THE BUTTON FACTORY Tr i n i t y S t re et , Dorchester, DT1 1TU.
ALICE (LI WEI) LOI
Our modern economy privileges pure profit, momentar y transactions and rapid fluidity. Part of craft’s anchoring role is that it helps to objectify experience and slow down labour. It is not about easy victories or quick transactions. That slow tempo of craftwork, of taking time you need to do something well, is profoundly stabilising to individuals.
Richard Sennett.
Acknowledgement
Personal Tutor Studio Leader
Alan Keane Martin Gledhill
Landscape Tutor Environmental Tutor
Tim Osborn Ann-Marie Fallon Chris Fenton John Griffiths
Tectonic Tutor
External Critics
Hugo Marrack Anna Radcliffe
The Last Birmingham Button Maker
George Hook
This design report is the result of 5 months of work, and 4 fruitful years of learning at the University of Bath. I am immensely grateful for the guidance, support, knowledge and most importantly, faith given by those mentioned above throughout the entire process. For this, I thank all of you.
Contents
Part 1
Part 2
1/ The Issue
3/ The Object
5/ The Proposal
5.3/ The Surrounding
Deindustrialised Britain The Craft of “Ma ... nufacturing� Preser vation of Identity Lost Manufacturing Craft in Britain A Manifesto; Macro Intention
Locale : Dorset Origins Phenomenology Making
Over view Floor Plans
Landscape | Hardscape The Wall
Intent : Programme
2/ The Typology
4/ The Context
Phenomenon The Converted Workshop The Victorian Factor y | Warehouse | Mill The Contemporar y Shed
Dorchester Context Poundbur y Trinity Street Site Conditions
Concept : Typology
Massing Responses
5.1/ The Factor y The The The The
Flow (Logistics) Journey (Poetics) Operations (Strategics) Skin and Structure (Tectonics)
5.2/ The Ancillary The Journey (Poetics) The Operations (Strategics) The Skin, Structure and Lining (Tectonics)
6/ Appendix 7/ Process
Foreword
The project started off prematurely as a question of ‘what?’, months before the theme and location were made known. Many texts were read and written, and it was not until I came across a quote by Emerson that a general tone for this project is set.
“Instead of the sublime and beautiful, the near, the low, the common, was explored and poeticised.”
The typology chosen, a factor y or a workplace, is an appropriate representation of common and ordinar y in architecture, or one might even argue - mundane. Our landscape is filled with the mundane, industrial elements that surround us, yet due to our familiarity with them they are pushed to the background of our consciousness. However, their true potential value should not be masked by their commonplace, domesticity and ordinariness. Interestingly, later inquir y into the context, Dorset, led to the discover y and choice of buttons as a manufactured subject for the building. A button in many ways holds similar characteristics as the typology discussed -
common and ordinar y.
1/ The Issue
The Making of an Identity
Making as a form of Preserving the Identity of a Place and Culture
“Because cloths, pots, tools and machines are solid objects, we can return to them again and again in time; we can linger as we cannot in the flow of discussion.” Our histor y of made objects can in many ways map our creation of culture, they become a guide to understanding our not so ancient ancestors as well as the patterns of histor y. Unlike the human body “objects do not inevitably decay from within”. The same thing made by different hands from different locations tell us many things. Often unconsciously, we record a part of who we are in the things we create and make, allowing the abstract notion of a ‘culture’ to be represented in a tactile and tangible form. Through making, we preser ve an identity of the past and present. (Left) William Morris’ Textile, c.19
10 11
Japan
India
Saudi Arabia
Africa
Scotland
Turkey
Macro Issue
What was Lost?
But We Don’t Make Them Anymore ...
Illustrations at the side show an inexhaustive list of dead or decaying industries that once affected thousands of British lives, and helped significantly in shaping modern day Britain. “I leave in awe of their craft, but with a dull drop in my stomach. I only saw one apprentice in the factor y the entire morning I was there and apparently he was the only one. Alice Made This are proud to work with Firmin & Sons on our newest militar y collection of cufflinks and lapel pins, however I cannot help but fear that other projects in the future will not be as fortunate. There is a human element to manufacturing and machining that cannot disappear. We must keep them alive for the next 350 years.”
“Unfortunately my son doesn’t have as much interest in the manufacturing sector, and he’s working in the ser vices industr y right now. It is understandable and hard to expect anyone in your generation to want to continue working on these. Pearl making is such a manual and repetitive job, and it doesn’t pay well since we need to keep cost low to be able to compete.”
George Hook & Co.
“I’m sorr y to report that neither Grove Pattern Buttons, nor its precursor James Grove, are in operation any more. We live in hope of a new horn button maker coming to the fore ...”
Alice Made This. S E H Kelly “It takes 25 pairs of hands to create a single piece of Burleigh potter y, and each pot is meticulously hand-finished. Creating something good, something that lasts, something that is above fashion and trends, something timeless, can’t be hurried.”
