[SHARPNESS PUBLIC SLAUGHTERHOUSE | A+P] Portfolio Submission
Design Studio D
Ed Russell
11001302
[ SHARPNESS PUBLIC SLAUGHTERHOUSE | ESCR ]
CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION
2. PROJECT BRIEF
3.
THE SITE
4.
MASTERPLAN
5.CONCEPT & DESIGN
6.
DESIGN PROPOSAL
7.TECHNICAL STUDY
8. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY
9.
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX
“ I’m fine with dead animals, but the point at which animals cross from living to lunch is one that makes me wobble” Jamie Oliver
THE PUBLIC ABATTOIR Building Summary A response to the rise in Bovine T.B. in cattle in the South West has led to the government pushing for badger culling. The Public Abattoir depicts an activist building to combat the threat of culling comprising of a working public abattoir, visible for all to see. With an aim to inform the public of the malpractice and injustice in locally related meat production, while demonstrating best practice of humane slaughtering and responsible meat-consumption. This in theory will eliminate the demand for cattle (a highly environmentally unsustainable meat). Hence reduce the spread of Bovine T.B. in cattle in the Gloucestershire market. The aim is to create an honest, transparent relationship between modern life and the food we eat, cultivating a more responsible meat eating culture with understanding and greater respect for the welfare of the animals who give their lives to satisfy our hunger.
Chapter 1 Introduction The Slaughterhouse Bovine T.B. in the West of England The Importance of the Meat Industry The Importance of Industry to Sharpness Eliminating Demand for Beef Public Self Service Restaurant
THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE Prologue noun 1. a place where animals are butchered. 2. a scene of massacre or carnage. The shambles a place or scene of bloodshed, carnage within a condition of great devastation. Slaughtering animals on a large scale poses significant logistical problems and public health requirements and public aversion in many cultures influences the location of slaughterhouses. Animal welfare and animal rights groups frequently raise concerns about the methods of transport, preparation, herding, and killing within some slaughterhouses
BOVINE T.B. IN THE WEST OF ENGLAND The Disease with alot of stigma. However, could easily be eradicated. Bovine TB rates have shown another modest fall across Britain and in the South West, the latest figures from Defra reveal. In the South West (a TB hotspot) 2,142 herds were designated not officially TB free in August, down from 2,588 at the beginning of the year. There has been a small fall each month since January this year in the South West. There is no clear explanation for this pattern, because bTB is a multi-factorial and chronic disease with a complex epidemiology and reservoirs of infection in cattle and wildlife. As a result of surveillance and testing changes, there has been no stable time series until recently. However, though a small reduction in the rate of infection last year, this is irrelivant due to the timescale of the research. Should we be proud of a slow decline? Or should we push for a fight for the eradication altogether? One way of reducing the spread of Bovine T.B. could be through the eradication of the carrier of the diseases that spreads into the Human food chain. YES, that would be the elimination of cattle as opposed to eradicating the disease prone badgeres which are native to this country.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MEAT INDUSTRY Our Addiction to Red Meat Meat is a rich source of fat and protein, and many anthropologists believe mankind needed to switch to meat-eating to give us the nutrition essential to evolve bigger, smarter brains. However, we shouldn’t follow the example of our ancestors too closely. For much of human history, most people would have died from infectious disease, childbirth, injuries or malnutrition long before they had to worry about cancer and heart disease — illnesses of middle and old age. So our forebears could have eaten slabs of bison to their hearts’ content — something else would have killed them by the age of 30. All types of red meat, whether processed or unprocessed, contain a form of iron called haem — the pigment that gives red meat its colour. Iron is an essential nutrient. The most recent data suggest that in Britain, most of us meet the guidelines laid out by the Department of Health. Men consume an average 2½oz (70g) of red meat each day while women eat 2oz (52g). However, a third of the population are still red meat gluttons, devouring more than 3½oz or 100g a day. How long before health campaigners lobby for laws which would ban children from burger bars, or before workplace canteens are ‘encouraged’ to phase out traditional breakfast fry-ups? Smokers have already been forced out on to the streets. How soon before they are joined on the pavement by office workers clutching illicit bacon butties?
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MEAT INDUSTRY TheTruth There are currently 1.28 billion cattle populating the earth. They occupy nearly 24 percent of the landmass of the planet. Their combined weight exceeds that of the earth’s entire human population. However, most people are totally unaware of just what it is they are eating when they put that hamburger in their mouth. The Cattle Industry not only forces the cows to live in horribly inhumane conditions, eat filth and animal food, which is unnatural for them to eat, but puts your health in danger from consuming their products which are tainted with growth hormones, raised in a sick and unnatural environment, and produce toxic meat. Immediately after birth, male calves are castrated to make them more “docile”, and to improve the quality of their meat. To ensure that the animals will not injure each other, they are dehorned with a chemical paste that burns out their horns’ roots. Neither of these procedures is done with anesthesia. There are about 42,000 feedlots in 13 major cattle-feeding states in the United states. The feedlot is generaly a fenced-in area with a concrete feed trough along one side. In many of the larger feedlots, thousands of cattle are crowded together side by side in severely cramped quarters. To obtain the optimum weight gain in the minimum time, feedlot managers administer a variety of pharmaceuticals to their cattle, including growth-stimulating hormones and feed additives.
IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRY TO SHARPNESS Industrial Heritage of Sharpness Sharpness Docks is one of the most inland ports in Britain and has been the gateway from the River Severn to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal for almost 200 years. A variety of ships flow up the canal, mainly restricted by the size of the boat compared with the width of the canal. Today the canal is used for pleasure craft, though the industry based in Sharpness is more likely to use the roads to transport cargo via lorry to and from the site than export or import goods via small cargo ships. The port has never lost the quantity coming in, and the schedule for ships is still booked up months in advance, however its size has not grown with the times, and down the estuary you will find the Avonmouth docks that take huge amounts of cargo back and fourth that outcompete Sharpness in quantity (this could lead to the dock being rendered useless in years to come). Activity has changed over time and there is an interesting story to tell about this part of Gloucestershire that may well inform your interpretation of the area and ideas for development. Much of the site is used for port activity but it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenic areas in the country. The northern warehouse is the surviving original. Built in 1871 and used as a granary. Timber was often transported in the water up the canal, pulled behind a boat. It was also stored in the water to prevent drying out. Current imports roughly match that of 1864. Growth only happened when it had to. Sharpness survives because demand meets supply. Industry has failed to grow over the past decade, though has not fully declined. The dock itself is still in frequent use and requires booking to gain a slot to transfer cargo. Although the ports activity has never declined, the buildings surrounding the dock have deteriated. Very few of the Victorian warehouses are still in use, due to the changes in industry that have occurred. The loss of the rail route has meant the coal industry has dried up in sharpness, and left many of the former Victorian warehouses derelict. The current industry is mainly import/export of grain, concrete and fertilisers, with light industry and warehouses south of Sharpness.
ELIMINATING DEMAND FOR BEEF
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Animal Rights Groups
Religious Groups
Health Organisations
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights group in the world. Its slogan is “animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse in any way.” But sections of the movement nevertheless say PETA is not radical enough. Could there be a more radical way?
Cattle are considered sacred in world religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and others. Due to the multiple benefits from cattle, there are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions. In some regions, especially Nepal and some states in India, the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat may be taboo.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diet attributes to 30% of all cancers in developed nations. To combat this problem WHO suggests that meat consumption be curbed. They claim that meat is “devoid of fiber and other nutrients that have a protective effect.” WHO also claims that consuming cooked meat is “believed to increase cancer risk . . . increasing the risk of hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer.” The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO) have reported that 18% of the world’s greenhouse gases and CO2 equivalents can be directly contributed to livestock. If we had less animals raised for consumption, we could cull considerable environmental benefits.
Challenging the Social Norm of Eating Meat
These organisations use shock tactics that relate to everyday life to attract supporters. These include relating issues to global warming, and making people feel as if they are killing a living soul like themselves.
Religion has a powerful stance on secular states, though in multicultural societies like the UK it holds very few powers. This means those who believe in the particular religion have to make their own response to situations instead of there being laws of prohibitid foods.
SELF-SERVICE RESTAURANT Prologue noun 1. a restaurant in which customers pay before eating and serve themselves from a counter. 2. the practice of serving oneself, as in a shop. The system whereby customers select goods for themselves and pay at a checkout: providing quick self-service. Or a buffet-style restaurant, where the customer serves their own plate of food from a large, central selection. As a system, it has been used as both a financial incentive for restaurants who lack the workforce in the local area, while it is also used in retaurants to add a theatrical experience to something that could be a service. A process that allows you to interact with your service more than when you have a plate put in front of you.
Chapter 2 Project Brief Research Building Users Brief Outline History Of The Slaughterhouse Schedual of Accomodation
RESEARCH Process Although there are no examples of where slaughter and eating take place alongside each other in the western world, I was able to get a better understanding by seperating the key parts; the abattoir and the self-service restaurant. In order to express the prologue through the building brief, it was important that I understood what was essential to designing an efficient abattoir. In order to better understand the process that abattoirs conduct I got a first hand incite into two. I took part in two very different trips to two seperate cattle abattoirs; Normans Abattoir (Bridport) & Yetminster Abattoir (Yetminster). Normans was a small family run abattoir, while Yetminster was a large industrialised slaughter chamber. Both left me with a critical understanding of how an efficient abattoir should be run, allowing me to start producing my own work. At both abattoirs it was reiterated what was “essential� to developping a good abattoir. These were: - Easy to clean - Good drainage - Humane - More than one unloading and exporting bay - Clear seperation between clean and dirty routes - Designed for the purpose of slaughter (as opposed to a barn) As a guideline to how a good abattoir is run these points will allow the workers an environment to think deeply and fully understand the process which is occuring. Over a lifetime of experiencing cafes and restaurants, the research into the process and requirments was a lot easier. The Brace of Butchers (Poundbury) seemed like the middle ground between slaughter and eating, with a small taster section for their meat and cheese selection. Altough within strict regulations of hygeine they manage to let the customers taste what they are about to purchase. Instead of a large restaurant kitchen, they simply use lavastones to heat up the produce, then the customers can easily pick away and eat tasters. This seemed very logical due to the: - Lack of cleaning - Efficiency - Hygeine - Theatrical experience
BUILDING USERS
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CLEAN WORKERS
DELIVERY MEN
Individually Defined DIRTY WORKERS noun.
noun.
noun.
a. contaminated with bacteria or other infectious microorganisms.
a. free from foreign matter or pollution and is not contaminated
a. a person who delivers/collects wholesale or retail goods to customers.
An essential part to the whole scheme is to introduce the cattle into the building. This is dealing with the livestock and hence is seen as a dirty job (It should also be defined that anyone who has not been through the de-contamination process will be seen as a dirty worker, and therefore prohibited from working within the slaughterhall). The dirty workers will be those workers who come into contact with potentially infected or unhygenic objects and livestock.
Within an efficient slaughterhouse you should have a clear route for The “collection� and delivery men will interact with the building at clean movement and dirty movement. All jobs that require the staff to different points. handle the raw flesh will have to be classified under the class. The delivery sqaud will act in a similar way to the dirty, though will not This workforce will begin there task just after the killing of the animal cross paths with those whome are clean. All their document will be (Kill Zone) and up to the point of sale. This provides the meat with signed for by the dirty staff on the ground floor level. both clean handling and a clean environment in which they can work. The collections will happen at the higher tier in order to minimise The dirty workforce will be provided with seperate cleaning facilities This will be helped via a rejection of stagnent air reducing the chance contact with contaminated vehicles travelling under the building. segregated from the clean staff. They will also travel along different of an airborne bacterior/virus infecting both the meat and the clean This will then provide them with access to the abattoir offices to sign routes to dirty destination untill they are decontaminated. worker. any required documents. This will allow for a much cleaner environment, as it has been noted There will also be clean workers within the restaurant who will act that many abattoirs find it hard to achieve this due to the rectalinear as staff that; clean dishes, prepare food like chips and salad, guide aproach of standardised sheds for abattoirs. This often achieves public through the restaurant and collect payments. spaces that do not confined to hygeine standards.
