‘The calm before the storm’
01/10/2014
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The courtyard cinema: Group 19 Abstract ”Cinema, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.’’ Arnold Newman The following presentation is a study of urban rejuvenation and placemaking in an historic city centre, the current architectural paradigms of the Cinema experience, and an exploration of the Courtyard archetype.
William Bryan
Season Tse
Chris Harvey
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Celebrating the ‘Black Box’
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contents - Basil Spence - Winter 2014-
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Overview
Dissection 1. Cinema 2. City 3. Site
1. The Courtyard 2. The ‘Black Box’ 3. The Promenade
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1. Process Diagram
Proposal
1. Plans 2. Visuals 3. Photography
Detail
1. Materiality 2. Structure 3. Environment
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process
Synopsis
1. Timeline 2. Conclusion 3. Team
Brief
Dissection
Discussion
The societal role of cinema; our individual experiences of film and how we can improve the process on a personal and collective level.
Social Response
Bath Film Institute The brief details a film institute in the heart of Bath, a city steeped in architectural history. The building must operate all year round; a physical manifestation of modern/ historic cinema, and its relationship to architecture and engineering. CINEMA - ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING
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Placemaking in an historic city; how to reassert or redefine the role of an area within the fabric of a community, while referencing the wider context.
Historical Response
Enhancing experience through an archetype; how architecture can inform and create new paradigms by reusing established ideas.
Architectural Response
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DIalogue
Formulation
Synopsis
Volumes
The Courtyard Cinema Our proposal addresses the perception of modern cinemas as ‘dumb boxes’, exploring clarity of expression and ambiguous volumes. On a city scale, our institute reinvigorates an underused part of the urban centre, referencing the ‘promenade architecturale’. The central courtyard space is a hub of social interaction, hosting events throughout the year and redefining the role of the city garden in Bath.
Street
Form
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‘We are social creatures to the inmost centre of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong.’
- Karl Popper -
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- DISSECTION 1. Cinema 2. The City 3. The Site
- Analysis -
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the cinema experience A trip to the cinema in the 21st century is architecturally highly prescriptive. Large complexes contain multiple cinemas, preceded by a large lobby space. The process of a cinema-goer follows a linear narrative. Formula LOBBY -> CORRIDOR -> CINEMA -> CORRIDOR -> LOBBY The ambiguous cinema spaces sit adjacent to a corridor, processing and filtering the occupants in and out. Despite its centrality to the cultural experience, the cinema volume is often intangible; there is no spatial expression. Intangible
Tangible
Film is an intrinsically liminal concept, it mediates between fiction and reality, 2 dimensions and 3 dimensions. It is both a collective and highly personal experience; there is a symbiotic relationship between the two. In an age of technology, in order to retain its relevance, it needs to offer something unique. Can architecture enhance film? Symbiosis COLLECTIVE <---> PERSONAL
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Active
Inactive
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Great Pulteney Street
North Parade
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The georgian promenade: City scale Looking at Bath holistically, we can highlight architectural/social paradigms that have governed the city’s development over the last 300 years. The Georgian era is most notable in Bath’s transformation from a humble town to a flourishing city. Bath is the only city in the UK to merit status as a UNESCO World Heritage site - It is a thriving tourist destination and a real hub of culture and history in the South-West. The grand promenade is intrinsically a Georgian notion, and can be identified in many forms throughout the city. Carefully designed vistas such as the Circus, the Royal Crescent, Great Pulteney Street and Bath Abbey illustrated the wealth and importance of its community. Many of the iconic vignettes throughout Bath can be attributed to the architect John Wood. We identified North Parade - to the south of our site - as an area that displayed certain characteristics of a grand processional route, but had not been realised.
Public Concentration
‘‘Wood planned North Parade as a shaded summer promenade with steps descending to the Gardens below.’’ Existing
Placemaking
Reinstating the Promenade
By designing an elevation to oppose North Parade, we would reactivate the original plan to provide a promenade adjacent to the gardens. This would extend the public realm, and reinvigorate a neglected thoroughfare.
Bridging the Avon
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Parade Gardens Timeline
1709
1610 1895
1824
The Garden: Macro scale Generally, the garden denotes a relatively small and strongly bounded landscape. The primary defining element of a garden is enclosure. The etymological origin of the garden in Old English is geard "fence," or in other words, "enclosed space." If we expand the concept of enclosure to include the notion of the intangible boundaries, the idea of the garden may range from the corporate garden to the campus garden. The Courtyard archetype is synonymous with the notion of enclosure, balancing the tension between built form and landscape. Can we integrate with this the essence of cinema?
Historically, Parade gardens has been a central element to the social machinations of Bath. It was developed from an Orchard circa 1600 to an exclusive Georgian garden, modified during the Victorian period.
Built Form/Landscape
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It is a key public place within an historic urban centre, providing respite for tourists and locals alike. Sitting on the banks of the River Avon, it has the propensity to flood: to avoid flooding the site could be stepped or raised in areas.
2014 - Our proposal
1932 -
1968
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Parade Garden History In the early 17th century, the site of Parade Gardens formed part of the Abbey Orchard and lay outside the city wall. Monk's Mill, stood at the northern end of the enclosure with steps leading down to the river. In 1709 Richard 'Beau' Nash encouraged Thomas Harrison to build an Assembly Room and gardens for fashionable visitors to the spa. Admission to these gardens was by subscription, ensuring exclusivity. In 1824 the Royal Literary and Scientific Institution was built on the site of Harrisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Assembly Rooms and the gardens were renamed Institution Gardens.