Middleport Potter y.
1
12 13
1 Burleigh Potter y 2 Craftsman in Middleport Potter y, Stoke on Trent 3 Des Pawson, Rope Cufflinks 4 Pen Nib Production, Birmingham 5 Horn Button Making, James Grove & Sons, Birmingham 6 Jeweller y Making, Smith & Pepper, Birmingham 7 Spectacle Frame Factor y, East London 8 Metal Cufflinks, Firmin & Sons, Birmingham (Top Left to Right)
Macro Issue
% of Employment Group
90
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1911
1921
1931
1941
1951
1961
1971
1981
What happened?
From the Great Industrial to De-industrialised Britain.
The Industrial Revolution was arguably the most important episode in British modern histor y. Britain experienced changes in all aspects of life during the late 18th and 19th centur y. Technological innovation and inventions revolutionise the way people make things, and at that time, most of the population were making things - ranging from textile, metal and earthenware. By making, resources specific to a certain place were employed and turned into items, which then became a symbol representing the place. Manchester was the ‘Cottonopolis’ flourishing in textile making, Dewsbur y was known for recycling of old woollen goods, Liverpool in shipmaking, Birmingham was deemed the ‘Black Countr y’ owing to her reputation in metalworking.
Services
1991
Manufactur
ing
2001
2011
14 15
The deindustrialising trend in Britain has brought an end to many manufacturing episodes that used to shape the identities of towns and cities. Offshoring production to the Far East due to the inability to compete at labour costs has not only decreased a significant proportion of manufacturing jobs locally, but also lengthen the production chain thereby fuelling a general ignorance on the source of consumed goods. Most importantly, the manufacturing legacy that Britain so fortunately and proudly inherits is uprooted at such an alarming speed caused an identity hollowing out of cities, with pieces of heritage being thrown out to the skip in the name of progress.
Year
Macro Issue
Current Phenomenon
Made in ... where ?
“On the few occasions that the matter is raised, we are given reassuring answers. We can’t compete in manufacturing against low-cost, low-wage competitors, we are told – so how come the Germans can, and that some of those “low-cost” economies now enjoy higher living standards than our own? Then we are told that it makes sense to concentrate on high-value activities such as financial services rather than on dirty, smelly manufacturing. But doesn’t that leave the economy too narrowly based, and isn’t it special pleading on behalf of the City of London, which in any case hogs all the benefits and leaves the rest of the country, in both social and geographical terms, scrabbling for a crust?”
Bryan Gould (2016)
OFFSHORE MANUFACTURING 16 17
SERVICES SECTOR
Macro Issue
A (Mis)conception
The lost interest in manufacturing work especially in the younger generation could be argued as the result of a common misconception :
Ma(king)nufacturing as a C o n p e n s a t o r y To i l rather than an act of Self-fullfilment and Joy
All tools were once technology, and all technology is human culture. Ever ything can be crafted. Yet at the same time we find it hard to delaminate ourselves from traditional ideas and nostalgic references. We find ourselves reaching for things that signify craft, for things that suggest the work of the human hand, of sensations of time and process. The ability to produce at great speed often mask the complexity of a production process. The word ‘manufacturing’ has always been thought as the acronym of craft, that a line is cut too straight that we couldn’t find a nostalgic reference of the hand. We forgot the fact that ever y machine is operated by a skilled machinist, that with the introduction of technology the term ‘craft’ and ‘craftperson’ must be contextually adjusted. Manufacturing is, or can be, a crafted.
18 19
The Hand
The Machine
The Product
Macro Issue
Project Intent : Macro
Revive local interest in manufacturing jobs.
20 21
Revive lost heritage manufacturing industr y that used to shape the culture and identity of a place.
Macro Intent
2/ The Typology
Typology : Factory
The House of Making If Architecture has the ability to invoke social changes, the answer to a revived manufacturing interest could then start from the design of the factor y - the house of making. Factories can tell us more than castles or cathedrals about those aspects of our past which are unique to England. In order to understand how we arrived at the present steel framed, cladded form, this section looks firstly to the past. How did we get from then to now? What were the consequences of such change? What was gained and what was compromised?
24
25
The Contemporary Shed
The Purposed Built Victorian Factor y
The Converted Workshop
Typology
Past
Back of House (Ground Floor)
Front of House (First Floor)
Workshop Production
Gallery Offices
Birmingham : The Converted Workshop
The Converted Workshops in Jeweller y Quarter, Birmingham housed a variety of small to medium production of trades, mostly of metalworks. These buildings, albeit not large in size, held strong street presence and are often characterful in their external expressions (street front and 5th elevation), combining both the utilitarian and the language of the street, forming a unique typology.
Front Service Entrance
Large Windows
R e a r W o r k i n g Ya r d
26 27
5th Elevation A view, from the South, of the typically dense houses and factories between Frederick Street (left) and Vittoria Street (right) in Jeweller y Quarter.
