PDP Diary Semester 2 Mufaddal Nagree K1130963
“When (the city) was first built, the wood had cunningly had itself hoisted up top, leaving the stone to the foundations, cellars and cisterns. Down there in the half-darkness, the stone had to fight the rising damp and the groundwater, while the wood, nicely carved and carefully tended, adorned the upper floors. These were light, almost ethereal: the city’s dream, its caprice, its flight of fancy. Now the fancy had met its limit. After giving the upper floors such privileges, the city seemed to have changed its mind, and hurried to rectify the error. It had them covered with roofs of slate, as if to establish once and for all that here stone was king.” – Ismail Kadare, Chronicle in Stone
City of Stone Field Trip to Gjirokastra Little Experiences Situated in southern Albania, the city of Gjirokastra cushions itself within the high altitude of the Drino valley overlooking a historic and awe-striking landscape wrapped by snow capped mountains. This ‘city of a thousand steps’ comprises hundreds of Ottoman-style tower houses with distinctive stone roofs, wooden balconies and whitewashed stone walls. A walk along the steep cobbled streets of the ‘City of Stone’ makes one realize soon enough that only one aspect dominates the region; the castle. Whilst most of the rest of the architectural elements are influenced by the Ottoman Empire, the topography and nature of the region itself has caused the city to grow on slopes with the help of natural stone and woodwork, giving it a distinctive identity. Whilst the castle and views are prominent features of the city, the spaces of the Tower-houses are not less inspiring. These houses were built for wealthy merchants and landowners and therefore its architecture reflects the heavy history of the region where security was extremely important against raiders and foreign invaders. Elevated by stone masonry, the houses typically have windowless ground floors for security and used mostly for storage and animals. The floors in between would be used during winter with wooden floors and plastered stone insulated with goat hairs. The upper floors, relatively more generous in scale, were typically timber structures, decorated and articulated by local craftsmanship, with a central open balcony space for the hot summer months.
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Surviving Mosque built in 1754
Promenade: Castle
left, bottom
Watch/Clock tower left, top
Ruins of staircase on terrace opposite
Entrance to Castle
View of the city and beyond from the Castle
Tower House: Elevated stone masonry
above, left
Tower-house: stone staircase meeting timber floor; light and shadow above, right
Tower-house: dark and cold spaces within stone walls; light and shadow bottom, right
Tower-house: warm sensitive spaces; use of opening under staircase
Tower House: Secret passage
The School for Crafts Hamam Site As a studio the main ethos was to provide an alternative for living and working in Gjirokastra and to propose a school for crafts and techniques that have been neglected in the city in the recent past. The school would be a model for improving the standard of living within the UNESCO heritage boundary. The notion is not restoration, but rather, revitalisation. The Hamam site seemed appropriate to locate this proposal. Not only does this site define a ‘territory’ within the remains of a Hamam and Mosque and the Communists’ electrical tower, but the story that it tells and the change of levels around makes it a deeply sensitive and fascinating site to work with. Initial thoughts as part of strategic planning were about the possible deconstruction and/or relocation of illegal existing structures and the restoration of a working Hamam and public space around it. Approach and Context The approach was to propose a set of small scale buildings that would make up the school; the main workshop, exhibition and gallery, and the library. These buildings would then speak the same tectonic language of exposedaggregate concrete construction, defining a ‘territory’ of the school, but also ‘weaving’ its structures back into the city; as if the concrete had started to grow from the stone. The relationship between the wider and immediate context was important to consider to implement this ethos of weaving. Two site models were built at 1:200 and 1:50 scale to understand the topography and roof-scape and the complex levels of the immediate context respectively.
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Sketch view of three fountains and of imagined Minaret that used to exist
above, left
Hamam roof bottom, left
Hamam entrance bottom, left
View of Hamam from Mosque stairs
left
Mosque on site: to be restored and extended to propose library right
1950s electrical tower: to be replaced with similar scale tower to propose gallery/exhibition spaces
above, left - right
Site entrance promenade bottom, left
Fountain on foot of minaret bottom, left
Fountain on front elevation of mosque
1:200 Context model showing unplanned nature of site with cast roofs to resemble the city’s character. Model by Mufaddal Nagree, Rohullah Omidi and Quendrim Berisha
1:50 Immediate Context model showing relationship between the levels, Hamam, Mosque and Electrical Tower on site Model by Slawomir Turek, Nael Kazma, Pavel Stankov and Camille Lacoste
top - bottom; left - right
Design development; use of 1:200 massing models Set of buildings approach; looking at various forms with notion of bridging two sides; possible relocation of existing house for workshop building; over hanging upper floors, addressing views and back to retaining existing house.
Strategic sketching: Mapping out initial responses to and ideas of site and proposals respectively
Strategic sketching: studying footprints for collection of `folleys` that `weave` into the city
Strategic sketching: studying different volumetric options for workshop building as part of proposal
The workshop The aim was to develop the workshop based on the resolved aspects of the Gallery and Library to provide a set of buildings that complement each other and speak the same language, standing out, yet belonging to the site. The existing house which constrains the site is to remain part of the proposal after thorough thinking, mass-modelling and reduction of program. The proposal is left at development stage due to time constraints; however it aims to address the topography and outdoor spaces for work which would determine its form. Other features that complement the Gallery and Library as well as the Hamam include roof profiling, heights and subtle kinks in form.
