Nick Wright MArch 2 IDR by nickwrightarchitecture

Re - Think Re - M a k e Re - Shape I n t e g r a t e d Nick Wright

33240317 MArch 2 Abstract Machines May 2014

D e s i g n

R e p o r t

Re - Think

Re-thinking the traditional methods and ways of life, to better understand and work within the local context

Re - M a k e Re-make using contemporary, technical knowledge but using local materials and construction methods

Re - Shape Re-shape the community, the school and the development of the children

This report gives an overview of the thesis project, re-think re-make re-shape, with regards to the starting point of the research and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grounding within the studio group and wider architectural context. The report will then cover the project with regards to management and law, covering issues such as planning restraints, costing and procurement.

This report can also be found at: http://nickwrightarchitecture.com/Integrated-Design-Report

Executive Summary The thesis design project aims to develop a working method within East Africa with a physical manifestation of this taking place at a school for orphans in rural Uganda. This has arisen from close personal connections with the school and an interest in the possibilities that can grow from such strong contextual restrictions, be they regarding materials, the environment, infrastructure, healthcare or simple education, all of which pose major limitations within this context. The project will therefore research structural, material and environmental systems specific to this context whilst also researching traditional social systems with a view to building the local community around the school. I have a strong connection with the client, Godfrey Walugembe, whose father founded the school for orphans, with a masterplan being developed for the school in line with requirements seen and experienced whilst visiting the area, including; classrooms, a dormitory, teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing, a library, workshops and public space for social interaction.

Pictured Left: Godfrey Walugembe and the headmaster Ssekajja Gideon

Contents Report One: Design & Technology Personal Position

p.1-2

Design Studio Context The Design Thesis

p.3-4

p.5-14

Technical & Technological Questions Further Development

p.15-18

p.19-20

Report Two: Management & law Planning Issues

p.23-24

Development Appraisal Scenario Procurement & Risk

p.25-26

p.27-29

Architectural Practice

p.30-32

Professional Reflection

p.33-34

Appendix Funding Information References

p.37-38

p.39-40

Curriculum Vitae

p.41-42

Pictured Left: Typical classroom at Good Samaritan Primary School

Report One

Report One: Design & Technology

Personal Position My MArch One projects have led me to a discourse surrounding parametric architecture and computational systems, with my projects research using rule based, iterative systems in order to provide an optimised site specific output. Whilst there are a long list of benefits to these systems I have recently come to question the limitations of these systems, most particularly in my MArch dissertation whereby a conclusion of critical thinking and relating these digital processes back to the real world was drawn,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;So I would like to advocate less algorithms, more responsiveness, less technological drunkenness and more direction. Less siliconechippery, more brain.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Chris Wise, Imperial College London (Hensel et. Al 2004 p.57).

This has led me to consider the possibilities of these thought processes when put to use on problems relating to extreme contexts and humanitarian projects with a view to the interaction of social and material systems. I believe that the user, the designer, should remain the intelligent, creative factor in the system, to allow complex, optimised solutions to be grown from a specific human or natural need, be they social, technological or environmental. Creating complex architectural thinking that empowers and benefits those that need it most.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Throughout university I avoided all discourse surrounding parametrics because I felt that the agenda of many students was to develop an impressive image or aesthetic as opposed to applying the process in a more meaningful context.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Philippe Block, BLOCK research group, University of Zurich.

