MARC5001 Graduation Studio 2013Sublime Australia, Collective Conscious Nicole Larkin M.Arch B.DesArch33.8913S + 151.2752E: Beach Cities, Bondi Beach - Dagmar Rhienhardt

INTRODUCTION ABSTRACTSublime Australia, Collective Conscious

This project is the culmination of a Masters of Architecture

graduation studio from the University of Sydney. It examines

the nature of architecture, a personal stance in the discipline and

experimentation of various thematic frameworks and concepts.

As such it is not only the exploration and design of a complex

architectural proposal but also the formation of an individual

approach in the profession. Alain de Botton, architectural writer

and historian quotes John Ruskin as to the purpose of this;

Part of what a building should do is to reflect its locality, there is a

lovely quote from John Ruskin, he says a good building must do two

things, firstly it must shelter us, secondly it must speak to us and he says

it must speak to us of all the things that we think are most important,

that we need reminding of today. One of the things we need to be re-

minded of is where we are.

Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness

The focus of this studio and proposal is Bondi Beach - in a

global context, as a precinct and of Bondi Pavilion itself. Glob-

ally and nationally, Bondi Beach is both an icon of Australia and

of the Australian lifestyle. In this sense the site speaks of our

social fabric and of the connection we have with the beach.

Consequently the departure point of this project has been to

research the relationship between Australian culture and our

coastal landscape. This has been conducted through contextual

analysis, historical time lines, thesis readings and a study of

Australian art, literature, film and architecture. Together these

elements reveal underlying aspects of the Australian psyche.

We live by the sea not simply because it is more pleasant to be a lazy

nation, but because of the two mysteries the sea is more forthcoming;

its miracles and wonders are occasionally more palpable, however in-

explicable they be. There is more bounty, more possibility for us in a

vista that moves, rolls, surges, twists, rears up and changes from minute

to minute. The innate human feeling from the veranda is that if you

look out to sea long enough, something will turn up... The beach, in

Australia, is the landscape equivalent of the veranda, a veranda at the

edge of the continent.

Tim Winton A Coastal Memoir

The project title, Sublime Australia, Collective Concious, de-

scribes the architectural ambitions for this studio. It aspires to

frame the collective memories, experiences and associations

that paint a picture of the Australian soul and its sublime affair

with our coastal landscape.

01 Line of Enquiry Studio and Site Themes Conceptual Reading Thematic Framework

Coastal DwellersSand in Our Souls The Sublime in Modern Architecture

02 Context & Site Historical Time line Urban Analysis Built Context Analysis Topographical Analysis Existing Built Fabric Architectural Precedents

Therme ValsChurch of LightHavana ProjectThe Sydney Opera House

03 Architectural Ambitions The Australian Soul Collective Conscious The Sublime

PORTFOLIO Contents

04 Design Strategy Topographical Radius Intervention Scales Retention of Existing Fabric Solid - Void Massing Programmatic Approach Delineation of Sectional Space Form and Composition Construction System Detailing Rock Platform Intervention

05 Proposed Scheme Plans Sections Details Sketch Renders Conceptual Models

06 Design Phases Mapping Preliminary Design Interim Final Presentation

07 Bibliography

01 Studio and site themesCultural and Social Reading

Australian population densities - Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012 Census Data

The World Ranked Armelle Carron

Sydney Geotag data drawn from social media images

-Eric Fisher, Flickr

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

Casper David Friedrich 1818

The allure of the edge in an Australian psyche

For Australians and foreigners alike, Bondi is an icon of the Aus-

tralian lifestyle both domestically and abroad. Its a symbol of our

culture and our love of the coast.

The outline of our nation is what defines us. Its one of the most

discernible continents on a map of the world. Historically white

Australia has developed as an extro-spective nation, an edge dwell-

ing colony that looked out across the ocean to the mother country.

Today 85% of our population lives within 50km of the coastline.

Geotag mapping from social networking sites in Sydney (see ad-

jacent page) depict concentrations of photographic activity within

the CBD and along the Coogee-Bondi walk. This reflects our at-

traction to the coast as an edge and a fault line, it is a plane of

transition that fascinates us.

