The Gateway?

The car dominates Perth, unlike any other city in the world, Los Angeles aside. Thus, it is somewhat appropriate (unfortunate) that we are proposing a car-based 'gateway' to The City. Should this gateway (statement of intent) reflect the absolute dependence and reliance on this privatised, hermetic mode of transport; through an obese, modernised, reality-television inspired scheme?

Can this place of entry to the city be reflective of a new direction for The City? Perhaps the monument will not be so. Perhaps it will reject the car as the option. Can the suburban dominance of the city be avoided - compressed into a dense, urban form? The Gateway (opportunity) can reflect a new direction and intention for Perth, learning from the mistakes of freeway dominated urban planning.

This was a 3rd year project.

Gnaraloo

Gnaraloo is a sheep station on the north-west coast of Western Australia. 1100km north of Perth, Gnaraloo is regarded as one of the best windsurfing and surfing destinations on the planet. The coastline is harsh and barren, and the wind rules. Gnaraloo Station is fringed by the Ningaloo Reef, a diverse and stunning ecosystem. The reef is accessible from the beach and snorkelling is a must.

The State Government is proposing to protect the greater region by reclaiming, and then managing, a 2 kilometre corridor of land, from the coastline inland. This design proposal is an alternative option for the Government and the owners of the Station. The proposal provides a sustainable tourism masterplan for the owners of the station to manage and develop. The design also provides detailed consideration of specific sites within Gnaraloo Station, such as compostable toilets, lookouts, and windbreaks. An intriguing part of the Gnaraloo is a failed Japanese consortium-backed tourism development that left 26 unfinished stone cabanas on site. The design proposes to refurbish these units, making them a focal point for the Station.

This was a 3rd year project.

JJ Dwyer Gallery, Kalgoorlie

The JJ Dwyer Gallery is situated in the centre of the town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. A focal point for the gold rushes at the turn of the 20th Century, Kalgoorlie boasts fine examples of Federation, neo-Georgian and neo-Gothic architecture. Built during the gold-rush, the Kalgoorlie Masonic Hall is the site for the JJ Dwyer Gallery. Dwyer was a local photographer who documented the region during the prosperous times. The Gallery is designed to house a permanent exhibition of his works.

The Gallery is a contemporary addition to the heritage listed Hall. A tectonic relationship between forms and materiality is explored through the use of a skin, comprised of textured concrete panels. The panels buckle and shift as the contemporary addition is placed aside the solidity and history of the limestone walled Masonic Hall. Inside, the new and old are fused together in a foyer space delineated by a sharp contrast in materiality and texture.

This was a 2nd year project.

The Cube House

The Cube House is a residential development in suburban Perth. The design attempts to negate the sprawling monolithic mansions that dominate and suffocate the suburban setting. The cube house is self contained within the confines of interlocking perforated steel panels, which provide both solar protection, and filtration between the interior and exterior spaces. The dimensionality of the design is consciously restrained, and the maximisation and economisation of space is explored.

This was a 2nd year project.

High Street Apartment, Fremantle

The High Street apartment is located in the heritage area of Fremantle. The apartment is a contemporary insertion into the existing heritage facade and building. The apartment is located above a record shop, so it doubles as both a residence for the owner of the shop, and a recording studio. The form of the roof is a reaction to the complexity of the heritage facade, in a contemporary fashion. The play of light through the slit windows is very important, as is the open-plan of the building. Entry to the apartment is through the record shop, or from the rear of the building.

An important aspect of the design process was to have a form that would distinctly contrast the heritage area, yet display some contemporary characteristics of the heritage design.

This was a 2nd year project.

Hans Arkeveld Studio

Hans Arkeveld is a prominent Perth-based artist with a career spanning many decades. His meticulous attention to detail and excellence in drawing technique has resulted in works that are recognized all over the globe. Hans is one of the most prominent, internationally appreciated artists to emerge from Western Australia. Hans works at the Faculty of Anatomy and Human Biology at the University of Western Australia and his interest in the human form is often translated to his art. This project is a conceptual design for a new studio for Hans.

The design is located on the Kings Park escarpment, a prominent landmass in Perth that overlooks the Swan River. The Studio and Living Spaces sit underneath a plateau that emerges organically from the land before a mechanical extrusion puntcures its way through the skin. This mechanical thrust then pivots and grounds the mass, through a tapering and precarious point. Prority in the design is given to the relationships between light and dark, space and void, and organic and mechanical.

This was a 1st Year project.