Lost Spaces by Kevin Kuriakose

L O S T S PA C E S

The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture BA / MA (Hons) Architecture 2013 / 2014

Students:

Architectural Design: Tectonics Course Organiser: Chris Lowry Unit: Lost Spaces Ivan Marquez & Jack Green

Laura Adamson Viridiana Amaral Gurgel Lachlan Anderson-Frank Anton Anikeev Arslan Arkallayev Marta Blanco Sanchez Peter Burt Panagiotis Demiris Benedict Douglas-Scott Andrew Gass Fraser Graham Laurens Jacobs Abby Kelman Kevin Kuriakose Ross Ledsham Shaun McLeod Shimal Morjaria Claire Murray Beatriz Nieto Rodriguez Jonathan Piper Greg Robins Oscar Selemba Jorge Simelio Jurado Jos Singer Kate Skinner Daria Vidisheva Alexandra Zervudachi Guests: Carlos Arroyo Suzanne Ewing Miguel Paredes Nicky Thomson Book design by Daria Vidisheva & Kevin Kuriakose

INTRODUCTION

Ivan Marquez & Jack Green

URBAN TRIPTYCH

CENTRE FOR INNOVATION

LEITH COMMUNITY SOCIAL HOUSING FOR THE YOUNG

INTERGENERATION CO-OPERATIVE LIVING

MASTERPLANNING LEITH

SERVICING LEITH

HOUSING FOR APPRENTICE CHEFS

HOUSING FOR FAMILY OWNED RESTAURANT BUSINESSES

SYMBIOGENESE

GRÜNEHAUS

MASCHINENGEHÄUSE

THRESHOLD TO THE CITY: LEITH MENTAL HEALTH RETREAT

LEITH SPECIAL ECONOMIC DISTRICT AND LEITH WALK SLAB

LEITH GALLERY GARDENS

CITY OF WEIRDOS

Alexandra Zervudachi, Panagiotis Demiris & Andrew Gass

Alexandra Zervudachi

Andrew Gass

Panagiotis Demiris

Greg Robins, Jonathan Piper & Shimal Morjaria

Greg Robins

Jonathan Piper

Shimal Morjaria

Kevin Kuriakose & Daria Vidisheva

Kevin Kuriakose

Daria Vidisheva

Abby Kelman

Anton Anikeev

Arslan Arkallayev

Beatriz Nieto Rodriguez

LEITH MARKET

HEALING OLD SPACES: HEALTH VILLAGE

LEITH ARTIST’S VILLAGE

LEITH CARNIVAL GROUND

LEITH INDUSTRIAL HOUSING

KINETIC SPACE

A PLACE TO DIE

URBAN NEUROREHABILITATION

GREENWAY HOUSING

LEITH ART TE.TR.I.S. – TEMPORARY, TRANSFORMABLE INTERACTIVE STAND

SUBURBAN OUTREACH

VIADUCT COMMUNITY HOUSING

THE PERMANENT AND THE TRANSITORY: REHABILITATION CENTRE, LEITH

THE INHABITABLE AND THE ADAPTABLE: A [FRAME]WORK FOR CHANGE

LEAFWALK

Benedict Douglas-Scott

Claire Murray

Fraser Graham

Jorge Simelio Jurado

Jos Singer

Kate Skinner

Lachlan Anderson-Frank

Laura Adamson

Laurens Jacobs

Marta Blanco Sanchez

Oscar Selemba

Peter Burt

Ross Ledsham

Shaun McLeod

Viridiana Amaral Gurgel

‘Generally speaking, lost spaces are the undesirable urban areas that are in need of redesign - antispaces, making no positive contribution to the surroundings or users. They are ill-defined, without measurable boundaries, and fail to connect elements in a coherent way. On the other hand, they offer tremendous opportunities to the designer for urban redevelopment and creative infill and for rediscovering the many hidden resources in our cities.’ Extract from ‘What is Lost Space?’ in Trancik, R. (1986), Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design

INTRODUCTION This unit considers the tectonic question through a design-based reflection about the value of lost spaces, in the process of decay in their lifecycle. Much twentieth-century planning in Edinburgh, Scotland and Britain in general has been widely criticised as providing a legacy of sick and sterile architecture. Architects and local councils were highly censured for imposing Modern Movement ideas without first investigating the possible consequences, influenced in part by the demand for housing after WWII and the need to improve living conditions in the slums. Prior to this, the heavy industrialisation of the nineteenth-century inflicted major scars on our cities, and the subsequent decay during postindustrialisation, all contributed to the proliferation of lost spaces. All these issues have been inflicted to the context area subject of this project, Leith Walk, and their consequences are still in evidence. A new strategy is needed to (re)activate the fragmented urban fabric of the site, requiring fresh ideas on how to develop housing and ways to live not driven by market priorities but by the possibility of developing a model for new urban interventions that are able to initiate, connect and transform future developments that can be applied on other locations in the city as well. The proposals aim to create urban living environments that strengthen the importance of the site as a residential quarter, implementing a strategy of socially integrated and architecturally sustainable neighbourhood. Responding at the scale of the project site, the projects prioritise specific residential functions with open spaces and common facilities adapted to modern living patterns (i.e. Who can live there? What can people do there?).

