UNSW Built Environment Interior Architecture: Emily Cheung

Hello Hello!

My name is Emily and I’m a 2nd year student of Interior Architecture. Following my internship at Cyberlab Design I deferred Semester 2 last year to gain work experience as Student Interior Designer. The long break from Uni has surprisingly made me miss the assessment packed course. I’m really happy to say I’m at uni studying (or chilling out) and not in the office trying to meet deadlines. Not that working was a pain but its refreshing to be back to see the familiar faces and have pens, rulers, scraped sketches all over my bedroom floor.

Having completed Semester 1 of 2nd year, last year, I’m using this opportunity to complete all my electives before 4th year. I’m studying Visual Identity in the Built Environment and a totally unrelated elective (Chinese Cinemas). These two subjects are great fun in their own ways. Visual Identity in the Built Environment has challenged me to think outside the box and Chinese Cinemas has allowed me to gain insight into the movements of 20th Century China through film.

I’m really enjoying the cooler weather and hope that by Winter I will have happily finished Semester 1 2010.

UNSW Built Environment Alumni: Griffen Manan(BIA 09) DIA Grad of the Year

Hi All,

It’s me again and this time I am writing this blog as a graduand….and….I’ve got some news that I want to share with you all!! Some of you might know, but for those who don’t – I have just received the Design Institute of Australia’s (DIA) Graduate of The Year Award (GOTYA) in the category of Interior Design. Anyway, I thought I’d share this milestone with you all and the process that I had to go through that won me this award………

At the end of 2009, I was nominated to enter the DIA GOTYA. As a nominated student, I was required to submit three A2 panels that showcase the best of my design abilities. I decided to enter three projects which I produced in both third and fourth year, (i.e. Urban Elegance, The Florist and of course my final graduation project, 27zero – Surry Hills Fire Station – See images below). The reasons why I chose these projects is because each design showcases different sets of skills and each project was designed using different approach.

Towards the end of January 2010, I was informed that I got into the final three in my category (together with Trent Schatzmann – who came second – and another student from Enmore), which means that I had to attend round two of the judging process. So at the beginning of February, I had to opportunity to present the three projects to a panel of 7 judges from the full range of design disciplines. 15 minutes – that was all I’ve got to present the work as well as answering questions from all of the judges. I must say it was one of the most nerve-wracking presentations I have ever done. Although I was a bit nervous at the beginning, I believe I answered every single one of their questions with confidence and everything went smoothly at the end.
After all of the judging process was all over, all of the finalists then had to wait for another month to find out who has won the award and on the 10th March, the winner, runner-ups and third-placers was announced at Stylecraft Showroom and it was then that I found out that I came first in the interior design category! And this is what the judges had to say:

Interior Design:- Griffen Manan

Griffen Manan was selected as the winner of the Interior Design category of GOTYA because he showed outstanding skills in his chosen field. His Apartment project highlighted his strong planning and detailing abilities as well as showing great skill in lighting the project with clever concealed lighting. Griffen’s presentation of his Surry Hills fire station included many of his design sketches which showcased his strong design skills in both planning, space creation and project detailing. Griffen also showed good understanding of the building services and displayed great knowledge on passive cooling and heating. His presentation skills were excellent and his drawing effectively communicated both his thought process and his finished design.

All of Griffen’s designs displayed a thorough knowledge of materials and finishes and displayed good use of these to help embellish his spaces.

We congratulate Griffen on an outstanding presentation and wish him well with his career.

Overall, it was a great experience and I couldn’t have been happier to come out of it with the first prize and the title Graduate of the Year – something that I will proudly take with me in my future endeavours.  Before I end this blog, I would like to take this opportunity to thank several people for their continued assistance and patience during the four years of my studies….

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents and brother and to all members of my family for their valuable advice and guidance throughout my four years of studies. My sincere thanks are due to all the lecturers and tutors whom I have the opportunity to work with. It is with their rigorous supervision and persistent help that I was able to achieve what I have achieved. I am also deeply thankful to all my friends for their valuable assistance and encouragement which made everything possible.

