The Forecourt
The forecourt uses minimal materials, repeating the same natural elements throughout in varying and changing forms. Layering loose seating to allow the community the breathing room to control and distort the space into one best suited to their unique needs. Reclaiming this piece of the foreshore allows the community to reconnect with the site that historically formed their community.
Click for more info
The Forecourt is an expression of the history of education, the way in which groups have been segregated and left out, provided an education that was less than or had educational spaces used against them. The forecourt uses its forms to communicate the changing narrative of educational spaces created through the softening of triangles as they move towards the Boiler House, the main core of informal education in Overflow.
_gif.gif)
#recurring
#exposed
#dynamic
A space that lets the community reclaim the site.
The forecourt is a large entry space for the Robert Street entrance that allows access from the immediate community as well as the working community of the industrial and retail zones. The spaces are intended to create a network of options that allow the community to passively interact with the site to encourage the re-activation and assimilation of the site back into the core of the community, Having historically brought residential housing to the area through the work created in White Bay Power Station (WPBS) and the visual strength of the building forming a core part of the Rozelle community's identity, it is important that as it begins redevelopment, the community is given the chance to have a key role in what the space now is and how it works for them and expresses their community values as a landmark for Rozelle.
The forecourt employs a series of repeated forms that allow a range of activities to occur leaving wide-open spaces that the community can claim. The forms change in shape as they move toward the Boiler House, and Coal handling shed. Those out in the open, switch between open seating and layered forms that offer shade and protection. As they move next to the Coal Handling Shed they focus on seating and planting, allow the height of the existing buildings to offer shade to these areas.
_gif.gif)
_gif.gif)
Incorporated into the forms are various plant boxes, and gardens that will allow vegetation to be integrated into this area to aid in protecting it from the harsh elements by providing shade. Flora will form the bulk of the space, with the community given the freedom to claim gardens and change the ground of the site to what they want, changing a blocked off industrial site, overgrown with weeds into a lush community space which represents the people and their modern connection to the site.
The space layers large, solid forms to contrast the recurring timber slats. The hempcrete forms add structure to the space while adding to the types of seating and engagement options provided. Continuing the concealed nature of detailing on the site the forecourt leaves space for the community to lay claim to the outdoor areas. This is a space that aims to learn from them and express their values, reconnecting the surrounding community with a once deserted landmark.
_gif.gif)
