First Projects and Assessments at Kingston University - London

architecture diary BAHons Architecture Year 2 cecilia vecchi machado

a willing diary.

By the start of an architecture diary, so different from what I am used as recording and developing work in my home university, what I intend to gather in this piece is the most natural fluidness of my work in Kingston University, as it is happens and how it might be happening at the present moment. It seems important to point out that my interests in architecture, during my first 3 years in the course, turned to be quite different from what I thought they might be while deciding the course I was going to choose. And this particular interest is materials and techniques of construction applied in projects, in short: the understanding of how a building works, and how its construction affect the final users.

My studio choice, being the 2.1 was guided by this principle, and I hope to develop my skills in this field of interest and apply all the knowledge that I gather, in my future professional life. Also, engaging the subjects in the successful production of a final piece is my greatest objective during this year I will spend in Kingston University.

Back in my home country, the technical drawings are made using AutoCAD, which I am used to, and I can draw fast and clear on it. What I need to improve on this matter is to choose better the scale of details to show in different scale drawings. About perspectives, sketches and simple lining, the hand drawing is preferred. As for 3D models, in my home country we use Google SketchUp and render softwares such as Podium and VRay. Real models are not often used so it is a skill that i intend to develop during my stay in Kingston University.

The Vertical project set a start of the year, in a group work that was as challenging as rewarding in many aspects. First, the challenge of communicating ideas not in my natural language and informing correctly what the proposal was for the other members of the group. Second, the challenge of create a meaningful intervention, that might be, besides a simple act, an act that could make a difference at least for one day in peoples lives.

The reward came when people really did interact with our intervention, asked about it, and interacted with each other. In the end it was pretty successful.

Summary vertical project............................................................................... 2 - 5 studio 2.1 louis khan exibition - design museum............................. 6,7 studio 2.1 facade section - studies................................................. 8,9 studio 2.1 facade section - shed thames warehouses...................... 10 ar5003 graphics - page analysis................................................ 11 - 13 studio 2.1 trip to dorset - brick factury.............................................. 14 studio 2.1 trip to dorset - camp site.................................................. 15 studio 2.1 pump house brief and precedents............................... 16,17 studio 2.1 pump house................................................................ 18,20 ar5003 measured drawing......................................................... 21 - 23 ar5004 the name of thigs - surveying......................................... 24 - 26 ar5003 diagram exercice........................................................... 27 - 29 studio 2.1 trip to dorset - camp site................................................... 30 studio 2.1 trip to dorset - jurassic coast............................................ 31 studio 2.1 carving space brief and precedents.......................... 32 - 34 studio 2.1 carving space - workshop sketches.......................... 35 - 37 studio 2.1 carving space - model photograph........................... 38 - 39 studio 2.1 carving space - plans, sections and elevations......... 40 - 43 ar5003 drawing in the style of (Caruso St. John)....................... 44 - 46

vertical

project

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public

interior

surveying - sketching

2

3

vertical

project

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public

interior

final project

4

The London public transport system, particularly the underground, has become an anti-social and mundane part of individuals’ daily routine. There is no change to the environment; it is repetitive, uniform and generally banal. There is no conversation or even eye contact followed by a polite smile amongst commuters. Our proposal is to reinsert the ‘public’ aspect into a public interior.

Our aim is to facilitate interaction through a spark of curiosity from an unexpected and out of the ordinary act in the form of a modest installation in an underground tube carriage. The act consists of many small colourful cards that hang from the ceiling containing an interesting fact, joke or thought provoking question, intended to gain a response, even that as simple as a smirk or eye contact to draw passengers attention to the almost tangible absence of interaction between them and create an experience different to the ordinary.

london undergroud cecilia vecchi - patrcik ambridge - kaitlyn dunst timothy adeyeloha - oren karev - hibba - kuurosh

5

introdutory

week

-

studio

2.1

louis khan work exibition - design mudeum

“I think he had a deep understanding of what they could do.“ - Moshe Safdie, about Louis Khan work with bricks in India “He could work with geometry issues, scale issues, movement...“ Geddes, about Louis Khan’s work “The crocodile must want to be a crocodile, for reasons of the crocodile“ Louis Khan, metaphoricaly.

