NASIM YAZDANI

DESIGN CONCEPT

 

My design is based on the city of Esmeralda. This story describes canals and roads that zig-zag and intersect each other, with people having the choice of many different routes to reach a destination, either by water or land, making the city interesting for its inhabitants. I feel the main themes are adventure and exploration. I believe that adventure is about discovery – different pathways may be easy or difficult, which makes adventure exciting, as you need to accept the challenge of new experiences to get what you want. Such experiences can be visual, emotional or physical. The story talks about people atop roofs jumping onto balconies, or moving acrobatically, which to me represents adventure, rock climbing, play-gym, and moving above the ground. Later, it talks about the underground, where smugglers and suspicious people try to hide and act solely for their own benefit.

 

Several aspects of this story can be related to Kalgoorlie, a city that became famous following the discovery of gold. It is interesting to hear stories of gold discoveries, like when Paddy Hannan accidentally found gold while attempting to fix a horseshoe, unlike miners who must dig deep and use substantial effort to find it. To me, Kalgoorlie to me is a city of adventure and discovery – to try your luck prospecting for gold, or simply as a gateway to a journey across the Nullarbor. Some of Kalgoorlie’s famous gold-related stories remind me of the underground smugglers in Esmeralda, and unscrupulous people who were willing to hurt or kill others to find their fortune. Also, the underground areas of Esmeralda remind me of the mines in Kalgoorlie, where people search for wealth and profits in near-darkness. The zig-zag lines in Hannan Street’s heritage areas, and the zig-zag road in Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit prompted me to revise my design to include a zig-zag shape.

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To reflect the theme of adventure, my original tell-tale allowed visitors to choose between two separate story-telling areas – one above the ground, and one below. In keeping with this theme, my civic building design maintains separation between the library and theatre buildings, with the main theatre area being located below ground level, giving visitors a feeling of choice and adventure. During my visit to Kalgoorlie to learn about the surrounding area, I noticed a zig-zag pattern on the pedestrian pathway leading to my tell-tale site, and used this as a seed element in my tell-tale and civic building designs. Zig-zag shapes can be observed in several aspects of the building’s design including the windows, where they symbolise the intersection of land and water in the fictional city of Esmeralda. the intersection of land and water in the fictional city of Esmeralda. The roof’s zig-zag shape is also sympathetic to neighboring buildings, adding a degree of consistency to the streetscape. I have selected a steel structure for the building to simplify construction of the zig-zag shapes, along with Corten (rusted appearance) exterior panels to symbolise the red dirt of Kalgoorlie, along with its rich history. The buildings are positioned to take advantage of sunlight from the north, and solid walls and trees are positioned to block harsh sunlight from the west. The placement of windows in an east-west direction allows for cross-ventilation, to ensure the buildings are kept cool in summer an east-west direction allows for cross-ventilation, to ensure the buildings are kept cool in summer. The skylight in the theatre is situated beneath a water feature, which acknowledges the significance of water in Kalgoorlie’s history, while providing a shimmering light to add extra atmosphere within the theatre. Additionally, visitors enjoying the garden area at ground level can look through the skylight and observe the people or events in the theatre below. The courtyard/garden section dividing the two buildings was inspired by the La Salle College of the Arts building in Singapore, where the void ‘carved ‘carved’ out between multiple buildings creates an inviting space for visitors to enjoy. In my civic building design, a zig-zag shape ‘carves’ a courtyard and garden area between the two main buildings, which features a number of bench-style seats located around a communal open fire, providing a comfortable atmosphere for socialiing, cooking food, or the sharing of stories. The use of the open fire for story-telling reflects traditional Aboriginal culture. In the children’s library, a secondary courtyard area is provided for the exclusive use of its visitors, to ensure the safety of children who wish to read, study or play outdoors. Within the librar to read, study or play outdoors. Within the library, playfulness and interactivity is encouraged, with features such as ‘hole-in-the-wall’ spaces for children to read, and commence their own adventure. An additional amenity provided by my civic building design is the provision of bicycle parking and end-of-trip (shower/change) facilities in each of the two buildings, to encourage bicycle use by the site’s visitors.

 

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