19 20
NEW WORK IS MARKED WITH A RED TAB
CONTENTS 2019/20
CULTURAL BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY p.144-152
p.138-143 APPENDIX
p.94-135
p.44-93 STAGING
REALISATION SYNTHESIS
p.22-43 PRIMER
INTRODUCTION
p.4-21
Taken by Gjon Mili (1944): Stop motion photographer
SOPHIE GRACE COLLINS ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO 19/20 BA ARCHITECTURE, NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY THE CINEMATIC VISION OF THE MODERNIST ERA LEGACIES OF MODERNISM STUDIO
ILLUSTRATED REFLECTIVE REPORT The studio ‘Legacies of Modernism’ combines academic research methods with architectural analysis - engaging with the role of theory and developing an understanding of the spatial and social processes that underpinned the emergence of the Modernist Movement. ‘Legacies of Modernism challenges you to make use of and demonstrate the layered traces of memory held within the materials and construction methods you choose to employ, whilst also questioning their contemporary applicability’ (taken from the Studio Brief). My focus for the year was to design an experimental dance theatre in the east fringe of Newcastle's City Centre. Through the course of the year, the over-riding learning challenge has been to cohesively combine complex design intentions and architectural analogies with structural and tectonic components. With a preoccupation on grounding the theory through ARC3015 (Theory into Practice) and doing extensive research, the technological intent is often lost. For instance, through the iterative process by omitting a structural grid system and prioritising the overall planar composition at the beginning of plan development, I consequently found issues with column placement in awkward locations. The studio rationale for a continual interrelationship between the two disciplines of the translation from 2D to 3D or vice versa, was a key strategy which was employed in design. For design, momentum relating to this idea was formalised during realisation with a one point perspective informing two dimensional plan development. This was followed by an initial model of the plan, amendments were then drawn on top of it and used to create the final model which would formulate the celebration plan. As I developed through the year as a designer I became acutely aware of the importance of my sixth form art education which stressed the validity of every piece of process output, being a work of art in itself. In particular, during the unprecedented circumstances of Covid 19 lockdown, it became necessary to act upon ideas quickly and enjoy the process work rather than having a tendency to ‘over analyse’ - aiming for refinement before the necessary developmental work is carried through. I have also appreciated the need to be adaptable in these circumstances, being creative with the limited available resources. With the benefit of hindsight I now realise that the formulation of ideas were already there in my subconscious. Although not obvious at the time, on reflection the driving concepts were the ones created with no preconceptions of what I wanted to achieve. For instance, the cinematic vision which is the driving narrative of this project had its origins through the Field Trip experience having a first hand exposure to Corbusier’s Modernist Architecture. However, this only came to light recently when compiling photographic evidence for the portfolio. Similarly, the concept of the hierarchical layered circulation system in fact began from a combination of ‘Thinking Through Making’ and the first primer models.
(RH Side) A new form of 'studio', at home during lockdown 2020
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ARC3015 THEORY INTO The Design and Build Procurement strategy is based on the premise that the client and contractor share risk PRACTICE percentage basis’ . This is informed by previously erected buildings of a similar type (for instance Dance City 3 on Temple Street situated to the West of ‘The Garage’). Subsequently, the design evolves, and cost checks would be made throughout the process until realisation. 7
on cost, including those of materials and waste management. When classifying costs, the attention is drawn to elements which may be custom-made, with associated increasing expenditure. Consequently, there is an incentive to work with specialist trade contractors to identify areas of waste reduction with resultant savings. Informed Design: For instance, for (1) theThe composite walling system, GRC concrete panels would be bracketed onto the creation ofcurtain atmosphere. concrete floor junctions. The of GRC are naturally occurring minerals which can be used as Application of main theoryingredient into the design iterative 8 fine aggregate toprocess. make new GRC . Defining the 'event' which occurs behind the cinematic frame. 2.4 Planning Vectors define the space and the surrounding Planning consistsspaces of twofollow. parts, proactive making and reactive decision taking. According to NPPF, paragraph Close attention payed to the concepts which 130 ‘permission drive should refused for development of poor design that fails to take the opportunities thebe design.
The intention of my dissertation was to form a stronger understanding of the complexity of spatial imagination in Architecture – through a perceived medium that would not typically be associated with the subject, a picture book. This abstract methodology was employed not only in the dissertation but throughout design, experimenting with unconventional representations to convey my ideas - this is particularly relevant in the ‘Thinking Through Making’ week and the abstract mapping technique I utilised as a vehicle for site analysis. However, a critique of this method is that it is important not to lose sight of the basic architectural rationale and maintain focus on the line of enquiry.
available for improving the character and quality of an area and the way it functions, taking into account any 9 (2) Employed Daniel abstract formNC2 of the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan for . The siteLiebskind's is outlined in Policy local design standards…’ of representation transforming collage drawings Gateshead and Newcastle 2010-30. It states in section 16.24 that the ‘Built heritage is an important element into three-dimensional architectural forms. within the East Pilgrim Street area. Buildings and streets which date from the medieval period through to the 20th century survive and many make a strong contribution to the rich and diverse historic character of the area.’10
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From a technical viewpoint, working in close collaboration with our assigned engineer helped me to critically re-evaluate my already formulated designs and question the structural feasibility and construction strategy. By hand drawing the construction sequencing and the 1:20 section my knowledge of the technical aspects of the design has considerably developed, as mistakes became apparent, requiring modifications. The thought process involved in my draughtsmanship, although challenging, has helped the visualisation of each stage of construction and the relationship between the key components. In particular, the composition of the curtain walling system informed all subsequent drawings and models following the ARC3013 submission, especially the one point perspective drawing which was re-evaluated to amend floor and external wall depths.
02 Figure 7: (Top) Daniel Libeskind, Collage Rebus (1970) - collage and axonometric (Middle) Daniel Libeskind, Collage Rebus 3 (1970) - collage and axonometric (Bottom) Daniel Libeskind, Maquette informed by Collage Rebus drawings (1970)
ARC3014 PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT
The development responds to this key priority by continuing the grid formation of the surrounding site. This will preserve the modernist panoramic continuity seen from the motorway and pedestrian walkway in approach to the site. The materiality is empathetic with concrete panels cladding the building, symbolically harmonising with the brutalist modernist Informed Design: vision.
(1) Socio-economic evaluation of the site to understand the impact of the building in its Figure 5: East Pilgrimcontext. Street Development Plan Map
In studying extremely complex and dynamic plans such as the iconic National Museum of Scotland by Benson and Forsyth and Kunsthall by OMA, in regards to architectural professional issues - they gave me a greater appreciation of how practices follow the same developmental stages which we are encouraged to follow, maintaining the spatial complexity yet conforming to regulations and budgetary requirements. In understanding the process of the design and build procurement strategy allowed me to appreciate the close collaboration required between the contractor, design team and client. In addition this made me aware of the importance of communication and effective time management of stages 1 through to 7 of the RIBA plan of work - a key attribute both in university and outside.
Site
(Newcastle City Council, March 2015, p.171)
2.5 CDM Regulations 2015
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- reducing contractual claims and maximising the employer’s security that costs would not spiral if a lump
sum agreement was in place (with the contractor having responsibility for cost control). With high As a designer I have modified designs accordingly to competition for proposals within the CBD including Ryder Architects, material re-selection and value management can be avoided culminating with an opportunity to begin work on site sooner. reduce and control foreseeable risks that may arise during its construction and maintenance, following completion of the build. Adhering to the guidelines of paragraph 74 and 75 of the Construction Design and
On completion, the project will benefit the wider society and user group by providing a creative facility that is in high demand with only one other body like it in the West of Newcastle (Dance City). Following the development plan for East Pilgrim Street, accessibility to the periphery of central Newcastle is enhanced, by the provision of an attractive venue for dance students from both Universities and local residents. This area would no longer be viewed as an area of deprivation but of vitality.
