Architecture - Honours

Muscari Hall of Democracy

The Muscari Hall of Democracy is a place where the people of Queensland can come and formulate this new vision for democracy, view democracy in action, seek out and instruct their elected representatives, direct and have oversight on government activities, and engage in debates and discussions. The main democratic themes revolving around Muscari Hall of Democracy are flexibility, adaptability, and transparency. The connections to these main themes are unified and expressed throughout the building form. The form of the building allows for people to discover and learn through speaking or listening to public debates, interacting through technology, or viewing the live stream of the debates and political, educational, economical, health, and environmental news. Within the interactive area, people would be able to view live stream debates, watch recordings, lodge votes, and encounter individuals with similar or opposing ideologies, which will allow them to form their own opinions. These opinions can be discovered and formed throughout the learning section of the building with educational and historical books within the library, or collaboration tutorials where individuals can share and form opinions on issues or policies discussed within the people senate debates. The process of growing and learning is represented through the abundance of greenery and vining plants allow the columns. As people begin to further engage within the democratic system, a more positive future will be sustained. The principle of transparency is represented through structural form by of luxfer glazing that creates a calming ripple, yet transparent, effect throughout the atrium and interactive learning area. To adapt to technological advancements, the inclusion of an additional computer lab allows for people to educate themselves on the online political voting system or research policies and parties in order to discover and grow their knowledge on politics.

Rebecca Pear

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Site Location

The Muscari Hall of Democracy is situated in William Street in Brisbane City, Queensland and draws inspiration from surrounding context such as the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens, the linear concrete shapes of QPAC in Southbank, and the upcoming development of Queens Wharf.

Democratic System

The democratic system envisioned for the Muscari Hall of Democracy includes flexibility to accept changes from around the world and adapt to positive international, national and local conditions. These changes can relate to environmental issues such as climate change, social issues such as inequality of ages, races, and sexes, education, and technological advancements. The principles of a flexible government through the inclusion of a people senate would be an organisation that capitalises on diversity dividend through the enabling of inclusion and acceptance of individuals. This encourages flexible work, diversity of people, and spaces. Another principle would be transparency in the process of governance such as honesty in upcoming policies and open to diverse ideas, which in turn creates innovation through collaboration.

The form of the building has been dissected into separate sections that represent three human senses of sight, hearing, and touching. The combination of these processes is represented in areas such as the interactive space, the library, education hub, people senate chamber, and the computer lab. The main sections utilising a combination of the senses are the interactive area and the people senate chamber.

Within the interactive spaces, users can use touch screen technology to watch live-streamed debates, watch previous debates, educate themselves on current news events regarding health, education, economics, and the environment, and lodge their opinions and overall votes within the dedicated sector rooms. The people senate chamber allows users to speak freely on current issues, listen to these debates, and provide a space where people can watch and be part of the process of change, providing them with transparency and flexibility. By maintaining a flexible environment and having the ability to adapt to the rapidly changing world, the nation of Australia would be able to sustainably advance in the future.

Landscaping

The connection between indoor and outdoor prevents people from feeling as if they are in a sterile and mundane space. With greenery being visually seen throughout the entire building, users are provided with the sense of connection to nature, which in turn allows them to watch nature grow and flourish around them, metaphorically like their growth of knowledge on politics. The abundance of greenery draws inspiration from neighbouring sites such as the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens, The Queens Wharf complex, hanging flora on P Block in the Queensland University of Technology, and the concrete cubed effect from QPAC in South Brisbane. The use of materials such as concrete, copper, and cobblestone facades provides more raw materials that weather throughout the ageing process, creating a literal urban jungle within the city that connects people with their want to establish a robust, transparent, flexible, and adaptable form of democracy. This new form of democracy aims to establish a civic building for the community within Brisbane.

Technical Documentation Sample

Rebecca Pear

Rebecca is an architecture student that harnesses skills and knowledge obtained from her landscape and interior design units. Her passion for nature and the environment results in her projects having an abundance of greenery and integrating sustainable solutions to help enhance the wellbeing of people.