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7

introdutory

week

-

studio

2.1

,brief

tectonic facade section - materials research

School of Architecture and Landscape

Geological Survey Map, Isle of Purbeck – Woodward in Braye, 1890

Section, Pantheon, 273

Studio 2.1 Brief 1 – Measuring and Representation Site Survey, Research and Observation Your first brief involves understanding some of the underlying concerns of making a survey and to explore ways of recording and representing your knowledge of a site. You will need to use various types of survey to familiarise yourself with your site, the village and surrounding landscape of Corfe Castle and the wider UNSECO World Heritage Site. These will capture the geological formation and the significance of the paleontological interest in the landscape as well as the cultural and social aspects of the site.

The materials that are indigenous to an area have a strong bearing upon the traditional pattern of construction of the built environment. We would like you to identify these materials in the context of the Jurrasic Coast, and investigate the characteristics inherent to these materials. You should consider firstly how these materials originate and are extracted from the ground; secondly, how these raw materials are worked and altered to produce useful building materials; thirdly, explain how these building materials have inherent properties that inform how and for what they are used.

This will lead to the final point of consideration, which is how various of these materials are joined to each other, in respect of their qualities, to form a hierarchical relationship to each other in architectural design. An important point to explain is how the tools available control the relationship between materials and the human body and human actions.

Tectonic Drawing Exercise - 1:20 Section In the first instance, you will make a detailed1:20 drawing survey across a section of a building in London as a method to explore material and tectonic composition. This survey aims to describe the palette of materials used, the hierarchy between materials, material properties, their forms and how they are held in place. This drawing must be a 1:20 section that fills an A1 portrait sheet. You are to make a sketch or an image to accompany the drawing that describes habitation within or around your section of the building. We will review these drawings on Thursday 16th October in Dorset so please bring a copy with you then.

8

introdutory

week

-

studio

2.1

tectonic facade section - materials research

9

introdutory

week

-

studio

2.1

tectonic facade section - materials research

10

introdutory

week

-

graphics

brief

School of Architecture and Landscape

GRAPHICS Brief Issued 08/10/2014. Final submission 28/10/2014 Introduction This assignment is designed to hone your graphic awareness and skills and your approach to the presentation of both Portfolio and Diary Part A Analysis You are to produce 1 no. A3 sheet.

Select a Graphic example from periodicals, books etc that you consider successful.

You are to place the example on the left hand portion of the A3 sheet. Use the right hand area to present a detailed analysis of the graphic extract.

You need to identify a grid layout and reproduce this in a diagram.

Describe the structure and order of the page and any significant rules of the layout.

Is there a hierarchy of components?

Your analysis should be predominantly in diagrammatic form. We do not want to see an essay of text.

Dimension the different image/s, drawings, gaps between and text body. Identify the font size, spacing and style or type of text used.

Can you recognise underlying patterns or ratios? Is the page empty or full? How is the composition proportioned in terms of tone (dark, light, subtle, bold, use of colour etc.)?

Describe how your eye navigates the page layout.

Graphics 2014-15

Level 5: BA (Hons) Architecture, Landscape

11

introdutory

week

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graphics

page layout analysis

12

The page’s grid, follows pattern distances, and does not tired the reader with too much information. The collors are pleasenttly composed in the picture, and the following text is not too extense and can be easily read.

1 3

4

5

6

2

The page presented, capture the reader’s attention through the big and colorfull image

that occupies the upper half of the page. This image summarizes the describbed place’s essence. In a second moment the reader is captured by another colourfull strong image Magazine ARCHIS#4 2014 pg 61 Font type: Helvetica light Font size: 9pt

on the right bottom which is not fully understood by itself, making the reader look for a

better understanding in the text. After capturing the main idea of the text, the reader will follow the bottom immages from left to right, which is the ocidental reading manner. Since the images have approximate weight, the reading migh follow its natural course.

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studio

2.1

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brick

factury

visit

swnadge , Dorset

The visit happened to a Swanage local factory called Ibstock Bricks that produces around 3 million handmade bricks a year.

The production process presented to us can be found bellow corresponding to the different fases of the process: clay extraction - sand and salt control in the extracted material, milling, mixing, separating in portions, shaping the bricks, naturally drying, cooking, cooling, final pallet.

An example of final pallet can be seen in the right.

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studio 2.1 - camp site visit

swnadge , Dorset

The first visit to the site in Corfe Castle village, had as study object, an old pump house, no longer used as such. The space was ment to be turned into a summer house so it might be really used by

the owners of the property. The place was measured, sketched and photographed.

