The Museum of Oral Histories FOR AGES 7+
Dominic Davis Unit 15 0005939453 Design Realisation MArch 14-15 Tutors: Mike Aling/ Nic Clear/ Hyun Jun Park
CONTENTS 1
INTRODUCTION BUILDING CONTEXT CONCEPT URBAN DESIGN
BUILDING DELIVERY
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
BUILDING PERFORMANCE
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INTRODUCTION The Museum of Oral Histories (MOH) sits in the ‘Landscape of Histories’ urban design project initiated by young architect Dom Davis. The landscape revives old structures through collage of previous uses of the Greenwich Peninsula maps over a period of time. Oral History is the recording of people’s memories, experiences and opinions. The Museum of Oral History is a place where the local inhabitants of Greenwich come to explore, document and create new forms of oral history. It makes use of three outputs which are cinema, text and sound.
“I had always felt it a great shame as a young boy that my grandfather’s stories wouldn’t be shared with the masses because he was not a political figure or someone of significance in society but an ordinary man. “ Dom Davis 14-1-15 The Museum is a place where stories can be frozen for future generations to hear.
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http://www.ohs.org.uk/
The document you are about to read is something the designer would like to put in the category of artist books because of his love for knowledge and art. The document is also a manifesto for the graphic intention not only of the museum but of his practice. In a lot of the decisions made of the building it was down to the design decisions made on some of the pages in this book document. The document also doubles as a piece of information to give to the visitor who enquires of this landscape he or she finds themselves in and the Museum of Oral Histories you will visit or have already visited.
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5 BUILDING CONTEXT
The proposal is for a landscape of local histories that take on the form of Museums (to archive, interact and display the history of the peninsula) and relics that borrow from the forms of the site’s industrial past. The Museums have each have specific focuses to do with the body senses such as sight, touch and sound, but also historic traditions in writing and objects. The landscape is sited to the upper left side of the peninsula and is different to the rather aggressive development of housing by the Knight Dragon group. The landscape revives structures and sculptures from the site’s industrial past. It borrows gasometers, industrial relics and tar for terraforming.
a landscape of
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HISTORIES
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CONCEPT.
What if we used a MATERIAL that is NOW generally FORGOTTEN and OVERLOOKED? What if we took BUILDINGS from the PAST and used them as MODERN day RELICS?
What would the PROGRAM of a BUILDING be in the landscape of a REVIVAL of the PAST?
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SITE : GREENWICH PENINSULA
The Greenwich Peninsula is the site for this project. The peninsula has undergone many dramatic transformations over the past 300 years.
A cinema, various restaurants and industries still operating, a retail park and temporary football academy all populate the peninsula.
From a marsh to an industrial landscape, now to a mixture which is more recently pursuing housing under the Knight Dragon development and with the introduction of the Dome in the millennia has boosted visitors to the peninsula.
The site has become a hub of activity from various different participants. The designer was interested in this layering found in the history of the site. For the urban design project he chose the red lined area which is were the ordance tar works existed in the 1800s. This is important because the tarwas used as a preserver and is used as a main material in his terraforming of the site. A nod to the past occupation of the site.
The Ravensbourne college of art has also sited themselves on the peninsula adding an educational dimension to the site.
ORDANCE
NORTH
WIND MAP The site is placed in a flood risk area based on the fact that if a severe storm took place, the majority of the Peninsula and Canary Wharf would be affected. However the site is protected with adequte flood defences so there is little reason to worry. The Museum is sited at the uppermost point near ordinance wharf where tar was produced during the indutrial period of the peninsula. The Museum also has a good view of the entire masterplan from the roof of the middle building.
Flood Map
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Transport links to Peninsula North Greenwich Pier Thames Clipper North Greenwich Tube Station Emirate Air Line Blackwall Tunnel North greenwich Bus Station
The peninsula is a well connected area in terms of transportation. The project has avoided adding further parking for visitors as a great portion on the peninsula has parking via the O2 and we decided that the transportation was adequate enough to bring visitors to the site. The cycle lane runs through the left side of the masterplan by the river which we decided not to alter.