We can divine the importance of the beach in Australian culture

through its reflection and representation in art, film, photography

and literature. These depictions of the landscape are grounded in

the sublime, which was introduced by the likes of Joseph Addi-

son, an early explorer in the 18th century. The sublime celebrates

the beauty and majesty of nature but also the insignificance of man

in the face of its raw power and vastness

Coast at Ben Buckler Bondi

Donald Gregor Grant 1889

Tamarama Beach, summer morning

Julian Ashton 1899

01 contextual ReadingThe Beach in Australian Culture

Representation Through the Arts

The Beach Scape and Infinite Horizons series by

Australian artist Fred Williams portrays landscapes

at different times of the day. It is exemplary for

the way it captures changes in the tide, colour,

light, sky, and the movement of people around the

edge. Williams work focuses on these subtle ele-

ments which define our collective impression of

the beach at a fundamental level.

The Australian beach has been depicted in popular

culture through film productions such as Home

and Away and Puberty Blues. To the right is argu-

ably the most famous poster from the Australian

National Travel Association, Percy Trompfs Bon-

di: The Playground of the Pacific.

Trompf noticeably pushes the beach to the back-

ground and places it within the scope of a veranda.

This introduces the significance of the veranda as

a frame of reference for the landscape and an ar-

chitecture of the sublime, Australias timber eye

socket.

Beach Scape and Infinite Horizons, Fred Williams 1971 Bondi - the Playground of the Pacific Percy Trompf (ANTA)Puberty Blues Bruce Beresford Home and Away Alan Bateman

Departure Point

Bondi beach is an icon of the Australian lifestyle both nation-

ally and abroad. Despite this, the surrounding built environment

doesnt reflect any of these cultural sub tones. Yet it has become

a poster beach in the collective conscious of Australian culture

and of a relationship with our coastline. How is does this play

out along the beach? What are the physical manifestations of

this and how can the Australian psyche begin to be explored and

implemented on site?

When people attempt to explain the appeal of the beach it is in terms of

a retreat, a means of getting away from the stresses of work and city life.

At the beach we draw closer to our inner selves. It offers a special form of

privacy, a chance to commune with nature, a quiet place characterized by

sets of simple pleasures talking around the barbeque, walking, fishing,

surfing elemental experiences that draw us back to a more primitive,

simpler, less complex type of existence. The eschewing of form, reducing

everything to all but the most basic conveniences, its openness and lack

of internal barriers is almost a physiological model of our own naked-

ness, an admission of vulnerability and smallness before nature. In this

way the architecture of our coastal landscapes can paint a picture of the

Australian soul - Philip Drew Coastal dwellers

Line of Enquiry

Its from this reading of the site and Australian culture that the

ambitions of the project come forward. The proposal for this site

seeks to create a pallet that captures the experiences, memo-

ries and elements which colour our collective concious, and,

through architecture, cast it into the landscape.

This will touch on the following themes and concepts which

support this conceptual approach;

Architectural manifestations of the Australian Soul in rela-tion to Bondi, as an icon of Australian culture

Rights of passage

Representation and memory of beach culture in the arts

The sublime and escapism into the landscape

Elemental experiences

The horizon, a flat continuous country, the infinite

Humility and extrospection

Temporality and materiality

Collective conscious and the Australian psyche

Reclusion and attrition

01 Thematic FRAMEWORKLine of enquiry and project ambitions

01 principal readingsReferenced literature and theses

Coastal Dwellers - Philip Drew

Drews thesis investigates Australian culture through the archi-

tectural lens of a verandah. He argues that Australians are a fringe

dwelling people who identify with the continental boundary be-

tween land and sea that defines our country. The thesis outlines

the reasons and ways in which we look out wards to gain a sense

of self and to understand our place in the world. Through this the

significance of the coastal landscape and its influence in shaping

the Australian identity is explored in detail through the arts and

architecture.

Externalism or outwardness is an abiding characteristic of Australian

culture as it is of Australian life. When we venture up or down the coast

we temporarily turn our backs on society and all of its constraints and

mores. We escape, and the beach becomes a sanctuary.

This reading has been the back bone of many theoretical and

conceptual ideas that are explored through this architectural pro-

posal. It has given an extremely detailed insight into an aspect of

our culture that Bondi beach represents in the hearts and minds

of many Australians.

Philip Drew, The coastal dwellers : Australians living on the edge

Penguin Books Australia, 1994

Sand in Our Souls - Leone Huntsman

This thesis traces the relationship between society and the beach

in Australia and strives to pinpoint the influence of the beach on

the Australian psyche. Huntsman argues that the beach represents

a spectrum of shared qualities and experiences which are a defin-

ing factor of our cultural identity. Her analysis of this details the

evolution of the Australian beach, its representations in the Twen-

tieth Century and influences of the beach in Australian culture.