Typology
Past
Utilitarian
An Entity of its Own
Manchester : The Victorian Factor y The Victorian Factor y, for all its flaw was a ver y vital urban phenomenon. Located at prime areas of a dense city, the Victorian factor y stood unapologetically along with buildings of other uses, with a strong sense of civic pride.
Urbanity
Strong Civic Presence
28 29
Production Back of House
Utilitarian Exterior
Solid Exterior; Framed Interior
Typology
Present
Default : Steel Cheap Flexible
Expandable
Monotonous
Ever ywhere : The Contemporar y Factor y The contemporar y factor y is located mostly at characterless, dispersed industrial estates due to issues of land economy and pollution, away from public scrutiny. Located at such environment, the contemporar y industrial building looks the same ever ywhere, with a predominantly utilitarian architectural language driven by flow and economics.
Utility-derived Form
Contextless
Hawthorns Industrial Estate
30 31
Introverted
5th Elevation A comparison between industrial buildings and others. Example here is Hawthorns Industrial Estate, which is located away from the Birmingham City Centre - dispersed and montonous.
Birmingham Centre
Typology
Past
Present
Project Intent : Meso
Public
Industrial Commercial
Embrace and Address Contemporary Limitations
32
Adaptation
33
Residential A Civic Presence A Contemporary Interpretation of the Urban Factor y
Future : Urban Factory
In order to revive interest in manufacturing, production needs to be closer to the public : closer to source of workers, closer to consumer and to be integrated into the mixed-use gentrification, allowing the act of manufacturing to be, once again, a key part of a culture and place.
A Reversed Model; Demonstrating Production
Typology
3/ Subject
Locale
D o r s e t Te x t i l e I n d u s t r y : D o r s e t B u t t o n s
D o r s e t Te x t i l e M i l l
Dorset Buttons
Dorset Sheeps
D o r s e t Te x t i l e M i l l
Not many know of the fact that buttons in Britain were first made by a group of almost 150 women in Shaftesbur y, Dorset about 200 years ago. These buttons were hand-stitched using the abundant textile sourced from nearby towns. The cottage industr y, however, collapsed almost instantaneously after the introduction of button machines at the Great Exhibition in 1851, and the industr y never did return to Dorset apart from being a decaying heritage craft, practiced by only a handful of craftsmen to date.
1850 - 2010 Birmingham. Mass produced buttons made of horn, shell, metal and polyester. Emergence of one of the largest horn button manufacturer in the world, James Grove & Sons but finally closed down its door in 2010 due to economic reasons. The company was Britain’s last button factor y.
36 37
1800s Shaftesbur y, Dorset (c.18) Birthplace of British Buttony.
2017 Dorchester, Dorset. A possible return? Isle of Portland Source of Raw Materials.
Phenomenology
Fabric
Button : An Expression
Independence Thing of its own | Separate Materiality
The button is a functional addition that complements aesthetically to the greater whole. Ever since it was introduced, the object remained almost unchanged in its nature. A study into its phenomenology revealed interesting interpretation of what is is and what it can be.
38 39
Overlapping
Joinery
Porosity
Continuity
Te m p o ra r y, Fa s t e n | U n fa s t e n
O pa q u e & Tra n s pa re n c y
Subject
Process
In 2013, one man from Birmingham intended to re-establish horn button making in Britain under the name of Grove Pattern Buttons after purchasing the remaining button machines from the original factor y online and picking up the pattern books and original dies from the skip! The new factor y however, did not sur vive and closed down after 2 years. The project hence assumes Grove Pattern Buttons as the principal client proposing for a revised manufacturing model in urban Dorchester. As a privately owned enterprise, the project is predominantly funded by the client, with some support from : Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership Business Growth Fund Textiles Growth by Regional Growth Fund
Inside the former West Midlands Factor y
Sustainably Sourced : Horn Trochus Shell Mother of Pearl Wood
40 41
Carding
Polishing & Sheen
Drilling
Blanking
Material Sorting
Laser Engraving
Subject
Process
Laser Engraving Machine
2
3
Drilling Machine
4
Dyeing Station
1
Blanking Lathe
5
Polishing Machine
6
Combined Storage 120 sqm
130 sqm
Finished Stock Storage 45 sqm
Packaging 45 sqm
130 sqm
100 sqm
Polishing & Sheen Hall
Drilling Hall
Blanking Hall
40 sqm
250 sqm
Spaces of production, number of specific machines and production output were worked out based on the Birmingham model.
Material Preparation
In order to ensure that the revived factor y in Dorchester is economically viable and sustainable, a more integrated manufacturing model is devised to include more elements of design and research, aiming to produce superior quality buttons demanded by big British clothing brands such as Burberr y and Ralph Lauren.
