Architecture_Part 2_Stage 5 by Malcolm Pritchard

MALCOLM GREER PRITCHARD M.A rch N ewcastle U niversity _2015-2016 A cademic P ortfolio

S tage 5 2015-2016 Introduction _ ii Tracing Echoes _ 01 --

Charette

City as a Platform _ 05 --

ARC 8054

Emergence & Assemblage _ 25 --

ARC 8054

Spectres of Utopia & Modernity _ 63 --

ARC 8054

Linked Research - Zanzibar _ 105 --

ARC 8058

Before introducing my M.Arch body of work I feel it would be worthwhile to look at how I have made it to the position I am in today. I undertook my Part I studies at Newcastle University in 2010 graduating in 2013. During this time I developed an interest in sustainable communities, having designed a mixed scale community within a bridge over the Tyne for my graduation project; and school design, having written my dissertation on the Building Schools for the Future Programme.

stuck by the desire for expansion and modernisation shown by the people of Rotterdam. However, we did find that this was not necessarily a feeling shared by the South Rotterdamers. From discussions with the locals whilst there, many expressed concerns about the developments being inflicted upon them by the North, finding themselves pushed further and further out of the centre of Rotterdam.

After graduating I found employment with Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands (LDS) a medium to large practice in London, where I was able to take on a variety of projects at numerous scales. I worked on two residential towers in East Village, Stratford and a small office renovation in Covent Garden.

This is a subject that ties in closely with my interests in sustainable communities, and it is a theme that I continued to explore throughout the project. I feel the ideals of bottom-up architecture and tactical urbanisms, where people are encouraged to take ownership and control of their local areas, create spaces and environments that work much better for their local inhabitants compared to those with little or no active involvement from the locality. Further to this I have been reading ‘Death and Life of great American Cities’ by Jane Jacobs, ‘Tactical Urbanism’ by Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia, and ‘The Forces in Architecture’ by Alejandro Aravena.

After year at LDS I moved on Alison Brooks Architects (ABA). Here I spent the majority of my time working on a large housing development in Barton, Oxford; as well as a house in Camden, and a College in Cambridge. At both ABA and LDS I was able to continue developing my interests into what makes a community.

After Christmas I spent four weeks in Zanzibar conducting liked research with Prue Chiles and a number of other student from both stage 5 and 6. These four weeks we the most intensive of my university career so far however they were also some of the most enjoyable. Much of our time was initially focused on Stone Town however we soon began to look further afield into the peri urban areas of the cities as well as outlying towns around the island. We spoke to local people we met as well as those working within the Zanzibari Government and others conducting research into Zanzibar.

Both practices had very different design processes. Where LDS was more focused on precedents, ABA was far more theoretically rigorous and experimental; however I found the restrictions imposed by the housing developer we worked for, and their conservative approach to design, frustrating. I was therefore excited to return to University and put into practice all that I had learnt through my two years in industry. Since returning to university I have been able to explore and develop my Architectural interests more widely, thanks in part to the Tools for Thinking module we have undertaken. This began with an examination of Rem Koolhaas’ delirious New York. Of the lectures, readings and seminars those that particularly influenced me were the talks by Peter Kellet and Kat Button. This has led to an examination of the role of the architect within the design process, as either an enabler or dictator. With research into what makes a successful building, one which is aesthetically appealing? or one which the inhabitants have ownership of, that meets their individual needs?

This eclectic mix of views and opinions led to us developing a stakeholder map for those working on the islands in an attempt to gain an understanding of how the islands work. Furthermore we wanted this to act as an informative piece that would help those working on the islands to liaise with one another to achieve more than was previously possible. Post Zanzibar I worked with Nathaniel Coleman within the Spectres of Utopia & Modernity studio. This studio challenged us to capture the ghosts of modernity by investigating whether or not they are indwelling in selected surviving examples of the heroic period of modern architecture from the 1920s and 1930s. In doing so we were asked to explore the possibility of resuscitating modernity and Utopia alike. For my building study I looked at the Van Nelle Fabriek. A factory situated on the outskirts of Rotterdam that was once home to a refinery for Coffee, Tea and Tobacco but now acts as a “creative factory”. What particularly stuck me about this building was what I understood to be its strive for modernity through automisation and it was this that led to my study into the implications on society that the next level of automisation that will bring.

The City as a Platform project began as a mapping exercise, with each member of the group choosing a different subject to focus on within the Rijnhaven Basin. I chose to look at the ground floor uses of the buildings surrounding the basin. The exercise when combined with the others within the group and the historical and future research that we undertook gave us an intimate understanding of the site and the forces that exist there. We found the site to be exhibiting the classic signs of one which is undergoing rapid gentrification. This theme of accelerated change was one that was displayed throughout the city; I was particularly

I ntroduction ii

E mergent and as yet under - investigated , performance architecture is an architecture that is enacted as much as it is built . N otions of building performance , performance as construction , the rendering of the socio - political experience of the individual in space , or the architectural program as an urban script reaching beyond the specification of typologies to prescribe behavioral pat terns are all converging to formulate new paradigms of spatial practice . Alex Schweder

CHARRETTE Stage 5: Week 5

Tutor: Andrew Walker, & Kyveli Anastassiadi

A majority of the spaces we occupy will prioritise clarity over ambiguity, passivity over interaction, stillness over dynamism, and most certainly control over indeterminacy. It is our contention that this entrenched predictability is edging us ever closer to a perceptual event horizon, risking regression from active and engaged ‘perception’ to more passive ‘reception’ - resulting in a culture of mass distraction and spatial disconnection. We ask; how as architects can we intervene and playfully reverse this decay? In this charrette we shall try to do so through creating dynamic, intelligent and conversational architectures, which cultivate a re-imagining of the design process – thinking beyond both the scaleless, acontextual world of the virtual screen and the flat constraints of the page, and sketch in

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 5_Charette

4D, letting designs take on a temporal as well as spatial flesh. Through ‘architectural improvisation’ we will encourage participants to think and draw haptically, viscerally and bodily. We shall treat movement in the same manner as massing and materiality. Together, through coding, data harvesting and intuitive hacking, we will stage a series of acoustically interactive architectural ‘hacks’, which through both spatial and bodily feedback loops, enable occupants to compose and recondition their own sensory environments. We aim to design and build adaptive, deployable and interactive multi-sensory sub-systems - a series of lumino-kinetic props and installations that parasitically attach to different sites. By amplifying the latent acoustic signatures of the surrounding spaces, and ‘sensitising’ surfaces and cavities alike, we shall transform sites into playable architectural instruments.

G C. 1 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C. 2 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C. 3 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C. 4 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C. 5 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C . 6 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C . 7 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C . 8 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C . 9 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C . 1 0 _ 1 / 2 / 3 G C . 1 1 _ 1 / 2 / 3

T racing E chos 3

T his

could be

L iverpool

R ot terdam R ome

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;C ause R ot terdam A nywhere

or anywhere

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alone - Beautiful South, 1996

CITY AS A PLATFORM Stage 5: Week 7-10 Tutor: Steve Parnell

The design project for this semester was focused in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Rotterdam, as with many Dutch Cities, laregely exists on constructed ground with a carefully managed water system. It is a reclaimed archipelago of interspersed residential, commercial and industrial areas the line the river Maas extending into the sprawling docks of the Europoort. Europoort is Europe’s largest port and is one the busiest in the world. Rotterdam is the Netherlands second largest city and is part of the Randstad (‘ring city’) of connected urban areas. The Randstad is one of the most densely populated areas in Europe. Thanks to the port Rotterdam has long been seen as a ‘working class city’ full of industry, hard work... and very little else. Very different from the cultural and political centres seen in other parts of the Netherlands, this has given rise to the popular complaint of, Money is earned in Rotterdam, distributed in Den Haag and spent in Amsterdam. However in the past 30 years the cities image has been transformed. The port begun to shift out towards the coast leaving the inner-city havens empty. These have begun to be developed as residential, leisure and business areas which are increasingly high density and high-rise. Rotterdam as also become known for its willingness to embrace contemporary culture, architecture and design. This coupled with the cities history of transformation and reconstruction, and its global interconnectedness are key to understanding this change.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

The site chosen was the Rijnhaven Basin. Located in the south of Rotterdam the basin is bordered my Kop van Zuid to the North and Katendrecht/Afrikaanderbuurt to the South. Over our time in the area we found it to be displaying classic signs of ongoing gentrification starting in the north with Kop van Zuid and creeping into Katendrecht. Kop van Zuid is characterised by large governmental/high-end services offices and apartment buildings interspersed with cultural buidings. The western end of Kop Van Zuid known as Wilhelminapier was historically home to the Holland-America line and as such was the exit point from Rotterdam for migrants to Amercia. More recently the area has been collonised by buildings designed by ‘Starchitects’ such as OMA, Renzo Piano and Norman Foster. These developments capture the ideas of high-rise high dentsity developments requested by the transformation of Rotterdam however many of the buildings struggle to relate properly with their context leaving the area feeling disjointed and under-used. Katendrecht to the south is home to some of the few remaining industrial buildings in the area however in the most part this is a low density mainly residential area of Rotterdam interspersed with small restaurants or start-up businesses. Afrikaanderbuurt has yet to be heavily influenced by this gentrification. It is cut off from the other areas by a train viaduct and a busy road. As such it is an area that displays high levels of social deprivation.

P lan R ot terdam 7

I began investigating the opening times and commercial ground floor mapping, from a interest in what I perceived to be a poor utilisation of ground floor space within the Wilhelminapier area of the Rijnhaven Basin. It seemed to me that the new buildings were failing to attract the numbers of people required to create a feeling of activity and interest within the area, I wanted to see if this was true for all areas of the basin. I initially planned to count foot fall in various areas at differing times to ascertain where the main areas of interest were. However it quickly became clear that this was unfeasible in the time period available. Therefore I began collecting data on all the commercial ground floor units in the areas surrounding the basin. This meant capturing email addresses, shop names, uses and, if possible, opening times to enable me to compile a database upon our return to Newcastle. Beginning in Katendrecht and working my way around to the end of Wilhelminapier I compiled and mapped 136 commercial units into the database seen on the right. Having assigned a use, and therefore a colour to each unit seen in the key below, I mapped the opening times of each shop onto the 24hr clock seen below. This new map allows a direct comparison between the number and type of unit in each area, as well as their respective opening times. One interesting result of this process was to find that coffee shops in the Kop van Zuid area have very different opening times to those in the Katendrecht area.