The beaches of our coastline define Australias margin: an apparently

clear cut edge, a tangible boundary, but also an in between space, a site

where disparity is accommodated and where creative potential resides.

Appropriate to this studio focus, the thesis heavily concentrates

on examples originating from Sydney where beach culture is ar-

guably most prominent in our social fabric. While this can be seen

as a weakness of the thesis, it acts to reinforce the relevance of

beach culture to the subject site of this project.

Leone Huntsman, Sand in our Souls: The Beach in Australian History

Melbourne University Press, 2001

The Sublime & Modern Architecture - Kate Nesbitt

The sublime has been traced by Nesbitt in her thesis as an art

movement and architectural typology through history. She ex-

plores its theoretical background and manifestations in depth to

give a rich understanding of the wide-reaching and depth of this

thematic framework.

The significance of the sublime as an aesthetic subject of art and archi-

tecture seems to lie in its conceptual reach, or in the case of the religious

sublime, in its spiritual dimension.

Nesbitt argues that the discourse of the sublime and the beautiful seems

to have gone underground in architecture in the twentieth century.

This is an argument which resonates not only with my individual

stance in the profession, but with my reading of Australian cul-

ture. Through a detailed analysis of the sublime in this reading

I have been able to apply it to the design process and proposed

intervention.

Nesbitt, Kate The Sublime & Modern Architecture Unmasking (An Aesthetic of)

Source: New Literary History, Vol. 26, No. 1, Narratives of Literature, the Arts, and Memory

(Winter, 1995), pp. 95-110Published

1500 1700 1800 1900

1900 1910 1920

1930 1940 1950 1970

1787

First Fleet sail past Bondi looking for fertile land to

start the colony.

1787

In the period immediately after the arrival of the first fleet,

fishing was an activity that brought together European

settlers and the Aboriginal population.

1818

Convict architect Francis Greenway commissioned to

design first lighthouse. Falls into disrepair and is re

designed by 1878

1827

Bondi Jewish connection is established. Barnett Levey

(also regarded as the father of Australian theatre) begins

building a Gregorian mansion on a 60-acre estate.

1839

Sydney residents were alarmed to find two US navy ships

in Sydney Harbour. Although the visit was friendly, it

spurred the fortification of numerous ports around Sydney.

1857

The Dunbar, a fully rigged vessel of 1,321 tons ap-proached the entrance Port Jackson in poor light and

struck the rocks near The Gap, breaking up shortly after.

1875

Although dwellings were sparse in certain residential

zoned areas, hotels were common and serviced most

localities.

1875

The suburb Edgecliff takes its name from a rocky cliff

in the area. By 1900, the cliff had been almost entirely

quarried for building construction.

1880

Bathing machines were manoeuvred across the beach,

allowing women to dress into bathing costumes at the

waters edge.

1882

View of Double bay. Houses on the horizon mark Old

South head Road; the new threshold between the indus-trial city and the beach.

1889

Bondi Outfall system completed. The outfall is located at

Ben Buckler, with sewer lines running in a westerly direc-tion, through Double bay, the city and Balmain.

1890

View of a lightly developed Watsons Bay village from The

Gap. After the opening of a ferry terminal and pleasure

resort, the area became a popular weekend attraction.

1900

Bondi and Lagoons

1900

Intricate tram networks connected the Eastern suburbs and the city.

Vacant blocks are still visible along New South Head road.

1903

Ladies change shed south bondi

1906

Worlds first surf lifesaving club opens in Bondi. The surf

lifesaving reel is designed that same year.

1500-1700

Bondi dunes pre-landing of the first fleet and europeans

1906

The first rescue was in January 1907; when a young

schoolboy, Charles Kingsford-Smith was brought in by

lifesavers at Bondi.

1906

Wonderland City Tamarama is opened on boxing day, replacing the Aquarium as an activity centre. 26,000 people flocked to Tamarama for the opening. Wonderland citys

popularity quickly declined after that and closed in 1911.

1907

Amenitites at South Bondi. The official surf club and

change rooms. Waverly did not sanction the North Bondi

Club until the 1920s.

1907

Shack at Biddigal Reserve that attracted weekenders who

in addition to surfing founded a club in 1907 for life

saving. Their first clubhouse was established in a tent.

