Catching up on the Blog

We have fallen behind timewise with the blog, so I will post some articles to bring us up to date. We have had great progress with the main Tall Buildings design project, and also with High Rise Issues and with the Architectural Research Methods module.

Site Study and Agenda Presentations

Oct 29: Today saw all the groups present their initial site study research for their sites in Abu Dhabi, Chicago, Mumbai, Rotterdam and Singapore. Recognising that tall buildings have a physical relationship with places far and wide in a city, the research embraced both the local (e.g. the areas directly surrounding the sites), the intermediate, and the city as a whole. The research examined not only the climatic and contextual nature of the sites, but also the cultural aspects of place - what makes the city special? What are the opportunities in the city? What are the problems in the city? How do people live in the city? Etc...

In addition, students also presented an 'agenda' for their tall building design - an outline of it's responsibilities and how it will make a positive impact on the site and city. The agendas are directly influenced by the site studies and the unique nature of each city. With ideas ranging from solar desalination to farming and fitness, from religion and festival to prefabrication, the designs that evolve from these initial studies over the following weeks look set to both excite, and challenge the preconceptions of the tall building.