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“Dwelling Plus” In this project, the main philosophy of the design is to create a family-friendly and environmentally friendly area that is also self-sufficient. Another main objective is also to maintain the privacy of inhabitants. Through careful thinking processes and design consideration, the goal of this project is to turn the site into an ‘oasis’ instead of trying to fully merge together with the surroundings. This oasis is a part of a larger urban regeneration project, which serves the city as a plant nursery that also functions as a park. Additionally, the motto and approach of this project also bridges the city centre with the neighbouring park to create a gradual transition for pedestrians. Through analysing the site, Leith feels like a city that is beginning to change and discard its industrial past. The approach of this dwelling plus project (also Leith 2025 project) is to create a self-sufficient building that appears in an unusual, controversial form to introduce an alternative form of the city. Slide House by Komada Architecture was a great influence in my design combined with SuperTree Grove by Grant Associates to maximise the usage of space. The linear stacking that the Slide House has, inspired my cylindrical design into incorporating vertical stacking mechanism. This versatile feature allows the urban planning of the site to be changed to suit a particular need or situation. To ensure the building to have an immersive atmospherical quality, the design mainly started from atmospherical drawings. Also, my personal interest in creating an honest façade from internal circulation influences the overall atmosphere of the space. Series of timber strips are spaced with different sizes between each gap, tailored to the level of privacy needed in the particular part of the house. Added with maximum access for vegetation planting through providing gardens, the dwelling area is also playing a role in the urban regeneration plan.
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P2.3
Four projects which are combinations of both group and individual are contained in this P.2.3 At Home in the City - Leith project. The first includes the study of an existing building called Schots 1 and 2 by S333 Architecture. Followed by Leith 2025, we were to design a functioning building in Northern Leith in 15 years time. The last two project, Dwelling Plus and Inhabit, occupies the same site as Leith 2025 except we were tasked to design a dualfunction semi-public dwelling area. As the project progresses, each experience and studies that were made on the previous project generously affected the next project.
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“Study Type Leith 2025 Dwelling Plus Inhabit.” //4
P2.3.1
“Schots 1 +2, S333 Architecture Groningen, Netherlands.� Schots 1 + 2 is a regeneration project designed by S333 Architecture on CiBoGa terrain on Netherlands. The project occupies 14 h.a post-industrial site in the form of two buildings Schots 1 and Schots 2. S333 architects aimed to create a public and communal spaces that blends together urban and suburban qualities. The two separated building are constructed with different materials which gives each of them their own personalities. Despite the difference in the facade, the buildings both connect to the communal area that provides access.
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1 : 500 Circulation, Accessibility and Density Model.
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C I R C U L AT I O N A N D D E N S I T Y “Site.”
“Access // Density.”
Schots 1 + 2 are two buildings that are separated by a road that serves as a shopping street and pedestrian route. This ensures the self-sufficiency of the housing area.
The spatial openness towards the public has become a distinctive characteristic of these buildings. This establishes a great contrast in density with adjacent areas. Red paper stripes are used to measure the level of density (i.e location with 6 stripes are denser than locations with lesser stripes)
1 : 500 Circulation, Accessibility and Density Model. //7
Collage An impression of Schot 1 +2 as a whole.
“One in Two.� The two buildings are constructed with two different, constrasting materials. Although the separation in materiality are apparent, Schot 1 and 2 are actually a single, large dwelling area. This collage represents the duality of the project in a detachable weaved pictures to represent how both buildings are still capable to function individually.
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“Reaction.” Instead of trying to dissolve together with its surroundings, Schotts 1 + 2 are designed to create an ‘oasis’ or a centre for the neighbourhood that connects the city iinto the park. The flow of its surrounding sculpts the general shape of both buildings.
1
2
••• 1. 1:1000 Ground Floor Site Plan 2. 1:1000 First Floor Site Plan
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Access to other floors/dwelling Entrance Semi-public courtyard
Entrance and access to other floors Access to underground carpark Entrance Public Space
••• Accessibility Diagram ••• Although the accomodation entrance are open to public, the threshold that the buildings established are very atmospheric. The narrowing entrance towards the courtyard helps to maintain the privacy of its inhabitants.
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Unit Section //11
1 : 500 Site Section..
