Ellen Peirson / Academic Portfolio / BA (Hons) Architecture / Newcastle University

ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO ELLEN PEIRSON BA (Hons) Architecture 2015/16

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT This year has been full of unending challenges, yet more rewarding than I ever found first and second year to be. Having not found my own style of working before or my specific interests, the freedom of choice of third year allowed me to find what my own approach to design is. Up until the beginning of third year, I had been trying to fit myself into the box of being a ‘minimalist’. I had always taken the overused phrase ‘less is more’ to be a given as it seemed that was the ideology being taken by so many around me. After studying the work of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown for my dissertation on Post-modernism, I came across the phrase ‘less is a bore’, and this box that I had been trying to fit into was turned onto its head. I wanted to produce work that I was happy to put on a wall as expressions of interests in design.

The ability to choose a design studio which suited me as a designer and later to form my own brief for my graduation project gave me enthusiasm for what resulted in a project which was personal and exciting for me. I feel that this is reflected in a dramatic increase in output since last year. A genuine interest in the work I was studying and striving to produce gave me a level of enjoyment in the work that I had not felt so strongly last year.

Despite this new found enthusiasm, there were weeks that I felt as though I was putting in effort that was not always rewarded. In design, there is always a struggle to step back from a piece of work that you have become consumed by and to see the successes in it. You become so personally involved and are constantly looking for ways that you can better it that there is not always the opportunity to celebrate it. Leading up to a deadline, there is

a continual process of improvement and this does not necessarily have an ‘off button’. Having felt this throughout the degree, I noticed a change this year as I began to be leave my pin-ups with a positive mind-set. In first and second year, I would leave a pin-up feeling deflated and unmotivated.

This year, I was surprised by the positive feedback I would receive and enthused by the constructive criticisms the tutors had to offer. I began to stop taking the criticisms personally and to consider them an interesting development that I may not have previously considered.

Each studio had the opportunity to take a field trip related to their studio themes and projects. Students travelled all over Europe too see an inspiring range of architecture in beautiful cities. Our studio travelled to the familiar setting of London to visit the seemingly uninspiring town of Brentford. I suppose I felt as though we had the consolation prize. I was wrong. We studied in detail the effects that infrastructure can have on the lives of ordinary people in a setting that I could directly relate to my own life. The interactions with the residents of Brentford gave our work a level of meaning that meant we were not designing in abstract. Being able to form our own briefs during the site visit allowed a design to emerge on a much more human level. Although I am aware of the limitations of architecture directly changing or shaping society, the graduation project allowed us to see how architecture has the potential to improve ordinary lives in ordinary places.

CONTENTS 8

PRIMER

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GRADUATION PROJECT

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01 - SITE ANALYSIS

60

02 - BRIEF IDENTIFICATION

76

03 - INITIAL IDEAS

90

04 - DEVELOPMENT

126

05 - FINAL SCHEME

156

06 - USER EXPERIENCE

Denotes new work

INFRASTRUCTURE AND RITUAL The Infrastructure and Ritual Studio first looks at the macro, observing the large scale and overall effect of how smaller entities interact. From here, it zooms into the micro to study the smaller interactions of daily rituals and how this affects and is affected by architecture. Our Studio is concerned with the concept that objects and places are more than a sum of their individual parts.

PRIMER SEPTEMBER 2015 DECEMBER 2015

DISASSEMBLE

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To begin the Primer phase we each chose an object to dismantle. Varying in age, size and origin, they allowed us to draw comparisons and differences whilst also giving an insight into how the manufacturing industry has changed from manual, metal cogs to computer chips and plastic moulds. We were able to investigate the variation of inputs and outputs. Through this exercise and sharing of our findings, we saw how important small components are to create a whole functioning entity.

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By each arranging all of the parts of our chosen objects, we were able to see the hierarchy within the machines and how even the most common place components play a part when seen in the context of the whole.

