Matthew Layford, Part II Architectural Assistant Portfolio (2023)

MATTHEW LAYFORD M.ARCH

DESIGN PORTFOLIO

MATTHEW LAYFORD COVER LETTER

ABOUT ME

Documents: Full UK Driving License and British Passport

Email: matthewlayford@outlook.com

Mobile: 0730 530 3242

Having completed my Masters in Architecture, I am looking to take on new challenges and pursue my RIBA Part III. I have a strong understanding of 2D and 3D design, as well as skills in conventional drafting and sketching. I have practical experience across various sectors, and I have worked in both architectural and administrative roles professionally.

In my next industry position, I hope to gain experience in technical design and achieve chartership with CIAT. I am also interested in bidding and negotiation. The projects that interest me the most involve working with existing architecture, especially Grade I and II Listed Buildings.

My MArch projects were themed around the North East’s architectural heritage. My final design project proposed the renovation of a Grade II Listed Building in Newcastle’s historic Grainger Town. I designed several additions that would facilitate art and design activities. With the assistance of the National Trust, I also wrote a dissertation on wood engraving, exploring its historical impact on printed media.

In my spare time, I collect and paint miniatures. I volunteer for the Little Theatre in Gateshead and I have also been beekeeping with my brother for four years. Starting with the Tyne Beekeepers’ Society in Low Fell, we now manage two of our own hives.

REFERENCES

David Hardcastle

Role: Senior Architect Relationship: Former colleague

Company: Howarth Lichfield

Email: chateau1000@gmail.com

Emma Thomas

Role: General Manager Relationship: Dissertation advisor

Institution: National Trust

Email: emma.thomas@nationaltrust.org.uk

Lorna Kay

Role: Campaign Manager Relationship: Former employer

Company: Teleperformance Tyne River House

Email: lorna.kay@teleperformance.com

Sebastian Messer

Role: Senior Lecturer Relationship: Former tutor

Institution: Northumbria University

Email: sebastian.messer@northumbria.ac.uk

Role: Regional Director Relationship: Former employer

Company: Corstorphine + Wright North East

Email: scrowe@cw-architects.co.uk

Simon A Crow

ARCHITECTURE BA, M.ARCH CV

WORK EXPERIENCE EDUCATION

Student Representative at Northumbria University, Newcastle

September 2020 - May 2022

During my studies at Northumbria University, I was a student representative for Architecture. In this role, I acted as a go-between for students and staff. One of my responsibilities was to attend meetings regarding programme feedback, as well as to assist in raising any grievences students may have had during their studies.

In addition to these responsibilities, the university also provided me with ad hoc paid opportunities to work while studying. I took work as a telephone operator, assisting the Accommodations team with Clearing and taking part in Northumbria’s Telethon event. I also worked as a tour guide and representative for my department during in-person events, which included open days for prospective students, secondary school visits and annual university conferences.

Insurance Administrator at Asurion, Tyne River House

July 2019 - August 2020

At Asurion, my responsibilities as an insurance administrator involved answering inbound calls and handling claims that included damage, loss and theft of technology. Answering around 40 to 80 inbound calls each day, this job helped me develop interpersonal skills and social knowledge. I was often praised for my friendly manner and professional conduct with both staff and clients, as well as my ability to deal with difficult cases, highlighting the need for escalation whenever necessary.

Architectural Assistant at Corstorphine + Wright, North East

September 2018 – May 2019

My role as an Architectural Assistant gave me the opportunity to apply my knowledge in concept design and rendering using AutoCAD, SketchUp and Revit. Our projects covered a variety of sectors, including education, retail and residential projects. Several examples of work completed during this time can be seen in my design portfolio. I was also tasked with editing the company’s website using SquareSpace and branding project documentation.

Front of House at The Scullery, Pier Point

July 2018 – September 2018

My Summer job with The Scullery was another opportunity to develop my teamwork skills. As the establishment had a limited number of staff members, I took on several different service roles in the restaurant, cafe and ice cream parlour sections every day.

Intern at Bel Valves, British Engines

June 2018 – July 2018

During a brief internship at Bel Valves’ design department, I applied my CAD knowledge to learn Creo Parametric, a piece of software that is used in machine part and product design. I further increased my knowledge and experience of a design office environment and the delivery of tender packages within deadlines.

Kitchen Porter at Oak Tree Farm

November 2017 – February 2018

Following my studies at Newcastle University, I took a temporary Winter position as a kitchen porter. During this time, I completed also an extensive course on lifting and handling; health and safety; diversity and sensitivity, and standards for interacting with the general public.

