Wednesday 10 August 2011

WEEK 2 REFLECTION AND OVERVIEW

The following is a brief summary of the work produced during the tutorial and further thoughts on each strategy...


VIRTUAL- overview
How does virtual architecture benefit Australia?
-          Australia is such a big country with large land size, so this method of architecture can allow people to connect on a local and global scale.
-          This gives Australia a greater profile around the world and global issues can be more effectively dealt with.
-          People are constantly travelling and migrating so virtual architecture is a good way for people to stay in touch with all aspects of society and the government.
-          Through the rapid rate in which technology is advancing some kind of virtual architecture would be beneficial for the future and easily adapted to changing environments.
-          Virtual architecture would have to be user friendly and available to use by everyone to be successful.
-          Thoughts of virtual architecture include layering of the virtual world around us on top of the physical world that exists- combing the two. This could also include physiological issues of the mind like memory and thinking patterns.
-          With this kind of architecture, is there a chance that through the rate in which technology is changing, could something that is created now be totally redundant in 10 years?

FLEXIBLE- overview
How does flexible architecture benefit Australia?
This kind of architecture could be very sustainable for a number of reasons:
-          Designing for demolition would save on materials and waste issue in the future. This could be where joints of the actual building are not fixed and easy to disassemble.
-          Any form of flexible architecture could be possibly adapted for the future as the total building use and/or materials could be flexible rather than demolishing the whole building and rebuilding new ones for new functions and needs.
-          It was interesting to talk about how often generic flexible spaces that feature things like partition walls actually get used the way they are intended to.  
-          Some ideas of flexible architecture include transparent spaces/ walls to choose which areas of the building are shown or closed off. This could possibly blur the lines between private and public spaces and create a more successful interaction between the two on a local and federal level.
-          Also within the parliamentary building itself, flexible spaces could act as more effective areas of work as most issues can’t be done in separation- the spaces need to be able to be manipulated as they would be constantly changing.
-          Other issues of flexible architecture include the changing character of buildings, not just the spaces themselves.  As cultures, trends and material availability change, the character of the building could change also to best represent Australia at any given time. A similar example of this is the ‘black box’ in theatre, where the space can be altered to create a desired environment.
-          Adaptable design with changing functions could create a useable space at all times of the year. An example of this is creating an auditorium space that could be easily disassembled/ moved to make room for an empty space to be used for a different function.
-          Adaptive/ changing skins could be created for facade design both inside and outside the building. This could change with the environment, manually or digitally to create a building that responds to the building and the people in a point of time.
-          The idea of placing all services outside the building to free up the inside spaces was quite interesting, which would maximise the internal spatial quality. This would be a system that could be continually changing depending on different events. Big events in council- external spatial quality is most important (first impressions), general activity- internal spatial quality dominates?
-          There are also many emerging technologies like using robots or computers for design to create spaces and facades with the same material, to allow a building that could be forever changing.

MOBILE- overview
How does mobile architecture benefit Australia?
-          Is mobile architecture portable architecture? In that a government building can be moved around Australia to where it is most useful at the time? Would this mean though that all people who work for these federal agencies would have to be constantly commuting?
-          This concept would possibly blur the current government set up of federal, state and local councils.
-          Something like the ‘mobile library’ that exists in parts of Australia could be highly beneficial as people within smaller communities could access and be part of government agencies. Individuals in remote areas could have the chance to be part of decision making processes of Australia to include a wider range of demographic.
-          This style is interesting as it could be more in favour of representing different cultures and values, which is important in this multicultural society.
-          This may eventually lead to the ‘flattening of the pyramid’, where there isn’t such a separation between state and local leaders (hierarchies) and more of a community based approach to the running of the country. This could include open debates and forums within most districts across Australia. This may also mean that better decisions are made as the decision makers are present within that community and can experience what is needed rather than seeing the evidence form others. For example, making a more appropriate decision about funding for indigenous housing while in that community.


DISTRIBUTED- overview
How does distributed architecture benefit Australia?
-          This type of architecture is much the same as mobile architecture, but maybe there is still a constant base or hub in Canberra, with a series of smaller mobile or temporary groups/buildings that travel to different areas within Australia. These could be areas of relevance at the time, or designated areas to help represent the country as a whole at any given time.
-          It could take form of something that travels to different areas, of something that is repeated across Australia. This could also mean that separate agencies that run different parts/segments of the federal government are based in different parts of the country to gather the best range of knowledge.
-          For something like this to be successful, connections and communication would have to be strong, both within government agencies and to general society.
-          This could also alter the management of government hierarchies and create a more community based decision making system.   

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