In Summery...

In looking back at this Conceptual Design Exercise, I think back to the 6 S's; Site, structure, skin, services, space plan, and stuff; and also the Main drivers of the design, Free, Clean, Renewable Energy and therefore minimizing the use of materials and the building design to be as sustainable as possible.

The building in site

The Site, 42 Elizabeth Street is a site with historic restrictions on the existing facade, however in the future, I would hope that the council would take a look at each case for its integrity and value.  To me the existing offers nothing significant to the site of Brisbane at a whole and definitely nothing to the site specific.  The site offers 3 access points, the front back and one side.  This then potentially offers access to 3 different clients of the site, but potentially, the users/clients of the site, and the management of the building.  So I’ve separated them as public at the front, and private at the back.


The structure is a permanent system of re-enforced concrete cantilevered floors over concrete and steel support pillars.  Each floor level is set at 4m to allow maximum flexibility for each occupant, and therefore looseness to allow a long life for the building.  This is an answer to the sustainability of the building to use as little material over a very long life.

Facade Panels with a Strap-on Unit

The skin is made up of glass panels of 4000mm x 1500mm.  These are to help relate to the break up the internal modules and to also offer frames to shape the views and also the potential use of the digital element of the panels into screens.
The floor plan is then augmented with strap-on modules that attach to the outside of the building to extend a module a few metres further outside the building.


1st-34th Floor
The services are in the middle of the building in a cruciform arrangement with a set of 3 lifts, fire stairs and a toilet on each side of the building.  This is combined with a double loaded corridor on axis with the long axis of the building.  There are also services hidden in the 500mm thick walls on either side of the corridor to allow service to each module of the building but built in a permanent way to avoid re-building and changing the services and rather have them in-place for the occupant to connect up to when required. 


35th-44th Floor
The space plan of the building is based on a deliberate separation of spaces into modules.  Starting at the first floor to the 34th floor the floor is broken into 16 modules while the 35th to the 44th floor in 4 modules with the top 5 floors into 2 modules.  This allows maximum flexibility with modules able to be opened up into several joined together or each separated into individual pods.  The spaces they create are then flexible enough to allow for a lot of different uses in the building as was desired by my brief but also to allow low cost living through leasing floor space rather than having to purchase.
A single apartment fit-out
This then brings me onto stuff, and as the building was intended as a system of forever changing modules of different configurations, it is hard to nail exactly what stuff will be involved.  The difference to other designs is that the furniture and fixtures are going to be leased rather than purchased.  The idea of the building is rather that it is low cost.  

An office fit-out
The occupants can just arrive, plug in their configuration and live, then when moving, just move without the need to drag furniture and fixtures with them; rather that the space is ready when they are, and when unoccupied; used by the building management to be pop-up hotel rooms.  This is to lower the waste of materials, the cost of living, and ultimately have the user concentrate on using the space, and change the digital rather than changing the physical.


Final Digital Presentation


My name is Bob, its 2030 and this is my place, that glowing pillar of light; a new skyscraper; the Phoenix.  Brisbane is a modern city revolutionised; a modern city with free energy.  Due to the proliferation of renewable energy, the lens in which we view the city has changed.  No longer worried about CO2 and other green issues, we instead embrace the future without pollution due to government run, free, clean and unlimited energy.



Building has exploded in the city, with developers no longer bound by energy consumption and pollution worries, towers are everywhere.  Because energy is free, building costs are reduced, manufacturing and even material gathering became cheaper, and instead now the focus is on the finite resources that we have left on earth.



As recycling is virtually free, and materials are finite, buildings are now built with the focus on recyclable, reusable materials.  This with a loose fit approach by making the core, facade and structure of the building permanent and long lasting while the module tenancy use kept loose to give the building a longer life without demolition.





As energy is free, digital surfaces adorn most of the cities buildings.  The façade is made up of digitally enhanced panels of glass in 4000mm by 1500mm mullions.  Each module fits within this dimension to allow separate control for each user.  This technology has replaced the need for advertising on billboards as companies can how festoon their buildings or walls with advertisement; depending on the contract you have on your space.  With free energy, technology advancements accelerate at a tremendous rate, although there is always the thought of minimal material use in mind.