Production
Raw Material Warehouse
An Integrated Manufacturing Model
Sheen Machine
Galler y 60 sqm
65 sqm
Makers’ Studio / Atelier 50 sqm
Cafe
General Offices
Archive 30 sqm
Dorset Button Workshop
90 sqm
Subject 60 sqm
40 sqm
Material Reseach & Innovation
Pattern Design Studio
Collection Galler y 80 sqm
75 sqm
Managers’ Office x 2 18 sqm
Client Meeting Room 20 sqm
Private Meeting Room 10 sqm
Public Management Design
42
43
Rentable, income - generating spaces
Project Intent : Programme
Public Production
Design
44 45
Management
An Integrated Working Factory The factor y is a proper working building with limited public access, i.e. the factor y is not a museum As such, the potential organisation of accommodation spaces is to carefully separate out public and private, whilst still preser ving a connection.
Subject
4/ Context
The Context
Chocolate Factor y
Dorchester West Stn
Dorset Cereal Factor y
City Centre Loop Technology
Poundbury Mixed Development
48 49
Dorchester Industrial Context Looking at Dorchester from a macro scale, it is apparent that the market town shares the similar phenomenon of a dispersed industrial context. In the new township of Poundbur y however, a clear intention of integrating industr y into the mixed use development was outlined for sustainability benefits. Whilst this is one way of realising the stated agenda, this project looks towards an alternative direction.
Context
The Site
High Street
Urban
The Ideal Urban Site
Space for Future Expansion
Street Frontage
50 Trinity Street
51
Site Conditions
Proposed Site Boundar y Residential Public / Commercial
6
Plaza Cinema : Strong Street Presence
5
Entrance to Trinity St Carpark
4
DCC E16 Mixed-use Development
3
Current demolition of Old FireStation Building Facade; Elec. Sub station
2
Proposed demolition of Iceland
1
Grade II Listed Building to remain Trinity Street Approach
Car park spaces at the rear : possible site for future expansion
1
2
3
4
5
6
52 53
Goods Deliver y Route
Noise Projection
Daylighting
Context
Massing Response
54 55 Preser ve the character
Outline of Massing Boundar y
Deliver y Route Access
Factor y block with Street Frontage
Ancillar y block responding to residential context
A Collection of 3 entities
Context
Massing Strategy
A Complex of 3 Independent Entities
The massing strategy results in 2 carefully sized built forms responding to the context, masterplanned around the Grade II Listed Building to protect its character, hence forming a collection of 3 entities within the site. The negative spaces around these forms became a stitching element connecting the factor y to the town centre and pedestrian path at the southern end.
Logistics Access
Connectivity
Frontage Redefined
Factor y Ancillar y
Factor y Block Triple-storey block towards the North side of boundar y, with mass and height derived from Plaza Cinema down the street.
56 57 Ancillar y Block For public engagement accommodation responding to small scale residential buildings at Southern End
Massing Blocks
Context
Project Intent : Concept
58 59
Street and Civic Presence
The Street
Connectivity
Independence; a thing of its own.
Maximising Frontages.
Negative Spaces as a Joint.
Context
5/ Scheme
Overview
62 63
Scheme
Overview
1 Factor y
2 Ancillary
3 External Realm
Scheme Overview
Ancillary
Square
Factor y
64 65
Scheme
Scheme
Factory Goods in
Entrance
Goods Out
1 Entrance 2 Reception 3 Packaging / Inspection Area 4 Finished Stock Storage 5 Polishing and Sheen Hall 6 Goods Holding Area (to be polished) 7 Storage 8 Raw Stock Warehouse 9 Waste and Recyclables 10 Courtyard Light Well Ancillary 11 Cafe 12 Atelier 13 Galler y
Process Display
External Realm 14 Spill Out Space 15 Sculpture Garden
Ground Floor 2
6
15 m
9
8 13 11
12
10 16 15
1
66
2
67
4
3
6
5
Scheme
Scheme
Factory Management
Client
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Collection Display Galler y Client Meeting Room Pattern Design Discussion Space Pattern Design Staff Lounge Administration Offie Managers’ Office Meeting Room Archive Librar y Shower Lockers
Ancillary 27 Atelier Design
Ground Floor 2
6
15 m
23
22
21
22 27
20
25
68 26
69
16
18 24
19
Scheme
Scheme
Factory
Craft
Production
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Blanking Hall Manual Production Area for Bespoke Orders Driling Hall Stock Holding Area Material Research and Development Material Preparation Hand Stitched Dorset Button Workshop External Terrace / Lounge
Ground Floor 2
6
15 m
33
34
32
31
35
28
70
31
71
29 31
30
Scheme
The Factory
The Factory : Concept
74 75
Warehouse Offices Residential
Zoning
Demonstrated Process Within and out of the Factory
Noisy Production
Maximum Daylighting
Maximised North Light
Logistics
An Integrated Flow
Process Flow
1
Raw Material Warehouse
2
Material Preparation
2
3
Blanking Hall
4
Drilling Hall
1
5
Polishing and Sheen Hall
6
Packaging and Stock Storage
3
4
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6
5
The Factor y
The Journey
Goods in
The Factory Entrance
The Factor y is a building for production, producers and products, hence the related accommodation is interpreted as ‘front of house’, resulting in an integrated entrance for both workers and visitors, raw materials and finished stock at the principal elevation.