1907

Following a visit to Bondi beach, the Aldermen of Waverley

Council prescribed a costume permitted on the beach.

Despite numerous protests, the costume was mandatory.

1910

The first moving picture theatre was a large tent, erected

in a paddock in north Bondi. This was replaced with a

barn like structure in the early 1920s.

1911

Bondi dressing sheds.

1911

The Commonwealth Pacific Cable System (COMPAC), an

undersea telephone cable system linking Canada, Hawaii,

New Zealand and Australia cuts through Bondi Beach.

1920

View of Coogee beach lifesaving club. At the beginning of

the century, it was Coogee, not Bondi, which was the most

frequented bathing destination in Sydney.

1920

Surfing introduced to Australia at Freshwater Beach by Hawaiian Duke

Kahanamoku

1927

Bondi becomes Sydneys undisputed top beach. Retail ex-hibitions, cafes and the beach attracts more visitors than

any other beach, including long time favourite Coogee.

1928

Coogee Pier is opened, reaching 180m out to sea. The Pier contained a 1400 seat theatre, a 600 capacity ballroom,

a 400 seat restaurant upstairs, small shops and a penny (machine) arcade. Rough seas and damage forced the pier

to be demolished in 1934.

1928

Bondi Pavilion is opened. The colonnaded building brought something new to Australia, containing a ballroom, restaurant, a caf,

gymnasium, Turkish baths, bars and open air theatre and dressing shed.

1929

Bondi Icebergs opens, owing its name to a group of

dedicated lifesavers who wanted to keep their swimming

fitness up during winter months.

1929

Grand Hotel International is built on the site of the

demolished Cliff hotel house. Constructed to give Bondi

some class, the hotel contained a ballroom & gallery.

1929

Only two shark fatalities have ever occurred in Bondi

beach, both of which 14 days apart in 1929. Shark

lookouts are constructed around Sydney.

1930

Beachobatics takes bondi by storm

1930

Bronte surf carnival, c. 1930. Militaristic surf Carnival

displays were an integral part of the surf culture.

1937

Kings Theatre

1940

Groynes provide subterrain connection between pavillion

and beach

1938

Oh, make the great Pacific dry, And drive the council

speechless, Remove the breakers from Bondi- The beach,

and leave us breathless - Kenneth Slessor

1938

On Sunday February 6th, or Black Sunday, freak waves

dissolved the sand bank and smashed across the beach,

sweeping 300 people out to sea.

1940

Charles Meere Australian Beach Pattern 1940.

1942

Following the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, barbed wire

was spread along Bondi Beach. The groynes, allowing direct access to the

pavillion, were also ordered to be destroyed.

1954

Queen Elizabeth the second visits Australia for the first time since her coronation. Bondi surf lifesaving clubs entusias-tically host a royal surf carnival.

1955

The cult of the lifeguard firmly estsblished.

c1950-60

Popular band plays at the Pavillion Auditorium. The

audience sits on deck chairs on the hill running up to

Campbell Parade.

1960

Pavilion in serious arrears as changing attitudes toward

beach occupation render it functions obsolete.

1960

Two mermaid sculptures by Lyndall Randolph are installed

on a plinth in Ben Buckler. In 1974, one washed away. Two

years later, Waverley council relocated the second sculpture.

1961

Les Tanner The Bulletin October 1961. Get off the beach,

youre obscene.

1970

Tramlines are removed from New South Head road

in Vaucluse to give more space for the motorcar.

1971

Inaugural city2surf race is run, attracting both competitive and

community participants. The 14km course starts in the CBD and

finishes on Bondi Beach.

1996

Inaugural Sculpture by the sea exhibition is held between

Bondi and Tamarama. By 2006, the exhibition was the

largest outdoor sculpture exhibition in Australia.

2000

Bondi hosts 2000 Olympic Beach Vollyball comepeition

2005

The assult of volunteer surf lifesavers at Cronulla Beach

sparked a series of race related mob attacks in December

2005

1960 1980 - 2013

02 context and siteSite Analysis - Historical Time line Research and cataloguing by Thomas Murray and Dominic Broadhurst

1950

1800

Density of surrounding lots Public Green Space Extent of proposal scope

02 urban analysisDemographics and Urban Analysis

Urban AnalysisBondi as a precinct presents a complex and dense built environment. The demographics of the area are diverse bring comprised of long standing residents, financially proficient young professionals and transient backpackers. Yet the most defining influence on the built environ-ment of Bondi is the natural environment and topography towards which most of the urban fabric is oriented or affected by. Cultural influ-ences have reinforced this with an attitude of conservation towards our beaches, with Bondi Beach classed as a national treasure.

