UNIT B: Northern Exposure by muchofmorley

UNIT B Northern Exposure Jessica Morley 11026112 Year Two U30021/22 2012 - 2013

The Architectural Uncanny Measuring the Unseen Touchstone The Geologist's Jewellery Box Barometer Mining Museum, Keswick

PROJECT 1:

THE ARCHITECTURAL UNCANNY Douglas House

Richard Meier's 'Douglas House' perches on the side of a steep slope by Lake Michigan, like a "machine-crafted object that has landed in the natural world". The choice of white gives the building a strong visual contrast to the natural landscape. For Meier, white maintains it's pure absoluteness as it does not change in relation to other contexts. It is also the memory or anticipation of colour. Entrance into the building is from a roof level bridge into the 'private' zone of the East side of the building.

Level Two Highest Level Two

Level Three

Lowest Level One

The public zone of the living and dining areas face Lake Michigan with large expanses of glass to get the best advantage of the view.

With its machine-like aesthetic Douglas House is like a camera, as it's main function is to be a vehicle through which you see the landscape. The contrasting colour and design of the building in relation to it's surroundings emphasises and accentuates the natural landscape - in a similar way to how a camera is used to highlight or bring attention to a subject.

PROJECT 2:

MEASURING THE UNSEEN Device Concepts

"Details...not just mere decoration...lead to an understanding of the whole of which they are an inherent part" Zumthor

The device works to magnify and emphasise details in order to study them more clearly.

Photographs: Costas Voyatzis

The device concentrates the eye on the detail of an object or place to build up an image of it as a whole from the multiple pieces.

"...consciously represses the full faculties of sight in order to exercise others, deeper and more potent..." Vidler 'The Architectural Uncanny

On site the device focuses the eye on one element in order to not be overwhelmed by the landscape as a whole. By concentrating the eye the other senses are given the opportunity to experience and understand the area. This means that it is not mainly the eye controlling a person's experience of the whole site. A richer comprehension should be created by the other senses.

"...near-sighted jeweller whose eyes enlarge small things, but to whom large things are out of focus..." Vidler 'The Architectural Uncanny'

DEVICE DEVELOPMENT The device uses mirrors and lenses to magnify and reflect the image to be studied closer to the user. A folding mechanism is integral to the design to make the device easily transportable to and around remote locations.

PRECEDENT:

History of Science Museum, Oxford Display of intricately crafted objects and mechanisms with designed and made with a focus on 'beauty' as well as scientific function

The device on the lid location of studied on

has a compass to record the the artefacts site.

PROJECT 2:

MEASURING THE UNSEEN Reflectoscope

Device in use

Honister Pass device results: Location-Detail-Wider Context

Exploded device drawings: Collapsed and extended

PROJECT 3:

TOUCHSTONE

Scale-less Landscapes The movement of water both manipulates and is manipulated by the landscape.

Water movement

Its presence and appearance in the landscape can give a visual indication of the unseen geological and geographical factors that shape the environment. It appears in the landscape at different scales: from a long established river to a temporary stream of road run-off.

Scale of water

Touchstone at the scale of Honister Pass

The touchstone explores the waters ability to perform at any scale using rocks found at Honister Pass as miniature landscapes. Experiments with water show how the movement of the water is altered by the different formations of the landscapes. Melted metal experiments were undertaken to record a permanent record of multiple journeys of liquids across the landscapes.

PROJECT 4:

GEOLOGIST'S JEWELLERY BOX Concepts

ITEMS TO DISPLAY - Stone: Basalt - Fragment: Tarmac - Stone: Slate and quartz - Wood fragment:

This is a very fragile and brittle element that will need protecting whilst it is being displayed.

DEVELOPMENT

All the touchstones must be able to be both displayed and protected in the jewellery box.

Designs explored the notion of spinning and twisting to reveal what is previously hidden Moveable and semi-permeable faรงades enable the exhibits to be protected but potentially revealed in the right circumstances.

Santa Croce, Florence The Giotto frescos were covered during restoration but limited access was permitted by climbing a route up the scaffolding. Key is the idea of concealing something to protect it, but still being able to reveal it at certain points.

