Studio 3.1 Portfolio - The Transparent Abattoir

The Transparent Abattoir STUDIO 3.1 Nur Serena Hanum Binti Ahmad Faizal MMU ID: 18056763

INDEX

3

DESIGN WORKSHOPS

7

SITE ANALYSIS

13

RESEARCH & CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

30

ITERATIVE DEVELOPMENT

44

REFLECTION

Design Workshops

st udio 3.1 // s er ena fai z al

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design workshop: lockdown maps

This design workshop aimed for us to examine our experience of lockdown during the pandemic through the use of hand-drawn mapping. I chose to examine my relationship with the flora around and within my home, as I had become more aware of the non-human inhabitants dwelling around me and their roles within my living space.

The second aspect of the workshop asked us to examine the map produced through ‘lenses of identity and agency’. Here, I examined how I held a place of privilege within society, as I lived in a middle-class neighbourhood, in a comfortable home, surrounded by greenery and supplemented by a large, safe, and accessible park.

This mapping process allowed me to examine my privileges and begin to think about how my upcoming design project could implement inclusive design thinking as well as provide for nonhuman inhabitants.

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design workshop: design refresh part 1

Seating flowing from indoor to outdoor

Flow of activity

Cozy atmospheres

Intertwining of environment outside and inside using glazing

Initial plans

Initial programmatic strategy

This design workshop asked us to design a small cafe and accessible toilet block within the given site of the former Manchester Abattoir. This design would be the first step to revitalise this disused site and draw people to the area. This workshop was also an exercise in making quick and logical design decisions within a short period of time.

The parti diagrams above demonstrate my design process in identifying the activities and atmospheres of my building. st udio 3.1 // s er ena fai z al

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design workshop: design refresh part 2

First iteration

Second iteration

Third iteration

Plan

Plan

Plan

The resolution process of the design is shown here. The building is separated into components, one acting as the primary cafe and eating area, and the other acts as a library and lounge area. The roofs of the buildings act as outdoor eating areas, the two connected by an outdoor staircase.

The atmosphere of the cafe and library is supplemented by natural daylighting through skylights and large windows, overall creating bright, inviting spaces.

Section

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Section

Section

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Site Analysis

st udio 3.1 // site analy si s // s er ena fai z al

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the manchester abattoir:

existing and historical structures

The old City Abattoir was in use from 1872 until the new Manchester Abattoir was opened in 1966, which generated the largest slaughtering output in England with over half a million animals a year being slaughtered there. The abattoir incorporates a full rage of accommodation, services, and equipment, creating a comprehensive meat production and distribution centre within the city.1

The abattoir stopped functioning in 2000. Subsequently, it had been attempted to turn the meat market into a shopping mall, however the renovation was never finished and the abattoir remains in disuse, with the exception of its occasional use as a backdrop for TV dramas.

The 20-acre site is located only 3 miles from the city centre, however the site itself is in a quiet area with no residences in the vicinity of the area. The site is adjoined by a railway with a private siding to enable livestock to be delivered by rail directly to the area.

1 “Manchester Abattoir and Meat Market”, The City of Manchester Markets Department

st udio 3.1 // site analy si s // s er ena fai z al

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urban textures and memories of the abattoir

This site collage compiles vignettes of the urban textures of the industrial site as well as the ‘memories’ of the activities that took place. The site is defined by death, with the slaughtering of livestock occuring within the site and the cemetery being adjacent to it. The site is also filled with concrete and steel, creating a cold atmosphere that fuels the industrial feel of the place and brings to mind the slaughtering and processing of millions of animal carcasses that occured during the heyday of the abattoir. st udio 3.1 // site analy si s // s er ena fai z al

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figure ground

The figure-ground diagram indicates a sparsely-built up area below the Manchester Abattoir with a fairly disordered urban grain. The neighbourhood to the top and bottom right shows a fine grain, whilst the warehouse and manufacturing areas to the left and above the abbatoir have a coarser, larger grain. The large voids of urban environment are at least sparsely filled with woodland. This large accumulation of voids can provide precedent for the layout of my subsequent proposals. st udio 3.1 // site analy si s // s er ena fai z al

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site strategy

workshop tasks

Part 1

Part 2

This design workshop challenged us to critically evaluate the site within its urban context and propose a strategic landscaping plan for a sustainable and inclusive future.

The second part of the design workshop asked us to layer the existing abattoir buildings onto our initial landscaping proposal and then modify it to include the abattoir buildings.