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TYPOLOGY STUDY

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To further this understanding of close analysis of the processes and relationships that make up larger systems, we each studied a social ritual in detail. This study of the micro details informed an idea of the reasons behind why we participate in such activities and the similarities that we can draw from supposedly unrelated and separate activities. I studied the social ritual of bingo, an activity that I had previously not been interested in and had been unaware of what it involved. This enabled me to research it without preconceptions and closely study both the architecture of bingo halls and the relationships and interactions within them.

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BINGO

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WHAT

WHO

WHERE

WHEN

START + END

DRESS

EQUIPMENT

LIGHTING

SOUND

CONTROL

MATERIAL

THRESHOLDS

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CONTRAPTION

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We began our investigation into contraptions with diagramming a social ritual that we participate in regularly.

This simultaneously allowed us to investigate and further understand social rituals whilst also improving our diagramming skills. I diagrammed the process of making a morning coffee in detail.

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Further to this investigation of the ritual in question, I was able to identify problems with an aim to address these in the form of a contraption. The initial problems that I identified were the delay in time between the moment the alarm goes off and the time at which you get your cup of coffee. There is also a compromise to be made each morning between the time you snooze your alarm for and the quality of your coffee. For example, if you snooze your alarm for 30 extra minutes, you’ll be left with a cup of instant coffee.

To solve these problems, I imagined a contraption where the input is the snooze of an alarm or the motion of a clock.

In addition to this, it would brew a different or a better cup of coffee the more the alarm is snoozed and the longer that the clock ticks for.

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THE PRO-CAFFEINATOR

1

1

2 From these ideas, I formed a conceptual diagram of a contraption that sets off a process of making different kinds of coffee each time you snooze the alarm. If you just snooze once, you receive an instant cup of coffee. If you snooze all 4 possible times, you will receive a high quality, freshly ground, slow brewed coffee.

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1 2

1

3 3

2 4

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IN CONSTRUCTION

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THE PRO-CAFFEINATOR

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A machine to help solve the injustice of the inadequate cup of coffee that results from snoozing your alarm. the Pro-Caffeinator brews a better cup of coffee with each press of the snooze button and alleviates the unfathomable pain that all snoozers go through with every sip of a sub-standard coffee.

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GRADUATION PROJECT DECEMBER 2015 MAY 2016

SITE ANALYSIS

SITE VISIT

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At the end of the first semester, we went on our site visit to Brentford, London where we would be forming our brief. Brentford, as a site for development, provides opportunities to solve the problems created by urban sprawl and the damaged outlines of new infrastructures.

Through Brentford, we can explore the threshold at which human and non-human systems interact. This enabled us to apply our knowledge from the Primer and relate it to an urban site which is in need of improvement to its infrastructure and sense of community. Our method for this was to borrow inspiration and ideas from other students’ investigations throughout the Primer to form a brief, an approach and an improvement on the infrastructure of Brentford. This sharing of knowledge allowed us all to form a ‘constellation’ brief in the Infrastructure and Ritual Studio of other students’ work, resulting in a range of different briefs and sites which interact and, if all were realised, could regenerate the area and solve the problems of the town that we have identified.

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WEST LONDON

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1 km

By mapping Brentford in relation to the rest of London, it is possible to identify where the open spaces are and where the major infrastructural routes lie. This map makes it apparent that Brentford is a point where many forms of infrastructure crossover - rail, road and river.

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100 m

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The urban town of Brentford currently lacks a sense of community or identity. It is too close to London to have a distinct sense of place and too far to feel a part of the city’s fabric, Brentford is left on the parameters of a successful community. This feeling is directly seen in its current architecture, which looks tired and unloved. Despite this, there is a quiet intrigue in the ex-industrial buildings which still hold the fascination of the processes they once housed.

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INDUSTRIAL

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NATURE

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SITE ANALYSIS

OPENNESS

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FIGURE GROUND

PEDESTRIAN

MAP

FRIENDLY

BUILDING USAGE

THOROUGHFARES

GREEN SPACES

VEHICULAR

BUSY/CALM

CIRCULATION

DERELICT AREA

ACCESS

INWARD OR OUTWARD FACING

Through mapping, I found that since industry in Brentford has declined, it has left a derelict and dilapidated area between the high street and river. This offers many now disused empty warehouses and open work yards as opposed to the built up residential developments around it.

