Design Book

PIVOT

A city Within The City

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By Kiana Ward

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Table of Content Conceptual framework

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Design development

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Planning

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Final outcome

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Appendix A

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Appendix B

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The Brief

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Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan (GNMP) claims the need for additional 12,000 dwellings by 2036 for the Newcastle local government area (LGA). This is required to meet the growing demand for housing.

To respond to the future housing crisis, GNMP has asked architecture firm University of Newcastle (UON) to generate ideas for new residents of Newcastle to be accommodated in a city within a city.

A section of the former BHP steelworks site in Mayfield North is now owned by NSW government. To respond to this housing crisis, UON must propose a developed scheme of 3,000 residences on the BHP steel work site. UON architects will need to look into heritage, flooding of the site, landscaping and soil amendments, structure, and materials.

This project was driven by the concept of community, a city within a city.

The influence of community arrived from the generated ideas of affordability, co-housing, and resilience. These ideas became the matrix for shaping the future of Newcastle housing crisis. The considerations, from living arrangements, to communal areas, and rental schemes, have been embedded to promote the concept of community for the city.

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Site History

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The BHP Steelworks site was operational from 1915 to 1999. The BHP steelworks was seen as a city within a city that provided jobs, affordability, health, education, and social services. The Administration building holds historic significance as it was central to the BHP steelwork community and is heritage listed today. This was repurposed also with the rolling shed of the site in the proposed development for the new city within a city.

NSW government had undertaken a remediation strategy for the site.

The site contains groundwater, flooding and soil contamination issues. A barrier wall was embedded into the ground, north of the site to reduce the flow of contamination leaching into the waterways. Clay capping was placed over the site to reduce the filtration of rainwater. This also provides protection from direct human contact to the contaminated soil.

New storm water drains have been embedded into the eastern and western ends of the site to collect surface run off.

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Ideas Matrix The idea matrix includes three ideas which UON architects have built the foundation of the proposed developed from. These three ideas included are affordability, co-housing and resilience. Affordability is driven from the financial plan which provides low-rate leases to the residents of the city. Co-housing is driven by the need to design private and communal spaces for the needs of accommodating 300 residents per building. Half of the resident’s population have been designed for co-housing dwellings which house up to 5 people.

This minimises cost and maintenance for the city and residents. wResilience can be determined by a number of factors, for this development, these include affordability through the financial plan, environmental, sustainable, and emotional. The environment resilience is investigated into flooding on site and soil amendments. The sustainable resilience is introducing through materials of structure and the investments in sustainable shares. Lastly, emotional resilience is created by the community through social spaces, shared interdental, and planed interactions.

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Affordability

Co-Housing

Resilience

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Agora Garden The twisted nature of this building has inspired the visual appearance of our dwellings, each level sitting on an intermittent incline, in a twisted, cylindrical nature.

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Finance Package Traditional Lease Agreement Or Hybrid Vendor Financing

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Traditional Lease Agreement The residents enter into a legally binding lease agreement, agreeing to pay a weekly rental rate of over a series of months or years from their own personal finances.

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Hybrid Vendor Financing The developer of the city borrows or uses available funds to make low interest loans to residents up to the total property value. Resident receive the right to use the property rental agreement and invests the funds in a vendor pre-approved portfolio of sustainability projects or investments shares which benefit the city and are used as security for the loan.

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Hybrid Vendor Financing | Procedure

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Ratio of the City

The ratio of the city was focus on co-housing. The ratio includes 60 singles, 240 couples, 300 families, 1200 private co-housing and 1200 public co-housing. Half of the 3,000 population has been divided into two main types of co-housing dwellings. This includes private for strangers to become a shared dwelling and public which is multigenerational family shared dwelling.

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Singles 60

Private Co-Housing 1200

Couples 240

Families 300

Public Co-Housing 1200

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The La Borda Housing Estate

The La Borda Housing Estate was design by co-operative architect that are residences of the building. An ongoing project which is continually refined, promoting resident participation, collective ownership, affordability and sustainability- an alternative approach to housing.

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Communal Form

Co-housing which promotes community and a sense of togetherness.

Promoting community friendly forms of coexistence and enhancing the relationship between co-residents. By designing shared spaces, more room is made available for housing and public open spaces.

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Flora Investigation

Native Australian Flora selection, which will successfully grow in the site’s clay capped soil. Amending the soil with organic matter, through plant regeneration and soil amendments.

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Tall Fescue

Flax Lilies

Brachiaria Mutica

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Casuarina Cunninghamiana

Acmena Smithii

Bursaria Spinosa

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Plant Regeneration

Amending the soil with organic matter, through plant regeneration and soil amendments.

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1. Atmospheric carbon obtained through photosynthesis.