The first part of the workshop asked us to ‘cut out’ the site of the abattoir and treat the site as if it were empty. My analysis of the site used Kevin Lynch’s elements of the city to strategically define and categorise the landscape1.

The modified landscaping strategy incoporates all of the existing structures other than the creation of a void between the lairage accommodation and the slaughter halls in order to allow for a tree network through the void. The addition of the buildings means that the east-west path of trees through the site can no longer be accommodated, leaving only the north-south ecological network only. This aspect could be ameliorated by removing some facades of som buildings to create a park allow for more greenery to be implemented within the site and improve the east-west ecological connections.

This landscape strategy considers both human and non-human pathways surrounding the site. The site is well-serviced by road and rail networks. The cycle routes are fairly extensive adjacent to the site. The black-lined boundaries demarcate the areas with different “textures” and grains; urban vs natural, fine vs coarse, void vs object. The paths of the wildlife through the trees are speculative, however they can indicate a wildlife network that does not need to be interrupted by the urban build-up. This landscape strategy proposes a continuation of the wildlife network to increase biodiversity within the site and reduce the effect of urban heat island.

ecological networks

connecting different urban textures

The diagrams on the right indicate the site strategies to be implemented within my design. The improvement of ecological networks will benefit the non-human inhabitants of the area, whilst the connection of different urban textures aims to invite people from the surrounding neighbourhoods, retail areas, and industrial areas, creating a hub of interaction and connection.

1 “The Image of the City”, Kevin Lynch, 1960

st udio 3.1 // site analy si s // s er ena fai z al

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textures and forms

The photos at the top of the page demonstrate the impressive concrete structures of the abattoir, accentuated by steel fixtures1. Despite the natural light that streams in through various skylights, the building atmosphere remains cold and unnatural.

The 1:200 site model explores the massing of the refridgerated accommodation, the slaughter and by-products hall, and the lairage accommodation buildings. The model's facades and roof are detachable and the concrete structure has been modelled as well, allowing for iterative exploration using this model.

1

st udio 3.1 // site analy si s // s er ena fai z al

"Inside the former Manchester Abattoir Site", Manchester Evening News, 2020

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Research & Concept Development

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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“entanglement”; a 3d object

The 3D object above was made in response to a design task that asked us to create an artistic manifesto for our project through sculpture.

The flat planes of this object serves to illustrate the man-made infrastructures of conquest, governance, and business that construct the Anthropocene irregularly across the Earth, separate in programme and location but interrelated through their ecological impacts. The unruly, chaotic green vines imply the nonhuman effects that are both denied by and defy the infrastructures that we create. This object hopes to illustrate that human life and its supporting infrastructures do not exist in a dualistic category with nature, instead, it is a 'multispecies entanglement'.1

1

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

"Feral Atlas", Anna L. Tsing et al, 2021

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reimagining the abattoir

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concept: the transparent abattoir

reimagining the infrastructure’s original purpose The current model of the meat industry: Inhumane treatment of livestock Despite the legislation that exists to protect the welfare and handling of livestock during its life on the farm, the transport to the abattoir, and the slaughtering process itself, undercover investigations of slaughterhouses paint a different picture of how livestock animals are treated1.

Environmental impact

A new framework for meat consumption: From an opaque, industrialised process...

To one of transparency and accountability

In the UK, meat consumption reaches around 90kg of meat per person per year, around 10 times more than people in low income countries2.

Water pollution from farms (pesticides, organic matter such as livestock excreta, and pathogens etc) cause coastal dead zones, which are hypoxic areas of the ocean. Up to 415 coastal bodies across the world suffer from this.3 Although meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, it uses the vast majority – 83% – of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions4.

Agriculture, forestry and other land use accounts for 24% of greenhouse gases; the top three meat production companies emitted more greenhouse gases tin 2016 than all of France.5

1 "Secret CCTV footage exposes halal abattoir cruelty", Animal Aid, 2015 2 " Which countries eat the most meat?", BBC News, Hannah Ritchie, 2019 3 " What is the true cost of eating meat?", The Guardian, Bibi van der Zee, 2018 4 "Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth", The Guardian, Damian Carrington, 2018 5 " What is the true cost of eating meat?", The Guardian, Bibi van der Zee, 2018

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

scaling down

100,000 ELU a year

2000

ELU a year

*one EU Livestock Unit (ELU) equals: 1 cattle beast, 2 calves, 5 pigs or 10 sheep

This proposal challenges the current model of the meat production industry in order to reduce its massive environmental impact and increase the welfare of the animals being slaughtered.

