Assignment 3 - Site Visit

In the beginning of week 8 we were required to conduct a site visit to Randwick as part of our assignment 3 for this studio. The main aim of this site visit was to gather as much information and photographs in relation to our chosen site to aid us in reconstructing the site and produce a site plan that would house our design proposal.

The brief for this assignment is to design a transport interchange (station) to accommodate travelers as they wait for, board onto, and alight from light rail vehicles.

Below are sketches / photographs of some of the information that we had to observe and gather that would allow us to accurately recreate our site.

Local buildings, general terrain / slope

We were divided into 5 groups and each group had to gather as much information as possible in the form of photographs and sketches on their assigned location. My group was assigned the Belmore Rd side. Below are some of my findings, observations and some local buildings from Belmore Rd.

The above image shows some of the residential houses on Belmore Rd that will be directly facing our station. Some things that I instantly thought of were noise and privacy factors to those existing residential that I must consider in my design proposal


The above image shows the local Randwick medical centre. The proposed transport interchange would be a very ideal transportation method for patients of this medical to use.


The above image shows the intersection of Belmore Rd and Avoca St which I thought was the most condensed area in terms of vehicular and pedestrian traffic.


The image above shows some more residential dwellings on Belmore Rd


This image shows a crossing located at the end of Belmore Rd intersecting Cuthill St

Below are a few more images showing a combination of roads, traffic signs, traffic signals, street lights, road markings, electricity poles, kerbs and street furniture, trees , statues, site topography or slope and many other things.

Site topography


Topography and vegetation


Vegetation


High Cross Park Signage


Waste bin and Trees


Street furniture


Electricity poles


Larger trees and electricity poles


Existing transportation methods (bus) and some street signage


Traffic lights and street markings


Street signage


Street signage and vegetation

General Observations

Some of the things that I observed on my site visit were things such as existing transport services and the main use of the site. There are bus and taxi transport methods already existing around the site. Some of the bus stops are located on Belmore Rd, Coogee Bay Rd and Cuthill St.

After spending approximately 5 hours on site, I observed people having their lunch on the available street furniture, people walking across the park to get to other locations, people praying and carrying our their religious activities during their work break and some people were even using the park to exercise.

As part of our independent study we then had to prepare a 3D site model using our collected data and put together some sketches of our design proposal. Below are a few screenshots of the surrounding buildings that I modeled using rhino and also some sketches of my conveying my initial design ideas of my transport interchange.

The above screenshot conveys 2 houses that I modeled using Rhino located on Belmore Rd as part of my contribution to the group tasks.


The above screenshot shows my proposed ground / street level plan. It mainly shows the scale of my proposed dwelling and initial design stages of the possible location of services such as ticket booths and lifts.


The above screenshot is of my roof top deck which will contain a cafe and a sitting area overlooking the park. Passengers and the locals can enjoy the views from the deck area.


The above screenshot is a front elevation that one would see when looking directly to the station from Belmore Road, I plan on creating an aesthetically pleasing structure that does not dominate its surroundings.


This screenshot conveys the side elevation and the possible form of my structure.


In the sketch above I decided to explore some roof forms that would cantilever over my main structure to provide shelter from the elements.

My future schedule for this project will see me prepare more detailed design solutions and sketches and will also see me begin to model my design proposal in Rhino as part of my presentation for my interim submission in week 10.

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