Week Ten : Thoughts on the Guest Lecture

Listening this week to the ideas and approach of guest lecturer Alexis Sanal, I was poised to question how successfully I was currently addressing the proposition of an architectural entity. I have for much of the project been consumed by a top-down approach - considering the envelope rather than the contents- or so to speak the humanity of my proposal. In concentrating on a contextual scale I have somewhat neglected the infrastructure of my entity that will facilitate new behaviour, intervention and value. I am therefore pushed to consider just how I envision all these concurrent activities coming together in the space. The below diagram is a brief and initial exploration however I feel further research is prudent.

Week Nine : Architectural Entity Development

Beginning to apply ideas I made a series of small conceptual models in order to explore both how activities could be contained within the site and how residual space could create informal pockets between and within the building. The following are a series of ideas I have since marked up.

Considering that a building is a visible, concrete manifestation of a social group or social institution and since every social institution has smaller groups and institutions within it; I think it is prudent to understand that a human building will always reveal itself, as a complex of these smaller institutions. I therefore took from these explorations several key elements that should be considered fundamental to an entity that is active in the ecology of its precinct.

Establishing realms of circulation: In many modern building complexes the problem of disorientation is acute. It is important to create a sense of transparency which produces and open expression rather than one which is unreceptive. 

Creating pockets of activity to enliven the public arena: The life of public space forms naturally around its edge, if the edge fails then the space never becomes lively. By surrounding the public arena with thresholds of activity which spill forth people will naturally pause and become intrigued by the life of the space.

Creating richness through informed layers: Simplifying patterns in a building is a way of lending order while allowing multiple readings and experiences. Integrating adjacencies within the building and emphasising a natural progression through the space would lend to both meaningful connections and a rich experience of the entity.

Applying these considerations; an idea for a place that preserves and celebrates a withstanding collective presence and nurtures an emergent meaningful belonging were conceptualised in the following form.

Week Nine : Developing an Emergent Typology

With culture, design and practise continually reinventing themselves I have purposely spent time this week researching and contemplating both withstanding and emergent; macro and micro typologies in retail and spatial design. With so much ourselves embedded in the built environment I felt it prudent to consider how society has to-date shaped spaces which speak to consumption. In moving forward it is my intention not to discount 'past' spatial models but to use them to inform what I envision as an emergent typology in collaboration and exchange. The below diagram is a better visualisation of what I am attempting to convey.

Applying such notions to a marketplace setting I can appreciate the application of various solutions as being highly effective to achieve the animation which I am striving to support. Working from the idea of hive structure I would suggest that the facilitation of exchange is developed in a bottom-up manner, initially from the scale of a closed loop; such as that of a family unit; to a cluster of individuals with similar ideologies; to an open cluster of democratic participation and at the ultimate scale as a hub; aggregating multiple models and levels of interaction. See the below diagram.

Proposing an emergent typology then which redefines consumption it is my intention to take from existing spatial models and develop an aggregated manifestation that facilitates holistic and far-reaching collaboration through shared space, adaptability and deeply embedded community ownership and participation. The below diagram illustrates further. Ultimately it is my endeavour for the space to not only facilitate exchange at the level of site and precinct but also facilitate a mutual enrichment through dialogue with the region at large.

Week Nine : Further Research on Building Typology

Taking these micro typologies and up scaling them I am poised to consider how multiple parts of a system can come together and function in harmony. The proposition of a contemporary urban marketplace  means the integration of multiple components, which exist not only apart from one another in space but also in time. This will necessitate a solution which can contain and adapt to a range of activities and services.

Defining existing macro typologies:

Plug-in / plȗg /  noun - a core or interior segment taken from a larger matrix, informal. to add or include; incorporate.

The plug-in notion is a long withstanding concept, dating from an illustration by Le Corbusier for his Unite d'Habitation high-rise apartment block. It is an idea which has been remodelled and adapted repeatedly; Archigram proposed individual buildings and an entire city made of prefabricated components attached to fixed infrastructures. 