Northumbria University 2020 - 2022

Architecture MArch, Pass

Newcastle University 2014 - 2017

Bachelor of Architecture with Honours, 2.2

Sunderland College 2011 - 2014

A-Level English Literature, A*

A-Level Graphic Design, B

A-Level Psychology, C

EPQ on Catalan Modernisme, A (Equivalent to AS Level)

Farringdon Academy 2006 - 2011

11 A* - C Grade GCSE’s

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere and InDesign

Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit

Creo Parametric

Cura 3D Printing

LightBurn Laser Cutting

Lumion 3D Rendering

Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher and Word

Rhino 3D

Trimble SketchUp and Layout

Valve Hammer Editor

PERSONAL INTERESTS

Ancient Buildings, Museums and Tourism

Animation, Film and Theatre

Beekeeping and Horticulture

Boxercise, Rowing and Running

Collage, Painting and Sketching

Design Journals and Literature

Dioramas, Miniatures and Sculpture

Environmentalism and Sustainable Practice

Photography, Travel and Hiking

Rendering and Visualisation

DUNSTON STAITHS NCL THESIS PROJECT

HERITAGE INFRASTRUCTURE

My final undergraduate project at Newcastle University descripted the emergence of an industry from the ruins of Northern Powerhouse infrastructure. The project aims to encompass not only the Dunston Staiths, but the entirety of this portion of the River Tyne, turning it into a quayside network for manufacturing, trade and shipping. The historic Dunston Staiths was the site of a fire in 2008, wherein a portion of the East side of the Staiths was destroyed in an act of vandalism.

The brief I created outlined the creation of a facility that would fill the gap, giving Dunston Staiths new functions as a prefabrication foundry. Under the tutorage of Professor Martyn-Dade Robertson, the project was a culmination of everything I had learned regarding visual representation, emergent technology and architectural heritage. The centrepiece of the project was a 1:500 scale model of the Dunston Staiths, which I produced by hand using balsa wood.

CORTEN STEEL MOTIFS

This project was produced with Corstorphine + Wright Architects during my Part 1 Architectural Assistant position. It was a concept proposal for a univesity building which is awaiting renovations to house an art department, business school and science facilities. Our idea was to incorporate Corten steel in some way, as it is a functional material that can be used to easily retrofit decorations and wayfinding.

I proposed a scheme in which Corten runs from the landscaping on the outside of the building to the interior, cladding several walls on the ground floor with bespoke wayfinding signs and decorative motifs. Negative space was employed by proposing that sections of the Corten should be cut or lasered to create patterned holes and spaces that mark the university’s crest.

EXISTING FACILITY RETROFIT

This project involved the redevelopment of a refinery office building at the request of a well-known charity organisation. My tasks on this project pertained to visual representation, though I did produce some minor internal elevations for a tender package. One of these drawings was for internal finishes which had been designed to replicate the trademark colours of the charity’s helicopters.

My renders were created in Lumion using a retextured Revit model. As these images were intended for press release, they needed to be visually appealing but also explain the scheme effectively. The main office’s aluminium-clad external façade is a bespoke quality that I needed to highlight in these images.

EXTENSION AND OPENINGS

Our clients were a couple who wanted to renovate their newly purchased property and make it more suitable for family life and modern amenities. The house is in an idyllic location, flanked by trees in the front and back garden which adds to the sense of privacy and exclusivity.

My contribution to the scheme was a budgeted opening schedule, which was drawn and documented as part of a tender package during the planning stage of the project. The exercise provided me with more experience in the technical and managerial side of the industry.

EXPLORING ENGRAVING UNN DISSERTATION

EXPLORING ENGRAVING

My dissertation examined three subjects: Seaton Delaval Hall, heritage techniques of architectural representation and the development of my own representational skills. While searching for existing knowledge, I noticed a lack of autoethnographic studies pertaining to heritage methods of architectural representation. As a connection between the two aspects of Northern heritage culture has not previously been explored thoroughly, this study may serve as a seminal piece of research on the two subjects.

I thoroughly examined Seaton Delaval Hall in my initial investigation with the help of the National Trust. This is a stately home in the North East of England, located near the coastal village of Seaton Sluice. Designed by Sir John Vambrugh on the commission of Admiral George Delaval, the building was completed in 1728 and occupied by the eccentric Delaval Family throughout the Georgian Era. In this initial investigation, I found several engraved images of the Delavals and the house itself.

Woodcut, Intaglio and wood engraving were once the main modes of producing blocks used for relief printing. Engravings and etchings saw wide use in the production of print media between Mediaeval times and the early 20th Century. This early mode of mass production served as a powerful tool for the proliferation of knowledge and ideas. These methods could be used to create reproducible copies of books and works of art, and the medium paved the way for new forms of artistic expression.

