Soft Threshold | Virginia Overell | Landscape Detail Design

SOFT THRESHOLD ABPL90074 Virginia Overell 211446

SIDNEY MYER ASIA CENTRE Building by Nation Fender Katsalidis completed in 2001 The building houses: Asialink, a centre for creative engagement with Asia hosted by the University of Melbourne.

Asia Institute, the centre for studies in Asian languages, cultures and societies.

Spirit Wall, an artwork by sculptor Akio Makigawa rendered in Corten wraps around the NorthEast corner of the building.

linear cantilever heavy/ light interplay

The building itself is a stark, with linear motifs continued throughout. The material palette includes concrete, steel and ceramic tiles.

LOCATING PLAN Faraday St

Monash Rd

Swanston

St

Unimelb

Nearmap, Melbourne University, 2020

Site photos: Virginia Overell, 2020

SITE ANALYSIS

NEW STUDENT PRECINCT

Legend Construction Pit Corymbia maculata Exceptional Tree Melaleuca styphelioides

Ulmus procera Brachychiton acerifolius Brachychiton rupestris Ulmus procera juvenile

https://students.unimelb.edu.au/student-precinct/project-updates/ construction-begins-on-the-new-student-precinct

Master plan document key phrases Passive and active landscape spaces Sustainable Moving between internal and external spaces

Rooftop meadow planting

EXISTING VEGETATION

Self sown grasses on roof

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ANTICIPATED MOVEMENT The new student precinct opens up a major new entry way to the south of the Sidney Myer Asia Building this will split the concentration of students across the multiple paths.

The new pathway allows for multi directional/ diagonal shortcuts through the university. This, along with introduction of landscape details will likely draw people towards this option diffusing the traffic more evenly across our site.

Legend Anticipated new pedestrian movement Existing & continuing pedestrian movement

ANTICIPATED MOVEMENT

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EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS

MONASH RD

NEW STUDENT PRECINCT

SIDNEY MYER ASIA CENTRE

BIKE PATH

SWANSTON ST TRAM STOP

1:500

LEGEND

SIDNEY MYER ASIA CENTRE CONCRETE

INLAID GRANITE TACTILE PAVING

YELLOW BRICK PAVING

BIKE PATH CITY OF MELBOURNE STANDARD BIKE RACKS TREE PITS CITY OF MELBOURNE STANDARD RUBBISH BIN TRAFFIC LIGHTS

SIGN POSTS

DRAINAGE DIRECTION DRAINAGE GRATE PROPOSED SITE

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PRECEDENTS

PAVING: Carlo Scarpa, Olivetti Showroom, Venice

GATEWAY: Steel Channel trellis structure, Fizroy Gardens, photograph: Virginia Overell, 2020

threshold, entrance, internal to external

TRANSLUCENCY: Edoardo Tresoldi at Arte Sella, Italy Lightness, blurring, partially obscuring

THRESHOLD: Moon Gate, The Humble Administrators Garden Suzhou, China https://live.staticflickr.com/761/20843100000_72f305627a_b.jpg framing views, creating threshold

DESIGN DRIVERS

framing views

organic vs linear

long morning shadows

INITIAL SKETCHES

MATERIAL PALETTE

Colour m atc h

to

tiles ade c a f

Melbourne Uni Standard yellow brick

Hardenbergia violaceae

Trachelospermum jasminoides

Powdercoated Steel

Jakob Systems 4mm Stainless Steel Wire Cable

Jakob Systems Swaged Clevis End Fixing

Jakob Systems Internal Thread Sleeve Attachment

Recycled hardwood sleepers

PHYSICAL MODEL 1:20 soft, linear mapping of time diffusion of sunlight and play of shadows

REFERENCES City of Melbourne, “Design Standards,” Engineering Standards and Specification, accessed September 30, 2020. https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/building-and-development/standards-specifications/ pages/design-standards.aspx Handy Steel, “Channels, Beams & Columns,” accessed October 12, 2020. https://handysteel.com.au/channels-beams-columns#:~:text=Steel%20channel%20is%20a%20hot,range%20of%20sizes%20 and%20thicknesses.

Harris W., Charles and Nicholas T. Dines, Time Saving Standards for Landscape Architecture, New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1998.

Jakob Rope Systems, “Green Solutions G2 Technical Catalogue,” Jakob AG, accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.jakob.com/ch-en/products/details/green-solutions.

Margolis, Liat and Alecander Robinson, Living Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture, Basel: Birkhäuser, 2007.

Rock & Redgum, “Railway Sleepers,” accessed October 12, 2020. https://rockandredgum.com.au/project/railway-sleepers/ Standards Australia, Design for access and Mobility: Public Consultation Draft, Issued February 2009, http://www.aph.gov.au › house_of_representatives_committees Street Furniture, “How to Apply DDA to Street Furniture: Seats and Tables,” September 19, 2019. https://streetfurniture.com/how-to-apply-dda-to-street-furniture-seats-and-tables/ SWA Group, “From Lizarding to lingering: how we really behave in public spaces,” The Guardian, August 1, 2019https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2019/aug/01/lizarding-and-flex-allure-how-do-youuse-your-city-plaza-in-pictures-field-guide The University of Melbourne, “Construction Begins on the New Student Precinct,” Project Updates, accessed September 10, 2020.. https://students.unimelb.edu.au/student-precinct/project-updates/construction-begins-on-the-new-student-precinct The University of Melbourne, “Landscape,” Design and Development, accessed September 10, 2020. https://students.unimelb.edu.au/student-precinct/design-and-development2/landscape