OFFICE WORKERS
CATTLE
PUBLIC ONLOOKERS
noun.
noun.
noun.
a. an employee who works in an office, doing administrative work.
a. any of various similar wild or domesticated bovine mammals.
a. a group of people sharing a common interest
There will be office space for the workers who will be requiring a As in all modern 21st century abattoirs, the cattle should be kept The public will come to the building to both eat and bare witness desk and to do administrative work alongside those dealing with the seperate from the storage of the carcasses. This area is known as to the attrocities that happen within! They will both publically view the slaughter of the cattle while eating from carcasses recently financial side. the lairage. slaughtered. This workspace does not need to interact with the abattoir itself, The cattle should be kept in hygeinic pens in which they are easily and will be set in its own zone, therefore minimising the contact with herded and moved around. They should not have to eat 24hr before This will be within a self-service restaurant which will allow them to the attrocities that occure within the abattoir and hence giving the the killing due to the stomach waste produced if bile is within them gain a fuller understanding of the textures of the flesh and the warmth of a living being recently slaughtered. workers a better qaulity environment in which to work. (empty stomachs are better). The cattle will also only be killed if they pass the vetenary examinations. These tests are required to tell whether the animal is sufficiently well enough to go into the food market. If not the cattle should be returned through a spout to the original deliverer (all keeping within the dirty zone. All waste produced by the cattle will be got rid of within 48hr under UK regulations.
The public will enter through a hallway designed to create a oppressive environment, that will give them an incite into the realities of being a cow going through the process. They will then get to cut into the meat, then collect the side dishes and then eat while overlooking the process.
BRIEF OUTLINE Client The observing public will act as the clientel for the abattoir. The symbolic interaction between them and the slaugter process will bring together a new form of theatre aimed at both aggressively confronted the onlooker with reality, while working functionally as an efficient abattoir. Aims Dirty Workmen
Slaughterhall
Viewing Tower
The aims of the public abattoir will be to provide an incite into the processes which happen within these “black holes� in society. The building hopes to achieve a central space within the centre of Sharpness that draws people towards an enlightened vision of how the meat industry currently processes the vast qauntities of food for an ever growing population. This hopes to give an inight into the absurd practice that happens behind the closed doors of slaughterhouses. Integration & Seperation
Key Circulation
Integration of Spaces
Abattoirs are renowned as clynically clean places, cleaned every morning to create a steryle environment for the day ahead. This will be achieved through fluid transportation routes for those using the building. While this is all occuring there are parts of the building that want to merge into one, creating spaces with multiple uses. Places like the restaurant will be placed alongside the slaughterhall to blur the boundary between the two processes. This will then allow the public user to have a more controlled approach to viewing the unscene barbarity of the kill zone.
The History Of The Slaughterhouse Until modern times, the slaughter of animals generally took place in a haphazard and unregulated manner in diverse places. Early maps of London show numerous stockyards in the periphery of the city, where slaughter occurred in the open air. A term for such open-air slaughterhouses was shambles, and there are streets named “The Shambles” in some English towns.
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Past
Recent History
The slaughterhouse emerged as a coherent institution in the nineteenth century. A combination of health and social concerns, exacerbated by the rapid urbanisation experienced during the Industrial Revolution, led social reformers to call for the isolation, sequester and regulation of animal slaughter. As well as the concerns raised regarding hygiene and disease, there were also criticisms of the practice on the grounds that the effect that killing had, both on the butchers and the observers,
In the latter part of the 20th century, the layout and design of most U.S. slaughterhouses was influenced by the work of Dr. Temple Grandin. She suggested that reducing the stress of animals being led to slaughter may help slaughterhouse operators improve efficiency and profit. In particular she applied an understanding of animal psychology to design pens and corrals which funnel a herd of animals arriving at a slaughterhouse into a single file ready for slaughter. Her corrals employ long sweeping curves so that each animal is prevented from seeing what lies ahead and just concentrates on the hind quarters of the animal in front of it. This design – along with the design elements of solid sides, solid crowd gate, and reduced noise at the end point – work together to encourage animals forward in the chute and to not reverse direction.
“educate the men in the practice of violence and cruelty, so that they seem to have no restraint on the use of it.”
An additional motivation for eliminating private slaughter was to impose a careful system of regulation for the “morally dangerous” task of putting animals to death. As a result of this tension, meat markets within the city were closed and abattoirs built outside city limits. As the meat requirements of the growing number of residents in London steadily expanded, the meat markets within the city attracted increasing levels of opprobrium. Meat had been traded at Smithfield Market as early as the 10th century. By 1726, it was regarded as “without question, the greatest in the world”, by Daniel Defoe. By the early 19th century, pamphlets were being circulated arguing in favour of the removal of the livestock market and its relocation outside of the city due to the extremely poor hygienic conditions as well as the brutal treatment of the cattle. These slaughterhouses were regulated by law to ensure good standards of hygiene, the prevention of the spread of disease and the minimization of needless animal cruelty. The slaughterhouse had to be equipped with a specialized water supply system to effectively clean the operating area of blood and offal. Veterinary scientists, notably George Fleming and John Gamgee, campaigned for stringent levels of inspection to ensure that epizootics such as rinderpest (a devastating outbreak of the disease covered all of Britain in 1865) would not be able to spread. By 1874, three meat inspectors were appointed for the London area, and the Public
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By 2010 a mobile facility the Modular Harvest System had received USDA approval. It can be moved from ranch to ranch. It consists of three trailers, one for slaughtering, one for consumable body parts and one for other body parts. Preparation of individual cuts is done at a butchery or other meat preparation facility. Refrigeration technology allowed meat from the slaughterhouse to be preserved for longer periods. This led to the concept as the slaughterhouse as a freezing works. Prior to this, canning was an option. Freezing works are common in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The countries where meat is exported for a substantial profit the freezing works were built near docks, or near transport infrastructure.
Schedule of Acomodation Mean average
Chapter 3 The Site Introduction & Overview Understanding The Site Site Analysis (Wider Context) Site History
INTRODUCTION Sharpness Industrial Port North East Qaudrant (Overview) The site is situated just North of the town itself secluding it from both the residential side of Sharpness. The location was concluding upon due to the severe implifications that would have grown from locating it elsewhere within the local surroundings. The area is located within a agricultural field. This field is currently undevelopped, and sits between Sunnybrook Farm, the old railway route and the Sharpness canal. These all act as potential new routes of transport if the abattoir was in need of expansion and seeking to use river, rail and road transportation. Much of Sharpness has been seen as a lost cause of industrial development due to the increased capacity of the Avon Docks. Allthough the area is a designated development zone for the Stroud District Plan, this is purely residential and does not hope to bring industry to the area. If this plan goes ahead there are currently only 115 jobs in the town to accomodate an expansion of 600 houses. Should these people commute? or should their be investment into labour intensive practices like abattoirs? Through the development of analysis I began to break down what area would best suit the abattoir (North East Qaudrant).
UNDERSTANDING THE SITE LEFT: Sharpness Industrial Port Material Study
1.
A variety of materials make up the predominantly manmade industrial port. It predates the victorians, giving an industrial heritage with spectacular red brick warehouses. These years saw the development of the canal structures and with it the strong industrial stell cranes.
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As time has past, the use of the port has also changed. With this the variety of buildings to hold the imports have developed due to the changes in trading materials. 3.
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Common Building Materials/Type: 1. Much of the dock is concrete. Mainly due to its industrial nature and long and hard ware. 2. Cranes dumps. The dock is currently being used as a storage/waste deposit for large crane parts. 3. Red brick warehouse. There are many one story redbrick warehouses still in use for specialised crafters. 4. The large red brick warehouse. Built during the victorian era, now derelict, oppressing the entire site. 5. Severn Estuary mudflats. These areas hold huge amounts of wildlife and oppose development due to many of the species being protected. 6. Canals. The canals bring benefits to the area to minimise flood risk while also providing better views and tranport. However they are expensive and act as a physical divide between the island and the otherside. 7. Concrete/grain silos. These are comonly in use to this day. These brutalist structures control the skyline of Sharpness. 8. Cranes. Cranes are scattered all around the site. Some in use, some not. These metalisc structures take up a significant part of the skyline.
Drawings of Dominating Structures In Sharpness: 1) Grain Silos 2) Concrete Silos 3) Typical residential property
RIGHT Sharpness Perspectives
Typical Home of Sharpness
Typical Concrete Silos of Sharpness
Typical Grain Silos of Sharpness
Sharpness is a unique little settlement. It falls between both heavy industry decay, natural folyage takeover and a small number of residential Settlements. The opposite page defines the atmosphere various locations around the site project. These pictures enlighten the viewer of the industrial heritage to the small village.
1986
1991
1996
238 cattle tested positive to T.B.
655 cattle tested positive to T.B.
2541 cattle tested positive to T.B.
ANALYSIS OF UK Wider Context The analysis starts with a much broader perspective of life in the UK. After understanding the clear scale of the problem of T.B. the scheme could begin. Clearly shows a steep rise in confirmed cases of cattle with T.B. This rise is mainly in the South West and in the surrounding area to Sharpness. Sharpness is surrounded by hilly cattle rearing farms/dairy farms so this has a high chance of effecting the local comunity.
2000
2006
2010
6353 cattle tested positive to T.B.
18342 cattle tested positive to T.B.
28541 cattle tested positive to T.B. Closest Case of T.B. to Sharpness
ANALYSIS OF UK Wider Context Delving deeper into the relation with T.B. and Sharpness it provided a clear understanding of the need for a humane and economic delivery of a T.B. Slaughterhouse. There are many abattoirs in the local area (both big and small) though none provide this kind of service, It is important to point out, cattle can be slaughtered and eaten in the UK if they have Bovine T.B. (DEFRA, 2001). However they can’t be milked, as this is where they bacterior contaminated.
LEFT: Abattoirs lccated in UK that slaughter T.B. Infected Cattle. Abattoirs lccated in close proximity to Sharpness.
Bovine abattoirs lccated in close proximity to Sharpness.
Expansion
NO Flood Zone
High Levels of Potable Water
Not Near Residential Units
Both the layerage and the slaughtehouse both have to be able to cope with expansion and demand. It is rare to find a good site, so where one is found expansion tends to be necessary.
Flood zones pose a massive risk to abattoirs. Abattoirs hold large amounts of toxic waste that is got rid of every two days. However, these tow days do fill up the layerage and kill zones with waste that flooding may drag into the water table.
Both for cleaning purposes and for consumption. Water is a vital resource for an abattoir to work.
Abattoirs produce both noise, sound and high qauntities of traffic. None of these attributes are friendly to residential comunities.
ANALYSIS OF THE SITE Key Requirements for Locating Perfect Sites to Build Abattoirs On Over the next four pages this page will be explained in more depth. These eight reasons define what to analylise to make a site that would be easily developed into an abattoir. Many of these obviously contradict the requirements for good restaurant design. However, the concept requires an abattoir so these requiremnts will have to be mitigated against while undertaking a hyper rational conclusion.
Close to Cattle
Close to Market
Disposing of Toxic Waste
Good Transport Links
An sustainable abattoir requires itself to source its livestock from nearby markets, therefore reducing travellling costs and envienvironmental impacts.
The abattoir will have a capacity to hold 40 cattle in pens. while holding 100 cattle carcasses in fridges. These will need to be sold. The restaurant will take some, though the rest will be sold to both local markets and those further away.
Large quantities of toxic waste from both excretion from animals and the stomach waste. This will all need to be got rid of.
High levels of traffic will require good transport links. The infrastructure will also have to be able to withstand large vehicles.
ANALYSIS OF THE SITE Expansion Space, Not in a Flood Zone, Potable Water, Not near a Residential Development
Potential Space to Expand There are many reasons to potentially design and layout the perfect abattoir. Over the next few pages, Sharpness will be analysed referring back to the last page. This page has analysed varieous locations within the imidiate vasinity of Sharpness and Newtown as potential sites of future development. This page specifically looks into the areas that if the abattoir need to expand in the future would be able to. There are nine designated zones around Sharpness that are open real estate. However this does not take into account the local conservation areas. this will need to be analysed before development begins.
Does NOT Flood As the last page spread explained one of the most vital things to concider when developing an abattoir is the risk of flooding. Since the latest set of defenses was put in place after the 1968 floods there have been no reports of flooding in the basin. However, it does still sit within flooding Zone 2 which states a flooding could occur every 100-1000 years. Flooding in this area is contained. Due to the nature of the way the canal and dock was built both water and land have man made channels. Whats to say you cant recreate your own gorges or scar in the landscape ?.?.? The image above shows three different shades of blue. The lightest one is the rarest level of flooding, and the darkest is the most frequent level of flooding. typical aroudnt the estuary is the most common and that of low lying conservation areas surrounding the site.
Has Potable Water
Not near a Residential Development
The local area to Sharpness has always been surrounding by the necessary clean water supply. During the earlier centuries of its life the Canal and the Severn Estuary both enable the growth of the town for both sewage deposition and water supply. However things have now changed.
