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p o r t f o l i o RIBA Part I: Architecture Stage 3 By Felipe

Gonzรกlez Zapata 170150174

The town must live, he said. Reborn like a Phoenix again We cannot wait, he claimed. In the end we all believed his game. The town must live, we said. But we kept on falling on deaf ears. We cannot wait, we claimed. But then, only concrete was there to listen. The fire! Oh, that crimson mist! The sky was ablaze And the city burned bright But there was him, promising redemption. The end of history; eternal perfection. Embraced by that charming sweetness Everything seemed very bright, It was too late when we realised. But it was progress, and we were not allowed to cry. What are we if not rats, blackmailed b y the fantasy of modernity. Running in circles. Fuelling the gears of a ruthless system. Caged by the memories of what could have been. When tyranny is law, revolution is order. We cry without voice and walk without legs. And still we remain, fighting against oblivion. Let not the flame of our passion be consumed Let not this concrete maze be our doom.

p o r t f o l i o RIBA Part I: Stage 3

Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape BA (Hons) Architecture Studio 3: Ghost in the Machine Matthew Margetts Cara Lund Felipe Gonzรกlez Zapata 170150174 Newcastle Upon Tyne 2020

Figure 1: Front cover illustration inspired by Anni Albers

Foundation for the analysis of Biotextiles - C O V E N T R Y -

Figure 2: Project Logo

reweaving social fabric in times of urban decay:

The production of space and the role of historical memory in rearticulating Coventry's cultural nodes

Key Concepts: Building Utopia; Socioeconomic and Cultural sustainability; Recolonising â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;public spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; Systematic design; End of history; Alienation; Living the city; Coproduction of space; Politics of space; Incrementality; Local and regional integration.

TRANSVERSAL

PRINCIPLES

reuse The mitigation of environmental impact and the regulation of waste, as a mean to develop a self-sustainable circular system. Striving for an integrated system where environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural systems articulate around reuse and see this as an opportunity for redevelopment.

REUSE CULTURE INDUSTRY GROWTH COMMERCE

culture The result of social and historical processes and relations. Whether tangible or intangible, it has a deep impact over perceptions and behaviour. In this sense, the alienation between the consumer and the process make ethical consumption impossible for it is unrelatable and unaccountable, and so, a change in productive relations and processes is essential for the transmutation of culture. industry Understood as the act of Making or creating in a social context, is a leading thread for material and cultural production and development. This is a mean to understand and experiment the surrounding environment, creating new possibilities . Production is the core to development, but what we understand as development relies on the relations of production in which manufacture takes place; this applies for the production of goods as well as the production of space. A humane industry should be engrained in local systems of knowledge. growth Core principle of autarchic autonomy. Striving for local production and sustainable renewable resources.

Figure 3: Transversal principles This colour code will be used respectively in diagrams and other drawings unless it is indicated otherwise.

commerce The exchange of goods with a strong relation to a sense of identity having a deep relation to cultural hegemony and its commodification. The sustainability of this process in a social, economic, and environmental aspect should rely heavily on responsible productive methods starting from material sourcing to working conditions and the relations of power and knowledge in the working space

c o n t e n t s

6 Reflective Report 8 Illustrated Cultural Bibliography 12 Charrette 14 Primer 20 Staging 20 Case Study: Site and Spatial Sequence 29 Introduction to the project 42 Realisation 52 Thinking Through Making 54 Weaving Memory: Case Study 57 Synthesis 77 References 78 List of images 80 Appendix 1- Paths to Utopia: the MedellĂn miracle.

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"If you cannot put up buildings of your own time, you might as well forget it. A town must live, you cannot wait until fashions change" Donald Gibson, Architect-in-Chief for the reconstruction of Coventry. With the fall of the Soviet Bloc in the decade of 1990, the triumph of liberal democracy ‘over all alternative forms of human government’ defined what the conservative philosopher Francis Fukuyama would cataloguec ‘the end of history’ (Fukuyama, 2006). This universalist —quasi-utopian harmony, comes hand-in-hand with how we make sense of concepts like ‘modernity’ and ‘progress’; a statement of power, in the context of cultural hegemony, to which architecture is no alien. Architecture is instrumental in the reproduction and consolidation of social and economic hierarchies, and as such, in this case, it is the development of the modern city, and the redefinition of the role of the ‘citizen’ in the context of the neoliberal ‘no society’, that has paved the way for urban social alienation and a wider environmental metabolic rift.

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The modern city, aiming to counter a ‘development [that] proceeds without order or control, as defined by the Athens charter of 1933 (CIAM, 1933), would become a redemptive arbitrator aiming at the ‘total expulsion of evil’ (Rowe, 1978). The top-bottom urbanism would acquire a redemptive formality, derived from a deterministic optimism —naïve realism—, wherein it is expected to function by virtue of its own ‘objecthood` (Hays, 1998), and not by the relations and systems that take place in it. It is not only the relations that happen in the space, but those productive relations that produce space itself; its cultural and historical bonds. As walkways are widened and ‘organised’, high streets monopolised, and the line of the indirect influence of the private occupation of space blurs, ‘public space’ becomes a controlled landscape, an apparent timeless inert field, subsuming the intersectionality of complex urban rhythms. The public realm as a space for ‘public gathering’ would now revolve around the mere consumption of that space. The argument against the ‘disturbances to man’s habits, place of dwelling and type of work’ (CIAM, 1933) during the modern age, would displace productive forces away from the inner city. This would neglect systemic reforms to production, —so to say looking into its environmental impacts for example- but ultimately, would serve as an excuse for the segregation of multi-layered systems linked to work and workers, floating population, and the diversity of their interactions, dislocating the role of ‘making’ in the production of culture; a banalisation of use, and a separation between production and consumption. As a medieval town which was destroyed, one of the main elements of the urban fabric that were lost, was the sinuosity of its structure. Coventry was born as a crossroad merchant town overlooking the valley of the Sherbourne river. And, historically, this crossroad has allowed the exchange of locally produced goods, from wool fleeces from midlands sheep, to corn processed in the former 14 mills along the Sherbourne.

REFLECTIVE

REPORT

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However, the mechanisation of industry, the blitz, globalization and the top-down reconstruction of the city centre, drove Coventry to become a ghost town by the mid 1980’s. Currently, there is a valuable opportunity in Coventry being selected as the City of Culture 2021. And this is where my proposal to reweave the socialcultural fabric starts, picking up on Coventry’s historical ribbon weaving vocation, as a mean to boost and work symbiotically with local existing structures and systems. The Utopian vision of the reconstruction of Coventry, saw Utopia as an end goal; this projection is embedded in the physical structure of the city, and its modernist timelessness. My proposal seeks to explore a rather incremental approach to utopia: towards a collage city, a patchwork kilt; to melt and weave into the existing structures, strip it, fragment it, and recolonise it. In this sense, based on the understanding of space as historically and socially produced, my goal is to rearticulate systems of growth, and local production, industry and making, commerce, and waste and reuse within a circular metabolism, striving for an autarchic model of selfsustainability that serves not only as parallel route to the high street, but creates a sustainable path for local cultural production engrained in territorial identity. The human dimension, as flat as it might appear, are rather an heterogeneous mismatch and accumulation of social, economic and historical layers. Society and civilization as process and not as an end goal Incremental construction, historical dialectic The project entails an active community engagement during each stage of the production and use of the building, and the incremental construction of history; a recolonization of urban space A leading thread of the proposal revolves around the layering of a diverse programme, centred around ‘making’ and artisanal production. It articulates the public realm around process, and aims to integrate layers of research, education, production, promotion, and application of and around the process of fabric making and reuse. On one hand, in the context of a failing high street, there is an opportunity to develop a circular economy and the building feeding -particularly into systems of waste. Additionally, the FAB strives not only for a local but a regional integration. This has two goals: striving for a regional autonomy working with local industry, and second, addressing sustainability as a holistic social and environmental issue, wherein aspects like material sourcing, energy management, and methods of construction are developed in synergy with local solutions. The design process is equally characterised by an incremental approach and an accumulation of elements attempting to weave a patchwork of multilayed systems, and trying to identify points of intersection as an apportunity, wether its intersection of activities, circulation, etc.lthough . Multi-layered animations and collages aim to depict the human dimension in the production of the city, and of the building as an urban catalyst. One of the main interests and goals of this project is exploring the concept of the ‘humane city’ in the context of post-industrial decay, and the reintegration of productive forces as key for revitalising urban centres.

