Emerging futures : Brisbane’s railway explored studio based design and technology

Abstract

This paper will explore the initial findings of a three-part, collaborative, design research project currently being conducted on Brisbane’s railway infrastructure. The project is a real one and forms a unique partnership with two Government departments and researchers based in three organizations (University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, and Rand Corporation, LA).-----

The first part of the project (and the research to be presented at this conference) deals with identifying a range of urban and architectural problems that will affect successful urban consolidation in Brisbane’s inner West. The research is being conducted in the design studio using the collective efforts of upper level architectural design students. Utilizing multi-media, and CADD models, architectural and urban proposals will later be tested on a real-time VR-computer model.-----

This paper will focus on what design research means in the studio environment, and how technology can be used to accelerate this process of research. The boundary demarcation between architecture, cinema, computer modelling and animation will be used to discuss the difficulties that arise in using this form of technology as part of a research project. The paper will explore two aspects of the Emerging futures pilot project: the urban analysis and the strategic response. Visual material from the design studio (analytical drawings, multimedia studies, CADD drawings and models) will be used to illustrate how this work might be read and debated as design research.