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YEAR DESIGN REPORT. Posing me with new design problems and larger scale work, second year has certainly been more of challenge. This year has provided me with the opportunity to develop various skills across a range of projects. Over the course of the year I would like to think I have grown in confidence, feeling able to convincingly explain and justify ideas, and deal with the stress of projects far better. Charrette week this year was interesting. Titled ‘One Week, One Seat’ the objective was to design a ‘flatpack’ chair made from only cardboard, without any fastenings (tape, bolts etc.). My group consisted of a third year and two first years. The interesting thing about this charrette was the fact it contained various different activities such as sketching, model making and branding. We ultimately ended up designing something called the ‘drunk chair’, which took the form of a normal chair, and distorted it to mimic the idea of a person slouched in it. The two people running it were fun to work with and had great ideas to make the charrette testing but not too intense. It was also a useful way to get me prepared for the design project ahead. By far the most successful project of the year, Placed Displaced brought out two skills in me that I severely lacked in stage one, the ability to make a crisp model and photograph it well. They sound like the very basics for an undergraduate student, but it is a deceptively hard skill to learn. Feedback from the final crit was extremely positive. Firstly I was said to have a strong use of precedents. I agreed with this quite strongly really, they were the driving force of my design, and supplied me with the idea of a multi purpose platform to create more space and activities, whilst taking up hardly any space. The presentation was ‘Very clear + beautifully presented’. For my first project of the year that was quite honestly one of the best things I had hoped to hear in the feedback. Given the fact my presentation for the last project of stage one was said to be unclear and difficult to read, it was encouraging to know I had made the step up in quality. Other comments suggested I had a good grasp of both the site and context, essentially taking in to account the way in which the light gets in to the building and specifically where each window needed to be, although I saw that as a pretty standard requirement. The comment of my design taking on the idea of ‘Furniture as Architecture’ is what intrigued me the most. It was a complete accident, something I had never considered previously, although it is certainly a quote to remember my project by. The one criticism my project received was an apparent lack, or unclear representation of architectural language. This is crucial to improve upon in preparation for stage 3 upwards; the ability to communicate ideas through visual designs and architectural thinking in a better fashion will certainly help a great deal. This is something I will develop over my education, and in practice. Overall this was the most positive start to the year I could have hoped for. I very much enjoyed working with the tutor, I felt we had a mutual understanding of what I was trying to achieve in my design and they had multiple suggestions and ideas throughout. If anything it was a shame the project did not run longer, it was a very appealing scale to work to, and residential design is something a tend to have a strong interest in.¬¬ I found designing through models was a great way of working. The scale was perfect for getting a feel for the spaces, and allowed for far more in depth photos. Also I enjoyed the fact it was a step back in scale from the cookery school project of stage one, affording the chance to still work on small scale schemes. I do feel though, for this this project it would have been great to have some more informative perspectives and diagrams to explain the key concepts of the project. These were essentially replaced by photography and photomontages that got across the same point, but given how fast a sketch can be produced to explain the same thing, it would be an incredible skill to learn.