Katendrecht I found the Katendrecht to be the most culturally diverse of the three areas. The eastern end is characterised by the gentrified Delistraat/Fenix Food Factory areas with coffee shops artisan food vendors and the Walhalla Theatre. This is an area slated for development in the coming years as warehouses are turned in flats. To the West there are many low value service/retail units such as car garages and sex shops as well as evidence of very high levels of deprivation. Kop van Zuid Kop van Zuid is an area showing signs of high levels of wealth creation. There are many medium to high value service sector units, higher education buildings and dentists clinics. There are also many government departmental buildings such the Dutch Tax Office. There were surprisingly few retail units or food vendors within this area. Wilhelminapier This is the most recently developed of the three areas and the work is still very much carrying on. It is also the area that initially caught my interest. Despite being, in geographical terms, a similar size to the other areas it has the fewest units at 25 compared to Kop van Zuid at 40 and Katendrecht at 72. This area is characterised by large restaurants that tend to open in the mid afternoon, expensive hotels and cultural projects. Historically the area was used as the starting point of emigration to the U.S. and this transient feel is continued into today.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

135

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5 5 15 25 35 45

135

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25 55

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45 115 125 135

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Restaurant Hotel Retail Health Education Govt. Building Office Service Gym Transport Entertainment Manufacturing

85 95 105 115 125 135

M ap R ot terdam 9

As well as our mapping research we were also asked to conduct written research into Rotterdam and specifically the Rijnhaven basin. This was then compiled into a newspaper which we had printed for distribution around the Student Body. We chose to present this research in the form of a Newspaper due to the inherent nature of Newspapers and Magazines as a democratic platform for the distribution and dispersion of ideas and information. This research process was key for us to develop an understanding of the history of the area and the future plans whilst the mapping gave a snapshot of the current situation. What we found was an area with a rich and diverse cultural history that often found itself at odds with the ruling powers of the time. It is an area with an almost entirely human constructed ground plane, due to the Europoort docks. Rijnhaven was dug out in 1911 making it, along with the neighbouring Maashaven, one of the oldest docks on the Maas and leaving Katendrecht as a peninsula.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

Thanks to these docks Katendrecht has always been an area synonymous with sailors, shipping and everything that this included. The newly formed peninsula quickly became influenced by sailors seeking trade. When in 1911 local dockworkers went on strike Chinese labour was brought in as a cheap alternative. The area was soon to become the largest Chinese community in Europe. With the arrival of the Chinese also came the arrival of the use of opium. The area increasingly became influenced by sailors living in so called boarding houses. Crime, gambling and prostitution became the norm. Due to its history of drugs and vice German soldiers were barred from entering into Katendrecht during the WWII. The area had become so rough that German soldiers feared it and rarely entered, leaving the Katendrecht as a free state during the war. Here the forbidden Jazz music was still played and the influence of both music and ethnic diversity on the region blossomed. This diversity has continued to today; of the 4,445 inhabitants; of these, 55% were non-Western immigrants, namely Surinamese, Antillean, Chinese and Cape Verdeans.

R ijnhaven T ijdschrift 11

platform ] enables and anticipates future action without directly producing it .

platform provides tools and

resources to the objects that run â&#x20AC;&#x153; on top â&#x20AC;? [ it ] Sean Dockray

The statement below is our culmination of the week we spent researching platforms. This definition, developed by the studio, governed the rest of the Studios work and led to the development of platforms presented at the Symposium. Much of the research focused around readings and precedent research. We identified platforms ranging from Language, Economy, Lego, and Periscope. From here as a group we were able to synthesise the characteristics of a successful platform. These were; layering (platforms built on platforms) accessibility (no barriers at layer), iterative feedback. Furthermore at this stage we brought all that we had learnt from the mapping exercise along with the written research to decide on our group aims for our platforms. Many of the mapping exercises resulted in a journey taking place around the site creating an abstract version of the basin, through

A P latform P latforms action . T hey

which we could see the classic signs of gentrification with the slow infiltration of money from North to South and we began to see how the platform would be able to effect a positive change within the site. Areas we sought to address was the lack of an identity, a lack of voice and a lack of connection. We chose these areas due to what we perceived to be the unwanted infiltration of North Rotterdam into the South, that was beginning to remove some of the more culturally interesting aspects of Katendrecht to be replaced with sanitised developments seen in Kop van Zuid. This feeds into both the issues of identity and voice. Finally from walking around the basin it quickly spilt itself into very distinct areas with an us and them attitude giving rise to the need for greater connectivity between the areas.

enables user - defined outcomes and encourages innovative participation .

are indiscriminately accessible and non - prescriptive , but use parameters to facilitate and anticipate

evolve through feedback , resulting in connections amongst

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

U sers

and

P latforms .

P latform R esearch 13

The abstract portion of the platform is the new currency we are proposing for the basin. The reason for chosing this was the idea that currencies are the fabric that bind communities together however there are often large barriers of entry to the platform. Called Tijd, the dutch word for time, it is a skillsharing currency where people are able to receive payment for the hours they spend teaching or working with others in the community. It would be coupled with community minded programs such as allotments or litter picking, that can improve the local community whilst providing someone with a small income to be spent on food or a place to sleep for the night. Central to the idea of the time based skillshare is the belief that everyone has a skill and time to give, therefore the Tijd currency is a platform without barriers to entry at level.

Alongside this are other applications and offers of work within the community. People are able to advertise and claim jobs that are needed or required through an app run and maintained by the abstract Tijd platform. We believe that this system will help and enable its users to improve their own lives and those of the community around them by giving them a voice, increasing communication and connectivity between social classes and creating a strong identity for the people of the Rijnhaven basin to use to combat the encroachment of Rotterdam upon their lives.

A bstract

D igital

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

P hysical

PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT Platform

Establishment

Components

Outcome

Rijnhaven proposal

Local currency Negative interest, -2%/3mths Stimulates small frequent transactions Prevents accumulation of wealth

Chiemgauer (local currency)

Currency

Alternative economy

Time currency skills-sharing

Echo (time based currency)

Internet platform marketplace

Bitcoin

Direct client-provider communication

Sustainability

Open source P2p currency Recilient and Decentralised Completely digital currency

Energy Generating Path

Social capital

Free stuff community

User-Maker

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co Couch Surfing

Pro-bono work by professionals Personal tutoring Hybrid venue Partly free online user-provider matching service Lifestyle based community Global community

Hergebruik, Rotterdam FabLab The Hub

Upcycling product design Mix of commerce & education Embedding assets in the community Assembled designs made from re-used objects People initiative manufacturing Professional mentoring Tools and workshop provided Professional and amateur sharing of space Pro-bono work by professionals Rent paid by the hour, not by space Extended usage of premises = low rent Peer to peer learning Host monitoring and welcoming newcomers Sociable atmosphere Adaptable open plan space, user-influencible

Promotion movement

Micro-business entrepreneurship

Social cohesion

App

Space activation

User-maker Vertical Farming Local network

Latent capacity use

Streetlife Nightlife Decentralised system

Incremental value-adding Public Square “Servant leadership”

Co-production partnership

Alternative lifestyle

Aquatic Farming

Public participation

Delight

Social housing area

Incremental & iterative growth processes

Developer-local community group collaboration Building visual impact, generating interest Educational centre Activation of public spaces Sustainable local economy promotion Direct lobbying of landowners Low-cost exploitation of dead space Participative citizenship

Edible Incredible

Local Currency

Eco services

Optimised usage of premises Community based performing arts project Low rent alternative Living-teaching establishment Professional cluster Holistic range of services (ethical) Community trust and particiation Embedding assets in the community Registered charity Self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood Direct democracy, one person one vote Resident law enforcement Stimulate start-up business Skills-sharing Micro-financing Sustainable energy production Developer-local community group collaboration Green energy rebate Income generating energy production Lease based on “anti-squatting” license Mini-clusters of like-minded Open-plan workshop and co-working space Public workshops on the pavement Exhibition space Attractive way of living and doing Temporary building partnerships Self-commissioning Negotiate collective finance arrangement with mortgage lender Preferential arrangement to encourage building cooperatives over standard developers Flexible masterplan Small plots for development Public to produce their own homes through collaboration Municipality as civic entrepreneur Sites sold as “area average” price rather than to the higherst bidder Allow higher density to enable affordability

YardArts, Bristol Bromley by Bow Christiania Fintry Development Trust Tubingen

Collaborative collectives

Local regulatory framework

Plurality of values and outcomes

Growth through networks Bicycle connection Local business entrepreneurship

Pre-fab elements Incomplete structures Customisable end result

Strengthening local business

Value increase over time

Alejandro Aravena, Chile Neil Sutherlands Architects

Architecture

Locally sourced materials Transport emission saving Apprenticeships

Community development

Innovation lab Direct negotiations with food producers Seasonal menus Helping local producers with accreditation Carbon saving

Nottingham University Hospital

Partnerships

Raised nutritional value & food standards

One Love City

Including environmental cost in tender criteria Open slots for impromptu events Gallery-hotel, Dual purpose establishment Public sector, private business & community organisations partnership Curated and coordinated boutiques

Pop-up business

Short-term tenants Bikini Haus

Flexible modular box system made from wood 5 available box sizes, 19-29 m sq Business testing opportunity

Alternative economy An alternative economy based on a local currency stimulates spending within the area and allows the owners of the curency to regulate goods and services for trade.

Incremental value-adding The idea of many smaller investments over time and gradual improvements on a small scale that leads up to a holistic improvement over time.

Sustainability To be sustainable means to meet the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

“Servant leadership” Larger bodies with insight, power and overview aid smaller actors to achieve their goals through coaching, mentoring and supplying guidelines and frameworks.

A bstract P latform 15

Social capital The pattern and intensity of networks among people and the shared values which arise from those networks. Other definitions include community spirit, citizenship, 'neighbourliness', social networks and civic participation.

Co-production partnership Knowledge and competence collaboration, sometimes just for a specific job, designed to optimise efficiency and affordability.

Local regulatory framework

Eco services

What participants need to comply with codes of practice – a code of practice can amplify any economic standard and regulate participants’ compliance to maintain those targets.

The sum of benefits people derive from ecosystems. This is the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and the relationship between ecological functions and ecosystem services.

Alternative lifestyle

Public participation

Delight

Most notably a lifestyle that breaks with ruling global market forces and rejects the goods from the mainstream of the supply chain.

The ability for the general public to become engaged co-creators and interact creatively with their surrounding beyond the consumer role.

Delivering the unexpected. A measure of positive surprise.

Micro-business entrepreneurship Often sole traders or family businesses, these entrepreneurs contribute heavily to the diversity of the city and help create identity and even branding of a place.

Social cohesion

Space activation

User-maker

Latent capacity use

Local network

Streetlife

A bond that holds a group together, even if individuals within the group have different backgrounds or circumstances.

A collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.

A movement that starts off as small scale manufacturing by individuals who have identified a need or demand for something, often inspired by their own desire for the thing.

Identifying and activating the unharnessed potential in people, places or processes around us.

Local networks are quick to transfer information and organise themselves. Individuals have a high influence on the operation which translates into direct benefits for them.

People using, staying and appropriating the public space in Rijnhaven, is the final outcome and identity of the Rijnhaven.

Incremental & iterative growth processes

Plurality of values and outcomes

Growth through networks

Local business entrepreneurship

Strengthening local business

Community development

Organic growth which relies on adherance to a framework for expansion within which a customisability exists.

The total sum of intended, serendipitous, coincidental, by-products and unexpected end-results from a system or service.

Feedback to the participants in a network that serves to benefit their participation.

Getting local residents into setting up businesses.

Supplying local business with target audience, market shares, exposure, marketing, infrastructure or other mechanisms.

Strengthening the bond between people of all ages, sex, backgrounds and ethnicities. Enpowering people to make changes to their community.

Decentralised system A systems intricately linked to the idea of self-organisation. Mechanisms such as indirect communication, temporary patterns and feedback play a vital role to smooth operations within the given parameters.

The Tijd Platform

How it works...

Tijd is a social experiment design by Newcastle University based in the Rijnhaven Basin of Rotterdam. The ultimate premise has been to create revolutionised labour marketplace where time is money.

You can sign up for Tijd through this application or through the Collective Offices by the Rijnhaven Metro Station. From here you can manage your profile, request help and advice or find opportunities to trade skills and services. Instead of Euros, T’s are generated that can be used within participating shops of the Rijnhaven area, as well as through the online labour marketplace.

Why Join?

The great thing about Tijd is that it’s open to everyone. T’s can be generated through manual labour as well as traded services. Building, Energy generation, Farming and Maintenance are just some of the sectors currently offering T’s in exchange for work. Tijd offers back the opportunity to earn T’s through community based projects in areas such helping the elderly and helping to settle asylum seekers.

