Harry Briggs
Architecture, 2022
Architecture to me has always been about the individual experiences it creates for the broader public, as well as its importance and role in everyday life. I believe heavily in its role and ability on influencing an individual’s physical and mental health, as well as its impact on the micro, meso, and macro levels of society, and too its ability in having a positive environmental impact. This thought and belief have been further verified by the pandemic and its impact on the community, which brought attention to the importance the physical space we occupy has on our mental and physical health, our sociability, and our connection to the outside world. Since starting my degree of the Bachelor of the Built Environment (Architecture) in semester 1 of 2020, I’m extremely happy to of maintained this core belief of mine and being able to see this concept being intertwined and integrated within many of my studio projects is extremely rewarding, with this idea buildings providing back to the community, in terms of ‘expanding the streetscape’.
Looking back on my degree, wondering where those three years went! I’m extremely happy to see what I have achieved as well as the sheer amount of knowledge and skills I have gained in that small time frame, with those being both digitally and physically. This thought makes me extremely eager and excited for the future, to gain greater knowledge, experience, and skills within the real world, and work within such a collaborative environment with people who share the same compassion. I’m enormously thankful for my time at the University of Canberra as it was able to provide a taste of what can be achieved in these types of working environments and allowed me to understand the importance of collaborative work on a project undertaken.
Selected Portfolio
BY: SPATIAL INFLECTION
The first assignment targeted at developing a conceptual ‘lens’, a lens which influenced all design decisions. The lens developed heavily focused on individual experience within the design, and the idea of ease – creating a civic cultural precinct that ensured public connectivity easily corresponded with interaction. Executed through one major alteration, the subtraction of the ground floor, offering the now open floor to the public realm. This allowed for the structure to provide back to the public world and creating an extension of the streetscape. It was noted that much of Canberra Central City has a prominent border between the public and the private realm, this subtraction allowed for in some ways the blurring between the two. It too aimed to engage the public by allowing free movement through the structure to the back rear court resulting in an almost addition to civic square, as well as ease of movement vertically through the structure.
INTO THE SEVEN ELEMENTS
Exploring the role and influence the seven elements of civic architecture has on the structure itself and on the individual experience was a formative part in understanding and reinforcing our conceptual design lens.
SECTIONAL EXPLORATIONS
Through sectional exploration, it allows for the seven elements to be reinforced and observed within the project, with section AA showing the arrival court providing free flow of people from the street to the back rear court engaging the space in the public realm.
ELEVATIONAL EXPLORATIONS
All elevation aimed to show the connective nature of the structure, as well as the role and impact the exterior façade treatment has in opening the building the higher you rise through. This aimed to allow for filtered light to penetrate the main gallery space on the first floor, whilst still allowing view to be gained from the top floor of the structure. All whilst still reflecting and representing the notion of the former Commonwealth Bank Building’s façade and its correspondence to the legislative assembly.