SPACE LAB // VOLUME 02

TUT Department of Architecture Project by Kyle Philip Coulson October 2018

SpaceLab U M B

I

L I C A L

02

Fig.1_ The space of investigation

PAGE NUM.

04 12 14 17 21 25 28 34 35

WHAT IS SPACE? HISTORICAL CONTEXT ADAPTIVE REUSE LE FRESNOY HEARST TOWER URBAN TAPESTRY HAFENXITY LIST OF FIGURES BIBLIOGRAPHY

-TENTS

CON-

TWO:2.1

WHAT IS SPACE? Guest (2012, p. 219) insists that “[i]t is an irrefutable fact that no one truly understands the definition of the word space, especially if one takes a broad definition of the term”.

TWO 6

Doreen Massey (2009) strengthens this statement by asserting that the definition of the word varies greatly. The reason for this varied definition is that the list of space types are almost endless. Architectural space, literary space, mathematical space, space of physics, dream space, pictorial space, mental space, demographical space, geographical space, commercial space, outer space, space of energy, ecological space, and national space are but a few of the types. It would seem that the endless types of space justify a science of space.

‘SPACE IS A CHAOTIC DEPTHLESSNESS‘ (Massey, 2009, p. 67)

Guest (2012, pp. 219–220) explores the etymology of the word space. The English word is derived from the French espace (duration of time, distance), but ultimately from the Latin spatium (area, room, distance and duration of time). Guest explains that both uses in the Latin can be found in the Latin vulgate text of the Bible. Joshua 3:4 states “[a]nd let there be between you and the ark the spatium of two thousand cubits”.

Whereas Joshua 10:13 states “[s]o the sun stood still in the midst of the heaven and hasted not to go down the spatio of one day”.

Guest elaborates that Dante uses the word spazio to indicate time and space separately in his Divine Comedy. In Purgatorio, Dante refers to spazio as time: “[b]efore a thousand years have passed—a span/that for eternity, is less space than/an eye blink for the slowest sphere in heaven” (11). But later, spazio refers to area: “[t]he space between the four of them contained a chariot” (29). Space, in terms of astrology (the vast emptiness in the outer space/cosmos), was only introduced

by John Milton in 1667, in the poem Paradise Lost, but only became common in 1890s.

Guest (2012, p. 219) tries to suggest that the term space has a quantifiable medium that also subjectively injects components of lived experiences, and is a bearer and shaper of ideologies.

To define the word space, it is important to first understand the language used to define it. Dursan (2012, p. 106) insists that the language must be decoded first. The language of space should possess a lexicon that is capable of expressing both the physical and logical characteristics of the term.

TWO 7

SPATIAL

TWO 8

Dursan (2012, pp. 107–109) conducts a case study with a group of students at the Istanbul Technical University. Their initial assignment is to present the definition of their living space, in any format. The results show that the students approached the project in three distinct ways. The first group speaks of space as a physical entity, using physical characteristics to define it; the students refer to walls, dimensions, and objects that are placed within the space and focused on characteristics such as light, darkness and temperatures. The students use drawings, photographs and models to express the findings. The second group shifts their focus to explore space as a social entity. They express a sense of belonging, movement patterns, time spent in a space and sound.

Most of the students in the second group present their thoughts through conceptual models and info-graphic diagrams. The final group use a hybrid approach and attempt to establish an interrelationship between the physical and the social. This group uses texture, colour, relationships between spaces, and emotions to explore the manspace relationship.

The post-project discussion concludes that the definition of the word space varies greatly from person to person, and it is a subjective topic. The definition of the term cannot be explored only through the five senses; the language of space is not a verbal one, but a visual one. The dichotomy is that even though there is consensus that space should be a visual language, it would appear that no one holds the tools to express it thoroughly in this visual language.

Massey (2009, p. 67) proposed that there ought to be a geometry of space that can assist in its definition. This definition should also include its lived practices and symbolic meanings. Henri Lefebvre (1991, p. 11) was also of the opinion that space is modified by social relations. It is not only supported by social relations, but also produces social relations. Lefebvre also suggested that every society produces its own space.