People purchase augmenters such as glasses, and with these technologies their view of the world is changed.  No-longer relying on the built environment, we have new interfaces, and ultimately, a different augment of our fixed reality.  We add not just information but even completely modify the view of our world.  Personalization becomes the focus, and an extension of this is making our sub-conscious lens of the world a conscious decision.  We see what we want when we want to.  Some people wanting the immersion of the city with their HUD showing the bargains and events, some focused on social aspects, but some, like me, choosing to ignore the current and reinvent my reality.

Relationships are different to; with the idea of Facebook of the naughty’s being taken to the next level.  We rarely interact physically, choosing to instead interface through our technology with each other.  Online gaming that was once marginal becomes the sport of the future; Koreans having already embraced this idea in the 90’s are leading the world with the immersive gaming technology.  We are all online.
But we still crave personal contact.  Pop-up love hotels are becoming more and more popular; the idea first blew me away, without the need for small talk though, it caught on like wild fire.  We no longer feel the need for relationships that aren’t “fun” instead we rely on technology to serve, and people to entertain.  Glory holes are the new clubs.







Shopping is dead to; people instead looking at it as entertainment.  We click, scan and experience in the shop, but ultimately, everything is delivered and nothing is in store.  Apple starting this idea 20 years ago, but it’s taken to a new level.  We shop in passing; retail space is reduced to a mere façade of what it used to be.  But due to the cheaper manufacturing and transport cost with a relatively stable average income, we are all consumers devouring commercialism relentlessly.


Even the humble service providers of old are mechanised and energised.  What once had staff is now reduced to a mechanical line without any human interaction.  We purchase with a swipe of our wrists and cash has become obsolete, instead an online, digital credit system is the new way.  In my pizza place, the pizza man is no-longer there.  Instead the only employee is the delivery guy, which due to our lazy, online culture is working harder than ever before.  Delivery is the biggest sector in the employment market.  Although there is still a margin for proper dinning, and as the cost of food production has become significantly cheaper, restaurants have become more competitive against the fast food of old.  This has encouraged quality food across the board, and as a result, obesity is almost a thing of the past.


The building management is no-longer an office hidden far away; with the management being a more hands on component of this future architecture, they act as care-takers and are found in the foyer.  They help out with rental changes, fittings and fixture rental and even to a small scale, hotel accommodation throughout the building.  This is to reduce the wasted space throughout the building.

As most in the city are devoured by new developments of towers reaching the sky, existing structures refitted and refurbished, mine is one of the new breed.  A site in the city that opened up due to the cities virtual heritage policy, it is new from the ground up.  No-longer held up by the requirement to keep facades of old regardless of how significant, developments are left to grow unabated.  The structure is built to last, with sustainability still being a key focus due to the ever pressing reality that materials are finite, however the dinosaur tower model of energy wasting towers becomes the norm.  The structure is designed to last at least 100 years, with the fit out of each floor becoming dependant on the inhabitants.  No longer is renting apartments normal, instead we rent tower amenity, and service and rent out wall units and cabinet modules to fit out our spaces.  These are kept in the basement and are re-used over and over again indefinitely.

Unit spaces are tiny, with single apartments becoming the standard.  No longer caring for energy wastage, we use glass everywhere.  Even internally with through the use of technologies, have a layer of screen imprinted on the glass, so with the use of more energy they are transformed into display screens used to show whatever our hearts desire.  These are used for the module separation walls, while there is another variety of wall for additional service walls or sound mitigation.  Both of these wall systems are in modular panels that are either 1000mm or 1500mm depending on the installation location.  In each module there is a service wall on the corridor side to allow service access for each user, and also this hides the structure of the building and allows for easy installation of plumbing, electrical and mechanical services in any module.


My unit is small, very small.  At only 25m2 it is average, but on my salary, it’s all I could afford to lease and fit out.  All the materials used are generally reused off previous fit outs and tenancies due to the standardisation of wall panel sizing’s through the building.  But while small, it has everything I need.  A bathroom, a kitchen and my living space; everything transforms into what I need when I need it.  The wall a screen for my TV, and also my computer, my workspace and my view; with a very poor view of the street not stopping me, the screens give me a view of Paris,





Or New York, whatever I want really.  My transformable space is everything I need.