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A big thing I learned at this stage was that stage 2 is the year to experiment with designs, trying new things and basically seeing what happens. This was my project for experimentation. I designed a student foyer, which separated the work and living environments, and provided a wide variety of activities throughout the building for the occupants to promote another form of rehabilitation through activity. The tricky part of this design happened to be the ‘fin’ like exterior façade. A key thing I took from this project was the way in which you make your presentation like a story, in my case starting with a site visit photo that captured a reflection in to the water, and finishing with a final model photo that captures the same concept of reflection. The crit went incredibly well, receiving a number a positives through feedback. Similarly to Placed Displaced, my use of precedents was noticed as being a strong influence to my design. In this project in particular they did give me a greater understanding of what materials are effective for what, and how materials can only be suitable dependant on site and structure, for example, using polished granite as a façade for reflection is effective but incredibly heavy, therefore not suitable for the lightweight façade I was looking to design. I had a great emphasis on the leisure/activity side of the design, however that was mainly flagged up due to how I spoke about it, because I know there was nowhere near enough on the presentation boards to convincingly portray that idea. One idea the tutor did like in particular, was the idea of a polycarbonate clad sports pitch on street level, which was accessible by both the general public and the foyer occupants, promoting their re-integration in to society. At night this sports pitch, when lit up, would reflect off the polycarbonate cladding but rather than just flowing through like it would with glass, it is almost absorbed by the cladding and produces a powerful beacon-like light. This was appreciated by the tutors, and nicely followed up by the positive remarks on the way in which I represented through my model photography. The most rewarding feedback was hearing that I produced a strong presentation both on the wall and verbally. This means a great deal to me because I normally have a way of rambling on in my verbal presentations and drifting off the key topics at hand. I did feel very confident presenting this particular work; there was that element of enjoyment in my design process that helped me grow a strong understanding of my concepts and project choices, which ultimately made it easy to remember for the crit. There were a number of improvements suggested however. Although I presented my work well it was still made very clear that my design still needed a great deal of development. Changing the designs of the ‘fins’ was the big problem. It was made clear that they needed a far greater relationship to the building rather than just masking it. For example the space in between them was unused and therefore dead space, plus the formal alignment of them blocked a lot of the south light that would get in to the building. These were very fair comments, and working on them was very much a priority. This project lacked the quantity of study models compared to Placed Displaced, however I tried working in a different style, drawing through sections to give myself a better understanding of the site whilst designing. This too was the first project where I really worked conceptually, and it is fair to say my façade had something of a fine art composition to it with the reflection in to the water. It was something I am glad I attempted, even though I was far off realising the design. Perhaps if I had gotten to grips with the site faster I could have left myself longer to focus on the building itself, perhaps emphasising the importance of working three dimensionally, as nothing gives an understanding of space better. Taking aside design for this project, it was very helpful being critiqued by sixth year students. Knowing they have been through the same process as us and so recently shows how far they have come and how much they have developed in terms of understanding architecture and how they think, and it was enjoyable to hear what they had to say about my work.
By far the most challenging project of the year, Civic centred turned out to be a bit of an underwhelming project. I had a discussion with my tutor very early on in the design process of this project, and it was suggested that what I was aiming for was perhaps a bit too much to ask for given the length of the project. A key thing I took away from this project was S.W.O.C (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Challenge). It is a site analysis technique, which proved incredibly effective, especially when used as a group; it made for a great site analysis exercise. I also like to think I developed my diagrammatic thinking, labelling drawings, displaying access routes, views etc. This is something that did need a lot of improvement and I believe it has aided my use of architectural language, making it more consistently evident. The SWOC analysis proved helpful in the crit, as both of the tutors like the way in which I spoke about the site, and lead on to ‘good engagement of site and location’. I am not