The layout of the gardens changed little during the 19th century, but in 1895 an improvement scheme led to the northern extension of the gardens. The Bath architect C E Davis constructed an Italianate colonnade along the western boundary of the garden. Highway improvements in 1932 led to the demolition of the Royal Institution. The following year the late 19th century colonnade was extended south-west and a new entrance comprising of a domed ticket office and a grand double staircase descending from Orange Grove was constructed.
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The layout of the gardens remains substantially unchanged from the C19, while significant elements of its design reflect the scheme devised in 1738 by John Wood as part of his development of North Parade. Today, Parade Gardens continue to operate as subscription gardens, while residents of North Parade have access to the gardens by a private gate. Parade Gardens have remained in municipal ownership since the 1930s. The gardens are particularly noted for their displays of traditional carpet and sculptural bedding.
Parade Gardens
Public Space
Access
Transport
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Water management
The gardens are at high risk of flooding every year
Footfall
Views
Grand Parade is a key centre to Bathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thriving tourist trade.
The view towards Pulteney bridge is an iconic symbol of Bath
Bridging the avon
Approach
Thoroughfare
Bath Spa train station leads tourists towards the site from Manvers Street.
North Parade has become a neglected, unconnected part of the city. 17
Parade Bridge provides inadequate space for pedestrian usage.
Crystallizing initial ideas Context informing Concept
The Georgian Promenade
Celebrating the profane
Landscape/Built Form
Distilling the essence of the Georgian social and architectural concept to reinvigorate an underused part of the city centre. Fulfilling the original legacy.
Subverting the impersonal, ambiguous architecture of the modern day cinema, expressing the spaces as tangible entities; celebrating the ‘dumb box’.
Like Cinema, an intrinsically liminal concept. Integrating built form/landscape, while entertaining the notion of ‘enclosure’ through the Courtyard archetype.
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Concept Sketch Conflating Initial ideas
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‘‘Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.’’
- Herotodus -
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- process 1. The Courtyard Archetype 2. Celebrating the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Black Boxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 3. The Georgian Promenade
- concept development -
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The Courtyard Archetype Architects have made architecture too complex. We need to simplify it and use a language that everyone can understand.
- Toyo Ito -
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B
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Education
Courtyard
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Restaurant
North Parade Garden B
The Main Cinema Grand Parade
Cinemas
Courtyard
The courtyard at the heart of the design would be an animated, interactive space. It could be used as a large outdoor cinema, with a temporary roof deployable when needed. By raising one side of the courtyard building, we enable access to the Garden, while still retaining the notion of enclosure.
Cinemas
Integration: GARDEN -> COURTYARD
Mont saint-michel, France The central monastic courtyard provides a reference point for the building. It infers a sense of double-aspect upon all areas of the site. The colonnades provide apertures into the space, transient snapshots of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart. BUILT FORM -> LANDSCAPE
Concept Image 23
Courtyard archetype
Courtyard
The projection of an image onto canvas is an illusory concept. We are given/forced a sense of perspective; stitched into the narrative. Despite our emotional investment in film, we are conscious of our separation from it. Cinema mediates between several diametric oppositions: 2 dimensions/3 dimensions, Reality/fiction, the stasis of individual frames/movement of the motion picture. Like cinema, the Courtyard archetype is intrinsically a liminal, ambiguous concept. Neither truly indoors or outdoors, It can be both public and private. Upon occupation, one can eliminate all surrounding context bar the sky, alluding to its inherent relationship with the ground. 24
Axes
Interactive Frontage
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Circulation
The Georgian Promenade ‘‘We don’t have preconceived ideas; we work, we analyze, we read, we step into projects knowing that we’re not the first ones there.’’
- Elizabeth Diller -
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Courtyard
Connectivity
Accessibility
Promenade
Reconciling the Courtyard and Promenade
The Street Providing an opposing elevation to North Parade and a footbridge adjacent to Parade bridge will enliven the area. We are transforming the street, which inherently pertains to the transient, into a destination.
Existing
STREET <-> DESTINATION We are also looking to retain the larger trees on the edge of Parade Gardens, both referencing the Georgian promenade, and the greater history of the site. Promenade
Concept Sketch
Private Public Education
Integrating nature
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Education
Placemaking: The Georgian Promenade The affinity between cinema and the city street pertains to the transient, where fleeting architectural experiences take place. We can relate this back to the Georgian Promenade, an ideal intrinsic to the historical social machinations of Bath. One would traverse through the streets, punctuated by carefully designed iconic vignettes of the historic urban centre. Surrounding our site are several of these clearly defined loci, from Pulteney Bridge to Bath Abbey to Grand Parade. We are creating a terminus out of what is currently a rather neglected thoroughfare, and adding to the canon of Bathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s architectural vistas.
Bath Abbey 28
Grand Parade
Milsom Street
Circus 29
Great Pulteney Street
Celebrating the ‘Black Box’ ‘‘I am particularly fond of concrete, the symbol of the construction progress of a whole century, submissive and strong as an elephant, monumental like stone, humble like brick.’’ - Carlos Villanueva -
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The Holocaust memorial, Berlin
Habitat 67, Montreal
Eisenmann designed the sculpture to represent a ‘supposedly ordered system that lost touch with reason’. The monolithic, blank facades exude a certain power. One can circulate around each individual monument; despite the atomisation of each block, the memorial reads as a unified whole.
Habitat 67 is a model community in Canada, originally conceived as part of a Masters thesis, then built as a pavilion for Expo 67, the World’s Fair in 1967. It comprises of 354 prefabricated concrete volumes, stacked 12 storeys high. The concept was ‘man and his world’, looking at creating a private and natural environment within a dense urban area.
