KEY ISSUES IN THE 21ST CENTURY
SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE
A sedentary lifestyle has obvious health risks like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Forced active movement in our day to day lives stop after we complete High School - there needs to be a space that encourages movement for adults (for all) after this time period.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO):
- Sedentary people are those who do less than 90 minutes of physical activity per week.
- More than 60% of the global adult population is sedentary
- About 2 million people a year die due to insufficient physical exercise.
The Solution: GET UP AND MOVE!
LACK OF PROPER NUTRITION
With the ease and convenience of fast food, it's no surprise that it significantly contributes to the health of a city. However, the root cause of the issue is a combination of the convenience of fast food and the lack of nutrition knowledge. Everything in moderation can be considered as healthy and balanced.
The Solution: Learn about nutrition and cooking!
LACK OF CREATIVITY
According to a CEDA Report:
- More than 5 Million Aussie Jobs gone in the next 10 Years.
That is almost 40% of the existing jobs today gone due to technological advancements. Computerisation of all industries will result in jobs that don't require creative thinking and collaboration to not exist anymore.
The Solution: Have spaces that allow more unique creative learning!
POOR EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Almost half of all Australians aged 16 to 85 years will experience mental illness at some point in their life. Thats 7.3 million people.
The most common conditions are:
- Anxiety
- Affective disorders, especially depression
- Substance abuse disorders, most commonly alcohol use
The Solution: A safe and private space for people to retreat to within a civic space.
HEALTHIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD
+ WHERE DO WE STAND?
Budapest,
Hungary
Munich,
Germany
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
The health of a city is measured through surveys of the following and are scored on a scale of 1 to 10:
- Annual sunshine hours
- Life expectancy at birth
- Gym score
- Annual vacation days
- Work-life balance
- Air and water quality
- Green space
- Electric car charging points
- Fast-food outlets
- Obesity in adults
Common high scoring traits across the healthiest ranked cities:
HIGH LEVELS OF NATURAL LIGHT
ACTIVE LIFESTYLES + HIGH RANGE OF
MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
HIGH CONNECTION TO NATURE
+ NATURE IN SPACES
SPACES ALLOCATED FOR POSITIVE PROMOTION OF MENTAL HEALTH
HIGH LEVEL OF ARTS AND FINE ARTS TO EXPRESS CREATIVITY
WHERE DOES AUSTRALIA FIT INTO THIS RANKING SYSTEM?
Good News!
Australia has 2 cities that made it to an average of the Top 10 in most data bases researched. Those cities however are Perth and Adelaide.
Both cities have high rankings of the traits mentioned above.
For Sydney to become a healthier city, we need spaces that have architectural gestures that mirror those traits.
INCREASED NATURAL LIGHT
A SPACE TO BE ACTIVE
CONNECTION TO THE OUTDOORS
PLACES FOR REFUGE
_SALUTOGENESIS.
"... an approach focusing on factors that support human health and well-being, rather than on factors that cause disease.
The salutogenic model is concerned with the relationship between health, stress, and coping." - Aaron Antonovsky
OVERALL HEALTH APPROACH: FIX THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT'S A PROBLEM
Salutogenisis is a theory that encourages one to think about an overall approach to health. It states that life experiences help shape one’s sense of coherence. A strong sense of coherence helps one gather resources to cope with stressors and manage tension in their life successfully (could be emotional, mental or physical stressors).
In an architectural application, creating a healthy city starts from spaces for individuals to gather and share experiences with the community. These experiences tackle all parts of their health to contribute to their wellbeing in a wholistic and coherent manner.
WHY WHITE BAY POWER STATION?
The heritage listed White Bay Power Station located at Robert St Rozelle is one of the most recognisable landmarks around the ANZAC Bay precinct and immediate action is required to create it to be a new creatively driven hub which draws upon Sydney’s working past and its culture, there will be an ability to enshrine the area’s history while adapting it for the health of the community in the future.
Through utilising the current contexts of the site such as its community members, local destinations and historical contexts, the WBPS will revitalise the Inner West of Sydney and create a world class cultural community facility. The site will improve connection between local members of the community whilst allowing it to be a global destination welcome for all different individuals and groups to collaborate and share experiences.
There is also a focus on the site’s rich history and its contribution towards the industrialisation of Sydney. This will be showcased through the creation of a fun, creative and active multi-use hub to revitalise the site’s abandoned nature to the bustling hub it once was.
Sustainability will also be embedded throughout the project in order to allow it to be a future forward civic space, this will be applied through the range of typologies, accessibility, and materiality. Through its redevelopment, the White Bay Power Station will benefit current and future generations. The success of the WBPS will be its commitment to producing a globally acknowledged space which fosters an active, creative and connected community.
BEFORE
FUTURE
COAL WAS COMBUSTED
IN WBPS TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY FOR SYDNEY
PEOPLE GO INTO WBPS
TO BE ACTIVE + CREATIVE
AND BECOME BETTER INDIVIDUALS TO CONTRIBUTE TO A HEALTHIER SYDNEY
With the amount of pollution caused during the combustion process, the new proposal, PLAY is a chance to rewrite the narrative of White Bay Power Station by generating healthier communities.
The NSW Government has created White Bay Power Station to be an immediate priority destination, through the Bays Precinct Plan for Sydney it has made an objective to unlock the potential of the WBPS and recognise its history in an authentic way.
The government plans to extend waterfront walk to reach White Bay Power station meaning that the active PLAY experience starts beyond and before reaching the site.
The proposed outdoor to indoor track extension allows those who enter from the Bays Waterfront Promenade to seamlessly enter the gym floor without breaking their active movement.