WoolWorks by marcus.

This project aims to re-inhabit Perth’s dying High Street through method of an urban acupuncture intervention into a former woolworths building built in 1925, once an icon of the High Street. The intervention applies a post covid-19 response to Perth by introducing 18 live/work units for skilled workers, whilst providing a range of multifaceted spaces for both viewing and creating, re-igniting Perth’s creative spine. The approach to the intervention of the former woolworths follows a sustainable design, retaining and preserving the historic dialogue of the existing building.

Marcus Myles | Studio D | “WoolWorks” | Board 1 of 10 | Special

Front (High Street)

Back (Mill Street)

Existing Conditions This selection of images demonstrates the existing character, condition and fabric of the former woolworths building. The building has two languages, the “front” which is a formal language responding to the high street retail context and the “back” industrial language which sits on Mill Street. The intervention utilises the existing conditions by responding to both Mill street and Perth’s High street individually, eliminating a front & back. This is achieved through a sustainable retain-reuse intervention with programmes which construct engagements and interactions in which respond to their relevant context.

Perth’s High Street

Fabric

1:2000 Retain Remove Intervention The Woolworks intervention and urban strategy response stems from the understanding of Perth’s core challenges, the elements of focus within this project are the dying high street, lack of skilled workers, demand for homes, aging population and vehicular priority.

A key urban move within this project is to form a 4 minute neighbourhood with Perth’s core which follows the ideology of living locally with micro interventions for engagement across the city, improving the quality of the civic realm.

This projects seeks to respond to these identified challenges through the application of “urban acupuncture” to reform the dying High Street by intervention of the former retail woolworths building into live/work spaces for skilled workers, which will serve as an incubator for creativity. The intervention also sees the sites neighbouring car park partially reclaimed for the public realm by transforming it into activity space for temporary events and exhibitions.

The intervention ties into this strategy by embedding the site and into its context, acting as a performance within the public realm with engaging programmes at the front and rear, whilst becoming a walk-able building with a central void for connectivity and interaction between spaces.

The woolworks intervention sits amongst a series of Studio D interventions following an urban acupuncture methodology - the belief that a series of small scale interventions placed in a network can act as a catalyst for massive change. A selection of these projects have been indicated in grey.

The building acts an incubator for creativity and facilitator for engagement.

The intervention has been principally organised within the existing former woolworths building with a focus on sustainability. Retaining, re-using and restoring the building while preserving it’s historical dialogue and DNA. This has been achieved through the retention of the existing fabric, volume and structure of the building with the implementation of lightweight adaptable configurations. The gray shapes indicate where portions of the floor slab have been removed to allow for light, circulation or programme. The most notable areas are the public realm void space carved through centre of the ground floor slab, the vertical gallery sitting at the front of building, engaging with the High Street and the workshop at the rear sitting on mill street which has been excavated down a story. The red structure and staircase demonstrate the projects intervention structure which will be used to prop up the existing facade retaining the face of woolworths, preserving the visual DNA. The red lines on the fabric indicate where new openings have been made to the existing skin, allowing light & circulation. Marcus Myles | Studio D | “WoolWorks” | Board 2 of 10 | Urban Scale Hypothesis to Architecture

a. Vertical Gallery

b. Indoor Street

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1 b 4

c. Void

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Key:

d. Workshop

1. Rent-able Artist Studios 2. “Walk-able Building” 3. Activity Space (Outdoor Cinema) 4. Green Roof Garden

Location

Location Location Location Location Location

The Site is located between Perth’s High St and Mill St with narrow vennels on both sides of the site.

Volume

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On the site sits an old Woolworths building built in 1925. This building looks at retaining much of the existing building fabric and volume.

Void

Void Void Void Void

Depth

Depth Depth Depth Depth Depth

Contain

Contain Contain Contain Contain Contain

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Marcus Myles | Studio D | “WoolWorks” | Board 3 of 10 | Urban Scale Hypothesis to Architecture

Landmark The Workshop which sits on Mill street is recessed down a story, requiring a device to transfer loads between levels. The design implements a winch system which sits on the roof within one of the buildings existing rising volumes. The Intervention draws influence from the Scottish Story Telling Centre which has restored an old royal mile bell to serve as a landmark on the mile, retaining a historic dialogue. The woolworks design uses the winch as a symbol of intervention and landmark along mill street, highlighting the reindustrialisation along the Perth’s “creative spine”.

Assembly of Volumes

Landmark contextual model

Void

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West Elevation (A-A)

Marcus Myles | Studio D | “WoolWorks” | Board 4 of 10 | Urban Scale Hypothesis to Architecture

Connection

Programme

The over arching approach to this intervention project is to retain and preserve the existing DNA of the former woolworths building.

The workshop programme has been developed from the Blackhorse workshop model which enables flexible walk in studio sessions and classes for the public as well as memberships for residents.

However, the most evident intervention to the existing building is the void which is carved through the ground floor, dividing the floor into thirds and creating passage through the site. This move embeds the building into the public realm, linking the proposed activity space within the project with the outline proposal of another Studio D student, situated on a neighbouring site. The design decision drew influence from Aires Mateus’ Architecture faculty building which displays a simple facade with a sculptural void encouraging passage.

Woolworks

The woolworks workshop offers a multifaceted space for a range of disciplines, enabling people to work with all sorts of materials and at a range of scales. The workshop will be used as a device to build elements of the intervention such as the live/work units and a space to construct enclosures for micro engagements across Perth.

Woolworks Workshop

Void

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Section B-B Marcus Myles | Studio D | “WoolWorks” | Board 5 of 10 | Architectural Scale: Fragments

3 2 1

3 2

12 5

Basement Floor

Ground Floor

First Floor

Second Floor

Roof Floor

Contents: 1. Workshop 2. Mill Street Entrance 3. Ground Floor Workshop Stair 4. x3 Changing Room Toilets 5. Check in Office 6. Winch & Beam Crane Space N

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1. Basement Workshop 2. Mill Street Entrance 3. Industrial Bi-Fold Entrance 4. Private Rear Sculptural Stair 5. x3 Changing Room Toilets 6. Staff Office 7. Ground Floor Workshop 8. Activity Space Entrance 9. Private Void Sculptural Stair 10. Void 11. Shared Workspace & lobby 12. Private Front Sculptural Stair 13. Vertical Gallery 14. Re-claimed Red Brick Paving

1. Workshop Volume 2. Material/Goods Loading Space 3. Indoor Street 4. x18 Individual Work Units 5. Elevator 6. Vertical Gallery

1. Workshop Volume 2. Material/Goods Loading Space 3. Indoor Street Mezzanine 4. x18 Live/Work Units 5. Void 6. Void 7. Elevator 8. Vertical Gallery

1. Winch House 2. Respite Spaces 3. Vertical Gallery

Marcus Myles | Studio D | “WoolWorks” | Board 6 of 10 | Architectural Scale: Fragments

Event - Sculptural Stair Newport Street Gallery by Caruso St John has played an integral role in influencing the woolworks intervention. Both in terms of dealing with an existing post industrial building’s fabric and striking a balance between the new & the old, adding too and preserving the historic dialogue. This influence is most identifiable through the sculptural stairwells within woolworks.

Render and Section Key

External Wall to Void Space built with a vertical stack bonded brick to highlight the intervention and key design decision.