INDIVIDUAL - COLLECTIVE
PRIVATE - PUBLIC
Peter Eisenmann
Moshe Safdie
Long section
Courtyard section
‘white box’
Articulating the Cinemas With the courtyard as the central driver to the form of the institute, we rationalised the space as the antithesis to the ‘black boxes’. The void is a ‘white box’; the heart of the scheme. The amorphous internal cinemas are intrinsically static and grounded, constructed from prefabricated concrete and housed within their structural opposite, a lightweight, permeable glulam frame. So the hierarchy of space is the White Box (void), the permeable Glulam, and the monolithic Black Boxes. Concept Sketch
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Celebrating the ‘black box’ The experience of cinema in the 21st century is spatially ambiguous. Cinemas sit perpendicularly to a long corridor; large rectilinear volumes hidden behind double doors, labelled as‘dumb boxes’. We want to celebrate the cinema spaces; there is a poetic notion about being able to circulate around these cultural nuclei, with activity surrounding these tangible entities. The cinemas are preabricated concrete boxes, housed within a lightweight glulam frame, which acts as a counterpoint to the static, immersive experience of cinema. Original sketches 32
Circulation
Articulating Cinemas 33
Programme Gra
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Par a
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The ‘Floating’ Education Space
Street Level
One enters the building underneath the education space, the street-facing facade. The space consists of several meeting rooms, classrooms and a breakout area that overlooks the central courtyard. Cores at either end provide the vertical circulation.
Extending the public realm will animate the street, with markets and events throughout the year. A cafe opens out on to North Parade, while the Shop fronts onto Grand Parade, forming the building’s secondary entrance, and leading to the restaurant, with prime views over the gardens.
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STUDIO
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The Ground
The Garden
The cinemas and the negative space they create form the main activities of the Film Institute. Flexible exhibition space surrounds the four Cinemas and a studio, with foyers adjacent to the entrance. Tucked against the north parade wall are the two plant rooms and the recording studio.
The courtyard space forms the main cinema, operating as a social space during the day and transformed at night. The language of the animated landscaping extends into the garden and the outdoor performance/ exhibition spaces. We hope to reinvigorate the underused garden aspace.
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The Landscape/Built Form Part of the rejuvenation process we undertook was about animating space. Carefully animating the landscape is a step towards that goal. Studying Carlo Scarpa and his highly intricate approach to geometry, form and detail, we endeavoured to replicate the power and potency that his designs evoke.
Throughout the proposal, wooden boxes provide seating, storage and planting. They are constructed of reclaimed, weathered larch, and are lightweight, as to be easily relocated.
Parade Gardens Landscape
Ordering Nature
Scarpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Olivetti showroon in Venice is highly geometric, yet there is a beauty to the ordered, simple forms. Also drawing inspiration from the civic Roman Amphitheatres, we integrated these notions into our courtyard cinemas space, which spills out into the landscape of the garden. ORDER -> DIS(ORDER)
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Landscape/Built Form
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Southern Appproach
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Nearing the site from the south side of town, the busy retail area of southfields, the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong axial geometry invites the eye around the corner. It is a focal point.
As one approaches the corner, we are brought under the floating street facade. The newly invigorated promenade has changed the syntax of the site; it is now occupied.
Entering down into of the building, we emerge into the courtyard, through the tree canopy and towards the light. The courtyard is defined from this point as the datum.
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Nearing the site from Grand Parade and the north side of town, one can enter the garden down the rammed earth ramp, or into the shop, which faces directly onto the street.
The animated garden unites landscape and built form, providing a structured but delicate area. The garden has shed its air of exclusivity, and acts as a social hub in the city.
One is drawn into the courtyard space at the heart of the Institute, balancing the tension between public and private. It belongs to both the building and the garden.
Northern Approach
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We ensured the building kept a relatively small footprint, in order to retain as much of the northern garden as possible.
Solar panels harvest sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy, powering the louvered facade system
Riverside is activated with an outdoor performance space and secondary exhibition area
Emergency Exits
Temporary cotton roof and canvas screen unfold from storafe boxes on main sedam roof
New bridge reroutes pedestrian traffic, with the iconic view back up the River Avon
Prom
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The approach from Bath Spa Station
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It seems a fantastic paradox, but it is nevertheless a most important truth, that no architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect.
- John Ruskin - v
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- Proposal 1. Plans 2. Visuals 3. Photography
- Presenting a scheme -
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Siteplan 1:1000 @ A2
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Legend 1. Breakout Space 2. Meeting Room 3. External Terrace 4. Archive 5. Office 6. Meeting Room 7. Learning Space 8. Learning Space 9. Mediatheque 10. Lobby
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First Floor Plan 1:200 @ A2
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Legend 1. Shop 2. Restaurant 3. Kitchen 4. Marketplace 5. Cafe 6. Circulation Core
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Street Level Plan 1:200 @ A2
Legend 1. Cinema 1 2. Cinema 2 3. Cinema 3 4. Storage 5. WCs and E/E 6/6a. Foyers 7. Covered entry area 8. Studio 9. Cinema 4 10. Exhibition 11. Cafe 12. Recording Studio 13/13a Plant Rooms 15. Archive Shop 16. Outdoor exhibition
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Lower Ground Floor Plan 1:200 @ A2
THE Promenade Architecture is read as it is traversed. This is also the case for the cinematic spectacle; film is read as it is traversed, and is readable insofar as it is traversable. As we go through it, it goes through us. The passage through light spaces is an important issue for both cinema and architecture - practices that engage seeing in relation to movement. As Le Corbusier puts it, in his adage of a promenade architecturale, architecture "is appreciated while on the move, with one's feet... while walking, moving from one place to another... A true architectural promenade offers constantly changing views, unexpected, at times surprising." A form of siteseeing, the moving image drives the dynamics of an architectural promenade. It is inscribed into, and interacts with, film's own peripatetics and "street-walking."
