week 15_reflection

Feedback from Ruwan, his guest and Yasu:

- As we presented as a group some of our technologies did not mesh
- My presentation needed more interior renders showing the dance spaces
- Liked the introduction video and the unorthodox manner in the way we presented
- Yasu said I needed to explore the idea of how and who would use this club as it was open 24/7

week 15_presentation

A1 SUMMARY BOARD

 PECHA KUCHA STYLE PRESENTATION

 

week 14_swotvac

During this time I completed the introduction video using a combination of Adobe After Effects, Photoshop and Premier. Final product below:

The group decided that along with this video we would present together as a whole, as our presentations would have better resolve and flow.

This how the presentation would work.

week 13_the dance floor

The most important aspect to think about with this design was how a future dance floor would work. I began with looking at the traditional dance which is single plane, then what if you could create and multi-plane dance floor which brought me to a piece of artwork by Escher which explored relativity.

 The idea was to explore if anti-gravity could be explored. I first decided to look at how centrifugal force could create an anti-gravity dance floor.

 Unfortunately, this idea was quickly scrapped as while you could be fixed to a vertical surface during the rotation while it is spinning the amount of force on the person would not allow them to freely move around and dance.

During the final tutorial Ruwan called to my attention 'quantum locking' or levitation. This experiment which is still in its early days could be adapted to work for a dance floor.

week 13_idea for video intro

I wanted to do a introduction video that would easily explain all the important events that have lead to our predicted future in 2032. I liked the prologue from Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet and used this as a precedence to create the video.

week 12_future speculation

This diagram from Future Files and What's Next will help in forming a base for the future nightclub scenario.

It shows current trends in technology categorised into several different aspects and shows where these might lead to in 50 years time.

week 11_ mcdonalds

Sociologist George Ritzer wrote a book called the McDonaldization of Society which analysed the characteristics of the popular fast food chain. Ritzer noted 5 primary components of McDonaldization:

1. Efficiency
2. Calculability
3. Predictability
4. Control
5. Culture

McDonalds is a large and very successful corporation because of these 5 elements. These elements will be used to create the same model for this future nightclub. 

week 10_history of nightclubs

I thought it important to look at the history of nightclubs as this will help form the basis for speculating what will be happening in the future. While both looking at the history of nightclubs in general it was also important to look at the history of them in Brisbane.

Venues classified as nightclubs did not appear until the early 20th century.

1920s
Live jazz and song venues, selling alcohol.

1930s
Dancing girls performing burlesque routines, magicians, freak shows and comedy 'vaudeville' or variety.
Prohibition in America saw 'underground' clubs become popular. 

1940s
Not many changes during World War II

1950s
Post world war - youth culture flourished with fashion and music
Expansion of jazz and swing.

Brisbane - Cloudland atop Bowen Hills
              - Live entertainment was illegal on Sundays

1960s
Going to venues to listen and dance to rock and roll music by live bands and DJs (disc jockeys).
The introduction of the modern nightclub known as 'discotheques.'

1970s
Rapid growth for nightclubs with new rhythmic music emerged into the disco

Brisbane - Discotheques; Pacestters, Lloyd's Lounge Bar

1980s
Large range of music styles emerged including garage, goth, house, indie, raga and techno.
Speciality nightclubs emerged due to the many different genres of music.

Brisbane - Hair parades in Fortitude Valley
              - Clubs; The Roxy, Terminus
              - The New York Hotel where the Myer Centre now stands

1990s
Mainstream pop, house and techno became the norm in nightclubs.
Higher number of students were attending nightclubs more frequently.

Brisbane - The Valley and The City split as two different night life destinations
              - Fortitude Valley post Fitzgerald inquiry saw emergence in grungy alternative culture
              - The Bickle family (Katarzyna Group), began staking a claim in The Valley with purchases of The Press Club and The Empire Hotel.

2000s
New styles of music; dub-step, RnB and electro.

2010s
Smaller intimate bars emerged with target user groups (the uber cool, hipster).

mid-semester break_heritage precedence

Because this site does call for an understanding of heritage, adaptive reuse and new I thought poignant to look at precedences that have done this. In particular a Swiss architecture firm by the name of Herzog & de Meuron have done to great examples of this the first being the Elbphilharmonie and the CaixaForum. See below for pictures:

ELBPHILLHARMONIE

CAXIAFORUM 

Also I thought it important to look at local examples in Brisbane. I found two that combined old and new, which are the National Australia Bank (NAB) on Queen St designed in collaboration between Riddel Architecture and Donavon Hill; and the commercial tower 333 Ann St designed by ML Design. Now of course there are many other examples of adaptive reuse in Brisbane like; Brisbane Powerhouse, Treasury Casino, and The Barracks but I felt these two chosen examples best reflected the approach I want to take in designing this nightclub. See below for pictures of NAB and 333:

NAB

333

An analysis of how a new building would work with a heritage facade:

 

week 9_site and building

As stated before my site will be where Hungry Jacks is currently situated at the corner of Queen and Albert Streets. During the future scenario McDonald's will have rights of restaurant chains in Brisbane, therefore Hungary Jacks will be forced to vacate over this time with McDonald's now having rights over the space.

With this McDonald's decides to undertake a new venture as they do not require any more restaurant tenancies along in the main CBD of Brisbane. The building that sits on the site is heritage listed and is protected by state and local governments, in saying this the corporations have some level of power over these governments, but I decided that the façade will stay intact with new core and possible new built on top. 

I managed to obtain the drawings that were used for the renovations done in 1981, from these I will draw the existing building and help form a better understanding of how I can connect the old with the new. See below for 1981 renovation drawings:

week 8_psychology of nightclubs

Human Behaviour in Nightclubs

Music:

- DJ's will balance different music hits
                                                 which make people dance
                                                 slower songs will make people go to the bar instead of dancing
                                                 house music generates more cocktails and vodka sales
                                                 rock music generates more beer sales
- Clubbing is enjoyed so much by many people because the brain produces a higher level of oxytocin
- loud music generates more drink sales

Sexual/Social:

- nightclubs function as human sexual display grounds
- effectiveness of clothing a dance displays in attracting the opposite sex
-

Lighting:

- nightclubs are dimly lit to generate???

Alcohol:

- binge drinking

week 7_tutorial

During this tutorial we had a final discussion in our group with Ruwan before it became the individual component.

PROJECT 2

As my architectural outcome was to create and entertainment hub 'nightclub' in conjunction with my nominated corporation "McDonald's." I started to do some more research into McDonald's and their corporation structure. With this I found that they are currently proposing a 'nightclub' for the main strip of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. This will help in building a premise for a McDonald's entertainment hub in Brisbane.

Image: Accessed 07/07/12 - http://www.nextgenerationfood.com/media/media-news/news-thumb/100608/mcdonalds.jpg
As the previous project has been about building a basis for our future situation and looking at the macro scale of Brisbane this coming week I will look at the micro scale of my site within the large scale. From my architectural outcome my site was decided that the building where Hungry Jacks currently is Corner of Queen St and Albert St.

Image: Google Maps

Time:
2020-2030

Type Of Architecture:
Entertainment Venue - nightclubs, restaurant, mixed use etc.

Scale:
Medium Scale - multiple levels no higher than 10 storeys

Target Users:
18-29 year

Possible Scenarios:
As McDonald's has expanded its interests into property in Brisbane they have decided to re-evaluate their market as they have open development options. With this they have decided to develop the site previously occupied by Hungry Jacks, as McDonald's now monopolises restaurants within the city area.