A future vision can be explained well through a scenarios with well-considered contextual background and highly imaginative plot. Our project site is to become a stage, the proposed architectural entity and other built environments will set scenes and your characters are to perform according to the plot and scenes. (Unit theme and approach, DAB810 Blackboard)
The image below is my initial calculations for space requirements for each area rquired: These are based on Neuferts Architects Data. However I think it will be wise to check these with my tutor, to see if they are appropriate.
"in every region and every town, indeed in every neightborhood, there are special places which have come to symbolise the area, and the people's roots there. These place may be natural beauties or historic landmarks left by ages past. But in some form the are essential." (A Pattern Language, Alexander, C. 1977)
Special places of woodford:
Duck pond - Clyde's pond , and surrounding shady area.
Hilltop - Ceremonial chanting in the first sunrise of the new year
Amphitheatre - The big bang live perfomance for the new year countdown
New Special place that connects them -
Welcome gate, Town Centre and Eating hall
"Give every sacred sit a place, or sequence of places, where people can relax, enjoy themselves, and feel the presence of the place. And above all, shield the approach to the site, so that it can only be approached on foot, and through a series of gateways and thresholds which reveal it gradually." (A Pattern Language, Alexander, C. 1977)
Image from: 101 things I learned in architecture school
"People cannot maintain their spiritual root and their connections to the past if the physical world they live in does not also sustain these roots" (A Pattern Language, Alexander, C. 1977)
Mecca? Locate physically on ground? show with Qibla. 280.67 degrees North from Woodfordia Site. Direction of Islamic holy city of Mecca shown in red below:
Following feedback from Murray, I have decided it would be better to develop a close knit masterplan, where residents are incorporated into the festival, by a direct and physical presence.
2020 WOODFORDIA MASTERPLAN IDEAS DEVELOPMENT
REFUGEE / FESTIVAL COMMUNITY
1:1000@A3 - NORTH = UP THE PAGE
The eating hall used by residents throughout the year, becomes a stage/dining area for the festival. To replace either the the Bazaar or the Parlour.
The residents can be high set dwellings where residents sleep at night, and work at stalls or volunteering during the day. The undercroft of these dwellings can form the permanent roof over stalls. The design of these could be quite interesting, testing a range of traditional and new design technologies.
It would seem impractical to have a large ablutions block in the middle of the festival, so sharing 1 shower and WC between 8-12 people would be far more reasonable and private during the festival.
The dwelling units could have shared walls to save on materials, or single units can allow for expansion at a later date.
I have a feeling there is too much random-ness about the planning of this. This is to allow a sense of discovery and low density for when the festival is in progress. But what about when the festival is not on? Are they too far apart? Does it create meaningless spaces during the year? Perhaps i need to think about figure-ground theory to arrange the figures to create meaningful spaces. I might work on the eating area and welcome areas to begin with and the residences masterplanning can be dealt with later if I have time.
Last weeks tutorial was very helpful, despite not having time to show Murray my ideas on the small scale details, I received feedback on siting and further developed my program for design. By bringing together my isolated communities into the festival site it could build a more close knit society and become a real feature of the woodford festival. The challenge will be helping the two functions, refugee accomodation, ritual, and festival activities to work together. If we incorporate the refugees as active participants in the festival, such as store holders are currently, this seems to work well... in an ideal world. The key will be in sensitive design.
Own sketch - Variety of Utensils used by different cultures
One issue I am undecided about it how to be culturally sensitive to different cultures when dining. Allowing people to be uphold their religion and engage with others. After much internet research about how different religions eat, I must say there is much conflicting information. Some devout religious beliefs are very strict on the manner in which they dine, not only with prohibited foods, but the way the must eat and the ritual or prayer or ablution beforehand. Islam, Judaism and Christianity have the most rituals, all are varied, and all have its extremists. Hinduism and Buddism tend not to practice ritual and are more contemplative about their beliefs.
