Sensory Urbanism_02 by Paul Arthur Westwell

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

_04

CONTEXT

_08

COMPONENTS

_30

SENSORY URBANISM_02

_54

INTRODUCTION

BRIEF

This project is about developing a systems-led approach to the realization of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The confluence of programmatic requirements and behavioural objectives suggest an interface between policy and society. Therefore, you will need to explore the nature of your proposed scenario in the context of Huddersfield and examine the implications of efficiency and effectiveness within the urban landscape. Architecture and infrastructure comprise of systems that in the realm of a seemingly infinite digital space need to be appropriately defined and described. This project therefore is an ideal vehicle for you to engage with generative (originate, produce or procreate) design processes and explore the role between design intentions and materials. Complexity may emerge from seemingly simple organizations and performance criteria and as such you should consider the use of algorithms to form patterns, structures and evaluate their emergent properties.

Key to the production of ‘architecture’ is the implementation of systems that consist of components. The technological capacity and processes of the period in which they were conceived typically limited early speculations on systems theory, cybernetics and the role of computers in designing the environment, many of which were coupled with the notion of ‘utopia’. This situation has undergone radical transformation. Many contemporary projects take advantage of both ‘off-the-shelf’ as well as ‘non-standard’ components, the latter made more cost effective through ‘masscustomisation’ (thereby inverting long-held Fordian principles) affordable by digital fabrication techniques. This is a rich territory for you to experiment and refine your ideas, using the detail to reinforce concepts and embody holistic values of the larger system. You should also view this project as an opportunity to enhance your skills base through prototyping components and testing material effects/limits. By investigating the relationships between program and user behaviour, you will need to examine notions of scale, orientation, permutation and performance with regard to structure, spatial effects and environmental control. (Richard Brook and Nick Dunn. 2010)

INTRODUCTION

RESPONSE

The studio was introduced to a series of critical texts that explored component led systems and digital manufactured construction. As a result of this, we were provided with a foundation of precedents that utilised a vast variety of shapes, materials and fabrication techniques to create components that we were encouraged to explore. This was to lead to a series of components that would be compiled to form a system that we would implement in a specified location in Huddersfield. I decided to use the line defined by Sensory Urbanism_01 (previous semesters work), that is located in the south vicinity of the ring road, as the context for my systems study in Huddersfield. Also, I decided to use the sensory element, defined by my group investigations into Huddersfield at the outset of the year, as the theme for this semester. Investigations carried out with materials and components would be critically analysed in relation to their sensory properties and behaviours.

This project is divided into three sections. All three sections evolved simultaneously, but for the purpose of fluidity through this booklet they have been separated. The first section, CONTEXT, continues to explore the environment around the line defined in Huddersfield, in the first semester. It analyses the journey the line takes and identifies opportunities for instance and intervention to enhance the urban landscape. The second section, COMPONENTS, is a critical investigation of form and material. Using texts provided in the brief as a foundation, this section tests the limits and capabilities of software, CADCAM, and simple modelling techniques to produce components that form a system. The final section, SENSORY URBANISM_02, brings together the context of Huddersfield and the lessons learnt in the component investigation to illustrate and detail the narrative of the Sensory Urbanism_02 system.

INTRODUCTION

_04

CONTEXT

_08

COMPONENTS

_30

SENSORY URBANISM_02

_54

CONTEXT

RE_CAP The line from Sensory Urbanism_01, illustrated as a blue corridor structure, has been used to inform this semesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. Last semester the line represented the join between two points that, as part of a greater masterplan, symbolised utopia within Huddersfield. Now the line, and its surroundings, is the context for a system named Sensory Urbanism_02.

CONTEXT

SURROUNDS

The line brought forward from last semester is 270m long and is located in the south half of the ring road that encompasses the centre of Huddersfield. The area it travels through comprises primarily of retail and civic buildings, with some transport infrastructure buildings to the periphery. Within the retail area there is a high number of banking and solicitor buildings as well as clothing shops. There are also a number of vacant premises.

