Active Grounds by AA School

Ten members of the ‘New Active Grounds’ studio looked at an area located in South London in the borough of Vauxhall, each focusing on an area of approximately 2-4 ha. The aim of the research was to look for different operational strategies that would allow us to describe the potential future of Vauxhall. Within each of the strategies were developed projects that suggested ways to support the character and identity of the area and to envisage how change could take place there. Every student had a different starting point that was rooted in specific characteristics of each site as well as in various drivers of change we observe today. Someone looked for an opportunity to introduce new lifestyles by making housing learn from other genres like schools or hospitals, someone focused on the agenda of care and its implications in the questions of collective and intergenerational living, others explored the opportunities of attracting to Vauxhall large research institutions that could become anchors for the future development and boost the transformation. All of the approaches used the experience of the architecture field in the corresponding realms in order to learn from the best examples and bring their qualities further implementing them in new kinds of settings and circumstances. Every work became a platform to offer new complex partnerships between actors or put forward new single actors. How could UCL and Nike work together in order to create a community that prioritises a healthy lifestyle, combines professional training and social sports and raises young athletes in a healthy and diverse setting? What would it take for the Westfield Group to coordinate with the local council and develop a fashion and art district allowing single artists, art galleries, a museum and designer workshops share infrastructure and form a coherent chain of creative industry? Elaborating on these questions and entry points, the studio work reimagined the most important notions and qualities that we think are central to the present and future of Vauxhall. Therefore, the work is summed up in the ‘Encyclopaedia for Vauxhall’.

We see the Encyclopaedia as a way to involve into discussion stakeholders and actors, not only architects and professionals of the field. We want to be able to engage with the local authorities of the Vauxhall borough and the decision makers at the scale of the city in order to show them a very specific toolbox of solutions for the future of the area they hold responsibility for. We would also like to start a conversation with the local residents in order to demonstrate to them that the kind of change we are putting forward is something they can relate to, benefit from and participate in. Another party that we think this work could be interesting for, are the developers and investors that could become involved in the Vauxhall change. In fact, it can be relevant not only to those who love, know and live in vauxhall. It is rooted in current trends and changes that we observe, and they are happening across scales and are actual for various areas. A lot of attention has been paid lately to the central city transformation, the pressures that it is experiencing and, consequently to the return to the central city living as the one that gives access to the widest set of resources, services and variety of networks. However, the pandemic crisis of the last several years changed a lot and clearly demonstrated the imbalance that exists in our cities in distribution of such amenities as well as in accessibility of work and study places. This period showed that many of the residential neighbourhoods located outside the city centre lack access to services associated with culture, sport, healthcare and education. Therefore, we ask: what would it take to restore the balance and look differently at the inner periphery urban areas, to open discussions on the new crossovers and collaborations within them? Bearing in mind the debate about new work-live crossovers that are more actual as ever and rise of new models of collective formations, why don’t we rethink the role of housing as an urban project. What would an architectural and urban framework that incorporates realms of health, education, culture into the residential areas look like?

Encyclopaedia for Vauxhall

ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE PROGRAMME Housing and Urbanism 2021-2022 Tutors: Anna Shapiro and Lawrence Barth Published in London in 2022 ‘New Active grounds’ Design Workshop group

Editorial Team

Anna Shapiro

Sujay

Lawrence Barth

vama

Zhongyu

Jieyi

Anna

Liping

Chunan

Jingwen

Xinyue

Junkai

Content Guide

Posters: definitions given to each term or notion we find important for Vauxhall and its character

Newspapers: essays that talk about the topics that really matter in the Vauxhall context, put forward methods of the area transformation and give references to the precedents from the field

Postcards: the format we use to share with others the exciting architectural projects from all over the world that we studied in the process of this research

Leaflets: the parts of publication that give more extensive overviews of the projects that were put forward, drivers of change that informed them, potential actors, etc.

Bibliography

Al-Kodmany, Kheir. Understanding Tall Buildings: A Theory of Placemaking. New York: Routledge, Taylor Francis Geroup, 2017. Allen, Stan. ‘Infrastructural Urbanism’. In Points + Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. Aureli, Vittorio Aureli. Less Is Enough: On Architecture and Asceticism. UK: Strelka Press, 2014. Aureli, Pier Vittorio, Martino Tattara. Living and working. Cambridge : The MIT Press, 2022. Christiaanse, Kees, Anna Gasco, Naomi C Hanakata, Pablo Acebillo. The Grand Projet: Understanding the Making and Impact of Urban Megaprojects. Rotterdam: Nai010 Publishers, 2019. Christiaanse, Kees, Kcap Architects & Planners. Situation. Basel; Boston Berlin: Birkhäuser, 2005. Christiaanse, Kees, Kerstin Hoeger. Campus and the city: urban design for the knowledge society. Zurich : Gta Verlag, 2007. Colomina, Beatriz. X-Ray Architecture. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2019. Corbusier, Le. The City of Tomorrow and Its Planning. Architectural Press, 1987. Corbusier, Le. Radiant City. Viking Publishers, 1970. Deleuze, Gilles, Félix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitaliism and Schizophrenia. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. DOGMA + Realism Working Group. Communal villa: production and reproduction in artists’ housing. Leipzig: Spector Books, 2015. Frampton, Kenneth, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. School Of Architecture. Megaform as Urban Landscape. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois, School of Architecture, 2010. Fumihiko, Maki. Investigations In Collective Form. Saint Louis: Washington University Press, 1964. Girard, Greg, Ian Lambot. City of Darkness. London: Watermark Publications Limited, 2014. Harman, Graham. Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything. New Orleans: Pelican, 2018. Holden, Meg. ‘Community Well-Being in Neighborhood’s: Achieving Community and Open-Minded Space through Engagement in Neighborhood’s.’ International Journal of Community Well-Being 1, no. 1 (October 29, 2018): 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-018-0005-1. Jacobs, Jane, Jason Epstein. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York, NY: Modern Libray, 2011. Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, and Office for Metropolitan Architecture. S, M, L, Xl. New York: Monacelli Press, 1998. Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York. New York: The Monacelli Press, 1994. Koolhaas, Rem. The generic City. In: B.Mau and OMA, eds., S,M,L,XL. New York: Monacelli Press, 1998, 1248-1264. Liu, Yang. Contemporary Ideas of Architectural Creation Based on Deleuze’s Philosophy. Beijing: China Construction Industry Press, 2020. Mumford, Lewis. ‘The Neighborhood and the Neighborhood Unit.’ In Town Planning Review 24, no. 4 (January 1954): 256. https://doi.org/10.3828/ tpr.24.4.d4r60h470713003w. North, Alissa. Operative Landscapes: Building Communities Through Public Space. Toronto: University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of architecture, landscape, and Design, 2013. Ran, Chen. Ambiguity, Homogeneity and Invisibility:The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa. Shanghai: South Architecture, 2013. Rowe, Colin, Fred Koetter. Collage City. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2009. Rowe, Colin, Robert Slutzky. Transparency. Basel; Boston: Birkhäuser Verlag, 1997. Rowe, Peter G. Civic Realism. Cambridge, Mass.: Mit Press, 1999. Taylor, Dianna. Michel Foucault Key Concepts. London: Routledge, 2010. Umberto, Eco. Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1986. Venturi, Robert. Complexity and contradiction in architecture. London : Architectural Press, 1977. Yurdanur, Aksoylu. Courtyard House From: Response To The Traditional And Modern Needs Of Man. Chicago: Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc., 1987 Zogolovitch, Roger. Shouldn’t we all be developers? 2nd Edition. London: Solidspace, 2022.

corridor

150m

enerally, when it comes to a corridor, a long and narrow passage in a building is the most possible image that comes to mind. However, it is interesting to look at the notion of a corridor at the scale of an urban area. In the borough of Vauxhall in London, dynamic corridors connect art schools, galleries, creative studios, and several art institutions that are scattered but not easily overlooked. Therefore, a Creative Corridor can be seen as a possible future of Vauxhall without wasting the existing opportunities. To accelerate the change introducing large institutions to connect to the global network is an effective strategy. The meaning and characteristics of the ‘Corridor’ make sense in progressing Vauxhall. For rethinking the potential of this area and extensive movement and effect, the life of communities in Vauxhall can be redefined and the conditions can be making the most of.

corridor

190m

orridor is a linear and narrow connection between different orientations. In researching the Vauxhall mobility system as a family, it shows an emphasis of north-south-orientation led. Under this word here, we would like to talk about the connection function of a corridor rather than content of it. High-speed roads are less likely to interrupt urban blocks in terms of east-west. From the Oval Stadium located in the south to the Lambeth Walk Open Space in the north, there is a segmented character in terms of morphology. When the long-distance connection between north and south was highlighted, it showed the continuity of this urban area and inspired us to value the holistic value for Vauxhall. The central-axis-domain site, the cut-through site, and the irregular-shaped site are all controlled by the linear ‘Corridor’ structure. To some extent, it is because of limitation of the river and highway system on the left, the narrow corridor emerged but offered some unpredictable conditions. All in all, starting from the mobility system of Vauxhall area and compared to ‘Corridor’ call attention to the integral idea and legibility.

bridge

75m

ridge’ is always recognized as a device to marry differences, using it in an urban area enables it to be a trigger to attract the investment and settlement of large institutions because it creates chances for knowledge exchange and public engagement. Today, the strict hierarchical management systems and innovations behind privileged doors are being abandoned in the world. Seeking knowledge exchanges and public engagement is the new tendency of large institutions because it will increase the visibility and accessibility of research and innovation in ways that maximize the chance of it making difference in the world outside of academia and reduce information gaps. Furthermore, information and ideas will move among the potential users which could capture those demand-driven funders to provide investments to support the aims. Transforming ‘Bridge’ into architectural languages – ‘atrium’ and ‘continuous ground’ are two commonly used devices to achieve the goal at any scale (no matter stand-alone buildings or urban areas).

heart

eart means a geometric center and an active area for its neighborhood. The heart is one of the most important organs in the body and should provide a constant supply of nutrients to the entire body. It is possible to build a unified campus of an iconic nature within the radius of the ‘heart’, the central area. This campus is expected to become a gathering realm for certain groups and communities. So, it sounds like an oasis which occupies a central geographical position and an absolute central dominance in its role. Looking for another possibility in Vauxhall might be starting from a centralized, easy-to-organize unbuilt area. The periphery of the site acts as the protection in this square-shaped location. Because of the mature system for them, it can be stay as before and keep the original fabric. And then, the change for the ‘heart’ area appears more prominent.

home

he traditional understanding of home is a single functional shelter for living. Today, our lifestyle is changing with our society becoming more and more productive, at home, we take classes on-line, work remotely, shop, socialize, etc. Therefore, the home is becoming a complex platform with mixed functions such as galleries, cafés, libraries, and so on, while including tailored privacy spaces. In the process of integrating home with other functions, analyzing the original typology is the starting point. It could help us to judge the degree of intervention and hint at opportunities and restrictions of the existing fabrics that already exist. In this mindset, the mixed-use type of home will be created with a low construction cost and fast construction speed.

home

ome’ is a word which reminds us to pay attention to ourselves - we spend part of our time resting and recharging ourselves at home. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be performed such as sleeping, preparing food, eating as well as providing spaces for work and leisure, studying and playing. When it comes to the spatial characteristics, variation always make sense because of the high flexibility. Different room scale, different ceiling height, different light quality and so on. These differences keep daily life organic and fit in well in the changing times. Under the post-pandemic background, the increased time spent working from home has changed the pace of life and the multi-task lifestyle has become routine. Making life changeable offers a chance for us to rethink our original lifestyle.

home

hy not try defining the regular word ‘Home’ in a different way? ‘Home’ is not just a shelter and protection for sleeping and eating but a snapshot of ones’ lifestyle habits and preferences. In getting in touch with new things, we always cannot stop imagining new diverse ways of living. The squeezed unit offers an irregular organization at home. It revalues some elements which are overlooked in daily life. The separate views for living room and bedrooms means a very specific care in dwellers feeling. For example, different window sizes lead to different vision. The stairs and steps connect the spaces and separate them as well. The diversity of the home makes us enjoy our time at home even more. Not a family, just rethink our life from the essence of ‘home’.

gallery

allery can be viewed as an exhibition loop most of the time. In fact, a simple but effective understanding is necessary to be come up. It is interesting to think about how multiple elements can be rationalized. The enlarged entrance played a role as a strong joint that not only acts as a link but also as a hub, with an irreplaceable shared role. When the main body of design is comparing to ‘Gallery’, a programmed mind always imprisons us. Accessibility, transparency, eye-contact are cliché elements for architects and architecture students. So, it should emerge a diversity of attitudes when we talk about gallery. For the surrounding landscape, it should be adapted to the adjacent fabric in terms of urban scale which needs more research but should not be isolated. The ‘gallery’ in Vauxhall or other certain site, in addition to the clear structure itself, the relationship between internal and external takes a large and important part as well.

heart pioneering attitudes Heart can be understood as a vibrant area that can continuously supply fresh vitality to the entire building or neighborhood. To create a heart in a low vitality urban area for attracting the investments and settlements of large institutions, adaptive reuse is the most realistic and economically viable way. Therefore, assessing the attitudes of the pioneers of adaptive reuse is an effective way to build a pattern book to repurpose. Below I will analyze the typical projects of adaptive reuse, focusing on the projects’ typology evolution, that is, on the specificity of the transformation of spatial organization and the potential it brings.