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Institution of Civil Engineers, Elemental Cost Plan for Design and Construction (2020)
<https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Elemental_cost_plan_for_design_and_construction> [Accessed 24.03.20]. Figure 4: Diagram showing the contractual relationship for Design and Build Procurement (Author’s own) 8 3.1 -Congress’, Defining the Micro Climate of the Area Y. Takeuchi, etMacro al, ‘Basic GRCA Nippon Electric Glass Co 3.1 - DefiningY. the Climateresearch of the Area on GRC recycling. 15th International 2.2 Other Consultants Ltd, 2008, p.1. Structural Engineer: The structural engineer would be appointed by the client and involved during the initial design concept stage 9 ‘National Planning Policy Framework‘, Ministry of Housing, Communities and February through to completion of the Local build. TheirGovernment, role is to ‘advise on structural design from2019, foundations to roof’ . The structural integrity of the underlying plinth will be a priority for this project, with the engineer p.41. guaranteeing the structural stability of the building when the proposed continuous column foundations are 10 positioned on top. The layering of the composite curtain walling system ‘hanging’ off the structural steel ‘Core strategy and Urban Core Plan for Gateshead and Newcastle’, Newcastle City Council, March 2015, p.172. frame would be addressed by the structural engineer to ensure applied loads are transferred to the foundations where they must resist horizontal forces. Furthermore, the glazing system would be designed N 5 for lateral building movement induced by the strong winds from the motorway.
ARC3013 INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY
Finally, as a learner, I feel that I have improved and refined my presentation style to comprehensively convey all forms of representation collectively, rather than a mix of disjointed components which have no relationship to one another. This was highlighted as an area of development at stage two.
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Landscape Architect: The role of the landscape architect would be to encourage a strong sense of place within the site. In particular, performing ‘ecological restructuring’5 of the ground floor surface with a focus on enhancing biodiversity in a derelict and polluted site. They ‘plan, design and manage our land resource in order to secure the best possible outcomes for people the environment and the economy’6. Responsibilities include overseeing the design with regular site visits to study the contours, soil, ecology, neighbouring buildings, roads and importantly site heritage. Further examples include employing urban regeneration schemes and pedestrian schemes, vital to this project. They would provide essential expertise in the final execution of the building’s setting, given the client’s priority to regenerate this ‘quarter’ of Newcastle.
Informed Design: (1) + (2) Site orientation in relation to the sun path suggested the need to design a shuttering 11:57am 21st June system on the South facing facade to facilitate 2.3 Keeping to Budget E thermal comfort. 10:43 am 1st Dec In order to manage the project finance, a cost consultant should be employed during RIBA stage 1 to carry
out efficient cost planning at the respective stages of the RIBA POW (before the contractor is assigned). Within stage 1 – 2 an initial cost appraisal would be performed as well as an elemental cost plan to provide an estimated cost calculated by the ‘total construction cost for the project divided into elements on a
David Chappell, The Architect In Practice 10th ed, (Hoboken: Wiley, 2013), p.35. ‘Public Health and Landscape: Creating Healthy Places’, Landscape Institute, November 2013, p.9. 6 ‘Public Health and Landscape: Creating Healthy Places’, Landscape Institute, November 2013, p.3. 4 4 5
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Latitude: 54.9° Correction of Earth’s Tilt: 23.5° Summer = 90 - (54.9 - 23.5) = 58.6° --> 11:57am 21st June 2020 Winter = 90 - (54.9 + 23.5) = 11.6° --> 10:43am 1st Dec 2020
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Figure 5 Oxford St
02 Figure 56b : Summer Sunlight (Author’s Own) South facing facade with large exposure to natural
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CHARRETTE SOFT STUDIO
30.9.19
The soft studio elective intended to blur the boundaries between work, rest, and play- creating a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;softerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; working environment, openly accesible for all students to use. This is a response to the rigid conformity of studio spaces with atmospheres dictated by the students present. Instead we aim to create a more flexible and conducive environment to work in.
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WONDER WALL
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
NET
BALLOONS
BEANBAG FLOORING
ENCLOSED ‘POD’ OR ‘CHAMBER’
TEXTURED WALL (FABRIC & BEANBAGS)
CHARRETTE INITIAL BRAINSTORMING AND COMPLEMENTARY OUTPUTS
Our charrette began with a brainstorm of key words we associate with the soft materials we had been supplied with. These would then be categorised thematically to create a story board of ideas which would be refined until we had our defining concept. Next, an activity led by Lesley Campbell taught us how to create basic patterns from studying the shape and detail of vegetables. This was a fundamental exercise to develop an understanding of 2D-3D thinking. As a Charrette group we subdivided into smaller groups to create and design complementary components to be exhibited (some to remain potentially installed, whilst others to simply be indicative of change within the studio environment). 10
BEAN STACK
COACH POTATO
STUDY TRIP
25.11.19
The French study trip began in Paris visiting Le Corbusier's apartment Maison La Roche-Jeanneret followed by Le Corbusier's studio. Next, we travelled to Poissy (1hr West of Paris) to see the famous Villa Savoye. From there we took the train south to Lyon to then stay in a chateau and walked around the beautiful historic surroundings at night. We travelled by coach to La Tourette in Ă&#x2030;veux where we stayed a memorable night in the hostel. From there we got a coach to Firminy Vert: Le Corbusier UNESCO World Heritage site, visiting Unite d'habitation and Church of Saint Pierre. The study trip was my first time in France and first exposure to the renowned Corbusier architecture. I found the experience surprisingly emotive. The overwhelming amount of sensory stimuli and thoughtprovoking design heightened my appreciation for architecture as a craft.
(RH Side) Le Corbusier Studio
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THRESHOLD MOMENTS: A KEY NARRATIVE CARRIED THROUGH THE PROJECT
PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES OF THE KEY MOMENTS
Sketches clockwise starting top left: La Tourette: Sketched at the entrance to la tourette witnessing the clearly distinguishable five point of architecture (pilotis which line the inside walls, grass rooftop, strip windows, free ground plan and free facade) Maison La Roche: Viewpoints change as you ascend the building via the steep ramp, with the strip window framing the vista Villa Savoye: Winding staircase provides a focal features to the entrance, a secondary form of ascent as well as the ramp. Photographs left to right starting from the top left:
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Maison La Roche, Church of Saint Pierre, Louvre, Villa Savoye, La Tourette, Unite d’habitation, Church of Saint Pierre, La Tourette, Firminy street, Church of Saint Pierre, Unite d’habitation, Villa Savoye
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CINEMATIC VISION Studying movement through a combination of case studies visited on the trip, with particular focus on slender vertical mullions which break the movement down into frames.
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J. ATMOSPHERE:
Sophie Co
The Church of Firminy is an unapologetically concrete building, although it could be argued that its real properties are light, shade, proportion and movement. This building according to Kenneth Frampton, (British Archite The Church of Firminy is an unapologetically concrete building, although it could be argued its real properties are proportion and movement. This building according to Kenneth Frampton, (British ture) that can only be encountered uplight, close,shade, fragment by fragment. 36 Architecture) can only be encountered, fragment by fragment
PRIMER
14.10.19
As a studio we focused on the modern design process - drawing on abstract painting and the spatial constructions of De Stijl, in particular art work by Theo Van Doesburg. Through the iterative process of model making and axonometric analytic drawing the fundamental conceptual architectural framework was grounded for future development.
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REPRESENTING 2D ABSTRACT THOUGHTS Exercise 1: 10cm x 10cm Study Models
To explore the architectural realisations of one piece of two-dimensional modern art, I began by creating a literal extrusion of the piece entitled ‘Counter-Composition VI 1925’ by Theo Van Doesburg (see left hand page). I then extracted the key components into an abstract 2D composition (see right hand page).
