New Pilot Cities

New Pilot Cities

Eleni Pourdala Student Number:16098403 MArch Urban Design// RC11

MArch Urban Design, The Bartlett School of Architecture

London, 2017 Eleni Pourdala SN: 16098403 Sabine Storp, Patrick Weber with Rae Whittow- Williams MArch Urban Design, RC11 The Bartlett School of Architecture University College London

Special thanks to Sabine Storp, Patrick Weber & Rae Whittow-Williams for their help and supervision.

TA B L E OF CONTENTS SITE ANALYSIS// LIFESPAN OF SITES// LIFESPAN OF COMMUNITIES// UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES// WHY ANOTHER UTOPIA?// HOW ANOTHER UTOPIA?// SELF-BUILD MANUAL// NEW PILOT CITIES// CITIES GROWING//

S I T E ANALYSIS E

ssex is a county in the East of England, expanding north-east of London. Its optimal geographical location (only 43.2 miles away from London) and transport connectivity are amongst the key benefits of the county.

Thurrock is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. It lies on the River Thames just to the east of London. With over 18 miles of riverfront it covers an area of 64 square miles, with more than half defined as Green Belt.

Parklands masterplan (part of the Thames Gateway zone) is making a connected landscape via ‘green grids’, the Thames Estuary path, and visual and environmental improvements along major transport corridors. The ultimate plan is to improve access to urban and rural landscapes for new and existing neighbourhoods.

LONDON & ESSEX PROXIMITY

THURROCK

PARKLANDS MASTERPLAN

E

ast Tilbury is a rural community on the north bank of the River Thames, lying to the south of a branch of the main London to Southend railway line, approximately two miles east of the town Tilbury. It encompasses two quite distinct settlements: a historic riverside village and a purpose-built industrial village largely developed between the 1930s and the 1960s for the British Bata Shoe Company Ltd. Rising slightly above its low marshland setting, East Tilbury village is formed of a single street, with a few outlying houses and farms, edged to the east and south by an important group of 19th- and 20th-century military sites.

In contrast, the highly unusual Bata settlement combines Garden City planning and Modernist architecture.

East Tilbury was one of a number of satellites or colonies that the firm was constructing around the world in the 1930s. However, its character has subsequently been diluted by a large private residential development of the 1970s and piecemeal change to the company buildings.

EAST TILBURY MAP

EAST TILBURY FLOOD PREDICTIION

EAST TILBURY SITES OF INTEREST

T

he factory still dominates the settlement, its taller buildings (one topped with a water tank still bearing the Bata name) acting as local landmarks, visible from some distance across the flat fields and from the river.

The Bata housing was built in stages between 1933 and the mid 1960s.

The oldest properties are built in a Czech style, while the pitched roofed houses (built after WWII) represent a more English taste and the changing architectural fashions of the time.

East Tilbury village retains much of its rural character. The historical pattern of its growth- as a single linear development extending northwards from the parih church and a scatter of outlying properties, mostly farmsteads- has remained essentially unchanged.

East Tilbury Marshes is a flat, low-lying landscape, dominated by creeks and mudflats. A path from Tilbury Town all the way to Leigh-on-Sea, reveals the wealth of Green Heritage history and biodiversity.

East Tilbury retains a notable variety of military structures around the periphery of the village and along the foreshore, many of which are scheduled ancient monuments. The most dominant is Coalhouse Fort along with its suporting batteries.

BATA INDUSTRIAL PARK

NELSON HOUSE

NELSON AND VICTORY HOUSE

BATA SETTLEMENT

PRINCESS AVENUE

GLOUCESTER AVENUE

BATA AVENUE

EAST TILBURY VILLAGE

BACK YARD

BRICK COTTAGE

HOUSE ON THE MAIN ROAD

EAST TILBURY MARSHES

MILITARY DEFENCES

COALHOUSE FORT

RADAR TOWER

LIFESPAN OF S IT E S M

ost of the distinct sites of East Tilbury have undergone several changes both in form and use throughout the years of their existence. The Bata factory buildings , originally built to serve the needs of the company, have been used as storage facilities, warehouses as well as office spaces. Similarly the military defences have undergone improvement works to keep up with the defence system requirements, while after their abandonment they have ocassionally served diverse purposes.