6A architects create a new model of the civic institution through adaptive reuse, moving a cultural institution toward educational landscapes. On the one hand, surrounding residents can really benefit from the South London Gallery, for example, a series of workshops where children and adults can get skills and ongoing continuous development. On the other hand, The South London gallery conducts some serious research, it brings outstanding scientists and artists to research inside and has long inspired them, such as Ryan Gander, Steve McQueen, Michael Landy, etc. It narrows the boundary between life science and art. The attitude of 6A architects is not only showing how they are thinking about the building itself but also how they understand current trends and what is happening in the world of Clore Education Studio interior environment can be independent or connected with the Back Garden / South London Gallery Source: http://www.6a.co.uk/projects/more/south_london_gallery

‘front’ of the college, facing a new public square. The library and offices were conveyed into it which could be accommodated within the existing spaces. The long transit sheds were also kept in place. The Eastern Transit Shed was converted into workshop spaces whilst the west one became retail and businesses. The historic horse stables below the Eastern Transit Shed have been converted into new cycle stores for students and staff.

South London Gallery, ground floor plan Source: http://www.6a.co.uk/projects/more/south_london_gallery

6A architects: South London Gallery, London, 2010 The South London Gallery (SLG) is a public-funded gallery founded in 1891 as one of the finest art spaces in London.1 From 2003 to 2004, an enhancement and expansion of the SLG were executed by architects Stanton Williams and artist Ori Gersht. The Gallery had the first dedicated education space and improved visitor facilities including disabled access. In 2010, the gallery got its most significant regeneration, executed by 6A architects, which subverts how we think about culture today and was developed as a response to a small city contributor to the life of the surrounding neighborhood.

The additional parts are two substantial studio buildings occupying the space between the two transit sheds. The scale of the new addition responds closely to that of the Granary Building, essentially continuing its massing along the length of the site. It rises above the level of the transit sheds, 4 stories, arranged at either side of a covered central ‘street’, some 110m long, 12m wide, and 20m high, covered by a translucent ETFE roof and punctuated by a regular rhythm of service cores that accommodate lifts, stairs, and toilets. At the northern end, a new center for the Performing Arts will house a fully equipped theatre complete with a fly-tower as well as rehearsal and teaching

South London gallery, organisational diagram, ground floor

For spatial organization, the extension to the gallery is made of three interventions dispersed around an expanded site that transform the gallery from a singular interior into an expanded sequence of interior and exterior spaces hosting a range of different functions simultaneously. Firstly, the neighboring derelict house at No.67 has been refurbished to create a café on the ground floor, exhibition spaces on the first floor, and a flat for an artist-in-residence on the second. The new spaces follow the arrangement of the original but the architectural language is abstracted and reduced.

Secondly, behind the house, a three-story extension has been built to create a double-height room leading back to the gallery and through the new Fox Garden to the Clore Education Studio. Thirdly, Clore Education Studio, at the rear of the site, is A new education building on the footprint of the original lecture theater that was destroyed after World War II. Two surviving brick walls provided the natural start for the building which links the Fox Garden on one side and the gallery’s garden on the other. Continuing the architectural tradition established by the original buildings, the Clore Studio is a generous single volume topped by a central lantern and develops themes from the house with an exposed roof structure to create calmness and warmth. These interventional spaces make the galley form the shape of a Zigzag. Indoor space and outdoor space staggered arrangement, which can afford more various activities. For accessibility, 6A architects added an entrance at the other end based on the original one, guiding a channeling through it. The new one is associated with the northern social housing estate and another one is previously associated with the street. It allows greater accessibility that services not only the people along the street but also those who come from the other entrance shared with a larger urban area as well. With that inversion of the entrance, the back becomes a new front, and the front becomes a new back, which makes people entering the South London Gallery no longer need to experience the entire building from the beginning to end, they can selectively visit and use a certain part of the gallery, such as participating a themed event or taking a yoga class, etc.

Events and activities held in the back garden of South London Gallery Source: http://www.6a.co.uk/projects/more/south_london_gallery

Shared kitchen serving local communities / South London Gallery Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/the-south-london-gallery-aplace-for-the-people-6483769.html

culture that they have to do more. Stanton Williams, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, London, 2011 Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design is at the physical and creative heart of the new University of the Arts London campus in the north of King’s Cross and St Pancras, one of Europe’s largest urban Adaptive reuse projects through transforming 67-acres of derelict land, executed by Stanton Williams. The result will be a vibrant mixed-use quarter.2 The Granary Building is a Grade II listed building, comprising a solid, six-story cubic mass, with an unadorned, 50m wide brick elevation. For this reason, it has been restored as the main

The new internal north-south ‘street’ as a dynamic area for students Source: Stanton Williams Architects, Media Information – New University of the Arts London Campus Central Saint Martins at King’s Cross, 2011, p.18

space, presenting a contemporary elevation to the surrounding area. For the evolution of circulation, are separately the new internal ‘street’ (North to South), the public ‘street’ (East to West). They connected to the Granary building forming an atrium like ‘the Crossing’ that is a glazed area by using the lightest possible construction system with a minimum impact. The internal ‘street’ has been conceived as a dynamic area for student life, akin to the much-loved stairs at the center of the college’s previous main building. Bridges linking the various cores and workspaces cross it, offering break-out areas for meeting, relaxing, and people-watching and exchanging ideas. The street will be used for exhibitions, fashion shows, and performances, the spaces being large enough to build temporary pavilions for example. Viewing points allow students to watch others working or performing, and the work of other disciplines can be seen and exhibited. The public ‘street’ is running parallel with the north end of the Granary building at the southern end of the new block, offering public access through this part of the building’s interior. Lifts rising through this space recall the vertical movement of grain, which gave the complex its original purpose. The evolution of circulations maximizes the connections between departments within the buildings, with student and material movement being considered 3-dimensionally, as a flow diagram from North to South, East to West, and up to down.

This regeneration project brings huge potential. This state-ofthe-art facility unites the college’s activities under one roof that not only functions as a practical solution to the college’s needs but also stimulates creativity, dialogue, and student collaboration. The stage for transformation, the framework of flexible spaces that can be orchestrated and transformed over time by staff and students where new interactions and interventions and experimentation can create the slip-steam between discipline, enhancing the student experience. Stanton Williams architects use the atrium as an important device for unifying differences with maximum 3D connections which provides suitable spaces for interactions between people and offer chances for future demands.

Notes: 6A Architects, South London Gallery, London, 2010, Website, http:// www.6a.co.uk/projects/more/south_london_gallery 2 Stanton Williams Architects, Media Information – New University of the Arts London Campus Central Saint Martins at King’s Cross, 2011, pp.2-48. 1

Central Saint Martins School, ground floor plan Source: Stanton Williams Architects, Media Information – New University of the Arts London Campus Central Saint Martins at King’s Cross, 2011, p.45

Bridges link the various cores and workspaces across the atrium Source: Stanton Williams Architects, Media Information – New University of the Arts London Campus Central Saint Martins at King’s Cross, 2011, p.40

Organisational principles of the Saint Martins School heart, GF East-west ‘street’ in the Central Saint Martins offering pubblic access Source: Stanton Williams Architects, Media Information – New University of the Arts London Campus Central Saint Martins at King’s Cross, 2011, p.15

bridge Weaving the gap The proposition is to rethink the integration of large institutions in the urban area Today, large institutions are historically a new phenomenon with the basic characteristic of multi-tenant.1 Integrating large institutions seems to be a new approach to activating an urban area. Because it brings benefits to different stakeholders. For local residents, large institutions provide plenty of employment and educational opportunities and various service; For local government, it brings huge economic benefits and development potential. For workers, the integration of large institutions can reduce the distance between homes, workplaces, services, and foster meetings and interaction, bringing a step closer to the 15-minute city model.

Aerial view of Site 1 in Vauxhall

Source: https://www.benadamsarchitects.co.uk/project/graphite-square/

With the various benefits, integrating large institutions to activate an urban area seems to be an incredibly ideal approach, however, the reality is not like this. The actors of large institutions prefer to select well-developed or high-potential areas with clear urban qualities to invest, in order to guarantee a high return on investment profits.2 So, the integration of large institutions and the development of the urban area is an iterative process. Therefore, creating an initial benign investment environment in the low vitality urban area is the main pain point. Adaptive reuse is a realistic and economically viable way to create an initial benign investment environment in this low vitality urban area, while bridging differences provides the most important condition for attracting large institutions. The question is why they play such roles?

Diagramming continuous ground in Site 1

built for the end-use purpose, in contrast, it gives the opportunity to create short-term demands to future-proof the building for any potential changes.

In architecture, adaptive reuse is a tool to breathe new life into historic structures by converting them into something useful for the surrounding area.3 There are three reasons why recognizing adaptive reuse as an approach to creating an initial benign investment environment:

- Adaptive reuse is a form of sustainable urban renewal as it prolongs the building’s life by recycling its usable components for a new use.4 By assessing the attitudes of the pioneers of adaptive reuse, we summarized the following 2 points to be a pattern book for applying adaptive reuse in the future.

- Demolishing is not a reasonable solution for the continuous complexity that exists in the area, and it will bring a huge economic burden and time cost to a low vitality area. The characteristics of adaptive reuse which are low construction cost and fast construction speed could avoid the problem.

1. Maintaining the greatest possible reading of the existing architecture and synergy between the most ephemeral and the most durable forms.

- The value things accumulate and change over time. Adaptive reuse will be easier to integrate new and remain the historic value compared to starting from scratch. Furthermore, adaptive reuse could avoid being

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu argued that every person possesses certain forms of social capital. When a person has symbolic capital and cultural capital

is more likely to form relationships with people who have the same type of capital, thereby bringing wealth.5 If this formula is zoomed in to the urban field, we are able to find that economic capital alone could not release urban development, culture capital is the other indispensable factor. Thus, in the process of activating an urban area, maintaining historical and cultural value is necessary. Of course, challenges will follow with culture pay. therefore, maintaining the greatest possible reading of the existing architecture and synergy between the most ephemeral and the most durable forms to meet the modern lifestyle is the key point. With this, cultural capital and economic capital could iteratively develop, “the creative class” is entering and the urban area would be revitalized. 2. Not only think about the building itself but understand current trends and what is happening in the world. The same characteristics of large institutions are fast update iterations, keeping up with the current trend, and even becoming the current trend, for instance, Apple, created the era of the touch screen and is constantly in the process of upgrading and updating, it also brought a new sales model of offline experience. Clear to be, A stable container is impossible to attract large institutions. In adaptive reuse, renewing the existing buildings with the understanding of what is happening in the world is the only way to match these characteristics of large institutions because it provides the potential for long-term, the ability to grow, and resilience to future changes. Mobility system, existing condition

For bridging the differences, when people talk about the term ‘bridge’, they always think of some physical struc-

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Morphosis Architects, 2006, etc. By Applying adaptive reuse and bridging the differences in Vauxhall. a creative corridor will appear on the site. Researchers, students, workers, residents, and visitors gather on it, bridging the gap between each other and exchanging knowledge.

