LWNDWSKI PORTFOLIO OF WORK STAGE 2 SESSION 2014/15 NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY 130115289
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Jack Lewandowski M: (+44) 7897550670 E: j.lewandowski@newcastle.ac.uk W: www.jacklewandowski.co.uk
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CONTENTS
04-15 16-33 34-37 38-55 56-68 69-77 PROJECT 1
Placed, Displaced
Modified or added work is marked with
PROJECT 2
Living On The Edge
PROJECT 3 3x3x3
PROJECT 4
Prospect And Refuge
PROJECT 5 Crossover
ADDITIONAL WORK Competition Projects
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PROJECT
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Placed, Displaced Brief Extract “A (fictional) local developer has purchased a (real life) development site on Waldo Street in North Shields – a site currently occupied by 17 boardedup garages and gains outline planning permission to erect a terrace of ten 3-storey houses. Rather than build the houses, he decides to sell the plots to self-builders, leaving buyers to use their own architect (you) to develop a unique design for each plot.“
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Project Outline To design a home there are two main elements that need to be considered for the client - the ability to entertain and the opportunity to relax in the solitude of their own privacy. This proposal looks at light, location and height to lay out a house that optimises these two elements. Spaces that are deemed more private, such as bedrooms and office spaces, are placed at the top of the building with lower ceiling heights creating a protective, calm environment. As the user moves down through the building the spaces open up. A large dining and living space at the very bottom of the building that opens out onto the garden allows light to soar into the space to create an evocative entertainment facility for the family and their friends. Three strips of materials were used in the buildings - polycarbonate, wood and glass. Polycarbonate sheeting allows for versatility in the house, as panels can be moved as they wish creating openings where the client so chooses them to be.
Hierarchy of Light
Growth of Space
Increase in Privacy
Three Strip Materiality 5
Level 2
Perspective Section 6
Level 1
Level 0
Level -1
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Light Tunnel The image to the left shows the entrance to the house. Immediately to the right hand side is the buildings staircase that runs from top to bottom stacked to reduce the impact on the footprint. The staircase also acts as a light well for the building. Due to the house being a mid-row terrace, there is no opportunity to place windows on the side walls, so the stair case allows for light to flood down to spaces in the middle of the building where light may not reach.
Entrance Hall Render
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Entertainment Space Render
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Three Strips The buildings materiality is based on three strips - polycarbonate, timber and glass. The back garden for the house is also based on three mediums - water, timber and grass. As the clients were a young family, space to grow and play is important, so versatility is a must. At the top of the building is a small roof terrace connected to the office. A space to relax privately and maximize the evening sunlight.
Front Elevation
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Glow The front facade has a large strip of polycarbonate that runs up with a concealed door. During the day the translucent material allows for diffused light to enter the house whilst keeping privacy for the occupants. In the evening the reverse effect happens, as a faint glow leaves the building gently illuminating the street and giving the building life as people move up through the spaces.
Back Elevation
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Front Elevation Development
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Rear Elevation Development
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Final Model
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PROJECT
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Living On The Edge Brief Extract “The scenario imagines an anonymous benefactor having given £1.3 million to establish the foyer. The management commimee has recruited a skilled boat builder, a furniture maker and a glassblower to lead the foyer and the activity provides the basis of the skills training. A substantial workshop is included in the schedule of accommodation.“
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Project Outline The proposal for Living on the Edge metaphorically depicts the story that the inhabitants take during their stay in the foyer. At the most narrow point, a metal frame sits as an exoskeleton to the building, appearing chaotic and entangled representing the disordered nature of the people’s lives when they first enter the foyer. The frame begins to untangle and become more structural, holding panes of glass, until eventually it reaches the atrium, the turning point of our building, where it becomes the main linear structural feature of the building. This represents the introduction of order into the resident’s lives and the clarity they will have achieved in the process. A series of public spaces to the side of the building and on the roof encourage interaction between the residents and the public at a more informal level to integrate the pupils back into society. The following project was done with fellow student Oliver Crossley. We combined both Site A and Site C to create a foyer that was twice the size with two workshops and accommodation for double the amount of students and tutors. The opportunity to work alongside someone else allowed us to create a unique building, combining our ideas and concepts. However following the end project I have relooked at the foyer and split it in half, keeping the atrium space, and reworked the floor plans to create just a glassblowing workshop on site C.
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Material Inspiration To the left is a photomap of the immediate area surrounding the site. From this a material palette for the building was created. Keeping with industrial materials such as red brick and steel, the building will not stand out excessively from Lime Street. However the bold framework on the river facade juxtaposes this, whilst still keeping the same use of material.
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Photo Montage
Building Volume
The Atrium
Public Space and Biodiversity
Morning vs Evening Light
Public vs Private 19
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Long Section
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Level 2 22
Level 1
Level 0
Level -1 23
Model Photography
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Evening Render 25
Atrium Space
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The Focal Point The main atrium is the buildings main focal point. It allows access to all levels via a red brick elevator shaft, with a staircase wrapping around. To the side is the double height boat building workshop, opened up by floor to ceiling glass to allow visitors to view in and observe the students at work. The building was designed to help integrate the pupils back into society, so by allowing views in and out they begin to have more of a sense of interaction with the public. The material pallet for the building was based on the buildings and infrastructure that surrounds the site. Industrial materials such as red brick and steel are frequently used.
Boat Building Workshop
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Informal Roof Garden
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Cross Section and Structural Detailing
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Modified Work The following pages show the layout for the newly resolved building. This work has been completed solely by myself to fully satisfy the brief after post-assessment discussions about the project, and to explore how the building could work if the budget for the original design was cut.
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Resolved The new resolved building now accommodates for 8 students rather than 16, and only has a glass blowing workshop. The axonometric image to the left shows the connection between floors. The atrium is still the central hub of the building, connecting all spaces. On the top floor of the foyer are the cooking and entertainment facilities, alongside the tutors flat. This allows for regular social interaction between the pupils and their teacher, and also allows the tutor to view the development of the residents as they grow through the program.
Axonometric
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Level 2 32
Level 1
Level 0
Level -1 33
PROJECT
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3x3x3 Brief Extract
“Choose a client - a real person, known to you. Choose a ‘dwelling’ cube, a temporary home with the facility to eat, wash and sleep. Choose a ‘doing’ cube - dedicated to a specific working task e.g. a cube for a writer, a computer operator, a bee keeper. The third cube should enhance one particular aspect of the weather or climate of the location. Your cube design can respond to it, but it should also aim to interpret and enhance a particular quality of weather for your chosen client.“
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Dwelling Cube The Dwelling Cube is a place for the user to sleep, eat and wash. It has been designed to be as discreet as possible, providing the user with privacy whilst it is in use. Made using locally sourced stone, flora will be encouraged to grow and cover the cube, allowing it to slowly blende into part of the landscape as time progresses.
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Doing Cube The Doing Cube is designed to allow the photographer a place to hide away from nature whilst they undertake their work. Built up from wooden logs with slit windows, the cube allows its user to remain hidden from the animals they are photographing. Three levels give the client a range of angles to take their photos.
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Enhancement Cube The Enhancement Cube is a made up of perforated rusted steel. It is a place where light can be exploited to create an evocative space. During the day the holes allow light to infiltrate the space whilst sounds and breezes from the wind off the lake create different internal environments dependent on the weather. At night, the reverse effect occurs, and a gentle light allows light to illuminate the cube, actively encouraging wildlife to inhabit the space.
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PROJECT
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Prospect and Refuge Brief Extract “The project imagines Newcastle University, rightly noted for its civic role and links with its wider community, establishing a satellite facility in the town. Part University shop window (prospect) and part academic retreat (refuge), the provision will also act as a Community building, providing learning, employment, meeting and leisure facilities - providing a place of social unity, a place for the ‘little men’ to gather together.“
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Project Outline This proposal looks at how architecture can be used to break down the barriers between education and the uneducated. Amble was a town built on coal mining and therefore the percentage of its population who have experienced higher education is significantly low. By proposing a highly transparent building with a focus on public regeneration, the people of Amble are encouraged to explore and learn more about the university and the coast they live on. Twin phenomena of heavy and light, and translucent and opaque are used to create spaces with experiential qualities of light to evoke different feelings dependent on the usage of a particular space, be it more public or private. Transparent materials, such as glass and polycarbonate, aim to give people a view into the world of education, however as spaces require more privacy these materials become more and more opaque. The building should be a monument to the university on the Northumberland coastline, encouraging public interaction rather than intimidating people. The main focus of the project is the atrium, inspired by JaJa Architects competition entry for the new Helsinki Library. It was my opinion that education needs to be socially engaging,
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Development Throughout the development of the project I looked at several different facade and layout options, trying to show some linear progression to help decrease the opacity of the building as the spaces become less private and more public. Using wooden slats was an option I explored and chose because they are lightweight in appearance but offer good levels of privacy for people working in the upper levels. Early on during development I decided that I wanted to use some kind of central atrium in the building to allow light to flood down to the bottom of the building which in turn would invite people in.
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Heavy vs. Light Materiality
Privacy = Opacity
Light Invites People In
Atrium Creates Ventilation
Polycarbonate Facade Acts As Projection Screen
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Site Visit
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Site Plan
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Level -1
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Level 0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
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Light Infiltration The main feature of the Prospect and Refuge building is the atrium space that runs through the center of the space. The open space is used to break down the boundaries between both prospect and refuge and education and the uneducated. Allowing people to see throughout the building gives it a sense of life and creates social interaction between the students of Newcastle and the people of Amble. The concept of transparency is also conveyed through the use of materials. A light palette of timber, glass and polycarbonate is used to invite people inside, contrasting with the heavy stone plinth. The light can infiltrate through to the plinth space leaving a faint glow, a technique used to bring people from outside into a space.
Perspective Section
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Perspective Section
Day Time Render
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Open Cinema The polycarbonate facade on the building plays with light in two ways. During the day it allows a diffused glow to enter the building, creating intrigue without infringing on privacy. During the evening the wall can be used as a projection screen, allowing the university to advertise and the public to use for events such as outdoor cinema screenings, allowing the building to give back to the greater community.
Evening Render
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Auditorium Render
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Atrium Render 50
1:500 Site Model
Lighting Studies
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Town Context Section 52
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1:50 Structural Study Model
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1:50 Volumetric Study Model
Casting Experiment
1:100 Model
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PROJECT
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Crossover Brief Extract “Each group will research and choose an alley in Newcastle. The local colloquial term for these spaces is Chare (pronounced) Chair) and the Chares in Newcastle are a series of medieval routes, most of which connected the quayside to the town and the city walls higher up the north slope of the Tyne. Many of these historic pedestrian routes survive today, and whilst many fragments of historic buildings and the fabric of the routes remain, some have seen the built context around them changed dramatically, whilst other have been widened and ‘improved’ such that their original character has been altered beyond recognition.“
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Project Outline The brief for this group project was to design a temporary timber structure on one of Newcastle’s historical chares. The chare our group chose was the Castle Stairs, a route way that connects the city’s castle and quayside. We decided upon a pentagonal modular design due to its versatility and ease of construction on site. The modules can be made from one panel and three joints. During the festival, the modular design is built up and covers the artist performing behind. Inside the modules are chairs which can be removed and sat on, and also work as Cajan Drums, allowing the public to play along to the music and encourage interaction. As the pentagons are tapered, the design works to amplify the sound as more of the seats are taken out. The idea behind this is that the busier the festival gets the further away the sound can be heard from, therefore inviting more people to come and watch and get involved.
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Take
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Place
Sit
Play
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Section Looking West 60
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Section Looking East 62
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Night Time Render
Festival In Action
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Location, Location, Location
Main Festival Location
The instillations for the festival can be placed in multiple locations due to their versatile design. Along the Castle Stairs there are four locations which could be used where the ground is flat and there is space around for the seats to be placed, and they could be placed in several other locations around the city. The project focuses primarily on public involvement. The people create the sound they want to hear by allowing the sound to project more or less dependent on how busy the festival is. It also plays heavily on the theme of intrigue, as the performer is not initially seen and relies upon the public to remove the seats to reveal the artist behind. 65
Logo Developments
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Festival Poster
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Exhibition 68
Additional Work
Competition Projects Competition Outlines Over the course of the year I have entered two competitions not associated with the university. These include 120 Hours (completed with Alex Borrell and Julian Besems) and the HMMD Nepalese Mountain Hut competition (completed with Alex Borrell, Julian Besems and Thomas Badger). 120 Hours is a student ideas competition where each team has 5 days to complete the brief. This year the brief was to come up with a way of preserving Pyramiden, the most northerly settlement in the world. HMMD’s competition brief was to design Nepal’s first mountain hut for trekkers to stay. It needed to be self sustainable and transportable ideally by the local porters of Nepal.
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The most northern settlement in the world, Pyramiden, is a town that time forgot. As architects, we often look to solve problems through construction; this however is not applicable in the preservation of Pyramiden because the destruction is not that of buildings but of society itself. Pyramiden was a coal mining town founded by the Swedish in 1910, and later sold to the U.S.S.R.. As the abundance of coal diminished, the only thing left is the relentless light that is continuously present in summer, and constantly absent in winter. Optical manipulations of light are used to tell the story. We aim to repopulate Pyramiden by preserving its history of depopulation. The title The Wisps’ stems from European Folklore, in which wisps are atmospheric ghost lights seen by travellers. Here they are represented as holographic images. In folklore, wisps disappear when a traveller reaches them, guiding them along a path. Pyramiden’s Wisps are not intended to dictate a route but create destination points. They are triggered by EMF’s emitted by satellite phones, gps and other technology. Sensors placed around the town control the projections. By doing so, the Wisps appear upon the presence of the 21st century man, not by nature. The story begins at the dock, the arrival point of Pyramiden. The Russians introduced nature into a place so barren it never had significant fauna before. They planted grass, and with it a community. The grass pier that visitors walk along upon first arrival brings growth to an unexpected place. At the end stands a transparent cube; encasing a singular grass seed in the centert. By making one of the sides a magnifying lens it emphasises the significance of the seed and with it the introduction of life. The journey then leads to the town square, where there is a sign of the Trust Arktikugol coal company. A red shipping container, broken down into quarters stands along the plaza, each with a lens placed within. Together they form a cloaking device based on the Rochester cloak. If one stands in front of the first container, the lenses hide the sign, revealing what’s behind - a bust of Vladimir Lenin, the forefather of communism. The intention is to symbolically reveal the truth behind the dark history of the communist regime. The final chapter leads to Pyramiden’s coal storage building. By placing 60 holes in the roof, the lives of the last people to live in Pyramiden are represented through beams of light that pierce the space. In the winter months when daylight does not reach Pyramiden, this space will be illuminated. This reverses the effect, with beams of light projecting into the night sky 70 creating a beacon, seen for miles around as a monument to the lives and tales of those who have been forgotten.
Cover Art
Grass Pier
Shipping Containers
Night Beacon
Perspex Cube
Cloaking Device
Forest of Light 71
The New Vernacular The first mountain hut in the Himalayas offers a unique opportunity, not only to create a new building, but an entirely new vision of innovative design. In order to accommodate for programmatic change and a profound sense of place, a modular system is proposed, not a fixed building design. Inspired by local practices and materials, the project offers a truly flexible, transportable and sustainable architecture. Each hut is based upon the premise of giving back to the community, beginning with a modular system based on the traditional DOKO baskets, used by porters in the Himalayas. These modules maintain the same ergonomics of the traditional baskets, being the width of the waist at the base and the width of the shoulder at the top. In transport, the modules become an efficient way of carrying material, on site they form a rigid, cross-braced wall system. Each module is woven out of bamboo, a material that has the potential to make great social and economic changes. Under an already existing legislation, the material can be grown by Community Forestry Users, on land received from the government. It’s also a chance to reintegrate the traditional bamboo craftspeople; who belong to the poorest of castes, into society. The module and its contents would be weighted so as to not cause unnecessary strain on any porter. Alongside a positive economic and social impact, this proposal offers a chance to bring the culture of Nepal to international attention. At the heart of each mountain hut is a fireplace and a large table, a place to sit, talk and enjoy. The warmth from the central fire radiates in to the inhabited spaces, being used as a focal point for seating on one side and a kitchen on the other. The large stonewall offers a thermal massing system to create consistent heat. A minimal material pallet is used to highlight the use of bamboo and the beneficial impacts it has on the people of Nepal. The exposed space frame creates a feeling of openness to the space. The lightweight suspended staircase leads into the bedroom, situated into the roof space to minimize space-heating requirements. The dividing walls are integrated into the roofs structure and allow a sense of privacy. If required curtains can be drawn to close the bed off completely from the space. Storage for personal belongings is located beside each bed in the eaves of the pitched roof. 72
External Render
External Render 73
Cross Section 74
Long Section 75
Level 0 76
Level 1
Bedroom Render
Downstairs Render
Axonometric 77
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