[re]establishing forgotten sites
PROPOSAL
How can modern interventions magnify the existing qualities of heritage buildings?
ABSTRACT
​
Heritage buildings are at risk of being demolished for today's constant need for development. Existing and dilapidated structures are left unconsidered as opportunities for adaptation. Is it necessary to destroy heritage buildings to accommodate contemporary additions? Is restoration the way forward? Can we implement something as subjective as value to dictate where we adapt, restore and demolish?
In my research project I have explored topics of destruction & decay, authenticity & imitation, as well as adaptation & connection. These explorations have influenced the direction in which my research has taken shape, ultimately leading me to look towards ideas of how I can design with processes of preservation and adaption, which will allow for the old and the new to meet.
Collage has become a recurring technology in my research as it allows me to connect images from varying locations, situations and times. These new configurations allow me to create a new adapted narrative, which begins to dictate how heritage and modern elements do not need to stand as mutually exclusive interiors as modern elements may begin to highlight and enhance the details of the heritage and how marrying these can create a connection between past, present and future.
Within my chosen site of the Flinders Street Station Ballroom, I aim to design a bar / restaurant that will highlight the existing ornamental features and areas of decay, demonstrating how these forgotten sites of rich history can be [re]established for today’s society.
INTENTION: Design a bar / restaurant in the Flinders St Station Ballroom with modern features that engages with and highlights the existing features.
​
CONTEXT: Heritage buildings at risk of being demolished for development is what lead me to this topic due to its sustainability issues, social / cultural issues. Perhaps it has become more about forgotten sites that are unused / abandoned and hold great potential due to their rich history.
​
SITE: Flinders St Station Ballroom.
​
OCCUPANTS: Young professionals (25 - 35 years old) potentially use the site as a stopover between their travel work and home.
​
STAKEHOLDERS: VicTrack (owners of the station) / City of Melbourne
​
PRACTICE: Heritage building restrictions may be something that I will have to consider to create a design sensitive to the site and it’s past.
​
DESIGN APPROACH: Continue to use collage as a technology - it allows me to connect seperate images into a new one. Continue to look at material details and connection as a technology - potential to work with materials at a 1:1 detail, seeing how they may begin to interact with the site.
​
FINAL PRESENTATION: Drawings / collages / renders / physical material details that demonstrate my design of both the restaurant/bar within the ballroom and also the moments within the station that lead visitors to it.