Notes: Sepulveda, Leandro, Social Enterprise – A New Phenomenon in the Field of Economic and Social Welfare? [J], Social Policy & Administration, 2016, 49(7):842-861. 2 Comunian, R., Rethinking the Creative City: The Role of Complexity, Networks and Interactions in the Urban Creative Economy[J], Urban Studies, 2015, 48(6):1157-1179, pp.15-23. 3 Wong L, Adaptive Reuse: Extending the Lives of Buildings[J], 2016. pp.176-189. 4 Abdulameer Z. A., Adaptive reuse as an approach to sustainability[J], IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2020, pp.216. 5 Desislava H., Aiello L. M., Daniele Q, The New Urban Success: How Culture Pays[J], Frontiers in Physics, 2018, 6:27. 6 Berliant, M., R. R. R. Iii, and W. Ping, Knowledge exchange, matching, and agglomeration[J], Journal of Urban Economics, 2000, 60(1):69-95, pp. 54-76. 1

Diagramming changes to the fabric and mobility system

tures that are built over a river, road, or railway to allow people and vehicles to cross from one side to the other side. If we use ‘bridge’ as a verb, it means to make the difference or division between two things smaller or less severe. Therefore, there is always the purpose for marrying differences and facilitating communication in the term ‘bridge’. Today, the hierarchical management system and innovations behind privileged doors are being abandoned in the world. Seeking knowledge exchange and public engagement is the new tendency of large institutions,6 such as Microsoft, Google, Wellcome Trust, and so on. It could deliver significant benefits to researchers, institutions, and to wider society. Firstly, Knowledge exchange and public engagement will increase the visibility and accessibility of research and innovation in ways that maximize the chance of it making difference to the world outside of academia and reduce information gaps. Secondly, information and ideas will move among the potential users which could capture those demand-driven funders to provide investments to support the aims.

Street view of Vauxhall Walk in Site 1, flanked by the giant building (College of Policing) and the housing complex (Vauxhall Gardens Estate) Source: https://www.google.com/maps/?hl=zh-cn

Transforming knowledge exchange and public engagement into architectural languages--Atrium and Continuous Ground are two commonly used devices to bridge differences on any scale (no matter stand-alone buildings or urban areas). They have been used in many projects in the architecture field that requires marry differences and facilitates information exchange, for instance, Bristol Life Sciences Building, Sheppard Robson, 2014; Macquarie Bank, live Wilkinson Architects, 2009; The

Street view of Vauxhall Walk in Site 1, flanked by the fragmented green space from Vauxhall Gardens Estate and the Pedlar’s Park. Source: https://www.google.com/maps/?hl=zh-cn

gallery Connecting differences Gallery has two main definitions in the Collins dictionary: 1. a room or building for exhibiting works of art; 2. a covered passageway open on one side or on both sides. The gallery is always seen as a mixed exhibition of works of art. When redefining the term ‘gallery’, its applicable scenarios are extended. The sequence of the exhibits makes sense all the time. Starting from the case of the new Siemens Headquarter in Munich, it is interesting to think about how multiple elements can be organised rationally. Linear connection is one of the simple and orderly approaches. If a mix-used architecture applies a simple internal circulation, the specific organization of each part can be highlighted easier.

the different blocks and use the joints as the shared space. The organization of the Siemens HQ inspired the type of an office building. In terms of the section, the vertical variation was achieved because of the diversified shared space like the hypaethral ground, atrium realm, and roof garden. The size is also changeful. Like the case Siemens HQ inspired us for the comfortable working environment, it is obvious that the complexity and good transit of variation are attractive for people. Like the linear organization, the successful project defines the pedestrian circulation and guides the visitors in a considerate tour streamline. When seeing the U-shaped courtyard as the consequence of decreasing the square footprint, it is a simple way to create endless variations in terms of morphology. The street facade of Siemens HQ depicts the different entrances for the outside urban pedestrians. These are embracing urban streets which reflect the conceptual ideology of the company.

In the summer of 2010, Siemens decided to rebuild its corporate headquarters at Wittelsbacherplatz in Munich. Henning Larsen Architects won the international architectural competition with a design that unites tradition with the future. In terms of the diagram of this project, the connection logic is simple but shows the coexistence of complexity. For achieving the ambition of offering modern and inspiring working spaces for their staff, the designers consider making the most use of the natural light and put the office area along the perimeter of the building. All workspaces are arranged along with the floor-to-ceiling windows to maximize the use of sunlight. The employees can adjust the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technology in their areas as needed. Ample spaces offer open areas for sharing information and for collaborating across departmental boundaries as well as quiet zones for performing work that requires greater focus. Bridges connect

Extract from the jury citation: ‘With its self-confident and sensitive approach, the winning design will succeed in enhancing the quality of the urban environment within the parameters of the existing city. The spacious opening into Oskar-von-MillerRing will create a new self-confident address for the Siemens headquarters. The leafy forecourt will suddenly acquire a new meaning at the transition from the old city to the museum quarter, thereby creating an opportunity for inner urban development.’ The public access to the Siemens’ new headquarters creates a continuous flow of guests and passers-by and signals that the corporate architecture of the 21st century should be open and inviting. The space around the circulation core is

Siemens HeadQuarter, Henning Larsen Architects / Floor plan diagram

Linear gallery, proposed model

maximized as a break and conversation space for staff during busy hours, its open character and flexible qualities are useful and needed in a rigid office building. One of the main architectural ambitions has been to promote knowledge-sharing and social interaction across the organization. In the new building, transparency is important, and 1,200 employees have visual contact with their colleagues across the courtyards. Siemens HeadQuarter, Henning Larsen Architects / Section A-A Source: https://www.archdaily.com/791741/siemens-headquarters-henninglarsen-architects

The circulation and movement in the proposed model act as a practice of the performance of a linear gallery. In showing the functional rooms, the interior movement, and the specific public area like the lobby, terrace, and courtyard, the model provides a vision and possibility of a flexible working gallery. Essentially, each segment needs an independent internal loop but at the same time needs a strong joint that not only acts as a link but also as a hub, with an irreplaceable shared role. For the surrounding landscape, it should be adapted to the adjacent fabric in terms of urban scale which needs more research but should not be isolated. The relationship between internal and external reflects a diversity of attitudes. The full opening of the balcony and the tightened strip of windows give the eye something different to experience inside and become a different view from the facade. Overall, the continuous floor provides the basis for all extensions. In addition to the sequence of the public space, the spatial hierarchy becomes more visible because of the extra scale of the entrance and the guided orientation.

Siemens HeadQuarter, Henning Larsen Architects / Section C-C Source: https://www.archdaily.com/791741/siemens-headquarters-henninglarsen-architects

In the proposal cluster, the iconic large workshop which can hold the routine seminars and events, practices an L-shaped block. Both two parts have their own atrium and the multi-used steps and stairs in the middle. Regarding the size of the site, it is limited in extending the branches. The rethought typologies are explored with attention to the notion of new lifestyles. This proposal of the creative cluster values the non-integral starting point. For the main role as creative and industry workshops, complexity means accommodating diversity. The ground floor plan and classic plan in the explosive axonometric drawing show the characteristics of the space which have comprehensive scales for creatives and express a simple but meaningful vision.

Siemens HeadQuarter, Henning Larsen Architects / Street facade Source: https://bustler.net/news/2280/henning-larsen-architects-winssiemens-headquarters-competition

‘Gallery’ can seem as a loop which contains the movement as a major structure. So how to act as a connection and good quality at the same time in the process of moving forward is something that can be studied. These can be reflected in several construction details. Consider continuous lines of sight and good lighting, for example, the sloping glass surfaces of the Siemens headquarters. The creation of large areas of glass material and angles achieves an increased quality of work. Basically, the model needs to be adjusted to close to the main idea infinitely. The relationship between internal and external, the continuous floor, and so on, all elements formed in series but showed their uniqueness. In a small gallery, there may be only one line. Visitors walk along the corridor of the building and observe different exhibits in different spaces. When the building is enlarged, more and more spaces are added and considered, but the leading role of that line is no longer changed. Different site conditions are embedded in the experimental model, perhaps a simple skeleton and a clear start. Overall, GALLERY offers an endless imagination when talking about a specific organization. In the related case studies and practice, a sensitized hazy thrust is provided which can be applied to a variety of specific building types.

Siemens HeadQuarter, Henning Larsen Architects / Courtyard Source: https://bustler.net/news/2280/henning-larsen-architects-winssiemens-headquarters-competition

Large workshop in proposition

heart

Juul Frost Architects, Media Evolution City, 2012 Media Evolution City is the hub for the digital and creative industries in Malmö. Today, more than 450 media people work in the building. The building houses small, medium-sized and large media companies. It was developed by Juul Frost Architects in close collaboration with Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB and Media Evolution which are responsible for running the Media Evolution City. Its spatial reorganizations respond to the frames for new ways of working characterized by collaboration, synergy, and knowledge. The predecessor of Media Evolution City was an abandoned shipyard, located in the university islet – housed partially within one of the harbor’s large industrial buildings, which reach out into the intimate harbor space, where a dry dock forms the center of a new semi-public space, providing an opportunity for open space and vision in its backyard. The original brick facade facing Stora Varvsgatan has been preserved, while the new glass facade has been given a special character that sloped outward by almost a meter from the lowest level to the highest level, presenting a triangle shape. Media Evolution City is programmed as ‘a city in the city’ with streets, alleys, and public facilities at floor level where informal and temporary meetings take place. To be more detailed:

Media Evolution City, Juul Frost Arkitekten / GF plan diagram

Office rooms on the first ground with flexible glass walls that can be moved to suit the needs of users which could consolidate all the environments where services are provided in the middle of the floorplate and all activities could be liberated. It enabled the extension of the atrium and the ambiguity of separate spaces. At the same time, some small spaces at floor level are still contained by walls and the working spaces on the third and fourth floors are relatively independent and private, which are equipped for the demands of different types of work. Tailored flexibility remains possible within each compartment without the threat of one section hindering the others. Functions such as reception, restaurant, and meeting room were planned on the entrance floor to enable meetings between people. In the middle of the building, a vertical flow has been created through two openings in the floor. Here, the green staircase within the atrium creates a central meeting place and connects 4 main parts of the building that not only leads users and visitors around in the building but in combination with transparent glass panels actively exposes the various activities that take place here. The entrance level is opened up in the facade with new glass sections towards a new French park. The front has been fitted with large wooden decks which are also reached via the restaurant, allowing Media Evolution City’s activities to be held both inside and outside, and welcoming the city and neighbors to a meeting. The above design details constitute an open, welcoming, co-working space adapted to a modern working life filled with energy. Media Evolution City, a non-profit organization and community, consists of more than 400 organizations. These entities are united in the promotion of innovation and growth for the digital industries and supporting the transformation from an industrial city to a knowledge city in Malmö. As a design strategy, Juul Frost Architects mastered the key point of collaboration: knowledge exchange.1 They create ‘a city in the city’ with the flexible continuous ground, here ‘neighbors’ encounter, discuss gossip and exchange news at every corner. Party space can be optionally opened or closed. Private spaces have tailored flexibility without the threat of other sections or activities. Thus, innovation is born in the process of listening, learning, and iterating. Bristol Life Sciences Building, Sheppard Robson, 2014 The architectural ambition of the Bristol Life Sciences Building was to create a building that respects the neighboring listed buildings and surrounding conservation area whilst also adding a confident piece of contemporary design to Bristol.2

Media Evolution City, Juul Frost Arkitekten / Diagramming continous ground

The east wing of the Life Sciences Building houses non-laboratory spaces, such as offices and seminar rooms. These areas require less floor-to-floor space than the laboratory areas so the eastern elevation facing St Michael’s Hill can be reduced in height, responding to the scale of the neighboring conservation area. The east facade of the building is divided into vertical bays, with the finish alternating between Bath stone and render to reflect the domestic architecture of the area. The massing of this block is stepped in order to conceal the profile of the building when viewed from the city below. The west-facing wing is wrapped in a wall of natural anodized aluminum which acts as a counterpoint to the more traditional east-facing facade. The shape of the facade is determined by the design of the laboratories inside, covering the ducts that drop from roof-level plant enclosures down the West facade to supply air to each laboratory. One of the key drivers for the project is to increase the opportunities for interaction between researchers, staff, students, and visitors. The generous atrium spaces addressed this by creating a social hub for the building with meeting and circulation spaces. The atrium also contains display cabinets to showcase Bristol University’s extensive collection of specimens and artifacts.