Sketch studies for volumes of workshop building on site
1:50 Sketch models in context showing possible workshop form in relationship to the Gallery and Library with height change from adjacent house down to the level of the Hamam
Gallery The existing electrical tower built by the Communists did not seem to complement such a deeply sensitive site and therefore it seemed appropriate to deconstruct it and replace its footprint with another small tower which would accommodate exhibition and gallery spaces for the School of Crafts. The aggregate from the deconstruction would then be part of the exposed concrete construction. The form was primarily influenced by the tower-house typology; generous upper floors, deep-volume openings and the importance of the ‘Deewan’ space. The use of subtle kinks and varied scaled windows in the Villa Garlbald by Miller and Maranta further informs the development of this proposal.
above/opposite
Sketches to develop plan and section of the Gallery
Villa Garbald by Miller & Maranta: Looking at context, views, windows and form Photographs by Detail.com
The importance of the journey towards the top reflects the nature of the towerhouses and since the building material was to be exposed concrete, it seemed appropriate to refer to cantilevered staircases with similar tectonic character.
Stairs by Roger Boltshauser
Sketch studies of upper most floor in a Tower House (Zekate) left-right, top-bottom Deewan space Decorative balcony Deep volume opening Corner openings Fireplace
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT North facing elevation East facing elevation 1:100
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left-right
1:50 Model: Window linings and subtle kink in upper floor
1:50 Model: Sectional relationship between floors and subtle height change in third floor
1:20 Interior model development: Layers of construction; cantilevered staircase; wall and ceiling junction
left-right
Visualisations; third floor: Model with views and charcoal interior perspective showing light and shade
Visualisations in context
Mosque to Library Initial thinking and planning The remains of an Ottoman mosque; destroyed under the Communist regime, has currently been illegally converted and extended to a dwelling. The original footprint of this ‘Hamami Mosque’ shows a typical layout; elevated entrance expressed by a fountain into a loggia space and into the main prayer hall which has an indent in the center; the ‘Mehrab’, where the ‘Imam’ would have led the prayers. This prayer hall, along with another story that existed, accessed from the loggia entrance, where the women would have prayed, and the roof was destroyed during the Communist era in the hatred and discouragement of religion at the time. It seemed appropriate to propose a relocation of the dwelling and a new extension to the remains to a Library space for the School of Crafts. A mosque, or any religious structure, stands as an identity for that particular community and a library attempts to speak a similar language; an identity of a school, a university, a discipline or a local community. The idea was to propose a fusion of these two typologies; to complement the existing, but to build a clear contemporary building growing from an existing torn identity of the site to a promising new identity for the school and the wider community. The layout was influenced by the rigid geometrical spaces of mosques with a fusion of Alvar Aalto’s libraries; double height reading spaces and book shelves and circular roof lights. The aim was to create an ambience that would remind one of a spiritual and formal space. The new facade was to be classical; three ogival openings with the central one being slightly larger, echoing the importance of the ‘mehrab’, the ‘imam’ and a central space.
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Understanding story of Mosque on site and using original footprint and geometry for layout
Viipuri Library by Alvar Aalto
Fatimid architecture; Egypt: Screens in openings for ventilation and filtering light Photos by Taha Raja
above, left
Initial ideas of Mosque extension for library as part of proposal above, right
Further development of Mosque extension for library as part of proposal; central access to double height space bottom
Refining ideas; gallery and central double height reading space
The criticism was that the flat roof did not meet those ambitions of creating the imagined ambience. Therefore after thorough thinking, a subtle curve was introduced growing from the existing to the new with a 900mm up-stand. The circular arrangement of roof openings echoes the plan of the Hamam domes.
above
Sketch models at 1:50 studying form and roof options opposite
Sectional study looking at double height space
Sketch studies of roof options for Mosque and extension
right, top-bottom
Further sketch iterations of roof form and sketch model above, left
Sectional study on final roof form
1:50 Model in Context
Visualisation in context; Library
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Mosque to Library Tectonic study: Structure and services strategy The library is an extension to an existing stone structure made up of in-situ concrete load bearing walls and ribbed roof to minimise load on the existing supported by reinforced concrete upstands on the stone and a thickened edge raft slab. Secondary structure includes a gallery floor slab and a cast staircase leading to the double height space. Tertiary structure includes stair and gallery hand railing.
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The building is primarily naturally lit and ventilated with the help of south facing windows and circular roof lights. The concrete provides thermal mass, slowing down the temperature change inside. The temperature is regulated by underfloor heating pipes and roof consists of thick insulation to minimise heat loss. Plant room and WC’s are planned at basement level for convenient servicing.
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Isometric structure diagram
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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
left, top-bottom
Section showing dead and live loads, drainage and foundation type Roof plan showing primary and secondary beams to reduce load on stone and support openings right, top-bottom
Section showing ventilation and artifical lighting Plan showing plant room, undefloor thermal control and drainage
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Structural and Services diagrams
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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
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Ground - rock Drainage mat and drain tile Compacted granular sub-base Reinforced thickened edge slab foundation Gravel fill Sill plate Damp-proof membrane and protection board for it Sand screed and insulation with pockets to hold underfloor heating/cooling pipes In-situ concrete walls with cavity insulation Double glazed sealed units in timber frame 10
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Envelope study: Foundation and floor detail
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“Sunday had spread all over the city. It looked as if the sun had smacked into the earth and broken into pieces and chunks of wet light were scattered everywhere - in the streets, on the window panes, on puddles and roofs. I remembered a day long ago when Grandmother had cleaned a big fish. Her forearms were splattered with shiny scales. It was as if she had Sunday in her whole body. When my father got angry, he had Tuesday.”
– Ismail Kadare, Chronicle in Stone