Mary Rose, Portsmouth

Fallen tree at Derwentwater, Keswick

Sunk in 1545 and discovered in 1971 the shipwreck acted like a time-capsule of maritime life in Tudor England.

When a tree falls it exposes its previously unseen roots.

To preserve the remains of the hull it was kept sealed and sprayed with Polyethylene glycol to replace the water in the wood and strengthen the outer surfaces. It will then be air dried in controlled conditions for 5 years. Key to this is the idea of needed to seal or hide something for its own protection and conservation.

This change and movement reveals what is normally hidden and leaves an imprint or void where it once stood and existed.

The wood fragment is encased vertically in a protective column that is integral to the structure of the box.

PROJECT 4:

MATERIALS Natural birch twigs contrast to laser-cut plywood sheets and machine-cut dowel.

GEOLOGIST'S JEWELLERY BOX Realisation

CONSTRUCTION The tolerances between the Lap Joints hold the pieces together. This joint was chosen for the decorative potential of exposing the burnt edges of the laser-cut plywood sheets.

The wood fragment is encased as a column that when twisted turns cogs that reveal the rocks . The individual rocks can then be spun to display and study all aspects and details. The wood fragment is protected by a semi-permeable facade constructed from weaving birch twigs. The jewellery box can be fully closed to protect all of the exhibits enclosed.

Final drawings showing the different parts that make up the box. This concept of a 'progression of elements' would work well at the larger scale of a building.

Element One

Element Two

Element Three

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

Honister Pass Site Introduction

Honister pass is a mountain pass in the Borrowdale Valley. It is part of the B5289 that runs between Seatoller and Buttermere in the Lake District. Mining activity has occurred in the area since Roman times. The Westmorland Slate was mined until 1981 when the mine was closed. It is now functioning on a small scale producing slate for tourist products and roofing. The mine is a major tourist attraction in the Lake District with 125,500 visitors in 2012.

Site Plan 1:1250

Section line

Existing carpark panoramic: Not currently offering an appropriate experience of the surrounding epic landscape

SITE POTENTIAL 1 Raised beacon

SITE POTENTIAL 2 Valley view

SITE POTENTIAL 3 Stone remains of a bridge spanning the road linking the two sides of the valley for transporting mining goods

1. Youth Hostel 2. Road from Seatoller 3. Slate working yard 4. Slate workshop buildings 5. Visitor centre and cafe 6. Visitor carpark 7. Stone buttresses 8. Road to Buttermere 9. 'Old Monkey Track' path 10. Route to the mine tours 11. Old mining train route

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

All existing buildings on the site are infrastructure concerned with the mining and tourism activities.

Site Section 1:100

But what else does the landscape have to offer?

Youth Hostel

Slate workshops and visitor centre

Carpark entrance

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

Ecology Concepts

What else exists on the landscape beyond the slate and mining activities? The plants and geological formations of a landscape have always coexisted. However, the nurture of the ecology on site has always been compromised and not prioritised due to the focus on industrial mining activities.

WIDER CONTEXT: Lake District Just as the mountain plants grow best in sheltered crevices or alongside sources of water, the areas of most vegetation on a larger scale occur in the valleys between the hills and around water.

The Barometer should be an addition to the site that helps to repair the neglect of the plant life and draw the attention of visitors to the ecology as well as the mining. Plants act as natural barometers, with their health and growth representing conditions on site.

The Victorian Plant-Hunter

Improvements in train travel contributed to a surge in plant hunting and collecting in the Victorian era. This time period saw the Lake District emerge as a very popular destination. Although this practice helped the research and understanding of existing plants and new species, it had a detrimental effect on plants existing in the wild as they were found and removed for private study and exhibition in collections. Part of the role of the Barometer should be to repair the damage done to the diversity of plant species as well as acting as a collection of plants on site.

PRECEDENT Land artist: Alan Sonfist His piece 'Pool of Earth' explored the concept of using the growth of plants to repair a chemical waste dump.