The beach is a place of equality in Australia, an open space in the public domain. The built structure which do infringe on this open space are landmarks including Ice Bergs, the skate ramp, the Pavilion, the surf club, the ocean baths and fishing club. All of these structures have been given a significance and have pro-grams which begin to paint a picture of the Australian soul. They also surrender to the natural radius of the bay which has been carved out by centuries of erosion in submission to the forces of nature at play.

Suburb extents Mean high water mark Coogee-Bondi Coastal walk

Tout Bien Range Armelle Caron Figure ground ordered by size

02 built context ANALYSISFigure Ground Study

Figure ground study

Bondi precinct allotmentsBondi precinct site plan

Berlin

New York

Montpelier

Tamarac

Istanbul

Paris

02 topographical analysisNatural topography and datums

Design Process - Definition of the natural topographic radius of the bay and orientation of significant cultural landmarks along bay perimeterNorth Bondi Rock Platform and Ben Bucklers Head

Elevation: circulation routes across the rock platform

in relation to datums and sea levels

North Bondi Rock Platform and Ben Bucklers Head -

Plan: circulation routes across the rock platform

Movement of body through space

Mapping delineations of space along North Bondi Rock platform

Significant Landmarks along Bondi foreshore Significant Landmarks along Bondi foreshore Significant Landmarks along Bondi foreshore

02 architectural PrecedentsExemplary projects referenced in the proposal

Havana Project Sea Wall 1994 - Lebbeus Woods

This proposal is the design for a new, continuous terrace along the entire

six kilometers of the Malecon, the wide boulevard along the Carribean.

The terrace, cantilevered over the sea, serves as a public terrace during

good weather. During hurricanes, the force of the tide tilts the terrace up

to form a seawall against potentially damaging flood tides.

Woods unrealised project along the Malecon in Havana has been used as a precedent for the way it interacted and cel-ebrated the sublime forces of nature while also facilitating a spectacular public space.

His use of a single steadfast gesture which elegantly resolved a complex issue in the built environment inspired the canti-levered roof forms from the proposed works. This bold yet unassuming response resonates with notions of the humility in the face of sublime nature and unpretentious Australian values.

Therme Vals 2009 - Peter Zumthor

Therme Vals in the Graubnden canton, Switzerland exhib-its an exemplary use of architecture to create a dialogue between occupant and landscape. This highly detailed, con-trolled design uses water and light through materiality to create a visceral connection with the land on which it is built. Notions of the sublime are deeply embedded in its conceptual groundings which has been drawn on for key architectural moves in the subject proposal.

Particularly, Zumthors execution of a spatial continuum to achieves a sense of vastness has been studied in depth. The composition of solid-void in plan and section and how they dictate circulation and vistas for the occupant were key ar-chitectural moves used to achieve this. These formal moves have been observed and reinterpreted in the proposed work convey a similar sense of nakedness in the face of nature.

Tadao Ando 1989 - Chuch of Light

Similarly, Ando has carefully crafted fantastic moments of light and dark, introspection and extrospection in his Church of Light. This project was commisioned by the Ibaraki Kasugaoka Church as their main chapel in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture. The stark material palette almost exclu-sively comprises of exposed pre-cast concrete. This unfin-ished, unassuming finish is a hallmark of Andos underlying concepts.

Highly evident in this example Andos concept of a space where one can with draw and centre themselves with earth, life and god. This is an environment, in which Ando would argue, facilitates spirituality. When analysed in tandem with his project Church of Water one can the projects as an in-version of one another and gain a sense of the careful way the landscape, interior and exterior have been addressed.

Image: Tadao AndoImages: Peter Zumthor, Images: Lebbeus Woods

Sydney Opera House 1958 - Jorn Utzon

The Opera House has been chosen as a precedent for this project as an iconic piece of architecture and an Australian landmark. In addition to this, it bears many parallels to the context, cultural importance and physical landscape of the subject site, being situated on a significant piece of land by the water.