To achieve this, the building is arranged in two parallel wings, with the east-facing element housing the office accommodation and responding to the proportion and massing of the adjacent listed buildings. Distinctly different in form, the west-facing wing is designed as an undulating aluminum wall, signifying the cutting-edge laboratory space housed in that part of the building. The two elements of the building are linked by a full-height atrium space, which forms the social heart of the building.

Notes: Innovation Roadtrips, Media Evolution City and The Conference: A Collaborative Future, 2015, website, http://www.innovationroadtrips.com/2015/02/27/ media-evolution-city-and-the-conference/ 2 Bristol U O.. Bristol University | Alumni and friends | Alumni Weekend 2014: Tour of the Wills Memorial Building tower[J]. University of Bristol. 1

Images: 1.https://www.archdaily.com/618167/bristol-life-sciences-building-sheppard-robson 2.https://www.archdaily.com/618167/bristol-life-sciences-building-sheppard-robson 3.http://www.innovationroadtrips.com/2015/02/27/media-evolution-city-and-the-conference/ 4. https://juulfrost.dk/da/project/media-evolution-city-malmoe-sverige 5. https://wellcome.org/

Atrium space linking the East and West wings of the Bristol Life Sciences Building Bristol Life Sciences Building, Sheppard Robson / Ground floor diagram

Bristol Life Sciences Building, Sheppard Robson / Diagramming atrium organisation The ‘crossroad’ shape atrium and continuous ground in Media Evolution City

1 4

Bristol Life Sciences Building labs

The staircase within the atrium in Media Evolution City, creates threedimensional connections

heart

field

170m

field does not have to be an area covered with grass, used for playing sports. It can also be a place that hosts different activities and it can bring the surrounding area closer together at an urban scale. These three propositions are trying to make Vauxhall to become such a field. Starting from the urban morphology of Vauxhall – the high rise and big volume buildings on the bank side, and low rise and small volume buildings on the other side, these propositions offer three different strategies to form three new fields to connect the whole area. Open block and courtyard, the existing morphologies also provide inspiration for strategies. Whatever the programs of these three propositions are, they share the same goal, to make the site become a field that can serve for the Vauxhall residents.

speed

250m

o some extent, the nature of the city, and in particular the nature of mobility, governs the structure of the community. A city, especially for large cities, has a very compound rhythm based on many kinds of movement, human (walking or bike), mechanical (vehicle, underground or train) and natural (river). Vauxhall is also an area where different movements come together. Ships on the River Thames, the South Western Railway, the walking paths of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and Lambeth Walk Open Space, and the complex network of roads, all these elements shape the structure of the community in Vauxhall. Based on the speed of these movements and their volumes, we have expressed them in plan to research their relationship to the surrounding environment to support the further development of our proposition.

landscape

227 m

owadays, the notion of landscape is not limited to gardens and parks, but is regarded as an intervention towards open spaces beyond the volume, and the ways in which landscape participates in shaping the urban space. Taking advantage of the open block morphology, the micro-mobility across each part of the courtyard system promotes the interlink between the perimeter blocks, through the extended landscape. The courtyard here is connected with open spaces such as gardens, plazas and sports grounds compose the pedestrian pathways, which create a prioritized network. The landscape plays a dual role in that it permits a considerable degree of architectural and social mix. It not only serves as a vibrant civic space in the intensive city centre but also provides an extended threshold for the residents that maintains a strong sense of cohesion.

landscape

f the former view of the landscape is through the interlink of open spaces, here it offers another point of view of the landscape, the educational landscape, which is organized through courtyards dominated by multigenerational interaction. Intergenerational interaction is manifested in the creation of a shared learning environment, so it is essential to build a field that is open to the public, yet at a distance. The connected courtyards compose an extended landscape that serves as a mediator to facilitate the integration of various groups’ activities. Children play here while being watched over by older people, knowledge exchange spaces are interspersed throughout the landscape, welcoming students to study here, and young people gain knowledge and experience outside of work. The role of the educational landscape is not only in fulfilling the vision of human coexistence with nature but also in how it facilitates the interaction of different groups of people and creates a positive place.

courtyard

48m

he stereotypical view of the courtyard is a garden surrounded by linear blocks. The shifting attitude towards the courtyard argues for the potential in terms of integration. The courtyard system offers a flexible framework that can be linked to the urban area while providing an extended threshold for the buildings. Here is an example showing how the courtyard achieves continuity of ground whilst remaining its quality through the definition of boundaries. It defines the boundaries of the courtyards through changes in height, achieving continuity between the courtyards in the sunken ground. The openness of the ground aims to attract more residents from the surrounding area, allowing the activities of the internal courtyard to permeate outwards. The sense of courtyard is realized through the enclosure of the podium and the threshold offered by courtyards acts as a transition from the public realm to domesticity. The courtyard system provides a variable framework that integrates the fragmented elements as a whole and allows for the extension both horizontally and vertically.

courtyard

37m

he evolution of the courtyard system is a series of multi-directional courtyards instead of a single courtyard. By liberating the ground, the courtyards in Golden Lane are linked to form a continuous landscape and accommodate all kinds of services and activities such as sports ground, retail space, care services, community centre, etc. And the facilities are open to the public through the openness on the perimeter. The courtyards not only serve as a serviced living environment but also offer a threshold for the residents. Although open spaces occupy the majority, the sense of a courtyard that is introverted and intimate still exists. The quality of the courtyard is mainly defined by height differences. The notion of the courtyard system handles the complexity and promotes the interaction among different kinds of stuff and meanwhile, brings people of all ages together.

infill

42m

he idea of an infill is filling in the gaps making the urban area more relevant to the times. Buildings are made with a purpose and with the given conditions and requirements at the time of their inception, however, over the years these new projects come up changing the condition and the requirement of the area. With most of these cases, the most direct route is demolishing the place and replacing the existing buildings with new functions. Another effective route is infill architecture. It not only revamps the urban area but also provides a brand new building that can be moulded to the current trends and needs. Effectively, creating a new identity for the urban area whilst retaining its history. It transforms the area to accommodate new functions and the structure creates acts as a new trend.

height

he area of Vauxhall has buildings of various heights. The first scenario along the river has very tall buildings, followed by low rises. The abrupt change of building height defies continuity and isolates the area. The idea of the proposal is to add a transition to this urban fabric. The second scenario is around the oval stadium, which is populated with low to medium height buildings. The proposal here is to introduce a tall building that towers over the rest of the structures. This makes the building almost monument-like and helps to re-introduce Vauxhall.

infill filling ‘in’ the gaps Proposal This proposal is to create a new Vauxhall that integrates the space efficiently. The aim behind this proposal is to adopt the open block method and keep all structures on the outskirts, freeing up the centre area for all roads. Adding an infill to the centre of this open plan’s structure. This infill contains research institutes, educational facilities, and a sports complex. The site of the infill has a school, an office space, residential housing and open ground. The structure reacts differently according to each of its varying ground conditions. The first condition, the north facade being adjacent to the office area, the proposition winds itself such that it interlocks with the existing office building creating a common alley, allowing social interactions and availability of space for outdoor cafes for lunch breaks. The second condition is constituted by the residential area backyards, to the south of the site. The design smartly wraps landscape elements and staggered floor plate away from the block creating a respectable gap allowing privacy for the inhabitants. And the third condition is the football ground north of the infill. The structure handles this condition by creating an active ground that acts as a congregation point, allowing invitation into the structure through the north and the west for pass-byers and users. The middle portion of the building is imagined by keeping an emphasis on the function over form such that there are double and triple height spaces allowing sports activities to take place. The choice of material and planning also allows the formation of galleries throughout the building con-

necting it visually to the surroundings. The roof condition or the height is exaggerated such that it is the only towering structure in the area. The verticality also helps to create an identity in a predominantly low rise neighbourhood and reimagine the morphology of the urban fabric. This infill excels as a result of the combination of these 3 conditions; top, middle and bottom. Each aspect is looked at in isolation as well as in relation to each other, ultimately acting like one entity. The infill blends in such that it preserves the positives of the existing urban fabric while offering enough change morphologically to trigger an ‘active ground’. Vertical gym in Caracas, Venezuela by Urban Think Tank This case study is loacted in the country of the Global South where there’s a huge emphasis on the cost of the built form and the biggest problem to tackle are the lack of space, informal settlements, encroachment and political pressures. Urban Area The area in Venezuela is a very land lock area, situated in South America, it’s a developing nation. The area in which the proposition is located, is a landlocked, low rise, low income, urban area that lacks recreational spaces for the public. The idea was to target the youth of the area and erect a vertical gym that would offer sports facilities that lacked in the area. In this densely built fabric with a majority of 1-2 storey structures and no ground space, the only option was to construct vertically.

50m

Longitudinal section showing the infill project

Plan showing ‘infill’ project with the surrounding. Allowing the L shape for the project to fit in

Structure The building is flexible enough to fit within or atop existing structures like extant subterranean parking structures below it while still being a distinct mark on the urban fabric with polychrome and translucent panelling towering above the modest homes. The top of the building is suitable enough to withstand rains and harsh sun but also creates a dialogue with the other roof. The middle portion of the building is spread vertically that creates a morphological change whilst accommodating facilities within it. The facility can be assembled and erected in 3 months, making it a replicable, ideal model for other impoverished areas lacking the elevating sports and community programs.1 This makes this sort of a prototype and helps with the cost aspect of the structure. The building is a multi-layered sports facility that houses local businesses and offices as a bonus. The ground condition is the challenge in this case. It is all built over an already existing subterranean parking structure that was renovated in the process of making this building. But most importantly, the project responds to the dire lack of public athletic venues in the dense city of Caracas.2 Transformation When looking at the project with the context, the infill project creates a congregation point for the vicinity. The structure itself provides a distinct environment that can attract footfall. As for the function, the provision of sports facilities that were previously lacking in the area makes the built form relevant. Due to the introduction of this amenity, the community takes a leap in lifestyle. One of the facts that attests to this is the reduction of crime by nearly 30 percent. The placement of the structure and the introduction of this function in this infill project helps to transform the area, allowing it access the facilities that help make the area relevant. And also by creating a structure that sits so differently amongst other built forms in the area.

or kit of parts that can fit on a basketball court and maximise the potential of city space, especially in a dense urban fabric can be deployed in other parts of the world like Holland, Jordan, India and Brazil where sports has become a hot-topic issue. Cities in the Global South present today the greatest opportunities for change through design. Financial investment alone cannot eliminate problems. Design can often make the largest impact, but most significantly this initiative wants to change the consciousness of people. 3

Vertical Gym, UTT / perspective

Notes: Urban Think Tank’s vertical gym in Venezuela revitalizes region. designboom. 2013 Available at: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/urban-think-tanks-vertical-gym-in-venezuela-revitalizes-region/ [Accessed March 19, 2022]. 2 Vertical Gym in Venezuela by urban-think tank. Architizer. 2013 Available at: https://architizer.com/projects/vertical-gym-in-venezuela/ [Accessed March 19, 2022]. 3 Urban-Think Tank, 2004. Vertical Gymnasium. Urban matters. Available at: https://urban-matters.org/projects/vertical-gymnasium/ [Accessed March 19, 2022]. 1

Vertical Gym, UTT / section

Vision Following the success of the vertical gym in Caracas, the basic idea of prototyping and creating a building system

Section showing the infill project

field

What is a Field? It could be an open land area free of woods and buildings, or an area or division of an activity, subject, or profession. However, what does a ‘filed’ mean in Vauxhall, such a potential area? This proposition is a possible answer to this question. Before we can give a concrete answer to this question, we need to look at what is happening in this era.

