Issuu

VOID

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

ESSE AIR

moonee ponds creek

ESSENDON AIRPORT

ROYAL PARK MATTHEW LOCHERT

ROYAL PARK

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JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Thrown down the guts of the Moonee Ponds Creek storm drain, who are these quaint beings that now surround me? I must find my way.

ROYAL PARK

territory / void watercourse

rail

MATTHEW LOCHERT

major road

ROYAL PARK

citylink

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JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

I spy familiar characters in the distance, so I approach. Bewildered, I don’t quite understand why I don’t recognise them the same up close. It’s like I only knew a part of them.

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

e lin JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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I notice friends of a type begin to surround me everywhere. Perched atop looking down, but waving. Gesturing to me to climb or follow. Peeking at me between the gaps or no longer trying so hard to hide behind the canopy. Calling out to me or swinging from the carriageway.

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There is such obscurity. Were they additions or loosely integrated from the start? Were they temporary or were they meant to last? Are they even finished?

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Some still apprehensive, appearing uncertain about their own existence and permanence, and yet seeking my input.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

HOME BASE

ground plane

stair

MATTHEW LOCHERT

façade

VOID

colonnade

wall JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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There is a sense of uncertainty, one that appears too regularly to feel out of place. As the journey progresses, more and more appear to show face and an understanding takes hold.

MATTHEW LOCHERT VOID

VOID

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

As with the ending of ‘The Lost Thing’ by Shaun Tan, these bricolage creatures found their home nestled in the forgotten places that urbanism had yet rationalised. Each sharing a visceral longing for prowess and fulfillment.

ground plane

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

ground plane

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Glistening to each other each sunrise and waving goodnight with their shadows each fall. How it is to feel that one belongs. That without it being, something is missing, and yet also without me it is not complete.

stair

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

stair

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Like a tree falling in a forest, it feels it does not exist without my noticing it. More and more have accumulated here with this feeling, and I shall not cast aspersions. With an acceptance of the impermanence and futility of development, we can progress with defining ourselves from the here and now. The allowance to add more or redefine itself over time. This enables an ability to accept the condition for what it presents currently, and that discovering identity does not need to undergo writing the wrongs of the past or to start again.

colonnade

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

colonnade

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Instead, there is the opportunity for a homogenous existence. That of the condition that brought about the unique circumstances the quaint creature exists in, and the promise for it to evolve its own identity no longer subverted to another’s. This can be achieved through the amplification of potency the creature already possesses, brought to the forefront, identifying itself as more than its subservient origins.

façade

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

façade

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

This reinforces a ‘genius loci’ in the place, ensuring a familiar continuance, not alien nor in disregard of contribution.An amount of unfinished is also felt in the place,which subjects the occupant the desire to instil their own ideal and agency onto the place. This will contribute to a sense of responsibility and ownership that will push the territory and its inhabitants to evolve with its users, reinforcing that sense of belonging.

wall

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

wall

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Atop the junction of every possible transit, and the threshold where the drain again becomes a creek, appears something collective in agency.

VOID

PLAN

MATTHEW LOCHERT

home base (friends of moonee ponds creek)

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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AXO

MATTHEW LOCHERT

I find another stair nestled under Flemington bridge next to the colonnade whose familiar steps...

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

...are polished and rounded with brass strips glinting the sun through the opening.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

They direct up to a tram stop never before seen, or possibly never noticed until now.

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Its colonnade supporting shelter skewed heavily as if pulled along by the rushing traffic along its edge.

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Something glistens perched atop and outreaching overhead seeking further interest.

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The stair appears to continue, swung down and yanking me up to perch with the rest of them.

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Here I find the home for the Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek community organisation.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Foster parent to all those quaint beings.

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Nurturing them to find their own place and be true to themselves.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Only then will others be true to you.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Here, an amalgam of all that surrounds, not knowing which came first, but evidence that they are cultivating an intensification.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Through this it is understood that the inherent qualities of the place can be made less uncertain and more demanding of presence by increasing its potency both up and down stream.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Potency of demarcation. Potency of grandeur. Potency of connection.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

Potency of visual obscurity and repetition. Potency of reflection and your own ideal.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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A method to ensure it will evolve over time with its constituents and avoid becoming lost ever again.

