543 research outputs found
Scanning the Mt Eden Shot Tower
No full textRenata Jadresin Milic, Regan Potangaroa and Sam Smith report that February 2024 marked one year since Auckland and Aotearoa lost the Colonial Ammunition Company Shot Tower at Mt Eden.
Built about 1916, it was the only 20th century shot tower in Australasia and the last shot tower standing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Believed to be the only steel-framed tower of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and unlike the brick towers in Australia and other parts of the world, it was a rare example internationally to have been built using steel-framed construction
A Living Building for the Chinese Diaspora of Aotearoa
No full textIt is quite apparent that our planet and our very being is in a state of disrepair. My thesis seeks to answer the question: How can the built environment heal nature and a community?
More specifically, can a framework such as the Living Building Challenge bring healing to our physical environment and to the Chinese community of New Zealand? How can this be done through an Anglican spirituality?
There is a congregation of about forty to fifty worshipping at the Anglican Chinese Mission. The building which they worship in is not just a church but a community building with a multi-purpose basketball court and hall equipped with commercial kitchen and stage used by many groups throughout the week.
The building was designed in 1976 by Bill Alington and being a signature design of its day as well as distinctly Chinese, spoke aloud, where Chinese had often been denied, to give them a place in a country that they had settled in and wished to call their own. It is a well-loved building to this day. This particular church wishes to reach the entire diverse Chinese New Zealand population, and ought to be a much larger congregation considering the nationwide proportion of Chinese Christians.
A healthy community building would also be attractive to the wider New Zealand population being used for local and national events, a place in the words of the vicar, Reverend Henry Yap, “to be respected and honoured by the nation”.
Taking the premier regenerative framework in the industry today, the Living Building Challenge, among the sustainable frameworks available, the aim is to design through an iterative Design by Research (Research-led) process of analog and digital methods, a new church and community building for the site located on the corner of Tasman and Rugby Streets, Mt Cook. The result is a project that hopefully answers a primary need for this community which is one of belonging. Also, it is a project that hopefully answers secondary needs that are spiritual and are for fellowship, and then also answers an identified desire for this community to build sustainably
The additional gains when integrating drone technology as a business tool in New Zealand’s district council structures
No full textWorldwide, drones are being employed by many industries vital to architectural and engineering practice, including territorial authorities (TAs) and councils. This is largely thanks to the breathtaking speed at which drone technology has developed and become more sophisticated. Drones are now equipped with precise sensors, are made from highly durable materials, and enjoy much longer battery life than they did only a few years ago. In combination with the latest software solution, drones allow TAs and councils to undertake projects which were previously unimaginable. Local authorities in New Zealand are slowly realising the potential of drones and are beginning to integrate them as a recognised tool.
This paper weighs the advantages and challenges incurred by New Zealand local authorities in employing drones. Industry data from Airways about drone usage were compared against statistical data. Drone deployment in district councils was mapped and three cases of drone use in councils were compared and analysed. A field study in Wainuiomata was carried out for final demonstration purposes. The findings confirmed the usability of drones as a business tool for TA and council tasks such as aerial mapping and asset inspection but also indicated the need for an overarching organisational structure
Bamboo Fale: Climate of Change
No full textThe world is currently sitting on the brink of a massive upheaval as Climate Change continues to intensify. At this stage, there is no apparent turning back: the only remaining option is to adapt. While many countries are already feeling the effects, the most vulnerable lie within the Pacific Islands.
With 70% of the Samoan population living along their coastline (The World Bank, 2016), the country is identified as one of the most vulnerable Pacific Islands. It is prone to high waves and storm surges, along with tropical cyclones, which destroy livelihoods and housing, as well as claiming lives.
The traditional architecture of Samoa was originally built to withstand such weather events, but has not been adapting to resist the increased cyclone intensity and rising sea levels. The materials and building practices currently used within Samoa do not have the properties to resist these extreme weather events.
Western building practises have been introduced and into the Samoan construction industry, but has not yet successfully been integrated. Combinations of traditional and Western building practises are, instead, resulting in buildings more vulnerable than ever. This issue remains unresolved, with unsuitable housing remaining one of the largest dilemmas currently faced by Samoa’s inhabitants.