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‘Promenade Architecturale’
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THE Courtyard The central space acts as the datum of the building. Overlooked by the animated market and newly invigorated street front, the courtyard balances the tensions between public and private space. One enters beneath the canopy of the trees, and emerges into the light of the courtyard space, with the flanking buildings housing the cinemas. The education realm floats above the street, sitting apart from the public cinema complex, but forming the interactive street through the void it creates underneath.
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‘The Animated Centre’
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THE External Cinema Transforming into the main cinema space, the courtyard holds major events throughout the year. Covered with a lightweight cotton twill roof when necessary, the space is simultaneously introspective and extrospective. The courtyard becomes more than a cinema, it is a social hub for the city, a flexible space at the heart of the historic urban centre. The building can continue to function during events - Louvres close to improve sound attenuation and directional speakers allow the restaurant to operate uninterrupted.
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‘The Social Hub’
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Daytime During the day, the courtyard acts as a hub of activity; a central datum. Occupants will enjoy the British weather on the rare bright spell. The courtyard is as a public space, as well as intrinsically a private area for the cinema. The timber frame is a permeable facade, allowing activity to spill out onto the landscaped steps. The animated garden landscape will rejuvenate this vastly underused resource in the heart of Bathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city centre.
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After Dark During the evenings, particularly in inclement weather, the lightweight tensile roof structure can be deployed from the eastern building, making a covered cinema space. The roof is made of a treated cotton twill, and will drain rainwater into the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main gutter system, and down into the soakaways. The space holds up to 700 people, and will not require heating or ventilation. The cinema will bring together the city for major cultural events as well as regular film showings.
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THE Black Boxes The monolithic concrete boxes provide a blank canvas for exhibition and activity around the perimeters. Their static, insular nature is offset by the interaction and openness of the lightweight glulam frame. The cinemas exude an almost sacred, numinous atmosphere; they are monuments to film. They present the possibility of an encounter with ‘otherness’, alluding to cinema’s propensity of mediating between two worlds. There is a very definite clarity to the formic articulation of these buildings, their purpose is simply expressed.
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‘Celebrating the Black Boxes’
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A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed and in the end must be unmeasurable.
- Louis Kahn -
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- Detail 1. The Materiality 2. The Structure 3. The Environment
- physical realisation -
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Materiality
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Materiality Overview
The Roof
The materiality is consistent throughout the institute. For the Larch glulam, the bonding and orientation of the grain produce a beam of very high strength to weight ratio, with very low embodied carbon. Between the glulam sit weathered larch panels, which have a good resistance to fire and corrosion. The treatment is free from chemicals, and the timber is sourced from Cornwall. The insulation is of natural fibre, delivering good thermal and acoustic properties, and with a miniscule carbon footprint. It provides a regulation of humidity, and a vapour-permeable system. The triple glazing, while not without moderate embodied carbon, greatly improves the instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental metabolism, saving energy for heating and cooling.
We consider our roof to be the 5th facade of the building, and therefore a very important facet of the proposal: environmentally, structurally and aesthetically. The sedum roof provides excellent cooling during summer, good sound insulation, and a very efficient water run-off system. Solar panels cover large parts of the roof, harvesting the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy and powering the louvered facade, as previously mentioned. The temporary roof material is cotton twill, a lightweight, almost translucent covering that is treated to prevent water ingress. Roof lights allow sunlight into the deeper parts of the plan, enhancing the permeable feel of the lightweight outer structure.
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Cinema 1 Internally, cinema 1 is clad in woven bamboo, mounted on a board backed with recycled rubber crumb. The concrete formwork is horizontally orientated and roughly finished. The cinema seats up to 180 people.
Concrete Formwork
West Elevation
Woven Bamboo
Long Section
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Cinema 1
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Cinema 2 Internally, cinema 2 is clad in a larch, mounted on a board backed with recycled rubber crumb. The concrete formwork on the exterior facades is prefabricated timber and is roughly finished. The cinema seats up to 120 people.
East Elevation
Concrete Formwork
Short Section
Larch Cladding
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Cinema 2
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Cinema 3 Cinema 3 is clad in Walnut, mounted on a board backed with recycled rubber crumb. The concrete formwork is vertically orientated and roughly finished. The cinema seats up to 100 people with 2 small cinema pods providing an intimate experience on the external facades.
Concrete Formwork
East Elevation
Short Section Walnut Cladding
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Studio
Concrete Formwork
Cedar Cladding
The studio is internally clad in cedar, mounted on a board backed with recycled rubber crumb. The concrete formwork is horizontally orientated and roughly finished. The studio seats up to 50 people and shows films on a loop for the public to access.
East Elevation
Short Section
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Cinema 4 Cinema 4 is is internally clad in larch shingles, mounted on a board backed with recycled rubber crumb. The concrete formwork is horizontally orientated and roughly finished. The studio seats up to 60 people and offers a more informal cinema experience.
West Elevation
Concrete Formwork
Long Section
Larch Shingles
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Cinema 4
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‘‘A structure becomes architectural, and not sculptural, when its elements no longer have their justification in nature.’’
- Guillaume Apollinaire -
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Framing the black boxes There is a poetic notion of being able to circulate and interact around the entire perimeter of a monolithic cinema volume. We named this concept â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;celebrating the black boxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Conceptually and structurally the static, grounded nature of the precast concrete volumes is offset by the transient, permeable nature of the glulam frame that houses them.
Realising that a cube hollowed out becomes a simple frame was the main reasoning for the structural form. Glulam beams and columns were identified as the most efficient way to execute this form of structure. It is also one of the most sustainable materials available - wood is renewable and bio-degradable, it has the lowest energy consumption and CO2 emission of any material. The FSC sourced larch glulam is chosen as larch is one of the most durable outdoor timbers.
