Austen Scott 0804035
U30092 Part 2
The Philosophy of The Spa - The spa is a space like no other, this space allows you to escape from the realm of the everyday, the processes of the normal. As the volatile outer reality becomes void the inner subconsiosness envelopes your space as you subsides to a dream-like state of calm, this calm separating you from the outer reality allows the surrealist nature of the dream state to become the true reality. This is a reality created by the components and operations of the machine, the machine is what allows you to reach this state and therefore a relationship is born between you and this machine. For without the machine the dream state that you have come to seek does not exists. This codependency resonates through the architecture as you journey to find the dream space.
Precedent studies - Throughout the project there occurres several key points where, through defining the brief, conceptual exploration, design philosophy and structural analyses it was appropriate to explore existing concepts and structures to enrich the understanding of the particular stage that I was at. This collection of images out of many others were pivotal in the understanding of my spa and influenced my project aesthetically, structurally and philosophically to guide it to it’s completed design. Top left - Exploring column and tension cable structure of the O2, London Middle left - Understanding the concept of Lebbeus Woods ‘Moving House’ Bottom left - Analysing leg mechanisms of Theo Jansen’s creatures Top right - Understanding the concept of the ‘Dream Sequence’ concept of C J Lim Middle right - Analysing structure of heavy lift crawler cranes Bottom Right - Exploring the utilitarian aesthetic of the Oil Rig
Context - Abingdon - Oxfordshire Addressing the Brief - a new spa is to be built on the
outskirts of the town of Abingdon. This social leisure centre will enrich the local community and the wider local environment to bring them together to celebrate a possible new central attraction of their town, perhaps bringing visitors to Abingdon on weekend breaks or a holiday. The spa must contain all the usual facilities of a modern establishment and also evoke a sense of peace and health throughout its architecture, being able to offer differing facilities but together as one whole.
Response - I have chosen to challenge the set brief and rewrite the identity of the spa, pushing the boundaries of the norm to find a new understanding of calm and peace within the body. This spa will be an architectural tribute for the inhabitants of Abingdon, designing a unique structure from which they can be proud of, not only of the use of facilities but the attraction of a unique architectural design, both physically and philosophically, setting Abingdon apart from any local English town.
River Thames Abbey Meadow Town of Abingdon
Analysis of the Site
Exploring fundamental content of the location of the spa at several different scales and representations. Image - Relief analysing key elements such as flood percentages, contour lines, tree heights and wind conditions whilst realising a conceptual identity through aesthetic of representation.
Analysis of context and surrounding environment Town - Abingdon Population - 36,626 (2001 census) Distance from Oxford - 8 km Distance from Capital - 100 km Estimated age of town - 6000 years Notes - claimed to be one of England’s oldest towns, Abingdon is steeped in history, occupied since the early iron age, now though, circled by many of the largest scientific employers such as ‘JET’, Joint European Torus, the largest and most powerful nuclear fusion reactor in the world. Also near one of England’s largest military bases, Dalton Barracks.
Residential housing Abingdon bridge Residential housing Thames view industrial park Location of Pavilion Apartment blocks Existing Lido Tennis courts Glass factory Children’s play ground Miniature golf course Small uninhabited island Meadows and farmland Weir
Analysis of the Site in Detail Examining the site at a closer scale and identifying the nature and atmosphere of abbey meadow. This important step will allow me to understanding how the site works, analysing how people use it in a phenomenological sense. Looking how the arrangements and spaces between attractions, enclosed spaces and open spaces.
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Photographs
A- Noting the landscape, flat and wide spread, density of trees quite sparse. B- A picturesque feature of the site, trees planted by hand, they give an architectural identity to a natural wall.
C- The weir provides a sene of excitement, exhilaration to an otherwise serene site. A C
Aspects of interest within the site
1- The carpark, it has quite a small capacity but suitable for day to day activities, although unsuitable for a lager event.
2- Original lido, neglected and in disrepair the lido is a space of inadequate facilities for a modern day town. A proposal to reuse the materials and redevelop the land will be set forward.