Figure 4: "The Ghost in the machine" Coexistence of tangible and intangible systems

In this case, certainly, the boundaries of the project come from methodological limitations due to the impossibility of carrying out a deeper local social survey Additionally, engaging with the retrofitting of an abandoned former cinema, technical surveys were not available, and thus existing details come from an extrapolation of external hints.

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r e f l e c t i v e r e p o r t illustrated cultural bibliography Living the street: the informal, the unregulated. One of my main interests focus on the documentation of daily life in the urban context particularly through photography and Collage. I like to think about the city as a living mebolism, and as such, an imperfect mismatch of wider social, economic and cultural systems. A finite Utopian vision, as an achievable goal is, I believe, counterproductive. Through my representaion and composition my goal is to capture moments, relations, interactions; the sinuosity, complexity, and incrementality of the nature of urban dynamics. This of course entails a humanization of diagramation For this, techniques as Street portrait photography and object collage are instrumental, aiming not only to visualise and weave different threads of systemic information, but attempt to create, visualise and bring together a notion of a relatable dimension of cultural identity, so to say a tangible layer condensating the untangible

Figure 5: "Construyo" ('I build') Colombians in Torino, Italy. March against war in Colombia

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Figure 9: Sunderland Quay

Figure 6: March for decent housing. Milano, Italy

Figure 7: 'Our righs come before profit'

Figure 8: Coventry's Cathedral

Figure 10: Fondazione Prada. Milano, Italy.

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Figure 11: "The city of fury"

Figure 12: Literary inspiration

Figure 13: 'MarĂa', Venezuelan street vendor in Coventry

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TOWARDS A HUMANE CITY

Figure 14: Latin American "living the street", Streets of Moravia, MedellĂn, Colombia Refer to appendix

Figure 15: "One earth, one human family", Ivrea, Torino, Italy

Figure 16: The Broadgate, Coventry. Entrance to the Upper Precinct and High street

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"Give a damn!"focused on raising awareness about the different layers of User Centric Design. As an experiment of thought, it challenged us to look at the different limitations that we could face as a user of the public space. Thus, starting to consider the elements of accessibility, sustaibility, community consultation, and democratisation as essential to planning and design and not as an after-thought add-on. As a group, final product we rallied campus with a set of placards, aiming to promote this design values. For the user was at the centre of our project, a secondary task that i decided to carry on, was to capture the 'humanity' and diversity systems of the "Give a damn!" as part of the socio-cultural dialogue we developed.

Figure 17: March on campus

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Figure 18: Give a damn! Charrette group

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This was an initial approach to systematic design. In this case I was exploring systems at two different scales. On one hand, looking into the wider context of economic systems and their impact on the daily life of a protagonist, interested in communicating structures of power and the socio-political dimensions of a subject in space, inspired by nuances of dystopia police state and how these relations of power might appear intangible and diffuse. For this I designed a multimedia stage set wherein through light and shadow, a 3D multilayered collage, and a dynamic animation, I wanted to show the loop of the dynamic in an all-encompasing network of systems. Not only illustrating a cage per se, but a double sided narrative , with a protagonist and a puppet master.As a second exploration. I had the opportunity to context urban structure of Coventry through a mapping exercise looking into systems of waste and circulation and the overlapping of these systems in the public realm. Although it might seems as they are no points of intersection, it will acquire relevance over the next stages.The goal is then defining how to weave both systems together. How can the waste and the reuse of waste be revolutionary? How reintegrating waste resources can boost local economy? How local production can serve as a mean for emancipation and foster a culture of autonomy

Figure 19: Reference to JG Ballard. The use of a protagonist to explore the relation with a system.

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Figure 20: System of cogs, where the protaganist is part of a line of production. Alluding to the generic, and the lost of value in the context of modern timelesness.

Figure 21: Perspective of production line

Figure 22: Zoom into the production line

Figure 23: Parallel act. Rebellion and emancipation

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Figure 24: Storyboard following the protagonist experience.

Cogs turning Figure 25: Experimentation with light and shadow

Link to Animation

Or click QR code to be redirected

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Figure 26: Overview of the general exhibition

Figure 27: The projection of the intangible

Figure 28: Innitial mapping of systems as vectors and vertices Photo by: Matthew Margetts

Figure 29: Starting to translate static diagraming into dynamic components denoting a degree of dynamic interaction

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Underpass under Hertford street towards the Barracks parking leading to site

Figure 30: Mapping Coventry's city centry around systems of waste and circulation. Colour code is different as an early process work..

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STAGING

After an initial exploration on intangible economic systems, aware of the condition of Coventry as a post-industrial town, my interest was starting to spatialise, visualise, and define a leading thread to how I would be facing initial ideals of economic emancipation and partial autonomy. In this respect, looking back into our study trip to industrial northern Italy, particularly focusing on an extract of my case study in Ivrea, near Turin, home to the Olivetti industrial complex, I started drawing parallels in the structure of both late industrialised medieval towns, the distribution of activity, but particularly looking into the philosophy of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;human cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; utopian project of Adriano Olivetti, and his attempt to integrate leisure and industry in this alpine town. For this, I also use Hotel La Serra, one of the key projects of this complex in order to draw strategies in the connection of public and private spaces multi-purpose structures, bearing in mind how to start breaking relations of power and allowing for a degree of permeability and transparency. As a result for my initial explorations, I focused on elements of circulation, integration with the street and break down of existing open plan structure in Coventry into functional interconnected planes and activities. The general concept was inspired by the sinuosity of the medieval town and the irregular points of intersection of circulation weaving around the building.

Figure 31: Illustration inspired on J.G. Ballard 'Highrise'. The man in the postindustrial wasteland.

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STAGING

Study Trip

This year our study trip took place in norther Italy, both in Milan, and in the Piedmont region, in Turin and Ivrea. This is particularly industrial area of Italy. The relevance of this is understanding and looking at the connections, success and failure in the coexistence between industry and living, and how this might apply to the implementation of such system in Coventry. Our case study took place in the city of Ivrea, north of Turin. This is a roman town, that became the epicentre of the Olivetti emporium during the 20th century. As such, it had a pioneer vision from the Industrialist Adriano Olivetti,akin to Fabianism, who built an entire industry/ Living complex around the existing own. As Olivetti typewritters fell out of favour, and industry was displaced by cheap labour and globalization, the city decayed, and its now mostly abandoned. Next, I include an extract of the case study of Hotel La Serra. A multipurpose, meeting, leisure, and living complex that will inform the later integration of the multilayered program of the FAB. This extract includes the parts I developed within the group work (Attached) Part C (An introduction to the site) and G a breakdown of the spatial sequence. One of the main difficulties when doing this case study was that since most of the building was public property, access was mostly limited.