entirely sure how much agree with that, I did not use my design in the site in an effective way at all, it was one thing post-crit that was picked up on. The set of perspectives I produced for the presentation were seen as the strongest elements. Hand drawing has definitely become one of my strongest attributes over the course of this year. I personally feel they are the strongest development in my work. Although the tutors liked the process of my work it was far too underdeveloped for time I had on it. The places in which I needed improvement in for this project was pretty much all based around the same thing. The exterior shell for the building was something I proposed early on but just never seemed to work on it, time management was a major issue for me. Looking back at this project I can take away a plethora of things. Firstly I shouldn’t have picked the bathing pool site, it was a naïve decision, chosen based on how interesting the site looked rather than what was going on it. The churchyard was far superior to all of the others, and could have maintained some of the same design principals as in Placed Displaced, which would have been ideal for me given how successful I was in that. I did however like the pod part of my design, but I did not do it justice, it could have been a far more solid idea had I simply put more effort in to the project. Design has always been a series of problem solving exercises which ultimately leads you to your final product, this problem solving throughout needs to be worked on a great deal, I need to learn to develop faster. Crossover turned out to be a far tougher project than it really should have been. The scale was a lot vaster than anyone expected, quickly realising that storing one thousand bicycles under one roof as well as designing the other functions for the building is fairly unrealistic for a group project. It was however interesting to work in a group for the first time this year. Although my group did not merge as well as others, it was still very enjoyable to experience group work, especially given it is a common occurrence in practice. I had very little input in to the actual design for this project, spending pre design time on site analysis, and post design on Photoshop atmospherics/perspectives, plus experimenting with rendering software I had never previously used. I saw it as another opportunity to experiment, and given they were my only jobs I enjoyed the freedom to work on them. To introduce with I will say this year has been a challenge. I have not been able to overcome each of these challenges but I do feel as though I have learned a great deal throughout. Sharpening my ability to sketch ideas and think diagrammatically, plus learning how to go in to far more depth with my site analysis has certainly bettered me as a student. To finish with I will say this year has been a challenge. I have not been able to overcome each of these challenges but I do feel as though I have learned a great deal throughout. Sharpening my ability to sketch ideas and think diagrammatically, plus learning how to go in to far more depth with my site analysis has certainly bettered me as a student. 5
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THE WEEK CONSISTED OF DESIGNING A FLAT PACK CHAIR MADE ONLY FROM CARDBOARD, AND WITHOUT THE USE OF ANY FASTENING MATERIALS, SUCH AS TAPE, GLUE OR BOLTS. THE DESIGN WAS LABELLED ‘THE DRUNK CHAIR’, TAKING ON THE ORIGINAL SHAPE OF A STANDARD CHAIR AND DISTORTING AREAS OF IT TO ALTER THE WAY IN WHICH IT IS SAT ONE. CHARRETTE WEEK IS A COLLABORATION PROJECT WITH THE INTENTIONS OF GETTING STUDENTS ACROSS THE WHOLE OF BOTH UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE TO WORK AND LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.
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SET OF SKETCHES OUTLINING THE INITIAL DESIGN PROCESS, DEMONSTRATING THE MOVEMENT THROUGH THE BUILDING, CONTRASTING OF ELEMENTS, THE IDEA OF FURNITURE AS ARCHITECTURE, AND LIGHT ENTERING THE BUILDING. USING THE IDEA OF FURNITURE AS ARCHITECTURE WAS KEY TO TO THE DESIGN PROCESS OF CREATING MORE INTERESTING AND EFFICIENT SPACES.
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STARTING FROM THE TOP LEFT IS THE FIRST STUDY MODEL OF THE PROJECT, PROGRESSING TO A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE FINAL MODEL IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT. THESE SET OF IMAGES DISPLAY THE EXPLORATION OF SPATIAL DESIGN, AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLATFORM THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT. THERE IS ALSO A SERIES OF CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE INTERIOR AS I DEVELOPED THE CONCEPTS OF SPACE AND EFFICENCY.
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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FIRST FLOOR PLAN
FRONT ELEVATION
BACK ELEVATION
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THE DRIVING CONCEPTS THROUGH THESE SKETCHES AND SKETCH MODELS WERE REFLECTION AND FRACTAL FORMATION. IT WAS INTRIGUING SEEING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE CONCEPTS, EXPLORING HOW THE FORM OF THE FACADE CASTS REFLECTIONS AT SPECIFIC ANGLES, AND WITH THE AID OF WATER CAN CREATE AN ENDLESSLY CHANGING FACADE AESTHETIC THROUGH THE RIPPLES. THE PANORAMA FORMATION IS REFLECTIVE OF THE MULTIPLE COMPONANTS TO THE FACADE.