The simple light-weight, permeable frame structure cloaks the black boxes. It seeks to express the cinemas as tangible entities. People can freely circulate between spaces.
Base on a 3 x 3 metre grid, the glulam frame is connected by flitch plates and bolts. The structure and connections are fully expressed internally, however steel connections are concealed by timber plugs externally to prevent thermal bridging. The facade and roof are consist of standardised prefabricated panels and components, which they can be easily transported and erected on site.
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Wall to foundation glulam connection detail
Key: 1.
T-shaped Beam to Post Concealed Beam Connectors The steel plate is slotted into a pocket at the end of the beam.
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Post Base with Steel Rod & Washer with PTFE Bearing A threaded steel rod is epoxied into concrete footing and drilled into the bottom of the column. The rod extends up to a mortise, and is bolted to a plate washer. A plug hides the connection and this joint resolve both lateral and uplift forces. PTFE is used to separate the concrete and the wood.
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Bending moment diagram for the timber frame
TYPICAL facade detail 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Larch ‘Skirting’ Board fixed on Edge Beam 650 x 300 mm Glulam Beam 450 x 450 mm Glulam Column behind Prefabricated Roof Panels, consists of: 320 x 25 mm Larch Board Cladding 5 mm Phase change material Vapour control layer 150 x 50 mm Treated Softwood Batten with 150 mm Thermal Insulation Breather Membrane with Ventilation Gap 300 x 25 mm Treated Larch Board cladding fixed on 50 x 50 mm Treated Softwood Batten 300 x 300 mm Glulam Secondary Beam Pulleys for the Treated Cotton Twill Retractable Roof Galvanized Steel Section Triple Glazed Window set in Timber Frame 320 x 25 mm Larch Board Adjustable Louvres Motor, controlled by the central computerised system
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The facades on the timber frame consist of three main elements:
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Solid Element - Prefabricated TIMBER PAnels
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The solid panels bring a sense of permanence to the form of the institute, as well as greatly enhancing its environmental metabolism, reducing heat loss and increasing thermal mass.
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Semi- Permeable - Automated timber Louvres Controlled by central computerised system, the solartracking louvres filter and control sunlight during the day. When a movie or an outdoor performance is played in the courtyard, the louvers are closed, creating more ‘soft’ surfaces which reduce the reverberation time and improve the acoustic quality in this outdoor environment.
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Permeable - Triple glazed Openings The windows are spaced largely on the lower floors, imbuing a feeling of free movement between buildings, underlining the fragility and lightness of the frame in comparison to the grounded concrete elements. The irregular, sizeable apertures provide views out towards the historic urban centre. As well as accessibility, the glazing acts environmentally, maximising solar gains. Detail wall section @ 1:25 77
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TYPICAL Roof CONSTRUCTION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
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Zinc Flashing fixed to the recessed Parapet Beam Zinc lined insulated gutter with rainwater outlet with Round washed gravel on top Larch ‘Skirting’ Board fixed on Edge Beam 650 x 300 mm Glulam Beam Modular Sedum Roof Trays sit on Separation Layer Waterproof Layer with Ventilation Gap Prefabricated Roof Panels, consists of: 25mm Cross Laminated Timber Panel 150 x 50 mm Treated Softwood Battens with Thermal Insulation Vapour Control Layer 300 x 25 mm Larch Board Cladding Double Glazed Rooflight
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Detail roof section @ 1:25
Prefabricated Roof PAnels The 2.7 x 2.7 metres roof panels are constructed similarly to the facade panels. They are prefabricated in the factory and fixed to the timber frame on site.
Photovoltaic Panels By placing PV panels on our roof in strategic locations to not impede the sedum roof’s thermal effects for the circulation areas, a substantial area of PV panels can be placed, in total saving up enough energy to power our LED artificial lighting scheme and automated louvers system. The electrical power would be stored during the summer and an overall net loss over power during the winter.
Extensive sedum roof The Green Roof acts as a thermal insulator, increasing the U-values of our roofs. During the summer though, the evaporation of rainwater which soaks into the sedum will provide a cooling effect. It can also help capture carbon, reduce rainwater surge and provide a biodiverse, wildlife habitat.
roofLights The double glazed rooflights provide natural lighting into timber frames. Operated by an electric chain actuator, they can be opened up to facilitate stack ventilation during summer periods. 79
the black boxes Having a large number of smaller cinemas ensures a more constant occupation, without great influxes of people throughout the day, requiring less mechanical intervention for ventilation and heat management. Structurally, the boxes are independent of the timber frame, supporting their own weights. Precast concrete bed and columns provide the structure , with timber trusses supporting the cinema roofs. Acoustically, recycled rubber crumb is mounted directly behind the varying cladding materials. This provides a sufficient reduction in the sound reverberation time within each cinema. For ventilation, outflowing water from the underfloor heating would be coiled around air intakes to help transfer remaining heat into the incoming air to ventilate the cinemas.
Section Model @ 1:100
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Ventilation System
TYPICAL Black box CONSTRUCTION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Primary Structure -
400 x 400 mm Reinforced Concrete Columns
400 x 400mm Precasted concrete beams, supported by 400 x 400mm Precasted Concrete Columns Larch Board Cladding 150 x 100mm Treated Softwood Timber Studs with Recycled Rubber Crumb Insulation 35mm Cross Laminated Timber Precast Concrete Panels, fixed by L-Plate Steel Sections 750mm deep Timber Truss 50 mm Screed Insulated Ventilation Unit Perforated Larch Board Cladding for suspended ceiling Air Inlet for machin Steel I- Beam & Column supporting Steel Sections for Seating Rack
Secondary Structure -
750 mm deep Timber Trusses & Concrete Beams
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Substructure -
Steel I - Beams & Steel Section for Seating Rack
Ventilation
Machinal Ventilation with Air Handling Unit & Insulated Extractor
Acoustic
Perforated Larch Cladding with Acoustical Insulation (Recylced Rubber Crumb) located directly behind it.