Figure 32: Collage composition of Hotel La Serra. Its Posmodern architecture tries to replicate a typewritter

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Figure 33: Composition illustrating the contrast between medieval and industrial Ivrea. All pictures are mine

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Old Town

Industrial Complex

Part C:Site

Figure 34: Location of Ivrea in the wider context Figure 35: Site specific map. Hotel La Serra as entry point and connection between Industrial and commercial districts. The map depicts:The main trainline (Yellow) and the connecting path between the districts (Red)The city is organised according to a traditional Corbusieran segregation of activities, between housing living and leisure. The difference with Coventry is that most of the historic quarter remains intact

Commercial District

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Figure 36: Relation between La Serra and the roman town Figure 37: Functional orientation towards the sun, away from predominant northeastern wind. , protected by a green wall of trees from street noise

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Part G:Spatial Sequence 1

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Figure 38: Hotel La Serra Floor plans. Some of the key strategies that the architect has used to integrate the multifunctional programme is the use of atriums to make a connection with public circulation, and expose the activities happening. Althought there is no direct contact, there is a degree of visual connection that gives the building transparency. Open arcades as on the right are also used to mitigate the darkness of long corridors

Figure 39: Compilation pictures of spatial sequence Since the access was not allowed. Pictures and floor planes are an extract from(Noascone, 2018)

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Ceiling height is determined according to the respective activity taking place. Resting areas have a lower ceiling in comparison to common rooms. Although sace is fragmented there isalways a visual connection from the entrance to the rest of the house. An integration of activity

Figure 40: Hotel La Serra room Floor plans.

Figure 41: Internal and external view from pods (Noascone, 2018)

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post

Figure 42: Compilation of pictures from Turin and Ivrea emphasizing on post industrial decay

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post industrial midlands

Figure 43: Compilation of pictures and collages from Coventry emphasizing on simetry and the planned city

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towards a humane city

Reweaving social fabric in the midst of postindustrial decay

Figure 44: "One planet, one human family" Repeated Figure

Figure 45: 'We Love it!' Mural of Starley Road, It is the only remaining residential quarter in central coventry. It boasts complex systems of diversity hand in hand with systems of authority. It attempts to retrieve or project a vision ofsocial vitality in the context of the city of culture to come.

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Market Street

Precinct Main commercial district Figure 46: General Map of Coventry Inspired by illustrations from 'The Collage City, an densely planned commercial district, in comparison to a scattered organically developed city

Figure 47: Barracks parking, the broadgate and The Precinct commercial district

Figure 48: Compilation of News Headlines

Hertford Street & Bullyard square

Figure 49: 3D overview of site (Extract for Google maps) It hightlight two main cultural nodes, the Three spires in the Cathedral quarter and Coventry's Central Market. Most of this area of the city is dominated by a monopolised highstreet

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Figure 50: Inner ring road 3D model

Figure 52: Creating permeability and connection between Hertford Street (Right) towards the cathedral, and Market Street, towards Coventry market

Figure 51: Breack down of 3D model into key axis

The innitial concept in reweaving Coventry's urban fabric begins with tying two existing cultural nodes within the overarching commercial distric. Trying to create some permeability in order to connect both the market and the cathedral quarter, as well as Coventry's train station and Bus Hub.

Figure 53: Metabolist symplified of Coventry's urban structure. It highlights The cathedral quarter and the three spires (Blue) The University of Coventry in Orange; Coventry Market in Yellow; The commercial district (Grey) and two over arching red axis denoting the return thp traditional crossroads,and the articulation of these cultural nodes. Both the Sherbourne nd the Former city wall are layed on top As an early exploration activity, it does not follow the given color coding.

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Figure 54: Pre-war inner city layout

Figure 55: Post-war inner city layout

Although historical cross roads are kept, its function as an articulator of local productive industries is displaced. In these maps, Industry is coloured in blue, and the historic Barracks market, currently part of the site, is coloured yellow.

Figure 56: Artistic representation of the distruction of Coventry's city centre. This is overlapped with a topographic map that highlights the historc Sherbourne Valley. The collage style aims to capture differnt layers of Coventry's historicity, from the Blitz, to its former medieval sinuosity that was flattened with the precint commercial district

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Figure 58: Internal views. (Realla, 2020)

Figure 57: Structural grid of former ABC theatre. Now abandoned it illustrates the existing 4.5x6m grid on- innitially, with a ground floor with 3 metre ceiling clearance, and two additional open plan double height (6m) spaces stacked on top. Because a proper technical survey could not be carried on, the design will assume a solid structure for vertical circulatioin and services could not be identified.

Figure 59: Location of the building in context

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Figure 60: Patchwork/tile collage found in the coventry's precint.

B: Commercial Y: Public R: Cultural or Religious value

R: Nail Salons

B: Parking *Either at ground level or on top of commercial buildings.

The tile collage that is embeded in Coventryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s precinct caught my attention. A collage that attempts to breakdown historicity into a patchwork of multiplicity, contrasts with a heavily monopolised and under diversified central district, that lack spaces of cultural production. In this sense,at this stage, my proposal focuses on a recolonization of urban space, and rethinking on how production and making can come together symbiotically in the urban fabric, joinig this urban historical patchwork.

G: Green areas

Figure 61: Breakdown of use of land

Figure 62: Innitial vision- Integration of a multilayered housing, industry, and growing programme Note: Later stages of the project will not consider housing

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Figure 63: Collage representation inspired on the agitprop train The general concept behind this, is a the working class leading the cultural transformation. Starting on the diversification of the use of land, and integrating new productive vocation, is orientated to open spaces for gathering and construction of a new culture; a more sustainable one

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Industry Culture

Commerce

Waste

Figure 64: Abstract programme. Integration between layers of culture production on top, but visually connected to the commercial layer. Systems of waste would feed into the machine, but they would not be alien from the public space; The intersections and bifurcations will allow these systems to be connected and accesible. The building will serve as a connection between Hertford and market street. Arcades and a sense of ambiguity and tension between interior and exterior will be dominant aiming to challenge brutalist impenetrability.

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Figure 65: Innitial programme proposal. Integration of production, growth, reuse, and the production of culture as a leading thread It is worth noting: this is an abstract representation of the programme in order to illustrate the purpose and the integration of different uses. This comes as a preface to the spatialisation of the programmeThis will be the next step in Realisation and Synthesis. These. are some innitial abstract explorations of the constructive and functional logic of the building but might not resemble the final building, but just pointing certain aspects Now the general concept is creating a symbiotic system where process is integrated to user experiece.Bearing in mind Coventry's historical 'making and productive vocation'and playing with a theatrical narrative of incrementality, dynamism by revealing activity, the programme proposed revolves around the process and production of ecotextiles at an experimental, prototyping, and material testing stage,with the potetial of expanding to small scale artisanal production lines. In order to make this integration holistic and not only superficial, the proposal aims to create a productive chain simmilar to Industrial 'little mesters' in industrial Yorkshire: embracing and giving space to craftsmanship and enterpreneurship: a total and integrated proactive, and living form of art; one to produce and weave systems of culture, giving spaces of cooworking, coproduction, and difusion of knowledge. In this order of ideas, Material testing is going to integrate with a green house and a parking rooftop plantation areas for growing. From flax to hemp offering both inddor and outdoor crop areas, they have the potential of producing textile materials, being weaved and extruded Alternatively, apart from self grown sources of material, an other aspect to get on board is reuse. For this, the programme will facilitate material drop off areas at two scales: a smaller scale, linked to a charity dynamic, where elements like fabric and and plastic will be redirected to decontruction and remanufacturing, and a larger scale car/ truckdrop off made possible by the parking space at the back allowing for material collection and redistribution as a final product is developed. Now, from this growth and testing stage, production. it will either feed back into the local and regional economic ecosystems, or as part of an entrepreneurship cycle, come back to be re-commercialised and boost the local economy of the settled entrepreneurs. Alongside this chain of production the idea is easing public spaces for making and modelling, and for this reason, linked to these making and business layers, it is complemented by a FABlab and open workshop allowing basic modeling. Now Around this newly developed systems of production and knowledge, what is key is the promotion of this knowledge. creating a public building that brings together a layer of public gathering and education at every stage of the productive chain, challenging a monopolisation and patentation of knowledge. Spaces of gathering will bring debate that will inform the production as well. The FAB aims, first, to feed from the local plastic and fabric waste potentially, but also giving it a second life, and exposing that process as a symbol of a new material, and thus cultural production, resignifying space, taking a space of consumption, and turning it into a space of production and creativity.

