The 14TH Colony Design Portfolio
Laura Noble_Unit 4 Stage 5 MArch_2013
Introduction Narrative 3 Mapping 4 Site Map 6
Drawings Plans 8 Sections 12 Elevations 14
Perspective Exterior 17 Interior 21
Details Bee Wall 24 Experience Space 25 Collecting Data 26
Ants Overview 27
Vessel Overview 28
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Narrative:
A biologist, fascinated by his colonies of ants, wasps and bees began watching and learning from their every move, noticing patterns in the way their activity in the nest began to change according to the weather.
Folklore once said that ‘if hornets build low, winter storms and snow, if hornets building high, winter mild and dry.’ Similarly, ants tend to have a sixth sense when it comes to weather closing their nest hold before the rain comes or staying above ground before an earthquake.
The world is fascinated by prediction, for hundreds of thousands of years people have always tried to estimate a natural disaster and for ants, rain typically is a natural disaster. If you think about the size of an ant to a droplet of rain and imagine the human equivalent, no wonder they have evolved to detect early signs.
The 14th Colony is a hybrid test centre where ants and bees activities are monitored to predict the weather. The simple defined structure incorporates the activity of the insects as well as becoming part of the nest structure, giving the opportunity for the colonies to evolve and adapt.
Component 1_Awareness: The Pin - Primary structure that connects the geology to the weather. The slight movement in the earth is quick transferred to the colonies living within the Carcass even if it is undetectable to humans.
Component 3_Transfer: The Ribs - Seconday transfer structure, Using the central pin any ground movements are passed through the ribs creating early earthquake detection by the colonies within the structure.
Component 2_Pressure: The Cage- The membrane surrounding the carcass protecting the colonies from the environments harsh elements.
Component 4_Balance: The Circulation - Linking human and insect worlds to transfer the behaviour detected to the biologist.
Component 5_Stage: The Platform - Horizontal element that introduces people to the bee colonies.
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Dartford Marshes: The previous land uses of the Dartford Marshes and surrounding areas was mainly used for the grazing of animals. There is a list of the tenants dating from 31st March 1416 called ‘The Dartford Marsh Roll.’ The records show that the tenants included notables such as the prior of St Johns, prior of Rochester and the prioress of Dartford.As well as open grassland the marsh also inhabits some ancient trees, which are believed to be over 300 years old. They consisted mainly of willows and they were planted as a shelter to protect the animals. The site has also been part of archeological investigation due to a range of ancient structures found dating from medieval period right through to World War Two. Currently the some of the marsh is used for grazing other areas are of too poor quality to graze on. A clay pigeon shooting range and a motocross track are other features of the land as well as the flood defence.
World Honey Producers
World Honey Producers
Dartford Marshes Site Location London Catchment Bee Farms
Beekeepers
Rooftop Beekeeper
South East Beekeepers
1:10,000 Site Plan
South East England Bee Farms
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Contours
Site Grids
Landscaping
Wind Map
Historical Context
Geology
1:5000 Site Section 5
6.1 -8.3 -7.7
3.7
-5.1 -10.8
Laylines
Darent Industrial Park
Empty Grazing Fields Derelict Grassland
38mph
Trees
-8.9
7.7 7.6
3.5
Landing Spots
-11.2
Reed Canary Grass Water Source
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Wind Direction
-5.5 -10.8
Marsh Forgetmenot
River Thames
Motorcross Track Water Source
32mph
Meadow Sweet
1.3
1.6
-8.8
38mph
-8.5
-10.3 60m
-7.8
18mph Ragged Robin
-9.8
Water Source Marsh Thistle
-13.5
Ivy
-7.7
21mph Marsh Marigold
Bulbous Rush Milk Parsley
38mph
1.3 21mph -9.0 15mph
1000m
-5.0
2
-8.2
Abandoned Fireworks Factory 16mph Littlebrook Industrial Estate
-7.2
1.6 2.4 2.4
3.0 3.3
2.7
3.6
3.7
2.4
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Site Analysis Mapping 1:10,000
4.0 5.2 10mph
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The Carcass: The ‘Carcass’ is the structure which houses the bee colonies. It is supported by a series of extruded aluminium fragments which are then welded together on site. The structure is clad to take advantages of the surrounding environment, using maximum solar gains and preventing the strong harsh breeze from affecting the nest by creating a breathing membrane mesh created from a perforated latex skin. The skin is controlled centrally by sensors with in the Carcass that determine how many perforations should be open at what size. Inside the Carcass is home to several colonies of bees that begin their life in the scaffolding structure to protect the initial colony development. The sensitivity of the nest is recorded by its weight measured by the tension wire that hold the scaffolding. Data collected from the insects activity and local tidal readings are used to help predict any adverse weather effects. A bridge links the Bees habitat with that of the biologists that run the site and the visiting public. There is an opportunity for the public to see inside the Carcass and view the developing hives.
