03 FRAMING GROWTH Emma Henderson
Past Resonances and Future Anticipations
The industrial past meets an agricultural future in the design for a further education college in Dalmarnock, Glasgow -
Emma Henderson | TECTONICS | ESALA | 2016
CONTEXT
Placelessness In the process of ‘regenerating’ Dalmarnock for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, a community was uprooted and replaced by incomplete infrastructure, placelessness and swathes of abandoned spaces with no formal function. Placelessness exists in the Tesco just off the site and in the homogeneous roof-scape of the Athlete’s Village. They are examples of mass culture and values and - in the case of Tesco - a powerful symbol of the consumerism that dominates today’s world. The argument made through the urban plans critiques passive consumerism and the current disinterest in the individual - arguing that offering the individual the chance to shape their neighbourhood catalyses the growth of a stronger community and, as a result, the development of a happier, healthier and more sustainable space in which consumption is balanced with production. Vacant and Derelict Space While top-down developments absorb urban landscapes, the economy’s mutations are simultaneously producing inoperable spaces in the urban landscape. Although commonly perceived as worthless, these proverbial urban junkyards serve as valuable projection surfaces for the desires of marginalised citizens, through which they may discover new identities, create a unique sense of place and build stronger communities. The proposals in this project reveal alternative mechanisms - such as guerilla farming - that may provide greater social inclusion and authentic place making.
APOLOGIA
The Agrarian Landscape and Craft as Collective Endeavours The scheme proposes an agrarian landscape containing a cluster of structures, allotments and fields, which act as food production and consumption sites in an alternative market street. In the derelict land that now divides the site a symbolic notion of knitting old and new together comes to fruition, quite literally, in the form of urban agriculture. With food production and agrarian studies incorporated into its design, an FE College is proposed to act as a terminus to this new channel of allotments, football pitches and gardens. It echoes a wider urban strategy that attempts to increase the sustainability of the neighbourhood - not only reducing waste and the dependency on external sources but also, in the process, creating a positive identity that is shared by many. The design of the college captures the cathartic energy of building and craft in the roughness of brick and in the inherent internal flexibility of a structural steel frame system. The internal walls may be reconfigured and the steel frame may extend indefinitely into the surrounding landscape, encouraging future expansion: the project is designed for a future of collective fabrication. The alternative food production system aims to bring the consumer back to the origin of their food and to promote regional traditions, social inclusivity and community cohesion. The urban plan and college offer physical components that mark a turning point in Dalmarnock’s history to a more sustainable urban development strategy: a collective endeavour, growing out of what is present, and adjusting over time to changing circumstances.
PROTAGONISTS
Although Dalmarnock was once defined by its prosperous industry, it now suffers from some of the highest levels of unemployment and deprivation in Scotland. 55% of children are defined as living in poverty and 22% in over-crowded homes. Alcohol use is 291% higher than the Scottish average. Top-down urban regeneration has reinforced the long-standing stigmatisation of the area and its people: “the feeling has been strongly voiced that local people are being excluded, actively pushed out and contained in what some have a termed a “prison”. The protagonists woven through my decision making processes are Katie and Craig, both in their formative teenage years Katie has recently moved into the Athlete’s Village while Craig has lived in Dalmarnock his whole life. Their prospects are limited: average life expectancy falls well below national averages, socially they are faced with a territorial division between old and new, economically they are faced with high levels of unemployment. The proposed FE College positions itself between education centre and a civic meeting place. The objectives of the project for the protagonists are as follows:
empowerment through the opportunity to shape the urban environment employment prospects through the development of skills social cohesion through the collective endeavours of farming and craft liberation from top-down planning through the development of a local economy
[illustrations by Ruairi Boyle]
THE MAKING OF STUFF I.
KNAPPING
material investigations
II.
SCAPPLING
roughing out
III.
FETTLING
framing the object
IV.
ARRIS
detailing the object
V.
INHABITATION
the life of the object
Initial artwork Paul Klee, “Warmed Cool”
I. KNAPPING material investigations A scale-less investigation into a material tectonic. The emphasis is on fabrication - iterative, instinctive, energetic creating. The process developed themes for my subsequent tectonic investigation: grid, tension, frame and balance
Tectonic concept developed from knapping iterations
II. SCAPPLING roughing out Scappling is the process of reducing stone or concrete, shaping it to a rough square by use of an axe or hammer. Having set up a body of site knowledge (documented in “identity” and “future plans”), the following stage sees the transformation of this knowledge to the beginnings of a design.