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SITE IDENTIFICATION

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My chosen area for development lies between the industrial dockyard and lifeless high street of Brentford. The excess of run down and unoccupied buildings in Brentford inspired me to renovate this ex-industrial 1920s building that lies in the heart of the town. From staying in Brentford and speaking to local residents, it became apparent to me that Brentford had lost the sense of community that it once had. The sudden growth of apartment blocks has overtaken the development of local amenities to support this influx of people. What has resulted is a large section of the community that work and spend their money in Central London.

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Originally the beehive brewery, the building was bought by Wilson and Kyle engineers and became a factory. The building offers an empty shell to be transformed. Residents were upset at proposed plans to tear down the building which has always had a strong presence on the high street.

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10 m

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WILSON & KYLE

AN OLD ENGINEERING WAREHOUSE LEFT TO DECAY ON BRENTFORD HIGH STREET

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During the site visit, it became apparent that there are many dilapidated warehouses and other industrial buildings. These tall open spaces provide a good opportunity for reuse. They offer a simple volume which can be renovated to suit a new use. I have opted to renovate my chosen building as opposed to restoring and preserving it.

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Renovation offers three main options – intervention, insertion or installation. Intervention provides a solution where the new and existing parts of the building are interlinked and dependent on each other. Installation is where the new structure is mostly dependent from the existing and provides a ‘light fit’ to the building shell. I intend to provide an insertion through my scheme. This is a compromise between the two where the new is still predominately directed by the existing form and structure but still appears distinct and free standing. This method means that the renovation of existing brickwork, which may be of poor quality, is not paramount. The existing walls will only need to support themselves. This reduces the amount of material required to renovate the existing structure to a safe standard whilst also allowing the inner shell of the renovation to be simple in that it does not need to support old brickwork. This also allows a high thermal performance as the inner ‘skin’ of the building is not reliant on the outer skin and therefore is less restricted.

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BUILDING ANALYSIS

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WILSON AND KYLE BUILDING AND YARD

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SITE MODELS

1:500

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1:200

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BRIEF IDENTIFICATION

BRIEF IDENTIFICATION

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As a Studio built on identifying problems and proposing solutions, we identified individual briefs based on areas in which Brentford could improve. Our method for this was to borrow inspiration and ideas from other students’ investigations throughout the Primer to form a brief, an approach and an improvement on the infrastructure of Brentford. This sharing of knowledge allowed us all to form a ‘constellation’ brief in the Infrastructure and Ritual Studio of other students’ work. This resulted in a range of different briefs and sites which interact and if all were realised could regenerate the area and solve the problems of the town that we have identified.

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PROBLEMS An influx of residential developments has resulted in a community of young professionals that spend their time and money in Central London. What results, from this zoning of residential developments away from work and leisure spaces, is a loss of community.

The industrial decline in Brentford left a derelict and dilapidated area between the High Street and the River Brent. This area contains many disused warehouses and open work yards as opposed to the concentration of residential developments around it.

There is a lack of green space and agricultural use land in this very urban area.

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION A growing facility which uses the building fabric in order to bring life and services to the town.

This leaves the building free for other uses. By including a primary school within the scheme, it goes towards future proofing the area. With many young people moving to the area for cheaper rents and house prices, a lack of schools will soon be a concern. This will also bring a community hub to the High Street, with many schools now doubling as community centres and adult education facilities. The Hounslow local plan outlines the need for more school places.

The school will be an ‘agricultural primary school’, in that there will be a focus on bringing growing and greenery to the urban location. With Kew Gardens in close proximity and many local parks looking worn and tired, the school will be perfectly placed to create an interest in urban green spaces and eventually offer employment opportunities. The building itself will be a showcase for traditional and emerging technologies in the field, providing local produce via hydroponics and agricultural architecture.