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REPRESENTING 2D ABSTRACT THOUGHTS INTO A 3D VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE FORM Exercise 1: 10cm x 10cm Study Models
(RH Side) I developed the volumetric mass into a grid formation, emphasising each primary and secondary line and subsequent junction
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Semester 1
Next I explored the differences between the inferred positive and negative space. By enabling each component to be modular, the spatial possibilities of the room are revealed. The model seen bottom left hand side conceptually studies an opaque volume suspended within the floating grid.
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CAPTURING THE VISIBLE BUT ALSO THE INVISIBLE Analytical hand drawing analysing Theo Van Doesburg’s Counter Composition, Construction in Space-Time II (1924) According to Alan Colquhoun (2002), the axonometric is the ‘only method of representation that does not privilege one part of the building over another’. Here we see an aggregation of interlocking planar pieces which project out from the centre of the composition. The axonometric demonstrated that the building is not composed from the outside but results from internal growth (for instance circulation). Whilst the planar components are clearly demonstrated via the use of primary colours, they also imply an invisible linear grid which extends infinitely into space. Subsequently this creates a new area of interest, the resultant negative space.
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(RH Side) Axonometric diagram displaying the plan and resultant negative space of the original counter-composition
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Primer AXONOMETRIC STUDY SHOWCASING THE DISPLACEMENT OF COMPONENTS Analytical hand drawing studying Theo Van Doesburg’s Counter Composition
Axonometrics displace the primary composition to unlock different spatial possibilities and to question how we look at the piece. Here I have exaggerated the system of coordinates that are formed from the individual planar elements which ‘would correspond to an equal number of points in universal, open space’, noted by Colquhoun (2002).
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IMPLEMENTATION OF MUTED TONES 10cm x 10cm Study Models Here, I lose the hierarchy of planes which we are drawn to via the use of colour and instead create similar tones to enhance future possibilities. Furthermore, diagonal lines have been removed to avoid disrupting the strict grid pattern. This study model in particular was a key precedent to develop the subsequent 20cm x 20cm model. One element I wished to resolve in the 20cm x 20cm model was the enclosed bottom which was automatically designating a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;correctâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; way for the model to be viewed. In addition, the grid lines extending out of the main form seemed irregular and out place.
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Here, I have taken inspiration from the brief to transform a 2D work of art into a 3D image. By looking through the view finder at the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;baseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the model, a 2D composition displaying all layers of the hierarchical structure became visible.
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DISPLACED
ENCLOSED
The whole form did not feel complete and resolved so I undertook a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Le Corbusier ideologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of utilising modular components to manipulate an environment. I incorporated a stronger cluster of volumes to exaggerate the layering of a hierarchical grid structure. I utilised the modular components to complete the form.
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EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC 20cm x 20cm Study Model
Hierarchical layered grid system delineating three areas of interest, combined with modular components
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Primer INHABITATION 20cm x 20cm Study Model
The model shows the hierarchy of the different spatial languages overlapping one another - shaping key moments for inhabitation. By using multiple scales ranging from 1:20 to 1:100 we can view the structure: enabling a view to the outside through a glazed structural frame whilst perched on a balcony; an enclosed passageway to lean against; or even as an elevated walkway.
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Exercise 3: Compositional Drawing based from the 20cm x 20cm model I chose to convey the essence of my model by demonstrating the relationship between clustered and open spaces. Cut lines hint at threshold moments of depth through a layered composite of drawings and sections of colour highlight areas of architectural interest at varying scales. The strongest opacity hints at a facade composition, the medium opacity looks at form and massing, and the lowest opacity studies overall masterplans. Inspired by my 20cm x 20cm model, I chose to enclose the whole 42composition, bringing each separate element together.
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STAGING
13.11.19
The project is an experimental dance theatre and gallery space aimed to expand the educational provision out to the wider population. The focus is on culture-led regeneration with an interest in the importance of dance not only for individual well-being and a form of non verbal communication, but as a medium to bring communities together, striving towards a sense of belonging in a disconnected and neglected site. The significance of the translation from 2D to 3D as a crucial studio theme became apparent. The process of model making pushed abstract notions forward and tested my spatial awareness of scale, volume and projection.
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ELEVATION
OR
Applying the architectural methodology used in Primer by testing the potential of the 2D composition drawing and projected them into possible schematic site plans, elevations and volumetric forms.
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PLAN?
1:200 ITERATED LAYERS OF COMPOSITIONAL DRAWINGS OVER THE BASE SITE INFORMATION
I constantly played with different forms of representation to inform and enhance the next consecutive iteration.
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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND BARCELONA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Johnson (2015)
Speck (2020)
COMBINING MULTIPLE FORMS OF REPRESENTATION TO CREATE A KEY MOMENT Principle compared to: National Museum of Scotland by Benson and Forsyth (Bottom Left) and Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art by Richard Meir (Bottom Right)
Via the use of a frame (see right hand side), a snapshot of movement and excitement is exposed, back lit against the facade. This heightens an awareness of the rhythms of the environment even when the ‘audience’ (road user) is far removed from the action. All spatial complexities of movement are visually flattened onto a 2D plane.
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KUNSTHAL
1:200 FACADE COMPOSITION Werlemann (2020)
1:200 ITERATED LAYERS OF MY COMPOSITIONAL DRAWING Routes and Hierarchy
In my early iterations, occupants were channelled in between the partition walls. However, with further examination of the 1:200 model, I realised my objective was to encourage spontaneity of movement - not to conform the modernist ideal of simply travelling from A to B. OMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kunsthal (see above) reflects this notion of being directed into the building and opposing circulation routes guided in between planes.
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1:200 MODEL, TAKEN FROM COMPOSITIONAL DRAWING
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DIAGRAMMATIC ANALYSIS OF OMA, KUNSTHALL
Studying the exaggerated nature of OMA Kunsthall's circulation through threshold drawings which capture the progression of movement through the building.
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REFINED SITE PLAN WITH ATMOSPHERIC SHADOW DETAIL DRAWN AT 1:200
La Tourette (bottom right hand side) is used as provocative demonstration of the use of light as an active substance, fundamental to the atmosphere of the building.
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LEGACY OF MODERNISM
The key protagonist in leading the vision for T Dan Smith's 'Brasilia of the North' was Le Corbusier. Corbusier's vision was an ubiquitous homogenisation for city planning, seen within Plan Voisin, France (see above) which was an 'expression of social order and rationality...(it contained an) unyielding order on everything' (Weston, 2011, p.55). It delineated pedestrian from vehicular flow with the availability of public space minimised. According to Larice (2013, p. 27), this can be categorised as 'placenessness...an overriding concern for efficiency, mass culture, and anonymous, exchangeable environments'. As Richards (2003, p.23) states Plan Voisin employed a militaristic grid which would remove 'our old and excessive love of individualism (and replaced by) the necessity of organisation and union'. Corbusier's ideal of ease of movement around the city was never fulfilled in Newcastle's tarnished urban dream of the 1960s. 56
(Above) Conceptual collage incorporating my own drawing of Plan Voisin 1925 with archived images of T Dan Smith and Le Corbusier
IS WHAT WE SEE DICTATED BY THE ARCHITECT OR THE USER?
WITH ITS DISORIENTATING WALKWAYS AND DEFAMILIARIZATION, CAN WE UTILISE THE NEGATIVE BY-PRODUCT OF NEWCASTLE'S MODERNIST URBAN PLANNING?
Taken from Eyes of the Skin, Juhani Pallasmaa
CHOREOGRAPHY WITHIN ARCHITECTURE
M
ANIFESTO
The main aim is to address conceptually the idea of movement within architecture.
In response to the Legacies of Modernism brief an experiential approach requires architects to relinquish the idea of absolute control and accept the fact that they...
can only choreograph and direct the desired effects, which ultimately take shape in the mind of the user. To achieve a vibrant choreography, it is important to devise design principles that stimulate activity, interaction by concentrating on the behaviour and movement of people...
not simply following Corbusierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideals of channelling obedient bodies and disregarding the experience of the inhabitants in favour of a poetic utopian vision. Critically, it can be argued that the modernist ideals disregard the spontaneity of movement and ironically the importance of the occupants of the building.