Lefebvre (1991) supported Massey’s (2009) suggestion that there should be a geometry of space, calling for a construct of spatial fields that could at least attempt to define different types of space. The spatial fields he suggested include:

1. physical space, which deals with the nature and the cosmos, 2. mental space, which relates to logical and formal abstractions, 3. social space, which is occupied by sensory phenomena and imagination.

Each author suggests a manner of decoding, a geometry, or categories or fields that must be put in place before attempting to understand the term space.

As an architecture student, I have realised that social space indirectly relates to Architecture, but architectural space relates to the geometries, dimensions, and objects that define architecture. This construct suggested

by Lefebvre, Massey and Dursan has been reconfigured for this mini-dissertation.

S P

The three categories that have been selected are:

1. space as an abstract concept,

which deals with mental space,maths,

space of physics, imagination,

philosophy, and dreams

—the concept for the design,

2. space as physical elements, which relates to architecture and the built artefact—the final design of the mini-dissertation,

3. the void of space, which includes the cosmos and outer space —the programme for the building.

Investigating each of the categories individually at first, assists in creating an amalgamated term for the word space. Each category is explored within their selective chapters.

TWO 9

P A C E

TWO 10

Fig.2_ Living space atrium

Fig.3_ Etymology of Space

1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900

(Latin)

"room, area, distance, stretch of time,"

(Old French)

"extent or area; room " "period of time, distance, interval "

early 14c. mid 14c. late 14c.

"a place," also "amount or extent of time" "distance, interval of space; " "ground, land, territory; extension in three dimensions; distance between two or more points."

early 15c.

"size, bulk," also "an assigned position. "

TWO 11

1670’ s (typography) "the space between letters " 1667 “stellar depth” - Paradise Lost, poem, John Milton

(Astronomical)

“immense emptyness between the worlds”

1894

“spaceship” - A Journey in Other Worlds, novel, Jon Jacob Astor

1928 1936

“spacecraft” - Popular Science “space station” - Rockets through Space, Book, P. E. Cleator “space race” “space shuttle

1956 1970

1 proximity/distance 2 geometry 3 pro4 length-width 5 typology portion 6man-space relationship 7 movement, flow 8 spending time in space 9 enjoyment of space 10 colour / colourfulness of space 11 use of space / use density in space 12 liveliness of space 13 changeability of space 14 sound 15 texture 16 light / distribution of light 17 size 18 circulation elements 19 changes that have oc20 walls, curred throughout tim in

Fig.4_ Vocabularies of spacial

language

23 personal spaces 24 perceivable boundaries 25 places for privacy 26 places for common use 27 inhabitants’ / user footprints 28 spatial thresholds 29 memories 30 speed 31 materials 32 circulation 33 space-time relations 34 perception of space 35 perspective

lation elements 19 changes that have oc curred throughout time in space 20 walls, boundaries, surfaces, ceilings 21 users’ voices 22 spatial use / function / activity

TWO:2.2

HISTORICAL CONTEXT “The past no longer exists, but it is nevertheless a necessary horizon for our present experience – the present is bound up with the past, but also necessarily goes beyond it. The present is a transition from past to future.” - Maurice Merleu-Ponty (Matthews, 2006, p. 101)

TWO 14

Donald Mouch (2009, p. 37) states that time provides architecture with a unique opportunity to accentuate itself as it transitions from old to new, from past to future. What Mouch tries to postulate is that time is constant, and it does not rely on man’s attempt to manifest time—e.g. a clock.

Man’s manifestation attempt is ultimately temporary. When all the clocks in the world stop, time continues. The past does not dictate present actions, but it does provide the context in which actions are chosen.

Mouch (2009, p. 39) states that there is a sequence of events that unfolds within architecture, which provides man with a temporal recognition of time within spatial properties that are defined by a static building. At each historical turn, architecture faces a revision of the translations of urban substance on the back of changing continuities. There is currently such a change

of history—society is technologically driven, changing the fundamentals of how life is/has been lived.