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-2 FLOOR PLAN
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-1 FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
SHORT SECTION THROUGH ATRIUM
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SHORT SECTION THROUGH ACCOMMODATION
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SHORT SECTION THROUGH WORKSHOP AND SPORTS PITCH
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THE MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY HERE IS USED TO GIVE A PHYSICAL UNDERSTANDING ON HOW THE FACADE WORKS, FROM LEFT GOING CLOCKWISE: LIGHT FLOODING IN TO BUILDING THROUGH ATRIUM SKY LIGHTS. ATMOSPHERIC SHOWING THE CASTING OF SHADOWS ON THE FINS. HOW THE BUILDING’S POLYCARBONATE ELEMENTS GLOW AT NIGHT, GIVING OFF THE ‘BEACON’ LIKE EFFECT. ENTRANCE TO SPORTS PITCH AND LIME STREET FACADE STRUCTURAL COLUMNS. MORE DETAILED PHOTOGRAPH CAPTURING THE LIGHT THROUGH THE FACADE.
RIVER SIDE ELEVATION
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LIME STREET ELEVATION
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STRENGTHS - LIGHT FROM ALL DIRECTIONS - SEA VIEW - EASY ACCESS TO BEACH AND SEA - SPECTACULAR - DYNAMIC - SUMMER
WEAKNESS - HIGHTIDE - ACCESS - LEAST AMOUT OF BOUNDARIES - SLOPE - WINTER
OPPORTUNITY - MULTIPLE ACCESS - ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES - INTERACTION WITH ELEMENTS - BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE - LANDSCAPING
CHALLENGE - ACCESS - INTERACTION WITH ELEMENTS - SLOPE - SEASONALLY DIFFERENT - NO SURROUNDING BUILDINGS
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SKETCHES EXPRESSING THE IDEA OF THE STACKING OF THE PODS CREATING AN INTERESTING IMPOSITION. THE DANCE STUDIOS BEING COMPLETELY GLASS FACED TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO VIEW CLEARLY FROM THE COURTYARD, WHETHER WALKING PAST OR STANDING FOR THE PERFORMANCE. PLUS THE RELATION SHIP BETWEEN THE SITE AND ST.GEORGE’S PARISH CHURCH, AS EXPLAINED THROUGH MAP, DIAGRAM AND PHOTO.
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
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Bike Placement Around The City In order for the Park and ride scheme to work successfully there needs to be a system where users can place their bikes in a secured place around town. Also there is a system where the bikes are tracked and then picked up by a lorry which is situated at the main building site. The placement of the bike storage isno more than 1000m from each in the city centre, also the bikes are stored at major tourist attractions, public buildings and local public transport.
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Brown Site S.W.O.C. Analysis Strengths
History ski slope Seasonal Use (Spring and Summer) Close to Town Views of the whole of the city and the peak district (Mainly at the the top of the hill) Plenty of light to the south Landmark appeal from the Ski Slope Focal Point
Weaknesses
Entrances and Access is a little limited for proposed amount of users Hidden Away Isolated The site is abandoned and so the old building will need to be demolished before works starts Seasonal use (winter)
Oppertunity
Entrance and Access History Infrastructures Views City Centre and Peak district site can be seen from city centre Landmark appeal
Challenge
Entrance & access Intergration with the Scenery Site and the Ski slope Seasonal use in the winter.
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Grid Shell Structure
This is the shell structure which makes up the design of the exterior shape of the building. it’s shape is derrived from the shape of the local of hills, We designed it like this in order to make the building fit into it’s surroundings. Also this structure when constructed is very interesting to look at from the inside and outside. The structure will be covered in a Teflon covered canvas which will let light into the spaces below and from inside it will highlight the structure of the shell.