URBAN TRIPTYCH Alexandra Zervudachi, Panagiotis Demiris & Andrew Gass

TOWARDS A COMPLETE COMMUNITY The aim of our shared proposal is to bring together the different inhabitants of Leith into an integrated community, bringing together the old and the young, locals and newcomers, students, professionals and unemployed - people of all different walks of life to interact rather than turning their backs on each other. As a team we have been working on three projects whose programs not only coexist, but actually complete and enhance each other. A series of shared public spaces will link our projects: - a new square breaking up the density of our scheme with a recreational area - the pedestrianisation of a section of Leith Walk, allowing for improved street life and commerce - a network of walkways connecting the two nearby parks

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CENTRE FOR INNOVATION Alexandra Zervudachi

In today’s competitive world, it is difficult for young, independent innovators to break into their industry. Innovation requires a significant investment, of both time and money, for research and development. This means that many brilliant ideas never see the light, simply because of lack of resources. This project proposes to offer creative and ingenious concepts a space to burgeon. Teams of innovators are selected according to merit, and are granted a given period of residency, depending on the needs of their proposal. Members of the team will come to live and work together during this period, in an intense and dynamic environment, to drive their project from concept to reality. This scheme is intended not only to benefit its users, but also to be a catalyst for improvement and revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood. The project will converge enthusiastic and creative individuals, who will engage with the diverse community, having a positive impact on the area at large. Teams emerging from this program are also likely to set up their new businesses in the area, potentially starting to build a network in Leith, and beginning to decentralize the city of Edinburgh towards this part of the city whose potential is too often ignored. The chosen site for the project is the former railway bridge: its structure provides a strong foundation, the arches offer a space full of potential and the position above them allows for generous light and open views. The space bellow the arches will be stripped down to its bare structure to provide a spacious area to be adapted by the teams as they see fit according to their activities, for example as a workshop / warehouse / laboratory / etc The structure above is based on the structure of a ship: the public walkways are the ‘deck’ and provide opportunities for informal interaction. These interactions are enhanced by providing basic services along the walkways, such as newsagents / coffee stands /etc to create a ‘street above the street’. Residents live and work in close quarters to each other, however, they each have their own individual ‘cabins’ - private spaces to which they can retreat to at the end of the day. These cabins are sealed and provide an acclimated environment, while the other spaces are considered functional work spaces and provide and industrial environment.

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LEITH COMMUNITY SOCIAL HOUSING FOR THE YOUNG Andrew Gass

The site, Leith Walk, is a result of 19th Century industrialism which is still visible on the site. Post industrialism and post World War Two housing demands have created the development of ‘Lost Spaces’ where their purpose has not been considered. This Unit aims to tackle the use of these spaces in a residential setting to enhance the surrounding community. There are high rates of unemployment and homelessness within Edinburgh, Leith holding a high percentage of this. Last year over 56,000 households made homeless applications to their local council in Scotland and around 20,000 children living in households were accepted as homeless (Shelter Scotland National Housing Statistics). The intent of the intervention is to create homes for the young homeless (16-25) and a programme in place to help them develop skills in arts through a community art school. The Homelessness Task Force recognises that the three main barriers to successful resettlement are: • lack of furniture • feelings of loneliness and isolation • lack of employment and training Leith Walk is saturated with small local businesses and shops. To create external gallery space would increase footfall to these businesses and encourage a pride within the young artists, as they become part of their community. Such a space may take the form of a local square within the residential density. Teaching links are possible from the Leith Art School that exists to the North East of the site. The Bethany Church Group, who home the homless, hold a strong presense within Leith and such a development as proposed could become part of their structure. Accommodations for the young homeless will be situate above the studio spaces where semi-private and private space can be created in contrast to the community spaces below. There must be a sensitivity towards the social skills and interactions of the newly homed residents. The project intends to mediate the social scales the protagonist will encounter, with the goal of integrating to the community.

Plan Extract 1:100 First Floor Plan 1:500

Cross Section Courtyard 1:100

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INTERGENERATION CO-OPERATIVE LIVING Panagiotis Demiris

Keeping up with the times is something architecture may, or may not, have failed to do so. Still, keeping up with age is an altogether absent matter. Our notions of space insist, or accidentally remain, in the modernist notions of design and architecture currently favors displacement and is rarely about inclusiveness and diversity. 'Intergenerational Co-operative Living' is a transitional architectural scheme, collateral to our current needs while allowing for future adjustments. Britain's demographic is rapidly aging, however, the corresponding market is far from mature. Coincidentally, the generation gap keeps widening and age discrimination is the most widely experienced form of discrimination across Europe. The proposal aims to promote tolerance and bridge the gap by dealing with another issue: that of nutrition. Our nutritional values are being diminished with Tescos sprouting up all over Britain and our diet consists of Meal-Deals. With the variety of green public spaces Edinburgh has to offer, an urban farming axis is being established and common cooking facilities will be provided. Above them, the two age ends will coexist in an architecture that is malleable and tailored according to their needs. Students and the elderly will assemble their living spaces choosing from a collection of components which will be placed, but not stacked, in a structural shell that will be able to accommodate other uses in the future. On account of the design’s association with industrial landscapes and the locomotive, it will also be constructed according to the essence of a manufacturing sector - or a forge. The main structural shell that will accommodate the units will be made out of wrought iron; cast and weld: a shredded train, the layers of which are separated into two floors – or decks. The aim of this design proposal is to offer residents freedom in organizing their homes, their composition and use. It aspires to bridge the generation gap through a scheme of “cooperative living” where people collaborate in order to structure their lives, either through cooking agreements (“Could you prepare packed meals on Mondays if I do the same on Thursdays?”), or layout arrangements for their residences.

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MASTERPLANNING LEITH Greg Robins, Jonathan Piper & Shimal Morjaria

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SERVICING LEITH Greg Robins

Known as the main artery connecting Edinburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new town and city docks, Leith Walk is a key hub to up and coming inhabitants among the rapidly developing city. A proposed new masterplan for the area implements traditional grid urban strategies, as response to the growing social deprivation of the area. The project will re-establish existing structures as well as proposition new residential schemes to improve Leith Walkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current social and educational conditions. These residential propositions introduce community growth, acting as a seed in further establishing lost spaces throughout the city. The mechanic is a protagonist that already thrives in this old industrial part of Leith. The proposal improves the working facilities of the current garages and develops through housing for the young apprentice. Workshops, lectures and University links offer an insight to the community of what is being offered and in turn encouraging the lower class of the area to enrol in an apprenticeship. The proposal will enhance the existing vaulted arches by creating new passages into the site which lead towards the master planned civic square and beyond. The tram shed will be converted into a new space for working and learning, giving back into the community on site, and in reverse providing a new shop front to the civic square. The working, living and giving back to the community will be separated. The vaulted arches and old tram shed act as the anchor of the project, with the residential proposal portraying a tectonic driven architectural intervention. Concrete fins parasite the vaulted arches and become the tectonic focus. The proposal forces this to be read as the main character of the modular housing construction through the recessing of glazing and floor slabs. This forces the viewer to read this directional fin as a tectonic object.

