Final Design Poster

Final Design Drawings

Elevation

Ground Floor Plan

Level 1 Floor Plan

Levels 2-5 Floor Plans

Site Plan

Section

Interior Perspective - Museum

Exterior Perspective

the facade.

I wanted the facade of the research centre to begin to 'peel back' as the building meets the green roof, as can be seen in the rough perspective view above. The design for the Broad Museum in Los Angeles does this really well, incorporating a facade that appears to fold back as it descends to ground level.

research centre: spatial planning.

The museum is fairly simple, elongated exhibition space. The research centre, on the other hand, required more spatial adjacency analysis. The diagram above simply shows the public vs private levels of the building. The private areas, containing the staff facilities, are in the core of the building. The bottom and top levels are public because they are major points of entry into the building from above the cliff at Bowen Tce, as well as from the pedestrian path along the river at the HSW site.

facade systems.

I have decided to use the homeostatic facade system on the museum glass facade that faces the river. The technology was designed by Decker Yeadon, and the system opens and closes itself in response to the amount of light that enters the building. When sunlight hits the silver-coated elastomers, an electric charge is sent across the surface which causes the material to deform. When there is an excessive amount of sunlight, the material expands to provide shading. Alternatively, when the building is not hit by a great deal of natural light, the material contracts to allow more light into the building. This facade system really activates the building to be a 'living' thing, which goes really well with my theme of 'environmental responsiveness.' 

THE BIOMIMICRY STORY

Decker Yeadon's facade system was inspired by muscles, and by homeostasis in biological systems. The actuator that runs the system is similar to muscles. Homeostasis in organisms allows them to regulate their internal conditions such as temperature. Decker Yeadon's facade regulates a building’s climate by automatically responding to environmental conditions. This makes them attuned to local conditions and they use locally available materials and energy.

(http://www.asknature.org/product/0c2046bdbcb82fbcec31c8b4030f6e6b)

http://yazdanistudioresearch.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/kinetic-facade-products/

I really liked the facade system on the Q1 Headquarters building in Germany and wanted to incorporate a similar system in my research centre facade. The 'metal feathers' are controlled by user input and sensor data, so they move and breathe, being open for maximum solar exposure or completely closed. 

Sketch of the configuration of the perforated metal panels.

The different angling of the metal elements also creates an interesting aesthetic. The forms are reminiscent of the rigid rockface and site contours, reinforcing the building's connection with the site.

The research centre will be designed to have a double skin, so that the grid with the perforated metal panels will be the exterior skin that wraps around an inner glass core. This will achieve a 'chimney effect' for the building to allow circulation of air between the skins, which regulates indoor temperature.

Modelling.

Sketch section through the buildings

I was having issues with fully resolving the built form. I had been working only in plan, section and elevation, but building a rough physical model was really helpful in consolidating the design. I also took photos of the model from different angles to help me with drawing an exterior view of the buildings.

I found that modelling up the section of the site where I wanted to place the building was really useful for accuracy of the section and to help me understand the topography.

floor plan.

I finally resolved a floor plan which I think works well in integrating the 2 programs. On the diagram, the dark green represents the ramped areas, while the lighter green is the flat part of the roof. The reason I wanted to incorporate a green roof is because it replenishes much of the green space lost in the building footprint. It also provides an alternate platform of circulation. At this stage I was still struggling with visualising the buildings in 3 dimensional form.

exemplar: built form an extension of the natural landscape.

This is the DPI Queenscliff Centre for marine and freshwater research designed by Lyons Architects. I really like this project because the building is an extension of the landscape, merging the building seamlessly with the site. The green roof acts as a thermal mass. The building accommodates a laboratory as well as teaching and public display areas, so its program is much the same as my design proposal. This exemplar was really helpful for me as I tried to resolve the connection between my green roof and buildings.

Resolving the built form.

