SCENARIO 2: HOMELESS RACHEL BRAUDE
UNIT 1: LOST SPACES IVAN MARQUEZ + JACK GREEN
“Lost spaces are the undesirable urban areas that are in need of redesign - antispaces, making no positive contribution to the surroundings or users. They are ill-defined, without measurable boundaries, and fail to connect elements in a coherent way...they offer tremendous opportunities... for urban redevelopment and creative infill and for rediscovering the many hidden resources in our cities.”
Extract from ‘What is Lost Space? in Trancik, R. (1986), Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design.
UNIT BRIEF
This unit investigates the tectonic question through a design-based reflection about the potential of lost spaces, in the process of decay in their lifecycle. An intervention in a lost space will be proposed that will provide living accommodation and associated common facilities for a particular protagonist. Through a given basic schedule of accommodation and based upon the chosen protagonist, the brief and narrative will be refined. This will constitute the starting point of an architectural tectonic proposal, in which different scales of enquiry, from the level of the city to the detailing of the protagonist’s individual room. The immediate territory situated between Leith Walk and Easter Road will be the area of intervention in Edinburgh. The heavy industrialisation of the nineteenth-century and and its subsequent decay during the twentieth-century post- industrialisation inflicted major scars on the area, contributing to the proliferation of lost spaces, with consequences that are still in evidence. It is a passing place, connecting the city centre and the docks, Edinburgh and Leith; a place to pass through and not to stop. This characteristic contributes to the neglected atmosphere of some areas, where several remnants of Leith’s industrial heritage appear as abandoned edifices in the middle of the residential urban fabric. A complex area like this requires a careful mediation between the needs of the individual and the needs of the society, between the desire for particular internal spaces and the demands of external constraints. The existing mixed uses and demographics of the population require a response driven by social and urban needs rather than market interests, in which defining new typologies of live/work and optimised outdoor space need to be considered. In recent decades there has been a gradual erosion of architects’ expertise and competence in the fields that are the main definers of tectonics (such as construction, structures and environment), resulting in a lack of integration of them within the design/building process. This unit will stress the need for the inclusion of these definers as an inherent part of the architectural design process and engage with these as key factors that materialise ideas into built realities.
INDIVIDUAL BRIEF
The intervention will provide accommodation for homeless people, while simultaneously offering a platform for skill and confidence development. The proposal aims to view each protagonist as an individual, avoiding blanket approaches and stigmatisation. It acknowledges the fact that each protagonist’s needs will differ and consequently offers a broad scope of support. This covers drug counseling and support groups; assistance in economic requirements and a search for more permanent accommodation; to a basic support network that encourages socialisation and teamwork in an attempt to make integration into the wider community a smoother process. It is understood that commitment and rigidity of an institutional approach may not be suitable for the type of protagonist involved and consequently the scheme strives to maintain a focus on flexibility to allow for the varying personalities and requirements that are inevitably going to be encountered. The urban farming scheme aims to utilise the well-understood psychological and physical benefits of interactions with nature to encourage a better quality of life for the protagonists. The educational potential of the scheme is harnessed, allowing for a range of skills to be learnt/developed. The scheme covers growing and harvesting; cooking and producing; and marketing, commerce and distribution. While this broad scope allows for a range of future employment opportunities it also allows for flexibility in terms of social interaction, with the initial aspects of the process lending themselves to being more isolated activities and the final aspects being more team-orientated. Accommodation will range from single-nights to a 12 week residency. The longer accommodation will be provided in return for working within the full 12 week skill development programme proposed (allowing flexibility among skill-sets depending on personal preferences). Rooms will also be available for single-nights in return for involvement within the scheme during the day. As well as the spaces discussed above for support networks, spaces will be required for the aforementioned skill development process. This will take the form of educational spaces and cooking facilities, with a key part of the scheme being focused around the communal eating space striving to tie together all aspects of the scheme. The intervention will have the ability to form a public connection with the wider community, when seen suitable. This will be done through a series of flexible spaces that can be closed off or opened up, such as market stalls, which allow for the skills learnt/developed to be taken into a real-life scenario.