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HOUSING FOR APPRENTICE CHEFS Jonathan Piper

As response to the abundance of culinary variety in the area, the project proposes a new residential scheme housing Apprentice Chefs. The proposal offers new forms of employment for recently qualified and training chefs, while introducing them to a developing city area that possesses numerous cultures and experiences. The architectural scheme employs shared cooking and social spaces, where group activities and learning is encouraged. In addition to communal areas, individual units provide tranquillity after the long hours and heat of a working day. Among a new masterplan of culinary programs, the apprentice chefs are consumed with appropriate skills and opportunities to continue a strong career with food. The masterplanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aspiration to promote the culinary arts as a tool for urban regeneration of Lost spaces is embodied in its tectonic ambitions. Common to all the developments in the area is the idea of creating spaces with unique atmospheres through the architectural devices of folding, wrapping and framing. The scheme for the apprentice chef implements traditional brick reclaimed from buildings formerly on the site, paying tribute to the historic significance of Leithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial past. The residential building aligns itself to a newly created route of circulation; however, the blocks are offset and create the desired spaces between the wrapping of the faĂ§ade.

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HOUSING FOR FAMILY OWNED RESTAURANT BUSINESSES Shimal Morjaria

Leith’s multi-cultural inhabitance calls for a proposal to house the owners of small family businesses in the culinary industry. The proposal provides a live-work scenario whereby the accommodation for restaurant owners is directly above their workplace. Designed as a residential unit for the family of restaurant owners, the scheme considers the relationships between living, working and family routine. The residential accommodation aims to create a sense of ownership within the urban fabric between people from varied backgrounds. The creation of such a community is a tool for regenerating Leith’s ‘Lost space’ and similar areas of urban decay around the city. The masterplan’s aspiration to promote the culinary arts as a tool for urban regeneration of lost spaces is embodied in its tectonic ambitions. Common to all the developments in the area is the idea of creating spaces with unique atmospheres through the architectural devices of folding, wrapping and framing. The housing for the family owned businesses uses the tectonic devices of folding and framing to unify the residential units with their associated restaurants. The aluminium cladding envelops the residential unit, signifying it as a singular entity accommodating one family.

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SYMBIOGENESE Kevin Kuriakose & Daria Vidisheva

SYMBIOGENESE n. (biology) The merging of two separate organisms to form a single new organism\

Residence Water Tank

Biofilter

Shredder

Aquifier

Digester

Hygenisation

Exhaust

Heat Exchanger

Primary Pit

CH P

Pl an t

CO2

Gasometer Turbine

Biogas Plants

The focus of the project was to create a hybrid tectonic system that would reclaim lost space that have fallen to urban decay through symbiogenesis. the system whose evolution is driven by the self sustaining, symbiotic relationship of the grĂźneHAUS and the maschinengeHĂ&#x201E;USE that interact and merge to form new entities all the while providing all the necessary resources for agro-mechanical community that it houses to thrive After anaylsing the site through a series of mapping excercises we drew several conclusions. We realized that there was a deficit of green space around our site after our analysis of the built environment and one of the aims of the project was to bridge this disparity of built vs. natural spaces. By performing a GPS trace while trying to access the site and then mapping the various links that fed into the site we realized the site was diconnected from the rest of the city. Based on these conclusions we decided to develop the intersection between existing conditions while continuing to focus on bringing the residents of Leith closer to nature. The scheme revolves around the creation of a closed greenhouse that was maintained by the community that it houses. This greenhouse will also act as a node and a landmark that would not only attract visitors but also generate heat and biomass that is converted into energy by the mechanics. Everything from the sewage and waste produced by the community is recycled. At a larger scale the proposal will also consider a wide range of urban spatial policies like the provisions of green spaces and retrofitting existing buildings along with infrastructure renewal and increased non-motorized transport coverage while the symbiotic system proposed wil act as a node in the network of bridges that aims to create another rich layer in the urban fabric. This network seeks to link green spaces across the city. This system can be seen as a pilot for future projects that can plug into this vast newtork to create several nodal, sustainable symbiotic systems. A system whose evolution is driven by symbiosis, where elements interact and cooperate to merge and form new entities. These systems will be able to function both as autonomous entities and as a network.

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GRÜNEHAUS Kevin Kuriakose

The project was inspired and influenced by the tectonic nature of the existing industrial buildings. The project seeks to cater to the needs of the protagonist, the gardener, and seeks to provide a space to retreat and connect with nature. The initial concept of the housing scheme was for the housing to be linked directly with a greenhouse with a focus on the symbiotic relationship between the horticulturist and the greenhouse. The project was to be climatically responsive and the idea was to provide a semi-conditioned winter garden for the horticulturist that shared structure and components with the adjacent greenhouse. The entire scheme was organized along a grid, with the housing units clustered around service cores. Access to the individual housing units is provided from a very public arcade which acts as a spine for circulation. The units were designed to provide easily adaptable space for living with only the core services defined. With slight variations of the typical layout a multitude of different configurations can be achieved to provide for different numbers of occupants. The tectonic structure was conceived as an independent steel portal frame structure that is made of the same repeating components as the greenhouse. This not only provides a semiconditioned winter garden that provides passive heating but it also acts to protect the structure of the housing units which are made from exposed cross laminated timber (CLT). The portal frames with glazing would be installed and then the prefabricated CLT structure would be assembled within this rain-proof environment. The winter garden has mechanical louvers that operate to prevent overheating during summer months but remain closed to contain the heat during winter.

