Looking back at the very first year I started my Masters degree, which was in mid 2008, I really felt 'refreshed' and 'ready for it' as I'd just returned to uni from an 8 months' work experience.
I picked a studio, which promised fun but with a whole lot of work that came along with it. Well, what could be better than having fun designing if you have to do the work anyways? So yeah, the studio that I picked was called, Luna Park. (didn't the name just capture you? how many chances do you get, as an architect to design a theme park?) If you were a lunatic like me who goes for all the craziest, scariest and tallest rides, you'd be sucked into it, instantly!
Well, getting into the studio's brief, we were actually asked to revamp Luna Park in Melbourne, as they needed to remarket themselves or even to recapture the local's imagery of Luna Park's old self. This was the main brief of the studio and the rest was really up to our own imagination. (which means you can go wild! well, minus building regulations, codes, standards, town planning, heritage overlay, etc etc etc!)
The studio was held in a way that it was not only fun (because they provided us with 2 daily tickets to Luna Park) but it was also very real, in that we were actually let into all of the back of house areas. We actually got to see how the Scenic Rail worked, how the Ghost Ride was set up as well as how they maintain all the rides. It was such an eye-opener!
Well, anyways, we went through a series of esquisse just to get the ball rolling. They ranged from looking at designs of theatrical stages, play with illusion, concept collages etc, and they were all really quite intellectually stimulating.
So, my final concept was really about developing on the idea behind one of the historical rides that had played a major role in the old Luna Park, which was the Jack and Jill ride. Jack and Jill being nursery rhyme was translated literally into a ride. It was a ride where people get onto a bucket and they actually 'went up the hill' (a slope) and they fall from the peak into a puddle of water. (how literal can you get?) Although kind of corny, I actually thought having that as a basis for a ride, is kinda cool!
So, I looked more into nursery rhymes and discovered that they actually have a meaning behind them. So then my concept has developed from the idea that nursery rhymes actually have dual meanings, in that behind the childish nursery rhyme is a reflection of history (mostly dark history). The juxtaposition here is what has interested me.
So, the theme of Luna Park will be based on nursery rhymes. The incorporation of new rides would be interpreted in that way. The concept would also be married with the existing heritage rides as well as the architecture. An example of this concept applied to an existing ride is the use of the nursery rhyme called Ring O' Rosies where one would walk into a dark tunnel with scary sounds and acts reflecting the Great Plague and slowly walking to the light at the end of the tunnel that brings one out to a beautiful English garden with arbours and vines, with a faint sound of the rhyme playing as one approaches the Merry-Go-Round. Then, one will be directed to the entrance of the Merry-Go-Round and can opt to get on the ride with the nursery rhyme playing as the background music. This is the kind of experience and relationship that the concept would like to introduce.
Aside from designing some rides (we were told not to get carried away with it, because well, let's be honest, who wouldn't get carried away designing the sickest roller coaster or the most high tech virtual rides?) Anyways, the other requirement of the studio was also to redesign the castle while maintaining its heritage facade. Again, this idea of referencing the history was very much implemented into designing the castle. I have actually decided to double the castle and have extended the existing facade all the way to the top to maintain the looks of it. (Some would think that this is a cop out but all the comments I got from the tutors and other architects were that it was a fantastic idea. What would be more appropriate in trying to maintain the heritage facade but to copy it??? Does that justify it?) I could go into every detail of my design, which would be an essay worth more than 10,000 words but you should really look at the pictures to try and get a sense of what I was trying to achieve in the design.
So, the semester ended in a really positive note scoring me an awesome grade at the end. I reckon, this has been the most enjoyable and fulfilling studios I've ever done throughout my architecture studies.
I highly recommend taking up a theme park revamp or designing studio (if you EVER get the chance to. who would've thought architecture studios could be more than just plans and sections?)
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