“Relation.� Shopping streets that cuts through the two buildings creates an unusual public to dwelling layerring. Dwelling areas are connected and faced directly towards the shopping street and only levelled up above them as a separating measure. We figured out that this is an uncommon architectural approach in comparison to buildings in the United Kingdom. This unusual trait itself is an interesting basis for cultural differences study as the building is located in the Netherlands.
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1:1000 Second Floor Plan
1 : 1000 First Floor Plan
1 : 1000 Ground Floor Plan
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SCHOT 2 - ROOM TYPE Type G
Type F
Type C
Type H
Type G
Type H
Type F
Type C
“Designed for Many.” Over 145 houses and apartments are constructed in this project. To satisfy the need of many, rooms are designed in numerous types to fit the lifestyle of various individuals. //14
“Layering.” Shops and pharmacy occupies the ground level of the building. Inhabitants are able to enter through respective courtyards which are sandwiched in between the dwelling zone and commercialised zone.
••• Axonometry - Vertical Layering of Uses
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O
F
“Privacy.” The unique horizontal privacy layering might become a reason of noise and privacy issue. However, both Schots 1 and 2 are layered vertically to dodge this issue. Commercialised zone are tucked underneath the housing area. This difference in level is connected by stairs on open courtyards at the back of each dwelling.
••• Axonometry - Privacy Layering
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P2.3.2
“North Leith.� North Leith was smaller but proportionately richer, coming under the jurisdiction of Holyrood Abbey. It was effectively a fishing village consisting of one street, now Sandport Street and Quayside Lane. Burgage plots ran down to the river from each house. [6] This has traditionally been the ship-building side of Leith with several wet and dry docks built over time. The first dry dock in Scotland was built here in 1720. A small peninsula of land on the east bank also came under the same jurisdiction on what is now Sheriff Brae/Sheriff Bank.
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••• Site Location & Surroundings// Road Access
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“EXPRESSIVENESS” “HONESTY” //19
“A Matter of Perspective.� Walking down through the main of Leith, made me realise the constant usage of blue paint. Blue is a rather unusual colour to be used so generously on buildings. Does it usage indicates something of a greater meaning? Or is it simply a matter of personal preference?
Seemingly connected, timber began to be used on newer buildings in Leith, introducing a new colour pallette in certain parts of Leith. This may suggests that the people of Leith could be unconciously stating their demand of something new.
Are the people in Leith expressive? Representing the sea by painting things blue.
Through this analysis, we decided to propose a futuristic building which introduces a new perspective and look to the people of Leith.
Or are they honest? The colour blue in the city is merely a result of their personal choice of colour.
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1
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Vehicular Pedestrian ••• Accessibility
“Our Approach.” In Diagram 1, greeneries surrounding the site are highlighted to show how populated Northern Leith is. As seen, the central part are the only part rich with greeneries. The park plays a great role in this richness, however we feel the lack of connectivity with the city centre. The transition of the park towards the site is very sudden. Therefore, as a solution, we aimed to soften this transition by creating a green site which also serves the public needs and wants.
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1 : 1500 Site Plan 1. Greeneries Diagram. 2. Site Location 3. Vehicular and Pedestrian Access.
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Connectivity •••
“Bridge // Connector.” Concept. Through analysing the abundance of vegetation in Leith, we observed how the greeneries in the city are scattered and unlinked. The approach of our design is to create connection or a bridge that link the city centre to the park while also providing a centre for the surrounding community.
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“For Everyone.� Facilities. Self-sufficiency of the building is made through the commercialised zone which contains supermarket, cafe and shops. Sitting areas which are open to public is available in the form of an outdoor bridge or rooftop terrace.
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P2.3.3
&
P2.3.4
“Self-Sufficient Housing.� In this project, we were allocated to a site in Leith, Edinburgh. The task was to design a public service area and a dwelling area no more than 2000m3. Due to this limitation, I need to carefully consider the size of the site and number of houses to build. The site is strategically located on the heart of central Leith. Leith’s shortage of greeneries encouraged me to design a dwelling area that also serves as a bridge between the park and the city. This project is designed to be an urban regeneration project that aims to reintroduce the importance of greeneries in an urbanised world. In addition, it also performs as a self-sufficient, nature-friendly housing area.
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1 : 50 Type 1 Model.
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“The Scarcity of Greeneries.” Unfortunately, the scarceness of greeneries is an unnoticable trait in the city. Trees are scattered and stay unconnected throughout the city which gives the city a pale outer skin. In this site plan, I have highlighted the amount of greeneries located around the site. A park is located beside the river, on the west that serves as an escape and connection for the neighbourhood. The park stands as a ‘bridge’ that leads pedestrian towards the neighbouring park in a gradual process.