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Cable Node
Lath Shear Block LATH SYSTEM
Threaded Bar Plain Washer
Lath
PIN JOINT SECTION 1:4 54
Larch Timbr Laths Glulam Column Steel Plate Connection
Structure
The term grid shell refers to a “doubly curved surface formed from a lattice of timber laths bolted together at uniform spacing in two directions�. The grid is initially flat and held together by pinned joints that allow parallel movements between laths. The gird is then pushed up from below using scaffolding towers. For this, a pinned connection was needed between the middle two laths and slotted holes were needed in the outer layers to allow for this movement and after the mesh is lifted into shape, the boundaries must be fixed. Due to the large scale of the grid shell, double larch laths will be used, one above the other creating four - rather than two - layers of wooden laths, with the addition of shear blocks between parallel laths to increase stiffness. Steel cable ties will also be needed to provide the diagonal stiffness to the shell and finally the shell will be covered with a waterproof Teflon membrane that will allow around 20 percent of light to pass though. Reinforced glulam beams will hold the long glulam edge beam in place, which is then connected to the far edge of the gridshell. To connect the gridshell to the edge beam the lathes could potentially be bolted onto fingers of kerto (LVL) and then bolted to steel plates around the edge beam.
Reinforced Glulam Column
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Light Entering the Spaces
as the canopy is translucent it lets light into the main spaces underneath the grid shell, also there will be roof lights in the small buildings to the north of the structure. This is a very efficiant and private way of lighting the spaces, and this will be a priority for the changing rooms.
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Roof Plan of site and Main Structure
Floor Plan of Main Buildings
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Photomontage: Bicycle ‘Satelite’ Hub in Sheffield City Centre
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This is a axonometric of the site showing the way that the building is put together. This also shows the way that the users move through the site and direction of movement into town. There is also the garage holding the truck and the panels and other items which can be used for the maintanance of the site.
Section through the Site
This is the section through the site, the section follows the the route that users take through the site to collect their bikes, starting from the car park to the bike storage parts in the centre and out in the direction of town.
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Richard Dunn 120324699 ARC2023 Priciples And Theories of Architecture 2.1
Bachelard has written that “all really inhabited space bears the essence of the notion of home”. What is the relevance of concepts of home for non-domestic spaces? Can ‘home’ exist beyond the domestic sphere? Use specific examples to construct your argument. At ‘home’ with your senses… To say that all really inhabited spaces bear the notion of home, you need to think about what the use and term of ‘home’ means to that statement. Home can be seen as different beings, like a physical place or space, yet on the other hand a state of mind and feeling. I will be considering the idea that the concept of ‘home’ can indeed exist beyond the domestic sphere, but perhaps as an illusion, and also seeing how it interacts with a person’s senses. In order to consider and evaluate these points I will be looking primarily at some of the words of Jahuni Pallasmaa. Home is an interesting term. It is generally seen as the same thing by many different people, but will never have the same physical appearance. ‘Home’ is normally perceived as the everyday domestic environment in which you live in, you inhabit it, sleep, eat and relax in it. It is something in which plays a pivotal role in a person’s day-to-day life experiences. However these experiences that you go through whilst in your home are things that can indeed be experienced elsewhere, in other non-domestic spaces. So what really is it about ‘home’ that makes it different? It may be possible that the concept of home could exist anywhere outside the domestic sphere, however it could strongly be to do with a persons senses. With a powerful enough sense of touch, smell and sight for example, people could create an illusion for themselves, sparking memories, and thus feeling a subconscious sense of home. When inhabiting a space, such as a space we consider as home, it does not become a home immediately. These spaces need to be modified and reinterpreted by us to allow an acceptance to these surroundings. Whether it be the way in which we lay a room out, or what colour the walls are, the symmetry of photos, they all play their own small role to create something larger. All these small things are little expressions of our past, getting in touch with our younger self, because its what we spent many years of our lives living and familiarising ourselves with. ‘There are many aspects to the home, and the actual solid building is only a part of it… only really noticing it when something changes’1. This is an initial suggestion as to show how a person’s visual sense has a subconscious image and perception of what their home is. And it is an image so solid, that the smallest change can change a great deal to the new overall outlook.