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JANE JACOBS Zoning of residential developments away from work and leisure spaces results in a loss of community. In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs argued that cities need diversity in all forms. She contended that neighbourhoods should be a mix of ‘recreational, commercial, industrial and residential’, and should have even a greater diversity within these categories. Jacobs wrote of cities as living organisms and there exists delicate processes and interactions within them.

Jacobs advocated the conservation and use of ‘not museum-piece old buildings… [but] a good lot of plain, ordinary, low-value old buildings, including some rundown old buildings’.

“FROM CITY TO CITY THE ARCHITECTS’ SKETCHES CONJURE UP THE SAME DREARY SCENE; HERE IS NO HINT OF INDIVIDUALITY OR WHIM OR SURPRISE, NO HINT THAT HERE IS A CITY WITH A TRADITION AND FLAVOUR ALL ITS OWN.”

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CEDRIC PRICE My brief draws on Cedric Price’s theoretical project Potteries Thinkbelt which aimed to break down ‘the boundaries that separate education from everyday life’. He asserted that education should possess ‘the same lack of peculiarity as the supply of drinking water’. He defined an education that was continuous with everyday life. By placing the primary school within the urban farm, the agricultural side of children’s education is completely immersed in the reality of agriculture. As opposed to learning the concept of agriculture, students can learn the practice. Shared public realms and circulation bridges across the separate spaces will put each activity on display, interlacing processes to construct a culture which nurtures a dialogue between a sheltered education and the agricultural world.

“EDUCATION, IF IT IS TO BE A CONTINUOUS HUMAN SERVICE RUN BY THE COMMUNITY MUST BE PROVIDED WITH THE SAME LACK OF PECULIARITY AS THE SUPPLY OF DRINKING WATER OR FREE TEETH.”

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AN ECOSYSTEM ELECTRICITY

CO2 LIGHT

FOOD WASTE NITRATES

CO2 FISH AMMONIA BRENTFORD

O2

CLEANED WATER

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TURBINE GENERATOR

HEAT & COOL BUILDING

BIOGAS EMPLOYMENT

FERTILISER USED FOR NATURAL GROWING WASTE

ANAEROBIC DIGESTER FOOD WASTE FROM NEIGHBOURING BUSINESSES SLUDGE

REVENUE FROM PRODUCE FERTILISER

ALGAE, DUCKWEED

THIS AQUAPONIC SYSTEM SOLVES THE PROBLEMS WITH AQUACULTURE (TOO MUCH WASTE) AND HYDROPONICS (NEEDS NUTRIENT INPUTS) BY COMBINING THEM AND MIMICKING A NATURAL ECOSYSTEM.

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AQUAPONIC SYSTEM

OPTIMUM RATIOS 0.5KG FISH : 20L WATER : 0.1SQM OF 30CM DEEP GROWING BEDS 1M2 30CM DEEP GROWING BEDS : 2M3 WATER : 500KG FISH GROW BEDS CAN BE STACKED 4 TIER FISH TANKS CAN BE MAX 2M HIGH

1900M2 GROWING SPACE OVER 1500M2 2000 M3 OF FISH TANKS OVER 1000 M2

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SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

FLOOR PLANS FOR A ‘FLAT-PACK’ SCHOOL. THE KEYNES MODEL BY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY SUNESIS. TOTAL FLOOR AREA: 1478 SQM

By taking the floor plans of a PFI school, I am able to better understand the spatial requirements for a one form entry primary school. I will use this as a guide, whilst bearing in mind that this shall be the minimum required from a school so spaces maybe larger in my design. It is also worth to consider whether teaching environments will benefit from being smaller and on a more domestic scale.