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Detail Section @ 1:50
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The retractable roof structure By having a retractable roof strucuture over the externalised cinema, the courtyard is adapted to external factors like weather conditions. It increases flexibility of the outdoor space, ameliorates occupantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; comfort and minimise interruptions caused by undesired weather.
Key: 1. Access Path for maintainance 2. Gutter for drainage 3. Louvers for ventilation 4. Stainless Steel Lining, slopes towards gutter 5. Rollers, powered by motors 6. Treated Cotton Twill, tensioned by Steel wire cable 7. Pulley fixed on glulam column
The 21 metre span retractable roof is integrated within the parapet of the eastern block, stored in a ventilated timber box. It is made of treated cotton twill fabric, attached on steel wire cables. Operated by a rolling system, the two motors are housed on both ends of the roof where it can be deployed within minutes. When the roof is required, the top sets of rollers rotate clockwise and unfold the fabric across the courtyard. The rollers would provide sufficient tension to the wires to prevent the cotton twill from sagging. When it is no longer needed, the roof retracts back to its orginal position. The seamless roof is pitched towards the main gutters at the back of the courtyard, which the rainwatevr can be directed to the plant rooms into the rain harvesting system for storage.
The Colosseum, Rome
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The Velarium was an original Roman shading device - a roof which could be extended or retracted with ropes and pulleys to provide shade for the spectators from sun and heat.
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The Floating Educational Element 250
In areas where standard Glulam proved structurally insufficient, we utilised the immense strength of steel to reinforce and carry loads. Steel columns and ties efficiently transfer the loading from the cantilever section to the central columns and avoid excessive bending moments, while the rest of the structure remains a standard timber frame. If glulam columns were used in the cantilever section, the glulam members would have been overly large in order to overcome the buckling effects and provide enough stiffness to resist the axial compression over the height required.
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The cross shape steel column is clad in larch, with services and maintanance access integrated into it. The steel ties in place are attached to the glulam beams by flitch places and to the steel column through a bolted plate. The steel ties are made of high strength steel (fy = 500 N/mm2) and due to this method of transferring loads, the column next to the steel column is equally slender but consisting purely out of glulam due to the relieving effect from the ties.
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Keys: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
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Vertical Fixed Larch Board Louvre to avoid glare Blinds, allow occupants have better control over the amount of sunlight that fills the area Openable Triple Glazed Window Sound- Insulated Fresh Air Inlets Sedum green roof as thermal mass Fleece- Backed & Mineral Lining Panels, for suspended ceiling system Motorised North- Facing Rooflight, for natural daylight & stack ventilation Photovoltaic Panels Underfloor Heating
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Structural Strategies The structure of our building is interwined with the concept; a static, grounded element, delineated in a slender frame.
The Roof The roof, made up of varying panel types, rests upon the primary and secondary beams of the timber frame.
Timber-clad Steel Column
The Facade
The 250 x 250 mm steel columns efficiently transfer the loading from the cantilever section to the central column and avoid excessive bending moments.
The facade, consisting of a series of panels, is supported by the secondary beams and does not act structurally.
The Timber Frame
VIERENDEEL TRUSSES
The frame based on a 3 metre grid. The columns for the timber frame are 450 x 450mm, the secondary beams are all 300 x 300mm and carry the weights of the panels.
The frame is fixed joints that are capable of transferring and resisting bending moments without any diagonal member.
Timber- Concrete Composite Floor
In-situ Concrete core & sheer walls
Alternative to steel and concrete construction methods, this composite flooring system is twice as strong and three times stiffer than a timber beam acting independently. It provides lateral stability on the northern part of the building.
Made of sustainable concrete, these elements help to transfer lateral loading to the foundations.
Foundation The site profile is topsoil down to 4m, with 29m of Lias Clay below that. Beneath are yet more clays which our bulb of pressure would only briefly enter into. These ground conditions and the high ground water level meant piling was the most efficient option. The piles are 600 mm in diameter with a 750 mm concrete slab on top.
Precast Concrete columns
The reinforced precast concrete frame is based on a 3 metre grid with a timber truss roof. The connections are simple bearing connections
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Primary Structure
Key:
Loading Diagrams
0.5kN/m2 3.0 kN/m2 4.0 kN/m2 5.0 kN/m2 7.5 kN/m2 Secondary Structure
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Entity
G/F Stability Elements
Temporary Structure LG/F
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Steel as connection - The VIERENDEEL TRUSSES There were areas of our scheme which required large spans in combination with heavy loading patterns. These were the situations where we used Steel. When designing them we continued the language of the frame structure by incorporating a Vierendeel Truss. A Vierendeel Truss works without the need for diagonal members, it has moment resisting connections welded on site to be structurally stable when isolated. The longitudinal members of the Vierendeel Trusses are box sections which are bolted together on site to increase torsional resistance. The transverse and bracing members underneath the deck of the bridge and in the floor of the restaurant . Steel cables will be inserted between the vertical members to form a row of Xâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (when viewed in plan) to allow lateral forces to be transferred efficiently to the bearings for both the bridge and the restaurant.