In this, Uztons treatment and use of concrete to create soar-ing roof structures has been closely observed. The material palette established throughout the Opera House is domi-nated by exposed concrete that expresses the form work from which it was cast. This honest and raw detailing has been adopted to mirror the robust language which is now associated with the iconic structure. Referencing this archi-tectural language seeks to create a continuation of Sydneys iconic material pallet and tie these culturally

Images: Max Dupain, Dragi Markovic, Emerald City

Introduction

Cohesively, the following architectural proposal echoes unique experiences, memories and qualities which reflect the coastal landscape and its significance to the Australian psyche. The scheme for this site seeks to create a pallet that captures the experiences, memories and elements which colour our collective conscious, and, through architecture, cast it into the landscape.

The elements which make up this pallet have been informed by the historical research, cultural critique, readings and analysis of how Australian culture is depicted in the arts. The following themes are the conceptual framework and design strategies which inform these architectural moves in the final proposal.

Insofar as buildings speak to us, they also do so through quotation that

is, by referring to, and triggering memories of, the contexts in which we

have previously seen them, their counterparts or their models. They com-municate by prompting associations

- Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness

The sea draws it to us for rest and relaxation. Its a place where we can

empty our minds and restore our spirits. Perhaps the endlessness of the

horizon is what rejuvenates us, or the enormous reserve of restless energy

that is the sea. As Tim Winton says, looking out at sea is as close to infin-ity as well ever get. Its vastness puts human existence and concerns into

perspective. - Philip Drew, Coastal Dwellers

The Australian Soul

Extro-spection

Temporality

A Horizontal Country

Irreverence/Classless Paradigm/Eternity

The Horizon

The Collective Conscious

Elemental Experiences

Rights of passage

Collective memories

The Sublime, Romanticism and Escapism

Relevance to context (Australian Culture)

Relevance to site (Coastal Landscapes)

The Edge, a plane of transition

Vastness - Spatial Continuum

Vastness - Intimate Encounters

03 architectural ambitionsThematic Grounding & Design Approach

04 Design strategyExecution of Architectural Ambitions

Introduction

The following formal architectural moves seeks to captures the experiences, memories and elements which colour our collective concious, and cast them into the landscape.

Topographic Radius

The crafting of these ambitions is proposed firstly in consideration of Bondis vast foreshore and topography. This looks at how the natural formation of the beach subtly determines the location and orientation of built form.

The contours and shape of the bay define a natural radius that the foreshore structures each observe. Within this radius are signifi-cant landmarks such as Ice Bergs, the surf club, skate ramp, coastal walk, northern baths, fishing club and Marks Park. All programs which begin to paint a picture of the Australian soul.

At the centre of this, a bronze prism has been sunk to the ocean floor becoming a place marker to the topographic geometry and of our extro-spection to the horizon.

Intervention Scales

The proposed works are grounded in the pavilion for this proposal however small interventions are also dotted along the north Bondi rock platform. This creates a tension between anchor point and sprawl, vast landscapes and intimate encounters.

Retention of Existing Fabric

Philip Drew speaks of the coastal experience as a return to simplicity and hon-esty of self. He describes the beach house typology to explain this in architectural terms;

The eschewing of form, reducing everything to all but the most basic conveniences, its openness and

lack of internal barriers or compartments is almost a psychological model of our own nakedness, an

admission of vulnerability and smallness before nature.

This ideological approach has been applied to the Bondi Pavilion. All but its struc-tural skeleton has been stripped in a process of attrition, leaving behind a column grid system that yields to the topographic axis of the bay. This establishes a fine grain solid-void ratio and therefore an openness to the landscape. It also remains as an echoing memory of the Pavilions iconic form and its cultural and historical significance.

Solid-Void Massing

Reinforced concrete supports have then been introduced among the grid, contrast-ing the fine grain domestic columns with super scale solid forms. The scale of these supports allows them to define circulation and vistas through the site, as well im-press a sense of the monolithic upon the occupant. The form and location of each support has been used to create a spatial continuum. In this the occupant gains a suggestion of the beach and horizon beyond, although there is no direct visual con-nection.

North Bondi Rock Platform memory scape

Bronze Prism sunk at the centre point of the bay to delineate

narural topographic geometry of the landscape

03 Solid masonry supports02 Stripped and appropriated existing column grid01 Existing Bondi Pavilion floor plan

06 Proposed Level 01 Plan - Beach Level05 Proposed Roof Plan04 Fine grain column grid : monolithic masonry supports

Design Process - Pairing back existing plan and insertion of new solid-void heavy-lightweight construction

04 Design strategyExecution of Architectural Ambitions

Programmatic Approach

The program of the Pavilion has been reimagined for greater fa-cilitation of the arts, through which the importance of the beach is represented and remembered in our culture.