Own sketch - 1:20 sketch of Variety of Dining seating used by different cultures - not to scale - see dimensions from Neuferts Architects data below for accurate scaling
I think the only way to deal with this is to dine in a typically Australian way, which will allow a variety of cultures to become accustomed to typical Australia dining experience.
I had considered a Islamic Ablution area (a place to wash hands, feet, & face before meals) on approach to the dining hall, which could be used by others. I am unsure if this is permitted or sensitive, so I think by adherely to one religion it may cause discrimination within another. Very risky. A place to wash hands may be appropriate and any additional washing can be done in personal facilities prior to dining.
Perhaps an outdoor, public one, such as this, or a pond/fountain, could be more appropriate than an indoor one which takes up valuable space, and excludes others.
Space for prayer at Mosque- image from Neuferts Architects Data, 2000 - dimension in centimetres
EXPLORATION OF DINING LAYOUT
Image from Neuferts Architects Data, 2000 - dimension in centimetres
The diagram above seems to be the most space efficient solution as round table configurations take up more space. As open, flat, space is at a premium, and a compact floor plan is efficient use of materials, i think this layout is important. The diagonal tables can be moved togther for larger seating arrangements which are also more efficient and offers flexibility.
Image from Neuferts Architects Data, 2000 - dimension in centimetres
The diagram above proves that the square table is most efficient. However the flexibility and multiple variations of the trapezoidal tables could offer some better dining experiences. This would be in terms of easy communication accross the table when in large groups. The circular format tend to be too far a distance for communication when table size is increased.
Image from Neuferts Architects Data, 2000 - dimension in centimetres
Image from Neuferts Architects Data, 2000 - dimension in centimetres
Image from Neuferts Architects Data, 2000 - dimension in centimetres
All of these have different rituals which define their behaviour and activities during the day; praying, ablution, contemplation, meditation, even the manner in which they eat. How do we ensure that our design will be sensitive to these, but ensuring everyone is respectfull to each others beliefs, and non believers. Perhaps the eating area becomes a place where their beliefs are witheld temporarily to a communal belief of reconciliation. Action and ritual can assist in this.
"Rituals, not shared beliefs, provide the glue that holds together religious communities over a long period of time, says a Penn State sociologist.
"Members of a congregation may assume that they hold common religious beliefs, but it is religious ritual that creates and sustains continued fellowship," says Dr. Daniel B. Lee assistant professor of sociology at Penn State's DuBois Campus.
"This is a key point for understanding the social structure of religious communities and the relationship between ritual and belief," Lee notes. "While an individual may sincerely hold religious beliefs, a group does not have a common mind and cannot hold any belief. Faith becomes socially relevant through action. Until there is action, religion is socially meaningless." "
How do we allow the festival to continue whilst the refugees are accommodated? Where are their dwellings? In order to avoid disruption to their daily lives, their dwellings could be dispersed throughout the site onto eastern facing hill slopes, away from festival noise/people. Is this too exclusive? Does this make travel distances too far and segregate people? See 1:5000 site map below for locations of eating hall and dwellings for Woodfordia 2020:
Federal Goverment assists in establishment of facilities and pays $850 dollars per person per week to accomodate refugees in transition from detention centres to society. Detention centres will be phased out if the program is successfull. Currently, it costs $850 dollars per person per night to keep a refugee in detention. So that is a 85% cost saving to the federal government for relocating to Woodford accomodation.
The grounds and accomodation are managed wholly by the Woodfordia Folk Festival Organisers and additional staff are requried for day to day running. $11,050,000 is the net income of housing the 250 refugees.
After running costs are deducted, it is feasible that Woodfordia can purchase back the land from Moreton Bay Regional Council.
Accomodate 250 people initially, increase to 500 once running effectively.
Accomodation for families, men, women and children.
There will be 1 Australian staff member per 8 refugees.
