Architecture Portfolio

JANAI LEMAR 0413 999 882 ia-naj@live.com

PURPOSE My name is Janai Lemar, I am seeking part of full time employment at your firm.

I have just graduated from my Master’s of Architecture at the University of Newcastle, having completed my bachelor degree at the University of South Australia.

BEHAVIOUR

Reinforces

I chose to study architecture because I want to create positive change, therefore I hope to use design, or design thinking to make the world a better place. Architecturally I am interested in education, public and disaster relief architecture, as well as urban and landscape design. I am particularly passionate about involving the users in the design process, and have experience with participatory design in Nepal, Alice Springs, and Bidwell, Western Sydney.

Supports

However, I believe my education has enabled me to develop my systems thinking and strategic design skills. Consequently, identifying and solving the root causes to complex problems is something I have become increasing passionate about. My other interests include economics, sociology and psychology, as I am interested in human behaviour and how it influences and can be influenced, by the built environment.

Reinforces

CULTURE 2

SPACE

I look forward to hearing from you, thank you.

Janai

CV Name.

EXPERIENCE Janai Kim Lemar

Email. ia-naj@live.com Mobile.

0413 999 882

LinkedIN. https://au.linkedin.com/in/janai-le mar-776032125 Masters education.

University of Newcastle Master of Architecture 2016-2017

Oct. - Dec. Bidwell Participatory Design Project with Youth 2016 from the Learning Ground to design a chill out space Oct. 2016 - Oct. 2017

University of Newcastle Architecture Studio Monitor

June 2016

Tangetyere Design Studio (Alice Springs, working with Inarlenge town camp to design a community centre (10 days)

April 2016

Waitress at Goldbergs

Undergrad education. University of South Australia 6.02/7.00 Bachelor of Architectural Studies

2013 - 2015- third year 2015

Feb. 2016 Health Habitat Co-Design in Nepal: Designing

Toilets for Shree Thangal Dhap, a remote school

High school.

Pembroke School 1998- 2011 International Baccalaureate

41/ 45 = ATAR 99.2

Sept. 2015 Flightpath Architects, working on West Terrace Cemetery proposal

SKILLS Revit advanced Illustrator advanced Archicad basic Photoshop advanced AutoCAD basic Indesign advanced Sketchup basic Sketching intermediate Modelmaking advanced Systems Thinking intermediate

Feb. 2015

Snohetta (via JPE) working at on the University of South Australia Great Hall project.(2 weeks)

References.

Kate Ferguson 0434 951 145 PhD Candidate/Supervisor of Bidwill Design-Build Project Richard Colley 0403 954 690 Manager at Goldbergs Coffee House 3

Preparing the Soil for Autonomous Learners Final Project, 2017 UoN Preparing the Soil for Autonomous Learners proposes cultural and physical changes to the prevailing university environment. It is a response to the prevailing rationalised education system that focuses on maximising efficiency to produce standardised workers, rather than facilitating students’ intellectual development to empower them to be autonomous lifelong learners with the abilities and dispositions to shape a future world we all want to be part of.

This book is structured in three parts. Firstly, the prevailing paradigm is critiqued in terms of its effectiveness in preparing students as ethical citizens and future decision makers. Secondly, pedagogical improvements that facilitate learner’s intellectual and problem-solving development are discussed. Lastly, architectural patterns informed by environmental psychology that support these pedagogical improvements and accommodate the activities and cognitive process of authentic learning, are outlined.

Providing a cognitive and physical environment to facilitate learner’s intellectual development celebrates and empowers their diversity and will not only benefit the learners as individuals, but also society as a whole, by developing innovative and passionate citizens and leaders who will shape a future world we all want to be part of.

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PART 1 WHAT’S WRONG?

INTRODUCTION

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PURPOSE

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Rationalisation Of Education In Capitalist Economies

Irrationalities Of Rationalisation

Graduates For The Future

PEDAGOGY PART 2 HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER?