1 : 500 Site Plan with highlighted greeneries to show how the site connects to its surroundings.
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1 : 200 Site Plan
“The Park.” My proposal is to design a self-sufficient housing district which includes 2 cafes, supermarket, bookstore, bar, botanical shop, pavilion, greenhouse and workshop area , and park. This area is intended to act as an oasis, that draws neighbouring community into the space. Facilities such as botanical shop and greenhouse are aimed to educate the locals on the necessity of greeneries.
“The Housing.” Towers of housing will be built above these shopping distircts. There are going to be 8 houses in total, which will be available for rent instead of purchase. //28
2
1
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Accessibility Diagram 1 and 2
“Access to Dwelling.”
1
First Entrance. This access is located in between two cafetarias that leads to two Type 2 Single Housing. Access card is needed to reach the area.
2
Second Entrance. Located at the back of the site, this entrance provide access for six Type 1 and 2 Tower Housing. Storage is also provided at the side.
“Layout.” Three tower houses which each contains one Type 1 and one Type 2 are to be placed at the back to allow sunlight to reach into the park. Tower houses begins 1 meter above the level of where the single houses starts to allow access to the river.
1 : 200 Unit Section
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Two Type 2 Single Housing are placed at the front to keep the height to minimum while also functioning as an exclusive housing area. These two houses come with a rooftop and front garden with a river view.
The park accomodates a green park where various plants are collected and grown in a nursery-like system. This way the park can benefit the environment yet also able to be enjoyed by the public. By playing with the contour, seating areas can be provided at two levels below the ground. The first layer hosts the plants where the second one contains an open area for sitting or strolling.
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1 : 200 Site Section
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1
1. Entrance / Pavillion. Rooflights are provided to light the bookshelves. 2. Garden. First floor are positioned at two different heights. connected by a bridge that spans in between.
1:200 Site Model
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2
“Urban Regeneration.� The project is visualising a greener city in the future through introducing the important of vegetation in our life. The park is a growing are for the botanist who operates the green shop. A wide variety of plants are planted and sold in the shop. The shop also serves as a plant nursery that supplies plants throughout the city.
3
The greenhouse is a workshop space that aims in educating the locals on growing a plant or simply nurturing them.
3. Rooftop View. The housing stands tall above the park and distributed around the site.
4 //34
4. Greenhouse. The greenhouse is a wide space that is covered in glass for workshops. Furnished with tables, visitors may learn how to grow or nurture a plant.
“From Inspiration to Shape,
Stackable // Repeatable Housing”
My interest on the aesthetical quality of a tree inspired me to recreate them in the form of a vertical housing. Combined with studies on Slide House by Komada Architecture where housing units stack on top of each other in linear, the final design of the dwelling are stackable upwards. To describe this concept of stacking, blue foam massing models and a detailed cardboard framework model is made. Each house sits perfectly on top of each other and can be repeated up to 3 or 4 times. Continuous external staircase wraps around these building as an access to the upper buildings.
1 : 100 Cardboard and foam (massing) model of Type 1 to show how the building is stackable.
“In This Design, However.” Despite the stackabale function possessed by the design, in this scenario, the tower houses will only stand in a stack of two, Type 1 underneath and Type 2 on the top.The purpose is to allow sunlight to pass through and also to prevent the towering of adjacent buildings.
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Type 1
Type 1 + 2
Type 1 house is the type that can be used as ground and intermediate floor. This housing unit has one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen and living room. As the housing tower is repeated upwards, the type 1 will interlock on top of each other.
Type 2 house is the type that serves as a “cherry on top� or individual housing. Type 2 has two bedrooms, one bathroom, living room, kitchen and rooftop garden. For the tower house, type 2 will always be at the top floor along with their own rooftop garden. The towers that are built using multiple
Occupiants of the ground floor unit receives a ground floor garden.
type 1s are finished with type 2 house. Type 2 can also stand as a single housing unit, having both rooftop and ground floor garden.
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Type 1 and 2 interlocks together and form a housing tower. These housings can be stacked up as tall as desired. Usage of woods also helps the house to have an appearance of an artificial tree.