Following on from Project 2, I started to look more into the building envelopes of the two buildings. I was struggling particularly with how to integrate the green roof (how much length would be required to reach the correct height for the spaces beneath, etc). At this stage, I think it might be useful to focus on the floor plans first, and then derive the necessary access routes and shape of the green roof from there.

Building envelope & tectonics.

The final stage of project 2 was to start exploring tectonics. As previously mentioned, I decided to separate the programs of the museum and research centre. I am really inspired by the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology and the way its 2 programs are demarcated through materials, form and tectonics. I want the research centre to be an extension of the cliff - therefore to have a solid, rigid and heavy aesthetic. The nature museum, on the other hand, will be transparent, fluid and light to respond to the river. 

The next phase leading into project 3 will be exploring some possible forms and materials that effectively convey these aesthetics. The next stage of design will also be refining the internal spaces and connections between them, as well as their specific floor areas.

Biomimicry: inspiration for the physical functions of the building.

I was really interested in looking to biomimicry to answer questions like:


- How would nature provide shade but still allow ample ventilation in a space?
- How would nature shade the facade of a building?
- How would nature inspire a moving facade?

As mentioned in the previous post, I wanted to explore options for an extendable shading device for the cavity in the roof garden, to provide cover for the path during the hottest part of the day and still allow penetration of breezes. I discovered the COMOLEVI forest canopy which is inspired by the patterns in a tree canopy, which allows dappled sunlight and breezes to penetrate the space.

I also looked at moving façade technologies, and the one below was my favourite. It is comprised of elastomers with a silver coating that send an electric charge over the surface when there is a high concentration of sunlight. Therefore these elastomers expand and contract in relation to how much light is penetrating the surface.

These are the types of technologies that I am really interested in adapting and incorporating into my project 3 design. 

space planning.

From here, I started mapping out the individual zones that would be required in each building and the adjacencies and access that should occur between each.

The museum is comprised of 2 levels. The ground level will house a ferry terminal, public toilets, and flexible exhibition space. The first floor contains the café and part of the roof garden.

The research centre will be comprised of 3 levels with an elevator running through its core. The ground floor is accessible to the public and contains the reception and foyer area, and two conference rooms. The first floor will accommodate staff facilities. The second floor will provide access to the café and roof garden.

I recognized that these 2 programs should be related by some kind of connecting element. After talking to Yvonne last week I decided that a roof garden would be a good option. It will be publicly accessible and provide a recreational area for users to sit and have a coffee and enjoy the views and natural surroundings.

The next two diagrams deal with the circulation that will occur between the 2 programs. I wanted to preserve the pedestrian and cyclist path as an axis between the two programs. This led me to explore options for an extendable shading device for the cavity in the roof garden to provide cover for the path during the hottest part of the day.

 

exemplar 1: dividing the programs.

THE MUSEUM OF UNDERWATER ARCHAELOGY

[estudio vazquez consuegra]

The first relevant exemplar I discovered for the project is the National Museum of Underwater Archaelogy, which has both a research centre and museum as two separate entities with different aesthetics. The research centre is straight, opaque and relates to the land and city, while the museum is transparent and more fluid, relating to the sea. 

This inspired me to divide the museum & research centre programs, so that the research centre will be an extension of the cliffs, while the museum will be an extension of the Brisbane river. 

subtropical design principles.

In designing a building in Brisbane that emphasises the presence of nature and importance of sustainability, there is no way around considering subtropical design principles. As seen above, I selected the design principles that will be most relevant to this kind of program/type. These guidelines correlate really well with the intended vision for the project anyway. 

the program: adding another dimension.

I talked to Yvonne about the idea for a nature museum. At this point I was still unconvinced that this would be 'enough.' And I was playing around with the idea of introducing a research centre as opposed to the museum. Yvonne suggested that I use both programs, which I was really happy to take on board. The museum is great as an educational forum for the 'students' (general public), but I also need to accommodate the 'educators' (being the researchers, professionals, collaborators, curators, etc). I think combining these 2 programs offers some great opportunities for the built form and social interactions.