Retail Transport Infrastructure Civic

Main Road Pedestrian Route Route to Station Route to Car Parking

CONTEXT

JOURNEY

It starts on a grass embankment to the west outside the court buildings, travels across the road and through some buildings. It then intercepts New Street, one of the main shopping streets in Huddersfield, before cutting through some more buildings, down a back street and ends in an open public area behind the Library.

CONTEXT

JOURNEY Some of the precedents I have observed, such as the High Line in New York, react to, embrace and frame the surrounding context in different ways and at different instances. This is the character that my system will have. I divided the line into 135 2m strips and analysed the various transitions and movements of the line through the context, highlighting where there was a change in level or surface within a sample area, 25m either side of the line (opposite). This produced 44 different typologies which seemed a bit excessive. I then tried a more site specific approach in which identified points of instance and intervention through going to site and carrying out primary research. These were points at which there was an interesting transition of space or intersection of disciplines. This resulted in 8 points. These would be the instances at which the system would react to the context producing an intervention. Below: The High Line, New York

Buildings

100 metres

50 metres

POINTS OF INSTANCE & INTERVENTION

1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Line Line Line Line Line Line Line Line

begins in open grassy area surrounded by trees intersects road cuts through block of buildings intersects pedestrian public retail street cuts through block of buildings crosses back alley glances corner of building finishes behind library in retail piazza

4 5

7 8

INTRODUCTION

_04

CONTEXT

_08

COMPONENTS

_30

SENSORY URBANISM_02

_54

COMPONENTS

CRITERIA

Throughout this project many different forms and materials have been explored. Increasing my skill set along the way has allowed me to control the shapes utilised, record discoveries accurately, and enabled me to reach conclusions quicker. Working with machines has the downside of detaching one from making primary ergonomic discoveries, so I have also been very involved with working with and constructing forms by hand. Some new technologies and equipment used in this project were: the Photography Studio, Laser Cutter, Foam Cutter, Grasshopper for Rhino, and Vray for SketchUp. For each of the following investigations some of these issues will be explored and results noted and visualised: Permeability, Form, 2D 3D, Materiality, Shape, Shadow, Texture, Stacking, Attachment, Composition, Space Forming, Structure, Aperture, Rigidity, and Regularity.

COMPONENTS

FOLDED PAPER

• Stacking horizontally and vertically • In different alignments • Can create walls, openings and spaces

COMPONENTS

COPPER WIRE TUBES

• Permeable material, creates facade within itself but also full of openings • Cast interesting shadows • Self supporting to a point

COMPONENTS

FOAM BLOCK

• Investigation of specific instance along system in 3D • Important public space and most used element of system • Starting to explore how the space can be broken up, sheltered, and enclosed, whilst considering how an object would be structurally supported • Controlling the space

COMPONENTS

CARD CIRCLES_2D 3D

• Investigation of how circles of two different sizes could be complied to create some kind of surface • Increasing the amount of layers led to more elaborate shapes and forms • Starting to look at these in 3D • How they could be attached together to create a surface • Was difficult to maintain a perfect circle when attaching them together • Investigate some sort of scale • As an overhead surface, circles create transparent enclosure

COMPONENTS

PLYWOOD CICRLES_HANGING • Use of laser cutter to produce large amount of circles in short space of time • The process of ensuring pieces would remain on the cutter bed whilst being produced led to a design that incorporated full circles and circles with a notch in them • Started investigating how these would look in 3D hanging from a support • Creating increasing complex forms using a huge variety of planes that would be difficult to create on computer software allowed for a fun experiment • The construction of the hanging support, and the way it cast shadows, was just as interesting as the shadows cast by the form • This material was much more rigid and regular than the card circles

COMPONENTS

PLYWOOD CIRCLES_STACKED

• The regularity of this material allowed for the circles to be given a depth without losing their clean edge • Using a selection of various sizes and apertures (solid or hollow), a collection of different scenarios were created • The composition of these images relied on using tape to hold the circles in place. To start creating 3D forms a more reliable form of connection would need to be investigated

