Major Assignment Finals

This is my final model for the assignment. im quite pleased with how it turned out. the second image shows the saftery mesh/sarking/colorbond cut away roofing detail.
I found this assignment to be a great learning curve for this semester as it gave me a better understand of the process and methods of construction. It has also given me a greater understanding of Glenn Murcutts work and amount of effort and thought goes into his buildings.

Melbourne Project Takes Top Prize in 2007 Public Domain Awards

Melbourne Project Takes Top Prize in 2007 Public Domain Awards


A Melbourne mausoleum has been named Australia’s best urban landscape project for 2007.The Luciano Rossetti Mausoleum, at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery, south-east of Melbourne by Harmer Architecture, was last night announced as the overall winner of the 2007 CCAA Public Domain Awards. The 2007 Awards Jury described the project as “a truly exciting example of the use of standard precast concrete panels to maximum dramatic effect - defining spaces, projecting shadows and inviting reflection while, simultaneously, suggesting vitality.”

Site visit

Commercial site, group of factories under construction in Cowie st. Geelong North. This site was great because each warehouse was at a different stage of construction. Pictures show steel columns and beams ready to be erected and conrete tilt slab walls.

Article on steel use on a domestic scale

Houses of Steel
21 May 2007

Residents of Tamworth and surrounding areas are turning to termite resistant steel house frames to help ensure the long term strength and durability of their homes.

Steel house frames, made from the recently launched TRUECORE® steel, are termite resistant, non combustible and come with a 50 year warranty from BlueScope Steel. Also, they benefit homeowners because they don’t rot, warp or twist over time, problems which can cause both structural and cosmetic issues.

Indeed, local demand for them in Tamworth has drawn one of the state’s leading and most progressive builders, McDonald Jones Homes, to the area where its range of quality, architect designed house styles are proving very popular.

“A person’s home is typically their largest investment, so why not do everything possible to make sure it stays structurally sound for years to come?” asked Phil Haigh, Sales and Marketing Director at McDonald Jones Homes. “A lot of effort goes into making your dream home, so I would encourage everyone to insist on steel frames so that the dream lives on well into the future!”

McDonald Jones Homes, which operates up the state’s central and north coast, started using steel for its frames five years ago and now uses them in 98 per cent of its homes. Such innovative and customer friendly materials have played an important part in the company’s phenomenal growth, believes Phil. This growth can be seen in an impressive 100 per cent increase in building sales over the past twelve months.

Steel is increasingly used on other parts of the house too. Roofing made from COLORBOND® steel is rising in popularity as are steel water tanks to store rainwater.

“We make a point of always looking for what we call ‘future considerate’ products and techniques,” said Phil. “Things that our customers get excited about when they build a home, and get peace of mind from over the course of its life. Frames made from TRUECORE® steel are a perfect example."

“Tamworth’s residents are very discerning and, in addition to durability that frames made from TRUECORE® steel offer, they value other environmental considerations too. Steel frames, for instance, are well positioned to meet environmental and building design regulations for any block of land. For all sites, waste is minimised because the frames are mostly pre fabricated. Also, they are 100 per cent recyclable."

“To us it seems like a no brainer and for the people of Tamworth, it seems that too.”

Frank Gehrys Guggenhiem Museum, Bilbao

Some more images from my trip. This is the Guggenhiem Museum by Frank Gehry. The buildings outer skin is made up of thin titanium sheets whilst the main structure is steel with a limestone finish. The building is an example of Gehrys great knowledge of materials he works with, as each seperate component adds beautifully to the schematic design.

Postdamerplatz, Berlin

Here is a similar building to the one jeremy had in one of his lectures. Its a building in Postdamerplatz in Berlin, an area in the centre of the city where all the new buildings seem to be popping up. This particular visual display was of a girl laughing and was amazing to watch once the sun went down. Very dynamic. Very now.

German Guttering System

Here is an unconvensional guttering system is saw in Dresden last year, at the time it wasnt raining which was a shame because it would have been great to see it in action!

Reichstag Dome, Berlin

Last year whilst in Berlin i visited the Reichstag Dome, design by Norman Foster. Foster and Partners won a commission in 1992 to transform the building into the new home for the unified German Parliament. The Foster team's design focuses on making the processes of government more transparent.
The dome is a gleaming metal and glass structure with a ramp that spirals up a to a roof terrace with 360-degree views of central Berlin. Its a greta experience being up there as you can really get a grasp on how Berlin is laid out. The design also preserves remnants of the building's colorful past, including graffiti left by the Red Army in 1945.

site visit

Commerical site, Pakinton St., Geelong, pictures show vapor barrier underneath trench mesh as well as formwork

Design concepts

Virtual Simpson-Lee House

Go to this website for a great virtual tour of the house

http://www.arch.adelaide.edu.au/gallery/lighthouse/simpson%20lee/simpsonlee.mpg

The sophistication of the detail is further emphasised by the functional expression of each component that makes up this complex wall plane. Note the steel cheeks at the two ends of the window-wall, which are aligned on structural stanchions and provide fixings for struts anchoring the roof overhang.

The load bearing frame, an entirely glazed principal frontage with an oversailing, upwardtiliting corrugated iron roof, ventilation flaps in the rear external envelope and a canopy wind-braced by splayed struts are all devices typical to previous Murcutt buildings.

Apart from the timber stairs and foot-bridge, the house is wholly mineral: an aluminium-painted steel structure, exposed aluminium door and window frames, corrugated iron roof-coverings and, throughout the interior, light grey polished concrete floors and white painted rendered brickwork and plaster-board.

Detail of north-east elevation

Detail

The detail that took my interest is the layered window wall along the north-east front of the main house, which can be retracted, thereby projecting internal space into the landscape. Its triple skin is composed of six pairs of aluminium-framed glazed sliding doors, protected by insect screens and shaded externally from the sun by electronically controlled aluminium slatted blinds.

Internal images

Simpson-Lee House

After looking at many of his designs, i have chosen to base my warehouse design on Murcutts Simpson-Lee House (1988-94) Mount Wilson, NSW. The house to six years to complete: 'Less is more time-consuming' as he puts it. The design has an emphasis on continuity between landscape and building, which overcomes conventional distinctions betwenn the inside and out.

Murcutts Way

After researching and looking into what type of Murcutt building would be suit a warehouse, i had a look into his background. Murcutt is the father of a 'modern Australian vernacular' or 'tin shed' style of Miesian steel-and-glass pavilions topped by languidly rolling roofs of corrugated zincalume. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, he and a national coterie of followers built many houses and small buildings topped by sparkling steel aerofoils, bird wings, waves and shallow-arced vaults.

GLEN MURCUTT

For my major assignment the architect i have chosen is Glen Murcutt, an architect known for his precise, detailed finishes and for introducing an 'Australian' identity into his numerous buildings.

Gutter Section

WALL SECTION 5 - south wall/canopy

Drawing no. 3

Section through portal frame no.2

Section through a portal frame

Bunnings Warehouse - Waurn Ponds

Bunnings Warehouse in Waurn Ponds is a prime example of long span construcsion, the main material used in the warehouse is steel.

Detail

Detail

Interoir View