Joining the Tijd community currency will recognise and reward the amount of time you commit to your local area. Being a part of Tijd is also rewarding in itself. Here you will find the chance to contribute to something bigger than the sum of its components. Tijd will give you an opportunity to strike up new relationships, build trust between people and enhance the appeal and attractiveness of your area, amongst other things. For example, why not play a part in reducing social exclusion and inequality by investing some of your time? You could even create your own business venture within the Tijd community, which, as a microcosm in itself, acts as a platform for testing and launching ideas in a supportive environment before going global. As the Tijd community grows and expands there’s always room for contributions from individuals from all walks of life. The Tijd currency can also be utilised in alleviating some of the fees and operational costs imposed by the council, through providing some their services that we can manage more effectively and efficiently ourselves. This could mean you could get involved in energy production, urban farming, local sourcing or waste disposal management, to name but a few. There are also reductions in CO² tax and insurance premiums through the Tijd scheme. As a result of all this there is smaller overheads left for you and your business here at Tijd, thus freeing up your capital for more exciting things.

T’s can be used to hire people who have offered their skills through the marketplace or alternatively on rewards such as hot meals, a safe place to sleep or theatre tickets and other entertainment. What now? Once you’ve signed up for Tijd you can start to add your listings. Just click ‘post’ with the app, record your video, and give some information on your listing, it’s then ready to go live! Confused? Confused? Don’t worry, just head to the Tijd building in Rijnhaven, where those already involved in Tijd are on hand to help. Is it Safe? Everyone is verified by our team before their post goes active and people are tracked whilst active to make the platform safe for all. Before you start… We are giving away a 5 (T) overdraft to all those who complete a few simple tasks such as spreading the word on social media. After that, It’s time to get sharing.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

D igital P latform 17

TIJD Building

institution

Public access view level Central processing system Office space Help centre

TIJD HEADQUARTER BUILDING Community

The function of Tijd building is to provide office space, central processing system space and help centre space for the app which we applied in Rijnhaven area, it is like a headquarter for the app.

ENERGY GENERATING PATH The kinetic energy of walking or dancing people converts into electricity. Energy generated can be stored in batteries to utilise at the Tijd advertisment installations. Anyone can join to generate energy and earn some T’s!

The Physical side of the platform took on numerous guizes at this early stage. The first and most important was the ‘Tijd Building’ seen intially as a building that could work as a home of the programs required by the running of the platform. For example, offices/server rooms required for the running of the app, training areas to teach people how to use the app and an assembly area where local issues could be debated. Further to this we perceived there to be numerous advertisement/social gathering spaces where people who were signed up to the app could broadcast themselves either offering skills or requesting help. These social nodes could also play host to pop-up markets or theatre/circus shows

PET SPACE

Pet- Architecture is a discipline dealing with construction on gaps between inner-city buildings. Maybe an interested builder will turn up on Tijd app, then an idea, a design and somebody can move from the street into a nice new home!

AQUACULTURE

The farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mulloscs, aquatic plants & ornamental fish in a controlled environment. Empowering the local residents of the Katendrecht area to produce their own food and learn about producing food leading to respect for sourcing of foods and reducing food waste. The existing north tip of the Katendrecht lends itself to a closed in aquafarm where the water in/out lets can be controlled and has automatic access to transport to the rest of the basin and further out.

offered to the local community. Both these programs actively seek to connect and empower the local communities of the Rijnhaven basin to achieve the goals that we set out at the beginning of our platform research. Finally to make the Tijd economy viable from the outset there other linked programs situated on the site. Vertical/Aquatic Farms, Nightlife, social housing pods and additional energy generating routes around the site. These will provide the basic injection of T’s into the platform to kickstart the economy

Wilhelminapier Installation // Visualisation Profile Billboard // Visualisation

Codrico Qube Installation // Visualisation Info Board Installation // Visualisation

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

P hysical P latform 19

As we began to work towards our group presentation we felt that testing the Tijd platform to better understand itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s limitations and successes would be a worthwhile endeavor. We started by mapping how we were working by collecting data on hours worked and where the work occured. Each morning we held a meeting for people to discuss what they were doing and what they needed help with. Here we found that about 50% of the studio preferred to work at home due to geographical distance or other reasons. This group depended heavily on digital platforms such as texting, emails and the group whatsapp for communication. On the other hand those who worked within the Studio environment left a very small digital trace. The map of this can be seen on the right-hand side of this page. Each of our houses are placed geograpically with the blue lines representing the total

SKILLS OFFERED

SKILLS REQUESTS

COMMUNITY OFFERS

COMMUNITY REQUESTS

TRENDING

09/11/2015

10/11/2015

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ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP SKILLS

BASIC VIDEO EDITING SUPPORT

COFFEE BREAK FREE HOT DRINKS

LITTER PICK UP IN KATENDRECHT

time spent working in the studio and quantity of grey lines showing group interactions via digital platforms. We found there were three key spatial aspects required for our Studio Platform to function. The first was the meeting space. This represents the public space we proposed for the Tijd Platform. Secondly the Studio space where some of us worked represents the need for a central Tijd building. Thirdly the central group time-sheet acts as the abstract database that bound the group together. Finally the requirement for digital aspect of the platform to allow people who live too far away or prefer not to work in a studio environment to interact with the platform is proven by the quantity of digital communications between group members.

AS AN EXPERIENCED APP DESIGNER I CAN TRANSFORM EVEN THE SIMPLEST CONCEPTS TO LIFE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD. USING MY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AS A NEWSPAPER EDITOR I CAN BRING UNIQUE IDEAS TO BOTH THE LAYOUT AND DIGITAL FRAMEWORK OF YOUR APP.

CYCLE HOME SCHEME

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4

09/11/2015

10/11/2015

30/10/2015

3 2 1

ADVANCED CAD TECHNICIAN

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

09/11/2015

8 7 6 5 4 3 2

SYMPOSIUM ADVICE

1 0

09/11/2015

APP DESIGNER

TIME

WEDNESDAY

10/11/2015

TD UN EE SS DD AA YY WE

3D MODELLING

09/11/2015

CLEAR UP STUDIO

ME OS ND DA AY Y TU

09/11/2015

PROJECT COORDINATOR

MONDAY

CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS

LOCATION AND TYPE OF WORK

S tudio

as a

P latform

In an attempt to understand the limitations and successes of our created platforms we set ourselves up within the studio as a skillsharing marketplace. This involved coming together as a group and declaring what we could offer to the studio in terms of skills and expertise. We each made a profile much as a user would for the Tijd platform, seen below. From here we spent the week filling in timesheets to find the hours worked by each member of the group and at the end of the experiment this was compared each individuals work output, Initally 1T = 1*A4. The result of this can be seen in the top wheel on the right-hand side. The idea was to examine whether each individual within the group was contributing at an equal level and therefore

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 7-10_City as a Platform

whether everyone deserved 1T for every hour worked. As can be seen the results of the experiment showed that some seemed to have contributed more to the experiment than others. However, the experiment is not without its limitations. For example it fails to take into account time spent teaching others how to use programs to enable them to create work. Furthermore 3 of the group worked on the App video. This produced almost 0 A4 pages however required a lot of time to produce. Therefore we created a difficulty index and added this to the equation, seen on the bottom right. Here work is evaluated based on difficulty and the more abstract work of the group is better rewarded. As can be seen this gives a more equal spread of work by the group and better represents the final output.

A diagram representing the number of Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earned per person over the course of the platform experiment, using a physical element to represnt the value of 1T 1T is equal to 1 completed A4 piece of work pinned up at the symposium

efficiency

(%)

completed

work sheets

100

hours worked

A diagram representing the individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relative work out put, using a more flexible point system that greater reflects the real value of all work undertaken by the collective.

efficiency

(%)

relative work completed hours worked

T he R eal V alue 23

T ijd

100

â&#x20AC;&#x153;W ater is the source of life that has both controlled and yet provided for human existence ... I t is the artery that , while sustaining life , creates a unique environment and way of life at its edge ... I t is at the waters edge that man is closest to the initiative spirit that represents life itself .â&#x20AC;? - Toree, p.1989

EMERGENCE & ASSEMBLAGE Stage 5: Week 11-15 Tutor: Steve Parnell

I began the individual project by examining where within the masterplan I wanted to place myself based upon the type of project I wished to complete. My site shown in the site plan on the left. The site is currently empty waiting for a new development in the mould of the buildings seen in Kop van Zuid. It also sits at point that is provides a literal link, in the form of a land bridge between Katendrecht and Afrikaanderbuurt however as yet does not have the program to support such a link. I propose to create a building that acts as a testing ground that allows the Tijd to grow and flourish. I want to create a building typology that can change and adapt to the needs of the local community. That is easy to assemble, as to allow the work to be carried out by an unskilled inexperienced workforce, at rate that can keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of the people of Rijnhaven. This necessitates the need for a modular system that could grow and expand over time.

I also feel that due my desire to subvert the existing gentrification that is encroaching on the Rijnhaven basin it is important at this stage to not use a standard system that is dependent on a linear structural system. If only for symbolic reasons this development must stand apart and be visibly and experientially different to what has come before it. The development will be home to small, creative businesses utilising the Tijd platform to help manage and attract new people from outside Rijnhaven creating a new pool of expertise that will drive the organic future development of South Rotterdam. It is time for the community of South Rotterdam to take their first nascent steps and find a voice and an identity to protect all that is great about their community.

believe that perception is primary to rational intelligence .

on interaction .

M ost

lines are either vertical or

K nowledge of self and the external world depends horizontal , both structurally , visually and for transportation .

[ creating ] E xternally monotous and internally predictable the strict adherence to square or nearly square form , conditions man â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s spatial perception and narrowns his mental scope . V isual conditioning and pat tern forming are the immediate results from these conditions . P rolonged exposure and keeping in line with uniform visual fields causes boredom , irritation and may even trigger aggressive behaviour Gerard Caris - March 1981

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

T esting G round 27

for

R ijnhaven

Many of the work developed by the studio, over the course of the project, interweave and build on oneanother creating platforms built on platforms. The project that neighbours mine on site is an Architectural Salvage/Manufacturing yard designed by Sophie Copbley. Here she recycles steel, timber and concrete, from demolished buildings around Rotterdam, to create useful material for

B y 2030,

many studio projects including mine. As well as this her project provides people with the education and skills to contruct the units that I have designed. This links back our difinition of platforms and the idea of platforms built upon platforms. Without the platform that Sophie provides my platform for change would be impossible.

out of the five billion people that will be living in cities , t wo billion are going to be under the line

of poverty .

T hat

means that we will have to build a one million - person city per week with

family during the next

years .

one million - person city per week with

10,000

dollars per

dollars per family . Alejandro Aravena - Oct 2014

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

T ijd C onnectivity D iagram 29

I began to look at the ideas of emergence though assemblage described in a readings about the favelas of South America and Mumbai. At this stage I also began to do extensive research into architects such as Alejandro Aravena and Ted Cruz. They argue that the role of the architect is changing from a top-down dictatorial position to a bottom-up enabler. I began to search and

test shapes that were able to tessellate. The goal of the system is that it can be assembled or disassembled as required to enclose and capture more inhabitable space or be removed when the demand is reduced to return spaces to the community. What I found with this test is that there are very few shapes that will tessellate in three dimensions in a way that achieved this goal.

believe the next step must be to create â&#x20AC;&#x153; open systems â&#x20AC;?: physical conditions in cities that allow all forces at play

to have an input .

are entering a new game . Alejandro Aravena - Oct 2015

H ow

can bot tom up acts of transgressions begin to trickle up to transform top - down policy Ted Cruz - Feb 2014

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

E mergence T hrough A ssemblage 31

The Weaire-Phelan structure found by physicist Denis Weaire and his student Robert Phelan solved the Kelvin conjecture of 1887. Lord Kelvin sought to find the most efficient way space could be partitioned into cells of equal volume with the least area of surface between them. The WeairePhelan structure was discovered a little over 100 years later to be the most efficent way of tesselating shapes together in three dimensions.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

The structure is formed from combining two shapes together, both seen on the right. The ‘Tetrakaidecahedron’ and an ‘Irregular Dodecahedron’, blue. The ‘Irregular Dodecahedron’ is formed from the negative spaces left over after the ‘Tetrakaidecahedron’ have been assembled. I believe that this structure through the assemblage of shapes into a larger built form will allow me to achieve the goals I have set out at the beginning of the project.

