- Architecture ServedProject Featured On:Architecture Served — 7/1/12
Make Your Own System
Description
Exploring the idea of a deconstructable architecture, an architecture which by applying ‘cradle to cradle’ theory has the option to beneficially be decomposable organically or fully upcyclable. The critical ambition for a sustainable architecture.
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Featured on 7/1/12
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Architecture Served
- Make Your Own System
deconstructable system 
- The Global community
The global community is a flexible community. The community is vast, it grows, it detracts, it moves when it wants to move, it goes where it wants to go and it values change. It wants more and it wants to be in more places.
The global community calls for buildings to facilitate its malleability. Better yet – malleable architecture allowing for fluid lifestyle. We cant take our buildings with us – but we can take parts.
Architecture as parts.
Architecture has always been made up of parts. The concern is: parts should be useful for always for more than one thing. It is irresponsible to only design rigid buildings. Architecture to this day could be considered future ruins. Ruins of precious parts.
“Cradle to Cradle” Architecture
Nature designs for timelessness – humans attempt timelessness through design but have seemingly thus far been destined to waste. Even when we design using recycled materials – these recycled materials are destined for landfill.
But nature designs for waste. For nature, waste equals food.
So we can either design to maintain a materials purity for constant reuse (if a technical material) or we can design for a material to biodegrade – and become food for future material production.
“Products can be composed either of materials that biodegrade and become food for biological cycles, or of technical materials that stay in closed-loop technical cycles, in which they continually circulate as valuable nutrients for industry.” (Braungart, 2009)
But before we use energy on completely reverse engineering a built work we can design for flexibility of use. For architecture, and in this case, we design a building of parts (or modules) which can be deconstructed and reconstructed to suite – each module also being useful separately for alternative sites and uses.
Supporting Evolution
It is deemed necessary to support evolution in the built environment. If the community is to be successful one needs to allow for personal choice. “…architecture relates directly to the things we do; it changes and evolves as new, or reinterpreted, ways of identifying places are invented or refined.” (Unwin, 2003)
If one considers architecture as an abstract version of storytelling then “Place is to architecture, it may be said, as meaning is to language.” (Unwin, 2003) Thus it is paramount to narrate place. It is dangerous to conceive a completely new built environment as it may be unrecognisable. Instead it is proposed that collective memories are illustrated, both local and foreign. Giving the person experiencing thearchitecture reason to acquire an implied story (meaning) and depart on his or her own story.
Although one can also choose the direction, facilitate and imply the outcome.
Thus choice with the direction of the story/ the physical make-up of the architecture will allow for ownership of the new built environment.
The Flexible Module
This could be supported by Archigrams idea of the; ‘Plug in city’, prefabricated living, adaptable space and the ability for deconstruction. Which can facilitate choice outside of the architect’s pen. “In the technological society more people will play an active part in determining their own individual environment, in self-determining a way of life.” (Cook, 1972)
This is not only advantageous for the society, it also allows for off site construction, reuse, decreased transportation costs to the environment & economy and less waste which proves a more sustainable method of construction. “everyone in the community has latent creative instincts and that our role will eventually be to direct these into some tangible and acceptable form.” (Cook, 1972) 
- Make Your Own Towerdeconstructable architecture
- Why here first?
The Roma St Airlink Hub (by Shannon Daly), sited over Roma street train station is a significant piece of infrastructure, which demands new urban built fabric. It is a piece of architecture for a global community.
The airlink urban space, is a major succession of varying sized notable public ‘squares’ and thoroughfare, linking the City (King George Square) – to Transit centre – to City Airport Terminal – the Roma street gardens – through to the (redeveloped) Army barracks site. These public ‘squares’ are defined by new mixed typology buildings, of human scale, with emphasis on the corner site building: The ‘Waste Equals Food’ Tower which not only introduces an alternative building type to the city, but also acts as a keynote building offering an identifiable node of choice in way finding the city and its fringe.
The MYO system is a mixed typology building. It can be considered a building of two parts. Firstly the built insitu component is a 3 story commercial building featuring retail to all public fronts and thoroughfares. This insitu component nesstled within the inner city urban fabric offers new threads to the traversing on the CBD. The second part being the prefabricated tower - Waste Equals Food’ tower, sitting on the building itself and over the public realm to the east.
This prefabricated tower is envisioned to be a fully deconstruct able building allowing for change in use of site, the ability to be replaced, or be moved. This Anywhere tower although as designed is primary for residential purposes could be of a mixed typology within itself, allowing for home office situations or other small commercial possibilities. Thus the built in-situ component to this building scope supports the prefabricated component, and inversely the prefabricated component gives additional life back to the commercial component, and the public realm which it defines under and around.
Although the in-situ component to the building is of a heavy weight construction it hides behind a very lightweight 2nd skin of vertical timber screening elements. Whilst the prefabricated tower itself basks in the nature of its being and remains of a functional, semi industrial aesthetic. The two working together not only contrasting typology but also building technology. - Activating and populating urban transit nodes.
- View from corner of Albert and Turbot Street, Brisbane CBD. - Activating and populating urban transit nodes.
- View through to corner of Albert and Turbot Street from the Roma Street gardens, Brisbane CBD.
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