Project Brief and Context Ceramic City
Project Brief and Context Ceramic City
Briefing document for final year studio project Unit 3A University of Nottingham Ryan, ManTo Lam
Content
0. Vision and Ambition
4
1. Wider Context
6
Abstract time line of the potteries A brief time line of the potteries ‘The Potteries: Current condition Potters in Stoke-on-Trent Ceramics?: A brief introduction Digital fabricated ceramics
8 10 12 14 16 18
2. Local Context
20
Where is Stoke? Connectivity of Stoke Identity of Stoke
22 24 26
3. Site Context
28
History Access Neighbours
30 32 34
Existing buildings conditions Building sequence Building Significance Building height Structure and expression
36 38 40 42 44
5
Top: Tearing down of factory in Stoke on Trent (Photo by ALAMY) Bottom: Stratigraphic Manufacture, Unfold Studio (Photo courtesy of Kristof Vrancken and Unfold)
Ceramic City
Vision & Ambition
“All [ceramic] designers have a connection with the city. They might not live here but they get all their stuff made here.” Reiko Kaneko, Ceramics Artist in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke on Trent is considered as the home of pottery industry in England. It used to produce ceramics at an industrial scale. Within the 100 years of the decline of British manufacturing had lead to a sharp shrinkage of the pottery industry. Between 1998 and 2008 the Potteries lost more than 20,000 jobs, large amount of high skilled labor became unemployed. This project aims to revitalize Stoke through the introduction of a ceramics city into the former Spode factory site. With the third industrial revolution, new production methods (such as 3D printing) will change how artist/ people produce things. Digital fabrication has become the new craftsmanship in the 21st century. This project aims to inject this ‘new’ matter into the rich industrial heritage on the site and create a unique combination between the old and the new, the analogue and digital.
7
1930 Bottle Kilns in Hanley [Times On-Line Archive]
The Potteries Wider context
9
Abstract time line of the potteries Project 1: Stoke-on-Trent Mural
The mural can be conceived as an abstract time line of how the ceramic industry transformed in Stoke-on-Trent. It represents the “evolution� of the production technique (from craftsmanship to mass-production...); and explores what could happen in the informative/ digital age.
Right: Digital version of Project 1- Stoke on Trent Mural
11
A brief time line of the potteries
Stoke on Trent is considered as the home of pottery industry in England. It used to produce ceramics at an industrial scale. 2,000 bottle kilns where in use at peak before the Clean Air Act in 1952. Within the 100 years of the decline of British manufacturing had lead to a sharp shrinkage of the pottery industry. Today, there are 47 listed bottle kilns remaining.
Bottle kilns at the Spode works c.1900-1930 (Photo of The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery)
KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives 2004 report declared Stoke-on-Trent to be:
“the most cost-effective place to set up a new UK business.”
#2000
80,000
60,000
£150,000
£50,000
40,000
20,000 Po
d
ploye
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tio pula
ery
tt in po
Housing Sales
21,627 students
ry
st indu
Total population
3,771 students
Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies
1978
Economic reform of China
World War II Spode Museum established
2013
1987
1939-45
1925
Stoke-on-Trent became a city
Spode build houses for factory wokres
Industrial Revolution
1984
3D Printing was invented
2014
Clean Air Act
1980
World War I
1956
1914-18
Spode invented bone china
Spode Visitor Center opened to public
#47
2nd Industrial Revolution
1797
Economic Recession
Olivier van Herpt 3D-printed functional ceramic objects
Spode Works was found
2009
1774
#438
Spode produce underglaze blue printed earthenware
1810
1785
0
Spode Historic factory closed
Time line showing key events regarding Stoke-on-trent, Spode and the ceramics industry
13
The Potteries Current condition
“All [ceramic] designers have a connection with the city. They might not live here but they get all their stuff made here.”
Center of Ceramics Industry
Reiko Kaneko, Cermics Artist in Stoke-on-Trent
Despite the fall of ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent, it is still the home to UK ceramic industry and the industry is growing. Both big scale potteries and small boutique ceramics studios are returning to Stoke-on-trent due to its low rent and its rich ceramics history.