“1:100.�
Type First Floor Plan on Third Floor First floor of Type 2 contains two bedrooms, a bathroom and a direct access to rooftop garden. Glass covered rooflights is also provided at beside the stairs to provide secondary sunlight access.
Type 2 Ground Floor Plan on Second Floor Type 2 sits on top of Type 1 housing. Inhabitants arrives at the landing above the overhanging window above the Type 1 bedroom.
Type 2 First Floor Plan on First Floor The upper part of Type 1 contains one bedroom that overlooks the ground floor and one bathroom. Stairs to that lead to the upper housing continues through the bedroom.
Type 1 Ground Floor Plan on Ground Floor Type 1 sits at the base, occupiants enters directly through the front door at the southern part of the building. Stairs to that lead to the upper housing are located at the west side.
Ground, First, Second, Third and Roof Plan
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“Private Garden.” Both Type 1 and Type 2 units are given their own private garden. Type 2 houses are equipped with rooftop access. Creating a space for inhabitants to grow their own herbs and plants as they occupy the building.
1. Type 1 Living Room. Rich amount of sunlight are able to reach into the building while creating a shadow pattern.
•••
2. Type 2 Stairs. The facade of the building heavily relies on internal circulation, the timber strips follow the journey of the inhabitants within the building.
Type 2, 1:100 Roof Plan
1
2
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“Development of Brief.�
Brief, Phase 1 Row House and Library Phase 1 brief mainly focuses on creating series of houses that are able to hosts multiple inhabitants in each of them. The back of these houses are covered with timber strips to maintain privacy from neighbouring houses. Library acts as a semi-public space and entrance to the housing area.. Curved timber is used generously in this design. However, the repetitive nature of this brief restricts the capabilities of the project.
Brief, Final Phase Vertical Row House , Self-sufficient Housing and Urban Regenaration Through careful redesigning process, I have decided to change the site option and progressed with an urban regeneration planning which is also selfsufficient yet serves the public in an environmentaly friendly manner..
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“Development of Housing.�
Housing, Phase 1 Vertical Row House In this phase, the design are focused on creating a ring where the stairs are circuating at the outer skin and the rooms in the center. The idea is to create an interesting facade through spatial configuration and circulation.. The large volume of the design only allows a handful to be built and therefore required further development.
Housing, Phase 2 Vertical Row House Stacking was introduced in Phase 2 as a method of spatial efficiency and the ability to allow multiple houses to lay on top of each other, creating more space for public use. Half of the house (semi-circle) is 1000mm shallower to create a lock so that the next house will be able to connect perfectly at the top.
Housing, Final Phase Vertical Row House The lock from Phase 2 is removed. The internal space are flat and spatial configuration are clearer and the housing are divided into two types, Type 1 and Type 2. //40
Type 1 1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen and Living Room, and Front Garden.
Type 2 2 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen and Living Room, and Rooftop Garden. (Both front and rooftop garden if it’s single tower housing)
••• 1:100 Final Model Displaying stacking and the external facade
//41
“Immerse� A 1:50 final model of Type 1 house excluding the external staircase to allow maximum preview of the design. Materials used are mainly birch ply and cardboard. The model is made mainly to show the spatial qualities and circulation within the building. Thickness of timberstrips that are used are each modeled in scale.
1 : 50 Type 1 Model.
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INHABIT // GARDEN What’s that noise? The sound of wheel sounds alien from here. Down in this garden everything seems really quite. Except for the peaceful noise from the restaurants. Laughter after laughter, the fluctuation of sounds are accompanied by the sound of leaves, flowing around as the wind blows. Fragments of colours appears in dots. Red dots, blue dots, purple dots sitting next to each other from a far. Apparently, those are the flowers planted by the gardener. Do not touch it says, but the appearance of it is already an eye-candy. This harmony, how we all wish this would last within our memory. This harmony that we could feel by sitting down in this park, where the streets and people are unconciously singing lullaby to our ears.
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Night Atmosphere. How the eateries, garden and shops remain operational until night.
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I N H A B I T / / PAV I L I O N Look at it, how welcoming that looks. The symphony of colour and surface created by the green wall and concrete. Reflection from the covering glass, in this sunny day, accompanying me while I am resting on this warmed benched. Oooh what’s that smell? This sweetness of the smell reminds me of my childhood, unconciously riding this time machine in the form of scent. Now I remember, it is the smell of the herbs that my mother used to grow in our garden. The herbs and flowers in this garden, blown by the wind, are giving away its delicate scent. What an entrance, crafted with this playfulness of scent and the those towers of artificial trees. What are those, by the way? Maybe those are houses or offices. Who knows. Anyway, now I understand what it means to see with your nose.
