The site is shown blue above and is surrounded by other privately owned properties. It will be important to consider their needs as well relative to what will be happening on the site. Borders must be respected to maintain good relationships between neighbours.
Given that the client wants to provide a building and space for cultural use, I will need to consider how this may impact the surrounding environment.
Views across the ocean and along to coast are massive and magnificient! Favourable breezes could also be captured for use in the building (s).
The orange area is the proposed site for the amphitheatre. Areas along the ridge of the mountain can be seen form the site.
I am imagining that the site is nestled into the corner of a very steep hill. I must also consider what the structure(s) may like like when approached from above. This would provide an opportunity to exhibit sustainable elements integrated into the building. For example, water collection reticulation could be shown, as well as power generation like voltaic cell arrays. I would also like to have views out of the building to the amphitheatre. This would be a beautiful visual connection for people inside the structure, and an uncommon and novel experience of looking through a roof!
Considering that the amphitheatre will be built along the plateau of the mountain (?) some 50 metres above the site, I would like to community centre to have a presence and act as a place maker.
The site is essentially flat except for a small incline of 1 metre. At this moment I am remembering a comment made to me by Timothy Hill during one of my crits. It was during an urban planning investigation where the focus of the design was to integrate existing homes with the street. Essentially, I presented my proposal at which he said it was too much for the scale of the development. In the end, he said: "what most people need more than anything in Brisbane is SHADE"! That is essentially true. I think that it will be important for the people of East Timor to programme their own spaces. They are in short supply of large shaded spaces that can be customised.
There are little to no trees on the site, however, there are a small number of palm trees clustered on the south east edge of the site. In his presentation, Ian explained that these are "owned" by a man who harvests the alcohol from the trees on a daily basis! He consequently derives an income and a certain snese of pride from this daily act. Needless to say, it would be against the whole philosophy of the building if this source of commerce was not maintained and integrated into the design!!
BAZAARS
This makes me think of the bazaars that I visited in Egypt and Turkey. Given the usually envirnmentally hostile conditions outside, namely the heat and sand storms, the bazaars were a hub for commerce, performances and even destinations for families, and of course, tourists.
Covered space that can be adaptable may be one of the most desirable qualities for the site. Given constrains in budgets and availability of materials, I would like to integrate modular elements into the design, so that the building can grow or contract when necessary.
This is an example of using modular frames to construct a building. Upon analysising a simple timber shed, I found that there are just a few number of elements required to provide cover:
Columns, rafters, purlins and bracing came be used to construct the frame, with roofing and walling that can also act as a form of diaphragm bracing. After numerous initial investigations in glulam technology, this type of elemental construction would not be so difficult. However, as I have chosen to use bamboo in conjunction with additional elements, it will be important to work with its mechanical properties. Formal buildig design may prove a challenge. For example, you cannot grow a piece of bamboo to specific dimensions. Considering its relatively slender diameters relative to timber, single bamboo elements may be required to be bound together to support the forces and moments in particular areas. This will probably mean the use of alot of bamboo!!
http://www.loupiote.com/burningman/photos/1370451800.shtml
According to the above website, the bamboo truss broke because it could not take tensile forces when the loads changed. Usually when designing a truss, the depth from top to bottom and member dimensions are majotr factors in being able to distribute forces. As mentioned before, a single piece of bamboo will not perform the same as a single piece of glulam timber.
I think that it will be difficult to determine what exactly will happen in and around the site. I also do not want to condemn the structure due to its inability to adapt. From the brief, I can imagine that the government may want to use it one day for a cabinet meeting, a drumming rehearsal and performance the next day, and an exhibition to celebrate East timor's independence the next!
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