Entrance
Goods Out
78 79
The Factor y
The Journey
08:03 AM (TUES) A Typical Morning
“Our factor y which is externally beautiful will not be inside like a clean jail or workhouse.� It sits around a garden, but with a strong relevance to the urban street. In itself, it contains a garden of its own, greeting the workers first thing in the morning with a curious sense of serenity found unusually in a building of this sort.
80 81
The Factor y
The Journey
08:15 AM (TUES) A Transition
The reception foyer, with a continuous paving flowing into it from the exterior, acts as a pleasant transition area in preparing the workers for the day ahead. The space is also used to greet potential clients and customers, or the curious visitor who may be interested in the art of button making.
82 83
The Factor y
The Journey
10:07 AM (TUES) The Working Atrium
The Working Atrium is a dynamic space : with the processes overlooking onto the void, and a centralised principal vertical circulation constantly ser ving the workers. The factor y is internally transparent, blurring the lines between the makers and the made items, between designers and manufacturers, between administration and workers.
84 85
The Factor y
The Journey
14:15 PM (TUES) The Factory Hall
The Production Hall is lined with a white interior, resulting in a bright and well-lit environment comfortable for manufacturing work. Located predominantly on the top floor, production spaces take advantage of North-facing reveals.
86 87
The Factor y
The Journey
15:30 PM (TUES) The Meeting Room
A client meeting room that overlooks the courtyard and the manufacturing atrium, to reinstate the fact that factor y workers are not back of house workers. Left : Courtyard Top Right : Pattern Design Review Space Bottom Right : Client Meeting Room
88 89
The Factor y
The Journey
16:15 PM (TUES) The Polishing and Sheen Hall
Being the last process of the button production, this process is celebrated through a street front display of its operation, enticing the curious passerbys to stop by the large window and obser ve the machines and machinists churning out its daily quota.
8 9
Operational Strategy
(Summer Strategy) South-facing Courtyard with foliage to provide passive cooling.
Manual Process Offices
Mechanised Process
Winter Strategy : Mechanical Heat Recovery System Zoning of the spaces into a primarily mechanised end (East) and a more labour concentrated end (West) allows for the heat generated by machines at one end to be recovered and used to heat up spaces at the opposite end, where accommodation such as the offices, craft workshop and material research area are placed.
1
Solar Energy Harvested from South-facing Photovoltaic Cells.
2 Harvested Energy converted into electricity used to power factory machines.
3
Heat generated at the mechanised end is recovered through Mechinical Heat Recovery System (MVHR) to provide spatial heating in offices and craft workshop.
The Factor y
40 41
Daylighting
Building Impact on Context The triple-storey factor y building is positioned to the northern end of the site boundar y, so that its impact on the daylighting condition of neighbouring buildings is kept at the minimum.
1
Building Mass Impact
2
North Light
Shaded Carpark Area
4
2
3
40 41
1
3
Manufacturing Atrium
4
Courtyard Light Well
Hot air out
2
3
North Light
Plant Equipment
Glazed Atrium
Glazed Atrium with low e-coating to prevent excessive heat gain
4
Courtyard Light Well
Solid Brick Exterior skin to prevent overheating
Void external area to allow sunlight into for foliage to
96
terrace maximum courtyard grow
97
The Factor y
Operational Strategy
Gradient External Brick. White Glazed Brick at mid-level to reflect as much light as possible to south-facing courtyard.
Internal Materiality
The choices of materiality for the internal spaces, apart from being driven by aesthetic factors, are key to ensure a well-lit internal environment.
1
2
White Brick as Internal Lining to reflect light.
Glazed tiles for Polishing and Sheen Hall to cope with moisture and ease of maintenance.
98 99
The Factor y
S t r u c t u r e a n d Te c t o n i c s
Skin Self-supporting double-leaf brick wall tied to steel structure Brick skin responding to the language of Dorchester architecture Lime mortar joint to enable the reusability and demountability of the brick skin
100 101
Structure Steel-framed structure as an adaption from the contemporar y typology for reasons of : economical flexibility optimised logistics
Skin and Structure
Separate strategy for skin and structure of the building enables the achievement of a design that responds to sit in harmony with its context whilst respecting the contemporar y limitations of an industrial building.
The Factor y
Te c t o n i c : A t h i n g o f i t s O w n
Engineering Brick Black Flush Mortar
Brick Articulation The type of bricks chosen for the external elevations are Handmade Dorset Red, black Engineering Brick, and black glazed brick. Lime Mortar joints are used so that the bricks can be reused in the future, and demounted for expansion. Handmade bricks offer a hand crafted appearance and being sourced from factor y in Bristol meant a low carbon footprint.