Diagram of Tree/Rhizome system

How does the architectural space or urban space change when the mode of production or economic model changes? If Le Corbusier responded to the construction of cities of the industrial era with mechanism and functionalism, how can architectural space respond to the characteristics of our time nowadays, in this Internet era, in the information era? What are the possible responses to the land pressure in cities? Medicine, for example, is a traditional tree system, with layers of different fields subdivided. The emerging artificial intelligence field is a rhizome system, where branches are not clearly subordinate to each other but will converge at a certain point in their development. In the education field, changes are also taking place: firstly, universities and companies are becoming closer and closer to each other. Universities need funding and need to turn their theoretical knowledge into output, while companies need human resources and need theoretical research to support their production. Secondly, disciplines are crossing over more and more frequently and research in each discipline is no longer confined to its own field. At the same time, both schools and companies prefer to stay within the city because of the convenience it offers them and the many services it provides. But the increasing pressure on land in cities often limits their space. So, what can be done to meet these challenges and opportunities? This proposition is trying to create a new industry-academia campus for artificial intelligence and medicine field. Based on the rhizome characteristics of the AI industry and the pressure on sites in central urban areas, this proposition will be based on Deleuze’s rhizome theory. At the same time, the university, as an educational institution, is not private but has its own privileged nature compared to other public buildings. So this proposition will also try to explore the potentiality of a campus to serve for an urban area instead of existing as a ‘publicly owned private space’. In Vauxhall, the South Western Railway divides the area into two parts, with high density skyscrapers on one side near the Thames bank and low density council houses on the other side. As a result, a strong contrast emerges here. At the same time, there are several green lands to the north and south of the site, which are separated by the buildings that now exist on the site. In such a context, in Vauxhall, a field can act as a means of reinforcing the connectivity of the various parts of the city, as well as a means of integrating the fragmented parts of the city, and as a place of activity for the citizens. We will divide this filed for the moment into two parts, north and south. First of all, the proposition is positioned as an industrial-academic campus. So in addition to educational and office space, there will also be residential and retail space. On the southern side of the site, there will be residential and retail space, and on the northern side of the site, there will be educational and office space. On the southern side of the site, the retail space is located on the ground floor as it is closer to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and Vauxhall Underground Station. The arrangement of the retail space is a reference to the decentralization idea of SANAA’s 21st Century Museum of Art in Kanazawa. Deleuze believes that any point in a ‘tree system’ can and must be connected to another point. In the rhizome, however, there is no restriction of hierarchical order, so that different points can relate to each other at will, constantly creating new connections. The ‘rhizome’ is very different from the ‘tree’, which is based on a single point and fixed in order. Whereas the tree type has a genealogical or centrist connotation, the rhizome type removes the centre.

21st Century Museum of Art, SANAA / Plan

from the outside, but rather a spontaneous generativity. Taking the example of the 21st Century Museum of Art, Kanazawa designed by SANAA, this project is a homogeneous ellipse with several cubes of different sizes staggered in it. The purpose of the elliptical design is, above all, to break down the traditional distinction between primary and secondary facades, and the building thus opens up to the public, making the museum equally accessible to all directions of the city. The architectural elements are simplified to homogeneous rooms and corridors. With the exception of special spaces such as inventory and equipment rooms, which are located on the ground floor, the various functional spaces such as exhibition, creation, multimedia, management and research are arranged on the ground floor in the same way. The ‘rooms’ and ‘passages’ do not differ in nature due to their function or location. The openness of the rooms on the ground floor is almost identical, and the arbitrary connections between the rooms are realised through the grid-like ‘passageways’, which are connected in all directions, while there is no spatial distinction between the rooms with different functions, no difference in image between inside and outside, positive and negative. Even their length and width do not indicate their function, but are subject to a regular set of modules. A number of small, fragmented buildings formthe retail space on the ground floor. In this way, the openness of the ground floor space is greatly increased and the various entrances and exits are not prioritised. This situation is such that quality and well-serviced shops will attract more shoppers than if the better-located shops had more footfall. In other words, the connections between each ‘room’ are created entirely arbitrarily in response to the movement of people, thus achieving a homogeneous and decentralised space in which people have a greater degree of freedom and a variety of activities to experience in the building. At the same time, the archway under the railway is opened up to increase the connectivity between the two sides of the railway. In this case, the retail space on the ground floor here is like an extension of the archway space under the railway. It will become a place where people from both sides of the site converge and drive people to explore the world on the other side.

The decentralisation of space does not mean complete disorder, but more of a deconstruction of order, although this order is not imposed

The area to the north of the site is planned as a teaching and research space for UCL as well as office space for Google Deepmind. Artificial intelligence is an emerging industry. It is difficult to predict exactly how far each branch will go. At the same time, medicine is a discipline

that requires a lot of experimentation to verify results, so it is particularly important that theory and practice, or companies and schools, work together. Here, the flexibility of space or future-proofing is a key consideration. This echoes the ‘smooth’ space or dynamic generation of space mentioned above, where the left side of the building, near the railway, is the office space for the company. On the other side is the school’s teaching space. Between these two volumes is a narrow multi-purpose space with meeting rooms, laboratories, study rooms etc. Their ownership and use are not fixed, allowing for a change of the function at different times and for different people to use. And on the ground floor of the building are spaces that can be opened to the public, such as a basketball court and swimming pool, as well as large meeting rooms and exhibition halls. In this way, the building is not only a combination of industry and academia but also a place for activities open to the public. This is very similar to Deleuze’s opinion in the Thousand Plateaus.

Axonometric Section of Rhizomatic Campus

Deleuze offers a mutually generative schema of heterogeneous things and a pluralistic collage model with post-structuralist implications, which is mainly elaborated through a discourse on rhizome system and tree system. OMA’s project CONGREXPO, which means CONGRess and EXPOsition, can explain such a collage model. The building, from left to right, is a 5,000-seat theatre, three conference halls, and a huge undivided exhibition space. These three heterogeneous spaces are thus directly collaged together. In 1996 Mazda dealers held a new car launch at CONGREXPO. At the beginning the iron doors between theatre and conference hall were closed. After the presentation, the iron doors on the theatre side opened and a newest Mazda car drove into the theatre, the traders left their seats and went up to have a closer look at the new cars. When everyone was walking around the car, the iron doors on the exhibition space side opened and 5,000 new Mazda cars were parked in the exhibition space, the traders each received a new car and drove out of the CONGREXPO, the whole time taking only 30 minutes. Such a different, multi-dimensional experience of the space was undoubtedly unprecedented.

Congrexpo, OMA / Diagramming the section and plan

field

rehabilitation

The normal approach to rehabilitation is to give a space with care facilities, however, the positive attitude towards the improvements of the rehabilitation environment is starting from mental health. Firstly, we should shift our prejudices about the disadvantaged groups and the second is to create an environment conducive to recovery by enhancing interaction between people of different ages. What will be the domesticity like in terms of rehabilitation? Intergenerational living offers an idea: it brings people in need of care together and learns from each other, not only redefining domesticity, but also enhancing the cohesion of the neighborhood and the diversity of housing. The key of the answer is the balance between living together whilst servicing the need for privacy and identity, which forces us to clarify the individual and shared space.

Suburban Villa, Dogma / First floor plan

Different from the traditional domestic space where the living room is the primary space for communication, in intergenerational living the numbers for such communication becomes bigger. Part of the home will be extracted and turned into larger shared space. At the same time, the functions that the space can accommodate are determined by the hierarchy of the public character of the space, threshold plays an important role. Two theoretical models are selected here as spatial prototypes for the study. Production and Reproduction / Communal Villa The project develops a realist-housing model for artists who have chosen to live and work together. Their characters of work and lives are more fluid and unstable, free from the hectic pace of the city. Despite the perceived irreconcilability of the working space and domesticity, the project puts forward a space that is generic to challenge the stereotypical vision of domesticity and sort of cohabitation. Each villa comprises individual spaces (cells) and collective spaces (studios, workshops, kitchens, sauna, sound studio, kindergarten, etc.). This organization aims at maximizing collective space and minimizing individual space, so that the latter can become a true space of refuge, while at the same time encouraging tenants to dwell in the collective space. The villa is emphasized by the abstraction of its architecture. Usually, style, decoration, character, and representation have always made domesticity the space of the individuation of the subject (male, female, father, mother, son, etc.) By de-orienting and de-stylising the building, the architecture attempts to blur the identity of each member of the community, achieving equality and respect for each member. A standard grid is used to ensure that they have equal access to shared facilities and public spaces.

Suburban Villa, Dogma / First floor plan diagram

Urban Villa, Dogma / First floor plan

‘As we have seen, the perversion of asceticism is not simply its translation as ‘austerity’ but also its branding as image, which in times of austerity has become not only fashionable but also ideological. And yet it is precisely because economic austerity is a subjective economy, aiming to manipulate the subject´s moral and ethical sphere, that asceticism offers also the possibility to emancipate subjectivity from such manipulation’. (Less Is Enough: On Architecture and Aceticism. 2015 – Pier Vittorio Aureli.) ‘The anonymity of residential spaces is the first step towards achieving human equality and facilitating interaction. For care receivers, the de-personalization of the space gives equal respect to diverse groups. Meanwhile, the model of multi-generational co-living gives us some spatial implications for intergenerational living – maximizing collective space while guaranteeing individual space. And the way to facilitate ‘productive activities’ for different groups in learning or living together’. (DOGMA + Realism Working Group. Communal villa: production and reproduction in artists’ housing. Leipzig: Spector Books, 2015.)

Urban Villa, Dogma / First floor plan diagram

Domesticity-Intergenerational living Taking the relationship between the self and the collaboration as a starting point to think about - what is intergenerational living, contributes to our further understanding of domesticity. Once we understand that the self is fundamental to life, the structure of family life can be extrapolated to a wider social group. More family structures are also created to alleviate today’s housing problems (e.g. intergenerational living can respond to an aging population). This is not only spatially typologically significant, but also sociologically and anthropologically relevant to human beings. Suburban Villa, Dogma / Common space

the students to live with the lower rents. We need better marketing of the benefits for younger and older people living in one shelter. In this type, half space is for students and half for elderly. The dining room dominants the entire unit.

3.Co-living The collective housing is suitable for group living for a wider range of people. The main focus is on rehabilitation, with a central area where care supervision and collective communication spaces can be set up. Each unit has equal orientation and spatial attributes. 4.Recovery hotel with variable room for specific demands Based on the idea of Stille Strasse. It offers a flexible part besides the individual space that serves for potential personal demands, which short-term recovery. It allows for shared living between family members and rehabilitation patients, shared space between two members, or opens up the space to the community. It offers sharing of space between a family member and a rehabilitation patient, or between two members of the family, or opening up the space to the community. It offers the residents an opportunity to define its own rehabilitation environment and neighbourhood activities.