Site Plan 1:500 7
Bi-folding opening doors to give the feeling of the landscaping entering the building.
Open air cedar decking system for viewing the rich and flourished landscaping and seating space during the warmer months
Hollow formwork seating - Easterly facing tubes for bees to access potential nesting sites within formwork BB
Extruded muntz casing for visitor centre space supported by a lightweight steel frame - left exposed to weather over time The 'Bee Wall,' is a framework for the bees to create a hive. The bees enter the framework from exterior pipes, and create their nest around the space. The public can view the gradually forming nest. Once the space gets too small for the bees they will swarm to a new location allowing the scaffolding to be removed and the honeycomb to be view closer.
Hive Scaffolding See Technical Portfolio The Hive scaffolding is where the queen bees are located to begin the colony.
1. Environmentally controlled hive 2. Hive colony scaffolding 3. Vents from plant room below 4. Public viewing platform 5. Public walkway 6. Entrance to ‘Experience Space’ 7. Heat Zone 8. Wind Zone 9. Vibration Zone 10. Entrance walkway 11. Shop 12. Beewall 13. Private staircase and lift to labs 14. Public toilets 15. Kitchen 16. Serving kitchen 17. Seating 18. Exterior seating and viewing platform
Handrail Store room
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Docking station for Mobile Vessel
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Monorail system to join existing tramline 17
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AA
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Private staircase down to plant room See Technical Portfolio for more details Public walkway to the environmentally controlled hive chamber where they can view the growing colonies 800x800 concrete columns to support structure above
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Private walkway for plant room access
Public viewing platform allows the public to interact with the bees and see how they react to the temperature control inside the hive. They can also observe the breathing skin on the exterior of the structure.
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Exposed concrete wall
The exhibition space identifies the main effects the weather has on bees and also alows the public to experience the rapid change in temperature or wind speed for a short period of time
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'Heat & Humidity Room' Reaching temperatures of 39oC and 100% humidity the space expresses the optimum temperature of the bee hive in order to product new brood.
'Wind Speed Room' If you think of how quick leaves can blow in the wind, it is similar for a bee. The 'Wind Room' funnels south westerly winds from the sites large open landscape to create a wind tunnel effect. The public can stand in the spaces to experience a blast of wind as a bee might.
'Wing Vibration Room' A honeybees wings beat at a rate of 230 beats per second, and 13800 bpm. The Earth has a natural pulse of 7.83Hz and a bees wings has a frequency of 190Hz. The vibration room has platforms around the site that vibrate at a various frequencies, similar to a gym power plate so the public can experience the bees movement.
Ground Floor Carcass & Visitors’ Centre Plan 1:200 8
1. Environmentally controlled hive 2. Hive colony scaffolding 3. Exchange zone for visitors to the Carcass 4. Viewing platform - Bee suit protection zone 5. Walkway to the Carcass 6. Store 7. Research and write up lab 8. Main chemical Lab 9. Staff room & library resources 10. Lift and Staircase from lower floor
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Hive Scaffolding See Technical Report The Hive scaffolding is where the queen bees are located to begin the colony.