West
102 103 Handmade Brick
Black Glazed Brick
Handmade Protruding Brick
Handmade Perforated Brick
Red Flush Mortar
Black Flush Mortar
White Bucket Handle Mortar
White Bucket Handle Mortar
South
East
North
The Skin
Brick Articulation
2 4
104 105 9m
Elevation Brick Articulation
The brickwork is articulated in a stratified manner, with a more apparently solid base gradually diminishing into a more filigree arrangement on the upper floors, manipulated by the arrangement of bricks, (1) protruding and (2) perforated. The intention of such articulation is to highlight and celebrate the brick as an entity of its own, and also to soften the triple storey mass whilst preser ving an interesting presence to the street.
3
9m
Te c t o n i c : J o i n e r y
Corner Brick Articulation
The kink on the street elevation is a move to respond to the existing street and road structure.
106 107
Te c t o n i c s : P o r o s i t y
South-facing windows : Low-emissivity coated double glazing to reduce solar gain and overheating
108 109
South
Compositional Elevation
Freeing up the structural responsibility from the skin allows for more freedom on the composition of openings on the brick skin. The Principal Southern elevation comprises of mainly large picture frame glazing, overlooking to the landscaped yard and bowling alley.
North
Te c t o n i c s : P o r o s i t y
2 3
1
Holes through the Wall
Openings through the brick wall are articulated in 3 ways : 1. Flush glazing, 2. Protruded Frame, 3. Frameless Picture Frame Windows, each for a particular reason.
Concrete Floor Screed Finish
White Internal Bricks
Ancon Lintel
110 111
Black Engineering Brick
1/ Ground Floor Flush Glazing To accentuate the dramatically recessed entrance. Detail at 1:30
The Skin
Te c t o n i c s : P o r o s i t y
Perforated Arrangement
Black Waterproofing Layer
Black coated steel frame
Low-e coating triple glazing
2 / Double Volume Protruded Frame Located at the South East end of the building, a special case was made for this window to accentuate its presence, as a marker for the approach from Trinity Street. Detail at 1:30.
Protruding Brick Arrangement
112 113
3/ Upper Floor Concealed Frame The Concealed frame windows on upper floors accentuate the brickwork and gives the aesthetic of a ‘punch’ through the wall, emphasing on the compositional intention for the elevation. Detail at 1:30.
Te c t o n i c s : J o i n e r y
Steel Node A joinery connecting primary beams and columns in all 6 directions.
114 115
The Structure
The interior of the factor y features an honest expression of exposed steel and the tectonic aspiration for the structure lies in its joiner y.
1
Glazing fixing Detail
2
Balustrade fixing Detail
The Structure
Te c t o n i c s : J o i n e r y
1
2
(Left) Visual of Design Floor
50mm Channel shadow gap joint
Powder coated perforated steel suspended ceiling panel
116 117
Black painted perforated steel balustade panel
Black painted steel frame
1
Glazing Fixing Detail 1:30
2
Balustrade Fixing Detail 1:30
The Ancillary
The Ancillary
Main Approach from Street
120 121
The Ancillary
Cafe
Atelier
Gallery
Dressmaker Shirtmaker
Used by makers of the Atelier and factory to exhibit works
The Ancillary
122 123
Public Engagement The ancillar y building next to the factor y is designed to respond to the programme intent in giving the factor y a civic presence, engaging the local community into the factor y precinct and providing spaces for local makers related to the manufactured product to make.
The Ancillary
The Ancillary
124 125
Cafe Plywood cladded interior.
The Ancillary
The Ancillary
126 127
Atelier Plywood cladded interior. Exposed steel structure.
The Ancillary
The Skin, Structure and Lining
Skin, Structure and Lining A similar tectonic expression as the factor y is adopted for construction straightforwardness and cost. To respond to the smaller scale of the ancillar y building however, internal walls are lined with plywood rather than exposed with brick to give a warmer and more refined atmosphere, appropriate for the accommodation it contains.
Plywood Lining in Atelier
An exposed steel interior for spaces of making
A refined, lined Gallery housing finished items White Plasterboard Lining in Gallery
Exposed Steel Structure in Atelier
Plywood Lining in Gallery
128 129
Plywood Framed Glazing enclosing Atelier
The Ancillary
Operational Strategy
Ta l l t r e e s a l o n g B o w l i n g A l l e y t o provide natural solar shading to the building
Integrated Photovoltaic Cells for solar energy harvesting on South-facing roof
Sunny-side Southern courtyard with no issues of overshadowing due to positioning of buildings
North light optimum for working
a shaded view
Cross ventilation in Atelier and Gallery
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Environmental Strategy
01 North Light through sawtooth roof form at Atelier and Galler y 02 South-facing roof to integrate PV cells for solar energy har vesting to be used for powering small appliances 03 Natural ventilation can be done through stack in Atelier and Galler y 04 Bowling Alley trees used as natural solar shading elements to prevent excessive heat gain from south facing windows
The Ancillary
The In-Between
Spaces in Between
Lush Pedestrian Path (Borrowed Scener y)
An Urban Courtyard
External Realm
Being right next to the lush pedestrian path, Bowling Alley, the site takes advantage of the existing scener y and allow for the negative spaces to be interpreted differently. The intention is similar to the internal spatial organisation of the factor y : an overlapping of spaces that flow like a fabric, a form of continuity expressed through a thorough understanding of spatial relationship.
