Brief Site Analysis:
Coogee Beach:
- aboriginal meaning of the word ‘koojah’: ‘stinking seaweed’ or ‘smelly place’
- a coastal void
- a place for international, state, & regional sports, namely cricket, rugby league & rugby union
- Cogee Oval’s principal role – to serve the needs of rugby union in the area
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Surrounding buildings:
- emphasis on verticality
- medium -rise buildings with big windows facing the field & sea
Figure Ground Drawing
- showing the solid-building forms & open spaces (voids, alleyways & back-door courtyards)
- red represents buildings on site
Coogee Oval - field analysis:
A combination of a square/rectangle with a circle
- Rectangular: masculinity, vigour (rugby), competition
- Circle (curve): femineity, soft (kid’s little football field/playground – family quality time), relaxation
- Metaphor: ‘sea & waves’, calm vs. vicious
- H2O – continuity, changes course if a rock is in its path, but slowly deforms the rock à soft & strong at the same time
- Note: curve = community, peace
Grid System
As portrayed by the satellite, the urban fabric around Coogee Bay is constructed according to a grid system, but in reality it's a different story
Physical & Visual Permeability
Mapping
- showing location of trees & how nature seems to blend in with the built environment by 'moving' diagonally
- trees closer to the beach provide less shades (pines & palm-trees) compared to leafy plants (Eucalyptus etc.)
Contours
- the field seems to exert an attraction force to its surroundings
Major Arteries
- busiest roads: Arden Street & Coogee Bay Road
Density
- from left to right: population/human activity, noise level created by human, noise level created by cars
- the top row is of day time while the bottom row is of night time, say from 7-9pm
KEYWORDS:
Reciprocity
- Aboriginal art - 'Fragmentation & Multiplicity'
- fragmented architecture, blending in with its landscape
- Ambiguity
- Section of the site viewed from the sea showing reciprocity
- dark charcoal lines - buildings; grey pencil lines - natural elements like trees
- both grew/built according to the land form
Materiality
- Coogee = cultural hotspot (tourism)
- different currencies represents people of different countries & backgrounds that visited this place
- relates to the human senses: touch, feel, see, smell etc.
Threshold
- layerings
- aware of change
- different shapes, different sizes, different experiences
- relates to distance, passage (activity), transition
- defines boundaries where things start to change
Insertion
- represents a sculpture (in squid form) that's placed in the public open space
- based on the Bali Bombing Memorial erected in Dolphin Point to commemorate those sacrificed during this sad accident, whereby 6 members of the Coogee Dolphins rugby league
- an introduction of new things, a break, but at the same time trying to link things with its surrounding, a continuum --> 'Duality'
Infrastructure
- passages, corridors & links --> communications
- program that links culture with nature
- the drawing shows a wire-circuit: red circles represents a gathering place filled with excitement (here it's the Coogee Oval where the Rugby teams play)
- alphabets & symbols: indicating roads & streets as a 'communicator' or 'link'. Also shows the traffic flow around this area
- gold & silver dots: places where people tends to spend most of their money (usually round commercial areas)
- Red: commercial blocks which are more rowdy with more happening things
- Blue: residential areas that are more relaxed
Sketch Model
I tried to combine all the keywords & how I feel about the site into the design:
- Reciprocity: curve & fluidness of the sea & waves
- Threshold: transition between interior & exterior
- Insertion: sticks penetrated through the paper, as if holding up the structure
- Materiality: literally a 'map' for this is a tourist spot
- Infrastructure: a community centre (design still in progress...)