BATA FACTORY BUILDINGS

E

ast Tilbury factory was built following the Czech model. The buildings were laid out on a grid pattern with an off-centre main axis running east to west, from the gatehouse to the boiler house. The estate contains fifteen units, either single or multi-storey buildings erected between 1933 and 1968.

CONSTRUCTION GRID

GENERAL GRID SYSTEM

UNIT BAYS

B

ata factory buildings were built with reinforced concrete frames in modules of 6.15m, on a system evolved by the architect Frantisek Gahura and builder/engineer Arnost Sehdal in 1927 for Zlin. Earlier versions of the design have a square or rectangular section column.

LISTED BUILDINGS

Bata industrial buildings number 24 and 34 (Victory House and Nelson House) ar listed under the Planning Act 1990 (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) as amended for their special architectural or historic interest. Building 13 (Trafalgar House) is also Grade II listed.

EAST TILBURY BATTERY

A. 6 inch B.L.H.P. B. 10 inch B.L.H.P. C. 3 pdr. Q.F. D. War Shelters S. Shell Store C. Catridge Store L. Lamp Passage A. Ammunition Lift H. Issue Hatch B. Barrier in shifting lobby

E

ast Tilbury battery, referred to as Coalhouse battery in some armament returns, was built to defend the Thames as support for the nearby Coalhouse Fort. Although proposed in 1887 it was slow to start due to problems with land purchase, but was complete by 1891.

THE BATTERY CONSTRUCTION

EARTHEN RAMPART

MAIN PATHWAY

‘TWYDALL PROFILE’ BATTERY DESIGN

SIMPLIFIED SECTION

T

he Battery was built according to the Twydall profile, with a shallow ditch surrounding it, defended by an unclimbable fence. Its form blended into the landscape by means of a long and sloping earthen frontal area so that from a distance it was invisible.

THE STRUCTURES

6-INCH GUN PIT

ENTRANCE TO MAGAZINES

ENTRANCE TO HOUSING BLOCKS

OFFICE AND COOKHOUSE

B

elow the gun mountings of the battery were magazines and accomodation blocks, while to the rear the supporting buildings consisting of a cookhouse, stores and offices.

COALHOUSE FORT

COALHOUSE FORT TODAY

AERIAL VIEW FROM NORTHWEST, 1985

SIMPLIFIED PLAN

T

he first defences were built in 1540 by Henry VII against a possible invasion by the Catholic powers of Europe. A new gun battery was built on the site of the present fort in 1792. The battery was redeveloped in 1847-55 but quickly replaced by Coalouse Fort in 1861-74.

PLAN EVOLUTION

1890

1920

1960

I

n 1893 a new battery for quick-firing guns was built close to the Fort.

The guns were removed in 1902, and replaced by a similar battery on the roof of Coalhouse Fort. The lattert required searchlights to provide a night-fighting capability, resulting in the construction of two Defence Electric Lights on the foreshore at Coalhouse Point.

FORT CONSTRUCTION

VIEW FROM THE WET DITCH

VIEW FROM THE MAIN ENTRANCE

CROSS SECTION

T

o its present state Coalhouse Fort takes the form of a crescent of large, granite faced casemates facing the Thames, with a parade ground and brick built barracks behind.

LI F ES PA N OF COMMUNITIES C

ommunities are constantly in transformation.

New members offer different qualities and alter the way a community performs under specfic circumstances. Two different communities : Bonnington Square and Bata community have been explored and the findings were turned into an experimental model, a negotiated city model, one which realises the role of the individual into a collective society, as well as the interdependence between the different members.

In the 80s almost all the houses in Bonnington Square were squatted. People from all over the world came and started building their homes one piece at a time.

The square’s delicatessen transformed throughout the years, but remianed a meeting point for the residents.

The first squatters formed a housing cooperative and successfully gained the right to lease the buildings. Subsequently they established a volunteer-run cafe and a community garden, engaging themselves in the common living.

B

onnington Square is a square in South London, built in the 1870s to house railway workers. It became famous in the 1980s when all the houses in it, vacant and awaiting demolition, were sqautted.

