Wooden maquette of the school and its surroundings, built at 1:50 by the course’s students and served as a working model for the different proposals and plans
About This Booklet With the ending of the Design and Build course just before Christmas 2014, a notion came clear that the ambitious effort could not be completed without a follow-up booklet, exhibiting and explaining the project that and trying to observe how it developed in the subsequent months. The following pages will present the course’s structure, its aims and results and offer a six-months glimpse of how it actually came to be and functioned in the school’s reality.
Course Description Challenged by the chaotic outside area of the Bergen School of Architecture, the course participants encountered the questions of how to re-arrange and further develop the site. The potential was great - so were the problems and dilemmas arose. The course’s attempt was to investigate the site and offer different approaches of how it could be changed, while paying attention to the specific characteristics and needs of and from the area. Design and Build 2014 Master’s Course was held between August 18th and December 19th. During this period of time, a group of 15 students and 3 tutors was assigned to re-plan and carry out the design for a new entrance area (‘the BAS allmenning) to the school. The preliminary notion of the project included the creation of a new fence and gate to the school, re-arrangement of the typically chaotic public area outside the building and on the quay, and offering an outside recreational space for the school’s students and staff. International Master’s Studio; Design and Build Bergen School of Architecture, Winter Semester 2014
16 · Pre-semester briefing 18 · Official start - site study, background research, mapping of existing situations, modus operandi
10 · Dugnad - arranging the entire outside area 11 - 16 · Excursion to Turkey
3 · First presentation of student’s proposals 9 · Removal of the “Red Barrack”
7 · Presentation of phases I+II to the entire school 10 · Beginning of work
18 · End of work 19 · Project inauguration - end of semester
The course layout was divided into three phases: Phase I Lasting from the beginning of the course until reaching its climax on 10th of September Dugnad, this phase aimed to prepare the grounds and mindset for the work ahead. A group effort was done to study and research the site, collect data about the current situation and analyse it, and eventually offer a way of operation of how to deal with the findings. The result of this phase ended with an 8-hours long ‘Dugnad’ which involved most of the students of the school and which was orchestrated by the course’s 15 students. The purpose of this effort was to clean, clear and arrange in groups all the material lying around the outside public areas of the school. Phase II From the return of the group’s excursion to Turkey until the ‘mid-term’ general school presentation held on November 7th, the second phase of the course was taking place. This phase’s work relied on the study outcome of the first phase, and progressed from first individual proposals for enhancement of the school’s outside area, through small 3-4 students groups developing the combined ideas of the individual proposals, to a final major joint plan to be carried out as a consensus by all of the students and tutors. This major plan was based on the developed sub-group ideas and designs. Phase III Taken place on a cold, rainy and snowy part of the year, from November 10th to deep into the night between December 18th and 19th, the group carried out its grand plan for the BAS allmenning and re-designed the entrance area to the school. The work took place in stages, involved many manually operated mechanical tools and was assisted by a full-size excavator, fork-lifts and concrete trucks. The group assembled daily right next to the work area in the CNC-room on the ground floor, space which was temporarily transferred into the group’s office and dressing room.
The 2014 Design and Build course is the continuous endeavor of three successful predecessor Design and Build courses, in which the school’s library and canteen were realized.