Refugees would participate in the community by:
- Working on farms in the woodford area
- Preparing main meals for the other residents
- Socialising with Australian organisers and other refugees
- Maintaining the grounds
- Building structures
- Growing food
- Learning languages
- Learning skills
- Teaching others
- Understanding other cultures
- Volunteering in Festivals
- World food Stallholders
- World culture performances, art, music etc
The basic facilities required will be:
- Housing for families and small groups of individuals (DWELLING)
- Upgrade of amenities
- Food preparation and hall facility (EATING)
- Welcome/administration area
Festival Integration
The facility would need to be integrated into the festival event in December. Refugees can remain on site during the festival and participate as any volunteer would.
The EATING area could become a multi-purpose stage/ dining area. Kitchen facilities can be utilised by stallholders, or run by a organic catering company who bids for the event.
Australia's population growth in Australia in comprised predominantly (64%) through immigration.
To avoid a negative population growth Australia need to rely on accommodating people from overseas. This is an issue that affects us now and into the future. Australia has one of the highest population growths worldwide averaged at 1.9% between 2005-2009. The average globally is 1.2%.
The largest proponent of immigrants (186,500 people at 39% of all immigrants) is those entering on temporary and student visas, predominantly originating from China and India.
"The smallest proportion of immigrants were humanitarian visa holders have been closer to 12,000 people in previous years. The main countries of citizenship for Humanitarian visas were Burma (25%), followed by Iraq (18%) Afghanistan (12%) and Sudan (11%)."
(information sources from Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/4102.0main+features10jun+2010)
Australia sees itself as a multi-cultural society, however, where have we seen multi-culturalism being successful in a small and large scale. There will always be conflicts, in race, gender, religion. How can we all get along? Through collective work, education, celebration, sharing in cultures?
"In Australia, asylum seekers can be people who arrive in an authorised manner (e.g. with visitor or student visas), or people who arrive in an unauthorised manner, usually by boat. People arriving without authority are confined in detention centres until they are granted a visa to remain in Australia, or they leave the country." (ABS, 2012)
"In May 2010, there were just over 3,600 people were held in detention in mainland Australia and Christmas Island. Around 93% were people who had arrived unlawfully by boat, 2% arrived unlawfully by air and 4% were visa overstayers." (ABS, 2012)
While Australia's asylum applications have increased in recent years (6,000 in 2009) it is less than 2% of the total applications worldwide. To put things into perspective, "in 2009, the United States had 49,000 new claims for asylum, while France had 42,000 and Canada had 33,000."
Yet 'boat people' are a no. 1 topic of concern for Australian politicians and the people 'unauthorised' to enter the country at treated as criminals and are locked away in detention centres. Boat people are a massively controversial issue, and i hope to approach this is the most sensitive way I can.
The government dept. website on this issue states:
"One of the major challenges facing the world today is protecting refugees who have been forced to leave their homes by armed conflict and human rights abuses.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there were 43.7 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2010, the highest number in 15 years. Of these, 27.5 million were internally displaced persons, 15.4 million were refugees and 837 500 asylum seekers." (Dept. of Immigration and Citizenship - Fact Sheet 60 – Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/60refugee.htm)
The breakup of visas granted per country are as follows, however this is constantly in flux, depending on countries that are in conflict: By 2025, it is impossible to predict the origin of asylum seekers. Currently:
Countries
Number of visas granted
Iraq
2151
Burma
1443
Afghanistan
1027
Bhutan
1001
Congo (DRC)
565
Ethiopia
381
Sri Lanka
289
Iran
271
Sudan
243
Somalia
190
A quote from the Dept. of Immigration Annual report 2010-11 is as follows: it highlights the challenges of applying a solid standpoint on the refugee issue, quite wishy washy really:
"The 2011–12 program year will present a sustained challenge for the department to determine expeditiously the refugee status of the substantial number of irregular maritime arrivals awaiting decision on their claims, as well as to consider the claims of those who have arrived by air.
The introduction of complementary protection legislation will require further investment in training and guidance. Quality assurance in decision-making will remain a priority. There will be a need for continued efforts to improve on and build the department’s understanding of conditions in asylum seeker source countries to ensure fair, robust and transparent use of country information in decision-making. Changing circumstances in the countries of origin of asylum seekers will require a sustained focus on collection and collation of up-to-date country information for decision-makers."