BONNINGTON SQUARE

Communities consist of individual pieces the members or participants

Once these pieces come together the community starts forming

The community’s lifespan depends on how long the participants will keep sharing the same qualities

B

onnington Square community is a successful example of how common living, if based on strong principles, can become long lasting.

ROAD PARTY CELEBRATING THE END OF WWII

BATA EAST TILBURY SPORTS DAY

BATA ESTATE’S SWIMMING POOL

B

ata community was an intentional community, as it was formed as part of the Bata Estate plan, aiming to house the factory workers and their families. The members engaged themselves in communal activities organized by Bata.

BATA COMMUNITY

O

nce the Bata factory in East Tilbury stopped working, the community started fading away. The activities that could keep the communal spirit alive disappeared and so did the qualities bounding the community together.

T

he model embodies the ideas and lessons regarding communities and the way they function. It comes to life when the right conditions arise and as long as the participants keep sharing the same qualities.

NEGOTIATED COMMUNITY

A

community consists of several individual pieces, which are represented with the cut out parts of the model. Each piece (member) has its own individual qualities, but once joined with others it can create a whole (the community) which will hold unique qualities.

U T O P I A N COMMUNITIES U

topian communities have been researched throughout the year.

These communities contributed in the development of the project and therefore constitute a significant part of it. Utopian Essex is a catalogue of intentional communities in the British Isles, what were called communes in the 1960s and ‘70s. What slowly emerged out of them was a utopian landscape whose influence becomes apparent in the national culture.

RADICAL ESSEX MAP

R

adical Essex map is a catalogue of intentional communities in the British Isles, what were called communes in the 1960s and 70s. What slowly emerged out of them was a utopian landscape whose influence becomes apparent in the national culture.

PLOTLANDS ESSEX

ADVERTISING POSTER

The Essex plotlands were on the heavy clay known to farmers as

‘three-horse land’, which was the first to go out of cultivation in the agricultural depression. After the war the land was divided into small plots and sold to people wanting to build a holiday home or smallholding from scratch.

The huts and houses are made from various salvaged materials and

strctures: army huts, old railway coaches, sheds, shanties and chalets, which evolved over time.

I

ntended and used as a space to get out of London, the plotlands were the result of factors including agricultural decline from the 1870s into the beginning of World War II, which resulted in farmland being sold at rock bottom prices.

HADLEIGH FARM COLONY

O

riginally the farmland around Hadleigh was notorious for its poor quality and was known as the “Hadleigh badlands”. William Booth (the founder) chose the location as it was within reasonable distance of London where the City Colony was based and had access to water and a railway. Just as importantly, the clay soil made it ideal for market gardening and crops requiring a heavier soil, perfect for the various disciplines taught at the Country Colony.

In 1891 William Booth’s vision on Hadleigh Farm started. In just 9

months the farm went from 48 volunteers from the East End to nearly 250. The Idea of Hadleigh Farm was, “to give employment (and food and lodgings in return for his labour) to any man who is willing to work, irrespective of nationality or creed.” The farm consisted of 3.200 acres with arable, dairy and chicken farms, market gardens, workshops, brickworks, pottery and its own wharf.

W

ith the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 the British government agreed to look after a number of Basque refugee children. Some of these children ended up under the Salvation Army’s care in East London and at Hadleigh. In 1939 the farm also provided accommodation for nearly 70 Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Germany and Eastern Europe.

H

adleigh farm colony was a highly successful scheme for training the poor and destitute, and resettling them on the land run by the Salvation Army. It resettled over 7000 colonists up to WWI when it went into decline. The farm is now run on a commercial basis and is part of Hadlegh Country Park

JAYWICK SANDS

BUNGALOW TYPE DWELLINGS

THE PROMENADE

P

lot owners constructed their own dwellings, using the provided standard designs for chalets and bungalows. The concept of the estate was to provide an affordable holiday retreat to a section of the population who had never imagined they could possibly afford one; this proved to be particularly attractive to residents of the East End of London.

C

onstructed in the 1930s as a holiday resort for Londoners, Jaywick was a combination of fields and salt marshes, generally impractical for agricultural use. The land was purchased by the entrepreneur Frank Stedman in 1928 to provide low cost and affordable holiday homes to working-class families, and became a popular holiday destination throughout the 1930s.