Stille Strasse, Assemble architects / Typical floor

Images: 1.https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-69962018000100044&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en 2.https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-69962018000100044&scri pt=sci_arttext&tlng=en 3.https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-69962018000100044&scri pt=sci_arttext&tlng=en 4. https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects/stille-strasse

Stille Strasse, Assemble architects / Typical floor

The study of dwelling patterns reflects the formation of families and the way domesticity is organized. From the practice of collective housing, under similar form, we can see a variety of spatial typologies to achieve different degrees of domesticity between the self and the collaboration. Intergenerational living enables self-knowledge and self-progress through the positioning of self-identity in different age groups. As a mode of satisfying and facilitating human needs, the study of spatial typologies of intergenerational living helps us to expand the broader meaning of domesticity whilst improving the rehabilitation environment. Infrastructure with domesticity / Stille Strasse Stille Strasse is trying to build an infrastructure of getting to know each other into the block. The moment of moving in is a gradual and very important creative process. ‘It sounds like designing an infrastructure intended for the unexpected, for surprise... ‘ The housing is a cooperative of sorts that builds the frame. Within it two substructures alternate: ‘house’ and ‘garage’ units, the house is the space to buy and the ‘garage‘ can be understand as a infrastructure—a slack space that allows dwellings to grow, contract and become collective. It’s a range in-between. The ‘house’ is about the domesticity and ‘garage’ is for the community. They happen just side by side. Within the alternative approach to apartment block management, it offers infrastructure for collective and self-determining life in the city. The model offers a flexible structure. The relationship between housing and infrastructure that takes place in society can be integrated within the building, which recognises the private part of individual living and allows it to develop dynamically, as a metaphor for service integrated housing. On the basis of these two models, the project envisages a variety of living patterns to respond to different needs, from a point of view of the care environment and intergenerational living.

Further explorations of the residential floor plan:

Multi-generational household

Shared Units

Co-living

1. Multi-generational household The type brings the big family back to shared life under one shelter. Each member enjoys their own space while being adjacent to the elderly or children, and the dining room can be a multi-purposed space for family events. 2. Shared Units There have been examples that old people have the spare room for

Recovery hotel with varible room for specific demands

rehabilitation

ground

Today’s architects and urban planners are aware of the importance of continuity on the ground. Urban space manifests itself first and foremost in the street, where most public activities takes place. Secondly, in a ‘good urban neighbourhood’ the ground floor of a building works together with the surrounding pavements and streets.

to be a mega block, the continuous pathways through the block open up the internal activity space to the public. Its connection to the street is realized through the openness in perimeter of the block, which builds a direct relationship with the wider neighborhood in the form of the extended squares from streets, ground floor elevations and unfenced entrances. Within the site, it achieves the continuous walking experience and transparency of sight through the ground floor elevation, steps, landscape, and the transparency of the central block facade, the swimming pool. The continuous ground accommodates all the facilities such as retail, service facilities, sports, etc and groups them together through the extended landscape. Although the open space occupies the majority, the sense of courtyard that is introverted and intimate still exists. The quality of the open ground is defined by different level’s heights.

How does the entry of a building accomplish the transition from the public to the private field? Normally, architects deliberate the ground floor of the building to answer the question, while the advantage of courtyard system is that it offers an extended threshold to organize complexities around multiplied landscape. The threshold here can be defined by a variety of stuffs, not just in a form of courtyard. In a traditional housing pattern, the courtyard has acted as a multi-purpose place for landscape, gathering and social interaction. The void in the block simultaneously ensures the lighting, ventilation and the need to contain the nature in the city. With the increasing density of central cities, the emphasis on the ‘void’ in the city has reignited our interest in exploring courtyard morphology. The void is a catalyst for the interaction in a neighborhood. The undefined space offers the threshold to accommodate the temporary interaction, big events and daily intimacy of neighbors. It replaces the role of the street but provides an inner space.

Perspective view of the thickened ground

The open block form shows clear advantages in working together at ground level, by opening up the traditional enclosed block and allowing the internal space to become an extension of the urban street, while maintaining the continuity of the streets and blocks’ urban form. Together they provide a continuous network of paths and experiences that are active, safe, comfortable and linked to each new alternative movement pattern. Thickened Ground of Golden Lane In the Golden Lane project, we can learn from the trajectory where there is an aspiration to liberate the ground and make it active. The ground is liberated by using the height differences of the existing site to create a series of continuous and open surfaces through intervention. The differences in elevation define different types of activity spaces, linking several courtyards into a joint landscape. The free circulation on the ground level can be attributed to its multi-directional character. Although the dimension of the golden lane’s block seems

Perspective view of the thickened ground

Rehab section

The proposition of Rehab The project argues that the ground is not a flat surface but should be regarded as a system. It’s a multi-layered structure with a thickness to integrate various activities and promote the engagements between people of all ages. Under the framework of an open block, it allows the ground of the building to be connected to the urban area. It is important to deliberate the quality of each space and its relationship to each other, in the sense of the boundaries of the courtyard itself and the continuity between the different courtyards in the site.

Golden Lane, Alison and Peter Smithson / Section

From the Golden Lane we can learn how to integrate different parts of the ground through changes in height. Here, the ground is regarded as a continuous system, with the sunken ground linking the main educational landscape. From the intergenerational courtyard hosted by the central courtyard to the open square on the east side, surrounded by the exhibition, lecture theatre and medical centre, a series of continuous experiences and exchanges between different people are shaped. The ground becomes a public realm through the openness of the perimeter block, which permeates from the inside out. The continuous podium gathers the care facilities together to have a social exchange. The sense of courtyard is also defined by the podium, acting as a transition from public to domesticity. Some space on the podium is left empty to provide opportunities for temporary activities. The notion of thickened ground creates a rich interface rather than each independent courtyard. By multiplying and reorienting the units, fragmented elements are structured around those semi open courtyards. The thickened ground provides a variable framework that allows for the extension both horizontally and vertically. It constitutes a methodology rather than a fixed block plan, relying on a tactical manipulation of dense built form, made future-proof through the porosity of voids. References: 1. https://www.sandysdrawingroom.com/tag/golden-lane/

Golden Lane, Alison and Peter Smithson / GF plan diagram

ground

Vauxhall

auxhall today is at an interesting point in time with significant changes happening at its doorstep, with ‘big guns’ like Apple coming in, with ambitious but rather self-centred developments growing just across the railway line; at the same moment, Vauxhall still has so much heritage left from the past both in terms of architecture, urban fabric and institutions, and its own character that had been forming for a long time now. The borough has a rather unique offer of small, but loved and successful cultural institutions, places like the Vauxhall city farm with donkeys and hens looking almost surreal with the patch of skyscrapers in the background; it has attractive parks and green squares, all kinds of buildings from terrace houses to large unwelcoming estates and to office high-rise. We should then now find a way to both keep up with the pressures of the new things happening around Vauxhall as well as to cherish all these qualities that make it distinctive from the rest of London.

Vauxhall

136m

ree from the rigid grids of the city centre fabric, Vauxhall provides an opportunity to rethink and experiment with new forms of housing and neighbourhoods. We need to re-evaluate the existing built in terms of what kind of value it brings to the neighbourhood. In order to unlock the potential of fragmented areas like Vauxhall, which are disrupted by mobility infrastructure like the overhead rail line, we must start looking at integration strategies and opportunities both in terms of the built and unbuilt. The scattered pieces of parks and landscape (located on the south and north of the plan) along the edge of the overhead line emerge as key elements that can be thought of as starting points for introducing drivers of change, that look to repair the fabric and generate value to the existing urban life of the area.

change

ne can be distrustful and frightened of change, especially when it comes to the transformation of the cities we know and love; the neighbourhoods where we build our homes, raise kids, and spend our leisure time. However, change is necessary to find a new character for our cities, help them to acquire new identity through rediscovered vocation. And this is good for us as the citizens because in the end of the day change allows us to rediscover our own potential through new hobbies and occupations; become more productive as we get chance to live and work in new kinds of environments designed to successfully combine the two; get more sociable and extend the circle of friends we are used to by going to new libraries, culture centres, sport clubs, market squares, etc. In the case of Vauxhall, why don’t we take the health and care agenda as the main starting point for requalifying the area’s role and imagine a changed urban block which is built around revised types of care environments? The one that would cater for various levels of care needs, give patients access to a wide set of civic services and improve the environment for the caregivers as much as the care receivers.

change

130m

he ‘scattered’ city of London is a laboratory of architectural and urban experiments, of different conditions. Vauxhall, one of its boroughs, is a fascinating collage of pieces left from the industrial past of the area, parts stuck in the post-war estates and typical London vernacular era. But there are other pieces as well, changing at a high speed, boosted by transport links to the city centre that have improved over the years, new stakeholders coming in and bringing capital. The change that is going on is yet as diverse as the area itself – elements of it happening disregarding each other or without any unifying goal in the background. Our aim as architects is to preserve the distinctive nature of Vauxhall as it stands, but find ways to incorporate new change strategies. They should bring around the table a diversity of actors that didn’t work there together before as well as the local citizens that know Vauxhall better than anyone else.

change

65m

hange has always been a constant in the urban environment of the city, the term can be associated with change in the built environment, demographics of an area, land values etc. The city centre is based on a rigid grid which is not always effective in accommodating this change. However, areas like Vauxhall which are relatively free from the rigid grid, provide an opportunity to rethink and experiment with new forms of housing and neighbourhoods. We need to re-evaluate the existing buildings in terms of what value they bring to the neighbourhood. In order to unlock the potential of fragmented areas like Vauxhall, which are disrupted by mobility infrastructure like the overhead rail line, we must start looking at integration strategies and opportunities both in terms of the built and unbuilt. For example, the scattered pieces of parks and landscape (located on the south and north of the plan) along the edge of the overhead line emerge as key elements that can be thought of as starting points for introducing drivers of change, that look to repair the fabric and generate value to the existing urban life of the area.

park

70m

he term ‘park’ is generally associated with peace and tranquillity, where it provides the city a large space for ‘escape’ and activity. However, such huge landscapes are impossible to create in some parts of the city. We must redefine the term to create a strategy in order to introduce new forms of activity and landscape in existing neighbourhoods. The area between ‘pleasure gardens’ (south) and ‘Pedlars park’ (north) provides a unique opportunity to rethink the edge of Vauxhall which is divided by the overhead rail line as an urban park that challenges the traditional ideologies and examples. The plan above depicts a new vision where the central area is transformed into a space for sports and activity, supplemented with spaces for leisure and retail like cafes, restaurants, supermarkets etc. The new urban park transitions from the ground to higher podiums (the level difference is depicted by shadows) creating a new topography that brings vibrancy and access to an active lifestyle to the area of Vauxhall. Furthermore, the urban park also creates new forms of pedestrian mobility and shared amenity spaces between the previously segregated areas of the high rises and the existing mid rises. At a more local scale we start to think about planning neighbourhoods around this park in order to create environments of health and wellbeing for the residents of Vauxhall.

park

145m

ne of the interesting characteristics of the Vauxhall area is related to the way its landscape resources are organised. Strictly speaking, the fabric is rather broken and lacks one clear organisational logic, but one can start to see regularities which have a potential for transformation within it. The green areas of Vauxhall are constituted with a series of small plazas, courtyards and spaces with undefined borders formed within blocks. The very idea of a park in the context of Vauxhall would therefore be different from conventional green spaces that are found in other parts of London, from the extensive Hyde park or classical squares of Bloomsbury. The new Vauxhall Park would unite the already existing landscape elements into a coherent green system that consists of green pieces of all possible sizes and shapes, all offering different qualities and serving for different needs: from contained quite courtyards for reading a book or having a family picnic to large playgrounds and sports fields.