‘Anon, out of the earth a fabric huge Rose like an exhalation’ Milton - ‘Paradise Lost’, 1667

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MASCHINENGEHÄUSE Daria Vidisheva

Located right off Leith Walk, the initial analysis of the site showed that it was suffering from disuse and abandonment, a major cause of which was that a large part was walled off. From here the original aim of the maschinengeHÄUSE, or Mechanic House, was to create a prototype of an architectural system that could be used as an antidote to lost spaces. Based on the large existing demographic of car mechanics,maschinengeHÄUSE developed into an amalgam of different types of mechanics who would work together to educate each other in their crafts. There are 3 slightly different protagonists , the car mechanics all ready on site, the CHP mechanics who will mostly work with the greenHAUS project, and the apprentices who will benefit from a combination of mechanical teachings from both senior protagonists. The architecture was informed by this intention. There are two bridges that extend from the archways of a existing bridge. This creates a new transition level on site which connects Leith to the city. Another key concern was the North-South alignment of the buildings and how to introduce light into the building. The mechanical facade works like a living plant reacting for light. It catches the light during the day by changing its angle and at night it acts as a screen fully shielding the windows from people passing by at the higher levels. The screens are animated by simple clockwork mechanism driven by an electric motor.

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THRESHOLD TO THE CITY: LEITH MENTAL HEALTH RETREAT Abby Kelman

The intervention attempts to bring the lost space into the modern era, whilst remaining respectful to the surrounding area. In order to provide adequate health care for mental health patients, it has been discovered that light and space are beneficial in their recovery and rehabilitation. With this in mind, control of light and freedom of movement have been a key consideration with regards to the buildings tectonic ambition. In order to harmonise with the existing site conditions, weathered oak louvres have been implemented to filter light through the building, much like sunlight through a forest - enhancing the serene atmosphere of the building. In continuation, large amounts of glazing have been utilised in order to reflect the open and light atmosphere, in order to allow patients to feel as if they are perhaps in a hotel or spa, a as opposed to a restrictive and oppressive hospital. Residents and guests should feel as though they are in a quiet forested area of the city so green space has been provided in the form of internal access courtyards which give freedom to the outside world without having to leave the building. Furthermore, to allow maximum light into the residential spaces, above the ground floor level, the floors push back over the arch ways which then allows for access to the roofs of the floors below to again, encourage movement and freedom within the building. In terms of materiality, in order to remain in line with the light and airy conditions of the building, white reinforced concrete walls and flooring has been implemented to not only provide efficient thermal mass properties but its heavy nature balances the lightness of the glass and timber.

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LEITH SPECIAL ECONOMIC DISTRICT AND LEITH WALK SLAB Anton Anikeev

The project is the direct result of a political initiative to reinforce Edinburgh status as the capital of soon independent Scotland. The project aims to improve Edinburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitiveness on the global scale not only as a historical, but as cultural, financial and innovative heart of Scotland. Leith Special Economic District is one of the few future insertions into city fabric that aim to provide favored conditions for small and medium innovative businesses as well as to provide new jobs opportunities for local residents. Special Economic Districts intend to improve peripheral areas of Edinburgh and make them equally developed to the central part of the city. These intervention will prepare the grounds for future demographic expansion of Edinburgh from todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 470 000 citizens to 2 000 000 that would make Edinburgh the biggest city in Scotland. Leith Special Economic District will offer free flats for young entrepreneurs under the condition that those open businesses in the local postcode area. An entrepreneur will also be granted 80% tax discount for the subsequent if the business has at least 50% of employers who residents in the local postcode area. LSED will consist of the residences for the coming entrepreneurs and highly skilled workers, facilities for those to start the businesses, such as offices and other typologies required. Masterplan is going to include public developments (markets, sport facilities, entertainment facilities) as a part of the strategy as well as new parking spaces and general urban improvements of the area.

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VIEW TOWARDS NORTH SEA

VIEW TOWARDS THE EDINBURGH CASTLE

LEITH GALLERY GARDENS Arslan Arkallayev

The scope of the project was aimed at creating a new sculpture garden embraced by a refurbishment of an existing old warehouse as well as new housing units. The project explores the interplaying thresholds of living, working and exhibiting spaces for artists. A central sculpture garden runs along the north face of the warehouse, framed by the smaller units. The personal exhibition spaces below the warehouse units have the possibility to open onto the garden for exhibitions and thoroughfare into the gallery inside. I was inclined towards using as much of the existing warehouse as possible, especially the east brick facade. The existing structure of the warehouse set a challenging task of stacking double (studio) and single (living) height spaces. Tectonically, It did however, provide an opportunity to to use its existing trusses as a framework to span new steel beams which could support the individual units that float above the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal exhibition and gallery space. The use of steel allowed for spanning large of double height opening and window spaces. Generous light wells provided a muted interior light and catered the relationship between the north facing studios and tucked living spaces. One central light well serves the exhibition space below the unit, while a personal light well comes off to serve the individual mirrored units. The services run along the central mirror lines. A lift between the mirrored units sits along the centre, providing an option for transferring artwork into the exhibition space below.

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CITY OF WEIRDOS Beatriz Nieto Rodriguez

The idea was to create a co-housing community that could help improving the urban, architecture and social problems in the area. Thus I decided to design a landmark development, achieving this with the contrast in between the new buildings and the site and also with the new activities that would be planned. The housing community typology, mixed uses and activities should spread their influence to the rest of the neighbourhood. As a first step, a warehouse would be put down, as well as the small attached buildings to the train viaduct, which would be renovated, as would the historical warehouse. The arches would keep its commercial activities inside and a library would be added, above a park that would link the other green areas in Leith. The warehouse would become an semi-opened space, with gardens, commercial and leisure spaces which would link the interior spaces of the block with each other and with the neighbouring areas. The development would be built linking, at street level and in height, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;green linkâ&#x20AC;? with the warehouse, Leith Walk and Halmayre street. It would consist of several blocks created with small cubic units, these would be arranged trying to get a porose facade in order to open the views and let the light go through. The cubes, 5x5x5m, would have a metal frame composed by 4 joined pieces. These four structures would sustain three platforms each, a lowest, a middle and a walkable gardened roof. The platforms would be movable along the height of their frames. The facade would be glass, protected with shutters on the outside. The windows have a special glass system which has water running inside, the temperature is regulated mainly by geothermal energy, thus minimizing the heat transfer. Each cube can be a housing unit by itself or can be joined with adjacent units in order to create larger housing. The multiple solutions of inner spaces, by platform movements and joined units makes of the housing community a very versatile space, adapting to an heterogeneous society.