WHY ANOTHER U T O P I A ?

A

s the world is progressing, there is an urgent need for cities to reform and change the way they are set up to perform. How can the urban landscape escape extreme determinism in order to accommodate both permanence and rapid change?

The scale and the speed of global urbanization create the urgent need to deliver fast, lowcost and high-impact buildings. In such a framework, how can people still be in control of their housing situation and create communities that will enable them to express their individuality, but also themselves as part of a collective?

What could begin as small interventions have the strength to provoke even greater change. The scenario depends on prioritizing limited time over available space, on accepting a deadline of its own expiration.

POSTER FOR FABRICATE CITY

UK STATISTICS ON WASTE

RECYCLING IN ESSEX

POSTER FOR AGRO CITY

UK AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS

AGRICULTURE’S ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

ORGANIC FARMING

POSTER FOR CULTURAL CITY

THAMES ESTUARY PATH

THURROCK’S MOST VISITED SIGHTS

HOW ANOTHER U T O P I A ?

T

he design proposal seeks to understand the role of the individual in the creation of a self-sustainable and collective society, where people are able to take control over their housing situation. The design proposes a participatory arrangement of a human settlement that eliminates extreme determination, enhances the role of the individual and seeks to find a balance between personal and shared space.

The design also seeks to understand how people can be empowered with the tools and knowledge to actively participate in the design process and construction of their habitats. How can new technologies be combined with available materials to create a system that enables the collective composition and production of space? The design is therefore informed by a critical analysis of precedents of innovative use of technologies and materials, as well as examples of contemporary self-build methods.

COOPERATIVE LAND TRUST

3 PILOT FACILITIES

STRATEGIC DIAGRAM OF INHABITATION

BATA FACTORIES CONSTRUCTION

CATALOGUE OF MATERIALS

SELF-BUILD M A N U A L T

he first step for the new build community is to form a cooperative and lease the potential land from the legal owner.

Once the cooperative has become the legal owner, the community starts to gather buiding materials. Local recycle and charity centers can act as useful resources.

With materials being stored and categorized, construction can begin building one self-sustainable unit at a time. Based on Wikihouse principles and using fabrication methods each inhabitant can construct his house following simple instructions.

Community facilities are to be placed regularly across the units, and are collectively owned and used. As more people move into the community, more units are connected to the original structures, creating a rich network which is constantly informed by the new additions.

When the lease period is over, the structures can be disassembled and moved to a new location.

N E W P I L O T C I T I E S T

he New Pilot Cities programme is a guideline that provides people with the knowledge and tools to construct their own habitats and allows them to adapt and transform according to their changing needs. It’s a collectively managed city that enables people to preserve their individuality, while being part of a common purpose. A nondeterministic space that speculates on how cities can grow, if they host diversity and invest on experimentation.

AXONOMETRIC MASTERPLAN

FABRICATE CITY

AGRICULTURAL CITY

CULTURAL CITY

C I T I E S GROWING B

ased on the belief that cities are growing organisms, the New Pilot Cities programme becomes an experiment, a test ground for the investigation of different types of urban growth. The project addresses urban design in various scales, from the individual property and its relationship with the public or shared space, to the scale of the neighbourhood and its connection to the city. It speculates on the potential pattern of growth for the future development and expansion of the model, and suggests that local authorities should invest more on experimental projects.

FA B R I C AT E C I T Y F

abricate city is the first of the pilot cities to be set up. It acts as the construction laboratory and resources centre for the rest of the cities. Storage facilities and construction take place in the laboratories, while the rest of the city starts developing its residential character.

AGRICULTURAL C I T Y A

gricultural city promotes a holistic approach to life. Residents engage themselves with the cultivation of food and learn how to be self- sufficient.

Agricultural city’s food production suplies the rest of the pilot cities and becomes a meeting point through the community market and cafe.

CULTURAL C I T Y C

ultural city’s aim is to transform the waterfront into a leisure resort and bring back the great British seaside holiday. Residents will be able to enjoy the beautiful setting, while at the same time contribute to the preservation of the Coalhouse Fort and the rich heritage of East Tilbury.

Disclaimer I hereby certify that this book has been composed by me and is based on my own work and research, unless stated otherwise.