W eaire P helan S tructure 33

Scanning Mirror

Laser

Roller

Powder

Print Bed

The Tijd Platform will provide the base elements for the construction of my development. The most basic of these element is the connection Node. These 3D Printed steel elements are used to create the framework for the local people making their own units which can be join, interlinked or kept as a single element to be used in the area of Rijnhaven. They provide the speed and ease of construction that is so key to this construction technique, allowing supply to keep up with

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

Piston

demand. A database for this and all subsequent designs based on the modular is held wtihin the Tijd Civic Hub. This creates an open source environment removing some of the barriers to entry of my platform.

MODULE NODE

Once the user has this ubiquitous node they can begin to connect into the system. This requires they use steel, glu-lam or concrete elements that are cut to an exact length in the neighbouring manufacturing yard. The dimensions of this have been carefully sized to ensure that units can work both individually and as a group.

DODECAHEDRON SURROUNDED BY TETRAKAIDECAHEDRON

As these units are formed and assembled individually they can be reassembled into a larger entity.

1285 mm 58

Steel Panel

1495

860 mm

Timber

Concrete

Glass

ENTRANCE UNIT

Panels are infilled by the user to make them weather proof and Inhabitable. Once again these can be added and removed as the users needs change over time.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

At the ground level a special condition is required to provide an entrance into the structure. However this difference creates an entrance foyer and highlights the route into the building.

BASE STAIR CORE STRUCTURE

To provide vertical circulation is impornt to design a standard stair core. This provides vertical circulation as well as space for services to travel up through the building

STAIR MODULAR COMPONENTS

Within the stair core there are further stair modules. Each stair between levels is made up for modular components. Two stair runs and two landings.

Crane permanently situated on site to enable the growth and reduction.

Base construction situated on site preconstructed by Tijd. Includes Plug in points for services and provides a suggested form for future developments.

Future Nodes arranged on site to guide future site layouts and provide temporary spaces in the short term on site. Nodes can be used around the wider site if required

New Park converts the existing brownfield site into public space whilst also providing a draw to the area by the local community

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S tage _1 39

Additional stair component Shared WC Area _3.7m2 Office Unit Area _13.5m2

Balcony Area

Intial basic suggested inhabitable spaces. Shared flexible office spaces on each level wrap like a horse shoe around the now existing stair core structure on site. Each office module can accomodate 6 people giving a total of 12 people per floor initially. Each floor has a unisex toilet

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

_6.0m2

with a shower for the buildings inhabitants. One further modular stair run component is added to the catalogue

1360 mm 3110 mm

1750 mm

3110 mm

970 mm 390 mm 1750 mm

12440 mm

1360 mm 3110 mm

1750 mm

3110 mm

970 mm 390 mm 1750 mm

FLOOR LEVELS

The Modular nature of the design means that important sections of building code, such as clear head heights cannot be subverted. All clear head heights within the design are a minium of

2.1m meters. Furthermore thanks to the predesigned stair components all stairs conmform to acceptable angles of incline.

Units added to existing infrastructure. Intially small shared units allow local residents to test their ideas with support of the Tijd platform

Businesses and experts are drawn to the Rijnhaven basin thanks to opportunity provided by the testing ground development

Influence spreads from orignal node to satellites

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S tage _2 43

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S tage _2 E xploded A xonometric 45

Docedahedron Balcomy_9.2m2

Tetrakaidecahedron Balcomy_9.2m2

Tetrakaidecahedron Planting Bed_7.3m2

OFFICE UNIT GROWTH

Over time there will be pressure to expand units as the programs inside push for further space. Intially at ground level where sutructural supports are easier to add new modules are added to increase the useable space availiable. This will infiltrate up the existing building over time whilst some the newer less developed nodes can start from this point immediately.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

As the towers get higher the need for outdoor amenity space at the tops of the towers will become more prevalent. This units are developed to provide uncovered outdoor space and a planting bed. This will absorb water diminishing the effects of rainwater runoff and helping with Rotterdamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flood prevention strategy.

Central Columns Removed Level Unit Area_66.5m2

The final stage of the development of the modular development is to create large flat internal spaces. This demand for this is driven by the high levels of immigration into Rotterdam.

Particularly into the Rijnhaven basin thanks to the cheap units availiable for hire. This influx of people helps the existing local community through an increase in the availiable expertise.

Some units are converted to small housing units to tackle increasing demand within the Rijnhaven basin and provide cheap alternatives for immigrants to South Rotterdam

As some office inhabitants require more space density is increased to maintain a level of diversity

New nodes are added around the emerging central square

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S tage _3 49

Public Amenity space on top of the development

Covered Public Space

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S tage _4 51

Public Amenity space on top of the development

Larger Office Spaces

Internal Stair Case

Materials brought in by barge

Covered Public Space

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S ite S ection 53 53

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

S ite E ntrance 55

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

M arketspace 57

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

V iew

from the

T op

Scanning Mirror

1360 mm 1750 mm

Modular Stairs step up and down from central core

Steel Panels

Docedahedron Balcony - 9.2 m2

3110 mm

970 mm 390 mm

Roller

3110 mm

Laser

Tetrakaidecahedron Balcony - 9.2 m2

1750 mm

Timber 12440 mm

Shared Toilet Area - 3.7 m

2 1360 mm

Powder

Office Unit Area - 13.5 m2

1750 mm

3110 mm

Concrete

Balcony Area - 6.0 m2

Piston

Central Columns Removed

3110 mm

970 mm 390 mm

Print Bed

1750 mm

Tetrakaidecahedron Planting Bed - 7.3 m2

Level Unit Area - 66.5 m2 Glass

STEEL 3D PRINTING

MODULE NODE

DODECAHEDRON SURROUNDED BY TETRAKAIDECAHEDRON

ENTRANCE UNIT

BASE STAIR CORE STRUCTURE

STAIR MODULAR COMPONENTS

TYPICAL FLOOR OFFICES

FLOOR LEVELS

OFFICE UNIT GROWTH

BALCONY COMPONENTS

LARGER UNIT OPTIONS

USER DESIGNED INFILL PANELS

Crane permanently situated on site to enable the growth and reduction.

Base construction situated on site. Includes Plug in points for services and provides a suggested form for future developments.

New Park converts the existing brownfield site into public space whilst also providing a draw to the area by the local community

Future Nodes arranged on site to guide future site layouts and provide temporary spaces in the short term on site. Nodes can be used around the wider site if required

Phase - 01

site Plan

Units added to existing infrastructure. Intially small shared units allow local residents to test their ideas with support of the Tijd platform

Businesses and experts are drawn to the Rijnhaven basin thanks to opportunity provided by the testing ground development

Influence spreads from orignal node to satellites

Phase - 02

Final iteration

Some units are converted to small housing units to tackle increasing demand within the Rijnhaven basin and provide cheap alternatives for immigrants to South Rotterdam

As some office inhabitants require more space density is increased to maintain a level of diversity

New nodes are added around the emerging central square

Phase - 03

exPloded axonometric

section aaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; - 1:100

city as a PlatForm malcolm Pritchard

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 11-15_Emergence & Assemblage

Overall I am happy with my progress this term. Having spent the last two years in practice I was excited and enthused to return to university; however it was a last minute decision to return to Newcastle. I was, initially, somewhat pensive about how I would find my masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree, as I had found my bachelors difficult. Nonetheless, I have adapted well to the student life, and have enjoyed myself. The trip to Rotterdam was an excellent way to integrate the year-group together. Additionally the strong studio culture of Newcastle means there is a sociable student body.

The Symposium weeks were fundamental in synthesising my ideas about what I wanted to achieve in the personal project weeks. The role of the Architect is something that I find very interesting and have been exploring throughout this term, both in Tools for Thinking and Architectural Design modules. I think I reflected this well in my design for this term, and I am pleased with the mark that I was given. Finally I am looking forward to next semester, specifically my trip to Zanzibar with Prue on the linked research course. I have been to Zanzibar once before and have a strong affinity for the archipelago.

Much of my enjoyment has come from the projects I have undertaken this semester. The City as a Platform project has challenged me in a way that I have not experienced before, teaching me a new way of examining the city. I particularly liked the weeks leading up to the Symposium; where I enjoyed working in a team and the research involved, moreover the project as a whole was very interesting.

The second design project is one I am in nervous anticipation of. The idea of designing from the detail up is new and exciting. However, I would recognise my detailing ability as weakness within my Architectural knowledge, so to now have a whole project focused on it is daunting; but a challenge I will meet.

P ersonal R eflection 61

P raxagora : I

want all to have a share of everything and all property to be in common ; there will no longer be

either rich or poor ;

B lepyrus : B ut

[...] I

shall begin by making land , money , everything that is private property , common to all .

who will till the soil ?

P raxagora : T he

slaves . - Assembley Women, Aristophanes, (391 BC)

Y ou

say you want a

R evolution ?... W e â&#x20AC;&#x2122; d

all like to see the plan - The Beatles (1968)

SPECTRES OF UTOPIA Stage 5: Week 22-37 Tutor: Nathaniel Coleman

The Van Nelle Fabriek is an ex-factory in the Spangen neighbourhood of East Rotterdam on the Schie river. It was built between 1925 and 1930 by architect Leendert van der Vlugt from Brinkman & Van der Vlugt for client Kees van der Leeuw. The design of the factories include strong references to the ideals of sceintific management and Taylorism as well as the Theosophical movement. The Factories, as examples of the modern movement, are amongst the most influential in the world. The Van Nelle company used the factories to make Coffee, Tobacco and Tea. The processes were governed by gravity as the products started on the top floor of each section before dropping down to the next level. The 1926 masterplan involved an extendable structure for a modern and transparent working environment in green space, modelled after the American ‘daylight factory’. The plant is arranged round a factory street with the long rectangular factory buildings to the west and a strip of warehouses, dispatch buildings, boilerhouse and mechanics’ department planned to the east,

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

between the street and the canal. A curved office building was planned at the south end of the factories. Overhead conveyor belts ran through glazed gangways over the factory street to connect the various buildings. However due to economic problems the design was scaled back dramactically. 1931 the main factories were built as well as the distribution building and so instead of the horizontal conveyors angled conveyors were used. This accident resulted in one of parts of the design that made Van Nelle famous. Many new ideas were tried out within the buildings. Due to the Theosophic leanings of van der Leeuw lighting was a key issue for the building. Studies were undertaken to show that confining the width to 19 meters would ensure enough light penetrated into the building. The Rational production floors with ‘mushroom columns’ on a 5 metre grid allowed the factory to adapt to future uses. The influences of the ‘Automated gravity fed self closing fire doors’, whilst not found elsewhere, can be seen in the automated closing systems we still use today.

(G)H ost V an N elle F abriek 65

The site at the outskirts of the city was chosen for its accessibility for riverboats and rail and road traffic plus the availability of workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; housing in the new Spangen neighbourhood, but also for its strategic location for advertising purposes. The site adjoined the busiest rail track of the country, and one of the first things to be put up was a huge advertising sign.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

The brief for the buildings was later summarized by the company director as follows: --

the appearance of the factory must be the consequence of the requirements for the interior;

the design must respond as much to human demands as to mechanical ones;

additional costs for finishes can be considered legitimate, even without evident advantages.

