The Semester in Review

Its hard to believe that in February I didn't know what a portal frame was. Now I cannot go past a commercial building under construction and not wonder how it all fits together. My children think I have completely lost it when I leap from the car to take a photo of a concrete pump in action or a crane lifting something high above a building site.
I have learnt lots (and importantly realised there is mountains more to learn!).
I have been particularly interested in concrete over the semester. Back in February I thought it was a practical but ugly material that I would never get involved with. Now I can see that it is a material with enormous potential and have some understanding as to why its use is so widespread.

I was also really interested in being able to use timber for long span buildings.

The next step is to have a look at the work of Tadao Ando. He does great things with concrete. I'll also look more into the work of Herzog and de Meuron as they do some interesting things with facades.

Herzog and de Mueron: Beiing Stadium

Tadoa Ando: Church of the Light, Japan

Most of all I'm looking forward to checking out architecture and constuction in London, Barcelona and Berlin. I head off the day after the construction exam. Yippee!

London City Hall: Sir Norman Foster

Gaudi: Barcelona

The Jewish Museum, Berlin: Daniel Libeskind

Roofing material for assignment

Lysaght Klip-Lok 700 Hi-Strength Sheet Roofing.

This product can span long distances, can be laid at 1 degree pitch (minimum) and uses concealed fixing mechanism shown in the diagram.

Major Assignment Model and Poster

Article Review

'Burst 003' by Sandra Kaji O'Grady (Architecture Australia Sept/Oct 2006)

This article looks at a recent project by New York based architects SYSTEMarchitects in collaboration with Robin Edmiston and Associates.

The project is a prototype prefabricated affordable housing system the architects plan to launch on the American market. (Left: Front elevation with laser cut facade.)

The house arrives on site as flat pieces of laser cut plywood on the back of a truck. 1100 non-identical interlocking parts are used in construction of the house. Software used in clothing manufacturing was used to ensure there was very little wastage in cutting out the pieces. Assembly requires concentration and cooperation but not necessarily a high level of skill and technology. (Below: Detail of diagonal web structure under the house.)

Assignment Drawings

warehouse/showroom plan

detail of connection of facade panels to cantilevered floor

connection of facade panel to strip footing

reinforcement in first floor slab and band beams

Concrete Finishes 8

This was a design put forward by British architectural firm Caruso St John for a competition to design a new centre for architecture for the Architecture Foundation (AF) in London. They did not win but I thought their proposed use of concrete was an interesting one. They maintain that London is a city built of clay but that its ceremonial buildings are white. Surface detail and decoration of buildings like St Pauls is highlighted by the action of rain and pollution. They proposed using the environmental impacts on city buildings to deliberately effect their building. Their proposed building would have been made of pure white concrete with a surface of fine grooves and polished aggregates. After a while the rougher surfaces would would weather and gather dirt and darken. This would then reveal a huge AF made of smooth white concrete. The AF is interwoven into the window placement.
(Source Brochure of Winning Entries for AF competition)

Concrete Finishes 7

These photos were taken at St Vincents hospital in Fitzroy. I was very excited when I saw this building as it is the kind of thing I've been thinking about for my assignment. Patterned concrete panels make a really interesting building out of what could have been just an ugly concrete panel building.