By scaling down production and allowing the public to observe the entire production process - from live animal to packaged product - the new abattoir will simultaneously provide traceability and transparency for consumers and create accountability within the meat industry.

The new abattoir will also entice visitors to interact with the livestock animals before buying the meat product; by confronting the public with the reality of meat production, the meat is imbued with a deeper meaning and is no longer just a packaged product on a shelf, therefore encouraging people to reduce their meat consumption.

The site will also provide comfortable accommodation for the livestock that simulates a farm environment before they are slaughtered, allowing for a painless transition from life to death for the animals.

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defining the transparent abattoir

Providing safe and comfortable accommodation of livestock upon arrival up to slaughter

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

Creating a calm and familiar environment for livestock and allowing for visitors to interact with the animals, thus imbuing the meat product with meaning

Allowing visitors to view the slaughtering process; providing transparency and accountability for the slaughterhouse

Selling high-quality meat products and foods in controlled quantities

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initial ideas of programme & conditions

Site strategy and circulation

Open and fluid edge conditions

The diagrams above portray my initial programmatic and circulation strategies on the site. The diagram on the left shows my mapping of the slaughtering and butchering processes onto the site, and the diagram on the right indicates how my proposal will be open completely to the public, rather than closed off and monolithic as it exists now.

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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initial design strategy: urban scale

railway transport of livestock vertical axis green corridor horizontal axis green corridor incoming transport of livestock via roads outgoing transport of meat product via roads st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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precedents study: abattoir programmes Slaughterhouse // TD Architects Programmatic diagram

Manchester Abattoir // original use Programmatic diagram

Ground floor plan

Plan

First floor plan

The analysis of slaughterhouses, small and large scale, allowed me to understand the process of slaughtering and butchering in more detail and implement it into my design, including which rooms needed to be next to each other for hygiene and safety purposes.

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humane pre-slaughter handling utilising temple grandin's methods

"I think we can eat meat ethically. But we've got to give animals a good life".

Temple Grandin, National Geographic interview, 2015

Temple Grandin is a leading figure in animal welfare in the meat production industry. She spent years looking at the beef industry through the eyes of cattle, discovering ways in which slaughter can be made humane.

One of her inventions were curved chutes that stop the animals from realising they are about to be slaughtered, thus keeping them calm up to the point of stunning. Livestock animals have a tendency to go back to where they came from, so curved chutes are also more efficient for handling them as they take advantage of this natural behavior.

Livestock handling systems, Deesing Consulting.

Pre-slaughter corraling diagrams for various livestock cattle lairage

gate position 1

gate position 2

pigs

sheep lairage

lairage crowd pen (2.5m radius)

crowd pen (2.5m radius)

solid wall

funnel slide gate

crowd pen (3m radius)

solid wall solid wall

stunning area stunning area

stunning area revolving gates (2.5m)

abrupt entrance transition prevents pigs from jamming

revolving gates

Dr Temple Grandin's Website st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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humane slaughtering

utilising temple grandin's methods The centre-track restrainer system, another invention of Temple Grandin's, works like a conveyor belt for the livestock. The cattle straddle a track that lifts them, moves them forward, and keeps theem steady and calm during the final moment of slaughter.

Centre-track conveyor system for various livestock

A captive bolt stunner kills the animal instantly without causing pain, and the animals are then lifted up by their hind feet to be bled out and eviscerated.

Pigs are separated from other livestock during slaughter to respect halal and kosher practices.

Dr Temple Grandin's Website st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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processing & butchering Cattle & sheep

Pigs

bleeding bleeding

transfer

pre-dehiding

front foot removal

breast bone cutting

evisceration

splitting

scalding

finishing

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

packaging

evisceration

splitting

showering

butchering

butchering

de-hairing

dehiding

suspension

head removal

showering

packaging

Slaughterhouse, The Department Architects 23

development of landscape strategy

This diagram indicates the development of my landscaping strategy. I decided to utilise the rectangular buildings housing the refridgerated accommodation, the slaughterhall, and the lairage for my built interventions, and utilise the round meat market and curved poultry hall for a rewilding project.

The circulation arrows display how I want the edge conditions of the project to be fluid and dynamic, allowing visitors to explore the site freely.

The diagram labeled "section" at the bottom left of the page shows how the existing first floor slabs can be selectively destroyed to allow for more natural light from the existing skylights, and the retained areas can be used for structure for my new interventions.