TRANSPORT
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a
b
ROYAL MUSEUMS GREENWICH To the west of greenwich there are several notible museums that are dearly treasured by tourists and locals. The main problem with this is that all these great museums are not too far from one another and leave the east of Greenwich past the Arches Leisure centre labelled as ‘CRAP’ by resident George Davis. The imbalance in great public buildings in Greenwich is felt sorely by local residents. The village and the surrounding areasare well maintained which may be down to the fact that the number of visitors to the park and the village is of a greater priority to the council that where residents live.
c
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Trafalgar Road, Greenwich.
d
CUTTY SARK (d) NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM (c) QUEEN’S HOUSE (a)
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ROYAL OBSERVATORY (b)
HISTORY OF GREENWICH PENINSULA
A group of Dutch Engineers drained the site in the 16th century, however it has been known as the marshes since 1315. Greenwich Peninsula during the 17th century looked after by the ‘Court of Sewers’ a body made up of representatives of landowners and their tenants. Every year they would walk around the area and note what work was needed - ditches to be cleaned, brambles to be cut back and repairs to be made. After 1700 the marshes were under the ownership of rivate hands mostly charities such as The Boreman Chariy, Trinity Hospital, The Poor of Frningham & Hatcliffe’s Charity and Morden College.
The Peninsula has some rural industry till about the 19th century. The fields were used for some tenants as farming but some butches used them for their cattle and sheep. One leaseholder was a basket maker who grew reds and willow as a cash crop. Before 1800 the Thames supported a major fishing industry and Greenwich was one of the mainports.
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In developing the masterplan, I took five maps from a period of the peninsula’s history that starts from the marshes and continues to present day. I then overlaid these maps on top of each other and ‘x-rayed’ them to select parts of the maps that interested me.
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DEVELOPMENT OF MASTERPLAN
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20 I began to make forms from the lines on the map and created my own interventions into these drawings which inspired from the terraform photomontages. I then scaled down these elements that were interesting to me to the site which starts at the ordance wharf because of peninsula’s history in that area with tar making.
21 CINEMATIC
HAPTIC
TAR SANDS+FIELDS
MUSEUMS
SONIC PHOTOGRAPHIC TEXTUAL
RELICS+TAR
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EXPLODED MASTERPLAN
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TAR SANDS AND FIELDS An alternative to the greenwich park with its trees and grass. The Tar Sands and Fields celebrate the site’s historic industry in producing tar. These large almost mountain like tar humps are the show off landscape elements of the site.
TAR SANDS AND FIELDS
RELICS AND INTERVENTIONS RELICS AND INTERVENTIONS
MUSEUMS AND OTHER BULDINGS
The relics are parts of the past industry that have been brought to occupy the landscape as a sculptural element. Some of the interventions are a labrythin (see appendix) and odd shaped tar arrows.
MUSEUMS AND OTHER BUILDINGS The masterplan features a number of history orientated museums that have their own focus for example the cinematic museum is only concern with the history of films in greenwich.
LISTENING GALLERIES
LISTENING GALLERIES The listening galleries are a two fold use. First fold is to consume and listen to the sound installation. The second is to contribute to the oral history archive or give feedback on your experience in the landscape of histories.
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BUILDI DELIVE
ING ERY
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FUNDING PROJECT ARTS COUNCIL NATIONAL LOTTERY BRITISH LIBRARY ROYAL BOROUGH OF GREENWICH (COMMUNITY INFASTRUCTURE LEVY) EUROPEAN FUNDING
The Oral History Society are selected by the funding committee to manage the Oral History Museum. They rely on the help of volunteers in the assisting with the day to day activities of the museum.
MANAGING PROJECT
Graham Smith (Chair) Beth Thomas (Vice-Chair) Robert Wilkinson (Treasurer)
CLIENT
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The Oral History Society (OHS), founded in 1973, is a national and international organisation dedicated to the collection and preservation of oral history. It aims to offer both encouragement and practical advice to those conducting oral history, through its training courses run in conjunction with the British Library National Sound Archive, twice-yearly conferences, and the publication of its journal Oral History. source: http://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/organisations_projects/OHS.html
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BY THIS PROJECT HE BECOMES FRIENDS WITH THE RESIDENTS OF GREENWICH AND THE ORAL HISTORY SOCIETY FOR INITIATING SUCH A LARGE PROJECT.