Samoa recently graduated from the classification: Least Developed Country, to be classified as a Developing Country (Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience). This places Samoa as one of the more developed nations of the Pacific, therefore encouraging Samoa to take the lead in resilience to the ever imposing effects of Climate Change. Samoa has a close relationship with both New Zealand and Australia and therefore has access to building expertise, education and materials. Why, then, is Samoa so lacking in architectural resilience to the effects of Climate Change?
This paper endeavours to investigate this gap and, in turn provide a potential resolution. These solutions could aid other Pacific countries as well as encouraging further architectural resilience that can then be mirrored by the remaining, vulnerable countries of the Pacific.
This thesis first investigates the question:
“Why has Samoan culture not developed stronger architectural resilience against Climate Change?”
This thesis then evolves to question:
“How can Samoan architecture be hybridised to influence increased architectural resilience against Climate Change?
Community Participation in Urban Design - A Masterplan for Shelly Bay
No full textThis research examines the role of community participation in urban design. It looks at developing more efficient methods of facilitating participation so that it can become more feasible for developers and designers.
A literature review and analysis of case studies found that community participation in urban design, in the developed world, is almost non-existent. In impoverished countries, however, it is more common - recognising that the commercial and political pressures of Western societies make participation in urban design difficult to justify.
The research then moves to its major case study - Shelly Bay. This area is facing a large development which has been highly protested by members of the local and wider community. One of the more significant reasons for the protest was the lack of transparency in the development planning stages.
So why does the public not have a say on the future of Shelly Bay? This thesis researches ways which developers, architects and urban designers can involve local community groups in the design of the environments they live, work and play in.
The research consists of two stages; Stage One uses traditional methods of consultation (surveying and interviewing) while Stage Two uses less conventional methods - presented as a workbook. The results from these participatory experiments have been used to produce a community masterplan proposal for Shelly Bay - ‘Shelly Bay 2030’.
This research concludes by stressing the importance of communicating and working with those who are most affected by the decisions made by urban developers. It recognises the challenges of reaching a level of collaboration but believes that the traditional surveying and interviewing methods should be standard in urban design. It also finds that a tool as simple as a workbook can be extremely effective in gathering public feedback.
Shelly Bay 2030, is strikingly different to the current development plans - showing the disconnect between the community and the developer. This research argues that if they were able to work together, it would be possible to create something which benefits everyone involved
A proposal for seismic innovations to timber structures
No full textThere are many swaths of land that are deemed unsuitable to build on and occupy. These places, however, are rarely within an established city. The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 left areas in central Christchurch with such significant land damage that it is unlikely to be re-inhabited for a considerable period of time. These areas are commonly known as the ‘Red Zone’.This thesis explores redevelop in on volatile land through innovative solutions found and adapted from the traditional Indonesian construction techniques. Currently, Indonesia’s vernacular architecture sits on the verge of extinction after a cultural shift towards the masonry bungalow forced a rapid decline in their occupation and construction. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami illustrated the bungalows’ poor performance in the face of catastrophic seismic activity, being outperformed by the traditional structures. This has been particularly evident in the Rumah Aceh construction of the Aceh province in Northern Sumatra. Within a New Zealand context an adaptation and modernisation of the Rumah Aceh construction will generate an architectural response not currently accepted under the scope of NZS 3604:2011; the standards most recent revision following the Canterbury earthquake of 2010 concerning timber-based seismic performance. This architectural exploration will further address light timber structures, their components, sustainability and seismic resilience. Improving new builds’ durability as New Zealand moves away from the previously promoted bungalow model that extends beyond residential and into all aspects of New Zealand built environment
Gitanjali: Song Offerings
No full textNew Zealand lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire – the belt of vulnerable, unpredictable fault lines which are the primary cause for earthquakes in this country. Most recently, as evident in the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake -the destruction of the city centre led to the emergence of sub centres in different parts of the city each with different, desperate needs. The lack of preparedness in the wake of an earthquake hence, exacerbated this destitution.
This research explores architecture’s role in the sub-centre. How can architecture facilitate resilience through this decentralised typology?