Artists in residence quarters have been expanded in the south cor-ner of the pavilion, with the addition of studio or workshop space and outdoor exhibition areas. Occupying the northern half of the Pavilion are stalls and facilities as a new space to accommodate the Bondi Markets. Artist in residence quarters, outdoor exhibition areas and the markets are transparent spaces open to the public. The ebb and flow of their use is fleeting. The outdoor exhibition areas reflect this as sculptural pieces take shape, are exhibited and then sold or transported on. The lightweight, open structure en-casing these spaces and their transient occupation touches on the temporality of our presence in the landscape.

The existing theatre has also been expanded and then dropped to the level of the beach. Seating is cut and carved into the concrete podium of the Pavilion, stepping out and down to below sand lev-el. Spectators are seated directly on the concrete slab where they come into contact with its robust, tactile and unassuming surface.

The stage is an undefined and unenclosed area of sand that stretch-es out in front of the seating. In this way, Bondi Beach itself be-comes the stage on which lifes drama are played out, both while a production runs and when it is used as seating to observe the theatrics of beach life.

Delineation of Sectional Space

The sectional experience has been delineated on site where the roof form and void below, cut and carve into the landscape, pairing back terrain and structure to strike a steadfast form on the land. This is achieved through a series of tectonic plates soaring over the beach.

Their shale-like composition resolves complex level changes on site from Campbell parade to the mean high water mark. This spatial continuum allows transient oc-cupants to experience the space as a whole despite be-ing prevented from seeing its full extents, consequently giving way to a sense of vastness in the landscape.

Spatial continuum through the section also orients the occupants body in space. Changes in level heights are constant and cross referenced with vistas of the horizon as one moves through each area. This echoes the naviga-tion of a rock platform which is often regulated by the tides.

The water level and ensuing horizon are a constant da-tum of reference for the body in space. Orientation with the horizon as an infinite line of sight implies boundless-ness and the eternal. Author Tim Winton reiterates this concept commenting that;

Looking out at see is as close to infinity as well ever get. Its vastness

puts human existence and concerns into perspective.

Diagrammatic Section 02

Diagrammatic Section 01

Floor Plan 00 - Theatre opening onto beach

Bondi Precinct West Elevation

Bondi Precinct Topographic Radius

Site Plan Scale 1:2000 Level 01 Floor Plan - Scale 1:1000 Level 00 Floor Plan - Scale 1:1000

Form and Composition

The proposed roof form folds down into ground plane and soars over the sand. Shelves, under crofts, fissures and steps in the form have been created to accommodate multiple design parameters.

This can be seen in areas that require privacy such as the outdoor showers where the roof form turns down. Over the public market space, vast roof planes open and ascend up. These planes, and the reinforced concrete plinths that support them also function to frame vistas and the horizon as visitors circulate through the site.

Similarly the roof planes alternately create spaces which are protected when southerly busters come through or are open to admit winter sunlight.

As a cohesive structure the architecture essentially acts as a large scale veranda. In essence it is an unassuming, protected platform between interior and exterior from which occupants can survey the landscape.

On a sunny day with big swell running from the ocean straight into

Broken Bay, he eventually found the shak he wanted... It was built of

weatherboard and fibro-cement, painted the colour of pale clay, and

it settled on the hillside sheltered from the southerly wind and facing

north along the beach.Robert Drew, The Bodysurfers

Construction Section - Exhibition spaces, artist in residence studios and living quarters

Construction System

The proposed construction system is a continued juxtaposition of solid to void, heavy to light, ro-bust to highly finished elements. Zinc cladding wraps over and under the steel structure, shield-ing it from the brunt of onshore weather.

On the protected side of the structure the fine, tapering, lightweight steel frame is exposed be-low. At the base of the steel members a reinforced concrete plinth anchors each soaring plane to the land.

Detailing

Structurally this gradation of material density and tapering of member size mirrors the language of Australian coastal headlands. Vegetation in these areas must have strong root systems which an-chor it into the rock and fine, tapering branches which are light weight and easily supported in high winds.

The anchor point has been detailed with a 300mm return along the top of the concrete plinth. This gives a sense that the planes are floating and reit-erates their light weight construction.

