The Jerilderie Letter and Others

It is the purpose of this chapter to investigate the opportunities that lie with drawing on the personal letters of an iconic historical figure so as to implant into the process of telling his story through the medium of tourism a sensitive interpretation and meaning of historical events in which he was involved. The claim will be that input from the letters could be used to conjure a particular ‘spirit' of and ‘personality' for any place at which significant events occurred, and in so doing give to that place a special identity, its genius loci. It is a process of enrichment and value-adding. Using a story embedded in the history of 19th-century Australia, the study uses a custom-built form of narrative analysis to disaggregate six selected personal letters authored by the selected historical figure and to interpret their potential for enriching the telling of his story through tourism.

In the name of housing

In his 1925 book Groszstadtbauten, Ludwig Hilberseimertalks about the relation of city form to that of the smallest single architectural unit; a room within a house. This commentary is validated by the fact that the residential fabric of any city comprises most of that city’s built form. For most people, this means the form of housing. This essay focuses on the history of architecture relating to housing in the city of Mumbai. The tie between Mumbai’s form and its inhabitation. Looking specifically at the architectural form of these projects, they become instructive both through the breadth of their variations, as well as the depth of their spatial and formal engagements. Building on the history of housing in Mumbai since the early-nineteenth century the essay presents a typology of housing inhabited by ordinary people and their immediate spatial ecologies which facilitate a specific manner of compressed living. These types are commentaries on technology, lifestyle, and culture are all situated within the particularities of their respective time. Nevertheless, these unique armatures still seem to gravitate around certain emergent commonalities that could provide an armature for the design of collective housing models in the future.

The Cross Roads of Heritage

<p>This research explores an approach for adaptive reuse to enhance livability and greater connection to place within provincial towns of New Zealand. There are existing buildings which are often left in disrepair or considered too expensive to refurbish or strengthen. They are often demolished with little consideration to the building’s significance, therefore adaptive reuse has become a missed opportunity in New Zealand. Many of our provincial cities have uninhabited large-scale buildings, which need upgrading due to being outdated and no longer fit for purpose. Seismic upgrading is a key factor in why these buildings are left uninhabited. One of the urban areas which this is prevalent is Whanganui. Whanganui has the opportunity to blend the old and the new built form to create a revitalized and timeless street appearance. The regeneration of Whanganui can be achieved through adaptive reuse to enhance the crafted beauty of the town through its architecture. The revitalization of Whanganui can give guidance to other provincial cities in New Zealand while enhancing the quality of life within the town. An in-depth analysis of the history of Whanganui, will allow for heritage significance to play a major role in the redesign. This design will be developed at three different scales to demonstrate how the built form can enhance connection to place and livability. These scales are at an urban, a built and a detailed scale. The main cross roads linking the city of Whanganui to its river is surrounded by character and historical buildings. It will be used as a key area illustrating Whanganui’s past to better inform the future.</p>

The Cross Roads of Heritage

<p>This research explores an approach for adaptive reuse to enhance livability and greater connection to place within provincial towns of New Zealand. There are existing buildings which are often left in disrepair or considered too expensive to refurbish or strengthen. They are often demolished with little consideration to the building’s significance, therefore adaptive reuse has become a missed opportunity in New Zealand. Many of our provincial cities have uninhabited large-scale buildings, which need upgrading due to being outdated and no longer fit for purpose. Seismic upgrading is a key factor in why these buildings are left uninhabited. One of the urban areas which this is prevalent is Whanganui. Whanganui has the opportunity to blend the old and the new built form to create a revitalized and timeless street appearance. The regeneration of Whanganui can be achieved through adaptive reuse to enhance the crafted beauty of the town through its architecture. The revitalization of Whanganui can give guidance to other provincial cities in New Zealand while enhancing the quality of life within the town. An in-depth analysis of the history of Whanganui, will allow for heritage significance to play a major role in the redesign. This design will be developed at three different scales to demonstrate how the built form can enhance connection to place and livability. These scales are at an urban, a built and a detailed scale. The main cross roads linking the city of Whanganui to its river is surrounded by character and historical buildings. It will be used as a key area illustrating Whanganui’s past to better inform the future.</p>

