Project 2 - Navigation

Welcome to Project 2:

Lumion Captures

Sketchup Model and Justification

36 Custom Textures

Concepts & Research

3 Parallel Perspectives

6 Axonometrics

Lumion Files

3D Warehouse Model

Lumion Captures

Sketchup Model and Justification

Final Model in Sketchup

Throughout the design process of project i aimed to explore the element of aboriginal history whilst combining it with the modernity of the sports park and the concepts of Buckminster Fuller and Olsen Kundig. In my final marker I wanted to make specific reference to aboriginal use of symbols and depiction within their culture. I used elements of these symbols to form my final design, shown in my conceptual sketches on the left. 

When texturing my model I decided to utilize all 36 of my textures. Whilst drawing my textures I grouped them into 6 continuous sections; each a visual representation of an element of native Australia ranging from dark to light. I loved the way in which the textures seamlessly moved from dark to light drawing the eye upwards. I decided to use this 'leading' quality within my marker as it encourages people to center and congregate inwards inciting a sense of community combined with my electroliquid aggregations of concepts by Buckminster Fuller; "Through reorganizing spatial relationships an environment can become prosperous" and Olsen Kundig; "Architecture encourages movement through transformation of its surroundings".

36 Textures from Dark to Light

After choosing to explore the aboriginal heritage of the Sports center I wanted to thoroughly incorporate this meaning into my monument even within the textures. From left to right my textures were influenced and based on; traditional aboriginal art, eucalyptus tree leaves, kookaburra feathers, fish scales, native snakes, and crocodile skin.

3D Model

Aim and Conceptual Research

Blacktown International Sports Park – History and Research

My aim when designing my marker was to honour the traditional custodians of the Darug nation upon which the sports park is located. Through researching the history of Aboriginal culture and the sites history I began to further develop the concepts which shaped my models.

“In the Darug (Blacktown) area the Aborigines camped along the major waterways. They made spears from local trees and a stone called red silcrete which they got from the ridges above South Creek and Eastern Creek. Since the waterways gave the Aborigines so much of their food, it is not surprising that most of their campsites were within a few hundred metres of a creek or river. This also is why we find little evidence of Aborigines in the area — remains of their camps have been washed away by flooding over the years.”

Alongside this research into the site, I explored elements of the Dharuk language and traditional aboriginal painting styles which involved a high use of symbolism within their work to convey stories and document their history. In the Dharuk language, “Darug” means people. I compared this notion of literal meaning with the concept of a Sportspark, a place of gathering for many people creating a sense of community.

From this knowledge I began to explore aboriginal symbolism within their painting techniques and found two significant symbols:

The first was the use of a “U” shape to indicate a person, the second was the inwards spiral or concentric circles used to indicate a watering hole. Taking this “U” shape as a reference to the traditional aboriginal name of the site and the history of aboriginal communities residing by local water holes and streams, I combined them into my marker to incite a sense of gathering and community whilst referencing the indigenous history. 

3 Parallel Perspectives

"Architecture is a movement that transforms its surroundings to encourage and control spatial flow"
Following my research, taking this “U” shape as a reference to the traditional aboriginal name of the site and the history of aboriginal communities residing by local water holes and streams, I combined them into my marker to incite a sense of gathering and community whilst referencing the indigenous history. 

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that hints at the possibility it might transform"
This electroliquid aggregation concept inspired me within this parallel combination in the way that when viewed from the horizontal axis nothing of its internal structure or lack thereof is revealed, however when viewed from the side the space is open and free flowing. 

"Architecture must be as intimate as a friendship" - Within this model i nestled my two most subtraction oriented axonometrics, in turn creating an intricate, interlinking structure.

6 Axonometrics

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you its going to be a butterfly" - In this axo I started to explore the more aboriginal aspects relating to the site. Through reasearch of aboriginal culture, i found that traditional aboriginal painting techniques often involved the use of signs and symbols to tell stories. Continuing this research i looked into the history of the sportsparks site; the land on which the site is built upon belongs to the Darug nation, meaning "People". To reference this within my marker I used the symbols for two people.

"Architecture is the intersection between the poetic and the rational" - I tried to capture this notion by creating a central column that intersected through both rectangles; that is delicately exposed within cut away segments created by subtraction.

"Contradictory objectives; open to environment, yet closed to create privacy" - I believe this axonometric perfectly embodies this notion by Olson Kundig in the way that the square tunnel promotes such a free flowing and open space which is sharply juxtaposed with the horizontal element. This horizontal element creates a striking intersection within the square yet is the key to exploring Kundig's concept of contradictory objectives in the privacy it creates. It provokes the viewer to explore in and around the space rather than simply seeing through it and creates a closed privacy when approached from opposing sides.

"Love is metaphysical gravity" - To me, this concept by Fuller references the fundamental nature of love within life. To reflect this notion in my axonometrics i subtracted a precise segment from the center creating a notion of empty space which should be filled. This is echoed in the open front space of the shape with nothing left but thin walls creating the illusion of being filled. 

"Reorganising the environment for prosperity" - I tried to embody this Buckminster concept by exploring the use of primarily vertical elements that with one simple horizontal intersection become a habitable and essentially environmentally prosperous form to the viewer.

"Simplicity is the true measure of complexity" - Upon first drawing this axonometric, i was unimpressed with its simplistic nature, however after hatching the surface i was struck by the ability of the previously simple form to function as a versatile space, with tunnels and overpasses within and underneath its structure.