Week 4 - Etoile Filante

Final Outcome

Throughout the development of Brisbane, Howard Smith Wharves is one of the prime locations within the city that was never able to be utilized to its fully potential. the concept behind creating a Folie is the first of many steps which will allow a complete refurbishment of the site, a refurbishment that will utilize and maximise the qualities of Howard Smith Wharves.

When walking towards the site, one cannot be but overwhelmed by the polarisation of the views. The cold yet impressive structure of the bridge is opposed by the calm view of the city reflecting up on the river.

it is through those first experiences that we were inspired to take advantage of the building and its panoramic views. These elements were then chosen to be incorporated into our Folie building on an educational experience. it is the educational experience and the elements of both the bridge and the views that formed the foundation of the conceptual design.

Etoile Filante is situated below the bridge in order to provide an alternative method of transportation for people to cross the river. The design is based around the experience of providing people with new prospectives upon their surroundings. While entering Etoile Filante on finds themselves within a dark room illuminated by multiple light shafts and the artificial night sky. An illusion is created through the constant movement of the wall which skews people's sense of direction. The light emitted from the central entryway invites the guests to explore the lower level. A new perspective is unveiled upon entering the viewing platform; one is wrapped in a rhapsody of views by the 360 panoramic scene.

Through the experiences outlined above, the different steps of the journey enable people to gain new perspectives and knowledge of the surroundings. Not only is there this learning experience, but both spaces provide two ethereal atmospheres for people to enjoy.

The first stage of this design is to have the path of Etoile Filante end at the first set of pillars. Ultimately, this design also provides an option for future expansions. this future expansion would allow Etoile Filante to cross the river providing both a unique and a memorable experience for everyone.

Image 2: Montage of entry

Week 3 - Design Directions

The Folie so far

- emphasizes on learning through experience

- a change of perception

- Folie hangs under the bridge, accessible via walkway

- it travels slightly across the bridge (not extending site perimeters)

- the light comes in through peepholes

- Folie spins and interior space drops out underneath "shell" to a 360 degree view of city

Problems

Feedback from tutors say that the design is too complex, there is too much going on at once. 

An greater emphasis on what is the experience of the space/room instead of on the mechanics of the Folie. 

It was proposed that our Folie would travel across the bridge (future expansion) however there are pillars that would prevent it from doing so. Tutors also suggest to focus more on the 'now' rather than include designing for future expansion. 

Folie would still travel along the bridge a bit, however what are the mechanisms we can use to enable this?

Solution

After many attempts at re-designing the space, trying to eliminate unnecessary elements, it was decided to focus on the experience and eliminate the inner space dropping down. This gave an additional advantage as we now have the full 5m (height) to work with.

Research suggests using a cable system to allow the Folie to travel along the bridge, this worked well as the design was simple and easy to understand. 

Render of how the rotation and cable system works

To take advantage of the 5m height allowance but also remain integral to our original design, it was decided that the there would be an upper and lower space, separated via steps. The concept of the dark and light space is still evident as the upper level is only illuminated via the light specs coming through and the bottom level an entire glassed space. Both spaces in it's essence are ethereally calming, a space which enables contemplation or light studying; the experiences through these two rooms allow new perceptions of the self and of the city to be born. 

Montage of upper floor atmosphere

An important detail in our Folie is that it was designed with the context in mind. taking inspiration from the patterns on the underside of the bridge, the pattern is replicated as the bottom of the Folie. So if viewing the Folie from underneath the bridge will be somehow camouflaged. It was a way to incorporate aspects from the context into the design. 

Image 1

 Image 1: Shows the design that allows the spinning movement using the cable system.
               Design of the underside of Folie inspired by actual pattern of the          bridge.
               Elevation of Folie.

Image 2: Odum, W (2012)

Image 2: Photograph of the underside of the bridge. Even though the Folie won't span the same width of the bridge, the pattern it is directly positioned underneath will be replicated.



Render of the Folie

Render

Week 3 - Initial Concepts

The concepts proposed in the initial discussion were very superficial. Ideas stemmed from the historical point of view and another was to have a modulated design for example, a cube, and people could move pieces around. The idea was for an interactive Folie and the whole design would be on tracks.

The brief for the Folie was quite detailed and that was a constraint itself, sometimes ideas would grow to be bigger and bigger and there was always a need to simplify the concepts.