Assembled

<p>Profound innovations in assembly process of construction have been absent since the dawn of 2d planimetric drawing. However with advancements in augmented reality (AR) technology and computational tools, the process of assembly has the potential to significantly change. As architectural firms become more adept with 3d modelling and computational design there is a drive to support that work through the manifestation of the built form. By using methods of computational design, advanced fabrication techniques, and AR in assembly processes, a pure digital methodology is achieved that can seamlessly transfer data from one stage to the next. The digital workflow results in a connection from conceptual design to finished product. Researching methods into the process of assembly with AR is a way of advancing architecture into the future and completing the digital continuum, from conception to on site building.</p>

Assembled

<p>Profound innovations in assembly process of construction have been absent since the dawn of 2d planimetric drawing. However with advancements in augmented reality (AR) technology and computational tools, the process of assembly has the potential to significantly change. As architectural firms become more adept with 3d modelling and computational design there is a drive to support that work through the manifestation of the built form. By using methods of computational design, advanced fabrication techniques, and AR in assembly processes, a pure digital methodology is achieved that can seamlessly transfer data from one stage to the next. The digital workflow results in a connection from conceptual design to finished product. Researching methods into the process of assembly with AR is a way of advancing architecture into the future and completing the digital continuum, from conception to on site building.</p>

Bridging the Distance: Accommodating Wildlife Interaction in an Urban Setting.

<p>Currently within the Wellington region there is an abundance of green spaces hosting a variety of native and exotic wildlife species (Rastandeh, Brown, & Pedersen Zari, 2018; “The Sanctuary,” 2018). These species are somewhat confined to a ‘home’ green space, in that travel between habitats involves difficult navigation between dense urban and residential structures (Forman, 1995; Rastandeh, Brown, et al., 2018). Many native species are not able to make long distance flights (Wittern & Berggren, 2007); and as a result habitat fragmentation is occurring at a rapid ecological level. The built form is limiting and discouraging wildlife movement, as well as being dangerous for smaller animals (Forman, 1995; Santiago, 2014). Currently tiny patches of vegetation provide wildlife with a directional indication of intended movement, but overall urban planning is designed for humans only. Aside from the lack of possible movement between habitats, there is also an absence of human connections to these spaces. There is a missed opportunity to introduce humans to ecological spaces, in that it allows a physical link and understanding to be achieved, as well as additional wellbeing benefits (Ell, 1981a; Santiago, 2014). With these two existing elements; the lack of wildlife movement between established habitats and the connectivity of humans to these spaces, there is also a third element of how interaction between people and wildlife within urban locations is absent. People are stuck with contributing towards the rapid decline of habitat, there are very limited positive interactions that are being utilised (Rastandeh, Brown, et al., 2018; Santiago, 2014). Infrastructure and specific designed elements that provide the correct facilities to allow for interactions between wildlife and humans is largely non-existent and crucial in the face of biodiversity loss and fragmentation. This thesis aims to establish a set of design guidelines towards understanding how interaction can be utilised within the design profession, as a way to reduce biodiversity loss, fragmentation and to increase exposure to unique species. Exploration at different scales, macro, meso and micro will be addressing different issues to answer the question of what types of interactions will be occurring within these spaces.</p>

Bridging the Distance: Accommodating Wildlife Interaction in an Urban Setting.