INTRODUCTORY DEVELOPMENT
A.
“Do you see yourself being here forever or do you have hope?”
”I have hope that I’ll get back up again, and that I won’t have to do this forever. I need to have hope.”
B.
“Tonight is my first night sleeping on the streets. I have been homeless for 12 years, but I have always shared flats with people. Last night I had an argument with my flat mate, and he asked me to leave in the morning, so I have been out here since this morning.”
C.
“Define ‘Struggle’, what does it mean to you?”
CONVERSATIONS WITH THE HOMELESS OF EDINBURGH taken from Humans of Edinburgh
”It’s just getting from a-b, or just fundamental things- having somewhere to sleep, but like- my struggle might be considered someone else’s idea of fun, so it’s all just relative. I was homeless, and thinking how bad it was, and it’s in these times you realise nobody will help you, only you can help yourself get out, I saw a reward at the end of it, like a roof over my head, and I just grafted ‘til i got there, now I’ve got a somewhere warm to stay. That’s it really. Normal real life stuff.”
D.
“I have been homeless for so long. My mum and dad died, and I didn’t really have anyone growing up. I didn’t have anybody to tell me what to do with my life so I didn’t try with anything, I just ended up on the streets. I’m clean, I just can’t get a step up anywhere. It’s too difficult when you’re right at the bottom to even try and progress. I want to work though- I want a job, and responsibilities- you can’t get a job without a home though.”
E.
“Just remember that the wheel keeps turning and eventually it comes back around, I am down on my luck right now...but it’ll keep going and eventually it will get better.”
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PRECEDENT STUDY CLARIFICATION DRAWINGS utilising the sectional quality of the RCP model as a language for distinguishing between public and private areas. A series of diagrams depicting initial thoughts on how to divide the site into public and private areas.
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PUBLIC - PRIVATE - PUBLIC
PUBLIC - PRIVATE - SEMI PUBLIC
PUBLIC - PRIVATE - PRIVATE PUBLIC
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BREAKDOWN OF BUILDING REQUIREMENTS and their application to the site, shown through diagrams that maintain a similar language to that used earlier.
COMMON FACILITIES - 1500sqm
LIVING FACILITIES - 500sqm
main space - 250sqm
rooms - 15sqm
2 large practical rooms - 100sqm
keeper’s flat - 60sqm
4 medium education rooms - 50sqm
OUTDOOR SPACE - 300sqm
small rooms 15-20sqm each, 500 sqm total
kitchen facilities - 125sqm
administration - 40sqm
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INITIAL TECTONIC STATEMENT The tectonic ambition of this intervention initially stems from the sectional quality explored within the RCP and the subsequent interest in framed structures that arose. The intervention plays upon the associations of traditional barn and farmhouse forms, aiming to emulate a safe and supportive community space, adapted to contemporary needs. The project aims to allow for a level of freedom and flexibility within the day to day life of the protagonist, aiming to offer the protagonist choices, which previously may have been limited. The predominant material system is one of timber frames, which allows for large spans of open spaces to be created. This allows for flexible use of the spaces, acknowledging the range of requirements that may be necessary to encompass, while simulatenously encouraging creativity and personalisation within the spaces. The material is exposed, while intending to inform the character of the architecture, both internally and externally. This once again plays on the associations of this form and the warmth of the material.
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1. SERIES OF SECTIONS THROUGH THE MAIN SPACE ON THE SITE this portrays a continuation of frames through the site, which shift and adapt to their surrounding constraints and environments. At the front of the site the frame draws attention down the street, while responding to the neighbouring buildings, while at the railway end the frame becomes much smaller in order to respond the the human scale of passersby.
2. RCP CLARIFICATION DRAWING inspiration was harnessed from the sectional quality of the RCP model and drawings. This resulted in an interest in an architecture of frames.
3. CONCEPT SKETCH of a framed structure with cladding, which emulates the gradients of public and private previously explored.
4. FRAME SHAPES explored due to their associations Community hall, Christiania, Denmark, a typical barn or farmhouse form. These typically act as spaces for communiity gathering, with the barn having strong relations to food. As a consequence these forms inspired the builidng proposal.