As most of the modules are leased; stage two begun a few months ago.  That is if we need more space we have the option of add-on modules that hang off the outside of the building.  Marketed as the strap-on for your living space; it increases my apartment by 50% and is simply installed as an attachment to the façade and several façade panels are removed for access.




Upstairs there are larger spaces; typically for the wealthy, as a good old fashioned real view is still coveted and with this tower; you can see almost all the way to the coast.  Above the 35th floor the views are amazing and this is where the building opens up into larger, more expensive modules of 4.

Further still up the top of the building the modules are 2 per floor.  This is where large offices live.  Although by large office I mean 20 people or so.  The large business model of old is no-longer focused on personal contact and instead virtual offices are the norm; as most can work from home.  Restaurants and bars are also up on the top floors; still around for people who crave the retro idea of physical socializing.  But as the experience is an expensive one, it is only for people with decent jobs.  Unlike me.


As an architect; I still don’t earn much, but as I’m told, not much has changed.  I work in a small firm and our office is suitable and as most of the employees could work virtually and connect with the team when they need guidance; but as the studio thrives on collaboration, we all try to physically attend as much as possible, after all, it’s only up 8 floors.

I can’t help but think that transport; while reduce is almost no-longer needed in a city, and  without the need for farms, the inland of Australia has been all but abandoned, and at the moment, that is the norm, but I do wonder how long this will be this way.  Although with the densification of the cities, all services have become insignificantly cheap, and more than ever; with these hybrid, multi-use buildings that were seen as the saviour of the 2020’s, you don’t have to travel much more than a few minutes in a lift to have anything you need.  This is the city of the future, one bred from a limitless supply of energy, one that no-longer is limited by pollution, instead a world without energy worries is a virtual and vertical one, and that suits me fine.  Welcome to the Phoenix.

What is Real Heritage???

http://www.thefotofanatic.com/Photography/Forums/Your-Bris
bane-Past/i-JP7VGmG/0/O/Bellevue%20Hotel%201903_141770.jpg
When looking at the site at 42 Elizabeth Street, I came to question Brisbane's approach to heritage and conservation.
We've had many very unique and beautiful buildings demolished (Bellevue Hotel) in the name of progress that in all fairness where great examples of heritage; whereas on this site, there is an older facade, and one from the 70's both is tremendous dis-repair and both have been hacked up and edited in their time so I don't understand how this is something that should be kept in order to keep "Historic significant buildings" in Brisbane.


It does not make sense.  Why would keeping 2/3rd's of a facade be at all a good indication of a historic building.  Whereas if they were to keep the whole building or at the very least the whole facade; I would understand but to say that you can keep some of it but not all and ignore using the facade in your building for anything but a bit of wall candy seems quite obsolete.

Internal/External...

When looking at developing the module idea further, it become apparent that if I go with the traditional model of permanent core, with modules attached, I come to realise that they, like all module high-rise before, will become a stagnant thing.  
Once people have their space attached, they never want to move, they become settled.  So in order to avoid that and also to reduce materials further, I think making the facade and levels permanent, but to offer modules inside that are easily moved, and so with a cheap and easy way of stopping and starting living in each modules space, people can then move when they want to.  This then makes the facade a dynamic thing in response to the occupants, and also, with the use of strap-on modules, that element of physically movable modules is still there, be it on a lesser scale.

The spaces.

In deciding the potential spaces that I could show I've been thinking about how a user would interact with the building; and the potential is that a potential occupant may never leave the building if they need to.

Building Entry
Single Person Unit
Larger Residence
Restaurant Entry
Module Facade Wall
Restuarant


The floor layouts.


Ground to 34 - 16 Modules

35-44 - 4 Modules

So ive decided on the shape of each possible floor plan to break up the building into modules.


There are three types; 35 floors with small modules for simple spaces such as single dwellings.

10 floors with 4 modules per level for bigger more permanent enterprise.

45-49 - 2 Modules

And 5 floors at the top that have just 2 modules for larger company offices, restaurants and bars or any other potential use that requires such a space.

