Brainstorming

So I have begun to brainstorm what Kaupapa means to me and what aesthetic I might want to incorporate into my design. I am quite interested in a sustainable / up-cycle approach so thinking about how I could incorporate that into my design as well - through materials? Palettes?

Panel Discussion

• Kiki Blofield – Bar 25
• The old pump building has now been renovated to the performing arts centre
• Connected to the river
• 5 minute walk from the Holzmarkt
• No cohesive community plan
• Many have had a stab at it, but no one has succeeded
• Look up: Media Spree

Berlin Wall in a Nutshell:

• Division to stop people escaping from the East into the West
• West Allies
• United States, British, French
• Anyone caught in the deathstrip would be shot on site
• So many people escaping to the West, people thought that the East was empty
• Building hotels on the deathstrip now

Holzmarkt:

• Holzmarkt found a Swiss retirement company to buy the land
• 99 year lease
• Three sections to Holzmarkt
• Parks
• Mixed village – i.e. hairdresser, supermarket etc.
• Flexible living / working spaces
• Buy into it for 25,000 Euros
• This is a lot of money in relation to wage in Berlin
• Bar 25 allowed back into Holzmarkt

Kreuzberg:

• Large Turkish community
• Poor especially with the wall up

Friedrichshain:

• Industrial area – heavily bombed during World War II
• A lot of potential to rebuild / renovate

Neukolln:

• Hipster / bohemian influence 

• Consider the people who’s daily job would be the theatre
• Wide range of users
• Do not design for one demographic
• All about community
• Berlin is the ‘party’ city
• Lots of younger people / tourists in the area

River:

• A lot of sediment / dirty
• Shallow
• Runs east to west
• Try and do some more research into river

First Design Response Reflection

So today we have reflected on everyone's first design responses then broke down into smaller groups to evaluate further. For my group whom came up with initial concepts, we began to consider elements of the design that we would need to consider going forward..

At the end of class, we had a class discussion about what kaupapa is and what interests us as spatial designers to help us bind the two briefs through our own kaupapa. What really interests me is sustainability and retail in which the clothes / food etc. are the performer and people are the audience. I might begin to think about this further and change my design to incorporate these elements.

Initial Design Response

I have decided to change the way I work for this project in order to try help train myself to work from initial idea, concept development and then to production a lot faster. I consider myself quite methodical in the way I work in which I plan and brainstorm for long periods of time before I begin to move on. Due to the fact that the production for this brief is due on 27 March, I thought it was apt that I attempt to quicken the process for this project in order to help try and speed up my work in the future. I have designed all of the following in sketch-up with site location - off location plan provided by OISTAT (not accurate but helps to give sense of scale and location), before rendering it with Indigo to begin to visualise how the design would work in the space.

The idea behind this design concept was to take elements from both an amphitheatre and a cinema to design something that met the OISTAT brief. My idea was to create the stage in the centre of a circular, tiered seating amphitheatre with the backstage being underneath the audience’s tiered seats.

I wanted to relate the idea that this float would be moored to the riverbed and the particular performance itself. Therefore the nature of the performance would be a dance emulating the fluidity of the river.

The choice for the dome structure was to have l.e.d panels in a semi-spherical arrangement displaying images of flowing water to help immerse the audience into the performance. This would hopefully help allow them to make the connection with their surroundings and the reasoning behind the particular choice of performance.

On reflection, and if I continue this idea forward, I will need to rethink the structure of the float. I am trying to emulate the fluid forms of water through the performance, thus this needs to be reflected in the structure also.

This render did not come out very well due to the lack of time, but it is showing the inside of the dome. The tiered seating and staircases with railings to each tier. The dome would be quite dark with floor lamps to illuminate particular elements of the stage to increase immersiveness for the audience.

Berlin Wall Boundary

I have decided to get a better understanding of how the Spree River played its part in the division of the old East and West Berlin 1961 - 1992. Therefore I have gone onto google maps to visualise how the Berlin Wall once stood and the districts that it divided. From overlaying the google map and the location plan resource we were provided by OISTAT, I have worked out that the site for this float is just upstream from the wall. 

If this influences my design or not will be determined later down the line. However I have a feeling that there are already enough memorials and memories of this dark time without adding another.

Holzmarkt Research - 'About Us'

All of the following information can be found at http://www.holzmarkt.com/uber-uns/?lang=en


Our Vision:

For us the Holzmarkt is not just a street in Berlin with an eventful history. In the name we see the future and program. On the Holzmarkt we combine nature, economy and culture in our thoughts and considerations. We open and create space for creativity, to live and work. Where the scar between East and West is still visible, a vibrant urban quarter is to be created that connects Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Mitte. No wall, no fence will block the view on the Spree. The Holzmarkt will attract people from Berlin and the world, delight, inspire and bring them together.

One will find peace and fun, work and entertainment and can help to shape and to enjoy.

Sustainability and advancement are not a contradiction. We generate a field of tension between modern architecture and a Holzmarkt (Timber Market) in the true sense of the word. New technologies and craftsmanship enrich each other. The Holzmarkt leaves room for something new, does not remain static. We want to create value, experiment and learn in a unique place worth living.

Planning and Free Spaces on the Holzmarkt:

The Holzmarkt cooperative takes the citizens’ referendum seriously and goes one step further. Instead of a straight riverbank walk, we create free spaces that invite you to linger and explore, in fact on the whole area.

Visual relationships from the Holzmarktstrasse draw pedestrians and cyclists into the area and to the river. The accessible riverbank walk is complemented by exciting spaces, niches and paths leading into the village with its low building density, small-scale usage and user structure. Even the village roofs are walkable.

Here, a “mountain trail” leads over halls and cottages, opens terraces and broadens the view.
At the water’s edge the restaurant integrates undulated into the scenery. In the park above the heads of the guests, one can picnic or kiss. Between the restaurant and the club, which is build-into the S-Bahn viaduct, an access to and exit from the water is created for beavers, otters and ducks and thus becomes a resting place for animals and humans.

Our Tasks as Quarter Managers:

The Holzmarkt cooperative will develop the Holzmarkt as an urban quarter. We are shaping a long-term vibrant place where we create structures that promote change, small scale design and sustainability.

Building on our experience with temporary use, the Holzmarkt will grow naturally and will be able to change. We support change with temporary rental and lease contracts in the village. True to the name, the Holzmarkt will be a constantly changing market, where there is space for new and young talents to establish themselves.

The Holzmarkt sees itself as a springboard for independent success of the tenants. By limiting the space per user, we counteract the expansion of individual tenants in the Holzmarkt. By setting this limit, we encourage user diversity.

For us, sustainability has an economic benefit. Our premise is that infrastructure and services are used by as many as possible, thus saving resources in every way."