Presentation Slides

I wanted to keep the gritty Sin City inspired branding through both the physical and digital presentation. At the bottom of the slide I incorporated the honeycomb element to link the integrity of the project together and also establish a visual link between the scenario put forward in assignment 1.

Acknowledging the mining bubble I used various forecasts and predictions to give the bursting point a date in 2013. I wanted this to occur early in the timeline to allow for a long period of financial hardship for the context of the storey.

Acknowledging the cluster system and value placed on resources over money used in assignment 1, I was then able to springboard into the situation further.

I wanted to move away from the one person with authority and give a collective of people the chance to work together and create a better world for themselves.

This information above helped set the larger context of the narrative and justify why the character was to be laid off rom his job. The theory of the Hive was then able to be brought forward in the slides below.

These elements addressed by the design of the hive were able to be seen through the eyes and experiences of the characters in the narrative. The render below shows some of these elements in action.

The lower ground floor depicts the mix of new and existing infrastructure. The loading dock, carpark ramp, one storey buildings to the North, escalators and toilets/offices to the South-East remain. Both vehicle and pedestrian access are also shown. To the left where the above ground car-park used to be, the large space of the Australian native forest and garden can be seen.

The small vehicle navigation is clearly shown above. The new system of small cars allows fro a large percentage increase in the number of parking space.

The first basement level (shown above) is now used for a number of different uses, beneficial to both the residents of the Hive and the greater community. Sufficient general storage and bicycle storage are provided to residents. A solar plant to power the barbecues and washing systems is located on this level also along with both rain and great water tanks.

The element which is my favourite is the community food packaging and distribution area to the centre of the level. Local produce from the communal vegetable and herb garden along with fruit and other small crops from the larger native garden are collected and packed for distribution to the homeless population. This is a way for the people in the hive to give back to the community.

The pedestrian circulation to the typical upper floor plan above shows the importance placed on the catwalks to navigate between the residences and commercial parts of the Hive.

The typical unit skin to the Northern facade shows the treatment given to achieve the very authoritative feel seen by the character when he pulls into the driveway in the narrative. To create an eve without seeing it visually, a double skin is used. The secondary opening is from bi-folds that open up to reveal the primary open cut rectangular shaped open window that acts as a small balcony. This also gives privacy as the main public and resident garden is in front of this facade.

Both natural light and natural ventilation are brought into the depths of the structure through the three large atriums. Lovers to the top allow the hot air to escape and creating a natural circulation throughout. The angle of the atriums was designed to let the morning sun into the structure.

Personal touch is a big part of the human aspect of the Hive. I wanted residents to feel safe and structures yet also warm and pleasant. Small details such as handrails and internal cladding were addressed. The internal handrails on the catwalk balustrade are re-used timber balustrade hand rails from the now demolished Queenslanders in the area. The internal cladding is also form the external timber cladding from the decommissioned Queenslanders.

The idea of proximity to connect the residents of the hive was addressed by two elements. The lifts and the catwalks. The small number of lifts/stairs and narrow catwalks promoted  closer contact with people in the hive allowing conversations and possible friendships to arise.

The public pool at the corner of Latrobe Terrace and Warmington Street was designed to promote both public and resident interaction. The design was inspired by the original architecture in this location which can be seen above on the left hand edge of the pool terrace plan.

The external timber cladding shown by the red arrows above help show the visual softening of the strong facade.

The presentation was enjoyable to do and I thank both Cameron (my tutor) and Rosemary (the guest critique) on their comments and feedback.