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PROGRAMME ORGANISATION

80 80 80 80 80 80 80

RECEPTION YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 YEAR 6

40 ICT ROOM 1 40 ICT ROOM 2 40 FOOD/SCIENCE/DT

250 HALL

50 KITCHEN

10 SMALL GROUP ROOM

60 READING CORNERS 50 STAFF ROOM 30 OFFICE/RECEPTION 10 HEADTEACHERʼS OFFICE 10 SEN 10 SENCO

40 TOILETS

70 CLOAKROOMS 10 STORE 10 PE STORE 20 PLANT

400 CAR PARKING

360 CIRCULATION @ 10%

1050 PLAYING FIELD 750 PLAYGROUND 3950 TOTAL SCHOOL SPACE

1000 FISH TANKS

15000 GREENHOUSE GROWING VERTICAL GROWING 50 COMMUNITY GARDEN 50 OFFICE 50 STORE ROOM 50 CAR PARKING

280 CIRCULATION @10% 3 GOODS LIFT

40 DELIVERIES 5 TOILETS 10 PLANT

3073 TOTAL FARM SPACE

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GREENHOUSE GROWING 1500 M2 RECEPTION 80 M2 YEAR 1 80 M2 YEAR 2 80 M2 YEAR 3 80 M2 YEAR 4 80 M2 YEAR 5 80 M2 YEAR 6 80 M2 OFFICE/RECEPTION 30 M2 STAFF ROOM 50 M2 HEADTEACHERʼS OFFICE 10 M2

ICT ROOM 1 40 M2 ICT ROOM 2 40 M2 SENCO 10 M2

FOOD/SCIENCE/DT 40 M2 SEN 10 M2 SMALL GROUP ROOM 10 M2 2

KITCHEN 50 M2 TOILETS 40 M2

PE STORE 10 M2 PLANT 10 M2 STORE 10 M2 PLANT 10 M2

CIRCULATION @10% 280 M2

CAR PARKING 50 M2

CAR PARKING 400 M2 2

VERTICAL GROWING 0 M2

HALL 250 M

DELIVERIES 40 M GOODS LIFT 3 M2

OFFICE 50 M2

CLOAKROOMS 70 M2

CIRCULATION @ 10% 360 M2 STORE ROOM 50 M2 TOILETS 5 M2

PLAYING FIELD 1050 M2 PLAYGROUND 726 M2 COMMUNITY GARDEN 50 M2 READING CORNERS 60 M2

FISH TANKS 1000 M2

DISORGANISATION

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INITIAL IDEAS

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

In order to design a scheme where the occupants have a direct relationship to the building, I have detailed a day in the life of three frequent users of the building.

This relates to the study which we did in the primer phase in which we documented different social rituals in order to better understand the typologies.

By analysing this information and the user temporalities, I can form a spatial organisation which respects the private aspects of these activities and emphasises the social.

USER TEMPORALITIES

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JASPER, AGED 10 MONDAY 21ST MARCH 7 30 AM

Wake up.

8 00 AM

I have breakfast with my brother and help make our packed lunches.

8 30 AM

Walk to school.

8 45 AM

Arrive at school and play football until the bell goes.

9 00 AM

Register. Hand in consent forms for the end of year trip.

9 05 AM

Art class. We learn about the colour wheel and draw and paint our own for a wall display.

10 00 AM

Maths practice test for the KS2 SATs next year.

11 00 AM

Break time. We play ‘horse’ on the basketball court.

11 20 AM

Literacy hour.

12 30 PM 1 30 PM

3 00 PM

Lunch time in the hall. When we have finished our food we’re allowed out to the field to play football.

PE class.

This week, we take turns to play on the climbing frames in the hall.

School ends and my brother and I go to after school club in the greenhouse. We learn how to plant tomatoes.

6 00 PM

Mum picks us up.

7 00 PM

I practice on my guitar for an hour and then watch TV until it’s time to get ready for bed.

9 00 PM

I quietly sneak into my bed as my brother is already asleep on the top bunk.

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MS WHITE, RECEPTION CLASS TEACHER MONDAY 21ST MARCH 7 30 AM

Child minder arrives to take my children to school and I leave for work.

8 00 AM

Arrive at school. Read notes from my job share partner to catch up on parent contact, ICT tasks and timetable changes for the coming week. Check emails. Set up first activities and arrange chairs and tables.