Negative Spaces Defined
Perimeter Hard Seating
Sculpture Garden (adjunct to galler y)
Massing / Function : Precedent 1 Heong Galler y, Caruso St John
Patchwork of Pavings
Sculpture Garden Spill-out Space
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Concept Execution : Precedent 2
Lush Garden
Stortorget, Caruso St John
The External Realm
Landscape Plan
Concrete Paving Slab
Aggregate Concrete
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Grass Blocks
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The Wall
Bowling Alley (South Approach)
As the design occupied up to the boundar y, it responds to the existing rebuilt Roman wall as an enclosure to the external courtyard. A garden entrance appropriate for the nature of bowling alley is included as an entrance to the courtyard and public areas. Windows are also punched through the wall to suggest activities at the cafe, enticing the interest of passer-bys
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6/ Appendix
Estimated Cost
Unit Rate = £ 2,100 / sqm Gross Floor Area Ground Floor = 893 sqm (Factor y) + 172 sqm (Ancillar y) = 1065 sqm First Floor = 796 sqm (Factor y) + 56 sqm (Ancillar y) = 852 sqm Second Floor = 796 sqm (Factor y) = 796 sqm GFA = 2713 sqm Construction Estimate = £ 2,100 x 2713 sqm = £ 5,697,300 Landscaping Cost = £ 5,697,300 x 7% = £ 398,811 Sub-total A = £ 6,096,111
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+ (Contractor Preliminaries + Profit = 12% x A = £ 731,533)
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Sub-total B = £ 6,827,644 + (Contingencies = 10% x B = £ 682,764)
Sub-total C = £ 7,510,408 (Net Construction Estimate less VAT) + (Fees = 15% x C = £ 1,126,561)
Total Project Cost Estimate = £ 8,636969 (£ 8.6 mil) (less VAT)
Construction Design Management
A) Site Management
C) Working at Height
Hoarding would be erected around the site boundar y to secure the construction site.
- Temporar y scaffoldings and staircases should be installed relatively earlier in the construction process
A site compound and a laydown area would be established on the ancillar y site during the first phase of factor y construction, and at part of the west car park during second phase of ancillar y and landscape construction.
- A harness must be worn at all times while carr ying out work at height.
The compound would include: - Signed and gated entrance - Site office - Supporting facilities such as W.Cs - 24hr security due to its location
- An evacuation and assembly strategy would continuously be updated to re ect the changing nature of the site. Staff briefings would take place regularly to communicate any changes to the people involved.
B) Specific Risks Existing Buildings, Structures and Ser vices
D) Risk of Fire
- Non compatible trades must be timetabled to avoid potential hazards. - Flammable materials should be carefully stored in designated areas in the compound.
- A full sur vey should be carried out at the start of the project.
E) Maintenance
Temporar y Structural Instability
Working at Height: Roof light and Window Cleaning
- The structure is mainly prefabricated and assembled on site; temporar y instability may occur during to the wind. Extra care must be taken to ensure structures are erected accordingly.
Roof lights over the factor y are likely require regular cleaning and maintenance. Harness points will be provided for personnel who undertake this work.
Access Strategy : Part M
A) Entrance Access All public entrances to the building are at the same level, allowing for disabled access. Throughout the building, clear signage is provided to assist with guest navigation. The reception area at the factor y and cafe at the ancillar y ser ves as a point of information.
B) Lift Passenger lift at reception lobby of factor y provide access to all floors, along with two primarily ser vice lifts. C) Stairs All main stairs and walkways have contrasting treads and handrails for ambulant disabled requirements. D) Disabled and ambulant accessibility All corridors and walkways are no smaller than 1200mm allowing easy wheelchair access. The Ancillar y building has no disabled lift but upper floor access to Atelier is considered as a mezzanine sharing the same function as ground floor. Disabled toilets are provided in both buildings.
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Fire Strategy : Part B
B1 - Means of Warning and Escape
B4 - External Fire Spread
- All parts of the scheme will be fitted with heat and smoke alarms allowing for sufficient evacuation time to reach a point of safety.
- All external materials are fire resistant to at least a 30 minute fire rating.
- All interior areas in the building have at least two means of escape available and comply with the requirement of maximum 45 meters travelling distance.
