Exterior masonite panels. Registration required to download details.

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08.02.10 in timber

Very cool. Crisp and quick, dated aerial photos. And you can copy from it…. if :

The Free Commercial Licence applies to you if:

• you are not a heavy user of PhotoMaps, and
• your business does not compete with NearMap’s business, and
• you are not using PhotoMaps in a way that is material to your business.

Nearmap

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04.02.10 in predesign

Of the Peka Peka dome house fame. This site also shows some of his fine work from the past.

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01.02.10 in architects

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29.01.10 in architects

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29.01.10 in architects

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29.01.10 in architects

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28.01.10 in architects

Greg Lynn does some cyrstal curtains for a crystal-making sponsor. 2,000,000 crystals welded into sails. Just what we need. The net effect is surprisingly unsurprising (on video at least). Lynn sounds remarkably polite when asked by the interviewer whether he had to work with an… architect to do the project.

I am reminded of another Krystle.

29.01.10 in architects video-clips

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Just realised that Bates Smart are in the midst of giving the Old Arts Building at Melbourne Uni a bit of a speedy spruce up . Construction started in November and it all has to be done before Semester 1 starts. Someone didn’t get a holiday. The project includes two new lecture theatres and three new collaborative learning rooms.

Collaborative what you may ask?
Teachers who use collaborative learning approaches tend to think of themselves less as expert transmitters of knowledge to students, and more as expert designers of intellectual experiences for students-as coaches or mid-wives of a more emergent learning process… Instead of being distant observers of questions and answers, or problems and solutions, students become immediate practitioners. Rich contexts challenge students to practice and develop higher order reasoning and problem-solving skills. [ PDF LINK ] ie a less lecturin’, a little more conversation. ie newspeak for tutorial rooms? Anyway, it’s probably a good idea in an age of under-resourced lecturers and easily-bored students.

WALKING MELB HISTORY

22.01.10 in education 

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BOXES
Architecture and Design, in its Breaking News section, last week profiled the Bates Smart design for 735 Collins Street, Docklands. The architects say it was inspired by shipping containers and the site’s industrial past.

These four buildings, originally to be constructed in 2008, continue the recent commercial trend in rather squat glazed boxes . BVN + Marchese’s original 2002 masterplan for the site was replaced in 2007 by Bates Smart’s more commercially loaded scheme.

LANES
At the time, Walker Corporation described the pedestrian experience:

“The project will be anchored by an innovative “Laneway-esque” podium featuring an expansive transparent light-weight roof offering patrons year-round weather protection. The concept design will focus on an enlivened and activated space reminiscent of Melbourne’s much-loved laneways with a 21st Century twist.”

The only photo I can find of this twist was in the A&D article:

This bears a resemblance to Wood Bagots rather sterile and monochromatic pedestrian lane between SX1 and SX2 on Bourke Street. (Note to self: find my pic of this).

FRAMES
While we’re looking at it, the Docklands complex unsuprisingly shares another trait with 2000s Bates Smart buildings, the protruding frame. I’ve never quite understood what this is about, and have assumed it was just their way to jauntily express the podium. But it appears not just in the podium… Here’s some previous Bates Smart frames.

181 Williams Street

The Age Bourke Street

Alfred Centre Stage 2, Prahran

Mercer Exhibition Street, which “folds up to frame a section of sky”.

In a random and unruly sunday evening effort to trace the origins of this frame, I found these siblings and ancestors. I’ve probably missed some obvious ones, so please suggest more below if you can be bothered.

Draughtman’s contract. Peter Greenaway in 2003 : “The notion of the frame as a filmic device, and also as a drawing device, is related very significantly to the notion of a frame-up. Though we imagine the draughtsman rules the roost and governs the action, he’s in fact slowly, scene by scene, being framed.”

Grande Arch, La Defense, by Johann Otto von Spreckelsen.

The Frame Hotel Dubai, by IAD ~2008. “The first step for this project consisted of defining a visual and constructive frame for the building. This frame would determine not only the exterior facade of the hotel but the physical limits of built-up areas. The response to such a simple formal approach was to create a complex dialogue between each separate architectural or landscaping element. “ ( WAN )

The Dubai Frame, Fernando Donis 2008
“Dubai is a city full of emblems, Rather than adding another one, we propose to frame them all: to frame the city. Rather than building a massive structure, the purpose of this project is to build a void. This void of 150 meters by 105 meters will continuously frame the development of the current and future Dubai.” ( bustler )

Rick Joy, Arizona

ML Museum Liaunig by Querkraft Architects

Eames and Saarinen House

RHS

and… of course there are many protruding frames by Sean Godsell and Lo-tek. But I’m getting tired and a tad bored with boxes and frames.

lastly…

Total House, Melbourne. Framed to perfection. Dang, who was the architect?