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BECAUSE OF THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT RESIDENTS AND FUNDERS BELIEVE IN THE PROJECT AND THE BENEFIT ART HAS FOR SOCIETY
PROJECT NARRATIVE
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SKETCHES
PROGRAM ARRANGED AROUND A HALL IN THE CENTRE PROGRAM ARRANGED AROUND A L-SHAPE HALL PROGRAM ARRANGED AROUND A T-SHAPE HALL PROGRAM ARRANGED LIKE THE PALM OF A HAND WITH THE PROGRAM AS THE FINGERS FORM THE HALL
TheROOF idea for the arrangement of the TO WRAP museum is to have the various programs OVER PROGRAMS that occur in the museum to be connected to a central hall, which is seen in galleries such as the Tate Modern. Then two buildings one semi public and the other completely public attach to this central hall. The semi public building has more private functions like the offices, archives, delivery drop off and storage spaces.
ARRANGEMENT DIAGRAM
36 Hall is the central space for connecting into other buildings. The guests arrive here and have options of visiting the archives and workshops to the left or going to the right for the gallery, cloakroom, cafe and shop.
diagram showing public and private in more depth with with circulation and arrangement/ proximity
diagram showing public access diagram and private access diagram
Workers are made up of part time and full timer workers. Volunteers will be used as part time labour and given benefits such as discounted prices or free tickets to the other museums on the masterplan.
Less money will be spent on the concrete hall in terms of material but will have a curve to attract visitors.
exhibition designers will be using various levels of echo and sound experimentation in the listening galleries.
the funding and applying for funding process. Charity events to raise money [campaigns] volunteers and how work force is paid / unpaid culture occupation by the oral history society the schools as main visitor. reglit rainbow coloured glazing
system to attract to people. The Colours relate to this document but also to the program in the museum.
“I like working here and showing people the exhibits. Life has been a bit boring since retirement and volunteering helps keep me involved in the community.�
rainwater harvesting will be invested into project early to save on costs of water which have been growing to concerning levels in recent years . add a reference.
Project diagram
CONTRACT building
The client will use a design and build contract for the museum where the architect is a member of the design team working with the contractor. In this type of contract not everything has to go through the architect but the client. The contract gives the client more control and enables a quicker build but is potentially susceptible to delivering lower quality depending on the contractors and client financial ability. The government favourite this type of contract when using public funding. The responsibility for the build rests with the contractor however the client appoints their own Architect (the young Dom Davis) to design the project. The Architect will have the materials in the contract specified as nonnegotiable where the contractor agrees not to change any of the materials for substitutes to keep the identity of the project and its design aesthetic. The traditional contract would increase the workload for the Architect as he would oversea more than in a design and build contract. The traditional option was not pursued because he is also deisgning hte masterplan and landscaping of the context. The design and build would be the ideal use of his time.
PROCUREMENT The client will use a Community Infrastructure Levy previously known as the Section 106 which is a charge placed on new developments in the Borough of Greenwich which will be used to fund buildings for the community. The argument for the museum of oral history is a wide ranging participation experience from adding to the collection of oral history, working with existing recordings to create something new and also viewing the works. The widespread public dissatisfaction with council over the lack of community engagement projects in the borough aids the argument. The bulk of culture for the public in greenwich is found at the Royal Museums and very little in comparison of scale anywhere else in the borough. The land which is the site is on was planned for the use of the Knight Dragon development group, however their operation will be scaled back as the housing proposed does not solve or meet the needs for the existing community in Greenwich.
landscape
the client will use a different contract from the museum for the landscaping. The Architect will
Landscape Works Contract with Contractor’s Design 2012 (JCLI LWCD 2012)
The JCLI Landscape Works Contract with Contractor’s Design 2012 is very similar to the JCLI LWC 2012 but incorporates provisions for discrete elements of the work to be designed by the Contractor. It is not appropriate as a Design and Build Contract.
