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selling artefact
civic centred
what’s cooking
thinking through making
velocity
artist’s retreat
barcelona
living on the edge
lindesfarne
group work
placed displaced
beach hut
grainger market
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dissertation
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Over the three years I have studied at Newcastle University, I have changed my style, my outlook, and my process immensely. It is difficult to fully think back to my first weeks at Newcastle, and to accurately recall my progress, whilst there have been moments of rapid improvement, most of my skill development has come slowly, almost invisibly at the time. The starkest display of the accumulation of this progress has come over the development of this portfolio. The decision to revisit my first and second year work, to reformat and improve, has shown me perhaps for the first time in full clarity, the steps I have taken and the improvements I have made. Most of such improvements are of a physical nature, technological advances in Photoshop, CAD and Sketchup, improved model making methods and use of materials, and an overall keener eye for layout. However far more interesting to me are the more subtle, yet wider reaching changes; that of design process. Over the three years of education, the school has provided an increasingly fluid, and open for interpretation structure of design process. This has enabled me to gradually develop my own unique design process, built upon a solid foundation of learning in year 1. Those early and somewhat restrictive projects have guided my own decision-making in years 2 and 3, and have provided a sometimes much needed framework to fall onto when my own concepts have failed me. For example in the second year project ‘Living on the Edge’, where for a number of weeks I
became stuck, trying to translate my concepts into a physical building that would sit comfortably on the site. I remembered the process of making a series of similar designs and merging them into a focused project. I therefore created three models, ranging from the extremes of abstraction from my concepts, to a heavily practical version. I then combined these three, and came to an agreeable compromise that worked in both the conceptual and physical sense. d
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In third year, our semester 1 and 2 projects were combined into a larger market rethink and redevelopment scheme, focused on Grainger Market, in Newcastle, entitled ‘building on what is already built’. This scheme has varied from the micro, of designing and detailing a singular market stall, to the macro, of redeveloping and extending the 12’000 m2 Grainger Market. It has also explored the wider reasons for the modern neglect of traditional markets, and how individual markets and communities across the world have developed to deal with this. This all-encompassing nature of the project is what attracted me to it in the first place. I saw the scheme as a great opportunity to experiment and develop upon my skills. The scheme has been challenging from the start. Our initial tasks were of completely opposing size and style, making for a cognitively difficult balancing act. Whereas, in previous projects I had focused only on one scale, or slowly developed from a macro concept down to micro detailing. This project presented the both at exactly
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the same time. Individually I worked on the small scale market stall, ‘selling artefact’ project, whilst in a group I partook in the mammoth task of creating working drawings for Grainger Market. Upon reflection I did not manage these juxtaposing features well, and tended to focus on one or the other, finding it difficult to balance both. This reflected in my design work, however ultimately the group work was most affected, with my particular group being unable to provide a finished result by the deadline; due to a series of timing and participation issues. I have since revisited this group work however, and found my ability to organise and produce at that scale greatly improved. s e l l i n g a r t e f a c t In terms of the selling artefact itself, I have also found the transition of skills tricky. I have been used to designing and developing buildings, however this was a selling artefact, a glorified stall. Nevertheless, when I accepted the micro nature of the scheme I found myself settling into a strangely familiar pattern. The larger design decisions of a bigger project were simply scaled down proportionally, however had no lesser of an impact. I realised this presented an opportunity to go into the absolute finest of details within a project, from not only knowing what every part of my design does, but how it does it, why and when. This stretched me further than I had anticipated in one particular area; technical detailing. Whilst I found the extra design processes such as group work, mapping, and historical analysis sufficiently manageable on the whole, in my technical detail-
ing I failed to reach the level I wished to achieve. I feel this affected my project as a whole, and was greatly disappointed at the time that I was not able to take that final step towards a completely resolved design. For example I had done numerous canopy tests at different angles and levels of tautness, in order to develop a workable scheme for my ‘advertising stall’. However when it came to detailing this work I was unable to express this research, rendering the work unreadable . g r a i n g e r m a r k e t
ed my design potential for semester 2, and at times I have regretted this. It would have been interesting to end my Part 1 course with an experimental and ambitious project, instead of facing so many restrictions. However what I have learnt most from semester 2 is that such restrictions, and our responses to them, are just as ambitious and hold as much potential as the most ‘off the wall’ projects. I have come to respect the value of response, rather than dictation in design, and during the compiling of my portfolio I can say that this has represented a real shift in my thinking.
The conclusions of the semester 1 project may have been the reason I decided to take such a technical route in the Graduation project, although again this has not been without faults. The redevelopment of Grainger Market could be perceived as a more traditional brief, but the sheer scale of Grainger meant that it could not be underestimated in this way. I feel that this underestimation of the project was probably the greatest challenge for me in semester 2. It would have been easy to fall back into a familiar level of detail, when to do such would have meant neglecting large areas of the site and brief. Instead we were forced to change our attitudes to one of a finished ‘approach’ to Grainger, rather than a fully thought out design solution. My approach involved a systematic retrofit structure located within the aisles, which would fit flush with the existing walls whilst at the same time negating any load bearing quality from them. This attention to technological feasibility, and respect for the historical building of Grainger, has perhaps restrict-
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I am currently in the process of finding work for the part 1 year out, however I do not want to look at this as simply the year out process; a task that must be undergone in order to move on to better things. Instead I want to take time to reflect on what drives me as an architect, and as a designer in a wider sense. I believe that in the same way that Grainger Market has pushed me to evolve, practice too will make me a better, more rounded, and more reflective architect.
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Selling Artefact: a re-imagining of the market stall, an adaptable, portable, extendible and compatible everyday item, that rejuvenates the concept of the market place
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Grainger Market, centralised yet isolated. My selling artefact aims to reconnect this historic building with its city. Using a series of strategically placed temporary markets, people will be drawn in to a new “Grainger Brand”, and the market will be restored from its current position as the leftovers of Eldon
This project asked the normally un-thought of question; what is a market? Markets are ubiquitous around the world and throughout human history, they are a basic and fundamental part of our culture, our economy, and our communication between one another. The concept of ‘market’ is so saturated into our minds that it is rarely critically looked at. However we know markets need to be improved, globalisation has meant the sources of our products have become detached from the selling process, local markets have given way to multinational conglomerates, and price, rather than quality has become the driving factor of commerce. Amongst this international story sits Granger Market, one of the oldest covered markets in Europe, and a once proud symbol of Newcastle’s thriving economy; now reduced to a jumble sale of knock off items. Could re-examining the purpose and definition of the market, particularly in the context of the 21st Century, be a way of revitalising this once great building? To answer this question, I was tasked to design a flexible artefact that can be use to sell different products, it should be sheltered and mobile (maybe transformable) and to be placed within a plant dimensions of 3x2 meters. The design should consist on the development of a unit that can be aggregated to other equal units creating an articulated association. To show the potential of the unit, a possible aggregation of 10 units should be placed t within one of Newcastle’s public spaces.
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local interchange
A market is a place to exchange, not just goods and money, but ideas and conversations.
temporary, permeable, opportunistic
A market can pop up, and pop down again in an afternoon. It is not a static institution, it is free from the constraints of the street
the pride of the community
A market is a matter of civic pride, a centre for community and commerce, it is a representative of those it serves, and their aspirations
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St Josep’s in Barcelona is a perfect example of the creation of environment that architecture can create. The market seems to hold you in, and pull you towards its centre. Its permeable edge shows a stark contrast, between the ‘warm’ interior and ‘cold’ exterior
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the busy street overlooking monument, its half hidden mass pulls you forward
two long streets point to the distance, the space is cold and uninviting
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the journey to Grainger Newcastle is also characterised by these apparent ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ spots of architecture. I took the most heavily trafficked route to Grainger to find out how such spots could effect my feelings towards the market arrival: intense contrast between a cold dead exterior and warm insides
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zoning of Newcastle into university, centre, china town, and Quayside
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current influence of Grainger Market and Quayside Market
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projected influence of ‘filling in the gaps’ markets
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chosen new markets in black
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initial tessellation Taking this standard shape and seeing what other forms it would flow into
cutting the square
doubling up
Using a square as a starting point, i began to form shapes that would tessellate neatly and be simply replicated
By flipping the triangular unit on its longest side, a canopy is formed, that still tessellates along the original design
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canopy to sail experiments with the canopy creating direction of travel, a flag at which the market-goer arrives
forming units creating an entrance and units, concept of a folding out of extra units under the canopy
further tessellation playing with the new tessellations of the combination of canopy and folding units create. creating a market place
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clear shop fronts
confusing marketplace 25
folding down
closing the unit
fully upright sail
expanding for shade
right hand shade
left hand shade
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elevations of potential market aggregation 27
study models experimenting with canvas concepts 28
elevations of potential market aggregation 29
green grocers florists gardening suppliers
antiques home furniture lighting clothing accessories shoes
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butchers burger vans takeaways deli’s
goldsmiths jewellers technology valuables
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fully closed: small unit
closed: medium unit
fully open: large unit
grainger concept unit
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vertical triangle unit
horizontal triangle unit
box stacking unit
perfect for stacking of products, multi layers, extra layers can be added via wooden inserts. fits together with other triangular unit for storage
a trough unit that can be filled with low lying products, such as records or fruit all boards come with a blackboard section, for adding labels and prices.
4 units come in each standard box, each with a lid and blackboard attachment. Therefore more suitable for smaller products, or different varieties.
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centre for life
haymarket
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bigg market
station
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haymarket aggregations this aggregation centres around the monument at haymarket, hugging its base, forming a natural focal point around which people can converge
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open aggregations monument and centre for life are very open sites, therefore it is up to the design of the market to create focal points. These aggregations pull people in towards a closed centre
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1:20 structural model
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cover over maintenance access
main storage core
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selling arm: removable metal sheeting
model with sail in fully upright position
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exit door closed
exit door open
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geared winding handle for sail
elevations: upright sail and storage position
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rendered aggregation
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Over my three years at Newcastle University, I have been used to designing and developing buildings, however this project was simply a selling artefact, a glorified stall. Nevertheless, when I accepted the micro nature of the scheme I found myself settling into a strangely familiar pattern. The larger design decisions of a bigger project were simply scaled down proportionally, however had no lesser of an impact. I realised this presented an opportunity to go into the absolute finest of details within a project, from not only knowing what every part of my design does, but how it does it, why and when. This stretched me further than I had anticipated in one particular area; technical detailing. Whilst I found the extra design processes such as group work, mapping, and historical analysis sufficiently manageable on the whole, in my technical detailing I failed to reach the level I wished to achieve. I feel this affected my project as a whole, and was greatly disappointed at the time that I was not able to take that final step towards a completely resolved design. For example I had done numerous canopy tests at different angles and levels of tautness, in order to develop a workable scheme for my ‘advertising stall’. However when it came to detailing this work I was unable to express this research, rendering the work unreadable.