2. Leaves that fall give carbon to the soil.

3. Soil organisms are fed carbon filled nutrients from plant roots.

4. Carbon waste ejected through soil decomposition.

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Improve drainage across the site Two new main stormwater drains have been install by NSW Goveremenent (dark blue line) are to help maintain waterways from being contmainated. Catchments have been added with small channels (light blue line) to connect to these storm water drains. This work will address the flooding that currently occurs on parts of the site.

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Singles Dwelling Single dweilling is composed for one individual, who chooses to live in a self-contained manner. This encourages the individual to interact in the communal area, outside the dweilling.

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Couples Dwelling Couple dweilling composed for two people in a relationship, who choose to live together. The dweilling arragement and size encourages the couple to interact in the communal areaa, outside the dweilling.

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Familes Dwelling

Family dweilling composed for a family of four, made up of two children and two adults. Open plan living, dining and kitchen for parental supervision and contemporary design. With other fatilities located outside the dwelling such as laundries and larger dining and living areas encourages the family to spend time outside the dweilling.

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Private Co-Housing Dwelling

Private Co-housing composed for a group of people five who know each other; multi-generational, friend share-house. Shared living areas where possible, to maximise private spaces such as bedrooms. The shared co-housing encourages the use of communal areas outside the dweilling.

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Public Co-Housing Dwelling Public Co-housing composed for a group of five people who do not know each other and act as a share house, short term hostel style living. Small bedrooms with large shared living spaces, including shared bathrooms.

The shared co-hosuing encourages the use of communal areas outside the dwelling.

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Pivot Point The floor plates are centralised around a singular pivot point, inspiring the functional development of our dwellings, utilising a splayed layout which promotes sunlight exposure between the levels, catering for both winter and summer sun paths. This Precedent has influence the design of the proposed building, pivoting from the center to create nine levels.

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Master Plan The masterplan the layout of the city within a city. There is 10 buildings in total, housing 300 residents each. There are 9 levels with housing starting on the first level and columns below to hold the structure as well as a cord runner through the middle. An open void runs from the center of the building to filter through light into the communal areas. The design of the floor plates can be seen in a pivot rotation creating our building shape. The waterway channels are embedded through the site and through some of the buildings to collect rainwater. Community can cross these channels by interaction of steppingstones or bridges. There are multiple paths connecting each building around site and a bus route to promote sustainability. The administration building remains on the site repurposed as a community centre. This includes a medical centre, community library and supermarket. The rolling shed has been repur72

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Floor Plan | Level 1 This floor plan shows the single, couples and families residents. Access to the building is through stairs on the outside of the building rotating up to the 9th level and central elevators in the middle connecting to the communal areas.

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Section | Level 1 This section shows one of the arms of the building. This includes single, couples and family dweilling.

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Floor Plan | Level 2 This floor plan shows the public co-housing dwellings. This level contains one of the laundry facilities in the centre of the building. This encourages residents to interact with others in the building.

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Section | Level 2 This section shows one of the arms of the building. This includes public co-housing dweilling.

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Floor Plan | Level 9 This floor plan shows the Private co-housing dwellings. This level is the roof plan which includes a rooftop open area for picnics, bonfire and community gatherings on a sunny day.

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Section | Level 9 This section shows one of the arms of the building. This includes private co-housing dweilling.

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Re-purposing Rolling Shed The rolling shed has been repurposed into a sport and recreation center accessible to all residents. The rolling shed is apart of the financial plan with the residents purchasing a 100 vendor pre-approved portfolio shares. This membership lasts for 12 months in which the dividend will contribute to maintenance. This sport and recreation center will encourage community relationships within the city.

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Ground Floor The ground floor includes basketball courts, bathroom and changing facalities, indoor pool and grand stairs to the second level.

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First Floor First floor includes a gym with a weight area and cardio surface. Towards the front of the building is three squat courts for all ages.

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Second Floor The second floor is has a indoor skate park for children of all ages towards the front of the building. Located in the middle is a children’s indoor playground, bathroom and changing facwalities and seating. There is a café towards the end of the building for the community to use while visiting the sport and recreation center.

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References Page 7: Jasper Ludewig, Course Guide, Design Studio 6, 2021.

Page9: Black Board, Site Photo, Design Studio 6, 2021.

Page 11: Black Board, BHP Steelworks Port Waratah Conservation Plan, Design Studio 6, 2021.

Page 13: Black Board, Site Photo, Studio 6, 2021.

Page 19: De Zeen, Agora Garden by Vincent Callebaut, 2013 Page 35: LACOL Architectural Cooperative, La Borda Cooperative Housing, Barcelona, 2018 Page 51: Hunter Development Corporation , Fact Sheet, Remediation of Former Newcastle Steelworks Site, 2009 Page 69: Stålbyggnad, Pivot Point, 2021.

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