Victoria Museum Exemplar

The Victoria Museum is currently exhibiting a really similar theme that I am using for my first indoor exhibition space: endangered animals and biodiversity


Wild: Amazing animals in a changing world features a spectacular display of more than 780 birds, mammals and reptiles to highlight the importance of biodiversity and the ways in which it is under threat. As well as showing the incredible variety of animals found in different parts of the world, the exhibition also tells stories of how people are working to conserve wildlife, and what we can do to make a difference.

source: http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-news/2010/wild-design-recognised/

The idea of using interactive screens within this hall would benefit the space as it would get the students really involved in the learning experience

source: http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-news/2010/wild-design-recognised/

This above image shows an amazing layout that incorporates several different species and types of animals in the one area

Spacial Planning

Detail of Spaces:


Lobby Area - more for when public visit the centre 
Indoor Exhibition Hall 1 - Biodiversity / Endangered Animals
- includes exhibition cabinets of previously extinct animals and aquarium of aquatic animals that are under threat

Source: Steinhard Aquarium: California Academy of Sciences

Presentation Room / Class Room - teaching the students about biodiversity and how this relates to endangered animals
Outdoor Exhibition Hall - Continues on with biodiversity and eco systems, incorporates area for the students to plant in the gardens provided and also includes presentation area where live endangered animals will be brought in to show the students - also includes green wall
Lunch Space - Possibly an outdoor lunch area as well but might have to make this enclosed interior space instead. 
Outdoor Play Space - both this and ex. hall 1 will be covered by a retractable roof in the case of bad weather. Play Space will include jungle gym type equipment that they can play on after they have eaten lunch. Includes natural disaster themed equipment and also incorporates activities relating to the floods
Indoor Exhibition Hall 2 - Climate Change and Natural Disasters - includes possible earthquake simulation room??
Presentation Room / Class Room - teaching the students about climate change and natural disasters - viewing of an Al Gore documentary but for students - links onto a green roof - includes viewing deck of HSW site? 

quick sketching exercise

insert photos of sketching exercise here

Clay models

My tutor Dan suggested that I did a clay modelling exercise to see if I can get past this point that I am currently struggling with... the final layout and design. I know that I want an open-plan, organic-feel and for the overall design to appear as light and not just as heavy large spaces. I am currently struggling with this stage as I can not decide which form to take for the design. The following images were some of the small layouts that I created with clay:

The 'green' building is an idea I had for a greenhouse that would back up onto the cliff face. In hindsight I don't think this would work too well and the cliff would probably overshadow the small (in comparison) height of the building. It could be a good idea to move the building away from the cliff face so that it does not become overpowered. 

 
This exercise was somewhat helpful in looking at the spaces in different layouts but I really need to start drawing out the overall design sequence of the building before I do any more modelling 

Presentation Testing

First attempt at testing this style of presentation: 

This is obviously a reeaallyy rough example of what I could do for my final presentation but  I think that it shows how a simple sketch design can look impressive when it is filmed and the speed is then increased on the overall movie.

I think that this would be a really effective way to present some parts of my building - the site analysis, core concepts and development process would work well in this format

The final rendered drawings would obviously then follow the working progress sketches etc 

Narrative

This is my first attempt at the narrative that Dan, our tutor asked us to write:


Once we got off the bus we could immediately see out over the Brisbane River, we walked alongside it and underneath the Story Bridge until we came up to this large building in front of us. we walked inside and were greeted by a lady and a man who introduced themselves and welcomed us to the centre. They said that they were our guides/teachers for the day and to follow them through to the first exhibition hall - The Biodiversity and Endangered Animals Hall. We walked through and immediately saw all of these dead animals everywhere - some I recognised but others I didn't. As we kept walking slowly through the exhibition we suddenly saw this large room in front of us and were instructed to walk in - inside was a large aquarium filled with hundreds of fish! After looking through the exhibition for a while and reading about all the ecosystems that exist and this thing called biodiversity, we walked up this large staircase, along/down a hallway that was all glass on one wall so that you could see out over the entire river and then into this smaller room where we all sat down and started learning about biodiversity and the endangered animals of Australia and the world. After that we went back downstairs and outside to a large open courtyard area filled with lots of trees and greenery, after learning about all of the ecosystems and the environment we then go to plant some seeds and plants into this large garden. The teachers then told us that it was time for the next presentation so we sat down outside among the trees and this man appeared in front of us with this amazing animal (insert endangered animal) he talked about its rare chance of survival after having the species almost wiped out after the most recent bush fires / floods and it was really interesting. After that we moved over/into another outside area/inside room and had our lunch - we then got to play on this amazing playground that had natural disaster style equipment / big fake rain forest style playground/ incorporate floods. After playing around and eating lunch we walked past this large wall that looked like it was made entirely of plants/ trees and through to the next large space which the teacher told us was the climate change and natural disasters hall. After walking around this huge room for a while e walked into a smaller one and the room suddenly began to shake like an earthquake it was so cool
we were then told that that is what it would feel like to be in an earthquake and what to do. We moved upstairs into another similar classroom to the one earlier that although this one had a huge screen and was really dark - we watched a movie about climate change and what is happening to our environment and how we can help (similar to Al Gore's documentary but for kids) and then had some talks about the natural disasters in Australia and the world which are a result of this. We walked back downstairs and out along the front of the building through many trees. It was a really great day I learnt so much and the building was amazing! 

Exemplar - Celtic Museum

The following exemplar shows a completely opposite idea to a light and open-aired space. The Celtic Museum by Kada Wittfeld Architektur is a denser, more simplified and condensed design style that could also be a possibility when designing my learning centre: 

This museum is a much heavier approach to incorporating all of the spaces required within a museum

This image shows how the interior of the museum would not be suitable for young children or students due its to harshness/coldness. The spaces are obviously not designed for younger occupants and therefore it does not cater to my proposed design.

This image shows how the large glass screen opens the building up to the picturesque views - something that would be highly beneficial in my design considering that the main view is of the Brisbane river directly in front of the site

One again this type of courtyard area would be appropriate for my site as it would open views out to the river and Story Bridge

The above exemplar shows another different style of design that I could work towards for my proposed design. The open views out onto the countryside relate directly to the open views that I will be aiming to achieve within my building.

Exemplar - Underground Museum of History of Lugo

The following exemplar shows a good way in order to reduce the usual bulky or heavy designed Museum types. This is a central point for me as I want my design to appear as both light and open but still maintain those large interior spaces within the building. This exemplar shows how to do such a thing by building underground. 


Interactive Museum of the History of Lugo by Nieto Sobejano Architects:                                

From the top it appears as if the museum is quite small and minimalist

In this image you can see that the spaces are open and light even though the main material of weathered steel appears quite heavy. Visitors enter the space down the spiralling staircase that leads to the outdoor open courtyard- something that I would like to incorporate into my design

This image shows how the spaces are still well developed and large

From the exemplar I have drawn on the ideas of including large open courtyards as my outdoor spaces (possibly also for the outdoor play space), the use of weathered steel as a good option for one of the main materials and also that the idea of going underground could possibly benefit my building greatly.

Image

Interesting image showing technology incorporated with green ideas: 

I want to aim for my design to amalgamate these two ideas of 'green' buildings and modern day technology that can be used in a way to benefit my design

Further Development of Environmental Learning Spaces

After looking at the examples in the previous post I have decided that two of the main exhibition / learning spaces will teach the students visiting about Climate Change and Energy Use and therefore go on to look at Natural Distasters. In relating back to the video that we watched last week I think that while teaching the students these serious and important issues they still need to be taught in a way that is creative and fun. The inclusion of natural disasters will hopefully engage the students as they will be looking at such things as Cyclones, Tornados, Tsunamis, Floods and Fires, all topics that can be taught in a really interesting way. 
Examples of movies that have been about natural disasters (to an exaggerated extent)
1st Learning Area:
Focused on Climate Change, Energy Use and Natural Disasters that are a product of these
Some Possible Activities for students:
- Analysing their schools electricity bill for last 21 months
- Calculating how much electricity they are using
- Presentation on energy use, where electricity comes from
- Explain greenhouse effect
- Explain climate change_ explain effects of climate change
- Explain different types of natural disasters (this area will interest kids greatly)
- Measure energy devices and different appliances used in their school 
- Identify and record wastage
- Developing strategies for the school and in their daily lives

The best learning method for this type of subject would be interactive, team work type things.
The students can be engaged through an interactive learning centre space that is based on the natural disasters that are caused by climate change and energy use. The area will aim to be exciting but also not too distracting for the students to learn in.