Sharpness is set on a peak out towards the estuary providing a dock to supply Gloucestershire through the canals. This has meant large populations have flocked here over the past few centuries.
Potable water is now located at a northern resevoir which supplies a large percentage of the local area water supply. However this is not constant and some developments have there own wells and resevoirs. Preferable sites would be close to newtown and the Sharpness docks that already have a water supply. This could either be an extension or the development could be built within a brownfield site and link up to the current water supply.
Newtown was an extension to the industrial town to accomodate its workforce. This was after the old terraced houses became densely populated and there was a cry for new development. These victorian terrace houses are now run down and in disrepair. However, Newtown still hold strong and has been designated for expansion over the next few decades. For example, GreenSquare are currently looking at developing a few hundred new houses south of Newtown. A strategic housing land availability assessment (SHLAA) was provided in 2010 that outlined a number of specifc sites within Stroud that were deemed suitable for development. Sharpness was one of five key sites identified within this assessment with the potential to provide 1500 dwellings.
ANALYSIS OF THE SITE Close to Cattle Source, Close to Cattle Market, Near Toxic Waste Plant, Good Transport Network
Close to Cattle Source
Close to Cattle Market
The way Sharpness has developed hasa meant that the ground within the site has been left contaminated and disused. This has meant the lack of investment into rural farming due to the lack of good quality land. The surrounding fields however are designated pasture slots for cattle. this will mean the abattoir within the site will always be in close proximity to the source (the cow).
The local market in the surrounding area is good, though the larger populations will be found South in Bristol, North in Gloucester and West in Cardiff. These destinations are all densily populated and have a growin appetite for locally source meat. With restaurants like the Cow Shed, Steak of the Art and The Stable (to name a few) all requiring locally sourced “beef”, this is just Bristol with Cardiff and Gloucester both following suit.
The local area does see other forms of farming like arable, and maybe a deal could be struck to use locally souces hay for cattle in transit and within the slaughter zone. Stroud District Council and National Government both support locally distributed and sourced produce, believing that that is a more sustainable living technique.
Bristol recently won the “Green Capital Award 2015” this will mean that it will concentrate on business supply themselves in the most sucessful way.
Near Toxic Waste Plant
Good Transport Network
Sharpness Sewage Works deals with the sewage on the west and also receives sewage from isolated house- hold, industrial and commercial sites who do not have a sewerage system. Sewage vacuumed out from cesspits and septic tanks from isolated sites is brought here by tankers. New Earth Solutions is a specialist business dedicated to delivering sound technical and environmental solutions to the UK’s waste problems. Driven by the outcomes of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, New Earth Solutions has developed a wide range of technologies and processes designed to recover value from waste andto mitigate its impact on the environment. New Earth acquired the fully enclosed in vessel composting facility at Sharpness in 2009. The facility has a throughput capacity of 48,000 tonnes per year. The Sharpness facility utilises an advanced biological treatment process to convert biodegradable material into a high grade compost.
The major road linking sharpness to a major highway (M5) is the B4066 road, which connects with the A38 and then on the M5 to other parts of the UK. Large lorries from Sharpness docks predominantly use the road. It is also possible that commuters from sharpness to major job providing areas like Bristol and
Their innovative composting process incorporates accelerated composting in slow rotating drums and controlled pasteurising. All elements of the New Earth process are fully enclosed and equipped with a comprehensive emissions control and treatment capability. The New Earth composting process has been evaluated as making a significant contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the disposal of biodegradable wastes.
Gloucester make use of this road. The impounded dock (Old dock) is maintained by the British waterways however Sharpness Dock Limited runs the quayside activities. Ever since the Old dock had been sealed the area has served as a popular parking area for pleasure boaters and boat club members. Bus stop for North and South bound services on the ‘Sharpness turn’ on the border of Hinton and Sharpness. The nearest active train station in Cam and Dursley for national rail services. Accessed by the 207 bus service (27 minute journey).
ANALYSIS OF THE SITE Localised Criteria At a Dead End, Wind Direction Away From Community, Good Local Access Routes, Doesn’t Interfere with Local Conservation Sites
Dead End
Wind Direction
The required site will be best suited at a dead end. Sharpness in itself is a suitable dead end of society, though why not have a dead end within a dead end ?.?.?
The decision for an abattoir/slaughterhouse will be dealt with one main concideration. We want to achieve a suitable location away from local residents in order not to create a poor environment to live in, though also achieve close proximity to the location of people in order to achieve high capacity of visitors.
As the picture above dictates, the location of the dissused railway tracks emphasises the link to somewhere, though it is in fact a link to nothing!
Local Access Routes
Local Conservation Sites
The current site has developed through numerous extensions leaving the highway infrastructure being fairly poor. Not only does it not reach the destination quickly, but it is continuoes roads that go back on themselves and take you the long way around to your destination.
The area is drowning in conservation areas arond its perimeter. Historical up the hold railway track. Natural along the estuary and woodlands in mature wooded areas. This will restrict development unless the proposal is to re-use/re-locate/re-plant the railway/species/ woodland. This has been taken from Stroud District Councils Conservation Strategy
SITE HISTORY Past
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Brief History of the Canal: Sharpness has had a rich trading Brief History of the Port: Ships were initially towed up the canal history. The small town grew from the Severn Estuary due by horse and later by tug. Imports included grain from northern to the demand for cargo to travel as far as it possibly could Europe. towards the market town of Gloucester (Built in1825). The first warehouse was built by Canal Company, various floors Sharpness Docks is one of the most inland ports in Britain and were rented by various merchants. Only cargo to be exported has been the gateway from the River Severn to the Gloucester was salt, many ships left empty. Cargo dwindled in the 60’s & Sharpness Canal for almost 200 years. A variety of ships due to pipelines, containers, and modern road transport. flow up the canal, mainly restricted by the size of the boat compared with the width of the canal. The northern warehouse is the surviving original. Built in 1871 and used as a granary. Timber was often transported in the Today the canal is used for pleasure craft, though the industry water up the canal, pulled behind a boat. It was also stored based in Sharpness is more likely to use the roads to transport in the water to prevent drying out. Current imports roughly cargo via lorry to and from the site then export or import goods match that of 1864. Growth only happened when it had to. Not via small cargo ships. The port has never lost the quantity a lot of speculation around site. Sharpness survives because coming in, and the schedule for ships is still booked up months demand meets supply. in advance, however its size has not grown with the times, and down the estuary you will find the Avonmouth docks that Brief History of the Railway: Sharpness Rail station was take huge amounts of cargo back and fourth that outcompete a terminus for the passenger services and no more than a Sharpness in quantity (this potentially could lead to the dock temporary platform next to the docks. It built by the Midland being rendered useless in years to come). Railway to connect the port of Sharpness to the main Bristol and Gloucester Railway. The branch line was opened to freight Today, the Canal is owned and managed by the Canal & River traffic in August 1875, with passenger services starting a year Trust. It is mainly used by pleasure craft and is a haven for later. walkers and anglers. The construction for the Severn Railway Bridge was completed Brief History of the Morelands: An array of wetland birds can in 1879. The bridge connected Sharpness to the Forest of be seen here and a short walk takes you to the Purton Hulks - Dean side of the Severn Estuary and enabled the train to run the largest ships’ graveyard in maritime Britain. through between Berkeley Road, Lydney Town railway station, Bristol and Gloucester Railway main line. On 25 October 1960 “The Severn Estuary is one of the largest estuaries in Europe and has the second largest tidal collided in heavy fog with one of the columns of the bridge, range on the planet, making it one of the great natural wonders of the world”. Wildlife Trust. causing two spans to collapse. The bridge was deemed to be Nick Baker compared the Severn Estuary as “One of the most biologically productive damaged beyond economic repair and was eventually disecosystems on the planet, up there with coral reefs and rainforests”. mantled in 1970, although several of the stone piers re- main. The passenger traffic a year later and closed in 1965 The mud flats support huge densities of rag worms and . lugworms, attracting birds and fish that migrate thousands of Sharpness and Berkely Railway Ltd was taking response to miles to feed here. Common birds found on the estuary are: do the site clearance, Sharpness was carried out by members Wigeon / Curlew / Dunlin. More than 100 species of fish are of the Proactive Vision community group in March 2011, it found in the river Severn and its estuary, large numbers of has obtained a lease of part of the line from Network Rail. salmon and sea trout migrate each year into one of its eight Tracklaying began in January 2012, but Sharp- ness Berkeley tributary rivers. The site also supports huge numbers of birds, Railway Ltd was dissolved on 12 June 2012, which cannot more than 85,000 waterfowl migrate over winter here, including clear whether this marks the demise of the re-opening project. Shelduck, White Fronted Geese, Wigeon, Teal and pintails. Migrant species such as Whimbrel and Ringer Plover are also found passing through in large numbers, stopping to re fuel in the biologically rich estuaries.
SITE HISTORY Present Analysis: This refers to how things are today. The physical fabric, the morphology of the surroundings, relationships between buildings, access and uses all constitute the present situation.
GFD
Leisure facilities in Sharpness are pretty minimal. Sitting as a dead end both geographically and socially it has meant that not many leisure facilities have wanted to base themselves here. However there are some leisure facilities that suit the quiet nature of the small town. They currently house a group of The site has a strong historical context. Activity has changed leisure boats on the most westerly point of the canal. This is a over time and there is an interesting story to tell about this strong community, and has not been shoved and doesn’t plan part of Gloucestershire that may well inform your interpretation on being shoved off by developers in the near future. of the area and ideas for development. Much of the site is used for port activity but it is surrounded by some of the most Residential housing has been scattered around the site. beautiful areas in the country. To address that, and other This has been changed since the development of Newtown. planning issues, the Council and others have explored options Newtown has added 50 more houses to the local community for the site and surroundings. These have been published. and is both segregated from the industry as well as being That process has not yet resulted in development occurring. tight nit increasing the chance of a community. The housing There are some very fundamental questions to be asked about both on the island and within the industrial area has a very the future of Sharpness and you are asked to think of them tight nit community, though the practicality of living within a and address them in this module. By this we mean the historic working dock isn’t always the safest and clean environment. development of a place, the pattern of urban development, the The housing here is not dense though. With large areas of both streets, the buildings, the people who have lived here before disused land and potential for and economy. and the activities they have engaged in. This can be explored at different scales, from city wide to site specific. Transport both to the small town and within is in a very poor condition. Not only is it unsafe, but also it is not sufficient Heritage; The Canal has slowly been declining, and is currently to withstand the traffic that flows around it. There is no train set aside as a heritage statement rather than a trade route directly to the site (though there is the potential to expand and that it once was. The current occupiers tend to be the general build upon the old route). Buses are the only form of public public where they use the canal for leisure purposes. Leisure transport that will get you near the town. This currently works residents of the canal have congregated on the northern the Western Bus Service providing 5 buses a day during the quadrant of the island and are immersed around the Dockers week, with 3 on Saturday and none on the weekend. This has Club. This has seen the left no other choice, but that the majority of the workers who do not love within Sharpness must drive to their work place. This Employment; Industry has failed to grow over the past decade, is not economic and is not very environmentally friendly and though has not fully declined. The dock itself is still in frequent has been noted by both the Sharpness Estate Strategy and use and requires booking to gain a slot to transfer cargo. All Stroud County Council. though this has never declined, the buildings surrounding the dock have. Very few of the Victorian warehouses are still in Like all the new projects within Sharpness it is suggested that use, after the changes in industry that have occurred. The loss the current population size makes it not feasible for private of the rail route has meant the coal industry has dried up in companies to invest in transport or facilities if there is not sharpness, and left many of the former Victorian warehouses enough demand, unless local government or charities fund derelict. The current industry is mainly import export of grain, such visions. concrete and fertilisers, with light industry and warehouses south of Sharpness.
Chapter 4 Masterplanning of Sharpness Speed Planning Group Masterplan Individual Masterplan
Perspective Through Landscape of Site
SPEED PLANNING Generating a Group Masterplan The initial stage in developing a masterplan came from a group speed planning exercise where the BA(Hons) Town & Country Planning students came together to form primary concepts out of group disussions which would then be able to be used within an individual masterplan.
