It is 12 days before portfolio and I am still designing by hand because...the design process is cyclical. On the bright side, my design's spatial planning is finally resolved.
This mixed use building has actually taught me a lot about typology and a lot about spatial heirarchy. The most challenging part has been getting my parking and ramps to works and then later on trying to get them to work in tandem with the rest of my structure.
Let's have a look at the ground floor.
The ground floor has the building's entrance situated near the corner where there is a kiosk that stands guard of the lift lobby and fire staircase. From the information kiosk one can waltz along to the coffee bar on the right or see what is on promotion on the left. That or indulge in shopping and fast food with a spacious food court.
Because of the slope of the site, the cars can enter at first storey level where they can find parking or go up a ramp that leads into the second storey where there is more parking, not before passing the security boom gate though. Both parking floors have immediate acces to two fire escapes and a lift lobby to lead them to the ground floor or to the offices above.
The coffee bar space on ground floor is open right up to fourth floor level, giving it an atrium feel, fashioned with a skylight at the top.
I saw it generous to add two floors that will act as a smooth transition between what happens below and what happens above them, they serve to marry two different functions together; retail and commercial. These two floors cater primarily to the public. The third floor seeks to extrude the proposed public park from the outside into the inside by way of a market floor with lots of greenery. At the center, a massive atrium with two massive trees and a gigantic statue.
One finds themselves entering into a gallery/museum as they walk up the double staircase where both the public and office staff, primarily, can enjoy a restaurant and a roof terrace.
The offices comprise of shared floor tenant space and single tenant floor space. The shared tenant floor space has a lobby that boasts a staircase and lift lobby that is access controlled and as a second security measure, there is a reception at the lobby. The lobby also has ablution facilities and a kitchen which are of course shared.
The DNA of the office space, better termed typology, has open plan office space and compartmentalized offices towards the south to allow maximum daylight penetration into the space. The common gathering spaces like group meeting and boardrooms are closest to the entrance.
The single tenant floor space has the exact same lobby but has more pause areas to aid productivity and mitigate the feeling of being boxed in. the greater the diversity of activities an employee can experience at work the greater their mood, creativity, and by extension their productivity.
Of all the projects that I have done in Architecture school, This one has taught me the most. In terms of passive sustainable design and its intimate affair with how it affects the building's envelope/aesthetic appeal, typology of different spaces and their natures, and structure and different building technologies.
The only other time I enjoyed a project this much was my 3rd year Market project. It would seem that I enjoy and learn a colossal lot from mixed-use projects.
My next blog about the design process will feature the finished product to complete the 4-part blog series of the design process. I hope you have learned something just as I have. Enkosini...
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