There were two criteria's that were thought about the most was the that the maximum space of the Folie must not exceed a 5mx5mx5m measurement and that the it was a learning space. Eliminating the previous concepts we focused on "Learning." What is learning and how does one learn? From this we discussed that learning and education isn't purely through books and memorising facts, that's a traditional stereotype which we wanted to stay away from. A tutor mentioned to us that learning can be an experience and a feeling that arises though an event or action. So from this, we wanted to create a space where people can experience something totally new.

Ideas we wanted to incorporate- Folie hanging underneath the bridge
- Learning through experience/perception (Movement)
- The importance of light in the space
- Space within a space and the internal space retracts out from underneath the folie.

The initial concept was to have the Folie hanging below the story bridge accessed via a walkway from the road. When people enter the room, it's complete darkness with only light splicing through peepholes (very small so you can't see out of it). It's a disorienting feeling. Suddenly the room begins to vibrate, rotate and then the room drops down to reveal that they were in a glass box. They are able to see the city from a new location, the whole journey to that is a learned experience.

Chosen site for Folie

Site of the Folie

There were two concept sketches:

Concept 1

Concept 1: The initial drawing was very organic

Concept 2

Concept 2: Sketches of the form, light coming through and the rotation of the Folie.

Week 3 - Visiting The Site

The aim of the site visit was to obtain a sense and feel of the place and make some general observations regarding how local people use the space. The route that was taken to reach Howard Smith Wharves was along Elizabeth Street and then along Eagle Street. From there the Eagle Street pier leads a direct route to Story Bridge and Howard Smith Wharves is in direct visibility.

The following photos were taken along Eagle Street and Eagle Street Pier. 

Image 1

 Image 1: This was captured in a courtyard of one of the office buildings along Eagle Street. 

Image 2

 Image 2: The photo is captured from within an office building on Eagle Street. The visibility of Story Bridge is delightfully panoramic, one can see how it crosses the entire river. 

Image 3

 Image 3: Walking along the pier, this photo was taken to capitulate the impressive scale of the bridge.

Image 4

Image 4: The trusses of the bridge draws one's focus in an upward direction. 




Observations
The site visit was conducted from 11:45am to around 12:45pm. Most of the people walking about were people who had a 9am-5pm office job and were on their lunch break. Along Eagle Street there seems to be a really "rushed" vibe, people were walking fairly quickly to and from their destination. 

Another demographic group identified were people who were exercising, mostly joggers and cyclists on the pier.

After the lunch time rush, there doesn't seem to be as many people along the pier but a constant observation was that due to the impressive scale of the Story Bridge, the visibility of it can be seen from most of the places that were observed from.

Constraints
There are many different routes to use to access the site, unfortunately the route chosen limited the accessibility along Howard Smith Wharves. Better visibility or alternate perceptions would have been observed from using the CityCat Ferry or walking along Kangaroo Point Cliffs.

Construction was currently going on so there was a physical restraint to the site. 


Opportunities
A mindset that day was that whatever is to be designed must draw people's attention to the bridge. To take advantage of the bridge somehow as in it's monstrous scale can be seen from so many different places would help draw attention to the Folie.


The bridge currently used as a thoroughfare can be used to draw people to the Folie, or perhaps bring multiple uses to the bridge. 

Week 2 - Introducing The Site: Howard Smith Wharves

Constructed in the 1930's Howard Smith Wharves significant to Brisbane's history both historically and culturally.  


Historical Context
From mid 1930's to early 1960's the site was leased to the shipping company Howard Smith Co. Ltd. The construction of storage sheds and air-raid shelters were erected from the 1930's and 1940's respectively. Since the 1930's the Howard Smith Wharves has remained vacant, it is however registered as a heritage building in the Queensland Heritage Register.  



Recent Occurrences
The Howard Smith Wharves was not unaffected by the Brisbane floods in 2011 where high water levels saw the site inundated with water. 

In it's undeveloped state, it is a prime location to begin a refurbishment of the site to highlight and maximise its full potential.  The area accentuated in red is the boundaries the Folie has to be situated within.

Week 2 - Folie Design

"An activator of space," is the phenomenon that was used to describe a Folie by Yasu and by expounding on the word "activator" it implies that there is an agent which brings about activity. 

The Red Telephone Booths designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott is a excellent exemplar of a Folie. It acts as a signifier of space, people are drawn to it and it enables a unique way of identifying with London.

Holt, C. (2005)

It is these understandings which will be applied as the fundamental baseline to DAB510 Folie Design brief.