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Although I am happy with the final design of my selling stall, I feel the presentation of it has not delivered to the same level, and the project has suffered as a whole. In particular, my decision to follow the guidelines, and only present 6 A2s on the wall at the day of the final crit, meant valuable development work was lacking from the presentation. I created a book in an attempt to counteract this, however this was not well received on the day, and was seen as distracting, rather than insightful. I will not be making this mistake again, and intent to pin all development work on the wall for the graduation project crit.
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a series of intense group based practical experiments, into the nature of materiality, photography and drawing.
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casting forms: playing with the tectonic qualities of plaster and string
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Barcelona is arguably the international capital of markets, it is almost unique in Europe in that its markets are thriving, and expanding, not collapsing like those in Britain
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Santa Catarina is characterised by its one dominant structure, the roof. It flows out organically from spindly and distorted columns. This unifies the market under one architectural cause
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St Josep represents a progression, between the old market faces, through the current market floor, to the future market under construction at the back. Its permeable sides enable it to blend into the surrounding streets
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the sheer size of Grainger Market meant a group effort was required in order to fully cover every aspect of the site, its history, accessibility, and structure.
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French Pavilion Milan Expo
The Markthal Rotterdam
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Bergen Fish Market Bergen
Robbrecht Ghent
Aldar Central Abu Dhabi
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Inca Public Market Inca
Roosendaal Ghent
Antoni Roviira Barcelona
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Architektura Krusec Celje
Wakefield Market wakefield
Besiktas Fish Makret Istanbul
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Barcelonetta Market Barcelona
pedestrian routes
national rail station
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local bus stations and stops
nexus metro stations
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medieval
before Grainger
Large church presence in and around the Newcastle area
Newcastle is made up of a series of narrow medieval streets, focused on the Tyne
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Grainger town
modern day
Industrialisation brings money to Newcastle. High demand for markets and gentrification of the centre of Newcastle
Eldon square dwarfs Grainger in size and footfall, almost all other markets have gone
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group plans, sections and elevations
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rendered sectional details
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1:200 group model
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Grainger Market is the oldest covered market in Europe, and stands out as one of Newcastle’s most beloved building. So how do you extend and modernise it whilst retaining its character?
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The project deals with the study, transformation and extension of Grainger Market in Newcastle upon Tyne. The transformation of Grainger Market consists on the renewal of the current market hall and buildings around it, as well as on the extension of the current structures with a new volume that must be ½ of the existing buildings volume. The challenge is to define the refurbishment of the existing spaces and structures and the new extension not in a purely formal approach to architecture, this is understanding the context as only the physical environment of the historic building, but also considering he aesthetic, cultural and intellectual framework within which it holds currency and value. The project must refurbish and update the market’s selling, storage and delivery structures, and incorporate other uses to make sure that market structures incorporates a healthy mix of different uses and has the potential to be enjoyed by citizens during the maximum numbers of hours along the day –not only in market hours. It is also possible and strongly encouraged to transform and make interventions or demolitions inside the existing Grainger Market building –however, radical interventions in this building must be argued consistently. Finally, the course is aimed to deal with the constructive detail of the contact point between the existing Grainger Market building and the new extension. The goal is to relate strongly the constructive detail and technological solution with the architectural discussion of the previous stages, and to emphasize the proposed architecture by acquiring a compelling complexity.
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grainger site
uses
separated into three parts: arcade, alleys and facade.
the majority of the ground floor is commercial, however most of the surrounding block is offices
wasted space
architectural interest
the design of the roof means there are many wasted spaces in grainger. Despite its impressive size, it functions as a one story building
architecturally appealing is the arcade and Georgian facade, which wraps around the whole building.
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historical interest
pedestrian footfall
historically however it is the alleys that are of significance, as they are part of one of the oldest covered markets in Europe
pedestrians tend to head straight towards Eldon, using grainger as a sort of short-cut. It could be useful to exploit this to increase footfall
competition
lighting
Eldon dwarfs the back of grainger, whilst at the front are more traditional buildings and smaller shops
the lighting is poor overall in Grainger, the vertical side windows can not be relied upon to capture the Newcastle sun.
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multi-use model this model at 1:200 served as further proof of concept and also allowed me to explore ideas surrounding layering and balcony space.
alley filling concept this model served to illustrate my aims to fill the dead space in grainger, namely the internal unseen parts of the alleys.
initial concept model this model shows my core concept of three layers of travel and use. At the bottom is the market, and criss-crossing above it are the residential units and commercial
proof of alleys this is a 1:500 scale model I used as a proof of concept, in order to confirm that the alley filling idea could be achieved, and that there was sufficient room for circulation
I use development models often in my design work. I find them far more useful that sketching as they are in 3D, and more useful than 3D modelling as they are instantly adaptable
current routes through site
idealised route
the site is currently used as a short-cut through to Eldon from monument, the natural route most people follow. However currently many people avoid grainger entirely
this is due to the long winded path one must take through grainger market itself. I have therefore aimed to make this route more direct
cutting through the layers
creating a destination
the alleys in grainger run north to south, however the desired path of travel is east west, I therefore have made small insertions into the fabric of the alleys
in order to increase the attraction to grainger more, I have realised the need for a ‘destination maker’ of some kind.
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an advert for grainger a perfect destination maker topic for grainger is grainger market itself. The local Hancock Museum is over crowded with exhibits and underused by the public. I have therefore combined the history of grainger with some additional exhibits from the Hancock, in order to create a history of Newcastle Museum
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empty aisles
initial base fill
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dynamic stacking of units
filling dead space in order to expand grainger market by the desired 150%, I have settled on using the dead space of the aisles
open circulation the circulation need not affect the existing fabric of the building, and can instead slot into the open areas of grainger.
layering uses
hierarchies of space the residential units are placed at the edges of the building for quick access. Commercial units lye in the middle and is smaller in height 93
this stacking of units above grainger creates a natural appeal of separating uses by layers. ground floor: market first floor: commercial: second floor: residential
existing fabric
historical facade
hidden load bearing
stacking of structure
the existing structure is only double height in the public aisles, above the shops the roof lowers considerably
stripping away the redundant roof structure leaves us with the most important aspect of the design the original walls
using a more efficient modern system the old walls can be pinned to an entirely new structure that will sit behind the facade
this new structure will take the entire weight of any developments upon its foundation, releasing grainger from its historical structural constraints
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cutting into facade
balconies
roof design
extension of structure
small sections of the existing structure could be cut out, providing raised walkways that connect the new areas behind
above the limits of the wall, balconies will protrude out, clad in wood so as to contrast from the heavy brick and cladding of the original
the roof has been designed to correspond with these balconies in such a way that half are outside, and half inside
the foundations of the new structure have been over engineered, allowing for flexibility in the future if extra levels are needed
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residential social area
standard residential unit
air circulation and cooling
unit zoning, bedroom, bathroom, living
hidden structural columns
balcony spaces available
social space available
inbuilt storage
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‘garden’ balconies, that offer fresh air and privacy
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roof design I aimed for the elderly housing to be both involved, and at the same time comfortably distant from the market below. I therefore devised a roof system whereby on the circulation side, of the units, balconies open into the market. Whereas on the opposite, living side, the, balconies open out to the air
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internally opening ‘social’ balconies
externally opening ‘garden’ balconies
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1:10 detail of foundation column to existing wall
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1:10 detail of exterior walls and roof gutting/ventilation system
social balcony space running flush with top level of existing wall
walkway over market below, connecting residential social spaces
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residential entrance with crane lift detail, making use of existing opening entrance to social quarters on open public walkways, entrance to private apartments in closed off walkways.
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traditional
traditional
linear and restricted with little room for tessellation or focus
similar issues, forces people to walk in one direction, contrary to desired flow
modern
modern
fluid design creates destinations and can fill any site
following similar principles, strategic cuts in aisle guide people through market at the general direction they desire
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grainger market plan showing scattering of flow from the two main entrances on Grainger st
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existing fabric
arcade redevelopment
i want to retain as much of the existing fabric of the building as possible, this means using the left over spaces to plug services and new areas into
a huge floating stepped stage will be constructed, partially dividing the space into two and providing room for activities and the new museum exhibits.
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existing fabric
suspended walkways
existing fabric
sealed skylight
double height arches lead the way through the main traffic routes to the arcade.
I have slotted lightweight suspended walkways in between these arches.
these skylights offer the perfect opportunity to get services and people above the building without cutting through any material
I have installed a lift and stair acess system, which will transport residents to the upper floors.
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existing fabric
foundations
initial framework
lift shaft system
existing facade is punctuated by large lightwells, providing a perfect area for circulation
adding a solid foundation to the bottom of the light well, and sealing the entrance from the street
initial frame work is clear on one side, and strutted from the other, providing entrance points for lift.
lift system is added, this is hung from a larger framework system, which ‘climbs’ as the framework is added upon it.
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modular stacking
crane attachment
viewing platform
sealed skylight
the lift and stair system can continue with perfect structural rigidity,
a simple attachment of a kit of crane parts turns the lift shaft into an operable part of the building
when work is not being done on the building, the crane platform can transform into a viewing platform for the residents.
alternatively the lift system can be sealed of with a skylight, providing plentiful natural light down the stairwell.
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1:500 plans ground floor: market the ground floor has been kept as open as possible from obstruction, allowing for maximum flow across the space
1:500 plans first floor: museum here you can see the museums relationship to the surrounding block, it connects opposite commercial units pulling traffic through
1:500 plans second floor: residential the residential spans along four aisles, with commercial in the centre. here you can see the placement of balconies
1:500 plans third floor: roof gardens the roof plan is basic due to the simplified nature of the construction. Roof gardens fill up space as yet unused by units.
