This morning I found a story at Dezeen on a place I spent a month last year on residency in Cairns in Far North Queensland.
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| Images I took during the month up north... |
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| daily reminder of my exhibition deadline that I walked past at the Entrance |
The photos from this Dezeen article were brilliant and I so wanted to share this post that I went to the Dezeen Copyright page to check what was feasible to share. Having learnt there that as long as I dont repost the article in its entirely I can share the following, especially as I don't make a practice of doing this which would of course upset things.
SO... please note that all this content I am about to share has been taken from Dezeen's article: http://www.dezeen.com/2013/03/11/cairns-botanic-gardens-visitors-centre-by-charles-wright/ and I hope you enjoy reading about this. At first sight, I might add, I was a little thrown by the use of the mirrors. I didn't particularly associate this as a building material one would bring to a Botanic Garden... however ... as I spent most days passing through the Visitor's Centre I found it really worked.
Many comments at the post were about birds crashing into the building and dying... but I must say I never saw nor heard reports or whispers on that during the month I was there... so perhaps not being a tall building its not impacting that particular issue greatly.
Via DEZEEN:
This mirror-clad visitor centre by Australian firm Charles Wright Architects was designed to be invisible amongst the surrounding trees of the Cairns Botanic Gardens in Queensland.
Comprising two buildings and a dividing promenade, the visitor centre was designed as a gateway to the gardens, which contain a selection of tropical plants from northern Australian rainforests as well as from across Southeast Asia.
Charles Wright Architects drew inspiration from the suit worn by the alien-hunter in the 1987 movie Predator to give both buildings a reflective outer coating that would play down their impact on the park landscape. "We proposed a design which literally reflects the gardens as camouflage for the building," explain the architects.
Rather than cover the surfaces with a single polished plane of metal, the architects added a series of flat panels that break the facade down into facets. Each one sits at an incrementally different angle and helps to muddle the reflected images.
The pedestrian promenade runs across the site from east to west. To the north, one building contains a cafe and exhibition area for visitors, with a multi-purpose hall and a courtyard amphitheatre, while to the south a second block accommodates staff offices that open out to a long and narrow terrace.
Both buildings have non-linear shapes, generated by the routes of predefined pathways and locations of mature trees. They also have to nestle against the landscape at one end where the ground starts to climb upwards around them.
Charles Wright Architects have offices in Melbourne and Shanghai. The firm also recently completed a house that can withstand powerful cyclones. See more architecture in Australia.
See more stories about mirrors on Dezeen, including a polished steel pavilion by Foster + Partners and a playground pavilion in Copenhagen.
Photography is by Patrick Bingham Hall.
Click to see the slideshow.
See more on the Conceptual Framework:
Conceptual framework
We set-out to design a "green" building which represents a paradigm shift for Cairns, moving away from the conventional building vernaculars toward new and progressive solutions that can be applied anywhere on a tropical latitude. There was a collective desire to attract both national and international attention, which would also aid in creating new opportunities and connections to existing facilities, communities and groups.
Public and cultural benefits
A new, iconic gateway into the botanic gardens and tanks arts centre precinct – "a democratic public space under-cover" – a challenging new architecture for the tropics which will act as an attractor to assist Cairns in its mission to be seen as a progressive city nationally and globally significant.
Relationship of built form to context
A busy week is starting... moving out of the studio on the weekend. Have a good week all!
Sx
PS:
PS:
Last minute STUDIO SALE (Paddington, QLD) before the truck comes friday. Yes... parting with some pieces at prices to make you smile! Did I mention I am moving out now the studio residency is over. Call me 07 32624296 or email if you need more clues. Postage? YES! Just ask!
WHEN? All day Thursday till quite late... ask about other times... WHAT? Sale includes Experiments, Works on Paper, OLDER works and the odd surprise! PH: 07 3262 4296 or Email via CONTACT page at website: http://sophiemunns.weebly.com/contact.html
GOOD 