S ite 67

The gravity-fed self-closing fire door detail, shows an example of the Taylorist thinking within the Van Nelle factory. The detail, an iteration of which can now be seen as an attachment at the top of doors the world over, is used to keep the fire doors within the factory closed, making the detail safety feature as much as a time saving one. A large amount of time, effort and expertise has been expended on the part of the Architect, Engineers and manufacturers to get this detail to work as efficiently as it does. When the door is opened the leaf runs up a ramp cast into the ground floor slab and once the force is released the door drops back down the curved ramp to close the door. Each component has had to be carefully thought about and examined. For example the centre of the curved ramp must be the same as the pivot point of the door in its hinges or the two will not be compatible. Furthermore the doors hinges cannot be fixed together as normal hinges as they must

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

allow the hinge affixed to the door rise up the barrel without falling off the top. Finally the door must not clash with the head of the frame as it gains height. Although the time expended in its design and manufacture it is greatly outweighed by the long-run time saved by the occupants of the building not having to worry about closing the doors behind them. Therefore in the long term the money saved on paying workers not whilst they are not working will more than account for the fiscal outlay on this detail. It is this absolute desire to increase productivity that I find so attractive about the detail and why I believe it tells-the-tale of the building as well as the tale of the project of modernity in general. The continuation of this process led to an examination of Taylorism/Fordism and how that led to the widespread use of automisation within manfacturing processes.

T ell - the -T ale 69

The next level of this technological advancement is into intelligent systems. Different from the Robots of Taylorism these “Autos” are able to look after themselves with minimal human input. An example of this is in the field of Transportation. The appearance of “self-driving” cars and trains and other methods that are faster and safer than the human equivalents. This will render millions of people irrelevant and out of a job. In the US alone 47% of peoples jobs are at risk from this innovation. Whilst in the past this has not been a problem as when jobs have been lost new ones have been created in other similar areas, this time however the jobs lost, such as pilots or other driver, have little or no transferable skills to new jobs in computer sciences. This technological progression therefore has the potential to result in a vast societal change. If only half of the 47% to lose jobs fail to find another unemployment will be at a similar level, within the US, to the great depression and whilst the industrial revolution replaced human muscles with

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

mechanical ones, allowing people to move into ‘thinking professions’ the automisation revolution will replace human thinking into mechanical thinking, potentially allowing people to move into creative industries. However creative industries are at the mercy of fashion and popularity. This means they can never create enough employment to sustain an economy. Finally historically jobs have been lost within ‘blue collar’ sectors, however this time it is not only blue collar workers whose jobs are at risk. From Taxi drivers to Doctors and Lawyers any job that involves relatively routine tasks such as, research or writing contracts are at high risk of automisation. Within Law much time is taken up with ‘Discovery’, searching through hundreds of emails/letters for evidence, and in medicine the IBM computer ‘Winston’ is helping to diagnose lung cancer in the US. Some jobs are however more resistant to automisation. Creative industries, jobs requiring social skills and jobs that are inherently hard to replicate, for example sportsmen or dancers are amongst these.

Argiculture as a share of Labour Force_Europe

66.5

65.1

61.1

53.1

51.6

11.9

49.1

9.2

6.5

4.6

SHARE OF LABOUR FORCE (%)

20 0

1300

1400

1500

1600

1700 YEAR

A utomisation 71

1750

1800

1980 2000 1990 2012

In September 2013 Michael A Osborne, Dyson Associate Professor in Machine Learning, Faculty Member of the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance, co-wrote with Carl Benedikt Frey, Co-Director of the Oxford Martin Programme, a paper called; “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation”. In its pages they set out that, by 2023, 47% of jobs will be taken by automated robots creating a post-scarcity labour market as jobs from every sector are taken by these tireless workmen.

is the UK mining industry which was heavily focused in the North of England. The local economies of these areas was heavily dependent on the industry, however in the 1980s the mines were shut and a sector that employed 230,000 people reduced to 7,000 that are employed today. Much of this unemployment was structural as the miner’s skills were incompatible with new jobs. With its history of industrial production both in the port and the city itself, Rotterdam will see a concentration of this unrest along with cities around the world such as Detroit and Bradford.

Consider that during the Great Depression of the 1930s American unemployment ran at around 25%, almost bringing capitalism in the US to its knees, and in 2011 reached levels over 10%, causing great hardship and rising inequality rates across the country. Furthermore it is worth noting that in the US every 1% unemployment goes up, 40,000 people die. Therefore, an unemployment rate of nearly double this could be reasonably expected to cause the failure of our modern capitalist society. With the establishment of an employment crisis, which will result in massive inequality within developed economies. This inequality will cause large-scale social unrest, with the power to result in a social revolution.

To date protest movements have only occurred at small scales. Movements have acted as individualised factions fighting to overturn specific hegemonic power structures. Such as, the Suffragette Movement of the early 20th Century working to remove male domination of the political class, the Civil Rights Movement (in the US and South Africa particularly) seeking equality of race, and trade union organised joblessness marches and strikes working to diminish social class power in business. Whilst these movements have had wide-spread, long-term impacts, they have proved ineffectual at reducing and dismantling these hegemonic power structures that still exist today in some form.

It’s worth noting that whilst some jobs will be created, as has happened in the past notably in the industrial revolution, the difference between skill levels of old and new jobs will be so great that few will be able to make this transition. Consider for example a taxi driver who loses their job to an automated vehicle, they will find it very difficult to make themselves qualified in new industries, such as software programming.

This therefore suggests that the existing and historical political systems seen in western cultures have been unable to eradicate inequality. This includes the totalitarian communism of the Soviet Union, the welfare state/neo-liberal politics of Western Europe and social conservatism seen in America. The dissatisfaction with the current democratic system has led to falling participation and protest candidates such as Jeremy Corbyn in the UK or Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the US. However, even they will be unable to deliver on the promise of the Utopia due to their historical conflicts of interest and desire to remain within the system.

However, this will not come about overnight and it cannot happen without a willed transformation, due to the ability of those in power to remain so. Politicians and those working at the high levels in corporations will not give up their positions of influence and privilege easily. They exist in a power structure that is able to control education and popular culture which encourages people to think a true utopia is impossible. A belief fostered by writings such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”, which portray anything outside the current political system as a terrifying dystopia.

For revolutions to work there must be a mass movement formed of the smaller political factions acting at a single point in time around the world. This has only been possible in recent years thanks to the rise of Anonymous social media platforms that have enabled revolutions through a sharing of information. As witnessed in the Arab Spring and the rise of IS or Daesh in Iraq and Syria, as well as mass protests seen in developed western cultures.

As the post-scarcity labour market, created by the widespread adoption of automated manufacturing, takes over production will increase dramatically in search of the ever higher GDP growth capitalist society require to function; buildings such as Van Nelle will be re-appropriated by companies searching for extra space for their automatons to work in. The areas surrounding these production centres will experience the highest levels of unemployment, as the people who used to work in these buildings will necessarily live nearby. Therefore it is these buildings that will become the focus of the anger, fostered in an environment of high inequality. An example of this

With my research into the future possibilities of a post-scarcity labour market I began to consider what the societal impacts of that might be. I looked at precedents as varied as the artworks of Constant Nieuwenhuys, Archigram and Lebbeus Woods, Literary works such as Woman on the edge of Time and Triton as well as many films an academic writings particularly those by Tom Moylan. It was from this research that I was able to synthesise my narrative that told the story of the changes that I believed would face society, as well as the ways in which I felt society would begin to react to this change.

It is worth noting at this stage the assumptions I will be carrying forward:

The findings of the report written by Michael A Osborne and Carl Benedikt Frey will prove to be true, creating high levels of future unemployment in the region of 50%

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

F uture technology in energy production will see the realisation of Nuclear Fusion Power which will provide clean almost limitless power. All autonomous vehicles/robots will be hydrogen powered

P rocess W ork 73

The revolution will see current micro-political groups such as: black-lives matter; LGBT rights groups; trade unions; and student protests unite through the additional unrest caused by the high levels of unemployment. This has been seen historically in mass protest and joint union action in 1990s Britain to overturn the unpopular introduction of poll tax. Due to prejudice that is still inherent in society today it will be these groups that are hit hardest. They will work together to seize back the hegemonic power accrued by corporations and the political establishment. As stated this anger will focus on production centres where the seized automatons will provide the workforce within the new Anarcho-Communist settlements. The key goals of the overarching revolution will be: --

T he end of the Phallocratic male supremacy. Whilst many movements have managed to reduce this greatly within society there are still areas where prejudice and pay imbalances are seen. This continues to inhabit the existing society and prevent the total emancipation of women. For this to be realised there will needs to be a removal of the expectation for women to be sole children raisers and in the future freedom from the chains of child bearing altogether. Conversely men will be expected to take a full role in child raising.

Total freedom for self-determination for all. Economically and politically this is the right and ability for all persons to live in a society where they are free from the tyranny of large government politics that fail to account for a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual needs. Furthermore, and in connection with the first aim, people must be free to explore any and all sexual preferences and orientations. This is coupled to the emancipation of women as sexuality must be separated from reproduction.

T he Restoration of the Autonomy of Nature. In the desire for a return to Eden that many desire nature should be separated from the production of food for humans instead utilised in its purest form as relief from modern life.

L iberation of work and living space. The high levels of atomisation in the future will result in an abundance of labour for production plus high levels of unemployment. This could leave the

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

vast majority of people free to explore their interests culturally and politically. People should be free to do this autonomously from government control in order to evolve and improve the Utopian Impulse of the revolution. These goals will be interpreted in many ways by the various factions and specific goals will be added but each participating movement must be recognisable to the other. I believe that the best way in which to achieve these goals is through a free education that allows citizens of the revolution to explore the possibilities of the new society. It is vital that each settlement is able to work autonomously from one another as trade creates imbalances that will lead to the accruement of power by settlements which have a greater concentration of valuable goods. In this situation self-sufficiency comes in the form of settlements that can produce enough food, energy and goods for its inhabitants and to sustain the Utopian impulse. However it is clear that settlements cannot be entirely self-sufficient, for example the geographical location of the Van Nelle Fabriek will mean that the settlement is unable to produce the raw materials required to produce the automatons needed to continue automated production. Therefore it is at this stage that an overarching web of government, which can assign these raw materials to the areas of greatest need, is required. One again this will not be a government as we understand it today. Much of the work done at this level can be autonomous through the use of bots that can examine historic levels of consumption, and current and projected population levels in each settlement. Therefore raw materials can be assigned on a proportional basis without emotions. Furthermore, information and expertise will be freely available and shared by the interconnected web that bind these otherwise independent movements together. The interconnected web will mean that nobody who wishes to be in the system is left out. The Utopia will focus on education and debate evolving the political ideals that began the revolution and breaking the connections between preserving governments and education in the past.