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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE URBAN PLAN 2020
Urban Core Distributor Route
Primary Pedestrian Routes
Secondary Pedestrian Routes
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HISTORICAL SITE ANALYSIS T Dan Smith and Fitzroy, Robinson and Partners, 1960s-70s
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In the early 1960s, under the leadership of T Dan Smith and his chief planning officer Wilf Burns, Newcastle city council undertook a comprehensive re-planning of the city centre that, had it been carried out to its full extent, would have led to the construction of underground motorways and a series of raised pedestrian decks (shown in red) running along Northumberland Street in the main shopping zone. The plan was that the new city would encircle the historical core, which would be preserved.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (taken from The Guardian, 2017)
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(LH Side) Top: Initial response to the site Middle: T Dan Smith and Partners Bottom: ElevatedWalkways (RH Side) Personally retrieved from Newcastle City Library Archive
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'The plaza level beneath the office block was the least successful element of the complex: a confused composition of once fashionable pedestrian walkways and staircases, strangled by roads on three sides. These structures were always little used and for many years the Swan House plaza was an urban â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;non-placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, connected to the rest of the city only by a maze of forbidding subways and decks.' Faulkner and Beacock, (2014, p.284) (Barker 2012) and edited by myself
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Scale 1:500 Section AA
National Trust Heritage Site
Manors Car Park (foreground) 55° Apartment Block (background)
A167(M)
Site
NCP Car Park
Wilder’s Bar
Worswick Bus Station
St Andrew’s Church
Scale 1:200 Section BB
SITE ANALYSIS My proposal, the ‘Garage’ is located South-East to Newcastle’s inner-city core. The site is in a disconnected, underdeveloped CBD area to the east of the affluent Grainger Town and Grey Street. Harking back to the 1960s, when Newcastle was reconfigured around the notion of the separation of the pedestrian and the automobile. It currently occupies the existing ground floor level of the former Bank House and is dominated by the large 55° apartment block at the junction of Pilgrim Street (approximately 80m away) and the A167 (M). This represents a significant opportunity to revitalise this historic area, reconnecting the forgotten ‘walkways in the sky’, providing a sympathetic backdrop to the nearby modernist buildings.
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DEMOLITION OF BANK HOUSE 2012
A
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B B 2 A
(LH Side) Bottom: Photograph of site showing 55 ° in the background and older commercial buildings in the distance
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NEWCASTLE'S MODERNIST DREAM The need to accommodate a motorway to decrease congestion determined Newcastle’s planning policy at the junction between Pilgrim Street and the A167 (M). As demonstrated by the property advertisement seen before on page 61, the overhead walkway was an afterthought and not initially incorporated into the Bank House complex. The project closely studies the cinematic and vertically striated façade treatment of the surrounding site, comprising of commercial units, apartment blocks and car park facility. An outcome for the building would be to bring vitality to the area and re-assert a sense of purpose to the former business district.
Manors car park was the first multi-storey car park in Newcastle, built in 1963. The curvature of the concrete decks frame the A167M.
1 : Manors Car Park This multi-storey apartment block was built between 1963 and 1969 and was previously called Swan House, home to the GPO and then BT.
2 : 55 ° Apartments
Professor Mark Tewdwr- Jones stated in the Newcastle Chronicle (2016)"Sitting on stilts and on the top of a roundabout...Swan House is a monument to 1960's Brutalist architecture."
Curtis Mayfield House - an independent multiracial arts venue.
3 : Arts Facilities
Hadrian House , Higham Place is an 8 storey office building opposite Northumbria University complex - ear marked for redevelopment.
4 : Hadrian House
The Pearl, built in the 1970s, is an 8 storey office building at the corner of Northumberland Street and New Bridge Street.
5 : Pearl 69
ABSTRACT SITE ANALYSIS THROUGH A SUBJECTIVE LENS Photographic collage combined with hand drawn mapping technique to convey the immediate impressions of the site.
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Marcel Duchamp is a key exponent in illustrating the fourth dimension via ‘chronophotographic freeze-frame techniques’, representing the beauty of the movement of the body in space. The drawing in question is entitled ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ and ‘inscribes a temporal delay that interferes with the visual consumption of the image’ . Taken from Judovitz and Duchamp (1995, p.29).
Straus, E. (1930, p.176) Formen des Räumlichen. Berlin: Springer.
Here, the film analogy applies to the rapid succession of static images which are held within the grid of the car park (much like an old-fashioned zoetrope providing the illusion of movement. It is the potential of the void in between the intervals which is brought to our attention, opening up the opportunity to be manipulated
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‘When dancing, we no longer move in a limited section of space directed at a fixed “here”, but in a homogeneous space free of differences of direction and values of location’.
LA FAYETTE ANTICIPATIONS, OMA Mutant Stage 10: A film by Barnaby Roper
Throughout the construction period of La Fayette Gallery in Paris, 'the medium of dance accompanied the building's evolution. The architectural process was measured over the months through a series of insitu encounters between film directors and dancers, resulting in the production of a number of short films.' Taken from La Fayette Anticipations (2018).
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UNSETTLE THE TRADITIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SPECTATOR AND PERFORMER The renovation of the gallery at 9 rue du Plâtre saw a steel tower construction extending over the full height of the building which was then inserted with four platforms that can be moved up and down vertically to allow the Fondation's team to constantly manipulate their 'stage'. 'What is the authoritian dimension of space-changing if it becomes permanent? What happens if one decides to freeze it? (Rem Koolhaas about Cedric Price's Fun Palace) 75
CINEMATIC VISION What first struck me was the panoramic multi storey car park with protruding vertical fins. This informed the notion of cinematic vision with movement and performance captured within the frames. Alison Smithsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AS in DS (2001) (see right hand side) shows the diary of car movement, recording the evolving sensibility of a passenger in a car. I composed temporal drawings through photo montage techniques inspired by Smithsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s style of representation.
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BERNARD TSCHUMI
CINEMATIC ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION Bernard Tschumi: Frankenstein
Tschumi found an unexpected stimulus for architectural representation through the study of excerpts from films such as Frankenstein (1932). Here we see abstract responses shown in individual frames (adopting the term deconstruction) depicting space, movement and event. When combined as a sequence they can be interpreted as one cohesive study. (RH Side) Learning from the methodology of Tschumi and interpreting the positive and negative space found in the cinematic shots into speculative building moments
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING 27.01.20 80
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MAQUETTE CREATION
Formwork was created using foam board to create each maquette. The design of the maquette took inspiration from the primer composition drawing and focused on critiquing Corbusier's traditional white facade, characteristic of the modern. Typically associated with being 'unified, planar, smooth, and flat...signifying honesty and dependability'. Leatherbarrow and Mostafavi (1993, p.76). Whilst focusing on exaggerating the relief in the plaster casts, I do not view the deterioration of the medium as a fault, but rather as a celebration of the beauty of layered voids.
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FINAL OUTPUT Thinking Through Making Exhibition
The output looks at the deterioration of the medium to expose what is beneath. This can be likened to the previous staging output (see above). By carving out from the volume, the spatial complexity is revealed.
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FINAL OUTPUT Implementation of Thinking Through Making
Simplifying the 2D photograph of the 'Thinking Through Making' output creating strong defining geometries. This was then transposed to form an axonometric which was rotated away from the site's defining geometries. Complementary to the 'Thinking Through Making' and Staging outputs this exaggerates the opening within the South East Facade.
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The focal point within the south eastern elevation was expanded to form a void which carves its way in between the two masses - making way for the circulation, and informing the spatial possibilities of the rooms. Primer experimentation inspired the implementation of a structural grid to determine the volumetric masses and vertical and horizontal planes form layered projections of the existing volumetric building The ‘front’ massing is demonstrating movement and
performance;
dual audiences witness activity from either the motorway or from within the void of the building. The ‘back’ massing is static and contains ancillary space. The two masses are separated by an atrium.