And last but not least….I would like to congratulate to Trent Schatzmann for coming second!

Trent and I

Anyways, I think I need to wrap this up – to get more information about me, please visit: www.griffenmanan.com and to read more about the DIA GOTYA and the overview of all the winners visit: http://www.stylecraft.com.au/News-18.aspx and http://www.design.org.au/content.cfm?id=307

UNSW Built Environment Alumni: Indian Pacific Hotel by Jeff Tsang (Interior Arch 09)

Project Title: Indian Pacific Hotel
Long-distance Passenger Train
Client: Great Southern Rail
Site: Existing carriages of the current Indian Pacific

Section / Single Sleeper

Seciton / Single-Twin Sleeper

Section / Restaurant

The Indian Pacific train made its inagural journey from Sydney to Perth in 1970 and, to this day, runs upon the longest stretch of railway tracks in the world.  Since this trip, necessary upgrades have been made to its onboard facilities; however major alteration have been kept to a minimum in order to retain its historical character.  This has resulted in an interior that represents four decades of disjointed design styles.

Perspetive Double Sleeper

This project is the design of a new fleet of trains, hosed within the shell of the existing Indian Pacific carriages, and based on the requirements of the 21st century passenger.  The new space is a nomadic hotel which one would find services similar, not only to modern airlines and ocean liners, but to the resorts and hotels of the world.  Increased seating and sleeping space, bathroom amenities, dining arrangements and entertainment facilities have all been re-evaluated to maximise passenger comfort, while still in keeping with the confines of the train’s physical proportions.

Perspective / Single-twin Sleeper

Perspective / Single Sleeper

As the site for this project is a nomadic structure, the notion of movement has been used as the core ingredient for the interpretation and development of the architectural forms and compositions within.

Perspective / Restaurant

Perspective / Lounge

The scheme aims to bring a fresh view on the long distance train travel, and breathe life into an increasingly overlooked mode of transportation.

Section / Double

Section / Restaurant

UNSW Built Environment Interior Architecture: Woman’s Wellness Hotel – Diane Farrugia (Interior Arch 09)

Project: Women’s Wellness Hotel – Women’s specialist health and counselling centre

Client: WHNSW

Site: 69 George Street, North Parramatta NSW

Diane Farrugia, Bachelor of Interior Architecture (diane.f86@gmail.com)

The Women’s Wellness Hotel’s framework is based on current health clinics provided by Women’s Health NSW throughout the state.

There is current need for a centre of this type to be integrated into the thriving Western Sydney sector of the NSW Health network.  This centre will provide for the diverse and flourishing population of this area and its surrounding suburbs, primarily for women in need of health network facilities.  The site is situated approximately 3km from Westmead Hospital.

By blending conselling, health promotion, education and clinical services with a hotel option, this new development aims to provide for women of all ages and situations.  The hotel addition also allows interstate or visitors from rural areas to make use of the facilities and the surrounding health clinics.

Central Void Space

Indoor Swimming Facility

Therapy Rooms

The design approach of the Health Hotel will utilise the existing symmetry and Spanish Mission style of the chosen site, creating a feminine and inviting space for all visitors.  The purposed design shall be inserted into the existing building, creating volumes and a relationship between public and private spaces.

The purpose of Women’s Health NSW centres is to create an inviting environment that works within the social view of women’s health, and acknowledges the physical, emotional and mental health, as well as the broader social and economic factors that impact on women’s health and ability to access services.

UNSW Built Environment Interior Architecture: Quantum Kids Child Care Learning Centre – Lorita Sylvana Fachri (Interior Arch 09)

Project: Quantam Kids – Child Care Learning Centre

Client: Susan Chawan – Montessori Works

Site: 376-386 Riley Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Lorita Sylvana Fachri, Interior Architecture Grad: lorita.fachri@gmail.com

QUANTAM KIDS Childcare Learning Centre

Create.  Develop.  Reveal.  Education has been considered to be one of the most important opportunities in our lives, and the first six years is crucial to form and shape each individual.  Quantam Kids aims to open the first new world for children to inhabit experience and sense memories that may lead to the subsequently vital implications of the recorded world that is as equally potent as the world of the immediate self.