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studio

2.1

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summer

house brief

16

studio

2.1

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summer

house

precedents

Brick work and timber frame

structure studies - Images from the book Facade Construction Mannual.

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studio

2.1

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summer

house

proposal sketches

18

studio

2.1

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summer

house

proposal

swnadge , Dorset

The final proposal for the summer house consisted in removing one of the existing walls oppening the space for the existing concrete patio. The wall would be replaced for foldable doors that open up completely, integrating the space.

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studio 2.1 - pump house final proposal swnadge , Dorset

By cutting the slab and lifting the roof, the space would become less claustrophobic.

The rest of the patio would also be protected by the extension of this new roof. Two new

patios would be also added and integrated to the existing one by stairs. They would be located according to the landscape, communicating the spaces with the surrounding nature and the stream that runs behind the pump house.

20

measured

drawing

-

brief

School of Architecture and Landscape

56 Artillery Lane. Oscar Plastow. 2011

PRECEDENT MEASURED DRAWING Brief issued: 10.10.14. Final submission. 07.11.14

You may be familiar with the architecture of Palladio, of Soane, of Webb and Inigo Jones and how the composition, texture, detail and construction of their work were clearly expressed in elegant and rigorous drawings. Many architects today pay homage to this visual discipline and many cultivate awareness through the study of both contemporary and historical precedent.

The act of observing, of measuring and drawing combined is an important exercise in the intellectual process we call design. Recording and analysing existing examples helps us to inform and test our own ideas.

In practice, the measured survey is a step in the design process that takes place at the outset of a project and confirms the scale, space and existing conditions of a vacant or existing site, for refurbishment, extending and new-build.

Free-hand elevation studies. Andrea Palladio

2014/2015

Level 5/Measured Drawing/Architecture and Landscape

21

measured

drawing

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surveying national theatre

The building to be surveyed to the measured drawing was The Shed of the National Theatre from Haworth Tompkins.

The facade is composed by painted wooden boards, horizon-

tally disposed, fixed by screws in a wooden frame. The boards are painted in vivid red color.

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measured

drawing

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facade

national theatre

23

naming

of

things

-

School of Architecture and Landscape

AR5004 The Processes of Making Architecture: The Naming of Things Issue: Submission:

10/10/2014 11/11/2014, 16:00, Student Office submission box

Architecture often relies on a relatively limited number of components, which when brought together make a building that creates a comfortable interior, resists the immediate and long-term effects of climate and weather and accommodates the human body.

As an architect, it is critical to become familiar with these components, to be able to name and describe them, and to understand the inter-relationships between them in order to design buildings and to communicate your intentions to others through drawings.

In groups you will make a study of a fragment of a building on the Knights Park Campus, studying its structure, services and materials. You will survey and make drawings at specific scales of a vertical section of the building from ground to roof and accurately describe the various parts that when combined together make the building. The study is not only intended to assist you to develop an understanding of how buildings are put together but also encourage you to understand the importance and benefit of discussing and coordinating your research with others to create a complete and meaningful piece of work.

These studies will use a range of drawing scales appropriate to each task as follows: 1. 1/100 General Arrangement At a scale of 1/100 you will describe the whole of your building fragment in section. This will include all levels from ground to roof and must include the correct floor to ceiling heights, window and door openings and any large-scale features such as staircases or roof lights. The drawings will also show what parts of the building are structural and what are non-structural. These drawings will be used as the basis for larger, more detailed drawings.

You should also make an elevation drawing at 1/100 through your building fragment to describe the external material treatments such as brickwork, lintels, glazing patterns etc.

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brief

naming

of

things

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section

05

studio 4/ library surveying

The surveying ocoured at Knights Park Campus of Kingston University and the specific section to be studied corresponded to Section 5 that goes through Studio 4 and part of the Library.

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naming

of

things

-

section

05

studio 4/ library drawings

The part I took responsibility for the compendium was the 1:20 drawings that corresponded to a ceiling

plan, a plan and all the four elevations of the internal part of Studio 4.