2nd Learning Area:
Focused on Biodiversity and Extinct Animals
Some Possible Activities for Students:
- Explain biodiversity
- Highlight species extinction rates and implications for life on earth
- How to measure biodiversity
- Assess their schools habitiat and garden areas 
- Look at the potential biodiversity of these areas in their school
- Examine their schools environment from an aerial view (google earth) and look at further ways to increase the health of local habitats
- Explain possible further ways to improve the schools grounds in relation to biodiversity
- Students will then receive a post-visit report that outlines each of the findings


The students will be engaged in this area of learning through the incorporation of the animals into the sessions. Live animals that are nearing extinction will be living in the aquarium and aviary in order to show the students and also to help in reducing their severity of extinction with possible breeding centres. Other larger animals that are nearing extinction will be brought in to show the children how real the subject is and the implications on these animals in regards to biodiversity.


It is important to create exciting and interactive modes of learning to successfully teach the students that will be using the centre. Using these two previous subjects I think it will be possible to excite and entice the children into learning about Natural Disasters and Animal Extinction. 

Development of environmental spaces through Exemplar

Development of 2 Indoor and 1 Outdoor Presentation Space:
Educational Centre to be focused on environmental factors and ways to improve the environment


Possible activities to include could be:
(Ideas sourced from Brewongle Environmental Education Centre in NSW)

Energy Audits:

•  Pre-Visit: Brewongle will request a copy of the school’s electricity bills for the past 12 months. These bills will be used on the day to calculate the amount of electricity the school is using on a day to day basis.

• Energy Use and Climate Change (30min): Where does our electricity come from? What is the Greenhouse Effect? What is Climate Change? What are some of the effects of Climate Change?

• Energy Using Devices in Your School (30min): Calculate and tabulate the approximate number of energy using devices in the school / classroom. Identify and record any evidence of energy wastage.  

• Measuring Energy Usage (45min): Measure the energy usage rates of a variety of appliances. Determine the energy use of a classroom and calculate its carbon footprint. Create a scenario and measure the potential energy use of a student in one day.

• The Electricity Bills (30min): Investigate the school’s electricity bills for the past 12 months. Calculate the amount of energy used in a year, a day, per student and the cost. Compare these findings with Department of Education and Training’s goals for energy use.

• Alternative Energy Sources (30 min): Demonstrate and investigate a number of alternative energy and energy saving devices.

• Developing Strategies (30min): Discuss the findings with the students and consider possible solutions. Divide the students into small groups and focus on developing strategies the school might adopt to improve its energy use and management. 

• Report: Brewongle will provide the school with a post-visit report that details the results of the audit. Brewongle can assist in incorporating the audit results into the School Environmental Management Plan and / or your National Solar Schools Program. 

Biodiversity Audit:

• What is Biodiversity? (30min): Examine Australia’s rich biodiversity. Why is biodiversity important? Highlight species extinction rates and the implications for life on Earth.
• How to Measure Biodiversity (10min): Explain the features of a healthy habitat and the method for conducting a habitat assessment.

• Habitat Assessment (30min): Conduct a habitat assessment of a garden / area of your school. Measure the heights of trees, identify key plant species and record incidental wildlife sightings.

• Invertebrate Survey (30min): Search, collect and identify invertebrates found in the garden / area from which you have conducted the habitat assessment.

• Analysing results (10min): Discuss findings and evaluate the health and potential biodiversity of the garden/ area within your school.

• Google Earth (10min): Examine aerial images of your school to better understand the broader local environment and consider possible solutions to increasing the health of local habitats

• Developing Strategies (30min): Discuss the findings with the students and consider possible solutions. Divide the students into small groups and focus on developing strategies the school might adopt to improve its use and management of school grounds. 