Report One

Design Studio Context The Abstract Machines unit focuses on rule based performative systems to provide an architectural intervention that emerges from it’s specific social and environmental site context whilst creating efficient, optimised material, structural and servicing systems. These solutions arise from research, data mapping and diagramming of specific interrelations. A large emphasis is placed upon exploring solutions, be they form or system based, through digital simulations and analog modelling exercises in order to understand and evaluate the processes behind the systems. The unit’s work draws a great deal from the computational and tectonic explorations of the ICD at the University of Stuttgart as well as the emergence and complexity theories of the emergent technologies and design unit at the Architectural Association run by Achim Menges, Michael Weinstock and Michael Hensel as well as the writings of Mark and Jane Burry on the new mathematics of architecture. This working method provides an optimised, site-specific solution be it a material or tectonic system, a sculpted formal solution or a development model, this has proven to work on a wide variety of scales from small tectonic pavilions to city wide mapping and growth exercises. My key interest in this working method is the creation of tools and working methods for a given situation to better equip the designer to achieve the best possible solution.

“One of my deepest convictions is that the architect should first design his instruments, his technical and disciplinary equipment. This is returning to ones origins, which is further justified today in the light of conventionalism and mass production of the conceptual process. If one does not intervene in the making of instruments, in its processes we risk having our work relegate to the periphery where there is only space for ineffective and nostalgic operations.” – Renzo Piano Pictured right: ICD Research Pavilion (2012) [Online image]. Available from: <http://www.itke.unistuttgart.de/img/bilder/1943-Pavillion%202012-1.jpg> [Accessed 22 April 2014].

Report One

The Design Thesis My MArch design thesis draws from the computational and parameter driven design skills I developed in the first year of the MArch, with the intention of testing the possibilities of these systems within an extreme scenario; a school for orphans in rural Uganda. The site and social background for this thesis sets a number of challenges from the harsh equatorial climate to simple services, site access and local traditions and cultures. This project uses the studio ethos to develop a project that I have had an active involvement in for the past six years and a close personal link, through my family, for most of my life. In March 2007, I became involved with Good Samaritan Primary School for orphans. Since visiting the school in rural Uganda with my family six years ago, we have been involved in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development through construction and infrastructure projects, and through connections to various UK schools, institutions and charities. The first aim of the thesis is to address an ongoing need for a new dormitory building to house the growing number of orphans at the school, with the simulation techniques described earlier being used to develop a system for creating a more comfortable environment using the local tools and materials. Returning to the school in September 2013, I surveyed the buildings again and discussed the project with the teachers, orphans and local population this opened up a new set of social challenges, prompting the thesis project to dig deeper and address these social problems, with a view to improving the education of the local children in a country with one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest youth unemployment rates and improve the prospects and give a second chance to a community wounded by poverty, conflict and an HIV pandemic.

Right: Existing school site with buildings highlighted in orange.

Report One

50m

100m

Contours at 1m intervals

Report One

7 Corrugated roof with timber trusses

Newly repaired section

Mud brick

Open roof space over classrooms

Timber shutters

Above: Typical school building showing how the structures are in need of upgrading.

Open spaces between classrooms increase noise

Report One

Unfinished floor is unsafe and can cause infections in bare feet

Timber shutters and no doors compromise security

Despite the openings the classrooms can still be dark and dusty

Above: A few of the many problems with the current buildings where the spaces are hot, dark, dusty and disease ridden. Below: Surveying the building stock and the current dormitory conditions for the orphans

Report One

The Design Thesis The research for this project provides a framework model for developing similar schemes within East Africa, creating a tool kit and working method to be utilized across the country. This tool kit contains material, structural and environmental systems that can be implemented by the local people to improve their own surroundings, whilst the technology and knowledge transfer employed in this process brings to empower a community through educating and creating skills. A wide range of works have influenced the development of this project, from small scale projects undertaken by local people to large scale humanitarian projects as well as theoretical research papers on tribal growth patterns. The most influential of these works has been that of the MASS Design group and their publication, Empowering Architecture, this details a change in architectural thinking to beyond the building from community interaction to benefiting lives after construction. Computational and analog analysis and research methods have also had a great impact on the direction and depth of the project, utilizing the data gained through social interaction and first hand research within a computational framework to best determine the outcomes of the project with the work on non-planned settlements by Frei Otto and Eda Schaur at the University of Stuttgart. The Thesis uses this combination of social interaction as the criticism mentioned earlier for the digital processes, providing clear guidelines and parameters to develop a system within a harsh context to benefit and empower people through the construction and beyond the building. The framework and design processes developed within the thesis project have been applied to the Good Samaritan School site as an example of how these methods could manifest themselves within such a context with strategies relating to materials, structure, environmental, landscape and individual building typologies.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;If architecture is only thought about as a commodity, we fail to acknowledge all the other indicators which may create impactâ&#x20AC;? Michael Murphy - MASS Design Group