I tailored my research to an autoethnographic approach. This is a research framework through which a researcher can effectively describe and systematically analyse their own personal experience in relation to wider cultural experiences. In this context, the role of the ethnographer is both researcher and active participant. The idea of research as a neutral process is abandoned in favour of self-reflection,

THOMAS BERWICK’S METHOD

End grain wood engraving was developed towards the end of the 18th Century by Thomas Bewick. It is based on the art of woodcut, an ancient technique of printing where images are carved along the soft grain of a block of wood. Berwick’s method of wood engraving instead cuts into the hard end-grain of the wood, which can facilitate more detailed engravings and results in a durable finished product.

The cultural function of this skill has changed considerably since the 18th Century. Prior to widespread availability of photography, wood engraving was a trade skill that saw wide use in the production of news publications and journals. Towards the mid-20th Century, it fell out of use and has now become a fairly esoteric artistic medium with few practitioners.

ILLUSTRATIVE TECHNIQUE

Aiming to draw further connections between my own architectural skillset and the heritage medium, I aimed to develop my own illustrative technique that draws from my knowledge in engraving. In the process of synthesising this new technique with my existing skills, I produced a set of test drawings based on images taken during my photographic documentation of Seaton Delaval Hall using the illustrative technique. These images aim to highlight various textural details seen throughout the estate.

I described each of subject using knowledge from primary and secondary resources to provide historical information about these artefacts. There are gaps in my knowledge regarding some of the examples documented here. For these examples, I have described them as much as possible and applied my own interpretation and speculation.

THE THEATRE OF DESIGN UNN THESIS PROJECT

THE THEATRE OF DESIGN

The preservation of heritage architecture becomes an everincreasingly difficult problem to tackle against the evolving urban landscape. As vocations within the built environment change to accommodate more modern construction and engineering methodologies, the skills to reproduce antiquated architectural features may be lost. This proposal puts forth the notion that heritage architecture can be maintained indefinitely by studying urban ruins and historical artefacts.

By analysing the content of their design, artisans can put knowledge into practice using the heritage arts and crafts that were originally used to produce the architecture. Through a synthesis of historical knowledge and our modern understanding of the built environment, a new architectural typology may emerge for the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which would concentrate on building laterally, within the historical city’s limits, rather than vertically.

In order to preserve existing heritage and cultivate a new generation of stone buildings, the Theatre of Design would focus on training new stonemasons and teaching designers what is possible with stone as a building material. Extensive research projects into Grainger Town would be conducted in order to uncover information on its historical construction and methods of replicating architectural heritage. The project would collaborate with universities and the National Trust.

The facility would aim to produce extensive construction documentation of these bespoke heritage features, and also seeks to create an avenue for designers to reinterpret these features and design new forms using Ashlar stone. Engraving and etching provides a method of documenting and interpreting this architectural heritage. Sketches of these features could be taken, then reproduced and bound as documents through lithographic printmaking.

Binding

CRAFTING A COMMUNITY

This building aims to bring together practitioners across various disciplines to assist in the preservation of architectural heritage, as well as the production of new works of art and architecture. The building’s key spaces include a stone carving workshop, a lecture theatre, an exhibition space and a set of fine art studios.

The facility required a public shop and visitor centre in order to intice the public while creating a secondary profitgenerating function for the building. A coffee house was chosen, as this would only require a small kitchen area and could eventually sell items produced by occupants in the Phase II extension.

ScreenPrinters

Photographers

WoodEngravers

Researchers

Sculptors& FineArtists

The production of art, architecture and objects is a fulfilling but physically and mentally draining process for those involved. It is necessary to ensure that artisans always have a place nearby to catch their breath and consider the task ahead. The Garden of Repose would provide a quiet space for contemplation, with shallow soil for wildflower planting.

Stonemasons

Beekeepers

Additionally, there would be an opportunity to involve aipiary managers from the Tyne Beekeepers Society. Green roofing would provide local beekeepers with a facility for urban beekeeping. This may alleviate problems with the declining local bee population while creating new, green urban context/

RENOVATION STRATEGY

Situated on the outskirts of the district classified as Grainger Town, the building at the address of No. 1 Mosley Street and the adjacent 130 - 132 Pilgrim Street was designed in 1899 by the architect Benjamin Simpson. It consists of four storeys and an attic, and its construction materiality is a cast iron frame with ashlar facades in the free classical style. The East portion focuses on adding new urban context to make the formerly derelict site an inviting destination for the public.