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Figure 66: Innitial iteration detailing the intersection of paths of circulation A dominant element is the use of shared paths articulating different areas of the programme

Figure 67: Perspective drawing of Innitial iteration

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Figure 68: Creating diferential thresholds and determining celing height according to use

Figure 69: Creating atriums and allowing permeability of light

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Looking at ways in which to fragment ways challenging rigidity, and allowing a degree of both transparency and human interaction with the elements of the building. As striving for flexible spaces.

Incremental modular spaces acting as secondary structures or insertions on the existing frame

Aiming at the potential of integrating the displacement of material, wether it is for construction, or part of the making process, as an active dynamic element of the user experience

Figure 70: Creating atriums and allowing permeability of light

Striving to strip process and link it to every level of the building while keeping certain degrees of privacy according to the need or activity. Construction will be incremental and looking at modular methods of productionand assembly, for which the crane will be instrumenntal working with the existing setvice route underneath

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Figure 71 : Exploring the creation of spaces by the overlaying of circulation paths. Inspired by Bernard Tschumi

Figure 72: Innitial exploraions aiming to break the structure into funtional planes, at this stage, looking at strategies on how to perforate the skin existing structure and extending it towards the street

Figure 73: Innitial sketch stripping off walls and exposing internal processes

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On one hand, this was an opportunity to start to acquiring a holistic notion of materiality and construction, locating the processes and systems in relation to the wider context, having sustainability and flexibility in material sourcing as a core principle. Through an incremental iterative process, my main concern was the rehabilitation of infrastructure, so to say the parking tower at the back, in order to start building the connecting path between Hertford and Market Street. For this I started modelling in context those spatial connections explored during early stages, starting to inform the exterior language and the constructive logic of the building, particularly focusing on developing atriums, soft divisions and curtains in the fragmentation of open spaces into functional sectors with independent qualities. My goal in this sense what to seek for the least invasive strategy based on the principles of the reduction of material use, enhanced energy management strategy in an inefficient existing structure, and expressiveness in materiality alongside the expressiveness and transparency of activities. Some initial conclusions led to the idea of having insulated independent timber substructures fitted into the existing concrete, based on a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;parasitic` architectural language, and the concept of the recolonization of urban space; how I can reappropriate existing material conditions. In this sense, parallel to this exploration of ambiguous spaces and perforating the existing structures, one of the next stages of the design that I start to introduce elements of modularity and how this can potentially link to social engagement strategies, and community participation weaving the structure of the new building.

Figure 74: Illustrative composition of design strategy. An overlay and accumulation of different layes of activity and processes and how they connect and sit on top of each other

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Sustainable Industrial forestry to start in Dudley, Black country (Dudley City Council, 2020).

Sawn timber flitch National Timber Group Grovelands Industrial State

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Leicester-Coventry Freight train via Nuneaton

Reused cellular polycarbonate retrieved and reprocessed as an industrial biproduct (Manufacturing Technology Centre, 2020)

Extruded Phenolic Thermoplastic grating as a durable flooring finish. (Dura Composites, 2020) This is a biproduct from the automotive industry (COBA International, 2020)

Reused plastic from the Coventry and Solihull Recycling and Reuse centre Figure 75: Weaving local systems of production, growth and waste, coming together into the FAB at the centre.

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Figure 76: Innitial atmospheric collage, emphasizing on flexibility, modularity, and exposing the processes

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Introduction to two main overarching elements, circulation, through the sinuosity of the staircase, and the crane articulating all the storeys through the atrium. It starts thinking about the use of curtains to close space, as well as perforating the externaf facade.

This starts to introduce a relation with the parking tower at the fack. At this stage it does not consider functionality, but rather starts considering a contemplative elevated walkway. This will start to inform the delicacy of the detailing in the insertions to the frame. Additionaly, apart from the fire shaft, it adds a lift shaft accross starting to consider elements of accesibility. A big spheric water tank is also considered as part of a water collection sytem, that will be developed later during the project. Figure 77: An iterative process based on the accumulation of elements and functional planes, and the progressive perforation of the existing skin. The building starts to be undressed Some of these innitial iterations take a rathersubtle conservative approach in perforatinf the structure. These innitial strategies were considering the posibility of inserting structures within the open plan, while trying to be the least invasive. As the programme and the design process evolves, the need to fragment space and create a degree of permeability and transparency, will start breaking the external skin in order to achieve the lever of connection betweenthe processes and enhancing the relationship with the street.

Start to create a tension between interior and exterior, looking for a degree of ambiguity with the open roof over circulation; however this might not be the safest. This openess is compensated starting to think about how to create insulated functional pods within the building

Starting to penetrate and strip the structure, open atriums and slotting in timber structures. It starts to explore ways in which to enclose the spaces and fragment the openplan

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Figure 78: Draft exploration of visual connections and overlapping of processes.

Figure 79: Internal perspective of visual connections. It also shows the contrast between the monolothic timber structures and the delicate independent timber frame.

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Figure 80: Thought experiment-Striping and recladding the building Up until now, the strategy had been very conservative. One of the aspects that it was failing to achieve was that permeability and transparency in relation to the street. In that sense, this was one experiment of thought where I challenged myself to push the boudaties ofsome of my innitial explorations: playing with an incremental element and multiplying it. Then, as in the building, opening and closing the grid, in order to develop a pavilion like scheme stretching along the street. With this i attempt to reexplore my innitial parameters, having explored the existing frame, but now thinking about how to express and project that element of fabric, and modularity to the exterior and embracing the handcraft nature

Figure 81: Render of external perspective How to fill the street? how to fill the void? Throughout this experimentation, i was looking into strategies in which my building could have a better relation to the street. For this I started to think about the use of light an how, my proposal as a centre for cultural production can physically represent that guiding beacon of light.

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After stripping the walls, and the external protrusion of the front facade, this is going to be the model for the final iteration

Articulation of services, and the creation of a composting system, for whith it is necessary for all services to be stacked

An integration to the highstreet and the sunday market. Opening the ground floor for public use and circulation

Fireshafts articulate the totality of the structure. Protected corridors acquire an sculptural quality pertruding through the front facade

Integration of parking tower as part of the productive process. Also creating an overarching connection that ling both spaces together, This will lead to the instalation of a transversal crane in later iterations. The use of the existing ramps will also replace the atrium cutting until the service road in an attempt to make a suitable wider connection between herford and market street passing throught the building

Figure 82: Key design decisions informing later stages

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Detailing imperfection and the unmatching. When starting to look at the suspended walkways, the detailing aims to highlight unmatching and independent components. This, working handin-hand with the narrative of heterogeneity

F: BLUE ROOF FOR WATER COLLECTION -

150mm Masonry parapet from retrieved brick. Waterproof membrane Hempcrete insulation, which is both waterproof, thus it would not rot Void for water circulation. At least 2mm to break with water surface tension. 75mm Water collection membrane. 90mm Biodiverse substrate

NOTE: The water tank sits on a regular concrete screed, separated from the blue roof with a parapet. This is : 1. To avoit potential obstructions from growing plants and Ivy. 2 To ease maintenance. -A small exiting parapet is followed by a second parapet at 900mm for safety during rood maintenance. From the street level, this would not be visible. This is to avoid the structure to appear more heavy E: AMPHITHEATRE (ROOF) -

150mm Hempcrete block held with a 200mm resin bolt embeded and covered within the block. Potential cold bridges would be mitigated with the blue roof insulation. 6mm Ventilated plywood soffit.

D3: UPCYCLED PLASTIC MEMBRANE - Sliding Multiwall Translucent polycarbonate pannels to enable manual ventilation, parallel to extraction vents. D2: - Waterproof upcycled woven plastic membrane held by timber frame grid(See SECTION 4) - Non biodegradable. As an opportunity to retrieve waste, how ever creating a longstanding finish that would withstand weather D1: -

Timber shingles with ventilated cavity protected by aluminium fixing on top. This, bolted, through timber battens to the insulation. 150mm Hempcrete insulation wrapping around the existing beam, emphasizing the layering of the elevation.

C: SANDWICH PANEL (STRINGER) -

Stringer Flitch Plate, held to foam glass thermal breaks on both ends. This injected with Hempcrete agregate for insulation, providing both thermal and sound insulation. In between, underfloor heating.

