PROJECT 1 : PRELIMINARY STUDIES

THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES IS A PREPARATORY ASSIGNMENT THAT FOCUSES ON INVESTIGATING BASIC NOTIONS OF THE CITY, AND LEARNING FROM EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY LIBRARY AROUND THE WORLD. THIS ASSIGNMENT AIMS TO FIRSTLY INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO THE BASICS IN URBAN DESIGN AND ITS RELATION TO ARCHITECTURE, AND SECONDLY, STUDYING AND DETERMINING THE PROGRAMMATIC FUNCTION, SOCIETAL ROLE AND SPATIAL LAYOUT OF A COMMUNITY LIBRARY AND ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSES FOR URBAN INFILLS.

EACH GROUP OF STUDENTS WAS REQUIRED TO STUDY , ANALYSE AND PRODUCED 16 A3 PANELS WHICH INCLUDED SITE ANALYSIS AND PRECEDENT STUDIES FOR FINAL PRESENTATION.

PROJECT 2: COMMUNITY LIBRARY

FOR THIS PROJECT, WE WERE REQUIRED TO DESIGN A COMMUNITY LIBRARY WITHIN AN URBAN INFILL SITE. THE DESIGN OF THE BUILDING IS TO CONSIST OF APPROPRIATE ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSES THAT ADDRESS THE ASPECTS OF THE URBAN STREET CONTEXT AND USER BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AS DISCERNED AND ANALYSED IN THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES.

APART FROM DEVELOPING A NARRATIVE ON ARCHITECTURAL STRATEGY IN RESPONSE TO THE RELEVANT QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO COMMUNITY AND ITS CONTEXT, THE DESIGN SHOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION A HOLISTIC APPLICATION OF STRUCTURAL, SPATIAL, FUNCTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS TO ADDRESS THE USER NEEDS FOR A COMMUNITY LIBRARY. THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESTRICTIONS THAT IMPACT AN ARCHITECTURAL SCHEME, THE INTEGRATION OF LIGHTING AND ACOUSTIC DESIGN, AS WELL AS THE DESIGN EXPLORATION AND DETAILING OF THE FACADE AND BUILDING ENVELOPES THAT IS COHERENT WITH THE ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE OF THE OVERALL DESIGN PROJECT.

AFTER THIS PROJECT, I HAVE LEARNT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION KEY ASPECTS OF URBAN DESIGN AND CONTEXT IN RELATION TO ARCHITECTURE AND DEVELOPED AN AWARENESS AND BASIC COMPLIANCE TO DESIGN CODES AND STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS. BESIDES, I HAVE EXPLORED PLAN-SECTION AND ELEVATIONAL STUDIES TO RESOLVE RELEVANT AESTHETIC, CONSTRUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT PHASE AND I MANAGED TO PRODUCE A DESIGN OUTCOME THAT ENCOMPASSES THE APPROPRIATE SITE-SPECIFIC ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSES THROUGH ITS FORMAL, CULTURAL, LEGISLATIVE, STRUCTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN SOLUTIONS FOR SPECIFIC URBAN ISSUES.

FROM THIS PROJECT I HAVE LEARNT TO ANALYSE THE SITE CHARACTER AND IDENTIFY CONDITIONS OF THE URBAN STREETSCAPE AND URBAN BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS. THIS HELPED ME TO GAIN UNDERSTANDING OF ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE FOR URBAN INFILL SITES AND FOR SPATIAL PROGRAMMING TO INFORM THE DESIGN PROJECT.