Above and Below, Newtown Movies Final Design (Second Year, Second Semester)

Above and below is a multipurpose complex sited on numbers 14, 12 and 4 Arney Street. It provides the Newtown community with three cinema spaces (two 46 seaters and one 106 seater), a large bar space which can be split into two different areas when needed, a performance venue that can easily support musical acts and other larger events, a café space, gallery space, two conference/office spaces and a public seating and outdoor area.

The main design drivers for Above and Below were “clarity” and “connection”. This essentially meant providing a distinct connection between the two adjacent streets to the site, Arney and Ferguson. Ferguson being located 4 metres above the Arney street level provided the opportunity to create a large set of stairs which would be for general public use making a clear and creative link between the two previously unconnected streets. This connection between the two streets was then used in the design of the building itself creating a “void of circulation” that cut a distinct path through the building. The verticality of this void space was emphasized to make it a distinct area of circulation utilising stairs and ramps to connect other parts of the building. The void of this space was extremely important as it would allow for a visual connection between Arney and Ferguson Streets which would encourage public use of the stairs and also the complex itself.

To cater for all ages and disabilities a ramp was incorporated into the design in a similar way the circulation void was. The ramp runs through the main bulk of the building becoming a defining threshold for the spaces either side of it. This combination of stairs and ramp split the building form into three distinct areas, both in the horizontal plane and the vertical plane.

Movement through the Above and Below complex is defined in three different modes, the stairs which sit at 35 degrees, the six degree ramp and the vertical/90 degree lifts which are also provided in the building. These three modes are reflected in the overall structure of the design. The structural from which creates the building shell is comprised of components angled at 90, 35 and 6 degrees. These structural forms also created two dinstinctly different facades for the building which mirror the programmes around them well. The Arney street façade opens out and up to street at a grand scale pointing out towards the commercial area of Newtown and the typically busy Riddiford Road. On the Ferguson street side amongst more residential buildings the façade is at a much more human and subtle scale before the structural forms shoot out towards Arney Street.

Above & Below, Newtown Movies Part A (Second Year, Second Semester)

Above and below is a cinema & community space proposed for numbers 4, 12 & 14 arney street. The design explores a buildings ability to create vastly different spaces within itself, and the contrast and transition between these spaces. It provides restaurant and function opportunities and a small performance arena for musical acts.

The design came down to two choices for how I would approach the facades on Arney and Ferguson Street, creating an architectural form of clarity or of obscurity.

Infill Housing Newtown (Second Year, Second Semester)

In 1999 newtowns only basketball hall was destroyed by a fire and never rebuilt. This infill house provides the community with a court and community garden space which can be used by all ages. The house on the property is for a retired couple from a sporting background who want to give back to the community through the maintenance and caretaking of these spaces. The design is based on a combination of stadium seating and watch tower architecture creating an “overseeing” architecture for the clients to reside in.

The site is located at 70 Daniell Street in the heart of the Newtown community one of Wellington City's richest suburbs.

Student Housing Project (Second Year, First Semester)

This project was based around medium density student housing. The site is located on the corner of Tasman and Rugby Streets in Wellington City.

Three typologies were designed 3, 5 and 6 person flats based around a communal courtyard space. The 6 man flat typology was explored further and more developed than the other two typologies. The form for the three buildings was based around the basic square. This square was then cut in two different places and the new pieces were slid and pushed to create three distinct buildings, the space created by these buildings becoming the shared courtyard space.

Peka Peka Batch Design, Technical Drawings (Second Year, First Semester)

In this project a small batch design was developed and detailed in accordance with NZS3604.

Barriers & Thresholds (First Year, Second Semester)

This project looked at the different barriers, physical and visual, and different thresholds that occur in architecture.

The Parasitical Folly (First Year, Second Semester)

This architectural folly project looked at the parasitical relationship between the cockroach and the wasp. Focusing on the way the jewel wasp burrows insides the cockroach and destroys it from the inside. From this I began to look at how spaces could be scoured out, having what seemed like an undamaged exterior to the complete desolation of the interior. I used the incredible colour contrast between the bright wasp and dull cockroach to help distinguish what in the space had been desolated/scoured and what had been the cause of this desolation. The colour contrast became a clear way to establish the parasite and host within the folly. As modelling developed, I began to look more at how the wasp creates a cocoon inside the cockroach shell and investigated the idea of space within space.

The final solution is a scoured outer shell that is dull and grungy. Inside the folly is the "space within a space" a bright cocoon shape with an explosion of colour coming out of it. This shape dominates the interior and heavily contrasts the dull damaged interior walls of the surrounding shell. The colour explodes out further in the folly bursting its way through the outer casing looking for the next space to destroy and scour out. Users walk past the folly and see the rough outer shell and the colour explosion protruding out in places. This encourages them to investigate further and they can move into the folly and see the destruction and desolation caused by this brightly contrasting interior space.