N et work

of the

R evolution

The post-revolutionary society has re-arranged itself around the post-scarcity labour market. With fully automatised production of food and energy these goods are also no longer scarce commodities. Those who wish can volunteer to work in jobs that are still available to humans, such as child care or education. Alternatively people are entered into the lottery to be part of the local council. The council serves to resolve any issues within the community that may arise; jealously between partners, appointments to community jobs and the furthering of the revolutionary ideals of the settlement. They also seek to liaise with other settlements to share skills and expertise. Finally the local council agrees with the high council to assign what resources are needed within the settlement, based on locally unavailable materials, population numbers etc. Local government councils guide to the revolutionary settlements. These seek to evolve revolutionary ideals as well as act as a form of police force within the society. Although abundance has led to low levels of crime, disagreements will still happen and the council seeks to resolve these differences. These ‘worming out’ meetings will result in all citizens being accountable to the moral principles of the settlement, there are no written rules, however, if you are deemed to be incompatible with the settlement you may be asked to leave. People are not elected to the government but instead are called up in a way similar to jury service today. People serve on the council for a year before a new council is chosen. The size of the council means people can expect to be called up many times in their lifetimes but only ever work for a year and are ineligible for two years after their term ends. This will prevent individual’s accruing power. Work is not the all-encompassing phenomena it is today. Usual working hours are only a few hours per day and rarely lasts for more than a year at a time. This is important to note as it prevents the build-up of hegemonic powers within the working classes of the Utopia. Instead of gaining a purpose through work people gain purpose through learning, family life, friendships and the

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

development of society. Educational development is expected to last a lifetime and public debates still consume much of people’s free time. Freedom to travel is vital between the settlements. The ability to interact with and learn from other societies is key to personal development and learning that will inform citizens on how to further develop the revolution in their home settlement. Furthermore this interaction is key to building up relations with outside settlements that will prevent warring in the new society. Populations are kept stable within the new society. A stable population stops the encroachment into nature that increasing populations will necessarily cause. Scientific advancement has meant that nature is now almost entirely autonomous from the influences of humanity, food is grown hydroponically and areas outside settlements has been left to the wild. The opportunity to raise a child is assigned based on a lottery system that prospective parents apply to; lottery ‘tickets’ are only released when a member of community dies, thus maintaining a stable population, as previously mentioned. This means that child rearing is not something to be taken lightly and individuals rarely raise more than a single child per coupling and more than two in a lifetime. Although parents take the lead in child rearing it is a community effort and every settlement has large crèches that help look after children. Human child bearing has also been removed from the natural system of reproduction. DNA from the settlements database is combined into an embryo and grown in synthetic uteri until children are “born”. These children have been engineered to remove life inhibiting defections. Attributes such as sex, eye colour et cetera are however left to the lottery of DNA. In this way all children are technically ‘adopted’, as they share no genes with their parents but all parents add their genes to the database in order to maintain diversity within the web of settlements.

R evolutionary S oceity 77

The new micro-political movements will focus on certain areas. The areas seized by these individual factions will turn into new settlements as sympathisers join the revolution. The settlements will be the focus for the realisation of the political ideals of the movement that seized them. The connected factions will have a far larger impact acting than if they were acting autonomously and will be strong enough to overwhelm the established powers that currently hold these sites. The primary goal for the revolution once sites are seized will be to ensure the revolutions continuity. Seized buildings must be defensible, have some degree of self-sufficiency, offer the opportunity for expansion and advertise the revolution to the unenlightened. It is the ability for the Van Nelle Fabriek

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

building to realise these goals that makes it the perfect site to be seized. The rational design of the factory floors combined with the functionalism of the outlying buildings such as the management, power plant and distribution buildings; as well as the functionalist circulation makes the building well suited to a new living settlement. Furthermore the situation of the building within a parkland coupled with its proximity to the Defshavense Schie waterway makes the factory defensible and self-sufficient. Finally, the cultural importance of the Van Nelle Fabriek to Rotterdamers and the advertising integrated into the design of the building will give the profile it requires to attract new members.

E ntrance 79

Existing vertical circulation nodes are retained and become a focus for living and community within the revolutionary society. These spaces are home to public amenities such as communal kitchens and dining spaces as well as leisure spaces

The meetings of the governing council occur within the original management building. Situated at the entrance of the site this building is the first that you encounter. Therefore as well as being utilised for management it is also the processing centre for all new immigrants looking to join the settlement. New residents will learn the particular morale values of the van Nelle Fabriek settlement so as to understand how to best integrate with their new culture.

Existing van Nelle power plant is updated to conform to modern standards and is key to providing power to the new revolutionary settlement

Parkland surrounding the factories serves several functions. The is to increase the separation between the revolution and the and the pre-existing society. This is achieved through allowing the space to be returned to a total nature as opposed to the constructed nature that currently exists within the developed world. This will grow into a wild woodland that is home to many species of animal and bird. The by-product of this autonomous nature is that this space can now be truly used for amenity as well as learning.

The old distribution building becomes the plant centre of the settlement. It is vital that as much of the waste that is generated by the settlement be reused or recycled. Biodegrable waste can be composted and reused in the nourishment of plants on site. Technologies such as the Janicki Omniprocessor can convert human waste into drinkable water, heat, electricity, nutrient rich ash.

Old factory floors are taken over and used as habitation spaces for citizens of the revolution. The existing structure and intial water tight envelope make it logical for the original settlers to take over these spaces for living. Whilst this will begin as a basic squat style settlement it will soon grow into a more substantial and well developed settlement.

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

M asterplan 81

288.9 mm 1311.1 mm

1022.2 mm 1223.9 mm

3600.0 mm 2288.9 mm

1065.0 mm

Hot Finish Circular Hollow Section diameter 76mm

1022.2 mm

1311.1 mm

288.9 mm

Steel Structural Ties diameter 25mm

Rolled Steel Equal Angle 90 x 90 x 12

Universal Steel Beam 254 x 102 x 22

1223.9 mm

3600.0 mm

Universal Steel Beam 203 x 102 x 23

Universal Steel Column 254 x 254 x 73

2288.9 mm

Bolt Handrail

1065.0 mm

Steel Brackets for Walkway Structure closely woven steel mesh allows some light through without compromising privcay of those walking above

Gantry Structure supported of Farming Tower structure free from existing structure and avoiding any thermal breaks and environmental holes within the skin of the new living units

1022.2 mm

1311.1 mm

288.9 mm

Lighting projects down from gantry above

Services run beneath gantries into cells

1065.0 mm

2288.9 mm

1223.9 mm

3600.0 mm

Parallel Flange Channel 200 x 90 x 30

1554.1 mm

1300 mm

4101.6 mm

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

S tructure 83

Units are situated on the perimeter of the old factory floors on the Van Nelle Fabriek. The Rational deisgn of the factory makes them suitable for this purpose as there is no requirement for additional structure. Futhermore the central row of the factory floors can be removed to allow light into the circulation spaces. Columns are set at 5700 mm centres in all on all factory floors, this has been divided into two giving a grid for the living units to work within. As stated the structure of the existing building is independent from the internal dividing walls, therefore units can be joined into homes for two or shared dorms that allow for larger communal living spaces.

The structure that supports the farms above occupy the middle ground of the van Nelle Fabriek. The steel columns structures follow the rhythm of the existing columns at 5700 mm centres. The gaps of this superstructure allow horizontal circulation between living units and the communal areas. Vertical circulation uses the existing stairs and lift systems of the van Nelle Fabriek. It was these functional zones that I found to be the most interesting in design terms. The time and expertise in making these spaces work is explicitly shown in the automatic door closers that I have mentioned previously as well as the stairs that are bespoke designs in each zone.

C D

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

5700 mm

1500 mm

2700 mm

1500 mm

5700 mm

L iving C ells 85

5700 mm

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

C irculation 87

Fireline Timber carcassing with plywood skin Service Void Recessed blind box over window

Internal Plasterboard mounted on gyproc system Metal cladding panel & panel hanging system mounted to 12mm Plywood sheet New windows and frames to modern design and environmental standards

External wall insulation (2x100 mm) Air Gap

Door head detail to Structural engineers design EPDM to be lapped and fixed to perimeter of window lapping breather membrane to achieve weather tight seal according to door manufacturers recommendations 6mm plate Anodized Aluminium Window Reveal fixed back to plywood sheathing to specialisy glazing sub-contractors design

Air Gap Plywood deck Engineered Timber Floorboards 12mm chipboard Underfloor heating insulation Door threshhold detail to Structural engineers design

Underfloor heating insulation

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

I ntegrated S ection 89

When a citizen is born they share the space allocation of one of the parents. This parent is deemed to be the primary carer and as such it is predominately their job to look after the day to day upbringing of the child. However the secondary parent is expected, however not forced, to remain in the same settlement as their child to relieve some the of the strains of parenthood on the primary parent as well as seeking to help guide the morale upbringing of the child. Finally should the need arise they are availiable to step in and raise the child should the primary parent become unfit to do so. The young parents living in a comunity with shared kitchen spaces will benefit from the help and guidance of their older experienced peers who are availiable to make meals and help with small jobs. Whilst children are mainly the responsibility of the primary adult then the secondary adult they are very much part of a community and all of the neighbours help in the raising of the child should they need to.

At the age of 5 the primary parent is allocated an extra 16m2 of space for the child. It is expected the spaces will be combined to form a single larger unit. This gives the maturing family increased privacy as they are now able to have private bedrooms. This living arrangement remains in place until the child has reached the age of twenty. However as they mature the requirement of the secondary parent to remain in the same settlement as their child diminishes and they are free to return to the roaming lifestyle however they are expected to remain in the close contact with their child though not necessarily physically. Once they are of age children are free to leave the settlement of their parent potentially travelling between settlements educating themselves emotionally, sexually and politically. Whilst travelling they may choose to take up residence in a communal dorm room. This lessens the impact of not knowing people in new settlements and enables the citizen to meet more people expanding their knowledge of the world and their friendship base.

Existing Concrete Structure EPDM to be lapped and fixed to perimeter of window lapping breather membrane to achieve weather tight seal according to glazing manufacturers recommendations Air Gap 6mm plate Anodized Aluminium Window Reveal fixed back to plywood sheathing to specialist glazing sub-contractors design Recessed blind box over window Service Void

New windows and frames to modern design and environmental standards Internal Plasterboard mounted on gyproc system Timber carcassing with plywood skin

Metal cladding panel & panel hanging system mounted to 12mm Plywood sheet Insulation (2x100mm) Engineered Timber Flooring Underfloor heating/insulation Spacing battens to provide sound insulation 12mm Chipboard

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

S ingle R oom 91

After 10 years of travelling the citizen is now expected to become the primary parent to a child. Should they choose to do this they will likely surrender their space in the communal dorm in favour of living in a private apartment within a single settlement. As the child grows and becomes old enough to be without their parents for extended periods of time the adult will become eligible for work. They may also choose to become a secondary parent in this time. Post middle age the citizen will no longer have dependent children as the primary child will have grown to become fully independent and the secondary child no long requires such time intensive caring. It is now the citizen is able to make their greatest commitment to the revolutionary settlement taking the lead in many roles ranging from governance to education. However this expectation to work does not last long and at the age of 70 citizens are no longer eligible for key

“formal” roles such as political or educational roles. However should they desire “informal” roles such as young child care are still available. Most citizens who are retired however choose to travel and partake in various leisure activities. Typically in this time they will return to the communal dorms for the social benefits they bring. Life expectancy has reached 100 and although it could theoretically go higher many people choose to end their lives at this point. Due to the lottery for a child there is a strong relationship between the cycle of death and life within society, which has led to the belief in reincarnation, not necessarily due to how good somebody is in life, but based on the rejuvenation of the soul into a younger stronger human body able to reinvent the revolution once again in their life time. Society does not mourn the death of a loved one but rather celebrates the possibility of new life within the community.

