Summary
Highlights
Tom Gilbert from Hayball Architects introduces Rob Mosker, who will discuss Hayball's first Nightingale project in Brunswick. Rob provides an acknowledgement of traditional custodians and then introduces Nightingale Village, a project involving six different sites and six different architects in Brunswick. Hayball's role included designing the central 'Courtyard' building and coordinating documentation for all six buildings to ensure a unified approach.
The Nightingale Village aims for a village approach with two main sites split by Duckett Street. The design emphasizes green transport with minimal car spaces and many bicycle facilities, transforming Duckett Street into a public amenity. Shared services promote a true village feel. Key principles include sustainability in cooling, heating, orientation, water, and energy. The 'Courtyard' building features a central courtyard with a tree, offering an inviting approach, and draws inspiration from inner Melbourne pedestrian experiences. The philosophy is 'building less and giving more'.
Hayball's facade design for the 'Courtyard' building emphasizes an enduring character through materiality, focusing on raw and natural finishes. Fine-grain textural quality is achieved through elements like warm timber handrails, planting, and textured brickwork, intended to enhance the user's experience.
The first detailed aspect discussed is service articulation, specifically addressing the technical challenges of an exposed concrete ceiling. This includes managing mechanical exhausts for kitchens and bathrooms, electrical overlays, casting conduits for fans, expressed conduits for lighting, and exposed fire sprinklers. A detailed look at the flush transition from indoor to outdoor balconies required careful planning of service routing within the concrete slab.
The presentation delves into cross-sectional and plan details of the lightweight wall incorporating mechanical ducts and sprinkler pipes. The goal was to create a consistent detail applicable across all six buildings, communicated clearly to consultants and subcontractors. The emphasis was on optimizing material usage by designing around a standard FC sheet size (900mm) to minimize waste. The arrangement prioritized smaller bathroom ducts to allow for sprinkler pipe installation above them.
The second detail focuses on a custom balustrade design, aimed at enhancing the resident's experience. This involves a steel frame with welded-on brick ties, utilizing unique 'squint bricks' for installation. The balustrade incorporates a planter and a continuous timber handrail on the inside, which meets compliance for height and adds greenery. The 'squint brick' allows for varying orientations to create architectural articulation.
The installation of the steel frames for the balustrade, covering the slab edge, is shown. The 'squint brick', a less common and slightly more expensive type of brick, is used. The installation involves varying the orientation of these bricks to achieve articulation. A video showcases the finished balustrade and other architectural elements, including the use of squint bricks for rooftop seating.
Rob concludes by emphasizing that both service articulation and the balustrade detail, despite their differing design emphasis, are equally crucial in achieving a refined and polished overall design outcome. The presentation aims to communicate the significant consideration and effort required to execute such intricate architectural details.