BA Architectural Studies

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michael pybus ba architectural studies | stages two and three | session 2012-13

design report stage three I remember a year ago reflecting on my second year at Newcastle and concluding that I have never learnt more in a single year, I can gladly say that my third year here at Newcastle has eclipsed the entirety of stages one and two in how much I have learned, how much I have honed my skills and how much I have been challenged. The latter point being of particular significance, there have been points this year where I have faced very challenging obstacles and I will discuss them in relation to each individual design project.

Ecologies The first design project of the year was comparable to the second year project section-alley in that the duration was only short (three weeks) and we were put to work in small groups of three. The intervention to be designed was also to be a temporary structure similar in scale to that of section-alley. One major difference however was that the project was pitched as a competition, with the winning group actually having their proposal built for the Newcastle science summer fair in 2013. This incentive actually made me approach the project in an entirely different way to any brief I had been presented with previously. In the past technology, construction and financial issues always came as a slight afterthought once my design was complete, but here I was constantly thinking about the construction and cost of our proposal during the design phase itself. I therefore think that this short project had a very important lesson to teach me and illustrated to me the importance of designs grounded in reality, designing a structure to be built.

I was fortunate to be part of a group in which we all had a lot to contribute. One day during the project my two team mates went and visited a scrap yard, and were inspired to use old caravans and scrap, however I was able to offer a fresh perspective and suggested we use pallets which allowed us to continue to design using reclaimed material but with modular elements. Learning from the good use of team work employed in section-alley we were able to better delegate tasks amongst each other and I think we were a very successful team. I think over the past three years my ability to work as part of a team has steady improved through the frequency participation in group projects and activities, such as the charettes, bridge project, section-alley and ecologies.

I was ecstatic to find out that our group won the competition along with another group and that the building of the pavilion will go ahead at the end of August. I am already scheduled to help with design revisions after I graduate in July and am confident that I will gain a wealth of new knowledge and skills and a very real insight into how a design translates into a physical structure, along with all of the inevitable obstacles that come with that. We have already had to address a number of issues including, a limited supply of pallets, health and safety concerns and altering the design to fit a different site.

I feel that solving these issues has taught me to be less precious about my own designs and accept that no design can exist in the real world in the exact same state as said proposal, and I feel that this is an important lesson to learn early on.

Can Ricart The second design project of the year again had something completely new to offer most notably in the foreign location, size of the site and restorative nature of the brief. The fact that the project took place in Barcelona opened our eyes to a new climate and different building regulations. The project threw a lot at us in the form of a large scale master plan that involved socially regenerating a derelict Barcelona block. The most challenging aspect of the Can Ricart project was the challenge of scale. In the short duration of the project we were asked to come up with a proposal that encompassed the whole site whilst still showcasing a level of tangible detail at a human scale.

We were in Barcelona for a week, however we only visited the site for what totaled around 5 hours, which was painfully short. This did however teach me the importance of efficient site mapping and analysis as in practice the site of a project may be miles away and continued site visits may be a luxury I can’t afford. So far all of my design projects have been based in and around Newcastle allowing me to re-visit the sites when I required anything from a few extra photos to a material study. I felt like I used my time in Barcelona relatively well but I could have definitely put the 5 hours to much better use in terms of efficiency. Being able to compile all of our site findings together as a year certainly helped in establishing a strong analysis of the start before the design phase of the project.

The project was a frustrating one in that so many new challenges were thrown at me at once. In the past I had always designed from the largest scale and as a project developed, so would the detail, I would resolve one scale then move on to the smaller scale, finally establishing the tangible details of the structure. Can Ricart taught me an invaluable lesson; the details cannot be ignored until the larger scale proposals are made, both the detail and the 2

broader picture must evolve together, and in most cases it is in fact the detail that gives a design its legitimacy and conviction, after all we as humans only ever experience buildings at a human scale. My frustration with the scale of the project stemmed from me trying to resolve every space, when the project simply didn’t call for it; however my tutors helped me overcome these initial setbacks.

I was introduced to Matt Ozga-Lawn and James Craig during Can Ricart and they served as my tutors for the full duration of the project. They offered an incredibly refreshing outlook on architecture and pushed me to approach the brief in new bold and interesting ways. In the past my designs were always informed by site analysis and a design concept, often resulting in perfectly functional but slightly unoriginal building whereas Matt and James are interested in designing through an intense process and during Can Ricart I learned that it was perfectly allowable to set rules for myself that would dictate certain design characteristics and make the scale of the site less overwhelming through limiting me somewhat. For example I employed a rule where the underground spaces could only occur within an 8000mm offset of the existing building envelopes, immediately the scale of Can Ricart became less of an issue.