New windows and frames to modern design and environmental standards

12mm Chipboard

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

D ouble R oom 93

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

L iving 95

206.8 mm 200 mm (min) 1249.1 mm (max) 454.6 mm 344.1 mm

1800.0 mm

1345.4 mm

1800.0 mm

Lighting projects down from gantry above

200 mm (min) 1249.1 mm (max)

1800.0 mm

206.8 mm

Scissor lifts raise an lower planting beds maintaining the appropriate distance between grow lights and plants

Autonomous robots are mounted on gantry structures that allow the robots to navigate around the planting arms. Moving in XY vectors means all co-ordinates can be accessed, the system works in a similar fashion to a laser cutter or 3D printer

Rolled Steel Equal Angle 90 x 90 x 12

Archimedes Screw transports ripe fruit and vegetable from the farms down to habitation areas 1250 Litre Water Tank Universal Steel Column 254 x 254 x 73 Bolt

1345.4 mm

Universal Steel Column 254 x 254 x 73

344.1 mm

200 mm (min) 1249.1 mm (max)

206.8 mm

1800.0 mm

454.6 mm 344.1 mm

Universal Steel Beam 203 x 102 x 23

Universal Steel Beam 254 x 102 x 22 closely woven steel mesh allows some light through without compromising privcay of those walking above

Universal Steel Column 254 x 254 x 73

Electricity/Data cables power the autonomous farming robots

Autonomous robots plant, tend and harvest the fruit and vegetable plants. Once harvested goods are placed into the Archimedes screw to be taken to the habitation levels

AeroFlo 120 planting beds mounted on scissor lifts

Universal Castellated Steel Beam 203 x 133 x 30 Rolled Steel Equal Angle 90 x 90 x 12 Universal Steel Beam 457 x 152 x 60 Universal Steel Beam 254 x 146 x 37

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

A utomation 97

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

F arming 99

Leisure time in the revolutionary settlement focuses around the three circulation nodes as well as the parkland surrounding the van Nelle Fabriek. The indoor leisure spaces provide communal cooking and dining spaces for the citizens as few have these facilities within their cells. These activity nodes are also provide amenities as diverse as laundry rooms, bowling alley, communal living spaces and a gym. These spaces are intended to be the heart of the community.

The parkland surrounding the factory buildings is left to ensure the autonomy of nature and be enjoyed in it purest state. Far from the constructed nature currently â&#x20AC;&#x153;enjoyedâ&#x20AC;? by many in the western world the wild forest of the parkland will become home to many animals, insects and plant species. The van Nelle Fabriek will therefore become an oasis for all refugees, human and animal, from the pre-existing capitalist society.

C D

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

5700 mm

1500 mm

2700 mm

1500 mm

5700 mm

C ommunity S pace 101

5700 mm

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

L andscape 103

Vertical circulation within the inhabited factory continues to use the original stair cases. Horizontal circulation uses the central â&#x20AC;&#x153;streetsâ&#x20AC;&#x153; in the carved out galleries between cells. All cells are serviced by two stair cases which, by british standards, means the maximum travel distance from cell to stair is 30m. The maximum travel distance within the settlement is 22.8m. Although not originally built with

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

lifts the refurbishment in 2000 brought the factories up to modern accessibility standards. The steel walkway gantries have been sized according to Part M guidelines with the minimum width at 1050 mm and the minimum heights never lower than 2100 mm.

C irculation 105

Organic waste material flows from the housing cells down through the central void space and into what was originally the distribution building for the van Nelle Fabriek.

water is split between two destinations. The first travels back through a system of pipes to the taps of the habitation levels where it can be used for drinking or cooking

It was here that the unrefined material arrived at the factory site before being moved to the specific factory floor where it was required. Finished goods would return automatically to the distribution building on gondolas where it would be packed onto trucks to be taken to be sold.

The second stream is mixed with the nutrient rich ash created from the solid waste being burnt. This stream is pumped up to the aeroponic farms where it is used to grow plants for the citizens to eat. Additional water can be added to this system from the river that neighbours the site.

In the same way the unrefined organic material will arrive into to the distribution building to be turned into a useful product. The Janicki Omniprocessor that has been developed with the help of funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation can turn raw sewerage into drinkable water whilst creating a by products of energy, heat and a nutrient rich ash. The sludge is fed into the machine

The water is stored in reservoirs on the planting arms from where in can be pumped again into the aeroponic growing chambers

where the water is separated by heat before the steam is passed through a generator that produces a small amount of energy and then progressively smaller filters until it is drinkable. At this stage the

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

Due to the risk of fire and the need to protect the steel structure in particular a sprinkler system will operate within the gallery void spaces. Working in partnership with the Intumescent paint this will prevent the spread of fire and the catastrophic weakening effect that heat has on steel. This sprinkler system will run on the underside of the gantries within the void zone.

To Habitation

To Planting

Drinkable Water Sludge Steam

Filter

Condenser

Water Treatment

Nutrient Rich Ash

Mixed Sludge

Dryer

Heat Steam

Steam Engine

Boiler

Water

Dried Sludge

Heat

Steam

Fire

S ervices 107

Generator

Electricity

+ 141.650

+ 130.900

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8 m 1:20

Planting Secti

Tell-The-Tale

In September 2013 Michael A Osborne, Dyson Associate Professor in Machine Learning, Faculty Member of the

Structure

Site Plan

The trade of goods between settlements and the informal community around the factories is a short-term

Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance, co-wrote with Carl Benedikt Frey, Co-Director of the Oxford Martin

solution. If left in this situation the “Anarcho-Communist” Utopia will stagnate and the Utopian impulse will

Programme, a paper called; “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation”. In its

be lost, as politically the settlements will revert to the pre-revolutionary neo-liberal society that existed

pages they set out that, by 2023, 47% of jobs will be taken by automated robots creating a post-scarcity labour

before. Furthermore there is the possibility of a two-tier system being created between the “organisers”, or the

market as jobs from every sector are taken by these tireless workmen.

government, and the new immigrants. Systems that allow a constant revolution will prevent the slow accruement of hegemonic power by individuals or groups. Once again education is vital to preventing this accruement of

Consider that during the Great Depression of the 1930s American unemployment ran at around 25%, almost

power and by year 10 spaces have been created for open political debate and education to happen.

bringing capitalism in the US to its knees, and in 2011 reached levels over 10%, causing great hardship and rising inequality rates across the country. Furthermore it is worth noting that in the US every 1% unemployment goes

Furthermore, after ten years settlements have begun to increase in self-sufficiency. It is vital that each settlement

up, 40,000 people die. Therefore, an unemployment rate of nearly double this could be reasonably expected to

is able to work autonomously from one another as trade creates imbalances that will lead to the accruement

cause the failure of our modern capitalist society. With the establishment of an employment crisis, which will result

of power by settlements which have a greater concentration of valuable goods. In this situation self-sufficiency

in massive inequality within developed economies. This inequality will cause large-scale social unrest, with the

comes in the form of settlements that can produce enough food, energy and goods for its inhabitants and to

power to result in a social revolution.

sustain the Utopian impulse. However it is clear that settlements cannot be entirely self-sufficient, for example the geographical location of the Van Nelle Fabriek will mean that the settlement is unable to produce the raw

It’s worth noting that whilst some jobs will be created, as has happened in the past notably in the industrial

materials required to produce the automatons needed to continue automated production. Therefore it is at this

revolution, the difference between skill levels of old and new jobs will be so great that few will be able to make

stage that an overarching web of government, which can assign these raw materials to the areas of greatest need,

this transition. Consider for example a taxi driver who loses their job to an automated vehicle, they will find it very

is required.

difficult to make themselves qualified in new industries, such as software programming.

One again this will not be a government as we understand it today. Much of the work done at this level can be

However, this will not come about overnight and it cannot happen without a willed transformation, due to the

autonomous through the use of bots that can examine historic levels of consumption, and current and projected

ability of those in power to remain so. Politicians and those working at the high levels in corporations will not give

population levels in each settlement. Therefore raw materials can be assigned on a proportional basis without

up their positions of influence and privilege easily. They exist in a power structure that is able to control education

emotions. Furthermore, information and expertise will be freely available and shared by the interconnected web

and popular culture which encourages people to think a true utopia is impossible. A belief fostered by writings

that bind these otherwise independent movements together. The interconnected web will mean that nobody who

such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”, which portray anything outside the current

wishes to be in the system is left out. The Utopia will focus on education and debate evolving the political ideals

political system as a terrifying dystopia.

that began the revolution and breaking the connections between preserving governments and education in the

As the post-scarcity labour market, created by the widespread adoption of automated manufacturing, takes over

past.

production will increase dramatically in search of the ever higher GDP growth capitalist society require to function;

Locally governments have set up councils to which people are chosen to guide to the revolutionary settlements.

buildings such as Van Nelle will be re-appropriated by companies searching for extra space for their automatons to

These seek to evolve revolutionary ideals as well as act as a form of police force within the society. Although

work in. The areas surrounding these production centres will experience the highest levels of unemployment, as

abundance has led to low levels of crime, disagreements will still happen and the council seeks to resolve these

the people who used to work in these buildings will necessarily live nearby. Therefore it is these buildings that will

differences. These ‘worming out’ meetings will result in all citizens being accountable to the moral principles of

become the focus of the anger, fostered in an environment of high inequality. An example of this is the UK mining

the settlement, there are no written rules, however, if you are deemed to be incompatible with the settlement you

industry which was heavily focused in the North of England. The local economies of these areas was heavily

may be asked to leave. People are not elected to the government but instead are called up in a way similar to jury

dependent on the industry, however in the 1980s the mines were shut and a sector that employed 230,000 people

service today. People serve on the council for a year before a new council is chosen. The size of the council means

reduced to 7,000 that are employed today. Much of this unemployment was structural as the miner’s skills were

people can expect to be called up many times in their lifetimes but only ever work for a year and are ineligible for

incompatible with new jobs. With its history of industrial production both in the port and the city itself, Rotterdam

two years after their term ends. This will prevent individual’s accruing power.

will see a concentration of this unrest along with cities around the world such as Detroit and Bradford. To date protest movements have only occurred at small scales. Movements have acted as individualised factions fighting to overturn specific hegemonic power structures. Such as, the Suffragette Movement of the early 20th

By 2040 the societies of the new revolutionary settlements have reached maturity. The initial revolutionary goals

Century working to remove male domination of the political class, the Civil Rights Movement (in the US and South

of the 1st movement have been achieved in the Van Nelle settlement. The large number of immigrants living in the

Africa particularly) seeking equality of race, and trade union organised joblessness marches and strikes working to

areas surrounding the Van Nelle Fabriek led to it being taken over as part of the ethnic minorities’ movement; as

diminish social class power in business. Whilst these movements have had wide-spread, long-term impacts, they

such it became a place associated with freedom of religion where no religious or ethnic discrimination is tolerated.

have proved ineffectual at reducing and dismantling these hegemonic power structures that still exist today in Between the ages of 18 and 40 citizens are free to travel between settlements and educate themselves in their

some form.

Sexuality, Art, Culture and Politics as well as pursue other interests and enjoy their leisure time. It is in this time This therefore suggests that the existing and historical political systems seen in western cultures have been unable

that citizens are expected to have children. By 2050 reproduction has been totally removed from sexuality leaving

to eradicate inequality. This includes the totalitarian communism of the Soviet Union, the welfare state/neo-

it free to be enjoyed as a leisure activity and people are therefore rarely monogamous for extended periods of

liberal politics of Western Europe and social conservatism seen in America. The dissatisfaction with the current

time. Children are often raised by close friends, often of the same sex, rather than lovers or matrimonial couples.

democratic system has led to falling participation and protest candidates such as Jeremy Corbyn in the UK or

In Van Nelle children are kept as part of the “Family” unit until they reach puberty at which point they are free to

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the US. However, even they will be unable to deliver on the promise of the

explore neighbouring communities however, parents remain available as a source of the guidance until the child

Utopia due to their historical conflicts of interest and desire to remain within the system.

reaches 18.

