Streetworks
Recently liquidARCHITECTURE entered the inaugural Streetworks competition organised by the AILA. The brief was to “re-imagine under-utilised spaces in the City of Sydney as innovative, sustainable and dynamic temporary public spaces that will bring people together in unique ways”.
View LA’s entry here: LA’s Streetworks Entry – hyperBOLE
Our proposal, hyperBOLE, was for an intervention to reclaim the under-utilised space at the street edge of Paddy’s Markets, Hay Street. The design employed used bollards, that would be otherwise recycled or dumped, to fabricate the installation. In doing so, the proposal establishes a reversal of the bollard’s traditional function – as an object that defines zones, usually defining spaces that aren’t accessible – and creates an object that encourages more diverse pedestrian activity and more urban life.
While hyperBOLE was designed to interact with the current fabric of Hay Street, it is a prototype for linear street installations around the city. The module can be stretched or squashed to interact with buildings, intersections and urban squares to help form vibrancy within any streetscape, even one with very little occupiable space.
All Streetwork entries are currently displayed at Customs House (Ground Floor, 31 Alfred Street, Sydney) until 30 October. More information here.
liquidARCHITECTURE’s Penshurst Avenue House was published in the Sun Herald on Sunday 24 July. It was featured as a great example of a renovation that lets in the sun.
Penshurst Avenue House
Read the article here: “Let’s think inside the box”
Filter
liquidARCHITECTURE recently embarked in a spot of product design, designing and fabricating “FILTER”. The light was entered into Electrolight’s Lightcycle competition and was awarded fifth.
FILTER by Liquid Architecture (Photograher: Michael Ford)
FILTER is an exploration of the constraints of the modern-day design desire to flat-pack – creating a product that is sustainable and economically efficient. Through the integration of product and packaging, the design enables the filtering out of the excess that is often associated with consumables.
Waste is reduced in production through advanced modelling techniques, while an adhesive free construction means minimal assembly and maximum flexibility for the end user.
The manual dimming of the light and options for it to be a pendant or table lamp enables flexibility in use and control by the end user to determine the ambiance created by the light.
Filter is a holistic light fitting, where product and packaging come together to pack, form and market a product.
One of Liquid’s friends – Antony Di Mase of Di Mase Architects (Melbourne) – also entered. We thought the light was pretty cool, and so did the judges; the light was awarded second.
Lifecycle by Di Mase Architects
A light source that reflects on the simplicity of nature. Mimicking the nested egg, light is created in a playful and gentle way. The light is filtered by natural surrounding of grass branches and twigs emitting a glow with life.
A precious light – a form of life cycle.
The project was inspired by playing with my 9 year old daughter on the beach as we braided strands of grass together to make bracelets and hair ribbons. The abundance of material was overwhelming. It occurred to me the light source looks like an egg and the idea quickly fell into place.
Filter, and the other Lightcycle entries are currently exhibited at Donkey Wheel House in Melbourne. However, if you don’t get a chance to get down there, you can take a look at the other entries here.
The ‘Good’ Architect
Along with a number of others, I recently commented on Rory Hyde’s blog post Potential Futures for Design Practice http://roryhyde.com/blog/?p=614 . Originally published in AR about 6 months ago, in this post Rory presents a concise summary of the territories into which architectural practice has forayed over the last decade, and what new ways of practicing may shape the next decade to come.
Looking a bit further though, and it was probably unintentional, I find it intriguing that there is no mention of the substantial increase of interest and participation in what I will call ‘humanitarian architecture’ – or more cynically, ‘the architecture missionary’.
Melonie featured on The Novocastrian Files
Siobhan Curran decided that I had rad music taste via my Twitter recommendations, so much so that she wondered what else I did in all that spare time I have. Little did she know that I was responsible for a house round the corner from her place, or that liquidARCHITECTURE started and continues in Newcastle! For the scoop on the rubbery answers to the pointed questions, read the blog post at http://www.thenovocastrianfiles.com/
Advertisements for Architecture 2010
Advertisements for Architecture 2010
AA2010_liquidARCHITECTURE_Advertisement
Here’s liquidARCHITECTURE’s entry for the Advertisements for Architecture – click on the link. This exhibition was held as part of the Sydney Architecture Festival and is currently on display at the Surry Hills Library, Crown St, Surry Hills.
Considering the brief, we wanted to engage with the wider community utilising the channels by which this audience is most often exposed to architectural ideas.
We cannot assume that any given individual views or understands architecture in the same way as the next person. Generally speaking, however, we can assume that the point of experiential commonality for this audience is the ability to see and thereby consume architecture - consciously or not.
In appealing to that audience, we wanted to provoke the viewer to identify with an obvious “seeing” mechanism. The 3D glasses are a reminder of our desire to seek escapism via “bigger than life” experiences. Tapping into the re-emergence of experientially enhanced cinema provides a humorous vehicle for reminding the general public of the excitement in architecture, in the real 3D around them every day….
We also wanted to engage with popular culture to remove the elitism commonly attached to architecture – which is amusing in itself because architecture is everywhere, it’s highly accessible. So we developed this advertisement to demonstrate this attitude whilst having a little fun.
Archivision2010
http://www.architecture.com.au/i-cms?page=9909
My paper and presentation will be uploaded very soon, as well as being accessible on Continuum, the online CPD portal from the Australian Institute of Architects. The positioning of practice is crucial to the future of architecture and it is important that diverse modes of practice are fostered. On some levels I’ve actually moved my thinking along a little bit from what I presented in July, although one cannot underestimate the potential of the embedded practice models evident in Europe, and also evident here in North America, where I am presently travelling.
Innovative Design and Adaptable Living can appear in the same sentence…
http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=14058
Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson has written a great piece on adaptable living and housing for our “older citizens” – a relevant topic considering our aging population and the changing face of the over 45 demographics. The article features liquidARCHITECTURE’s Coal Point house, and here we pay tribute to our fabulous clients who helped us make this project such a success.
Student Biennale 2010
proud of our staff member Michael Ford who entered his 2nd year end of year project into the Biennale. stand tall amongst the entrants! http://studentbiennale.com.au/entrants.html
a small indulgence… with some TU Delft thrown in for good measure
permit me to get…. een beetje persoonlijk
ok, that means a little personal, for the non-Dutch readers out there.