The Restaurant The Vierendeel Truss for the restaurant would span 21m between the two timber frames and fully bears onto them. The steel truss is connected by bolts with PTFE bearings (shown on the section below), to allow for the slight thermal strains. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Top Beam RHS member, 250 x 200 mm Bottom Beam RHS member, 400 x 200 mm Vertical RHS member, 250 x 200 mm, 3000 mm c/c Struts RHS member, 160 x 100 mm, 3000 mm c/c Steel cable tie, allow lateral stability
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4 1 Primary RHS 400 x 200 mm Steel Plate Steel Plate with PTFE
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Glulam Column 450 x 450mm
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The Bridge The current infrastructure of North Parade Bridge cannot comfortably cope with the current pedestrian demand - North Parade Bridge is a narrow pedestrian pavement adjacent to heavy vehicular traffic. The proposed bridge is the culmination of the promenade. By redirecting the pedestrian route onto this new bridge, it provides a safer route for the pedestrians crossing the river, while creating a new viewing platform for one of the most iconic views of Bath.
Promenade Extension 3m View to Pulney Bridge
Existing pavement
North Parade Bridge
Existing pavement
A Vierendeel Truss was chosen for its shallow section to compliment and not conflict with the existing bridge. The vertical members of the truss were highlighted as needing particular attention due to the large bending moments that occur, and the moment resisting connections.The RHS create a torsionally resistant structure without reducing efficiency in resisting diagonal forces.
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Alternate route for people to cross the river
The bridge bears onto a simpler roller bearing hidden in the footings on the West side in order to reduce the amount of moisture which can get to the bearings, while fixed bearings are present on the East side. The bridge was designed to withstand combined wind and crowd loading. Ideally for a crowd leaving â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Wreckâ&#x20AC;? with 74 mm maximum deflection.
Short section showing the relationship between the old and the new
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Construction Sequence
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Site Preparation
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Site access will be on the North West side of the site adjacent to Orange Grove.The construction ramp will be formed of rammed earth, allowing substantial machinery onto our site. When it is no longer required, the ramp will be partially reshaped to incorporate steps, allowing people to walk into the park directly from the Grand Parade.
The building sits on upon a waterproof concrete raft slab at 21.5m, which in turn sits on bored piles. In the event of flooding, the garden and courtyard would be submerged, however the building itself would remain unharmed. During piling, Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) process is used to reduce noise and vibrations. To minimise the impact on differential settlement, Geotextile and sand drains are installed to speed up the process of overall settlement.
As part of the design for the garden requires the excavation of made ground on the northern side of the site. The soil would then be used to build up the southern part by 1.25m, in order for the raft slab to sit on top of it.
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Timber Frames
External Finish & internal walls
The prefabricated timber panels, glazing and louvres are applied to the frame. In the cantilevering section, steel ties are attached to the glulam beams by flitch plates, concealed within the internal walls for efficient load transfer.
The glulam frames are erected and laid on a 3 x 3m grid, connected by flitch plates and bolts. Then in-situ concrete timber composite floor is installed, which provides further lateral stability on the north side.
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In-situ concrete core and sheer walls are built in stages, providing lateral structural stability and also spaces for circulation, plant rooms and services.
Arrival of the precast concrete columns for the cinemas, manoeuvred by cranes and attached to the precast concrete footings. It is followed by steel sections for the seatings, timber trusses for the roof and precast concrete panels for the walls of the black boxes.
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Vierendeel trusses, Roofs & Completion
The bridge and restaurant section are attached. Due to the size of these members, they will be transported in short sections to site where they will be welded lying down before being lifted or pushed into place. After the main roof is put up, the temporary roof, external cinema screen, sedum roof and PV panels are installed in stages. All Services are connected and finalised.
Black Boxes
End of Life Cycle
The building will eventually need to be demolished at the end of its life cycle. The majority of the timber connections are bolts, and the pre-cast concrete connections are simple bearing connections. The vast majority of the materials can be dismantled easily allowing for their reuse or ability to be recycled. This reduces the carbon invested by a future project to remove it. 91
Environment Overview Larch Glulam
The Glulam has very low embodied carbon, and can be sourced from Cornwall, less than 3 hours drive away.
Wall Panels
All of the wall panels are prefabricated off site, resulting in fewer waste materials and quicker construction time.
Sustainable Concrete
The 70% GGBS concrete has very low embodied carbon and is made using recycled aggregates.
Timber composite floor
The timber concrete composite is very efficient, twice as strong and 3 times as stiff as a timber floor acting independently.
Materials
Sedum Roof
In summer the evaporation of water on the sedum roof greatly aids cooling in the building.
Cinema ventilation
Cold air is pumped beneath the occupantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feet, then extracted by inlets in the suspended timber ceiling.
Stack effect
The 6 and 9 metre high ceilings facilitate the stack effect, with usercontrolled rooflights and windows.
Summer
Underfloor heating
Using the waste water from the roman baths reduces the energy consumption of the underfloor heating.
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Heating and Ventilation 92
Sedum Roof
The roof insulates the building, increasing its thermal mass in winter.
Automated Louver system
Louvers control the heat gain and minimises glare during the summer months.
Daylighting
Courtyard Form
The permeable facade and rooflight provide optimum daylighting and minimises the use of artificial lighting.
The courtyard typology lends itself to natural lighting, giving a double aspect to a deep plan.
Solar panels
The solar panels harvest energy to be used in the automated louver system.
Solar and Lighting Sedum Roof
The sedum reduces surface runoff and increases attenuation storage.
Rainwater collection
SOakaways
The 2 water collection points direct water through the plant rooms and to WCs/Landscape irrigation systems
The building directs rainfall to specific areas, allowing a regulated release back into the soil.
Water management 93
Plinth
By raising the building up to 21.5m, we are eliminating any chance of flooding in the institute.