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east west section, showing stacked nature of the living and residential units above the market place.
north south section showing elevation of aisle and cut through
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plans of aisles from ground floor at the bottom to the third floor at the top. This shows the many uses of the initially restrictive aisle system
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new stepped social space created in the arcade, where people can come to sit, eat, relax, or even watch small plays and productions
open roof scape pulls the viewer into a different world above grainger. Viewing platforms look down to the museum below
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plan of the end of the museum, instead of an abrupt stop, the museum slowly fades into the arcade social space, making the journey between the two more fluid
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1400 AD
0 AD
-10,000 BC
-100,000,000 BC
medieval Newcastle, its monasteries and churches the building of the New Castle,
the early Roman settlers and the building of Hadrian’s wall. a look at what life was like in a Roman fort at the end of the world
an early account of the first human settlers in Britain, their tools and houses, decorations and cultures
dinosaurs and fossilized remains. What did Britain look like in pre-history? and what animals roamed its surface?
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2015 AD
the future of grainger market. where is it heading? a summary of the works carried out, displaying the key elements of the landmark redevelopment project
the modernising of the city by T Dan Smith the demolishing of other markets around Newcastle how grainger adapted and survived such changes
Newcastle during the wars, the part Newcastle had to play in the two world wars, and the gradual fall of industry in the north
1900 AD
1950s AD
the industrial revolution comes to Newcastle. its impact on the city and the people that lived and worked there. Grainger market is built as a centre piece for grainger town
1800 AD
final model 1:100 my final model is made up of two separate strip models that connect to form a “T� detail of my site. This summarises my design completely as there are two directions of travel. One is the commercial route, on the first floor, this cuts runs from east to west along the site, and houses a museum. The other model shows the equal in size, but opposite in direct, route running down the aisles, that makes up the structural stacking system of social residential. all original surfaces were cast to make the distinction between old and new. The roof structure which unifies the building under a common simple system, is represented in metal wire, which best represents the light weight nature of the new structural system I am putting in.
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museum bridge over market
residential social balconies
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new stepped seating area in the arcade
residential model 132
commercial model 133
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The conclusions of the semester 1 project may have been the reason I decided to take such a technical route in the Graduation project, although again this has not been without faults. The redevelopment of Grainger Market could be perceived as a more traditional brief, but the sheer scale of Grainger meant that it could not be underestimated in this way. I feel that this underestimation of the project was probably the greatest challenge for me in semester 2. It would have been easy to fall back into a familiar level of detail, when to do such would have meant neglecting large areas of the site and brief. Instead we were forced to change our attitudes to one of a finished ‘approach’ to Grainger, rather than a fully thought out design solution. My approach involved a systematic retrofit structure located within the aisles, which would fit flush with the existing walls whilst at the same time negating any load bearing quality from them. This attention to technological feasibility, and respect for the historical building of Grainger, has perhaps restricted my design potential for semester 2, and at times I have regretted this. It would have been interesting to end my Part 1 course with an experimental and ambitious project, instead of facing so many restrictions. However what I have learnt most from semester 2 is that such restrictions, and our responses to them, are just as ambitious and hold as much potential as the most ‘off the wall’ projects. I have come to respect the value of response, rather than dictation in design
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Overall I am happy with the quality of my presentation. I put an immense amount of work into the initial large drawings; the rendered technical detail at 1:20, rendered strip plans, and exploded axonometric. This has resulted in them being produced at a very high quality, however it meant I had very little time to do anything else with the project. My museum explanation was not produced, no renders were even attempted, and my 1:20 technical model had to be scrapped permanently. Despite these setbacks I feel I produced a satisfactory, if a little last minute, presentation.
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Tynemouth was once a busy seaside resort. Now its shoreline is mainly empty, and it’s once working lido is crumbling into the sea. My scheme aims to restore this section of Northumbrian coast to its former glories.
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folding over the concept of continuing the journey by wrapping the building upwards and in on itself,, from the lido to something completely different
drawing from the form the existing form of the Lido at Tynemouth is a circular basin, I experimented with the ideal place to pull away from this
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rationalising folds the building has now become an angled curve that reaches up from the lido, towards the sky. giving at one end sea access, and at the other, the sky
internal planning the building now becomes layered, from a sea based events centre at the bottom, through a large atrium space, up to a debating chamber and the viewing platform
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rising up from lido
peeling out an entrance
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pushing down towards sea
pulling upwards towards sky
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roof plan
third floor
ground floor
the building is an alien mass with little to no relation to the lido. This separates out the new and the old, defining where we have come from, and where we are going
the third floor houses the main debating space, that overlooks a large public atrium that will become a focus for the community.
the ground floor pulls the sea in, and blurs the line between sea and lido, creating a safe place to practice all levels of watersports.
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deep training pool
surf and sail tidal access
beginners play lido
the deep training pool offers a safe environment for all abilities to practice scuba diving at a depth of 10 metres.
the tidal access point means sailing teams are able to come straight back to base, in order to store boats and get to locker rooms.
the lido becomes a unique open air yet shallow and stable training pool for all types of water sports, at all ages
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final model 1:20 this is by far the largest model I have ever made, and it therefore naturally expresses my design the best. I aimed to produce a fully structural model, with complete beams, insulation and cladding as separate elements in the model,, to a large part I achieved this.. the model cuts at an angled section, running through from the sea, up through the existing lido, down into the out door seating area, and underneath the raised viewing platform, which then cuts through three levels of; deep sea training pool, climbing wall, and internal debating space. the existing lido is made out of plaster, to give a rough weathered, permanent look. the new structure is finished with metal foil on the outside, to represent the perforated metal sheeting, and balsa wood on the interior., This play between heavy and light elements is key to my design, and expresses itself in the solid climbing wall piercing up through the lightweight semi-transparent metal skin.
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external debating arena
internal debating chamber
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deep water training pool
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1:20 model photos 155
debating space the debating space is framed at one end by the climbing wall, and at the other by a wall of glass, overlooking Tynemouth through to Whitley bay, this pores light into the space, making it feel open and inviting
market approach the walk to the civic centre, at the end of the lido, will be paved in a standard, undulating wooden path, along which could be placed seasonal markets and selling units.
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outdoor shelter the outdoor shelter is intended as a backup space in case the main indoor debating space is not enough. However through the year it will provide a place to sit and rest, overlooking Tynemouth beach
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our task was to team up with engineers to produce an architecturally stimulating, yet technologically feasible, wooden structure, to house a cycling hub and store in Sheffield
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sketch models and routes concept the site for the project is was an old abandoned ski slope, which had left the scars of old routes throughout the site, we wanted to tie these routes into our building, and turn it into a route itself.
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spinning shadows in the main foyer of building
building twists as it winds its way up through the stacked bicycles
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light filters and bends its way through the twisted wood
The Ouseburn valley is an old industrial heartland in Newcastle that is currently undergoing an artistic renaissance. My scheme introduces a youth rehabilitation to this mix, and aims to connect it to the old industrial nature of the river.
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the toffee factory, industrial beginnings
bridges and construction
widening of the path into new build territory
emerging into an uncanny valley 168
zoning of uses
finalising bridge placement
sketch concepts of circulation
ordering of levels on the site 169
practical model separating the site into three distinct zones. Creation of a tower block for visual guidance with assorted residential blocks leading off of the core
diagrammatic model three very distinct zones, creating a gradient from the river to the road, three slopes with the slip road core become the centre of visual reference, the two wings hug and follow the central block to its conclusion.
the compromise the three distinct zones have been retained, with the roof of the diagrammatic model remaining largely unchanged. Practical model plan inserted under this roof, with the residential blocks forming ripples in its surface
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final development model showing roof relation to plans
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workshop render this render shows the gradual flow of semicomplete boats as they make their way down the slope to the river, to be cast off. 174
managers flat again positioned at the top of the slope, looking down from the bridge. Also very close to the most vulnerable residents
social computer space a row of benches over looking the river, creating a pleasant place to sit and relax.
managers office a commanding view of the site and the road. positioned to guard the entrance to the workshop, and as a point for members of the public to go through
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vulnerable residents located right underneath the mangers flat, and also opposite the visitors room, with calming views over the water.
lower social space this is a truly private place for the residents to get away from work, also can be used for functions or potential meeting with employers
workshop store the workshop flows through the site, and provides much of the circulation overhead, keeping it as a focus to the project.
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1;20 cast models of workshop
wooden frame construction laminating and finishing the boat is winched down the slipway on metal runners, designed to provide full assess to the boat
the boat is slowly constructed in a pit, formed to the shape of the desired boat.
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detail work and sail attachments this is the highest part of the workshop in order to accommodate the tall sails
boat shaping pit
access ramps for working on the boat
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managers observation deck
The terraced house is perhaps the most common dwelling in Britain, but what happens when you take this traditional layout and update it for two artists?
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concept models and sketches 187
1:20 final model
light wells and wood
route through to the back
my design became focused on the use of large curved wooden boxes, to disrupt the height levels of the spaces in order to create a dynamic and engaging interior.
at the front of the building a stairwell and indoor garden set the inhabitants back and screen them from the busy road
a direct route to the back leads you down into a sunken kitchen, where you will find yourself at eye level with the plants in the indoor garden
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contrasting heights coming through to the dining room you will experience a great change in height. this double height space has storage running up the sides, so that the artist couple may display artwork they have collected over time
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render of sunken kitchen with indoor garden
raised seating/social area
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total render of design
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The post war period of Britain saw the rise of a new architecture, an ideological and structural revolution, which would irrevocably change the face of our country and strain its infrastructure, values and people to its limits. We all live in its shadow. From high-rise suburbs to fly-over highways, post war modernism has become a potent reminder of our recent past. Many lambaste the era as one of the most destructive periods of architectural history. The common saying is that the Post War planners did more damage to British towns and cities than the Luftwaffe. These emblems of the past litter our land like monuments to a fallen civilization. And yet many of us know very little about the reasons why these monuments were built, and to what cause. The majority of its buildings are crumbling or demolished, its ideologies discredited, its architects ignored. What happened to the forgotten revolution? I believe this period can be book-ended, beginning with the revolutionary Festival of Britain, which promised a future of architectural wonders and social-welfare plenty for all, and ending with the Ronan Point disaster, where the dream of the high rise came tumbling down. Now we live in a world that is inherently distrustful of those who sell us dreams of architectural utopia. Our planning departments restrict and control more than they ever did before, and we as a population are far more likely to fantasise about the halls of Downton Abbey, than the dreams of a futuristic ideal. In essence, the future is old. But there was a time when Britain lived this dream of the future. We reached for a better existence, built streets in the sky, demolished the old without fear of loss, and brought the car into the heart of our cities. I want to explore how this ideology came to dominate a nation, the methods by which it was implemented, and the fundamental question of what went wrong. These were the 15 years and 13 days, of the future.