Landscape Maintenance Works Contract 2012 (JCLI LMWC 2012)
A Standard Form of Agreement and Conditions of Contract for Landscape Maintenance Works (JCLI LMWC) which is appropriate for all types of landscape maintenance project of any value, but is predominantly for use as a ‘commercial’ contract. It includes considerable flexibility and is appropriate as a back-to-back contract with a landscape construction contract. The 2012 edition replaces all previous editions and revisions of this contract
Knight Dragon Masterplan image: https://853blog.files.wordpress. com/2013/04/peninsula.jpg?w=830
THE PROJECT WILL USE PUBLIC FUNDING FOR THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND SOME FROM THOSE MANAGING THE BUILDING. THE MUSEUM WILL BE USING VOLUNTEERS ESPECIALLY THE ELDERLY TO RUN THE DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES, OPENING AND CLOSING AND WILL USE A NUMBER OF YOUNGER VOLUNTEERS AS WELL. PARTIES MANAGING THE BUILDING EACH HAVE THEIR OWN SPECIFIC INTEREST BE IT EDUCATIONAL, CHARITY AND FURTHERING THE USE OF ORAL HISTORY AND AWARENESS OF IT. Money will go into the facade reglit glazing system this is because the Museum needs to have a presence that will both shock and attract visitors eyes to draw them in. money will go into the hall which is made out of concrete and is suppose to be durable and cheap. money will go into energy systems like rainwater harvesting for the toilets as a requirement by the lotto fund rest of the money goes into designing the acoustic funnel shaped listening galleries
ARCHITECT
Relatively young architect decides to initiate a project for the design of a cultural landscape on Greenwich Peninsula. Through holding a public consultation with residents he gains their trust and lobby’s government to scale back the knight dragon masterplan and allow for a landscape of history museums to take place instead. The architect will design the masterplan for this landscape and design one of the museums which is the oral history museum. The other museums and buildings will be designed by other local architects to celebrate the creativity of Greenwich.
CLIENT the client which is a committee formed of those funding the project and those managing it decide on a design and build contract, where funds are initially paid in a lump sum then after the contract receives periodic payments during the course of the construction. A design and build contract is also much quicker than a traditional contract and considering the scale of the entire masterplan there is a desire to have all projects completed relativity to one another for a grand opening to the public. The Architect and his team will be in contact with the client and the quantity surveyor.
The client will collaborate with the architect and the quantity surveyor in
ARCHITECT: ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY
QUANTITY SURVEYOR
SPECIALISTS lighting and how we can keep the costs down in a museum high on audio visual
CONTRACTOR
CONSULTANTS: ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
audio visual management and storage of archives
structural engineer he knows about the truss etc used to work with rem and needed a new challenge, one final project and then he’ll retire
The wharf maybe protected so you have to fight a case for why your building should be built there. The image above shows the site and the restricted part. Also there is some restriction form the airport about heights.
Option 2 The Victoria Deep Water Wharf stakeholder the Aggregate company would be paid and relocated further down the river Thames.
Key planning restriction on the land is the safeguarded wharves which include tunnel wharf and victoria deep water terminal and the boat yard. Protected wharves part of the London Plan Report. Tunnel Wharf is disused by the industry is protected. Victoria Deep Water is also protected and used as an aggregate grading facility. Option 1 To overcome this restriction, the wharves will be integrated into the master plan and terraforming. The purpose of the site is to preserve history, thus having a working industry still remain on site is welcomed by the clients. However their operation maybe re-organised to allow more space for museums and the stakeholders compensated for this. Move the operations of Victoria Deep Water Wharf to the largely disused Tunnel Wharf and move the warehouses form Tunnel Wharf into the masterplan with new facilities which are in red in the drawing above.
PLANNING AND STATUTORY CONSIDERATIONS
RISK MANAGEMENT AND HEALTH AND SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
scale 1:150 section
storage and drop off
cafe shops toilets cloakroom
scale 1:200 ground floor and second floor
offices archives
workshop
hall
exhibition
scale 1:200 second floor and roof plan
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
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OPTION 1
inside
inner corrugated plastic
insulation board
outside
steel frame with rubber seal outer corrugated plastic
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screw for panel
plastic corrugated
rubber seal to prevent water or draft into the building
steel frame
rubber seal
screw to act as a clamp and tighten the rubber seal
The reference for the modular system we was initially thinking of came from Cedric Price’s interaction centre. We thought it good as a start point to consider how the museum may replica itself cheaply.