Stairs to upper viewing platforms
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Exchange point for scientist to enter the hive
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6 7 Private walkway for staff to access the hive
Main structural backbone of the hive
Smaller extruded aluminium ribs that are supported off the main bone. The ribs hollow to allow for the mechanical receptors for tje breathing skin technology to pass through
Line of roof below
The hive contains temperature and humidity sensorts around the space to maintain certain temperatures within the hive. BB
Similarly to the above statement the bees are encouraged to create hives within the window pane of the write up lab and within the formwork of the desks. Being south facing it will create a hot environment in the room. By allowing the bees to create their hive it will act as a solar shading for the research room as well as a honey glow within the space.
First Floor Carcass & Visitors’ Centre Plan 1:200 9
1. Environmentally controlled hive 2. Viewing Platform 3. Stairs to upper platform 4. Exchange zone - Bee suit protection zone 5. Walkway to the Carcass 6. Secondary lab 7. Workshop 8. Bathroom 9. Store 10. Lift and Staircase from lower floor
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Line of rib beam above Exchange point for scientist. People entering the hive from this space must be wearing bee safety suits. 3
AA
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Line of staircase and platform above 4
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1 2 Hive Scaffolding See Technical Portfolio The Hive scaffolding is where the queen bees are located to begin the colony.
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The workshop is large enough to support all buildings on the site. It creates glass blown vessels for the growing ant colony as well as disecting the abondoned hives into husk features for the building and for the public to purchase. BB
Second Floor Carcass & Visitors’ Centre Plan 1:200 10
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Bracing beams between the extruded aluminium ribs which also support the staircase and secondary walkways to hives.
Staircase from lower floors to upper viewing platforms Private walkway for staff to hive
Exterior of hive
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Extra ventilation release chimney
First floor roof below Second floor roof below
Third Floor Carcass & Visitors’ Centre Plan 1:200 11
Extruded aluminium ribs that are supported off the main back bone. The ribs are hollow to allow for the mechanical receptors for the breathing skin technology to pass through Breathable membrane facade See Technical Portfolio Jet spray to control the humidity levels in Carcass
Cast concrete backbone of the building braced by the walkway and the aluminium ribs of the Carcass. Exchange zone between walkway and entrance into Carcass. Entrance must wear bee suits from this point onwards
Lightweight steel walkway with supporting ring structures. The weight and movements of the walkway are controlled by the transfers of weights between the tensegrity mesh. See Technical Portfolio for more detail. Muntz metal roof system that weathers over time to a speckled brassy green colour that blends into the landscape
Underside of slab to be enclosed with recycled formwork in the first season of the building development to allow for bees to develop a colony and create a nest. Once the bees have abandoned the nest the formwork can be removed and the nest acts as a visual aid to the building. SSL +17610mm SSL +14440mm
SECOND FLOOR Secondary lab and write up space
800x800 Steel reinforced conrete columns to support the upper floors SSL +11260mm
Private walkway for the biologists to access the Carcass Public walkway to main hive viewing platform Drainage system to collect surface water run off and be sanitised to reuse around the Carcass and the visitors centre
Cast concrete framework. A mixture of exposed and rendered facade. Interior wall finishes are dependant on room use. Lightweight aluminium mesh stairwell, for private access to the labs and research rooms
SSL +8110mm
FIRST FLOOR Chemical lab, staff space and research centre
Main access point for all staff and visitors. Gravel walkway leads onto wooden decking into the visitors centre. GROUND FLOOR Visitors centre & exhibition space
Section AA Carcass, Labs & Visitors’ Centre 1:200
Section BB Labs & Visitors’ Centre 1:200 12
Section AA Carcass, Labs & Visitors’ Centre 1:200 13
Elevation AA Carcass, Labs & Visitors’ Centre 1:200 14
Elevation BB Carcass 1:200 15
Elevation CC Labs & Visitors’ Centre 1:200 16
Visitors’ Centre Entrance
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Visitors’ Viewing Platform
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Viewing Deck from Landscape
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Beekeeping Tutorials in the Flower Garden
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Leaving the Visitors’ Centre
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Vertical Carcass View
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Bees View
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The Bee Wall: One of the attractions to the site allows visitors to see the colony up close and watch them build the hive over time. There is a scaffolding to provide a secure environment for the bees to create a colony. Once the colony has used up all of the space within the structure they will create new queen bees and they will swarm to new locations to create their own colonies. There are several locations around the site to where the bees can swarm to man made nests, tree trunks within the natural vegetation, they can be captured and put into the carcass scaffolding where their growth and behaviour can be montiored. The perspex cover can be removed from the scaffolding so that visitors can create a tactile memory from being able to interact more thoroughly with the hive.