- The building can be considered as standing alone with the factor y block sharing a low partii wall with the substation to the North. B5 - Access for Fire rescue ser vices
- The core at reception will have refuge calling point for disabled escape.
B2 - Internal Fire Spread - Linings - Hand held extinguishers will be provided throughout the building. - The protected core shaft has a 60 minute fire rating. B3 - Compartmentation - A protected, structural fire- fighting core will has a minimum rating of 60 minutes. - A sprinkler system is fitted into the scheme, alongside hand held extinguishers and space provided for refuge points.
- The site enjoys good vehicular access on all sides. Fire rescue ser vices can make use of existing deliver y route. - A fire fighting shaft is provided complete with a dedicated fire fighting lift.
Escape Route
17m
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15m
Ground Floor
First Floor
Second Floor
7/ Process and Reflections
Process : Final Review
Strengths Appropriate handling of building mass, appropriate inter vention onto the street as shown by the external visual Appropriate design for the typology and agenda A direct approach to internal planning of the factor y building driven by good understanding of process, fronts and backs and accommodation relationships
Weaknesses / Suggestions Alter delivery route (from West to East) Resolve main lift position to allow better circulation flow Manufacturing atrium to adopt similar roof expression but glazed entirely to allow maximum daylight Ancillary building seemed unresolved, a similar building form that responds to the main factory building (sawtooth expression) was suggested Clunky landscape, needed greater understanding of intention A more streamlined brick expression from bottom to top instead of current ‘hit and miss’ articulation
*Suggestions resolved and taken on board after final review
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Process : Final Review
Pre-changes After the review, most suggestions given were critically analysed and I made the decision to made the alteration to the scheme despite the ver y pressing time limit. Some drawings presented in this report are rather obviously working drawings; it is unfortunate that in the given amount of time I struggled a little at the end to work on presentation. However, as a design report, the first priority I thought was to convey the idea and demonstrate executions; for that I am glad that the design process was kept live up to and including the last week as it finally arrived at a point in which I am satisfied and understood fully.
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Process : Interim Development Sketches
Attempts to understand the Context Many efforts were put in to understanding the inter vention’s relationship to the context.
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Massing Exploration Juggling and a process of understanding the relationships between the factor y, the ancillar y and the external street.
Process : Interim Development Sketches
Exploration with Bricks
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Elevational Studies
Reflection
The project ended with a scribble by my studio leader on a piece of scrap paper that reads ‘subtlety often wins the day’, something that I was constantly reminded by my tutor throughout the design process. Looking back at the scheme after completion reminded me of a design project I did in my third year - a public theatre that is equally subtle as this that during the design review, a critic asked, ‘where is the spark?’. Similarly for this scheme, the answer is intentionally none. The scheme is an end product of a series of careful and genuine considerations, with each move backed by an answered ‘why’.
This project, for the most part, has been received as an intensive learning process for myself more than anything; hence the constant and at times eccentric experimentation, an almost never ending shift of building masses around the site boundar y, and an extensive precedent study. The design process, I must admit, was carried through until a few days before submission - it is almost impossible for me to let it go without knowing all faces of this scheme. Due to this, unfortunately, the tectonic aspect of the scheme hasn’t been explored to the extent that I had initially hoped, in particularly for the ancillar y building.
Throughout these four short years of education, I often find myself referring back to the same quote by Zumthor :
Strategically, it would’ve ser ved me better at the later stage if I could consolidate the building mass quicker in the beginning - a process, disturbingly, that took up almost 60% of my energy in the project.
“Architecture has its own realm. It has a special physical relationship with life. I do not think of it primarily as either a message or a symbol, but as an envelope and background for life which goes on in and around it, a sensitive container for the rhythm of footsteps on the floor, for the concentration of work, for the silence of sleep.”
The scheme was relatively well received during the final review, nonetheless. The critics enjoyed a few drawings in particular and were convinced by the appropriateness of the scheme, “it is what it is and it feels like it belongs right where it sits”.
Perhaps even more so for the type of typology I am investigating here - a workaday factor y that does not require elements of intrigue like an art show, or exaggerated inter vention that realistically would have been unrealistic. I am fortunate to have been assigned to a tutor who shares this similar belief and a studio leader who supports this pursuit.
It was however obvious that during the point of the final review, the ancillar y building and landscaping weren’t fully resolved yet and suggestions made by the panel were subsequently tested and implemented into the scheme, as shown in this report. The articulation of the brick facade were thought to be not as considered as the rest of the scheme and this is
something that I would love to continue developing should I have a bit more time. Overall, I am proud and pleased to wrap up the design at it is currently and present it in this format. Explaining, editing and refining 5 months’ worth of work in this last week did offer a refreshed perspective and clarity. Lastly, I must again express my heartfelt gratitude to Alan and Martin, for supporting and most importantly believing in my ability. My thanks extend to my family and Dominic for their emotional support and faith, and I hope I have made all of you proud.
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