Communication Strategies

My strategies to the presentation consisted in using the slides to explain the development of the project, showing the firsts ideas and how they developed, as we were going to receive guests I wanted to show the process and steps that I took for creating my Museum of Mullumbimby. For the A1 I wanted to show the final result and I picked some strategic drawings and diagrams that I found to be more suitable to explain how my project works.

Final A1

Final Model

From Entries to Exits - Experiences and Perceptions.

 

    From the start point of the conception of the project - as I knew that because of the flood hazard the building was elevated from the floor and as a consequence of that it was not accessible for people with difficulties of locomotion - I wanted to develop a way that would make both the original and the extension building more accessible and for that I created a new floor plan, also elevated from the floor as I recognize and respect that it's a important feature for the building, but I also made a series of new stairs and ramps connecting it to the floor and also connecting the extension to the original block.

   My wish to make the hole project accessible manifested in the interior of the new building where I introduced an elevator as one of the options for vertical circulation so people with difficulties to use the stairs can reach the second floor. 

    As the original site presents a car way inside that had to be removed for the positioning of the new building, I created another one, more dislocated to the left, to ease the access to the waste area and to provide a appropriate area where vehicles that are going to deliver goods for the museum can stop.

    The exposition area in the second floor received its own entries because I wanted that the other areas of the building could be used at nightime, so even if the exposition area is closed and the old building is closed, it can still have nocturnal workshops, and the auditorium can have presentations and performances, and the coffee shop can work during dinners and make popcorn during the  nights with open cinema - I didn't want my project to be limited by the commercial hours.
    Two stairs leads to the second floor and for each of them there's one entrance for the exposition area, the stair of the suspended block was a way to avoid a dead end in the project.
     I searched to 

Architectural Presence, Significance and Value.

    In the project for the Museum of Mullumbimby I tried to create a flexible space able to attract people of different ages and attend a long range of activities in its interior. The square is the focal point because I wanted to have inside the museum  a space for social interaction and that happens with the fountain, which is the main element that I took from my Community Node, with the market which I took into consideration during the synthesis of the space and the building itself, with the opportunity for nigh time activities as the open cinema and it also has a great potential to receive presentations and shows. The square is a place where parents can take their children to play in a safe and refreshing area, where people can go to sell and buy things, eat, rest, meet, chat, surf the internet - infinite possibilities. 

     For the uses of the building my great concern was to give the people and visitors of Mullumbimby the chance to get into contact with the local culture, that is very connected to the art fields, as it has space for them to expose their work and to make performances and also to learn and improve their skills with the computer and arts workshops, which I believe that will be specially attractive for elderly people that usually have more difficulty with technology and . 

    Above all I tried to create a space that is entertaining and vivid, as the city posses a more antique general image and a very quiet lifestyle with already a wide range of places that people can relax and stay in silence my wish was to make something different, new and expressive. A place that would make a strong connection to the younger generations - attract them and provide opportunities for them to socialize and to go out at night, as a lot of them still can not frequent the city pubs - but also wouldn't neglect the older generations and would deliver possibilities and interesting activities for them as well. I believe that the extension for the Museum of Mullumbimby can give the city a more actual feeling and perhaps open a discussion about utilizing architecture as a way to the renovate and to make the city of Mullumbimby more stimulating and attractive for possible new dwellers.

Final Elevations

     By making modern addictions clearly recognizable as such I wanted to make a formal contrast and signal that the building has been given a new purpose and new uses and, in that way, make people curious and seduced by the new and unusual presence and what it beholds.

    The respect for the original building and the surrounding environment is observed in the positioning of the extension as it stays behind the older block of the museum from the sight of the street, which is the first that people sees when coming to the museum, by the height of the new block that is considering the original, and also that it can be completely removed without leaving any traces if the building's purpose should change in the future.

    By creating the suspended block I wanted not only to give more free space for people to use and delight but also wanted to preserve the view from the riverside and the green area in the back part of the site.

Architectonic Solutions - Structures, Materials and Finishes

    The structural system for the Museum of Mullumbimby had it bases formed in the Community Node Project, which was a pre-cast structure made of steel.  By choosing the same structure I wanted to create a visual connection to my Community Node but also, I believe that a pre-cast structure would be appropriate to the museum as it is changeable - it is modular and it can grow or shrink  according to different necessities and uses - and also permit the space to be more flexible as the layout can be modified, new rooms can be created, removed, increased or decreased to adapt to new opportunities or new attractions of the museum.  The pre-cast structure is also more sustainable and if in the future the city wants to use that space for something different the building could be dismantled and replaced or its elements could be reused in different constructions and also the steel is recyclable. 

For last I wanted to create a contrast using new materials and by doing so highlight that the building is something new, is something more technological and exiting in a city that is calm and visually old. I believe that this image is appealing and seductive in its peculiarity and distinctiveness, especially for the younger generations that can relate more easily with that modern feeling transmitted by the extension building. Despite the wish to bring a more current/modern feeling to the space I tried to guarantee that the original construction would be the central point of the main facade and that the presence of the new building behind it would be noticed from the street in a discrete manner, that would be able to entice the visitors inside the site, without outstanding the original and respecting the proportion and the height of it.

    The use of pre-cast structure conjured some obstacles and the elevator was one of them. I didn't want to break with the benefits of the general structure by putting a reinforced concrete wall to hold the elevator so I looked for a solution that could be used with the steel posts and that wouldn't need a machine room - so the roof would stay intact.

    Above there is a example of elevator using steels posts and beams as structure and without machine room. As the height of the second floor is 4.5m, because of the exposition area, it would be appropriate to use this kind of elevator that needs a double height ceiling to compensate the elimination of the room machine.

    For the interior walls I also wanted to go for a pre-cast element that could be moved and I picked dry-wall, as the building has double stories height the simplest dry-wall system with one steel stud structure wouldn't be able to withstand the forces/weight so I used a double steel stud structure, also because I wanted to use the same type of wall in the hole project, including the toilets, and this system allows the passage of water pipes and sewage.

        Section ot the Community Node project


    The fountain in the central square will work using a system that is similar to my Community Node cascade, where water continuously circulates with the help of pumps and motors before falling back into the shallow pool, and when the fountain is turned off the water goes to a underground reservoir. The floor in the pool area is made of concrete so the pool can be formed and not drain but strategic positioned drains will direct the water to the reservoir. In my vision all the floor of the square will have drains that not only takes the fountain water to the reservoir but also can capture the rainwater so it can be reused in the maintenance and cleaning of buildings.

  Final sections demonstrating the definitive structure and the spans.