Studio72 Manifesto: Our pledge to create an architecture that is free from our enemies and defined by our values.
1:500 Site Model: Using Basalt and Timber, the two materials that defined this paper, our massing model sat sensitively within a historically-dominated site.
Studio: A transparent interior, working with the logic of a 'continuous floor plate' to remove the hierachies between year groups and faculties. Towards its' edges, the Studio is met by Basalt walls, where the thresholds of the Studio are amplified. These walls are punctured by Ronchamp-esque apertures, referencing the gunloops and materiality of the bordering Barracks Wall. Furthermore, the depth of these apertures create semi-private 'bays' that act as extensions to the learning space.
Studio Axonometric: Breaking down the hierachy and materiality of spaces, whilst clearly representing the 'continuous floorplate' of the studio. The apertures of the two thick basalt walls (seen in grey) are understood through this exploded axonometric.
The Speakers Corner: A key moment in our design is the empowerment of the individual as we move into the future. The speakers corner presents itself as a podium in the Architecture Centre Courtyard, allowing anyone to step up and speak, whether Architectural content or not. This platform also becomes an axis for NZIA meetings and presentations as an attempt to provide industry integration within our Architecture.
North-Facing Perspective: The building demonstrates 'an introduction to materiality', sloping from the earth in a sensitive manner, to then materialise as building and then develop into the denser form of basalt.
Library: Now a sacred space of the University, having been so cruelly taken away from us in the present, the Library hides itself beneath the atrium where it is only accesible via trenches - a response to the Colonial history of site. The ceiling of the space is crucial to the design, where Gabion cages filled with Basalt Stones allow the soft dispersion of light from the above atrium into the space beneath. The Basalt Gabions serve as a 'deconstruction' of the Barracks Wall materiality, whilst dampening sound from the atrium due to their thickness. The low-ceiling Library uses Kengo Kuma-inspired frames to shelve Library books, which are then imitated as structural columns with book storage, fold-out study tables and beneath-stool storage. This compact design forms a non-rigid Library with fluid study spaces; aligning to the values of our Manifesto.
Sectional Elevation: The strong materiality of the Basalt wall is juxtaposed by the lightness of the Timber atrium - The building entry serves as an 'introduction' to the materiality, leading from lightness to heavy stone.