The most important lesson I learned from Can Ricart was to be confident in my own process and design decisions, and that setting myself particular rules can help to make the design process easier whilst simultaneously making the design outcome more exciting and unique, as new surprising formal qualities and ideas can arise from the rules and rich processes employed.

Testing Ground When the opportunity came to choose a graduation project I immediately chose Testing Ground because I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Ozga-Lawn’s and James Craig’s approach to architectural design. The project promised to continue to encourage me to explore new processes and methods of representation; however the project was so different in approach and direction to anything I had done previously that I initially felt like I had been thrown in the deep end. Looking back on the graduation project I can honestly say I had a love, hate relationship with it, it was without a doubt the most challenging and frustrating project of my education at Newcastle but it was also the most engaging and definitely the most exciting.

I loved the initial test phase as it provided a totally fresh exploration, hypothesizing a test, constructing an apparatus and then carrying out said test was both fun and engaging even if at the time I was struggling to see how the outcome would translate into an architectural proposal.

Throughout the next few weeks however my process started to inform architectural decisions and forms and the nature of the test began to inform the function of the building. There were many tutorials and interim reviews this project where Matt and James would question whether I was enjoying it, and my response would always be that I was but I was worried that my “architecture” wasn’t “standard enough”, or that it couldn’t be fully resolved. They convinced me that my process and proposal was both interesting and exciting and that I simply needed to have more confidence in that what I was doing was a perfect response to the brief.

Even towards the closing stages of the project as I looked around at the other projects and close friend’s work, I questioned my work and compared it to others in the year, never have I ever been more unsure what to think about my own work. If I could alter one thing about myself and the way I work in the future it would be to have absolute confidence in what I am doing, and don’t let anyone else’s endeavors force me to question my own.

Despite my qualms with the project, I do believe that my representational skills and techniques wouldn’t have developed quite as much in any other project under any other tutor as they have under the guidance of Matt and James. They encourage very different representational methods, and at first I was very wary when they suggested my whole project was presented in an inherently ambiguous way. I responded to what they had asked for and my final presentation was composed entirely from the point of view of a drone with minimal accompanying diagrams totally devoid of standard plans and sections, but contrary to my initial doubts I feel like my final pinned up work was visually sophisticated and intriguing, and my best presentation work to date.

The Future The past three years at Newcastle, and most notably this past year, have been incredible. Incredibly fun, incredibly educational and even incredibly stressful, I still don’t know if Architecture is the profession for me but I know that I will continue to nurture every skill I have gained over the course of the degree and hope I am lucky enough to enjoy a long successful career, in a creative field. The skills I have learned have become invaluable to me and they are no longer skills but hobbies that I hope will serve me well in the years to come.

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testing ground

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can ricart

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ecologies

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space to live

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simplicity economy home

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civic centered

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section-alley

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michael pybus 3

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testing ground january 2013 | 18 weeks | matt ozga-lawn, james craig

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My test institute is a drone testing institute which explores the way that unmanned surveillance drones perceive buildings and the landscape. The building and landscape responds to this by attempting to camouflage itself in an effort to confuse the drone and become invulnerable to targeting. Advanced weaponry utilised in modern warfare makes building a structure to sustain a physical attack practically impossible, therefore it then makes sense to design landscapes to defend against surveillance, and the intrusive observation that would precede an attack.

My proposal is a new type of military landscape and shares a common thread with medieval forts of old that were designed around the trajectory of cannonball fire, only in the modern age of surveillance the form of the landscape is determined by the trajectory of a drone and its flight path.

Drones would be manufactured on site and then take off from the institute to survey the site in its broader context, in order to test both the success of the drone in its ability to capture precise imagery, and the success of the landscape in its ability to appear ambiguous and camouflaged. Due to the nature of the project nearly all of the images of the proposal are taken through the eyes of the drone with only a few accompanying diagrams to explain a little more to the viewer.

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Start of the flight path showing the implanted landforms, their angle of insertion and the locations of the first nine images taken from the drone.

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Length of the flight path up to view nine: 7,818,923mm

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Full flight path over the Borough of Hartlepool and the twelve points at which the drone has taken images Length of full flight path: 118,053,838mm Time of flight path: 37:45

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original presentation sequence

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can ricart november 2012 | 6 weeks | matt ozga-lawn, james craig

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The derelict, rich materiality of the site provides an inspirational tapestry for creative students to interact with, therefore I wanted to maintain and celebrate the current aesthetic of the site. I introduced a film school to the creative programmes of the brief with the intention of allowing the students to film around the ruins of the site and then return to a clinical, controlled space where post-production and learning would take place.

I wanted to connect all of the existing buildings to create a combined infrastructure, but because of the rule I had set myself to maintain the derelict nature of the site I didn’t want to design any permanent interventions above the ground level that existed outside of the present facades. I therefore looked at the site plan and offset the footprints of each building until they all overlapped. This defined an area where I allowed myself to excavate underground to connect the building directly from below.