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VOLUMETRIC MASSING OF PRIMARY VOLUMES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER
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THE VOID WAS FORMED BY CARVING THE SPACE OUT OF A SOLID CUBE. THIS WAS A DIRECT TRANSLATION FROM THINKING THROUGH MAKING
USE OF A GRID TO DETERMINE THE VOID
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THE STAGGERED CARVING WAS IN RESPONSE TO THE DIAGONAL SHIFT OF THE WHOLE BUILDING (SEE ON PAGE 86) WHICH WAS TOO SEVERE
IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANAR LANGUAGE TAKEN FROM PRIMER. VERTICAL PLANES WERE LAYERED PROJECTIONS OF THE EXISTING VOLUMETRIC BUILDINGS.
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MOVING THROUGH THE LAYERS IN THE VOID IN THE SAME TRAJECTORY. THIS MOVEMENT OF THE OCCUPANTS CORRESPONDED WITH THE MOVEMENT OF CARS ON THE MOTORWAY
Defining the principles that underpinned my plan exploration (see left hand side)
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3.2 - Structural Strategy and Construction Sequencing
A bar chart programme is formulated to communicate the estimated Assuming that geotechnical ground investigation and existing services EXCAVATION WORKS: Ground clearance to level the ground and remove duration of each task in the construction sequencing investigation has already been undertaken: contractors’ cabins, fencing and existing plants. This is for preparation for the strip foundation to be laid. JCB portaloos are dropped into place via a self propelled crane. diggers are used for excavation and soil is then transported away using a highway dumper. Topographical survey is carried out and foundations are marked out on the concrete plinth
PRIMARY: Loadbearing strip foundations and solid concrete floor Concrete fire core to provide lateral stability Portalised structural steel frame with bracing at junctions Castellated steel beams Internal hollow steel rectangular columns
Figure 67 : (Author’s Own)
SECONDARY: Profiled metal decking Composite slab using mesh reinforcement and concrete fill Steel purlins (above primary steel trust beam) to support glass atrium Cantilevered staircase TERTIARY: Prefabricated modular facade with a continuous curtain walling system. Restrained at floor slabs at every floor via transom. Structure separate and independent from primary and secondary structure: Perforated corrugated aluminium panels, extruded vertical aluminium fin, aluminium spandrel panel placed in front of triple glazing unit. All primary steel columns are neatly hidden behind the curtain walling design Internal finishes and services are completed including lighting fixtures.
EXCAVATION OF FOUNDATIONS: Piling installation for GSHP at this stage EXCAVATION OF FOUNDATIONS: Steel reinforcement cages placed within PREPARATION OF GROUND FLOOR SLAB FOLLOWING STRIP FOUNDATION: and excavation for strip foundation. Wooden shuttering employed for the excavation before concrete pouring. The concrete is then levelled with Concrete upstands are cast in place and a grid of steel re bars is overlaid on top of the complete strip foundation. Concrete is poured from the overhead concrete formwork. Concrete taken from overhead concrete pump. a vibrating poker. concrete pump Figure 66 : (Author Unknown) Composite floors are finished one floor after another working up the building. Installation of secondary steelwork such as a cantilevered staircase with the stringer connected to internal rectangular hollow steel columns. Building is then ready for tertiary structures (see above) Snagging is then carried out whereby the architect / client / project manager inform the contractor of any minor issues which need addressing. The site is cleared and landscaped.
Figure 69 : Showcasing vertical load distribution (Author’s Own)
PREPARATION OF GROUND FLOOR SLAB FOLLOWING STRIP FOUNDATION: Ground floor slab is complete and pre cast beam and block floor is assembled Ground floor slab reinforcement on site situated in between the concrete footing. The concrete core is erected to provide stability to the rest of the construction and contains 203 Figure 67 : (Author’s Own) x 203mm steel I section columns at all four corners.
Erection of steel columns anchored into the concrete footings. Subsequently the horizontal steel beams are put in place.
CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCING Taken from Technology Report ARC3013
Cellular beams spanning maximum 5m in between the steel I columns.
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Profiled metal decking in place, lined with steel reinforcement for concrete to be poured to form a composite slab. Angle upstands stop concrete pouring off the edge of the slabs and sheer studs connect metal decking to the reinforcement (see Figure 68).
WEEK 5-6: Profiled metal decking with steel reinforcement on top of sheer studs
Figure 68 : (Phoenix)
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REALISATION AND SYNTHESIS 13.01.20
All defining principles taken from ARC3015 Theory into Practice and ARC3013 Integrated Technology came together as one integrated whole. My building will become a focus for the local community as a dance / theatre civic centre and a means of social interaction facilitated by the provision of a cafe and function room hire. I have considered how places of performance generate their own cultural meanings which then formulate the meaning of the entire theatre experience. After all, according to Rosenburg (2010, p.3) 'the architecture that houses a performance cannot be removed from the wholistic experience of a performance'. My auditorium provides an intimate setting with seats in line with the stage or elevated above. This democratizes the relationship between the spectator and the performer as well as creating a unique experience whereby the dancers waiting in the wings hardly escape the sight of the audience.
(RH Side) Vertical and Horizontal Service Distribution taken from ARC3013 Integrated Technology.
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PHOTOGRAPHIC MONTAGE COMBINED WITH ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE OF PROPOSAL Development
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AMME SUMMARY RAMME SUMMARY
THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD Public Public Public Private Private Private Semi - Private / Public Semi-Private Semi - Private / Public / Public Vertical Circulation Vertical Circulation Vertical Circulation Permanent Exhibition Permanent Exhibition Temporary Exhibition Temporary Exhibition
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99 Café Café Shop
TO ADD: SIMPLE BLACK OUTLINE OF SECTION WITH RED AROUND 100 WHICH ROOM THIS IS
THIRD FLOOR INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE OF STUDIO SPACE Cellular steel beam with profiled metal decking
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Taken by Eadweard Muybridge: photographer of the study of motion
HALF MOON THEATRE BRISTOL OLD VIC
Sayer (1985)
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Haworth Tompkins (2018)
As visitors progress through the building, layers of the interior are exposed. The motorway provides the backdrop (see below) against the performer framed via the elongated windows, with the car passing by at speed. This took inspiration from the Half Moon Theatre by Florian Beigel (top left) and Bristol Old Vic by Haworth Tompkins (top right). The sequential zoetrope effect is created as both spectators and performers move through the building (right hand side).
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ELEVATION STUDY OF THE PRIMARY FACADE FACING SOUTH WEST ONTO THE MOTORWAY
(Above) Adopting the Legacies of Modernism through simplistic and crisp background geometry but critiquing the homogeneity of Modernism through the displacement of the geometric rationale seen by the foreground diagonal fins. (Right) Influence of the surrounding site to the design including the dominance of 55 ° apartments as you approach the building at an angle from the motorway.
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CRITIQUE OF MODERNISM Buildings are products of image both in the present day and within the modernist era. In the former, they are forms of advertisement and instant persuasion (According to Pallasmaa, 2012). For the latter, Brutalist buildings are heavy - situated within the sublime landscape when viewed at a distance, from the back seat of a fast car for example. The Brutalist representation is materially aggressive when confronted at human scale.
MAQUETTE SOUTH ELEVATION TEST 1
I proposed a similar articulation, but one that views the facade treatment as light, dynamic and transient. We never view architecture as two-dimensional, rather as an experiential three-dimensional entity. Hence, whilst I am working with the modernist regularity, the facade can be controlled by the user via perforated corrugated aluminium shuttering panels - an animated expression of the individual and group inhabitation. Brutalist buildings often failed to reflect this idea. The design of my building has a strong tectonic intent and utilises the structure efficiently with vertical steel universal columns hidden behind the spandrel aluminium panels within the curtain walling system.