3- Tennis courts, proven popular in use during site visit, this space is the essence of a social community activity.
4- The outer perimeter path, running all the way round the site it provides a guide
through the park, going through or past most of the major sequences of spaces whilst at the same time giving a picturesque journey on which people visiting the park can enjoy. Also popular for joggers and dog walkers.
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5- Small island, this patch of land is densely packed with varying types of deciduous and
coniferous foliage. Analysis of the island give reason to believe that the island has little or no animals living withing the trees.
6- The weir, a fundamental part of the site, used to aid the canalboats and reduce the effects of flooding, a regular occurrence within Oxfordshire and on the River Thames.
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Winter solstice - 21st December
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Summer solstice - 21st June
Quantifying site Measurements From collecting data on several different measurable circumstances I am able to understand graphically, how the site works with people and the surrounding natural habitat. Through this I am able to locate areas of the park which are suitable to construct the spa, my process involved gaining data from the site, representing that data, than extracting the information through a series of 3 dimensional graphs exaggerating the data into a more easily viewable form. And from these,taking a section cut of the overlaid graphs, seeing fundamental where the most appropriate locations are within the site.
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A- Panoramic view of the children’s park, bringing the younger family community together.
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View of the river edge of the lido, geese commonly migrate through, stopping at river edges such as the meadow.
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Path circling the park, photograph taken on far side next to small stream that branches off and flows through the park.
Site Relief
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I- Key of different measurements. II- Contour lines, elevation change increment of 1m. III- Black sticks show tree placement and height at 1:500 scale
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throughout site.
IV- White sticks show variations in average wind speeds and flooding through raises and dips in interconnected string.
V- Parabolic trajectories of sun, summer and winter solstice. VI - Prevailing wind directions. VII - 2D graph showing variations in tree heights and averages, the
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average being 9 meters.
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Area of site most appropriate according to general average of overall research.
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3D Graphs
1- Section cut through the 7 different graphs. 2- Risk of flooding. 3- Changes of elevation. 4- Water depth of river Thames and stream. 5- Water currents of river Thames and stream. 6- Density of tree population. 7- Sound intensities. 8- Population of people.
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Development of the conceptual form/reverie This section explores the creation of the concept and how its philosophies are to influence the design through collage, model making and sketching. Throughout this process I have allowed myself to create a conceptual framework through a lesser conscious understanding of each piece, only after criticizing and analysing, from another perspective, what the individual piece contributes to the overall philosophy of the machine.
A conceptual vision of the machine In creating a concept through the understanding of my philosophical approach, I found myself designing a creation that is of a ‘sci-fi’ nature, this very first creation is merely a concrete block with copper rods extruding from the bottom, but it is the post analysis of what the concept can mean or becomes when the notion of space or use of such an object as a meditative spa.
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A Sketch Development
A- Thought of a spa port, a place where people come to board the space of their choice, exploring the parks. B- Movement sketch. C- Robots exploring the park, searching for energy to fuel the requirements of the experience.
Plunge Pools
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Post analysis Through the creation and understanding of the walking machine I begin to discover an identity, this cold mask of the machine, a faceless, lifeless object but to contrast, selfless in nature and spirit. As it serves those that dwell inside. The slave to our luxuries, this machine is a servant and a servant is all it will become.
The Surrealist Spa of the Dream Building on the previous work, a realisation of a mechanical spa took place, working for and with the inhabitants to create a unique space of the reverie.
Post Analysis The concept of a weightless groundless structure is purely one of the mind that is within the structure itself as the structure is grounded and stable but this it on a different level to that of the mind. The mind has escaped reality to conform its own thought to that of the dream for it is the essence of our physical peacefulness that the dream allows us to realise.
The understanding of the phenomenologic bond between Machine and Man A conceptual releif-montage identifying the bond and dependance between the machine and the man.
Post analysis Through the development of work there has been a machine that serves the man. But to reach beyond that of being a servant, to create a system where one is codependent of the other. This is where a bond forms through the understanding of this phenomenon. Allowing the machine to become more than the cold metal that it is, as its existence and health is equally important as yours.
