Coventry Intergenerational Housing Project(CIHP) ARC3014 Professional Practice and Management COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT, 2019-20 Student: 170374127 Word Count: 2,100
Project Brief and Context In cities around the world, the elderly and the younger generation often live in separate areas away from one another This is due to many factors of their contrasting lifestyles, different hobbies, interests, and all-round day to day lives. Whilst at university, students often live with like-minded individuals of a similar age, and in the same, the elderly often live isolated or in care homes where they are surrounded by those of the same age. Focussing on generational integration and inclusion, my project aims to break this social mould by providing accommodation for both the elderly and students. Coventry has become and is constantly becoming more and more well known for its educational facilities, this means new student housing schemes are being built across the city every year due to large numbers of students embracing the city and choosing it as a place for to study. The downside to this, however, is that what comes with this form of generational segregation through purpose-built student housing, is little to no designated housing for the elderly in what is a rich and historical part of Coventry city centre, a place where the elderly would have grown up. The name of my project is the Coventry intergenerational Housing Project(CIHP) and the scheme is my answer to the need for more student housing, and also a form of housing for the elderly in the east side of the town centre, offering a housing scheme for residents of both age groups in an attempt to remove the stigma that contrasting age groups cannot live together in an environment which is beneficial to both.
1.
Jansen, T., 2015. Some Dutch College Students Are Living In Nursing Homes To Save On Rent. [online] Business Insider. Available at: <https://www.businessinsider.com/dutch-students-living-in -nursing-homes-2015-10?IR=T> [Accessed 20 March 2020].
Fig 1: Aerial view of Proposed Site (Pre-demolition of James Starley Building)
Fig 2: Site Context Model with Proposed Scheme
My site sits 15 x 170m long occupying the site where the James Starley Building had once stood, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique about my project is that there is only a handful of project similar to it around the world (Example, Humanitas, Netherlands). I believe my project can be a pioneering scheme in terms of showing that two contrasting age groups can live together and live healthy and active lifestyles through a residential building that also has areas for the public and encourages interaction. My project has 24 bedrooms of different sizes aimed at both couples and individuals. There are two balconies on each floor of 4 bedrooms to encourage interaction, the scheme also includes a cafe, gym space, gallery and the entire roof is a garden terrace. There is also a ground floor car-park which is designed into the topography.
Procurement strategy Upon visiting my site and conducting a range of analysis of my site through early design stages, the social distancing between young and old in Coventry has become all the more clear to me. My scheme must adhere to the living needs of all proposed residents (be it elderly or young students) to form accommodation which pleases everyone involved, to ultimately prove that contrasting age groups can mix in today's society and live in consonance, through a contemporary housing scheme, which will bring the site into the 21st century.
Traditional Procurement (Design-Bid Build)
Also, using a cost consultant (typically a quantity surveyor) costing estimates can be given throughout various stages of the design and build process, this will be essential to ensuring the process stays on-budget. As soon as the detailed drawings are ready, a bill of quantities (BoQ) can be prepared, and cost advice will continue throughout the process. Hence why another major advantage of traditional procurement is that costs are known before the contract is signed. A disadvantage of using DBB procurement is that it is not suitable for fast-track construction projects, due to the time taken to produce the full design, however, I don't believe that this would be a problem within my specific project.
Being probably the most commonly used strategy of procurement, traditional design-bid builds offer a range of proâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for the design process, especially for a project like mine. My project revolves around functionality as a prime objective, through traditional procurement, the architect (myself) becomes the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;design team leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and produces a design to meet the needs of the brief set by the client.2 The biggest advantage of traditional procurement is that direct reports from the design team are given to the client, thus ensuring quality control and lets the client know exactly what they are getting without any unwanted shocks of disappointments.
Fig 3: Procurement Timeline (DBB) (Authors Work)
2.
FutureLearn. n.d. Traditional Procurement. [online] Available at: <https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/procurement-strate gies-and-tendering/1/steps/575914> [Accessed 24 March 2020].
Involving other Consultants Approved Inspector Building Control is a critical process where plans are checked by skilled surveyors, ensuring that the scheme is safe, accessible, secure and thermally efficient, whilst complying to the government set building regulations. In my project, this is all the more important as my project needs to be accessible, safe, secure, and efficient for not just young student residents but also the potentially vulnerable elderly residents. It needs to be ensured that the elderly residents in my scheme can move freely throughout the structure and can access every part of the building. In addition to this, the entrance to the building needs to be easy to identify and of course, taking into consideration wheelchair access to the entirety of the building. Cost Consultant By providing professional estimates and advice in regards to the cost of construction work, the role of the cost consultant is essential to any build process to further aid keeping to the proposed budget. The cost consultant may help to determine the client's requirements and undertake feasibility studies, preparing cost plans, estimates and projections of cash flow, and assessing/comparing options for the client.
Keeping to Budget Aluminium offers a 100% recyclable alternative for cladding, using only 5% of the energy used to make the original product, almost all aluminium used in construction is recycled, making it a cheap, maintenance-free, and efficient choice for cladding needs. Acquiring a confirmed build cost price before any contractor quotes are exchanged will help to ensure the project keeps to budget, plus 20% for any possible contingencies.3 The role of the cost consultant can help the project to stick to its set budget, through regularly updated estimates, spending extra time and care on estimates can help to ensure that there are no unforeseen costs to compromise profit margins. Attention to supplies needed can also prevent going over budget, avoiding unnecessary trips to stock up on hardware, causing a surprising amount of both lost time and money and delays to the project. A contingency budget of 20% should be set for the project in case of unexpected costs, which if we don't use is a positive, and means the project has finished under budget.
Fig 5: Example Contingency Budget Diagram (Authors Work)
3.
Fig 4: Procurement Diagram (Authors Work)
Norbord - North American Products. 2018. 6 Ways To Keep Your Construction Project On Budget | Norbord North American Products. [online] Available at: <https://www.norbord.com/na/blog/6-ways-to-keep-your-c onstruction-project-on-budget/> [Accessed 25 March 2020].
Planning Planning Priorities Reducing social isolation is one of Coventry’s planning priorities to support locally developed and evidence-based community regeneration programs and also to remove barriers to community participation and action. 4 Two of the four key approaches to residential planning in Coventry's local plan are to provide purpose-built student accommodation within the most sustainable locations and the suitable management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HiMO's), and also to provide sustainable and affordable residential care facilities and retirement properties.5 Also, the crucial and continued delivery of purpose-built student accommodation services will be supported by the council as they aim to offer modern and high-quality accommodation to support both university’s (Warwick and Coventry), whilst supporting and facilitating urban regeneration programs to help minimise the uptake of family housing by students in the private rented sector. One key priority in Coventry’s local plan, which is a strong factor in my own project, is the supporting and facilitating of urban regeneration schemes, according to the annual monitoring report 2015/16, my site which sits along Cox Street is described as ‘a highly sustainable location, close to key services and facilities, the new development would be well-positioned to generate a suitable residential environment’. 6
4.
Coventry City Council, 2017. Coventry City Council Local Plan. Coventry: Coventry City Council, p.30-31.
My project is a direct response to the need for intergenerational housing for the elderly and student population by offering a neutral residential space for both, encouraging intergenerational unity and the reduction of social isolation. Office Procedures I believe it is best to have as much input and co-operation as at all possible during the design phase for a project, conferring with other designers, civil or structural engineers, insisting on regular meetings with the client to be scheduled throughout the design process to ensure that the client knows exactly what they are getting and eliminating the possibility of unwanted surprises. Building a relationship with the client will only result in a better working process and provide a better experience for both my office and the clients themselves. Extra care in terms of our office designing for the elderly should always be a priority, logical external circulation plans have been created to ensure that residents can be dropped off and picked up easily via car or minibus, and even in the event of an emergency, ambulance.
5. 6.
Coventry City Council, 2017. Coventry City Council Local Plan. Coventry: Coventry City Council, p.64-75. Coventry City Council, 2015. Coventry Development Plan Annual Report 2015/16. Coventry: Coventry City Council, p.128.
CDM Regulation Compliance To ensure that I stick to the CDM set duties for a designer, firstly it is important to understand that as the designer, I have to be aware of the significant risks that both workers and users involved with the project may be exposed to (for example notifying construction workers of dangerous asbestos fibres in a project involving an existing structure). Another example is that there are multiple internal spaces in my design which require double-height ceilings, to eliminate risk when cleaning these facilities, scaffolding would need to be required. According to HSG168 – Fire safety in construction, (Second edition, 2010) ‘The protection of a timber frame from fire is provided by the materials which cover the frame eg plasterboards’ however, treatment would also be used on the timber to further eliminate the risk of fire. With this in mind, in the unlikely circumstance of a fire, escape routes and fire exits are placed throughout my design.7 Finally, if for example, outward opening windows are used in my design, the size of the windows should be limited so that occupants do not have to lean very far to clean them. The possibility of using tilt and turn windows, would also reduce this risk, as these specific windows can be cleaned from the inside of the building. Keeping a good relationship with the client and CM, making the client aware of their responsibilities, and ensuring a CDM coordinator is appointed, are also my priorities, for ensuring a healthy project timeline.
