Unit H

Inside out

Charlotte Harris, Keita Tajima

Unit H continued to investigate the city’s incomplete condition as a source of imagination, and its urban transformation as a drive for new architectural strategies. This year, we based our studies in Woolwich in south east London and working with the theme of “Inside Out”. Woolwich has a long history. It has undergone enormous change over the past centuries: from a small medieval Kentish town to a naval dockyard in the 16th century, it was also the site of the Royal Arsenal. Much of this historic grain has been slowly altered or demolished through ‘slum’ clearances and the introduction of rail and road infrastructures, and most recently, with the upcoming arrival of the Crossrail link, the city fabric, skyline and neighbourhoods are being rapidly transformed and replaced by new housing developments. The unit questions how the historic urban fabric can respond to growth and changing conditions, whilst also retaining a sense of character and permanence. The study area was focused on several continuous urban blocks stretching from the city to the waterfront along the Thames, where students were asked to pick one of the blocks to study further as the site for their main project. The projects have explored design proposals for a civic space for cultural production which acts as a radical adjustment to the wider urban block and provides a public face and home for the institution. The design proposals sought to offer a robust and generous architecture that house, enrich and express the daily life of their occupants and the wider city. Through the notion of “inside out” and with playful and radical imaginations, students made a series of architectural proposals that negotiates and shifts the ambiguous boundary between interior and exterior, formal and informal, permanent and temporal. All the architectural proposals were founded on a sense of place - both drawing on the qualities of the past as well as providing for the present and anticipating the future of Woolwich.

We’d like to thank all of our students who have been through a particularly difficult time and despite this have managed to deliver fantastic work this year, and to everyone who has supported Unit H.

Students:

Year 3; Delrick Adikari, April Adrien-Greenwood, Georgia Hoggins, Bren Heald, Vatsal Javiya, Luke Milsom, Kiana Shokrani Chaharsoghi, Amna Zaidi,

Year 2; Mohammed Hamza Ahmad, Patryk Filuk, Sue Hafizoglu, Sumayabinte Ismail, Hamda jama, Josephine Nyanteh, Musfica Rahman, Gabriel Rebec-Permo, Carl Brent Reyes, Seyed Mohammadali Rezvani, Cristina Rosculete, Joseline Daniela Sarsoza Yanchaliquin, Ionut Stefan Apostol

@unit_h_uel (Instagram)

Special thanks to:

Visiting Critics; Reem Charif, Adam Cheltsov, Colin O’Sullivan, Christopher Thorn, Philipa Longson, Legend Morgan, Punya Shemi, Mo Woonyn Wong

Contributors; Christoph Hardys, Nikolay Shapazov, Studio 2 London Metropolitan University, UEL workshop: David Morgan, Daryl Brown, Mark Sowdon,

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1 Observation sketch of the found urban yard and terrace, exploring a space inside-out. Amna Zaidi 2 Observation sketch of the found urban threshold. Amna Zaidi 3 Documentation of the existing condition exploring the idea of inside out. Hamda Jama 4 Revealing a hidden spatial connection by juxtaposing historical trade routes. Patrick Filuk 5 The site area model and the two urban block sites. The site model was originally made by the UEL Unit 2 (Tutor Christoph Hadrys) and later adapted by the Unit H students. Image by Amna Zaidi 6 Site fragment cast and photomontage. Amna Zaidi 7 Clay imprint model to reveal hidden connection. Patryk Filuk 8 Urban block site plan. April Adrien-Greenwood 9 Site fragment cast model. Patryk Filuk 10 Site axonometric to reveal a series of spatial conditions inside out by Hamda Jama

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11 Urban corridor idea sketch. Georgia Hoggins 12 The proposal model for the shared live/work space above the existing garage building and the community shared space beneath. Mohamed Hamza Ahmad 13 Strategic phasing proposal for the conservation and the adaption of historical car garage site. Gabriel Rebec Permo 14 Photomontage to explore the possibility of appropriating the existing car garage building for the urban garden and educational classroom for nature conservation. Gabriel Rebec Permo 15 The view to the proposed outside performance space and the community space. April Adrien-Greenwood 16 Proposal section through the new performance square and the community space. April Adrien-Greenwood 17 Water color drawing exploring the darkness and the variations of lights entering the space in the existing narrow alley. Cristina Rosculete 18 The model experimenting the graduations of darkness and the openings. Cristina Rosculete 19 Model exploring the passage of darkness and spatial sequence.The project aims to reevaluate the quality of darkness in the city Cristina Rosculete 20 Axonometric drawing exploring the relationship between inside and outside courtyard space and the street. Bren Heald 21 Collage drawing of proposed new U build structure. Georgia Hoggins 22 Detail axonometric showing relationship between existing wall and proposed new U build structure. Georgia Hoggins

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23 Urban fragment photo montage. Patryk Filuk 24 Detail section of the proposed new community workshop space and the projection wall for the outside cinema/performance garden. Patryk Filuk 25 Exploded axonometric revealing the relationship between existing terrace houses and the new timber frame structure. Patryk Filuk 26 Proposed section from Powys street to the existing car garage building through the new performance garden. The project aims to connect a series of abandoned buildings and to repurpose for community and local artist. Patryk Filuk 27 Proposed new extension to the Macbean building acts as new urban corridor connecting two existing yard space. Musfica Rahman 28 Internal view of proposed extension. Musfica Rahman 29 Sectional collage to explore the new extension to the existing terrace houses to address leftover spaces and the existing car garage. Hamda Jama 30 New rear extension wraps around the existing terrace houses and the car garage acts as new connection and to form the new urban living room. Hamda Jama 31 Perspective section of proposed community space and the urban living room, the proposed extension enables future adaption and repurposing of the disused car garage building. Hamda Jama.

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32 Sketch perspective to explore the idea of extraction as a way of forming a new spatial condition in abandoned building and to create the relationship to the city. Amna Zaidi 33 The threshold between the street outside and internal boulevard providing a sense of ambiguity between inside and outside, the building and the city. Amna Zaidi 34 Proposed section for the new community hub showing the new architectural elements and the relationship to the existing building. Amna Zaidi 35 View of proposed new boulevard which seamlessly connects the street outside to the inside community hub. Amna Zaidi 36 View of proposed new extension from the street. Bren Heald 37 A proposal model for the community training facility which acts as a spatial junction to connects the courtyard and the existing car park. Bren Heald 38 Axonometric drawing revealing the proposed spatial journey from the existing car park to the new community training facility repurposed from existing terrace houses. Bren Heald..

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