11 16 22

32

From Teaching To Learning

Cognitive Processes Of Learning

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Phenomenon Based Degrees

41

Dissolution Of Discipline Divisions

46

Collaborative Problem-Solving

51

Curriculum Design

54

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ARCHITECTURE 60

Design Process

64

Environmental Psychology & Spatial Qualities

73

Architectural Patterns For Activity Based Learning

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CONCLUSION

101 5

Divergent

EXPERIENCE

Problem Experiencing

Activities Brainstorm

Watch Contemplate Presentation

Watch People

Gather Information

Brainstorm Gather Information

Chat

Discuss Experiences & Ideas

Cause Identifying

COGNITIVE PROCESS OF LEARNING

Reveal & Display Info & Ideas

Individual

Contemplate

Prepare Creations

Prototype & Make Creations

Watch People

UNDERSTAND

Solution Creating

Interpret & Evaluate Info

Chat

Discuss Experiences & Ideas

CREATE

Reveal & Display Info & Ideas

Present Ideas & Creations

Watch Presentations

Collaborative Social Plaza

Haven

Prototype

IDEATE

Solution Identifying

Cause Selecting

Make

Interpret & Evaluate info

INCUBATE

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Circulation

Nooks

PROCESS

Present Ideas & Creations

Prepare Creations

Convergent

Team Room

Amenities

Library

Cove

Forum

Tutorial

Workshop

Spaces

Hive

enon Unit Neighbo m o urh n oo Phe d

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The circular shape is psychologically comforting, enhancing the probability of learners actively participating and listening to discussions and group work. It is also more inclusive as there is no clear front or back, everyone in the room is involved. The focal point of these rooms can also change depending on the furniture configuration, and there can even be numerous configurations if Trapezoid flip top tables on wheels can be stored away easily, configured as individual tables or combined to form straight lines or hexagons for collaboration.

High ceilings (>3m) provide free, abstract, and creative thinking Plants reduce stress, boost moods, stimulate creativity, and enhance concentration.

Yellow gives a creative, friendly, optimistic and confident atmosphere.

Translucent polycarbonate reveals activity but prevents people Deep wall reveals allow chairs or bags to be stored under them, leaving the floors clear.

The matte, magnetic white-board walls encourage brainstorming and allow learners to visually organise, present, and discuss information and ideas, while also acting as projector screens.

Green provides a restorative experience, boosting the students’ mental capacity, and enhancing efficiency and focus.

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Architecture as Ecology

Ecology 1. a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment 1.1 a complex network or interconnected system

summer

protect from direct radiation winter

lets light in

protects from wind

H 2O

Phytoremediation

releases humidity

Mn

Hg

captures dust pollution

Pb

Cd CO2

O2

absorb carbon & release oxygen

Ni reduce acoustic pollution

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artisan microhousing: architecture as ecology Design Studio 4A, 2016, UoN Site.

Denison Street Carrington, NSW

The brief was to provide microhousing for artisans on Carrington.

The design is for horticulturists and explores the way in which the architecture can interact with the site, incorporate plants and act as a complex ecological system.

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LET’s enhance Newcastle’s vibrancy Design Studio 4B, 2016, UoN Site.

Newcastle CBD

The brief was to rejuvenate the urban centre of Newcastle as the genuine cultural, social, and commercial heart of the city. It was determined that for development, an incentive for people and businesses to come to centre must be present. However, through analyse it was recognised that this is not achieved through the traditional “build and they will come” attitude. Therefore, it was hypothesised that if there was more activity in the city centre, it would attract more people and businesses.

LET’s Newcastle was founded as a non-profit, independent collective of Newcastle residents that are passionate about enhancing the city by DIY interventions in public spaces. For an intial project I designed, made and temporarily installed free giant games in an underutlised public park and observed peoples’ interactions.

This method of tactical urbanism is intended to test ideas without the risk of wasting money and time, and act as catalysts for long-term change, as well as changes on various levels.

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Adelaidea.

Design Studio 5, 2015, UniSA Site.

Inner city eastern suburbs in Adelaide Like many Australian cities Adelaide is facing the problem of urban sprawl due to increased urban populations. Rather than providing density through multi/high rise apartments, this studio challenged us increase the number of dwellings in existing inner-city Adelaide suburbs, such as Dulwich and Rose Park.