COMPONENTS

PLYWOOD CIRCLES_3D CONNECTED

• Using the cardboard circular pavilion as a precedent to examine ways of creating 3D circular structures • Combining the notched circles in a layered format allowed for connection points • The lack of these connection points only allowed for a few links • To create a more elaborate surface, the circles would have to be designed with more openings • By combining different depth circles along different planes, I started to test the limits of a structure being self supported

ETH Zurich Student Pavilion

COMPONENTS

GRASSHOPPER FOR RHINO

• In parallel with investigating how physical forms can be manipulated and comprised to form components, I started experimenting with the capabilities of Parametric software such as Rhino and the plug-in Grasshopper • Using circles as a starting point, and some of the online tutorials, I began trying ways to construct surfaces that reacted to attractor points • The sizes of the apertures would increase or decrease depending on the proximity of the circle to an attractor point • Transforming this into a 3D experiment, I began combining this process with other operations • The attractor point was now able to control not only the size of the aperture, this time of a truss, but also the depth of the form • Lessons learnt from Grasshopper for Rhino _No sense of weight _Thinking of the attractor point as different locations along a sys tem would change the system in various ways _This allowed the creation for a system that responded to outside factors (the attractor point)

COMPONENTS

TRANSITION FROM CIRCLE TO SQAURE As the structures were becoming less, site specific and more sculptural than architectural I started testing them in the context of Huddersfield, to see if they would be suited. Placing these circular elements in the context of Huddersfield, against certain elevations and in public spaces, it was apparent that the presence of this type of circular geometry wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fitting and not regular in the makeup of neighbouring facades. A more appropriate geometry is that of a rectilinear nature. In exploring the capabilities of Grasshopper for Rhino I discovered it was possible to achieve a square surface form that acted as a plastic blanket that the apertures would respond to. I then began investigating, like the circles, ways in which square forms could be integrated into larger components to form surfaces and structures.

COMPONENTS

SQAURE FOAM FRAMES Integrating a square form, as opposed to a circular format, resulted in cleaner connections and less wasted space. After using the foam wire cutter to slice thin sheets of foam, I then fashioned smaller square pieces and cut out an aperture. This process of hand modelling was time consuming and fiddly, but the nature of the material meant shaping was very responsive, using a sharp blade. I now started to think about structure and how a series of frames would fit together. Using pins to hold the foam allowed for quick progression in testing various formats. The regular form of the frames allowed for stable flat edge to flat edge joins, unlike the circles, but as the aperture was important to the system and context I began researching wood joins that allowed for minimal but secure contact.

COMPONENTS

MATERIALS I now began thinking of the material properties my system would have along with how it could become structurally sound. The frame would be the enclosure of the material or aperture, depending on the context, but this material had to evoke experiential characteristics. The texture and finish of the, material became important, also the way in which components could be comprised to form larger components and ultimately a system. One material that is used in a variety of different ways to create sensual pieces of art is the COR-TEN work by Richard Serra (opposite bottom three). Serra, an American minimalist sculptor, is renowned for working with large scale assemblies of sheet COR-TEN. In relation to fitting in with the context, COR-TEN has a rustic rough finish that reflects the industrial heritage of Huddersfield. Material selection will be discussed in more detail in the following chapter. After carrying out these component investigations of form and material, I concluded that: • Found an appropriate form that sat well in the context_Square of panel structure • Identified a material that was associated with experience, sculpture and texture_CORTEN • Highlighted the importance of dark and light spaces_Shadows

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

_04

CONTEXT

_08

COMPONENTS

_30

SENSORY URBANISM_02

_54

SENSORY URBANISM_02

BRINGING TOGETHER IDEAS Having located 8 points along the line and investigated various forms, shapes and materials, it was now time to bring together the context with the component study. I had found myself, in the previous section, losing the connection with the experiential affect that I wanted to create in my system. In reading Townscape by Gordon Cullen, this led me to approach the project in a different way. To really make this a piece of architecture I needed to understand how this journey along the line was experienced. Gordon Matta-Clarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to undoing and cutting slices, creating unexpected apertures and incisions, and allowing invading light to swath internal rooms within buildings, illustrated to me what letting my system puncture through structures could look like. Below: Gordon Matta-Clark, Conical Intersect & Splittling Opposite: Gordon Cullen, Townscape_Serial Vision

