Critical Practice Essay

C​ritical P​ractice E​ssay Architectural Reflections I (6ARCH002W) Department of Architecture University of Westminster MArch 2018-19 Semester I

Jessmine Bath w1482663

P​ersonal​ ​ ​E​xperience My year out in practice was at Squire and Partners (S+P). The office has recently moved to 248 Ferndale Road, Brixton. This was at the beginning of 2017, before I joined the practice August 2017. Previously the practice was located at their award winning office in Kings Cross, home to S+P for 16 years. The move out of central London has provided ample space for the office’s 200 staff members.

Figure 2: Ground Floor Reception of Squire and Partners Office, including Model Shop located behind reception Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

There is an aim for the practice to amalgamate with brixton’s community, and Squire’s has done this through collaboration with local craftspeople and furniture makers, whose designs have been used in the new office.1

Figure 3: Third Floor workspace for Architects, Accountants & Partners of Squire and Partners, Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

Figure 1: Main Entrance to Squire and Partners Office Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

The Brixton office is spectacularly designed by S+P themselves, having taken an abandoned department store, which over the years had become a squatters paradise, and uplifting it to become a stunning coalition of its past and present functions. Walking around the office you can see the exposed brick work and graffiti, reminders of its decay, accompanied by beautiful details of edwardian architecture, reminiscent of its original purpose as a department store.

The dilapidated building was purchased by Squire and Partners in 2015,2 and created for two purposes, firstly for the staff but secondly to exhibit the work of S+P. Upon completion of the Brixton office the majority of projects within the practice incorporate a similar design narrative. This is evident in a newly completed Ministry of Sound office (see Figures 4&5) in Elephant & Castle.

Figure 4: First Floor Meeting Room at Ministry of Sound Source: James Jones <https://theministry.com/>

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​Squire and Partners n.d., <https://squireandpartners.com> 2 ​Squire and Partners n.d., 248 Ferndale Road SW9 8FR London, <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

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attempt to persuade more staff to eat together.

The fifth floor space is extremely alluring, not only because of the £3 fresh lunch, but also due to a attractive terrace complete with ping pong table, a spectacular view of london and the space itself is beautifully designed with timber frame structure and bespoke emerald tinted glass dome, acting as a symbol of the buildings repurposing. (See Figure 7&8) Figure 5: First Floor Office Space of Ministry of Sound Source: James Jones <https://theministry.com/>

There is a push for S+P staff to always use the staircase (see Figure 6) which connects all 5 floors of the office. Imposed through emails stating that the lifts should only be used when absolutely necessary. The aim, to create a more sociable office environment. From my experience I feel the staircase has been successful, as it allowed me to communicate with friends on different floors and provided much needed exercise, to offset from sitting at a desk for the majority of the day.

Figure 7&8: Fifth floor restaurant/bar space & terrace in Squire and Partners Office, Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

Figure 6: Original Staircase, retrofitted with bespoke tiling and brush brass accents, connecting all levels of Squire and Partners Office, Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

The ‘Upstairs at the Department Store’ is also a members based club, costing £250 for a years membership. This altered the dynamics upstairs, as staff no longer had free use of all of the space, deterring some from eating their lunch upstairs.

The ambition of social office is transposed, also, through the design of the fifth floor restaurant/bar. During office hours the space is a place to grab a coffee or snack, and at lunch, is where a large majority of the office eat together. The lunch has been subsidised

by S+P, so is a mere £3, this is in further

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The office has a number of departments collaborating on all architectural projects: architects, interiors, CGI, model shop, and illustration. Each department has a specific place within the office. Behind reception, on the ground floor, is home to the model shop, complete with disco ball and neon scissors (See Figure 9).

Figure 10: Basement Event/ Presentation Space at Squire and Partners Office, Brixton. Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

Figure 9: Model Shop at Squire and Partners Office, Brixton. Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

The first floor is home to the interiors, and illustration teams, situated at the west wing, isolated from the architects. On the first, second and third floor are architectural teams, each row or two of desks is allocated a specific project, and will be working under a director. All the directors have a multitude of projects working under them, therefore, there are associate directors who are more project specific.