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RCP MODEL The initial concept divides common facilities and residential facilities down the middle of the site. The residential units shift from their axis, continuing the language depicted in previous diagrams.
CONCEPT MODEL
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CONCEPT MODEL
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DEVELOPED TECTONIC STATEMENT Further integrating the needs of the protagonist with the initial tectonic interests and the precedent study, the intervention develops. The tectonic ambition that is persued harnesses the juxtaposition evidenced in Lasdun’s RCP, of the delicate structure alongside a monolithic mass. Subsequently, the proposal utilises the inherent nature of masonry and uses it to establish a protective, stable base from which the delicate timber residential units can grow from. This callibration of materials is suggestive of the journey on which the protagonist is embarking on, from a place of semi-enclosed, safe community, to a world of increased freedom and opportunity. All spaces embody a level of flexibility through the articulation of the facade. A shutter system is proposed, which offers a level of freedom, choice and flexibility. In terms of privacy, the spaces are able to become isolated or open, while similarly enabling passive environmental strategies. Simultaneously, the facade treatment allows for the characteristic and purpose of areas to adapt to seasonal change.
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THE DESIGN
MODELS OtF TECTONIC AMBITION
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1:500 ROOF PLAN showing the relationship with the railway and surrounding public green spaces. 13
‘STREET’ RUNNING THROUGH THE SITE, PUBLIC VS PRIVATE OUTDOOR SPACE DIAGRAM public private
PUBLIC VS PRIVATE INTERIOR DIAGRAM public
- with the option to be private semi - public private GF
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1:200 MODEL ON SITE
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SPACE BREAKDOWN 1 kitchen 2 main eating space 3 recreational space 4 gardening storage 5 market stall 6 flexible educational/counselling spaces 7 keeper’s lodge 8 private residential units
MODELS DEPICTING TECTONIC AMBITION both that of a vast timber frame and the neighbouring juxtaposition of masonry and timber
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1:200 GROUND FLOOR PLAN landscape hatch highlights areas for growing, while similarly indoor hatches depict indoor planters and vegetable crates. 17
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1:250 FIRST FLOOR PLAN 18
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1:250 SECOND FLOOR PLAN 19
1:100 SECTION A-A
(BELOW) DIAGRAM ZOOMING IN ON A SPECIFIC AREA that will now be explored at different scales. Highlighting the function of the spaces on each level: Ground floor - educational spaces, which open out onto the ‘street’ that runs between the buildings on the site First floor - individual residential rooms with mezzanine bed area
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1:150 PLANS OF HIGHLIGHTED AREA
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MASONRY WALL BUILD UP: petersen brick 518 x 108 x 37mm, blockwork, insulation, petersen brick 518 x 108 x 37mm
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SHUTTER: glass sliding door, anodized aluminium shutter, 37mm strips, to match brick colour
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INTERIOR CLADDING: plywood cladding - establishing a temporary atmosphere, yet a creative and personalisable space
TIMBER STRUCTURE: primary timber structural frames, insulation
CLADDING: timber battens, horizontal larch cladding; 37mm boarding
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1:100 EXPLODED ISOMETRIC
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1 to 50 ROOM DRAWINGS
1:50 SECTIONAL ISOMETRIC OF INDIVIDUAL ROOM
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1:50 + 1:100 GROUND FLOOR PLANS highlighting the flexibility of the spaces and their relationship with the outside.
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1:50 + 1:100 FIRST FLOOR PLAN highlighting the flexibility of the spaces and the freedom for personalisaiton and adaptive use.
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1:50 SECOND FLOOR MEZZANINE showing the flexibility of the space.
