Solomon Olufemi Ofoaiye Academic Portfolio 2017-18
Contents Design Modules
Non Design Modules
2.1 2.2 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.4 2.5 2.6
A Day In The Life.................. 1 Crafting Architecture........... 5 Study Type.............................. 20 Leith 2030.............................. 27 Dwelling Plus.......................... 51 Inhabit...................................... 71 Engineering Experience..... 73 Exploring Experience.......... 85 Integrated Technology...... 122
ARC 2009 ARC 2024 ARC 2024 ARC 2010 ARC 2020
Architectural Technology... 126 Cities, Culture & Spaces...... 131 Dissertation Presentation... 135 Architectural Technology... 138 Dissertation Studies............. 142
Competition RIBA
Construct!................................. 145 Student Mentoring................ 149
2.1
A Day In The Life Of You A3 vignettes capturing my daily rhythms
Morning As I awake, I am first greeted by darkness. I turn over to look at my phone silently charging on the desk. I need light. I get out of bed to open the blinds and daylight washes into the room. Painting life its contents. I crack open a window, inviting a chilling breeze to alert my senses. After brushing my teeth and showering, I look out the glass panes, and glance at my phone’s weather app to decide on what I will be wearing for the day. Then, as I filter through my wardrobe and drawers deciding on an outfit, I shower my bed with clothes transforming it into my fashion canvas. Finally, my hair. I turn on the artificial lights which creates spotlights; inviting me to stand in front of the wardrobe’s full sized mirror. As I war to get my hair correct, I fumble between combs and creams perched on top of the drawer, ready within arm’s reach. 1
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Midday
Evening
As I arrive for lunch, I throw my bag and jacket onto my bed, knowing the soft layers of cotton would soften their fall. I replace my trainers for flip flops and place them back alongside the other pairs proudly displayed in a neat line on the timber laminated floor. Flip flops equipped, I leave my bedroom for the kitchen, on a quest to prepare something nice. Moments later, I re-join my laptop as I sit at my desk. The table top raises just below the window sill and the walls wrap at right angles on both sides, creating a perfect fit as if these elements were carved out of one material. The ceiling rises from the window to the chair to further enhance the space. And I eat here. Whilst I wait for my internet to load, I stare at the calm skies of Newcastle’s cityscape.
After a long day I return to my room. Turn on the radiator, flick off my flip flops and let my bare feet absorb the warmth of the timber laminated floor. I then sit back at my desk, with my laptop to my right and work to my left. Taking a break from my desk, I lie in bed for a while. I lay there, saluting the pale, white ceiling and the gentle hum of the air vent. I lay there, enjoying the comforts of the queen sized cushion as I check my social media feeds on my phone. Outside, the sky darkens. I finally close my window and shut the blinds; blocking out muffled songs of distant sirens and merry men.
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2.2 Crafting Architecture Skill Workshops
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Site Reading Workshop Sketching
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10 seconds
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2 minutes
30 seconds
3 minutes
Exercise 1: Timed Sketches
Exercise 2: Landscape Sections
During the first workshop, I explored how much information I could put into a drawing depending on how much time I had for that drawing.
Understanding the topography of an area as well as the relationships between building heights and their impacts. This exercise gave me more confidence in drawing proportional sections with perspective for reference.
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Diagramming Workshop Quick clear communication
Exercise 3: Site Reading & Planning
Reflection
I was asked to roughly measure out the space outside the Student Union and then position the following: A clock tower (100m,10m,10m), a bench (10m,0.5m) and public toilets (2.5m,6m,2m).
These exercises were very refreshing. My usual approach to gathering information is through photography, but I have learned how line sketches can covey more information on elements such as thresholds and topography. Ultimately, one can read a sketch as a mapping of visual interests. What I really liked about this workshop is that it got us out of the studio. Working in a different environment can be refreshing.
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Diagramming My diagrams always start off as quick, hand sketches so there I get a clear idea of what I want the diagram to communicate. I then refine them digitally. Diagrams can be found throughout all my projects.
Stacked Ventilation via Atrium
Safety and Privacy
Direct Sunlight to Indirect Sunlight
Buried to Exposed Space
Circulation to Threshold Cafe
Foundation
College
Workshop
Threshold
Circulation
Reflection Diagrams highlight the core essence of my proposals, clearly illustrating factors and ideas that influenced the design. In this, the choice of colour palette has to be well considered, as they also carry information and relate to other diagrams on the same page. Diagrams have the power to translate abstract, concept sketches into clear, informational illustrations.
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Gabion Wall Detail Having designed my stone workshop for the 2.5 Exploring Experience project, I decided on developing 1:20 detail of the grand, workshop entrance.
Detailing Workshop Exploring Experience 1:20 detail model
Entrance Detail Sketch
1:20 Sketch Gabion Model Workshop Output
Reflection This workshop helped me understand how detail drawings can convey key design ideas, in this instance proportion. Detailing this will allow the design idea to be realised in construction. Although at first I thought it was a bit early to produce a detail model as we had just started the project, it is helpful to start thinking about the essence of our designs through details.
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Skills Gained Developing on my workshop foam model, I refined the detail by looking at gabion wall precedents. I then produced another 1:20 model this time of the gabion wall construction and a door leaf.
1:20 Wohnhaus in Stadtbergen Detail
Gabion Wall Detail 1:20 Model This was produced using the recycled stone pieces from my other stone experiments during the 2.5 Exploring Experience project.
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Gabion Balustrade and Concrete Retaining Wall My main concerns after the interim review were how I could provide structural and aesthetically pleasing balustrade to provide safeguarding for my college, gabion terrace as well as how I could show my retaining walls in section.
Structures Workshop Exploring Experience structures
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Workshop Sketch Output
Skills Gained
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2.3.1 Study Type 0
Workshop Sketch Output
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4
6m
Skills Gained
Illustrative group research across different scales
Reflection In this instance the design and technology of the gabion retaining walls for the terraces compliment one another. The gabion baskets rise 900mm above the floor height to create a balustrade without breaking the material palette. This workshop was also useful in understanding the placement of structural retaining walls. The new skills I gained from this workshop also helped me declare my foundation strategy in my 1:100 section for the 2.5 Exploring Experience project.
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N T Pillars BUS
Occupants would complain of the lack of heating in the building. One of the main causes of this was the cold bridging and lack of insulation happening around Hertzberger’s ‘T’ pillars. This is a detail of Hertzberger’s ‘T’ pillar to floor, showing the external wall to separating floor construction.
PRIMARY ROUTE
BUS
PRIMARY ROUTE
SEC ARY
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SUN PATH
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1:1250
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1:50 Model This model of one of the spaces within the Geriatric hospital, (in the southern wing of De Drie Hoven) highlights the lack of privacy the occupants might have felt. Reports suggests that this was one of the many problems that lead to De Drie Hoven being demolished.