The first part was to create a master plan of how to increase density on a block in Dulwich.

Instead of amalgamating the backyards like suggested our group noticed that suburban streets in Adelaide are often unnecessarily wide and the standard cottage/villa has a large, underutilised setback. Therefore we proposed to increase density by building dwellings on the middle of the existing road and diverting the cars.

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Chicago Trade Mission Design Studio 4, 2014, UniSA Site. 30 Waymouth Street, Adelaide The brief was to design a multipurpose building (retail, commercial, residential and gallery) representing the city of Chicago on the narrow Gallery site on Waymouth Street.

This design focuses on: emulating the skyline and its reflection in lake Michigan; contrasting the order of the gridded streets with the disorder of the skyline and recreating the sense of immersion caused by the unhuman scale of the Chicago skyscrapers.

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Bidwell Design/Build Participatory Project Kate Fergusson (PhD Candidate at RMIT), Bidwell Learning Ground Site. Bidwell, Sydney The brief was to work with youth from Bidwell in designing a chill out space in a local park. The focus was more on the psychological impacts of participatory design, rather than making a beautifully crafted product. My role in this project was as a facilitator, listening and interpreting the participants ideas.

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Tangentyere Design/Build Tangentyere Design/UoN Location.

Alice Springs

We worked with residents of the Inarlenge town camp to design a community centre. This required understanding their spatial and cultural needs, as well as the funding limitations.

Consequently as well as designing spaces, we also designed a staging system which would increase the chances of progress. To further involve the community we also identified activities which could be done by the residents and could possibly lead to long-term employment opportunities.

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Urban Qualities, Social Cohesion, and Community Resilience Abstract:

This dissertation questions how community resilience in disadvantaged neighbourhoods can be enhanced by improvements in urban qualities. The aim is to establish a conceptual framework of how urban qualities can strengthen social cohesion to enhance community resilience in Australian disadvantaged suburban neighbourhoods. Firstly, this would provide political decision makers with an alternative approach to mitigating spatialized social disadvantage and social problems by addressing the experiences of the residents and the causes of the problems, rather than displacing them through the current strategy of urban renewal. Secondly, it would expand the scope of urban design practice to consider its potential social influences.

The conceptual framework is developed by synthesising existing sociological, urban planning and urban design literature, within which there are established relationships between community resilience, social problems and social cohesion; and between social cohesion and urban qualities. It is inductively reasoned that urban qualities must have some influence on social problems, and community resilience. It is found that there is a complex relationship between urban qualities, self-perceived disadvantage, social cohesion, social problems, and community resilience. This due to the fact that urban qualities can physically and psychologically facilitate social interaction, a per-requisite of social cohesion. Social cohesion enhances community resilience as it reduces peoples’ initial motivation to commit crime and antisocial behaviour, and enables residents to proactively respond to social, economic, and environmental stressors.

The new conceptual framework’s validity is tested by developing a checklist of urban qualities that enhance community resilience.

It is then applied it to Davoren Park, South Australia, a typical neighbourhood of spatialized disadvantage and social problems.

The conceptual framework was supported as Davoren Park has 18

a high rate of crime, visible indications of anti-social behaviour, and only scored 9 out of the 28 on the urban qualities checklist; thereby suggesting a correlation between urban qualities and social problems. This analysis also provides recommendations for improvements in urban qualities that would strengthen community resilience of Davoren Park, and other similar disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Improvements suggested include: prioritising pedestrian experience; providing public amenities to give residents reasons to be and stay in the neighbourhood; and enhancing the aesthetic attractiveness of the street and public places. However, this conceptual framework remains theoretical and requires further longitudinal research to test it in the field. This could consist of retrofitting the urban qualities of a disadvantaged Australian neighbourhood to comply with the checklist, and evaluating if it has any impact on social cohesion and community resilience.