Contents Abstract Prologue: A stack of Cards THE BEGINNING OF THE END GRIFFITHS REPORT SLUMS IN THE SKY
Part 1: The Forgotten Arms Race THE DAWNING OF THE MODERN WORLD FROM THE ASHES OF LONDON IRON HOMES THE NUMBERS GAME WAR IS PEACE
Part 2: Fog on the Tyne THE CONCRETE CURTAIN A NEW JERUSALEM JAM AND JERUSALEM BRASILA OF THE NORTH THE HAIWAIN PARADOX
Part 3: A STACK OF CARDS, REVISITED LIVING IN CONCRETOPIA LANE
Conclusion: The Field of Stones
THE BEGINNING OF THE END ...
A Stack of Cards
On the 16th of May 1966, at approximately 5.45 am, Mrs Ivy Hodge struck a match to light the stove in her brand new flat on the 18th floor, for her morning cup of tea. Within seconds four people would be dead, and seventeen injured. Mrs Hodge herself was thrown across the room along with her gas stove, and knocked unconscious. A gas leak had blown the walls of her flat clean from their position. This caused a chain reaction, which like a stack of cards, successively pulled apart the walls and floors of the flats below and above, leaving an entire section of the tower block exposed to the air. Those that did not die immediately in the explosion, found themselves clinging to the walls of what used to be their living room, and had now become ledges tens of metres above the ground. Mrs Hodges block was the second built of a planned nine identical high-rise apartment buildings. This was to form an expansive development of 1000 affordable homes. (Griffiths et al. 1968) The scheme proudly bore the name of the Chairman of the Housing Committee in the Council of Newham; Harry Louis Ronan. Such a reference was meant as an honour to the hard work of the council and developers, for providing the homes that were so desperately needed at the time. However Ronan Point would soon become synonymous with the failure of System Built modernist housing, and would later act as a turning point, from which the public’s confidence in modernist tower blocks would be irreparably shaken, and whose “fall from grace inevitably impacted on the public's opinion of Modernism in general”.1 ... GRIFFITHS REPORT ... Due to the scale and speed of the collapse so soon after it was built, a public enquiry was immediately commissioned by the Labour Wilson Government. The panel, led by Mr. Hugh Griffiths, returned its verdict just months later. It found that a substandard brass nut had been used to connect the gas stove to the mains, the nut had been broken during installation, leading to a steady accumulation of gas in flat 902. The resulting explosion had blown the southeast walls of the 18th floor outwards, leaving the 19th floor completely unsupported. In a traditional building this would have been the conclusion, but due to the revolutionary way Ronan Point had been constructed, using the popular Larsen-Nielsen system, a stack of cards effect was created. This system was developed in Denmark 1948, as part of the post war effort to build houses quickly and cheaply. Known more generally as LPS (Large Panel
1
Ronan Point, From Here to Modernity, The Open University. 2001 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/heritage/ronan-point
2
Delatte, N. J. (2009). Beyond failure: Forensic case studies for civil engineers. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, Virginia, 97-106, p. 102
Systems), it was “composed of factory-built, pre-cast concrete components designed to minimize on-site construction work. All units, installed one-story high, are load bearing”3. This meant that for Ronan Point there was no structural frame remaining to support the upper floors. The combined weight of the 19th to 22nd floors collapsing onto flat 90 meant the process of progressive collapse continued downward until ground level was reached4. This effectively meant that due to a lack of alternate load paths, the damage or collapse of any precast-unit would render the entire block unsafe for habitation. Even more damning, testing revealed that a mere 3lb/in2 of force was needed to displace the exterior walls, this was an explosion of less than one-third the power of the 16th May explosion5. Such a low pressure could even be generated by strong winds at high altitude, where entire wall panels could be sucked out leading to a similar collapse. This had never been a problem before as LPS had never been designed to be built above six stories. The Griffiths report also found that fire could also lead to a collapse, due to the bowing under heat pressure of the outer walls6. The report had a worldwide impact on building control, regulations and design methods. British building regulations were amended in 1970; buildings above four stories in height had to be designed to resist progressive collapse. New rules on bracing and fail safe mechanisms were also introduced specifically for LPS7.
however I think a wider cause lead both to the collapse of Ronan Point, and the collapse of public support for modernist buildings. I believe the true extent of public reaction against modernist building was a reaction again a far wider social experiment, not just a structural experiment. In order to understand this we need to look at the context of Ronan Point. We need to understand how a simple gas leak could bring down one of the greatest architectural revolutions of all time.
... SLUMS IN THE SKY ... Despite measures to reassure the public about the safety of high rise tower blocks, the damning report effectively ended the wave of high rise blocks that had risen up in the preceding 10 years. Until recently, the idea of living in a residential tower block was filled with stigma, as Lynsey Hanley puts it, tower blocks had become “slums in the sky”8. The dream of the futuristic tower block was replaced with the reality of the dull grey concrete façade, stained by pollution. Despite numerous efforts by councils to encourage people to stay in housing blocks, including the widespread reinforcing of existing LPS constructed buildings, many estates became run down and half empty. Faced with deteriorating conditions, demolition began on an industrial scale. An astonishing 193 tower blocks were demolished in Birmingham alone between 1969 and the present day9. It would be easy to simply blame the demise of the modern on the shortcomings of the LPS system, 3
Engineering News Record (ENR). (1968). “Systems built apartment collapse.” ENR, May 23, 1968, 54 p. 54 4
Delatte 2009, p. 102 Levy, M., and Salvadori, M. (1992). Why buildings fall down: How structures fail. W.W. Norton, New York, 76-83, p. 80 5
6
Delatte 2009, p. 414 Pearson and Delatte, N. J. (2005) Ronan Point Apartment Tower Collapse and Its Effect on Building Codes. J. Perf. of Constr. Fac, p. 175 8 Hanely, Lynsey (2007). Estates: an intimate history. London: Granta Books, p. 12 9 http://ukhousing.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Demolished_tower_blocks_in_Birmingham 7
THE DAWNING OF THE MODERN WORLD ...
The Forgotten Arms Race A great epoch has begun. There exists a new spirit. Industry, overwhelming us like a flood which rolls on towards its destined end, Has furnished us with the new tools adapted to this new epoch. Animated by the new spirit. We must create the mass-production spirit The spirit of constructing mass-production houses. The spirit of living in mass-production houses. The spirit of conceiving mass-production houses.
On the third of May 1951, King George VI stood on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral. Behind him stood the soon to be Queen, Princess Elizabeth, in front thousands of Londoners, waving flags and cheering, as he declared the Festival of Britain open10. It was only 15 years and 13 days before the fateful events at Ronan Point, however it might as well have been a millennia away. Britain still lay in the shadow of War. Rationing and the scars of bombs served as daily reminders of the recent violence. For the duration of the festival, however, Britain would be transported into the future. Herbert Morrison, the leader for the London County Council, declared “The Festival is the British showing themselves to themselves – and the world”11. Skylon, The unofficial emblem of the festival, seemed to take this message literally. Soaring a full 300 feet into the sky, it was visible right across London, all whilst maintaining the illusion of floating 50 feet from the ground. The slender nylon clad steel framed structure was about as familiar to the average downtrodden Londoner as a Martian spaceship, thus setting the mood for the entire festival. The interest was huge with 8.5 million visitors pouring into the Southbank Exhibition in just five months. Media interest was also stimulated with many trying to compare the festival to a pre-existing structure, as if in a vain attempt to ground and rationalize the daring structures erected there. The Architectural Journal complained that “London was being treated like it was Buenos Aires”12, whilst the Observer stayed a little closer to home calling it “several reproductions of Stockholm Town Hall”13. It is hard to full comprehend the impact of the Festival on the visiting Public. A Smörgåsbord Board of futurism, high-tech structures, socialist utopian lectures, art and architecture, it set the tone for discussions of the future of Britain for decades to come. ... THE ASHES OF LONDON ...
----Towards a New Architecture, Le Corbusier----
10
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/3/newsid_2481000/2481099.st m 11 http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/festival-britain-1951
Whilst the festival of Britain ushered in a new era of public communication and excitement for the future, it could not on its own erase the past. The Second World War had devastated Britain in every conceivable way. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, nearly 400,000 young men had died in the conflict with a
12
Felix Barker and Ralph Hyde. London as it might have been (1982) John Murray Ltd p. 185 13 Felix Barker and Ralph Hyde. (1982) p. 185
further 280,000 wounded, representing the greatest loss in a generation since the First World War14. The country was effectively broke, and as such the empire was crumbling, with India the first to leave in August 1947. But by far the most visual reminder of the devastating impact of the war was the volume of demolished buildings. Around the miraculously saved St Pauls, 164 acres of London lay in ruins. This visual representation of a crumbling Britain presented a serious morale issue for the public, as John Murray writes, “there was a practical as well as a psychological reason for planning the future”15. In the face of such devastation however, some saw an opportunity. ‘London Replanned’ was a document drawn up by the leading architects of the day inside Burlington House, itself still bearing scars from German bombs. It was merely the first of an endless stream of Sir Christopher Wren like reimagining’s of London, with the aim of building, from the ground up, a new, modern London. As Rod Hackney neatly summarises; “the resulting havoc and decay were to prompt some of the most significant changes ever to appear on the face of Britain”16. It was under this curious atmosphere of dread and optimism that the exhibition was organised. Timed to coincide with the centenary of the Grand Exhibition of 1851, its similarity to the Victorian celebration to Imperial wealth lay only it its date. For a start, the 1951 exhibition would not be international, this was deemed too expensive when the more important project of reconstruction was underway. Therefore the festival changed its ethos, from an ostentatious display of wealth, to a promise of future riches. Its own manifesto read “one united act of national reassessment, and one corporate reaffirmation of faith in the nation’s future”17. These two themes of reassessment and reaffirmation were to become more powerful ideologies than the Exhibitions directors could ever have anticipated. The issue with the idea of an exhibition as a promise, was delivering the promise once the festival was over. In a darkly ironic way, the success of the festival was also its greatest downfall. This heavy burden was to prove instrumental to the formation of modernist thinking in Britain, and would turn what stated as a vision of the future, into a weapon of war. ... IRON HOMES FOR IRON MEN ... Looking back over the history of Britain, it seems obvious and even obligatory that the Architecture of the late 20thC would be modern. 14
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: UK and Crown Colonies (383,786); The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2010–2011 15 Felix Barker and Ralph Hyde. (1982) p. 177 16 Rod Hackney. The Good the Bad and the Ugly: Cities in Crisis (1990) Century Hutchinson Ltd, p. 02 Fig. 2 17 Cox, Ian, The South Bank Exhibition: A guide to the story it tells, H.M.S.O., 1951 p. 32
However this is far from the case. The British architectural community, contrary to the continent, had been reluctant to embrace modernism. Whilst the Bauhaus and Le Corbusier were taking the metropolitan elites of Europe by storm, British tastes were far more likely to follow that of John Ruskin and the Arts & Crafts movement. Stark modernism was generally reserved for flats for the elite in London, or seaside architectural curiosities. It was therefore far from certain that modernism would take root in Britain. The true reason for the adoption of modernist thinking on mass, lay in a far less lofty ideal; the economy. The need to build cheaply, quickly, and efficiently, could only be solved by modernist ideology. Le Corbusier’s ‘the Five Points of A New Architecture’ laid out in detail the foundations for mechanising and standardising the construction of housing. Whilst the development of Pilotis was as much an ideological exercise as a structural one for Le Corbusier, in the Post war years it was implemented as a strictly economic decision. Whilst the profession of architecture had been “gearing itself for mechanisation, which would allow technology to flourish and make full use of the new styles and new materials”18, the socio-economic needs of a Post war Europe set it in motion. Initial developments in this new field were often flawed. One early example is ‘Churchill’s Iron Homes’. These were semi-pre-fabricated bungalows designed to be constructed with as little labour as possible. 250,000 homes were planned to be built, however this later fell through as the steel structure was considered too valuable a material for the war effort.19 Churchill’s solution to the housing crisis was not fit for the time. As a simple acceleration of existing building methods, it proved laborious and materially expensive, for what was essentially a broke country.What was needed was an even more drastic approach to building. This lead to a race to see who could build pre-fab houses the quickest, and cheapest. Tarran Industries staged a PR stunt that was reported in the Architectural Journal of 27th July 1944, where they demonstrated that one of their prefab homes could be built in as little as 8 hours. They then even more ambitiously claimed they could build 100,000 such homes per year20. Enticed by reports of the efficiency of this new construction method, the Ministry of Works published the “Survey of Prefabrication” in 1945. This found that there were an impressive 51 British Companies and architects offering prefab21. In this way the dialogue had shifted from delivering an architectural future, to delivering a financial benefit. The original aims of the modernist 18
Rod Hackney (1990) p. 03 Greg Stevenson. Places for the People/Prefabs in Post war Britain (2003) Batsford Ltd. E(excerpt from Architectural Journal 27 July 1944) p. 40 20 Greg Stevenson (2003) p. 34 21 Greg Stevenson (2003) p. 30 19
movement had created a culture of making the cheapest quickest and meanest houses. It phrased the modernist movement not in terms of how much it could give to people, but how little.