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2.3.2 Leith 2030
Research Presentation Studio G
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Location
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Leith/ Edinburgh
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Demographic
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Main Industry Businesses
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Amenities/ Uses of Space
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Housing Demographic/ Edinburgh Area
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History
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Current Site Situation
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7N Architects
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Route One
Masterplan Studio G: Group 1
Group Site Analysis As a group we decided to take this route towards the site in order to understand more about the city and how our potential occupants may even approach our masterplan. On this route, some of my peers were tasked with recording soundscapes, textures, building types and thresholds. This information would directly feed unto our masterplanning.
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Elevations and Sections Analysis Combining some of the skills I picked up from the crafting architecture site reading workshop with photographed elevations, I recorded sections at each of these thresholds.
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Residential Blocks
Masterplan Proposal: Group 1
Commercial Blocks Public blocks
Masterplan Proposal: Group 1 Proposed Facilities
Car Park Farming Plotst Cycle Routes Harvested goods
Day Care/ Creche
Pool
Workshop spaces yoga/gym space
Restaurants
Libary area in Daycare
Water landscape
Tesco express
Proposed Tram Routes Wind Access Points
Tennis Court
Scale:1:500
Residential Units 34msq- 1 bed flat 49msq- 2bed flat 25msq- shared kitchen 15msq- smaller shared kitchen
Leith, Edinburgh Master Plan 1:1250 49
Small BLOCK (10M X 15M)
Medium BLOCK (13M X 17M)
Large BLOCK (20M X 15M)
2 Storey + 1 exta storey height
3 Storey + 1 exta storey height
4 Storey + 1 exta storey height
16 people in small block
28 people in medium block
52 people in large block
ground floor/ 1st floor: (12) x2 1 bed flat (4) x1 2 bed flat (2) x1 Shared kitchen
ground floor/ 1st floor/ 2nd floor: (24) x2 1 bed flat (4) x2 2 bed flat (4) x2 Shared kitchen
ground floor/ 1st/ 2nd/3rd floor: (48) x2 1 bed flat (8) x2 2 bed flat (4) x2 Shared kitchen
2nd floor: 10m x 9m: (4) x2 1 bed flat (4) x1 Shared Kitchen
3rd floor: 9m x 9m: (4) x1 2 bed flat (4) x1 Shared Kitchen
4th floor: 11m x 8m: (4) x2 1 bed flat (4) x1 Shared Kitchen
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AP2 Apologia
A design philosophy that rang throughout my project was the idea of integrating the occupants with the community. The brief outlined issues of gentrification so it was vital that my architecture would bring. A close reading of the Edinburgh Design Guide helped me understand sensitive elements of a building designs that would affect it’s approval by the council and ways it would impact the cityscape.
2.3.3 Dwelling Plus
Reflecting on the Leith 2030 Symposium feedback, I now understood aspects of the group masterplan which didn’t respond to the economy of Leith. With housing high on demand I needed to design bigger and denser building as well as carefully design the spaces around the building. I made sure to address the gable end condition that my building would face.
I am also observing the guide with fresh eyes. An example of this is shown in the choice of material which wraps the residential floors. I decided on a brick cladding system because brick is also used by the surrounding residential blocks, making it known from its envelope that they are homes. Although the design guide strongly favours against anyone taking precedence from newer residential developments, I believe that these contemporary buildings are now part of my landscape and consequently can’t be ignored. Whilst still acknowledging the classical soot stained sandstone buildings of Leith, I responded by using dark, reclaimed brickwork to mimic this aesthetic.
Designing an extra care residential building, whilst working across different scales.
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Extra Care Residential Complex, Leith
Defined Masterplan Site Edge
Stacked Ventilation via Attrium
Access
Safety and Privacy
Vehicular access
Site
Private homes
Elderly residents
Pedestrian access
Building entrances
Public floor
Public
Atmospheric vignette Building Height Context Diagram Extra Care Residential Complex
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Surrounding Buildings
Average Building Heights on Site
The ground floor has been designed as a public space to tackle loneliness that can be associated with elderly living.
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Development
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Development
Gateway Analysis
Integration Through Materiality
The brief invited us to consider the one of the ‘gateways’, into our studio masterplan. I have decided to address this threshold with a public space, as a gentle invitation into the social housing proposal.
The soot stained stone façades are re captured in my material palette. By employing a steel frame structure as my primary structure, it allows me to be more playful with my choices of materials and openings. I applied a brick facade to the upper residential floors to celebrate the use of brickwork in Leith that has now been used highlight residential new builds.
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Material Elevation 1:200
Section 1:200
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Precedent Study
Massing Development
1. Initial Massing
Gooda Cheese Warehouse Loft Apartments, Netherlands
2. Doubled Massing
3. Atrium Void
4. Roof
Residential
Through employing a steel frame structure, MEI Architects and Planners create a new atrium that brings natural daylight into the building. I believe that this solution was introduces great environmental and economic benefits such as reducing the building’s usage of artificial lighting, improves the building’s ventilation and creates a positive impact on the occupant’s well-being. Similar to my design of the Extra Care Residential Complex (fig. 5), The Gouda Cheese Warehouse Loft Apartments building uses a steel frame grid as its form of structural construction. Although I was unable to find details of this, the structural grid can be evidenced from one of its floor plans.
Communal Public Underground Car Parking
(left, top-right, bottom-right) ArchDaily
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Extra Care Collective 1:200 Plans
Extra Care Collective 1:200 Ground Floor Plan
Second Floor
2 Bed Extra Care Unit 2 Bed Extra Care Unit
2nd Floor 1:200
1 Bed Extra Care Unit
1 Bed Extra Care Unit
1 Bed Extra Care Unit
2 Bed Care worker Unit
2 Bed Care worker Unit
2 Bed Care Worker Unit
Staff Kitchen
Residential Floor
Residential floors
1:200 Axonometric 1:200 Axonometric
Third Floor 2 Bed Extra Care Unit
Manager’s Office
Meeting Room
Staff Room
Hair Dressers/ Beauty Therapy
Cleaning Storage
Launderette
3rd Floor 1:200
Crafts Room
Kitchen
Storage
Public library
Reception
Buggies Workshop
Staff and Residential Services floor
Staff and Residential Amenities Floor
Public Activity floor Car Park
Public Amenities Floor Underground Car Parking
StaffStaff Amenities Amenities Occupant Amenities
First Floor
Public Amenities
Ground Floor
Resident Amenities
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0
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Precedent Study
Extra Care Dwellings Development
Wet Room
Dining Space
Kitchen Space
Bedroom Space
Living Space
Boligslangen, Domus Arkitekter
Extra Care Units Layout Development
This 300 unit, housing complex was the precedent behind my wet core extra care units design. This has structural advantages as it places most structural beams around the core, allowing the rest of the space to become flexible and open plan.
Prior to this change, my extra care units closely resembled the staff flats, and although I designed them to be wheelchair accessible, they weren’t wheelchair friendly as a wheelchair user occupant would’ve had to do a lot of tuning in and out of tight spaces. Having studied the Bolidslangen, I re designed the extra care units to be more wheelchair friendly. These new units also offer the occupants flexibility, by having one big room, spaces can be personalised and repositioned giving the occupant ownership and a bit of freedom. Living and kitchen spaces are positioned closest to the atrium to give the occupants a sense of belonging and soft connection to the rest of the activities in the building. Whereas, the dining and bedroom are pushed towards the back of the units to give the occupants privacy.
(left) Domus Arkitekter, (right) Typology Plus
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Final Extra Care Dwellings 1:50 Plans
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Extra Care Units
Vignette
Placing wet cores in the middle of my plans allow the rooms to become wheelchair friendly.
A day in the life of an extra care patient.
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Apendix Page
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Refined Representations
South Elevation
Throughout this year I have become more daring and bolder with my graphics, understanding different ways in which a drawing can communicate materiality and experience. These illustrations are the first interations of the improved, post-crit work I first submitted in January.
During the early stages of this project I was exploring ways in which to activate the corner gateway threshold, perhaps with a grand external stair. I later realised that this would’ve been unsuitable for the extra care residents.
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Final Review Output
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WoZoCo MVRDV Precedent Study
Final Review Feedback Sheet
Produced during the beginning stages of this project. This also was produced as a representation experiment.
In response to the feedback I have done the following: - Produced an atmospheric drawing of the ground floor public space - Produced an atmospheric drawing of an extra care unit - Produced a 1:200 material elevation - Produced a 1:200 section - Produced a 1:200 ground floor plan with context - Produced diagrams - Shown/ illustrated development work - Shown precedent studies. 70
Pre- Cast Concrete Underfloor Heating Detail
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2.3.4 Inhabit 1:10 detail of Dwelling Plus
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Pre-cast concrete separating oor detail 1:10 1 timber floor finish 2 80mm sand and cement screed 3 underfloor water heating pipes 4 65mm proprietary resilient layer rigid insulation 5 1200/200mm pre-cast hollow rib concrete planks 6 timber wall infil 7 steel frame beam structure
2 Bed Extra Care Unit 2 Bed Extra Care Unit
2nd Floor Plan 1:200 2nd Floor 1:200
Bed Extra 1 Bed 1Extra Care Unit Care Unit 2 Bed Care worker Unit
2 Bed Care Worker Unit
Thermal performance The water heating pipes lay in the non-structural screed floor to allow underfloor heating, reducing radiator spaces and improving the building’s overall thermal performance. Rigid rockwool insulation is placed between the flanges of the structural steel beams to prevent cold bridging or condensation.
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Group E4 Notes of Rainfall (Scene 5)
As a group we decided to develop Scene 5 (Notes on Rainfaliing scene) as we felt that this was a pivital moment in the film, where the character John walk away from his old, dark, empty self towards a new found understanding. The water acts as a medium, an extension of his senses. Water begins to light up the world around him.
2.4 Engineering Experience Group E4
Reflection Overall, I am pleased with how this project went. The photograph on the left perfectly portrays how well our group worked together. Regardless of the significance of the task at hand, it all added up to produce a fantastic experience. Constant communication enabled us to collaborate well as a group. We would all meet up in the studio first thing in the morning just to brief ourselves on what needed to be done and address any queries. We would also meet up at the end of each day to reflect on the day’s output which were either successes or failures and discuss how we could improve them. We also formed pairs, where whatever task we assigned ourselves to would require at least another member of the group, so each task constantly had a fresh pair of eyes looking at it. At times the other member would be there to help with the recording of the process. Documenting the task helped inform the rest of the group, so nothing was done without the acknowledgement of the whole group. What I can personally take away from this project is, an understanding of how materials and sound can inform a spatial experience as well as sight. This project has also helped me gain confidence in tackling challenges as soon as they arise. I demonstrated this when I constructed an alternate frame out of unused shelving found lying around the studio. As we wanted to film inside our installation, this could only be arranged during the weekend when the space wasn’t occupied. We wanted to film inside a different configuration of our installation, but we didn’t plan for an alternate roof frame and since this was done on the weekend, the workshop was closed. Despite this, I didn’t let this small inconvenience halt our group progress.
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Storyboard We decided to reinterpret the rainfall scene (Scene 5) as we felt that it was one of the most significant scenes where although the character John has lost his sight, he begins to understand how rainfall can act as an extension of his senses, in depicting spaces and materials around him. As a goup we went through the scene multiple times, frame by frame, picking up elements we wanted to highlight in our film. Something that stood out for me was the visual constrast between the dark interiors of the film and bright exteriors shots; infering John’s darkened mind and the now seperated realm of the exterior. I explored this idea in a charcoal drawing. One of the members of our group translated our notes and mindmaps and drawings into brilliant storyboard thumbnails which were visually clear, strong and easy to refer to. After a few iterations we produced our final storyboard detailing specific sounds and imagery we hoped to employ in our film. 75
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Installation Design Developement
Projection Exploration
As a group we decided to produce an installation around the chair. We took precidence from Mark Lavetty’s collage and produced a 1:5 rough model to get ideas flowing. And then a 1:10 refined model exploring interior configurations.
Whilst other members of the group were working on refining the storyboard, myself and another member of our group experimented with fabric projections. By exploring the work of Bill Viola and the experience of being surrounded by projections, we discovered it was very effective in submerging the user in a secluded experience, which was what we wanted to create. We also discovered the more mediums the light had to pass through, the more abstract the projection became. Therefore having the projector furthest away from the screed (fabric) wall, to intrigue the external viewer and invite them into the installation.
I took it upon myself to produce another 1:5 model of my sketches for the installation, to help communicate my idea to my group. This helped my group understand exactly what I was suggesting and we went forward with this configuration.
(top-left) Bill Viola screed projections
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Recreating Rainfall
Installation Roof Structure
Installation
We were excited at the propects of making artificial rainfall. Myself and another member of my group experimented with a range of small domestic containers such as ice cream tubs and yoghurt pots; using a small needle to nail holes into their bases, allowing water to trickle out of the bottom. This was not only successful visually but it also created great realistic natural sounds of rainfall. I further developed this method in the workshop by drilling into a larger container, in order to obtain wider shots of rainfall on objects.
As a group we decided to invest in producing a timber frame for our installation’s roof because we wanted to suspend fabric from the ceiling but also retain a dark and enclosed interior space.
We realised our final 1:5 model into a 1:1 installation. Having an artist as part of our group helped us develop our construction skills and understanding of spatial dynamics.
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Rain, Camera, Action! I really enjoyed filiming the outdoor rain shots, I felt myself becoming less of a standard architecture student and more of a general creative. We played around with different angles and camera speeds to obtain suitable footage and sound for our film. We also acquired permission from the owner of the car before we used it as she was as excited as we were at recreating rainfall on differrent materials.
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Final Film Stills As a group, we were all pleased with the final product. Our film conveys the way in which the character John uses rainfall, most symbolicly water, as an extension to his senses. Through sound, John understands the different materials and objects which surround him. Our film also highlights the importance of touch, as the wallpaper guides him around his dark, domestic space.
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AP3 Apologia
My building is an art school which embodies the possibilities of the use of stone in modern construction. The building can be visually split into three masses: restaurant, educational and workshop mass. Each of these masses have been externally cladded in different stone finishes, each integrating into the site differently.
2.5 Exploring Experience
The split face sandstone cladding which covers the restaurant is an homage to the split face stone facades which cover most of the buildings in Durham.
As the site sits on a bedrock of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, the stone excavated during construction would be placed back into gabion baskets which would then be used in some of the retaining walls. The waste produced from the cutting of sandstone during its process of being quarried will also be placed into gabion baskets and used in the facade of the stone workshop.
The brief encourages flexible spaces, I responded to this part of the brief by not designing a sigular gallery exhibition space but by being generous with the dimensions of the studios and workshop as well as providing extra storage space on each floor. The entire educational and workshop masses can be used as exhibition spaces.
This is important, as one of the studio’s interests is the relationship the stone holds with the landscape and the manufactured environment.
Honed sandstone tiles decorate the educational massing as a metaphor for the role education plays in society. As stones are sanded and polished to achieve a honed finish, likewise education aims to polish and refine students. With it being the most important mass it deserves to have the finest finish. Lastly, the workshop massing is cladded in gabion baskets; a low- cost method of achieving high thermal mass. The gabion baskets also act as a flood defence system as the building is near a flood plain.
Studio E
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Durham Art School, Site 6 Resting on the banks of the penninsula is Durham’s new Art School. A great concrete structure cladded in sandstone tiles and gabion baskets peering down into the River Wear.
Use Space to Circulation Use Space Circulation Space
Buried to Exposed Space Circulation
Classroom/ Studio Space Plant/ Toilets/ Office Space
Circulation Space
Circulation to Threshold
Direct Sunlight to Indirect Sunlight
Cafe
Foundation
Use Space
Direct Sunlight
College
Workshop
Circulation Space
Indirect Sunlight
Threshold
Circulation
Sunlight and Circulation Sunlight and Circulation were the two main factors which influenced the building’s spatial arrangements.
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1:100 Section
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WELGAT E WAT ERSIDE
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Site Analysis, Durham Trip
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The city of Durham has a strong stone material palette with sandstone being the most dominant as it is can be locally quarried. Most public buildings are covered in split face stone finishes, whereas educational buildings tend to have finer, smoother finishes. Adjacent to the site stands the Dunelm House, a 20th century modernist concrete building but not the only use of concrete in Durham. Concrete is also subtly used as a structural frame in Durham University Library.
Observing different building interiors and lighting, I have found that window openings can creating striking rhythms of lights. Most buildings had this element in common, sharing the church like effects of the Durham Cathedral.
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Stone Art Festival
This 1:3000 Nolli Plan illustrates my chosen festival route through Durham to my building on site 6. Based around an existing sculpture trail, this festival invites students of the arts school to exhibit stone sculptures positioned at the red dots on the map alongside already existing stone crafts. This is to integrate the arts school within Durham’s local community and richness in stone culture.
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As soon as I got the to the site I began sketching the slope and surroundings in order the understand the level changes. I am considering not building on the floor plain as it could be used an extension to the space closest to the river, perhaps as break out space or an extended outdoor exhibition space.
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Building Programme Development
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1:500 Massing Models Development
Programme Brief
Building Programme Arrangements
After consulting my studio tutors, I decided to write out a specific brief for an arts college. Research the types of spaces the users would need and how much room they needed to occupy in order to use the building effectively. Research was also done to find out how much space specialised stone workshop equipment would need in order for it to be safely operated.
Various massing configurations were modelled in order to explore ways in which programmes would interact with each other and how they would also interact with the site. Ideas of level changes and access were also explored through these massing models.
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1:500 Massing Models Development
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Programme Development
Chosen Arrangement
Plan Iterations
After exploring different ways my building could interact with the slope, I found this arrangement visually pleasing as well as it provides access at both top and bottom end of the slope, with intermediate perpendicular breaks.
Following my brief, I refined my spaces from 1:500 to 1:200, slowly breaking away from solid masses to aggregate compositions
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Process Development
Spatial Configurations It was at this point I realised that designing for a sloped site on 2D bits of paper wasn’t working out for me. The 3D digital environment was where every technical aspect of the design could be fully interrogated and accurately assessed against the sloping site. Multiple models were produced during this stage of the process. A new model was produced and annotated at each design change.
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Conceptual Circulation Sketch Whilst working in the 3D environment, line drawings were still produced; exploring possible spaces and circulation arrangements.
1:200 Roof Plan to Section Development A section along my circulation route was produced to illustrate my circulation strategy.
1:200 Roof Plan & Section
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Male W/C
Staff Breakroom
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Female W/C Server Plant Room
Changing room Staff W/C
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1:100 Ground Floor Workshop Plan
Study Space
1:100 1st Floor Workshop Plan
1:100 7th Floor Cafe Plan
1:100 5th Floor College Plan
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Sculpture Studio 3D Sculpture Studio
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1:200 Plans Development These were produced out of the 3D digital model and cleaned up on Illustrator. 1:100 2nd Floor Foundation Plan
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1:100 3rd Floor College Plan
1:100 6th Floor Staff Plan
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1:200 Massing Development Model
1:200 Massing Model This model was produced for the interim review. A physical 3D was most appropriate to show my studio tutors how the volumes relate to each other as well as the site. It also revealed the gaps near the top of the slope where the restaurant meets the college, a structural problem I later resolved. The drawing above is another photograph of the model but with a sheet of tracing paper over so I could further illustrate and populate the building; highlighting the top restaurant terrace as a key viewing and interacting space.
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Roof Experiment Models
1:10 & 1:50 Rooflight Models These rooflight elements were first modelled physically before being added to the 3D digital model. In practice, these elements would be pre cast concrete units with a zinc external finish for longevity. These elements are also smaller and lighter than the previous rooflight iteration and can therefore be supported by the concrete roof structure. Some rooflights face north east to provide indirect sunlight to studio work spaces and the stone workshop. Whereas the rooflights placed on top of the circulation spaces are rotated to open up south west in order to get direct sunlight.
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Durham Arts School Programme Diagram
Dining Space, Bar, Kitchen, Fridge/ Freezer, Storage, Staff Breakroom, Changing Room, Staff W/C, Public Male W/C, Public Female W/C
Private Entrance, Staff Room, Staff Kitchen Graphics College Studio, Printing Room, Cleaner’s Cupboard, Lift Plant, Indoor Break Space, Staff Office Fine Art College Studio, Storage, Staff Office, Male W/C, Outdoor Terrace Break Space
Sculpture College Studio, Storage, Female W/C, Staff Room
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Light and Weight The result of this design begins to create a church- like experience. Elements of light and weight visually compliment one another.
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Material Experimentation
Stone Experiments
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Learning Through Doing Working into stone also informed the arrangement of the workshop spaces. The dust and noise pollution generated from this activity lead to the isolation of the clay studio from the stone workshop.
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Detail Precedents
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Stone Gabion 1:20 Detail Model
Wohnhaus in Stadtbergen
Continuing from the detailing workshop, I recycled the waste stone material created from the previous stone explorations and placed it in wired baskets. This is how I imagine the stone gabions will be used in construction; waste generated from the production of the other stone finishes as well as the waste generated from excavation will be placed back into stone gabions.
