Faculty of Architecture and Design project design elements

Transcription

1 Faculty of Architecture and Design project design elements

2 Ground floor plan

3 New entrance

4 Reception area

5 Entry ramp

6 Design Statement Introduction: Victoria University of Wellington is proposing to reconfigure the layout of Level 1 of their Vivian Street building at the Faculty of Architecture and Design. The aim is to provide architectural spaces to reflect the fluid student centred and quality driven creative environment for the 21st century which reflects the status as the best and most extensive provider to the creative professions sector in the country. Critical to this project s success are: Creating a dynamic environment that inspires creative and academic exchange of ideas, experimentation, exploration and excellence A student experience that facilitates a supportive and collaborative learning environment Robustness and flexibility allowing students to live out their creativity and shape their learning environment Supporting variety in academic delivery Identifiable environments to support long term strategy of differentiation between undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Harnessing the energy of the city extending the learning landscape to include the wider creative community. We firmly believe the current building offers the framework to achieve these goals. The University will in the future also look at the configuration of the remaining floors within the Vivian and Wigan streets buildings to meet the long term goal of the Faculty. Satellite Campus Being a satellite campus is one of the defining features of the Faculty. This brings with it distinct challenges as well as opportunities. In order to provide the highest possible quality of student experience and an appropriate range of amenities the design will need to optimise opportunities and delivery of services to make best use of space and resources available in providing a similar experience as the main campus. However, the size of the campus community and its common interest in creative drivers is a key asset. It creates a bond and generates a highly energised and innovative environment a buzz. The rethinking of the present physical environment needs to unlock the full potential to express this energy and the progressive social and artistic motivators shared by students and faculty to create an even stronger sense of camaraderie, community and belonging.

7 Design Statement (continued) Inner City Location In the heart of Wellington s red light district stands a big red box of a building. This is the lead in to an article on the new Faculty of Architecture and Design published by Architecture NZ in May Since then the neighbourhood has changed significantly and the Campus has played a part in its regeneration. Students and staff have contributed to the vitality of the surrounding streets and greatly increased safety in the area during all times of the day. Just as the city has benefited from the Campus, it too has benefited from its proximity to the cultural and professional community of Wellington. The importance and wider context of this reciprocal relationship needs to be carefully considered. Relationship to the Street / Entry The building s relationship to Vivian Street has been widely discussed and debated and recent upgrades to Cobblestone Park have looked to make improvements in this area. Some key issues include the setback from the street, the corner entry, screening by mature trees, topography and the raised entry level. Whilst not saying all of these constitute a problem in themselves, we strongly believe there is further opportunity to improve their interrelationship and thereby the physical engagement with the community and increased visibility and engagement of the design disciplines in the public domain. Internal Layout lacks Transparency, Clarity and Flexibility At first the atrium gives a sense of transparency and order to the internal spaces, however, a closer look soon identifies a lack of connectivity, spatial clarity and confusion within supporting spaces and circulation. This results in the identified nonefficient use of space, lack of flexibility and general inability to accommodate both the formal and informal academic as well as social learning goals. These restrictions appear largely self imposed as the underlying structural frame is highly regular, large span and generally unimpeded by shear walls.

8 What s happening Entrance We propose that one enters into the heart of the building by relocating the main entry from the NW corner onto the centre of the north facade under the glazing to the atrium. Ramp The entry is reached by a ramp rising from Dunlop Tce up along the northern building edge. The ramp is understood as a continuation of the park ramps On arrival the entry now offers a direct view into the atrium and a direct view to the park on departure. This new ramp also renders the existing accessible ramp on the Dunop Tce side obsolete. Now everyone can take the same route into the building. Atrium The internal reconfiguration sees the bottom of the atrium (Level 1) occupied by social and informal learning spaces, critique and exhibition spaces. Library The library is reconfigured: informal and group study is located on the north facade with outlook into the park. North-East Corner Faculty rooms are located in the NW corner which is pushed out to the extent of the current entry steps. The corner is further activated by providing exhibition space along the north facade - displaying the student s work as one approaches up the ramp.