park

hen the word ‘park’ is mentioned, usually impression is of a large public landscape and the vibrant picture of rest and play, or some unexpected encounters, making it become an attractive place for various people, especially the elderly and children. The project is about achieving this vision in a housing community and redefining the presentation of a park in Vauxhall. Here, each building represents a lifestyle, and the flexible organization of housing and other services creates a park-like space. Residents walk out of their homes, and what they see is no longer a narrow corridor or cookie-cutter elevator hall. They will meet and experience some interesting people and things while wandering in the building or just in the moment of opening the door, making the space in the building other than housing work like a ‘space communicator’, when encounter becomes the theme of life. Furthermore, the ground floor with almost no walls, the elements of the park such as landscape, small paths and playgrounds are integrated together to form a huge event ground, allowing the park-like ground to be both part of the housing community, and part of the city.

park

andscape is a powerful element in an architectural project and the logic of its organisation is crucial for establishing links at different scales, ‘activating’ the buildings at the ground level and regulating how permeable the piece of the city fabric is. It is also important when one has to negotiate between different kinds of services, levels of openness and density required within one urban block. A park located in the heart of such block can become a structuring element that on the one hand gives a sense of containment for the whole cluster and on the other hand works hard to protect the environment within it. Such park simultaneously holds quiet areas with high levels of privacy, more open places that are linked to the collective life of the rest of the block, provides for the service needs and extends the green offer for the wider area. It is thus not a single-purpose traditional green space but rather an important tool of regulating the relationships between the buildings and organising an urban area.

park

he illustration above depicts a moment where the area of Vauxhall is being seen through the window of the overground train. It presents a new vision for the identity of Vauxhall as an urban area, with the sports landscape is at the center driving this change of creating an environment of youth and vibrancy. Providing new forms of neighborhoods centered around providing a better lifestyle, moving away from the rigid grids of the central city. Such new visions can create small active landscapes scattered around South London which were formerly industrial and were subject to the rapid expansion of the city. Where the central urban fabric is composed of parks that reclaim nature in the city, the inner peripheries propose new landscapes that organize and restructure urban identities, as drivers of change.

home

oday we want our cities to be more and more productive, to give us a platform for sharing resources, for being with others but also for embracing our privacy. Our homes in mass have long ceased to serve only as places to come and sleep after work. At home we work, create, organise events, have business meetings, cook, raise kids, socialise and stay alone with ourselves. We are also rethinking the idea of the family, extending it over wider networks of affective ties. In this mindset, the home becomes a platform to experiment with new kinds of lifestyles, look for innovative ways to live collectively, share responsibilities as well as time of leisure and work. Design of a home that makes quality life internally is then to become a starting point to reconceive the way systems of relations are constructed and function at the scale of a city.

border

he idea of a border can be read very differently, and often the word has a negative shade when used to talk about cities and buildings – something that limits opportunities for continuity on the ground and inside, breaks sequences. However, a border can be reconceived in a sense of a tool that gives rise to more layered and complex conditions; as something that can work as a buffer, the level of transparency of which can be regulated from case to case. It relates both to walls and other architectural elements like ground and landscape parts that also work as borders but deepened ones. In this translation, elevations can become more than just a boundary between inside and outside but rather structuring devices dealing with the exterior and interior conditions, negotiating and linking between the two.

border

46m

he term ‘border’ for Vauxhall refers to a way of a dialogue between the building and the city. Generally speaking, the border of a building is used to be defined by the outer walls. However, this blunt way of dividing the building and the city makes the building too enclosed and also makes it difficult for people inside the building to have direct communication with the outside world. As a kind of research, the project attempts to establish a new way of defining the border in Vauxhall by organizing various functional spaces including housing, traffic circulations and other services in a certain order on the plane and then connecting them through courtyards, atriums and corridors to form a large horizontal podium. Morphologically, the most important part of this arrangement are the corridors that go through the plan, which form the border of the building. The border not only expands the size of the plan but also creates a loop path on the plane. On the one hand, it gets rid of the monotony of the typical housing typology connecting the housing units on both sides through long and narrow corridors in the interior of the building, and on the other hand, is the way of extending the periphery of the building, presenting an open attitude at the border of the building.

border

The urban park creates new borders between the built and unbuilt, each building plays an important role in how it responds towards integrating with the landscape. Learning from examples of urban parks like ‘Park am Gleisdreieck’ we start to look at the different pieces of infrastructure and the role they play in the built environment. For example, the railway line that earlier was just a visual barrier and potential border to the site is reimagined and framed as a sculpture moving through the new landscape. The same can be imagined in the case of a passenger in the train moving through the border, observing the vibrant landscape through a window. At a broader scale, the site of Vauxhall located between ‘Pleasure gardens’ and ‘Pedlars Park’ acts as a border created by the railway overhead line between the high-rises to the west and the mid-rise arrangements of Vauxhall to the east. The addition of a new urban park is an attempt to blur this border in terms of providing new amenities and shared spaces to the area, which draw towards itself footfall from office buildings and the residential fabric into the vibrant and active environment. The central sports area of the park begins to structure the rest of the environment. Enabling opportunities for different services and utilities to take part in the landscape and forming amenities for the larger urban area. The buildings around the park can start including functions that bring value to the experience of being in the active landscape like cycle parkings, hydration areas, co-working spaces etc. Furthermore, the introduction of ‘higher grounds’ and podiums creates moments and spaces in the landscape for people to view the active and vibrant identity of the area. These higher grounds are supplemented by non-residential functions of restaurants, pubs etc. providing the option for the users to engage with the landscape with a visual connect. The disrupted built fabric is thus brought together by the use of different overlapping layers and programs, that blur the borders between inside and outside. This enables different and interesting forms and types of built to engage and in their turn become a part of the larger neighborhood/ park. The plan in the center shows an analysis of the different interfaces that get created between the built environment, where the borders of the buildings begin to augment both the functions and the experience of the neighborhood. Generating spaces for spontaneous interactions and community living. The different built forms cater to different types of functional requirements. Two distinct building organizations can be seen in the plan which are: large floors with multipurpose functions of sports facilities, leisure spaces and residential units which are placed in the park and tightly knit social housing blocks that bring more community spaces to the edge of the park.

Analysis of the interfaces developing between the built environment

The built fabric has to play a much more importnat and open role in order to activate the interfaces created in between. Blurring the border between what is part of the building and what is part of the landscape, we see new forms develop that encourage the notion of community by providing shared spaces between and inside the fabric. The two dominant types of forms that emerge are: a) Complex Organizations: In order to accommodate the requirement of indoor sports facilities and services, the need emerges for larger floorplates. These buildings attribute a strong character to the urban fabric and cannot just exist as powerful elements that impart a function on the ground. Instead, they must merge with the landscape and become a part of the park itself. The introduction of podiums or higher grounds in these large forms provide the opportunity for users to view the park from a different perspective. Where the idea of observing the active and vibrant landscape is given importance to along with being a part of the landscape. The plans show the different floorplate organizations of Michael Maltzan’s ‘Star Apartments’ in Los Angeles. Where the building is comprised of different layers of housing along with public and private functions. The podium floor of the building introduces a new ground into the structure that facilitates new activities and environments. Questioning the idea of the border between buildings and the outside.

b) Community Living: The closely knit fabric outside the park edge develops better social housing and communal living environments. There the ground is shared by various spaces like community kitchens, social spaces and activity areas i.e. The ground serves as an important feature as an extension of the park. Reinterpreting the existing buildings of Vauxhall, we can look to introduce forms of housing that create new mobility and spontaneity to the design. The image on the right highlights a similar built environment achieved in the Apartments on Ave. Maréchal Fayolle by SANAA, located in Paris. The housing volumes weave past each other creating a fluid central space, where the curved facade provides different orientations, for light and ventilation. By negotiating with the building envelope and staggering the floor heights between adjacent buildings, this organizational logic responds to maintaining privacy in the units and bringing in natural light as well and in turn generating better neighborhood and community values.

Images: 1. www.archdaily.com 2.www.archdaily.com 3.www.archdaily.com 4. https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects/stille-strasse

Park am Gleisdreieck, Berlin / Integration of mobility infrastructure into the landscape

Star Apartments, Los Angeles / housing units organisation diagram

Star Apartments, Los Angeles / community areas and activity spaces on the podium floor Star Apartments, Los Angeles / Michael Maltzan

Maréchal Fayolle Apartments, Paris / Community living

Star Apartments, Los Angeles / ground floor, parking and commerce

border

care

We can think about the widest range of things when one says the word ‘care’. From the way we relate to each other in a family to medical organisations that pursue care from the professional point of view. What it always implies is a high level of attention, concern for someone, protection of their health, wellbeing and interests. The question is what is the role that architecture plays in establishing systems of care, whether at a scale of an individual household or of a care institution. How can we design environments that help us at different stages of our lives, that on the one hand escape the institutional feeling of a serialised medical facility and on the other hand retain privacy and spatial variatio. Let’s see how the professional care environments are organised, how our attitude towards them shifts and to which kinds of partnerships it gives rise to. And what are the architectural implications of all these changes. If we look at contemporary care facilities [Home for Dependant Elderly people by Dominique Coulon, Andritz residential care home by Dietger Wissounig, Padre Rubinos by Elsa Urquijo Arquitectos], we can learn from each of them in terms of their organisation, logistics and the way they handle question of materiality. However, one important thing is that all of them are located either in rural environments, or away from the main part of the city, or simply are put in a generous landscape. It makes sense because traditionally we think about care environments as those which need a high level of privacy and shall be isolated from the noise and activity of the city. Moreover, they offer a rather limited range of opportunities for the everyday life of the patients apart from the basis of medical care, health provision and rather generic collective settings. But this is changing. It is not that the healthcare milieus don’t need privacy and quietness anymore. Naturally, they do, especially those parts of it occupied by people with challenging conditions. Nevertheless, the change has deeper roots and occurs in the more general trends: growing request for services accessibility and changing attitude towards domesticity. Firstly, the average lifespan is increasing and the point at which people require constant assistance is moving further in their lives. Additionally, those who start looking for care or temporary medical assistance prefer not to downsize their domestic settings. They either prefer to incorporate the care receiving process into their households, or in the case of moving to a care facility, they are looking for richly serviced domestic settings with a wide offer of everyday life choices. Secondly, while medical institutions and the doctors themselves become more and more narrowly trained and specialised, staff at the care homes that are detached from the medical facilities, have to look after patients with all kinds of conditions. It raises a concern for the health and care providers as their workers have to be much more well-trained and broadly educated than ever before to keep up with these requests and changes. They start to understand the need to not only attract care professionals but also to attain them. Standard organisation of a care environment is built around the importance of the patients and their needs. But if the actors standing behind the care facilities concentrated on the question of attaining staff, then they would like to think about provision of opportunities for advancement, diversification of career opportunities, improvement of the everyday life conditions and leisure provision for their employees. Another shift that should be taken into account is the change in the way we want to see our domestic environments. The wish to develop tighter relations with your own home but to be a part of a larger urban whole with all the opportunities for self-development, production, services it has to offer, is central; as well as emergence of new approaches towards realms of our lives we are willing to open to others. Influenced by the world pandemic as well as changes in the work culture that had been occurring before, blurred idea of family as a tight circle of only the closest people, we tend to be much more willing to share what used to be hidden behind a closed door, such as working, cooking, eating, bringing up children, meditating, exploring new hobbies, etc. Considering all these shifts and trends, why don’t we speculate about a potential urban setting whose scope would allow us to provide multiple kinds of care spanning from domestic households where care is proliferated by family members, friends, neighbours or incoming workers, up to an institutional care facility offering permanent services of medical staff.