PRECEDENT: Pre-Raphaelite Artists Nature and landscape was a major concern to the artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They were interested in depicting the landscape and ecology precisely, creating paintings that needed to be magnified to appreciate the detail. In many paintings the work could be viewed at many scales as the attention to detail means that individual paintings are created by zooming in on certain areas. For instance: a landscape can be a painted botanical study. Key to this is the idea of building up a experience of a larger area through the focus and precise analysis of small-scale elements. This is very similar to how the Reflectoscope Device treats a site. Images: 'Our English Coasts' (1852) William Homan Hunt 'Val d'Aosta' (1858) John Brett (1858)

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

Understanding the ecology The Lake District National Park covers 2,292km2 . In this area there is a wide variety of landscape and habitats created by the different rock formations and weather systems. The great diversity in the vegetation is dependant on the rocks underneath as this effects the soil that the plants grow from. The levels of lime in the soil is funder-mental for plant growth. Soils with high lime content have a wide range of plant life in abundance, whereas acidic soils tend to have few or very specialised plants.

Skiddaw Slate Series

Issues facing the plant life of the Lake District landscape include: - Nutrient leaching - Overgrazing of sheep - Atmospheric pollution - Plant Collectors - Tourists, walkers and climbers

Borrowdale Volcanic Series

- Oldest Lake District formation - Round and rolling slopes - Smooth slopes are mainly covered in grasslands and heathers

High peaks

Polygonum Viviparum Alpine Hawkweed Black Sedge Mossy Saxifrage Globe flower Lower Slopes

Ladies Mantle Minimum punctatum Purple moorgrass Mat grass Starry Saxifrage Wet/boggy conditions

StarSedge Deer grass Royal fern Polytrichum Commune Common butterwort

Lichens on rocks

Centraria Islandica Lecanora gangaleoides Rhizocarpon geographicium Xanthoria Parientina Lecanora atrobrunnea

- Wild and ragged terrain with many sheltered crevices and crags for mountain plants to thrive. - Lime and calcium rich - lime washed down the slopes rich flushes where plants occur

Windermere Group Namurian Permo-triassic Lias Igneous Intrusions Westphalian Borrowdale Volcanics Dinantium Eyott Group Mell Fell Conglomerate Skiddaw Group Shap Granite

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

Repairing the site

Using the existing raised carpark area to create a new route into the landscape.

Idea to transform the carpark mound into a terraced garden landscape to gather plants, people, water and routes through the site. Aim to encourage movement into the landscape instead of just passing through it. The barometer is a tool through which the ecology of the site is magnified.

Arrows indicate routes into the landscape from the visitor centre and carpark

PRECEDENT Land artist: Richard Long His work emerges out of epic walks that he takes throughout the world. He carefully rearranges natural elements to mark his journey. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nature has always been a subject of art...I wanted to use the landscape as an artist in new ways...my intention was to make a new art which was also a new way of walking: walking as art. ...this provided a simple way for me to explore relationships between time, distance, geography and measurement....â&#x20AC;? Richard Long

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

Terraces Development

Terraces model in context

PROJECT 5:

BAROMETER

Development

4 1. Simplified terraces for the ecology 2. Extend existing buttress wall 3. 'Root' steps against wall 4. Three rooms linked to an individual terrace 5. Viewpoint and seating 6. The stone terraces extend into the building linking the terraces and the inside space

6 5 2

3 1. Dry-stone wall 2. Glass roof - fixings are embedded in the stone wall 3. Truss 4. Roof (slate/steel/copper)

Exterior Section Sketch

Existing road

Water runs underneath the The terraces merge into the sloped building. It is visible and landscape audible in the partly-open parts of the building Change of surfaces to aid the transition between the inside and outside

The terraces join the existing 'Monkey-path' track and continues to explore the site

Interior Section Sketch

Stream diverted to run past the terraces creating a water garden and joins the water running under the building.