MATTHEW LOCHERT

There is just enough left in each intervention that you can put yourself in it.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

MATTHEW LOCHERT VOID

VOID

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Moonee Ponds Creek The creek is a major tributary, with upper sections around Greenvale, joining the Yarra River at Melbourne Docklands. The creek formerly comprised a series of marshy ponds (moonee moonee) in floodplain areas, with extensive saltwater marshes near its entry to the Yarra river known as Batman’s lagoon, once a receptacle for gold rush development, then drained and filled in (1879) to make way for the North Melbourne railway yards with the undeveloped southern Dudley Flats becoming home to impoverished scrap shelters during the 1930’s depression. 1890’s it was widened from the Yarra to North Melbourne for coal barges. 1950’s-1960’s the MMBW realigned and concreted a 10km stretch of the creek from Strathmore to Flemington Road to prevent flooding and erosion. Little of the creek retains a true natural alignment thus Melbourne Water permitting further realignment in areas. MPCCC comprises Cities of Hume, Moreland, Moonee Valley, Melbourne, and the Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek organisation who steer restoration and development efforts aimed at protecting and enhancing the creek.

territory

VOID

Built between 1993 and 2000, the Citylink was to be the largest infrastructure project since the Snowy Mountains and Australia’s largest private tollway with the largest application of electronic tolling in the world. It dramatically improved through-traffic congestion in the CBD, connecting the Tullamarine freeway, West Gate Freeway, and new Bolte Bridge and tunnels. Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall designed the bridge Gateway at Flemington Road as well as the Bolte Bridge towers. A 70-metre long inclined column of yellow painted steel is a key feature of the Gateway, which also consists of a line of inclined red columns and a curving yellow sound wall. The design of the Bridge and Gateway won the Jury Award at the 1999 National Architecture Awards. As described in The Age January 18 2004, the Moonee Ponds Creek is arguably the most abused tributary of the Yarra River showcasing the true underside of Melbourne. Rubbish and debris are tangled at the bases of the Gateway’s red posts like hair caught in the bristles of a hairbrush. Thousands drive over the creek every day never noticing or knowing what lies beneath. The creek bears the truth of the city. What was once a history of ponds, frogs, and marshland is now commonly mistaken as just a stormwater drain whose concrete is now improbable to remove due to the proximity of current development along the creek’s edges. In 2016-17, the EPA measured a water quality of zero out of ten.

MATTHEW LOCHERT

project:

What is characterised as a concrete stormwater drain is also a concrete playground enjoyed by scooter kids, cyclists, pedestrians and dog walkers despite being prohibited. It is not to mention the nostalgic reminder of scenes from Terminator 2, Grease, and driving/skateboarding video games of the 2000’s. There are new plans to demolish the 10kms of concrete and return the creek to a more natural state, however given its current poor condition and consideration to the south despite rejuvenation efforts, little is left to be desired with either option. Surely a more nuanced and fragmented approach could incorporate hardscape engagement, play, and a sense of ownership that would benefit all while conjunctively contributing to a more ecocentric return. Paths begin and end without any warning or redirection, sometimes even leading into the prohibited drain or stopping abruptly at a major road without recourse or connection to place. Could it be that this fractured nature of existence could lend itself as a useful intervention in attributing amenity and purpose along a course that would then be identified as a whole and worthy of care and ownership? Although the concreted creek is prohibited because it is prone to flooding, the entire trail is subject to flooding restrictions due to continuous underpasses. Could the infrastructural play in hierarchy and connection be full of possibility when adapted and integrated in scale? With this could the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail be more than a thoroughfare and therefore a gathering and pause point with connection and appreciation for the plurality of the natural and the made. The void here is not the space between building faces and the street with open air, but the unfinished thresholds of a creek boundary, its highway ceiling with large grounding legs, and its uncertain ground state of being either natural or concrete.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Where the Citylink infrastructure only lives to serve the highway, its grounding results in a remnant representation of dismissive Melbourne planning. Haphazard junctions of grandeur, hostile in nature yet beautiful in their perceived scale. Although not intended, these creatures appear uncertain and longing for further contribution to define themselves separate from their subservient existence. Where the territory could be categorised as a place ‘Where the wild things are”, “the veldt”, or “Narnia”, it begs for engagement in search for belonging.

ground plane

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

project:

These engineered elements are misappropriated and consistent, with their structural surround offering the opportunity for unique playful exchange of place. The play on light. The repeated elements of sculpture or structure. The interface of what may appear temporary but will remain indefinitely until the initiative is beholdent. Much of the creek is beloved, its solidification to negate natural erosion, has promoted the encroachment of contact to it physically. Instead of identifying a proposal for an alternative place, it can be seen that this has brought forward a different kind of interaction of tension between the necessary infrastructure and the natural domain.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

SPATIAL EXPERIENCE

Understanding how people experien Ponds Creek is an important to when changes to the creek itself. Embankment Steepness

Due to the deeply incised channel an of the embankment, the Moonee Pon often experienced from an elevated overlooks the creek. The viewer is t from the water by the steep embank in most cases is so steep (1:3 slope) down to access the water’s edge is b dangerous.

