EXPRESSION OF INTEREST The Western Gateway Project is an opportunity to present an image of Wyndham City as an innovative and developing municipality. The Western Gateway will pick up where the ‘Seeds of Change’ Gateway left off by using parametric design to create an iconic and cutting edge design that demands attention be paid to Wyndham as a hub of rapid urban development. The Gateway will not only be a literal Gateway into Wyndham but also an introduction into the future urban developments occurring within the city. In particular, inspiration will be drawn from the $440 million Wyndham Marina project planned for completion in 2015. This marina project will attract boating enthusiasts, as well as those seeking an exciting waterfront lifestyle. Even though the gateway will be exposed to all those driving along the Princess Freeway, its connection to the boating harbour will attract more of attention from those engaging with the boating culture, and those interested in the residential developments. By capitalizing on this new expansion, the gateway will be an emblematic representation of this forthcoming tourist attraction. The design will serve as an icon of modernity, a sample of cutting edge design that can be expected from the state of the art marina facilities. In applying concepts relating to materiality, structural resolution, kinetic interaction and light, it will drive an innovative and experiential design solution that Wyndham desires. Our design goal is to create an architectural response that is unique in that the user can interact with it on a somewhat personal level, causing a manipulation of formal composition in different ways depending on the vehicle/users characteristics. This highly experiential design will react and display effects caused by the fluctuation in the frequency of cars, and their variation in size. The culmination of these elements will equate to a Gateway that is truly representative of Wyndham. The design will be an interactive, architectural sculpture that provides an opportunity for personal engagement. Through the use of light and kinetics, the experiential qualities of the design will be heightened, engaging the audience in a profound manner. Enabled through parametric design, this gateway for the City of Wyndham will promote the growth and development of this municipality, presenting it as a focal point for broader Melbourne to embrace.
20.
Structural Resolution
Materiality
Structural resolution of the design refers to purifying structure down to its core requirements in an effective and efficient manner. Through the development of form, its complexity can be optimized to a level that best suits cost and constructability considerations. In applying this to the Wyndham Gateway project, structural resolution will be implemented to purify the form to a level that sees the original design intent retained, whilst improving and simplifying form down to it necessities. This design element will also enable the integration of the Motion/Kinetic element, which requires specific conditions in order for it to work and is seen as the core connector that brings all other elements into the one amalgamated form and structure.
The gateway design has the potential to become a completely integrated part of the site through the choice of material. By choosing a material that responds to the environmental conditions of the site and to those interacting with the space, the surface of the Gateway can be altered in a way that is totally unique to its particular context. It also gives the users the ability to have a lasting effect on the architecture and change the way it will be experienced by others in the future, who in turn will have their own direct influence on the design.