A B S T R A C T
This structures objective is to raise awareness of environmental destruction and aims to form an inclusive zone for the public using the area. The Twilight Zone hopes to address the issue of manmade environmental destruction. The structure applies technologies which have the capacity to utilise natural processes to form essential materials such as electricity and water. This can be done without any further destruction on the environment and begin to rehabilitate it.
This building stands as a message against the wellington council’s attempt to make Owhiro bay a residential zone. The program for the building holds both public and working sections which will address the aims of the project, one of which houses a botanic research facility studying BPV, a form of energy extraction, with moss. The building will live up the New Zealand’s green reputation to research and produce a flexible adaption to the first ‘green’ electrical substitute.
The Owhiro Bay botanic lab will research the possible output of BVP using moss and its possibility to be utilized in New Zealand. This means that only twilight produced by the sun is needed to produce results. Wellington is one of the sunniest Cities in New Zealand having over two thousand hours of bright sunshine each year meaning there will be a consistent amount of twilight.
The building ultimately wishes to intimidate the public with its presence alerting them to the effect that mankind has on the environment. The structure uses forms and technologies which express a contrast between man-made destruction and man-made creation to encourage better treatment of the environment.
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P R E F A C E
“The dance between darkness and light will always remain— the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.” - C. JoyBell C.
Architecturally this is incredibly true, without darkness the light will not be seen. Contrast is the best way to illustrate something and one without the other becomes meaningless. In this project the terraces are contrasted with the living man-made vents. This contrast depicts the possibilities created by man-made ‘destruction’ and man-made ‘creation’. Both processes have the same goal yet both have very different outputs. One offers material gain while working with the environment and providing light or growth. The other works against the environment turning life into darkness or destruction. The narrative illustrates this contrast of the created and destroyed revealing the part that is played by a single person.
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S I T E P L A N
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The moss vents situate themselves along the broken grid of the former rock face. The two contrasting elements of man destruction and creation expresses mankinds potential to repair the damage inflicted by mankind.
OWHIRO BAY TERRACES
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BPV SYSTEM
During the BPV process the moss vents generate electricity and water. The water travels in a spiral motion following the texture of the steel mesh. The circular copper pockets collect and filter the water preparing it to be transferred to the main water system. The electricity produced is feed directly to the main building to be put to use.
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E N T R A N C E V I E W
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A
B
B
A
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LEVEL TWO FLOOR PLAN
Research facilities - Botanic Laboratory stations, open Office and staff facilities.
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Restaurant - Eating and sitting areas, staff rooms and kitchen, staff stations.
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Restaurant - Bar and waiting areas, main public toilets, sitting areas, storage.
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Scuba Station - Staffroom and working space, changing rooms, equipment storage
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Atrium - Information desk, sitting areas, diving pool storage and entrance,
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LOOK OUT VIEW
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The water produced by the moss vents is pumped to the aqueduct which conveys the water over the terraces and through the building to the diving pools. This acts as a means of transportation but also illustrates the possibilities of these systems.
Moss vent structure
E N T R A N C E V I E W
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The moss vent at the entrance of the building cuts through to the top floor exposing the entire structure. One can look up and down the void and see all moment through
INTERNAL GARDEN VOID
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the building. This allows full coherency of the structure from the moment that you enter.
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ATRIUM AND MAIN CIRCULATION
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The atrium encompasses the main circulation vent which cuts through the entire building. All elements of the design can be experienced within this space including the diving pool which is located at the base of the vent.
S C U B A E N T R A N C E
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S E A A C C E S S
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S E C T I O N B / B
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S E C T I O N A / A
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T E R R A C E H E I G H T 100 m
80 m
60 m
40 m
20 m
Sea Level
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