Each Monday morning the day would start the same for all S+P staff. First there is a presentation held in the basement (see Figure 10), which is presented by one of the teams within the office, the aim is to give an overview of the practiceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current projects. This would be brief, lasting 15-20 minutes.

Proceeding the presentation, there are partner specific meetings. For those working under Henry Squire (the partner I was working under) the meeting is held in tower one (see Figure 11) on the first floor. One person would be nominated from each project to talk during the meeting, they would explain to Henry the stage the project is currently at, and would tell him if there is any work needed from the CGI, interiors or illustration team. There were between 20-30 projects being worked on at one time, therefore the meeting would last approximately an hour. Everyone would be given a copy of the minutes (See Figures 12&13) outlining the projects, a brief report, and their actions, with the right hand columns showing the initials of team members.

Figure 11: Tower One Meeting Room at Squire and Partners Office, Brixton. Source: James Jones <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

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Figure 14: Photocopy of CityPride Action List, page 1 of 8.

Source: Author

Whilst at the office I worked under Myles Taylor (Director), in a team of between 5-8 people, fluctuating over the course of the year.

Working on the Landmark Pinnacle (or CityPride, a previous name for the project which out of habit is still used by the team). It is a 75 storey high rise residential project, located in Canary Wharf, London, set to be the tallest residential tower in Europe. (See Figure 15)

Figures 12&13: Photocopy of Monday Morning Minutes for Henry Squireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Team. Source: Author

Proceeding the Partner specific meetings, project teams would have a meeting, Monday before lunch, to go through the action list (See Figure 14), led by the teams director or associate director. This would be a more indepth look at what everyone on the team needed to achieve, and what had been completed the previous week.

Figure 15: CGI rendering by S+P of Landmark Pinnacle, view from the East of the Docklands, looking to central London. Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

The client for the project is Chalegrove properties (CPL). Their offices are currently based adjacent to the site, within one of their two previous high rise residential projects.

The Landmark Pinnacle has four amenity levels: at the ground flour there is a cinema room (See Figure 16), going up to level 27 there are gardens on the East and West Facades, encapsulating the floor, one with a more playful design (See Figure 17) and the other a more tamed seating arrangement (See Figure 18), then at level 56 there is a gym with a view of central London (See Figure 19) and the west facade is home to a residents lounge/ dining area (See Figure 20), finally at the crown of the building is the rooftop terrace with the design still in the process of the design being finalised, however has the intention of being a lounge area (See Figure 21).

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Figure 16: CGI rendering by S+P, Ground Floor Cinema Room, Landmark Pinnacle.

Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

Figure 17: CGI rendering by S+P, L27 Play Garden, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

Figure 18: CGI rendering by S+P, L27 London Square Garden, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

Figure 20: CGI rendering by S+P, L56 Private Dining, Bar & Lounge, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

Figure 21: CGI rendering by S+P, L75 East Roof Terrace, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

The building has 984 apartments and four apartment types: Prestige, Deluxe, Shared Ownership and Serviced. There are two finishes to the apartments Prestige and Deluxe (See Figures 22&23). I began working on the project just as construction began on site, RIBA Stage 5. Whilst working at Squireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s I briefly helped out with the amenity level drawings. For the majority of my time, I was working with 1-3 colleagues on the residential levels. This entailed sending out dry lining, bathroom, kitchen and joinery packages. The most design orientated work was during my time with the wheelchair adaptable apartments, although this was more of an iterative exercise to ensure total compliance with the Wheelchair Housing Design Guide. To produce these packages the team works using Revit, a relatively new means of production within the practice, with about one third of the practice still working in microstation.

