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| Building Entry |
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| Single Person Unit |
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| Larger Residence |
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| Restaurant Entry |
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| Module Facade Wall |
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| Restuarant |
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.
The floor layouts.
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| Ground to 34 - 16 Modules |
b.jpg) |
| 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.
b.jpg) |
| 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...
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| 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.
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| 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
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| http://www.evolo.us/architecture/icon-square-houses- peace-center-community-center-and-eco-hotel/ |
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/
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