Dept. of Immigration - Immigration Detention Statistics Summary -31 July 2012 - updated monthly
What is disturbing about these statistics is the number of women and children seeking asylum when compared to men.
Does this mean that women and children are valued lower than men in their own country?
Does this mean that men are more at risk of persecution in their own country?
Does this mean women and children cannot afford to pay people smugglers as they cannot hold jobs in their country and men are not wanting to pay for their women?
We can only guess. It is fortunate however that a greater portion of children and women compared to the large amount of men are given visas, or do not remain in detention for long. Is this reverse sexism. Although I do believe that women in most cultures are not treated equally so this would put them out of harms way. Not to say that men are not in danger or deserve to be in detention.
Research on the recent Labour government initiative to house refugees within Australian homes highlights some important economic factors against the current detentions system. Many Australian citizens are unhappy that immigrants can come here and 'waste taxpayer money' and they can receive centrelink payments similar to any Australian citizen. If we can reduce this enormous amount of money spent on immigration detention and support and empower people to contribute to society this can be turned into a win-win situation.
Apart from the obvious humanitarian values, could this be a viable option for Woodfordia to host refugees on their land, to help pay back the government for the land?
HEALTH RISKS
"A recent parliamentary inquiry into mandatory detention for asylum seekers, which has been Australia’s policy for 20 years, found that about 85% of asylum seekers held in detention had some form of mental illness, which grew worse the longer they were held." (http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51004)
This reduces the capability of anyone seeking asylum to be introduced into normal work, living and socialising in Australia.
"Hotham Mission Asylum seeker Project state that 40% of refugees living in the community on bridging visas are homeless. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says that asylum seekers are turned away from crisis and transitional housing because of lack of funding and because few refugees have an income or an “exit strategy”. Others must try their luck on a competitive rental market, with no rental history and often with no income."
There seems to be a clear link between detention and treatment in this country and the homelessness, joblessness that we see today. If we can reduce the number in detention and more in rehabilitation then we could have more valuable citizens.
ARCHITECTURAL POSSIBILITY
Could Woodfordia become a place for 'rehabilitation' of refugees or asylum seekers. They could contribute via their traditional building methods, agriculture, arts, music, culture, religion, to support each other in learning languages, social norms etc. Harnessing the multi-culturalism of refugees can contribute to the 'think farm' of our Woodfordia future goals. Woodford Folk Festival has always celebrated a diversity of cultures and it would be appropriate that different cultures could contribute to the festival throughout the year. They can work, eat, move, play, breathe together and be a showcase during the festival for multi-culturalsim in practice.... if managed successfully.
Perhaps I should to select one of the "eat, move, dwell, breathe, make" components from Project 1 to explore the idea further
DWELLING
Refugees could work together to build housing prototypes in line with the woodford 500 year plan. Where they can live together. They can recycle waste from festivals such as the stack of pallets seen on site.
See video below for an example of a temporary refugee home designed for Kosovo:
Dwelling is very personal and i don't think we can design a one off solution to suit many cultures, I think this could be an individual approach to each dwelling that can be exhibited around the site. Each built using traditional building methods or new ones discovered/ tested on site
'EATING' AS A RITUAL
How do we combine so many cultures so all can participate in the daily ritual of Woodford. Maybe the ritual of eating together would be a great anchor to bring all cultures together many times a day. The 'eating' place can be a collective place of ritual and worship for the multicultural community. Perhaps the kitchen and dining part of the site could become a monument to all the worlds cultures?
The image below is a church designed by architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He designed twelve doors that symbolise the world's major religions, thus making a gesture toward tolerance and ecumenicism. Can we learn from this is creating a building that facilitates a multitude of religious rituals but then takes on its own ritual and personality as a Woodford lore?
(Church of St Barbara, Austria. Image from book: Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 2003)
(Church of St Barbara, Austria. Image from book: Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 2003)
There are a number of local quarries in the area. They provide sand, clay, gravel. One small one, very close to the site, could be utilised quite easily.