IBM Research Center, La Gaude, France, Marcel Breuer (1958-62)
EXPERIMENTATION IN VARYING THE DEPTH OF VERTICAL FINS South Elevation
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DYNAMIC Not only is the action inside animated but the facade itself is interchangeable and dynamic via the movement of the perforated screens on the outer face. Rather than the architect dictating what the appearance is going to look like the user is adapting it in response to their own needs. Inspiration taken from La Tourette, France (see below) with fixed glazing set into irregular precast ribs with opaque ventilation panels controlled by the user
MAQUETTE SOUTH ELEVATION TEST 2
Details added: parapet design and perforated corrugated aluminium shuttering panels in front (rather than behind) the aluminium vertical fin.
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NIGHT TIME RENDER
Demonstrating the potential for internal light to animate the facade behind the shuttering system at night time
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SOUTH FACING ELEVATION Modelled at 1:200
Collage of the primary â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;frontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; facade integrated into the surrounding area. Recycled materials such as shoe boxes, cereal packets, old envelopes and scraps of paper are used to form the layered composition.
(RH side: Image taken from Google Street View)
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SOUTH EAST FACING ELEVATION Modelled at 1:200
Close up of facade treatment with particular focus on the entry point via a recessed exposed balcony connected to the existing walkway. Brutalist elevated walkway has now been re-purposed (see right hand side).
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DRAFT 1:100 MODEL Inspired by Tschumiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parc de la Villette series
I adopted a layered technique in constructing the first 1:100 model in order to visualise and comprehend the design. In particular to create a template to refine internal details/
EXPRESSION OF IDEAS AS AN ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF KEY THRESHOLD MOMENTS 116
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CIRCULATION STRATEGY, TAKING INSPIRATION FROM PRIMER 3D EXPERIMENTATION
Subsequent development to include (see red notation): • Expansion into site, pushing the planes into the surrounding context • Angled moments within internal walls. Suspended walkways pierce through the openings and occupants are directed diagonally. • One way system inferred, facilitated by dynamic routes through the building. Enhances awareness of surroundings and disorientation. • Fire core moved out into car park to act as a landmark connected to the main building. • Vary the wall thickness • Implementation of the arch as part of the internal layering composition. This is a high level restraint for the first and subsequent floors via the use of a portalised arch buttress. • Greater exploration of complex layering through the atrium as well as the displacement of rooms. • Material study experimenting with opacity and transparency to reveal movement (for instance metal grid walkway or polycarbonate panels). 118
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SITE PLAN 1:500
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Arts Facilities 55 ° Apartments Manors Multi-Storey Car Park NCP Car Park Newcastle Carliol Square National Trust Holy Jesus Hospital Commerce Worswick Car Park
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GROUND FLOOR DRAWN AT 1:100
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Lobby Cafe Waiting Area Office for Reception Staff Exhibition Office Dais Lockers Store Room for Dance Wear and Production Items Plant Room
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FIRST FLOOR DRAWN AT 1:100
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Backstage Changing Rooms Auditorium with Wheelchair Space Provided Bar Second Foyer with Viewing Balcony Positioned off the Walkway Bar Store Polycarbonate Feature Wall Detail (see below) Internal Wall Detail (see below)
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LEGACIES OF MODERNISM A B C D
Polycarbonate Panel Vertical Light Steel Frame Glass Pane
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Debonded Lateral Restraint Tie 203 x 203mm Universal Column Dot and Dab Adhesive Timber Batten Plasterboard
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• Fire core is viewed as a sculptural feature articulated as a separate element and celebrated as a landmark. • Gap between the bridge and building to create a sense of arrival at the entrance from the walkway, an articulation of the two elements coming together. Visitor entrance is advertised via an overhang which is reminiscent of Brutalist high rise apartment blocks with recessed entrance and exposed structure • Sense of arrival is also expressed via the staggered staircase to the main entrance of the building on the ground floor.
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Elevated Seating Function Room Open Common Room Store Cupboard
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Waiting Area for Dance Classes Treatment Room Studio 1 Studio 2 Studio 3 Changing Facilities Open Common Room Second Hand Shop
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FINAL 1:100 MODEL As the visitor moves up through the space the suspended walkway becomes more condensed yet the overall appearance moves from opaque to transparent with movement seen from below via metal grid walkways. Light polycarbonate panels are used to hint at movement and powder coated steel is clad in front of the steel frame to create a clean, sharp aesthetic. Circulation is inferred as one way for both ascent and descent however is not prescriptive.
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Circulation routes branching out from the central core Manipulation of double height space facilitating dynamic elements (a cantilevered balcony and stepped seating). Demonstration of the layering sequence of the primary internal facade creating intriguing vistas. The arched facade provides a high level restraint to the elevated walkways via the use of portalised arch buttresses. Powder coated steel is fixed onto rectangular hollow steel sections (RHS). Inferred one way circulation 131
CIRCULATION AXONOMETRIC With reference to circulation axonometric study of OMA Kunsthall
Demonstrating the complexity of the building through a final circulation study. The circulation is shown as a separate component that can be viewed as the 'positive space' dictating the programme. The 'negative spaces' or rather the volumes coming off the circulation products of this exercise.
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SITE AXONOMETRIC WITH EXPLODED FACADE AND EXPOSED 'FRONT' Drawn at 1:100
Developmental axonometric of the finished building, showcasing the complexity of a working drawing but can still be regarded as a celebration piece.
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THANK YOU
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E. CONCEPT AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT:
Sophie Collins
‘Its monumental form remains enigmatic and suggests many analogies: an industrial stack; a truncated, volcanic cone; an enlarged astronomical instrument: even an oversized piece of modern sculpture’ The Architects Journal, Le Corbusier – Firminy, Curtis, William J.R. 2006, Volume 223, Part 14
The design concept employed by both Le Corbusier and then followed up by Jose Oubrerie consistently maintained the monolithic elemental design that Le Cobusier envisaged. The prismatic form of the church is an extruded blend of a circle (generating the unique truncated asymmetric cone) morphed onto a square-base, housing an exhibition center.
APPENDIX
Intial exploratory sketches, Le Corbusier
Contents includes: ARC3001 Case Study on 'The Church of Saint Pierre; 'ARC3013 Integrated Technology' and developmental work
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Le Corbusier’s interest in the form is echoed in the surface character of the wire frame and paper model for the Church of Saint Pierre Nov 1961
Nov 1962
Nov 1961
E. CONCEPT AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT:
Sophie Collins
Church of Saint Pierre 1973 - 2006
this is 1:300
The Pallace of Assembly Chandigarh, India 1953-1963
Additive and Subtractive
Geometry
Site Plan
Clark, R.H.& Michael Pause. (1985) Precedents In Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Here, I focus on defining geometries that Le Corbusier was preoccupied with including cones, cylinders and hyperbolic paraboloids (already employed in previous works, most notably in the Assemble Hall at Chandigarh, India 1953-63). The church was conceived as a vertical counterpoint to the surrounding terrain, positioned at the bottom of a valley. Whilst maintaining the crucial geometries both in masterplan and at a closer more localised scale, the ideology of the parishioners going ‘down’ to church to worship remained. Much like the strategic positioning of the wash basin in Villa Savoye being the ‘heart’ of the building - the celebration piece of the overall design; at Saint Pierre you are gravitated towards the sacred space to contemplate.
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J. ATMOSPHERE:
E. CONCEPT AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT:
Sophie Collins
Sophie Collins Elements that remain consistent throughout the timeline of plan iterations and section iterations
Elements that change throughout the timeline of plan iterations and section iterations
Plan
Concept for a church at Le Tremblay, Le Corbusier
June 1961
Oct - Nov 1961
Section / Elevation
Le Corbusier’s earliest ideas recalled his unbuilt church project of 1929 for Le Tremblay in which a rectangular shaft rose from a lower platform and was surrounded by an ascending ramp. May / June 1929 Le Corbusier
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The Church of Firminy is an unapologetically concrete building, although it could be argued that its real properties are light, shade, proportion and movement. This building according to Kenneth Frampton, (British Architecture) can only be encountered up close, fragment by fragment. 36
Basic section, Le Corbusier Oct - Nov 1961 Jose Oubrerie
June 1961 Le Corbusier
Van der Putt, P. (2007) ‘Beton (Concrete)’, Deutsche Bauzeitung. 141 (1), pp. 36
E. CONCEPT AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT:
Typically, a square is normally subjected to its geometric condition of non-orientation, and expected in architecture to express its internal centrality. But, in Firminy this rule does not apply and the plan seems to surprise us after witnessing the volumetric form from afar.