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INHABIT // HOUSING Never have I ever dreamed of leaving in a treehouse. Living in this alternative, grown-up version of treehouse. Encased in this cylindrical building and given the ability to overwatch the park, how convenient. The people down there are not able to see me, I am sure of it as I was one of those people before. These strips of light and they way they greets me every morning are absolutely indescribable. The richness of the smell of wood, is the closest way to live inside a tree. A wordless privilege to live here, accompanied by the trees and grass. Being physically near yet psychologically near to the city. The soothing atmosphere and the silence given by those thick walls. Overlooking above the river with this cup of tea I just made is undoubtedly a pleasant experience.
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P2.4
“Requiem for a Dream (2010).” The main aim of the project is to re-imagine a particular scene from the movie Requiem for a Dream (2001). The film highlights closely the life of 4 drug addicts where their addiction results in their downfall. In this project, we focused on deciphering the thinking process of one of the main characters, Sara.
“Personal Statement.” Personally speaking, the experience that we gained from this project is certainly mind-opening and positive. The chance for us architects to work with engineers and artists allows us to see things from various perspectives. This project has allowed myself to broaden my views and ideals. It has also made me value the importance of accepting ideas and solution from others as their field of expertise requires them to excel in my area of weaknesses. The terms of ‘reimagine’ and ‘reinterpret’ can still vary from one major to another but the final result is the outcome of our collaboration. Each of us has our own idea of beauty, satisfaction and this project highlights this matter even further. Our final approach in the design and method of construction was decided through incorportating our varying perspectives in designing things. Initially, arguments and disagreements existed within the group but it was all solved through combining these ideas together. Scheduling might be an issue within the project as our timetables overlapped with one another. To solve this issue, we managed to split and arrange the works according to our personal field of interest. This increases the enthusiasm of each member in doing the tasks assigned. Each individual within the group has equally contributed into the project that helps with the time taken to finish the whole project. The outcome of the project has exceeded my expectations. The quality of the final and video has met our expectations and successfully depicted our intentions in reinterpreting the movie.
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SPEEDING UP DISTORTION “Reimagination // Reinterpretation.�
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The scene revolves around one of the main character, Sara, consuming diet pills to beautify herself for the opportunity to appear in a TV show. This dangerous measure slowly rots her sanity as she progresses from the beginning to the end of the film. The exaggerated and sped up reactions that is sourced from the pills, potrayed in the form of a timelapse, allows her to feel overly energetic throughout the day. Our group is focusing on re-capturing the scene in the form of a 1:50 conceptual model and 1-minute video. Instead of attempting to recreate the scene, the approach that we have taken was to recreate the atmosphere that Sara felt under the drug influence, in the form of colour palette and materiality.
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“Maquette - Stages of Development� Initial Design. The initial ideas was firstly to create a circular room and secondly a distorted linear tunnel. The formality of the first idea are then combined with the latter idea that exposes the framework of the circular room in a disorganised manner.
1 : 200 Foam board sketch model, used to test the structure and proportion.
Experiments. The design was inspired by a greenhouse, and we are recreating it using polystyrene sheet as its wall and ceiling. It was then covered by coloured acetate papers that was lit by lamps as a representation of her imagination. The colours and moods within the model are categorised into 3 zones. These sketch models serves as a form exploration. We progressed from designing a linear tunnel to a distorted circular tunnel.
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PROCESS “Maquette - Construction.� In the matter of shape, the model was designed to have the form of a heavily distorted circular tunnel. Potraying a journey of emotional fluctuation that keeps repeating. It is intended to represent the sensation of Sara consuming diet pills, where everything starts to feel gliterry and colourful as soon as she consumes the pills, but finishes in a dark, gloomy mood.
Idea. It was indeed a challange to communicate our ideas verbally, and therefore we sketched a storyboard of our visualisation to lay out the timeline of the video clearly. Scenes were then tested with camera, under proper lighting environment in order to capture the similar colour palette and atmosphere.
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Material and Video Experimentation.
Large polystyrene sheet, same material as the model, is used to create clouded effects.