‘The problems arise from the isolation of the eye outside its natural interaction with other sense modalities, and from the elimination and suppression of other senses, which increasingly reduce and restrict the experience of the world into the sphere of vision. This separation and reduction fragments the innate complexity, comprehensiveness and plasticity of the perceptual system, reinforcing a sense of detachment and alienation.’ 2 Most people perceive a house to be a home, and in most cases that indeed is true. However there are millions of houses in the United Kingdom, even the world, but their not all ‘home’. You go to a friend’s house and that isn’t home, it doesn’t have the same feeling. In fact, when going to another person’s house you can feel very much uneasy with your surroundings the first time or two, thus suggesting ‘home’ does not even exist within a domestic sphere all the time. It can be such a broad term, ‘home’, when travelling anywhere you are leaving what you call ‘home’. Consider a larger scale of thinking along this journey. You consider your house your home, but yet when you travel from one city to another, you start to refer to the city you have left as your home, for example travelling from London to Newcastle, but yet London itself is not a domestic sphere. Likewise from one country to another, if you found
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yourself living in a country outside of the one you have inhabited all your life, you will not consider that place your home, at least not until your senses have become tuned in to that place. ‘Anything that we recognize as familiar, even something as immaterial as a tune, can somehow become ingrained, so that it becomes somehow a part of where we are… these things are a part of who we are.’4
Whether or not the particular feelings of home reach the heights of the physical space to which they may la-
bel it, everyone carries a memory and sense of home with them no matter where they are. Therefore a strong enough interaction with your senses should be able to make home exist anywhere. 7
As an example, consider Richmond Dental Care . The layout of the waiting room contains features that you would link to that of a home. The way the chairs are laid out in order to promote a kind of social atmosphere centred around one table. Then you notice another familiarity of ‘home’ when seeing the various reading material on the table, let alone the plants around the room, and even the picture on the wall. All these things accumulate a notion of home. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, is the set of cabinets at the back of the room, set out symmetrically, almost as a suggestion is being the ‘mantle-piece’ of the room, organised in such a way to create an overall feeling of coherency within this non-domestic environment. This is the kind of example that interacts with the visual senses, without this sense, it would be almost impossible to bear any idea of ‘home’ here. So is it possible to say home can potentially exist within a mental sphere? Can your imagination of ideals not be what you would perceive as home? Your mind is something you can retreat to, it is a metropolis of memory, containing everything you encounter along your life, interacting with all of your senses. For example, in the earlier years of my life, I would travel to Cumbria every Christmas, to visit family. Although the house in which I stayed in did not feel like home, not the distinct memory of how cold the room I slept in was, but rather the smell of the northern air, it always gave me that innate feeling of belonging, I felt at home. Somewhere within my memory bank I could in fact be wrong, it could have been the people in which I inhabited the space with, but its always the smell that allows me to recall these distinct memories.
‘A particular smell makes us unknowingly re-enter a space completely forgotten by the retinal memory; the nostrils awaken a forgotten image, and we are enticed to enter a vivid daydream.’5 ‘’[T]he chief benefit of the house [is that] the house shelters daydream, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace’’6. This can suggest a couple of things to me. Home can be found in the subconscious state of the person, dreaming takes you to a world that puts you at complete comfort and is a utopia. But this also may suggest the house as your home acts as the key to this utopia.
‘There is a subtle transference between tactile and tast experiences. Vision becomes transferred to taste as well; certain colours and delicate details evoke oral sensations’.8 In conclusion, I would have to say it seems ‘home’ could exist beyond the domestic sphere, but only on a mitigated level. It can act as a sensory illusion within an individuals mind set, to ultimately create a sense of comfort and perhaps to put them to ease. ‘Home’ to me, goes beyond a physical space; it is a feeling, an inconceivable expression of comfort and collaboration of the senses.
