the building. The sheath of undressed vertical cedar lining boards would be allowed to weather over time.
• The sustainable features of my design are; use of recycled and renewable materials including timber and rammed earth, large expanses of glazing in admin area to maximise natural lighting (this is west facing therefore external louvres as well as the use of low-e glass have been added), passive cross-ventilation as well as an underground labyrinth system and finally the use of rammed earth to provide thermal mass.
• With the learning environments, I tried to adapt Pam (the principal)'s concept of flexible learning spaces into my building by having; open and adaptable admin and staff spaces alongwith an outdoor performance space adjacent to the auditorium.
• My building connects to the Torquay community through its form as well as through the auditorium which is a unique building (in terms of function) to the town and therefore it will be significantly utilised.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my final design, the review with Jeremy went really well. I got some positive feedback and hopefully this translates to getting good marks...hint...hint!

Project 3: Final Physical Model

Here are some photos of my physical model at 1:200 scale...

Please note: No laser cutting was involved!

Project 3: Final Floorplan

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Project 3: Rough Sketches

I am playing around with the idea of having large curved timber beams in my design. They will be exposed and be the focal point of my design. They will span over the administration block and the entrance foyer and their support structure will rest on the auditorium's rammed earth wall. The auditorium will be mainly constructed from rammed earth, however the auditorium's west facade will consist of rammed earth with a separate timber 'sheathing' structure that will evolve in shape to imitate the rising levels of the auditorium's seating levels.

Project 3: Attempt at a Floorplan

Oh no, I am stuck with my floor plan. The overall shape came about during the masterplan process. The admin block is on the left, the auditorium (which is accessable to the Torquay community) sits on the right. The buildings are angled to create space between them which will become the main entrance and public foyer. I am having planning difficulty with the admin block. I dont want boring little office boxes!

Project 3: I found a little something called 'Inspiration'...

A private residence by Wright Feldhusen Architects

Moonah Links Accommodation by Hayball Leonard Stent

Project 3: Design Principles

The following is a list of design principles that our group came up with and will follow for project 3.

• Polished concrete floors - where applicable (thermal mass)
• Rammed Earth? (possible use on some walls - thermal mass)
• Timber structure - recycled, box beams? (interior)
• Concrete columns - outdoor feature
• Sliding door feature - where applicable (project 1)
• Earthy colours
• Bricks? (recycled of course!)
• Vast expanses of glass (preferably north facing)
• Built-in furniture - recycled timber (tie in with sliding doors)

Note: Principles are subject to change!

Project 3: The Big Project

For this project we are asked to each design a number of sustainable school buildings within the context of our group's evolving master plan, therefore this project requires us to work on an individual basis, but also continue to work as a team member.

We allocated school buildings.

I am going to be designing a building which includes an entrance foyer, administration offices including staff lounge and an auditorium which can be utilised by the Torquay community.

I'm off now, on the lookout for some inspiration!

Project 2: Master Plan Final

Project 2: How Impressive!

Below are some photos of our fluid mapping diagrams and sun shadow massing models.



Below is a photo of an escarpment wall in The Australian Garden in Cranbourne. I thought this wall was a practical form to act as a wind barrier as well as being a perfect compliment to our indigenous landscaping.



See, I told you a lot of thought went into our master plan!

Project 2: Ok here goes...

The following images are our master plan development diagrams. Do not be fooled by their sketchy appearance, a lot of thought went into them!

We spent a great deal of time discussing and playing around with little bits of trace paper in order to achieve the requirements of the brief. Along with the general requirements, we aimed at addressing four particular issues in our masterplan;

1. Attempt to solve the traffic management problem that currently exisits on Grossmans Rd
2. Provide protection from the south - westerly wind via man made objects, topography and/or vegetation.
3. Provide various outdoor learning courtyards, particularly north facing
4. Consider the cultural context of the SurfCoast and the connection between the school and the community.

Project 2: Master Plan Research

For this project we were asked to develop a brief and create a master plan for the design/construction of the Torquay College Senior School on the site of the SurfCoast Shire Council offices.

But what is a master plan? and what information should a master plan present?

Luckily, the Design Share website (http://www.designshare.com/index.php/home) came to the rescue. It is a great website on educational facility planning and provides case studies of clever school designs from around the world.


This is a plan of Canning Vale High School in Perth Western Australia.

This is a preliminary site concept for a proposed secondary school in Bendigo.

Project 2 + 3: Site Visit

These are a selection of photos I took while we were on the site visit to Torquay College.