Sophie Collins
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J. ATMOSPHERE:
Sophie Collins
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It can be argued that whilst the monolithic nature remains through the iterative process, the church loses its purpose as a place of worship and rather the architecture is appropriated for serving as a museum, gallery space and general cultural space. There are even those that find Le Corbusier’s yearnings for the sublime inappropriate for the modern day catholic religion. The key threshold moment situated at the western end of the building was dictated by Oubrerie and not Corbusier. Furthermore, due to the desire to exploit tourism, the building is effectively experienced in reverse, with the primary entrance passing through the ground floor reception and shop to then emerge at the eastern end of the church space. Yet despite all this, the building does indeed correspond as closely as possible to the overall plans of 1964.
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The overwhelming atmospheric experience within the central space of the Church of Saint Pierre owes itself to the spatial connotations of the four colours characteristic of this space. According to Le Corbusier in ‘polychromie architecturale written for Salubra in 1931, ‘The blue and its green compounds create the space, give the distance, make the atmosphere… The red and yellow (and its compounds such as brown, orange, etc) fixes the wall, affirms its exact situation, its dimension, its presence’.
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The peripheral window slits have four colours that are different according to the orientation of each face: red for east, blue for west, green for the south, and yellow for the north. Firstly, this emphasises the encircling architectural form surrounding you with iridescent light, directing your gaze upwards. Secondly, you are reminded of the key threshold that you pass through at the beginning of the journey, whose flat colour panels resonate with the dashes of reflected colour.
Painted marks around the neighbourhood leading up to the church correlating with the interior painted lighting features
Section AA June 1962 Jose Oubrerie
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Dec 1962 Jose Oubrerie
Jan 1974 Jose Oubrerie
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J. ATMOSPHERE:
Sophie Collins
The strategic positioning of openings and coloured light helps to guide the upward spiral of human movement through the church. A specific area of interest includes the hints of light punctured through the monolithic mass to reveal the ‘outside world’ away from the transcendent atmosphere of the church. Deliberately, the lateral slots around the circumference of the building are slanted downwards to eliminate exterior views; it is only when we enter the building from the bridge where we see a threshold moment cut away from the portico to reveal the quotidian world. Here we are encouraged to ask if the decision to leave it behind is final.
Moments in other Le Corbusier precedents that question if you want to leave and enter the quotidian world: (L) Villa Savoye (R) La Tourette
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J. ATMOSPHERE:
Sophie Collins
6 am
6 pm Comparison between day and night of the Orion Constellation Arkitektuel (2019) Saint-Pierre Kilisesi. Available at: https://www.arkitektuel.com/saint-pierre-kilisesi/saint-pierre-kilisesi-20/ Accessed: 13 December 2019).
It can be argued that the atmosphere is artificial and deliberately manipulated for a greater impact when the sun’s intensity is not at its prime. For instance, filament lights are discreetly placed within the lateral slots and further lights are placed in the ceiling. Whilst the morning spectacle of streams of lights spreading across the interior is an architectural wonder, the atmospheric conditions have been exploited.
PLAN DEVELOPMENTAL WORK
However, even the concept of the Orion constellation was not forumulated by Le Corbusier. Instead, Oubrerie chose it on the basis that you can see it from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere, therefore viewed as a universal symbol of peace. Therefore, one might argue that a key atmospheric feature was formulated not by Le Corbusier but his protégé.
Initial geometries were taken from the Primer compositions with threshold ideas. Experimentation then took place, with reconfiguring the internal walls, in particular forming strong compartmentalised geometries. This finally resulted in the implementation of the void, strengthened via the use of planar elements staggered through the plan.
As demonstrated by the diagram above, the only constistent component which is not artificially manipulated is the Orion Constellation. This consists of 36 small openings each filled with plexiglass for the entire thickness of the wall. The fluid lines are not fixed, but move and change with the course of the sun. This makes the experience in the space unique and constantly changing.
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CULTURAL BIBLIOGRAPHY All photos are my own except any that are disclosed. Contents includes: cultural museums and galleries of interest; thinking through making workshops; online lectures and wider reading.
CULTURAL MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
Photographs left to right starting from top left, highlighting areas of interest in relation to my design journey. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh: Disorientating circulation and moments of discovery in the new extension. Hepworth Wakefield Museum (2): Showcasing sculptural volumetric language, which resonates with the notion of carving out the form. Sainsbury Centre of Visual Arts, Norwich: Intricate steel truss system and exposed cable trays. RIBA Headquarters, Portland Place, London, 'The Brutalist Playground Exhibition' (2): Foam replicates the shapes of concrete objects in playgrounds that were built to accompany British Brutalist housing blocks in the mid-20th century. 2nd Image taken by Dona (1955). Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: Alberto Giacometti study of the human form. Copenhagen: Antony Gormley. Design Museum, London: Stepped seating arrangement. Hatton Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne: Exhibition entitled 'Illuminating the Self', which takes the visitor inside an imagined landscape of the brain. The layered composition was a brilliant form of representation. Tate Modern, London: Olafur Eliasson: 'In real life' exhibition with the study entitled 'Your uncertain shadow', becoming aware of your body and the people around you. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh: Vulcan by Eduardo Paolozzi - this sculpture is represented as half-man and half-machine, a monument to the modern age.
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING WORKSHOPS Clay firing with Lewis Davidson and Casting with Hope Stebbing
Task 1 Clay firing: produced a patterned, detail or textured outputs - which could then be kilnfired. Task 2 Casting: explored quick and experimental casting processes; carved damp plaster to create specific shapes and forms; used pigments to change its colour; and worked with clay and foamboard to create formwork for casting plaster into particular shapes with particular textures. (RH Side) Pigmented plaster cast hinting towards Suprematist Modern Art, especially Kazimir Malevich
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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;(The) impossibility of questioning the nature of space and at the same time making or experiencing a real space' p.47
'Architecture has adopted the psychological strategy of advertising and instant persuasion; buildings have turned into image products detached from existential depth and sincerity' p.33
'Architecture ... can only be read as a series of fragments that make up an architectural reality' p. 182
'The Plan is the generator. Without a plan, you have lack of order, and wilfulness... Modern life demands, and is waiting for, anew kind of plan both for the house and for the city' p. 45
CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE COUPLING OF DANCE WITH ARCHITECTURE
'Nothing disappears completely ... In space, what came earlier continues to underpin what follows ... Pre-existing space underpins not only durable spatial arrangements, but also representational spaces and their attendant imagery and mythic narratives' p.230
I watched multiple cinematic film studies looking at the use of dance as an art-form using architecture as a stage. These would then inform my enquiry into the Foundation La Fayette Anticipations. A lecture lead by James Craig in the ARC3015 module entitled 'Movement and Mobility in Architectural Representation' (Lecture Date: 13th Nov 2019) stimulated my interest in this field.