Separation From Water

concrete storm drain

The channel was designed with no c SPATIAL EXPERIENCE people, and indeed in earlier times, t Understanding how of people Metropolitan Board Worksexperien (MMBW Ponds Creekpeople is an important to when discouraged from accessing changes to themesh creekfencing itself. along the placing chain

Separation From Water Engagement With Water

natural creek vision for engagment

development

The channel was designed with no c people, and indeed in earlier times, t Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW discouraged people from accessing placing chain mesh fencing along the embankment, and in some places, lo along the fat bottom of the channel t unauthorised activities such as cyclin

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

however, development is already at the threshold preventing return to natural creek

Engagement WithWater Water Separation From

embankment, and in some places, lo Embankment Steepness along the fat bottom of the channel t Due to the deeply incised channel an unauthorised activities such as cyclin of the embankment, the Moonee Pon In some locations these fences still r often experienced from an elevated recent years, overlooks the these creek.preventative The viewer mea is t relaxed Melbourne Water.embank Today from theby water by the steep acceptance that will enter the in most cases is people so steep (1:3 slope) use varietythe of water’s ways, even downit in to aaccess edgethou is b channel remains of limits to people d dangerous. concerns during high fows. The channel was designed with no c people, and indeed in earlier times, t SPATIAL EXPERIENCE Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW Understanding how people experien discouraged people from accessing Ponds an important to when placingCreek chain is mesh fencing along the changes to the creek itself. embankment, and in some places, lo along the fat bottom of the channel t Embankment Steepness unauthorised activities such as cyclin Due to the deeply incised channel an of embankment, the fences Mooneestill Pon In the some locations these r often experienced from an elevated recent years, these preventative mea overlooks creek. The viewer is t relaxed bythe Melbourne Water. Today from the water the steep embank acceptance thatbypeople will enter the in most cases is so steep (1:3 slope) use it in a variety of ways, even thou down to remains access the water’s is db channel of limits to edge people dangerous. concerns during high fows.

Engagement With Water

In some locations these fences still r recent years, these preventative mea relaxed by Melbourne Water. Today acceptance that people will enter the JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682 use it in a variety of ways, even85thou channel remains of limits to people d

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MATTHEW LOCHERT

citylink

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

MATTHEW LOCHERT VOID

VOID

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

Not quite no man’s land, is a place frequented although ownership is absent and uncertain. Though it is not empty, no one proclaims “I’m here.” Ever transient are these occupants, much like those humming overhead, but at least observant. Much like a child walking through a zoo. Full of intrigue and wonder to the haphazard junctions of grandeur never intended to be witnessed up close. But off to see the next animal. The identity of this space is one of those animals. The identity of self within a space that cannot be chosen to leave nor attempt to make own. To set this animal free and enable it to find its own, would entail establishing connections between that which is denied.

stair

VOID

In essence, the stair is an establishment of what is already present. The desire to connect what is already cast to the ground. A passage of connection between two planes. One of pure will, and the other of tension. The stair here promotes agency of self. This place is not a non-place simply to facilitate the above. It’s solid grounding validates this. The lightweight support structure suggests something more temporary or unfinished much like its surrounding. But tied to a solid sense of self and meaningful connection, it seeks the embrace of inhabitants to claim and fill with their own hope for the place. This bridging the austere permanence of the place and shifting it towards something more malleable that could be a part of something greater.

MATTHEW LOCHERT

project:

Two heavy, dark creatures wind their way through the sky overhead. Shadowing the ground in an effort to hide its elephant-like feet and the honesty of the creek below. The shapes take passage alongside and over the creek in a near avoidance of the density surrounding. The feet are deliberately set down. Its footprint however reaches further. The ground appears uncertain where to go, what to be. A shimmer is present between, gleaning a curious relief to the ground. Gazes are immediately lured. Light beams down attracting the curious eye to the void between. The unattainable path arrives at what cannot be shared. Here, a stair is placed to marry the experience. Its footing is unrestrained like its neighbours, however swallowing in the footpath along Mount Alexander Road, to capture from all directions. It is solid and polished demanding its permanence. Beyond and framing the passage is a lighter more temporary support attempting to blend in. It suggests a demand for ownership, to add to in order to make it home. The more it is embraced the more it belongs. Suddenly the unattainable is breached and the uncertain is diminished. Up between the Citylink, views outward embrace the fabric that has shaped the space below. An appreciation is established, and the occasional driver would be bewildered to find a head bobbing above the barrier. A curiosity ensues for a deeper understanding.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