Bridge links the two sides of the valley

Buttress wall extended to 'root' the building. The stonework will be exposed inside the building

Seating integrated into the wall

Glass wall for the valley view. Also, the window overlooks the water running down from inside the building

PROJECT 5:

1. Entrance from carpark level 2. Sheltered outdoor room 3. Terrace route One 4. Enclosed room 5. Terrace route Two 6. Terrace route Three 7. Enclosed room 8. Existing stone buttress extended 9. Planted roof 10. View over landscape 11. Cantilever over existing stream

BAROMETER

Development MATERIALITY

2 Weathered Timber

Dry-stone wall

Corten Steel

4 3

7 9

10 Green roof

6 Extended stone wall 'Floating' view point

Change of levels in terraces to alter how you see the ecology

Wooden display case doubles up as part of the exterior facade Information rooms: Able to be completely closed. Contains displays and information on the ecology and walks

Water running down creating a water garden

Stream joining the existing water paths in the landscape

Exit from the building onto the lower terrace

Open entrance zone

Entrance to the bridge

SEMESTER TWO Project six Gathering Gardens Mining Museum, Keswick

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM

Tourist trail regenerating abandoned mining sites HAVOYSUND

PRECEDENT Norwegian Tourist Trials

VARANGER

SENJA ANDOYA LOFTOTEN

HELGELANDSKYSTEN Barometer: Force Crag Lead and Zinc Mine

Main Museum: Keswick Barometer: Threlkeld Granite Quarry

Route 8 GeirangerTrollstigen ATLANTERHAVSVEGEGEN GEIRANGER-TROLLSTIGEN RONDANE

GAMLE STRVNEFJELLSVEGEN

SOGNEFJELLET

Combining stunning scenery with new and exciting design along the 106km route.

GAULARFJELLET VALDRESFLYE HARDANGERVIDDA

AURLANDSFJELLET HARDANGER

RYFYLKE

JAEREN

Abandoned Mine/Quarry Sites:

Copper Slate Zinc Graphite Lead Limestone Iron Coal Granite

Barometer: Honister Slate Mine Barometer: Coniston Copper Mines

Barometer: Greenside Lead Mine

JUVET LANDSCAPE HOTEL This is situated in Burtigard, Gudbrandsjuvet. The concept behind the hotel is that each room is an independent house with several walls of glass to really place the visitors in the landscape and make the most of the scenery. . Architects: Jensen & Skodvin

GUDBRANDSJUVET GORGE This includes a circular viewing platform linked by a walkway to the Gudbrandsjuvet Café by the Valldøla river. Architect: Jensen & Skodvin Arkitektkontor

TROLLSTIGEN This is a series of zig-zaging walkways and viewing platforms located by the Romsdalen - Geiranger Fjord. This route is only open in summer and the materials used were chosen to withstand the severe winter conditions. Architect: Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter

ØRNESVINGEN

This is a viewing platform located by a waterfall at the highest point of the hairpin bends on the Ørnevegen road. More than 400,000 visitors visit this spot each year. Architects: 3RW Arkitekter and Smedsvig landskapearkitekter

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM Manifesto

A museum should not be a stationary record, fixed in the past and merely communicating accomplishments that have greatly proceeded. A museum should offer new understandings to the on-going dialogue between time and knowledge, using the past to learn for the future.

Ongoing dialogue

A museum is a vehicle for connection between times and places. A visitor crosses thresholds between time and experiences different things. It has also has a vital role in tying the urban landscape together. It must not merely act as an ornament to the city but as an integral working part of it: acting to educate, entertain, collate information and learn.

Connections between times and places

The Museum in Keswick exists at the centre of a wider 'Barometer' scheme in the Lake District to rejuvenate and repair the voids left by the mining and quarrying industries through the regrowth and nurture of the ecology. It gathers from each unique 'Barometer' site: collating the discoveries and displaying the research into nurturing and reintroducing lost and diminishing plant species.

Rejuvenate abandoned mining sites

As a museum it has an important role to play in the town, joining the cultural activities and facilities to heal the slow disintegration of the towns industries and cultural. The Barometers and the Museum act to celebrate and put-back into the landscape and town scape when so much of its history has been about taking-away.

Role in the town Centre of cultural activities Join a network of Barometer projects

Research and nurture the ecology

Concept sketch: Hidden Spaces

Hinged panels in the Picture Gallery

Layering of spaces: Long range

Ground floor plan with visitor route

PRECEDENT

JOHN SOANES MUSEUM

Hidden Spaces

Layering of elements: Close range

PRECEDENT

ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM

Visual discovery

Section: Sight-lines and the central staircase Ordered and clear arrangement of artefacts

Chaotic arrangement of artefacts

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM

Norwegian Glacier Museum Similarities

Fjaerland, Norway

Population: 300 Main Industries: Tourism and farming Town Attractions: Tourist Office, art gallery, church, Hotel Mundal, second-hand book shops, school and the Glacier Museum.