B3: INSULATED POD (WALL) -

It starts to give some hints about a green roof. this will later inform the final iteration in developing a blue roof for water collection. At this stage, the atrium is not fully open at the top but is now covered with a translucent roof, at this stage, to protect the interior, and the crane

Since the atrium is cutting through all of the storeys, breaking the continuity of the slabs, it introduces a secondary steel structure in order to prevent collapse. Further iterations will partially close the bottom part of the atrium giving continuity to the columns and aoiding the need for such structure

Thinking about offsetting the line of insulation in order to start creating depth. Also, introducing ways in which to perforate the existing structure

250mm x 250mm Structural Flitchplate column, weatherproofed with tung oil. 40mm Multiwall Translucent Cellular Polycarbonate (EPSE, 2020) insulated fixings. This will come from post industrial processes, rather that from highstreet waste in order to keep quality consistent. Decorative timber cross bracing* Trickle vent on the top of the room, above the polycarbonate screen, to avoid potential condensation despite the presence of extraction ducts

* The structure would need only one set of cross bracing to be stabilised. Those additional are only for decorative purposes. B2: INSULATED POD (EXPANSION RING BEAM) -

200mm x 300mm Timber ringbeam, capable of holding future expansion.This profile is attached to the primary structure (Cold) bolted to a thermal break to prevent any cold bridge.

B1: INSULATED POD (FLOOR) -

40mm Triple Core Light Plywood Deck Breather membrane 12mm Gyproc Fireline board 200mm Hempcrete insulation with underfloor heating (so that heat is distributed evenly) held by Glass Foam thermal breaks on both ends. It is receded from the structural flitch plate, behind, the Cellular Poycarbonate screen, in such way that, from the outside, the structure appears slender.

NOTE: Although Hempcrete complies with 1 hr BS EN 1365-1:1999 (Abbott, 2014), according to BS EN 15102, it would still be considered as a class D Flammable material. In this case, covering an area of less than 30m2 for such lining, this would be acceptable, none-the-less, although managing a low risk, due to its direct relation to the primary structure, a Fireline board is preferable

A: PILE FOUNDATION -

Perforated drain sorrounded by gravel backfill 150mm Hardcore 75mm Sand Waterproofing membrane 300mm Concrete raft on top of pile foundations 70mm Concrete screed finish

NOTE: Due to the lack of structural information on the structure and the imposibility of undertaking a technical survey, the detail provided is based on an assumption. Being a structure from the decade of the 1960, one aspect to consider, is the lack of insulation. At first glance, additionally, It would also be missing any sort of drainage between the street and the interior of the building, which would need to be added

Figure 83: Innitial technical iterations Some elements that are kept during later iterations are the covered atrium, the blue roof, insulated floor for working units and the the translucent facade, however, offsetting the facade and starting to fragment the tectonics and the monolithic appearance of the facade. It is worth noting. In as much as existing floor slabs can be wrapped around with insulation inorder to enclose space, not only efficiency in the context of a double height would not be optimal, or of high efficiency, additionally, covering the structure could seem counter productive if what I wanf to achieve and communicate is honestry in materiality.

1. Woven metal mesh closing the entrance of the building. The engine is held by a suspended C-profile duct, in order to protect it from the rain. It still allows a 2.8m clearance at the threshhold 2. Suspended Elevated Walkway. An alternative path between cooworking spaces and the cantine.

3. Accessible entrance through ramps. This requires a more thorough consideration. 4. 5 ton crane. During the construction process, it will bring in the Labâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s machinery. After this it will transport products between the workshop and the testing laboratory (Finished pruducts for testing as well sacks of raw material). It will also drop off materials to the fab-lab like sheets of timber, and other material that might need to be stored under insulated and controlled conditions inside of the main building 5. Pressure Booster Pump as part of the water collection system, later being distributed in toilets and plantations 6. Evergreen Atlantic Ivy (Hedera Hibernica).

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F: BLUE ROOF FOR WATER COLLECTION Timber shingles with ventilated cavity protected by aluminium fixing on top. This, bolted, through timber battens to the insulation. 150mm Hempcrete insulation wrapping around the existing beam, emphasizing the layering of the elevation.

C: SANDWICH PANEL (STRINGER) -

B3: INSULATED POD (WALL) -

* The structure would need only one set of cross bracing to be stabilised. Those additional are only for decorative purposes. B2: INSULATED POD (EXPANSION RING BEAM) -

200mm x 300mm Timber ringbeam, capable of holding future expansion.This profile is attached to the primary structure (Cold) bolted to a thermal break to prevent any cold bridge.

B1: INSULATED POD (FLOOR) -

F: BLUE ROOF FOR WATER COLLECTION -

-A small exiting parapet is followed by a second parapet at 900mm for safety during rood maintenance. From the street level, this would not be visible. This is to avoid the structure to appear more heavy E: AMPHITHEATRE (ROOF)

150mm Hempcrete block held with a 200mm resin bolt embeded and covered within the block. Potential cold bridges would be mitigated with the blue roof insulation. 6mm Ventilated plywood soffit.

NOTE: The water tank sits on a regular concrete screed, separated from the blue roof with a parapet. This is : 1. To avoit potential obstructions from growing plants and Ivy. 2 To ease maintenance.

C: SANDWICH PANEL (STRINGER) -

B3: INSULATED POD (WALL) -

150mm Hempcrete block held with a 200mm resin bolt embeded and covered within the block. Potential cold bridges would be mitigated with the blue roof insulation. 6mm Ventilated plywood soffit.

* The structure would need only one set of cross bracing to be stabilised. Those additional are only for decorative purposes. B2: INSULATED POD (EXPANSION RING BEAM) -

D3: UPCYCLED PLASTIC MEMBRANE

200mm x 300mm Timber ringbeam, capable of holding future expansion.This profile is attached to the primary structure (Cold) bolted to a thermal break to prevent any cold bridge.

B1: INSULATED POD (FLOOR)

- Sliding Multiwall Translucent polycarbonate pannels to enable manual ventilation, parallel to extraction vents.

D2: - Waterproof upcycled woven plastic membrane held by timber frame grid(See SECTION 4) - Non biodegradable. As an opportunity to retrieve waste, how ever creating a longstanding finish that would withstand weather

1. Woven metal mesh closing the entrance of the building. The engine is held by a suspended C-profile duct, in order to protect it from the rain. It still allows a 2.8m clearance at the threshhold

A: PILE FOUNDATION

Final design will not include the cross bracing

2. Suspended Elevated Walkway. An alternative path between cooworking spaces and the cantine.

5. Pressure Booster Pump as part of the water collection system, later being distributed in toilets and plantations 6. Evergreen Atlantic Ivy (Hedera Hibernica).

Perforated drain sorrounded by gravel backfill 150mm Hardcore 75mm Sand Waterproofing membrane 300mm Concrete raft on top of pile foundations 70mm Concrete screed finish

40mm Triple Core Light Plywood Deck Breather membrane 12mm Gyproc Fireline board 200mm Hempcrete insulation with underfloor heating (so that heat is distributed evenly) held by Glass Foam thermal breaks on both ends. It is receded from the structural flitch plate, behind, the Cellular Poycarbo screen, in such way that, from the outside, the structure appears slender.

1. Woven metal mesh closing the entrance of the building. The engine is held by a suspended C-profile duct, in order to protect it from the rain. It still allows a 2.8m clearance at the threshhold

Figure 84: Extract from ARC 3013 Although this is the front part of the building, instead. it sets and summarises the constructive principles of the building. The delicate timber insertions, and introduces, that instead of insulating the whole floor which would be inefficient, it insulates the spaces where activity takes place. leaving spaces of circulation open. Additionally, it starts to introduce fabric facade finishes to a perforated structure, where the innitial concrete frame is exposed

2. Suspended Elevated Walkway. An alternative path between cooworking spaces and the cantine. 3. Accessible entrance through ramps. This requires a more thorough consideration. 4. 5 ton crane. During the construction process, it will bring in the Labâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s machinery. After this it will transport products between the workshop and the testing laboratory (Finished pruducts for testing as well sacks of raw material). It will also drop off materials to the fab-lab like sheets of timber, and other material that might need to be stored under insulated and controlled conditions inside of the main building 5. Pressure Booster Pump as part of the water collection system, later being distributed in toilets and plantations 6. Evergreen Atlantic Ivy (Hedera Hibernica).

