Week 15 Critique Feedback & Improvements

Given what I had attempted to achieve and the scale at which that was, by the time of submission I was feeling quiet confident about my whole resolution and strategies around getting this development to perform like I think it should. I presented to 3 critique markers all of which gave mixed feedback about my presentation. I think that was mainly due to the fact that I told what I had tested and identified what problems were arising however I never showed in a simple diagram how I actually overcome this. I guess I just wanted to show the final product and what features it has as a posed to indicate every single design solution which I had to make.

Points that were raised in the discussion:

The park and pool being 3 levels above, does it not engage users/people walking by enough?
When thinking specifically about people who are walking past I probably could have had a more inviting entry up on to the public park. But then again I also think there are always going to be mixed feelings towards these sort of issues because being a shopping centre, you always want people to walk all around the shop to get to where ever they want to go. This just adds to their impulsive purchasing and everybody knows this. So in regards to the park being on the roof and the way it is accessed I think from this point of view it is perfectly viable. What better way that have people see the park from neighbouring high-rises and become curious to go and visit during their lunch break but at the same time are forced to walk through the shopping centre? A tactic of all major shopping centres!

Future Design Options / Ideas
Given the time, I would have like to put some major tourist attraction on that site. It really is one of the best sites possible in all of Brisbane. A viewing tower could have been put there, a theme park, cultural centre anything really! Its just a matter of trying to tie it all in with the initial concept ideas which came up in the first assignment. 

Panel

This design proposal addresses the current Myer Centre in Brisbane CBD. On one of Brisbane's most prime real estate locations, the current Myer Centre lacks pretty much everything apart from transport and retail. The feel inside the building is one of which most would call quiet dull. This proposition aims at addressing the future requirements of retail environment whilst allowing the user to feel comfortable and aware of their outside surroundings at all times. In addition to this, the residential building caters for 80 units both 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom. A new City Link Monorail system has also been implemented along with a Commercial Office Building.

Presentation

Working Through To Get It All Done!

Masterplan

Site Section

Queen Street Render

Queen/Albert Street Render

Elizabeth/Albert Street Render

Monorail Station

Queen Street Entry

Queen Street

Commercial Building Cut Section

Shopping Centre ~ Floor Plan

At this kind of scale, the internal walls and poles look extremely thin to be holding the weight from the upper levels. But to put it in perspective, some of these walls are actually 600mm thick. The first image outlines the two main entry points from the street level. The lower level also includes a supermarket of some sort, all centre management is located in the back corner this includes cleaning facilities/storage and boardrooms etc.

The highlighted blue area denotes the public space accessible by all the public. The rest of the white space is either toilets or tenant spaces.

The blue aarows indicate the basic movement of the users of the site. Entry and exit and from floor to floor movement. Each floor is accessible via lift or escalator. Larger retail shops should be on the ground level because there is the most opportunity for larger areas.

Masterplan ~ Bringing It All Together

Now that I know which direction every bit and piece is taking. I have to start thinking about how I can bring it all together and tie it all together as one as effectively as possible.

1. Residential Building
2. Commercial Office Building
3. Shopping Centre

Already I have found the most efficient place for the buildings in terms of sun movement but now I need to manipulate pedestrian movement around this constraint. The current MAIN entrys of the Myer centre (queen street & corner of elizabeth and albert) are still 2 very ideal points of entry. In keeping these, I can navigate the users through the site via the blue section indicated in the image below.

The public pool has also been put in place here. From the earlier sun path study of the site, you will notice that the top right hand corner is in the sun for pretty much the entire day. With a roof to protect from weather this will be a place to be enjoyed be all people from Brisbane CBD. 

The final image shows the movement of the wind which generally comes from the South-East. Whilst the wind can move through the site relatively freely, where it is interrupted by a building it navigates itself around or through appropriately. This disturbance is what is required to avoid any form of wind tunnels occurring in the Brisbane CBD.

General top view master plan.

Using the centre atrium to bring light all through to the ground level of the shopping centre.

 Orange aarows show most of the south-east winds are still able to flow through very easily. 

Shopping Centre ~ Floor Plate Ideas

Ok. So the whole aim if the floor plates is to provide easy flow through the site, allow for easy thorough fair and allow as much light to enter and glass as possible. The other day I came up with the idea of designing the floor plates around a centralized 'dome' of light which is on the level of the park?

In doing so, it had to be multilevel with different voids and approaches to make it feel rather spacious as well as giving visual contact to the outside world. How can I do this? Instead of making it like a glass box, if I position the floor plates around the outer skirts giving central attraction to the 'atrium' (being the centre point) navigation/light and visual connection through glazing can all be achieved.

Centre atrium depicting the shape and form of the floor plates around it.

3 Levels for the internal shopping centre. Keeps the connection with the park on the roof to a minimum.

In addition to the centre atrium, I also thought about including a river like glass piece across the whole site in the roof which will also give extra natural light but also develop soft touches if it were a penetrated piece.

Lighting effects just through simple penetrations.

Same principle idea as above however just a lot more holes which gives a different play of light. 

From the two examples above with the roofing penetrations, I think that for a shopping centre which is attempting to be a very bright space in itself, the larger penetrations are far more appropriate in conveying this message.

Floor plate design idea

Shopping Centre ~ Tutorial

What is the main role and goal of this development??
If we look specifically with retail, around the world retail centres have become iconic places in major cities. In some way this does come down to the physical size of the shopping centre and the types of outlets it has, however architecture itself can make this an interesting experience. Not feeling trapped is a good way to start! With approximately 20,000 m2 of commercial office space, up to 80 units and a shopping mall, this site could be looking at getting around 10,000+ visitors per day. From a realistic perspective, a developer has a range of aspects in which they can generate income from the site. It still will remain minimalistic in a sense but they will have lots of space to rent out or sell off making it a viable option for development. On top of this, it will hold one of the main monorail stations within the entire city which generates extra traffic to pass through each day.

World's Largest Shopping Centre ~ Dubai

The shopping centre is the one part of this assignment that has been bugging me the most. I have not given it as much thought as I have for the residential building however I do have a very strong vision for this shopping centre. My concept with this shopping centre is all about light! Light and visually having a connection of your location in regards to the outside of the Myer centre. Currently when you are inside the Myer centre, you have little connection if any with the outside world apart from some parts of the roof. I think this a vital connection which needs to be made because it makes the users feel more comfortable when being inside and they do not feel like they are lost. If they have this feeling then they will be sure to hang around for longer and possibly purchase more items! :)

When I spoke with Davor I really struggled to show exactly how this was going to work. He liked the idea and agreed with me that the Myer centre does make you feel like you are trapped inside. I wanted to try and make it feel like floating floors in the middle of the building however it was not working very well. I have some ideas of how I can still achieve the main goal. Let me sketch them!

Resolved Floor Plans ~ Buildings

The buildings finally have resolved floor plans! Firstly both buildings start above the actual shopping centre as shown in the below image. The residential building has been fully solve to the very point of simply being built and the customer moving in, however the commercial building has been left as a shell with only the basics. Fire exits, bathroom facilities, lifts, risers & garbage chutes have all been considered in the plan however the actual set out of the offices has not been. This has been left for the actual tenant to fit out as they wish.

Basic Section ~ Identifies the location of the plans

Residential ~ Reception Level - *On top of the shopping centre

Residential ~ Typical floor plan. Each floor has a 2 bedroom unit and a 3 bedroom unit. 

Commercial ~ Typical floor plan. Left open for internal development by tenants.