• Report: Brewongle will provide the school with a post-visit report that details the results of the audit. Brewongle can assist in incorporating the audit results into the School Environmental Management Plan and / or your National Solar Schools Program.

Based on researching into this particular environmental centre and seeing how it benefits from being in such a natural setting.. my design should focus more on technological side of things considering that the only natural element to the site is the river.

Therefore: the building should also incorporate water system research and testing

Similar to this Water Audit taken from Brewongle:
Pre-visit: The centre will request a copy of the school’s water bills for the past 12 months and an A3 size map of the school. These bills will be used on the day to calculate the amount of water the school is using on a day to day basis and the map for the stormwater activity.
The Importance of Fresh Water (30min): Demonstrate the Earth’s fresh water supplies, revise the water cycle, examine a typical water using device, identify water pollution and discuss the importance of water to all living things.
Water Using Devices in Your School (30min): Calculate and tabulate the approximate number of water using devices in the school. Identify and record any evidence of water leaks or wastage.  

Measuring Water Usage (30min): Measure the flow rates of taps and bubblers and the flushing volume of toilets. Create a scenario and measure the potential water use of a student in one day.

The Water Bills (30min): Investigate the school’s water bills for the past 12 months. Calculate the amount of water used in a year, a day, per student and the cost. Compare these findings with Department of Education and Training’s targets for water use.

Stormwater (30min): Identify a number of stormwater pits and determine their catchments and direction of flow. List all polluting materials found within the catchments and consider possible pollutants that are not necessarily visible.

Google Earth (10min): Observe aerial views of the school and identify the local waterway into which the stormwater flows. Discuss possible implications for the local waterway from pollution in the stormwater.

Developing Strategies (30min): Discuss the findings with the students and consider possible solutions. Divide the students into small groups and focus on developing strategies the school might adopt to improve its water use and management. 

Report: We will provide the school with a post-visit report that details the results of the audit. The centre can assist in incorporating the audit results into the School Environmental Management Plan and / or your National Solar Schools Program.

I know that this is a lot of writing and may seem somewhat boring but I think that all of these ideas are a good base for the type of spaces that I want to create within my building. 

Week 10 Tutorial

In the tutorial Dan showed us a video (attached below) which showed how to effectively present an idea through video montages, panning and zoom in conjunction with clear and concise drawing styles. The video also showed the importance of incorporating a hands on learning style for the children who will be using the proposed building and introducing a specific style of learning that caters to specific learning styles and academic levels of kids in primary school. 

The video discusses how the education system is out of date and unrealistic for the students of our time. The idea that some people are either academic (smart) or non-academic (not smart) is completely false and is derived only from the old style of teaching that is seen in most schools across the globe.  

Image taken from still of video depicting the old style of teaching that is prevalent in the current day school system

The video also talks about the mass epidemic of children being diagnosed with ADHD across America, which is also the case in Australia. This issue correlates directly to my proposed building design as it sparks thoughts of possible learning styles that will keep the attention span of all children in the class and not just the 'academic' ones. Interactive and Experiential Learning are two main ideas to draw from the video, which interestingly enough ties into my overall concepts perfectly.

Image showing the modern epidemic of ADHD diagnosis in children in the States

Image showing the idea of children being forced to learn in a completely uninspiring and 'old-school' style of way...which is the current day teaching style - ?

video can be accessed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U 

Collage

Collage relating to Exhibition Halls - Natural Disasters and Endangered Animals in Australia

First Building Design

Preliminary building design:

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Further exemplar work

Most influential exemplar during this assignment - Steven Holl
I was greatly influenced by several of his large scale works that are all impressive, inventive and challenging day to day designs. The most inspiring of Holl's works personally is the Institute for Contemporary Art, Virginia Commonwealth University in the states. The large scale building design incorporates several open, awe-inspiring spaces that create the building and the atmosphere inside. The following images show these spaces:

Site Analysis - Linkages and Experiential Learning

Site Analysis in relation to my key concepts: LINKAGES & EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING