f l u x f i e l d s
G R A D U A T E P R O J E C T
Flux is a cathartic epicentre which emphasises and prolongs the rush of the city. It uses this tension to maximise the experience of the performance space hiding beneath the internal central chasm.
Void and space are questioned through a cross examination of the tension-release equilibrium which shifts scales as a reflection of the architectural dynamic one is surrounded by.Within music and the arts, tension is produced through repetition, dynamism, changes in pitch and deliberate shifts between consonance and dissonance, in turn creating a distinctive rhythm.
​
Through a mathematical analysis of rhythmic qualities in Jørn Utzon’s Bagsvaerd Church curved roof structure, a language to describe the tension-release equilibrium became the basis for Flux. In a curve, points of zero gradient - or change - are known as turning points, whilst inflexion points lie somewhere between and indicate a maximum rate of change. Using this language, fields of high and low kinetic energy were thus extracted from Sydney’s CBD and cross analysed with an inquiry into anti-axiality at a smaller scale on the site. By rejecting the natural axis of flow on the site to create a forced circulation, further tension could grow to emphasise and prolong the anticipation of the building.
​
Further, the material duality of Hawkesbury sandstone and the water surrounding the building compliment the locality of the site and the properties of the material itself, which feed back into the idea of change over time due to erosional kinetic movement.Thus, another layer of tension and release is geologically embedded in the structure.
​
These multifaceted rhythms are realised through the programmatic and formal approach to the performing arts centre, whereby the melodic curves are arranged within the stark orthogonal walls in such a way as to internalise this moment of release or catharsis. The idea of needing to know what is inside guides the inhabitant.The forced circulation begins from the exterior, as a reflective pool surrounds the grander of the walls, revealing only snippets of the sculptural form within. Users are forced to enter from behind and are guided through the foyer whereby the bar activates the walkway within the chasm.The guest takes their time to truly experience and fully descend into the space wherein a final moment of release can be experienced upon being seated; the triple height sculptural void above and the stage front and centre where the performance too will go through its own unique notions of tension and release. During the day, the cafe and exhibition space act as a more open invitation to the public to experience the building for themselves.
curve theology
p r o c e s s
void-ism
The centre piece of Flux lies in the centre chasm which acts as a medium in which one moves around, within and through. It is designed as a conductant to experience the world with.
​
The foundational idea of moving between void and space is inspired by studies of Utzon’s church as well as Deluze’s idea that a curve cannot define just the interior, or just the exterior; it is one and the same.
​
The resultant sculptural chasm uses this unscalable approach to how curves shape void and space in order to define the experience of the human within the space.
rhythm derived from bagsvaerd church in terms of void + space
extracted
form
f l u x f i e l d s
ANTI AXIALITY
Flux proposes an architecture that is worth experiencing by prolonging the anticipation of the ‘final arrival’ within the building.
​
By rejecting the natural axis of flow on the site to create a forced circulation, further tension could grow to emphasise the final release within.