Report One

Workshop Plot

Library & Market Plot

Dormitory Plot Classroom Plot

50m

100m

Left: Proposed master plan Above: Teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing and dormitory plot Next Page: Dormitory building Note: Images and design are work in progress.

Report One

Technical & Technological Questions The computational and analog simulation techniques developed in the first year of the MArch have been taken a step further to remove the digital fabrication requirement that the computational systems are so suited to, this has required an advancement of the processes rather than a step back as the processes of form finding and construction must be fully understood to ensure that any simplified version is equally if not more effective. Development of specific tools was also required to allow local workers to perform tasks usually reserved for a robotic arm, this creation of tools means a new marketable skill is taught to the people within the community. Analysis of environmental systems has also been developed to ensure aspects ranging from ventilation to sunlight and acoustics is covered and optimised within the design to create specialized building methods to be taught to the local people and also creating suitable working and learning environments for the school.

Above: Digital experiments with form and using new vaulting techniques Right: Physical experiments using scale versions of the repeating tiles created on site.

Report One

Technical & Technological Questions The biggest technical questions for myself came from learning about the specific context ranging from material and structural knowledge to simple living conditions and local cultures, this was to ensure my systems and designs would be effectively integrated into the current context. To aid this personal development, my last visit to Uganda and the school in September 2013 was intended as a research trip to study the surrounding infrastructure, people, materials and construction and environmental strategies this ranged from interviews with local people to getting involved with the process of making mud bricks to better understand how the processes can affect the overall building product. This research also led to a greater understanding of the availability of resources in a country with a poorly developed transport system and how this affects the construction and development of these rural sites. Another piece of first hand research came from spending time at Peatfield & Bodgener Architects in the Nsambya district of the capital, Kampala in 2010. This gave me a greater understanding of infrastructure and legislation in the country as well as typical building practices and costing. In September 2013 I made a return visit to the practice to discuss this thesis project to gain a better understanding of the limitations and problems faced as well as the opportunities within the country. Working in line with this first hand research the project looks at earth construction and on site materials to develop a new language for the traditional techniques, ranging from new methods of brick construction to entirely new systems of tile vaulting and cast earth, all of these strategies provide efficient new working methods and skills whilst avoiding the need to transport excess materials to site.

Right: First hand material research, Peatfield & Bodgener

Report One

Further Development The main areas of further development for this project involve a physical manifestation of the defined process on the Good Samaritan School site; this will be an ongoing process that was started upon my first visit in 2007. The research undertaken during this thesis project highlighted a few major issues with the current school site both in its buildings and infrastructure, in particular the current sanitary conditions which are in urgent need of upgrading on grounds of disease spread and water contamination. I have therefore been heavily involved in developing sanitary solutions for the school including latrine location and specification; this has also involved applying for funding from Rotary International. I have almost secured ÂŁ6000 with the intention of utilizing these funds on a visit to the school in July of this year. This then highlights the extent this project could go in regards to actual school development and is something I intend to work on in the future. See funding information pages. Another aspect of further development involves the research into earth tile vaulting systems, I would be very interested in pursuing this further both in relation to the behavior of the on site materials as well as the form and potential of the tile vaults. Below: Required toilet distances based on design guidelines and WHO document, the school does not currently meet these.