BELL

8 55 AM

Children arrive. Register. Collect Tesco vouchers and any letters from home - send to office. Explain the different activities available for the children, e.g. sand, role play, computer.

9 15 AM

Children access activities available.

I do small group work with between 3 and 6 children at a time.

10 30 AM

11 20 AM

Outdoor play time.

I try to extend them wherever possible, to be constantly embedding the curriculum within their play.

Finish half a cup of coffee.

Phonics.

12 00 PM

Lunch.

10 40 AM

1 00 PM

After lunch, they wind down, rest, read stories and take time to reflect on the day.

3 00 PM

Safely deliver children to parents or after school care.

My day is not over, I have hours of work ahead to get ready for the next day, week, month, year.

Leave work to pick my children up from the child minder’s house.

5 30 PM

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Snack time. Wander around the classroom to ensure healthy choices are eaten, while offering advice on how to be a good friend.

ALBERT, URBAN GARDENER MONDAY 21ST MARCH

Leave house.

7 00 AM

Brief staff and volunteers about the day’s tasks over coffee and breakfast.

7 15 AM

Feed chickens and let them out for the day.

Collect the eggs.

7 30 AM

Harvest produce for market.

8 00 AM

Wash and package produce.

Load into the van for this afternoon.

9 30 AM

Break for lunch in the school canteen.

12 00 PM

This afternoon, I am running an employment workshop.

We learn how to make basic trusses for tomatoes.

1 00 PM

Run our weekly stand at a local farmers’ market.

2 30 PM

Another seller at the market asks if I have any garlic for sale. I quickly drive back to the farm and pull 10 or so bulbs for her. Whilst back at the farm, I quickly check on the after school club. This week, they are learning to plant tomatoes.

4 30 PM

I prune the plants and put the chickens away for the night.

I leave and stop to drop the garlic off on my way.

5 30 PM

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LEFT and RIGHT: Hugo Haring Gut Garkau, Germany

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FARM VERNACULAR AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

By studying the farm vernacular, I can investigate how the architecture relates to the processes that they house. The architecture of a farm is an architecture of function and practicality. Hugo Haring was an architect known for his agricultural buildings. He believed that each building should have a unique relationship to its site and client and their specific demands. This led to the design of the Gut Garkau farm in Germany which is a direct expression of its function.

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TOP: Teaching Dairy Barn in Ithaca, New York. LEFT: Blades Farm, Garsdale. RIGHT: Barn near Hawes, Wensleydale

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BARN ARCHITECTURE

THE CENTRAL BUILDING OF A FARMYARD Farms tend to focus around one central building off which other buildings and processes can branch off. This is usually a barn or a farmhouse and allows for a core space - both aesthetically and spatially.

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TOP: Tobacco drying barn in North Carolina. LEFT: Micro Cabins in Sandefjord, Norway. RIGHT: Hadlow Farm, East Sussex.

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FARMS AS A SUM OF COMPONENTS A COMBINATION OF BUILDINGS FOR DIFFERENT PROCESSES

A farm is a combination of many complex and opposing processes. To have one building which caters for all of these would seem inefficient. This functional arrangement creates an opportunity to explore the thresholds between these buildings and interesting relationships within the roof scape.

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MATERIALITY

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The materiality of farmyard buildings can be directly compared to the industrial materiality of Brentford. The combination of natural and industrial materials that are found in Brentford are required to make a fully functioning farm.

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DEVELOPMENT

PRECEDENTS

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The study of precedents in the early development stage of a design is paramount to informing the key spaces that are desired. Precedents allow authorization and justification of design choices. Successful examples of similar schemes serve as guidance and inspiration and give meaning to your brief. By investigating these early on in the design process, ideas can be integrated and called upon later on to help solve design problems that may arise.

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SCHOOLS

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HIGH-RISE SECONDARY SCHOOL, SYDNEY. GRIMSHAW. ‘totally new typology’ Students are not divided by age, but given a ‘school within a school’.