The top 15 floors are the larger spaced modules for the more wealthy leaser; because while each space can have there own virtual view, the top of the building will have amazing real views across the city and up and down the coast.

The module...


http://www.coins-global.com/asiapacific/h/Solutions/BSLink/454/?lang=
So after much deliberation; I have finished the structure and services of the building.  There will be a 500 mm thick wall that contains the building risers either side of the central corridor on each level; this creates a structure that supports the building in every way while still allowing flexibility to each module.

The difficulty then becomes using the service wall in each apartment and actually attaching the water/waste services directly to this wall or a solid wall that supplies the service core wall.  The only way to do this in one of my example modules that remains a single bay is by adding a temporary services wall into the apartment   This feeds the bathroom and the kitchen while minimizing the wall width.

http://ryan.landek.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

This is only an issue when looking at a single bay module apartment   When looking at various service providers in the building such as food, dry cleaning, restaurants  design studios and manufacturing shops; there is a wider service wall facility available so this is not much of a problem as yet.

Over the next week I will be exploring different module designs to present in the final design and start on the deliverables.

The Real and the Virtual...

So the thought of a building with everything still needs boundaries, and still has potentials for exclusivity.  A residential unit may not want to be next to a bar or a brothel, and suitably, night jobs such as bakeries don't really need the neighbours keeping them awake at 10 am; so maybe, the solution is zoning in the building.

Noise zoning is one way; but really, we only make noise when we are using the site, so maybe the building needs to be designated into zones based on when the floor is active, or when the floor is allowed to be noisy, as residential is not necessarily a all night space, so lifestyle and use is the driving force behind zoning, and perhaps internal public space divides floors that are multi-zoned, or maybe its a rainbow of zones.

But also the idea of virtual views, which are on every floor are fine for some, but there is still a need at the top of the building to use the view, the real versus the virtual view.  On these levels I think bigger sized modules, perhaps 4 per level and they could focus on expensive real estate, such as restaurants and high end apartments  whereas the lower levels could be less focused on the external view and more on the internal use.

Also the system in which people use the building is different to any other; where normally we buy or lease units and the walls and the like are fairly permanent  in this scenario we lease the walls and fixtures and finishes from the building as well as the floor space, so real estate becomes less of an investment, and rather than expensive throw away fit-outs  we use long life materials that are digitally enhanced to change their use or appearance   So really while the building modular system is a different way to use a building, it is also a different way to sell a building, so really the architecture is more about real estate; not just the construction but also management of the building.

The Core


While at the present I was aiming at reducing the embodied energy in the design by using columns and a minimal core structure and relying on LCD impregnated glass as the light weight separations in each floor, I think I could argue a change of tactic could potentially be beneficial for ease of transition of spaces from tenant to tenant.

By making the walls surrounding the circulation space with a solid walled core and then only having the partitions as glass walls, this potentially reduces the need for underfloor space for plumbing and flexible service space and therefore potentially fits more levels in the building.  And this would be more economical in materials; which is the key driver for the design.

So a potential remodel is in order; although this does limit the potential in opening up spaces to reclaim the shared spaces when surrounded by their own spaces.

Maybe something in-between is the answer, a solid core but the first and last 4 modules of each floor could be left potentially open able, when the middle 10 could be locked in to their width by core walls.  I’ll have to see if it could work.

The Modular


http://www.evolo.us/architecture/icon-square-houses-
peace-center-community-center-and-eco-hotel/
To be most economical with materials I think a modular design approach is the most suitable idea, but in looking at modular high rise system, they all seem to have the same solution; craning a pod up the outside of the building and slotting it in place.  I think there is a more economical solution.
If we fix the façade system and structure of the building, we limit the waste of resources in the fix part of the design, but by then creating fixed sized modules inside the skin, we still have a universal system to fitting out the building.  Then modules of smaller size can be transported up and down using the lift system, and the leaser’s of the spaces can decide on one, two or more modules for their use.  So if they want to be economical, one pod for living is enough, whereas if they want a café business, maybe two is required, where a manufacturing or design company/firm might need anything from one to 10 modules, and because the dividing walls are made of thin elements that can be removed or switched off, not only the visual separation is an impermanent idea, but so is the physical separation.
And because there is 66 levels offering very similar space, there is no real difference in living or working on the first floor or the top level, except for physical views, but as technology becomes more integrated, a virtual view could be offered, so there is no advantage in what level you live on, there-by equalizing the price of space to a purely volume related price rather than a speculative, further reducing the cost of housing.