Bibliography: 1- Andrew Ballantyne, 2002, Architecture - A Very Short
Introduction (pg.18), Gosport, Oxford University Press Juhani Pallasmaa, 2012, The Eyes Of The Skin, Architecture And The Senses (pg.43), Third Edition, Cornwall, Wiley 3- Map of United Kingdon, http://www.itraveluk.co.uk/ maps/england/ 4- Andrew Ballantyne, 2002, Architecture - A Very Short Introduction (pg.17), Gosport, Oxford University Press 5- Juhani Pallasmaa, 2012, The Eyes Of The Skin, Architecture And The Senses (pg.58), Third Edition, Cornwall, Wiley 6- Gaston Bachelard, 1969, The Poetics Of Space (pg.6), Boston, Beacon Press 7- Richmond Dental Care Waiting Room, http:// www.richdental.co.uk/about-us/#prettyPhoto[9357About%20Us]/4/ 8- Juhani Pallasmaa, 2012, The Eyes Of The Skin, Architecture And The Senses (pg.63), Third Edition, Cornwall, Wiley 9- Auther’s own, photo-manipulation 2-
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ACESS FOR ALL
MEANS OF ESCAPE
General Access / Parking Due to the isolated location of the site, access for this Civic Centre can be a tricky but achievable. Due to Building Regulations: Part M, parking to the site needs to be as close and feasible to the site as possible. To make parking easy as possible for disabled users of the building, I would have to landscape a road, which leads round to the site. This would basically mean taking the footpath and widening it approximately 3500 to 4500mm. This would then create disabled parking spaces that sit only 21000mm from the reception, compared to the original idea, which left them 130000mm away. The benefit to using these spaces is the fact they leave you right at the end of the existing footpath, which leads directly round to the building with a fairly minimal gradient (1:20), and as far as access goes that is an optimum outcome. This path then connects to the entrance point of the building. Given how my building is designed, there is no specific ‘main entrance’ if you will. It is a ramp leading to the base of the site over a small gradient of 1:12, with a width of 4000mm (far better than the minimum of 1800mm) to allow for multiple people, and wheelchair users to both access and leave the building simultaneously without causing any obstruction to one another.
General Considerations In public buildings such as sports centres and libraries, evacuation in the event of a hazard will occur simultaneously. More specifically in the event of a fire, the building must be able to allow safe passage to more than one exit for the best occupancy capacity.
Access Within The Building For the doors around the building, access for visually impaired people has been given a careful concentration. As the doors are all predominantly glass there are opaque strips at 800mm and 1500mm high. The minimum door width within the building is 1000mm, for example with the likes of the library spaces, and private study zones, you will not have so many people coming and going to need any bigger in those spaces. At the entrance of the building the reception, elevator and stairs are easily identifiable, with easy access to the reception (with 2000mm x 2000mm electronic doors). Each reception space is fitted with an induction loop hearing enhancement system and the floors around the spaces are flat and slip resistant. All spaces in between the pods are unobstructed by the like of heating systems and fire hoses, for people using buggies and people on crutches. Every room has sufficient wheelchair access. There is a clear visual contrast Stairs There are corduroy hazard-warning surfaces at the top and bottom landing of the main staircase. The staircase also satisfies all of the regulations relating to risers and goings. All of the nosings are marked with a 50mm wide contrasted material, and are also notched to alert people, specifically of visual impairment. For safety reasons the risers will be closed to minimise the risk of tripping. The handrail runs up to the landing, standing 900mm, and is turned down in order to avoid catching. The stairs are orientated in such a way to avoid any glare from the sun. Lifts and Vertical Access There is one lift in the building, located 11000mm from the bottom of the entrance ramp, which is 3000mm x 2600mm, with power operated horizontal sliding doors that are contrasted differently to the wall for easier differentiation. The alarm, lift car controls and landing call buttons are placed 1000mm from the floor, with extrusions for brail readers. This lift takes you to every level of the building. It is located where it is because it take you to the first floor viewing platform and café (90000mm2), which has a more than adequate landing and circulation space to avoid any collisions, whilst fast-tracking people to the social sector of the building. It is generously sized to allow for multiple people and wheelchairs to use. The floor to the lift will be a different material to that of the landings however it is similarly slip resistant. The handrails for the lift are situated 900mm from the floor as to not obstruct any of the buttons yet still be at a comfortable height to hold on to. There are audio systems both inside and out to indicate the arrival of the lift on each floor. There are staircases to access each level of the building. The ground floor staircase provides a minimum landing space of around 1000mm with no single steps or door swings. This also applies to the first floor staircase. The nosings are of a contrasted colour to that of the actual tread once again for safety. There are closed end handrails on both sides of the first floor staircase due to the landing break half way up (1000mm), and stand 1000mm from the floor. LED lighting is situated by all sets of stairs an elevator to increase visibility during night time, any other additional lighting comes from the diffused light of the pods (polycarbonate clad). The handrails are of a non-slip material with a diameter of approximately 45mm, located 65mm off the wall. Toilets In each of the toilets sections of the building there is one disabled toilet, which complies with size regulations, and is located near to the entrance of the building. For wheelchair users it is ideal because they are located on the ground floor opposite the lifts for easy access. Grab rails are provided at 800mm and 670mm. The toilet is fitted with an emergency alarm system, to which is engaged by a red chord, situated at 150mm and 800mm in the event of someone being on the floor.
