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NEW WORK MARKED WITH A RED ASTERISK
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The crossover project saw architecture and structural engineering students work together to design a busking festival along a chosen ‘chare’ down to Newcastle Quayside – Castle Stairs. By working together on all aspects of the project and not just assuming our roles of architects and engineers, we were able to gain a broader understanding of each other’s field and most importantly, a lot about our own. Working as a group enabled us to be much more ambitious with our designs and development work than we would be able to on an independent project. We were prolific with the scale and quantity of our work and were able to produce an exhibition at the end of the three week project.
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Conceptual Video The chare offers many places to pause, by constantly moving from confined to open spaces and back again. Ascending from the busy quayside, the narrow stairs open up to a stage like area at the castle. The chare repeats this until it reaches the New Castle. It is these areas where the stairs open up and expand, that are mostly affected by the moving sun and changing weather. Through the day you can see a range of different atmospheres, allowing for so many different moods to evolve and develop. Through video, we have captured this sense of movement and progression of the site using footage from just one day. The site is open to the weather, especially the sun and this is what we thought was important to portray. Using this video as a starting point, we have worked to achieve a scheme that is sensitive to this and works with it.
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One of the most striking things about Castle Stairs is how its atmosphere can be completely governed by the time of day and weather. It was this temporal quality of the site that we wanted to capture and manipulate through our structure and instillation.
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East Facing Section 7
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West Facing Section
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Cross Sections
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A timber gridshell above the chare plays with the natural light within the stairs and its progressive qualities. It allows the site to remain very open and therefore still celebrating the surroundings.
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Final Model
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Promotional Video From spending time at the site, we found that the chare was being used mostly as a cut through, not many people were stopping and taking the time to appreciate the surroundings. In our scheme, we aim to slow these people down – allow them the time to pause and reflect. To experiment with this, we created a form of instillation just below our chosen site. We placed a series of mirrors below the arch of the castle to catch passers-by and allow them to look around. This was partly a social exercise – enabling us to see how the public would react to something foreign across a route they take every day. It also enabled us to advertise our festival, with subtle advertising that hinted that more is ‘coming soon’. We placed basic versions of our flyers around the site, which suggested that something more would be coming to the chare. Our aim was to catch the public’s attention, to intrigue them and to leave them looking for more.
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Exhibition
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Amble is an old industrial town. With the coal gone, the coast is full of remnants of the former life. The town now relies on tourism and its small fishing fleet. The area is at mercy to its unstable climate. The unpredictable weather dictates their tourism and leisure. The town is not used to high numbers of visitors and the arrival of our year group was clearly noted by residents.
The design was confined to the shape of a cube and consequently a large part of the design process was eliminated. There was more opportunity to focus on structure, materiality and choreography. In a scheme that should be sensitive to its community, these areas perhaps have the power to be more influential than the building’s physical form. The design is concerned with twin phenomena, the conceptual thought that two opposing ideas completely rely on each other to exist - most importantly, Prospect + Refuge. This is a quality that certain environments have that allow the occupier to see out (prospect) without being seen (refuge).
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* The site is completely open, with expansive views and an endless sea, the area is remarkable. However, for some, the area could overwhelm and not impress. There is definitely ‘prospect’ in the site; a design must provide the ‘refuge’.
Site Analysis
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* Models from initial ideas of: the open vs. the concealed; the intriguing vs. the welcoming; the confined vs. the exposed. the design process started from these first principles and became a tangible, initial design.
A Time-Line of Conceptual Study Models + Sketches
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The initial design has developed into two very separate spaces. A ‘cube within a cube’. The resulting model is informed by what is required from the design.
Structural Model + Sketches
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Initial concept models developed into a final concept to prevail within the design. This model allows for measured division of space – with private spaces in the top corner of the cube.
Final Concept Model + Sketches
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A clean design is more important than an extreme design and harder to achieve. Drawing and re-drawing each space in plan and section creates a set of spaces that work well on their own and together and ensures that the design is fit for purpose. The two separate ‘cubes’ have split levels and therefore requires a complicated circulation system. This can be clarified further by working in 3D to ensure it is feasible.
