Cardiff Centre for Built Environment Project Brief

Cardiff Centre For Built-Enviroment Design Brief Teck Kang Poh

INTRODUCTION In the primer, I did investigation on simulation of people movement pattern and how it can be used to inform in my subsequent design thesis processes. To test it on the design stage, the chosen site is very important. It should be a brownfield or disused site in a city quarter, where it is segregated from the city centre by railways and highways, and hence how the site can be linked back to the city and healed through people movement will be the main theme of the design processes.

The aim of this design project is to use my primer as the apparatus or tool to simulate people movement pattern when design and architecture elements are introduced. From the simulation I can determine how well a designed space might be, and subsequently the movement pattern and the parameters applied will be the backbone for my subsequent design processes. Although the simulation may not be empirical, but the idea behind it is to get rudimentary ideas and impressions on how the people might use the place, therefore, the movement pattern simulation can be used as an important design selling point.

SITE The site is located along southern edge of city centre in Cardiff, segregated from the city centre by elevated railway tracks. During industrial age when Cardiff Bay (Cardiff Docklands) was at its zenith, the area from the site till the tip of the docklands in the south housed thriving community and numerous basins, docks and canals, which were the backbones of the port of Cardiff Docklands. Cardiff Docklands was the biggest coal exporting port in the world, with railway used to transport coal from inland to the port for exporting. Railway tracks and docks were the common sight during its heyday, alongside with the thriving community in Butetown.

However, after the collapse of coal industry in the late 50s, the port deteriorated and subsequently largely became disused. In the late 80s, a major redevelopment for the area called Cardiff Bay started. It is a controversial redevelopment, as the built environment of the port was changed beyond recognition, with canals and docks filled up and railway tracks removed, replaced by mostly typological housing blocks, despite introduction of some state of the art architecture. Now, its original characters were the remote past, with little traces of the past.

The area is now so alienated from the city centre and its history, where both city centre and the docklands were once connected, sharing the same characters.

The site is sandwiched between Cardiff Docklands and the city centre. Therefore, it is the best site for a project to re-link both sides of the city, and to act as the incubator for the ‘renaissance’ of Cardiff built-environment, which is aimed to involve sensitive architecture to the past. And to re-link means to heal the wounded site with people movement through the site.

Macro Strategy - Heritage Route and Cycling Route A heritage and cycling route (in collaboration with Oybike) will go through the area with contrasting characters along it. From the controversial development at the bay to the remaining industrial and port heritage along the railway and the dock, and to the civic and city centre of Cardiff, this route will open the eyes of local people and visitors how Cardiff has transformed, hence increasing awareness on the built-environment of Cardiff. The site is at the centre point of the route, which acts as an information centre of Cardiff built-environment, showcasing vital info and history of Cardiff, as a place for Cardiff City Council to share its vision for the future of Cardiff with the local people, and as a place where workshops and discussions on future developments in Cardiff can take place. Oybike rental station will be located on the site to improve the cycling accessibility through the area.

Edge Condition

Breakage of Orthogonal Grid

Surface Condition

Views

Shadow Range Summer

Shadow Range Autumn/Spring

Shadow Range Winter

Shadow Range Whole Year

PROJECT PROPOSAL The project that I am proposing involves the built-environment of Cardiff city, so that the city’s future architecture will be more synonymous to the city’s original characters, and hence more well thought architecture designs. This project is also aimed to open the builtenvironment scene in Cardiff to the local population as well as visitors, to let them understand and appreciate the past built-environment, and then to let them to have their say in Cardiff future architecture and urban development. It will act as the incubator of views and knowledge on Cardiff built-environment, which emphasizes on the contribution from all levels of society in Cardiff.

The project is called the Cardiff Centre for Built-Environment. It will be the main nodal point along the proposed public heritage route, which will act as the source of information on Cardiff built-environment for people using the route. The idea of making it the nodal point on the proposed route is aimed to make this centre the meeting point for everyone, and subsequently draw people into the galleries of Cardiff built-environment. Hence, public realm is an important theme of this project. The project is aimed to be the meeting place for professional planners, city council, traders, and the public, where planning workshops are held between the planners, city council and the public, and also where traders can exhibit their products, therefore increasing competition and quality.

CONTEXT The client of this project will be Strategic Planning and Environment Department of Cardiff City Council. It is a public funded project, therefore the facility should be designed to add value to the city built-environment and benefits the city council through rental of the conference centre and exhibition spaces for traders. It may not be a direct high-return project, but it should be able to improve the construction and planning scene in Cardiff, and subsequently attract more investors to build more state-of-the art projects around the city.

Besides city council, traders and planners will be benefited from this project through networking. On the other hand, the public will get more exposure to the built-environment in Cardiff and have more chances to get involved in the planning processes of developments in the city.