Key

Section

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

Urban rewilding

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precedents study

Petting Farm // 70F Architecture

animal architectures Cowshed Wildenstein // Stähelin Architekten Section

Section Facade

• Distinction between inside and outside blurred, whilst still keeping livestock safe and contained • Free movement of people in and out, allowing people to interact with livestock • Perforated facades and gap between walls and roof allows for good ventilation

Plan

The analyses of these livestock sheds provide a precedent for how to keep livestock safe and comfortable during cold nights and winters. These precedents allow for the fairly free movement of animals in and out of the accommodations, even having automated doors so the livestock have autonomy in their movement.

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precedents study

innovative material use

Tamedia Office Building // Shigeru Ban Architects

Wall House // Anupama Kundoo

plan These precedents studies were analysed for their uses of material that were both sustainable and innovative.

Analysing Shigeru Ban's timber buildings provided a sustainable precedent for new structures. Anupuma Kundoo's work in using locally sourced clay for structural work provides an inspiration for utilising existing materials on site in order to reduce the use of completely new materials.

• Sustainable structural material • Exposed structure warm and unique atmosphere

Timber joinery

Roof vaulting

Floor slabs • Hollow clay tubes and terracotta pots made by local craftsmen using local materials and techniques • Steel and concrete use reduced

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precedents study re-use

The Cement Factory // Ricardo Bofill

These precdents provided me with methods for reusing the existing abattoir buildings in ways that would revitalise the concrete, monolithic structure. These programmes of these precedents were harsh and industrial like the abattoir, but have been given new leases of life by the architects.

Plan

Hasselt University Faculty of Law // NoAarchitecten Interstitial spaces repurposed as spaces of interaction

• Former prison • Specific original programmatic form, like Manchester Abattoir • Concrete monolith opened up to become a space of interaction and communitcation

Plan

Opening barriers and adding forms

New programme fits within original structure

Nature taking over manmade infrastructure

• Former cement factory, now home, gallery, and offices • Specific original programmatic form, like Manchester Abattoir • Dimensions of new programme based on parameters of old • Original industrial objects kept as remnants of the original building

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precedents study

For the refridgerated accommodation, the slaughterhall, and the lairage buildings, the Chongqing Industrial Museum provides a strong strategy for re-use. Many of the existing structures are retained and the new programmes are built around that, effectively reducing the need for completely new structural frames. The hard concrete boundaries are also opened up, allowing for new circulation paths through the entire building.

strategies for re-use

Chongqing Industrial Museum // WallaceLiu Architects

For the meat market and poultry hall, the House of Weed is an excellent precedent for rewilding, without using excessive energy to knock down the entire structure. The hard floors are treated like green roofs, where soil layers and plants are applied atop the concrete slab. The roof envelope is stripped away, allowing for rain and sunlight, leaving the plants to flourish and overtake the skeleton of the building.

House of Weed // Atelier Bow Wow

Opening concrete boundaries and inserting new programmes

Exploded axonometric

• Retaining and celebrating original structures • Open and fluid boundary conditions • Varied floor sub-levels connected through bridges and terraces

st udio 3.1 // r e s ear ch & c on c e pt ual de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

• Demolishing roof envelope to allow sunlight and rain • Wild flora planted within structure, allowed to flourish without human intervention 28

programme and scale

a: absolutely necessary adjacency e: extremely important adjacency i: important adjacency

Abattoirs require very specific programme flows for hygiene and safety reasons.1 Other aspects of the programme such as a restaurant and butchershop are also included, which will draw visitors initially to the site.

The diagram on the right contextualises the scale of the new programmes within the existing industrial area, showing how little space is needed when the scale of meat production is massively reduced. Therefore, my programme would benefit from a new parkland within the site, inviting more people to participate in this new reimagining of the meat industry.

1

Guide to Designing a Small Red Meat Plant, Iowa State University

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Iterative Development

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exploring existing structures:

iterating programmatic spaces in plan

I explored the possibilities of different configurations by iteratively overlaying my programmes on the existing building footprint.

The main programmes - the slaughterhouse, butchershop, and animal lairage were iterated throughout the existing building footprint.

