Some research i found on the Geelong City Council Strategic Plan,

• a vital part for the region is to have a DYNAMIC, VIBRANT, and SuCCESSFUL "heart" : this being Central Geelong where our site is.

• CeNTRAL GEELONG: the waterfront, city centre, western wedge, and eastern park.

• Visitors currently praise the public and street works

extracts from the GEELONG OPEN SPACE STRATERGY,

"Australian cities are also known by their open spaces; by the texture they give the urban areas, by their shaping of residential form, by the way bright, open areas provide a backdrop and buffer to infrastructure and industrial areas. . . Much of the open space in a commnuity provides a vital role in providing spaces for recreation both as active and passive leisure actrivites... they define landscapes, and establish a sense of place to that community."

we need to make sure our campus site contributes to this characteristics of the Australian Open Space.

GEELONG OPEN PLAN STRATERGY for our site location

• aims to connect Yarra Street, providing a direct link from Eastern Beach to South Geelon Station, and a second link from Limeburners Road to Boundary Road, connection to the existing Rail Trail at Carr Street. The exsisting trail moves along the bay out the front of our campus, neither proposed or exsisting trails come in direct contact with our site, yet they are considerations for our sites 'context'.

• The bulk of the towns development during the late 20th centruy radiates o naxis out from the central core. another consideration to our sites context.

• "Reinforcing always the stratergy of Geelong... of the city meets country lifestyle." Another consideration to go into our development.

This information was taken from the Geelong City Council Website.

So here is a green colour card and it looks nothing like the colour in real life, but its called mary's garden box, and its a dulux colour no. 242. We were discussing having one contionous colour for the skin around the buildings, and a green ties in very well with the whole ESD theme :)

i forgot to mention that the three buildings on our site really need to speak to each other. to be connected by a common element. so if we all have very organic structures with the skin wrapping around them and then quite square, geometric entrance ways into each building i think this can be something to keep the campus consistant and reconisable as one particular 'place'. I like the idea of four coloumn shapes at the entrance ways to keep in tune with the idea of 'university', it would create a sense of heritage and academia that still needs to show through the site, at the end of the day we are an institute, the Deakin Design Institute.

Well this week we lost another member and are now down to two people

:( but that is fine, we are up to individual work so we should be able to move through it. Here are some photos of a model i fixed up with skin wrapped around the site and buildings.

CRITERIA FOR SKIN

Must make refference to Sustainable Design
Must be all the same colour : Green
Must form part of the structure at different points
Must be continous from end to end

PUBLIC PLAZA in centre of MASTERPLAN

ANTICIPATION
the ribbon/ skin leads from three major points of the Geelong the city, the water, and the train staion and grow gradually as they bring the user into the site

EMBRACE
the square is surrounded by public buildings, buildings that are for commercial use to the public. There are four roads leading into the square too. these are all dead ends by the square cutting across their paths, showing a hierachy at this point of the city of human pedestrian over vehicles.

ACTIVE EDGES
these boundaries around the square will be shops and skin opening and closing

LINGERING SPACE
there is no profitable function for the plaza itself. it is an open space with various forms of seating and a intersection for pedestrians.

INCLINED VIEW
the plaza tilts towards the ocean views showing the control of the environment over human.

WATER
the ocean

COLOUR
Green: a play on Environmentally Sustainable Design

GHOSTS
Tunnels moving under the site from the old wool mills

CITY LIGHTS
Throughout the site

EVENT CITY
The plaza is a central space for night time functions or uni orientation events during the day

Design Concept

EDUCATION DESIGN ENVIRONMENT

The DDI is a waterfront campus celebrating education, design and the environment. Solid education is the starting point to any form of design, through education and practice, quality design can be created, also branching from education we are able to look after our precious gift of the natural environment.

MASTERPLAN CONCEPT
The site is a celebration to the capabilities of the human body. Starting with a ‘skin’ that wraps around and through the sub-campuses consisting of Multimedia, Fashion, Sustainability and the Industrial Design buildings, it is a covering to the ‘organs’ of campus life.

Stretching from other parts of the City of Geelong are follicles of anticipation that encourage the public to move into the centre of the site, which is the ‘heart’; an open public plaza which educates the public on design, the environment, and promotes much lingering.

OUR BUILDINGS in the Masterplan Scheme

Each building acts as an element. In our Sustainability Site, or our 'organ', the three buildings are all elements that contribute to successful function of the organs operation, and further more to the utility of the whole 'body' of the DDI.

www.eml.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/.../mvisual.html
Semi-Transparent Visualization of a Mouse Embryo displaying the skin covering of the organs.

Hey as we discussed this afternoon the selection of functions to buildings is as follows...

Bussiness : Jamie
-Conference Centre
-Staff Offices
-Proffessional suite
-School executive offices
-Reception and office for admin staff
-Computer server
-Ancillary space for management and maintenance.

Education : Hannah
-Research precinct
-Teaching spaces
-Design studio
-Computer labs
-Student facillities for support
-200 person lecture theatre

Public : Libby
-School Gallery
-Library for specific
-Commercial premises

Ok so our first review didn't go so crash hot. So let’s back track and review where we are coming from. I think we have an idea with no basis to it. We don’t really have a design concept to carry our idea of skin all the way through... So let’s start with precedents:

The Australian National Museum.

Design Concept
A site devoted to Australians and their stories. Displaying the stories of Australia and Australians, exploring the key issues, events and people that have shaped and influenced our nation.

LAND NATION PEOPLE

The jigsaw-like building wraps around the central Garden of Australian Dreams, a remarkable garden and cultural arena. The story of Australia is not one story, but many linked together. You become a part of the weave of Australian History

This is a concept that is very successful (it won a lot of awards) so I think we should follow it as our main precedent. Check out the images below and see how you can see the idea of skin been played out in the structures interior and exterior forms.

ps i dont know whats going on with the images!

Blog like you mean it

*sigh* this is one of those things like iPods and Myspace that all the sheep use and I detest the thought of using it...thankyou to an ever-so-kind friend who made me a stupid stupid myspace... This is yet another of those timeconsuming pointless exercises that this lovely course sees us doing. Alas it must be done...damn democracy.

Ok now to talk about design! I HATE cad!! I realised why it is that I don't use it for doing plans, mine turned out so awful! Such a bad reflection of the standard of work I expect of myself and could be doing were I not 'blogging' ...ugh. I might have to hand-draw it. Moving on...I have been experimenting with my concepts based on the original of the all-encompassing and ever-useful skin-path. I have been looking at organic structure, not in an architectural sense - skeletal, muscular nervous, as well as leaves and veins, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells amongst others.

This is an extention of our concept of the interconnection of all parts. Moving beyond concept to a drawn design is proving difficult. But I have had some (I think) great ideas. Abstractions of these organic structures physically joining spaces and structures etc.

well that's where I'm heading, I'll leave it at that for now.

testing one two two two ... three!