babylon

The idea of Melbourne’s laneways has become an export product. It exports an image of a culture that could be considered unique to this city and the life within it. Both grungy and highly stylised, demographically young and inclusive, the laneways mostly seem to re ect a streetlife around fashion, trinkets and coffee. This image of the city is exported to its own suburbs, interstate and overseas. But is it reality?

the studio will investigate the cbd through the lens of a growing city. Can the image of the city be contained, preserved or altered if its population is expected to double? Should it?

drawing

The prefered method of imagining architecture has undergone major changes and shifts in the last 30 years. How and what we draw say nothing of the sensibility of the act of drawing, but instead tell us more about ef ciency and clarity of intent. Alike the image of the laneway can drawings represent more of the culture its representing? Can drawings incorporate the subconscious, the hidden or the variations of time?

The studio will search for ways to challenge methodologies of drawing, by drawing. How can drawing, diagramming, model making, reading and re-drawing be able to understand, in uence and inherently perceive the discipline of architecture.

brief

The studio seeks design proposals for a tower in Melbourne’s laneways. The tower can be of any scale, programme or language.

What is considered part of a discourse? How does one investigate, document, design and reposition a project within it?

babylon, The Image of the City

“The Image of the City” seeks to uncover the causations, motivations and agents that constituted the city. Through the process of drawing, Babylon proposes an ongoing process of imagining and re-imagining spaces and events preoccupying the city of Melbourne.

babylon, Laneway Narrative(s)

A series of tectonic architectural positions responding to Melbourne’s urban conditions formulate the reconceptualization of the city and the laneway. These conceptualisations are visualised through drawings and images acting as a prompt to explore the laneways function and meaning within the context of the urban network.

babylon, Tower Project Axo

The New Chancery Laneway Market explores new opportunities created by the vertical separation of service areas and public space.

babylon, Tower Project, Pod Structure

The modular, prefabricated and adaptable structure allows for a highly adaptable system. The pods mover vertically through the structure and can be customised to specific functions.

babylon, Tower Project Section

The System is extruded vertically along the elevator cores of the existing cores which provide access to the structure. Thus, the social interaction abandoned by the skyscraper is restored. The platforms can fold down to create larger spaces within the system