<p>Currently within the Wellington region there is an abundance of green spaces hosting a variety of native and exotic wildlife species (Rastandeh, Brown, & Pedersen Zari, 2018; “The Sanctuary,” 2018). These species are somewhat confined to a ‘home’ green space, in that travel between habitats involves difficult navigation between dense urban and residential structures (Forman, 1995; Rastandeh, Brown, et al., 2018). Many native species are not able to make long distance flights (Wittern & Berggren, 2007); and as a result habitat fragmentation is occurring at a rapid ecological level. The built form is limiting and discouraging wildlife movement, as well as being dangerous for smaller animals (Forman, 1995; Santiago, 2014). Currently tiny patches of vegetation provide wildlife with a directional indication of intended movement, but overall urban planning is designed for humans only. Aside from the lack of possible movement between habitats, there is also an absence of human connections to these spaces. There is a missed opportunity to introduce humans to ecological spaces, in that it allows a physical link and understanding to be achieved, as well as additional wellbeing benefits (Ell, 1981a; Santiago, 2014). With these two existing elements; the lack of wildlife movement between established habitats and the connectivity of humans to these spaces, there is also a third element of how interaction between people and wildlife within urban locations is absent. People are stuck with contributing towards the rapid decline of habitat, there are very limited positive interactions that are being utilised (Rastandeh, Brown, et al., 2018; Santiago, 2014). Infrastructure and specific designed elements that provide the correct facilities to allow for interactions between wildlife and humans is largely non-existent and crucial in the face of biodiversity loss and fragmentation. This thesis aims to establish a set of design guidelines towards understanding how interaction can be utilised within the design profession, as a way to reduce biodiversity loss, fragmentation and to increase exposure to unique species. Exploration at different scales, macro, meso and micro will be addressing different issues to answer the question of what types of interactions will be occurring within these spaces.</p>

Inhabiting Omni-architecture

<p>The thesis explores the ideas and mechanics of reimagining inhabitation within a speculative and architectural immersive environment via research through design studies. This demonstrates the generation of architectural spatial design elements in direct relation to the user. Details within the body of work experiment with the laws and bounds of the virtual space through design and research within a real-time virtual engine. Here reimagining the way one inhabits space, compared to current norms of real-world inhabitation, is possible with creativity and applied knowledge. M.C. Escher's lithograph Relativity is the driving concept explored within the thesis, his work transformed concepts into creating gravitational pulls in multiple directions within the immersive virtual reality environment to accommodate various sources of gravity. The result of this research demonstrates the generation of new virtual relativity laws, reimagining how the virtual space is inhabited, within an omnidirectional environment. The thesis presents the trilogy of virtual classifications; the virtual inhabitant; the speculative environment; and the virtual built-form, these coalesce, generating a new realm of design within immersive architectural space. The components within the trilogy are all designed relative to each other following the Interconnective Design Methodology Ecosystem framework, this allowed a high level of complexity and richness to shine through the research and design work. The vital components within the trilogy of virtual classifications virtual inhabitant, speculative environment and virtual built-form are the; Architectural designer’s role; Interactivity; Global time; Diachronic time; Environment boundaries; Virtual body; Spatial locomotion; Audio experience; User population; Aesthetic materiality and filters; Geometry; Spatial orientation; Local-scale; Atmospheric filters; Orthogonal; Polygonal; Curved rotational fractals; Minimal surface; and Reveal sequencing.</p>

Made to Measure: Revealing and Measuring a Dynamic Coastal Environment

<p>MacLean Park located on the Kapiti Coast has one of the most dynamic natural environments in the country. As tides rise, dunes shrink and grow and rivermouths shift over time, it can be difficult to perceive these environmental changes due to promptly forgotten benchmarks. Within this thesis, I argue that architecture could provide both a benchmark and datum by which we can begin to understand and register these environmental changes, highlighting a need for architecture’s role to act as a mediator between our natural and urban environment. The project explores a series of methods and strategies to make this dynamic and shifting environmental condition visible. A rigid and reductive geometry forms a potential answer. This informs a series of experiments which look to uncover how we can visually measure and observe our built and natural environment. A design-led research methodology leads to initial investigations on form and reduction within a chaotic landscape, followed by approaches to register site specific data and historic landmarks. The final design investigations centre on a holistic coexistence of built form amongst the dunescape, lifting the modular structure on piloti above the delicate ecosystem below to allow the landscape, dunes and flora to flow freely in a temporal manner and interact with the building. The resulting design method shifts from a reductive approach to taking measure through ordering systems and composition to a more integrated approach between landscape and architecture. Here, measurement and observation become both an instrumental and poetic narrative as the building becomes a reflection of its surrounds. The resulting tension between a rational and poetic approach to designing sees the Kapiti Island Biosecurity Visitor’s Centre become a measurement device on a coastal threshold. Through this architectural response, we can begin to observe, measure, read and understand the ecological qualities of the immediate site and its association with the township beyond.</p>