I wonder if this would be a good thing.  We would then solely rely on size rather than quality for determining status so would this then encourage more waste of this space and therefore materials as we do now?  I guess there is always a potential.

References:
http://www.evolo.us/architecture/city-like-supertall-skyscraper-in-beijing-china/
http://www.evolo.us/architecture/icon-square-houses-peace-center-community-center-and-eco-hotel/

TED talks: Framework Design & Augmented Reality


I just watched this TED talk by Kent Larson [1] about adaptable spaces, shared city cars and changing urban infrastructure to fit the future city. 

It was exactly what technology I imagine a city of the future could use; rather than relying on materials, it uses power to do things, and saves on city space and the it could instead use that space for more population.



It discusses the idea of my building that I create a framework, and the consumer fits it out how they want to use it; with various infill options that reduce materials and are reusable.


I think this is the idea I will be exploring further, buildings and cities that are more walk-able, but also, increase the density to reduce materials.

But also i found a TED talk by Matt Mills [2] about augmented reality that are used by phones, but as the Google glass project shows, it could easily become a more everyday device like glasses to change the view of the world around.  It uses auras of particular things, such as paintings, pictures, or scenes and then adds an overlay of information.  

http://wttfuture.wordpress.com/tag/layar/
So a look at a city, each building could provide a trigger to share more information about whatever the consumer wants to know about, whether it be the history of the site or building, the retail or commercial contents, whether your friend who lives on the 5th floor is home; anything can be shown and I think that could be a powerful tool for people in getting immersed in their world, how they want to.

So the future is not science fiction, but rather, today's technology which in itself is an adaption, being adapted for a more seamless and integrated, augmented reality.

Reference:

The facade.



With the need for complex shading/insulation systems, the glass tower is free from clutter that is raw and clean.  With only mullions blocking the open spaces within.

Internally lit, it is a beacon in a city of mostly low-rise, the start of a new future for Brisbane perhaps?  This is what 42 Elizabeth street could be; or at least if energy was free.  Well, at least for now, this is what I think it could be.

I think the internal working of the building would be less open planned tho, but using a grid system that divided the space up into units that can be spanned, or separated into anything.  Not just a primarily residential space, it will have commercial, office, retail and manufacturing spread throughout the building with potentially other facilities such as schools and such as well in the tower.

The Rebirth of the Glass Tower.

If energy is limitless, the current view of glass towers wasting energy become obselete.  In short, burn the HVAC and lighting and rather, concentrate to minimize material use.

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/10/led-light-cfl-b.html 
So the glass tower is reborn as a saviour of humanity, using an abundant sorce of material, glass, which due to the almost limitless nature of sand, and its unlimited recyclability, it becomes the material of choice.


Due to the total immersion of the augmentation technology, we dont really need customisable facades and more rely on each person's augmented vision.  So facades like the one on the right, however the idea that glass could become opaque, and used as a digital wall is very likely in interior fitouts, as when in your own space, augments become obsolete as you can customise your own space easily, especially through digital means.

http://studio630.tumblr.com/post/16142702702/transsolar-a-jont-venture-of-phillips-and-basf 
So the idea that internal walls would be glass that can be changed through digital means is quite posible, however the exterior facades of buildings are now more changed by peoples augments, and therefor, the real fabric of the city become a blank canvas to paint your own persona on a city.

http://dornob.com/unbelievably-realistic-3d-building-facade-projection-art/?ref=search 

A city-wide canvas for digital artists to paint, for people to download, for people to experience.  So in creating a blank canvas of a city to save material resources and rather rely on individual manipulation of the city through digital means create a market for digital artists and designers alike to sell there vision of a city, whether it be limited to a building, a street, or the city as a whole. 

How amazing would a city like that be?