Research Studio - Design Proposal

Research Studio - Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre

Summary of Research Proposal:

Alcohol is the most widely used recreational drug in Australia. Although widely accepted as a drink of enjoyment and sociability this comes closely tied with concepts of both binge drinking and psychological harm. Kings Cross undoubtedly represents the hub of drug, alcohol, and domestic problems within the greater Sydney.  The fact that these issues are so visible has resulted in the view of them as an accepted part of the social fabric of ‘The Cross’.

My design intent can be summarised as a one-stop-shop that addresses the effects of alcohol abuse both on the level of dependence treatment and on a more context specific level as a bar that is intended to act as a model for the promotion of safer drinking behaviours.

As we can see from the section the ground plane responds to the more context specific issues of binge drinking and alcohol fuelled violence via the harm minimisation approach to the bar, while we have a stack-like program of the treatment centre above.

The idea behind this ‘stack-like’ organisation of space is that one is able to transition through their prescribed step-by-step rehabilitation program from the ground up. As they progress from one stage to the next they are also slowly moving up the glass encased staircase from floor to floor, which gives them the chance to be reminded of their progress so far and thus also becomes an important element of encouragement.

Following the initial screening process the first treatment session of rehabilitation generally involves setting goals, and this step-by-step organisation of spaces allowing for clients to start at the ground floor and work their way up, then back down to the bar when they are able to resume drinking but at a healthy level, and eventually to the station (which represents a return home and to ‘normal’ life) presents a realistically achievable set of goals in an architectural built form.

Research Studio - 'Threshold' Task

From the street the new police station is very much a dominating mass. The sheer scale of the building immediately asserts its new found authority that the former station did not possess. As you can see in the images of the model I have exaggerated the concept of this imposing facade by outweighing the scale of the human figure to the entry.

Compared to the colours and greenery of the street, once inside the station we are presented with a very stark, clinical architecture dominated by a clean crisp whiteness. The scale of the human on this interior side effectively shifts our sense of scale from the monumentality of the facade to the confinement of the cell. The police are supposed to serve us, but this building is very much for them and not the public.

Once again, rather than a literal reproduction of the building I have explored this 'new state of the art' building in an exaggerated way. The interior is devoid of colour; rather it is dominated by its new technical capabilities shown by the use of flashing lights, alarms and wires strung throughout the model.