Because I made the decision to dig underground, I was ultimately destroying the foundations; therefore I needed a structure that would support the facades. This became the driving force behind my whole design, a huge hidden gantry like structure that supported the facades whilst at the same time providing winding catwalks and rails that supported lighting rigs, camera dollies and rolling screens. The uniformity of this essential steel structure created a grid which I then overlaid across the entire site. This became a guide both in plan and section as where to place my other functional spaces. The rich ruined facades, completely contrast with the intimate underground workspaces and controlled environments informed by the intelligence of the grid.

Building footprints

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Perspective of gantry from above

Connecting offset

Underground spaces and steel structure

Informed grid

Projection tower section 35

Perspective section to show spaces below ground level

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Perspective of the excavated external space, and the huge steel gantry

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a visual narrative macro-scale As I previously described in the background information, my whole concept stemmed from the intention to leave the visible site untouched.

The existing facades and buildings, that were rich materially, historically and culturally were relics that I wanted to allow the film students of Can Ricart to be inspired by and use in their artwork. I therefore wanted to leave the site above the ground untouched and left in its current state. However I needed to create physical connections between the different buildings in order for a successful synergy of activities to be encouraged, which ultimately led me to my decision to excavate below the ground to connect the buildings to one another.

The macro scale I have chosen to focus on is that of the entire site, as my approach to connecting the buildings though the use of underground space was something that I proposed across the whole site. The macro scale representation is an exploded isometric split up over the next few pages and shows my intention to preserve the existing buildings whilst digging below and around their footprints, in order to establish these connections. As I would be destroying many of the existing foundations of the old buildings I would need to support the old walls in my design. The images showing my macro scale demonstrate that I would support these old building through the use of a huge steel frame structure. This structure is what I will be paying particular attention to in my visual narrative as the micro and intermediate scales described later, are indicative of relatively simple steel sections that would essentially be repeated to form nearly the entire steel structure shown here in the macro stage.

The site in its wider context 1 : 5000

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exploded isometric of site

The existing facades of Can Ricart are left untouched, to allow the film students to film around the entire site. Most of the roof structures have been removed turning the interiors of the existing buildings into exterior spaces.

The facades are held in place by a large steel framework once their original foundations have been removed to create the underground spaces, that make up the controlled internal spaces of the film school.

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Exploded isometric 1 : 500

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exploded isometric of site

The large steel framework as well as supporting the old facades, defines the underground spaces.

Theatre

The excavations across the site vary in depth, creating spaces with different ceiling heights for different uses but they are always limited by the 8 metre offset in plan. A few functions are labelled.

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Exploded isometric 1 : 500

Dark Rooms Sound Stage

exploded isometric of site

The primary structure of the steel framework is shown here as it would sit in the excavations without the walkways attached, the transparent facades are also indicative of their original position and where they are in relation to the excavations.

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Isometric 1 : 500

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a visual narrative intermediate-scale The intermediate scale I have chosen to show includes most of the information required to allow the huge gantry-like steel structure in the macro-scale to be fully understood. The primary structure shows how the large steel elements would connect to the existing walls and this method can be applied across the entire site. The spans between the columns and dimensions of individual elements are also indicative of uniform steel components and articulate how they would fix together.

The suspended walkway shown is something that could be constructed anywhere on the site by simply referring to the images I have shown.

Essentially the section I have chosen to show at the intermediate scale is the largest it can be without parts of it becoming redundant. If I showed anymore it would simply display junctions and elements that are already present in these diagrams.

The final intermediate image also describes how the structure holds up the existing walls and defines underground space, a critical feature of my design proposal. The steel structure is not only a structural necessity, and the walkways are not simply for circulation, they are spaces that the students are encouraged to inhabit and work within, therefore I have chosen to detail an individual section of repeating walkway in the micro-scale.

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primary structure

Existing wall 500mm thick Steel end plates are welded to the exposed ends of the galvanised steel square hollow section beams and columns offsite.

Suspended walkway braces - Galvanised steel square hollow section columns and beams, 100mm x 100mm, welded off-site.

Welded standardised element.

Ground level

Support beams - 100mm x 100mm square section galvanised steel beams bolted to the suspended walkway braces on site using steel plates.

Aluminium flange plates welded to the steel square section beams off-site and bolted to the existing wall. The bolts run through the entire thickness of wall and are then bolted to a steel plate on the external side.

Underground

Large walkway supports - 200mm x 200mm galvanised steel square section hollow columns and beams are welded together off-site and are then welded to aluminium flange plates off-site.

Welded standardised element.