The glasshouse mountains are comprised of mineral called 'Comendite', see image below. Comendite is a hard, igneous rock, a type of light blue grey rhyolite. Comendite occurs in the mountains Tibrogargan, Coonowrin, Tunbubudla, Coochin, Saddleback, Tibberoowuccum and Ngungun in the Glass house mountains, South East Queensland, Australia. The blue colour is caused by very small crystals of other minerals. These mountains are volcanic plugs which were formed millions of years ago and have slowly become exposed through erosion of softer Landsborough sandstone. Eroding basalt rocks have formed the fertile soils of the nearby Maleny rainforest areas. Rocks and landscapes of the Sunshine Coast by Warwick Willmott, Brisbane: Geological Society of Australia Queensland Division, 2007)
"Imagine being able to make spray-on roads across the desert, or being able to take a sandcastle home from the beach in the form of a solid rock sculpture. These are just two possibilities presented by a new treatment for sand pioneered by Murdoch University’s Dr Ralf Cord-Ruwisch. The treatment alters the consistency of sand, doing anything from solidifying it slightly to changing it into a substance as hard as marble. It blends a calcium solution, bacteria and other inexpensive compounds, forcing the bacteria to form carbonate precipitates with the calcium. This creates calcium carbonate, also called calcite, identical to limestone. This kind of technology can be used in mining, and civil works, it does not require oxygen so can be used underwater or underground. Tests have been done already creating blocks of sand as large as a shipping container. The possibilities are endless."
The following quotes are taken from a reading of Festival Architecture by Bonnermaison, S & Macy, C, 2007) which I believe are appropriate to consider when designing for an important and symbolic festival site.
"Festival architecture, throughout the ages, has allowed architects to experiment with new ideas, new forms and new spatial arrangements."
"From coronations to consecrations, and carnivals to world expositions, festival architecture brought vivid colour and sensory delight to the cities of the past."
"Festivals throughout history were well funded by the ruling classes in order to magnify and glorify their reign."
Distinction between solid and ephemeral architecture. Temporary architecture is no less valuable/signification of a contribution to society/culture than permanent architecture.
"The origins of architecture lay in the universal human need to create order through play and ritual."
"in the wreath, the bead necklace, the scroll, the circular dance and the rhythmic tone that attends it, the beat of an oar [...] These are the beginnings out of which music and architecture grew" From its ephemeral beginnings in the ritual movement, the ordering activity of art is embodied in the artistic motifs, which in turn are fused in works of architecture" Hvattum 2004: 66
"Work on French revolutionary festivals explains symbolism of ephemera built after the revolution. The state festivals gave physical form to new ideas about liberty, transparency, historical memory, and the role of the public, as they helped to forge a new sense of national identity in a turbulent era."
"Festivals had an effect on officials responsible for urban beautification. For a few days, festivals functioned as urban design proposals for improvements to the city. He argues that festivals worked deeply in the spatial imagination of governmental officals and citizens."
"While rites of passage may differ in detail from culture to culture and one event to another, they share certain features and a common social function. Rites of passage share a common structure, composed of three phases; separation, transistion and incorporation. This can be applied to study of large contemporary rituals, from modern pilgrimages to youth gatherings such as Woodstock. The awareness of the symbolism of space and place."
"The passage from one social status to another is often accompanied by a parallel passage in space, a geographical moment from on place to another. The may take the form of a mere opening of doors or the literal crossing of a threshold such as the groom carrying the bride over the threshold of their new home."
"The process of passage through thresholds, participants are stipped of theirsocial status and removed from social structures."
"Carnival is a possibility to present alternatives, if only fleeting, to rigid societal norms."
Visual participation. Spectacle. Being able to participate by viewing only.
Seeing, moving and sensing
Duality between permanent, relic like material such as stonehedge, colosseum and how different they become with temporary ephemeral architecture.