SENSORY URBANISM_02

IDEAS

The process of visiting the site and sketching out the route helped me engaged with the context and the journey more. I started to think about what my system would look like from different angles and what senses would be stirred at various points. The idea of framing the urban landscape, leading someone through, and the excitement of discovery cast a different light on what affect my system could have on the context. I was now looking at the system as a journey and started experimenting how the different heights in spaces change the effect on the observer and the role levels play in screening vision and providing unique views. Exploring the journey in section, plan and 3D simultaneously allowed me to quickly realise the spaces within my system. Utilising existing vacant structures and open areas in between buildings to facilitate the system. I started to analyse in more depth how the various components of the system would behave with the context.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

THE JOURNEY

Using Cullenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serial Vision as a template I began exploring the journey along my system, and how the components within it could frame something in the distance that leads the viewer though.

6 2

3. 2. 6.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

NARRATIVE Sensory Urbanism_02 emphasises the sensual experience of Huddersfield along a route that cuts through existing buildings and public spaces. The route itself is a continual line through the town, Sensory Urbanism_02 is a detailed system within a never ending line. It tells the story of the eye, hand, what you’re touching what you’re seeing, and what it sounds like as you move across the urban landscape. It reveals the latent qualities of the town. It augments and enhances the environment to get people to experience the area in a different way by, • Directionally _Taking a different route • Visually _Seeing different angles of buildings, from a new perspective • Audibly _Going from a loud space to a quiet space, allows you to appreciate your environment It rejects the existing grid, taking people away from their normal journey and moves on its own journey through the town. It allows you to look at buildings in a different way, in a disjointed way that you wouldn’t expect. It can lead you into itself without you realising, zebra crossing directs you into the tunnel. The journey is like an urban film, chopping and changing, sometimes nothing will happen, walking along the corridor then you are in the centre of the retail district surrounded by shoppers, then you’re are back in the corridor. There isn’t an A and a B, you can come across it at any point and still feel part of it. What makes this ‘architecture’, as opposed to art or sculpture, is the system’s ability to adapt the urban landscape and create a series of experiential spaces within its form.

“we may walk through and past the buildings, and as a corner is turned an unsuspected building is suddenly revealed” “the scenery of towns is often revealed in a series of jerks or revelations – SERIAL VISION” “a plastic experience, a journey through pressures and vacuums, a sequence of exposures and enclosures, of constraint and relief” “sequence of revelations” “series of sudden contrasts” “these are the rewards of the moving eye, but an eye which is open and not lazy”

SENSORY URBANISM_02 This is the system: SENSORY URBANISM_02. Sensory Urbanism_02 is a 270m section within a continual line that cuts through the town of Huddersfield. It is a series of concrete and COR-TEN structures and surface changes that all lead the viewer along a sensory journey. These structures and changes are the components that are combined to make the system: Sensory Urbanism_02. The components are listed below.

Frame_

Zebra Crossing_

Tunnel_

Experiential Chamber_

Tunnel_

Arch_

Tunnel_

Experiential Chamber_

Tunnel_

Support_

Frame_

SENSORY URBANISM_02

MATERIALS

COR-TEN Standard panels are 25mm thick, thinner sheets used where only finish required not acoustic properties. Concrete _In-situ Structural concrete used will be grade C32/40. Self-compacting mix design to reduce the likelihood of voids during construction. High tensile steel bars of grade S275 to be used for reinforcement _Pre-cast Used where a high tolerance is required on the finished surfaced. Higher degree of control over design dimensions. Improved levels of safety during construction, especially when working at heights. Structural Steel Cold rolled steel sections. The prefabricated members can be quickly and accurately assembled on site. Grade S275 steel to be used. All structural sections to be coated in a corrosion resistant paint before leaving the factory.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