D02 - Concrete support connectionD02 - Roof joint construction D03 - Glazing Detail

04 Design strategyExecution of Architectural Ambitions

Principal Construction Section, Site Section 01 - Scale 1:200

Sketch Render 02 - Diagrammatic Section looking NorthSketch Render 01 - Diagrammatic Section looking South

Rock Platform Interventions

To the north, the wandering rock platform wraps around Ben Buck-lers head, exhibiting a spectrum of moments and experiences played out by beach-goers there. It presents a memory scape of moments that paint a picture of the beach in our national psyche.

Along the platform, points that constitute a rite of passage, form of privacy, chance to commune with nature or an elemental experience have been identified. At these points one of two extruded bronze pro-files are situated on or within the sandstone. The first profile is de-signed as a seat and edge to the water, the second as a depression in the rock platform for sun bathing.

Many rites of passage happen either on the beach, behind the dunes or in the beach house near by. The seafront is where we establish important friendships and become sensual and often also sexual beings. The beach therefore has a special place in our collective consciousness, imbued with all these memories

Robert Drew

Bronze has been selected for its capacity to reveal points of contact with the body over time. The platform interventions become pallets in this way. Through use, Beach goers will collectively and accumula-tively leave a mark of the Australian soul on them over time.

Further to this exposure and weathering of the metal results in oxi-dization, an admission to the forces of nature at play. Its subtle col-oration blends with the natural palate of wet sandstone, dusk light on the water, turquoise rock pools and the glistening skin of surrounding sun bathers.

04 Design strategyExecution of Architectural Ambitions

North Bondi Rock Platform Memory Scape

Cast Bronze profiles - palettes to paint the Australian soul

01 Mapping

The mapping process undertaken gauged the aspects which spoke most of the site and context. This included detailed cultural and historical research and substantial mapping of the topography on site. This began to inform what themes and concepts the site presented and could be explored.

02 Theoretical Background

Thematic concepts such as the sublime, collective conscious and Australian culture became apparent through rigorous readings and referencing of key theses. Synthesis of the ar-guments put forward in these publications and critical anal-ysis of them from the perspective of the Australian psyche allowed the project ambitions and line of enquiry to come forth. Precedents of architectural typologies in this vein were de-constructed to gain a sense formal moves, strate-gies and concepts which could be adapted or re-imagined in the context of Australia and Bondi.

03 Preliminary Design

Preliminary design schemes proposed interventions at a range of scales from precinct wide to intimate details of hu-man contact. This evolved into impressing a sense of vast-ness on transient occupants through the site - a manifesta-tion of the sublime. They also looked as resolution and a play between significant datums on site

06 Design phasesProject Processes and Stages

04 Interim

Conceptual models were produced for the interim presentation which became a driving force in the design approach of the final proposal. This pursued the concept of the collective conscious and creation of a memory-scape of Australian culture. The mod-els were a literal rubbing-off of Australian culture. Physical parts of the North Bondi rock platform were embossed at distinctive focal points into metal sheet-ing. Interventions in the final proposal reinterpreted this, seeking to create palettes of bronze. These pal-ettes would expose a literal mark of the Australian soul through repetitive and collective points of con-tact with beach goers.

05 Final Presentation

The final presentation was carefully considered to impress a sense of vastness and therefore the sublime on the critique panel. This was achieved through a deliberate choice to omit representations of the over-all scheme. Much like the circulation through the site of the proposal, the critiques could navigate the scheme and move easily from one aspect to the next but never gain an overall mental image of it. In this it minims the spatial continuum of the design.

Embossing metal sheet into the Noth Bondi rock platform

Sketch Render 05 - Diagrammatic Section looking North

Sketch Render 04 - Diagrammatic Section looking SouthSketch Render 03 - Diagrammatic Section looking South

Master of Architecture Graduation Studio S2, 2013The University of Sydney Faculty of Architecture, Design and PlanningSublime Australia, Collective Conscious Nicole Larkin SID 30815287533.8913S + 151.2752E: Beach Cities, Bondi Beach Sydney - Dagmar Rhienhardt

A 23 Ludgate Street Concord, NSW 2137 AustraliaP +61419977020 02 97434017E nlar3046@uni.sydney.edu.au nicole00__@hotmail.comW www.nicolelarkin.com www.behance.net/NicoleLarkin

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