Can the design be flexible to become a permanent relic lost within the landscape that transforms for ritual and festival?
“
The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said "This is mine," and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows: Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.
Lynch, K., Banerjee, T., & Southworth, M. (1990). City sense and city design : writings and projects of Kevin Lynch. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Here we have a reading that explores the true nature of adaptability. It is difficult to accomplish in an uncertain future and often is dealt with by providing generalised flexibility. In theory flexibility means less material waste, but this needs to be well considered for each use in its context and its life time. I am a firm believer in anything can be re adapted to a new use, however the cost of this, can outweigh the benefit. Bangerjee and Lynch distinguishes between two types of adaptability. A "large house with many rooms widens choice, but may not be suited to future change", although a small house can be easily remodelled to suit a users needs. Lynch & Banerjee explain each typology of adaptability through biological analogies about evolution/ survival of species in order to explain the adaptation of the environment. There are many ideas about adaptability but implementation may prove inefficient for present function, or simply not be a happy place for human existence.
I will summarise Banerjee and Lynch's discussion below:
Un-specialised Forms
Multi-purpose spaces with large spans and concentrated structure can be considered flexible, however this can unintentionally also considered too vague. Complexity in design can be flexible, if considered with a purpose for future adaptability.
Zoning and Concentration of Structure
The zoning of places by segregating the temporary and permanent spaces could be more adaptable than if they are intermixed. It is important to identify areas that are like likely to change and separate them to avoid conflict between permanent areas. However where categories shift this can be an inflexible feature.
Additive Structure
This relates to the modular building type where, singular mass produced prefabrication units can be arranged into a variety of different shapes of patterns. This can benefits in simplicity of manufacture. However designs can be oversized, inappropriate and generalised.
Precedent: Below is a design by Architecture Studio 4of7 for a Pediatric Clinic in East Africa, which provide a variety of different sized courtyards surrounded by modular clinic buildings, which can be dispersed into a variety of patterns. The design is improved by visual guides to permance such as a tree, symbolically placed in the middle.
Creating a variety of spaces today does allow for individual flexibility and choice. However that does not allow for evolution or adaptability.
Over-capacity
Extra space leaves room for future growth and change. This however is at the expense of resources for no immediate gain. In time the space will fill up leaving the leading us toward an inevitability of zero flexibility. It is prudent to leave some space for change, but at a balance with present cost.
Growth Forms
The authors suggest that there are some logical urban forms that flexibility can take:
Own sketch of forms described in reading
Temporary Structures
"The internal parts of organisms are continuously being torn down and rebuilt to meet changing stress. Life is willing to pay a tremendous energy price to achieve flexibility." (Lynch, Banerjee, p389, 1990).
With temporary structures it is important to compare the life-time costs against more permanent structures. In poor economies, temporary solutions may be the only possible ones, however the hidden costs over many years for a temporary solution may outweigh that of a permanent one. Where small surpluses are possible it may be more economical to staged construction and have a longer life. There is a need to ensure that facilities are not used longer than intended. There are many instances where disaster accommodation is used for hundreds of years.
Precedent: Quinta Monroy by Alejandro Aravena incorporates adaptability in an economical sense. Start up buildings are constructed cheaply, whilst allowing room for people to build onto their dwellings when they are financially able. This staging allows, expensive land to be built upon cheaply and inhabited quickly, this is continually improving as extensions are built, strengthening the community in activity and ownership. see images below:
Unfortunately I had to leave the presentations early to attend a funeral, however we did manage to present to the other groups before I left. The feedback was minimal, however I feel that perhaps we did not fully explore the every aspect and practicalities of a barter system throughout the community and the global market. I think that we each had our own ideas about how this may work. It is a very tricky future scenario and touches on many issues about current society. If it was a simple solution we would probably already be living in a different world already.
The other groups boards look very visual appealing and I would have liked to explore further. Most of the woodfordia groups had similar ideas, as there are few options to explore for this site. Well, I look forward to finding someone that came up with a unique idea, which i need to explore through the photos I took and other blogs.
