Newcastle University Architecture Planning and Landscape
ARC3001: Architectural Design 3.1 (18/19)
PORTFOLIO
Stage 3 Studio: Building Upon Building
Solomon Olufemi Adeyinka Ofoaiye 160368244
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CONTENTS
CONTENT
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INTRODUCTION
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PROJECT PRIMER
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING PRACTICE WORKSHOP
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PROJECT STAGING
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PROJECT REALISATION
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING SKILLS WORKSHOP
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING WEEK
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
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ILLUSTRATED REFLECTIVE REPORT
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FIELD TRIP CASE STUDY
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CHARETTE
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ILLUSTRATIVE CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY
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BIBLIOGRAPHY / REFERENCES
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INTRODUCTION
ARC3001 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Building Upon Building: The Queen’s House A contextual approach to experimental preservation; building upon the heritage qualities which underpin Inigo Jones’ The Queen’s House, forming the new British Centre for Architecture. A monumental addition to the Greenwich World Heritage Site.
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IMAGINARY PLAN EXERCISE
PROJECT PRIMER
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If Inigo Jones and Andrea Palladio were alive today, how would they go about creating architecture? The first studio exercise builds on understanding Palladian composition, combining the plan of The Queen’s House by Inigo Jones and Andrea Palladio’s other buildings in order to create a new, mega, imaginary plan. I began by creating expanding vertically, forming a central spine which runs inline with The Queen’s House, continuing with it’s structural grid. Next, the plan was expanded horizontally, adding wings, carefully positioning arcades on the interior in order to form public spaces within the plan, as this can be regarded as a crucial Palladian element. The overall composition of this plan follows the language of Palladianism. Something that can be highlighted is how the imaginary plan is closed at one side and opened on the other. With this, discussions of public to private programmes can commence, public spaces being on the opened part of the plan and private spaces towards the back.
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IMAGINARY PLAN SITE ANALYSIS
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PROJECT PRIMER
At 1:2000 the importance of symmetry can be emphasised in regards to site integration. This plan compliments the works of Sir Christopher Wren, playing on the rhythms of courtyards and the already established, focused views. Rotating the New Palladian Plan allowed me to experiment with how different sections interact with the site. The plan on the left, opens up to Greenwich Park, engaging the use of the greenspace south of the site with potentials of further programmed landscaping. The park is where people are most likely to view The Queen House, this begins illustrate the orientation considerations Jones might have faced in establishing his humanist views on this scheme. On the other hand, the plan on the right opens up to the northern view from the river bank allowing deeper lines of sights into the plan from both north and south elevations. The entrances on the northern elevation also sit in harmony with most of the already existing paths on the site.
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FINAL IMAGINARY PLAN EXHIBITION A2 BOARDS
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PRIMER PROJECT
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I began by creating expanding vertically, forming a central spine which runs in-line with The Queen’s House, continuing with it’s structural grid. Next, the plan was expanded horizontally, adding wings, carefully positioning arcades on the interior in order to form public spaces within the plan, as this can be regarded as a crucial Palladian element.
Villa Sarego/ Boccoli
Villa Morosini (Mocenigo)
The overall composition of this plan follows the language of Palladianism. Something that can be highlighted is how the New Palladian Plan is closed at one side and opened on the other. With this, discussions of public to private programmes can commence, public spaces being on the opened part of the plan and private spaces towards the back.
Villa Adriano Tiene
Contextualisation plays a significant role on the site. This composition harmonises with the already existing University of Greenwich by Sir Christopher Wren; sharing the same central axis of 9symmetry.
The Queen’s House 0
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60 m
Villa Prazaio Porto
Palazzo G.B. Garzadore SOLOMON OLUFEMI OFOAIYE STUDIO 06
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
The catalogue is a group - curated document which illustrated our studio primer discusions and processes. This was a smaller, IKEA themed manual, placed inside the exhibition catalogue. It serves as a construction mannual on how to construct our Palladian style exhibition.
