Geometry of the Building and Courtyard

To create a form that relates to the site I have taken key points from the site: the back corner of the two adjacent buildings, the front corner of the two buildings behind as well as the four corners of the chosen site.

From these points I constructed geometry lines. I then experimented by highlighting parts of these lines to create a form that creates a focus in the center of the site, then projects outwards to the view at the back of the site.

The room geometry has been determined by equally spaced horizontal geometry lines of the site. This has created a sense of order through the space.

Artist - Cesar

Compression - Compressed Bicycle

Cesar creates sculpture compositions made of everyday discarded materials found from junkyards and the street - ranging from crushed cars to wearable jewellery.

Artist - Mimmo Rotella

Collage of some Rotella works

Mimmo Rotella is known for his collages of posters literally torn from the streets and pasted onto canvas, revealing what look like layers of other posters beneath. He called these 'Decollages'. Later he partially tore the canvas again naming the technique 'Double Decollage'.

Rotella used the debris of urban life to comment directly on the society in which they lived.

*Reminds me of the graffiti near the site

The Client:

A young couple intersted in collecting and selling art inspired by urban life and the streets.

Reasons for choosing this site:

• located between two early 19th Century buildings - Newton characteristic
• interesting view from back of site into back alley
• graffiti on neighbouring building and in street influenced my choice of artists
• appropriate size
• South facing - opportunity for glass front facade without any direct sunlight which could damage artworks

Art Gallery Site - 161-163 King St Newtown

Aerial View

Front View - Site with Surrounding Buildings

The site is currently split into two commercial shops. Total site measuring: 9.5m x 33m

Back of Site

View from back of site

* Opportunity here to use its deep back view to houses and trees as an extension to the site

Other interesting feature

Graffiti on neighbouring building

:: Project 3 - Art Gallery - Newtown

Newtown - Sydney's Bohemian Centrepiece

The heartland of Sydney's vibrant bohemian culture, the Newtown Precinct is an eclectic mix of alternative cultures, ethnicity, sexuality and lifestyles. The precinct provides a fascinating haven for the great diversity of its inhabitants: from academic professionals and students of the neighboring colleges and universities to the punks, poets and artists, alongside original post war European immigrants. The precinct's spirit of acceptance and tolerance has produced a unique culture in Sydney and created a diverse street life of these myriad cultures. This unique atmosphere has become a magnet for visitors, tourists and other Sydney-siders.

The Newtown precinct is centered on famous King Street, part of a thoroughfare which stretches from Broadway to St Peters. This streetscape, listed on the Register of the National Estate is perhaps Sydney's largest and best example of 19th century commercial street architecture and includes a vast array of styles from high Victorian gothic, Queen Anne revival and Italianate. This colonnade of buildings now houses Newtown's restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, retail stores, fashion designers, bookshops and food shops. The St Peters end of King St is renowned for its quirky specialist shops.

Final Model

Building in its site

Section View

Room for Prospect

Room for Refuge

Final Drawings

Plans

Section

Axonometric

Idea Progression - Rooms

Concept: Prospect and Refuge

Portray prospect + refuge theory through spacial configuration and manipulation of light.

Prospect (ability to see into the distance)
- brightness in view
- visual distance
- ability to get to a point for a better view
- horizon + sky imagery
- strategic viewing locations
- view corridors

Refuge (sense of enclosure or shelter)
- canopy effects (lowered ceilings, screening)
- variation in light effects (darker suggests refuge)
- enclosing surfaces
- penetrable barriers and surfaces for views out

Heerwagen and Hase - Characteristics of Biophilic Buildings

First Ideas

Site: barren, isolated, a lookout?

Rooms: Room above ground - a room for the girl to read her letters - her connection to the outside world, a place for fresh air and daylight.


Room below ground - a room no one sees, like the emotion she hides from the world.

Narrative

A lookout for a lonely woman awaiting news of her husband to return home.

Painting - Vermeer

Vermeer - A Girl Reading A Letter By An Open Window

Mood: Sad. Alone.

Space: Small. Confined.

:: Project 2 - Room and Narrative

Final Poche Drawings

Ground Floor

First Floor

Section

Final Parti Drawings

Geometry

Enclosure

Circulation

Program

Structure

Final Model

Final Model on Exhibit

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Ramp Detail

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Spiral Stair Case Detail
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Model Progression

Ground Floor

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Ground/First Floor Section

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Section with the ramp in place
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Beginning to put walls and skylights on first floor
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Beginnings of the Model

Ground Floor