Revision as of 14:55, 3 October 2011

"How can a site sustain activity 24 / 7 ?"

Concept Statement

"Ticking away, the moments that make up the dull day"

"...On successful city streets, people must appear at different times...or else parks will be used only sporadically...and this simplification of use - meaning fewer users, with fewer different purposes and destinations at hand - feeds upon itself...a kind of unbuilding, or running-down process is set in motion...the infusion would obviously have to result in the presence of maximum numbers of persons at the times when the district needs them most for time balance..."

This is a collage from Jacobs' book. The book promotes an almost volatile, effervescent city life of streets lined with mixed-uses that create activity at different times in the day which leads to a constant presence of users / inhabitants. All this makes for a diverse and vital city life where even though we are strangers we step out of our individuality and participate in the public life. We wish to build upon this.

A website works 24/7 and is continuously evolving; e.g. a wiki page where the user is free to add content and to make it public worldwide. By taking the concept of hyperspace we propose a site which will permit a widespread and ever-changing spectrum of activities throughout the whole of the day. The site will be linked with an online website for booking activities, thus it will be continuously changing and allow the interweaving of human interaction (a lecture hall, next to a performance space next to individual study-rooms, etc). This functionality will create a trace of human activity; a new user will have the option of seeing the previous activity and form. Just as time leaves a trace into a building’s physicality and identity, so will continuous activity leave a trace on the site.

See also:

Jane Jacobs

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

The Site

Site

Sponsor & User

The sponsor will be TU Delft. We believe that with the expertise and general know-how provided by the various departments inside the Faculty (Mechanical Engineering, Materials, Computer Science, Structural Engineering) and its financial resources we can achieve a desired result. Moreover this project will cement the Faculty's position as a world-leading research institute.

The user is the client. He has the options of choosing his desired activity and size of the space required by a system of online booking. Therefore the site will continuously "pay for itself" and generate profit.

See also:

E-booking

Computer reservations system

Design challenge

When there is no activity going on there is no building. In music silence is just as effective as sound; one might say that the absence of silence implies the absence of dynamics.

* User scenarios

The artist

The mother with son

The business-man of Senz Umbrellas

Possible interaction of activities within the structure.
Possible interaction of activities within the structure.
Several elastic connected panels, which offer straight areas f. e. seating,...
Spatial room-quality.

* Interaction of activities - online questionnaire

online questionnaire

The goal of the user questionnaire is for possible users to tell us what activity they want to do and when they want to do the activity during the day.
Having this information will help us to create an estimate on the spread of activities through the day.
The link to the online questionnaire will be send to as many people as possible, to get the best overview of demands.

Online questionnaire

Questionnaire results

blabla research on activities

Proximity

* Traffic analysis

By using stop-motion animation gathered from the BK-city tower to capture the crucial moments of the week we will confirm our suspicion and analyze the level of usage in the site and traffic intensity.

See also:

Traces of traveling

* Site mechanism concept:

The site will be mapped as a grid of points which drive a network of inflatable "bubbles" linked together by a network of valves so as one bubble inflate its neighbors deflate.
Default state; the bubbles hold the roof & floor system.
One of the point-bubble inflates, the neighboring bubbles deflate; sum of air volume remains constant.
Roof system reaches desired height. Roof structure locks into place. Bubble air volumes equalize. Elastic floor becomes flat and is supported by the bubbles.
Possible section of created "site";various closed and open spaces for activities.
Axonometric result.