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SCHOOLS

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HAKEMIYA NURSERY SCHOOL, KUMAMOTO. RHYTHMDESIGN AND CASE-REAL. ‘Not a small school but a big house’ Allows children to feel comfortable using intimate playgrounds and domestic scale rooms.

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SCHOOLS

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SCHOOL DINING HALL, SE ENGLAND. DE ROSEE SA AND PMR. Recreates Fantastic Mr Fox’s underground village. Visually stimulating and engaging for the children.

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AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

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SPA AND EVENTS SPACE, LAKE VÄTTERN, SWEDEN TAILOR MADE ARKITEKTER. Half hreenhouse, half barn.

Harnesses the sun and is familiar of typical Swedish farm buildings.

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AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

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AQUAPONIC ROOFTOP FARM, BASEL ANTONIO SCARPONI Making use of large, flat, homogeneous and unused mechanical rooftops.

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AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

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VERTICAL FARM, PARIS ILIMELGO ARCHITECTES Introducing urban agriculture to Paris. The vertical form maximises the exposure to light.

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KEY SPACE DESIGN

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The phenomenology of place is a question of identity. It is the details in a landscape which helps to place one’s self in London as opposed to anywhere else. It is this idea that places are more than a sum of their individual parts that is central to our Studio. Norberg-Schulz describes architecture as the ‘concretisation of existential space’. He believes personal interactions are central to design and it is the everyday activities which should be the focus.

To this end, I began my design process by describing key spaces and interactions in my building through drawing and collage. Through always referring back to these key spaces during the design process, I was able to build a design around the experience I wanted my building to create.

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To begin the design process, I devised a set of rules to keep to in order to follow the concepts and ideologies I wish to achieve through my design. Using these, I collaged the key spaces I would like to create so that I could work up a scheme around them.

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DESIGN RULES

Avoid corridors. Use courtyards and access through classrooms where possible

Each classroom has easy access to an outdoor/play area.

Distinct thresholds between teaching areas and farming areas in the form of change in levels or materiality.

Accommodate visibility between teaching and farming spaces.

Create a relationship to the High Street where possible. The school must be permeable to the wider community. (Apply this rule with caution to still nurture a safe environment).

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KEY SPACES

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3D COLLAGES

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KEY SPACES

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3D COLLAGES

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INITIAL VOLUMETRICS

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CONCEPT MODEL

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I modelled the existing building as a sliced model. With this, I was able to slot in sections of buildings and create a design with the desired relationship between buildings and open spaces. This builds up a design that is a sum of the necessary components of the agricultural school and translates to the farm vernacular that I have studied.

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Using the concept model, I was able trace over it and form a more tangible design that can be represented to show a clear and definite scheme.

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INITIAL DESIGN

120

10m

SPATIAL DRAWINGS

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INITIAL DESIGN

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SPATIAL DRAWINGS

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VOLUMETRIC MODEL

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CRITICAL REFLECTION I finally modelled this initial design in volumetric form to define problems that do not arise in 2D. I found that the scale of the buildings was larger than the domestic and safe atmosphere that I wished to create. This is something that I will address in further designs.

The design in general reflects a school where the agriculture is very separate from the educational spaces. This goes against the principles that I have taken from Cedric Price to create an immersive education. It also lacked the desired relationship with the High Street in order to bring life to the community. I also feel that the design missed the opportunity to use the roof space for growing by placing all growing on the South side of the site. Using the roof could be more agriculturally prolific.

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FINAL SCHEME

I began to explore how the school can be directly placed into the farm.

I have related this back to my initial process diagram in order to achieve the integration of processes that I set out to prove through my design. My aim was to take the volume of a farm and carve the volume of a school into it.

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INTEGRATION

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INITIAL TECHNICAL SECTION

To clarify structural strategies, I drew up a provisional technical section.

In doing so, I was able to question certain design choices and whether they should be changed. I felt that in section the design appears to have lost the farm yard feel that I had intended to express. The relationship between the farm and the school also seemed distant.