A Classic Tarran built pre-fab house
... THE NUMBERS GAME ... In July 1945 the Churchill government was riding high on the success of the war. For six years they had battled to keep Hitler out of Britain, and won. However in a shock landslide result, they lost the election. The British people had “rejected the politics of conservatism”22, despite its successes during the conflict. The new Clement Attlee Labour government had fought the might of the Churchill war machine on a simple but devastating point: The promise of 5 million new homes23. The fact that housing policy could topple the wave of national pride and victory of war, shows just how important this issue was. In fact the issue was so important and divisive, that the promise of homes for the masses became a staple of British elections from this point on. In short, “In exchange for votes, the population was offered the quantities solution for better living conditions”24. In reality this meant successive
governments outbidding each other on housing figures, this came to be known as the Numbers Game. The Numbers Game had its roots in the early 20thC, when the need for housing was first identified. The Tudor Walters report of 1918 identified an urgent need for between 300,000 and 400,000 new homes25, this lead to the Homes for Heroes Projects, which aimed to re-house veterans of the First World War. However lacking the technology and resources to truly fix the problem, the need for houses simply kept growing. By the Second World War, the need was critical. The architect of the London Road Plan, Bressy, summarised this need when he urged the government to “embark immediately on useful schemes, even imperfect ones, rather than wait for some faultless ideal”26. The official committee on Post War Internal Economic Problems estimated that 400,000 new homes per year should be built as a minimum to keep up with demand. The need for homes was even more pressing in people’s minds than the war itself. The ‘Britain by Mass Observation Project’ of 1939 reported that “the inherent interest in oneself and one’s own home has predominated far and away over international and general political concerns”.27 By the end of the war matters had reached crisis point. Now disused military camps, like Malpas Court, were quickly over run by people desperate for somewhere to live. By “1946 thousands of people were squatting in disused wartime camps, and local authorities were forced to provide them with electricity and running water”28. Malpas Court military camp was eventually renamed Malpas Court Communal Housing Camp. However, this ‘make do and mend’ approach to the housing crisis was not going to provide a long term solution. The Labour Government appointed Aneurin Bevan to find such a solution. His answer was a startling and revolutionary one; the modern techniques of system built housing would be combined with the now redundant War Machine. This would create a system of factory built standardized houses, which would be produced in much the same way as tanks or munitions. This link was not just a hypothetical one, “the ministry of supply, for example, converted its output from munitions to housing materials”29, this meant that factories that were once supplying soldiers abroad, would now be supplying them when they got home. The policy was stylistically named ‘Operation Housing’, making no attempt to hide its military connections.
22
Greg Stevenson (2003) p. 44 Greg Stevenson (2003) p. 44 24 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 02 25 Greg Stevenson (2003) p. 15 26 Felix Barker and Ralph Hyde. (1982) p. 215 27 Greg Stevenson (2003) p. 23 23
28
Gary Robins Prefabrications: Newport’s Temporary Bungalows (2001) Ffotogallery p. 12 29 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 03
... WAR IS PEACE ... When George VI stood on the steps of St Pauls to announce the opening of the festival of Britain, many in the crowd must have felt he was opening the future. Its displays of structural wonders reaching for the sky, daring architecture and displays of modern art, contrasted vastly to the still war torn London outside its gates. However the very war those who visited the exhibition were trying to escape, had already forever moulded the framework around which the modernist movement would be built. Modernism was seen as the conclusion of the history of architecture, the inevitable next step in the enlightenment and rationalization buildings, as expressed perfectly in the Festival of Britain. However its wide spread use lay not in ideology, but in practicality. Le Corbusier’s 5 points for architecture were taken as a starting point, in order to develop a new architecture based on manufacturing efficiency, production outputs and workload requirements. This emphasis on efficiency was necessary for the times. A vast and unmanageable housing crisis existed, and a drastic solution had to be reached. This solution came in the form of the marriage of war and the revolutionary mass-production method of manufacturing. Just one of these problems would have been relatively harmless. If there had simply been a need for housing, they could have been delivered in the traditional method, given enough money and time. Had there simply been a development in industrial manufactured housing, then this could have been slowly improved until it was suitable for mass production. However the combination of both these issues, and the influence of war ideology, created a dangerous mix. Instead of architects working to give as much to the client as possible, the quick mass-manufacture meant manufactures looked to take away as much as possible. Instead of techniques being studied over time, just one prototype would be made, and then hundreds of copies would be quickly produced. Creating a system whereby mistakes could be replicated over a vast number of structures, an effect which would later haunt the modernist movement. Much is talked of about the arms race before and during the war, but what is often over looked is the arms race after the war. This was not a race of destruction, but of construction. Europe had been levelled economically, socially and physically during the war. Whoever fired the last shot would win the war, but whoever could build their way back up to pre-war levels the quickest would win the peace. This naturally called for the quickest, cheapest and most efficient form of construction, modernism. These were not homes like machines as Le-Corbusier had
envisioned, these were homes as Weapons. The marriage of architecture and war created a powerful ideology that had not been tested before. By framing architecture in the language, and methodology of war, its architects had created a system that, if not properly controlled, could prove destructive.
THE CONCRETE CURTAIN ...
The Fog on the Tyne “Apparently a lot of long haired sentimentalists like Sir John Betjeman thought there was something special about this tatty old Victorian pile. Even if we wanted to knock it down the faceless bureaucrats wouldn’t let us.
In 1961, a 140 kilometre long line of iron, concrete, and wire cut Europe into two halves. The Berlin Wall was a physical manifestation of the ideological divide of east and west, of capitalism and communism. This ideological clash was emblematic of the entire 20th Century, part of a myriad of countless wars, hot and cold, civil revolts, populist movements, writings, religions and revolutions. Britain was not immune to this Century of Ideology, its own Iron Curtain sprung from the fallout from the war. World War Two had been disastrous for everything the British identified themselves with; the empire was crumbling, a whole generation was dead, and many towns and cities lay in ruins from six years of near continual bombing raids. The situation was so appalling that living in the current state of things was simply intolerable. Faced with such a depressing present, people created fantasies both of the future, and of the past. This is a story of how those two fantasies fought their way for dominance on the streets of Britain, and of the Architectural hand-tohand combat that was to ensue.
So we’ve decided to do the next best thing,
...
by spending thousands of pounds
A NEW JERUSALEM
taking ludicrous advertisements all over the place
...
claiming that we care passionately
The modernist movement dawned in the most unlikely and unglamorous of fashions; a Mill in Shrewsbury. Its owner Charles Bage had decided to use a revolutionary construction technique that used iron as the main structure, in a simple repeatable grid pattern. Astonishingly this design has differed very little since, and is now the standard for all large scale structures. Charles Bage did not intend on starting an architectural revolution, his aims were simply to build a mill that couldn’t burn down. This origin set the precedent for what we now call ‘modern’, simply the marriage of architecture and technology.
about these wonderful gems of British culture, in the hope that a few idiots might be gulled into thinking that Sir Peter Parker is a deeply sensitive figure”
---“Some people would demolish it” Private Eye---
However at the turn of the 20th Century this started to change. Due to modernist architecture having such a loose definition it began to splinter into varying groups. In Italy, the futurists published the ‘Manifesto of Futurism’, in 1909. In America, Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered ‘Organic Architecture’, a style of modernism that took influence from nature for its design and construction. For a brief period post-revolutionary Russia developed ‘Constructivism’, which aimed to create a new aesthetic that reflected the ideals of the new Communist State. However by the 1920s an ideological movement would rise up that would come to define Modernism, and direct its development for the next three decades.