Interdependencies between Topics

Conceptual Framework of the Relationship between Urban Qualities, Factors of Social Cohesion and Community Resilience

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The meaning of architecture:Critics vs the Public: Scottish Parliament building, Enric Miralles

Abstract: This paper explores how a building not only produces cultural, social and political meaning through its architecture, but also through the process of its design and construction. It is observed that there can be a disconnection between the meaning of architectural symbols and the public’s understanding of them. This is evident in Enric Miralles’ Post-Modern Scottish Parliament (1999-2004) in Edinburgh, Scotland. A Scottish Parliament building was required after a devolved Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. The building’s architecture was intended to represent the ideals and aspirations of Scottish nationhood. It was a controversial project which, although praised by architects and critics for symbolising Scottish national identity and democracy, has not been well received by the Scottish public. The discontent resulted from contextual social issues and the public’s inability to understand the abstract architectural symbolism that attempts to represent Scottish identity.

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Semiotic theory outlined in Geoffrey Broadbent’s “A Plain Man’s Guide to the Theory of Signs in Architecture” (1977), is used to analyse the intended and consequential meaning of the Scottish Parliament building. The paper begins by outlining the political context and symbolic importance of a Scottish Parliament building for Scottish people. The architect’s intended meaning is then explored. This is followed an exploration of the origins and meaning of the controversy surrounding the realisation of Miralles’ Scottish Parliament building, by referring to The Words Between the Spaces (2002) by Thomas Markus and Deborah Cameron. It is argued that although the abstract symbols embedded in the physical architecture may be successful in representing Scottish identity to some, they have not been successfully communicated or understood by the Scottish public. Therefore these abstract symbols can be seen as elitist and undemocratic, undermining the very purpose of the architecture and Parliament. Although considered architecturally unsophisticated, it is suggested that architecture aims to appeal to their users and the general public as they are the most important audience, as it forms part of their everyday environment. It is also proposed that the social context and process of a building’s realisation has the potential to create greater meaning for the public than the architecture itself.

Signifier

Signified/Signifier

Miralles’ Design

Natural context/Scottish Landscape

Therefore

Scottish People Signified Diagram showing how the Miralles’ design is a signifier the landscape which in turn signifies the Scottish people, therefore the Scottish people are signified by his design.

Socio-cultural Sustainability of Housing Reconstruction in Rural Nepal following the 2015 Earthquake Abstract: This paper examines the potential architects have to promote socio-­ cultural sustainability through the reconstruction process of rural Nepalese housing, following the 2015 earthquake. Firstly, a brief exploration of Nepal’s different cultures, climates and resulting vernacular architecture is provided to demonstrate the complexity and importance of a culturally sensitive approach.

The typical donor-­lead post-­disaster reconstruction (DPR) process is then evaluated by analysing socio-­ cultural implications of the reconstruction of rural housing in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. This is then compared to owner-­driven reconstruction (ODR),of the UrbanPoor Linkage’s (UPLINK) reconstruction of 3 500 houses in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, following the 2001 tsunami. It is found that DPR is socio-­culturally unsustainable as architects and local communities are rarely involved. DPR usually produces identical houses that disregard vernacular architecture and therefore the communities’ cultural identity, traditional lifestyles, and availability of local resources and skills. Furthermore, DPR does not encourage community empowerment and ownership in the reconstruction process of their built environment; whereas ODR aims to enable homeowners to direct reconstruction. ODR should utilise architects to provide support and guide local communities by interpreting their needs and facilitating their design ideas.

Empowerment is not only crucial in the physical rebuilding of disaster-­stricken communities,but also in the psychological, cultural and societal sense. It is recommended that ODR be employed in reconstructing rural houses in Nepal to e power local citizens, and to efficiently address the great variation in the vernacular architecture of different Nepalese communities. These variations cannot effectively be understood by outsiders in the context of disaster response. Although ODR is resource intensive and requires time, it inevitably results in a built and social environment which is more environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable in the long-­term.

Map of Nepal’s ethnic variation indicated by the different colours and showing those affected by the earthquake

Figure 2. Map of Nepal’s climatic zones and the earthquake affected region

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JANAI LEMAR 0413 999 882 ia-naj@live.com