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Figure 85: Developing a final strategy -independent functional insulated pods -Overarching crane connecting both spaces -Starting to perforate parking tower, starting to thing about enclosure and integrating soft partitions -Introduction of 2nd fire shaft according to fire regulations

Figure 86: Developing an atmosphere -Draft representations of new development in barracks tower. to create a gathering point and a multipurpose venue for debates, events, and runways. The latteraims to think about the potential paths in which the systems of entrepreneurship can develop around fabric, one of them can be fashion design for example.

Figure 87: Starting to perforate the parking tower and building upon the concepts of later iterations This representation is the result of an inner dylema. As it appears, it is gloomy and lacking life. Something to be aware of in the project is that one cannot pretend that a bulding per se will turn systematic defficiencies into butterflies and birds chiming. This kind of illustration aims to portray an the general concept of light and darkness, and how it starts to penetrate into the gloominess of the post industrial midlands.

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thinking through making -Experimentation using timber and concrete. -Starting to play with the contrast and detailing between the delicacy of timber and the roughness and heaviness of concrete -Thinking about how to bring flexibility and dynamism to the extenal facade. -Thinking about the human scale and how to create spaces of interaction with the facade, through analog low-tech methods of construction.

Figure 88: Gereral overview ot exhibition (Picture by Abdurahman Talip, Stage 3)

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Figure 89: Documentation of dynamic facade and its independent relation with the existing concrete frame

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During summer 2019, I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Historical Memory in Bogotรก,Colombia. This is a venue dedicated to paying homage to the more than 7 million victims of the ongoing civil war that has lasted for more than half a century.. During my visit I discovered: "El costurero de la memoria" which was a space where victims of the armed conflict, had the opportunity to come together in a space of reflection, and weave as a way, not only printing their feelings. and consolating their grief, but building new perspectives, and opening spaces of reflection and dialogue, in the context of a society distroyed by war. By weaving a big patchwork kilt, they aimed to wrap the house of parlament in Bogotรก s main square by April 2020. As part of the idea of a culture that is built, this is a relevant precendent,which is not per se architectural,but leads to further questions on culture and identity, key to codevelopment,social engagement,and sustainability in a wider sense. This patchwork kilt, and embracing that multiplicity and diversity of diferent storied, has the potential of being translated into a language of modularity. In the caseof the FAB, which is about a humane production , and translating a message of cultural identity shold be to the construction, and the strenghtening of culture and territorial identity in process.After the war, and the Coventry Blitz, most of central coventry was destroyed.The lack of activity diversification has diverted working floating population to the industry in the outskirts. The intention here is that by weaving, it projects a new productive character of the abandoned commercial district. By implementing this idea, the project evolves from a finished structure, to an open end framework, wherein cultural dynamics of this new cultural production will lead this evolution. It not about nostalgia, but rather about awareness Extract from ARC 3013:Integrated technology

Figure 90: Weaving memories as a way to project a new future

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Figure 92: Production of fabric membrane with square loom.

Figure 91: Retrieving yarn from acrylic fabric (IRISUN, 2020)

Plastic would per se be waterprood, however, in orter to keep water outside of the building, it needs to follow a tight 2mm grid, in which water surface tension is kept and thus it can not go throught.The potential of creating a patchwork quilt is not only related to its social engagement, but its modularity, which makes it very practical in its production, sustainablt both socially, economically and environmentaly. The main idea is: Since most of the building is going to be open, YET there already are insulated pods, a key concern is keeping water out. In this sense, at the front of the building, facing west, and enclosed by various other buildings, looking at prevalent SW wind would not be a concern in terms of preventing draft.

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Environmental and atmospheric diagrams of the fabric membrane in place. It is a double layer, at the back, composed of a plastic mesh, preventing water. At the front, a more vivid one providing shading, while creating an ambiguous connection between the interior and the exterior

Figure 93: Modularity of both the patchwork and the loom

Figure 94: Pictures of â&#x20AC;&#x153;El Costurero de la Memoria in Colombia (De Pablos, 2020)

Figure 95: Potential integration of patchwork membrane, and its realtion to the environmental conditions.

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SYNTHESIS At this stage my main concern relates to accessibility, ensuring a successful connection between Hertford and Market street, introducing a ramp, which is a new development, fire safety, and refining the interaction of the user with the system and the production stages. Additionally, synthesising previous iterations, the structural strategy is modelled around function and striving for a symbiotic relation with the environment and weather conditions; water and sun collection despite an ostracised inner city condition, are prioritised, and their functions are expressed externally, aiming to comply with the general thread of self sufficiency. Another key aspect is an emphasis in modularity, the development of a locally sourced materials and a notion of human scale at the different stages of the process: from harvest, to manufacture, to assembly. Some fundamental design pillars, focus on the expressiveness and honesty in materiality and the contrast between the heaviness of concrete and the delicacy of the timber insertions, ambiguity and tension between interior and exterior, and how this allows a degree of permeability that breaks and challenges the monolithic impermeable an impersonal qualities of the brutalist structure of the surroundings.

Figure 96: Fighting the 'city of spectacle' and empty commerce

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Figure 97: Section wireframe illustrating the journey ans connection between hertord and market street.

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Figure 98: Section and and front elevation comparison

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Figure 99: Evolution of existing frame. Fragmentation and insertion of timber substructures

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Figure 101: Street view, before intervention

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Figure 102: Street view, after intervention

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Figure 103: Striving for a symbiotic relation, taking advantage of the only gap with direct sunlight incidence, and reusing and redistributing the heat amongst the insulated pods. Also taking advantage of flat roofs, feeding into irrigation and compost toilet systems

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Figure 104: Incremental and sustainably sourced system of construction and production

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COMPOST TOILET COLLECTION SYSTEM DROP OFF AREA BACK-UP ENERGY BIOFUEL POWERPLANT

WASTE COLLECTION

Figure 105: -1 Floor. Floor plan and axonometric

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CAFE STORAGE

DONATIONS DROP-OFF CHARITY SHOP

SHOP UNIT STAFF ROOM

MULTIPURPOSE CENTRAL SQUARE

STORAGE FOR MARKET

CARGO LIFT

PERMANENT MARKET

CARGO LIFT AND WASTE CHUTES

WASTE MANAGEMENT COLLECTION

Figure 106: Ground Floor. Floor plan and axonometric

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RAILS FOR TRAPORTATION OF MATERIAL BETWEEN PRODUCTIVE UNITS

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FAB LAB

FABRIC DECONSTRUCTION

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CARGO LIFT Material coming from: donations or Lab

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STORAGE with SEPARATE PODS STORAGE & DELIVERY

STORAGE MATERIAL DROP OFF FROM CRANE WORKSHOP Laser Cuters Vaccum Formers

POTENTIAL FOR EXPANSION FOR OFFICE SPACE

Figure 107: 1st floor. Floor plan and axonometric

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COMMON AREA

COWORKING SPACE

RENTABLE PODS

CANTINE

Figure 108: Mezzanine. Floor plan and axonometric

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Materials Synthesis and Processing Laboratory Laboratory of Advanced Polymers and Optimized Materials (LAPOM) Resistance testing Lightwells

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BLUE ROOF WITH SMALL PLANTING UNITS

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TESTING LAB but low space demand.Small scale equipment