This movement was CIAM, the Congres Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne, a group that contained the pre-eminent architects of the day, representing France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Austria and Belgium30. This multi-national group came together in 1928 to sign the Le Sarraz Declaration, which aimed to unify the emerging modern architectural movement under one ideology. CIAM asserted that “architecture was unavoidably contingent on the broader issues of politics and economics”31. This was the first step in turning Modernism from an architectural movement, into a socio-political one. The first phase of CIAM was dominated by the German speaking Neue Sachlichkeit architects, who were almost all of socialist persuasion. Even at this early stage Modernism was being seen as a driver for social change, architecture for the people. However no one was to politicise Modernism more than a young Swiss man, Charles-Edouard JenneretGris. Jenneret would come to define Modernism, and dogmatically attempt to change the entire structure of society, architectural thinking and politics. He would even attempt to change himself, adopting a new name in 1920; Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier was an unashamed idealist, whose plans for the new structure of society were far greater than pure architecture. He described cafes as “that fungus which heats up the pavements of Paris”32, and even wrote a ‘Manual of Dwelling’ which detailed the appropriate way to live your life right down to undressing; “Never undress in your bedroom. It is not a clean thing to do and makes the room horribly untidy”33. It was with this level of almost psychotic fastidiousness that Le Corbusier led the second stage of CIAM, lasting from 1933 to 1947. Under his leadership the emphasis of Modern Ideology shifted from one off housing to town planning. Indeed one report published during this period involved “comparative analysis of thirty-four European towns”34.
declared “A great part of the present evil state of architecture is due to the client; to the man who gives the order, the man who pays”36. Modernist architecture had become indelibly linked to the fantasy of the future, it would be used as a weapon to push forward a political agenda. It was into this environment that the post war governments of Britain unwittingly stumbled. What was seen by the client as a short term solution for the housing crisis of the time, was seen by the architect as the destined future of humanity. ... JAM AND JERUSALEM ... One of the first great movements of architectural nostalgia was the 19th Century British revival of the gothic. This revival was lead to a degree by the works of British architect Pugin, whose illustrations ‘Contrasts’ showed a country he felt was being overrun by industrial construction. The book published in 1836, argued not only for a return to previous architectural style, but also for “a return to the faith and the social structures of the Middle Ages”37. Pugin, like Le Corbusier, joined architectural discussion with social issues. He blamed the architecture of the time for society’s corruptions and failings, and argued that only by returning to a previous vernacular style could society be restored.
Modernism had eve loved from a structural basis, which aimed purely to incorporate modern construction techniques into buildings, into a socio-political ideology that aimed to change, quite literally, the face of European society. This utopian rhetoric had a seductive effect on the young architects of the day, as Rod Hackney writes, “We were being schooled to produce the new world. We were above criticism”35. This sense of self-righteousness was the result of an ideology which could not be questioned, in which the architect was no longer the practical and well-rounded problem solver, but a lone visionary issuing orders from high. Such thinking was sourced from Le Corbusier himself, who
30
Kenneth Frampton. Modern Architecture: A Critical History (2007) Thames and Hudson Ltd, p. 269 31 Kenneth Frampton (2007) p. 269 32 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 12 33 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 12
34
Kenneth Frampton (2007) p. 270 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 05 36 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 05 37 Hill, Rosemary (24 February 2012). "Pugin, God's architect". guardian.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012 35
This feeling of restoration is inherent to nostalgia. Mario Jacoby suggests nostalgia is based primarily on the notion of separation, where “the yearning begins after the loss of Paradise”38. We long for the familiarity of material objects, like buildings, in order to re capture what we feel we have lost. By this logic, the greater the sense of loss, the greater the sense of nostalgia. 19th Century industrialization inspired Pugin and others to fantasise of a lost pre-industrial age, leading to the rise of the Gothic Revival, and to an extent the later arts and crafts movement. By the late 20th Century, industrialization was not the issue, rather the collapse of it. Post war Britain had lost its sense of cultural superiority and confidence before the war. The perfect environment had been created for a nostalgic revival.
spoke out, describing St Pancras as “the epitome of the greatest period of human history”40. Pevsner was also one of the founding members of the Victorian Society in 1958, which aimed to bring recognition and protection to 19th Century buildings. The Victorian Society became a powerful force in post war Britain, and still runs today. Their aims for the merger of architecture and ideology are made clear on their website, where they claim “Victorian and Edwardian buildings are part of our collective memory, and central to how we see ourselves as individuals, communities and as a nation.”41 The act of nostalgia has always been an ideological one, it is tied inexorably to our sense of loss, that something must be restored to society. For the post war campaigners, who aimed to protect the existing structural landscape of Britain, the fight was not so much one of architecture, but one of reclaiming Britishness. As Simon Bradley summarises, “few would have rallied under this banner in the 1920s or 1930s, when the perception of National Decline was less acute”42, in essence it is not so much the buildings that people felt needed to be saved, but what they represented. ... BRASILIA OF THE NORTH ... Newcastle has long been a centre for revolutionary ideas. As part of the epicentre of the industrial revolution it had been cut up, remodelled and redesigned more than most cities. Newcastle was a layer cake of medieval streets, Georgian architecture, Victorian factories and industrial railways and bridges that intersected all points seemingly at once. It was perhaps the ideal location therefore to implement the latest technological improvement, modernism. And in 1958 with the election of the labour local government, it did just that.
Pugin’s ‘Contrasts’ showing the difference between a Medieval and Industrial town
Old Victorian buildings, built at the height of the British Empire, had become “poignant reminders of former glories, like swaggering family portraits squeezed into the commonplace house of a penurious 39 Fig. 3 descendant” , these self-confident figures of Empire would become the focus point for this new nostalgia. The romanticising of these buildings only intensified when under perceived threat. When St Pancras was threatened with demolition, Architectural Historian Nikolaus Pevsner 38
Mario Jacoby. Longing for Paradise: Psychological Perspectives on an Archetype (2006) Inner City Books, p. 09 39 Simon Bradley. St Pancras Station (2007) Profile Books p. 159 40 Simon Bradley (2007) p. 158
T. Dan Smith, initially appointed Chairman of the Housing Committee, quickly rose to become Leader of the City Council in 1959. Smith “had an obsession with the potential of both town planning and the arts as a means of improving people’s lives”43. Indeed his entire political career was to be defined by his push to reinvent Newcastle as a modern city, for the benefit of its inhabitants. Working with Wilfred Burns, his chief planning officer, Smith created one of the first independent Planning Departments in Britain, and set about instigating a monumentally ambitious master plan. Part of this scheme identified the need to
41
http://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/events/saving-a-century-2013-14/ Simon Bradley (2007) p. 159 43 Dr John Pendelbury. Alas Smith and Burns? Conservation in Newcastle upon Tyne city center 1959–68 (2001) Routledge p. 119 42
demolish 10,000 of the 88,000 total houses in the city44, representing an astonishing 11 percent of total housing stock in Newcastle. So grand were T Dan Smiths aims for Newcastle, that the city earned the nickname; the Brasilia of the North. However not all shared T. Dan Smith’s enthusiasm for the new. Ian Nairn was a critic at the Architectural Review, he shot to national fame with the publication of ‘OUTRAGE!’ a 1955 special edition of the AR based on a car journey he took from Southampton to Carlisle. His entire position on the journey, and on the state of modern architecture, can be summed up in one neat statement; “that’s the thing in a nutshell, they (Southampton and Carlisle) are both the same, and neither worth looking at”45. Nairn was not alone in his anger at the monotony and failures of the Modernist movement, and due to the success of the initial publication a second edition was produced, entitled ‘COUNTER ATTACK’. With this second edition Nairn set up the ‘Counter Attack Bureau’,46 where people were encouraged to write in identifying poor quality architecture and planning in their area. Thousands did.
Leaving Southampton
Arriving at Carlisle
Despite objections, the modern redevelopment of cities across Britain was Fig. 4moving at break neck speed. In Newcastle T Dan Smith was pushing ahead with the vast slum clearances and re-housing. The problems generated by the large number of families that needed to be resettled, along with a lack of availability of land, could only be solved with system built housing blocks, which were cheap and could be erected quickly. “By late 1960, 19 tower blocks were in construction throughout the city, and by 1968, 42 blocks were occupied.”47 The now empty land from the 44
Newcastle Local Interest. A history of Newcastle upon Tyne: 1960s and 70's. https://www.youtube.com/user/NewcastleLocaI/videos 45 The Story of Ian Nairn: the man who fought the planners (2014) Producer Kate Misrahi, Narrator Bill Paterson. 46 Gillian Darley & David McKie. Ian Nairn: Words in Place (2013) Five Leaves Publications, p. 30
slum clearances was put to use, providing sites for more of T Dan Smiths modernist social ambitions: Northumbria Polytechnic, the Civic Centre, and a new library. By far the crowning achievement of Smith’s remodelling of Newcastle though was Swan house, completed in 1968. This concrete and glass block was raised in the middle of a new roundabout system, making it the architectural doorway to the city, and Smith’s declaration of his new Brasilia. However there was just one problem with the scheme, The Royal Arcade designed by John Dobson in 1832 lay directly in the middle of the clearance site. Due to people like Ian Nairn and those at the Victorian society, the arcade could not simply be torn down. The growing movement of conservationism had forced the government to act. In 1962 the Civil Amenities Act was signed into law by then housing minister Duncan Sandys. This act set up conservation protection as an integral part of planning. This forced Smith to not simply demolish the Arcade, but take it down stone by stone and store it, with the intention of rebuilding it elsewhere. Although Nairn was born in Bedford, he always felt an affinity with Newcastle. He felt that in Newcastle “all the pieces are acting together, all the layers are mixed up”48. He therefore took interest in T Dan Smith’s plans for the city, and decided to visit it during a documentary series he was shooting called “Nairn’s North”. What he found there would shock him to point of anger, and would perfectly summarise the attitude of the times. The stones of the Royal Arcade, instead of being carefully stored for reassemble, had been scattered haphazardly on a field just outside Newcastle, like rubble from a scrap yard. Sitting in the midst of the broken and discarded stones, Nairn shouted at the camera “we’ve been conned, Newcastle’s been conned, I’ve been conned myself”49. This story may seem like a small event in a larger picture, however this mindless act of vandalism was the epitome of the mindset of the era, and Nairn’s words would turn out to be more accurate than he ever thought. ... THE HAYWAIN PARADOX ... Constable’s painting The Haywain is the second most popular British painting ever created50, picturing an idyllic pastoral landscape, a preindustrial world of horse drawn carts and thatched houses. However,
47
Newcastle Local Interest. A history of Newcastle upon Tyne: 1960s and 70's. https://www.youtube.com/user/NewcastleLocaI/videos 48 The Story of Ian Nairn (2014) 49 The Story of Ian Nairn (2014) 50 Turner wins 'great painting' vote". BBC News. 5 September 2005.
the painting is a fake. Tall modern industrial chimneys were removed from the hillside in order to make the setting look more rural. In other paintings the people were made to look fatter and healthier. This is the Haywain Paradox, that in trying to create a perfect vision of what we think something should look like, we end up editing out the bits that contradict our worldview.