Figure 19: CGI rendering by S+P, L56 Gym, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

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Figure 22: CGI rendering by S+P, Deluxe Apartment Type Levels 11-55, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

the client had asked us to alter drawings, not based on advice given by consultants, which would make S+P liable. To combat this, our director made certain to get written evidence of what the client was asking for before proceeding with the work. Although, as a team we may not have agreed on all of the client’s decision, these opinions were often unvoiced, making the team at S+P passengers through the construction process, as Richard Rogers explains, ​‘Clearly, private developers can have different aims, and architects can only play a certain role.’3 The Architect + Structural Engineer WSP

Figure 23: CGI rendering by S+P, Prestige Apartment Type Levels 57-73, Source: <http://landmarkpinnacle.com/>

C​ritical​ ​ ​R​eflection C​ollaboration Due to the sheer size of the Landmark Pinnacle there was a need for many layers of collaboration.

The Architect + Client CPL The first layer of collaboration, and arguably the most important for the architect is that of the architect and client. Communication with the client, was through email, calls and meetings, often at CPL’s office in Canary Wharf. The difficulty with the client, was their team having a lack of communication internally, therefore when consulting us there would be inconsistent information, causing drawings to change repetitively, only to end up where they began. A further difficulty was that

To coordinate with the structural engineers (WSP) we had a linked structural model in the revit model, this was both effective and ineffective at times. Ineffective due to WSP not being as familiar with revit as desired, therefore there were sometimes discrepancies within the model, and it was not always updated to match new comments from the client, architect or mechanical engineer.

The Architect + Mechanical Engineer HL (Hoara Lee) It was extremely interesting to understand the inner workings of the building, through workshops with the mechanical engineers.

The aim of these meetings, to coordinate the reflected ceiling plans (RCP) (responsibility of S+P) with the fan call units (FCU) and ductwork in the ceilings (See Figures 24&25).

The meetings were almost completely effective in rectifying all discrepancies within the drawings, although there were a number of follow up emails and calls, which in turn took up much of the time of the S+P team, taking time away from completing the packages to be sent to the client, and if delayed the onus is upon the architects, not HL.

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​Richard Rogers Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com.

Retrieved October 20, 2018, Source: <https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/richard_rogers_613 205>

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working on a multitude of projects within the office, the team was not always available to talk through finishes and design, becoming a factor to take into consideration when putting the packages together.

Figure 26: First Floor Plan of the Department Store, the interiors space is highlighted in blue. Source: Squire and Partners <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

Râ&#x20AC;&#x2039;egulations There were a number of design guides I became acquainted with whilst working at S+P, each with similar aims, but all differing in terms of dimensions.

Lifetime Homes Compliance

Figures 24&25: Photocopy of HL Mechanical Workshop Minutes, for Prestige & Deluxe Apartment Types.

Source: Author

For affordable apartments lifetime homes compliance needed to be achieved. Whilst working on the kitchen package I spent time reading through the guidelines and understanding what would be expected in our kitchens (See Figure 27).

The Architect + Interior Designer When working on the Bathroom, Kitchen and Door Packages, there was a need to finalise finishes and the design, meaning collaboration was necessary between the architectural and the interiors teams. Contacting the interiors team would presumptuously be relatively simple, as it is an internal affair, however due to interiors being in a separate space (See Figure 26), located on a different floor to our team, interaction was through emails, and rarely in person. Also due to the interiors team

Figure 27: Photocopy, notes outlining layout of affordable kitchens in accordance with LTH. Source: Author

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The process could be interpreted as design, however it felt more like following rules already pre set, negating creative thinking.

Wheelchair Adaptable Units As per planning condition 21, 10% of all residential units must be wheelchair adaptable. Therefore, I was given the task to understand the guide and ‘re-design’ the layouts for the apartment types, to demonstrate they are wheelchair adaptable (See Figures 28&29). This entailed an iterative process, re-drawing the plans of each apartment and then discussing with my team until we found that each apartment complied.

The process was again less design orientated and more about ensuring all obligations are met. Although, it was more fulfilling than dimensioning drawings.