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EXHIBITION CATALOGUE (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
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EXHIBITION CATALOGUE (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
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EXHIBITION CATALOGUE (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
The second half of the exhibition catalogue was rotated 180 degrees intentionally, following our act of ‘disobedience’ as expressed in the pamphlet.
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TRANSFORMING OBJECTS
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING PRACTICE WORKSHOP
I was excited to get working but I didn’t know what I wanted the structure, sculpture or work to be, but as I took the table and stool apart I paid attention to the elements of these objects that I wanted to keep or destroy. I noticed the legs of the table were really sturdy and could work as the base of a frame for something bigger. The stool was later manipulated in a way that created some sort of potential easel that was already at head height. During this workshop I was thinking about applying the Palladian ‘rules’ that I had picked up, to the overall composition, by producing a piece which seemed completely symmetrical but on closer inspection is asymmetrical. The natural colours emitted from the timber, complements the piece by diverting the focus away from the structural elements (table legs) and making the top components almost float in mid air. From here. visions of the studio’s exhibition began to take shape.
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PRESENTATION VIDEO & STORYBOARDS (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
As a studio, we decided that making a video that would last the entire presentation would be the most appropriate method of communicating our primer processes and theory disscusions across. As part of the video sub-team , I documented studio activities and exhibition progress through film, for it to then be used in our presentation video. One of the challenges we encountered during the production of our video was communicating a clear structure for the narrative of our video. We overcame this through illustrating frame by frame what we wanted our video to show. The storyboards are a sum of many itterations. As part of the sub-video crew, we met daily to refine these storyboards into strong and precise narratives for our video.
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FINAL PRESENTATION VIDEO STILLS (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
During one of our video crew meetings, we analysed all the footage that we had and concluded that we didn’t we wanted to make a shorter, sharper 5 minutes dynamic video that would grab the audience’s attention. The video would no longer serve as our primary mode of presenting but would instead act as an introduction to the studio and a teaser to the rest of our presentation and exhibition. One of the ways in which this video worked well is that it effectively communicated our studio interests and protagonist as well as it reflected how much we were enjoying our design studio.
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MONUMENTAL PRIMER EXHIBITION (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
Our assigned space for the primer exhibition was the cathedral staircase, which connecting the ground floor to the second floor, via a wide mezzanine break. This gave us the opportunity to design a dynamic exhibition that had the potential to be experienced from different levels and perspectives. As you walk up the staircases, one is greeted by the behemoth structure, forming gateways throughout our exhibition. It was important that the structure was as tall as it could be to emphasise its presence in the space. Displaying our imaginary plan exercises on the frame structure
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PRIMER EXHIBITION DAY (GROUP WORK)
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PROJECT PRIMER
Reflecting on the Primer exhibition day, apart from the frame structures, another element that worked brilliantly was the A0 sized sketch which was completed by the majority of the studio. Unfortunately, the no place to sit installation wasn’t as refined as we envisioned it could’ve been for the exhibition. What started as a column of chairs became an expressive, exploded bench. The Queen’s House model became an elegant centre piece to the exhibition.
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CANALETTO CONCEPTUAL COLLAGE
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PROJECT STAGING
Reframing Perceptions Fine art works such as Canaletto’s famous painting of Greenwich Hospital from the banks of River Thames, currently affirm the north-west elevation as being the recognised front of The Queen’s House. Whereas historically, the south-east elevation (facing Greenwich Park), was the original front of the Grade I listed building; as intended by Inigo Jones. This could be due to the fact that Christopher Wren’s monumental addition, to the world heritage site, perfectly frames The Queen’s House along it’s monumental axis. Therefore, the proposed extension aims to preserve The Queen’s House by reframing the classical building from Greenwich Park, through a new, monumental addition, reinstating the south-east elevation of The Queen’s House as the official front of the British Centre for Architecture.
