1. The book publishing centre is situated in the heart of the town centre, where it’s industry is mixed with library, market, book shop, and agricultural research activities as to introduce diversity and interesting program in the place where religious or strong political aesthetic is usually the alternative.
2. Stories enrich the nature of Batticaloa, and these stories still remain unwritten and un-documented. The demographic changes that were a result of the 1990 Massacre have scarred a previously well coexisting community of Muslim and Hindu Tamils, Sinhalese, and Christian Tamil and Sinhalese. At a master-plan scale, the reconnection seems simple with the drawing of a simple line, but the meaning of this line, in discussing potential new mediums of communication can be tremendously useful. In the case of book publishing, the line represents the exchange of books, from produced to intellectual property of new literature created. The relationship becomes one about exchange through trade and book use within the schools, as well as the competition that arises with this new tool for increased social mobility. The best writer wins, and the city begins to build it's narrative into documented history, from more than one angle.
3. The nature of book publishing as a brief aimed to work directly alongside the nature of free and open debate, using quotes to think about debates such as: "Point at which many things going on around you that upon leaving your comfortable above of work and space, you are immediately fully immersed into the political arena of debate, the polis - inspiring the Athenian model for competition and human development towards truth."
4. Understanding the religious and cultural make up of the region, one can see how people are so closely connected together, but emotionally can feel like a world apart. By re-focussing a relationship around industry, production, prosperity, and direct problem solving of clear issues, one can separate some parts of daily life from the deep emotional background reasons to decision making, and just enjoy the interest and speculation created from a program so raw and clear in it's original form.
5. The consideration of regional industries that could work with new industry based in Kattankudy provides potential partnership opportunities, as well as an awareness of competition, in method of work, efficiency, logistics, etc. Publishers are currently scattered around the country, yet not many are situated in the Eastern District, which is where our new Book Publishing Centre will fit. How the new centre could also encourage the intervention of increased journalistic activity and reporting from the East became evident in the meeting with Frederica Jansz, who specified an interest in setting up a new journalism station in Batticaloa. Increasing this potential and it's positive cultural ramifications throughout the district is potentially very useful.
6. The design strategy of the site aimed to create a perpendicular axis to the main road 'Main Street', which would reinforce the existing axis of the cultural programs in the city, which consisted of the Mosque, School, Urban Council building, lagoon and sea. The planting of trees is being utilised to create a green corridor, which also provides natural shading, whilst opening up the site and axis to feel more breathable, therefore aiming to encourage public activity and movement in these regions.
7. Phasing diagram of the site, where: i. the Culture and Art's Centre main volume is removed leaving the facade as a shell; ii: then allowing the area to become more fertile through water containment; iii: then inhabitation in the areas of shade; iv: to development around this oasis, for it's preservation and support.
8. The building material aims to use local materials, including timber beams, palm thatch wall cladding and roofing, steel bracket joints, and timber columns. Altogether, the building strategy aims to merge into the landscape, where the sandy surface soil brushes against the thatched walls, lingers around the columns, and feels open to the air and movement of people. Private program seems softly sheltered from view, but not defensively obstructing movement from it's presence. It is this softness of intervention that I aim to achieve.
9. The connection between the existing facade and publishing centre yields a smooth and texturally integrated extension, which aims to blend aspects of industry more softly into the site.
10. The building aims to generate a sense of community and industry in one site, utilising programs of: a coffee shop, book shop, public gallery, library, book publishing centre, study block, and paper making warehouse. The coffee shop is at the centre, forming the meeting point between the Urban Council Building and Book Publishing Centre. The building attempts to encourage movement along this new green belt, and gradate the scale of human groupings from large at the street entrance, to small by the time one reaches the study block and library.
11. An emerging sense of scale, accent and openness emerges from the textural nature of the city vs. new industry and public adventure. This rough and fragmented identity mirrors the very scattered nature of the communication and life that will go on around the site, where the political sphere is in direct dialogue with the cafe, and the library looks straight into the publishing section. Subtle views make up a site that grows on the mind through action and experience rather than shear monumental reaction.
12. The building brings together programs of varying sound requirements - the book publishing centre is very loud, whilst the library must be very quiet. An acoustic arrangement of walls and textures aims to ensure sound is controlled and directed effectively away from quiet zones, or encourage in the communal public areas.
13. Materiality of the scheme aims to address local economy, scale of components, re-application of the new architectural typology to other buildings in the region, ease of construction, and safe erection. The diagram below describes each material component needed for the entire Book Publishing Centre scheme, where a majority materiality used includes thatch, adobe mud brick, reinforced concrete and steel brackets.
14. The individual study spaces at the top floor of the study block are meant to feel independent from the town, where one's views pass far over the city and towards the sea, and above the density of housing from where you would only have seen on the ground or in google maps. The design always ensures you are with other students and never alone, with the focus being on concentrated study with the ability to access many books stocked in the library.
No comments:
Post a Comment