Avalon Design Studio Obseravtion

The current Design studio I am undertaking for my Masters in Architecture is the redevelopment of Avalon Beach Surf lifesaving Club. Through the various readings undertaken in Urban Development and Design course, as well as techniques learnt from observational analysis have led me to further my understanding of the site.

Avalon Beach on the northern fringes of Sydney is a quintessential Australian coastal suburb/town where life revolves around the local school, the shops and the beach. The surf lifesaving club is the hub of community activity for residents in their leisure time. Part of a distinctly Australian tradition, surf lifesaving has been around ever since bathing in the sea became legal 100 years ago. Nearly every habitable beach in Australia has some form of surf lifesaving club.

Various mapping through observational site analysis are seen below:

 

Below are some of the preliminary aims and principles that have come about from observational behavioural and research analysis:

Ø  Create architecture that is  mindful and innovative of the  extreme weather 

Ø  Conceptual link towards the sensitiveness to nature in Avalon Present and Past

Ø  Respond to specific place and culture + appeal to its emotions and mind

-          Sensuous connection with the place –  beauty of nature, touch of the sand, smell and taste of the sea, the sound of the waves

Ø  ‘Iconic and harmonious’ coastal pavilion in a suburban setting

-          Resolve structure in dealing with the geotechnical issues

-          Arrangement and form must advocate a strong presence  

-          Must blend into + be sensitive to natures surrounds

Ø  Cater to the club, the activities + equipment. Unify club members and community that it serves

Ø  Connect Avalon village to the beach + SLSC

-          Relate to the community creating a community focussed hub that relates and reflects the Australian + Avalonian culture

-          Encourage sense of community and ownership among locals

-          Activities + community focussed events. Create a gathering point

-          Create landscape that provides backdrop for public life + enhances + enriches daily life + simple presence of the beach

-          Cater more to pedestrians and cyclists

-          Poor access/ division between village + beach

-          Develop foot path from Barranjoey road to improve access and create connection

-          Existing entrance is along vehicular access way

-          Car park Blocks potential visibility for SLSC entrance – so looses prominence

-          Remove/ re-landscape car park to create place with a central focus on community 

Below is a link to a time-lapse video of Avalon that my group did, to aid us in our observational analysis: