Enquiry Booklet BA Architecture
Architectural Representation
Table of Contents
5
Introduction
6
The Royal Arcade Context & History
8
Line of Enquiry Thoughts & Proposal
12
Line of Enquiry Digital Development
24
Conclusion Script and References
Table of Contents 5
[1]
6 Unbuilt Architecture
Unbuilt & Lost Architecture
Introduction This theme, dealing with three case studies of works that were destroyed or never physically completed, divulges on a very familiar nostalgic state of mind. “What could have been” is something that constantly unfolds in my mind. In the case of the Royal Arcade, in Newcastle, even more so, not only for me, but for most of this city’s population. An icon lost, a missed opportunity, all of these applicable, not only to the Arcade, or the Consulate, or the Fun Palace, but for most of those particular buildings that inhabit the imaginary of most people’s (and communities’) nostalgia. unbuilt Not (yet) built or erected unbuild To pull down, destroy, demolish (a building or structure). (OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2016. Web. 6 May 2016.)
Introduction 7
The Royal Arcade
[3]
Pilgrim Street Royal Arcade Grey’s Street
[2]
8 Unbuilt Architecture
Context & History
Built in 1831 by Richard Grainger (and possibly designed mostly by John Dobson), it was constructed during the middle of Grainger’s transformation of the city. Located at the site where Manors St. Connected Pilgrim St. And The Manors, it was thought out as an indoor thoroughfare, where Grainger would concentrate the city’s public and lawyer offices. Deemed a fiasco by the 1840s, it failed by only connecting to one major route (Pilgrim St.), Leading to a slow, but progressive decline as business and commerce in the city moved north. In the 1960s as part of another transformation of the city - in this case in the context of T. Dan Smith’s vision of the “Brasilia of the North” - it was demolished to make way for the central motorway and the Swan House (now called ‘55 Degrees North), an elevated modernist office building, which itself has became a unloved icon of the city.
[4]
The Royal Arcade 9
Line of Enquiry
10 Unbuilt Architecture
Thoughts & Proposal
In that context of the Arcade as a thoroughfare, I began by comparing what was with what is, tracing the contemporary street outlines and routes over a 1840s traced street plan, giving me a better sense of scale and of the changes it underwent. One of the aspects I found most interesting was one that was in fact intended when building the Swan House, particularly the preservation of the Royal Arcade under the raised main volume (nowadays with a pastiche copy of the arcade interior as the building’s bar). In conjunction with the idea of layered routes and pathways (a hallmark of the idea of a modern Newcastle at the time), I thought out how the clashing volumes could work together. However, this line of thinking lead to a far greater focus on the Swan House, which would be, in the context of this module and test case, counterproductive.
[5]
Line of Enquiry - Thoughts & Proposal 11
Line of Enquiry
The second line of enquiry that sparked my interest was an analysis of the Royal Arcade in its urban, historical context. As part of an East-West axis intersecting some of the most important streets in the city, it was also the ending to a road running from it to the Central Station, but also out of Newcastle through the Westgate Rd. (later, with the construction of the High-Bridge, to the south as well). My intention with this project is analysing it as part of that route, using video, montages and drawings to give a view into the journey through that particular stretch.
12 Unbuilt Architecture
Thoughts & Proposal
Line of Enquiry - Thoughts & Proposal 13
Line of Enquiry
14 Unbuilt Architecture
Digital Development - Strategy and Work-flow
Contrary to the suggestion in the brief of making a conceptual artwork, technical drawings and renders (in this order), I decided (with the exception of the conceptual montage to the side) to follow a different route and use Sketch Up to model the building first - with my planned workflow to the side - which helped me, as I built the model, to understand the space and details better, even if some details end up not being used (Sketch-UP, unlike Revit, allowed for a bigger liberty in terms of work in this mindset).
The montage to the right consists of the extension, in a natural way, of the Arcade to “as far as the eye can see”. I intended to give the sensation of an ever continuous axial street. The pavement is purposefully given different heights over its length, ending on an incline that cuts off the view of this “street” before it becomes too small to work with, having used almost exclusively selection and scaling/skewing tools.
Line of Enquiry - Digital Development 15
Line of Enquiry
Traced from the original plans in Auto Cad (after scaling them correctly), both the details and larger elements are transferred from an initial 2D drawn state to 3D in Sketch-Up.
16 Unbuilt Architecture
In order to reduce file size and speed up the modelling process, almost all parts are components, allowing me to focus more on the objects that end up automatically being replicated throughout the building.
Digital Development - Modelling
For example, the font, both in the actual building and in all the documents related to the building, was recreated in Auto Cad before being imported into the model, as it was custom made for the project.
After the main nave was modelled, I started doing the East stepped entrance, which was topped by wood coffering, which was done directly in Sketch-Up as the only visual information available was of a photograph.
Line of Enquiry - Digital Development 17
Line of Enquiry
After completing the model, I decided to take two different routes in terms of textures. Before, while modelling, to understand the way light wove through the skylights, I rendered as I went along. The light pink and yellow hues created by the light and the stone colour I had used created and incredible ambiance, that represented much more the atmosphere of the Arcade than a wallpaper-like sandstone texture. So, for the video, I decided for a simple walk-through, starting from the East entrance, advancing until the middle of the arcade, turn and leave the arcade walking back, seeing in the process the facade. In Sketch-Up and Vray, this involves calculating the light cache and irradiance maps, and then rendering, in an automatic process, frame by frame along a path set out by each scene (which I had studied previously in a printed out plan). These frames (format .png in order to take advantage of transparency) were then imported into Adobe Premiere, and combined with an instrumental song that accompanied that “journey�.
18 Unbuilt Architecture
Digital Development - Video
And, with the transparency of the frames, I was able to insert a background in the video, allowing to see in certain moments clouds and Pilgrim St.
Line of Enquiry - Digital Development 19
Line of Enquiry
For technical drawings, I followed two routes, both a product of the 3D model. Using the section tool, and exporting an image of the side view, I imported into Photoshop, and started, in another layer, filing what was being cut. Following that, I simulated (after checking their position and intensity through renders) the light and shadows of the space, correcting the background (which had been textured to beforehand) and adding elements. For the Cad technical drawings (in the poster also present the plan) I exported the model to Auto Cad, exploding and removing components, until it was cleared to flatten the lines. After this, it was just trimming and deleting “rogue lines�.
20 Unbuilt Architecture
Digital Development - Technical Drawings
[6]
Line of Enquiry - Digital Development 21
Line of Enquiry
For my final still renderization, I captured two perspectives, around the same simulated time of the day and year, that showed the Arcade as a narrow street, in the same kind of perspectives a resident or pedestrian might have in a normal road. I’ve used the same methods of the colour section here (complementary light irradiance, colour adjustments, etc), combined with the methods used for the concept artwork (perspectives, scale, etc). The view to the outside serves as a contextualize of the arcade as part of a greater urban fabric, but obfuscated enough to not act as a distraction.
22 Unbuilt Architecture
Digital Development - Renders
I applied the arcade (as a typology of indoor street), in a second concept art/ render, to other open aired roads in the city, in this case in the Quayside, inserting the isolated skylight-covered stretches of the arcade as a cover to these streets.
Line of Enquiry - Digital Development 23
Line of Enquiry
Table of Contents
5
13
17
19
Sketching Architecture City drawing Introduction to architectural representation
Hollow Object Analysis and representation of an object
Room Observation Analysis and representation of personal bedroom
Spatial Representation Civic Centre - Photographs showing spatial qualities
25
31
35
Spatial Representation Civic Centre -Observational drawings showing spacial qualities
Spatial Representation Civic Centre - Measured technical drawing of a plan, two sections and two details
Life Drawing Charcoal large-scale nude drawings of a model
IN DEX 3
In order to maintain coherence and link both parts of the module (analogue and digital) I decided to follow the same layout and visual principles of the previous booklet, but adding and changing graphical elements, referencing paths and streetscapes with the use of lines. In relation to colours, I inverted the colour scheme used before (image to the left), setting the two phases of the module apart.