OPTION 2
image: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcv0f1wIEG1qz7wp8o1_1280.jpg
http://files.arroway-textures.de/catalog/images/demos/full/ crop_concrete-035.jpg
concrete used in the flooring and walls
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/Building_types_ study/K-12/2012/images/The-Leutschenbach-School-4.jpg
http://www.steelstructureschina.com/images-steelstructure/ steel-structure-building-04-big.jpg
channel glass system advantages and the idea of the scale of am i more or less cheaper than the other blokes. aesthetically pleasing
steel structure advantages and the idea of the scale of am i more or less cheaper than the other blokes. aesthetically pleasing
aluminium carved panels
thermopiam diden village mvrdv
Concrete is chosen for the hall as an external cladding which is polished, as a reinforcement wall and columns to hold the roof and finally pouredhttp://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/740/483/401/401483740_195. conrete in the floors. jpg The specific conrete we used made use of recycled concrete as the aggregate. Concrete is a durable material and is cheap to mainatin.
to add another layer of colour to the facade.
Materials initially conceived
STRUCTURAL AND MATERIALS STRATEGY
EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC
DETAILED SECTION 1:200
KEY DETAILS IN 3D
100 50 150
EXTERIOR
200
200
INTERIOR
CONCRETE COLUMN REINFORCED CONRETE WALL INSULATION WATERPROOF MEMBRANE CLADDING FRAME VENTILATION GAP FAIR-FACED CONCRETE DETAIL OF WALL SCALE 1:10
BUILDIN PERFOR
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NG RMANCE
FAMILY JOURNEY
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A family from the East of Eden visiting for a day out to learn, explore and enjoy the time together.
68 temporary exhibit
permanent exhibit
workshop [education]
listening gallery
shop
cafe
cloakroom
hall
ticket hall
YOUR MUSEUM VENTILATION NATURAL LIGHT COLOUR ATMOSPHERE PUNCHY
workshop [education]
VENTILATION ARTIFICIAL LIGHT SOUND CONTROLLED COLOUR ATMOSPHERE EXPERIENTIAL
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listening gallery
EXPERIENCE
hall
VENTILATION NATURAL LIGHT COLOUR ATMOSPHERE NEUTRAL
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The sound insulation in the hall is very minimal because there is no reason to, the hall is a gathering space and the first point of the museum. There are no exhibits so sound can be loud without disturbing anyone.
The hall allows for natural light to enter the interior through the channel glass wall at the top level. The comes down into the atrium which is the entrance to the museum. Additional lighting is then place under the floors using energy efficient fluorescent tubes and back painted glass, this technique is also found in Zaha Hadid’s Maxxi museum.
ventilation heat if any?
image: http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/ uploads/2009/12/1260973151-maxxi-rome-zha-9077.jpg
hall
THE HALL
We came up with a rule for ventilation with the engineers which is to have 6% of the facade as windows which can open to allow for air.
For the opening of the windows we decided they should be top hinged instead of by its side as traditionally. The first reason is to allow for the window to opened slightly during winter time and then in summer for the window to be fully opened allowing more cool air when need during the summer and less in the winter.
We adopted a technique more common place now in buildings which is to have two types of windows. One for light which is fixed and does not open and another that is not for light but for ventilation and does open. It is more demanding for the frame to hold glass than for it to be a wall that opens. We decided that since the corrugated polycarbonate has transparent qualities and is lightweight it is better suited than using glass. The material allows for a less intricate frame and also allows in natural daylight which saves money on electricity.
Poor air flow has only one opening where air has to enter and exit through the same opening. Air movement in the room is best serve if it is able to go through the room via an entrance and exit. In a room with a lot of people, air should be able to travel freely.
The second reaosn is that window when fully opened in the summer will also providing shading from the sun’s rays. An additional form of ventilation is then implented which is mechanical to assist when it is too hot for natural ventilation.
workshop [education]
THE WORKSHOP
The diagram above shows two sets of lighting that the space uses. The first being northern diffused daylight which is not as strong as southern daylight. The second being spotlight in a closed anechoic chamber.
Each spotlight is fitted with changable colour filters that are used to change the mood of the exhibit the visitors enters using colour.
The sound exhibits are conducted in anechoic chambers. These chambers prevents outside noise coming in and also reflections and reverbarations. Being inside too long with no sound tends to make visitors hallucenate, therefore 30 minute exhibits are the limit. The wall is made of a composite of foam material wedges that absorb sound which are made from carbon and iron. A colour usually used for the foam is blue, however because of the nature of this document and the project colour will vary from each exhibit using colour filter lighting. The sound galleries will have various degrees of reverberation and echo different sizes for the galleries, one person, two-four and ten person. To give various levels of intimacy with the works.