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INTERVENTION APPROACH TO PRESERVATION
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BASEMENT ENHANCED TO FORM PLINTH
TWO ADJACENT BLOCKS IDENTICAL TO THE QUEEN’S HOUSE
BLOCKS SPLIT AND PUSHED TO EDGES
(OLD) QUEEN’S HOUSE FRAMED BY (NEW) BLOCKS
PROJECT STAGING
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Contextual Approach to Preservation (Developed as part of Theory Into Practice Essay) Using Koolhaas’s contextual approach to preservation as precedent; research highlighted the colonnades as being weak elements and in need of substitution as there is no longer a need in programme, to physically connect the Maritime Museum with The Queen’s House. Likewise, in a contextual manner, the new extension is composed along the Queen’s House’s intangible heritage of Palladian proportions (as established in the Project Primer). The new extension places The Queen’s House on an enhanced, basement plinth; celebrating the old as the most important artefact on the heritage site. Four new blocks sit on the raised ground floor, level with The Queen’s House and framing it on all corners.
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VIEWS FROM & ONTO GREENWICH SITE
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PROJECT STAGING
Original Plans at 1:5000 (Developed as part of Theory Into Practice Essay) Historical text reveals The Queen’s House to be belvedere architecture, therefore it was important to consider the protected focal views from the north onto the site as well as the panoramic views from Greenwich Park.
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PRECEDENT ANALYSIS
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PROJECT STAGING
Basilica Palladiana (Vicenza)
Blibioteque Nationale de France (Paris)
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MASSING MODEL EXPLORATION
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PROJECT STAGING
1:250 Massing Model (Developed as part of ARC3013 Integrated Technology)
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PROGRAMME ANALYSIS
Administration Offices
Accommodation 500m2
500m2
RIBA Research Desks
RIBA Research Laboratories
500m2
Architectural Records & Manuscripts Archive 500m2
500m2
Architectural Drawings Archive
Architectural Photography Archive 500m2
500m2
600m2
Architectural Models & Artifacts Archive 500m2
Courtyards
Reception
Gift Shop
40m2
200m2
Library
Auditorium
Exhibition Halls Food Court
1000m2
1500m2
Private
Semi Public
Public
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1000m2
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PROJECT STAGING
ADMIN DS
OR REC
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YARD
BITION
A U D
HY RC A
LIBRAR Y EXHI IVE
H TS ARC
CRIP
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RIBA RE
SEARCH
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DRA WIN
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ION
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PHO TOG
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COUR T
ODAT
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RI U M
ACCO MM
OFFICE
FOOD COUR T
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Residential
Educational
Food & Retail
British Centre for Architecture (Developed as part of ARC3013 Intergrated Technology)
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RUSTICATION PRECEDENT ANALYSIS
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Interpretation of Building Mass Inigo Jones expresses the mass of The Queen’s through the use of rusticated facades, allowing the building to be read in horizontal planes. Whereas for St Paul’s cathedral, the mass of the building is emphasised through total rustication of all the facades.
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ARTISAN APPROACH TO MATERIALITY
PROJECT REALISATION
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A Celebration of Craft (As Part of the Field Trip Case Study) During my research field trip visit to Castelvecchio, I began to appreciate Scarpa’s obsession with the involvement of craft and architectural detail. This way of thinking fed into my design process and attitude towards modern methods of construction. Scarpa’s celebrates the connections between the old and new by through specialised, artistic joinery and materials by local artisans. I also want to explore the tectonics of my scheme at the 1:1 scale as it could enable closer observations of The Queen’s House, leading to contextual responses.
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STONEMASONRY
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING SKILLS WORKSHOP
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Traditional Methods of Ornamentation Using traditional stonemason techniques, I have learnt ways in which to engrave and carve limestones. Reflecting on this workshop, if I were to use stone as part of the material palette for the extension, traditional stone carving could prove to be laborious and therefore alternative ways to One thing that I can take away from this workshop is the technique of subtracting a material in order to find a form inside.
