Rooflessness_studio outline

Greg Buhagiar | Semester 1

Neel Charitra | 2008

Description:

Our social system assumes everyone has a home that provides adequate shelter as well as a base from
which to participate in the social and economic life of the community. Being without a home effectively
disenfranchises a person from a broad range of rights, and the responsibilities we all share as community
members that together constitute citizenship. In this way, homelessness is one of the most potent examples
of disadvantage in the community, and one of the more important markers of social exclusion. The basic
need for a stable residence and place from which citizens are able to take up the benefits of living in a
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community is therefore social justice issue for all Victorians.

Rooflessness investigates the idea of what it means to design sustainable and affordable accommodation.
Understanding what sustainable / affordable actually means. Is it a long period of time? > Is it about running
costs? > Is it about proximity to amenities? > Is siting important? > Is it architecture that actually works for
the stakeholders but more importantly for the client? Understanding that designing sustainable and
affordable accommodation is not just about fact, it’s about the people (the Client) and also realising that with
most things, you do not get an outcome without people.

This studio looks at the integration of technology and design. You will question and test a crucial aspect of
architecture and ask yourself - Why and How are things are made? You will use the 4 esquisses as a
testing/launching pad where you will take a position and begin to question how critical to any conceptual
development of a project is technology in fulfilling the design intent.

Through design you will look at the way technology directly affects all 4 stakeholders. What are their
requirements? What is your design strategy? This studio addresses the importance of tectonics and how it
deals with a real site and a real brief. You will test the briefs (requirements/ambitions and objectives) of the 4
stakeholders against the following architectural propositions:

1. Mobility - The Service Supplier (Matthew Talbot Soup van)

2. Shelter - The Client (drug/alcoholic dependant homeless men)
3. Boundary - The State (provider)
4. Access - The Community

A second order of investigation such as; materiality, temporariness, permanence, flexibility, public/private
zones, hygiene, durability, sustainability, affordability, context, acoustics, security, scalability, habitation…..
will follow.

1 Victorian Homelessness Strategy: Action Plan and Strategic Framework by Department of Human Services February 2002
The Victorian Homelessness Strategy has developed actions and strategies that are designed to contribute
to improved client focus and outcomes for clients.
The Victorian Homelessness Strategy has emphasised the need for improved connectedness between
services and integration, better understanding of clients needs and achieving long-term outcomes for users
of the homelessness service system.
A range of targeted initiatives and projects developed under the Strategy specifically respond to client
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groups with a high propensity to sustained homelessness.

Pure understanding of whom and what you are dealing with will be the starting point. You will test
technology through design and begin to assess the meaning of;

‘Homelessness’ – it is not just about a physical home. Is it about feeling a sense of security, a sense of
pride, a sense of belonging to the community?

‘Brief and Site’ - through exploration test technology that deals with real issues, real people and real needs.

‘Community’ - what is site? What are the needs of the community? What is context? How does their plan
coincide with the other stakeholders?

‘The State’ - what are their needs? What is their plan? > Developing an integrated and sustainable service
system. How does their plan coincide with the other stakeholders? > Is it improving client focus and client
outcomes? >What are their broad outcomes?

‘The Client’ - what are their needs? What is their brief? How does their brief coincide with the other
stakeholders?

‘The Service Supplier’ - what are their needs? What is their brief? How does their brief coincide with the
other stakeholders?

The exact site is to be confirmed. However it will be located in the Inner Western Suburbs of either
Williamstown, Spotswood, Yarraville or Footscray. These areas are ideal to investigate as it currently deals
with the briefs of the 4 stakeholders. You will actively engage with the site through partaking in voluntary
work via the Matthew Talbot Soup van which visits parks, homes and various other shelters 365 days of the
year. Here you will have the opportunity to observe and engage with the people and the services currently
provided with the framework permitted. This initial contact will become an investigative catalyst for the other
service systems involved with this studio.

Concluding, we want you to use this studio as a point of departure where you do not just view architecture
simply as built form but when viewing architecture question and understand what design and technological
strategies have been integrated and why. What does Mies van der Rohe mean when he says “God is in the
Detail”?

2 State Government of Victoria, Department of Human Services, Office of Housing, 20.07.2007

Method:

The studio will be structured in 4 initial esquisses with the aim to give the students the tools (site analysis,
scale, visual representation, understanding a brief, planning, siting, technology and conceptual
development) for which they then can confidently inform the major project.

Objectives:
Assessing existing design technologies
Understand the important role technology has in satisfying a brief and design intent.
Strategic design development and looking at the integration of technology
Understanding how and why things are made.

Skills:

Technology > detailing > materiality> sustainability > scale

Site analysis / Siting
Presentation / effective and efficient communication through drawing techniques

References:

Refer esquisses
Esquisse 1: Mobility

The Service Supplier

The St Vincent de Paul Society's four soup van services provide assistance to more than 540 people each
night and serve over 176,000 meals per year.
The Society's soup van services bring practical assistance, friendship and genuine concern to people in
need within our community.
Soup vans rely on the generosity of donors, both financially and through gifts in kind to enable this voluntary
program to exist.