Developmental Sketches
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1:100 Structural Model 29
The design works best when conceived as a set of interlocking volumes. Firstly, for necessities, such as storage and bathrooms – can be stacked on top of each other and the structure thus made simpler. Secondly, it makes for a purer set of spaces. The building will be easy to navigate and work rationally and consistently as a whole.
Interlocking Volumes
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Public Space
Private Space
Circulation
Services
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Concept Diagrams
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Circulation
Private Study
Services
Group Congregation
Social Areas
Marine Centre
Spatial Diagrams
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North - South Section
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East - West Section
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1:200 Plans
Plinth
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Ground Floor
First Floor
First Floor +0.5
Second Floor
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Materiality is an expression of concept. A glass curtain walled cube with a timber frame is all placed on top of a stone plinth. Within the cube is an apparently suspended timber clad cube. The smaller cube uses the same structure as the larger one, whilst the cladding creates an illusion of suspension.
1:200 Final Model
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Photo Montage
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1:100 Final Model
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1:100 Exploding Model
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Internal Perspectives
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Briefed to design a Foyer in the Ouseburn Valley. ‘Provides affordable and safe accommodation linked to employment and training opportunities, support and a range of other services.’
The previously industrial area seems in the midst of a change. There is a clear sense that there are two sides to this community. There is a run down and derelict side - boarded up buildings and overgrown greens. But, all this is next to a trendy community of entrepreneurs, artists and designers - The Cluny, The Toffee Factory, Seven Stories, Ouseburn Farm.
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* The brief asks for a contrasting selection of spaces. A glass blowing workshop where the students will spend their days learning the trade, next to their accommodation that they will go back to after a day of work. These spaces must be detached so the students have some form of escapism. Disconnecting them and giving them different characters will help the students achieve a work/life balance. A separate tutors’ flat must be provided – adequately spaced to foster independence in the students, but also maintain some form of surveillance. Initial sketches take form from exploring the ideas and site analysis.
Site Analysis
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Initial Ideas
The desired relationship between spaces can be displayed better in model form than in plan. Earlier models demonstrated that the confined site lends itself to building upwards. The sloped site can be used to advantage to dig into and separate work and living spaces. Separate entrances will help students to detach work and life.
1:200 Developmental Models
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East - West Section
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North - South Section 53
1:200 Plans
Ground Floor
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First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Fourth + Fifth Floor
Sixth Floor
Seventh Floor
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Spatial Division
Circulation
Concept Diagrams
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ARCHITECTURAL
TECHNOLOGY
S T R U C T U RA L D IA G RA M
PRIMARY STRUCTURE
SECONDARY STRUCTURE
Structural Diagrams
TERTIARY STRUCTURE
ELLE N PEIRSO N 120552328
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The steel frame structure supports a curtain wall which wraps around the whole building. The work areas on the lower levels are given an open and transparent feeling, with an exhibition area overlooking the workshop. This will instil pride in the students and their work and also allow for subtle surveillance. The living areas have a further timber cladding on top of the curtain walling. This creates a more intimate space, with the uneven slats meaning that students are able to ‘peek out’ without necessarily being seen. The materiality and structure creates an illusion of a timber box floating on top of a glass frame. The glass is seen to be strong – inspiring confidence in the work that the students are doing.
1:100 Final Model 58
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Panoramic Photo Montage
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Day + Night Photo Montages
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Internal Perspectives
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We began our Stage Two design course with the project Placed, Displaced. The site was Waldo St. North Shields. The brief was to replace 17 abandoned with 10 terraced houses, one of which we will design.
From the start, the biggest task was space efficiency. The needs of the family were clear in the brief and therefore the main concern was to create an arrangement that is as effective and inhabitable as possible. Wherever possible, the limited space must not inhibit the way in which the family will live.
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* In the tall narrow space that is allocated for each house, it is important to get as much light as possible into the building. This will come from the reverse faรงade on the SouthWest side.
Site Analysis
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Views
Light
Circulation
Public Areas
Private Areas
Concept Diagrams
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Facade Study 70
Vertical wooden slats on the South-West side allow the low winter sun to enter the building, whilst sheltering it from the higher summer sun.
Winter
Spring/Autumn
Summer
Light Studies
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Photo Montage
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North - South Section
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Site Plan
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Basement
Ground Floor
First Floor
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1:50 Final Model
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Internal Perspectives
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