Realising the concept Montage exploring the concept of the crane system, the machine moving across the river.
An invasion to the natural habitat, the machines is one of the man made landscape. This is not a parasitic identity as it does not merely attach to its context, but creates the architecturally fundamental structure embedded within the landscape necessary to preform its tasks on top around and throughout the landscape.
Questioning layers of alternate reality through the understanding of structural form This conceptual model highlight two fundamental components of the spa, structure and philosophy. Questioning the identity of ‘ground’ level and if a certain level is ground. What does that make the other layers above or below this level. This further builds on the idea of elevation and the sense of allowing the elevated to become the normal, and thus the lower level, what should be reality, no longer is.
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Aspects of model:
A- Perspective elevation, the identity of the solid box spaces become a contrast to the ambiguity of identity of the different floor levels.
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Tension in cables Compression in copper rods Analysing the fundamental different forces keeping the model together, the tension in the cable acts as the glue keeping the model together as the copper rods and wooden columns create a skeleton.
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Compression of sublevel columns Tension in cables As well as the coper rods the sublevel of the model is a demonstration of the forces through which my structure will work, at the same time developing and creating the conceptually of the piece.
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Twisting motion acts ad a type of winch As columns twist tension in cable increases Creating a cable stay system that allows for the increase or reduction of tension in cables, this is done by twisting the wooden columns from which the cables are pushing against, creating a delicate equilibrium between the two forces as they are pushing against each other, but working together to make the model a whole.
E- Manufacturing a process of allowing the cables to reach the ground with the minimum amount of ground surface area whilst ensuring that the box spaces are not able to ‘sway’ due to wind shear of the sidewalls. F-
Centrifugal motion Wind Although the mechanism mentioned in ‘E’ has allowed the box spaces to become a lot more rigid horizontally, it has created a problem from centrifugal motion as it is now able to spin freely on its own axis, a way of counteracting this would be to put cross tension cables across each face to ensure full rigidity of the spaces.
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Tension in cables Bend in copper rod Analysing the bending forces sustained by the coper rods under the tension on the cables helps understand that the structure of the building must be flexible and strong enough to accept these forces on a much larger scale.
H- Initial sketches of understanding the structure.
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Redistribution of site Logistics The regeneration of the site is vital to create a more coherent landscape fluent with the adaptation of circulation, structures and land mass to allow the park to be not only more user friendly but to accommodate for the new and disregard the old. The rehabilitation of the particular areas of the park will be part of the construction and distribution of the structure of the spa to the site. This is to acknowledge the wellbeing of the town of Abingdon and reduce the disturbance to the local community to the minimum.
Steps of pre-construction process
Step 1 - A consequence to the building of a new spa will be that the existing outdoor swimming pool will become obsolete. To address environmental and economical matters all useful
materials of the old swimming pool will be use in the new spa, primary of which is the large amount of rubble produced from deconstructing the lido, this will be used as an aggregate in the forming of the concrete foundations.
Step 2 - Once the outdoor swimming pool complex has been demolished and the land cleared the empty space will be filled with trees. These will come from the existing small island, this will give the park a new space with the possibility of an adaptable environment in which events or gatherings can take place
Step 3 - once the trees have been reallocated to what was the outdoor swimming pool space the land of the island will also be moved, this is for two primary reasons, the first is to give the park a smooth face on the waterline which will create a ‘corniche’ area of the park where people are able to come and sit around and under the new spa on the edge of the park looking out onto the river. And secondly it is to allow the processes of step 4 to take place.
Step 4 - the construction of the spa will be almost entirely prefabricated, this not only reduces costs and time but reduces the ecological impact to the park by reducing the amount of time the work is being carried out on site. Once the prefabrication process is complete the components of the spa will be transported by barge up the River Thames and assembled on the rivers edge and put in place, this is to replace the transportation of components by lorries, therefore allowing transportation to happen during the day rather than transport by night on flatbeds because of the large loads, also it reduces the impact on the welfare of the community, allowing the town to remain undisturbed and for all the site access to occur outside of the town centre.
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