Roman bath waste water Running adjacent to our site is an underground stream which flows from the Roman Baths, this water is warm enough to disturb the biology around the outflow into the River Avon, by using it and our scheme helps the local environment. 25 Co
Underfloor heating & HEat HAndling unit The waste water will power our water source heat pump as the temperature variance is low across seasons. This will provide hot water for our underfloor heating system. Outflowing water from the underfloor heating coils around air intakes to help transfer remaining heat into the incoming air to ventilate the cinemas. This lowers the size of our heat source pumps in the winter, improving its efficiency, but also ensures that the water will enter the soakaways (and finally the River Avon) at less then 20 degrees. This is lower than it would enter the River Avon naturally and so would reduce the impact on the local biology. Any sediment it may have picked up while inside our pipework will be filter, ensuring quick water disposal into the River Avon.
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Roman Bath
Courtyard Cinema
Filter 35oC
River Avon
Black Boxes
Water Source Heat Pump
Underfloor Heating
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Heat Handling Unit 30oC
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Soakaway >20oC
WATER MANAGEMENT There is a long history of flooding in Bath. Research undertaken during the Undercroft and Grand Parade project detailed the levels of flooding for our area of the site for given event probabilities. 1 in 30 flood event 1 in 100 flood event 1 in 100 + 20% flood event
– 19.87m (dark blue) – 20.80m (blue) – 21.50m (light blue)
The effects of Climate change, while expected to increase flooding levels, are unpredictable. The main source of information, provided by the Environment Agency, states that flooding levels will increase by 10% to 2040 and 20% by 2070. Flooding events are inevitable and from here we can only build to reasonably resist flooding events. So the scheme was also designed to be usable not too long after a 1 in 200 event, or worse!
Concept Elevated Site
By raising the site and permanently mitigating a lot of flood risk, it decreases the financial cost of flooding events when they happen.
Stepped LAndscape
The scheme has a ‘natural warning system’ built into it. The site starts at the current level of 16.30m and slowly progresses up to 21.50m (the lower ground floor) across 40m of park. This will give a minimum of 30 minutes warning for people occupying the courtyard space to evacuate the lower ground floor before it becomes threatened.
Rainwater Harvesting
The rainwater harvesting system utilises quite clean water which falls onto the site for use in the toilets and irrigation, reduces the demand on fresh water sources.
Waterproof concrete plinth
The concrete slab is designed to resist the intrusion of water. The addition of GGBS and Superplasticisers reduce pore sizes, but the use of reactive hydrophobic admixtures (soluble stearates) severely. It reduces the overall sorption and permeability levels to an acceptable state for the 1 in 100 + 20% flood. Tanking could be laid down after the piles were bored to further reduce this rate if it was required.
Green Roof
Incorporating a green sedum roof occupies over 50% of the surface area of the roof of our site. This will help to reduce the runoff from our site during lesser rainfall events and increase our Stormwater storage capacity at the same time. 96
Key: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Natural river bank retained Stepped landscape toward River Avon New Trees povide transpiration & reduce soil runoff The finish for the lower ground floor is screed over concrete; this is easily washed down after a flood event. Site is raised & with 750mm of waterproof concrete plinth on top Green sedum roof The sensitive teaching facilities and office space are suspended above North Parade so are protected against even the most unlikely of floods. Rainwater storage tank Glulam frame will have preservative treatment applied to it to avoid rotting after a flood event. All roofs are pitched towards the gutter, which the stormwater would be directed and stored in the rain harvesting system. Incorporate drains at the boundary with the current retaining wall in order to divert and store any water from this source to mitigate the risk to the lower ground floor.
In addition appropriate signage for evacuation will be clearly provided and staff inductions should require explanation of the evacuation plan.
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‘‘Architecture is my work, and I’ve spent my whole life at a drawing board, but life is more important than architecture. What matters is to improve human beings.’’
- OSCAR niemeyer -
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- Synopsis 1. Timeline 2. Conclusion 3. Team
- A Retrospective -
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Scheme Timeline Placemaking in an historic city; how to reassert or redefine the role of an area within the fabric of a community, while referencing the wider context.
Our main initial drivers were the notion of reinvigorating North Parade, articulating the cinema spaces into tangible volumes, and the courtyard archetype. The courtyard provides a central datum for the building, opening out onto the garden. The cinemas flanked the courtyard, with the education spaces and interactive spaces contained in a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;floatingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; element above the street level.
The Promenade
Enhancing experience through an archetype; how architecture can inform and create new paradigms by reusing established ideas.
The societal role of cinema; our individual experiences of film and how we can improve the process on a personal and collective level.
The Cinemas The Courtyard Form
Articulating Cinemas
Early concept The Courtyard
Start 01 Oct
Week 1
Week 2
22 OCT
Team Timeline The team started positively, 3 of us having worked together on previous projects. Unfortunately, the day before the interim crit, Season broke her leg playing Basketball, leaving her crippled but still as happy as usual. A couple of days later, Alex pulled out of University, leaving us with 3 members as opposed to the traditional 5. Nevertheless, we felt that having less members would facilitate a clearer dialogue between us all. After a successful crit, we worked solidly until the hand-in. We are very proud of what we have achieved during these 8 weeks, individually and collectively, and we hope our passion and work ethic shows in the proposal.
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proposal As the scheme progressed, we decided to clarify our buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diagram by closing the courtyard, using the external space as our main cinema with a temporary roof. We articulated the other cinemas as amorphous concrete boxes, housed within a lightweight glulam frame. We were able to visualise our scheme from early on in the project, helped by adhering to the key conceptual drivers.
Interim 23 OCT
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25 OCT
Courtyard
Open courtyard
Closed courtyard
Crit 14 Nov
Black Boxes
Long Section
Hand-in
4 DEC
Group 19 - Basil Spence - Winter 2014-
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Stamp of Approval presented 05.11.2014
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