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ORNAMENTED CASTED DESK SHELF 1:1
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THINKING THROUGH MAKING WEEK
Thinking Through Making Week Process Working in the spirit of an artisan; a quest in understanding the qualities which underpin the shapes the heritage around The Queen’s House. The shapes were inspired by Richard Wright’s successful intervention inside the Great Hall. If an addition contextually reinterprets and highlights the older heritage, can it too become heritage?
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ORNAMENTED CASTED DESK SHELF 1:1
THINKING THROUGH MAKING WEEK
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GROUND FLOOR EXTERNAL FACADE DEVELOPMENT
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PROJECT REALISATION
NEW Rustication Reinterpretation Building upon the 1:1 thinking through making exploration, addressing the old heritage qualities of the rusticated facades of The Queen’s House, with a modern interpretation through concrete construction.
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GROUND FLOOR EXTERNAL FACADE DEVELOPMENT 1:1
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PROJECT REALISATION
Ornamented White Concrete Panel 1:1 Echoing the elegant tulip forms of Richard Wright’s successful addition to the Queen’s House’s Great Hall; creating a contextual dialogue between the rusticated facades of the Queen’s House and the new extension.
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UNDERSTANDING QUEEN’S HOUSE PROPORTIONS
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PROJECT REALISATION
Proportions The Palladian proportions of The Queen’s House were further dissected to inform possible room layouts and dimensions that would in-keep with the already existing in plan, as well as inform the possible positions of loadbearing walls. The rigorous explorations into the Palladian proportions of The Queen’s House highlighted of The Queen’s House, regular, proportional, vertical breaks which help make The Queen’s House not visual appear as long. Therefore, if the extension is to successfully combine with the existing classical building, it needs to also adhere to this language of vertical breaks.
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MONUMENTAL SOUTH SOUTH ACCESS
PROJECT REFINEMENT
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Precedents Contextual trail stemming from the past contributions of Andre Le Notre’s landscaping to the northern side of The Queen’s House, lead me to Le Petit Trianon. From there ideas developed for a carving of the southern half of the scheme into mirroring monumental ramps which would affirm the south elevation as the front of the British Centre for Architecture.
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
INTERNAL FACADES DEVELOPMENT
Internal Facades Sketchbook sketches of facade articulations.
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A CELEBRATION OF MOVEMENT
SECTION A-A
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
Preserving the Historical Road In the midst of material density is found a plane of lightness. Here, a new atrium space formed by enclosing and extending the void between the two existing masses of the Queen’s House. Light steel framed, glass lifts juxtaposed against the monumental mass of white concrete and stuccoed brick, and a significant, horizontal plane of travel, which begins at the secondary gateways into the site, is interrupted by vertical movements at the centre of the scheme; celebrating the historical road which used to pass through the site (and building) at this exact location.
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FIRST FLOOR EXTERNAL FACADES DEVELOPMENT
ALTERNATIVE ITERATION
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
FINAL PROPOSED ITERATION External Elevations Expressed The visual harmonies formed by using the abstract apertures obtained from the voids of the Orangery, enmeshes with the Queen’s House’s language of proportions and facade articulation. In addition, the vast use of glass on the first floor creates lightness, juxtaposing with the heavier monolithic weight of the ground floor and basement. This, combined with the rustications,further helps articulate the overall extension and the Queen’s house read as one scheme made up of horizontal layers. On the other hand, the alternative iteration (previous page), distorts the proportions of the Queen’s House; by visually elongating the entire scheme, placing unwanted emphasis on the less significant elements of the Queen’s House’s facades. Although I had made the final proposed iteration before the alternative, it was important to go back and question the importance of the design decision. This rigorous approach affirmed the final iteration as the most appropriate, revealing richer, contextual interpretations of the design.