Interior Collages

Strategically located in the diverse inner-city, Quantam Kids is ideally positioned amongst the cosmopolitan neighbourhood of Surry Hills, which is filled with style-conscious residents and visitors.  Thus, besides generating Australia’s mix of cultures, heritage and entrepreneurial spirit, its locale promotes a positive setting for social interaction and development benefits.

Sectional Elevation

Detail Indoor Staircase

Quantam Kids’ educative child care learning centre is programmed for children to develop their inner-self and creativity through the practice of auto-education.  Inspired by Montessori’s pedagogic system and learning environment, Quantam Kids tends to explore the theories and discoveries of a child’s brain development, as well as each individual child’s needs and freedom to ‘create themselves’ at their own pace.  Design emphasis has been provided in creating safe, functional and encouraging opportunities, interactivity and exploration.  The flexible environment also incorporates a selection for both public and private spaces, which caters for a full range of moods, energy levels and types of social environments.

Library / Play Space

Children Play Space

Conceptually, Quantam Kids portrays the architectural construction of a traditional Japanese verandah, in contrast to its contemporary flexible interior design qualities.  In conjunction with this concept, sensitivity towards the natural setting of the environment is engaged based on its indoor-outdoor spatial experience in correlation to its adjoining landscape.  Overall, besides merely resting on a strong child-oriented perspective, the spirit of the design also takes into consideration the notion of the basic human senses, materials and textures, spatial interaction as well as body awareness, which enhances the interactive learning environment.

New Building Facade, Classrooms

Staff Reception Desk

Detail Reception Desk

UNSW Built Environment Alumni: 27zero – Surry Hills Fire Station by Griffen Manan (Interior Arch 09)

27Zero Surry Hills Fire Station by Griffen Manan

Client: NSW Fire Brigade

Site: 270 Devonshire St, Surry Hills

Situated at one of the most prominent intersections in downtown Surry Hills, 27zero (Surry Hills Fire Station) was set out to increase the resources of the New South Wales Fire Brigade to protect life, property and the local environment.  Additionally, the facility also aims to enhance the quality of life of the fire fighters through improved planning, amenity and infrastructure.

Public Entrance

Approximately three-quarters of this building devotes itself to the apparatus bay, storage areas, training rooms, as well as residential spaces for the fire fighters.  In addition, the facility also features a spectacular atrium that leads to a cafe and gallery spaces that are accessible to the general public.  The objective is to educate the community and raise awareness of fire safety, as research shows that one-third of children in NSW wouldn’t know what to do in a home fire.  Visual relationship was established between the public and private spaces to allow the general public to get a glimpse of the station without interfering in the fire fighters’ day-to-day activities.

Gallery Space

Recreation Room

As a consequence, the design explores the connection between the opposites such as public and private, history and the new, as well as tradition and innovation.  The design also optimises the opportunity for robust, bold and dramatic architecture whilst still preserving the modesty of the existing site.

Internal studies around the site – passage of light, and vehicular and human traffic influenced the internal planning, while the building’s volume was derived from the geometric form of the existing building.  Environmental initiatives from passive solar design to the furniture/fittings selections were also involved in the design decisions.  As a result, not only will this station be a big win to the community but it’s also a big win to the environment.

The Bridge

Surveillance Bridge

UNSW Built Environment Event: REBUILD – UNSW Interior Architecture Graduation Exhibition

“The constant reminder in the media regarding the global recession has resulted in every industry, including our own, struggling to redefine themselves in attempts to come up with new and exciting ways to revive the slowing markets. However, one need not try to reinvent the wheel, when it has already been done before.

Here at the University we believe the solution is simple. Let’s take a moment to remember the skills we have at our disposal, the resources which are available to us, and the responsibility of our actions.

REBUILD: our creative, innovative and educational response to a changing environment.”

