06 : Reflection

Obviously, there is not much that can be done about the project now, but I think it's still worth reflecting on what can be improved for the rest of the semester.  I assumed that everyone was on the same page and trying to put as much effort in as possible, after completing 7 design studios before that, but obviously not. 


Jess wrote a really good reflection on our project which can be found at http://jess-hammond.blogspot.com/2011/09/final-panels-and-post-presentation.html
Here are our panels from the presentation:

Dee's last panel (which was supposed to display our architectural entity) was not to the standard that I expected.  I think it would have been important to be more explicit in the drawing style that everyone wanted, and to make this very, very clear from the beginning.

Over the weekend, I am going to use Dee's sketchup file and re-analyse and visualise in a style I would have done if this was an individual project.

06 : Interim : Statement

GROUP STATEMENT:

Our group has proposed to convert every state in Australia into a separate country with its own parliamentary system. This will allow each country to be more self sufficient and sustainable, and possibly reduce migration and travelling around such a mass area. Canberra will ultimately act as a ‘union’ and meeting place for all of these countries to gather and discuss common issues, which is why improving mobility within Canberra is essential for the future.

Canberra is very spread out with the only form of public transport being buses, and a main focus on walking and cycling. It is near impossible however for everyone to be able to access all areas of the capital both easily and cheaply. This affects everyone from tourists holidaying in the city, people living in the area, children visiting the capital for school camps, and politicians staying in the city whilst using Parliament House on a regular basis.

So, we have devised a new light rail network that connects all major areas in the city to enhance mobility within Canberra. This will in turn attract people to the capital and allow Canberra to appeal to a wider demographic of people.  The proposed network will create an additional layer on top of the current infrastructure, with the majority of rail elevated above median strips of main roads within Canberra. Links to the existing airport and country rail will be designed to allow people coming in and out of Canberra easy access to the centre of the city and Parliament house. All main tourist attractions are connected for visitors, and routes that join surrounding suburbs with the centre are implemented for residents. There are also proposed stations at common school camp accommodation and local politician lodges within the city that connects to Capital Hill. The Parliament house station has been strategically placed to not interfere with the precinct, and all stations across the area are positioned to avoid the blocking of views to Capital Hill. Improved scale and proportion within large streets and unused spaces across the city is also a main strategy, with the possibility left open to create urban spaces on the elevated rail for future densification.

Overall the proposal will promote and cater for future population growth within Canberra through creating an area that is both mobile and accessible and provide a common ground for every politician representing each country.

05 : Interim : Panels

Here is my final panel, without the header.  Finally seeing starting the see the end of this project...
I think the other girls are almost finished so I'll upload all of our panels together once they are done.

The little blurb on the side says: Country or continent? Will Australia’s capital cities become so self-sufficient and independent, that one-by-one it will begin to break away? The scattered design of Canberra is currently influencing its significance identity and presence as the country's capital. So if Australia the country became Australia the continent, perhaps Canberra can become an exemplar city, a common denominator between the various needs of its citizens.

05 : Interim : Statistics

All of these statistics were taken from the file found in Week 04.

05 : Interim : Development

Updated panel nolli + Australia Map.

05 : Interim : Mapping

The nolli of existing Canberra is to be situated in the bottom right hand corner.  I played around with different layers, in order to illustrate how vast the area is:

01 - base map from nearmap.com

02 - green areas

03 - water areas

04 - built areas

05 - combined maps

06 - final map. the green was too strong on the panel, and not effective.

05 : Interim : Panels

As I've been allocated to complete the graphics required for panel 1, I have developed a little storyboard to keep me on track.

The assessment criteria states:

Capital Strategy (25%) : The panel presented and blog posted satisfies the following descriptions.
Your chosen strategy (flexible, mobile, distributed or virtual) was well investigated.
our idea creatively identified problems and issues associated with ways capital city / parliament worked today in Australia and a speculation was made to suggest your idea could lead to an innovative solution.
You summarised your investigation well and communicated all necessary information clearly and creatively with images and diagrams in your panel.
Your blog communicated your idea development well.

With this in mind, here is a more detailed plan:

05 : Interim : Development

So here is my few changes to the overall outline... I did this while reading the assessment criteria, if we can pull it off in a succinct style I think it will be good..

05 : Interim : Development

This is the draft panel layout by Jess and Dee:

There is a lot of information to be displayed, and I'm wondering if there is a way to simplify this a bit more / if it is possible to add in my idea.  I don't want to over complicate this project too much especially when there is not much time left.  I'll do a bit of a sketch of what the panels might actually look like with this proposal..

I think the best way for this to work is if each of us does one panel - rather than all of us doubling up on the same thing.