Mouch (2009, p. 40) considered the old and new as a tapestry that is interwoven, and refers to the works of Carlos Scarpa in noticing that there is an ongoing dialogue between old and new, in an evolving fabric. The new must engage with the old through a series of infiltrations and connection points. The disparities should be woven in with a series of junctures and should be accentuated with its temporal state of being. Every intervention added to the old must be able to adapt to the future. When we create these junctures, it should be seen in its temporal state.

Scarpa (Mouch, 2009, p. 42) tries to create a speculative tension in some of his work in Verona and Venice, by establishing a type of confrontational dialogue between old and new through layering, new dimensions, juxtaposition and the use of connectors (stairs, bridges, doors and windows). These variances in tactile, psychological and mnemonic of old and new open up a work of architecture to maximum expression and meaning.

Kenneth Boyd (2006, p. 68) writes that there are many old and abandoned buildings situated in modern cities, which occupy valuable land and do not provide any valuable services to the community at the moment. In the past, these buildings would have been demolished and completely replaced.

Fortunately, there has been a shift in architecture where there is a legitimate concern for architectural heritage. Old buildings are being refurbished to cater for modern demands. Instead of demolishing the old, the historical artefact is adapted and injected with new life and a new programme that allows for a valuable service, catering for the modern-day society. Boyd (2006) highlights that one should make sure that the old form and the new function fit together, but adds that there are no guidelines that indicate which form fits with which function.

A child can take a cardboard box and reimagine its function from a spaceship to a fort. Architecture should be able to do the same thing—the existing should be seen as a cardboard box and adapted for a new function.

TWO 15

TWO:2.2.1

ADAPTIVE REUSE

TWO 16

Fig.5_ Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

TWO 17

TWO 18

Fig.6_ Exploded Isometric - Le Fresnoy

In Bernard Tschumi’s project, Le Fresnoy he successfully creates a dialogue between old and new. Tschumi (1999) writes that the existing infrastructure dates back to the 1920s, and new the programme consisted of an extensive list that had to be reconfigured to fit into the existing complex. To tie the varied programmes together, Tschumi‘s approach to the design is a box within a box (space within a space). With this concept, Tschumi has designed a roof structure that creates a screen umbrella over the entire site, to unify the diverse functions, buildings and styles. This big juxtaposition is crucial for the expression of the in-between spaces.

The in-between spaces aim to create a place of fantasy, a place for social experiments and in some way create a condenser for interdisciplinary investigations. With this approach, the interstice becomes a celebrated place. One of the focus areas of the design is the circulation of users between the buildings. This is where the roof structure plays an integral part—it houses the circulation elements. Stairways and elevated walkways are suspended from the roof structure and aim to add another layer to the connective tissue of the roof structure.

Tschumi explores four layers: the old, the new, the circulation and the roof. The four layers are easily distinguishable, but each layer interweaves beautifully to respect and celebrate the existing context.

LE FRESNOY

TWO 19

TWO 20

Fig.7_ Le Fresnoy

TWO 21

TWO 22

Fig.8_ Diagram Hearst Tower

In New York, USA, Foster and Partners use the same invasive approach to the existing structure in the Hearst Tower. The original building was built for the Hearst Corporation in the 1920s. The original six-storey building was not suitable for the growing needs of the company and they needed to add 44 storeys.

Rahimian (2006, p. 3) writes that the major design requirement were the preservation of the faรงade. Foster and Partners made the decision to gut out the entire interior because the new design required significant additional structure, that the existing building did not cater for. The new structure was constructed on the inside of the faรงade and engineers suggested a diagrid structure, which also become the aesthetic for the building. The existing faรงade was restored and converted into a seven-storey atrium, as a grand welcoming lobby.

HEARST TOWER Both projects follow an invasive approach with a complete juxtaposition to the existing fabric. Wood (2012, p. 135) proposed that the adaptation of existing buildings anchors them in the ever-changing context of the city, and the injection of a new programme encourages overlapping of mixed-used facilities.

TWO 23

Fig.9_ Hearst Tower

TWO 24

TWO 25

TWO 26

Fig.10_ Connecting to the water edge

TWO:2.3

URBAN TAPESTRY There are multiple layers of investigation into the aspect of urban tapestry, including transportation, public spaces, green spaces, architecture, infrastructure, services, and culture, amongst others. Holl (1996) stated that this overlapping of layers creates an urban fabric/tapestry that architectural form should interweave itself with.