 

12 months in the making, REBUILD: UNSW Interior Architecture Graduation Exhibition 2009 was officially opened on Tuesday, 24 November 2009 at the basement level of Kings Cross Carpark. Yes, it was held at a car park. Striving to be innovative, the Grad Show Committee (consisting of 11 graduating students) organised what became ‘a professional and edgy event and exhibition’ (quote from Kirsty Máté, Head of Interior Architecture Program).

The night was very successful with approximately 500-600 people meandering through 38 final graduation projects ranging from hotels, bars, theatre, forensic center and even a fire station! Congratulations to each and every student for producing an amazing range of work with high sophistication and detail. A huge thank you to all the academic staff, without whom all these work wouldn’t have been possible.

Again, Congratulations to the graduating students! Good luck, keep safe, live long and prosper! And remember – it is only the beginning.

If you missed the exhibition, feel free to log on to our website: www.rebuild09.com for a complete list of students profile and their works.

Dean Alec Tzannes, Kirsty Mate (Head of Interior Arch program) and the IA Committee

UNSW Built Environment Exhibition: Point and Line to Plane – Bachelor of Interior Architecture Exhibition 2009

UNSW Built Environment Exhibition: Memorial, Dr. Tom Loveday

“ ‘MEMORIAL’ is a series of paintings based on the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin (Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas). Looking upwards in the centre of the Memorial is a deeply disturbing experience for a number of reasons including of course its purpose, but also and perhaps more ambiguously, its politics. The Designer of the Memorial, Peter Eisenman, has used a particular aesthetic approach that demands silence but which also alienates, especially when surrounded by the 3 three metre high concrete blocks, each of which is somewhat reminiscent of a grave. Looking up in the centre of the memorial, the sky is framed by these blocks in such a way that a cross rather inappropriately appears overhead.

This powerful image calls out for meaning, as they always do. Is it Christian, is it an allusion to the many paintings of crosses such as Kasimir Malevich’s ‘Black Cross’ or is it an expression of the philosophy Martin Heidegger, ‘The Fourfold.’ None seem appropriate for such a memorial and so this contradictory effect, so inevitably incorporated into The Holocaust Memorial is just asking for it, painting-wise.

The paintings are a combination of old school ‘Hard-edge’ abstraction reminiscent of the well-known early 20th century modernist traditions as well as of the 1960s painters of the “The Field” exhibition and a new colour approach of my own. The works are intended to combine intensely coloured accessible abstract painting.

Naturally, the paintings can be regarded for their aesthetic qualities alone, as I expect they will be, but by combining them with such an important concept I hope that aesthetic appreciation will extend to conceptual thinking and perhaps bring important international issues to where they belong: into each of our individual consciousness.”

TOM LOVEDAY, October 2009

View upwards near the center of the Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

'Brown Memorial,' 214 cm x 183 cm Acrylic on camvas

UNSW Built Environment Interior Architecture: Tara Gunasekera

Hi everyone!

I’m an international student in my 3rd year of Interior Architecture.

I initially couldn’t make up my mind about which degree I wanted to do. The choices were either…1) mainstream Architecture or… 2) Interior Design, so imagine my surprise when I found a course that perfectly merged the two together!

We’re more than halfway through semester 2 already, and almost at the end of the year. I’ve gotten a lot out of this course so far, greatly improving my communications skills (in terms of visual presentations), my computer skills (we learn to use various programs for 2D and 3D modelling), and most of all my technical skills (apparently we can’t just build things any way we want ).

Last semester we had a group project that involved converting an old jewellery store into a wine bar, and this semester it is an individual studio project to redesign a private apartment residence. So far I am up to the detailing stage, which comes after the sketch design phase that is presented to the clients. Even though the workload has been hectic, I’ve had a lot of fun working on both projects!

You can take a look at some images of design panels from the project I am currently working on (private apartment residence). It will be complete in a few weeks time!

Apartment Interior

Apartment Plan and Elevations of the main feature

Bathroom interiors