View South on Site
View North from Site
Civic axes
Grids: paths
DIVISION OF PROGRAMME
4000 sqm FE College
sqm
Lower Ground LRC Meeting Room Accessible WC Estates Stores, Switch-room and Plant
150 60 15 150
Upper Ground Cafe and Kitchen Crèche Workshops and Stores WCs Lockers, Showers and Sluice Hops Chamber Foyer Staff Workroom [Yard and Garage]
250 65 500 80 85 30 120 100 [360]
1st Floor Prayer Room Big Classrooms Classrooms Accessible WC Flexible Learning
12 124 135 15 50
2nd Floor Workshops and Stores Silent Study Computer Room First Aid SU Office and Interview Rooms Accessible WC Break Out Head Teacher
500 35 75 12 31 15 80 12
3rd Floor Greenhouses/Hydroponics External Teaching Research room Exhibition and Display Space Student Allotments
46 50 50 145 270
[+ Circulation]
[700]
PROGRAMMATIC ANALYSIS
Conceptual section exploring light and material qualities, taking inspiration from the industrial buildings around the site.
A PLACE OF WORK AND SPACES OF ENCOUNTER
FRAMING SPACES : HEAVY AND LIGHT
III. FETTLING framing the college
AERIAL SITE VIEW
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1
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1:1000 Site Plan 1. Deliveries 2. Fruit fields 3. School allotments
4. Animal quarters 5. Farming equipment 6. Community allotments 7. FE College
8. Athlete’s Village 9. Tenement 10. 80s housing 11. Dalmarnock Road
12. River Clyde 13. SUDS zone 14. Bicycle Parking
FRAME, CORE, EXTENSION
TAXONOMY OF STRUCTURE | frame, fill, enclose, adapt
[workshops] private, non-direct light, heavy servicing Steel frame supporting services and floor slabs, enclosed by structural brick.
[public spaces] public, bright, flexible Non-structural brick walls partially infill steel frame.
[teaching and supporting spaces] private, non-direct light Structural brick walls with deep windows: permanent and solid. The tectonic language of the building provides light and open spaces as well as darker enclosed spaces. It also allows for the adoption of change/ re-appropriation whilst also resonating with local typology and heritage.
ADAPTABLE SPACE DESIGN | isometric and 1:50 workshop plan
“Pocket spaces” [storage, studio bays, tutorial rooms] Temporary and flexible pocket spaces are created by non-structural walls that sit within the steel frame.
“Adaptable spaces” [work areas and display areas] Rotating steel partitions hinged on the steel frame allow the students and staff to adapt the workshop space.
View across river
Entrance foyer
1:500 Floor LG
Roof allotments
DIAGRAMMATIC PLANS HIGHLIGHTING STEEL BEAMS AND GREEN SPACES
1:500 Floor UG
1:500 Floor 1
1:500 Floor 2
1:500 Floor 3
SKETCH OF APPROACH
1:200 Floor LG
1
2
4
3
PLEASE ROTATE
1. Plant/switch room. 2. Estates store. 3. Meeting room.
5
4. Accessible WC. 5. LRC. 6. LRC issue desk.
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7. LRC staff base.
BB
1:200 Floor UG
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4
2
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1. Workshop 1. 2. General Workshop. 3. Lockers and shower.
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4. Male WC. 5. Female WC. 6. Light-well courtyard.
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AA
7. Cafe. 8. Foyer. 9. Staff base.
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10. Estates store. 11. Crèche. 12. Crèche staff.
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13. Servery. 14. Kitchen. 15. External seating.
1:200 Floor 1
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1. Prayer room. 2. Class 1. 3. Big class 1.
5
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4. Class 2. 5. Accessible WC. 6. Class 3.
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7. Big Class 2. 8. Flexible learning. 9. Light well
1:200 Floor 2
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1
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1. Workshop 2. 2. Workshop 3. 3. Patio.
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4. Painting store. 5. Tool store. 6. Project store.
15
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7. Light well. 8. Silent study. 9. Break out.
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10. IT and support 11. First aid. 12. Department Head.
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13. Accessible WC. 14. SU office. 15. Garden/patio.
1:200 Floor 3
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1. Void over breakout space. 4. Teaching/display. 7. Void over breakout space. 2. Research room. 5. Greenhouse/hydroponics. 8. External teaching. 3. Light well. 6. Student allotments.
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1:200 NORTH-SOUTH SECTION AA
1:100 EAST-WEST SECTION BB
Tectonic precedent Stanton Williams, Granary Building
IV. ARRIS detailing the college
Classrooms and Supporting Spaces
Flexible Public Spaces and Circulation
Workshops
key structural move
Load bearing brick, no steel.