The design-led approach critiques the implications of architecture as a tool for resilience whilst highlighting the desperate need for the engagement of architecture in planning before a disaster strikes. The resulting response explores resilience through an architectural lens that has a wider infrastructural, contextual and user-focussed need
Virtual Retail
No full textRetail design has always been much more than selling products; it is a way for the brands to express them self. It is what they stand for through their brand essences. Turning their manifestation into physical forms to create space this physical space that interns offers the consumer an experiences. The interior architecture, bridges the gap between brand and consumers, as it evokes the essence of the brand while envisaging in an architectural form and tells one a story.
However, since the birth of the e-consumer market, this gap that’s has differentiated the two apart has gotten widen, as 2D webpage can only offer so much. The interaction provided is minimal thus removing some of the experiential and service elements that traditionally a physical store would offer. This consequence lowers the brand engagement due to the limiting physical interaction of a webpage. Virtual Reality (VR) has become largely popular within many different sectors such as education, entertainment and military.
This thesis proposes to explore how virtual reality can be used as an extending to the e-consumer market and articulate a hybrid integration for a shopping environment. The thesis will use precedents of brand identity, brand identity “is the manifestation of a brand that can be seen, heard and immediately experienced” this is the embodied of the brand in the physical form. Brand identity will be used to design the virtual environment
Above the debris
No full textAt an accelerating rate, over half of the world’s population is living in urban centres. The catastrophic risk to environmental, cultural, and economic resources amidst these high concentrations of livelihoods upon the wake of a disaster has the potential to be devastating.
A city’s urban form consisting of its open space networks and street structures are important spatial resources that provide affected communities with efficient evacuation routes, assembly areas, temporary market spaces, and room for temporary shelters in the aftermath of a disaster. Open public spaces are especially important during these scenarios as they provide large volumes of space that can be adapted to a variety of different functions. However, these spaces are seldom designed with resilience in mind.
This thesis investigates how open spaces are able to contribute to the disaster resiliency of urban centres, ensuring that the needs of the present are in light of the needs of the future
The 2011 Bangkok Floods
No full textThailand’s Bangkok has experienced rapid population growth and subsequent expansion over recent decades. It has resulted in an unintentional increase in vulnerability within rural-residential and metropolis areas. Flood prevention strategies, such as dams, irrigation canals, and flood detention basin, and Kaem Ling ‘Green belt Embankment’, have been slowly built and activated in response to this suburban catastrophe (Vanno). In recent years, King Rama IX of Thailand, initiated Kaem Ling’s, ‘Monkey’s Cheek’s’ project; a reference to the common parable of an intelligent monkey storing its food in its saggy cheeks rather than swallowing. This has allowed the Western and Eastern suburbs of Bangkok to function as waterways, diverting the destructive water paths away to protect the metropolis.
Beginning in July 2011, a significant rainfall from the highlands of Thailand flooded down to Bangkok. With affected areas lying less than 10 metres above mean sea level and some as low as 1.5 metres, some areas remained flooded until January 2012. By October, the inundated metropolitan Bangkok began to negatively impact on industries, such as computers and automotive. Both critical supply networks for other manufacturing operations outside of Thailand. This ‘vulnerability’ where the inter-connectedness of economies could mean the closing of factories and manufacturing assembly lines in one country because of a flooding disaster in another had not been recognised.
The 2011 Thailand’s flooding death tolls surpassed 815 deaths (with 3 missing), affected 13.6 million people and classed 65 of Thailand’s 77 provinces as flood disaster zones (Benfield, 2012). During the extreme environmental activity, decisions were made to close several district gates in last-ditch efforts for protecting the metropolitan areas. This caused many other peri-urban areas of Bangkok to flood. These suburban areas were intended to act as waterways to protect the metropolis, but instead became a reservoir. Nimitmai 40 Road, situated in Khlong Sam Wa district, was in the middle of the 2011 flooding zones became the locus and main area of interest in this research.
Several initial studies, of precedence and technical data, explored objectives of building resilience in response to flooding and community. This research further utilised field study surveys, interviews, and case studies, all of which provided a wealth of information and contextual material. They contributed to design propositions developed through a series of critical reflections.
This research aimed to build community resilience, encapsulating spiritual elements in cultural and psychosocial elements of suburban Thai community’s livelihood and to provide flood resilience through both non-technical and technical solutions. Final outcomes of the design iterations suggested a merging of Thai monastery and community centre as a spiritual anchor for the community’s resilience and strengthen my neighbourhood’s sense of place
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