Frustratingly, often the guide was rather nondescript, using terminology such as ‘recommended’, ‘appropriate’ and in some cases information did not correlate, giving alternate dimensions, or not giving enough specification of a dimension.4

Figures 28&29: Photocopy, notes outlining dimensions and spatial setting out, in accordance with Wheelchair Housing Design Guide. Source: Author

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​Stephen Thorpe. (2006). ​Wheelchair Housing Design Guide​. Habinteg Housing Association, Holyer House, London.

Fire Strategy After a scathing newspaper article by the Sunday Times,5 criticising the fire strategy for the building, the team at S+P participated in a series of further meetings with the fire consultant to re-establish the fire strategy, but coming to the conclusion that the strategy in place is already the most effective.

Demonstrating the effect grenfell tower had on the Landmark Pinnacle. Although after observing the outcome of the meeting, it was slightly time wasting as the fire strategy had already been determined. However, when it is a matter of safety, it seems wise that further talks were taken.

​J. Ungoed-Thomas, S. Griffiths and S. Mararike. (Feb 2018). ​771ft up and only one set of stairs for fire escape from top floors​. The Sunday Times, London.

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C​onclusion When in collaboration everyone is often working with different priorities, and each field is becoming increasingly specialized. This specialisation diminishes time spent on creative thinking for the architect, rather time is spent coordinating. ‘A managers life is wholly concerned with an organization which is both the stage for his activity and the object of his inquiry.’6 Therefore, the architect often becomes the manager of the building industries specialisations, ensuring the work of the mechanical engineer aligns with that of the structural engineer, whilst maintaining the design intent set out by the interiors team and prioritising the clients comments.

‘Architecture, once the mother profession, now occu​pies a somewhat ambiguous position within the larger family.’7 Large practice and large building, the essence of what I believe to be architecture becomes lost. To me architecture should be for people, to bring joy and purpose to a space, to integrate with its environment, rather than being a tool to extract money.

As Eric Cesal states in Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice, ‘we left the suburbs, strip centers, and the worst parts of town to others to shape, but we let lawyers and insurers talk us into avoiding risk and retreating from responsibility.’8 This resonates with S+P as the practice’s portfolio of work demonstrates an array of exuberant architecture, for already affluent clients, it is rare to find work aiming to genuinely help communities. Also the practice aims to ‘collaborate’ with brixton, however the building is alienating to the existing community, and has instead gentrified the area.

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​Donald A. Schon. (1983). ​The reflective practitioner how professionals think in actio​n. Pg 242.

7 ​ ​Donald A. Schon. (1983). ​The reflective practitioner how professionals think in actio​n. Pg 29.

8 E ​ ric J. Cesal. ​Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice.​ (2010).

Through working at Squire and Partners I have gained invaluable insight into the infrastructure needed to build high rise structures. It was at times fulfilling, and at others mundane.

Fulfilling in the sense that, when the packages were sent out or a specific piece of work was completed there was a sense of satisfaction.

Yet, mundane due to lack of creativity, and contentment with the design (personally), which could be down to the phase I joined the project on. However, talking to colleagues working on projects at the design/ planning stages, they explained that the decisions are solely made by those higher up. The design process, ‘​an inf​erred model of creativity in which the star architects vision is made into drawings, then models, then built, in a relatively straightforward, linear process.’9 There are no avant-garde designs, the architecture is preset by superiors and aims to please.

On the other hand, It would be easy enough to think like Howard Roark: ‘I don’t intend to build in order to have clients’10, yet if architects where to take this approach to design and not collaborate with the market, and client’s wishes, the practice would fail. In the end the architectural practice still requires money to survive, as do all professions.

The architect must also comply with the bombardment of guidelines, stating inconclusive logics, in a non succinct manner.

This distracts, meaning less time spent contemplating larger quandaries. Instead the architects mind is conditioned to follow predetermined guidelines, to be complied with due to planning conditions, and legalities.

Within this web of constraints it is sometimes hard to be hopeful, to one day be apart of architecture which can connect, with both people and place, rather than money.

Although when working on a high rise project this concept seems unachievable. But to do this I aspire to work at a smaller scale, inspired

9

​Albena Yaneva. (2009). ​Made my the Office of Metropolitan Design: An Ethnography of Design​.

