Morphing Foreshore Swamplands
Bicentennial Park & Rozelle Bay
2023
Film & Theatre Drama House
This project hopes to create a well rounded architectural building within Rozelle Bay that responds to the existing site, project brief and thus develop a conceptual framework that evolves over time. The aim was to strengthen and preserve the working life for film students, and the general public in the inner west, and thus, facilitate a community of socialising and the celebration of film making.
Morphing 1;2 (verb)
Change smoothly from one image to another by small gradual steps using computer animation techniques
An effect which sees one shape or object transform into another in a seamless transition
Logline
The term "morphing" etymologically derives from "metamorphosis," a Greek word meaning "a transforming." It denotes undergoing or causing a gradual process of transformation. Entering the site and moving past the foreshore walk, the scenery — the mise en scène — transforms and morphs as people pass the mangroves and swamplands toward the bay: a gradual transition from foreshore to swampland to open water.
The design extends from the existing pathways of the site into the harbour. It has a core direction of activity: creating a space for film festivals and students to utilise. The proposed design physically connects Federal and Bicentennial Park, which is separated by a prominent storm water canal through the middle. The walkways also serves as a secondary bridge which works in unison with the existing truss bridge further south of the site.
The programs focused on four main principles. The buildings are arranged into three main typologies, leaving large interconnected spaces between which creates pathways and circulation and invites people to wander around and within the site. By splitting the design into separate spaces, natural sunlight is able to enter each building throughout the day and the outside spaces in between are able to gain access to the available light. The existing natural plants within the site, the mangroves along the foreshore walk, are incorporated into the design by planting them in the empty spaces between the buildings and along the threshold entrance. By planting them at the front of the walkway, people are slowly transitioned from land to water as they walk past the mangroves.
Point-of-View Shot 1;2 (verb)
Also known as a P.O.V. shot, this shot shows the action of a scene from the perspective of a character.
A camera angle that shoots a scene from the view of a specific character; shows us what that character is witnessing.
A key principle, a central walkway that continues from the existing pathway into the bay acts as the main threshold, as people walk from the foreshore past the water. The walkway becomes the transition between the three building typologies as it weaves in and around the site. The form of the facade also acts as curtains that drapes over the structure, blurring the line between whats inside and outside. This concept is mainly explored through the central theatre walkway as people enter the space. The final principle, a space for socialising, becomes the storefront of the site via a core cafe space, as its been designed as a communal hub for artistic expression and presentation, a place where film students and the members of the public gather. Connected to the cafe is the main studio and meeting spaces for film students and artists to gather, discuss and plan their projects. Therefore, the analysis of programs through sketches and iterations inevitably helped in developing a project that attempts to invite students and the urban community to co-exist not only with each other but with the building they reside.
Film House proposes two main theatre spaces, the first, an auditorium space that allows the public to view from both ground and first level, and the second an open air theatre at the end of the walkway, housing a kiosk and bar space behind scaffold seating. The theatres and workspaces can perform as larger communal centres, where on a typical day events and exhibitions can be experienced publicly, before retiring to the café for a taste of local food and drink. Walking around the theatres, people are able to see Anzac Bridge in the distance, serving as the main backdrop of the design and alluding to the sense of an urban landscape in which the theatre resides.
Mise En Scene | Setting the Scene
“a definition of mise-en-scène that includes all the means available to a director to express his attitude toward his subject — mise-en-scène as an attitude tends to accept the cinema as it is and enjoy it for what it is: a sensuous conglomeration of all the other arts”
- Andrew Sarris
Existing Conditions
Pre-Production
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create multiple buildings TO invite the public to wander and explore between
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create a threshold TO transition people through buildings and blur the line between inside and outside
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separate mass TO allow the natural sunlight to enter spaces between
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create main socialising spaces TO encourage meeting and connection to wider community
Production
Post-Production