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1:50 SECTIONAL MODEL ACROSS THE SITE
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LEFT - 1:50 MODEL THROUGH MAIN SPACE RIGHT - IMAGE SUGGESTING THE EXTENSION OF THE SECTION THROUGH THE SITE
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LEFT - 1:50 MODEL THROUGH RESIDENTIAL UNIT/EDUCATIONAL SPACES
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ABOVE - BREAKDOWN OF MATERIAL SYSTEMS IN 1:50 MODEL RIGHT - IMAGE SUGGESTING THE REPLICATION OF A SIMILAR SECTION THROUGH THE SITE 33
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PERSPECTIVE SECTION B-B
The shutter detail allows for the building to be adaptive and flexible. This is in terms of the use of spaces during different seasons, as well as the degree of privacy offered to the space. Similarly passive environmental systems are established. The windows running along the ‘street’ through the site are to be covered by the shutter system, allowing for this adaptability to be successfully implemented.
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ABOVE: SECTIONAL DIAGRAM SHOWING MATERIAL BREAKDOWN AND THE INTRODUCTION OF A SHUTTER SYSTEM MIDDLE: MODEL HIGHLIGHTING CLADDING SYSTEM AND THE FACADE SHUTTER CONCEPT RIGHT: DIAGRAM DEPICTING THE OPENING OF THE SHUTTER
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INTERIOR GROUND FLOOR BUILD UP: concrete slab, insulation, timber floorboards
EXTERIOR GROUND FLOOR BUILD UP: soil, permeable fill well, sand bedding, paving slabs
FLOOR BUILD UP: plasterboard, insulation between joists, plywood boarding - hung from joist hangers
FLOOR BUILD UP: joists, plywood boarding - hung from joist hangers
ROOF BUILD UP: plywood boarding, oriented-strand board ,insulation/beam, fibre board, plastic sarking membrane, battens, counterbattens/ventilated cavity, 37mm larch boarding
TIMBER WALL BUILD UP: plywood board, vapour barrier, insulation, sarking membrane, battens, 37mm larch boarding
GLAZING: sliding glass doors, timber lintel above
SHUTTER: manual anodized aluminum shutter, 37mm strips
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1:20 DETAIL
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1:1 material model
ISOMETRIC OF SITE - HIGHLIGHTING AREAS THAT VISUALS ARE TAKEN FROM 40
STREET ELEVATION 41
RAILWAY ELEVATION AND MARKET PLACE
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DEVELOPMENT WORK
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INTIAL 1:50 ROOM DISPLAYING CONCEPTS OF FLEXIBILITY. The room in this case was very much dictated by the moveable furniture. In hindsight this would have resulted in an uncomforable living situation in which large amounts of furniture would need to be moved to make the space useable, thus the developed room embodied elements of this flexibility but was not entirely dictated by it. This concept of flexbility informed the following design at a range of scales, from 1:200 to 1:20.
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1:50 model of one unit, showing the intial intention for the furniture to slide and altenative room set ups to be formed
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SERIES OF ELEVATIONAL ITERATIONS. Initially the scheme strove to highlight the juxtaposition between the barn form and the surrounding tennemants, looking to pull the attention down the green strip and into the sight. Given the private nature of the left side of the site, the facade develops to block off this section, establishing a sense of enclosure for the buildings behind and simultaneously putting more focus on the main space, allowing it to act as a beacon for drawing attention and interest to the scheme.
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Development of sections through the site. Initially it was intended that the section would change throughout the site, however this was quickly rationalised as it was felt that this unnecessarily complicated things and the true esssence of the frame was lost.
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1:200 model. The roof pitches of the model are more chaotic than intended and thus they were simplified in drawings following the making of the model.
DIAGRAMS OF SPACES SHIFTING THROUGH THE SITE. The initial language of grids and lines was used to appropriate the site initially, once basic programme had been established. The ‘street’ between the two buildings intially was straight and thus formed a wind tunnel, which lacked interest. Consequently the main space was shifted. allowing for pockets of sheltered space and openings to be established.
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1:20 iteration - it was understood that a large solid beam would not be suitable for supporting the frame above or the floor joists and thus it was adapted to suit, with a more slender lintel. The floor joists were adapted to the run the other way, hanging from larger timber frames that span between the masonry walls.
Initially the residential units covered both floors, meaning that the ‘street’ between the two buildings would likely be closed off the majority of the time for privacy. Therefore, in order to add more interest to the street, public or semi-public spaces were placed, shifting the focus from what was initially underground in a basement to ground level. 50