CARGO LIFT RUNNING THROUGH ALL THE LEVELS

STORAGE CROPS

STORAGE FOR CRANE

Friction o Friction stir welding o Photoresist spinner: Headway o Supercritical driers: Polaron 3000 and Samdri Humidity o Physical Vapor Deposition: Kurt J. Lesker PVD-75 Heat o Biopolymer Extruder: American Leistritz Extruder Corp extruder for film, sheet, and ribbon extrusion

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CRANE

RESEARCH

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Figure 109: 2nd Floor. Floor plan and axonometric

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Figure 110: Mezzanine 2. Floor plan and axonometric

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Figure 111: General overview in context

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Figure 112: Perspective of entrance from Hertford street

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Figure 113: Tension between public and private spaces. creating connection from spaces of circulation and cutting subtly with private working spaces, without compromising the permeability of the building. Determinig ceiling height according to activity

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Figure 114: Filling the street with light. Light projected from the fracmentation and transparencies in the building

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Figure 115: Sectional axonometric. Walls and roof are removed for illustrative purposes

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Figure 116: Accessible ramp entrance from Market street

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Figure 117: Work in progress. Creating a route through the existing structure. The scaffolding starts to become inhabited by local commerce, not exclusively from settled entrepreneurs but opening safe spaces for commerce, creating an extension of the market

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Figure 118: Weaving circulation: Mitigating the depth of the building by perforating the structure, also allowing to create connections between the different layers

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Figure 119: Accesible growing area made out of retrieved brick from the striped structure

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Figure 120: Internal perspective of insulated pods and its evolution. This depicts, on one hand, at the background, the innitial stages of cooproduction of the fabric membrane as a community, diverse and intergenerational project; weaving a holistic collective memory. It also aims to show a circular system where local production is woven into the building, adopting an incremental norion. This spaces

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Figure 121: Exploring different vocations and how they coexist within flexible spaces. This starts to suggest potential market niches that are to develop through entrepreneurship. Some examples in the picture are application of fabric into fashion design and/or weaving big dimension pieces of fabric to feed back into a more industrial scale

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Figure 122: A multilayed programme allowing formal and informal spaces of business and economic activity.

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Figure 123: Creating common areas among spaces of production. Also introducing the flexibility of an exterior membrane. Both trees and building offer protection against draft. Now, in view of conditions like low temperature spaces like the cafe also offer an indoor programme. refer to plans.

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Figure 124: Central multipurpose atrium.giving a new life to a marginal space, recolonising it Light and warmth form both the people and the art of making start filling the space, and embedding a new sense of meaning in Central Coventry.

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REFERENCES

COBA International, 2020. Heritage | COBA International. [online] COBA. Available at: <https://www.coba.com/company/heritage/> [Accessed 13 June 2020]. Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter, Collage City, 1st edn (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1978), p. 4. Coventry Council, n.d. Coventry's History | Coventry's History | Coventry City Council. [online] Coventry.gov.uk. Available at: <https://www.coventry.gov. uk/info/99/local_history_and_heritage/2643/coventrys_history/1> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. De Pablos, A., 2020. Estos Son Los “Tejedores” Que Rodearon El Palacio De Justicia Para Recordar A Las Víctimas | ¡PACIFISTA!. [online] ¡PACIFISTA!. Available at: <https://pacifista.tv/notas/estos-son-los-tejedores-que-rodearon-el-palacio-de-justicia-para-re¬cordar-a-las-victimas/> [Accessed 6 May 2020]. Dudley City Council, 2020. Forest And Woodland Management. [online] Dudley.gov.uk. Available at: <https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/environment/ countryside-in-dudley/tree-maintenance/forest-and-woodland-management/> [Accessed 13 June 2020]. Dura Composites, 2020. FRP And GRP Phenolic Grating. [online] Dura Composites. Available at: <https://www.duracomposites.com/industrial/anti-slipgrating-walkways/phenolic-grating/> [Accessed 13 June 2020]. Fukuyama, F., 2006. The End Of History And The Last Man. 1st ed. New York, N.Y: Free Press, p.XI. Harby, J., 2015. 'Hysteria, Terror And Neurosis'. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-34746691> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. Hilary Young, “Coventry: The People, City Centre Redevelopment And Housing”, Voices Of Postwar England, 2008 <https://voicesofpostwarengland. wordpress.com/2008/06/13/coventry-the-people-city-centre-redevelopment-and-housing/> [Accessed 18 February 2020]. K. Michael Hays, Architecture Theory Since 1968, 1st edn (New York: MIT Press, 1998), p. 234. Kelly, J., 2011. How Ghost Town Defined An Era. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13780074> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. La Charte D’athenes Or The Athens Charter, 1st edn (Paris: CIAM, 1933), pp. 1-2 <http://portal.uur.cz/pdf/charter-of-athens-1933.pdf> [Accessed 18 February 2020]. Manufacturing Technology Centre, 2020. What We Do. [online] http://www.the-mtc.org. Available at: <http://www.the-mtc.org/what-we-do/what-wedo> [Accessed 13 June 2020]. Noascone, C., 2018. UNITA’ RESIDENZIALE EST - HOTEL LA SERRA IVREA. Masters. Politecnico de Torino. Orland, R., 2020. Historic Coventry. [online] Historiccoventry.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.historiccoventry.co.uk> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. Orland, R., 2020. Historic Coventry. [online] Historiccoventry.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.historiccoventry.co.uk> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. Realla, 2020. 21-25 Hertford St, Coventry | Shop To Rent | 10,039 Sq Ft | £55,014 Per Annum. [online] Realla. Available at: <https://www.realla.co.uk/ details/15805657> [Accessed 13 June 2020]. The National Archives, 2020. COVENTRY CORN EXCHANGE AND PUBLIC ROOM COMPANY | The National Archives. [online] Discovery.nationalarchives.gov. uk. Available at: <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/a90a8341-465f-4f17-a4fb-4f5e849ed88a> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. The National Archives, 2020. COVENTRY CORN EXCHANGE AND PUBLIC ROOM COMPANY | The National Archives. [online] Discovery.nationalarchives.gov. uk. Available at: <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/a90a8341-465f-4f17-a4fb-4f5e849ed88a> [Accessed 8 June 2020]. W B Stephens, 1969. "The City of Coventry: Mills." A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8, the City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick. Ed. W B Stephens. London: Victoria County History, 1969. 190-198. British History Online. Web. 8 June 2020. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/ vol8/pp190-198.

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Pg Image 1 4 5 8

Figure 1: Front cover illustration inspired by Anni Albers Figure 2: Project Logo Figure 3: Transversal principles Figure 4: "The Ghost in the machine" Coexistence of tangible and intangible systems

Illustrated cultural bibliography 9 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12

Figure 5: "Construyo" ('I build') Colombians in Torino, Italy. March against war in Colombia Figure 6: March for decent housing. Milan, Italy Figure 7: 'Our righs come before profit' Figure 8: Coventry's Cathedral Figure 9: Sunderland Quay Figure 10: Fondazione Prada. Milano, Italy. Figure 11: "The city of fury" Figure 12: Literary inspiration Figure 13: 'MarĂa', Venezuelan street vendor in Coventry Figure 14: Latin American "living the street", Streets of Moravia, MedellĂn, Colombia Figure 15: "One earth, one human family", Ivrea, Torino, Italy Figure 16: The Broadgate, Coventry. Entrance to the Upper Precinct and High street

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Figure 17: March on campus Figure 18: Give a damn! Charrette group

Primer 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 20

Figure 19: Reference to JG Ballard. The use of a protagonist to explore the relation with a system. Figure 20: System of cogs, where the protaganist is part of a line of production. Alluding to the generic, and the lost of value in the context of modern timelesness. Figure 21: Perspective of production line Figure 22: Zoom into the production line Figure 23: Parallel act. Rebellion and emancipation Figure 24: Storyboard following the protagonist experience. Figure 25: Experimentation with light and shadow Figure 26: Overview of the general exhibition Figure 27: The projection of the intangible Figure 28: Innitial mapping of systems as vectors and vertices. Photo by: Matthew Margetts Figure 29: Starting to translate static diagraming into dynamic components denoting a degree of dynamic interaction Figure 30: Mapping Coventry's city centry around systems of waste and circulation. Colour code is independent as an early process work. Figure 31: Illustration inspired on J.G. Ballard 'Highrise'. The man in the postindustrial wasteland.