Introduction to work As the BAS allmenning and quay is a multi-purpose area, the finalized project had to answer many needs and requirements from different perspectives, at one. The realized plan consisted of the montaged and assembled students’ proposals, as designed and developed during phase II of the process. It merged together several schemes and combined various ideas for the site’s usage, purpose and function. Inspection of the work could be largely divided into four mutually supported and interconnected sub-projects: Fence and Gate Removal of the existing old fence (partially broken and missing, at that stage) and renewal of the entrance area to a coherent and arranged space, thus offering a face-lift to the important ‘first impression’ appearance of the school. In addition, the renewed fence was to create a more ordered entrance to the school, providing a larger and more efficient vehicle gate to the school, organise the parking area outside and re-locate the main pedestrian gate to a more controllable and reasonable place. The Colonnade As the existing area of the allmenning became a sort of a ‘junk-yard’ over time, with a disturbing mass of partially to totally unusable objects in all shapes, sizes and materials, the purpose of the colonnade was to create a symbolic line, a barrier, to divide the storage part of the area with the main ‘free’ zone. Moreover, the removable columns were to be used in different purposes, such as hanging spot lights for working outside, installing of temporary equipment, hanging sings or supporting an open-air exhibitions. Quay Stairs Part of the bottom-up approach taken during the course, a general students request for the outside area was to create a better connection between the outstanding surroundings the school is in and the water that could be a lot more accessible. As many design ideas were proposed and thought about by the course’s students, a relatively simple and straight forwards approach was chosen - to gradually reduce the quay height to the water in a stepped access area which could also be used for secondary sitting and leisure. Relaxation Zone The interlocking axis between the two arms of the L-shaped plan for the area, this zone was born as the hybrid between the colonnade storage area and the quay stairs, acting as a diffusing place where the storage area slowly ends and the water access begins. This zone is mainly marked by the small concrete-slab sitting areas and the grass-holes in its asphalt floor. The spot was also chosen for its relative all-year good potential for direct sunlight.
Appendices and Incompletes The 2014 Design and Build course was quickly defined by its participants as the first in several courses dealing with the same/similar theme. Soon after the course’s beginning, it was clear that within the given time, manpower and budget available, a complete metamorphosis of the site was an impossible task. As such, a list of appendices and incomplete projects became a side-act of the general grand plan.
The following pages will refer to each sub-project individually, present its previous and current states and explain the design ideals in pictures, illustrations and text.
Aerial image of the school’s building and outside areas - the allmenning and the quay. Taken late in August 2014, the photograph reveals the chaotic existing situation on site before the massive intervention of the course.
BAS Re-planned Outside Area
Water
Relaxation Zone
Quay Stairs
Neighbour
Storage Area
Garbage Disposal Area
Colonnade
Fence and Gate
BAS Building
BAS Allmenning - Before the intervention (Oct 2014)
BAS Allmenning - During the intervention (Dec 2014)
BAS Allmenning - After the intervention (Apr 2015)
In-Depth View - Fence and Gate The old fence and gate of the school was partially broken and partially missing. Rusty and poorly painted with random nets, in a zig-zag plan, it appeared as the classic case of a provisory solution made permanent. The new fence and gate was to fix all that painted white with a unified net, straight and orthogonal in plan. The new planning changed the previous limited vehicle opening into a much larger opening at a full 180 degrees angle - the main wheeled gate can be opened towards the school or towards the street. Two side openings along the fence made easy access towards the garbage disposal area and if operated together, all three openings can de-facto open up the entire fence and offer nearly complete, un-obstructed entrance at all points. The main pedestrian gate to the school was aligned with the rest of the fence and connected to the side of the BAS building. A decorative and protective extension of the fence was completed over the ground floor windows of the CNC-room.
