Inter+ACTION
How
can architecture act as a medium to encourage productive and healthy
interactions in an urban setting?
An increasing number of the
global population currently resides in urban metropolises. Due to the intensity
of such urban life, people gradually become insensitive towards other
individuals around them and the sense of community starts to disappear. The frequency
of social interaction significantly decreases in higher density living. The phrase
of ‘not knowing the next-door neighbour’ is further stimulated in the
developments of high-density apartment blocks, which are often equipped with minimal
common areas and simple, narrow corridors.
‘Inter+ACTION’ will attempt to solve the lack of social interaction
within high-density developments by optimizing hybridization of three definite spaces:
LIVE, LEARN and PRODUCE. It
will focus on the connectivity between actions within the development. It aims to restore the sense of community by giving it a shared responsibility of production. The
three chosen programmes, situated on the inactive site of Franklin Street and
Peel Street, will be significantly interdependent with one another in
generating a unified, safe and mutually supportive group, with shared
productive ways of living that are free and open. For instance, the place to
live will obtain its supplies from the place to produce, from which learning
can then be generated from.
In
order to instigate a sense of responsibility and belonging, the hybridisation
will be driven by a Sunflower factor – chosen due to the site’s proximity to a well-known
place of produce (Victoria Market) and the current trend of sustainability
(bio-fuel). The sunflower system generates interesting hybrid programs within
the development, such as a Sunflower Hotel&Bar and a Bio-Petrol Station. Consequently, hybridisation causes
several factors to act as parameters: the public/private (defined as the level
of privacy and share-ability), time, sun, and natural ventilation.
To
enhance the sense of inter-connected living, Inter+ACTION will also have a
symbiotic relationship with its surrounding areas: the Queen
Victoria Market and Flagstaff Garden. They will be efficiently connected and
utilised to support Inter+ACTION’s programs and vice versa. Overall, Inter+ACTION
should encourage interaction within the development and its surroundings, radically
re-inventing the site.
In
achieving the goal, previous analyses of the site will be used to inform the
development of Inter+ACTION. Additionally, diagrams depicting the relationship
between private and public activities are also developed in order to creatively
and appropriately hybridize the space. These diagrams will generate a framework
for a rule based system to which this development is going to be defined and
arranged. Grasshopper and 3D Max will be used to assist the generation of the form
digitally and accurately based on the rule that is generated from the diagram.
From here, material system of strap may be further experimented as it is deemed best
to represent the form physically.
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