The colour filters once lit on the blue foam will change to a number of selected shades which the invited artist can select for his or her own to create an atmosphere. Here are some example above and their cmyk colour codes used.
listening gallery
THE EXHIBITION
NORTH FACING ROOF GLAZED SOUTH FACING ROOF NOT GLAZED
ANECHOIC SOUND EXHIBITS
OFFICES + ARCHIVE HALL
MIXED VENTILATION WORKSHOP + STORAGE
RAINWATER HARVESTING
UNDERFLOOR HEATING ENERGY FROM COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT
CAFE + SHOP + TOILETS
The project will use a Combined Heat and Power plant using biofuel as the fuel and this plant will be located on the master plan among the other industrial relics and ta interventions. Combined heat and power plant will take food (fuel) from the local businesses such as restaurants and from housing on the peninsula. The plant needs a constant supply of fuel and things such as traffic can delay that fuel reaching the plant. The fuel will be taken from primarily the peninsula so avoid the traffic from the main roads (A206 to Woolwich and
The client is happy to have a working industry alongside the relics and more sculptural buildings of tar. This plant will provide a renewable source of energy for not only the MOH but the other histories museums on the landscape.
The plant will also power the sound exhibits and the projectors for the more cinematic works which will be the more energy hunrgy aspects of the building along with heating.
Inside the MOH the main energy consumption is in the heating of the building, sound exhibits and audio/visual projections. Under floor heating is an efficient way of heating the building by using tubes under the floor filled with hot water that transfer heat to the occupants inside the building.
ENERGY AND HEATING SYSTEMS
other museums powered by the plant.
how under floor heating works
how chp works
prevent smoke from travelling to other buildings
FIRE STRATEGY sound exhibits
hall
fire exit door
stairs down to exit
stairs down to exit
fire exit door
fire exit door fire exit door
All the buildings have safe and adequate escape routes from it. The two circulation spaces highlighted in blue, divide the buildings using fire doors which prevents smoke from travelling to other buildings.
fire exit door
The main structural steel frame has the adequate fire treatment to protect it from very high temperatures. The hall performs well under fire because it uses concrete which is very good at withstanding fire as it does not burn and has a slow rate of heat tranfser. This is due to its chemcial combination of cement and aggregates and does not require additional fire protection. One of the key areas of fire safety concern would be the sound exhibits because they use a insulation-like material that is highly flammable and because these sound exhibits are using electricity the risk of fire is increased. We sort to lower these risks by installing a sprinker system.
fire exit door
source: http://www.concretecentre.com/technical_information/ performance_and_benefits/fire_resistance.aspx
fire exit door
fire exit door
ground floor plan
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX
BLACKWALL TUNNEL
The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south of the East India Dock Road (A13) in Blackwall; the southern entrances are just south of The O2 on the Greenwich Peninsula. The road is managed by Transport for London (TfL). The tunnel was originally opened as a single bore in 1897 by the then Prince of Wales, as a major transport project to improve commerce and trade in London’s East End, and supported a mix of foot, cycle, horse-drawn and vehicular traffic. By the 1930s, capacity was becoming inadequate, and consequently a second bore opened in 1967, handling southbound traffic while the earlier 19th century tunnel handled northbound. The northern approach takes traffic from the A12 and the southern approach takes traffic from the A2, making the tunnel crossing a key link for both local and longer-distance traffic between the north and south sides of the river. It forms part of a key route into Central London from South East London and Kent and was the easternmost all-day crossing for vehicles before the opening of the Dartford Tunnel in 1963. It remains the easternmost free fixed road crossing of the Thames, and regularly suffers congestion, to the extent that tidal flow schemes were in place from 1978 until controversially removed in 2007. Proposals to solve the traffic problems have included building a third bore, constructing alternative crossings of the Thames such as the now cancelled Thames Gateway Bridge or the Silvertown Tunnel, and providing better traffic management, particularly for heavy goods vehicles. images: http://www.silvertowntunnel.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/blackwall-tunnel.jpg http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2013/5/22/1369236971269/Construction-of-the-Black-001.jpg http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/5/1394020315 136/A-bus-entering-the-Blackw-012.jpg http://www.british-history.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publications/pubid-369/images/fig251.gif
The tunnels are no longer open to pedestrians, cyclists or other non-motorised traffic, and the northbound tunnel has a 4.0-metre (13.1 ft) height limit. One bus route runs through the tunnels (108). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwall_Tunnel
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ORDA The most bulky waste product from the gas industry was coal tar and there were many attempts in the 19th century to find a money making use for it. In the 1830s John Bethell (a barrister) developed a process of using coal tar which lead to the use of wood for railways sleepers, telegraph poles and tar soaked wood block paving.