“Film - Replicating the Atmosphere.� Experimentation of colour and materiality. As a depiction of what is feels to be inside our maquette, we covered a room with polystyrene sheets and reconstructed the model through the use colours and light sources. The highly saturated colour palette was meant to repotray the exaggerated actions imposed by the drug.
Stills. Colour palette and scene experimentation //54
MAQUETTE
1
2
3
First zone. This zone is the widest and the calmest. It is meant to potray the slow process when the drug has just started to take an effect, where Sara still has a full control of her conscience. Lights are shone through a plain polystyrene sheet to give a diffused white light.
Second zone. The second zone represents the feeling when reality starts to get distorted and sped up as the drug has started to take effect. The usage of warm coloured lamp gives the space an orange tone as a symbol of her comfortability on the psychological enhancement.
Third zone. As a potrayal of calmness as the drug begins to wear off, the room is coloured in blue and green, and fully furnished in house furnitures covered in thorns. It is the moment when Sarah began to feel timid and insecure of her surroundings. //55
FILM
Speeding Up Distortion is a 1-minute long movie clip from the project, allowing viewers to observe how does it feel to be inside the model and the head of Sara. The atmosphere of the space is potrayed through the use of music, expression, materiality and colour tones. The movie production was shot in synchronisation with the making of the model to ensure consistency in theme.
Journey. As a representation of the first zone, this scene is washed in a glaring white light with the actress appearing amazed and confused of the situation. The person passing through in the blurry background represents the unawareness of the actress to her surroundings.
Distortion. The next scene potrays the heightened intensity and excitement caused by pill. Throughout the scene, the actress moves in uncontrollable agitation. The plastic is U-shaped with the actress in the middle, barricaded in her own world.
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Blackout. In a gradual and unnoticable progression, the drug is starting to subside. This scene is focused on potraying the calmness felt by Sara at the end of the scene. Blue and green colour are used to explain the tranquility felt by the individual. A video runs on the screen at the back of the polystyrene sheet, casting the silhouette of the actress as the video plays..
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“Berwick Press” For this project, my personal objective is to challenge myself to approach my work in a fashion that I have never tried. The process not only involves the designing stage but also how I present my work. The nature of this project is to create a space for books, which already dictated me the direction to go. Through deciding the main audience of my building, which are children and young adults, the design mainly focused on creating a space that possesses an overwhelming atmospherical quality for children. In an attempt to achieve this goal, I tried to design the building started from a disorganised space to an organised geometrical shape. Considerations such as a clear floor to ceiling height in the central hall are designed to create a memorable experience to their childhood. The final formalised shape of the building still incorporates a fragment of disorganisation that comes from the bookshelves. The specifically designed bookshelves allow the space to be tidy yet create a spatial distortion at the same time as gallery of books wrap around the building. In terms of materiality, concrete is used to balance the lightweight nature of the brief and approach in order to create a balanced overall value. The balanced façade of the building allows it to be accepted by the surrounding building without being overly foreign to the site. Instead of echoing Berwick’s outer skin, the main approach is to replicate the atmosphere that Berwick’s alleys have. Through providing glimpses of internal space, this similar characteristic to the alleys can be utilised to attract passing pedestrians and control the solar gain.
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P2.5
“Brief.� In this project, I have decided to design a building for a charity book publishing company that invites limitless international bookwriters to donate their stories. Awards of acknowledgement will be given to donating writers as a proof of their donation. These stories then will be mass printed and donated for needy children and teenagers. Books can also be purchased by the public in a customised version, where its font, cover and binding method are to be decided by the customer. The process of printing and binding are visibile to both public and visitors as an invitation to purchase the books as a gift or personal consumption. A percentage of the profit from the custom books will also be given back to the respective artists as a form of gratitude. Therefore, the space will function in a mutually benefiting manner. Due to the continuously expanding scheme, the entire building will serve as an exhibition space and gallery of books. Books are showcased and stored around the building within structural bookshelves. Also to ensure the exhibited books are able to be read by the visitors, Berwick Press will have a reading area, cafetaria, amphitheater and library.
//60 //60
“Impression // Approach.” The strong impression that Berwick has, stands as an inspiration for me to create a conceptual illustration of the city. The layout of the city ensures us into seeing people passing by in short seconds through the alleys. This momentary experience is similar to seeing things through your fingers, where objects or people appear and disappear after one another. This illustration stands as a base for this project as my design will focus on creating a similar momentary experience where the interaction between visitors and the city will be short through the openings in the building.