Mouch (2009, p. 52) writes that when urbanism is appreciated as a fabric of connectivity (tapestry). It never allows for a site/a building/a monument to be viewed in itself, but always as rooted in the context.

Architecture should serve as an extension of the site. The site is an extension of the tapestry. Mouch (2009) continues that the site must be viewed as a canvas that creates a dialogue between two opposing contexts.

There should be an exploration of the social which overlaps the physical. Thereafter, the overlapping of social and physical should be explored so that it becomes more spatially specific. He concludes that the site should be seen as a basis for the marriage of opposing components in the fabric. It creates an opportunity for the site to be interwoven into the tapestry to create a unified whole.

Pagliardini, Porta and Salingaros (2009, p.

333)maintain that urban fabrics should be in a constant state of activation, interwoven with highly connected networks and layers.

What should be understood, is that this interweaving happens on multiple scales— city, precinct, site, building, and detail. Each scale should be able to respond and engage with the multi-layered urban tapestry.

TWO 27

TWO 28

Fig.11_ Hafencity wateredge

TWO 29

TWO:2.4

HAFENCITY HafenCity was originally a dotted island outside the walls of Hamburg, but has undergone one of Europe’s biggest rejuvenation developments over the past decade. The entire island has been redesigned, woven into the inner city of Hamburg. Originally, the island was an industrial node, housing the city’s container pier. The port of Hamburg was also a pinnacle site during World War II, as this was Adolf Hitler’s main port for imports and exports.

The Allies bombed about 90% of the built fabric (Eleftheriou & Knieling, 2017, p. 75).

TWO 30

What is striking about HafenCity is its location opposite a massive container port. Alpay (2012, p. 7875) states that the original Port of Hamburg had to move due to emergence of mega-container ships, which left the former port area vacant, ugly and an idle urban space. The City of Hamburg saw the previously located container port (HafenCity) as a unique opportunity to upgrade and restore the image of this previous war site. The site allowed Hamburg to rebrand themselves from a port city, to an urban city that responds to the water’s edge, with regeneration projects happening rapidly. The city’s focus is strengthening the economic, ecological and cultural development of the city, with significant focus on public spaces at the water’s edge.

Alpay (2012) continues that HafenCity has created new links to the city centre and allowed for innovative developments.

One of the key benefits of the HafenCity development is its detached location to the historical city, which has allowed for an entirely new skyline to be imagined independently. It was decided from the start that HafenCity would be a mixed-use development, which enhances the characteristics of the development and allow for new employment opportunities in retail, education, culture, entertainment and tourism while enhancing the metropolitan profile of Hamburg. Alpay concludes that the goods and services provided here would attract large numbers of daytime visitors and emphasise the new seafront atmosphere within an international port. The aim is to have a compact, yet highly diverse programme structure throughout the development.

Upon my own visit to HafenCity in 2014, it was incredible to see how entirely new developments still respect the history and the existing context. Situated in the previous industrial sector, is a row of famous red brick buildings. The new interventions respond seamlessly (without trying to compete) to the past and showcases a sensitivity within the red brick context. Other locations in HafenCity allow for more daring projects that allow for the existing artefacts to be altered significantly. HafenCity is therefore the main urban precedent for the design.

Fig.15_ Sandtorkai, Hamburg

Fig.14_ Kleine Alster, Hamburg

Fig.13_ Speicherstadt, Hafencity

Fig.12_ Hafencity waterfront restaurant

WATER 31

TWO

EDGE

DESIGN

TWO 32

URB AN.

