By combining the elements taken from vernacular architecture and the industrial bio-ethanol production process, a composite language is suggested. This language is explored through drawings and models and brings together forms suggested by “House of Leaves�, the practicalities of producing bio-ethanol and the challenge of the site’s topography.
Evolution of a Morphology
Juxtaposing Vernacular and Topography
This model, paper houses on aluminium wire, explores the interaction of built form and landscape. An existing building on site, Cliff Cottage, sits in the cliff face, elevated above the surrounding land. Despite the scale of the cliff dominating the site, the design still has to find a way of inhabiting the vertical space as well as the land beneath.
Composite Architectural Language of Vernacular and Industrial Components
Composite Language
A 3D printed model shows the composition of elements. From this the arrangement of industrial and domestic components is understood better.
Site and Vernacular Investigation Model
At this point, the building elements that had been dismantled and deconstructed are put back together again in a combination of recognisable vernacular parts and industrial or structural units. This amalgamation of pieces is compacted to begin to resemble a building mass.
When the architectural language is applied to the site it inhabits the cliff face, interacting with it at various heights. Converting New Castle House into a malthouse begins to bridge the space between the canal and Castle Rock. A second building should project from the base of the cliff towards the malthouse to process the grain before fermenting. The fermentors should be protected within the rock itself, as this will help to regulate their temperature. Another building will hold the distillery, the distillation column of which will extend up the cliff face to the remains of the castle. The castle will be renovated to contain living space and communal space, albeit in the same scavenged materials and improvised construction as the rest of the development.
Process, Site and Vernacular Model
As with the previous model, this composition combines vernacular, industrial and found elements into an indication of structure and volume. The composition is linear, shooting out from the cliff and potentially closing the courtyard defined by the existing buildings.