The old fence, pedestrian gate and vehicle gate, as seen from outside the school
Welding the frames of the fences, fixing the supporting columns
The pedestrian gate is being fixed
Paiting the fence and installing it
The new fence, pedestrian gate and vehicle gate, as seen from the BAS Allmenning; The gate is resting on wheels, making it easy to open and close
The new vehicle gate offers a much larger opening than before
The vast open entrance serves also as an inviting feature for guests on open days
When opened, the large gate serves as a lattice, partially hiding the garbage disposal area behind it
Except for the very last part of the fence which is fixed (shown below), all other gates are hinged and openable
The extended part of the fence, which is partially decorative and continues the appearance of the main fence, also serves as grating for the ground floor CNCroom
Maintanance work, painting the fence
The pedestrian gate was connected to the wall of the building
Hard to keep the long, wheeled fence in a straight line
Fence detailing - nets, grilles and lattices
In-Depth View - The Colonnade The colonnade is a subtle intervention that despite its minor “footprint�, carries with it many purposes and usages. The idea began as the creation of a bordering line between the storage and garbage disposal areas of the allmenning and the main free area. This line marks the place from which the storage mess (which evolves over time) may begin, but may not cross over. The northern section of the allmenning (adjacent to the neighbouring building), is divided into two parts with a yellow container diving between them. The eastern part (facing the sea) arranges rows of pallets and storing and sorting area for usable materials that are frequently in demand by the students. The western part (facing the sea) arranges the previously erratic and random garbage disposal. All the big trash containers and garbage disposal bins are arranged together in one place. This spot is also easily accessible to dumpster trucks coming from the road, preventing them from the need to drive deep into the school to collect the trash. In between the two parts lies a yellow container, a remain from the previous phase of the allmenning - this container was turned into a roofed utility/welding room. It was risen from the ground by massive, steel scaffolds, wooden stairs leading to its entrance, with a large wooden shelf on its eastern side, meant to serve as a working area for the students. The 11 columns that comprise the colonnade also carry an extra role - they serve as potential poles for fixtures that can be installed over them and have the potential to hang an-open air exhibition between them. The columns are not permanently fixed, they can be removed and re-placed, if needed.
The work area during the construction, 3rd phase of the course
The white raw of columns makes a clear division between the two parts of the allmenning - the storage zone and the free walkway area
The colonnade was used, during a course held at BAS, as a part of an art installation; The fence also took part
At this point, the yellow container is used to store large garbage bags collected from the school
Before and after - In the beginning of March 2015, a new roof was installed on the west side of the yellow container, making the space underneath it more usable
The canopy over the garbage disposal area makes the room underneath a lot more versatile in its usage
Garbage sorting and tools storage in their designated area
When opened, the vehicle gate covers over the garbage disposal area and elegantly parts it from the entrance to the school
Over time the garbage disposal area remains tidy and kept behind the bordering line of columns
The school finally has a designated area for garbage disposal - the area is clearly being used according to plan
The columns are being used according to plan - a curtain is hung over the colonnade in order to create a shelter from rain while welding underneath
Welding underneath a temporary rain cover, supported by the columns
The wooden working shelf next to the yellow container is in use
Full view of the colonnade from both ends of the allmenning
Storage of different materials and objects along the colonnade
The order and object groupings behind the colonnade is generally kept - there is a clear border that marks the storage area
At times, the messy nature of the allmenning takes over the colonnade with pallets and other materials invading the free walkway zone
In-Depth View - Quay Stairs Access to the water was one of the key requests of the students at BAS on a study held during the course. In the analysis of the area, it was also found that there is no accessible public connection to the sea in the area near the school - as a result of these facts, the course’s students decided to develop the water-access idea which ended up in the form of a large staircase, cascading from the quay straight down to the water. The large staircase would not only make water approach easy and simple, but could also serve as a secondary sitting and relaxation area where students could sit down and talk, eat their lunch or just lay back on a sunny day. The stairs were cast in-situ from concrete - all the preliminary digging, concrete framing and casting and the finishing jobs were carried out by the course’s students.
