The portfolio of Ben Street
ARCHITECTURE
=
WORK 2016
PLP Architecture, London Allsop Sparch Architects, London
Archial Architects, Ipswich KLH Architects, Suffolk University of Kent, Canterbury
GXM Architekten, Zurich Mia Architectura, St. Moritz
Places worked Project locations
CV EDUCATION 2010-2013 2003-2010
University of Kent: BA (Hons) Architecture. Ipswich School: A-level History, Geography, Biology & AS Art
2016 Online course, Harvard University: Computer Science 2014 Online Course, Bocconi University: Infrastructure finance
Ben’s Mission: Use design and computation to make life at extreme density more fun, friendly & resource efficient
EXPERIENCE 2014-2016 PLP Architecture, London: Design of mixed use towers in the City of London and China, design and construction of central London office spaces
Microstation
2013-2014 Mia Architectura, St. Moritz: Design and construction of high end residential, night life and commercial spaces
Grasshopper
2013 GXM Architekten, Zurich: Design of cultural buildings 2010-2012 KLH Architects, Suffolk: Residential and medical design 2012 Humanitarian Construction, Uganda: Design and construction of improvements to two schools, a clinic and an orphanage in rural communities 2010 Allsop Sparch Architects, London: BSF Primary school 2009 Archial Architects, Ipswich: Residential design
Rhino
3D Studio Max Archicad Vectorworks Autocad Sketchup Adobe Suite Revit
CONTACT (+44) 7962018858 BenStreet245@gmail.com 7 Brimsdown House, E3 3LW, London Ben.Street
Professional Reference: Kevin Flanagan, Partner, PLP Architecture (+44) 20 3006 3901 KFlanagan@plparchitecture.com Academic Reference: Dr Timothy Britain-Catlin, Senior Tutor, Kent School of Architecture (+44) 1227 824 502 tjb33@kent.ac.uk
VENICE, ITALY
SHAPING THE TOURIST WORLD VIEW PERSONAL PROJECT
The flâneur wanders every destination with the same detachment, feels the same everywhere they go and therefore feels that everywhere they go is the same. This creates apathy, the subconscious perception that no matter what changes we could make to our lives or the world, one would always end up feeling the same. Some places still shake our assumptions of what is inevitable but globalization is making it easier and easier to act and feel identically in more and more cities. The perception of fundamental sameness is reinforced by architecture which looks dramatically different, which still house identical uses and experiences, malls, galleries, gift shops and things to boredly take your photo in front of. This pavilion causes people to interact, first casually, as they play with the lighting effects, then more directly as climbing the inside requires help from others. One experiences a feeling different to the typical museum, restaurant, routine and together with a million other methods of creating different feelings in different places we can combat the ennui that travelling in the 21st century tends to engender. It’s goal is to help make us aware of the incredible diversity of lives we could choose to lead or worlds we could choose to create.
Beams of light shoot up the building’s ribs when touched
1.
2.
3.
4.
Everyone prefers interactive to passive things; down with inert architecture!
Form Follows Fun Model Experiments: Left: Matchsticks Centre: Thread and glue cast over a balloon Right: Double curved paper
Hong Kong, China
MODEL CITY FOR MEGA DENSITY PERSONAL PROJECT
We live in a time when mankind is founding many new cities. Once established, cities can rarely afford to change. We are building according to outdated models which we know do not meet all of our needs. Due to the population peak in 2050, it is likely that whatever this generation builds will continue to structure many human lives far into the future. This project shows a better way to deal with conditions which demand super-density. It is a geometric answers the question: “How do we fit the absolute maximum amount of people into a city while also making it nicer to live in?�
EXTRA NOTES Hong Kong is used as an example because it already has far greater demand for space than high rise can provide for, but this model can be adapted to any high density context.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PLOT SIZES Plot sizes have consistently grown over time. Today’s high rise towers and shopping malls occupy the plan area of hundreds of buildings in a medieval city. Plot sizes grow when a larger model is demonstrated to provide more benefit as a whole than many small parts could from the site collectively.
1. In present day Hong Kong, many people still have to pay out most of their income to live in horrendously overcrowded accommodation.