Currently the van’s fit out is simple and practical however it does not meet all the needs of the user and the
people it is serving. The van can be broken down simply as a series of containers that accommodates
various things;

Soup flasks
Cordial flasks
Coffee and tea urns
Disposable cups
Blankets
Scarves, beanies, jackets, socks, caps, etc….
Eskies
Sandwiches
Cakes
Bread rolls
Volunteers (x7)
Light
Extendable canopy
Bins
Protective shelter from the weather

Note: not only does the van need to accommodate all of the above but it needs to be able to continue
operating as practically as possible. Remember that the van has many users with many personal
interpretations on how things operate. How does your proposal deal with everyday routine such as;
Cleaning
Mobility (i.e. weight, shape, size, accessibility…)
Siting (how does the van site itself. Is safe?)

Objectives:

Through the integration of technology in your design you will redesign the van including all of the above
requirements and critically assess why and how things are made. You will look at materiality, function and
form.
In addition through this experience you will get hands on experience with the real social issue of
homelessness. The majority of people you will visit will be drug/alcoholic dependant men coming from
various backgrounds. This is NOT AN OPPOTUNITY TO JUDGE as we do not clearly understand the
reasons for their current positions. It is a privileged opportunity to observe and maybe speak to a few of the
men about anything. Misconceptions of this demographic are overwhelming and ALL students are
encouraged to take part as this is a chance for you to become aware of the realities and current situations.

This experience will also give you an opportunity to assess context. > Where are the homes located? > How
do they fit within the existing urban context? > What do they look like? > How do you access these homes?
> How do they breath?

Skills:

Looking at the integration of technology in design as a creative solution to a brief and design intent.

References: St Vincent De Paul articles.

soupvans@svdp-vic.org.au
Architectural details
Precedence such as the Kombi van
Method:

Matthew Talbot soup van circuit. > The studio (date TBC) will be spent traveling on the soup van and visiting
a few places where the Client’s congregate and/or live. Students will meet Neel and Greg at 7pm at;
Our Lady’s Hall
46 Ballarat Rd
Maidstone.
The expected time the soup van run will finish is approximately 10.00pm. Please advise either Greg or Neel
ASAP if transport will be a problem.
By volunteering on the van you will observe how the van currently works for the user and for the people it is
serving and assess the pros and cons of the existing conditions.

Assessment: (date TBC)

1: 20 plan
1: 20 section
1: 5 detail of one compartment.
1 axonometric of the van.
Esquisse 2: Shelter

The Client

Who are we designing for? Are they much different from us? Do they have special needs? Are we as
outsiders looking and judging and making architectural assumptions with no real understanding?

Objectives

Look at shelter where it deals with the Clients brief. Critically analyse existing design conditions and
technological solutions. > What is currently being built in this area based on observations from esquisse 1?
> Understand and question context, materiality, scale, permanence / temporariness, flexibility, private/public
zones, hygiene, durability, sustainability, acoustics, security, curfews, controlled and uncontrolled
environments….

Come to terms with the idea of shelter for a homeless person through design and materiality and what it
might look like.

Skills

Looking at the integration of technology and design via a different brief / set or requirements.

References

TBC
You may wish to look at: theatre set design, baroque buildings, movie sets, the ‘international style’ with Mies
and the curtain wall (Seagram building) being representative of American big business etc

Method

Design a shelter that can accommodate the Client’s brief. The Brief is;
X2 bedrooms. Each room will need to accommodate, a ride-on-scooter, bar fridge, TV, robe and a single
bed
X 1 shared bathroom
X 1 common room. This room will have a kitchenette, TV, couch and coffee table
All rooms will require external access.
The site TBC

Note: the word shelter is only notional and you will take a position on what it actually means through your
design.

Assessment:

1: 50 plan
1: 20 section (showing how the shelter interacts and satisfies the Client’s brief)
1: 5 detail of one requirement of the brief (eg how does the wall deal with hygiene?)
1 internal perspective/montage of the shelter.
Esquisse 3: Boundary

The Community:

Objectives:

Investigate existing local homeless shelter models ie. hostels, stand alone houses, compounds and flats,
that you observed on the Soupvan run and individual research. Observe the context in which they sit; is it on
a main street? Is it in a quiet street? Is it the middle of a industrial estate? Is it close to infrastructure and
services? What materials is the building made from? What’s common to these homes? Is the plan internal?

Observe the neighboring properties; are they a residence? Are they a business? Is the boundary fence tall
and capped with razor wire? Is it next to a primary school? Is there a buffer zone between adjoining
buildings?

These are some questions, which, by answering will not only give you an understanding of the current
context in which this building type is built and located but an understanding of how and why things are
made.