Toilet to water source = At least 12.5 metres

Above: Current toilet block, simple pit latrine, serving 250 children

Toilet to classroom = Between 10 and 50 metres

Report One

Report Two

Report Two: Management & Law

This second part of the report will cover the restrictions and challenges faced when working with this harsh context with relation to the thesis project whilst also referencing further experiences and research undertaken within the country with relation to issues such as workforce, infrastructure and costing. Image right: building site visited at Mackay Memorial College in Kampala

Report Two

Planning Issues The planning laws within East Africa are quite loose, with many rural settlements being erected without any outside input; the usual procedure is to copy a neighbouring building, often using the same builders. Despite this, there are still various guidelines in place to ensure a building is suited to the context and functions efficiently. These can be found in the East Africa Design Guidelines, which contains documents from architects, engineers and government sectors including large portions written by the Uganda ministries for health and education. These provide information on general practices such as building orientation and classroom sizes and also more specific information such as working with the available materials and designing the building to resist the heavy downpours during the rainy seasons. These guidelines and small planning restrictions in place should be adhered to in order to create spaces that are healthy and safe for the users, utilizing information gathered by professionals within the region. Creating buildings that are satisfactory to the education and health ministries is also of great importance to the success of Good Samaritan Primary School, this is because as a private school reaches a certain size the government begins to take interest, sending officials to check the quality of the classrooms, teachers and services. Failure of these could result in closure and the relocation or homelessness of the orphans. Whilst a building that excels in these tests will be recommended to new students, increasing income for the school and social interaction for the orphans. Spending time at Peatfield & Bodgener architects as well as the discussion with the practice in September has raised my awareness of these guidelines and how to meet them.

To meet these various guidelines and regulations strategies have been developed to advance traditional material and structural systems incorporating advanced waterproofing and harvesting techniques to protect the buildings during the wet season whilst also providing ventilation strategies to provide a comfortable learning environment. In addition to these loose technical guidelines, I feel that social responsibilities play a large role in the development framework for the school, almost acting in place of strict planning restrictions, whereby requirements discovered through interaction with the people both technical and spatial begin to create a new set of planning guidelines, these can be drawn up as rules and be utilized as a framework for further developments.

Report Two

Development Appraisal Scenario The site being developed in this project is already under ownership of the client, Godfrey Walugembe, and has been set aside for future school development with a list of requirements already drawn up by myself and the client, with the dormitory project being of highest priority. As mentioned earlier, successful development of the school will bring financial benefit in the long term, as the school will be favoured by government schemes, attracting more fee-paying children. Past development at the school as been undertaken at a personal level with the majority of involvement and funding coming through myself and my family, ranging from personal investment to attracting funding from UK schools and institutions, this funding model is still suitable although may need to be advanced in order to allow the school to reach itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full potential. In order to achieve this, further funding sources would have to be acquired, this is already in place as mentioned earlier with the securing of funds from Rotary International, a well known charitable organization. This process of presenting the project to charities, schools and institutions is something I intend to continue with the possibility of up scaling to larger NGOs within the country. A rough costing estimate has been worked out for the dormitory building within the masterplan through information gathered on my previous visit from local people, tradesmen, building merchants and workshops. Labour costs for the building can also be estimated although due to the advanced nature of construction these are slightly different as initial costs would be low as skills training is provided. Once fully trained it is expected that the advanced skills learnt by the locals would be of a higher value than traditional practices, the labour is therefore estimated based on previous quotes at the school with the expectation of an added percentage on future buildings. This highlights the added value given to the community through skills and job creation. See Appendix section for fund raising information.

Compressed Bricks -

Fired Tiles -

Based on figures gained from previous projects at the school and exact brick numbers.

Based on figures gained from previous projects at the school and area required to cover - areas include ceiling vaults and additional layers.

7500 bricks (rounded up to account for wastage) at 400 Ush each

150 Ush per tile

= 3m Ush = £750

1300 Sq. m. at roughly 50 tiles per Sq. m. = 9.75m Ush = £2437.50 - Although likely to be cheaper as constructed on site.