Staging Case Study 21 22 23 23 24 24

Figure 32: Figure 33: Figure 34: Figure 35: Figure 36: Figure 37:

Collage composition of Hotel La Serra. Its Posmodern architecture tries to replicate a typewritter Composition illustrating the contrast between medieval and industrial Ivrea. All pictures are mine Location of Ivrea in the wider context Site specific map. Hotel La Serra as entry point and connection between Industrial and commercial districts. Relation between La Serra and the roman town Functional orientation towards the sun, away from predominant northeastern wind. , protected by a green wall of trees from street

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Hotel La Serra Floor plans. Compilation pictures of spatial sequence Hotel La Serra room Floor plans. Internal and external view from pods (Noascone, 2018) Compilation of pictures from Turin and Ivrea emphasizing on post industrial decay Compilation of pictures from Coventry emphasizing on simetry and the planned city "One planet, one human family" Repeated Figure 'We Love it!' Mural of Starley Road,

Introduction to the project 30 30 30 30 32 32 32 32 33 33 33 34 34 34 35 35 35 36 37 38 39 39 40 40 41 42 42 42

Figure 46: General Map of Coventry Figure 47: Barracks parking, the broadgate and The Precinct commercial district Figure 48: Compilation of News Headlines Figure 49: 3D overview of site (Extract for Google maps) Figure 50: Inner ring road 3D model Figure 51: Breack down of 3D model into key axis Figure 52: Creating permeability and connection between Hertford Street (Right) towards the cathedral, and Market Street, towards Coventry market Figure 53: Metabolist symplified of Coventry's urban structure Figure 54: Pre-war inner city layout Figure 55: Post-war inner city layout Figure 56: Artistic representation of the distruction of Coventry's city centre. Figure 57: Structural grid of former ABC theatre. Now abandoned Figure 58: Internal views. (Realla, 2020) Figure 59: Location of the building in context Figure 60: Patchwork/tile collage found in the coventry's commercial district. Figure 61: Breakdown of use of land Figure 62: Integration of a multilayered housing, industry, and growing programme Figure 63: Collage representation inspired on the agitprop train Figure 64: Abstract programme. Figure 65: Innitial programme proposal. Figure 66: Innitial iteration detailing the intersection of paths of circulation Figure 67: Perspective drawing of Innitial iteration Figure 68: Creating diferential thresholds and determining celing height according to use Figure 69: Creating atriums and allowing permeability of light Figure 70: Creating atriums and allowing permeability of light Figure 71: Exploring the creation of spaces by the overlaying of circulation paths Figure 72: Innitial exploraions aiming to break the structure into funtional planes, at this stage, looking at strategies on how to perforate the skin existing structure and extending it towards the street Figure 73: Innitial sketch stripping off walls and exposing internal processes

Realisation 43 44 45 46 47 47 48

Figure 74: Illustrative composition of design strategy. Figure 75: Weaving local systems of production, growth and waste, coming together into the FAB at the centre. Figure 76: Innitial atmospheric collage, emphasizing on flexibility, modularity, and exposing the processes Figure 77: An iterative process based on the accumulation of elements and functional planes, and the progressive perforation of the existing skin. The building starts to be undressed Figure 78: Draft exploration of visual connections and overlapping of processes. Figure 79: Internal perspective of visual connections. It also shows the contrast between the monolothic timber structures and the delicate independent timber frame. Figure 80: Thought experiment-Striping and recladding the building

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Render of external perspective Key design decisions informing later stages Innitial technical iterations Extract from ARC 3013 Developing a final strategy Developing an atmosphere Starting to perforate the parking tower and building upon later iterations

Thinking through making 53 54

Figure 88: Gereral overview ot exhibition (Picture by Abdurahman Talip, Stage 3) Figure 89: Documentation of dynamic facade and its independent relation with the existing concrete frame

Weaving memory:Case Study 55 56 56 57 57 57

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Weaving memories as a way to project a new future Retrieving yarn from acrylic fabric (IRISUN, 2020) Production of fabric membrane with square loom. Modularity of both the patchwork and the loom Pictures of â&#x20AC;&#x153;El Costurero de la Memoria in Colombia (De Pablos, 2020) Potential integration of patchwork membrane, and its realtion to the environmental conditions.

Synthesis 58 59 59 60 60 61 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 71 72 72 73 73 74 74 75 75 76 76 77

Figure 96: Fighting the 'city of spectacle' and empty commerce Figure 97: Section wireframe illustrating the journey ans connection between hertord and market street. Figure 98: Section and and front elevation comparison Figure 99: Evolution of existing frame. Fragmentation and insertion of timber substructures Figure 100: Revisiting the programme Figure 101: Street view, before intervention Figure 102: Street view, after intervention Figure 103: Striving for a symbiotic relation Figure 104: Incremental and sustainably sourced system of construction and production Figure 105: -1 Floor. Floor plan and axonometric Figure 106: Ground Floor. Floor plan and axonometric Figure 107: 1st floor. Floor plan and axonometric Figure 108: Mezzanine. Floor plan and axonometric Figure 109: 2nd Floor. Floor plan and axonometric Figure 110: Mezzanine 2. Floor plan and axonometric Figure 111: General overview in context Figure 112: Perspective of entrance from Hertford street Figure 113: Tension between public and private spaces. Figure 114: Filling the street with light. Light projected from the fracmentation and transparencies in the building Figure 115: Sectional axonometric. Walls and roof are removed for illustrative purposes Figure 116: Accessible ramp entrance from Market street Figure 117: Work in progress. Creating a route through the existing structure. Figure 118: Weaving circulation: Mitigating the depth of the building by perforating the structure, also allowing to create connections between the different layers Figure 119: Accesible growing area made out of retrieved brick from the striped structure Figure 120: Internal perspective of workshop. At the back, a cargo lift articulating all levels of the building Figure 121: Exploring different vocations and how they coexist within flexible spaces. Figure 122: A multilayed programme allowing formal and informal spaces of business and economic activity. Figure 123: Creating common areas among spaces of production. Also introducing the flexibility of an exterior membrane. Figure 124: Central multipurpose atrium.Giving a new life to a marginal space. Light and warmth form both the people and the art of making start filling the space, and embedding a new sense of meaning in Central Coventry.

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Paths to Utopia: The Medellín Miracle Extract from ARC 3060

"On the 30th of August, Gloria invited me to one of the meetings held fortnightly by the community of the neighborhood; this was led by a resistance movement called “Moravia Resiste” where Moravitas, a demonym they have adopted, gather under three main objectives, “Fighting for health, housing and education”, and also organizing against the ongoing masterplan projections to bring private real state into the neighbourhood. We agreed to meet at the Cultural Center, and from there we would walk to "La Plaquita Deportiva de El Bosque". While she was organizing her things in her office, I decided to wait for her outside. In the central courtyard was a group of children playing, they were playing catch. I was sitting on the stairs, and at that moment they were running in my direction. One of them tripped, behind him, ran one of his friends who carried a piece of sharp wood in his hand. When he finally caught him, he took the stick like a knife, and pretended to stab him. His friend he laughed. In the end, they changed roles, and continued in their game. Not long after, Gloria came down, and together we walked to the meeting. When I arrived, it was everything but what I expected when they talked about a football court: it was open, the bikes, the cars, the kids, they all shared the same space. "miraculously nothing serious has happened with all what could happen!" said one of the assistants. Gradually the capacity was filling up. In the meantime, life was still going on in the neighborhood. The local microfootball team had won an Inter-neighborhood tournament, and there were marker-written banners celebrating all around; the ice cream man, a neighborhood store crowded in the corner, and people chatting from their balconies. Suddenly a strange smell emerges, and a lady exclaims "the children are burning a rat". No long after, the meeting proceeds as usual.

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