Method:

Following on from your observations on the Soup van run, individual research of the existing homeless
shelters and the questions above, produce sections based on the site from esquise 2:

Through sections, design a series of external boundary conditions – front, sides and back. How do the
boundary conditions engage with the pedestrian, the vehicle, the cyclist, the neighbour, the laneway, the
street….. Investigate materiality, permeability, transparency, public/private and how the integration of
technology deals with these relationships.

Skills:

You will gain an understanding of the strength of communication via the section. Communicating ideas of
structure, scale, proximity, materiality etc.

Assessment:

4no. of 1:20 wall sections. We will be looking for design strategies through section, remembering we are
interested in ‘how and why’ things are made.

References:

Theatre design, movie set design, Callum Morton

Esquisse 4: Access

The State

This investigation combines Government and Statutory requirements.

Government Requirements

The Office of Housing (part of the Department of Human Services - DHS) provides a range of housing
assistance programs to Victorians, one of which is ‘Short – Medium Term Housing’. These programs are
provided to people experiencing homelessness and/or housing crisis. Alongside short to medium term
accommodation there are also support services which assist clients with a range of complex needs to
stabilise their housing situation and to achieve self reliance and independence.

Statutory Requirements:

OHS, Building Code of Australia, Australian Standards, Local Council, DHS requirements, fire rating.

Objectives:

To understand the Governments ambition of the ‘Victorian Homelessness Strategy’ report, as stated above.
How does the building changes when the client requirements changes.

To gain an understanding of the statutory requirements; dealing with the pragmatics and how codes start to
impact building design.

Creating an environment that can cope with the reality and demands of the client.

Method:

This esquisse will be tested through plan and section, with the integration of statutory requirements.

Continuing with the brief from esquisses 2 and 3.

Re-design both bedrooms, the shared bathroom and communal area into a dwelling for one wheelchair
bound and one able bodied client. Issues you will have to address, but not limited too are: wheelchair
access, egress, ramp requirements, disabled toilets, wall protection, OH&S etc etc

Is there an idea, from any of the previous esquisses that can be utilised in this shelter?

Skills:

To engage with the pragmatic requirements and the additional layering of information that is required when
designing a building.

Assessment:

1:50 plan of the shelter

1:20 section of the shelter

Drawings need to include relevant statutory and OH&S requirements illustrating the impact they begin to
have on materiality, scale, form and access/egress.

References:

‘Victorian Homelessness Strategy: Action Plan and Strategic Framework’ by the Department of Human
Services February 2002, Building Code of Australia, Disabled Code 1428.1 and 1428.2, DHS guidelines.
Main Project

Post completion of all 4 esquisses you would have begun to develop a series of architectural principles
based on an understanding of the issues surrounding the idea of ‘rooflessness’. You would have
undertaken a series of investigations of; Mobility (the service supplier), Shelter (the client), Boundary (the
community) and Access (the State) utilising the shelter as the primary vehicle of investigation providing you
with a creative tectonic method of distilling a series of agendas, personal stories, rules, requirements,
ambitions and objectives.

Now you are ready for the main project.

You are to design a sustainable and affordable medium scale homeless men’s shelter located within existing
suburbia.

A site and brief will be given to you. The site will be located in the Inner Western Suburbs where the
Matthew Talbot Soupvan circuit currently runs. We are predominantly interested in how one fulfils the design
intent via a creative technological solution understanding how and why buildings are built. Investigations and
architectural propositions tested in esquisses 1 to 4, will have begun to establish your position on the idea of
Rooflessness, its design, materiality and identity.

Objectives:

Technology skills – through scaled sections and plans you will begin to understand why and how buildings
are built. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary structures, looking at the various layers to a building > planning,
materiality, boundary conditions, access and mobility. Fulfilling the design intent via a set of coherent
drawings.

Conceptual / design skills – strategic design propositions forming and articulating a response to the question
of Rooflessness.

Communication skills: to test various architectural presentation skills throughout the semester so as to grasp
an understanding of what is successful communication.

Method:

You will be given a brief. The brief will clearly state the following;

• Area schedule
• Site
• Access requirements (24hrs)
• DHS requirements
• Statutory requirements

You will then develop design strategies through your findings in the previous 4 esquisses and it’s relation to
the brief. The 4 stakeholders needs and your position will be tested and designed through: section, plan and
elevation.

Final presentation:

1: 500 site plan

1: 100 floor plan(s)
1: 100 elevations (x2) including streetscape
A series of wall sections and details that communicate the brief of all 4 stakeholders (scale TBC)
1no. sectional montage

Format to be A1 size.
Mid semester crit:

Mid Semester crit is a time to reflect and take an informed position on what you have produced to date,
through comparison looking at different design strategies, integration of technology and referencing the brief
of the stakeholders, you will begin to understand the objectives of this studio: why and how things are made.