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LEITH MARKET Benedict Douglas-Scott

My response to the problems of the site was to bring in more greenery to a very grey and drab area. Being near the corner between Leith walk and Leith the area was an opportunity to be a hub for both the local residents and those travelling through. As I had set out in my brief, my aim was to showcase the local workmanship of Leith through a community hub run by locals. The site scheme comprises of three main elements-first the market which is the main attraction of the site, located within the old tram shed and selling fresh farm produce. The second component of the scheme is the park and square which would house public events, performances and music. The park would provide a more cultivated and tended counterpart to the nearby Leith links and a quiet refuge from the busy area. The final component of the site is the shops which would be run by the local residents of Leith, with a certain number of shops run by those living in the houses above them. There are four entrances to the site each signposted by the corner residences which would signify the entrance to the area. Whilst the scheme is quite compacted at this stage, there is an opportunity for the housing to expand, to replace much of the dire council housing nearby and for more green spaces to extend around the area, across Leith walk and towards the Leith Links. This scheme is a strategic intervention intended to spread much further throughout the area, inspiring more projects, community centres and green spaces to rejuvenate the area. A major element in my residential scheme is the four housing units located at different parts of the cluster. In order to allow a variation in the protagonists living on site, I have designed four different houses of different size and capacity.

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HEALING OLD SPACES: HEALTH VILLAGE Claire Murray

This development aims to promote healthy living in its widest sense, within a community, exploring the productive potential of a health and lifestyle village near the foot of Leith Walk. It will be a catalyst for urban regeneration; healing the scars of an unconnected community. It will bring together a mix of activities for all ages and abilities, allowing individuals to enjoy being active and overall improving their health and well-being. This development will provide Leith with new multifunctional activity spaces, an indoor local produce market, community cafĂŠ and new public performance areas. It will be the main hub of activity; boosting community health. Occupants of the housing designed within this project are envisaged to be individuals who require a healthier lifestyle â&#x20AC;&#x201C; physically, mentally or socially. Purposely designed to generate movement, the residential units are raised from lower floor to provide maximum views and exposure to activities, encouraging them to get involved. The development will open up the lack of current accessibility, increasing movement flows around the site, congealing the previously absent space as a new destination.

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LEITH ARTISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S VILLAGE Fraser Graham

Art is a prominent feature of Edinburgh, and this project aims to provide a new artistic community in the centre of Leith. The project will provide living and studio accommodation for a large group of artists, as well as providing a gallery and collaborations space to allow the artists to display their work to the public. The main architectural inspiration for the project was the tram shed present on the site. Run down and used as a store by Edinburgh council, the space seemed depressed and unloved. Originally built for the Leith Tramways, the building has been lacking a purpose since the departure of the trams in the 1950s. The distinctive feature of the depot was the use of trusses throughout, and it is these trusses which have set the rhythm of the entire project, with each residential unit having a truss as a prominent feature. The new buildings continue this rhythm, with their own set of trusses and a roof scape inspired by the previous buildings. The other element of the site which has been tacked is the large, empty space within the site. Much of this has been inhabited by the new building, but there has also been the consideration of creating a new public space and improving pathways across the site.

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LEITH CARNIVAL GROUND Jorge Simelio Jurado

I. BAD CONSCIENCE From the beginning of this project I have understood Leith as Edinburgh’s bad conscience. This area of the city is associated with drug abuse, high unemployment and other social problems, as well as an ageing population. It has become clear that the civic and social institutions of Edinburgh are unable – or perhaps unwilling – to come up with ideas that will be helpful to the population of Leith. Despite the number of empty lots in this area, one can’t help but notice the lack of new developments. The apathy of Edinburgh towards Leith is well exemplified in the recent tramway development: the tram line stops at Leith Walk as if not daring to enter this zone where the social norms of central Edinburgh don’t apply. Perhaps Edinburgh, given time, can come to terms with its bad conscience, however in the case of Leith this will no doubt mean investment aimed at raising property value, making Leith marketable to a more upscale public: hardly a sustainable solution for Leiths current population. I believe there is a different proposal to be made. II. WELCOME TO THE CARNIVAL The aim of this project is to study the potential of bare built structure – one which is devoid of any a priori concept of its future use – as a catalyst for positive change. A modular steel structure is built on site and left completely empty. Its physical characteristics allow it to support human life, yet it is simple enough that it can be inhabited in a number of different ways. On a wider scale, what is being proposed is a temporary lifting of the strict social norms that operate in Edinburgh, allowing for ‘an-other’ space that might be more attuned to the social reality of Leith. In my vision, this structure is inhabited by a group of travelling entertainers who set up a carnival on the site. Their motivation for coming to Leith is filling the entertainment gap in the area: their freedom allows them to provide a sort of entertainment beyond what a library, community centre or a museum has to offer. What begins as a series of caravans plugged into the structure slowly develops into a more permanent kind of housing: one based on inhabitable capsules that fill the structure yet can be removed and trans- ported if necessary. Tectonically, this means developing a lightweight and flexible architecture that can deal with change over time.

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LEITH INDUSTRIAL HOUSING Jos Singer

As a result of deindustrialisation, Leith has lost its glory as the port of Edinburgh. Old train tracks lie in ruins, navigated only by the occasional drug user. This bears testimony to the fact that there has been an clear inability to reinvigorate the industrial shining of Victorian Britain. The intention for this project is to propose reindustrialising Leith, however, doing so in such a manner that industrialisation becomes internalised. Largely considering rapid urbanisation of the developing world, one must question what is enough for a comfortable life? Leith is now home to large faculties of immigrants outside of the EU, who may be seeking employment or refuge. The intention is to propose a scenario where one has to work for spatial comforts, forgetting about material well-being. With Chinese leaders preaching rhetoric about the “glorious[ness]” of “getting rich”, it certainly poses the question of whether there is enough material gains to go around. The statement is purposefully Marxist, as much as the aesthetic which informs the noir character of the space. Dystopic visions of the city are often considered to exaggerate circumstances in order for an audience to consider the effect of those circumstances. By reusing the abandoned shed adjacent to the site, this project will propose a factory that provides two things. Firstly, the factory will construct a set of housing units contained within initial cores. In order to provide housing for a large number of immigrants and workers these core units, rising four stories above a market place, are necessarily constructed in a cheap and easy manner. Therefore, insitu concrete construction allows utilities and services for initial housing units. After which, concrete frames set on a grid allow for improvised expansion of housing. Secondly, the factory will manufacture the components with which occupants will use in order to expand their own housing, breaking away from the cores and into the space between. These components are manufactured on a 3m grid themselves. In the nature of improvised housing, components as wall, floor and roof are necessarily easy to assemble. By providing the frames, constructed in insitu concrete as well, the intention is to allow for growth from the structural cores and into the space between. This system internalizes industry and provides a platform for occupants to construct their own growth patterns, depending on their will to work for spatial benefits.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