26

diagram

exercice

-

brief

School of Architecture and Landscape

AR 5003

Diagram Exercise

The purpose of this exercise is to support you in building a repertoire of diagrammatic analysis in order to understand and communicate design strategies. Out of the 10 themes and references listed below, you should select the 7 that you find most useful for your analysis. The diagrams can be based on plan, section, axonometric projection, and should demonstrate the chosen themes in the clearest and most insightful way possible. They need not all use the same type of projection, but think about how they communicate as a series. You might want to begin with plan based diagrams, and then resort to section and axonometric only for those themes that require such treatment. All drawings are to be at scale 1/400. The first drawing on the page should be the floor plan, redrawn and reduced to the amount of detail appropriate at this scale. Think about how you arrange the diagrams on each sheet as a logical sequence, and consider that some diagrams may need to be read alongside the plan (or section, axonometric) in order to be understood. Drawings are to be hand-drawn, and well-crafted. For the list of precedent buildings see Measured Drawing brief.

The work is to be drawn on 2 or 3 A3 sheets, printed onto good paper and enclosed in a labelled plastic A3 sleeve.

Submission The diagram study submission is on Friday 21th November by 2.00 pm at the student office.

Bibliography Figures, Doors and Passages, Robin Evans. In: The Projective cast: architecture and its three geometries, 1995. 720.1 EVA Diagram Ecologies - Diagrams as Science and Game Board, Christoph Lueder. In: Diagrammatic Representation and Inference, 2012. Springer Lecture notes in computer science (online access).

1. Approach and entry

2. Circulation

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diagram

exercice

-

studies

the shed - national theatre

28

diagram exercice - watercolor the shed - national theatre

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studio 2.1 - field trip to Dorset surveying

The second site visit to Corf Castle - Dorset, ocoured on the 9th and 10th of november in which we had more time to walk around the place and get more familiarized with its components to then choose a location for the new Carving Space.

The location I choose was the space inbetween the existing workshop and the bangalo, now, covered by vegetation as shown above (bamboo area).

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studio 2.1 - field trip to Dorset jurassic coast

A second moment of the site visit was to get familiarized with the UNESCO herritage site - The Jurassic Coast, located near to Corf Castle, to understand the importancy of preserved spaces that may, in many cases, remain untouched by man. Or even, in the case of the Jurassic Coast, have a control under man’s interference, since it corresponds to a private property.

The space was outstanding and the views were magnificent. It definetely is a space to be inspired by, a place to remember.

I couldn’t define in words the atmosphere and all I could think about was that I had to capture those images deep in my soul, because it might be that I will never be able to visit it again.

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studio

2.1

-

workshop

brief

carving space

32

studio 2.1 - workshop research precedents

The first interesting reference that linked with my initial ideas of the workshop project was Nottingham Contemporary building

by Caruso St John, that incorporated the idea of the wall and the weaving (heavy x light). I wanted the workshop to present this fundaments by having a heavy base and a light structure up top.

The second interesting reference was Paul Croft’s Studio atmosphere of a space full of light, white walls and upper windows.

The view of the pessants with the landscape behind cought my attention and I also wanted to incorporate such aspects.

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studio 2.1 - workshop research precedents

As for the third reference - The Forest House by Sanaksenaho Architects - caught my attention by the relation established by landscape and interior though the wooden frame windows.

The matching color of the wood with the landscape behind creates a sense of belonging and of continuity of that landscape to the building itself.

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studio

2.1

-

workshop sketches

35

studio

2.1

-

workshop sketches

36

studio

2.1

-

workshop sketches

37

studio

2.1

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workshop model

As shown in the model, upper windows, wooden framed allow the landscape to run through the building creating un inspiring atmosphere for the carving space. They also provide light for the working area.

The brick wall dialogue with the existing buildings on the site, providing a sense of continuity not only of the space, but also the continuity of the tradition of the activity of carving.

The users have a grat view from the Corf Castle and also from the landscape behind the site.

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studio

2.1

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workshop model

The insertion of the project in the site can be seen below.

The collages gives a perspective of what would be the front and back elevations

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studio

2.1

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workshop down floor

40

studio

2.1

-

workshop upper floor

41

studio

2.1

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workshop carving space

42

studio

2.1

-

workshop carving space

43

AR 5003 - drawing in the style of brief

44

AR 5003 - drawing in the style of precedents

From Caruso St Johns work, simple lining and pale colors bring texture and life to the projects and allow a great understanding of his idea for the project, for the materials and for the atmosphere created in those spaces.

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AR 5003 - drawing in the style of precedents

Inspired by Caruso St Johns principles and drawing skills, My drawing represent texture and materials, also by simple lining and colors. From the Studio 2.1 project for a carving space, tis drawing represents one of the elevations os the workshop created.

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