Paradox; they had edited out the things that didn’t fit with their world view. In doing so they had blinded themselves to the truly destructive force present in post war Britain, the force that Nairn so nearly touched on whilst sitting amongst the ruins of the Royal Arcade. It wouldn’t be until Ronan Point that this force would start to be revealed
The conservationists had created a nostalgic vision of the past, not one that was grounded in reality. They claimed to want to preserve historic architecture but for the most part were only interested in those few buildings that would bring back the Victorian sense of power, such as the Euston Arch and St Pancras station. The Victorian society did not speak out at all about the vast swathes of ‘slum clearance’ happening throughout the country, which were in reality Victorian Terraces, the majority being structurally and architecturally sound. Also telling is the lack of protests over the “dismantling … of the Victorian gas holders that stood as unforgettable landmarks just outside of St Pancras”51. The modernist movement had become by the 1950s a defacto religion for architects. There was no forum for criticism, and academics continued to “deliver the dogma that modernism would provide a better environment and insisted that the populace, once it had grown used to the styles, would appreciate the enormous contribution that architects were making”52. This reversal of the Architect client relationship, created a stark contrast in the attitudes. Compare this new ideology with the story of the Vienna Court Opera opened in 1861. A passing comment by the Emperor that he thought the building was too squat lead to widespread press coverage and a campaign against the architects. Distraught, Eduard van der Null, one of the architects responsible, hung himself. Compare this with Wolf D Prix’s reaction to losing a competition for a youth centre in Berlin in 1983, “We did not win this competition, and the reason given for rejecting our work was that this concept would make it impossible to administer the youth centre. We could hardly imagine a greater compliment”53. Not only had the client architect relationship irrevocably changed, but also the way in which architects designed. Peter Eisenman later commented, “When LeCorbusier said “A house is a machine to live in”, he did not mean it should really be a machine, because basically he was building bourgeois houses with 19th Century functions. He meant the house should look like a machine. So they built an ordinary house with all the ordinary functions and made it look like a machine”54. This was modernism for the sake of modernism. The nostalgic movement and the Modernist movement had both become ideologies, and as such had succumbed to the Haywain 51 52
Simon Bradley (2007) p. 171 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 12
53
Peter Noever. Architecture in transition – between deconstructivism and New Modernism (1997) Prestel p. 19 54 Peter Noever (1997) p. 38
A STACK OF CARDS, REVISITED ...
No Man s Land In the papers about old streets And split level shopping, but some Have always been left so far; And when the old part retreats As the bleak high-risers come We can always escape in the car. That before I snuff it, the whole Boiling will be bricked in Except for the tourist parts First slum of Europe: a role It won’t be hard to win, With a cast of crooks and tarts. And that will be England gone, The shadows, the meadows, the lanes, The guildhalls, the carved choirs. There’ll be books; it will linger on In galleries; but all that remains For us will be concrete and tyres.
---Going, going Philip Larkin—
55
Clive Ponting. Breach of Promise: Labour in Power 1964-70 (1989) Hamish Hamilton Ltd p. 37 56 Alastair J. Reid and Henry Pelling. A Short History of the Labour Party (2005) Palgrave Macmillan p. 142
On the 16th of May 1966, at approximately 5.45 am, Mrs Ivy Hodge struck a match to light the stove in her brand new flat on the 18th floor, for her morning cup of tea. Within seconds four people would be dead, and seventeen injured. The preceding report led by Mr. Hugh Griffiths, found the fault lay with a gas explosion, which due to the way the System Built block was designed, produced a fundamental flaw. The verdict would lead to the banning of the use of gas in system built tower blocks. However many questioned the report, believing that it did not go deep enough into the failures of System building. The Wilson government was far from a neutral bystander to the report. It had been responsible for one of the biggest public housing surges in British history. Between 1965 and 1970, 1.3 million new homes were built55, increasing the council housing percentage from 48%, to 50% of the total housing stock56. It was also responsible for a series of tax measures that aimed to increase the ease and economic benefit of residential construction. For this reason, many questioned the government lead inquiry into Ronan Point. If a fundamental flaw with modernist construction had been exposed, it would turn the Wilson building-boom legacy into a fall-out of monumental and bankrupting proportions. One of the most vocal protesters against the Griffiths report was Sam Webb, an architect who had given evidence at the initial enquiry. Later investigation revealed fundamental design flaws, and more shockingly incomplete structural supports throughout the building. It was shown that in many places construction defects had left unprotected gaps between the join of the floor and exterior panels. This meant that the entire building was a fire hazard as there was no protection between floors. In many case the strengthening brackets had not been properly fitted, and were instead simply bolted to the thin concrete surrounding the cores57. Its evacuation and forensic demolition in 1986 proved that Ronan Point would soon have collapsed due to these structural deficiencies and the appearance of cracks. Ronan point proved to be just the first System Built Block to display problems, further investigation revealed a culture of professional neglect that meant no System Built tower block in the UK could be 57
Norbert J. Delatte. Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil Engineers (2009) ASCE Press p. 76
deemed entirely safe. Birmingham secretly surveyed their portfolio of 50,000 flats built using the Bison Wall frame system. They found that 11,000 were secured with ties made from the wrong metal. 3,000 had less than half the ties they should, and 83 had nothing holding them on at all and were being kept in position by their own weight58. Applying the reinforcement that should have been put in during construction would cost the council more than £500,000 per block, just to make them safe. As if coping with the problems of the System built 60s boom was not enough, Councils also found problems with the legacies of earlier housing crises. “Over half a million non-traditional houses were built in the 40s and 50s, all the systems using concrete, which is now starting to rot”59. This represents nothing less than the complete failure of Modern construction from the start of the housing boom in the mid50s to the gradual decline of System Builds through the 70s. Clive Pickering sums up his despair at the legacy of his housing stock in this interview:
“We have problems on housing that was built in the 20s, the Boots, and Boswell houses of the 20s. We have problems in relation to the houses built in the 30s. Not much happened during the 40s because of the war. Then we come to the 50s and the nightmares that exist with our concrete post and beam structures. The 60s are a disaster area as far as we are concerned”60
The complete failure was due to something that the Architects, Conservationists and Governments had all ignored; the market. Ronan point was not an unfortunate accident, but an inevitable conclusion of economic decisions and policies put into place by the government of the time. Its origins lay in the numbers game. As Kenneth Campbell the Chief Housing Architect, London County Council 1959 - 74 pointed out, “You’ve got to realise that although the government made the promises, it was the local authorities who had to build them”61. The government therefore put pressure on the authorities to take up the new industrialized systems, and told the contractors to supply the following demand, who as Campbell noted “didn’t need a great deal of pressing”. The government then introduced a system of subsidies to encourage councils even further to use industrial methods. This effectively created a monopoly for the Contractors, knowing they
could now rely on a captive audience of local authorities. Their confidence was so high in the market that they happily invested millions into System Building development, before ever securing a contract. Contractors then hired people to go round the country and find people with access to the lucrative public contracts. They would wine and dine these council officials, and attempt to win them over to their particular structural system. The local authorities were having to meet ever increasing targets, which only a handful of large contractors were able to meet, under this pressured and close relationship of business and government, a corrupting influence was created. WIMPY for example had a man whose full time job was to simply entertain local authority figures. T Dan Smith later spoke of the semi-legal bribes that were on offer; “Then of course there were the perks, such as test match tickets, and WIMPY always used to have a marquee on the rugby side. There were tickets to Ascot if you wanted, and were precious Friday centre court tickets at Wimbledon available”62. The former leader of Newcastle Council would later be jailed for corruption, after pleading guilty for accepting bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts with the architect John Poulson. Whilst charges were rare, corruption was bred by the system. “The systems on offer were so complicated, that only the contractors and their engineers understood them. The controls and checks the councils normally exercised were almost useless”63 This gave rise to the ‘Contract package’. Simply put, the contractors were allowed to employ the architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, and sell them to the local authority. “And so the contractor in fact, was the designer, the producer of the materials, and the supervisor of the job”64. ... LIVING IN CONCRETOPIA LANE ... According to Professor Alex Hardy from the Department of Building Science at Newcastle University, the housing crisis was due to “innovation without development”. “The pressure is on the designer to produce the building the client wants, within the money that is available” “so he is under pressure to innovate to try to achieve this, and the more you innovate without development, the greater the risks”65 Compare this to aircraft, cars or other mass produced products. These are extensively tested, which of course is reasonable, as if
58
62
59
63
Inquiry: The Great British Housing Disaster (1984) Producer and Narrator Adam Curtis Inquiry: Adam Curtis 60 Inquiry: Clive Pickering Deputy Director of Housing Birmingham City Council 61 Inquiry: Kenneth Campbell. Chief Housing Architect, London County Council 1959 - 74
Inquiry: T Dan Smith. Leader of Newcastle City Council 1960 - 65 Inquiry: Adam Curtis 64 Inquiry: T Dan Smith. Leader of Newcastle City Council 1960 - 65 65 Inquiry: Professor Alex Hardy, Department of Building Science Newcastle University
something fails the consequences are enormous. However for most buildings, they are a one off, and if one fails the consequences are comparatively less of a problem. “Whereas with mass produced housing there may be thousands, and if there’s a fault with them, there may be thousands of faults”. Therefore “the early examples were the development stage, of let’s build some and see what happens”66, the working classes had effectively been used as a live test for the new technologies and social ideas of modern architecture. “When demolition started, the estate started to deteriorate and people didn’t like living in a place where half of the buildings were empty. Business died on the estate for shops and pubs, which lead to them closing”67 Caroline Dermody, Norfolk Park Estate, Sheffield “Sometimes it was only months after moving in, that tenants found out what it was really like to live in system built blocks”68. The flaws from the structural deficiencies meant that the walls became water logged and damp, from condensation from inside, and leaks from outside. Eventually many councils gave up on piecemeal repairs. They evacuated the tenants, and began to demolish the blocks. By 1984 10,000 flats had been knocked down, some of them only 15 years old. Thousands more awaited the same fate. After the events at Ronan Point, councils removed the use of gas from system built blocks. They replaced the gas units with brand new electrical ones. After 16 years of rising bills, many tenants could not afford to keep these appliances running, and converted back to gas, in the form of portable propane cylinders. Tom Akroyd, the past President of the Institute of Structural Engineers, described this as being like “bringing a bomb into the building, because none of these systems can resist a gas cylinder blowing up”69.