The East elevation of the building focuses on creating new urban context to make the formerly derelict site an inviting destination for the public. For example, the ground floor coffee shop has allowed customers to spill into the street with outdoor seating. This gives it an immediately welcoming appearance to people passing by, and some may choose to investigate further, learning of the building’s primary purpose as art school ny first attending the cafe.

My design proposes a new circulation strategy that would repurpose the building’s existing South lightwell as a main ciruclation block. This strategy would consist of an Art Nouveau-style spiral staircase and integrated elevator. For aesthetic purposes, I designed a red cast iron structure with reclaimed oak-trimmed steps and handrails. This spiral staircase and integrated elevator have been designed to allow the passage of light.

THIRD FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR

VOLUMETRIC STUDY

This volumetric study was illustrated in order to demonstrate several key structural and environmental characteristics of the project’s Phase II Extension. The key moments examined here are the facility’s Lecture Hall, Ornament Room and Stone Carving Workshop. I proposed that the Lecture Hall’s scaffold could be constructed using structural sawn elm and beech wood veneer. To support loads from each floor, the new construction uses open web steel joists. Ashlar stone veneers would be used to cover partial-fill cavity walls.

FOURTH FLOOR

Carpentry Workshop

Beekeeper Lounge

Rooftop Aipiary

THIRD FLOOR

Exhibition Room

Anatomy Room

Fine Art Studio

SECOND FLOOR

Engraving & Printing

Photography Studio

Darkroom

FIRST FLOOR Archive

Meeting Room

Reading Room

Lecture Theatre

GROUND FLOOR

Coffee Shop

Visitor Centre

Ornament Room

Stone Carving Workshop

To overcome the site’s natural slope, a stepped foundation system was constructed. This protects the structure from frost attack while allowing the ground floor to transition into a mezzanine workshop space. The stone carving workshop features a raft foundation with reinforced concrete footing. The facility’s rooftop garden has a surafe soil depth of 50mm, sufficient to support a wildflower meadow. The planting area for the artists’ community garden also provides a pollinator habitat for the aipiary.

The Magic Lantern Project

This design project is a critical and conceptual exploration of the Magic Lantern. Invented in the 17th Century, this apparatus was widely used as an educational tool, as well as a device for creating theatrical special effects. Throughout my research into the history and cultural context of the Magic Lantern, I developed a thesis around the role of heritage in the current period. My investigation of this concept is threefold. I am examining heritage technology, heritage representation techniques and heritage architecture.

The Magic Lantern is an example of heritage technology. It had an immeasurable influence on culture through its uses in the 17th and 20th Century in spheres of education and theatrical productions. Refinements of the item’s design contributed to the evolution of image projectors and motion pictures.

An example of heritage representation techniques is wood engraving, which I explored in my Student Selected Investigation, Exploring Engraving. This is an illustrative technique that was historically used to create reproducible media, especially architectural schematics and glass lantern slides.

Finally, the city of Newcastle provides many examples of architectural heritage. My proposal centres on Grey Street, a part of Grainger Town that runs from Grey’s Monument to Dean Street. Grainger Town was the historical commercial centre of Newcastle, containing many of the city’s finest Century English Baroque style buildings. This location was suitable for these explorations, because it has a distinct style of heritage architecture which comes with cultural problems,

THINKING THROUGH MAKING

For my final presentation, I produced a 1:50 scale model of the entire facility. I created this by converting several design documents into laser files, which would output MDF sprues containing individual segments of the building. The process of assembling these pieces was incredibly time-consuming and required a great deal of organisation. The model is magnetised with removeable facades; the existing building, designated Phase 1, can be separated from the Phase 2 construction so the existing building can be examined alone.

Throughout my time at Northumbria, I have created many sketch models, paintings and artefacts as a means of refining my concept design skills. In the creation of these fine art pieces, I took inspiration from the city of Newcastle-uponTyne, especially the distinct beige-grey colour of the Georgian Grainger Town. I have also been collecting a lot of produce in my spare time through beekeeping and I decided to present these alongside my scheme, as aipiaries played an important role in the final thesis project.

Grey Grey Street for Newcastle-upon-Tyne ornamentation predominantly are part Grainger

mostly with regard to the future of the street.

ADDENDUM

The first chapter of this document contains work submitted in fulfillment of Architecture BA Honours at Newcastle University, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

The second chapter of the document references projects that are the intellectual property of Corstorphine+Wright North East. All graphics presented by the author have been changed or modified for fair use. These have been presented simply to demonstrate the author’s skill with design software.

The third chapter of this document presents work submitted in fulfillment of Architecture MArch at Northumbria University, Department of Engineering and Environment.

Document printing format:

A4 297 x 420 mm (Individual pages.)

A3 594 x 420 mm (Page spreads.)