This precedent juxtaposes lightness and weight by using a heavy material in small proportions. Looking onto the building one can imagine the baskets being wider than they actually are. This is an efficient and cost effective way of constructing a thick wall.
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Split Face
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Roofscape Our studio had a focus on the roofscape, as it can be viewed from this angle as a fifth element from King’s Gate Bridge
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Stone Workshop General Workshop Outdoor Wet Space, Outdoor Workshop Courtyard Reception W/C River Entrance
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Fine Art College Studio Outdoor Terrace Break Space Storage Male W/C Staff Office
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Appendix Page
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Alternate Circulation Strategy Development
1:500 Site Models Strategy
A different circulation solution was also explored, where the building employs a straight, singular, continuous stair through the entire building. Unfortunately this could not be achieved on the slope of site 6 as it would’ve lead to a need for a space consuming diagonal stair system also meaning one of the sides of my building wouldn’t be accessible. This aggregation of spaces generated from this design created a lot of corridors; an issue that the original circulation route eliminated.
The solid 1:500 site model was first produced near the beginning of this project but it was not practical to work with as I needed to excavate as well as infill whilst rotating between different model configurations. This lead to a 1:500 site mould to be produced where I could fill it up with soil like materials which were more practical to work with.
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2.6 Intergrated Technology Interim Review Output
Final Review Output
As part of Exploring Experience
Final Review Feedback Sheet In response to the feedback I have added the following: - Updated rooflights on 1:200 plans - Produced 3, 1:20 external wall to roof construction details for the integrated design technology part - Illustrated and declared all process and experiments done during this project.
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Wall to Rooflight Construction Details In response to the review feedback, my tutor has asked that I should show my wall constructions for my three different facade finishes and how they each meet the roof light.
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1 1 mm zink cladding 2 double glazing to roof light: 6 mm toughened glass + 16 mm cavity + 6 mm lam. safety glass 3 20 mm precast concrete unit 4 sunblind 5 raising bar 6 reinforced concrete slab 7 40 mm split face sandstone tiles
1 1 mm zink cladding 2 double glazing to roof light: 6 mm toughened glass + 16 mm cavity + 6 mm lam. safety glass 3 20 mm precast concrete unit 4 sunblind 5 raising bar 6 reinforced concrete slab 7 40 mm honed sandstone tiles
1 1 mm zink cladding 2 double glazing to roof light: 6 mm toughened glass + 16 mm cavity + 6 mm lam. safety glass 3 20 mm precast concrete unit 4 sunblind 5 raising bar 6 reinforced concrete slab 7 150 mm gabion baskets
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Environtmental Design The gabion wall construction illustrates a cheap method of achieving 800mm of thermal mass. This is also beneficial to the site as it will absorb some of the noise generated from the stone workshop. The restaurant and college zones employ a similar concrete wall construction where the insulation is ‘sandwiched’ between two concrete slabs.
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Non Design Modules Coursework
ARC 2009 Architectural Technology Semester 1
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Cities question 2 Choose a city that has been addressed in one of the lectures in this block, and through a careful reading of its history and development of its urban form, examine, through the Koolhaas text, the question of how that city has come into being, and how it may, or may not be considered to have areas or quarters of a ‘generic’ nature.
ARC 2024 Cities, Culture & Spaces Brasilia: A Generic Race to Modernism
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When Rem Koolhaas speaks of the Generic City, he speaks of a city that was once unique, bespoke in character now unimportant, uninteresting and generic; when compared to other modern cities. It’s as if expectations of the ideal modern city have forced the others to transform and become the generic, sharing similar qualities and arrangement of spaces. In describing the Generic City, Rem Koolhaas states, ‘the best aesthetic of the Generic City is…, an open space, a clearing in the forest, a levelled city.’ Surprisingly, this statement comes very close to the description of the ‘Central Plateau’ , the site on which Brasilia, the capital of Brazil was founded on. Whilst closely referring to Rem Koolhaas’s text, The Generic City, this essay will investigate into how the city of Brasilia came into being, what were the reasons for it, the positive and negative impacts as well as how Brasilia may have lost its identity; highlighting any elements of this city that could be found of generic nature. The dream and ideals of Brasilia came into being long before its move in 1960. Since the eighteenth century, the idea of transferring Brazil’s capital away from the coast and much further inland has been the goal of numerous Brazilian leaders, claiming the move inland would help develop Brazil’s vast interior which was at the time uninhabited as the major cities were mostly coastal . As a nation in and out of military dictatorship, this motion would enable the capital to be safe from any potential naval attacks that might occur. It was only after Brazil elected its first democratic president Juscelino Kubitschek, that the vision of creating a new city that would replace Rio de Janeiro as the capital city of Brazil became a reality. In spite of Brazil already modernising rapidly since the start of the 20th century, Kubitschek wanted more; a new city that would become a major power in the world, competing in the leagues of Paris, Berlin and New York.
Unlike the generic notion of building on the coast of Brazil, Brasilia was developed much further inland. ‘There are wide open grasslands throughout our vastness, a country yet to be conquered, filled with many admirable site, and yet we gather in clusters by the sea shore, watching the tides roll in and out. The founding of Brasilia is a political act, the consequences of which can be ignored by no one. It is the march towards the interior in its plenitude. It is the complete consummation of possession of the land. We shall erect a powerful centre of radiation of life and progress in the heart of our country’ Although this move of breaking from the traditional can be seen as a step towards the generic. In the Generic City text, Koolhaas states that identity refrains from ideals of change. ‘The stronger the identity, the more it imprisons, the more it resists expansion,…contradiction.’ This poses the questions of what if Brasilia was built on the coasts of Brazil, would it have become a generic Brazilian city? I believe that the move inland gave Brasilia a new standalone identity that was dreamt by Kubitschek, highlighting Brasilia as the physical as well as metaphorical centre of Brazil ( fig.1), a radical change to the country’s urban planning. ‘The capital creates the civilization over which it exercises a radiant sovereignty.’ This is a generic political act. Paris also employs a very similar demonstration of power by designing all its boulevards to the centre of L’Arche de Triomphe, a meso oculus, watching over the city. Whereas in this case, Brasilia’s oculus operates at a macro scale Generically, highways connect Brasilia to all the other regions of Brazil. ‘The urban plane now only accommodates necessary movement, fundamentally the car; highways are a superior version of boulevards and plazas’ . The construction of the large highways which formed the spine of Brasilia, connecting the city to other regions, are more of a generic flex of power than the Corbusian ideology of infrastructure. Brasilia needed to show that it is the new heart of Brazil by having colossal arteries linking it to all of the other regions, emphasising it’s
Paulo, (1959) testify of this new approach to the generic Brazilian house design (fig. 2). One could infer, the fusing of the International Style and Brazilian architecture helped legitimise Brazil as a modern nation.
