Week 10 Tutorial: Outcomes

After a fairly extensive and intense interview with my Tutor this week, there were 3 main areas or varieties of outcomes that resulted from this. These were:

• Aspects my Tutor liked
• Aspects my Tutor wasn't convinced with, and
• Suggested modifications and additions

By dividing the feedback I recieved into these three categories, a heirarchy of most important to least important issues can then be defined (something I need to practice doing when conveying information).

Aspects my Tutor like:

• overall aim of my project being "to create a community hub for the interaction of citizens through the exchange of knowledge and trading of experience."
• my modular approaches to certain aspects of the design using retro-fitted shipping containers (I really wasn't sure if he would like this idea as most people are either all for or against using shipping containers, and I was relieved that he was of the same mind as me regarding this, because I think the idea has alot of potential for aspects of maintenance, de-construction and changeability and flexibility issues inherent to proving a sustainable entity)
• the zones or allocation of space of each level or layer of the overall design/site
• the mix of inside and outside spaces throughout the site
• the storytelling aspect at the foundations of the design (which is a key factor to enforce the centre as an integral component of the wider community)

Aspects my Tutor wasn't convinced with:

• the Transport Hub (in that he needed to see how this would connect at a larger scale to the rest of the suburb and wider urban context - which I have done in draft mapping exercises, however haven't refined enough yet)
• capping the height (on the Latrobe Tce frontage) to just 2 levels (I could add another level for possible office spaces and more 'Rooms', however I'm not sure this new height will be very sensitive to the surrounding context of 1 and 2 storey Queenslander buildings. I could propose this addition as a possible Future scenario that would show how the centre can adapt and grow with increasing population and infrastructure demands?)

Suggested modifications and additions:

• making level 3 (ie. Latrobe Tce level) more permeable by creating a pavilion/verandah space by making the library and computer labs spaces more porous and interactive with the outside circulation and gathering spaces.
• making the kitchen and workshop areas a combination of enclosed and exposed spaces (ie. for safety reasons, and the possibility of cooking demostrations or the example I used was how awesome it was watching glass blowing)
• the Tutore introduced (for the first time) an aspect of a 'Commercial Agenda' that he would like us to consider, and some ideas around this (apart from my existing idea of having market days for: Farmer's Markets, Art & Crafts Markets and Local Business Markets where local businesses would come to the centre and provide services, advice, guidance, anything that would benefit both the community and their business) included: an outdoor cinema (temporary/certain times of month or year) which would be an excellent opportunity for community gatherings and revenue, smaller car spaces to encourage the use of hybrids vs 4WDs, capping free parking to 2 hrs, rewarding those who ride to the centre by giving them a discount on activites and purchases they make

These were all excellent suggestions and feedback, and I look forward to applying them.