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As a group we believed this pushed for us to create an atmospheric masterplan that was built upon a technological hub while split from the heavy industry. The split would act as a buffer zone between the heavy and light industry and would be the location for sports facilities and potentially a boat school. The split would also act as a green link directly through the site, The aim of the speed plannin session was to think quickly in merginf both nature and densly populated areas. order to produce a proposal spontaneously. By applying the main criteria towards the project the scheme would become Stimulus further developed. - Arcadian - Heavy and Light Description - Wi-Fi Hub - Playing Field/Sports Centre The collaboration of several people led our group to achieve a - Boat School strong speed planning masterplan. We were given the task of - Technology Link reaching a strategically analyticaly masterplan built from a brief of several prompt words (To the right).
Simplified Zoning with Hubs
GROUP MASTERPLAN Mega-Scheme After formally discussing and physically applying our concepts to the 3D masterplan built by the year. We concluded by pulling all the groups together to apply all concepts to one mega-concept. This allowed all ideas to be integrated to form one solid masterplan that would best benefit the residents businesses and wildlife of Sharpness. This was not an esy process, with some ideas opposing others, like all good masterplans. The Mega-Scheme Masterplan After analysing all the other schemes ours was then able to develop. there will be a green link driving the project that will enable the residents to travel harmoneously through the site. This will then allow the industry to form on one side of the belt, and a residential dwelling on the other. Due to the simplicity of the breaking up of heavy industry, light industry and housing it meant a hub could be centred in the middle. This hub will both provide the potential for community support systems as well as a central transport hub. This will both benefit the comunity and the industry while reducing the impact on the local bio-diversity.
Segregation of Zones
Transport Routes Through Site
INDIVIDUAL MASTERPLAN
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Sustainable growth of Industry
Green Link Through Town
The economy of Sharpness has been vulnerable to a fall ever since Avonmouth Port was developed and keeps on expanding. It also has been affeted by the depletion of demand from Gloucester. The masterplan will look to be developed from industries not dependent on the eporting through Sharpness as a port. As has been seen in many ex-marine developments, canals and ports can be used to bring great aesthetic qualities.
The green link will act as a buffer between the different sectors based in Sharpness. Central Hub Sharpness lacks some of the fundamental utilities that a self sufficient neighbourhood should have. For this reason there will be an introduction of both a transport hub and a community centre.
INDIVIDUAL MASTERPLAN
INDIVIDUAL MASTERPLAN 2015
2025
INDIVIDUAL MASTERPLAN
INDIVIDUAL MASTERPLAN 2035
2045
SUNNYBROOK MASTERPLAN Site Analysis Sunnybrook Farm is the closest recognisable establishment to the potential site for the Public Abattoir. After establishing the main 12 criteria for the project to be suitably positioned within the large Site analysis could delve deeper. This particular site suits the requirements for the abattoir as is; not located in a flood zone, close to cattle source, close to cattle market, hidden from public view, good transport network, room to expand, potable water nearbye. The site has an old railroute travelling up the eastern side that closed during the 60s due to a crash into the bridge crossing the severn. This has left the old rail route to become overgrown, and hase left it an area of natural beauty due to the significant number of matured and protected trees. Although unused, the railway is protected and national rail has proposed re opening the route, potentially leading to more investment both into the area of Sharpness and towards the otherside of the Severn. This potentially has the opportunity to be expanded upon when developing the area. On both sides of the site are man made geological scars within the landscape. The route that the railway possesses was delivered to give the railroute an even surface on which the trains could approach the severn, while the canals leave a man made liquid dividing oppressive structures with nature. Could this be a pattern that would be able to develope in the future with new rifts and scars within the landscape. The strict juxtoposition between nature and the built environment is agressive in Sharpness. The skyline has slowly emerged and has only being getting taller over the last century. Most recently the concrete silos have taken a stance dominating the precast concrete grain silos that had had a major impact on the previous skyline. the hope to create a new emerging building from the new site could be a possibility. This would not be possible without the possibility for a good access system. this will both be used by the public wanting to access the site while the deliveries and collection systems will be integrated amongst this.
SUNNYBROOK MASTERPLAN Prompt for Designated Site of Public Abattoir After analysing the specific site for the abattoir to be designated within the alrger site of Sharpness, the buildings form was able to develop. From the context a small brief for the building developed. Although the building would be surrounded my a natural landscape, the landscape was recently distrurbed by man. For this reason, the building will recreate a new scar in the landscape running parallel to that of the old railway. This will demonstrate a link with the industrial herritage of Sharpness. While the scar will anchor the building into the natural landscape, the building will oppressively grow upwards. The refriderated systems will be held in three large towers all joined like siamese triplets. This tower will flow amongst the growing skyline of Sharpness as one of the new dominating structures spearing out of the landscape. The site will be entered though the farm complex on the North Easterly side of Sharpness. The road will be required to have two heavy-duty public roads with access for pedestrian and cycle paths. There will be two roads for both dirty and clean vehicles, therefore integrating hygienic design a step before most 21st century slaughterhouses currently achieve. The roads and pavements will follow current contours found on the designated site minimising the affect to the conservation area to the south of the canal. The landscape within the site will be a new scar, following the trend of the old rail route forging its way through the once hilly landscape. This will allow the building to separate hygiene levels both with lower levels being a crude “dirty� and the upper levels representing a more hygienic floor space. The public will also be able to walk over and around the site with a green roof with turrets to allow the general public to get an understanding of how the building within works.
PUBLIC ABATTOIR SITE Designated Site of Public Abattoir The Public Abattoir will sit amongst its context as a monument of man. The building will anchor itself in a well suited environment within the Sharpness context. The collage to the left depicts where the site is within Sharpness. This is the best suited site for the abattoir due to severalkey factors including; wind direction, not on a flood plain, near the source of cattle, near a market for meat, the ability to expand, access to potable water, not near a residential development, good access and have the ability to get rid of toxic waste.
Chapter 5 Concept & Design Development Brief Outline Learning Through Experience Precidents Initial Proposal Development
THE BRIEF Public Abattoirs The brief wants to grow Sharpness and its surroundings. The local habitats and conservation areas are off limits, though both industrial and residential growth must occur. The area has recently been savaged by the outbreaks of numerous cases of Bovine T.B. This has only been rising and must be halted! The current government method to preventing T.B. is to eliminate the source. In this case it is the badger, a protected British species culled in T.B ridden areas like the South West. Could there be another method that is more humane to eliminate the spread of this disease?
THE BRIEF
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Public Abattoirs The task is to create a public abattoir that will both respond to the The buildings form should become a dominant oppressive structure outbreak of T.B. but will also eliminate the mass waste that is produced within its landscape. This will both be from size and the nature of the materials used. The building doe not seek to have glass walls. This is through the culling of cattle. due to the local neighbourhood whome would become offended and This will be achieved through the use of architectural spaces that may seek phsychiatric help if death was forced upon them everyday. allow a strong juxtoposition between life and death. The observing It will be a place for those who chose to see it. This will be similar to public will then be unable to get such graphic images out of their the modern cult of the “Shock� factor in art. Allthough only few have heads (like a bad dream). This will then either make them think twice seen much of the work from artist like Damien Hirst, many people about eating beef and ultimitely lead them to spread the word and have heard about him. become activists in this nature. Unlike other slaughterhouses, this will be highly efficient. The layout and design will deliberately split the clean and dirty spaces, enabling both a cleaner and fluid environment.
d The building must be able to slaughter 40 cattle per day (average for a medium sized abattoir), while raising awareness towards the slaughter of cattle by integrating a public quarter into the building that will intertwine the current unseen world of a brutal industry with the public eye. The Building should bring 50 new jobs to the local community with a range of qualifications. Sharpness is a small port that links Gloucestershire to foreign markets. It grew in the 19th century, though has been stuck in a stagnant position for the last 50 years. Neither growth nor decline has occurred, though Stroud County Council plans to designate a percentage of its designated growth towards this area.
LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE Basic Abattoir Design Slaughtering animals on a large scale poses significant logistical problems and public health requirements and public aversion in many cultures influences the location of slaughterhouses.Animal welfare and animal rights groups frequently raise concerns about the methods of transport, preparation, herding, and killing within some slaughterhouses Should the slaughterhall follow a rectalinear formation similar to that of many agricultural buildings? Basic Redesign After both visiting two abattoirs and analysing a typical plan for how an abattoir would be set out in a typical situation the plans developed to be ordered in a more practical way. this opposed the restraints set by a typical rectalinear design, while also bringing forwards a second tier. This second tier enabled the viewer to both observe the practice, thouh very much fitted around the abattoir itself. Was the viewing platform best disguised behind a camoflaged wall like that in a prison cell? or would it be better to allow the workers to know they are being observed by above from a godly figure, determining the final outcome of the slaughterhall. The brief wants to grow Sharpness and its surroundings. The local habitats and conservation areas are off limits, though both industrial and residential growth must occur. The area recently has been savaged by the outbreaks of numerous cases of Bovine T.B., this is only rising and must be halted. The current government method to preventing T.B. is to eliminate the source. In this case it is the badger, a protected British species culled in T.B ridden areas like the South West. Would there be another method that is more humane to eliminate the spread of this disease?
LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE Visiting Different Scales of Abattoir (Normans, Yetminster & Poundbury Brace Butchers) Although a very graphic experience, this gave me a visual experience that no book or film could of ever prepared myslef for. The pure brutalness of cattle and other animals being herded up and having their heads sawn of is hard to understand unless yoiu have witnessed it first hand (a small narrative of the experience various users would use of the building has been portrayed over the next few pages).
LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE Visiting Different Scales of Abattoir (Normans, Yetminster & Poundbury Brace Butchers) This went side by side with my main preedent by Salvador Dali. This film depicts an eye being pulled and sliced open with the juices dribbling out. As a piece of art this no doubt had a major impact on the ‘shock art’ of the 21st century.
LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE Narratives / Perspectives Over the next few pages a brief description of the experiences of a variety of users will be described. These will both be in word format and illustrated. This is to give the reader a perspective from the users eye of how they would interpret the space that they were within. From the cattle being slaughtered to the dirty and clean workers perspectives and ultimitely the onlookers thoughts of how they view the process.
Cattle
Dirty Worker
Clean Worker
Observing Public
SHORT STORY 1
A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF SLAUGHTER COW - Clints Black Hole Experience The lorry was drawing to a stop and all my fellow companions stumbled beside me loosing there footing on this moisture ridden surface. The smell was now much harsher on the nostrils, with the population of this small cattle truck disposing of all that they had eaten just a few hours before. We had all been jammed in this small confined space for a few hours now and could only picture what I imagined I was about to end up at. There had always been rumours of the kinds of places cattle ended up when their time was chosen. It was never up to us, just up to the senior master of the bovine farm. Over the last few years we have heard of dreadful executions on site for the apparent spread of Bovine T.B., however we had never witnessed it here. We were sheltered from that kind of treatment due to the local T.B. Abattoir that acted as a humane euthanasia clinic for cattle. We finally came to a halt and where shuttle through a grid of steel shutters and left the glimpse of natural daylight behind us. We were now in triangular herding pens,¬¬ in an artificial environment. It wasn’t unusual, we had often been herded into similar pens to be vaccinated and have health checks. There was no food here, which was unusual, though the atmosphere was relaxed and it seemed as though we were about to trot into the next stage of our expedition. Suddenly the herd pushed up against me. We were once again on the move, this time in a more sporadic way. There was very little vision up ahead, and although we couldn’t see what was up ahead, the nerves were kicking in. The tapping was close, no vocal noise, just a disturbing cracking of air being compressed at a high velocity. My muscles were tightening, though my nerves were dampened by the lack of visibility of the process occurring around the curved walls of this mechanical arena. Sterile light carved through the concrete, glass and steel interior, cutting up the large open box into a more dramatic and unsympathetic zone. It was as if my world was unaware of the horrific atmosphere I had been destined to travel through, all the galaxies around passing by though not speeding up the process to let me back into the green pastured lands of Gloucester. A warm gentle breeze swept through the cranky mechanical structures forging its way through an industrial interior of warped metal. This breeze was not a comforting warm breeze but one that brought with it a stench fearful to any cow. The kind only met with death and butchery. The flooring was cracked as if the plates underneath the surface were moving, though the concrete slabs beneath were being consumed into the theatrical atrocity. Although I had come from the same farm, the cow in front and behind me was unknown. Everyone was uncomfortable and the noise of everyone shouting was unbearable. Where were we? The curve came to an abrupt end. The unknown companion upfront lost his footing, and in a zombie style hovered while moving forward. It was then that I realised, that my companion up front was a lost soul. I was next. The bloody jagged steel blade was lifted up, while I was shoved through. It was as if I had ended up on the landing strip of Heathrow, my ears were about to blow with the buzzing hurtling around the metal container I was stuck within. There was no escape now as the blade sliced through my neck and decapitated my body from underneath me. My brain still functioning, though unable to rectify what had just happened as I passed into a deep sleep surrounded by a bright red mist.
SHORT STORY 2
A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE LAYOURAGE DIRTY WORKER - Lukes’ Lethargic Layourage As the minibus came to a grinding halt myself and 10 other men jumped out onto the tarmacked staff car park. We all strolled aimlessly over towards the staff entrance, two third went towards the clean changing room and myself and two other found ourselves in the not so clean “dirty” changing room. Here our work clothes were spread out over three boxes, cleaned the evening before by an out of house cleaning service ran by my sister in law based in Sharpness. We all got changed and left our previous attires in our work lockers. As we strolled down the long corridor with light penetrating through the responsive façade, we all wondered when we would be finished from this calm place of atrocity. The lift bell rang and the doors opened, we all stumbled in as if we were miners during the 60s riots unknowingly expecting the next few hours ahead of us. We arrived bellow the surface of the ground, where the light was all artificial. With the air was being pulled away from your surroundings as the ventilation got going. The cattle were not allowed to be in the building for more than 20 hours so very few had stayed over night. We tried to get through the stock of cattle each day and have very few in our layourage over night. The cattle all seemed fairly happy (as happy as they could be 10ft underground). The environment was cool and the noise of pain had not begun. We huddled towards the vets’ office and got our orders for the day. Pen 1,2 and 3 were all to be filed in the next few hours while the slaughterhall would kill off the remaining 8 in pen 4. The unloading bays were vibrating as always as the first lorry came in. The hallway was clear though the cattle were still restrained within the internal pens of the lorry. The vet was on hand; ready to call of any ill or injured cattle. The doors opened and the cattle trotted out. It was a quick procedure and the cattle trotted out unaware of their surroundings. As quickly as it had started, it was all over. The process was quick with help from the unique curved herding halls credited to the designer. Now they stood there awaiting the next step in this god awful process. This was the movement through the corrals to their deaths. While this was happening we would mechanically push their excrement down the shoot into the slurry pit. A few more rounds of this and the day was up. A slow stroll back into the lift and along the corridor left us chucking our dirty clothes into the washing bins.
SHORT STORY 3
A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE SLAUGHTERHALL Observing Public - Sams Sequential Slaughterhall As the minibus came to a grinding halt myself and 10 other men jumped out onto the tarmacked staff car park. We all strolled aimlessly over towards the staff entrance, one third went towards the clean changing room and myself and two other found ourselves in the not so clean “dirty” changing room. This area was gender specific, both the male and female changing room were sterile environments, cleansed to a tee. As we all prepared we exchanged stories. Many of us did not come from wealthy backgrounds, and a lot of us were immigrants. Who else would want to do such an appalling job? The first thing we all were assigned to do is be checked for cleanliness and illegal contraband. This process was quick and at the same time they informed you of your position for the day (this position rotated each day). We were then released into action. We walked out and into the division between the slaughterhall and the refrigerated system. The fridges had the capacity to hold over 600 carcasses and were commonly known throughout the town as the ‘towers of death’. They were not a pretty place to be. Much of the space was both grotesque and unwelcoming. Some of the workers split and walked into the fridges to either repair faulty parts within the towers, while the others walked over to the next room which was the packaging room for all exports. This job was often the most pleasurable (as pleasurable as it could be). It involved the decapitation of the carcass that you had never seen being killed, very like someone cutting into a steak. The other room hailed from both loud breathing, husking out of the decapitated necks of the cattle hanging upside down drawing their last breaths. The machinery was just as loud, though the ears could help but focus in on the painful husking coming out of the slashed windpipes. The machinery harshly set too. Skin was being pulled and while legs got sawn off. The process was brutal to say the least. The oxidised blood still red from the speed that the process was occurring.
SHORT STORY 4
A THIRD HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE SLAUGHTERHALL Observing Public - Richs Unique Experience As Sharpness was left in the heavy industrial south, the car slogged uphill along a clean track towards a monument on the hill. This monument was blood red and towered out of the landscape it was sat within. As we got closer the building grew bigger and dwarfed us in size. There were very few openings allowing for the interior spaces to be viewed, however there were a few, though these felt inadequate for the size of the compound. We pulled up and parked a bit further on past the workers car park and the deliveries and pick up point. We got out of our car and walked across the visitor’s car park hesitant but intrigued to observe what was within this monument on the hill. I came here with a view on the slaughter of animals and hope to gain an insight into how human domination can be cruel and oppressive. Would I gather a positive perspective or negative over the next few hours as I strolled through this public abattoir? The public reception was small and led us up stairs towards the restaurant. The stairs were metal, with little to know comforting feel. It felt as if I was being drawn down the cattle corals as if I was one of them. The opening to the restaurant was large, and acted like a pincer catching all that had strolled up here. As our feet transported us deeper into this curtained industry, we lost control of our ‘normal’ lifestyle. We were first cattled in and told to clean our hands. This then led us to be drawn towards the open planned diner overlooking the slaughterhouse. The fridges and cookers came first. There was a chill from where the sliding fridge doors let carcasses through, while the cookers radiated both tended steak smells and a warm counteracting heat to my right side. We taw off the meat that we wanted while gruesomely cutting into this fresh red meat. All the time unaware of the scene we were about to witness. At this point our plate was complete and we took our blooded meat towards the frying pans. The equipment was well laid out and all the required Gucci accessories surrounded us. The pans were hot and the extraction vents were drawings all the fumes away from me. By three flips my steak was medium rare and I just had to find a place to sit and eat it to complete this task. My vision had already seen one act of slaughter though it wasn’t completely put off the meat in front of me. I had altogether already cooked it, so I would rather eat it than let it go to waste. The seating was along one narrow table that pushed strangers together. This wasn’t an enjoyable experience, though at the same time acted as a metaphor for the deeper experience of the cattle under my feet. The view bellow finally blew me away. My opinion was changed; the drastic killing of an innocent creature through such a gruesome religious technique was not acceptable. The technique of halal creates a true theatrical experience of a horror movie with loads of blood as the main arteries and slashed. The carcase then tugged along as it spasms towards the first station where it will undergo the first of 28 procedures in half an hour to make it edible to the human consumer. Could I reach down and help this poor soul? Would I be able to stop this atrocity? At first you cant help but want to go down and pull the beast out of its disabling cradle. Then you slowly reason that it is there due to the demand that people like myself create. Will this be the start to a new revolution? I can only hope so. As I leave this prison full of cattle left on death row I Leave through a narrow corridor symbolising the end of my meat eating days.
STRATEGY PRECEDENTS Shock Factor Gallery A movement of art that has flowed throughout the 19th century is that of ‘shock’. Shock art is contemporary art that incorporates disturbing imagery, sound or scents to create a shocking experience. It is a way to disturb “smug, complacent and hypocritical” people. While the art form’s proponents argue that it is “imbedded with social commentary” and critics dismiss it as “cultural pollution”.
das
Grusome, Unusual, Awesome and Disturbing these are often discriptive words that have often been used to describe the works of those who have taken part in the ‘shock art’ movement. It is crucial to take the third word seriously though. It is the awe that makes projects like this work. Peoples utter fascination with seeing something that is not acceptable.
It is also interesting how he doesn’t use smell. This is often seen to be something The aim of this scheme is to incorporate both “Shock Art’ and the meat industry. that may put someone off visiting, and like the public abattoir visitors are crucial This will enable me to present the attrocoties which occure in such places to the for the scheme to work. The solid steel glass cases frame the artwork in perfectly public. In recent times this has been seen as a ‘black hole’ in society. A social sized rectanualr boxes. experiment coverered by the high levels of security and lack of windows in its Mies Van Der Rohe design. Mies has a unique way of presenting his buildings wihtin a site. He uses a clear grid layout that has also been depicted in his collaes of interior spaces where Damien Hirst has had a huge impact on this entire project. Although hist work is galleries should be formed. These collages all form around a strict rectalinear of dead animals, the way he presents it within a sterile environment draws the layout framing the views. eyes to the most graphic red that splurs out of the carcasses. The bland colours up against the harsh reds/purples creates a channelled view towards what he wants the observer to witness. All of his work takes full advantage of the fact This allows us to have a better incite of different ways in whihc both artists that human instinct is to know the unknown. We have always been fascinated and architects portray space. The building also hopes to develop into a gallery in exploration and these works of art allow the public to look inside an unseen space in the future after it has served its purpose of eradicating demand for the meat market. environment. Damien Hirst
STRATEGY PRECEDENTS Shock Factor Gallery It is also interesting how he doesn’t use smell. This is often seen to be something that may put someone off visiting, and like the public abattoir visitors are crucial for the scheme to work. The solid steel glass cases frame the artwork in perfectly sized rectanualr boxes. Salvador Dali - Un Chien Andalou The public slaughterhouse is built on the foundations of human instinct of wanting to know the unknown. Un Chien Andalou was one of the first truely grucem bits of footae to ome out of the art world. It portrays a man slicing into a womans eye after the long process of sharpenning the knife (Shown during crit alongside other grucem films). After seeing this film the projet became a lot more clear. It set the critical concept of how one must show something truely unseen before to attract observers towards the art of slaughter. (If this film has not been watched the programme for the scheme is hard to understand)
“If other animals were in control of the earth, would they perform the same brutal slaughter techniques on humans?� Friends of Animals Foundation (FAF)
PRECEDENTS If Animals Were the Dominant Species The simple pen drawing on the opposite page gives a very direct understanding of what the project hopes to achieve. The weight of such a horrendous image allows the viewer to be given the opportunity to have his own opinion in the particular matter. In my project, the public abattoir is not a conclusion, but rather a narrative to address and open up a hugely topical and controversial issue. The concept hopes to eradicate the spread of T.B. by reducing the demand of cattle. I hope it has the ability to create debates and raise awareness of the subject of slaughter that has formerly been vague and xhidden from the public.
“A great distinction between man and other animals is man’s capacity to hide truth” Anthony Williams
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth” Oscar Wilde
PRECEDENTS Abattoirs As A ‘Black Hole’ In Society The modern belief of slaughterhouses being a void in society where people can only imagine what happens behind the thick walls, only causes the imagination to roam in a much more wild way. This gives people the opportunity to create an image of the attrocities that may occure in such a building. The two quotes above only enhance this belief. They allow for us to have an understanding that behind closed doors where people can’t see you may allow you to do things that arn’t in your nature.
“In the midst of our high-tech, hedonistic lifestyle, among the dazzling monuments to history there are the 'black ... boxes!' These are the biomedical research laboratories, factory farms, and slaughterhouses - faceless compounds where society conducts its dirty business of abusing and killing innocent, feeling beings. These are our Dachaus, our Buchenwalds, our Birkenaus. We have a fair idea of what goes on there, but we don't want any reality checks." Dr. Alex Hershaft, Holocaust Survivor
PRECEDENTS Treating Humans Like Cattle - The Holocaust Although drastic a reference to the holocaust is; it ultimately grants a much wider perspective for those that do not have the same feelings and beliefs as those opposed to the meat industry. It ultimately gives the observer the clear concept of a systematic approach to killing multiple humans (or animals for the concept of a public slaughterhouse) at once. Dachaus is a gas chamber.
Captured Africans were sold at auction as "chattel," like inanimate property or animals. Many literate ex-slaves discussed the degradation and humiliation they felt when they were treated like "cattle." Barack Obama
PRECEDENTS Treating Humans Like Cattle - The Holocaust Cattle are renowned for the way they are mass produced for a purpose, and not many people are how they are produced or dealth with. Often the enslavement process was desribed as replacing human souls with that of another animal. They often created the atmosphere that slave ships and ranches treated the slaves as if they were cattle. Could this atmosphere be reintroduced in my restraunt to make the ustomer feel uneasy as if they were the cattle going off for slaughter???
PRECEDENTS Creating A Theatrical Experience There is no definition of how to create a place of pure theatre, however there are places that have experimented with it to create the ultimate experience for the user. These places like disneyland etc have the ability to create pure awe and wonder of what is actually around us. Do we live in a mystical world or are we just the brutal creatures we have been told we are?
“All over the world major museums have bowed to the influence of Disney and become theme parks in their own right. The past, whether Renaissance Italy or Ancient Egypt, is re-assimilated and homogenized into its most digestible form. Desperate for the new, but disappointed with anything but the familiar, we recolonize past and future. The same trend can be seen in personal relationships, in the way people are expected to package themselves, their emotions and sexuality, in attractive and instantly appealing forms.” J.G. Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition
“If all slaughtehouses had glass walls, would everyone be vegetarian?” Sir Paul McCartney
Conceptual Perspective of viewing public of slaughterhouse process
PRECEDENTS The Loss Of Decensy In Killing “The slaughterhouse emerges from religion insofar as the temples of time past (not to mention the hindu temples of today) had a dual purpose, being used for both supplification and slaughter. From this, without doubt (and this much can be adjudged from the chaotic appearance of the abattoir today), comes the startling coincidence of mythological mysteries with the lugubrious grandeur that characterizes the places where blood flows. It is curious to see an aching regret being expressed in America: W.B. Seabrooke finds that current customs are insipid, remarking that the blood of sacrifice is not mixed in with cocktales. Meanwhile, today, the slaughterhouse is cursed and quarantined like a boat carrying cholera. In fact, the victims of this curse are not the butchers or the animals, but the good people themselves, who, through this, are only able to bear their own ugliness, an ugliness that is effectively an answer to an unhealthy need for cleanliness, for a bilious small-mindedness and for boredom. The curse (which terrifies only those who utter it) leads them to vegetate as far as possible from the slaughterhouses. They exile themselves, by the way of antidote, in an amorphous world, where there is no longer anything terrible, and where, enduring the ineradicable obsession with ignominy, they are reduced to eating cheese.� Bataille, Slaughterhouse Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory
Today CLEAN
The Past DIRTY
LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE Curating The Visitors Experience It was part of my design intention to apply approaches of exhibition design into curating how the visitors experience the slaughter space. I read a lot about Ralph Appelbaum’s design philosophy and his reference to curating linear journeys through space. But more than anything else, he has become an expert at finding “the big idea” that helps museum directors and boards feel good about what they do. Appelbaum’s influence is enormous in part because he has capitalized on a time in the museum world when the lines between entertainment and education have blurred, as museums feel competition from an ever wider array of distractions. There’s a trend toward museums wanting to be all things to all people, technologically seductive but educational; a place for scholarship and conservation, but also a family entertainment destination.
INITIAL PROPOSAL Agenda This simple spider diagram sets out what hopes to be achieved with this scheme. It also indicates parts of the scheme that will interate with each other to achieve similar outcomes.
INITIAL PROPOSAL Ralph Appelbaum’s Design Philosophy The ideas of John Dewey and John Cotton Dana, who sought to incorporate hands-on experience into education, and rescue cultural institutions from elitist and exclusionary leadership have lead to Appelbaum creating interactive spaces, while applying it to a 21st century high-tech interaction. What should a museum/gallery achieve within its space? “Museums are essentially ethical constructs.” “They are about the fabric and texture of our creativity . . .” “They cure social amnesia . . . “ “They teach from the inside out . . .”
DEVELOPMENT How To Achieve The Perfect Museum Motivate Visitors
Target an audience — the general public and/or specific communities
Focus Content
Filter content so visitors are not bombarded with information overload
Immersion
Engage visitors within a “story”
Modularity
Present smaller themes instead of one larger complex topic
Skimmability
Information should be easy to take in because visitors are often standing and/or have different levels of education
Patterns
Incorporate traffic/circulation patterns, exhibit sequence patterns and pre-existing framework patterns (architectural elements)
Capture Curiosity
Use storytelling techniques to engage visitors
Interaction
Give visitors a “fun” experience by tapping into their emotion
Integrate Technology
Technology should enhance visitor’s experience, not detract from it
Layer Content
Present information in a hierarchical manner
DEVELOPMENT How The Public Abattoir Will Achieve The Perfect Museum Of Barbarity Motivate Visitors
Target audience = The general public who are willing to both pass on the imformation and are attracted to the attrocity.
Focus Content
The most drastic part of the attrocity will be the “Kill Zone�. This will display the most brutal part of the theatrical experience.
Immersion
The narrative will develop through the eyes of the observer. This all with the intention of putting people off meat.
Modularity
The concept will not be hard to understand. It will become obvious due to the intense nature of the programme.
Skimmability
The views will be open to all, allowing no user to have a physical barrier that doesnt enable them to view the slaughter process.
Patterns
The spectators will follow a pathway through from; payment - chopping - frying - eating - viewing - washing - exit.
Capture Curiosity:
The visitors will experience a routine similar to the cattle, going into an unknown space and being shuttled through (with reference to the holocaust).
Interaction
The experience will no doubt be unique, penetrating deep into the memory of the observer.
Integrate Technology
The building will not be internally covered with technology (infact quite bare) the reality will come from a first hand experience.
Layer Content
The layout will enable the user to feel at home with the restaurant experience untill the carcass is infront of them, then move onto the viewing platform of the kill zone
DEVELOPMENT Parti’s Representing Key Thought Process
Warm Vs Cold
Small Private Vs Large Public Space
Clean Vs Dirty
Juxtaposition Between Warmth & Cold
Pincer Herding of Cattle
Juxtapostion Of Death
Allowing the Public to Think Outside the Box
Slicing Open a ‘Black Hole’
DEVELOPMENT Cattle Route Through Building The open public realm is transformed into a politically charged space of debate whilst inside, the public act of slaughter is performed and the atrocity exhibition of food scandals viewed. The on board fresh meat market and restaurant act like a gift shop in a museum, and also create a shortcut by cancelling the distance between the sites of production and consumption of meat.
DEVELOPMENT Clean & Dirty The open public realm is transformed into a politically charged space of debate whilst inside, the public act of slaughter is performed and the atrocity exhibition of food scandals viewed. The on board fresh meat market and restaurant act like a gift shop in a museum, and also create a shortcut by cancelling the distance between the sites of production and consumption of meat.
DEVELOPMENT Responsive Facade Space Groups blocked mass hotel has a fascinating facade.The facade is ireguallar, mocking the waves of the wind. Although the facade is iregual at a microscopic scale, the larger scale is blocked massing that has regular corners with the form not overpowering the function. The public abattoir will use a similar method to clad the facade, though will make it responsive, mimicing the flow of blood trickling down the side. This will act as a metaphor for the slaughter process, and could be swithed on to occure everytime an animal is slaughtered within the building. The glowing red and orange will become more darkened as time goes on to simbolise the oxidising of the blood.
DEVELOPMENT Oppressive Facade
Vesnin Brothers - Narkomtiazhprom The constructovists alongside fascists wanted to achieve social control. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. They used a variety of techniques to assert complete control over the population that they were building for.
of the new regime. The Vesnin Brothers contributed to this movement with designs that pushed for pure control and dominance of the state. Agressively large towevers and monumental designs set within normal landscapes that emphasised the dominance of the controlling factor.
Constructivist art had attempted to apply a three-dimensional cubist vision to wholly The fridge towers will act a simbol of control, linked with the idea of absolute control of abstract non-objective ‘constructions’ with a kinetic element. After the Russian Revolution humans over other species, similar to that of the control of the politically powerful over those that have no say. of 1917 it turned its attentions to the new social demands and industrial tasks required
DEVELOPMENT Oppressive Facade
Foster + Partners - Two World Trade Centre The publc abattoir will be required to hold around 600 cattle carcasses. This will mean the fridges will have to be aounrd 35 metres high. The functional side of the Towers was to be square with square roofs, thought the roofs would have to hold the extraction units. I began by looking at a variety of sckysrapers and towers and how they disguised these units, for pure aesthetical reasons I took a liking to this building. The public abattoir is meant to stand out of its landscape as a monumental tower/gallery space, so the one that caught my eye first seemed like the best option. The finalised towers will look more like the drawing to the right.
DEVELOPMENT Cattle Corral
Temple B Grandin - Cattle Corals Cattle handling facilities have developed over the years. No more so than by Temple B Grandin. Her expertice is in humane animal control. I have studied in depth her ability to not only control but help animals through processes that may have a bad outcome. She uses techniques in both vision control and noise control while phisically obstructing excessive movement. Her methods control the vision to only be able to see the behind of the animal in front and so narrow they have to follow each other in single file. This is said to create a carmer atmospher as the cattle cant see what they are about to have done
DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT to them. It is also easier to control noise and exesssive lighting. This has the intention of relaxing the cow. Her techniques have been implemented within this design with the intention of keeping the cattle in a reasonably humane environment. However, the intention will be to perform the inhumane slaughter process once they get into the sight of the observer.
DEVELOPMENT Cattle Corral
Hugo Haring - Cow Shed Through the last century the human race has become a lot more aware of the way the body and bodies of animals work. This has allowed the development of buildings that lead an enhance objective of what they have set out to do. The Cow Shed by Hugo Haring provides a pincer view which already posses a form which full satisfies the demands towards gestures.
The form of this building follows the layout of the central core which is the cattle parler. This parler acts as a controlled environment, where the cattle will be moved around hassle free due to the dominance of a bull up one end in the view of all. This project will be able to give the view of the bull at all times due to the triangular cattle pens the cause the cows to look towards a bull in the center.
DEVELOPMENT Concept Opening the publics eyes to the attrocities that occur in the meat industry.
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Widening of Corridor
Entering Into The Unkown
Walking Amongst The Barbarity
Cranking Around Corner
The openning of the corridor increases the play on the occupants feelings, hence pushing for movement into the unknown.
Allowing the observer to enter into a new phase. This phase will suddenly overwhelm them, a drastic change to act as a catalyst to a drastic reaction.
The restaurant goers will be provided with knifes and will have the opportunity to decapitate there own meal off of the carcass that will appear out of the fridges alongside the restaurant.
The public realm will sit directly in the middle of both death, preservation, decapitation and consumption.
DEVELOPMENT Route Through Building
DEVELOPMENT Route Through Building PARTI
DEVELOPMENT Self-Service Restaurant Sequence
Choose Carcass
Butcher Decapitates Carcass Into Smaller Bits
Public Get to Decapitates Parts of Carcass
Collect Fries
Collect Sides
Sit & Cook Meat on Lava Stone
SHOCK From Killing
Clean Utensels
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
West Perspective From Dirty Route In
West Perspective From Clean Route Down Into Drop Off Zone
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
East Perspective From Clean Route Into Restaurant Entrance
South Perspective From Collection Parking
Chapter 6 Design Proposal Scheme Overview Plans Sections Internal Views External Views Model 1:200
SCHEME OVERVIEW Exposing The Attrocities Within The Meat Industry In this scheme a public abattoir highlights the reality of meat production and examines how it can be made more humane. Visitors are guided through a series of passages and viewing platforms in the proposed abattoir to witness the process of meat production, from the killing of the cattle to the skinning and the splitting up of the animals. The proposed abattoir would also stage an exhibition on food scandals to highlight the complicated nature of the global meat industry, and it would include a self service restaurant where visitors could cut up and devour freshly slaughtered meat. The on-board fresh meat self-service restaurant acts like a piece of offensive art work in a museum (Similar to that of Damien Hirst), and also create a shortcut by cancelling the distance between the sites of production and consumption of meat.
PLAN 1:2000 Site Plan
PLAN 1:500 Site Plan
PLAN 1:200 Basement Plan
PLAN 1:200 Ground Floor Plan
PLAN 1:200 Ground Floor Plan (Tier 1)
PLAN 1:200 Ground Floor Plan (Tier 2)
PLAN 1:200 First Floor Plan
PLAN 1:200 Second Floor Plan
PLAN 1:200 Tower Plan
PLAN 1:200 Roof Plan
SECTION 1:20 Section As the most important section through the building, we can see how the most important processes throughout the building work. This section will be pulled open over the next three pages. It shows how different parts of the building interact, while giving a basic understanding of how the building may come together.
SECTION Section Through Building (North - South)
SECTION Section Through Layourage, Slaughterhall, Offal Room ,Slurry Pit & Restaurant
SECTION Section Through Restaurant, Fridge Tower & Butcher Room
SECTION 1:20 Section The 1:20 cross-section is important to give scale while giving a perspective into how the most vital part of the building may work with both the social interaction and physical interaction of the joining materials. The building will be diverse, both having green roofs and solid extensive balcony roofs while having plain roofs above the fridges. This will be hard to integrate, thought the jagged facade will act as a buffer beteen the joints and the visible eye.
SECTION 1:2000 Site Section (South - North)
ELEVATION 1:200 South Elevation
ELEVATION 1:100 South Elevation (West Side)
ELEVATION 1:200 East Elevation
ELEVATION 1:100 East Elevation (South Side)
ELEVATION 1:200 West Elevation
ELEVATION 1:100 West Elevation (North Side)
ELEVATION 1:200 North Elevation
ELEVATION 1:100 North Elevation (West Side)
INTERNAL VIEWS View From Top of Slaughterhall Down Towards Kill Zone
INTERNAL VIEWS View Down On Slaughterhall From Self-Service Restaurant
INTERNAL VIEWS View Into Self-Service Restaurant
EXTERNAL VIEWS Landscape Strategy - Collaged Painting West View To the right there is a collaged painting with the intention of creating the kind of atmosphere that the chimneys and fridges will form within the Severn Estuary Landscape. The collage has been created through the merging of various images that have been formed from several paintings to create a coastline. If you were to look across the Severn towards Sharpness the skyline erupts from the natural landscape. The current towers will create a passageway towards a new tower from the fridges at the public abattoir. This will be a pinacle part to the new developing post industrial Sharpness.
EXTERNAL VIEWS Landscape Strategy - Collaged Painting South View The landscape will flow alongside the building and the infrastructure laid for access. This will develop over the different seasons to create a variety of reds,browns and purples filtering through the landscape.
EXTERNAL VIEWS Landscape Strategy - Plants and Vegetation The Public Abattoir will bring a new lease of life to Sharpness. Providing a new lease of life to a vulnerable natural landscape. This gives Sharpness the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Seeding a new future as one of the most diverse natural landscaped in the Southwest. The red vegetation acts as a metaphore for the spewing of blood across the landscape. This will coinside with the responsive facade slivering the flow of blood down the building.
Perspective Through Landscape Red Folyage Bleeding Across Green Areas
EXTERNAL VIEWS Cont. Flowing Plantlife (Blue/Red Landscape)
Winter December - Cyclamen Miracle January - Viola Teardrops Orange Blotch February - Pansy Frizzle Sizzle Orange
December
January
2015
February
2020
Spring March - Pansy Matrix Red Blotch April - Aquilegia Winksy May - Calibrachoa Cabaret Bright Red
March
April
2025
May
2030
Summer June - Achillea Red Velvet July- Echinacea Double Scoop Cranberry August - Ajuga Burgundy Glow
June
July
2035
August
2040
Autumn September - Penstemon Tubular Bells Red October - Beconia Majestic Pink Picotee November - Pansy Matrix Raspberry Sundae
September
October
2045
November
2050
EXTERNAL VIEWS Landscape Strategy - Drop In Contours The public abattoir will create a new scar within the landscape, doubling up parallel to the former scar of the old rail route. The surrounding landscape will gradually be disssolved into the pathways and the roads. This will be done through the roads following the contours around the hill towards the site. This will integrate with the building by both seperating the dirty traffic with the clean. There will be a public road that will also ride above the dirty traffic bellow. This will supply the restaurant with the customers it needs. Over the next few decades the blood red plantlife hopes to become the dominant species across the North West quadrant of Sharpness. This leak of red hopes to act as a metaphor for the deaths within over the next few decades. As time goes on it will become larger and whomever sees it from above will be able to locate the abattoir within its direct landscape.
Blood Red Landscape
Clean & Dirty Routes on Different Levels
MODEL 1:200 Landscape Strategy - Plants and Vegetation
Chapter 7 Technical Study Overview Materiality Detail Structural Overview Lighting Study Construction Sequence
OVERVIEW Technical Study Overview In order to explain the formation of the structure of the building a technical study has been put together. This will include a variety of key details within the building that bring the structure, the internal space and the facade together as one entity. The buildings main composite will be a concrete monolithic structure that will be engulfed by a responsive rustic iron facade. This will protect the internal activity from the real world acting as a ‘black box’ in society. Some rooms within the building will be shielded from natural light, though an interior glass panel will seal the inside from the outside while the perfereated metal lets light penetrate through.
MATERIALITY The materiality of the building will both be dominating and fit amongst its context. The materials have been chosen to reflect the brutal fuction of the building.
Glass The merging of both the exterior and interior spaces is important. The interior glass will act as a physical barrier between brutality and the real world, while the exterior windows will let light through though will act as a visible screen from the public. Concrete The internal space finish will signify a brutal form. It will be unfinished from the structural planes. This will be easily cleaned and will minimise the spread of infection.
Rustic Iron Responsive Facade The facade will respond to the process occuring within. Upon each death trickles of light will slide down the facade as the cutouts move in sequence together. This will act as a metaphor for the blood trickling down the neck of the cattle. Rustic Iron Interior Fixings Aesthetically rustic iron finishes have dominated recent trends in restaurant design. This will frame the views down corridors and give the public the fealing of control from above, similar to the feeling cattle have from humans being the dominant species. Blood Red Concrete The counters that will act as food stands will no doubt become stained after working alongside the meat and bloody carcasses forming around them.
DETAIL 1:10
Intensive Green Roof (Vegetation - As Stated Earlier On) Engineered Soil Damp Proof Membrane - DPM Drainage Layer Thermal Insulation Aeration Barrier Concrete Reinforced Steel Rebar Structural Concrete Roof Loose Laid Retention Tee Responsive Metal Facade Thermal Insulation Concrete Reinforced Steel Rebar Structural Concrete Wall Sliding Door
Detail Through Roof/Fridge/Restaurant
200mm 3mm 30mm 200mm 2mm 15mm 400mm 5mm Thick 20mm Panels 100mm 15mm 300mm 50mm
Offal Waste Pipes Reinforces Concrete Floor Concrete Reinforced Steel Rebar Thermal Insulation Damp Proof Membrane - DPM Concrete Floor Concrete Waterproofing Layer Carcass Drainage Tray Glass Division Panels Robotic Arms (For the future of abattoirs) Carcass Conveyorbelt System
DETAIL 1:20 Detail Through Slaughterhall
500mm 300mm 15mm 50mm 3mm 50mm 2mm 700mm 6mm 1000mm
Liquid Retardent Covering Reinforces Concrete Floor (Dense Waterproof Concrete) Concrete Reinforced Steel Rebar Continuous Reinforced Concrete Piles (Male & Female Interlocking) Polyethylene Studded Sheets (Overlapping a minimum of two studs and sealed using sealing rope) Reinforced Concrete Wall (Dense Waterproof Concrete) Mechanical Screw Ground Anchors (Increase Lateral Stability) Damp Proof Membrane - DPM Damp Proof Course Drainage Channel Concrete Floor
DETAIL 1:20 Detail Through Slurry Pit
1mm 300mm 15mm 500mm 50mm 300mm 2000mm 5mm 5mm 400mm 600mm
DETAIL 1:10 1. Detail Through Balcony
1100mm 150mm 40mm 30mm 100mm 50mm 5mm 200mm 200mm 200mm 75mm 5mm 20mm 400mm 100mm 100mm 30mm 400mm 30mm 100mm 100mm 300mm
Glass Banister Wooden Decked Roof Banister Bracing Small Inner Gutter Large Outer Gutter Drainage Pipes Damp Proof Membrane - DPM Rigid Roof Thermal Insulation Steel Decking Stands Insulation Bracing Rigid Wall Thermal Insulation Aeration Barrier Concrete Reinforced Steel Rebar Structural Concrete Roof Mullion Transoms Responsive Metal Facade Structural Concrete Wall Triple Glazed Window Floor Decking Internal Rigid Floor Thermal Insulation Structural Internal Concrete Floor
DETAIL 1:10 2. Detail Through Office
1.
2.
50mm 150mm 30mm 5mm 200mm 200mm 200mm 75mm 5mm 20mm 400mm 100mm 100mm 30mm 400mm
Safety Latch Wooden Decked Roof Small Inner Gutter Damp Proof Membrane - DPM Rigid Roof Thermal Insulation Steel Decking Stands Insulation Bracing Rigid Wall Thermal Insulation Aeration Barrier Reinforced Steel Rebar Structural Concrete Roof Mullion Transoms Responsive Metal Facade Structural Concrete Wall
DETAIL 1:5 Detail Through Fridge Tower Roof
Tripple Glazed Window Concrete Floor Aeration Barrier Rigid Roof Thermal Insulation Insulation Bracing Damp Proof Membrane - DPM Reinforced Steel Rebar Structural Concrete Floor Mullion Transoms Responsive Metal Facade Cattle Grid
30mm 100mm 5mm 200mm 200mm 5mm 20mm 400mm 100mm 100mm 30mm 200mm
DETAIL 1:5 Detail Through Offal Room Wall
STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW Building Sub-Structure The foundation of sub-structure distributes the load of the building evenly on the soil in such a way that at not below the foundation the soil pressure exceeds the maximum allowable bearing capacity of soil. It will help in strengthening of the building against the lateral forces caused due to the shear weight of the building and its occupants. It will provide a strong surface for the construction of the proposed monolythic in-situ concrete structure. This will also hold the building in position and mitigate against sepage of the toxic waste. Building Sub-Structure The aim of providing super-structure is to provide support in the construction of building as per designed plan and various members of super-structure such as columns and beams are designed to provide strength for carrying the dead load and live load (Carcasses and People) expected to come on the various parts of the structure in a safe and well distributed manner.
LIGHTING STUDY 1. 1:100 Model Lighting Study a) Looking down through offal room. b) Perspective down lorry wash tunnel. c) View across restaurant alongside fridges. d) Impression of slaughterhall 2. Sun Path Over Building The building will be entered directly from the south. Although the building has very few direct windows catching sunlight the building will still experience natural daylight. The only difference is it will be diffused. The restaurant area and the restaurant reception will be the only part of the building will direct sunlight. The reason for this is due to the programme of the building being socially unfriendly. This has meant the minimising of windows in allowing onlookers and neighbours to witness what is occuring behind the doors of such a building.
CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE 1. Excavation Due to the building having a basement the site will need to be heavily excavated beforehand. This will also allow the basement to be backfilled later on. 2. Piles Drilled Piles will be drilled into the bearing strata to enable the building to have a firm footing. This will occur at the bottom of all structural collumns. Aswell as a series of femail and mail piles lined up alongside each other for the basement. 3. Foundations Layed The concrete foundations will then be laid to allow for the superstructure to sit on top of it. 4. Build Superstructure As stated in the building weight and cost analysis this will be one of the largest parts to the construction process. The basement will be built, then the ground floor allowing for further floors to be built above this. The floors will be constructed through a deries of stud work. 5. Backfill Excavation Due to the site being in a wide area the basement will have the opportunity to be excavated then backfilled as opposed to the piles being driven into the ground. 6. Build Facade The responsive facade will be assembled on site from some prefabricated panels. This along with the windows will be quick allowing for internal finsihing to occur. 7. Internal Finishing The building will have a rustic bareness to its interior. This is part due to the practicality of replacements but also to allow for it to be easily cleaned. 8. Finalisation Once the building is structurally finished there will be an opportunity for the blood red landscape to be planted alongside other external detailing. .
Chapter 8 Environmental Study Overview Environmental Strategy Natural Lighting Strategy Artificial Lighting Strategy Ventialtion Strategy Methane Retention Strategy Access Building Regulations
OVERVIEW Environmental Strategy Overview Following on from the technical substantiation, an environmental strategy of the Public Abattoir building is explained in the following section. Demonstration the lighting strategy, the ventilation strategy and the methane retention strategy. Alongside these strategies reference will be made to the approved building regulations for public buildings and work houses. In order to demonstrate the regulations applied within these documents, diagrams relating to the Public Abattoir will encorporate the variety of regulations that have been complied with.
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY Environmental Strategy Due to the nature of the process of the building there is a slight irony to drawing up an environmental strategy. The meat industry (especially cows) draws and leaks a huge amount of energy and waste into the environment. Design for a low-energy, naturally ventilated Abattoirs in Sharpness should include key features like; organisational system for the circulation; eliminating the alienating long corridor, natural lighting, passive design. However this is near impossible due to the tight regulations on contamination of air moving both into and out of the building. This has meant that the building has had to be relatively sealed with ventilation mainly being mehanical. However, the building does try and mitigate against the effect it has on the environment. This can be seen over the next few pages.
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NATURAL LIGHTING STRATEGY The building will enable natural light into some areas. Mainly public and office space. The layourage, slurry pit, slughterhall and fridges will all be artificially lighted assuming that natural light may cause negative effects on the meat and that livestock can be controlled through mechanical lighting. 1. Summer During the summer light will be intense and high in the sky. Perfereated metal window coverings deflect this creating better visual comfort within the building. The focus here is bouncing out light from direct light sources, thereby reducing intensity of the light, while distributing the light to areas where it may otherwise be unable to reach. 2. Winter Window orientation to maximize the benefits of day-lighting within public spaces. This strategy aims at utilizing sunlight through the size and location of windows. Day-lighting refers to capturing diffused light without compromising comfort and function. This strategy should also enhance the quality of light, depending on the nature of the room involved.
Reduced energy consumption. The lessened dependency on artificial lighting can help reduce the use of electricity by as much as 10%.Reduction of mildew or mold built-up. Most diseases, especially chronic respiratory problems are often associated with bacterial and fungal built up in damp areas such as basements and bathrooms. Natural lighting can naturally lessen the production of harmful organisms and sunlight is considered to be one of the best natural disinfectants. Healthy dose of vitamin D. Ample amount of sunlight can prevent vitamin D and B1 deficiency that may cause diseases such as rickets and beriberi. Improved performance due to change in working environment. Many case studies have been conducted that show a significant improved performance on employees where natural lighting have been encouraged in their work environment.Increased visual appeal in interiors. Natural illumination is still the best type of lighting system used in interior design and can be a challenging, yet rewarding task to successfully incorporate it into a structure or building. All in all, natural lighting offers an array of long-term benefits that affect the overall health of our living world.
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KEY 1. Grid 2. Meter 3. Distribution Panel 4. Inverter 5. Lighting Control System 6. Photovoltaic Panels 7. Full Cutoff Luminaires 8. Direct/Indirect Suspended Lighting 9. Occupancy Sensors
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING STRATEGY The Public Abattoir will mainly be controlled through articificial lighting. The layourage, slurry pit, slughterhall and fridges will all be artificially lighted assuming that natural light may cause negative effects on the meat and that livestock can be controlled through mechanical lighting. Bulbs The building will predominantly be run off of LED light bulbs. LEDs use semi-conductors to convert electrical energy directly into light. They are a light source for lighting purposes, and are highly efficient and long lasting. For this reason they would be good for this building. However there will be parts that will be lit in other ways (for example the kill zone) this will create a more theatrical experience. Layout The light function will either be to create a warm atmosphere in the restaurant, a cold sterile atmosphere in the slaughterhall and a harsh theatrical lighting experience over the kill zone. All lighting will be in positions that are easily maintainable. For example there will be harness hooks for tall ceilings in both the fridges and the slaughterhall. Depending on the area there will be a high percentage of light output above and below the horizontal.
KEY Red - Indicated Warm Air Blue - Indicated Cool air
VENTILATION STRATEGY The Public Abattoir will mainly be controlled through mechanical ventilation. The layourage, slurry pit, slughterhall and fridges will all be mehanically ventilated assuming that natural light may cause negative effects on the meat and that livestock can be controlled through mechanical lighting. Air Sourced Heat Pump (ASHP) The fridge will both require a huge amount of energy to run and due to the nature of refridgeration will provide both a cold environment and will need to sump the surplus heat produced during the cooling process. Under the principles of vapor compression refrigeration, an ASHP uses a refrigerant system involving a compressor and a condenser to absorb heat at one place and release it at another. They can be used as a space heater or cooler, and are sometimes called “reverse-cycle air conditioners�. This will enable the building to be heated from exterior cool air (a reverse heat pump). Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) The hot air produced will then be filtered back into the building and go into the public areas and the office space to keep hospitable conditions at a maximum. HRV provides fresh air and improved climate control, while also saving energy by reducing heating (and cooling) requirements seen in things like vehicles. The reusing of heat will mitigate against the environmental impact of the Public Abattoir.
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KEY 1. Covered Lagoon Digester 2. Gas Pump 3. External Gas Collection
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY The Public Abattoir will produce a huge amount of methane both from the livestock and the waste that they produce. Environmental Benefits Of Methane Gas Recovery Biogas can create both electricity and heat. It can offset a farm’s/ abattoir? energy costs. Digestion lessens the potential for surface and groundwater contamination. Biogas can also reduce the need for other fuels. This lessens pollution that comes from drilling, mining, transporting and burning. It also reduces carbon dioxide — a factor in climate change. Collecting biogas prevents methane from entering the air. In the atmosphere, methane becomes a greenhouse gas. Anaerobic Digestion System Anaerobic digestion typically decreases the volume of manure solids. The volume is usually reduced by more than 90%. The rest of the biosolids can be used as fertilizer. Installing an anaerobic digestion system has environmental and economic benefits. The system makes electricity from methane. In turn, it can lower energy costs. It can also control odors and improve manure handling. It can also control harmful pathogens. The Public Abattoir could use anaerobic digestion to comply with new regulations for manure handling. Covered lagoon digester Used on large-volume, liquid manure lagoons. The lagoons have less than 2% solids. A plastic cover traps gas made during decomposition. To collect methane, a floating lagoon cover is needed. The system also needs a gas pump. This system can be used on swine and dairy operations. It works best where the manure is handled as a liquid. The climate should be temperate to warm all year. This is the least expensive system. But, it’s not fit for use in cold climates. Farmers in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula need a different system.
ACCESS
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY
Dirty Route Through Building
Clean Route Through Building
The building will be split into two seperate routes. These will be dependant on the cleanliness of the activity which occurs on them. The ‘dirty route’ will enable users to access the layourage, slurry pit and drop off zone while being connected back to the changing rooms. this will ahve no interaction with the clean routes.
The clean routes will provide access to the slaughterhall, the fridges and the restaurant while never interacting with dirty routes. However both routes do collide on the ground floor fire exit strategy. These routes will be accessed via the 1st floor.
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY
Public Route Through Building
Cattle Route Through Building
The public will access the building on the 1st floor, this will enable them to go through the reception/waiting area and lead them up into the gallery/restaurant space. This will then circulate bringing them out over either of the two balcony space or back down the stairs to exit.
Although not human the cattles route through the building is vital to understand. They require simple access routes asa livestock (easy herding pens). The kill zone must be leed the cattle through a coral eliminating their view of the killing. Then need to be moved through the decapitation part at ease, up and down the fridges onto the table.
BUILDING REGULATIONS
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY
Fire - Approved Document B - Buildings Other Than Dwellinghouses
Disability - Approved Document M
B1 - All Exit Routes will be well signed to provide adequate warning. B2 - All Internal compliances will be fire retardent B3 - The building will maintain its strength during fire to let people out. B4 - The buildings steel facade will minimise combustability B5 - Clean and dirty routes will provide good access for fire services.
The building will mainly be built to not cater for disability. This is mainly due to the nature of the work that takes place within these closed doors. It is manual labout and hense pretty unlikely to be done by someone with a physical dissability. However, the restaurant will have access on rare occasions through the clean changing rooms.
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY
METHANE RETENTION STRATEGY
Toxic Waste - Approved Document D
Access Into Building - Approved Document M
Toxic waste is one of the most environmentally damaging parts to abattoir design. The public abattoir will arrange spaces to minimise contamination. Spaces like the basement that will be contaminated 24/7 will be washed regularly and left over wase fromt the methane collection will be removed every 48hrs.
The building will be served from two levels - splitting the access routes to both clean and dirty. The dirty route will access at the ground floor, while the clean route will access at the first floor.
Chapter 9 Conclusion Building Weight & Cost Final Conclusion Evaluation
BUILDING WEIGHT & COST The Public Abattoir will sit amongst its landscape as a dense immovable object. As is seen over this page, the sheer size and weight of this building is not small and lays out the position of this building being anchored within the landscape. Weight 10,986,003 kg The public abattoir will anchor itself amongst the Sharpness skyline for many decades. The weight will make it a dominating structure within its natural and industrial context.
Emobodied Energy 69,527,934 MJ During construction the sheer volume of concrete would use a huge amount of energy to create. This could by using more environmentally friendly concrete amongst other materials.
Embodied Carbon 5,431,465 kg The building would suck huge amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere over its erection phase. This could be reduced from locally sourced materials and workers.
Cost ÂŁ1,042,914.182 Although this may seem cheap for such a large building, this does not take into account the excavation of site alongside the workforce it would take to building it amongst other things. However, this building would be highly efficient and due to there being a restaurant would turn over a profit making it a very viable scheme.
CONCLUSION The Public Slaughterhouse The Public Slaughterhouse will be a public space that serves as a piece of public infrastructure. Inspired by projects such as throughout the ‘shock art movement’ of the 21st century, it is a campaign based on an activist gallery that draws members of the public into it raising public awareness about the mass atrocities of contemporary meat production, and to advocate for a more humane and honest relation to the meat we eat. It performs a public act. Its monumentality allows its integration into the historical herritage of the industrial town and gives it volumetric significance as a public space to be taken seriously. The public realm is transformed into a politically charged space of debate whilst inside, the public act of slaughter is performed and the atrocity exhibition of food scandals viewed. The on-board fresh meat restaurant will theatrically put the consumer through a similar experience to the body as a cow that would be going through the same process while also creating a shortcut by cancelling the distance between the sites of production and consumption of meat.
“Feelings are more dangerous than ideas, because they aren’t susceptible to rational evaluation. They grow quietly, spreading underground, and erupt suddenly, all over the place.” Martin Luther King
Appendix Weekly Tasks Building Weight Precedents Task Bridge Development 1:1 Detail 1:20 Detail Perspective Drawing 1:20 Detail Perspective Model 1:100 Structural Model
BUILDING WEIGHT & COST Pounds & Kg
PRECEDENT TASK Random Building Examples Precedent Example _ Twickenham Rugby Football Stadium Location _ Twickenham, London
Precedent Example _ Home Location _ Dorset
Precedent Example _ R-Block Location _ Bristol
Precedent Example _ Buckingham Palace Location _ London
CROSS-SECTION THROUGH POTENTIAL SITE Size of abattoir in context
PRECEDENT TASK Norman Abattoir (Bridport, Dorset)
1:5000 Sharpness Site
PRECEDENT TASK Yetminster Abattoir (Yetminster, Dorset)
1:5000 Sharpness Site
BRIDGE DEVELOPMENT 1st Stage Over one single day individuals and groups proposed a variety of schemes to provide a bridge to the Sharpness landscape. The bridge would be set over a stint of the canal that was around 30m wide. It would be able to take both pedestrian traffic and cyclists. The team was made up of 4 keen 4th year architectural students; Yanni, Tunde, Joe and myself.
BRIDGE DEVELOPMENT Concept The battered metal scrap yards scattered around the site would act as the material for the folding bridge. The bridge would be able to fold up to allow for the increased river traffic when Sharpness is linked with Oxford in future years with Gloucester canal expansion. This would both allow public to cross on occasion and would stand folded in for boat traffic to use. The bridge would also act as a crossing point for the public to get closer to the site of the Public Abattoir.
BRIDGE DEVELOPMENT 2nd Stage The bridge was originally squared. This worked well, though did not look like the intended scraps of metal piled up on the bank of the canal. These scraps would represent the industrial nature of the site. The context like all good projects is crucial in the development of this scheme. The second stage set to arrange the closed bridge in a more scrambled look. This would enable the hydraulic system to push the flattened shapes out into a central connection point. These shapes would come together and like many bridges the connection would act as the central force point, pushing out at the grounding points. Until connected the bridge would most likely be dangerous to walk over, due to the unequal forces being applied to it.
BRIDGE DEVELOPMENT 3rd Stage To finalise the work towards the Bridge Project we built a acrylic laser cut model. This enabled us to get a better understanding of how the pieces would all fit together on a scaled canal crossing. We decided the bridge would be build out of three thick hollow slabs. They would be highly reinforced to give strength, to give the strength to stretch
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out over the canal and meet the identicle three slabs. The meeting point would act to stop it from swaying up/down and sideways. There would be railings that would pop up on each side, being released as the plates departed from one another. The railings could be a combination of either rope, wire or netting.
1:1 CROSS-SECTION Offal Room Meets This drawing was put together over several weeks allowing us to get a better understanding of how a building would be put together at a 1:1 scale. The project asked us to produce a 1:1 of a crucial segment of the building. For me at this time it was the Offal Room. The offal room is where parts of the body of a cow which are not a common food produce for the regular market and handled.
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The offal room is the centre of the building. It sits both above the slurry pit, beside and bellow the slaughterhall and beside the lorry washing tunnel. It acts as a central point to the building with the ability to deal with meat, while running longside dirty areas. It is also one of the decapitation parts with a mix of hygeine and an external wall.
1:20 CROSS-SECTION Restaurant and Fridges The 1:20 drawing enabled us to take a step back from the one to one and see how several parts to a room would connect. It was also put in a perspective form to allow for a greater understanding of how the internal spaces may work. The technique used was one that was taught in our first year to pull perspective sections off of plans that had been created before hand. This was a great task that enabled me to reuse the critical skills that an architect would need if computers didn’t exist.
1:20 CROSS-SECTION MODEL Restaurant and Fridges