Isometric view 1 : 100

Underground support and foundations described on later page.

secondary structure (Orange) Walkways - Galvanised steel square section steel beams bolted to primary structure on site. Pre fabricated solid forged mild steel square section handrails, bolted to walkway beams on site.

(Red) Galvanised steel diagonal cable bracing, 40mm attached to the suspended walkway braces, they hold the bridge in tension.

Isometric view 1 : 100

tertiary structure

(Orange) Mild steel camera rails are welded to select sections of handrail off-site and then bolted to the primary structure on site to allow cameras to film around the entire complex.

Mild steel meshing 2440mm x 1220mm x 22mm is fixed to a steel frame, with 610mm centres. The steel mesh and frame are bolted to the walkway beams on site through a bracket.

Isometric view 1 : 100

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underground frame Steel plate bolted to aluminium flange plates on the internal side of the wall. The flange plates are welded to the steel primary structure off-site.

The underground steel frame is made mainly from standardised pieces, these beams nearly always span 7500mm as the underground spaces are defined by an 8000mm offset of the existing building envelope, and the underground columns are 500mm wide. The beams are bolted to the columns on site through a steel plate.

250mm x 500mm galvanised steel rectangular section hollow beams, thicker to support the existing facades.

200mm of concrete.

Ground level Two 250mm x 500mm galvanised steel rectangular section hollow beams are bolted together on site and when combined are the same thickness as the existing wall. They sit directly beneath the existing wall.

200mm x 200mm steel square section columns are bolted to a steel beam via a steel base plate, which are then attached to a pile cap and held in place by concrete pile foundations. The steel base plate is then covered by in-situ concrete and a 50mm layer of screed. Only the bottom of the steel square section column is visible in this diagram.

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a visual narrative micro-scale Like the intermediate scale the walkway section I have chosen to detail at the micro-scale is a repeating element that appears many times in the structure shown at the macro-scale. The reason I have chosen the walkway as my detail is because it reflects my desire for the film students to use the site as inspiration and as a film set. Welded to the handrail (off-site) on one side of the walkway on the highest tier is a rail which allows cameras to be pushed around the perimeter of the existing walls. This allows the film students to film into the external derelict spaces for their own productions. The walkways then become places of work where students will collaborate, direct each other and learn film-making skills, adding a new dimension to a space that could so easily be left as circulation.

The steel catwalks and rails are connected to one another across the whole site and transform the steel beams and columns of Can Ricart film and art school into a much more dynamic structure.

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walkway detail from below

Each walkway section is a standardised element of length 2440mm (the same length as the wire mesh sheet) This diagram shows two pieces of walkway connected together with the primary steel walkway supports attached between the two.

Camera rail 260mm wide is made from solid forged mild steel square section elements and is welded to the handrail off-site.

Camera rail is bolted to the primary walkway supports 200mm x 200mm through a steel plate.

Mild steel meshing 2440mm x 1220mm x 22mm is fixed to a steel frame, with 610mm centres between the horizontals. The steel frame for the meshing is welded off-site and is made from solid forged mild steel square section elements 30mm x 30mm and 50mm x 50mm.

The steel mesh and frame are bolted to the walkway beams on site through a bracket.

Large walkway supports - 200mm x 200mm galvanised steel square section hollow columns and beams are welded together off-site and are then welded to aluminium flange plates off-site.

Isometric view 1 : 20

walkway detail from above

Camera rig and tripod slides up and down the rail, simply by being pushed, it can be stopped and held in place by pulling down on the brake.

Steel end plate 200mm x 200mm.

Pre fabricated solid forged mild steel square section handrails, bolted to walkway beams on site through steel plates.

The walkway beams are bolted to the primary steel walkway supports 200mm x 200mm through a steel plate.

Aluminium flange plate 400mm x 400mm

Steel plate 400mm x 400mm

Isometric view 1 : 20

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construction reduction The Can Ricart Centre for Film and Art that I have proposed completely preserves the existing derelict buildings on site. The scheme is completely opposed to demolishing the existing facades and the redundant buildings become essential in defining end enclosing space.

This decision results in a significant reduction of material used in the construction as well as substantial reductions in energy consumption.

However the vast majority of the internal spaces are underground and therefore the foundations of the existing buildings are destroyed and tonnes of earth are excavated. Therefore the material waste will still be significant as most of the excavated earth would be destined for landfill. The design decision to build underground however was critical in creating the controlled subterranean spaces needed for film production as well as creating an infrastructure across the whole site whilst maintaining the untouched aesthetic above ground. Both of which were key factors in my design concept.