KINETIC SPACE Kate Skinner

This project attempts to reinvigorate an urban void off Leith Walk Edinburgh, strengthening its existence as a residential quarter and enhancing the area with a scheme of specific internal sports facilities and flexible public external spaces for the local community. Accumulatively the environment created, will facilitate, and allow itself to be defined by, the movements and physical practices of the community which occupies it. The modular design draws surrounding buildings into the scheme by functionally redefining older buildings with new sports facilities, thus the scope and potential of the urban kinetic space is broadened. The ambition is to create a defined yet holistically flexible architecture; a functional architecture which reinstates a sense of urban order without prescribing the exact nature of its occupation.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

A PLACE TO DIE Lachlan Anderson-Frank

This project is determined to create a mixed-use, mixedtenure housing and office neighbourhood with a single structure which caters to the needs of its various inhabitants while repairing the 'lost' urban fabric of the formerly industrial site and responding to the climatic conditions of Edinburgh. The building allows for shops and commercial units at ground floor level along Leith walk and along the two new pedestrian paths which connect to it, shared meeting rooms, and communal greenhouse allotments on the roof. The intent is that, in a economically disadvantaged area such as Leith walk, the provision of social housing for the elderly, the base proposition of the project, can be 'diluted' with the inclusion of privately rented housing, and offices/ commercial units. In doing so, the project reflects the idea that the elderly do not wish to be ghettoised, locked away from society in tranquil and controlled gardens, rather, they deserve to be active participants in vital communities. This project makes a crude attempt at the tabula rasa creation of such a ‘vital community’ through its determination to mix housing and offices into a single megastructure. The tectonics of the project intend to create variety and individuality on lateral ( South West and North East) facades with a wide variety of claddings (such as wood shingles, corrugated metal, corten steel, brick and stone cladding, or pebbledash) giving ‘individual’ addresses to each cluster of units, while the main facades are uniform and gridded. In this aspect, the project is undeniably inspired both in form and tectonics by British brutalism, and the exposed concrete frame structure will be dyed different colours in each section of the project for way finding purposes for the elderly, and to give identity to each block. Various playful aesthetic elements such as the extruded elevator towers, which also function as ventilation stacks for the commercial greenhouse covered atria, the small cantilevers of the top floor units, and the elaborate stair system in coloured metal, reference the area’s industrial history as well as various traditions of social housing design.

URBAN URBAN STRATEGY STRATEGY

1. REMOVE1.URBAN REMOVE BLOCKAGES URBAN BLOCKAGES

Tram Shed, Tram TramOffice, Shed,NHS TramOffices, Office, NHS BingoOffices, Hall Bingo Hall

3. SLICE NEW 3. SLICE SUPERBLOCKS: NEW SUPERBLOCKS:

North South Orientation North South forOrientation Maximum for SunMaximum Sun

5. CREATE5.CONNECTIONS CREATE CONNECTIONS

Receptions and Receptions Community andSpaces Community Spaces

URBAN URBAN STRATEGY STRATEGY

REMOVE1. URBAN REMOVEBLOCKAGES URBAN BLOCKAGES 2. REPAIR 2.URBAN REPAIR BLOCK URBAN STRUCTURE: BLOCK STRUCTURE:1. Tram Shed, Tram Tram Office, Shed, Tram NHS Offices, Office, NHS Bingo Offices, Hall Bingo Hall Create Connections Create with Connections New Pedestrian with New Street Pedestrian Street

4. ADD NEW 4. ADD FUNCTIONS: NEW FUNCTIONS: Housing

(south facing)

Offices Housing

(north (south facing) facing)

Offices

(north facing)

6. GENERATE 6. GENERATE URBAN POROSITY: URBAN POROSITY: Circulation / Internal Circulation Streets / Internal / Atriums Streets / Atriums

3. SLICE NEW 3. SLICE SUPERBLOCKS: NEW SUPERBLOCKS:

North South Orientation North Southfor Orientation Maximumfor Sun Maximum Sun

5. CREATE5.CONNECTIONS CREATE CONNECTIONS

Receptions and Receptions Community andSpaces Community Spaces

URBAN URBAN STRATEGY STRATEGY

REMOVE1. URBAN REMOVEBLOCKAGES URBAN BLOCKAGES 2. REPAIR2.URBAN REPAIRBLOCK URBANSTRUCTURE: BLOCK STRUCTURE: 1. Tram Shed, Tram Tram Office, Shed, Tram NHS Offices, Office, NHS Bingo Offices, Hall Bingo Hall Create Connections Create Connections with New Pedestrian with NewStreet Pedestrian Street

4. ADD NEW 4. ADD FUNCTIONS: NEW FUNCTIONS: Housing

(south facing)

Housing Offices

(south (northfacing) facing)

Offices

(north facing)

6. GENERATE 6. GENERATE URBAN POROSITY: URBAN POROSITY: Circulation / Internal Circulation Streets / Internal / Atriums Streets / Atriums

3. SLICE NEW 3. SLICE SUPERBLOCKS: NEW SUPERBLOCKS:

North South Orientation North Southfor Orientation Maximumfor Sun Maximum Sun

5. CREATE5.CONNECTIONS CREATE CONNECTIONS

Receptions and Receptions Community andSpaces Community Spaces

2. REPAIR2.URBAN REPAIRBLOCK URBANSTRUCTURE: BLOCK STRUCTURE: Create Connections Create Connections with New Pedestrian with NewStreet Pedestrian Street