'(It is the) space in-between that defines the potential depth' p.30
Top Image: A still photograph of me dancing taken in 2016 Bottom Left Image: 'A Tesseracts of Time: A Dance for Architecture' by Jessica Lang and architect Steven Holl Bottom Right Image: 'Dancing through the Architecture of Luis Barragan' by Andres Arochi
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Printed Books: Allen, S. (2009, p.30) Practice : Architecture, Technique and Representation. London: Routledge Ballantyne, A. (2002, p.182) What is Architecture? New York: Routledge Carlson, M. (1993) Places of Performance: The Semiotics of Theatre Architecture. London: Cornell University Press Colquhoun, A. (2002) Modern Architecture. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press Faulkner, T. Beacock, P. Jones, P. (2014, p.284) Newcastle and Gateshead: Architecture and Heritage. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Tyne Bridge Publishing. Judovitz, D. and Duchamp, M. (1995, p.29) Unpacking Duchamp: Art in Transit. Berkeley: University of California Press Larice, M. and MacDonald, E. (2013, pp.27-28) The Urban Design Reader. Abingdon: Routledge Leatherbarrow, D. and Mostafavi, M. (1993, p.76) On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Le Corbusier. (1997, 45) Towards a New Architecture. Oxford: Architectural Press Lefebvre, H. (1991, p.47) The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell Pallasmaa, J. (2012, p.30) The Eyes of the Skin. Chichester: Wiley Richards, S. (2003, pp.23-25) Le Corbusier and the Concept of Self. London: Yale University Press Straus, E. (1930, p.176) Formen des Räumlichen. Berlin: Springer Tschumi, B. (1994, p.47) Architecture and Disjunction. Cambridge: MIT Press Weston, R. (2011, pp.55-63) 100 Ideas that changed Architecture. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd
Websites: Chronicle Live ( 2016) Newcastle's Swan House area: Is it a city landmark or a city eyesore? Available at https://www. chroniclelive.co.uk/news/ history-newcastles-swan-house-area-city-12055997 (Accessed 22 Jan 2020) The Guardian (2017) A brave new world: what happened to Newcastle’s dream for a vertical city? Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/ cities/2017/feb/07/brave-new-world-newcastle-dream-for-vertical-city (Accessed: 22 Jan 2020) The Guardian (2015) Britain's Brutalist Playgrounds – In Pictures. Available at:https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/jun/09/ britains-brutalist-playgrounds-in-pictures (Accessed 12 June 2020)
Videos: Staging p.74-75 Mutant Stage 10 (2018) Directed by B.Roper. Available at: Vimeo (Accessed: 24 May 2020) Cultural Bibliography p. 148 A Tesseracts of Time: A Dance for Architecture (2018) Directed by J.Lang. and S.Holl. Available at: YouTube (Accessed: 17 January 2020) Cultural Bibliography p. 148 Dancing through the Architecture of Luis Barragan (2018) Directed by A.Arochi. Available at: YouTube (Accessed: 17 January 2020)
Brochures:
Staging p. 74-75 (Split frames of a video filmed in Fondation La Fayette Anticipations) La Fayette Anticipations. (2018) Composer les measures de son espace. Paris: La Fayette Antipations
Thesis:
Rosenburg,S. (2010) On Architecture and the Dancing Body: Changing Visuality. BA Thesis. Wesleyan University. Available at: https://wesscholar. wesleyan.edu/etd_hon_theses/509/ (Accessed: 20 Jan 2020)
List of Photographs and illustrations that are not author's own: Introduction p.2 (Gjon Mili stop motion photographs of one ballerina) Mili, G. (1944) Multiple Exposure of Alicia Alonso. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/editorial-how-gjon-mili-pioneered-stop-motion- photography (Accessed: 10 March 2020) Primer p.28 (De Stijl Theo Van Doesburg Composition) Doesburg, T. (1924) Construction Space-Time II [Gouache, Pen]. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Spain.
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Staging p.48 (National Museum of Scotland) Johnson, B. (2015) National Museum of Scotland - 2. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96149591@N04/21608581466/ (Accessed: 25 May 2020) Staging p.48 (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art) Speck, L. (2020) Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. Available at: https://larryspeck.com/photography/barcelona-museum-of-contemporary- art/ (Accessed: 25 May 2020) Staging p.49 (OMA Kunsthall) Werlemann, H. (2020) OMA Kunsthall. Available at: https://oma.eu/projects/kunsthal (Accessed: 25 May 2020) Staging p.56 (Legacies of Modernism Manifesto Collage) Author unknown. (1887-1965) Le Corbusier. Available at: https://architecturehereandthere.com/2018/01/02/review-of-book-on-corbusier/ (Accessed: 13 June 2020) Author unknown. (1960) Michael Caine: 1960s book by Graham Marsh. Available at: https://www.modculture.co.uk/michael-caine-1960s-book-by- graham-marsh-released-by-reel-art-press/ (Accessed: 13 June 2020) Author unknown. (1962) Wilf Burns, Lord Jellicoe, George Kenyon, TDS, Harry Russell. Available at: https://www.amber-online.com/collection/t-dan- smith-archive-i/ (Accessed: 13 June 2020) Author unknown. (1967) Yorkville. Available at: https://www.blogto.com/city/2016/08/what_yorkville_was_like_in_the_1960s/ (Accessed: 13 June 2020) Staging p.62-63 (Existing Site with Swan House, A167M and Manors Car Park) Barker, R. (2012) Swan House Roundabout. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbawag/8717868327/ (Accessed: 17 Jan 2020) Staging p.68-69 (Archived Images of the Wider Site Author Unknown (1971) Aerial View of the Construction of the Central Motorway and Swan House Roundabout. Available at: https://www. chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/how-newcastles-central-motorway-made-11924992 (Accessed: 3 June 2020) Author Unknown (1975) Aerial Shot of Swan House Roundabout, Newcastle,. Available at: hhttps://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/incoming/gallery/swan- house-roundabout-12056321 (Accessed: 3 June 2020) Staging p.76-77 (AS in DS) Smithson, A. (2001) AS in DS : An Eye on the Road. Baden: Lars Müller. Staging p.78 (Bernard Tschumi, Frankenstein) Damiani, G. (2003) Bernard Tschumi. London: Thames & Hudson Realisation p.96 (Photographic Montage) Author unknown. (2016) Swan House, Newcastle I. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/105871129@N08/27687944872/ (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Davies, J. (1960s) Urban Dreams - City State. Available at: https://www.redeye.org.uk/exhibitions/urban-dreams-city-state (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Clark, A. (2012) Vauxhall Cavalier SRi.. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdti/7931745560/ (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Colthorpe, D. (2008) Newcastle, Tyne Bridge, IV. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_mmx/4576210384/ (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Curtis, A. (2010) 55 Degrees North. Available at: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1673177 (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Dennan, P. (2010) Urban - Street Scene - Newcastle Upon Tyne. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpaul/18957966315/ (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Dixon, D. (2018) Manors Car Park Mono. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberflotsam/45896727455/ (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Ellwood, S. (2015) Manors-G-23-June-2015. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/steve-ellwood/18993670319/ (Accessed: 14 June 2020) Realisation p.102 (Half Moon Theatre) Sayer, P. (1985) The Half Moon theatre, Mile End Road, East London. Available at: https://hiddenarchitecture.net/half-moon-theatre/ (Accessed: 20 May 2020) Realisation p.102 (Bristol Old Vic) Haworth Tompkins. (2018) Bristol Old Vic, 2018 — a new public face for a Georgian theatre. Available at: https://www.haworthtompkins.com/work/ bristol-old-vic (Accessed: 20 May 2020) Realisation p.103 (Eadweard J. Muybridge Woman Dancing) Muybridge, E. (1887) Woman Dancing (Fancy): Plate 187 from Animal Locomotion. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/44243 (Accessed: 20 May 2020) Realisation p.106 (IBM Research Centre) Breur, M. (1958-62) IBM France Research Center, La Gaude, France. Available at: https://worldarchitecture.org/authors-links/czffg/ibm-france- research-center-la-gaude-france-1958-62.html (Accessed: 25 May 2020) Realisation p.116 (Bernard Tscumi, Parc de la Villette) Damiani, G. (2003) Bernard Tschumi. London: Thames & Hudson
Archive: Staging p.61 (Archived Image of Bank House taken from Newcastle City Library) Hillier Parker May & Rowden, ‘Modern Offices to be let: Bank House, Newcastle-On-Tyne’ (Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1960s-1970s), Local Historical Items Vol 7. L 942.8, Available via Newcastle City Library Archive
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