Bethell sold his patent or licenced it to others to use, he set up his tar distillery in Battersea 1845 but expanded with chemical works in Bow and Blackwall point leased by Morden College on the peninsula. The Greenwich works he set up then sold coal tar in bulk to the Imperial Gas Company works at St. Pancras and Haggerston. “Bethell patented a way of ‘preserving animal and vegetable substance from decay’”. This line from the Mary Mills book on the peninsula inspired my thinking in preserving the past of the area and using this as a symbol of this action.
ANCE TAR WORKS The new gas works built by the Southern Metropolitan Gas company was different from the other industries that had come before because they were a large company. It was powerful enough to impose itself on the area around and was not concerned with restrictions set out by other landlords on site. They had a direct relationship with Parliament and local authorities. The company gained permission to build on 140 acres of land. Objections came mostly from landlords on the peninsula that wanted to build housing and also some trouble from gypsies who used the site as a dumping ground and is said contractors were in a constant state of warfare with them. The South Metropolitan Gas Company was set up in the 1820s and managed by the Livesey family in the 1840s. In the 1880s George was Chairman of the company however he had began in the 1840s as a 14-year-old office boy in the company.
Sources: Mary Mills, Greenwich Marsh and Greenwich Heritage Centre
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TERRA
Looking at photographs of the tar works, I decided to use them as found images for collaging my terraforming project. The tar acts as another presence in the landscape, calling remembrance to what once was and offers a new way of framing what is now. The light that hits the tar reflects into shards giving a strong contrast between light and dark on the tar that adds to its aesthetic.
Dean’s photographs have a strong presence. The ice when covered over the landscape has an otherness. I like the sculpting aspect of the ice, as things once easily readable become completely alien to the viewer. This for me adds another layer onto the landscape which inspired my terraform.
FOUND ICE, BERLIN 2000
TACITA DEAN
Image source: http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/ pictures/606x422fitpad[0]/5/6/8/1282568_2_Dean.jpg
TAR WORKS
IMAGES GREENWICH HERITAGE CENTRE
Image source: Greenwich Heritage Centre
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-FORM
The colours are used to further the viewer into a perceptual otherness. The juxtaposition of tar and industrial relics create an already nostalgic image but the viewer is visually arrested by the colours.
RELICS PHOTOMONTAGE
TERRAFORM
TAR FIELDS PHOTOMONTAGE
TERRAFORM
PARC DE LA VILLETTE
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BERNARD TSCHUMI
THE COMPETITION OF THE PARC DE LA VILLETTE WAS ORGANISED BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT IN 1982. ITS OBJECTIVES WERE BOTH TO MARK THE VISION OF AN ERA AND TO ACT UPON THE FUTURE ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF A KEY AREA IN PARIS. THE PARC DE LA VILLETE IS LOCATED ON ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING LARGE SITES IN PARIS , A 125-ACRE EXPANSE PREVIOUSLY OCCUPIED BY THE CENTRAL SLAUGHTER HOUSES AND SITUATED ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE CITY, BETWEEN THE METRO STATIONS PORTE DE PANTIN AND PORTE DE LA VILLETTE. OVER ONE KILOMETER LONG IN ONE DIRECTION AND SEVEN HUNDRED METERS IN THE OTHER, LA VILLETTE APPEARS AS A MULTIPLE PROGRAMMATIC FIELD, CONTAINING, IN ADDITION TO THE PARK, A LARGE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY, A CITY OF MUSIC, A GRANDE HALLE FOR EXHIBITIONS AND A ROCK CONCERT HALL.
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