10 Ayn Rand. (1943). ​The Fountainhead.​

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by the book ‘small is beautiful’11 by Schumacher When applied to architecture, this will allow there to be a human aspect to the design, making the process more intimate.

With less large scale logistics to worry about the architects mind can contemplate creative solutions.

R​eferences Albena Yaneva. (2009). ​Made my the Office of Metropolitan Design: An Ethnography of Design.​ 010 Publishers, Rotterdam.

Ayn Rand. (1943). ​The Fountainhead​. Penguin Publications, New York.

Chris Goodman. (2011). ​Lifetime Homes Design Guide​.

Habinteg Housing Association, Holyer House, London.

Donald A. Schon. (1983). ​The reflective practitioner - how professionals think in actio​n. Basic Books.

Eric J. Cesal. ​Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice.​ (2010). MIT Press, London.

J. Ungoed-Thomas, S. Griffiths and S. Mararike. (Feb 2018). ​771ft up and only one set of stairs for fire escape from top floors​. The Sunday Times, London.

Mayor of London. (2010). ​London Housing Design Guide​.

London Development Agency, Blackfriars Road.

Richard Rogers Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com.

Retrieved October 20, 2018, Source: <https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/richard_rogers_613 205> Schumacher. (1973). ​Small is Beautiful.​ Blond & Briggs, London.

Stephen Thorpe. (2006). ​Wheelchair Housing Design Guide​. Habinteg Housing Association, Holyer House, London.

Squire and Partners n.d., <https://squireandpartners.com> Squire and Partners n.d., 248 Ferndale Road SW9 8FR London, <https://thedepartmentstore.com/>

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​Schumacher. (1973). ​Small is Beautiful.

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PDP

MA​rch course

W​hy I choose to study

I am beginning my MArch studies to improve my knowledge base to the stage where I feel confident to talk about the architectural issues which are on my mind (environment, mental health and human relationship with nature) with greater conviction. Working in practice has solidified my architectural ambitions, demonstrating to me the depressing realities of large scale projects, where the architect becomes solely a coordinator of information, inspiring me to do more with my time and energy.

I aspire to be apart of architecture with a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ economy, at local scales (inspired by ‘small is beautiful’ by Schumacher), which connects to nature.

Working towards an architecture project which reimagines the way we live, and way of life, not only helping the environment but creating moments for human cohesion and activity, so that the 1 in 4 people who suffer from mental health issues do not feel alone anymore. I truly believe it is our architecture which can make the difference, for humanity and the natural world to become one, rather than two separate entities. At this moment I am unsure how to achieve this, or if this is possible through soley architecture, but I do not feel there is any harm in trying.

I feel the MArch course at Westminster is suited to my ambitions, as having previously studied at the university, I have enjoyed the choice of studio groups, as they allow you to study a specific subject area whilst working towards a detailed resolution. As architecture is so broad it is calming to be able to focus upon a brief, and what is always admirable about the briefs are they often give the opportunity to relate personal interests to the work. My design studio for this year (DS18) is definitely suited to my ambitions, as the brief looks at climate change and in particular the effect this will have on the monsoon seasons and the Irrawaddy river in Myanmar. This brief is allowing me to specifically focus on my relationship to climate change, and how I feel it can be shown through architectural drawing, allowing my knowledge of climate change to broaden, a topic I feel is increasingly relevant to architecture. In my second year of masters, I aim to re-imagine how we live through reconnecting with nature. The first year is now allowing me to become an ‘expert’ in the realities of climate change, later helping me to design dwellings which respond to these growing issues.

Whilst working on the design module it is often easy to become entwined in almost utopian ideals imaged as a student, therefore I feel it is relevant to stay grounded to the realities of architecture, which the Architectural Reflections module instigates. Having attended the first set of lectures for Architectural Reflections, I have appreciated the focus on critical analysis, as it pushes me to understand what type of practice I aspire to be apart of.

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