Response to Criteria2: Tectonic Resolution

Purpose and Function (12.5%): Has the purpose and function of the architectural entity be chosen in response to (latent) needs? Is the design response appropriate?

Description: It is imperative that your design effectively provides parliamentary and/or governmental services in response to needs. You are to creatively investigate the (latent) needs, and it is essential that your proposed architectural entity provide solutions or opportunities for people to resolve issues.

Governmental Service in response to the Economic & Social Cost of Obesity in Australia

The statistics on the costs of obesity on the Australian economy total to 37.7 billion dollars and through research it has been found that ‘lifestyle intervention’ has a cost-benefit to the economy.  As a result the Government has developed an education facility that will be distributed throughout Australia, based on the concept of a hive mentality, community garden and education centre, the aim is to capture people’s attention, imagination and provide education on healthy eating habits, growing your own food and sustainable living.  The overall aim of the project is to “plant the seed” to inspire healthy and sustainable living practices as a means of prevention of obesity and the economic and social cost it poses on the Australian people.

From a qualitative research assignment myself and a group completed last semester we found through research and interviewing members of the Community Garden in West End, that the benefits were extensive and extended beyond the community garden setting.  The members spoke about how people who were just passing by would stop in for a chat, local residents would drop of unused materials for recycling and re-use and parents would bring their children to learn that tomato's don't just come from the supermarket.  The community garden broke down the boundary of age, race, language and culture, as it is an inclusive activity that works due to the diverse group of people, where the retired people often would share their knowledge with the younger generations.  

The Parliamentary Agent : Bottom up Approach

In relating the principles of a community garden to a parliamentary agent, it would be a bottom up approach to influence and inspire the local community to improve health, social & community aspects, share resources and information and positively impact the environment, through the production of local food and recycling/ reuse of materials. 

The intention would be that the local community would shift their way in thinking and behaviours, which, inturn would influence and support policies made within the government relating to health and sustainability.

 Reference: http://www.medibank.com.au/Client/Documents/Pdfs/Obesity_Report_2010.pdf

Circulation and Access (12.5%): Has the use of architectural entity been studied and the circulation within and/or access to it been studied? Is it evident in the design? Has the development been well documented and communicated well in the blog and final presentation / submission?

Description: No matter what you design, it will fail if people are not given appropriate access to, within and/or between your proposed spaces. It is very important that you provide enough evidence in your development stages and final outcome that your architectural entity has good circulation and access.

Circulation Design Process

Concept 1:  The circulation wouldn't work, as the it would be mostly vertical and there wouldnt be enough room to move around, considering it is a public learning centre.

Concept 2:  The form may not be structurally sound and there isn't enough flat surface for the public to walk on. Flipping the hive structre around so that the base is flat has the advantage that the pod doesn't need to be as high, however it makes it difficult to have a continuous flat surface. 

Concept 3 (The flower):  Circulation could work with a spiral stair at each end and the continuous flat central walkway, however to join the floor, it would loose the faceted ceiling effect. Also, the structure looks too symmetrical.

Concept 4: Having the pods orientated with the flat surface on the ground means the overal height can be reduced, however it results in people always having to walk up stairs and doesn't provide any resting moments.  The structure is too symmetrical.

Concept 5: The circulation could work if the pods were scaled up.  With the smaller pods, in order to get the flat floor space, means that extra materaials are required, moving away from the hive concept and loosing the faceted ceiling effect.  As a public venue, I think it would be more appropriate to have a flat walkway (means people can enjoy the view).   

Concept 6: The elevated flat walkway would provide good views for the user and allow some time to rest.  Keeping the pods in the original orientation means that the irrigation system can work well, with collection points and drainage, running the water to the pod below.  (It is important that the plants don't get waterlogged for healthier plants).  Scaling the pods up, results in the faceted ceiling effect and means the structure is made from the honeycombe shapes alone, working together to maintain structural integrity.  Circulation could work, except it may be to high, it might be better to keep it at 3 pods high.

Concept 7: Reducing one level, results in the need for less stairs and provides a flat walkway, where people can enjoy the view, partake in gardening and stop and relax.  For the structure to work, it may need another pod added for support.

 Concept 8: Adding the extra pod, has the benefit of making it asymmetrical, also providing a different experience, as there will be room for people to rest on the second level and listen into any lectures or discussion that are going on within the 'lecture' or 'gathering' space. The circulation can work as it would require 2 lots of spiral stairs and then the flat walkway needs to be wide enough for people to be able to stop and learn about how to garden, so there needs to be a central circulation space on the platform and space for people to stop on the edges.

 Circulation: Final outcome
The final solution requires 2 levels of spiral stairs and the elevated platform will be wide enough to accomodate a central flow of people with space to stop in small groups on the edges.  It provides a platform on the second level for people to stop and listen to the lecture, giving them the freedom to leave whenever they like, without disturbing the event. The aim is for there to be 2 programs within the structure, 1) The experience of the gardens & 2) The lecture space.  This solution keeps them separate, however allows a moment of integration on the second level.

 

Structural and/or Operational Integrity (12.5%): Has the structural and/or operational integrity been studied and made evident in design? Has the development been well documented and communicated well in the blog and final presentation / submission?

Description: How believable is your proposition? It is very important that the proposal demonstrates your design decisions are informed by clear understanding of physical and practical limitations. You are required to demonstrate structural integrity of your design proposal, and/or in some cases, operational integrity to show how the distributed or virtual artefacts work as an architectural entity.

Structural Integrity Investigation