·         Responsive and self refreshing

·         Supportive of change and growth

·         Organic quality

·         Potential for urban infill

·         Utilised unused spaces in cities/ make better use of existing space

·         Ability to implement components in active nodes and move on when activity fades, seasonal

Image sources: Archi Takes / Inhabitat

Pre-Fabrication / prȅ-fȧb-rȋ-kȃt / noun - the manufacturing in advance, especially in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled

The basic premise behind prefabricated construction is the ability to manufacture the parts needed to create a building offsite and then assemble them swiftly, reducing the amount of labour required. Digital technologies and modern engineering have opened up new opportunities in this area.

WikiHouse is an ongoing experiment and its creators invite anyone with an interest in making housing available on a mass scale to engage with the project through an expanding online community where new designs can be added, improvements suggested and more developed hardware or software solutions plugged in to create an evolving ecosystem around the core principle of freely available, affordable and sustainable construction.

Images source: Archi Tonic

Aggregation

Not necessarily a new idea but an emerging trend, the notion of aggregating mechanical and biological devices is an emerging trend in imaging the future built environment. Representations of this concept perpetuate almost a self-constructivity and challenge the authoritarian nature typically associated with spaces of production. It is a movement liberating the stereotype of assembly, manufacturing and office spaces from authoritarian characteristic and instead interjected new principles of universal admission, democratic organisation and shared ownership.

Image source: The Funambulist

The following trends represent long withstanding typologies and demonstrate that such notions continually evolve as newly imagined manifestations. The challenge then is to consider their application within an emerging context and question how they will continue to adapt.

Week Nine : Further Research on Retail Typology

Rather than reproducing the spatial models that accommodated the static and commercial models of current retail service, I am looking to produce models that anticipate future conditions. My intent is not to pursue the unconventional for the sake of difference, but rather the hope is to develop a design that acknowledges the emerging collaborative realities of business, exchange and community, and creates the conditions for engagement and enrichment at multiple levels. These conditions require not only a reconsideration of the spatial requirements, but also necessitate a redefinition of consumption.

Defining the existing micro typologies (adapted from NEU Urban Retail Publication)

Kiosk / kȅ-ȁsk / noun - a free standing (often mobile or temporary) structure, which allows vendor and buyer to circulate freely around it.

Characteristics:

·         Highly mobile, seasonal or temporary

·         Circulation around structure

·         Located outside near high traffic areas

·         Adds richness to streetscape with colours, noise and movement

Micro Retail / mȋi-krȍ rȅ-tȃl / noun - enclosed retail with small street frontage and minimal footprint. The required elements of retail (signage, product display, transaction counter) are strategically organised to take maximum advantage for the small space.

·         Highly efficient use of space

·         Display and storage are often limited

·         Provide very limited layout options and circulation paths

·         Exist often as anomalies in a shopping district cropping up in leftover space

 
Store / stor / noun - retail with medium store frontage and limited to one story of display space. Enough room in present to accommodate a variety of display layouts. This is the most common type of urban retail and in agglomeration, is the best at building a streetscape.

·         Multiple vendors often required

·         Located on the lower level of larger buildings

·         Freedom with display layouts

Mid Box / mid bȁks / noun - larger than the historic urban storefront and mostly a contemporary retail type, its large floor plate is planned on multiple levels. Many national chains utilise this size store for their urban flagship locations.

·         Large scale version of the store

·         Variety of layout options

·         Often larger chains

·         Sometimes multiple levels

These typologies represent a current day ideology about how society comes together to interact and exchange goods and services in a linear sense. The challenge of my emergent context however is to re-evaluate  the organisation and spatial requirements of the retail environment. Several notable trends reflect my own personal set of convictions about the role of this entity in its future scenario and include:

Pop-Up Retail - Pop-up inventions are a growing means of rejuvenating urban environments, where retail is classified as transient and evolves with the changing climate. It is essentially an evolution of the kiosk typology and interjects a sense of spontaneity and performance within a previously basic model. Not only does it challenge traditional consumption stereotypes but it also offers the opportunity for on-going animation of a physical setting.
Image sources: Design Build Source / Creea 

Modular Design - Similar to the transient animation of pop-up retail is the notion of modular design. In terms of a marketplace setting it is an emerging idea that allows for the immediate and continual reconfiguration of space. Not only can it draw heavily on the use of recycled materials but it also means that at a level of human interaction the built environment is adaptable to changing needs and requirements across various times. Image Sources: Coroflot / Inhabitat