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5 Volume 5 : R E P E A T

INDEX

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Volume 5 : R E P E A T

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4 . 2

RESPONSE

w2 w3

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w4

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ZOOM: out

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EPPING

SITE

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NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTIVITY CENTRE

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S t r a t e g i e s :Epping Plaza . . .

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01 - S i t u a t i o n :

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Relationship between buildings and plazas :

“ ...in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance there still existed a vital and functional use of the town square for community life . . . a rapport between square and surrounding public buildings . . . meanwhile in our day plazas are, at most, used as parking lots... “ (Sitte, 154)

The current proposal outlines a “Neighbourhood Activ-ity Centre“ spread across 20,000 sq. meters of greenfield territory. It is dissected by a secondary movement corridor leading towards proposed residential development. This in-terstitial space holds potential to become activated and in particular, contribute to the overall success or failure of the “town centre”.

Page 21Epping North East Local Structure Plan May 2008

Figure 7 Local Structure PlanDrawing Key

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02 - R e c l a i m i n g p u b l i c t e r r i t o r y :

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The centre of plazas be kept free :

“ ...We do not seem to think it possible that a new church can be located anywhere except in the middle of it’s building lot . . . at best a wide street runs around the building. So the designation “plaza” seems almost comical . . . does this not exhibit downright irresponsibility and lack of judgment... “ (Sitte, 167)

The “Neighbourhood Activity Centre“ - fragmented by the intersecting vehicular movement corridor - provides the op-portunity for the creation of a public square. These two sep-arated regions can be stitched together through disrupting the dominance of motorvehicle through distributing access pathways and activating this central space as public shared space.

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03 - U n/P r o g r a m m e d S p a c e :

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Public squares should be enclosed entities :

“ ...from the artistic point of view a merely unbuilt piece of ground is not yet a city plaza . . . however, just as there are furnished and empty rooms, so one might also speak of furnished and unfurnished plazas . . . the main requirement for a plaza, as for a room, is the enclosed character of its space...“ (Sitte, 170)

Keeping in mind the commercialised status of contemporary public squares - and “Neighbourhood Activity Centres” - this central piazza acts as the facilities selling point. Upon ap-proach, customers will either be deterred or seduced by the composition of the forecourt with regard to the interface of building and street, enclosure of inside and out.

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04 - P r o p o r t i o n a l r e l a t i v i t y :

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The size and shape of plazas :

“ ...the size as well as the shape of a plaza stands in a propor-tional relationship to its dominating structures . . . the height of its (the plazas) principal building, taken once, can be de-clared to be roughly the minimum dimension . . . the absolute maximum . . . double of that height... “ (Sitte, 179 - 182)

The commodification of contemporary, so-called, town cen-tres has left their dignity in disrepute, if not entirely, especially when comparable to the spatial quality of the old. Part of this is due to the requirement for storage of people movers. Solution : revert the proportions of the public square without disregarding the requirement for vehicular accessibility . . .

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05 - T h e A p p r o a c h :

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Streets :

“ ...from any point within the plaza no more than one single view out of it is possible . . . only a single interruption in the enclosure of the whole . . . entering streets are laid out at an angle to our lines of sight...“ (Sitte, 172)

Standing opposite the dominant building in a plaza (nowa-days the supermarket) should hold a sense of enclosure and immersion within the public realm. This idea works in opposition with paths of approach which should allow clear visual connection of inside and outside. By setting out clear lines of sight into the plaza from approaching angles, pas-sers-by are afforded the opportunity to directly interact.

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06 - P e r s p e c t i v e :

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The irregularities of old plazas :

“ ...to recommend rectangular builing lots for their presumed architectural advantage is completely wrong . . . modern systems! - Yes, indeed! To approach everything in a strictly methodical manner and not to waver a hair’s breadth from preconceived patterns, until genius has been strangled to death...“ (Sitte, 225 + 229)

Irregularity does not directly translate to a space of lower aesthetic quality, nor vice versa. It should be noted that the eye can be decieved, perspective must be accounted for in the tweaking of irregularities to form a pleasing space. Space cannot be designed from the drawing board - only planned and never inhabited.

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07 - D u a l i t y :

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Plaza groupings :

“ ...from any point within the plaza no more than one single view out of it is possible . . . only a single interruption in the enclosure of the whole . . . entering streets are laid out at an angle to our lines of sight...“ (Sitte, 172)

This idea extends beyond simply framing particular views and creating a sense of enclosure. It speaks of a sense of arrival and community - the privacy of an internalised space afforded by the compositional treatment of the surfaces and monuments throughout.

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08 - x :

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De-commodified public plaza :

“ ...we are all well aware of the effect of an old plaza, but how to produce it under modern conditions . . . today no-body is concerned with city planning as an art - only as a technical problem ...“ (Sitte, 172)

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09 - D o u b l e s :

1: The dominating ‘buildings’ of both squares 2 Relationship of the squares with external 3: Public and private, simplified

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1: The dominating ‘buildings’ of both squares 2 Relationship of the squares with external 3: Public and private, simplified

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T r a n s c e n d i n g T r a d i t i o n :

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Reappropriate. Public Squares :

The historic square typology is litterally translated as a for-mal and spatial composition within the context of contem-porary Wollert (Epping). That is, the foundational principles of which shape and drive the formation of public plazas and piazzas have been applied and adapted.

The idea of framing views and a single dominating building to determine the proportion and spatial orchestration of the public square, has been reinterpreted into the context of the contemporary commodified public plaza.

In this way, the compostion of the square speaks of authen-ticity . . . through the fakery of framing views for a more sin-ister purpose - advertising the presence of the supermarket.

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T r a n s c e n d i n g T r a d i t i o n :

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Reappropriate. Baroque Architecture :

Architecture of the Baroque at a very limitded and surface level understanding can be associated with the expression “ornamentation for ornamentations sake”. This decorative or aesthetically driven dress, although extending right through each architecture, is especially apparent on the primary or dominating facade.

This idea is translated into the contemporary context where town squares are quite limited in terms of their aesthetic treatments. The first-visible faces of these buildings and public squares are given priority of treatment and optimally framed.

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V a n t a g e :

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T r o m p e - l ’ œ i l : French for “decieve the eye”

Employing optical illusions for visual aesthetics in architec-ture is no new feat. However, in contemporary contexts, there is more room for ‘movement’ as seen by this perspec-tive of the Recital Centre. The ‘image’ or representation as seen from eye level is first composed, then distorted.. From here it becomes completely fragmented and displays the true visibility of a building as a pedestrian.

We really only ever see a part of a building, however our eyes fill in the gaps with knowledge and understanding of space and form generated through years of experience. This ‘assumption of space and form’ is where optical illusions can occur - trickery of the eye due to a presumption being discounted and proven incorrect.

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A p p r o a c h :

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841 + 841 + 841 x 594 :

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