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THE CLASSICAL BALLUSTRADE REINTERPRETATED
Foundation: 1 Reinforced concrete footing 2 Concrete pile foundation Basement Floor: 3 Reinforced concrete slab 1000mm 4 Rigid rockwool insulation 70mm 5 Pump and sump chamber 6 Lime control sheet 7 Cavity drain membrane (overlaping with cavity drain membrane in wall) 8 Polished screed 50mm 9 Perimeter draining channel 10 Sealing tape (for cavity drain membrane overlap) Basement Wall: 11 In situ reinforced concrete retaining wall 400mm 12 In situ concrete wall 300mm 13 Rigid rockwool insulation 100mm 14 Cavity drain membrane (with membrane plugs) 15 In situ reinforced white concrete wall 240mm
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Exposed Basement Wall: 16 Pre cast reinforced white concrete panel 30mm 17 Cavity 120mm 18 Rigid rockwool insulation 100mm 19 Damp proof course 20 In situ concrete wall 240mm Suspended Ground Floor to External Wall Junction: 21 Pre cast reinforced white concrete panel 30mm 22 Masonry movement joint (fixed to structural floor slab) 23 Cavity 120mm 24 Rigid rockwool insulation 100mm 25 Damp proof course 26 In situ reinforced white concrete wall 240mm 27 In situ reinforced concrete slab 250mm 28 Rigid rockwool insulation 160mm 29 Proprietary resilient layer rigid insulation 30mm 30 Damp proof membrane 31 Timber counter battens w/ rigid rockwool insulation 40mm 32 Underfloor heating pipes 33 Timber oak baords 25mm
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External First Floor Wall to Roof Eaves Junction: 34 Pre cast reinforced white concrete panel 30mm 35 Masonry movement joint (fixed to structural floor slab) 36 Cavity 120mm 37 Rigid rockwool insulation 100mm 38 Damp proof course 39 In situ reinforced white concrete wall 240mm 40 In situ reinforced concrete slab 250mm 41 Rigid rockwool insulation 200mm 42 Proctection mat 25mm 43 Reinforced concrete slab 100mm 44 Drainage 25mm 45 Reinforced white concrete balustrade
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58 1:20 Technical Section
PROJECT REFINEMENT
Contemporary Balustrade & Cornice Sketch Detail Development (Developed from initial 1:20 Technical Detail) Whilst on a research field trip of Italy, at Vicenza, I was fascinated by the grandeur of the towering balustrades. This classical component decorated important buildings such as Palladio’s Basilica Palladiana, and in Greenwich, The Queen’s House. The final touch to complete the contextual extension was to crown the plinth and blocks with modern reinterpretations that would actively engage with not only the old, but also the human body- in like manner of the classical understanding behind the visual connections and ergonomics of the balustrade. Whilst also looking at Mies’ Seagram Building Plaza seating as precedent, this sketch explores the ergonomics behind a user- friendly balustrade as well as the potential of a shadow gap forming between the parapet and concrete balustrade to form a possible reinterpretation of a cornice.
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PHYSICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN OLD & NEW
1:15 External Wall to Roof Parapet & Extensive Green Roof to Queen’s House Connection Detail 1. Pre cast reinforced white concrete panel 30mm 2. Steel joint 3. Cavity 120mm 4. Rigid rockwool insulation 100mm 5. Damp proof course 6. In situ reinforced white concrete wall 240mm 7. In situ reinforced concrete slab 250mm 8. Damp proof course 9. Insulation 200mm 10. Waterproofing layer 11. In situ reinforced concrete slab 120mm 12. Drainage 100mm 13. White concrete balustrade 14. Water storage board 40mm 15. Filter sheet 16. Screed 50mm 13 17. Timber batten 18. Timber boards 19. System substrate ‘rockery type plants’ 127mm 20. Drainage 40mm 21. White concrete wall 22. Timber boards
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
THE QUEEN’S HOUSE (OLD)
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Developed Technical Detail 1:15
BACEMENT PLINTH (NEW)
This detail illustrates the tectonic intent of my project; combining The Queen’s House and my new extension to create one whole monumental British Centre for Architecture. Therefore, the physical connection between the old and the new is subtle and almost hidden. At the public terrace, the balustrade provides an architectural railing and seating for the public and in a classical act, crown the roof of the plinth as well as the roofs of the blocks.