17.01.10 in buildings 

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Another live music venue fails / falls. A few years after the Punters Club’s deluxification into a.. cheap pizza bar, Collingwood’s Tote Hotel is to follow.

Tinnitus and Carlton Draught will get even harder to find.

The culprit is new Liquor Licensing “high risk” fees which lump late night pubs into the nightclubs category, according to the Tote’s licensee.

Bookface Protest
The Age today
Tone Deaf
The offending new law

14.01.10 in random-debris 

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While wandering through the 34 degree heat today down Lygon Street, I was cooled every six paces or so by a stream of refigerated air escaping from every shop I passed. Readings, The Witchery, Donatis meats, et al had their doors wide open and cold air cooling footpath.

Their must be some weird retail logic at work here – an open door signals an open shop? Or does the chilliness entice sweaty punters in off the street? If the butcher’ door was closed, would people prefer to go to a butchery in another suburb rather than turn the handle and push? Is that too grubby for us to do these days? Are customers conditioned by shopping centres into expecting open doors?

Bakers Delight and Lygon Court and the vege shop lift things another notch, by having most of their frontage open to the street, I guess factoring the extra energy costs into the coffee scrolls and eggplants. Or they’re expecting more customers.

“JS air curtains help keep shop doors open, increasing sales and profitability by enticing 25% extra custom.” LINK

Air curtains market themselves as the energy efficient way to keep the doors open. They push air from inside downwards quickly creating an “invisible door”. Not really the case in a retail environment as the fan force is too low, they can’t be blowing peoples toupees off. They also get upset by any negative pressure within the store.

SOURCE

The other slight problem with air curtains is that they encourage the retailer to open the entire shopfront to the sweltering outdoors. Most of the stores I saw had no trace of air curtains, though a few had airconditioning units immediately above the door, which can’t be good.

New York has recently banned stores from having their doors open, subject to a number of escape clauses. Though they would save up to 25% of their electricity bills, the $200 fine isn’t scaring all of them them, but the New York Times hope consumer pressure will do the trick.

Then there are the open fridges in supermarkets, but that’s another rant.

SAVING ENERGY IN RETAIL STORES
5TH ESTATE ON SHOPPING CENTRES

08.01.10 in buildings sustainability

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The Southern Ocean prang this week that put the Ady Gil out of action, drew attention not only to escalating tensions in the whale waters, but also to the trimaran’s design.

The Sea Shepherd Society is now sending a nearby salvage ship to pick up the floundering batboat. From the looks of its construction, it will not be repaired at sea.

The Ady Gil was built as the oceanic speed racer Earthrace a few years back, is registered in New Zealand, and runs on biodiesel. Its shape allows it to prierce straight through huge waves rather than bob up and down on them.

CLD

CLD

Its hull needed to be strong but light, so Auckland naval architects Lomocean specified layers of carbon fibre and toughened epoxy resins and 40mm of foam. The boat was coated in black radar-deflecting paint by Sea Shepherd.

The rebranded boat was launched last October at a ceremony in Los Angeles. Since late December it has been helping the Steve Irwin to shake off the Japanese research ship Shonan Maru 2, which has been radioing the Irwin’s position to the rest of the whaling fleet.

From December, the Ady Gil, Steve Irwin and Shonan Maru 2 had been battling one another using photonic disrupters , water cannons, long range acoustic devices, and a derivative of rancid butter. Sounds like something out of a bat episode.

WABASH COLLEGE

07.01.10 in naval-architects 

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The South Australian Government is about to launch its Integrated Design Commission (IDC), and will soon appoint a government architect for SA. It was the last state not to have one. Hopefully, depending on what influence the GA and IDC will have, this might lower the number of wobbly planning decisions in SA. ( sample #1 & #2 ).

07.01.10 in authorities 

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I have a new toy phone to replace my overheated Nokia. It’s called iPhone, and I’m temporarily addicted to it. In order to make this addiction feel slightly productive, I write this post…

USEFUL APPS FOR ARCHITECTS
(once you submit Apple’s need to know everything about you and your credit card) Amounts are all USD. I haven’t tried any of these (yet) so some may be crap.