4. ADD NEW 4. ADD FUNCTIONS: NEW FUNCTIONS: Housing

(south facing)

Housing Offices

(south (northfacing) facing)

Offices

(north facing)

6. GENERATE 6. GENERATE URBAN POROSITY: URBAN POROSITY: Circulation / Internal Circulation Streets / Internal / Atriums Streets / Atriums

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

URBAN NEUROREHABILITATION Laura Adamson

Rehabilitation is an intensive course of therapy designed to strengthen and restore the normal function of muscles and joints, improve endurance and stamina, increase flexibility and range of movement to help reduce pain and disability. The site in relation to its wider context is fragmented and chaotic, it breaks away from the urban grid creating disorientation; subsequently many spaces have become abandoned and the site has lost the connection with the wider area and public users. The Proposal will look at re-structuring the site to bring order and improve circulation on and around the site. The main proposal is for a rehabilitation centre with care and residential facilities for young adults who have suffered; . Re-ordering the immediate surrounding area to include exterior sports facilities and public spaces. The proposal is for a neurorehabilitation facility for young adults who have physical impairments resulting from conditions such as cerebral palsy. Neurorehabilitation is a process which aims to help people recover or to improve from these impairments in order to heighten their quality of life. The scheme retains the existing tram shed and repurposes it as part of the rehabilitation facilities. It becomes a leisure centre which will be shared by both the residents and the public. The sports centre anchors the building into the site aswell as the city as it creates a new purpose and facility for the area to attract the public. The proposal of the scheme is intended to create a welcome environment for the inhabitants, somewhere they can feel like part of a community and also receive treatment to help improve their mobility. The residential units wrap around the inside of the building and create a private gardened courtyard for the residents. Brick has been chosen as the structural tectonic material in keeping with the surrounding buildings as well as its tactile properties, the nature of the protagonist means that the walls may have to be used for physical support by the inhabitants and brick is durable enough to withstand this. Other fitted elements of the building including window frames are made out of timber in order to add a softer material for both aesthetic and acoustic purposes.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

GREENWAY HOUSING Laurens Jacobs

The district of Leith is quite typical of an area that has fallen at the hands of post-Industrial decay. The one-time industrial heartland, processing goods directly from docks before sending them away by rail has fallen victim to poor urban planning in the wake of the post-War housing boom. While the more commercial North British railway network still supports passengers, the industry-serving Caledonian network is largely derelict. Now that the factories are either gone or in severe disrepair, the resultant space is at a scale which simply is neither made for the car nor the pedestrian, the effect of this is that Leith Walk is now merely an alleyway, a thoroughfare. Whereas before, the housing was conveniently situated around the factory, now, one could argue that the glue binding together the infrastructure has been taken away. Crucially, there are now no nodes along Leith Walk. For this reason, this project has been aimed at the cyclist. The proposal is not only a greenway made up from the foundations of the Caledonian railway network, one which at one point served the industrial works in the City of Edinburgh and beyond (see diagram), but to create a node that would actively attract those who cycle and representing a mode of living that would encourage the residents to cycle at all times. The tectonic ambition of this project is to create a topology that actively encourages the inhabitantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usage of the proposed greenway made up of the remnants of the now defunct parts Caledonian railway network, in order to navigate this part of the city. To do this, the unit arrangement will form a terraced courtyard, within which a ramp will raise users from the street level to the greenway. This will be done by subdividing intersecting curves based on the width of one unit to create a series of fins that will be expressed with concrete, on which the ramp shall rest. The wider reaching ambition is to create a new typology for the bicycle on the assumption of a culture of almost prostheses between human and bicycle, so that the automatic response to leaving a house in these post-Industrial, middle-scaled, areas is to mount a bicycle as naturally as one would take a seat in a car, on a bus or simply walking out of the front door.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

LEITH ART TE.TR.I.S. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; TEMPORARY, TRANSFORMABLE INTERACTIVE STAND Marta Blanco Sanchez

'Architecture is the art of waisting space and organizing the interior space' â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Philip Johnson. Edinburgh is one of the main cities in the world for architecture and all its different forms of art. We find ourselves in a city that keeps one of the most prestigious relics of historic architecture. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that many students come to Edinburgh to study arts. The ECA (Edinburgh College of Arts) is a very well-known University, located in the city centre, and from where future generations of artists and architects are formed. Every year, many arts and music festivals take place in the city of Edinburgh and its surroundings. People from all over the world come to Scotland to take part in one of the many festivals or just to visit them and do some sightseeing. The city gets so busy that the lack of places to stay is clearly noticeable. This is why we propose a completely versatile and multidisciplinary and space, in the surroundings of the old town, on Leith Walk, where all those artists of either disciplines that come to participate in these festivals have a place to stay and present their projects. To life art is its main essence, we create a transformable and interactive space, that people who live there can arrange in the way that best suits them.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

SUBURBAN OUTREACH Oscar Selemba

Many young boys and girls feel left out in our society, especially those that grow up in a deprived neighbourhood. Studies have shown that the area I am focusing on, down Leith Walk, is one of the most deprived in Edinburgh and Scotland. This has led to people committing more crimes, be more likely to be using drugs and also to vandalise what do not belong to them. By exploring and reconďŹ guring the site into various massing types and orders, I am looking for a way to create open space in larger scale where the inhabitant feel as if they possess it and has a need to take care of it. This leads to public spaces feeling like private spaces and therefore being maintained by the area. This project is intended to combine Modernist housing with Victorian open space allocation. Scotland are used to build housing with no outdoor space to interact or do activities. Not only are these outdoor spaces made for no activities but also for the car, a place to park it which takes up too much space. I have therefore relocated tra"c and parking into the old tram shed, to give those living there a more free outdoor space. The building itself focuses on light vs heavy and the usage of material. With a heavy concrete snake wrapping around a lighter wooden box and with a fragile glass box placed in#between these the user gets to experience a feeling of change. Positioned to frame the site and create more than just a building it works as a compliment to the surrounding area. The pavement fades into the site, with no curbs and no changes in material except for the green areas, which are large and made to provide a place for activities. Structurally the concrete snake will act as the primary structure, being precast as blocks of 7500x2750mm meaning eight of them per facade. Thus, the secondary structure is the timber trusses that are attached to the concrete using joist hangers. My choice of residents is tailored to those that are least likely to feel apart of society. They are done with high school, has left home, canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ďŹ nd jobs, stuck in a bad life but feel like they want to change and are in need of new opportunities. Hopefully they will not only feel as if they just live in the building, but also a part of the site and the surrounding area.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

