Bodo Waterfront Arts Precinct / Bodo Kulturhaus

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RESEARCH BACKGROUND: The project was a submission for a 2008 open competition for the masterplan and architectural design of a new cultural precinct in Bodo, Norway. The design was completed through my practice Index Architecture - currently re-named NAAU. The project researches the use of generative and digital design tools in the creation of integrated urban architectural precincts. The project builds upon the work of, amongst others Foreign Office Architects & LAB architecture studio, examining the use of digital design tools and versioning techniques in coupling architectural scale projects with urban infrastructure. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION The design explores generative approaches in design, specifically generative tracing as a technique of 'versioning' the city. Generative tracing is understood as an erosive operation that effectively creates a new network of urban pathways and waterfront settlements. Architectural form is organised around this network, with the programmatic requirements of a new cultural precinct compressed, expanded and re-arranged to address a broader urban agenda. The project posititions urban design as being part of an extended evolutionary process in which a city is engaged. The design contributes a series of techniques for generating new versions of a city - specifically through a porous water front edge condition. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The project has been published an exhibited in numerous locations. The project was first published in the book 'Idea Design: Evolving Architecture' (A&C Publishing, Seoul, Korea 2013) ISBN: 978-8972121442 along with a number of other significant international practices. In 2016 it was invited for exhibition the 'Sino-Australian Dialogue on Design Practice Research,' and published in the catalogue ISBN: 978-0-7340-5260-5. The exhibition was a significant collaboration between the Melbourne School of Design & Nanjing University, investigating Design Research Practices in China and Australia.