••• The Peephole
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Site Photos
“Berwick.� Berwick, a historical city surrounded by circular, massive walls, has a unique characteristic. Narrow alleys are scattered around the city with robust stone walls at the perpendicular end that allows people to walk on top of it. This ensures us to see people passing by on these walls as we are facing the alley.
Surrounding Alleys
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1 : 500 Site Plan //64
“Overall Height� The building stands shallow (6.8m from ground to roof) in comparison the surrounding buildings to prevent sunlight blockage. 1 : 500 Site Model //65
“Why the Ceiling Height?� Double-height ceiling is used at the central entrance. As the target audience reaches children below 15 years old, the high ceiling is meant to dwarve the children to enhance their atmospherical experience. Series of repetitive pattern of the bookshelves are also aimed to create an overwhelming sensation for children while can still be enjoyed by visitors of any age.
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1 : 100 Site Section A A
1:50 Building Section in 1:100 Scale This section are separated into 3 parts. From left to right, constructional, atmospheric and standard.
Concept and Stages. A wide variety of methods were used to keep the energy usage to minimum while having an interesting atmospherical quality. Through designing the building right from its atmosphere instead of the shape as a whole, that causes the shape and constructional method changes periodically.
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“1:100, Crit Plan.�
Basement Plan
Ground Floor Plan
As seen, the plan drawings are lacking the context which make it difficult to understand. Other than the drawing quality, this design that was presented in the final crit possesses a handful of flaws and spatial inefficiency.
First Floor Plan
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“1:100, Final Plan.�
1:100 Final Basement Floor Stairs. Stairs on the previous design are protected by metal wire at the side, to echo the general concept of the building, the stairs are now using thin bookshelves to cover the sides.
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1:100 Final Ground Floor Re-shaping the stairs and ramp. The stairs and ramps now sit on 90째 angle and the gap that hosts the central hall are now able to be shortened to provide bigger space in the cafe and library. Storage. The wall that connects to the neighbouring buildings are aligned at an angle to allow the building to be squared. The excessive thickness is now used as additional space for storage.
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1:100 Final First Floor Ramps. The ramp sits directly agains the exterior wall which now allows the windows to become an accessible bookshelves. Positioning of stairs. The distance between the arriving point and the west opening is now increased to provide visitors enough space to browse and sit at the same time.
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“ Construction.�
Experimentation. Initially, rough concrete texture is used as the finish of the framework.
Exposed Concrete Framework. The concrete framework are polished to give a smooth finish. The spaces in between the columns are slotted with timber bookshelves. Bookshelves as a Secondary Structure. Bookshelves has the thickness of 100mm for its vertical part, acting as a secondary support for the floor and roof above it. Floor. Floors are constructed in two variations. Intermediate floors are constructed with timber deck to make the building as light as possible while the ground floor is constructed using concrete slab construction to provide enough support for the vertical load imposed by the building above it. Roof. Roofs are constructed with exposed timber joist construction that spans across the building. Pre-cast lightweight concrete slab is then used to cover the outer surface. 1:20 Concrete Junction Experiment
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S TAG E S
1
Stage
First Stage. The building starts from massing model, generalising the shape and height of the building. The building is sloped towards the back to provide sunlight access for the connecting buildings.
2 Second Stage. Moving on from the first stage, the building has started to take a shape. Vertical circulation are concentrated in the middle and the reading area area built around it. Building slopes towards its northern side and covered by a roof that allows slices of light into the building. Double-skin facade is used to prevent excessive solar gain and to control the heat. Brick layering comes in two types, 50 % permeable and non-permeable.
3 Third Stage. Vertical circulation creates an awkward circulation, especially if the building is design to sloped towards the back. Therefore, stairs are located on the northern side of the building, leaving a large void area in the centre for installations. The same double-skin facade and roof design are still used.
Fourth Stage. Sloping roof and double-skin facade are removed. Instead of making the building sloping, the main space(amphitheatre/gallery) is sunken underground to reduce the overall height of the building.
4
Building are internally split into two parts to create a main circulation space in between.
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S TAG E
1
Phase
First Phase. The separated internal space and stairs are disorganised. Designed in an angle in order to create a distorted internal space. However, this distortion causes the internal space to look untidy and not echoing the overall shape of the building.