not necessarily provide any more of a setting for social harmony than do the run-down Victorian terraces … on the contrary they give rise to problems which terrace houses avoid”71. It went on to suggest a bottom up approach to improving conditions, by teaching people skills to improve their own homes. However the report was buried by the government, fearful of the impact of its findings. “The remoteness of the estate, the estrangement from community where neighbours did not communicate with each other, and the general lack of facilities, created a hellish scenario. I learned little except how to have a burning ambition to get out and not return”72 Sian Tone Johnston, St Mary Cray, Bromley In Jean Novel’s words “The modernists had forgotten what the Modern movement meant, they no longer knew what a free plan, a Pilotis, and a window band were. So what remained? What remained were the typical parallel epipeds with a few small square windows, tiny, hyper traditional apartments, built over and over again, all of a type, so much for the modernists”73
“As a teenager and young adult it became a hellhole due to the crime, dark underground passageways, poorly lit parks and abandoned garages in which the gangs would congregate”70 Andrew, Thamesmead Estate, London The general decay of the modernist estates continued into the 80s. The 1981 Brixton riots were a sharp wake up call for those outside the estates to realize how dire the social issues had become. The Scarman report was commissioned after the riots to investigate what could be done, it concluded “the dreams of modern architects and planners do 66
69
67
70
Inquiry: Professor Alex Hardy, Department of Building Science Newcastle University BBC News article: life in the estates (2014). Caroline Dermody, Norfolk Park Estate, Sheffield 68 Inquiry: Adam Curtis
Inquiry: Tom Akroyd, the past President of the Institute of Structural Engineers BBC News article: life in the estates (2014). Andrew, Thamesmead Estate London 71 Rod Hackney (1990) p. 153 72 BBC News article: life in the estates (2014). Sian Tone Johnston, St Mary Cray Bromley 73 Peter Noever (1997) p. 91
The Field of Stones
The English homes condition survey, a government report produced by the DoE in 1981, identified some 4.3 million dwellings (almost a quarter of the housing stock of England) as being in a state of disrepair. Over a million were classified as unfit for human habitation. Just under a million had no basic amenities. One million required over £7000 to be spent on essential repairs. An additional 670,000 homes, mostly in inner cities, lay unoccupied74. The modernist movement had aimed to unite humanity in a new social order, instead it tore communities apart. The Government had aimed to build modern mass housing to replace the slums, instead it built slums in the sky. So what had gone wrong? For me, the answer to everything, the whole sorry affair, lies with those stones, scattered on a field just outside of Newcastle. In those stones and the man who stood angrily by them, we can interpret everything about the mood and ideologies of the time, and understand what lead to the downfall of the future. In 1834 when the Houses of Parliament burned down, it was reported that large crowds gathered outside and clapped and cheered, “taking customary delight in the discomfort of authority”75. The scattering and destruction of the Royal Arcade echoed that spirit. A malevolent destruction, which sought to replace the old order with the new order. In the Politicised world of Modernism, nothing was just architecture, but a manifesto. T Dan Smith was not simply upgrading Newcastle’s sky line, in his mind he was upgrading its society. The similar smashing of the stones of the Euston Arch was a hostile act, one that declared war on the past in the search for the future. This politicising of architecture lead to a blindness, people were “swept along by the euphoria of the times”76. This lead to mistakes by the modernist movement. The destruction of the Royal Arcade was needless, as was the demolition of countless other structures across the country. With the rise of the conservation movement, modern day planners risked losing the support of the public, but they were too involved in their academic ideologies to realise it. For Nairn the destruction of those stones was a near physical grief. His sense of anger, sitting in that muddy field, reflects perfectly the outrage and incredulity of the conservation movement at the time. Stunned by the destruction of heritage buildings and monuments to the past, they focused all their attention on protecting the large monuments, and those they felt tied into their nostalgic world view of a ‘paradise lost’. The fact the stones are there, tell us all we need to know about both movements. They tell us the modernists were headstrong in their revolution. And the conservationists were nostalgic in the victims they
75 76
Felix Barker and Ralph Hyde. (1982) p. 95 Inquiry: Malcom Burgess. Sen Asst. Director of Works Leeds City Council
chose to mourn. They show perfectly the damage that was wrought on British towns and cities by making architecture political. However the stones tell us something far more important than that. If modernism in Britain had been developed and declined on a purely architectural stand point, this dissertation would be entitled ‘7 decades or so of the future’. For modernism in Britain was developing long before the Festival of Britain, and continued long after Ronan Point. But modernism did not fail because it slowly went out of fashion with architects, it failed at precisely 5.45 am on the 16th of May 1966, it failed when the public confidence in modernism failed. And this is the key point, and why the stones are so key to this. Modernism could only survive so long as the public were in favour of it. The issue was, modernism wasn’t in favour of them.
in architecture to deliver them from post war misery. Every mass housing project since Ronan Point has been treated differently; a once– held optimism having been replaced by scepticism and suspicion. This suspicion naturally spread to the whole of modernism, and the endless list of faults that were to emerge in the decades to come would seal the deal for modern architecture in Britain. A scar, from which it arguably is still only just healing from.
In short, modernism was dreamt up by idealists, attacked by conservationists, corrupted by capitalists, and killed by its blindness.
The architects had started out with grand social ambitions, they aimed to improve society, by “teaching them, by legislation, by planning for a better environment and saner world. We are going to build a New Britain after the war”77. However in the politicising of architecture they had focused instead on grand ideas, and Le Corbusien logic, and refused to look at the consequences of their schemes. The Conservationists had aimed to bring Britain back to its glory days before the war, but instead of fighting for the people, they fought for Victorian Relics. The intellectuals of the country were so caught up in the war of ideology between modernism and Conservationism that they had forgotten who they were fighting for. Architecture had forgotten to be human. The Modernists threw the stones. The Conservationists cried over them. And the Contractors stood, watched, and built. As Nairn stood in the field surrounded by stones, less than a mile away the System Built blocks were slowly spreading over the horizon. Both movements had become distracted by their own ideologies, unable to see past their narrow outlooks on the world to the wider pattern of corruption and structural fraud. It was this wider issue that would come to destroy the modernist architectural movement. In 1943, a report from the House of Commons warned ““After the last war we heard a good deal about homes for heroes, and we are now hearing a good deal about the New Jerusalem which is to be built after this war. I do not think that the country is likely to stand for a second disappointment”78. 23 years later, Ronan Point would prove that to be true. The Second World War had set up the need and opportunity for a militarization of the construction industry, but it was not until the Festival of Britain that the idea of the modern utopian future reached the masses. System built housing continued for a few years after Ronan Point, and modernist architecture still exists today, but it was at this point the public lost faith
77
C.E.M Joad. The Adventures of the Young soldier in search of the Better World (1943) Faber and Faber, p. 28
78
Greg Stevenson (2003) Official Report from the House of Commons 4th May 1943, Vol 389 col 81-82 p. 55
Bibliography The Open University
Mario Jacoby
Ronan Point, From Here to Modernity 2001 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-thearts/history/heritage/ronan-point. Accessed 15/12/14
Longing for Paradise: Psychological Perspectives on an Archetype (2006) Inner City Books
Delatte, N. J. Beyond failure: Forensic case studies for civil engineers. (2009) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Engineering News Record (ENR) 23, 1968,
BBC News Online BBC News Article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may /3/newsid_2481000/2481099.stm Accessed
15/12/14 Accessed 03/09/14 Turner wins 'great painting' vote". BBC News. 5 September 2005. Accessed 14/01/15 BBC News article: life in the estates (2014) Accessed
15/12/14
Renaissance London Exploring 20th Century London. http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/festival-britain1951 Accessed 04/01/15
Felix Barker and Ralph Hyde London as it might have been (1982) John Murray Ltd
Simon Bradley St Pancras Station (2007) Profile Books
Victorian Society what we do manifesto: http://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/events/saving-acentury-2013-14/ Accessed 12/01/15
Dr John Pendelbury Alas Smith and Burns? Conservation in Newcastle upon Tyne city center 1959 68 (2001) Routledge
Newcastle Local Interest A history of Newcastle upon Tyne: 1960s and 70's. https://www.youtube.com/user/NewcastleLocaI/video s
BBC Documentaries The Story of Ian Nairn: the man who fought the planners (2014) Producer Kate Misrahi, Narrator Bill Paterson.
Gillian Darley & David McKie Ian Nairn: Words in Place (2013) Five Leaves Publications
Peter Noever
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Architecture in transition between deconstructivism and New Modernism (1997) Prestel
UK and Crown Colonies (383,786) the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2010 2011
Clive Ponting
Rod Hackney The Good the Bad and the Ugly: Cities in Crisis (1990) Century Hutchinson Ltd
Breach of Promise: Labour in Power 1964-70 (1989) Hamish Hamilton Ltd
Alastair J. Reid and Henry Pelling A Short History of the Labour Party (2005) Palgrave Macmillan
Ian Cox
Fig. 4
The South Bank Exhibition: A guide to the story it tells (1951) H.M.S.O.
Form Southampton to Carlisle http://davidcampany.com/architecture-asphotography-document-publicity-commentary/
Gary Robins (2001) Ffotogallery
Fig. 5
Kenneth Frampton
Exterior horizontal joint between floor slab and flank wall as built (Ronan Point http://failures.wikispaces.com/Ronan+Point
Modern Architecture: A Critical History (2007) Thames and Hudson Ltd
Fig. 6
Rosemary Hill
Swan house and the new Royal Arcade http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/mano rpark_photos/RoyalArcademockup-1.jpg
Pugin: God's architect (24 February 2012) guardian.com. Accessed 23/11/14
Norbert J. Delatte Beyond Failure: Forensic Case Studies for Civil Engineers (2009) ASCE Press
C.E.M Joad The Adventures of the Young soldier in search of the Better World (1943) Faber and Faber,
Greg Stevenson (2003) Official Report from the House of Commons 4th May 1943, Vol 389 col 81-82
Illustrations Fig. 1 Ronan Point disaster http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Ro nan_Point_-_Daily_Telegraph.jpg
Fig. 2 A Tarran prefabricated temporary house in Hull. http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205 212017
Fig. 3 book 'Contrasts' http://www.architecture.com/Images/RIBATrust/RI BALibrary/OnlineWorkshop/UrbanAdventures/2011 /Pugin-522px.jpgc