32% Employers of all UK ceramics industry
60% Employees are based in North Staffordshire
£
650m Ceramics sectors’ annual gross added value contribution to the UK economy
350 ceramics-based businesses
7000 people ceramics-based jobs
3.6 Million Tourism destination for pottery ceramics tourists
34,000 overseas visitors
Venue of British Ceramics Biennial
and
Staffordshire Univesity
M6 J15
Portmeirion Ceramics & Spode (new)
Wedgwood 150+ potteries Ceramics material supplies Ceramics post processing Ceramics organiztion 3D printing companies Spode site Hanley Mapping of ceramics activities in Stoke-on-trent
15
Potters
in Stoke on Trent
Large Scale Potteries
Wedgwood Traditional and famous English pottery, best known for its Jasperware.
Portmeirion Group (Portmeirion & Spode) Portmeirion Pottery was founded in 1960, in North Wales. It acquired the Spode and Royal Worcester brand in 2009. Most of the production was from it’s factory in Stoke.
Wedgwood Jasperware
Spode Blue Italian tea cup
Mid Scale Potteries
Burleigh Pottery (Middleport Pottery) Regenerated by Prince’s Regeneration Trust (PRT), Burleigh Pottery sits in the listed former Middleport Pottery site, Burslem. It offers factories tours and workshops to the communities and the visitors. It also provide rental workspace for all kinds of business.
Community events in Middleport Pottery [Image courtesy of Prince’s Regeneration Trust]
Emma Bridgewater Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramics manufacturer founded in 1985. Noted for their polka dotdesign among others, Emma Bridgewater specializes in pottery with motifs drawing on techniques stretching back over 200 years. The company is one of the largest pottery manufacturers based entirely in the UK, with all of its products made in its factory in the city of Stoke-onTrent, England, [wikipedia] Childern brithday parties at Emma Bridgewater factory [Image courtesy of Emma Bridgewater]
Independent potteries
1882 Ltd. 1882 Ltd. was formed in 2011 by Emily Johnson and her father, Christopher, who has worked in the ceramic industry since 1958. 1882 Ltd.’s product ranged form lighting to domestic ware. While employing manufacturing heritage of North Staffordshire, they also produce innovative ceramics products using modern techniques.
Dune collection by Philippe Malouin A series of ceramic bowls and plates made using an analogue 3D printer and piles of sugar. [Image courtesy of Eva Feldkamp]
Reiko Kaneko Reiko Kaneko is a 31-year-old half-English, half-Japanese, Central Saint Martins graduate who set up her business in 2007. She moved to Stoke in 2012 due to the low rent (her studio is 20 time bigger then her old one in London ) and to work with the local potters ,from mold-makers to pot bank workers.
Adderley Works Mini Pendant by Reiko Kaneko Studio [Image courtesy of the Reiko Kaneko Studio]
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Ceramics?
A brief introduction
Ceramics are all around us.
This
category of materials includes things like tile, bricks, plates, glass, and toilets. Ceramics can be also found in watches, cars and space shuttle. Ceramics are made by taking a mixture of clay, earthen elements and water and shaping them into a certain form. Then it is fired in a kiln (high temperature oven. Depends on the design and purpose, the fired ceramics can be covered in one or multiple layers of glazes.
Process of making Pottery
Products of ceramics
1. Clay Souring 2. Clay Processing 3. Shaping and Forming 4. Decoration 5. Drying 6. Firing Raw clay
recycle
Refractories: Kiln linings Consumer: Tableware Cookware Watch casing
Leather hard
Bone dry
Technical: Bearing Tiles of Space Shuttle Ballistic Protection Biomedical implants Car disk brake
1st firing
Biscuit slips
Building Materials: Bricks Pipes Floor Roof tiles
Glaze
2nd firing
Transfers
3rd firing
Material properties of ceramics
Hard Wear-resistant Brittle Refractory Thermal insulators Electrical insulators Oxidation resistant
Top to bottom: Fixed partial porcelain denture Blue Jasperware Vase by Wedgwood Ceramic watch band by Rado Left: Ceramic Rod Facade Brandhorst Munich
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Digital fabricated ceramics The new way to produce ceramics
Additive
Manufacturing
(3D
printing)
reduces the gap between product conceptualization and realization thus reduces production lead-time significantly. It allows the use of information to reduce waste and defects and provide a highly flexible manufacturing style. 3D printing ceramic technology allows the design to free from the constraints of the mold. It allows the designer to produce consistence and precise free-form designs.