Rough costing estimate. Estimates shown for compressed bricks and fired tiles further detail provided in the thesis portfolio. Estimates the figures are all based on previous quotes gained in the country.

Dormitory Cost: exc. labour = 32,778,000 Ush = £8194.50 Inc. rough labour estimate = 38,778,000 Ush = £9694.50

Report Two

Procurement & Risk Procurement of the project takes a different route to the traditional methods used in this country with the project taking the route more common within its rural context. This refers to a mixture of community build and professional labour whereby the important aspects are skills training and knowledge transfer to the local people meaning initial training exercises would be undertaken. These training sessions would be undertaken with a local construction team with whom I have worked with on previous projects at the school this allows them to become experts within the field and utilise this masterplan as a method of marketing their skills. The entire design process has been focused on creating a complex functioning system within the many limitations present on site, most notable of these is the poor infrastructure within the country and the remote nature of the site, this has led to a development of on site hand crafts as well as the repetition of small structural components as is common with locally fired bricks in the area. The advancement of these materials and skills has required computational input and research by myself, meaning that these must be transferred to the local builders in a format that they understand, keeping in mind that the current literacy level in the country stands at 66%, to achieve this systems of colour coding and simple diagrams have been developed and would be covered in the training sessions. Injury and death on construction sites is commonplace within the capital, Kampala, this includes death after construction through collapse, although the buildings within the school development are of a much smaller scale than those in the capital this is still a major concern. Simple safety measures and equipment can be introduced such as restricting access to building sites, particularly important when dealing with the school children, or items of clothing such as hard hats and construction boots. These items would require either extra funding or donation and would involve specific presentations by myself to acquire such items to take to the builders and the school. Right: Examples of clothing donation already happening at the school

Report Two

Architecture Practice The implementation of this project relies heavily on local people, skills training and my initial presence on site the architectural services then become a process of skills training, on site supervision and a brief for future development without my supervision. This will be achieved through the creation of and delegation to project managers on the site, Godfrey Walugembe, the school owner, will initially be trained and given this role as he is currently performing this task with existing developments. The job will then be taught to the local builders to ensure they can repeat the development and construction process elsewhere without supervision. This project is very much about empowering people and a community long after the construction process and long after I am gone, the finished building is not the end product but part of a larger process. This way of working has been highlighted in the East Africa Design Guidelines mentioned earlier. Strict initial control is also required when creating these roles to avoid tragedies that have occurred in the capital whereby people have posed as engineers but have no qualifications, taking the money for the job and leaving before the inevitable collapse of the building.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ugandaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engineering profession is crowded with unregistered and unprofessional engineers,â&#x20AC;? Jackson Mwakali chairman of the Uganda Engineers Registration Board.

Left: Local builders at the school during a trip organised taking a UK school group. My brother, pictured, left his boots for the workers after this visit. Next page: Local workshop where skills can be gained and taught and Godfrey Walugembe supervising work at the school

Report Two

Professional Reflection I feel this project is successful in researching and developing new working methods and material strategies for the school and wider context although a development of these would be a physical application on the school site to properly test their effectiveness and suitability to the area, with further research possibly being required into translating the complex processes into simple hand craft although I feel successful steps have already been taken within this project. Strong personal and professional lessons have been learnt during this project relating to the sustainable use of local materials and importance of community engagement and responding to the strict site context, these lessons will be taken and utilised in the next stage of my career, serving as an underpinning and guidance on future projects, to examine the potential already available within a site, be it technological or social. I intend to continue my work and research both at the scale and on a wider scale, this will be undertaken on a personal level with the intention of continuing my association with the school and also on a professional level with the hope of finding employment within a practice that will allow me to continue with my interests, not just relating to projects within Africa but regarding the underpinning of social engagement, material research and awareness of life beyond the construction process and finished building.