There is little interaction between the fish tanks and the children and this feels like a missed opportunity. The anaerobic digester is to the left of the building, outside the walls of the existing. This is another missed opportunity as a connection between the farm and the school.

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FINAL VOLUMES

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GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

8

SECOND FLOOR

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FLOOR PLANS

GREENHOUSE

ROOF PLAN

N

10m

The main entrance to the school is to the West side of the building. The public entrance and reception is to the East side. On the ground floor is the school hall and canteen entrance. The circulation up to the classrooms wraps around the silo and passes over the fish tanks.

Each classroom consists over a flexible teaching space or play area with a mezzanine floor above for computer desks. The arrangement of classrooms depend on the year group they are intended for. From the first floor school courtyard there is access to a bridge over the school hall which leads to office space and quieter learning areas.

The entrance to the farm is to the left of the public entrance for the school. This door leads to access to the fish tanks to the left and a stairway and lift up to the greenhouse. The greenhouse mainly consists of grow beds with an office/store room and toilets at the North end.

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CONTEXT

The walls of the adjacent building make up the playground boundary.

The front section retains the roof to create a covered basketball court. The South and West walls are retained to enclose the football pitch and outdoor play area.

137

ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES

Diagram illustrating the strategic angles of the sawtooth roof in capturing the suns energy.

138

SUN HEATED TEMPERED

Diagram illustrating the heating strategies of the scheme.

139

ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES

GREENHOUSE

CL A

SSR OO M

Classroom ventilation strategies

140

mixer

biogas

fresh sludge

high-pressure valve

biogas

effluent substrate

tank wall (steel) insulation covering (sheet

fluid zone

sludge zone

mixing zone digested sludge

Section through the anaerobic digester

141

STRUCTURE

ROOF TRUSSES

COLUMNS

FLOOR PLATES

142

PATENT GLAZING

TIMBER CLADDING

EXISTING MASONRY WALLS

143

STRUCTURE

DIRECTIONAL LOAD DIAGRAM

144

STRUCTURAL DIAGRAM

145

146

TECHNICAL SECTION 147

AN ECOSYSTEM ELECTRICITY

CO2 TURBINE GENERATOR

LIGHT

HEAT & COOL BUILDING

BIOGAS

FOOD WASTE

EMPLOYMENT

NITRATES

FERTILISER USED FOR NATURAL GROWING

CO2 FISH WASTE

ANAEROBIC DIGESTER

AMMONIA

FOOD WASTE FROM NEIGHBOURING BUSINESSES

BRENTFORD SLUDGE O2

REVENUE FROM PRODUCE FERTILISER

CLEANED WATER

ALGAE, DUCKWEED

THIS AQUAPONICS SYSTEM SOLVES THE PROBLEMS WITH AQUACULTURE (TOO MUCH WASTE) AND HYDROPONICS

ELECTRICITY

(NEEDS NUTRIENT INPUTS) BY COMBINING THEM AND MIMICKING A NATURAL ECOSYSTEM.

TURBINE GENERATOR HEAT & COOL BUILDING

TECHNICAL SECTION

BIOGAS

FOOD WASTE FROM NEIGHBOURING BUSINESSES

ANAEROBIC DIGESTER

FISH WA

SLUDGE

FERTILISER USED FOR NATURAL GROWING

148

FERTILISER

ALGAE, DUCKWEE

EMPLOYMENT

LIGHT

CO2

REVENUE FROM PRODUCE

O2

CLEANED WATER

ASTE NITRATES

AMMONIA

, ED

CONTEXTUAL PROCESS DIAGRAM 149

150

EXPERIENTIAL SECTION 151

152

GREENHOUSE INTERIOR 153

154

SCHOOL COURTYARD 155

USER EXPERIENCES

JASPER, AGED 10

8.30AM

160

161

8.45AM

162

8.47AM 163

8.48AM

10.30AM 164

165

ALBERT, URBAN GARDENER

8.30AM

168

169

8.45AM

8.47AM 170

171

10.00AM 172

173

174

10.30AM

175