The high rise building is currently our civilization’s largest building unit, when drawing up master plans today, sites are broken down to plots of this size, and developed as many separate buildings. This project shows the advantages of holistic planning on a larger scale. Once the performance advantages are quantified, capitol will consolidate sites and out-compete bids for smaller developments. There will be no more separate buildings, only continuous urban fabric.
4. And the voids are totally arbitrary, most are just extrusions of the circulation grid, which no-one cares about above ground level
7. Circulation is a caricature of inefficiency. To get from one tower to the next one must go down to ground level, across and then all the way back up. It operates as a series of cul-de sacs, rather than a network
2. The entire island is developed is at maximum capacity under the high rise model.
3. But there is still so much wasted space! Most of the city is unusable void between buildings.
5. Or the gaps left between the towers which again is completely arbitrary.
6. Everything overshadows everything else, views are truncated, airflow is sub-optimal, people even have to pay a premium to get a day-lit apartment.
8. This also means everything is duplicated; structure, lifts, risers, everything. Because the Petronas towers where connected with a single bridge both towers could lose an entire fire core. We could create >5% more city just by reducing service core duplication.
9. Ground level only circulation also means uses that need pedestrian flows can only occupy a fraction of total building volume. = Boring, inflexible, congested, over commercialised city life.
EXTRA NOTES
10 km
10 km
* The taller the slab, the larger the light-well diameters. The slab is extruded vertically until light-wells become so large that adding an extra floor could only create a net loss of day-lit internal volume. ** Infrastructural systems are compared according to which uses the least annual cubic millimetres; The volume a system would occupy (including additional structure necessitated by it’s weight) multiplied by the number of seconds a year that it would require that space. *** Development today seeks to maximise the value extracted from atomised plots of land. This is creating cities with high quality buildings but inadequate connective tissue. City scale development necessitates consideration of the whole.
10. My scheme starts with a slab cast across the entire site, the red line shows the volume of the existing high rise city if arranged in the same way*
I propose cross-referencing all digitally recorded sale and rental values to isolate which properties of each unit of the built environment are creating differences in value. At the city scale sale and rental values alone cannot provide enough information because of the differing opportunity cost of money to different citizens. This data is correlated against other resources such as social media shares and tracking of user behaviour and physiological responses to prototypical spaces. This allows us to compare the value of alternative ways of housing a particular use and the value it would be able to create at any location in the slab, as well as the positive or negative impact it would have on the value potential of the spaces around. The slab is analysed as a 3d grid, each point of which possesses different numerical values; connectivity, quantities and qualities of light, proximity to exterior space and so on.
13. A fractal circulation network, mimicking natural capillaries uses the minimum volume to provide access across the entire city**
Together this data is used to digitally generate the highest value design, use mix and zoning for the entire city and to dynamically update the form and use of space to remain optimized in real time. An evolutionary algorithm introduces and measures the relative performance of random variety to ensure the occupation pattern of the slab does not become trapped at a local optimum.
16. No human activity occupies a full cuboid, we break from flat floor plates and design voids according to the space actually used. The example on the right uses 25% less volume while providing the same number of work spaces. Huge spatial gains can be made this way.
11. We then remove the minimum volume that allows it all to be naturally lit
12. The light wells are then deformed to allow passive heating and cooling of the entire city.
14. We reduce the spatial cost of circulation even further by laying it out as a enfilade of occupiable, programmed public spaces, like museums, galleries or souks. This will also make walking more entertaining
15. The slab is a connected 3d network = a higher percentage of the city can be used by types which require pedestrian flows = more exciting, and more valuable. The roof can also become a continuous park.
17. Values extracted from global market data are assigned to 3d grid locations for each use type. We then generate the highest total value distribution of uses***
