Final Model

Final Drawings

Model Progress

Final Design Development

More Precedents

TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL ARCHITECTURE

OTHER INSPIRATIONAL IMAGES RECOMMENDED BY MY TUTOR

Concept Sketches and Test Models

Initial Plan and Section

Fragmentation and Origami

Fragmentation and Origami were concepts and inspirations for my design.
Fragmentation ties in with the idea of Chora and splitting the building.
Fragmentation and Origami can both be used in a sculptural way in the forms of the building as well as for a facades of the building. They can be used to engage people and achieve indirect natural lighting.

The Image above shows the application of origami and fragmentation to an earlier version of my facade.

Concept Sketches

Initial Design Idea

Precident Studies

Chora

Chora is Plato's idea of the space inbetween. The gallery is being designed for contemporary Aboriginal art, which is influenced by traditional Aboriginal culture as well as contemporary society, thus I have applied the idea of Chora to try and find the space inbetween and have done this through splitting the building into 2 sections.

Key Ideas

Biomimicry

Biomimicry has been used in the building in some of the forms, these are not all used in the final design but they were influential in determining the forms of the initial design. Biomimicry is still seen in the landscaping of the outdoor courtyard and somewhat in the form of the gallery space.

More Inital Ideas

Narrative and Philosophy behind Gallery

A young man wants to open a gallery in Newtown to display and sell contemporary Aboriginal art. The commercial aspect of the gallery should be downplayed and the building should be a reflection of ideas that are key to Aboriginal culture and art. There should be gallery space for paintings as well as installations with the possibility of a performance space.
The interior of the gallery should be well lit with as much indirect natural light as possible, the interior should be like a blank canvas focusing attention on the art. The exterior of the building should be more playful and engaging to draw people into the space.
There should be a logical transition between the gallery (public) space and the apartment (private space). The apartment should be self contained and have access externally and through the gallery. It should be compact but large enough for a young family.

Artist and Word Exploration

Judy Napangardi Watson was born in 1935 in the central Australian desert, she belongs to the Warlpiri people and growing up lived a traditional nomadic lifestyle. Judy's work mostly depicts Mina Mina (an important womens dreaming site) and the dreaming connected with it. This includes things such as women, the honey ant, snake vine and digging stick. The main Jukurrpa story told in her paintings is that of the journey of a group of women who travelled to the east gathering food, collecting snake vine and performing ceremonies.
Judy's paintings are contemporary she uses techniques such as dragged dotting in her paintings, they also have a very vibrant use of colour which reflects her energy as a person. Although her paintings are contemporary they still tell of the sacredness of place and song in her culture.

WORD EXPLORATION

the follow is a list of words that the paintings evoke for me

organic
journey
discovery
creation
curving
connection
place
ritual
celebration
growing
developing

Initial Ideas and Research

While at the site I saw an Aboriginal artist selling her art work on the street, this prompted me to bias my research towards the Aboriginal heritage of the area.

NEWTOWN RESEARCH

• King st is the main street that runs through Newtown and most shops ans significant landmarks come off this street. King st runs along part of a ridge that rises from the coast, it also follows a trading route of the Eora Aboriginal people.
  
• Newtown got its name from a grocery shop that was opened in the 1830's and it became a residential and farming area.
  
• During the depression the area became quite run down, as did many other inner city suburbs, after the war it attracted a large amount of European migrants with its low house and rent prices.
• The proximity to Sydney University has changed the demographic of the area, creating a bohemian atmosphere.

After this research I looked into some contemporary Aboriginal Artists to find one that I felt would suit my project.

Site Analysis

Site selection and visit

After visiting the 3 sites in Newtown I decided that I would like to develop my project on site 3, below are photographs taken of the site during my visit.