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Experience Space: Secondly, you walk outside and are hit by a sharp gust of wind which would be at a much lower temperature than inside the hive. The Landscape Bifurcate Zone breaks up the south westerly winds filtering through the landscape and a funnels them through a small gap creating a wind tunnel effect. The experience is to speed up the wind to have an effect similar the that it might have on a flying bee.
The following sections are part of the visitors’ centre experience space which allows the public to interact and experience what life might be like within a bee hive. The first space you enter is the Microclimatic Zone, the space is dark, with low ceilings and a central system which feeds out hot moist air into the space - similar to being in a sauna. The bees optimum temperature is 38oC and 100% humidity for producing new brood in the hive.
Microclimate Zone
Landscape Bifurcate Zone
Lastly, the Intermodal Planes Threshold that concentrates on the vibration frequency of a bees wings. The Earth has a natural frequency of 7.8Hz, however a bees wings vibrate at a frequency of 190Hz. Within the space are platforms that can be stood on so that the visitor can see what it might be like resonating at a higher frequency. The frequency of the platforms would be controlled by dial to allow you to adjust the frequency, for safety reasons the maximum frequency would be around 50Hz.
Intermodal Plans
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Experience Zone Plan & Section 1:100 25
Collecting Data: For the biologist to be able to monitior the hives within the Carcass they are allowed to develop on a man-made scaffolding structure. The structure is made from a lightweight aluminium frame and is connected to the main ribs of the Carrcass. The main support of the scaffolding and the colony is by tensioned wires, which contain stress gauges to monitor the weight of the nest which can be interpreted into behavioural patterns of that particular colony. Sudden changes in the weight of the hive can be related to extra forraging for food or swarming to find new locations if the environment within the nest is not adequate. Similarly around the landscape there are a series of man made structures which hold expanding nest created from a folded fabric technique that expands as the colony of bees become heavier to allowe for more space. Again the casing is held by a tensile member that wirelessly sends information on the weight of the hive back to the lab centre. Once the colony has outgrown the structure they will swarm to new locations sometimes with a new queen bee. The abandoned hive can then be collected and taken back to the lab for investigation, learning and eventually created into a collectors artifact peice to be bought in the shop in the visitors’ centre.
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Ant Archive The Ant Archive is a series of excavations with in the landscape which are analysed by the biologists for ant colonies and their behaviour. Several scars are left around the landscape where unsuitable sites were discovered, these are located either side of the tramline and can be visited by the public while wondering the landscape. A permanent excavation remains on the site of the remains of Long Reach Hospital. The site consists of a 3 storey open air basement with exposed contiguous piling to refrain from collapse. A series of staircases from ground level take you down into the space where there are viewing platforms, to which you can see the exhibition of cast ants nests which identifies the creative and intricate architecture that the insect world creates. Similarly you can see inside the world of ants by walking between platforms and the maze of man made vessels and pipes which holds an entire ant colony. The fissures on top of the excavation can be access by the public for further interaction with the insectsas well as a free roaming territory for the insects to inhabit.
There is the possibility for the project to be expanded further and the development of the Ant Archive to expand into the other footings of Long Reach Hospital.
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1. Stairs to Ant Archive exhibition 2. Viewing platform 3. Ant Archive cast exhibit 4. Roaming Fissure 5. Manmade Vessels colony 6. Casting structure in progress
Ant Archive Section
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Mobile Vessel The Mobile Vessel is a single unit which runs along a monorail system that follows the existing path of the tramline which was previously used to link Joyce Green and Long Reach Hopsital. The vessel is to transport visitors and staff backwards and forth from the Visitors Centre to the Ant Archive. The Vessel is constructed from a lightweight aluminium frame and casing to incorporate a link of materials in and around the site. By opening the tramline I am reviving the historical routes of the dartford marshes, as well as creating a link between the to buildings.
Mobile Vessel Perspective
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