importance as the new found established centre of a new, modern Brazil.Brasilia’s construction of super highways and promotional use of the car as the ultimate method of movement inside the modern city, radiated out to the rest of Brazil. ‘Until then, the impact of the automobile onto the urban mesh was relatively restrict due to it being inaccessible to most part of the population. The space occupied by the motor vehicle was not a predicted issue in the designing of Brazilian houses and buildings.’ Before the 1950s, houses were raised on pilotis, to adapt to Brazil’s jungle like terrain, avoiding the need to clear any vegetation. Supposing after construction began in Brasilia, houses were still raised on pilotis but as an ode to the International Style (at the time globally recognised as an emblem for modernism), welcoming the car as part of the architecture of living. Alvaro Vital Brazil’s house design for Alvaro Brazil House, Rio de Janeiro (1940) and Artigas’s house design for Taques Bitencourt House, Sao
During the 1960s the United States of America were busy dealing in The Cold War against the USSR, a race for technology and weaponry advancement. Brasilia was in a race of its own. A race for development and industrialisation, a race of modernism to compete with other major western cities. A political race with a goal of global power and identity. This thirst for modernism is a common trait of the Generic City, it can be documented in Koolhaas’s text where he states ,‘the centre has to be consistently modernized. As the most important place, it paradoxically has to be, at the same time, the most old and the most new, the most fixed and the most dynamic; it undergoes the most intense and constant adaptation’. As previously mentioned, Brazil was already going through a period of modernisation, yet required the process to intensify in Brasilia as fears were that the new city wouldn’t be completed during Kubitschek’s time in office and abandoned by the following administration. Lucio Costa was ap
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ing a large park like public space. Costa’s masterplan sketches sing of a greener residential environment whereas the realities of what was constructed reveals a lack of this landscaping (fig. 4). ‘The first superblocks that were implanted had these characteristics; however, there is a great number of them that still lacks this landscaping treatment.’ The Generic City simply would not embrace vegetation on its quest to modernisation. Yet one cannot deny that Brasilia possesses generously vast green lawn spaces which could be an attempt at anchoring greenery in the capital city’s urban landscape.
pointed as the urban planner after his competition winning masterplan, and Oscar Niemeyer was the architect of most major buildings, as well as a close friend of Costa. Vegetation is an element spewed out by the Generic City. Lucio Costa’s masterplan (fig. 3), sets Brasilia on two major highways which functioned as two axes: the vertical monumental axis, where the administrative programmes are located, and the horizontal residential axis. The residential zones carry with them the stench of the Generic City, according to the Koolhaas text, ‘the vegetal is transformed into Edenic Residue, the main carrier of its identity: a hybrid of politics and landscape… Supremely inorganic, the organic is the Generic City’s strongest myth.’ Brasilia being carved out of a dense, uninhabited organic mass would be expected to hold on to past landscapes. Costa’s intensions were to wrap the residential blocks in vegetation, eliminating the generic street grid, cleansing the residential sectors of vehicular traffic, creat
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Illegal housing is another element that is discarded by the Generic City.’ The great originality of the Generic City is simply to abandon what doesn’t work… at the same time refuge of the illegal, the uncontrollable.’ Whilst diagramming Lucio Costa’s masterplan (fig.3), the single family sector stood out as a zone of interest. Costa draws this zone separate to the residential sectors although one would consider these elements to co-exist as one entity. Perhaps the single family house is a mask for the inevitable illegal housing that would eventually settle on the outskirts of the city. Brasilia became a dream not only for the president but also for currents of hopeful working class migrants that fled from the poorer regions to the new modern city . This has been the fashion for most major Brazilian cities. Favelas rejected by their cities reside in the outskirts, a world away from the modern. Although Brasilia was planned for 500,000 residents , Costa predicted the inevitable migration of the working class but still had hopes of providing space for it. In his masterplan, he populated the residential area with blocks yet left the single family housing zone as empty land plots, one can only presume that land was left for the illegal yet the Generic City further distances itself from this association (fig. 3). Compared to what was actually built in Brasilia, the single family zone has been taken out of its previous position and re appears further east, across the artificial generic lake, another attribute of the Generic City . This is a deliberate notion of the Generic City, creating a physical barrier between the illegal housing and the city itself. This disassociation wouldn’t have been what Lucio Costa or Oscar Niemeyer would’ve wanted, as they both shared communist and socialist beliefs. Costa’s masterplan observed from above: some speak of a winged vertebrae , others of an aeroplane spreading its wings , still one can depict the constellations of the hammer and sickle (fig. 5). This could’ve perhaps been a conscious remark of the architectural and political ideologies which shape Brasilia, this could be the
biggest clue in as to why the administrative buildings fall on the backbone of the city. As the case may be this was done deliberately. Lucio Costa along with Oscar Niemeyer were regarded as communist architects. Buildings which inhabit the Generic City are buildings which ancestries can be traced back to the work of Mies van der Rohe. ‘The Generic City proves him wrong, its more daring architects have taken up the challenge Mies abandoned.’ Rhythms of Mies van der Rohe’s S.R. Crown Hall echoes across the faces of the Plaza of Three Power’s Supreme Tribunal Court and Planalto Palace. The twin towers of the National Congress could’ve been planted right into the heart of New York and it would still share a language with all other modernist skyscrapers. A language of curtain wall systems and steel frame construction, although the Brazilian style disengages from the International Style and introduces the use of steel reinforced concrete. The weight of these changes transformed these buildings into buildings ‘that have force, that have power.’ Mies van de Rohe’s Seagram building houses 38 floors and 3 elevators which in itself is impressive for a 20th century skyscraper, yet the National Congress Towers house 27 floors and 6 elevators each with a three storey transparent bridge connecting the two structures from the fourteenth floor . This is truly a remarkable feat for a city considered outside of the developed regions of the world. One thing that fascinates me about Brasilia is that for a city laden with highways and with minimal regard for the pedestrian, there is a high concentration of pedestrianisation allocated directly on top of Brazil’s government. A monumental front ramp invites the public to walk directly on top of the National Congress building. This is a socialist strategy employed by Niemeyer because he believes that there should be a direct, physical connection between the public and the powers that govern the nation in order for both the city and country to function positively, a ‘necessary for
democracy to thrive.’ Unfortunately, Brasilia’s generic nature prevails yet again. ‘As in an emergency fire drill… it evacuates the public realm.’ In current times the public can only get as close to the front lawns of the National Congress in demonstrations of protests and anger towards the nation’s leaders with armed police warding them off the monumental ramp and National Congress roof (fig. 6). According to the Koolhaas text, this could be seen as Generic Brasilia’s defence system in stopping the public from metaphorically destroying the government with their feet. Up until now this discussion has all been based around the planning of the city, but who built it? This utopian dream was fuelled on human labour. The absence of technology didn’t slow down Brazil’s vision of a new capital. Instead, it ushered in labour camps around sites, poor sanitation and many people died in this race to modernism. The Generic City suffers from ‘an epidemic of yielding no longer through the application of principle but through the systematic application of the unprincipled.’ Strategies which one could regard as unethical were exerted on Brasilia’s builders. The ways in which Brasilia’s construction workforce was abused can be subdivided into four categories: Firstly, through devaluation of labour. The majority of Brasilia’s construction workers, also known as the candangos, were either impoverished rural or landless
workers from poorer regions of Brazil. This meant that the builders were undervalued to begin with. One could even go as far as regarding the construction of Brasilia as the epitome of the devaluation of labour that had previously occurred in civil construction but intensified by modernist practices. Secondly, by labour intensive exploitation. Construction leaders subjected workers to long working days with low income, malnutrition and various epidemics broke out throughout the construction site. Builders were also constantly at risk of death due to poor health and safety working conditions the site provided. The speed required for the construction of Generic Brasilia, demanded workers to labour continuously for as long as two or three days, which deteriorated their physical and mental health leaving them physically unable to fend themselves off the acts of violence which co-existed on the construction site. A third form of abuse the builders suffered was the visual deletion of their labour. Oscar Niemeyer’s polished white facades are not too far from Koolhaas’s beige vision of the Generic City. This aesthetically pleasing finish made the completed buildings appear as if they were factory produced by a machine for modernism, yet ironically that machine is powered by human labour. The polished buildings stand independently to those that constructed them. Lastly, builders suffered under social segregation. Not only were the marks of their labour alienated from the aesthetics of the finished buildings, but the workers themselves were alienated from residing in the capital after construction was completed. In keeping with the Generic City’s need to discard and evacuate the oppressed . Workers were forced to retreat to the previously mentioned satellite cities; shanty towns on the outskirts of Brasilia, across the manmade lake with a green belt separating them from their works.