Geography: Located on a valley plain surrounded by mountains. The landscape was shaped by glaciers during multiple Ice Ages. The town is adjacent to the Fjord of Fjaerland. The main tourists are hikers and walkers. Landscape Attractions: Jostedal Glacier, Bøyabreen glacier, Bøyaøyri estuary, Flatbreen Glacier, Jostedalsbreen National Park, Supphellebreen glacier.

KESWICK, England

Population:4, 984 Main Industries: Tourism Town Attractions: Market, Pencil Museum, cafe, Theatre, Puzzling Palace, Leisure Pool, Sports Centre. Events: Jazz Festival, Beer Festival, Film Festival and Keswick Christian Convention Geography: North of Derwentwater, Lake District National Park Landscape Attractions: Castlerigg stone circle, Honister Slate Mine, Threlkeld Quarry Museum

5 1. Entrance 2. Reception and shop 3. Cafe / restaurant 4. Cinema 5. Exhibition Space

The Museum acts as a meeting place and information centre for hikers going up the mountains and the glaciers.

Entrance emphasised

Staircases lead up to a viewing platform at the top of building

The form represents the rock formations of the landscape

Skylights

Cafe and restau-

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM

Cultural Connections

Connecting Culture in Bilbao University of Deusto

Connecting Culture in Keswick

Guggenheim Museum

Just as the Barometers gather the ecology of the mining sites, the Museum must act to gather and rejuvenate the fading cultural centre of Keswick. Like the Barometers, the cultural facilities in Keswick need to be linked and connected to work to support and promote each other.

Fine Arts Museum Bilbao City Hall Teatro Arriaga

Connecting Culture in London St Pauls Cathedral Somerset House National Theatre Southbank Centre Tate Modern London Eye Houses of Parliament

The Moot Hall Pencil Museum Theatre by the Lake Cinema Train Station Keswick Museum

Restaurants CafĂŠs Museum Site

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM

Roots and Routes Existing plane tree to remain on site: Witness to many changes on site

Access to site through the alleyways and across the carpark

1860: Road to the train station

1890: Gas Works, Tannery and Pencil factory

9 10

5 1930: Industry declines and residential increases 1980: Void from industry becomes a carpark

Footprint of Gas works 1980's Footprint of Gas works 1890-1930

1. Main shopping / eating street 2. Access through alleyways 3. Car park 4. Bank Street 5. Existing museum 6. Exiting stone workshop 7. Existing B&B's 8. Site of the old Gas Works 9. Terraced cottages 10. Small carpark (ground is 3m higher than Museum site) 11. Footbridge across the river

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM

Otley Road Elevation

January

Bank Street Elevation

Plane Tree

Existing Museum to be demolished

Bike shop (closed down) to be demolished

April

August

Brewery Lane

Stone Workshop: to be demolished

Small car park behind site

Flood risk area Extreme flood risk only The buildings along the river side protect the site from flooding except in extreme circumstances.

Otley Road Elevation

Materials for re-use:

Site boundary Plane tree

Slate Roof Tiles

Existing Museum To be demolished

Dry stone wall

Change of Level Site boundary Choice to keep or remove the drys- The carpark behind Otley tone wall. It will need reinforcing to Road is 3m higher than prevent the other part falling down. the Mining Museum site The stones can be reused into the new construction.

Rubble for landscaping

Terraced Houses On the higher level of the carpark

Access to the carpark

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM Site Strategy

Initial Construction Strategy: River route

Demolish existing museum, stone-masons workshop and disused bike shop that are on the site Take care not to damage the tree, this is to remain on-site to provide shading and act as beacon to the entrance. Flatten the site and remove the 1m high level that the existing museum sat on

Link to the raised carpark site

Keep all materials/rubble in skips on the adjacent car park (part of the site) to be reused for landscaping Use the adjacent car park for construction access: storage of materials/equipment, deliveries and facilities for the contractors. Close Otley Road and redirect traffic down Brewery Lane Reuse materials from site where possible. For example: rubble for landscaping and stones for walls and rocky planting beds.