7.
Health and Safety Executive, 2010. Fire Safety In Construction. Surrey: HSE, p.53.
Fig 6: Diagram of CDM Duties
Project Implications Clients and Wider Society
Architectural Reputation
Design problems are often multi-dimensional, and rarely does a designed space or characteristic serve just one purpose.7 To some extent, designers are ‘futurologists’.8
Reputation in the architecture/construction industry is so important as clients want to be reassured of trust, providing a service needs to come at a reasonable price, but only if a client knows they can trust you to provide your service sufficiently.
As architects, we are in charge of creating the future, and the future can often be seen as threatening or strange, I think this is important to understand, especially with the Coventry intergenerational Housing Project, because the concept of incorporating contrasting age groups into one shared living scheme may seem odd at first, however, the positive effect that my project will have on the elderly in particular, will be tenfold. It will bring the elderly back into a historically rich area of Coventry, as non-student interaction of my site is a minimum, my scheme will also give the general public a new cafe, and allow them to interact with an area which is considered to be just for students, this will require a process of rebranding, and not only letting the general public know that they are welcome inside of the university space but encouraging it. As for students, my scheme offers them accommodation which is in breathing distance of their university buildings, and is the closest accommodation to the student bars and clubs along Jordan Well, whilst still only a five-minute walk to the city centre high streets.
8. 9.
Lawson, B., 2005. How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified. 4th ed. Oxford: Architectural Press, pp.52-59. Lawson, B., 2005. How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified. 4th ed. Oxford: Architectural Press, pp.112-114.
To me, the Cox Street Co-Housing project is only the beginning on a journey of revitalising cities around the globe with intergenerational living. I hope to grow a reputation for my firm through thriving off of the ever-growing need for student housing and combining this with the active lifestyles that a lot of the elderly continue to live in modern society. I believe that my scheme will encourage other firms to work with the idea of intergenerational living and co-housing, there is so much segregation in cities, and we just need some pioneering schemes to push this form of living in the direction that it needs to go in, to reduce social isolation and encourage interaction, I hope that my scheme can be one of those which pioneer this new form of accommodation.
Bibliography Coventry City Council, 2015. Coventry Development Plan Annual Report 2015/16. Coventry: Coventry City Council, p.128. Coventry City Council, 2017. Coventry City Council Local Plan. Coventry: Coventry City Council, p.30-31. Coventry City Council, 2017. Coventry City Council Local Plan. Coventry: Coventry City Council, p.64-75. FutureLearn. n.d. Traditional Procurement. [online] Available at: <https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/procurement-strategies-and-tendering/1 /steps/575914> [Accessed 24 March 2020]. Health and Safety Executive, 2010. Fire Safety In Construction. Surrey: HSE, p.53. Jansen, T., 2015. Some Dutch College Students Are Living In Nursing Homes To Save On Rent. [online] Business Insider. Available at: <https://www.businessinsider.com/dutch-students-living-in-nursing-homes-201 5-10?IR=T> [Accessed 20 March 2020]. Lawson, B., 2005. How Designers Think: The Design Process DemystiďŹ ed. 4th ed. Oxford: Architectural Press, pp.52-59. Lawson, B., 2005. How Designers Think: The Design Process DemystiďŹ ed. 4th ed. Oxford: Architectural Press, pp.112-114. Norbord - North American Products. 2018. 6 Ways To Keep Your Construction Project On Budget | Norbord - North American Products. [online] Available at: <https://www.norbord.com/na/blog/6-ways-to-keep-your-construction-projecton-budget/> [Accessed 25 March 2020]. Figure List Fig 1: Aerial view of Proposed Site (Pre-demolition of James Starley Building (Authors Work) Fig 2: Site Context Model with Proposed Scheme (Authors Work) Fig 3: Procurement Timeline (DBB) (Authors Work) Fig 4: Procurement Diagram (Authors Work) Fig 5: Example Contingency Budget Diagram (Authors Work) Fig 6: Diagram of CDM Duties (Authors Work)