Ironically, these uncivilised conditions were present before the construction of Brasilia. As previously mentioned, Kubitschek’s plans of conquering the centre had intentions of bringing stability to the uninhabited and uncivilised area. One could argue that Brasilia failed to eradicate the lawlessness of the interior. That instead of introducing laws and stability of the already established coastal cities, this lawless way of living was simply painted over in concrete and given a new face. Brasilia simply failed to civilise the Central Plateau, ‘the brutality and violence that workers building Brasilia were subjected to on site: the violence of the lawless Sertao was renewed rather than subdued by the modern city.’ The harshness of the construction site environment can be traced back to Brazil’s colonial past. When describing the planning of the Generic City, Koolhaas’s text highlights, ‘whole cities are built on colonial infrastructures of which the oppressors took the blueprints back home.’ Brazil’s colonial masters built the coastal cities. Perhaps planners believed violence and abuse was an unavoidable element in the race to achieving rapid modernisation. Moreover, Brasilia possess many attributes of Koolhaas’s Generic City. The generic nature of the capital city’s planning and development steered Brasilia towards an image of modernism. Besides the question still remains, has Brasilia lost its identity to the goal of modernisation? Brasilia never had an identity to begin with. ‘Having emerged as a colony and without a strong native culture, Brazil had no cultural identity to be preserved.’ As a nation they had no equivalent to ancient ruins or pre-colonial heritage to uphold as precedence. Therefore Brasilia was condemned to be of generic nature to begin with. Brasilia worked out a generic language of monumentality through its generic coming into being. Proving a success to Brazil’s national ambition of modernity. However, the deletion of the workers touch, covered by white polished finishes on Brasilia’s buildings is a
dramatic backward notion which further plays with the way Rem Koolhaas decorates the Generic City in negative connotations. In addition to this, the horrors of the construction sites did attract the attention of many contemporary architects. Artigas, also a Brazilian communist modern architect, threw other creatives such as Sergio Ferro and a young generation of students and architects directly into the effervescence of Brasilia’s development, to try and challenge ways in which Brasilia could both embrace modernity as well as benefiting all those impacted by this change. Whilst still a student, Sergio Ferro was acquainted to the harshness of this construction industry, which lead him to find and practice ways in which the same mistakes could be avoided. One way Ferro demonstrates this initiative is by honouring the integrity of the construction of his buildings, ‘the rudimentary materials... Some of their projects had exposed electrical and plumbing systems that were fixed directly onto the façade with nothing more than a handful of concrete mix.’ This act alone is what can give Brasilia an identity, a better identity, a step away from the generic and towards the specific. Beginnings of its own interesting, unique identity and display of national pride. Bibliography Andreoli Elisabetta, Forty Adrian, Brazil’s Modern Architecture, (Phaidon Press, 2007) Curtis William J.R., Modern Architecture since 1900, (Edition 3. Phaidon Press, 1996) Holsten James, The Modernist City, (University of Chicago Press, 1989) JodidIo Philip, Oscar Niemeyer, (Taschen, 2012) Koolhaas Rem, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large. (Edition 2. Monacelli Press, 1998) p.1239- 1264 Lloyd Thomas Katie, Amhoff Tilo, Beech, Nick, Industries of Architecture, (Routledge, 2016) President Kubitschek Juscelino, Brasilia Magazine, (Edition 1, 1957) Segewa Hugo, Architecture of Brazil 1900-1990, (Springer, 2015), p.141 Staubli Willy, Brasilia, (Book Division of Grampian Press Ltd, 1966)
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ARC 2024 Dissertation Presentation Proffessional Practice DE9
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ARC 2020 Dissertation Studies Dissertation Proposal
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BIM in Proffessional Practice
Following my presentation, I have decided to develop my interests on the topic of BIM in professional practice and how can UK architectural practices deliver projects at minimum BIM level 2 throughout pre and post phases of construction as well as the issues and challenges that arise from reaching this goal. Why take on this dissertation topic? My interests in this topic stem from the Architecture Representation module I undertook during the second semester of stage 1, where architects from local firms came in and introduced us to ways in which we should communicate information in drawings as well as digital models. This was revolutionary for me, having spent most of the year producing things manually which was extremely time consuming. This level of BIM was only level 1, 3D representation from 2D drawings. The architects explained that this efficient way of working is how they aim to produce built environments in practice and that we should be made aware of this as early as possible. I believe that this is a way of solving the issue in practice, of providing time and training for everyone to learn to work in BIM. Since April 2016, the UK government has set out a target to have all public sector projects carried out at minimum BIM level 2, this is to minimise project time and costs that results from waste. Having visited and interviewed Tim Bailey, partner at XSITE Architecture; he mentioned that this target has yet to be met in practice. Ofoaiye and Bailey (2018). This was also mentioned during my visit to Faulkner Brown Architects. Peter St Julien, project director at Faulkner Brown stated that although they aim to deliver all projects at a BIM level 2 minimum standard, they still needed to communicate with 2D technical drawings highlighting that BIM does have its limitations. Ofoaiye and St Julien (2018). reason for this selected focus is that I believe BIM can be a powerful tool for architectural firms to regain a greater control and ownership in the construction industry. As well as making the construction process a lot more efficient.