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DRAWING ITERATIONS
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
Drawing Process Manual drawing allowed for the greatest control and limitless possibilities. The tracing and layering of drawings helped develop and refine different aspects of the design as well as test out several, different iterations. A1 sized, 1:200 plans were layered to mainly produce plans which kept with the Palladian composition of the site and internal proportions of The Queen’s House.
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BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN
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BASEMENT FLOOR
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10m
1:250
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
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1. Area of Refuge 2. Restaurant Kiosk 3. Area of Refuge
4. Male Toilets 5. Female Toilets 6. Dining Space
7. Gift Shop 8. Plant Room 9. Help Desk
10. Security Check 11. Courtyard 12. Area of Refuge
13. Area of Refuge 14. Exhibition Spaces 15. Atrium
16. Computer Cluster 17. Plant Room 18. Toilets
19. Area of Refuge 20. Auditorium 21. Auditorium Lobby
22. Storage 23. Plant Room
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BASEMENT MEZZANINE FLOOR PLAN
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BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN
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BASEMENT MEZZANINE FLOOR
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1:250
PROJECT REFINEMENT
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24. Dining Space 25. Exhibition Space 26. Toilets 27. Reception
28. Waiting Area 29. Creche 30. Main Entrance 31. Projection Room
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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GROUND FLOOR
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1:250
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
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32. Archive Hall 33. Plant Room 34. Reading Room 35. Storage
36. Cloakroom 37. Archive Lobby 38. Exhibition Space 39. Newbridge
40. Library Space 41. Library Terrace 42. Grand Public Terrace 43. Secondary Access
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FIRST FLOOR PLAN
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FIRST FLOOR
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
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44. Survey Room 45. Printers & Scanners 46. Arrangement & Description
47. De-acidification 48. Private Library 49. Plant Room 50. Lounge Area
51. Digital Archivists Studio 52. Digitisation Archivists Studio
53. Toilets 54. Area of Refuge 55. Thesis Laureate Accommodation
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56. Cleaner’s Cupboard 57. Plant Room 58. Exhibition Space 59. Library Space
60. Plant Room 61. Storage 62. Research Studio 63. Meeting Hall
64. Lounge Area 65. Research Desk 66. Admin Office 67. Storage
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68. Plant Room
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RESEARCH STUDIO
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
Framed Panoramic Views The articulation of the internal facades of the private first floor spaces promote panoramic views onto The Queen’s House; framing the heritage building as the most significant object on the site.
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MONUMENTAL CONTEXTUAL PRESERVATION
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PROJECT REFINEMENT
Greenwich Park, South East Monumental Perspective The horizontal composition of the scheme compliments the existing panoramic view onto the Queen’s House from Greenwich Park. Whilst the more abstract, external facades monumentally engages with the reading of the Queen’s House, the internal facade begins to invite the public by not only revealing the movements of various programmes happening the private first floors, but also visually opening up onto the Queen’s House and therefore framing its importance. The rusticated facades of both The Queen’s House and the new extension enables the British Centre for Architecture to be understood as coherent layers, without the mass of the new extension overpowering the already existing.
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SELF REFLECTION & CROSS - INTERGRATION OF MODULES
Introduction Although for the majority of this year long project, I was simultaneously working on other non-design modules as part of my academic work, most of the work produced in those modules informed not only decisions and directions taken in my graduation design project, but also each other.
formalised after the submission.
Thinking Through Making
Professional Practice & Management
One thing that I have learnt from my graduation project is that the best design process isn’t linear. At the beginning of my design project, I would think that I needed to first produce site analysis and then massing and then construction and materiality and so on, leading to final details. Whereas in reality, this way of thinking resulted in generic design and imprecise representation, as illustrated in my former staging concept. My actual scheme first materialised through 1:1 material exploration during Thinking Through Making Week, as I decide to restart my project by just observing the qualities which frame our understanding of The Queen’s House. Qualities being structure (load-baring), aesthetic (ornamentation) and environmental (daylight & ventilation). These qualities then took the form of a 1:1 desk shelf, a piece of furniture that could be used in the British Centre for Architecture.