24 Unbuilt Architecture
Digital Development - Booklet & Poster
The Royal Arcade, by John Dobson, was built as part of Richard Grainger’s transformation of Newcastle. Thought of as an indoor thoroughfare, it was planned to concentrate the city’s public and lawyers office, but due to the expansion northwards of commercial areas, it was deemed a failure a decade after its construction. This idea of an “indoor street” led me to investigate the Arcade’s sitting and urban context through historical maps, which showed it almost as the “continuation” of a East-West axis intersecting some of the most important streets in the city. My intention with this project is analysing it as part of this route, using video, montages and drawings to both establish that connection and to give a view into the journey, ambiance and form of that particular stretch of the city’s routes. In this sense, for my concept art, I explored the Arcade as a long avenue, and from our position, its seemingly infinite “East-bound” in the montage - which in reality is where the uninterrupted route ends - hints at an untold and unbuilt continuation of the Arcade. Later, with the 3D model completed, I applied the arcade (as a typology of indoor street), in a second concept art/render, to other open aired roads in the city, in this case in the Quayside.. Secondary Concept Art/Render With the technical drawings, there’s a double function - the 1:500 line plan and section of showing it as part of that axis, and in that historical urban context, and the 1:200 of analysing, in a similar way, the actual stretch of the Arcade, giving a sense of scale, but as well starting to analyse its ambiance. Both renders and the video develop this last point more, each in their own way - the video displaying a walk-through across the building, and the renders showing typical framings that are used for street-scape photography.
Main Concept Art
0
For the poster, I chose a vertical layout that facilitated the visual reading and organization. At the centre, the 1:200 section attracts initially the eyes of the viewer. However, the title above allows, after the initial impact, to do a simple top to bottom reading of the poster, starting with the script, the plan, a detailed section and two 3D renders that complete the analysis from the urban site to the actual stretch of the “road”.
10
20
0 1:500 Plan
1:200 Section
1:500 Section Render looking West
Render looking East
Student nº 150366542
0
Line of Enquiry - Digital Development 25
Conclusion
Script The Royal Arcade, by John Dobson, was built as part of Richard Grainger’s transformation of Newcastle. Thought of as an indoor thoroughfare, it was planned to concentrate the city’s public and lawyers office, but due to the expansion northwards of commercial areas, it was deemed a failure a decade after its construction. This idea of an “indoor street” led me to investigate the Arcade’s sitting and urban context through historical maps, which showed it almost as the “continuation” of a EastWest axis intersecting some of the most important streets in the city. My intention with this project is analysing it as part of this route, using video, montages and drawings to both establish that connection and to give a view into the journey, ambiance and form of that particular stretch of the city’s routes.
26 Unbuilt Architecture
In this sense, for my concept art, I explored the Arcade as a long avenue, and from our position, its seemingly infinite “East-bound” in the montage - which in reality is where the uninterrupted route ends hints at an untold and unbuilt continuation of the Arcade. Later, with the 3D model completed, I applied the arcade (as a typology of indoor street), in a second concept art/render, to other open aired roads in the city, in this case in the Quayside. With the technical drawings, there’s a double function the 1:500 line plan and section of showing it as part of that axis, and in that historical urban context, and the 1:200 of analysing, in a similar way, the actual stretch of the Arcade, giving a sense of scale, but as well starting to analyse its ambiance.
Both renders and the video develop this last point more, each in their own way - the video displaying a walkthrough across the building, and the renders showing typical framings that are used for street-scape photography.
Render looking East
[7] (Background) - Render looking West
Conclusion - Script 27
Conclusion
[8] (Original Photo) - Secondary Concept Art/Render
28 Unbuilt Architecture
References
[1; 2; 3] Allsop, B. (1959), Architectural History, Vol.2: Supplement Records of Buildings, Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, London. [4] Newcastle Historian. (2009, November 24). The Story of THE ROYAL ARCADE, Pilgrim Street. [Msg 301]. Message posted to http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=982536&page=16 [5] “All Saints, Newcastle upon Tyne” [PDF map], Scale 1:1250, Ordnance Survey Town Plans, 1st Edition 1848-1908 [TIFF geospatial data], Published: 1961, Landmark Information Group, Using: EDINA Historic Digimap Service, <http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/>, Created: April 2015 [6] Durham University School of Architecture, King’s College, Newcastle upon Tyne (now School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne) [7] Coloptics 1910, Mosley Street, photograph, viewed May 2016, < http://www.bmcole.co.uk/coloptics/views-of/NEWCASTL.HTM> [8] 6000.co.za (2010), Rooftop and shadows, photograph, viewed May 2016, < https://www.flickr.com/ photos/6000/5220862359/in/photolist-8Xmhug-8Xpgz5> (1959) Architectural History, Vol.2: Supplement Records of Buildings, Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, London.
Conclusion - References 29