Because of the decision to excavate the site, a large steel structure is needed to support the existing facades and define the underground spaces. It is then in the design of this steel structure that construction reductions can be made to try and counter the huge cost and energy consumption of excavating the site. The complexity of the steel structure directly reflects the material usage and energy consumption from construction; hence the entire steel structure is designed with repeating elements in mind. The steel frame essentially forms a large semiregular grid that defines the internal functional spaces and therefore standardisation is possible to achieve. As the steel frame is however confined to the existing envelopes on the site full standardisation is not possible as it would be if the site was an open one. [Figure 1] A building that successfully renovates an old industrial building whilst maintaining much of the historic aesthetic, and utilising standardised elements internally is the MAGNA Science Centre in Rotherham. [Figure 2] The excavated spaces are defined by the existing building envelopes being offset by eight metres, and this precise boundary to the size of the underground space allows the steel frame that defines the subterranean areas to be completely standardised. These underground spaces can then be built around the standardised steel frame using off the shelf cladding, insulation and lining materials with standard panel dimensions. The standardisation of all of these elements achieves a high economy of scale due to the repetitive manufacture of the components as well as a higher speed of construction and higher levels of quality control.

The walkways illustrated in my micro and intermediate scale construction details are standardised components like many of the columns and beams used in the design. They are constructed and welded off site and then bolted on site to the primary steel structure. The use of bolts rather than permanent junctions such as welds increases the future potential for reuse and recycling and contributes to construction reduction. The design responds to this in introducing as many bolted connections to the steel structure as possible. Standardised pieces are minimally welded off-site and are then bolted to the rest of the frame on site. The abundance of bolted junctions in the steel frame allows elements such as the steel walkways, handrails and suspended catwalks to be interchangeable and adjustable. This makes the whole building adaptable as well as allowing the building to be easily dismantled without producing a huge amount of construction waste.

[Figure 3] As the proposed design is so large and inevitably expensive due to the amount of earth needed to be excavated, the film and art school was designed to be used as intensively as possible. The film schools large external spaces were designed to adapt and be used as a large venue for film festivals and outdoor film screenings and whilst this increased intensity of activity and number of people in the space would not directly lead to a reduction in material usage, it could result in cost savings and increased efficiency in low carbon technology.

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building, component and material reuse and recycling My design is mainly comprised of interventions, the demolition of the existing foundations means that the new underground spaces and the existing buildings are entwined in such a way that reversibility is practically impossible without substantial damage to both the existing and new alike. If the supporting steel structure was removed then the old facades would fall down and if the facades were removed or altered, the hidden nature of the film and art school would be destroyed. Like many renowned examples of architectural reuse projects, my proposal is essentially an only once full conversion that is suited to the function of a film and art school, and as the design is comprised of interventions where both the old and new depend directly on each other’s existence subsequent conversion of the site would be very difficult to achieve.

However, that said, considerations were made in order for the building to facilitate reuse and recycling. The design as already described in the construction reduction section utilises repeating components and dimensions in the steel frame allowing for adaptability. The standardised frame then allows standardised panels to be used to create the internal underground spaces and these spaces then too become adaptable and reusable. The abundance of bolted junctions as opposed to a large amount of permanent welds in the frame also allow for re-use and greatly increase the longevity of the building as parts that may become damaged can be swapped out for new components. The floor to ceiling height in many of the building’s spaces (the gallery and sound stage are examples) is also generous enough to accommodate a wide variety of functions making future building reuse and adaptation easier.

So although a full conversion of building would be unrealistic due to the specific relationship between the form of the building and its function, reuse and adaptability of the space are definitely possible.

Conclusion I believe my design is well considered in certain areas in regards to construction reduction and recycling and reusing issues. Standardisation of a large majority of the steel frame significantly contributes to construction reduction and this in conjunction with bolted junctions making up the majority of the connections allows the internal spaces to be fully adaptable, reusable and allows elements to be replaced, increasing the longevity of the building.

However I don’t believe these pros to the design consideration outweigh or justify the uneconomic wasteful excavation of a huge amount of earth in the real world. The choice to excavate the ground is one that leads to a design I am excited by, however it also leads to a design that is uneconomic and wasteful. Potential does exists to re-claim the excavated earth and use it in landscaping strategies across the site but even if the soil was found to be usable after an assessment only a tiny fraction would be needed for landscaping. Even if the remainder of the earth was to be used on another site, rather than ending up in the dreaded landfill, the cost of transportation alone would make the choice to excavate such a significant mass of earth a very costly one. A calculation based on an estimate of 20656m3 of earth needed to be excavated results in an estimate cost of £344,260.1

1. Samuel Joy, 2005. What Will it Cost? Getting Out of the Ground. [Online] Available at: < http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/costs/build-costs/what-will-it-cost-getting-out-of-the-ground> [Accessed 24 January 2013].

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ecologies october 2012 | 3 weeks

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The first design project of the year was a group project that required us to design a small intimate pavilion for the annual science fair that takes place in Newcastle. The structure was required to bring together both humans and wildlife and would be used for educational purposes, small experimentation, observation and research.