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On Friday the 11th of May, I interviewed project manager Tony Huntrod and a BIM manager at Sir Robert McAlpine, at their office located on the construction site at Science central, Newcastle upon Tyne. This was very relevant to my proposal as the Science Central masterplan is a university project and therefore mandated at BIM level 2. During the interview, the BIM manager stated that one of the major pitfalls of trying to work in BIM is that it has to be driven by the client. It’s often the case that the client demands that the project is mandated at BIM level 2 only because the government declares it but they themselves do not have the knowledge of how to manage this information and how it will benefit them. Ofoaiye and Huntrod (2018). Secondly, another pitfall in trying to work in BIM is that this lack of education extends to the contractors, mainly the short term, buy and sell contractors who are not interested in the long term maintenance of the building but are looking to make an instant profit, resulting in a lack of investment in the BIM environment. Any problems which occur after are then left with the new contractors who then employ information managers to pull in information into the 3D environment, creating a cost that could’ve been avoided from the start of the project if it had been mandated at BIM level 2. Tony Huntrod also spoke about architectural firms are generally already working in a BIM environment but tend to pass the service as an added cost to further boost their company profits and for contractors this can be seen as an avoidable cost. I understand that his views can be regarded external to the architectural profession, but this also begins to raise the question of how the value of the architectural profession can be better managed. Following my presentation, I have decided to develop my interests on the topic of BIM in professional practice and how can UK architectural practices deliver projects at minimum BIM level 2 throughout pre and
post phases of construction as well as the issues and challenges that arise from reaching this goal. Why take on this dissertation topic? My interests in this topic stem from the Architecture Representation module I undertook during the second semester of stage 1, where architects from local firms came in and introduced us to ways in which we should communicate information in drawings as well as digital models. This was revolutionary for me, having spent most of the year producing things manually which was extremely time consuming. This level of BIM was only level 1, 3D representation from 2D drawings. The architects explained that this efficient way of working is how they aim to produce built environments in practice and that we should be made aware of this as early as possible. I believe that this is a way of solving the issue in practice, of providing time and training for everyone to learn to work in BIM. Since April 2016, the UK government has set out a target to have all public sector projects carried out at minimum BIM level 2, this is to minimise project time and costs that results from waste. Having visited and interviewed Tim Bailey, partner at XSITE Architecture; he mentioned that this target has yet to be met in practice. Ofoaiye and Bailey (2018). This was also mentioned during my visit to Faulkner Brown Architects. Peter St Julien, project director at Faulkner Brown stated that although they aim to deliver all projects at a BIM level 2 minimum standard, they still needed to communicate with 2D technical drawings highlighting that BIM does have its limitations. Ofoaiye and St Julien (2018). My interests are in exploring those limitations and how can UK practices overcome them. This dissertation can be regarded as a project dissertation, as I intend carrying out surveys by sending out questionnaires to various architectural selected practices and going to selected architectural practices to carry out interviews to produce a much more refined dissertation and project report.
Having studied various research papers during my professional practice dissertation elective, I understand that these types of research papers carry a similar output layout that I could also follow for my dissertation output. Firstly, a question or hypothesis is raised, backed by personal interests or analysis highlighting a genuine gap in knowledge that needs to be addressed or filled. Expectations are also clearly stated quite early on, in order to give the paper the right direction and focus. Next, data is collected via surveys or questionnaires sent out to selected architectural practices or individuals, depending on their practice type and size, this results in a more varied data collection. This part can be regarded as a project. From this, tables and models can be generated to manage and make sense of this information which finally can be concluded from. I plan on spending the summer period reading into ways UK architectural practices have already begun to deliver projects in BIM level 2 since the government’s backing in April 2016 and I also intend on reading articles to understand the current attitudes towards this method of project delivery in today’s practices. This could be an opportunity for me to go out and visit selected stakeholders in local architecture firms in order to conduct interviews, gain a personal understanding and refine this topic with a clearer focus. I have already begun to conduct interviews with construction stakeholders, mainly focusing directly on the ones based in architectural practices, i.e.: project managers, partners and architects. The reason for this selected focus is that I believe BIM can be a powerful tool for architectural firms to regain a greater control and ownership in the construction industry. As well as making the construction process a lot more efficient. On Friday the 11th of May, I interviewed project manager Tony Huntrod and a BIM manager at Sir Robert McAlpine, at their office located on the construction site at Science central, Newcastle upon Tyne. This was very relevant to my proposal as the Science Central
masterplan is a university project and therefore mandated at BIM level 2. During the interview, the BIM manager stated that one of the major pitfalls of trying to work in BIM is that it has to be driven by the client. It’s often the case that the client demands that the project is mandated at BIM level 2 only because the government declares it but they themselves do not have the knowledge of how to manage this information and how it will benefit them. Ofoaiye and Huntrod (2018). Secondly, another pitfall in trying to work in BIM is that this lack of education extends to the contractors, mainly the short term, buy and sell contractors who are not interested in the long term maintenance of the building but are looking to make an instant profit, resulting in a lack of investment in the BIM environment. Any problems which occur after are then left with the new contractors who then employ information managers to pull in information into the 3D environment, creating a cost that could’ve been avoided from the start of the project if it had been mandated at BIM level 2. Tony Huntrod also spoke about architectural firms are generally already working in a BIM environment but tend to pass the service as an added cost to further boost their company profits and for contractors this can be seen as an avoidable cost. I understand that his views can be regarded external to the architectural profession, but this also begins to raise the question of how the value of the architectural profession can be better managed.
Bibliography Ofoaiye S. and Huntrod, T. (2018) Discussing the adoption of BIM Level 2 in professional practice Ofoaiye S. and Bailey, T. (2018) Discussing professional practice Ofoaiye S. and St Julien, P. (2018) Discussing professional practice Short literature survey: Saxon, R. G. (2016), BIM for construction clients. Newcastle Upon Tyne: NBS This is an important document as I previously mentioned in my proposal, BIM managers believe that the success of a BIM mandated project relies on the support of the client. This document will highlight the encouraged benefits from BIM organisations such as NBS and how they go about educating clients. As well as how challenges of working in BIM level 2 can be overcome. Churcher D, Sands J, (2014), A design framework for building services. BSRIA Publishing (4th edition). An illustrated guide on efficient building, advantage in marketing and profitable construction; aligned with the RIBA plan of work 2013. This is relevant to my dissertation topic as it contains an introduction to BIM as well as British Standards and guides supporting BIM implementation. Sands J, (2015), The BIM Roadmap. BSRIA Publishing. This is an illustrated building owner’s guide to implementing BIM level 2 strategy, with information on post construction maintenance. Sands J, (2016) ], Model format for building services specifications. BSRIA Publishing (2nd edition). This is the classification structure recommended by the UK government for use on BIM level 2, to help the user understand its use in the building services application. BIM Forum, (2016), LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT SPECIFICATION BIM Forum Publishing. This document helps professional practitioners to articulate and specify accurately as well as clearly the contents and reliability of BIMs during pre and post design stages of construction. This also illustrates different levels of information that can be communicated through BIM. Construction Industry Council. (2018), Building Information Modelling (BIM) Protocol. London: CIC. This document is by the construction industry council, specifying the protocols of working in BIM level 2, as well as the role of the information manager.
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Competition Construct!
Linear forms inspired by density of surrounding woods
Group: L’Arch de Triump LEDs fixed to base emitting light unto viaduct
Slop of The Artery and slop of the hill creates visual valley
Exploded reinterpretationof traditional Victorian Bandstand
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1:50 Model
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Experience
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RIBA Student Mentoring FaulknerBrowns Architects
Student Mentee One of the highlights of this academic year for me was having the privilege to take part in this programme. My skills developed not only as a student but also as a young professional; gaining insight into the business, design and construction side of the architectural profession.
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