Fig.16_ Strandperle restaurant, Hamburg

TWO 33

TWO 34

Fig.17_ Hafencity public space

TWO 35

Figure 1- The space of investigation. 2018 https://unsplash.com/photos/13UugSL9q7A. [Accessed: 02-08-2018] Figure 2 - Living space atrium. 2018. https://unsplash. com/photos/ES-GvExYn3s. [Accessed: 02-08-2018] Figure 3 - Ethymology of space. 2018. By Author Figure 4 - Vocabularies of spacial language. 2018. By Author [Information used from (Dursan, 2012)] Figure 5 - Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg. 2018. https:// unsplash.com/search/photos/elbphilharmoniehamburg%2C-hamburg%2C-germany. [Accessed: 0208-2018] Figure 6 - Exploded Isometric - Le Fresnoy. 2018. http:// artanddesignrome.lsu.edu/week-06-recap/le-fresnoy-artcenter-board/. [Accessed:25-07-2018] Figure 7 - Le Fresnoy. 2006. https://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Blank_Map-Africa.svg. [Accessed: 05-072018]

TWO 36

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 8 - Diagram Hearst tower. 2018. By Author [Sketchup model was downloaded]

Figure 9 - Hearst tower. 2018. http://www.hearst.com/ real-estate/hearst-tower. [Accessed:25-07-2018] Figure 10 - Connecting to the water edge. n.d.. https://sovera.org/flaming-star-nebula/.

[Accessed: 30-06-2018]

Figure 11 - Hafencity wateredge. 2015. https://unsplash.com/photos/9xxmCN5FF6s. [Accessed: 05-07-2018] Figure 12 - Hafencity waterfront restaurant. 2018. By Michelle Hatting (commissioned by author) Figure 13 - Speicherstadt, Hafencity. 2018. By Michelle Hatting (commissioned by author) Figure 14 - Kleine Alster, Hafencity. 2018. By Michelle Hatting (commissioned by author) Figure 15 - Sandtorkai, Hafencity. 2018. By Michelle Hatting (commissioned by author) Figure 16 - Strandperle restaurant, Hafencity. 2018. By Author Figure 17 - Hafencity public space. 2018. By Author

Alpay, B. U. (2012) ‘Planning approach in spatial development of cities and urban projects : Zeytinburnu and Hafencity experiences’, 6(26), pp. 7868–7887. doi: 10.5897/AJBM10.1119.

BIB LI O GR A PH Y

Boyd, K. (2006) ‘GIVING NEW FUNCTIONS TO OLD FORMS: THE AESTHETICS OF REASSIGNED ARCHITECTURE’, Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics, 3(2), pp. 66–75.

Dursun, P. (2012) ‘Dialogue on space: Spacial codes and language of space’, 9(1), pp. 104–119. Available at: https://www.journalagent.com/ itujfa/pdfs/ITUJFA-69672-THEORY_ARTICLES-DURSUN.pdf.

Eleftheriou, V. and Knieling, J. (2017) ‘The urban project of HafenCity’, Transportation Research Procedia. Elsevier B.V., 24(2016), pp. 73–80. doi: 10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.070.

Guest, G. B. (2012) ‘Space’, Studies in Iconography, 33, pp. 219–230.

Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23924285.

Holl, S. (1996) Anchoring. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press.

Lefebvre, H. (1991) The Production of Space. English Tr. Edited by Donald Nicholson-Smith. Carlton: Blackwell Publishing.

Massey, D. (2009) ‘Concepts of space and power in theory and in political practice’, Documents d’Anàlisi Geogràfica, (55), pp. 15–26. doi: 10.1234/NO.DISPONIBLE.A.RACO.171747.

Matthews, E. (2006) Merleau-Ponty: A Guide for the Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed). London: CONTINUUM. Mouch, D. (2009) Magnifying the Interstice : exploring the dialogue between architecture ’ s in-betweens. University of Cincinatti.

Available at: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_ file?accession=ucin1243022396&disposition=inline.

Rahimian, A. (2006) ‘New York’s Hearst Tower - a restoration, an adaptive reuse and a modern steel tower rolled into one’, Structure, February.

Salingaros, P. P. S. P. N. (2009) ‘Geospatial analysis and living urban geometry’, GeoJournal Library, 99, pp. 331–355. Available at: https:// strathprints.strath.ac.uk/18703/10/strathprints018703.pdf.

Tschumi, B. (1999) Le Fresnoy: Architecture In-Between. New York: The Monacelli Press.

Wood, B. (2012) The design of a Centre for Creative Disciplines in the Newtown District of Johannesburg, South Africa. Tshwane University of Technology.

TWO 37

S TWO 38