The project was presented to us as a competition with the winning design becoming a reality for use in the science fair of September 2013. Our group focused on producing a design that was extremely economical, lightweight, simple to construct and environmentally friendly to increase our chances of winning. In the early stages of the project we visited a scrapyard and we were set on utilising reclaimed materials in the construction in an effort to fulfil the forementioned charactersistics. I decided that we should simply use pallets as they could be utilised as modualr building blocks and that we could then use them to create an organic form from something with an inerhently manmade aesthetic. We took the use of pallets very seriously and the spaces within their usual structure became spaces where we places seating, insect hotels, draws for equiptments, and they even came to form a winding staircase.

I was ecstatic when I found out that we won the competition and I am curently helping to produce design alterations in advance of the construction of the pavillion.

Plan 1 : 200

Euro Pallet 1200mm x 800mm

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Timber floor plate, securley attached to three steel foundation poles.

Pallets are attached directly to the floor plate.

Pallets are incredibly strong in compression.

The canopy is made by threading a timber beam through the pallets which span the entire internal space.

Everything is contained within the spaces of the pallets, such as drawers chairs and desks.

visualisation

A rope banister is held by woodne poles which are inserted into three pallets.

As well as drawers and seating some spaces are packed with soil and plants to create bug hotels.

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Site mapping 1 : 500

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Section 1 : 50 64

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space to live october 2012 | 3 weeks | tony watson

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The first design project of the year asked me to design a terrace house for a young professional couple. The brief only allowed for the building to remain within a very strict volume. The whole project was really an exercise in scale.

I was not given the freedom or space to go wild with a design, but the project definitely taught me to appreciate the space I am given to work within.

My initial thoughts were that the space was so tiny, that a functional proposal would be an impossibility. However over the three week duration I was surprised at how versatile small spaces can be. Learning these lessons of scale proved to be invaluable over the duration of stage two, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m glad I learnt them early on in the year.

Due to the tiny site, I thought I must place as few walls as possible, and define space by other means, I also knew I had to try and position the stairs in such a way, so that they made the most efficient use of the floor area. The clients were very social people and so I knew that I wanted to create a large open social space devoid of walls, whilst completely separating this area from the private spaces.

The most logical solution to this was to separate these into the two storeys, I chose to design the 1st floor as an open plan kitchen, dining and living space, and the ground floor would house the more private areas. The 1st floor still lacked excitement and since walls would eat up floor space and create a permanent boundary which would eliminate all versatility from the space I wanted another way to define space.

Light, and lines in the geometry which feel like they continue invisibly can both define different spaces, so still remaining within the given dimensions, the geometry of the building both internally and externally represents two intersecting rectilinear volumes. The skylight is the smaller volume embedded in the house and the lines of the angled form can be used to define space along with the light entering it.

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Principle ideas and layouts, experimenting with voids slit levels and multiple staircases.

section

The idea of using intersecting volumes to define space informed my final proposal.

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presentation model 75

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3

2 5

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hall

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bedroom

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yard

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toilet and shower

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open plan social space

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plan

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plan

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1 : 100

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simplicity economy home november 2011 | 6 weeks | dan kerr

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Second Floor Plan 1 : 100

First Floor Plan 1 : 100

Ground Floor Plan 1 : 100

A 6

B

original work

3

8

2

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Alternating spaces of sanctuary and community.

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Simplicity, Economy, Home.

Figure Ground 1 : 1000

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B

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1 - Triple height lobby 2 - Kitchen 3 - Common Room 4 - Courtyard 5 - Workshop 6 - Tutorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Flat 7 - Laundry 8 - Storage 9 - Smaller common spaces 10 - Bedroom

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9

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1

The design of the building has not changed but the pages beyond include new presentation work which was not on the original display. The sections have been digitally rendered to give a basic idea of light within the spaces and the plans have been shaded in CAD so they fit within the rest of the portfolio. I have added new diagrams to the model page to describe the design process.

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C

Bedroom Plan 1 : 20

C

Section CC 1 : 20

Elevation 1 : 100

Section BB 1 : 100

Section AA 1 : 100

Simplicity economy home expanded on the ideas I had learnt in the housing project, whilst giving me a large amount of freedom. I was free to choose one of five sites across Newcastle, which would become the site of a foyer for six young adults. Foyers are places that provide accommodation, training and income for people who have had a troubled upbringings, and in the case of the brief my proposal would need to house an on site workshop where the young residents would be trained by a tutor to design and craft furniture. Other spaces I had to include were an on site, self-contained flat where the tutor would live along with a significant other, a common room and kitchen for the residents and a bedroom to accommodate any disabled residents who may be staying at the foyer.