Key

st udio 3.1 // iterat iv e de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

• Former circular meat market: difficult to rationalise and resolve programme without extensively remodelling of existing structure • Former lairage/slauughter area is more viable due to double height/two-storey areas and large open spaces • Large open spaces mean that programme can be very flexible • Edge conditions of existing buildings can be manipulated to become open and fluid rather than enclosed 31

exploring existing structures:

iterating programmatic spaces in axonometric

Key

Re-use strategy: insertion

I began to explore my programme in three dimensions in order to realise how I would utilise the existing first floor spaces. st udio 3.1 // iterat iv e de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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exploring existing structures

iterating programmatic spaces in axonometric (continued) Continuing to iterate in three dimensions, I explored how I would make the break up the hard line of the existing facade. I also explored the connections between the three main programmes.

Exploring different areas of the rectangular structures

Exploring indoor/outdoor connections by creating new openings within the existing structure

Key

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exploring existing structures

iterating programmatic spaces in axonometric (continued)

I refined my programme in axonometric form. The animal lairage flowed from indoors to outdoors to allow animals to roam in and out of the existing building, where the building provided shelter and allowed the animals to be corralled towards the slaughterhouse. The two-storey slaughterhouse is set within the old slaughterhouse building, utilising the existing structure. The restaurant and butchershop are connected to allow for ease of movement of meats, and are placed close to the facade to allow for views towards the Phillips Park.

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leading animals to slaughter an architectural strategy

Dr Temple Grandin's Website

Initial sketches of curved tunnel landscaping

After researching Temple Grandin's work extensively, I decided to implement her humane livestock handling strategies into my landscaping. By creating curved tunnels that led visitors to the site, the roles of consumer and product are reversed, allowing for the visitors to experience how livestock were led to their deaths and confronting them with the radical idea that the meat they were eating were once living, sentient beings.

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key iterations in plan 1.

2.

Refining lairage area and adding meat market and restaurant areas.

Iterating livestock lairage and slaughtering/processing areas.

3.

4.

Refining lairage area and and experimenting with landscaping strategies inspired by Temple Grandin’s cattle chute designs.

st udio 3.1 // iterat iv e de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

Refining pre-slaughter corralling; attempting to make layout more efficient.

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key iterations in plan (continued)

5.

6.

Refining pre-slaughter corralling; attempting to make layout more efficient.

7.

Refining pre-slaughter corralling, landscaping, and considering elevations.

8.

Considering livestock reception and corralling towards lairage.

st udio 3.1 // iterat iv e de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

Refining livestock and visitor routes and considering interactions between the two.

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analysis of livestock/visitor interactions

After analysing my plan iterations, I found that the livestock and visitor interactions were limited, which disadvantaged my aim of inviting people to confront the reality of the meat they were eating and induce them to reduce their meat consumption. st udio 3.1 // iterat iv e de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

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initial building regulations consideration: document b: fire safety and means of escape

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continuing to iterate in plan

Key

further analysis of livestock/visitor routes

st udio 3.1 // iterat iv e de v elopm ent // s er ena fai z al

After analysing my latest plan iteration, I found that the ground floor routes could be refined further to improve circulation and intertwine the routes of the visitors and the livestock to increase interaction between the two.

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sectional concept

void and solid study

This conceptual section of the site shows the exploration of how the large voids within the abattoir utilised and filled with new interventions. The existing first floor slabs could also be selectively destroyed to create uninhabitable voids that would open up the entire space to light and air.

The enclosed areas indicate programmes that require a sealed envelope, namely the restaurant, butchershop, and slaughterhouse.

Taking precedence from the Chongqing Industrial Museum, these enclosed spaces inhabit the massive voids left within the existing building enclosure.

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conceptual sketches Main entrance perspective

These conceptual sketches show my initial explorations of form, materiality, and atmosphere. I attempted to visualise how a my smallscale programme would fit within the massive voids of the original structure, and how I would use softer materiality such as timber make the space inviting and warm, offsetting the industrial coldness of the original buildings.

Restaurant/butchershop area exterior perspective

Long section perspective

Short section perspective

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Materiality

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iteration: ground floor plan 1:200 at A1

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reflection position: redefining urban sites of production by considering non-human narratives and de-industrialising the process for sustainable futures.

proposal: small-scale, transparent abattoir with meat market, restaurant, and livestock lairage configured as an animal/visitor interaction area.

to develop:

1. refinement of livestock/visitor interaction; analyse zoo precedents 2. refinement of user experience and atmosphere; iterating using vignettes and models 3. refinement of restaurant and meat market programmes 4. detailed material studies; demolishing and recycling of existing materials and retrofitting the structure with new, sustainably produced materials 5. sustainable energy production strategy

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