For revolutions to work there must be a mass movement formed of the smaller political factions acting at a single

People are encouraged to travel greatly and not attach themselves to any one culture, it is understood that there

point in time around the world. This has only been possible in recent years thanks to the rise of Anonymous social

is freedom of movement between all settlements. This is a very important point, as it would help to prevent

media platforms that have enabled revolutions through a sharing of information. As witnessed in the Arab Spring

the concentration and intensification of cultures, which in turn would prevent the likelihood of wars between

and the rise of IS or Daesh in Iraq and Syria, as well as mass protests seen in developed western cultures.

settlements, as well as encouraging the sharing of technological/political advances.

It is worth noting at this stage the assumptions I will be carrying forward:

Populations are kept stable within the new society. A stable population stops the encroachment into nature that

The findings of the report written by Michael A Osborne and Carl Benedikt Frey will prove to be true, creating high levels of future unemployment in the region of 50%

increasing populations will necessarily cause. Scientific advancement has meant that nature is now almost entirely

Future technology in energy production will see the realisation of Nuclear Fusion Power which will provide clean almost limitless power. All autonomous vehicles/robots will be hydrogen powered

autonomous from the influences of humanity, food is grown hydroponically and areas outside settlements has been left to the wild. The opportunity to raise a child is assigned based on a lottery system that prospective parents apply to; lottery ‘tickets’ are only released when a member of community dies, thus maintaining a stable population, as previously

The revolution will see current micro-political groups such as: black-lives matter; LGBT rights groups; trade

mentioned. This means that child rearing is not something to be taken lightly and individuals rarely raise more

unions; and student protests unite through the additional unrest caused by the high levels of unemployment.

than a single child per coupling and more than two in a lifetime. Although parents take the lead in child rearing it

This has been seen historically in mass protest and joint union action in 1990s Britain to overturn the unpopular

is a community effort and every settlement has large crèches that help look after children.

introduction of poll tax. Due to prejudice that is still inherent in society today it will be these groups that are hit hardest. They will work together to seize back the hegemonic power accrued by corporations and the political

Human child bearing has also been removed from the natural system of reproduction. DNA from the settlements

establishment. As stated this anger will focus on production centres where the seized automatons will provide the

database is combined into an embryo and grown in synthetic uteri until children are “born”. These children have been engineered to remove life inhibiting defections. Attributes such as sex, eye colour et cetera are however left

workforce within the new Anarcho-Communist settlements.

to the lottery of DNA. In this way all children are technically ‘adopted’, as they share no genes with their parents The key goals of the overarching revolution will be: -

but all parents add their genes to the database in order to maintain diversity within the web of settlements.

The end of the Phallocratic male supremacy. Whilst many movements have managed to reduce this greatly

Post 40 it is expected for citizens to settle into a single or a couple of settlements. They are now eligible to work.

within society there are still areas where prejudice and pay imbalances are seen. This continues to inhabit

Those who wish can volunteer to work in jobs that are still available to humans, such as child care or education.

the existing society and prevent the total emancipation of women. For this to be realised there will needs

Alternatively people are entered into the lottery to be part of the local council. The council serves to resolve any

to be a removal of the expectation for women to be sole children raisers and in the future freedom from the

issues within the community that may arise; jealously between partners, appointments to community jobs and

chains of child bearing altogether. Conversely men will be expected to take a full role in child raising. -

the furthering of the revolutionary ideals of the settlement. They also seek to liaise with other settlements to share

Total freedom for self-determination for all. Economically and politically this is the right and ability for all

skills and expertise. Finally the local council agrees with the high council to assign what resources are needed

persons to live in a society where they are free from the tyranny of large government politics that fail to

within the settlement, based on locally unavailable materials, population numbers etc.

account for a person’s individual needs. Furthermore, and in connection with the first aim, people must Work is not the all-encompassing phenomena it is today. Usual working hours are only a few hours per day and

be free to explore any and all sexual preferences and orientations. This is coupled to the emancipation of

rarely lasts for more than a year at a time. This is important to note as it prevents the build-up of hegemonic

women as sexuality must be separated from reproduction. -

powers within the working classes of the Utopia. Instead of gaining a purpose through work people gain purpose

The Restoration of the Autonomy of Nature. In the desire for a return to Eden that many desire nature

through learning, family life, friendships and the development of society. Educational development is expected to

should be separated from the production of food for humans instead utilised in its purest form as relief from

last a lifetime and public debates still consume much of people’s free time.

modern life. -

Liberation of work and living space. The high levels of atomisation in the future will result in an abundance

Freedom to travel is vital between the settlements. The ability to interact with and learn from other societies is key

of labour for production plus high levels of unemployment. This could leave the vast majority of people

to personal development and learning that will inform citizens on how to further develop the revolution in their home settlement. Furthermore this interaction is key to building up relations with outside settlements that will

free to explore their interests culturally and politically. People should be free to do this autonomously from

prevent warring in the new society.

government control in order to evolve and improve the Utopian Impulse of the revolution. These goals will be interpreted in many ways by the various factions and specific goals will be added but each

People are no longer considered to be eligible for government service after the age of 70 and are instead expected

participating movement must be recognisable to the other. I believe that the best way in which to achieve these

to travel and pursue interests in their “retirement”. Life expectancy has reached 100 and although it could theoretically go higher many people choose to end their lives at this point. Due to the lottery for a child there is a

goals is through a free education that allows citizens of the revolution to explore the possibilities of the new

strong relationship between the cycle of death and life within society, which has led to the belief in reincarnation,

society.

+ 42.250

not necessarily due to how good somebody is in life, but based on the rejuvenation of the soul into a younger stronger human body able to reinvent the revolution once again in their life time. Society does not mourn the death of a loved one but rather celebrates the possibility of new life within the community.

When a citizen is born they share the space allocation of one of the parents. This parent is deemed to be the

acting than if they were acting autonomously and will be strong enough to overwhelm the established powers

primary carer and as such it is predominately their job to look after the day to day upbringing of the child.

that currently hold these sites.

However the secondary parent is expected, however not forced, to remain in the same settlement as their child to

The primary goal for the revolution once sites are seized will be to ensure the revolutions continuity. Seized

relieve some the of the strains of parenthood on the primary parent as well as seeking to help guide the morale

buildings must be defensible, have some degree of self-sufficiency, offer the opportunity for expansion and

upbringing of the child. Finally should the need arise they are availiable to step in and raise the child should the

advertise the revolution to the unenlightened. It is the ability for the Van Nelle Fabriek building to realise these

primary parent become unfit to do so. The young parents living in a comunity with shared kitchen spaces will

goals that makes it the perfect site to be seized. The rational design of the factory floors combined with the

benefit from the help and guidance of their older experienced peers who are availiable to make meals and help

functionalism of the outlying buildings such as the management, power plant and distribution buildings; as

with small jobs. Whilst children are mainly the responsibility of the primary adult then the secondary adult they

well as the functionalist circulation makes the building well suited to a new living settlement. Furthermore the

are very much part of a community and all of the neighbours help in the raising of the child should they need to.

situation of the building within a parkland coupled with its proximity to the Defshavense Schie waterway makes

At the age of 5 the primary parent is allocated an extra 16m2 of space for the child. It is expected the spaces will

the factory defensible and self-sufficient. Finally, the cultural importance of the Van Nelle Fabriek to Rotterdamers

be combined to form a single larger unit. This gives the maturing family increased privacy as they are now able

and the advertising integrated into the design of the building will give the profile it requires to attract new

to have private bedrooms. This living arrangement remains in place until the child has reached the age of twenty.

members.

However as they mature the requirement of the secondary parent to remain in the same settlement as their child

The seized building will continue to manufacture Tea, Coffee & Tobacco initially. Although the capitalist societies

diminishes and they are free to return to the roaming lifestyle however they are expected to remain in the close

would reject the goods produced on the premise of starving the revolutionaries out, other revolutionary

contact with their child though not necessarily physically.

settlements would trade with Van Nelle; providing much needed food and other raw materials. The parkland that

Once they are of age children are free to leave the settlement of their parent potentially travelling between

the factories sit in will become home to an informal community as refugees move into the area. Drawn by the

settlements educating themselves emotionally, sexually and politically. Whilst travelling they may choose to take

ability of the Revolution to provide amenities such as food, water and power either freely or at a reduced cost to

up residence in a communal dorm room. This lessens the impact of not knowing people in new settlements and

its citizens, thanks to the removal of labour costs and the communal nature of the settlements to only consume

enables the citizen to meet more people expanding their knowledge of the world and their friendship base.

what you need as opposed to the capitalist society of consume what you can. These new citizens of the revolution, as well as working towards the continuation of the revolution in a physical sense, producing food etc., will spend

After 10 years of travelling the citizen is now expected to become the primary parent to a child. Should they

time working to maintain the Utopian impulse that provided the initial spark to the revolutionaries. This will

choose to do this they will likely surrender their space in the communal dorm in favour of living in a private

be achieved through political education, consuming much of the free time of citizens within the revolutionary

+ 30.250

apartment within a single settlement.

society. It is vital that the first wave of revolutionaries and the incoming new citizens are able to speak on equal

As the child grows and becomes old enough to be without their parents for extended periods of time the adult

terms to prevent a two tier society being created.

will become eligible for work. They may also choose to become a secondary parent in this time.

As conditions in the pre-revolution society continue to degrade more and more people will move into the haven

Post middle age the citizen will no longer have dependent children as the primary child will have grown to

of the Van Nelle Fabriek the settlement will begin to become more and more substantial. Due to time and material

become fully independent and the secondary child no long requires such time intensive caring. It is now the

constraints life in the settlements will necessarily have to be somewhat basic. This initially basic standard of living

citizen is able to make their greatest commitment to the revolutionary settlement taking the lead in many roles

will have long term effects, people who are deemed to horde food and other goods will be ostracised by society as

ranging from governance to education. However this expectation to work does not last long and at the age of

they are seen to be jeopardising the future of the revolution.

70 citizens are no longer eligible for key “formal” roles such as political or educational roles. However should they desire “informal” roles such as young child care are still available. Most citizens who are retired however choose to travel and partake in various leisure activities. Typically in this time they will return to the communal dorms for the social benefits they bring

Process

0.5

1.5

AnAlytique

Section

1:50

+ 0.000

Soceity Diagram

Farming

Double Dorm

Single DormS

Section

1:100

EntrancE

4m 1:100

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-37_Spectres of Utopia & Modernity

Plan

Overall I found this semester to be much trickier than the first. It began with a 3 week trip to Zanzibar with Prue Chilles which, although very tiring, was one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences I have had at university. We spent a lot of our time exploring the built environment of Stone Town and its wider context as well as some of the other smaller towns of Zanzibar. In each place we were able to gain an understanding of the lives of the people through talking to various members of the community which often elicited an invitation to view the persons house and meet friends and family. What most overwhelmed be about my experiences in Zanzibar was the ouvert kindness of the people I we met.

ultimately left me two weeks behind my peers in the studio. I was set further back at the beginning of the project by having to go to Canada for a funeral. I think that I was unable to make up this time over the course of the project and this led to my struggles. However I did very much enjoy the project and I am happy with my final output. The project has tapped into my interest in science fiction writings and films and I spent a lot of time reading/ watching sci-fi books and films. Next year I am looking forward to continuing with my linked research in Zanzibar and look forward to examining the stage 6 studio options. The opportunity to spend a year working on a single project is not something I have done before and should prove to be very intriguing.

Sadly my time in Zanzibar coincided with thinking through making week at the university which

P ersonal R eflection 109

ZANZIBAR Stage 5: Week 22-39

Tutor: Prue Chilles

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-39_Linked Reasearch - Zanzibar

F ield T rip 113

+ 4.000

+ 0.800 + 0.000

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-39_Linked Reasearch - Zanzibar

B ububu S chool 115

+ 4.000

+ 0.800 + 0.000

Malcolm Greer Pritchard_Week 22-39_Linked Reasearch - Zanzibar

117