Right: Teaching new practices in South Africa and Burkina Faso and using community labour in Burkina Faso. Sources: Peter Rich and Francis Kere

Report Two

Appendix

Funding Information Rotary is an international organisation that brings together businesses and professionals to provide humanitarian services. The local Rotary club has a specific interest in water and sanitation and so is ideal for providing funding for the toilets and rainwater harvesting systems, a process of acquiring such funding is ongoing. In my experience Rotary rarely provide funding for construction projects as issues of ownership are raised upon completion, this is a reason for securing money from other sources, keeping Rotary for infrastructure projects. My father and I have presented at various Rotary clubs, including Kampala.

38 Appendix

A very effective way of securing funding for such projects has been to connect a UK school or religious institution. This method allows a level of personal interaction between the people donating money and the people benefiting from it through contact and visits to the school organised by myself and my father. This raises awareness amongst the UK school children and sets up future connections.

Appendix

References: Much of the information gathered for this project has been obtained through repeated visits to Uganda and Good Samaritan Primary School, gathering information on the living conditions, materials and construction methods. This includes all photographs in this report unless stated otherwise. In addition to this, I have spent time working at Peatfield & Bodgener Architects in the Nsambya district of Kampala, I returned to the practice in September 2013 in order to discuss this thesis project with the director, Phillip Curtin, through this I gained guidance on many aspects of life and construction in Uganda which are referred to throughout the project. www.pbarch.org

40 Appendix

David Adjaye (2011). Adjaye Africa Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson. Architecture For Humanity (2006). Design Like You Give A Damn. London: Thames & Hudson.

Architecture For Humanity (2012). Design Like You Give A Damn 2. New York: Abrams. Block, P Rippman, M. (2014). Available: http://block.arch.ethz.ch/. Last accessed 22nd April 2014. East Africa Design Guidelines, incorporating documents from the Uganda ministries of health, education and sport Harvard Graduate Design School. (2014). Open House Lecture. Available: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=EUCPnZR1GSU&feature=youtu.be. Last accessed 23rd April 2014. Kere, F. (2012). Available: http://www.kerearchitecture.com/. Last accessed 25 April 2014. Mass Design Group (2011). Empowering Architecture. Boston: Mass Design Group. The New Vision. (2009). Govt. Urged against fake engineers. Available: http://allafrica. com/stories/200912150146.html. Last accessed 15th April 2014. Wise, C. (2004). Drunk In An Orgy Of Technology. Architectural Design: Emergence: Morphogenetic Design Strategies. 74 (3), p55-57.

Appendix

Curriculum Vitae: Nick Wright www.nickwrightarchitecture.com

Education: First Class Ba(Hons) Architecture degree obtained from Leeds School of Architecture City & Guilds distinction in level two AutoCad obtained from Leeds College of Building

Experience: Peatfield & Bodgener Architects, July 2010 Nsambya, Kampala, Uganda www.pbarch.org Viewing and assisting on a variety of projects under the mentor of Philip Curtin. With a return visit in September 2013 to gain a further understanding of working within East Africa for my thesis project. Wilson Mason & Partners Samlesbury, Preston, UK. http://www.wilsonmason.co.uk/ 12 month Part one placement undertaken at Wilson Mason & Partners between August 2011 and August 2012. Working on a wide range of projects, from small scale university refurbishments to the multi-million pound Manchester Cancer Research Centre.

42 In the first year of my MArch I tutored third year undergraduate students, with a role in critiquing end of year project presentations. I have also had paid work tutoring classes in Sketchup and unpaid work tutoring Rhinoceros 3D and the adobe suite.

Software: Comfortable working to a high standard on the following software: AutoCad SketchUp Adobe Suite Rhinoceros 3D with grasshopper scripting plugin Below: Granada Music Centre - MArch 1

Appendix

Teaching:

Nick Wright MArch 2 Abstract Machines