Project 1: Finished Model

This is a quick video of our finished model which I put together in an attempt to exhibit the flexible and adaptive quality of the classroom's building envelope.

Project 1: Finished Model

Here are some final photos of our finished physical 1:20 scale model.

Project 1: Model Making

This was the first time any of us had utilized the laser cutter in Des’s workshop to produce a model. At first you could say that we were a bit hesitant but after our first day of model-making we were immediately convinced that the laser cutter was a time saver!

We got cracking on the model right away imagining that once we got the steel structure up it was just a matter of attaching the panels…or so we thought!

We spent a couple of full days working on the model, during which we consumed way too much junk food (as noticeable in many photos), and watched numerous athletes compete in the Olympics (including cheering on Emma Snowsill as she won gold in the triathlon), all the while trying to figure out the best way of transporting our model to and from Deakin University in Geelong and Emma’s apartment in Melbourne around the mayhem that is Melbourne’s public transport system during peak hour.

Ultimately, Koula, Emma and I were really happy with how the model turned out. I believe that the physical model is quite honest in representing our design; from the accurate material thicknesses at a 1:20 scale, to the burn marks (left by the laser cutter) which characterize the use of recycled steel in real life and finally the sliding plywood panels which truly slide.

I’m getting the hang of this movie maker program now, so I decided to put together a simple photo slideshow of Emma, Koula and I constructing our physical model.

Please note: this photo slideshow also contains what’s known in the group as the infamous ‘construction blooper’ video.

Project 1: Development

For awhile there it seemed that we were completing a construction assignment because there was a lot of little contruction detail sketches, but this was all part of helping us to understand how the building would get put together.

And so after a few more sketches, our building design was taking shape...

We decided to move away from the traditional design of a 'Mod-5' which incorporated two classrooms and a shared wet area/storage/office, by designing a singular classroom which incorporated its own wet area and storage within. Therefore our design was more flexible as it worked independently. Our design was based on a 8 x 6m grid. Setting out this grid early on in the project proved very useful as it not only helped us in determining our steel structure quite easily but it also allowed us to repetitively utilize 2m long panels on the facade evenly. And so the main feature of our classroom became the movable recycled plywood panels. But not all the external wall panels could be movable and so it was decided that they would be a form of SIP- Super Insulated Panel, providing enough thermal resistence to balance out the heat loss/ heat gain from the weaker parts of the structure. The butterfly roof allowed for openable windows to provide natural ventilation and also provided the correct angle for the solar panels.

Internally our design incorporated an enormous lattice-like shelving system (inspired by the work of Shigeru Ban) which provided storage as well as a space to display work thanks to the small external windows. Our design also includes a clever panel which when used internally, divides the wet area from the computer/reading space, but when slid out of the building, creates a unique outdoor learning space.

Project 1: RARE Architecture

A couple of weeks ago, we were asked to re-define the design of a ‘Mod-5’ relocatable classroom through the integration of RARE Architecture.

You remember those ‘Mod-5’ relocatable classrooms, those ugly, energy inefficient buildings that thousands of students across Australia sit inside each day and are expected to learn in, well how can we improve them?

Koula, Emma and I researched far and wide but in the end our design drew inspiration from two sources.

Firstly we took inspiration from the work of Shigeru Ban, a contemporary Japanese architect who caught my attention with his revolutionary permanent and temporary structures constructed out of paper. Cardboard/paper is an almost perfect material; it is recyclable, low cost, transportable and can be handled easily by people on site. But we asked ourselves, are cardboard/paper structures thermally efficient? Maybe not. Secondly, we drew inspiration from a structure by Olsen Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects in Washington. We were all instantly attracted to the simplicity of its form but also conversly the intricacy of the sliding panels. I think our minds were blown away by the possible oppurtunities such an idea presented, especially in regards to giving the occupants of the building full control of natural lighting and views.

Esquisse 1: A RARE Concept

We kick-started the semester with a short and sharp creative thinking exercise.

As the concept of 'adaptability' is a key element of RARE Architecture, the task was to design and build a prototype for the most adaptable space we could imagine. The aim being to create the most space using the least materials.

Our first idea came about through thinking about modes of expandibility. A single piece of paper was a simple example - you can scrunch it into a tiny ball but then open it up and it creates such a unique space within.

We developed this idea further by creating an exterior form that was not only architecturally different from the interior, but one that could aid in supporting such a tensile structure.