Final Crit Design
2
Second Phase. Angles from First Phase was removed to create a more formal internal shape of the building but stairs and bridge still remains angular. Basement is also enlarged to accomodate more people and increase the functionality of the space as a gallery. Criticises and advices from the final crit have brought the existing geometrical shapes and placings of the stairs and bridge into question.
3
Phase 1, 2 and 3 Diagram
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Third/ Final Phase. Stairs and bridges have been reshaped into a 90째 angle to follow the general shape of the building, creating a more organised circulation and disposing the awkward shape of the staircases.
4
The Basement. Green wall filled with plants or decorative moss are planted behind the bookshelf, lit by rooflight from the ground level.
“Materiality.� Concrete Finish and Timber Bookshelves. The main concept of the materiality are material exposure where the honesty of structure creates a skin of the building. The exposed concrete framework are polished to give a smooth finish and the spaces in between the concrete column are slotted with timber bookshelves. Wooden beams are also visible to create a bookshelf-like texture on the ceiling while also playing a structural role.
Polished Concrete Casting Experiment
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1
2
1 : 100 Initial conceptual model of the reading room
3
1. Roof.
Rooflights are provided to light the bookshelves.
2. First.
First floor are positioned at two different heights. connected by a bridge that spans in between.
3. Ground. Visitors enters through the main hall which is connected directly to the shop and cafetaria. 4. Basement. Amphitheatre and gallery are located in the basement. Light source are kept to minimum as the room mainly functions as screen room.
4
1 : 100 Final Model
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DAY
NIGHT
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“Process // Scheme.” Start.
Tuesday, 12 January 2021
Everything begins when she entered the building, full of excitement and curiousity. How immense, she thought. She grabs her mother’s hand, ready to explore. Food was great. Now it is time to read. Series of countless books. All around the building. She then realised that choosing a book can never be harder, but she managed. How lovely the story (or stories) was, at least for her, I think I should get her a copy. There I paid for the book, in Times New Roman on a hard cover. Who would have thought that the book would make her be that happy?
••• Mrs. Mom and HerDaughter (it’s their name) visits Berwick Press.
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“Process // Scheme V2.0.” Revisit.
Friday , 27 October 2023
I know I have been here before, but the building seems to have changed a bit. I mean look at those stairs and shelves and where are those bricks at the front? HerDaughter looks as excited as ever, again. I guess it is time to re-explore this renovated version of the building. I heard they have added more seating space and a theatre down below. I hope she is not thinking of getting another book again.
••• Mrs. Mom and HerDaughter (it’s their name) visits Berwick Press again.
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1
2
1. Amphitheatre (Basement). Amphitheatre is located on the basement with minimum light, the space are mainly used for exhibitions and movie screening on daily basis. 2. First Floor, Bridge.
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The separated internal space on first floor is linked by a bridge.
“So That You Can Move Around.” Spatial organisation. Visitors enters through the main door which leads to the central area. This central area directly connects to the counter and cafetaria. Reading activities is mainly focused on the first floor. As the main idea was to disect the internal space into two parts, the separated reading areas are connected by a gentle ramp that spans between the two points. Amphitheatre which hosts screening activites are placed in the basement to minimise the light gain from the outside. Plant room is also located in the basement, cladded with bookshelves,
••• Spatial Organisation
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“So That You Can Read.” Sitting areas are spread throughout the building. Instead of having the classic table and chairs, minor stairs which stands at 500mm height [Orange] that also functions as a sitting space. This are could be in the form of amphitheatre or steps. Table and chairs can also be found in the cafetaria and waiting room in the central corridor, highlighted in blue. Foldable stools and chairs are also provided throughout the building should visitors need them for additional sittings.
••• Sitting Area
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“So That You Can Search.” Each part of this bookshelves serves different purposes from one to another. Some bookshelves are not meant to be accessible by visitors as their purpose is to function as storage. The rest of the bookshelves are divided by its uses, some as a gallery that showcases the published books or library. These purposes are colour-coded in the diagram down below to highlight their organisation within the building.
••• Storage Allocation and Category
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“These Shelves Also Have Their Own Design.” Bookshelves are designed specifically to suit their purposes. For instance, windows are designed to leave large gaps in some parts to allow sunlight to enter the building. Through this way, the amount of solar gain and privacy can be controlled.
••• Bookshelf Design and Function
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Central Hall Arrival and connection to first floor
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Appendix 4 & 5 are provided in a separated document. Architecture Portfolio Stage II Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape
Thank you for reading cover to cover. Bye-bye.
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