flow

Matthew Tsou

elevation perspective of Gifu City Cultural Center

Project Flow deals with the delineation between interior and exterior spaces by selectively breaking down portions of the façade that faces Kogane Park

before

after

Before Drawing

Upper portion: Gifu prefectural map with the activities and communities that are brought together by the Nagara River. Vibrant community life with much social interaction made possible by the flow of the river.

Lower portion: Gifu City Cultural Centre in its current state of under-utilisation due to the surrounding buildings providing similar functions. The people represent the current demographic of visitors to the site. Park users, children playing, and visitors of the COSMO hall and the performance hall. Rather limited in variety, and little interaction between different groups of people.

After drawing

Upper portion: map of Gifu city, with links between people representing the community that has been brought together by the intervention as pictured below.

Lower portion: post-intervention, where terraces have been added with co-working and eating spaces integrated with Kogane park. As seen, the demographic has increased in diversity, with members of the Gifu local community interacting with each other as a result of the flow of people between the inside and outside of the Civic Centre.

Elevation perspective

Large scale gesture: Waffle slab terrace balconies form the large generic spaces that allow for a range of activities and events to take place and are less prescriptive in terms of their function. In addition, they provide shade for a portion of the park, useful, considering Gifu’s temperate climate with hot summers and cold winters.

Small scale gestures: Co-working space and eating space are curvilinear in form and the form is closely related to the function of either eating or working. This is in contrast to the large scale gesture of the balcony.

Sectional perspective

The eating space can be seen in section with individual seating lining the walls and a communal table in the foreground.

The balcony supports a range of activities from performances, seating spaces, and gardening spaces for community horticulture.

The COSMO hall has had windows retrofitted to allow light to stream in, creating a plaza-like effect. The COSMO hall can be open most of the time in the same way a plaza would be, and as pictured here, I imagine that a plant/gardening market is taking place.

Lastly, the shading of the balcony can be seen here by the shadows cast onto the floor of Kagone Park.

Floorplans

Level 1: depicts the additional columns in red that support the balcony structure above it

Level 2: depicts the curvilinear small scale gestures, where the undulating walls of the co-working space creates pockets of private space for individuals to work. In addition, there is a internal staircase that has been added to the interior of the COSMO hall which enables greater circulation between the 2^nd and 3^rd floors into the hall.

Level 3 and 4: depict the balcony spaces that have been added.