The Professional Practice & Management report helped inform a balance between modern and cost-effective methods of standardised concrete construction whilst also keeping room for artistic touches in the design of the formworks and articulations of the formwork. The results would allow quicker construction and less manual labour onsite to achieve the ornamented aesthetic- leading to not only reduction in construction costs but also, less noise and dust generated in the area benefiting neighbouring occupants as well as the reputation of concrete in the UK’s construction industry.
For me, this straightaway felt like a better response to the project brief. Therefore, I decided to pursue the development of my project at the 1:1 scale which resulted in producing part of the façade panel of the proposed extension. Alongside the workshop experiments, it was important for me to research deeper into the context which would inform the reasoning behind my material developments. So I consulted books on contemporary concrete construction and older books on Palladianism in order to consider both the old and the new, an important aspect of my design studio. This method of rigorous research then fed into my Theory into Practice essay submission. Technology & Theory into Practice As earlier stated, technology played a vital role in not only my design project, I was integrated studies of modern concrete ornamentation with more traditional, manual methods, but also in the second half of my Theory into Practice essay where highlight white concrete as being the protagonist material in my preservationist palette. One of the goals of my project was to preserve concrete construction in a similar way of how Inigo Jones preserved brick construction in The Queen’s House. Technology informed key decisions in my design; the introduction of twin courtyards formed from the mass of the proposed basement plinth, to help daylight and ventilate the basement spaces. The initial 1:20 technical detail submission depicts a classical balustrade crowning the roof of one of the blocks. My attempt was to also some sort of balustrading for the raised, public ground floor terrace and also for the roof (even though the roof is inaccessible); as a response to The Queen’s House’s balustrade. Although reflecting on the output then. Unfortunately, the submitted balustrade detail design was more of a replica classical balustrade, as I was still developing ideas. I then studied ergonomics and certain aesthetics of classical architecture, and reinterpreted them into a contemporary, and contextual cornice and balustrade design; in-keeping with the already existing qualities of the Queen’s House. Although the final 1:20 technical detail submission doesn’t have the finished roof details, as the idea was
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My contextual approach to preservation, in my graduation project, stemmed from the first half of my Theory into Practice essay on contextualism.
A Journey of Voids Reflecting on my personal development as an architectural student, a distinct theme has emerged from my graduation project. I’ve seemed to have been subconsciously celebrating the voids. Negative spaces, across all scales. On a macro scale; carving away at the southern part of the extension during the realisation stage of the project, in order to obtain a formalised and monumental access that would restore the south elevation as the true front of The Queen’s house. Also, by subtracting mass from the basement plinth, creating a monumental void connecting the old and the new, juxtaposing materiality as well as preserving the historical road which used to pass through the site, parallel to the monumental axis. At a smaller scale, this obsession with the negative space also appeared in the design of the extension’s modern interpretation of a cornice, where a void is created from a shadow gap between the parapet and balustrade. And again, pivotal in understanding the significant role rustication could play in my design project. It was only during the refinement stage that I noticed this reoccurring theme. I then decided to feed this method of thinking by working in a black sketchbook, producing charcoal drawings and white gel pen sketches. I feel that this enriched my visual thinking and boosted my confidence in sketching. Finally, the point of all this is that I believe that in order to be in true control of a design, one must balance and understand the voids, as well as the positives. Their potential relationships and juxtapositions. This is something I hope to investigate further in future designs.
