Roundabouts

I thought about the site and decided that the most important thing about it is the fact that there are so many commuters passing through here on a daily basis. I want to use the building to somehow protect and shade people waiting for the bus or light rail; If I hook the bus routes to surround the building I can have a continuous loop of a library that will shade waiting commuters.

Iteration 4 (done in studio)

ITERATION 4:

This is the diagrammatic model that I made in studio; it was a quick model to show how I wanted to the building to replace the dinky bus shelters that are on the site now. As a public transportation enthusiast, I am always surprised at how ineffective bus shelters are at some times of the day, especially during the hot AZ summer! I wanted to set the building on piers so that it would shade commuters as well as open up to, and welcome them.

Iterations 1, 2, and 3

From a combination of site analysis as well as past use of the site, I decided fairly early on that I wanted to reorganize the site so that there was more interaction between the building and the transit lines. Last semester, I wrote a paper for our History of Architecture class where we had to bring a famous architect from history to see a present-day project, and I brought Bernini to see this site. He appreciated the building’s efforts in sustainability, but thought that if this was a transportation center that encouraged alternative methods of transportation, it did a lousy job of glorifying said methods by unceremoniously dumping the commuter onto the site, where they never interact with the award-winning parts of the site. (But since I wrote the paper, this is really how I felt!) I wanted to glorify the commuter’s experience on the site by giving them a more poetic entrance onto the site and into the building, instead of concentrating all my efforts on just the building.

My first three iterations concentrate on how to move the bus routes so as to interact more with the building and the light rail, so that everyday commuters have more experience with the building as they move between the buses and the light rail.

ITERATION 1

This deals with bringing the bus lines to wrap around the building, which takes a curved plan in order to match the curve of the bus line and not feel like a rectangle stuffed into a circular hole, since the buses will not take well to turning at a 90 degree angle in such a small space!

ITERATION 2:

This iteration uses the building as a median between the bus and the light rail; I took the bus lines and set them parallel to the rail, and placed the building in between with the intention of having commuters enter the building to pass between the two types of transit.

ITERATION 3:

This iteration attempts to bridge the bus routes so that pedestrians can cross the street without getting in the way of the buses. This is my least favorite one because it does not seem to interact with the site enough; commuters can bypass entering the building by simply jay-walking through the bus lines!

Thoughts: These models are not diagrammatic enough, which they should be this early on in the project. I think I concentrated too much on how the building and site will look instead of showing what on and around the site influenced my decisions. For next time, I will make them more diagrammatic and conceptual instead of more literal, and I would also like to look at other ways in which the building can interact with the site and the commuters.

Mornington Branch Library- Victoria, Australia- Garner Davis Architects

I had an immensely difficult time finding information on this project; after emailing and calling and generally harassing the architects (which, with the time difference, was quite difficult!) for a week, I got desperate and emailed the City of Mornington, the press photographer, the electrical consultants, and the library itself. In the end a librarian came through and sent me a bunch of photos and a floor plan. I guess libraries are really hubs of information after all!

One of five public libraries serving the Mornington Peninsula Shire, the Mornington Branch Library is an abstraction of site lines gesturing to the sea, topographical lines, prevailing wind and sun patterns, and even historical navigational pathways around the peninsula.

The library is an addition to a preexisting municipal site, but instead of being simply tacked onto the built form it is slightly separated to create courtyards between the old and new. The facade is mostly insulated glass, to allow for interaction between visitors and their neighborhood, but also showcases the hefty collection of books and other resources to the community.

PARTI DIAGRAM: The library is nestled on the border between a larger commercial area and a residential area; instead of opting for the library-as-shopping center feel, the library opens up towards the residential side and towards the bay, creating a calming living room away from home atmosphere.

OPEN/CLOSED diagram: The open side of the library (LIGHT GREY) faces the residential side of the neighborhood, and also opens up to allow for site lines to the bay. The closed side (DARK GREY) shuts out the busy commercial side of the neighborhood, which allows for a more privatized, calm experience; a living room away from home.

SERVED/SERVICE diagram: Most of the service spaces (DARK BLUE) are located in the closed portion of the building, except for the coffee shop and meeting rooms, which are left open.

 

MATERIALITY: The city wanted a library that would bay tribute to the adjacent bay, but wanted to steer away from the typical garish blue-and-yellow nautical themes, so the architects opted for a beach in winter color scheme, using a mostly white palate, with creams, browns and greys contrasted by the bright seaweed green.

      

WIND+ SUN: The library is enrobed in a second skin made of perforated metal that not only shades the space but captures and utilizes the dominant winds coming in from the bay to naturally cool the spaces. Setting the glazing back from the heavy exterior skin allows for the lighting to be subdued and ambient, and create a relaxing living room atmosphere.