For people of physical impairment, a vibrating paging system could be installed, and thinking more universally the building will have an audible fire alarm and visual indicators flashing red to specify directions. Heat and smoke detectors will be fitted throughout the whole building, with a further installation of fire extinguishers on all floors too. Glazing will no doubt have to be fire resistant for the protected zones. Means of Warning Escape Due to the nature of a Civic Centre, it is important to have a more specialist alarm system that’s fitting to the building, which would have visual and tactile indicators plus oral identification. Optical alarms are to be installed in the circulation areas and spaces where fire could spread quickly. It is essential for every room in the building to have route and location maps, so in the event of a fire the quickest escape will become apparent far quicker. Additional Considerations The walls for this building are of a concrete construction, but clad in polycarbonate. Although polycarbonate has a low effectiveness in terms of fire resistance, concrete is an ideal resistor to heat, minimising any chance of ignition from external sources. Dependant on the fire, the ground floor has two exit points, with the first and second floors having an exit point and a refuge point with a fitted EVC System. All doors, including exit doors on escape routes can be pushed open in to any direction of movement (outwards force). For the few automatic doors that may have an electrical failure, there is a UPS system installed to shut of the locks on the doors so they can be easily slid open without the use of much force. ROOM SPACE GROUND FLOOR
FIRST FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
AREA (m2)
FLOOR SPACE FACTOR
OCCUPANT CAPACITY
FLOOR TOTAL
RECEPTIO
20.16
1.0
20.16
DANCE STUDIO
139.5
1.5
93
FIRST AID
12.96
6.0
12.96
BOILER ROOM
12.96
0.3
43.2
CHANGING (MALE)
34.96
1.0
34.96
CHANGING (FEMALE)
34,96
1.0
34.96
SHOP
12.96
2.0
6.48
LIBRARY ONE
42.56
7.0
6.08
LIBRARY TWO
43.56
7.0
6.22
CLASSROOM
23.76
1.0
23.76
STUDY ROOM ONE
8.84
1.0
8.84
STUDY ROOM TWO
8.84
1.0
8.84
CAFE
21
2.0
10.5
64.24
NURSERY
32.68
1.0
32.68
32.68
234.92
331.84 In the event of a fire, in order for evacuation to be successful, the minimum width of a staircase needs to be reviewed and identified. No staircase within the building needs to serve more than 96 people over two storeys, and as per the Approved Documents the minimum width of the stairs need to be 1100mm. Every person should be able to travel down the stairs in the same direction and be able two have at least two people standing side by side. The stairs in this building are 1250mm(1st/ 2nd floor), which complies to regulations, and the ground floor set are 1700mm, which, with a handrail in the middle, could cater for approximately three people to travel at any one time without risk of injury. W= 332 + 15x3 -15/150 + (50x3) W = 362/150 + 150 W = 362/300 W = 1.21m
W = ((N/2.5) + (60S)) /80 ((97/2.5) + (60 x 1.2)) /80 (38.8 + 72) = 110 /80 = 1.385 W = 1.385
79
80
81
82
83