Summation

To summarize our overall scenario concept, I wrote a short paragraph to give a concise description for those who have not been following our progress. This can also be seen on the first panel.

"Along with the introduction of a congestion charge for vehicles in the city centre of Brisbane came an extensive transition from a conventional concentric CBD acting as a bustling yet detached thoroughfare, to an established community of mixed activities defying the traditional city layout. The eventual ban of cars produced a pedestrian-dominant CBD, resulting in a radical lifestyle and infrastructural shift towards an innovative metropolitan approach, incorporating a reversal in the residential and commercial precincts. Social and environmental sustainability radiates throughout the new vibrant centre, providing various opportunities for unprecedented architectural interventions."  

Below is a compilation of our four finalised panels, which when presented at the exhibition will be displayed side by side to form a continuous timeline.

Panel Contribution - Architectural Opportunities

As four architectural opportunities (minimum) were required to create a foundation for our full design development throughout the remaining of the semester, each group member provided one major opportunity that was determined through individual interests. My opportunity was that of vertical circulation. As it was to remain at a very conceptual level, I did not provide a full design but instead produced an explanatory diagram with a sketch to create visual support.

Description on panel: Vertical pedestrian circulation is developed to allow for easy transition between buildings at different floor levels. This is necessary due to singular function buildings resulting in public spaces at higher levels. Multi-level circulation also creates opportunities to demonstrate sustainability  on a social level by accommodating a larger pedestrian population with a multitude of areas for varying activities and functions. 

Panel Contribution - People and Lifestyle

Along with a transition from a vehicular accessible city centre to a pedestrian-dominant precinct comes a radical shift in city lifestyle. This has been a primary focus of our future scenario as every architectural and structural change must respond to this alteration.

This is reflected along with sustainability in my individual architectural opportunity diagram as the vertical circulation aids in accommodating the new lifestyle of pedestrian only access. I also included a small simplistic diagram to identify the major change in atmosphere and mood in the CBD in relation to the lifestyle transitioning from a hustling thoroughfare to an established community of activities. This diagram can be seen below.

I also produced a diagram showing a public space in the scenario that incorporates a great amount of greenery to show that as the spaces are converted to pedestrian access only, the setting should be altered to form a more pleasant and natural atmosphere to establish a sense of place that creates a foundation for social activities. This green space diagram can be seen below.

Panel Contribution - Sustainability

In our future scenario, sustainability is a crucial facet, though it is more in a social sense than environmental. By focusing on the accommodation of a large number of pedestrians, social sustainability is a forefront in our set scenario as well as architectural opportunities. In this way of thinking, the term sustainability is brought back to its root definition of 'allowing something to continue,' which in this case is the fluid circulation of people despite the potential for massive influxes in population.

My individual architectural opportunity of vertical circulation (which will be described later in more detail) falls primarily under the category of social sustainability, as it provides an ongoing infrastructural requirement that aids in the necessary movement of large numbers of people, which will become an increasing concern as the population continues to rise. By supporting foot traffic rather than motorised vehicles, this can also be categorised as environmental sustainability due to the dis-encouragement of polluting methods of travel.

My research into the use of maglev trains can also be perceived as environmental sustainability for reasons mentioned in the previous post about their features. As these trains have much less of an impact on the environment as other commonly used methods of public transportation, they are establishing a move in the direction of sustainable thinking at a metropolitan scale. There is also, of course, the obvious point of the total ban of cars in the CBD that directly contributes to environmental sustainability as it results in a transition to more eco-friendly modes of transport.  

Panel Contribution - Scenario

Throughout the process of our future scenario development, our group (myself, Alex, Jack and Hannah) have worked together quite seamlessly, each contributing a great amount of equal work that gets finished consistently and on time each week. This has allowed a fluid progression towards the end of the future scenario output.

Similarly, the four aspects that must be focused on through four separate panels (future scenario, sustainability, people and lifestyle, and architectural opportunities), have ended up becoming intertwined with one another. This is because for a truly integrated design to be produced that considers all aspects, these points cannot be perused individually but must compliment one another through complete amalgamation. As such, these concepts have been compiled in a manner that allows our four panels to be read as a single piece organized chronologically to maintain a clear and concise analysis of our scenario.

Due to following a timeline, our future scenario is the backbone of the panel layout and continues through all four. It's hard to sort out individual contribution to this aspect as it was continuously developed as a joint effort. A rough sketch of our scenario timeline layout across the four panels can be seen above in its development stage.

Existentialism in Architecture

Existentialism is a term not typically associated with art, architecture, or other forms of design. However, when considering the indeterminacy of future societal scenarios, one has the potential to question a large array of realms that may initially seem irrelevant. E. Winters does just that in his book, "Aesthetics and Architecture," headlined by the chapter, 'Politics and the Situationist International.'

Concluding the reading of this chapter, it is not entirely clear how Winters intends the reader to interpret architecture as a partner of existentialism. It is stated that the existence of this concept is rare, as in our society only those who are entirely aware of their complete freedom to make choices during every second of their life are truly happy. According to the book, the bourgeois live passively, accepting what is handed to them without questioning it. 

This is the point in which I was able to relate the theme of the chapter to architecture. If architecture is seen through the same perspective it can be argued that future designs must not follow the current trends and norms, otherwise they will meet the same fate at the bourgeois; existing as a passing element that remains unnoticed.

Manhattan Skyscrapers - the soaring buildings follow the same design pattern resulting in a lack of character and presence in the architecture 

(image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66080755@N06/7223095112/) 

On the contrary, if design is seen as autonomous and free to reflect the architect's personal choices then the design can succeed as a thriving and living presence, positively affecting those who experience its presence. This, however, depends upon the designer's ability to reflect the needs of society throughout the architectural entity.

Guell Park by Gaudi - by creating innovative designs that rebel against the current norm while maintaining functionality, the architecture emits vibrancy and life that can be felt by those around it 

(image source: http://nextours.wordpress.com/about-spain/touristic-places-spain/park-guell-by-gaudi/) 

Chronological Progression

The progression of our scenario has resulted in the need to recreate our ideas into visual format with supporting written evidence and summaries of a concise nature. The four major focuses of the concept that must be clearly stated are:

- Future scenario
- Sustainability
- People and Lifestyle
- Architectural Opportunities

As these aspects are intertwined with one another, it made sense to separate the ideas through chronological order by following a timeline. This shows that the scenario follows a gradual transition that allows a fluid thought process. The base timeline can be seen below:

The majority of the segments on the timeline will be replaces with diagrams, and will inform the layout of the four presentation panels.