COMPASS – on the new 3G S phones by default.

SPIRIT LEVEL – guess what this does. $1

CADTOUCH – why daydream on the tram when you could be editing CAD files. $17.99

RULER Pretty simple, this is a pic of a ruler that is to scale on an iPhone. FREE

ALTITUDE Find out how high you are, if you’re not sure. Or get this for your LatLon too. $1.19

DISTANCE CAM Point your cam and the autofocus will give you a rough distance. $1.19

DISTANCE Forgotten your tape measure, hold your phone to the wall instead. Then map it if you’re feeling geeky. $1.19

FILE SHARING Use your phone as a portable drive and view PDFs, word documents etc. $2.49

SPREADSHEET View and edit XLS files. $7.99

BUSINESS CARD READER Take pics of business cards and import to your contacts. $2.49

SCANR Scan things to PDF and email or print via fax. FREE

TramTracker Know where your tram is before you see it. FREE

24.12.09 in computing 

Permalink  Comment

Melbourne Lord Mayor has changed his tune on Swanston Street, and is now advocating a pedestrian friendly strip borrowing from recent work on New Yor’s Broadway and Times Square. New buddy, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is sending him “some material” about it.

Danish city renovator Jan Gehl has been hired to look at it. “I met with Jan and he is coming to Melbourne to help us as well, to have a look at Swanston St.”

But… what about the bikes? They are still in I think – according to Bicycle Victoria, bike-friendly four versions of bike-friendly OPTION 6 are on the table.

This great tune change was perhaps egged on by a bit of community consultation . Here is Lord Mayor Doyle a year ago :
“It’s not as if Swanston Street is some sort of European townsquare pedestrian nirvana. It’s a failed experiment.”

“I am sick of being run down by cyclists again and again.” He said then that they should use Russell Street instead of Swanston.

24.12.09 in urban-design 

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Looks like Mr Keating got what he was after. The winning EOI to design and build Barangaroo Stage 1 (East Darling Harbour) goes to Lend Lease (for $6B). It looks a lot like we thought it would, with the Hill Thalis scheme fading into the background as megatowers strut out into the harbour, adding another 15% in leasable area to the previous scheme. The distinctive 1.2 km line along the western edge of the East Darling Harbour site is relegated to history as a make believe natural coastline takes its place.

Phillip Thalis, on Fairfax Video is furious. “This is Sydney at its worst, at its most typical… they’ve sold out the public interest.”

The EOIs were ranked using the following evaluation criteria:
Design 35%, Financial Return and Risk 35%, Sustainability 10%, Delivery and Planning 10%, Marketing and Promotions 5%, Capability 5%.

The intensively used park area is dominated by an oval covered in a framework that bears some resemblance to Gehry’s Priztker Park in Chicago.

Barangaraoo:

Chicago:

Lastly, a typical view away from the water.

Gotta say, while I don’t have much time for the new Barangaroo, those renders are pretty incredible. Wonder how much they were? The movie file is bloody huge, beware.

Hon. Paul Keating, chair of the Design Excellence Review Panel (centre)

——-
Just found this at ADR .

Richard Rogers on his masterplan for Lend Lease: “The composed architectural massing of Barangaroo’s contemporary and inclusive buildings will be juxtaposed with the adjacent natural headland and Northern Cove. The natural landscape of Sydney Harbour will be complemented by these dynamic and sculptural forms on the city’s western corner, and together with the public waterfront places and promenade will all form a new landmark for the city.”

——-
Phillip Thalis has questioned the State Government’s claim that 50% of Barangaroo will remain “public”. Barangaroo advisor Chris Johnstone has returned fire by calling Thalis’ idea of defined public space “almost naive” and “simplistic”. The SMH then writes, “And by rigidly defining public space, public areas such as cafe seating, hotel foyers and even supermarkets were excluded.” As you’d hope? It’s hard to tell whether the SMH attributes these last comments to Chris Johnstone, or has extrapolated away from them. Is the Barangaroo Authorty including retail floor area in its public space calculations? At the moment it is hard to tell – detailed plans are not available. Be bloody cheeky if they were.

One of the reasons the (traditionally defined) public space has decreased so much is that it is being carted off in trucks to who knows where, so that water can reclaim the site. Maybe they could try calling the new areas of water public space too.
——
I got that wrong. According to Thalis, that is exactly what they are doing already – its called “water public domain”.

24.12.09 in buildings 

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