18. Smart geometry = better lives**** Not just more space but better space!
****WHY IS THIS GEOMETRY BETTER AGAIN? It provides a lot more space, which would either allow homes to increase in size, price of land to drop or more people to live and work in the city. Quality of life will also be higher because: A higher percentage of space is naturally lit Connecting the roofs allows more outdoor green space per person than present day Hong Kong Connecting the slab into a 3d network will allow as much diversity of use to occur in the section as happens in plan. A lower percentage of the city is service core as risers ducts and circulation are linked into a network Perspective Section:
Collapsible uses:
Speculative layout based on typical use categories and climate conditions
Automatic movement of partitions attached to sensors allow for example bedroom space to become office space in the daytime
High connectivity Medium light: Offices Schools Universities Super high connectivity Medium light: Indoor public streets & Enfilade of public spaces Convenience retail Medium connectivity Low light: Vehicular Transit & Logistics Theatres & Nightclubs Shopping malls & Sports venues
Lightwe Civic fun
Optical glass fibre fur: -Collects daylight for redistribution -Prevents ultra violet degradation of layers behind -Acoustically softens exterior -Moves aesthetically with wind
Bundled optical fibres: -Conducts daylight into building interior -Basket structure reinforcement
Carbon fibre and Kevlar composite: -Rigid shell structure -Vapour proof
Aerogel: -Super insulates interior -Prevents fire damage to structure
Internal finish: -Impact protection for aerogel -Aesthetically pleasing for user
Cladding detail:
Maximum performance, minimum weight and volume
Roofscape: Recreational gardens Leisure activities
Medium - Low connectivity High light: Residences & private outdoor space Restaurants & destination leisure
ell base: nctions Integrated logistics: Robotic networks throughout structure reduce the volume of traffic required to service the city.
Low Connectivity Low Light: Industry & Warehousing Waste & Water treatment
This and other services occupy only the interstices between non-tesselating use voids (see figure 16) Where today risers occupy what would otherwise be useable space.
ALL TALL BUILDINGS ON EARTH
THE MOST SPACE EFFICIENT ELEVATOR IN THE WORLD PERSONAL PROJECT
This technology is the foundation of a start up I have co-founded with several friends and colleagues. We have also developed designs for other systems based on the same concept For updates please visit ELEMAX.co.uk
20% Even in the most efficient buildings service cores
Most of this cores area is elevator shafts
still take up an average 20% of floor area
and elevator shafts are mostly empty space
if we allow cars to move between shafts we can fit exponentially more cars in each shaft
For 3 shafts a circular plan is used so all cars can move to any position without passing through any other The large external edge also increases speed of Passenger loading and unloading
More cars in each shaft = fewer shafts & higher capacity = More rentable area + shorter lift waiting times = Happier landlords, happier tenants
LILLE, FRANCE
LIFESTYLE URBANISM UNIVERSITY PROJECT
Every city changes your lifestyle as soon as you move in. What if we start by defining the lifestyle we want, then design the city in order to create that? This building is a public living room, stocked with ways to pursue your own interests and make friends with people who you share interests with. It is about giving the local people the things they really want, more than just another shiny building.
KEY MOVES
MARGATE, KENT
MODULAR HOUSING UNIVERSITY PROJECT
These contemporary terraced houses are laid out to form a possitive pedestrian environment for people passing through. They are laid out as a landscape and have a wind turbine/ chapel which drives water through cleaning pools as an elegant focal point for views.
优越的地理位置 Advanced location
commercial road- cultural road
重要的交点位置 Important junction
主塔楼不适宜布置在场地西北角 North-west corner not good for main towe
1sttower location of the_error land location tower
conncetion corner
5
最大化沿街商业界面 Maximise streetfront
most suitable place for the shopping mall
购物中心的最优位置 Optimised shopping mall location
便利的城市地铁连接 Convenient underground connection
tube connection wi ping mall
4 location of the shopping mall
宜居的住宅环境 Livable residential environment
1
existing building s
保留地块内的现有工业遗产 Preserved industrial heritage
城市的梯地公园 A terrace green park for the Wuhan city
resi+clubhouse affordable housing
4
green park environment Wuhan
2
3
2 方案 1 Option 1
1 方案 2 Option 2
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS 1. Landmark tower master plan: Wuhan, China 5
2. Office fit out: London, UK
3. Office building: London, UK
4. Office complex: Beijing, China 5
5. Retail district: Nanjing, China
6. Office complex: Ras Bufontas Economic zone, Qatar
2 7: Kindertagesschule: St. Moritz, Switzerland
8: Retail fit out: St. Moritz, Switzerland
9: Hotel Interior: Celerina, Switzerland
3
6
7
8
7
9
Pavilion project development sketches
Model city development sketches
Humanitarian Construction, Butacho