I thought it was important to allow the residents of the foyer to take refuge and feel safe and secure whenever they needed but also encourage them to learn community values and social skills, to help intergrate them back into the world. Its from these two ideas that my design was informed, as the building was arranged and layered to create alternating spaces of sanctuary and community.

proposal in site

All of the bedrooms receive southern light and face the park, providing the residents with a pleasant space to be at any time of the day.

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A private courtyard is encompassed by the building mass, this courtyard is on the south side of the site and so is very well lit all day.

The walls of the building angle in and embrace the courtyard, further defining the space created.

In section the walls slant back, making the courtyard feel much more open and dynamic as it opens out into the sky.

The geometry of the next two storeys follows the same lines as the ground floor which means the top floor has a larger area to accomodate two disabled bedrooms.

presentation model

In both plan and section, the building is made up of alternating spaces of sanctuary and more open spaces to encourage community.

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5

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7 1

2 02 3

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triple height lobby

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kitchen

3

common room

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courtyard

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workshop

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tutorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flat

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laundry

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storage

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smaller social spaces

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bedroom

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disabled bedroom

plan

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plan

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plan

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1 : 200

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2

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triple height lobby

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smaller social spaces

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common room

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tutorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flat

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section

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section

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1 : 100

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civic centered february 2012 | 6 weeks | louise squires

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original work

Civic Centred Transparency and Drama of Government Michael Pybus

The design of the building has not changed but the pages beyond include new presentation work which was not on the original display. The sections have been edited in photoshop to add some texture and interest. Photographs have been taken of the final model and they are accompanied by a set of new 3d diagrams to explain the design approach. A further page has been added which contains drawn process material.

Figure Ground Diagram 1:1500

Roof Elevation in context 1 : 200

B

Site C has panoramic views of the sea and beach, which was important to consider when choosing a site.

Cafe A Crèche

Courtyard Interview Rooms

Site C has a very interesting relationship to changes in elevation and could potentially provide very unique forms and interesting flows.

Debating Chamber A

B

Site C is the worst of the three sites for getting southern light as the slope of the hill causes overshadowing, however there are ways to flood certain spaces with light on site C with south west being the best way to orientate windows.

Like all coastal sites, site C is vulnerable to strong wind and protecting from mainly northeasterly winds would be a priority.

Ground Floor Plan 1 : 200

Staff Room

Reception and waiting

Meeting room Courtyard Admin Office

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First Floor Plan 1 : 200

The building volume sits below the street level as to maintain view across the site and towards the sea.

The building connects directly to the public and sits in the edge of the site.

The front of the building volume is pulled up to signify the existence of the building and to intrigue and draw people into the site.

The building volume is pinched to form a point which points towards the castle ruins of Tynemouth reflecting the importance of the building.

The building is spilt into two volumes. The debating chamber becomes the pointed form which stands above the rest of the building signifying its importance.

Section AA 1 : 100

The volumes are pulled apart in such a way that they create a courtyard sheltered from the wind but which also receives a lot of southern lighting.

A third element is pulled from the building to connect the building to both the public on the street level and the public on the beach.

This in turn creates a secondary outdoor courtyard which again is orientated to receive southern light.

The change in elevation throughout the site is such that both the beach and street can be interacted with.

The route through the site is a winding interesting and dramatic journey which people will want to make, ensuring that they interact with the public spaces of the building.

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Section BB 1 : 100

The third design project of the year was civic centered, the brief presented us with three different sites in Tynemouth to choose from as well as three different building types. All three building types were large scale public buildings, presenting us with a further step up in complexity and scale than the first two design projects. The brief encouraged us to consider outdoor transitional spaces, courtyards and public squares as much as the internal spaces of the building.

I chose to design a moot hall, as I thought it would be exciting to break away from the idea of what many consider government buildings to be. There can be a preconception that the activity of government is both boring and private with more young people becoming less and less interested in how our country is run. With my proposal I wanted to try and reignite some of this lost interest in government by designing a building which embodies the transparency and drama of what government should be, a process to be shared by everyone.

conceptual model

The building volume sits below the street level as to maintain views across the site and towards the sea.

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The front of the building volume is pulled up to signify the exsistence of the building, to intrigue and draw people to the site.

The building is split into two volumes. The debating chamber becomes the pointed form which stands above the rest of the building signifying itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s importance.

A third element is pulled from the building to connect the building to both the public on the street level and the public on the beach.

The building connects directly to the public and sits in the edge of the site.

The building is pinched to form a point which points towards the castle ruins of Tynemouth reflecting the importance of the building.

presentation model

Two volumes are pulled apart in such a way, that they create a courtyard sheltered from the wind but which also recieves plentiful southern light.

The third volume creates a secondry courtyard which is again orientated to recieve southern light.

