in preparation for the first assignment due in week six,
stewart and i continued to brainstorm and finally settled on a problem statement and architectural strategy statement.

Project Statement

Problem statement

Not the place to be

With this semesters byline being ‘The Place to Be’ it was questioned why Canberra was not a city that is associated with that phrase.

The country and city were investigated and it was determined that one of the reasons is that there are spatial issues that distr act from the elements that Canberra has to offer. Canberra is much too distributed as a city. Is it not pedestrian friendly to the extent that people are reluctant to visit the city.

Canberra has many spaces that already represents national identity and presence (eg. The national art gallery, the Australian War memorial).

We are aiming to activate the spaces around the parliament house and Canberra, preserving and displaying the presence and identity of the city.

As the capital city of the nation, Canberra should be laying the best foundations and advancing the country for the future, however due to lack of information, consideration of public input and exploration of other approaches lead to a more successful government.  

Architectural strategy

Condensing Canberra by borrowing from existing institutions of Australian presence, combining them into one coherent whole to create an experience that embodies the national identity.

In addition to creating a flexible architectural system aimed at improving the future of Australia, environmentally, economically and politically.

How do we propose to achieve this?

We propose constructing a tram system with Capital circle as the anchor point, with modular straddling structures that can be joined and moved, according to spatial demands. The structures would create the infrastructure for Australia’s main think tank with the purpose of creating strategies to improve Australia’s decision making in the parliament.

The tram will allow the existing institutions to be much more easily accessible, allowing users to experience an increased view of Canberra, creating more of an identity than you would witness at its current state.

it was decided that a tram would be much easier to implement than a light rail, would not disturb other infrastructure, and would allow pedestrians to easily cross tram tracks.  

(more specifically a hydrogen tram)
I guess the information i found on Canberra earlier in the semester was useful! It was discovered that many people are interested in the parliament, and agree that their vote does make a difference, however there is not much trust in the government.  

by creating this public think tank, it will allow the public to voice their opinions directly to parliament, as well as give institutions a location to focus on and create strategies related to national problems and issues. 


planning final presentation panels:

future development ideas: 

tram system could expand and the whole city could become more pedestrian friendly