DRAWINGS

Plan_

South Elevation_

West Elevation_

East Elevation_

SENSORY URBANISM_02

CONSTRUCTION_ARCH Dimensions 17500 x 6000 x 11300 Materials The exterior facade will be clad in COR-TEN panels. The panels will be of a uniform size to aid construction and minimise the number of joints required. Structural Form The COR-TEN facade will be fixed to a rigid steel framework which forms the tertiary component of the structurally frame. This framework will be attached the secondary ‘I’ section beams or purlins which will transmit the load directly to the primary beams. ‘H’ section universal columns will support the primary beams and transmit the structural loading effectively to the foundations. The vertical components of the structural frame will be tied back to the existing structure to increase stability. Foundations The Arch will utilise Continuous Flight Augured (CFA) piles. This will provide a structurally stable base whilst minimising the impact to adjacent buildings and surrounding area during construction. Pile caps will tie the individual piles together and will secure the zinc coated bolts that will be used to attached the column base plates to the foundations.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

CONSTRUCTION_FRAME Dimensions 2450 x 2450 x 2200 Materials In-situ, reinforced concrete will be used to construct the foundation. The main component will be constructed solely of Core 10. Structural Form This small independent component will be constructed of COR-TEN which is 50mm thick. The four individual panels will be welded together offsite to form a single element. The double thickness panels will provide sufficient strength to remove the need for any additional structural support. The butt welded joints should provide sufficient resistance to prevent the structure from buckling. Foundations A shallow, reinforced concrete raft foundation will be used. The load from the structure will be uniformly distributed over the area of the foundation.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

CONSTRUCTION_TUNNEL Dimensions Varies Materials In-situ, reinforced concrete will be used to construct the foundation The main component will be constructed of COR-TEN which will be supported by a structural steel frame.v Structural Form Individual COR-TEN panels will be fixed to a rectangular steel frame, constructed from square hollow sections. The span of the structural members will be kept quite small to minimise the size of the sections required as space within the tunnel may be at a premium. The individual bays of the structural frame will be braced diagonally from all corners by steel cables to prevent any lateral tortional buckling. Foundations A shallow, reinforced concrete raft foundation will be used. The square columns will transmit the load from the walls and roof of the structure to the foundation whilst the COR-TEN panels on the floor will rest directly on the foundations.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

CONSTRUCTION_SUPPORT Dimensions 8200 X 2200 X 4000 Materials The floor, wall and roof of this component will be cladded with COR-TEN. The wall and roof will be supported by a structural steel frame. Structural Form This component forms a cantilever. A robust steel frame is required to support not only the COR-TEN cladding but also the existing structure above it. The cantilever is essential in order to divert the existing vertical loading from the building. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; section beams will form all the structural sections. Foundations The two steel columns will be supported by two independent reinforced concrete pad foundations. The pads will disperse the loads transmitted by the columns over a greater surface area and minimise the amount of settlement.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

CONSTRUCTION_EXPERIENTIAL CHAMBER Dimensions Varies Materials Precast concrete panels will provide a high specification surface finish. Off-site construction removes the need for curing time and therefore speeds construction. Structural steel frame holds precast panels securely in position and transmits structural loads to the foundation. Structural Form – primary, secondary, bracing Individual precast concrete panels are fixed at the top and bottom to cold rolled square hollow sections to form a larger structural component. Component is then attached directly to the steel ‘H’ section column. The columns are braced by universal I beams. The structural frame will again be tied to the surrounding buildings to increase stability. The precast panels will be constructed so that the forma tight butt joint with each other. All four elevations will be secured together to form a rigid square structure. Foundations As it is impractical to utilise piled foundations due to space constraints, mass concrete reinforced concrete pad foundations will be used. This will require a relatively large excavation but will provide a stable platform on which the component can be constructed.

SENSORY URBANISM_02

3D VISUALISATIONS

The plan opposite illustrates where the following 3D visuals of Sensory Urbanism_02 on the following pages are taken from.

6. 3.

5. 4.

11.

7. 8.

10. 9.

10.

11.