ILLUSTRATED REFLECTIVE REPORT
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CASTELVECCHIO, CARLO SCARPA (VERONA)
Chloe Dalby - Programme (D) & Atmosphere (J) Chunyang Song - Typology (B) & Threshold (L) Joe Allen - Architects/designers (A) & Structural Strategy (H) Sofia Nasir - Concept and Design Development (E) & Spatial Sequence (G) Solomon Ofoaiye - Site (C) & Materiality (K)
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FIELD TRIP CASE STUDY (GROUP WORK)
Located in Verona, Castelvecchio is a restored medieval fortress, now acting as a museum displaying a collection of sculpture, statues, paintings and ancient weapons, amongst other artefacts. The museum displays sculptures from the Romanesque period of Verona, and paintings and frescos from around the 14th century. Over the years the building has been re-purposed for many different uses, primarily as a castle, then for military purposes and now a museum as described. The building has changed use over the years, but also changed form. During the Napoleonic occupation in 1797, five towers were destroyed as a penalty for a citizen’s uprising. Scarpa’s architectural intervention is just another phase in the buildings long history.
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CASTELVECCHIO, CARLO SCARPA (VERONA)
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CHARRETTE Architecture of Self Destruction Erratic, interactive robots roaming around an immersive installation leaving trails of paint and fine-liner. Once coming into contact with objects or humans these vehicles would rush off in random directions, creating a canvas of chance and or what looks like action painting Pollock would be proud of. Whilst these robots roam, placed around the inside of the installation are cups of powder that would drop into the space when triggered by people standing on raised platforms. The sum of all this created an architecture of chance and self destruction, forcing people to become alert and sensitive to their surroundings as well as watching their every step, ultimately hacking perception through defamiliarisation and uncertainty.
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PROCESS
CHARRETTE (GROUP WORK)
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PROCESS
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CHARRETTE (GROUP WORK)
From the first day, the group sat down and drew up ideas, mock ups of these vehicles. The idea was to have sensors on the fronts that would detect a presence at a certain proximity to the vehicle, this would then trigger a response from the robot to scamper off in a different direction, alarming the visitors inside of the installation. Prototypes were generated from card to understand the placements of the electronic components that would operate the vehicles. As the vehicles were being designed and assembled, so was the installation. Bing bags cloaked a structure of tables forming a dark enclosure. Paints were also tested through projectile experiments to see what would be the safest and dynamic projectile.
This charrette was an amazing introduction to the academic year. Excellent communication and collaboration enabled the group to produce a combination of outputs within a short space of time. On the day of celebration day of Charrette, the public and was queueing outside our studio, eagerly waiting to experience the installation. Once the dust settled, the tracking of the vehicles was beautifully captured on a canvas, amongst the chaos of the paint splodges and talcum powder creating a dynamic and violent composition.
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Illustrated Cultural Biography
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BAA INNOVATION
ILLUSTRATED CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY
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BAA Innovation 02/08/18 During summer 2018, I attended the BAA Innovation hosted by Willmott Dixon, an event which gathered local architectural designers and BIM enthusiasts to share their experiences in working with BIM in practice through a series of case study presentations as well as demonstrations of latest BIM enabling technology. This event raised potential topics later discussed in my academic dissertation.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY / REFERENCE
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY / REFERENCES
1- Own work taken from ARC3015 2- Own work taken from ARC3015 3- Own work taken from ARC3015 4- Own work taken from ARC3015 5- Own work taken from ARC3013 6- Own work taken from ARC3013 7- Own work taken from ARC3013 8- Image of St Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral: https://buffaloah.com/a/virtual/eng/lon/stpaul/ 9- Own work taken from ARC3001 (Group Case Study) 10- Own work taken from ARC3001 (Group Case Study) 11- Own work taken from ARC3015 12- Own work taken from ARC3013 13- Own work taken from ARC3013 14- Own work taken from ARC3013 15- Image of Le Petit Trianon: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit_Trianon> 16- Floor Plan of Le Petit Trianon: <https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/ vQIy0XvJyVtwIQ> 17- Image of Seagram Building Plaza: <https://nypost.com/2016/12/05/seagram-building-gets-influx-of-new-tenants/> 18- Own work taken from ARC3013 19- Image of BAA Innovation Event: <https://brumarchitecture.com/baa-innovation-technology-committee-launch/>
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