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colonnade

Along the bike path, that would otherwise terminate around the bend and re-establish on the other side of the creek, the colonnade shifts its alignment distinguishing a notion of importance and alternative passage demarcated. The path suggested here is that which the observer veers towards. The connection to the light-broken canopy, the oldest structures, the path on the other side of the creek. Infill overhead suggests the desired path even when the passage is flooded and is at ease with accepting that. This suggested path carries forward as a platform to the carriageway above, as a break in the unfettered flow, a moment for reflection of what may lie beneath. Not what can be seen, but what could be hoped for. Hopefully considerate.

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

project:

Downstream of the footy pond, and beneath the myriad of add-on carriageways, lies a consortium of props, each with a different author. Nothing hints to sense, rationale, not especially cohesion. But here lies the unique beauty through intrigue and wonder of possibilities. A forest of species living free, wild in their entanglement. The sun peaking through the slits of the overpass canopies. Here, although direct, wayfinding is conflicted. The colonnade is a feature of delineation. An existing set of columns and beams are intensified in quantity, reinforcing the subtle grid that is present. The void between this structural interface is translated as an inversion upon the water below. Stepping stones through the forest as a direct engagement validating the system that occurs.

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Plan

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project:

façade

Upon the journey seldom travelled, you are met by a heavy stampede of structure and sculpture that lives to serve the highway above. Its rhythmic grounding conceals glimpses of what is off in the distance and allows the observer to conjure their own ideal. Tufts of grass break through the solidified drain, or run completely rampant where unfinished, here sharing a delightful exchange of defiance masked by mass. Despite the overshadowing of the looming highway sweeping overhead, the slices between share a focused view and glean a shimmer to the ground that takes hold of the curious eye instead of the shadow. The odd service platforms and space between the array of columns invite inspection although just out of reach. Even the channel itself is just wide enough to second guess my jump. The unruly and unkempt expanse is attempted to be shielded by an interchange of concrete and natural trunks, where you are left to guess and fill in the gaps. And where there is the littlest effort to finish something, battered fortification redirects attention anywhere else.

VOID

MATTHEW LOCHERT

To truly claim the place as its own and evoke identity, individual to its subservient creation, it must not attempt to rewrite an alternative. The proposal seeks to amplify its unique conditions, thus intensifying its identity to breach the forefront. The mode to achieve this is gestural, promoting contribution and embrace. It is not a completed ideal, as the place itself is not fully self-discovered, but allows a framework to exist promoting filling-in of those gaps. Now a destination for the individual to inflict their own idea upon the place, thus continuing staked claim much like the graffiti murals that exist. The infrastructure and relief intensified instilling a sense of belonging through enhanced rhythmic exchange.

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It is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to seek permission. This is ever so true with how Melbourne acts upon this territory. What once were a series of interconnected marsh ponds became a rigid stormwater drain to prevent flooding and allow ever creeping development to edge closer. The creek bears the truth of the city, the true underside attempted to be concealed below the citylink that it made the perfect excuse for. Like a hopeless romantic, its intertwined exchange of infrastructural purism justified its relationship. Described as the most abused tributary of the Yarra River, indifferent to Melbourne’s gold rush development using marshland as receptacles. Yet there is an interesting conflict. By mere proximity, its engagement is sought although never intended. By those edged close to it, it is a beloved private backyard accessible only to those that claim it. Although access is not permitted, this is not perceived through its formal and informal junctures of hardscape trails and eroded passage. Below the sound barriers and immersed among the concrete with patched unruly grasses, is an escape from the city and development, only hinted to in the distance. The expansive sky overhead follows the drain to what end. Infrastructural grandeur ever alluring having never been intended to be seen up close. The urban sublime lives here. Its most well-intentioned ownership of the hand that has already been dealt. What appears as a place leftover, a thoroughfare through nowhere, becomes a place unto itself only by those that present ownership and author it agency.

JOEL POLYCHRONOPOULOS - S3542682

MATTHEW LOCHERT

VOID

mid-semester presentation

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stair

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colonnade

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VOID

VOID by Joel Polychronopoulos