Otley Road: to be closed

Use local materials: the Museum is part of the landscape and part of Keswick and its construction should reflect this.

The Museum will provide:

Suitable location for material storage and deliveries to site

Plane tree: Keep

Visitor facilities Existing buildings : demolish

A cafĂŠ/restaurant to be location near the new town-river route through the site A garden shop with a separate entrance to the museum and near to the car park to make it easier for customers. Toilets (including disabled access toilets) Gallery space for local artists to exhibit work based around the themes of landscape/nature/local. The galleries must be suitable for frequently changing exhibitions that can be easily curated around different themes. The first exhibition will be of the 'Geologist's Jewellery Boxes'. Displays of information on Barometers/walks/local landscape/geology/ecology from the research of the botanists and scientists working at the museum that will also encourage the visitors to explore. Provide a meeting place for walking parties to travel into the landscape or return to the cafĂŠ. Landscape the site to join up the lower level with the higher level car park to provide access to the river. Establish clear routes to the other parts of the town and promote other local activities and facilities.

Research Facilities Growing spaces for the plants researched for the Barometers. This will need suitable growing conditions and be easily accessible for maintenance and for visitors to see.

Research Facilities

Visitor Facilities

Use the site as a botanical garden to reconnect to the landscape into the car park site and utilise this void space.

Growing spaces Garden landscape Study/research areas

Cafe/restaurant Shop Toilets Gallery Space Local walks information Meeting base for walks Route from town centre to the river

Provide research/working facilities for the scientists/botanists/ horticulturists to study and develop plants to be outsourced to the Barometers. As well as researching into what has been lost from the mine sites and what can be restored. Provide areas where researchers and visitors will interact. For example: tours of the laboratories, library and cafĂŠ/restaurant.

Town Centre route

PROJECT 6:

MINING MUSEUM

Alpine House Precedents Alpine House, University of Oxford Botanic Garden

Compared to the Kew Gardens Alpine House, this example seems very low-tech and basic. However, the same principles apply. Constant natural ventilation is supplied through the open door, multiple windows and the floor/wall vents. Solar shading can be provided by the roll down shades on the roof.

Different requirements to a traditional greenhouse: Cool Well ventilated Low humidity

Alpine House at Kew Gardens, Wilkinson Eyre (2006) Natural Ventilation

The building is never completely sealed to maintain a cool environment inside. In this way it is designed for the comfort of the plants not the people Solar shading

Only pulled out and used in very sunny conditions Routes

A wide unplanted pathway clearly shows the divide between the walking and planting areas. Planting

The plants grow on layered rocky planting beds. The different levels not only provides different sight lines but also provides varying conditions of sunlight and ventilation for the plants. The sun heats the air inside the Alpine House which rises and sucks in colder air as it leaves through the top.

This Alpine House was designed to recreate the same environmental principles as a Termite Mound

Like the Termite, the Alpine House is shapes and orientated so that the least amount of surface area is heated by the midday sun. As a result the solar heat gains that would effect the internal growing environment are minimised.

Cooling and Ventilation :Concrete Labyrinth

Air is drawn in by a fan and pushed through the cold concrete which cools it. The air then leaves through pipes in the planting beds.

PROJECT 6:

Design Explorations 1:

Programs of spaces and initial designs

Creating growing environments.

MINING MUSEUM

Linking the spaces required through manipulating route.

Plan

Initial Program of Spaces: Public Access GARDEN

Elevation

GARDEN CENTRE

Studies of visitor movement

Sealed gallery blocks

ENTRANCE

Naturally ventilated spaces for growing

CAFE

Design Explorations 2:

GALLERY

MOUNTAIN PLANTS

GALLERY

Splitting the facilities in a campus style with gardens in-between.

HILLSIDE PLANTS

Resulted in an disorganised and confusing collection of buildings

GALLERY

Stone wall materiality on the model

LOWER PLANTS GARDEN