Design Evolution

After developing my initial design concept, I decided to take a step back and rethink about my first inspiration dating back to the first project and how I could use it to realise a better solution.

The first thing that struck me about Canberra was the landscape (which was clearly the main inspiration behind the the original Burley Griffin concept and the the New Parliament House completed in 1988).

I found that this image from Mt Ainslie encapsulated it perfectly:

In my first scheme, the BRT terminals were on the inside of the main roundabout, however, they required awkward links back over to my main buildings and the areas designated for reactivation and urban renewal.

I then decided to return to my first idea of my proposal being comprised of a series of rolling hills, emulating the natural surroundings while addressing the strong axes between the mountains, lake and roads. 

I wanted to achieve a concept where all the buildings resemble the 'rolling hills' while serving their individual functions. In this sketch, I wanted to illustrate 2 key ideas:

1) Government buildings (edges), BRT terminals (middle) and central park (centre) will achieve the aesthetic of hills

2) The entire central roundabout will be sunk underground to eliminate the need for awkward crossings between the main buildings and the park.

After reconfirming my inspiration, I took another look at how my site relates to the main axes of the city. The red lines show the most desirable axes from my site.

In my first scheme, I had the site divided between 7 sectors which each had a mixed use complex which contained a specific department of Infrastructure Australia (my parliamentary focus). I have since decided that some of these departments could be combined in order to provide a larger variety of use on the site.

The 5 departments I am now designing for include:

Department of Ports + Freight

Department of Roads + Transport

Department of Water + Energy

Department of National Networks

Department of Indigenous Affairs (which could also include services for families and public / emergency housing)

The sketch below illustrates my evolved design concept with my 5 government buildings containing respective department head quarters aligned with the strong landscape features. Red arrows show the main entry to the buildings from the BRT terminals (the red boxes). 

I also envisages that the central park would be activated by a series of cafe's, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, forming a highly desirable entertainment precinct in the park. The hatched forms with bold outlines signify the sites of future developments that will add a high density of mixed uses and pedestrian activity within the precinct. These site would be ideal for residential apartment towers, hotels and commercial offices.

These various initiatives would combine to the 3 main strategies for the proposal:

1) Implementation of a holistic public transport network

2) Facilitation of Public Private Partnerships and the provision of enhanced levels of services and interaction between the government and the public

3) Urban renewal strategies which activate lost urban space and create a vibrant mixed use precinct that the entire city (and the nation) has equitable access to.