Left: 3D printed vase by Olivier van Herpt [image courtesy of Dezeen] Right: Building Bytes 3D Printed bricks [Brian Peters / DesignLabWorkshop]
Amateur
IDEA
Professional
Digital TRANSLATE
CERAMIC POWDER PRINTING
DUST-OFF
CERAMIC PASTE PRINTING
Traditional FIRE
GLAZE
FIRE
FINISH PRODUCT
Process of 3D printing ceramics
21
Stoke-on-Trent local and site context
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Where is Stoke on Trent ? Location of Stoke on Trent
Stoke on trent is a city of Staffordshire, England. It is in the center of UK with good connection to major cities. It is formed by a federation of six separate towns (Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall, Longton and Fenton) and numerous villages in 1925. The project site is locate in the former Spode factory site in Stoke.
Manchester Nottingham
Stoke-on-Trent Brimingham
Stoke-on-Trent and the UK
London
Tunstall
Burslem
Hanley
Fenton
Stoke
Longton
The six towns of Stoke-on-Trent
25
Connectivity of Stoke Local Context
Stoke is one of the six towns in the southwest of Stoke on Trent. It has excellent connectivity to others city in the UK, thanks to the close proximity to the M6 motor way (the “Backbone of Britain� ). This offers Stoke a comparative advantage to others towns. It also has a close proximity to the only train station RAIL TO MAJOR CITIES Manchester Birmingham London Leeds Cardiff Edinburgh
35mins 47mins 1hr 30mins 1hr 40mins 3hrs 4hrs
M6 MOTORWAY Birmingham Manchester
A500 Motorway,looking towards Stoke [Image courtesy of The Potteries]
40 miles 46 miles
in Stoke on Trent and the Staffordshire University, however they are separated by the A500 motorway. The Spode site is isolated from the train station, Staffordshire University and Hanley. The pedestrian connectivity is bad as the route from the station to Stoke is dominated by traffic.
Hanley Town Center
Smithfiel Development
Staffordshire Univesity
Spode Site Stoke Town
M6 J15
A500 Queensway
Diagram showing Stoke and Hanley context
Local context
27
Identity of stoke Local Context
Hanley is the closet town of Stoke. It is undergoing an ambitious development. The new Smithfield development comprised of a wide and varied mix of leisure, culture and office buildings. The City Council head quarter will be relocated from Stoke to Hanley. It will become a new CBD district and perhaps the town center in Stoke on Trent. So, what is the identity of Stoke? Given the close proximity of Stoke and Hanley, how can stoke compete/ collaborate with Hanley?
HANLEY SMITHFIELD DEVELOPMENT
STOKE
New City Concil HQ
(Relocated) City Concil HQ
Office
(Disused) Spode Factory
Retail
?
Hotel
?
Artist impression of the Smithfield development
Hanley Town Center
Smithfield Development
Staffordshire Univesity
Spode Site
Stoke Town
A500
Diagram showing Stoke and Hanley context
29
Main entrance to Spode site [Image courtesy of Spode Museum Trust ]
Spode Site Site Context
31
History
Spode site
SPODE
6,700 employees 30 Bottle kilns * before Clean Air Act
The Spode pottery factory was founded by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in 1970. It is famous for its Blue Italian series which utilize a under-glaze blue transfer printing developed by Spode; and the successful formula of bone china. Today, Portmeirion Group owns the Spode brand, a pottery and home wares company based in Stoke-on-Trent. The Spode site sits in the center of Stoke town. It occupies 4 haters of land and including 11 Grade II Listed buildings. It has been continuously used for ceramic production for more than 250 years until its closure in 2008.
TYPOLOGY OF POTTERY
The potteries in Stoke usually sat beside a canal. Buildings were on the perimeter and bottles kilns were located in the center, forming an inclusive space. The factory compound was usually accompanied by a generous open space that was used for refuse heap and coal storage. In 1900, there were over 30 bottles kilns on the site. After the enactment of the Clean Air Act in 1956, the bottle kilns was torn down and was replaced with factory sheds. The New Castle under Lyme Canal was filled and became London Road (one of the busiest road) as the city develops.