PROGRAMME BRIEF The programmes include galleries for the scale models of the city, history of the city and different development areas in the city. These galleries will together form the main circulation route of the architectural promenade through the facility. Therefore, people movement pattern through these spaces will be investigated and simulated using methods used in the primer. Other facilities include a mid-sized conference hall, rooms for workshops and meetings, and product exhibition space.

Public realms include public opens spaces, arcades, cafes and restaurants. Public arts will be located in public open spaces. People movement pattern will be investigated and simulated at the public open spaces and the arcade.

Gallery space for scale models of Cardiff City Gallery space for the history of Cardiff City Gallery spaces for different development areas in Cardiff Conference hall Workshop and meeting rooms Product exhibition space Cafes and restaurants Public open spaces Public arcade Administrative Offices Utilities and other services

1000m2 50m2 125m2 500m2 125m2 200m2 250m2 50m2 125m2

DESIGN BRIEF

#1 The existing warehouse building will become the centre of the whole scheme, with ground floor becomes an internal public space with a scale-model of Cardiff city as the centerpiece and several other smaller historic scale-models. John Street next to it will become an arcade linking both sides of the railway track. #2 The curved south side of the scheme will become gallery spaces for different development areas, with views out to respective direction of these areas. It will be linked to the warehouse building and becomes part of the architectural promenade of the gallery walk-through experience, starts from #1 #3 The whole scheme will become an important nodal point along the proposed heritage route, showcasing important built-environment information of Cardiff.

Also, this route is aimed to connect both sides of the railway of Cardiff together, and to heal the wounded and lost site through movement of people anticipated of using this route.

#4 Pockets of public spaces responding to the existing features of the site. These public spaces will reutilise the disused spaces around the site, with existing features reused as attractors for the public, together with additional attractors (sculptures or public art). The attractiveness of the public spaces is therefore vital, with desirable people movement pattern. In #4, the spaces beneath the arches of the railway viaduct will be adaptive reused for restaurants, cafes and shops, with public space along it.

#5 On the north side of the existing warehouse building will house the auditorium and workshop/meeting rooms, along with administrative offices.

#6 The dock feeder canal will become an attracting feature for the public space along it.

#7 The leftover space on the north edge poses difficulty for reuse given its odd form, therefore, maintenance and utilities will be housed here.

Design Precedents Maxxi National Museum of the 21st Century Arts

Main Circulation Space The sketches on the drawings on the left and sketches above and right show how circulations to different parts of the gallery fan out from the main circulation space where every floor is different each other. The main circulation space inevitably becomes the main space of the whole scheme, therefore deserved careful design treatment.

Paths Guiding Roof Elements The roof elements become the paths guiding and finding tool, therefore, creating the hierarchy of movement.

Puls 5, Zurich

Tate Modern

Casa da Musica Porto

Slight downward slop in the transition from exterior into the sunken interior

Caixa Forum Madrid

Continuous ground floor level from external public space to internal public space

Internal public event space under the roof of existing warehouse

This is the extreme example of opening up the existing facade for public space.

Internal public event space and the transition to external public space

The sketches on the plans on the left show different rooms or spaces along the architecture promenade, circling the main auditorium space in Casa da Musica.

Main Design Areas where simulation of people movement will be

Design Concepts Arcade connecting both external public spaces

Initial Massing Model

Internal Public Space

At West Public Space, water feature in a form of series of small water fountains on the flat surface creates the reflection of the skyline of Cardiff

Railway viaduct as the at- Canal as the attractor for tractor for the West Pub- the East Public Space lic Space

TECHNICAL BRIEF Juxtaposition of material will be played throughout the facade, where concrete panels will be placed next to existing bricks of the warehouse building for the new parts of the scheme.

And for the gallery areas on the top floor, steel and glass will be used to showcase steel as Cardiff previous important trade. The lightness of steel and glass is juxtaposed with the heaviness of concrete and brick here. The facade of the gallery areas will be clad with expanded metal mesh shading device, giving it a more monolithic appearance, where certain parts open up to the outside views.

Precedents

Steel structure will be contained within the existing warehouse building as supporting structure.

The existing floors will be removed, and with this new steel structure, the spaces within will be reconfigured throughout, accommodating the new use as internal public space.

ENVIRONMENTAL BRIEF The main environmental strategy is applied along the southern edge of the site, where the gallery spaces will be. Due to the south facing nature of the site, solar heating and solar power will be maximised. Solar heating will be used in addition to the gas heating in underfloor heating system throughout the gallery spaces and auditorium. Passive heating system will be used whenever possible along the south facing edge of the site. Solar power will be generated in the form of translucent PV skylight which will be a shading device for the gallery spaces at the same time. Shading device in the form of expanded metal mesh to avoid direct sunlight at certain parts of the gallery while allowing view out to the city.

Heating Concept Diagram

Translucent PV Skylight

Expanded Metal Mesh Shading Skin