COOGEE BEACH
DESIGN EXERCISE 1
Building, site, landscape
Coogee is a vibrant community with a dominant Beach & Touristic culture attracting many visitors. A site study which involved mappings, tracings and a site model explored architecture as a response to the physical and socio-cultural landscape.
The work was based on the five categories offered by Anita Berrizbeitia and Pollak Linda in 'Inside Outside: Between Architecture and Landscape':
Reciprocity Materiality Threshold Insertion Infrastructure
Building, site, landscape
Coogee is a vibrant community with a dominant Beach & Touristic culture attracting many visitors. A site study which involved mappings, tracings and a site model explored architecture as a response to the physical and socio-cultural landscape.
The work was based on the five categories offered by Anita Berrizbeitia and Pollak Linda in 'Inside Outside: Between Architecture and Landscape':
Reciprocity Materiality Threshold Insertion Infrastructure
SITE
1:200 Site Model IN PROGRESS
PRESENTATION
Threshold
Examines the point at which sufficient intensity begins to produce an effect.
...this point is the road between the rugby club and the oval
Map (Top left) - By taking the contour lines of the Coogee map and drawing them closer towards the residential part of the site, and further apart towards the ocean, i have mapped the public and private areas of the site (the urban density vs the open public spaces).
Map (Top right) - This maps the private zones and the public zones, but also highlights the beach culture which drives a strong force through the Coogee area, in a way eliminating this strict boundary.
One significant symbol at Coogee are the steps leading down to the beach. These are symbolic of the 'boundary' between the built and the natual, another threshold that is clearly defined physically, but becomes a form of reciprocity through its power to engage people with the environment.
Threshold
Examines the point at which sufficient intensity begins to produce an effect.
...this point is the road between the rugby club and the oval
Map (Top left) - By taking the contour lines of the Coogee map and drawing them closer towards the residential part of the site, and further apart towards the ocean, i have mapped the public and private areas of the site (the urban density vs the open public spaces).
Map (Top right) - This maps the private zones and the public zones, but also highlights the beach culture which drives a strong force through the Coogee area, in a way eliminating this strict boundary.
One significant symbol at Coogee are the steps leading down to the beach. These are symbolic of the 'boundary' between the built and the natual, another threshold that is clearly defined physically, but becomes a form of reciprocity through its power to engage people with the environment.
Reciprocity
Diminishes separations between architecture and landscape.
Map (Bottom right) - Inverted figure ground relationship, revealing a map of Coogee whic highlights the natural landscape as opposed to the built environment.
Map (Bottom left) - This map reveals that architecture can be broken up into multiple elements allowing for engagement with the landscape. Within Coogee, the wide open oval allows for clear relationships between people, communities, buildings and the natural environment; the beach, pathways, parks etc.
The park benches located by the beach in the park are a clear example of reciprocity; built forms have been placed within a natural environment to attract people to sit down with others. The simple act of sitting on these benches is one which highlights the community engagement with the environment (physical and socio-cultural) of Coogee.
Diminishes separations between architecture and landscape.
Map (Bottom right) - Inverted figure ground relationship, revealing a map of Coogee whic highlights the natural landscape as opposed to the built environment.
Map (Bottom left) - This map reveals that architecture can be broken up into multiple elements allowing for engagement with the landscape. Within Coogee, the wide open oval allows for clear relationships between people, communities, buildings and the natural environment; the beach, pathways, parks etc.
The park benches located by the beach in the park are a clear example of reciprocity; built forms have been placed within a natural environment to attract people to sit down with others. The simple act of sitting on these benches is one which highlights the community engagement with the environment (physical and socio-cultural) of Coogee.
Infrastructure
A link, connecting things which are not necessarily compatible. It echoes the movement and intertwines activites.
Map - Renders the main roads darker and the residential quiter roads lighter, depicting the movement density within the site.
Map - This broadermap reveals the main roads, but of greater significance the Eastern Coastal Walk which is a key community activity in Coogee, connecting the suburn to other coastal regions.
Arden St is the main road connection for both vehicles and pedestrians to the commercial strip, beach and residential areas of Coogee.
Insertion
Engages a space with its surroundings.
Map - the Oval, the centre of the Coogee Community can be draw in light of the curved edge on the eastern boundary of the sity, This curved nature can be a representation of not only the centre of the site, but the central sporting community place in Coogee, where all forces meet and interact.
Within the wider Coogee, context, the Sandstone wall along the beach can be depicted as an insertion which engages a space with its surroundings initiating activity betwee the existing urban space (the ebach) and the new inserted space (the footpath) and architecture across the street.
In the same way, the 'chish n fips' cafe located apart from the traditional cafes, within the park, breaks from the urban continuum and allows people to engage with the environment.
Materailty
How materials ca support our reading of a place and be generator of sense
Map (Bottom left) - This conveys the dominance of brick architecture in the Coogee area by depicting the rough and solid materiality.
Grass - generator of light sensory experience; one that is fresh, organic and echoes vitality. This is represented with a lighter rendering.
Trees - Especially those present on the immediate site provide a dense cover, blocking light and views. This gives a feeling of enclosure and is expressed through a heavier stroke.
Sandstone - The natural bed of Coogee portrays a sense of heaviness and grounded nature, rendered against the flowing strong currents of the water. .
3D Conceptual Model
The spiral is a representation of the Coogee site in more ways than one
The twisting motion conveys the transient movement of people in such a touristic place, but the movement present in Coogee moves beyond the social realm.
A key part of the Coogee landscape is the ebach. Not only does it drive people from far and beyond, but it has informed a strong beach culture within the area. Situated on the Eastern Coast, Coogee is governed by the propelling waves which brush against the shores and the Standstone cliffs. This strong yet fluid movement present is present in the model which once propelled will spin conveying a sense of movement
The beach has profound influence on Coogee, through the backpacker accommodation to the surf and scuba diving stores. The beach culture has driven Coogee to become one of the most popular locations for tourists, outside the city centre. This force which has grown over the years is exemplified through the spiral which gradually moves in a wave-like direction, fluctuating. Each member of the spiral influences the next and thus impacts on the entire system. This is much like Coogee and it’s dominant beach.