Steel frame and brick infill for flexibility in configuration of public spaces, anticipating future change.
Self-supporting brick walls with steel frame supporting floor slabs and services over the large workshop spans.
window condition
Windows flush with internal side to express weight of walls externally.
n/a
Windows flush with external side to create sitting space in workshop and to give passers-by a glimpse into the activity.
1:100 PERSPECTIVE SECTION Past Resonances & Future Anticipations
Conceived at a moment when the industrial past is meeting an agricultural future, the materiality of the FE College, Brick and Steel allows Dalmarnock’s heritage to resonate throughout the building. Through considered detailing the use of brick and steel throughout give unity and civic presence to the building whilst also creating subtle variations in spatial qualities.
Classrooms and Supporting Spaces
Flexible Public Spaces and Circulation
Workshops
TECTONIC RESOLUTION | 1:200 BRICK INFILL TO STEEL FRAME
TECTONIC RESOLUTION | 1:200 BRICK AND STEEL IN WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOP WINDOW
1. 75mm screed on 150mm concrete slab on 50mm insulation and 25mm sand blinding. 2. 75mm polished screed on 125mm concrete poured onto trapezoidal steel deck. 3. Steel beam and services. 4. Brick , 90mm insulation, 40mm cavity. 5. Damp proof membrane. 6. Steel plate. 7. SHS on ply block and insulation. 8. Aluminium flashing on ply. 9. Damp proof course + weep hole. 10. Double glazed window. 11. Paving 12. Hard-core sub base. 13. Concrete foundation.
1:20 Workshop Wall Detail
GREEN ROOF
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1:20 Green Roof Detail 1. Aluminium flashing. 2. Capping sheet and underlayer. 3. Drainage outlet. 4. Vegetation barrier. 5. Insulation 6. Drainage and protection layer. 7. Substrate. 8. Planting. 9. Vapour Barrier.
1:200 MODEL
V. INHABITATION the life of the college
Future Anticipations
ROOF ALLOTMENTS AND GREENHOUSE
FOYER
WORKSHOP
CAFE
2016
Building out of the rubble
2025
2045
Community allotments and collective farming
2075
2095
The rise of the vertical farm
“Building out of the rubble� The FE College is constructed incrementally over the course of 2016 with the aid of the young apprentices and college students, like the protagonists Katie and Craig, who will eventually inhabit the spaces.
FUTURE ANTICIPATIONS | 2016
“Community Allotments� As footfall to and from the FE College increases attention falls on the cheap, derelict land in the approach to the school. The FE College and local residents reclaim the land: where rubble once lay there now stands allotments, 5-a-side pitches and animal sheds. A sense of civic pride is slowly restored and a cohesive and empowered community grows around the FE College.
FUTURE ANTICIPATIONS | 2025
“The Beginnings of the Productive Urban Landscape� The allotments and college soon produce enough food to be able to supply the neighbourhood - local capital grows. Simultaneously, a national concern for sustainability sparks a drive for the balance of consumption with production. Thus, funding comes in for agricultural development in Dalmarnock and the college begins to grow incrementally - the steel frame continues across the landscape. In support of local business, the construction is carried out by the local building cooperative, formed of FE college graduates and managed now by Katie.
FUTURE ANTICIPATIONS | AUTUMN 2045
“Collective Urban Farming” Dalmarnock’s success with urban farming places it at the heart of Scotland’s agricultural scene. As a result of this, the FE College expands to incorporate agronomic studies into the programme. Grazing cows become a familiar sight and the rising popularity of productive leisure activities, such as fruit harvesting, force the Cunnigar loop leisure park into liquidation. Dalmarnock has finally overcome the placelessness brought about by previous top-down regeneration thanks to its distinct seasonal characteristics and key urban landmarks, such as the FE College and the market high street. Our story sees Katie and Craig’s children enter college with great hopes for becoming leading figures in the urban farming wave as it sweeps across the nation.
FUTURE ANTICIPATIONS | SPRING 2075
“The rise of the vertical Urban farm” Vertical farms pop up across Dalmarnock as it becomes a prototype for this new kind of agriculture. Whilst the average age in the Athlete’s village is now over 50, the younger generations reside in the co-housing that book-ends the central farming strip, mirroring the college. The 21st Century has seen the knitting together of once disparate residents in Dalmarnock, it has seen the local life expectancy rocket, and it has seen the growth of local capital through collective endeavours and local craft, alongside the failure of an unsustainable, international food production cycle - embodied by the now derelict Tesco across the river.
FUTURE ANTICIPATIONS | SUMMER 2095