Cluster offering an architectural and morphological framework for various levels of care and new forms of collective housing, working with campus organisation

We can imagine that a biomedical research facility, learning spaces, and cultural centres could come together with the new versions of care settings. It would mean that the medical care staff would receive a chance to get education or conduct research in close proximity to their future or current place of work. They could gain hands-on professional experience while still receiving undergraduate education and then continue building their career as employees at the same care facility. It would also shorten the chain of elements that have to come together for the science workers to receive information and field data from the doctors and care workers. Moreover, it would mean creating a richer and more diversely serviced civic setting for the care receivers and for the local citizens, as well as opening up for connections to a wider urban whole. All of these programmatic intersections should be supported by new types of housing that could become part of the network between care, research, knowledge and culture and extend its qualities beyond simply an urban block. The approach that could be put forward is the one working with the

Diagrams exploring the potential of the interlocking typology for organisation of assisted living environments. In the project interlocking typology is used to densify and extend vertically the residential care offer in the heart of the block

Home for Dependent Elderly People and Nursing Home / Dominique Coulon & associés

Peter Rosegger care home / Dietger and Wissounig Architekten

Sectional exploration of the cluster ground and its relation to the event spaces on the ground floor

campus organisation, which traditionally is associated with universities and knowledge environments. We could learn from campuses in order to create a framework that can successfully cater for a new vision of a care cluster. The campus is free from dependance on the street system only incorporating micro mobility and service systems into the block. It ensures more freedom in the way the ground and landscape can be organised. The aim is for each building to become more than a piece inside a bigger piece of a city, but an ingredient that comes in with its own specialism and a rich set of qualities and thus contributes to the set. The role of landscape in such a setting becomes very important as it is a mediator between the service provision, civic needs of the cluster and wider connections with the city. In the specific project that is put forward within this conversation, the landscape also allows to transition smoothly across different levels of care provision. From a contained assisted living in the block centre surrounded by a park, to a nursing home on the edge of the block and housing with incorporated systems of care. This accent on the landscape is also not accidental in the sense that the idea of green spaces is today obviously tightly connected to the proliferation of health and wellbeing. From the architectural point of view, the cluster learns from the contemporary care facilities implementing their useful qualities in a new setting. For example, it incorporates different versions of collective living linked to systems of care in a linear block; explores the potential of the ‘interlocking’ buildings that redefine circulation spaces and offer a wider range of shared facilities as well as better dwellings qualities; learns from the ability of an L-shaped care unit to handle opposing needs like search for privacy and wish to be linked to the wider system and have access to a quality landscape.

Exploration of ground as structuring device / mediating between different levels of containement and facilitating variety of events

Images: 1. https://www.archdaily.com/794834/home-for-dependent-elderly-people-and-nursing-home-dominique-coulon-and-associes 2. https://www.archdaily.com/565058/peter-rosegger-nursing-home-dietger-wissounig-architekten

care

change

The term ‘change’, in its essence, is the replacement of one thing with another. But how to call it a change, can have a number of answers, so there might be no specific standard definition for it. In Vauxhall, we intend to define change as an upgrade of a housing typology. When it comes to housing, one always thinks of almost the same living suites on either side of a long and narrow corridor. The monotonous typical housing typology makes people gradually tired of this stereotyped way of life. How to change this condition is the problem and challenges faced by Vauxhall. Learning from libraries For a long time, libraries were mainly regarded as repositories for books and periodicals. Due to the complexity of the functions, most libraries look like large volumes in a city. The House of Wisdom Library, designed by Foster+Partners conceptualizes the library as a social hub for learning, supported by innovation and technology.

The transformed diagram of housing and other services, option A

The building genre of the library offers a way to set an atrium in the heart of the building, on the one hand, it can somehow solve the lighting problem caused by the deep floor plate, and on the other hand, it makes the housing and other services inside the building to be organized around the atrium. And the diagram of the library can be simplified as there is an atrium-like space in the heart of a building, and

The transformed diagram B of housing and other services, option B

House of Wisdom Library and Cultural Center

four squares of vertical circulation boxes are arranged around it averagely. The four squares are not directly connected with the atrium but are organized through a loop horizontal corridor. In addition, there is also a loop horizontal corridor around the periphery of the building, which is enlarged somewhere to form a terrace with the indoor space. These characteristics provide a research basis for new housing typologies that become feasible for exploring transitions between different building genres. As the above cases have already given us an example of how to transform library buildings into a new building typology with housing and other services. Similar to libraries, the following two cases, hospitals and schools, have also conducted the same translational research. According to the diagram of the library, where they are transformed into two different housing models with housing and other services in one building. One is to retain most of the original framework and replace one side of the periphery with a collective living type, a long corridor connecting the two sides of living units, and two vertical circulation boxes to form a housing cluster. However, one end of the corridor is enlarged into a terrace, which is linked with the corridor around the perimeter of the building to maintain the horizontal circulation of the loop.

The atrium in the House of Wisdom Library and Cultural Center

House of Wisdom Library and Cultural Center plan diagram

The other is to see the four vertical circulation boxes and the atrium in the heart of the plan as a diagram of the framework, the space between the vertical circulation and the atrium, following their form, transforms into four squares, each of which are either living suites or other services. Finally, these 9 squares of similar size but with different functional properties are all connected by a horizontal circulation to obtain a completely open space floor plan. Different from the first transformed diagram, the living space in this diagram is simplified into several types of modules, they can be independent living units or two or three units can be combined to form a small cluster, increasing the flexibility and variability of the living space to a certain extent.

Learning from hospitals Hospital buildings always have many unitized patient room spaces, which are quite similar to housing genres. The combination between

ating in conjunction with a set of larger more ‘public’ spaces such as libraries, auditoriums, cafeterias, or playfields. A clear dividing line between these two spaces is that ‘private’ spaces often have strict light requirements, while ‘public’ spaces do not need much light.

Therefore, the Cannon Design placed the classroom spaces that need light around the building periphery, and those spaces that do not require light can just be arranged in the middle of the building. Occasional gaps between classroom clusters on the periphery somehow bring visual and ventilation to the intermediate spaces. Of course, there is also a loop circulation between these two areas connecting them within a building, forming a very thick plane at last. It is obvious that the diagrams of Rockford Public School can easily be transformed into a new housing diagram with housing and other services combined, largely because of the similarities in their spatial requirements. In the same way, the new diagram will be housing instead of classrooms on the periphery, some of which can be independent living studios, and some can be collective living clusters. After leaving a circular circulation inside the housing perimeter, the space in the middle is filled with other services. Compared with the original school diagram, the courtyard and the partially enlarged rest space are introduced in the middle of the building to enrich and increase the interest in the whole building.

Expansion of the Hospital de Sabadell

the strips is the most common form in hospital buildings, but not in the project of expansion of the Hospital de Sabadell. The expansion of Hospital de Sabadell offers another way to organize these duplicate ward units. The ward units on both sides form a small cluster through a fairly short corridor. And then these ward small clusters are arranged side by side and are separated by a long and narrow courtyard, which not only sorts out the problem of lighting in the ward due to the side-by-side arrangement but also enriches the interest and hierarchy between clusters. All public service areas are arranged on one side of the plan, providing nice views from all the waiting rooms and corridors while facilitating service to the ward area. Then there is also a loop horizontal circulation that surrounds the clusters and the service area. The strategy of transforming this building genre into housing with other services is very simple. The original ward cluster was directly replaced with an independent living studio or two small living ensuites. The framework of a loop horizontal circulation and the courtyard used to separate the clusters are still the core parts of the new diagram. Besides, other services are arranged in the same way as the original. The original location of the waiting rooms was transformed into a public space to serve the housing area, however, the original public service area on one side of the plan was replaced with a row of unit-style collective housing. In addition, the loop horizontal corridor provides the possibility to arrange small clusters of collective housing along one side of the corridor, thereby increasing the diversity and flexibility of the plan.

Transformed diagram of the Rockford Public School plan

Rockford Public School

Hospital de Sabadell extension plan diagram

Rockford Public School The transformed diagram of the Hospital de Sabadell extension plan

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Learning from schools Rockford Public school is both stimulating and educational. It unites the school’s gymnasium, cafeteria, art spaces, library and other public spaces while providing a home for the children. The concept of the school is a very straightforward example of organization and structure for a campus environment. A typical school genre could be described as a collection of relatively smaller ‘private’ classroom spaces, oper-

1. https://www.archdaily.com/958407/house-of-wisdom-library-and-cultural-center-foster-plus-partners 2. https://www.archdaily.com/958407/house-of-wisdom-library-and-cultural-center-foster-plus-partners 3.https://www.archdaily.com/251425/expansion-of-the-hospital-de-sabadell-estudi-psp-arquitectura 4. https://www.archdaily.com/917639/rockford-public-school-cannondesign 5. https://www.archdaily.com/917639/rockford-public-school-cannondesign 6. http://www.sandysdrawingroom.com/tag/family/

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Housing Type A, perspective view

Everyone has a definition of home in their hearts. In Vauxhall, home is not only a space to meet basic living needs, but also a place to socialize. Here you can have the opportunity to meet people from different fields, who may be there for a short stay or for a specific purpose. In any case, home in Vauxhall is more about meeting and communicating. As we know, the housing market has been undergoing a quiet transformation in recent years because housing is no longer just a shelter for people to live as it used to be. The era of idealism and the pursuit of pure housing design has passed, and the interest is shifting to redefine the meaning of home and how to change the living environment. As the problem of monotonicity and limitations within

Playground in Vauxhall

Housing Type A

Housing Type B

traditional typical housing typology have overwhelmingly raised, architects’ responsibility to reconsider how we should live and the possible resolutions towards a new housing typology for the next generation has become more urgent. The building typology is a practice and simultaneously as a theoretical frame, its complex and multiple layers have the power to provoke and challenge our conventional understanding of different aspects of the urban life and make us think and design the way of living, taking us toward a different place. And it

is obvious that the development of new flexibility and diverse building genres with housing and other services has become a new trend in the future housing typologies.

Here we give Vauxhall several examples of new housing types. As opposed to the typical monotonous patterns in the surrounding neighbourhoods, the way these upgraded housing models are organized within the block gives the site more possibilities for events to take

realms, but also makes the interior of the building look like a ‘small city’, and in turn, within the larger block, these ‘small city’ can be understood as a ‘large building’. As the Italian architectural theorist Alberti once said: ‘To the philosophers, a city is a big house, and in turn, a house is a small city.’ The differences in architectural typology not only show the distinction between formal and geometrical but actually imply lifestyle differences. The living environment in the updated urban block in Vauxhall offers more possibilities for anyone here to be able to stay for a while, for example, to have a simple lunch, to have a short working time or to have a shared playground for children etc. These colourful everyday lifestyles will not happen in most long, monotonous building genres, these living scenarios benefit from the upgraded building genres.

place in the new housing morphological research. The layout of the ground floor in the site follows the principle of flexibility. A series of continuous large squares in the middle of the block guarantees flexibility and mobility in the block, where exhibitions, events, gatherings and all activities, orderly or disorderly can take place. The borderless design between the streets, landscape and playgrounds in the block blurs the urban space and the community space to a certain extent, and the unfolded ground floor space brings more vitality and dynamism to Vauxhall. For the ground floor of the single building and the necessary traffic circulation that need to be on the ground, there are also some infrastructures arranged along the inner street of the block, such as bicycle storage, building foyer, etc. The rest spaces are completely open, just like the square, to provide people with self-organization activities. In a word, the ground floor is almost an urban space that gives the block an unpredictable appeal, while maintaining a flexible continuity on the vertical level together with the other service space in every single building.

Housing Type C

Not surprisingly, the upper floor within the block is a combination of new building genres with housing and other services together. Each building genre represents a kind of lifestyle, and in contrast to Vauxhall’s current housing typology, these upgraded deep floor plates by integrating housing and other services, in addition to increasing the diversity of planes, also means more opportunities for better service in the new housing scheme. At the same time, the presence of diverse spaces in the single building not only reinforces the opportunity to create meaningful relationships between the housing and other

Housing Type B, perspective view

Housing Type D

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