Town Hall Stoke Minister
New Castle under Lyme Canal
Super-imposition of historic context on current site map Pottery Bottle Kiln Public building Canal Major Road
0
40
80
120
160m
33
Site access Spode site
The original entrance to the Spode site is located at Chruch Street (main street), however it is currently closed and the entrance to the visitor center of Spode is located at Enelora Street. The Spode site is isolated from the train station, Staffordshire University and Hanley by the A500 motorway. The pedestrian connectivity is bad as the route from the station to Stoke is dominated by traffic.
Bridge crossing A500 towards Spode Site [Image from Google Maps]
Staffordshire Univesity
Figure ground plan showing site access from train station Spode Site Orginal entrance Current entrance Pedestrian route from train station Church Street Elenora Street 0
40
80
120
160m
35
Neighbours
surrounding buildings
Spode Site
Chruch Street
Stoke Library
Stoke Indoor Market
Sainsbury’s Superstore
Staffordshire Univesity
Town Hall
Stoke Minister
37
Existing buildings conditions
Site plans [Images by Stoke-on-Trent City Council ]
39
Buildings Sequence Existing buildings conditions
The buildings on Spode site were built at different stages, and with different styles. The oldest buildings on the site are multiple storeys bricks buildings with a narrow span of 6m-8m. They are simple, functional yet beautiful. These buildings are arranged in a L/C shape to accommodate the bottle kilns. Yard spaces are formed between the buildings and the kilns for refilling of coal. The space to the right of the site is left open for coal and refuses storage. An art gallery and pottery sales building were added to the center of the site. A beautiful concrete arched roof structure (designed for the accommodation of tunnel kilns) was added to the lower part of the site at this period. After the enactment of the Clean Air Act in 1956, the bottle kilns are replaced by electrical kilns. A series of steel frame shed were added in the 1950-present period to accommodate the electrical kilns.
1833-1877
1900-1937
1950-PRESENT
Top: 1927 aerial photo centered on Spode’s pottery factory [Stoke-on-Trent Public Health Department] Bottom: Current aerial photo centered on Spode’s pottery factory [Bing Map]
41
Building Significance Existing buildings conditions
1 3
2
Significance of buildings
1
Stoke Town Hall
Listed Building
2
Stoke Minister
High Historical Value
3
War Memorial
Architectural Value Lesser Value
From top to bottom: Courtyard with remains of bottle kiln Former Ceramics Workshop [Image courtesy of David Ogilvie]
43
Building height
Existing buildings conditions
The buildings on the site are mainly 1-2 storeys, with exception of the listed building 4C and 1D being 3 storeys and 4 storeys respectively. The chimney stands out from the low-rise building and is visible from far away.
Building height diagram 28m+
0m
Spode chimney [Image courtesy of David Ogilvie]
45
Structure and expression Existing buildings conditions
The proposed scheme will be an insertion into the old buildings. The newer steel frame shed will be demolished and the older/ more valuable buildings will be retained and become a part of the new building. Building 4C, 4F, 4J, 4I, 4K are brick loading bearing wall structure buildings. They all have high aesthetic value. Building 4J has a jackarched ceiling. Building 4B is a concrete frame building with brick infill wall and steel ribbon windows.
View from courtyard showing building 4b and the shed infill buildings (image courtesy of David Ogilvie)
1 3
4K
4J
4I
4C
4D 4F
4L
4A
4B
Masonry loading bearing wall Concrete frame/ brick infill wall Demolition (Steel frame structure) Concrete beam 0
2.5
5
7.5
10m
47
Existing buildings Expression and structure
The proposed scheme will be an insertion into the old buildings. The newer steel frame shed will be demolished and the older/ more valuable buildings will be retained and become a part of the new building. Building 4C, 4F, 4J, 4I, 4K are brick loading bearing wall structure buildings. They all have high aesthetic value. Building 4J has a jackarched ceiling. Building 4B is a concrete frame building with brick infill wall and steel ribbon windows.
View from courtyard showing building 4b and the shed infill buildings (image courtesy of David Ogilvie)
1 3
4f
4b
49