Preliminary plans for the stairs cascading towards the water - due to lack of time and manpower, the design had to altered several times to make it more simple and less complex. The final result had to be even a simplified compared to the version shown below, which was meant to be the realized design
The BAS quay before construction of the stairs, as photographed from the water - the stairs measure roughly from between the 1st and the 3rd wheels (from the left)
Digging the hole was a slow, difficult and time consuming task. At a given point it became clear that with hand tools only, without a full-size mechanical excavator, the job could not be completed
Fixing the pit to which the concered will be poured - setting steel reinforcement grids
Creating the wooden moulds of the stairs. The side walls of the pit were casted on their own in a previous stage, a week earlier
Pouring the concrete in running rain, letting it sink and rest in its mould
The stairs are almost finished - the fine finishing job is ahead
Snow blocking the access to the stairs
Access to the water from the quay is finally easy
The pit as seen from the allmenning
The stairs are used as a meeting point for students to sit down, converse and take a break
BBQ on the stairs, next to the water - a favourable place for having lunch
Concrete detailing - the negative box and empty pipes were meant to be used for installing electrical equipment and wires; The purpose was to illuminate the sunken bars under the stairs with LED strips. The job was incomplete due to lack of time and funds
In-Depth View - Relaxation Zone This spot is the connecting joint between the two arms of the L-shaped plan - with the long arm being the colonnade area and the short arm, being the quay stairs. As the point between these two axes, the relaxation zone serves as the diffusion area of the two arms. The asphalt in this place is dotted with circular grass holes and has two small concrete slab benches, trees and some vegetation. The area could be further developed and improved by the students over time. This spot, where the red barrack used to be placed at, is also a desirable for another important reason - it has the best sunlight potential in the entire plot of the school. This spot has the longest hours, year round, for potential direct sunlight.
The “Red Barrack” - an un-used room at a decaying process was occupying the spot of the relaxation zone for the previous four-five years
The area being developed during the course
One of two concrete slab benches - the trees growing through the benches started blooming already five months after the end of the course
The relaxation zone corner may be somewhat overlooked by parts of the students at school
Grass growing though the circular holes in the asphalt
In-Depth View - Appendices & Incompletes The scope of work planned and carried out during the short duration of the course was enormous, especially when taking into consideration the limited manpower, funds and time to complete all the duties. As a result, several tasks were not completed, while some other miscellaneous side tasks, referred to as appendices, were completed and brought into a finalize stage. This section of the booklet will try to give a general overview of some of the more important tasks that fell into this category.
As part of the new entrance planned, an attempt to regulate the random parking chaos at the school was addressed. A parking tag and parking map were made, but without any further co-operation from other parts, the plan was eventually incompleted and was never realized
Parking outside the school is as sporadic and un-controlled as it has always been - the problem remains unsolved
Bicycle parking was eventually left as a lacuna in the re-planning of the allmenning. As for today, bicycle parking is done mostly outside the library wall, though in a random and unplanned manner
The dilemma where to store wooden planks and plates was one of the course concerns. The device built during the course to address this question is still being used and performs well
Fixing the broken asphalt on the quay was one of the problems addressed by the course. This fixed spot (with grass and a large mosaic floor) is still proving very successful
Brick infill was carried out during the course, in order to fix a long dent running through the quay’s asphalt. This patch solution is still functioning well and even used at times for some student’s artwork as part of their studies
A trench was dug during the course from the buildings towards the yellow container, in order to run power lines to allow accessible electric output in the welding room. Due to time and funding difficulties, the task was never completed. To date, the trench is still partially uncovered and appears as a scar running through the asphalt
One of the course objectives was the clear and clean the entire quay and allmenning areas of the school. As to date, it appears that the work is so far being kept and that the amount of mess on the public areas of the school is kept on a moderate level
We hope our hard work is enjoyed and respected by all students and staff of the school for years to come. It has been a pleasure taking part in the course Design and Build 2014. Thank you!
Participating Students Atdhé Illyrian Belégu Paulo Fernández Fernández Anton Huhn Lior Israel Goda Luksaite Jiancong Luo Tomás González Martínez Erlend Mortier Rune André Nautvik Liina-Liis Pihu Karl Emil Sødergren Wei-Hsiang Tseng Frede Vik Camille Villemin Sondre Nordhagen Urtegård
Collected and Edited by Lior Israel Issued June 2015
Tutors Tristan Boniver Joakim Skajaa Arild Eriksen
Relaxing on the quay at the end of the Dugnad