VIADUCT COMMUNITY HOUSING Peter Burt

The protagonist for the project was drawn from both the problems and opportunities facing Leith as a community. The project was focused on providing housing for young families, whilst providing small, independent business opportunities. The aim was to create a centre for Leith, a destination that people would want to visit. The site needed to be opened up for easy access and promote a welcoming environment. Accessibility from both Leith Walk and Easter Road was important, given their high foot traffic. As part of the development, new leisure facilities were to be provided to engage with the young community. Business units were to be incorporated to promote the local economy and social diversity. The project intended to relate directly to the industrial heritage of the site. The intervention drew inspiration from warehouse loft-style housing. To properly communicate this idea, the main material used was red brick, typical of Victorian industrial buildings and similar to that used in other existing buildings on the site. The main intervention took place on the old railway viaduct to the north of the site. The brick structure has a firm grounding atop the robust stone archway, giving the building a feeling of permanence and solidity. In contrast to the external appearance of the building, the interior was treated as a separate insertion. The unit sits within the arched volume creating a double height living space and natural circulation space. The unit is constructed from plywood, giving it a very lightweight appearance inside the vault. As well as a structural contrast, the light colour of the plywood brings warmth to the bare materials exposed in the brick and concrete.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

THE PERMANENT AND THE TRANSITORY: REHABILITATION CENTRE FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS, LEITH Ross Ledsham

The intervention will provide a home for young offenders, aged 18-25, either post-release from prison, or as an alternative to prison. It is to act as a centre for rehabilitation, and an apparatus for preventing re-offending. This is a response to the problem of crime and deprivation in the area of the site. Numerous studies have suggested that prison in the United Kingdom is not working to efficiently reduce re-offending. A 2013 report described dynamic factors commonly associated with re-offending. These include drug misuse, a lack of/poor family and intimate relationships, unemployment and lack of suitable accommodation. “Access to stable accommodation is important in enabling ex-offenders to access employment and training opportunities.” This project will be influenced by continental approaches to the penal system. In Norway, criminals live in small ‘pod’ communities, where they can receive academic education and skillbuilding programmes. At Bastoy, one such prison, the re-offending rate is only 16%, the lowest in Europe. In the UK, that rate is closer to 35-58%. Clearly, there needs to be a cultural shift in the way criminals are perceived and treated. This intervention will be a catalyst for change – treating ex-offenders as people on a path to rehabilitation. It will be quality accommodation, acting as a stable home for its residents. Residents will work within the scheme, growing their own food and learning trades - giving them skills for employment elsewhere.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

THE INHABITABLE AND THE ADAPTABLE: A [FRAME]WORK FOR CHANGE Shaun McLeod

The project addresses the problem of young offenders in Leith. The site and its surrounding area are in a state of dilapidation, with signs of anti-social behaviour throughout. These issues may be looked at as a result of the lack of opportunities provided for the youth on the site. People care about what is theirs; thus possession is at the heart of the concept. The master plan for the site addresses the lack of public provision in Leith through the provision of 3 interconnected squares that encourage a sense of communal ownership. There is a tradition in Leith for members of the community to sell home made cakes or tea and coffee from pop up shops around the area. Taking inspiration from this, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Merchant Squareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the site provides an adaptable steel framework that business pods for the surrounding community may be inserted in and out of. The residential clusters offer a teaching and learning environment combined with communal living. Each protagonist is offered a living space and a workspace as part of their unit. The youth from the surrounding area will live in the units for a certain period of time to learn a specific vocation. Therefore, the project aims to re-integrate the young offenders back into society. Tectonically, the structure of the grid is a representation of society as a whole, whilst the living and working pods represent the space that they possess within it. Thus, the frame is lightweight and the steel-clad pods are detailed to appear as monolithic objects to emphasise this idea. The pods and structural grid are modular to allow for speed of construction and ease of assembly and disassembly. The building is clad in an expanded metal mesh, which varies in levels of transparency through sun positioning, viewing angles and number of layers. This allows for a controlled connection between inhabitants of the building and the public, as well as encouraging a communal atmosphere within each residential block.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES

LEAFWALK Viridiana Amaral Gurgel

Considering Leith as a highly populated area, Leafwalk proposes a public garden, combining growing space and recreational space, a market, and residential units for the gardeners. Urban agriculture has been engrained into daily life in the UK, especially since its revival during the World Wars, where Victory gardens sprouted as an indirect aid to the war effort. These gardens became part of daily life on the home front. Digging for victory still applies to life today, that is, to move away from multinational farming methods which dis- consider the environment, and give importance to locally farmed products. This not only brings about a more environmentally conscience lifestyle, but also integrates economics and leisure. The residential units provide housing for gardeners to work in the exterior garden and hydroponic greenhouse. The market â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which sells fresh products daily, from urban gardens and farms spread throughout and near Edinburgh â&#x20AC;&#x201C;, brings back activity to this area. The semi-public space of the garden is open to the public as an aesthetic and recreational space. Furthermore, local restaurants and the residents of the area may receive fresh food. This is particularly important for the area of Leith, which has immense potential. Research has shown that urban farming in Edinburgh could reach a productivity of more or less 270.000kg/year, equating to daily fruit and vegetable requirements for roughly 25.000 people. This proposal intends to address this prospective towards a more sustainable community as well as to provide a growth of activity in this area of Leith.

AD TECTONICS LOST SPACES