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01

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debating chamber

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lower courtyard

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creche

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kitchen

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cafe

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interview rooms

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meeting room

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upper courtyard

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reception and waiting area

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staff room

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admin office

plan

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plan

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1 : 200

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cafe

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debating chamber

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lower courtyard

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reception and waiting

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waiting corridor

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section

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section

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plan 00 2 d c

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reception and waiting area

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staff room

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meeting room

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admin office

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storage room

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courtyard

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1 : 200

Principle entrances i. External lift to lower courtyard 1600mm x 1800mm. ii. Enclosed lift shaft 1400mm x 2000mm. iii. Reception desk lowered to 750mm for wheelchair users. iv. Corduroy strips sit 400mm from both the top and bottom of all flights of stairs, to indicate the change in level, they are 800mm deep. v. Hand rails are curved down so to avoid clothes catching on them.

Final exits Fire assembly point ap All final exits comply with the minimum escape route widths I calculated on the first page.

Fire doors

F

Escape routes and distances a. Office to exit - 10.5m b. Meeting room to exit - 11.0m c. Reception to exit - 9.4m d. Staff room to exit - 11.0m

plan -01 c 4 5

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3 iv

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debating chamber

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courtyard

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cafe

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kitchen

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creche

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interview rooms

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plant room

1 : 200

Principle entrances i. External lift to lower courtyard 1600mm x 1800mm. ii. Enclosed lift shaft 1400mm x 2000mm. iii and iv. Disabled WCs comply with M1 and M2, large enough to accommodate turning circles of 1500mm by 1500mm. v. All corridors are 1800mm wide with no obstructions, and so are big enough for wheelchair users to change direction, and pass each other. vi. The DWCs are all big enough to include 1500mm x 1500mm turning circles, as well as all corridors and rooms.

Final exits Fire doors

Fire assembly point

ap Escape routes and distances

F

Fire doors will automatically close if activated by a smoke detector. In building 2 the fire door at the bottom of the stairs will stop the spread of smoke into the rest of the building.

a. Crèche to exit - 6.4m b. Cafe to exit - 4.6m c. Kitchen to exit - 8.6m d. Debating chamber to exit - 20.4m e. Interview room to exit - 20.3m

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section-alley april 2012 | 3 weeks | astrid lund

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Section-alley was the only group design project of the year. The brief asked us to choose one of the chares of Newcastle and within it design a temporary timber structure for busking performances. The structure should be quick to construct, and would be erected during the fictional musical festival â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Musical Charesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which would take place across the entirety of the Quayside. The projects purpose was to make us think sectionally and to make us realise that drawing, representing and exploring ideas through sections is as important, if not more so, than arranging spaces in plan.

We named our installation Crescendo, for which the definition is; when a passage of music gradually increases in amplitude or intensity. We thought this name perfectly represented the chare the Long Stairs which starts as a claustrophobic passage but spills out onto to a lush green expanse, this is where our proposal would be constructed.

The form of our structure emerged through many iterations of sketch models. Simply put it can be described as a large inhabitable stair, which twists and pivots around a central point. From the central point two fanning elements open out like the transition from the Long Stairs to the grassy bank. The structure almost appears to be stopped in motion, and the irregular elements and rhythm reflect the rustic nature of the site.

site model

Creating shelter from the form of a staircase.

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Twisting the stair and introducing irregularity to reflect the rustic nature of the site.

presentation model

Taught string can be plucked to create a dynamic musical element to the structure. This idea became used in the handrails using steel cables.

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original work

CRESCENDO Musical Chare . Long Stairs

View from busking area on the other side of the bridge

‘Musical Chares’ is a musical festival coming to you, the people of Newcastle, asking you to enjoy music in exquisite environments. The experience of the music is simultaneous with that of the Chares in Newcastle, a term derived from the Saxon ‘cherre’ meaning to turn. At the top of Long Stairs you will turn into the installation ‘Crescendo’. As you twist and turn up Crescendo, you will experience music (quite literally) on different levels: a lower canopy level which creates an intimate space for between the musician and the listener or the higher level which embraces the views across the river. Crescendo is bedded into the hillside, and almost seems to grow out of it’s leafy surroundings. The upper and lower forms interrelate, creating a delicate but striking form to reflect the nature of it’s environment. Chescendo attemps to deconstruct the usual formal relationship between performer and audience, and encourages everyone to become part of the celebration of music.

View showing entrance to long stairs

Looking back towards the river

View of the pavilion, coming down the adjacent steps

1:50 detail section cutting through pavilion Pivot

Wooden Peg Hammered into Ground

Pivot

Steel Rods

Construction information

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Group 16 . Eleanor Gibson . Michael Pybus . Matthew Wilcox . Matthew Keefe . David Tam . Sandra Nasser

Sketch showing route to the upper level of the pavilion

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