RIBA PART 1 ARCHITECTURE
PORTFOLIO STEFANO TOWLI
FABRICA A BATH RUGBY STADIUM AND MAKERS WORKSHOPS Y4 BASIL SPENCE GROUP PROJECT | BATH, UK
LEVEL 2 - HOSPITALITY (SUITES) +41.14
LEVEL 2 - HOSPITALITY (BOXES & LOUNGE) +37.21
LEVEL 1 - COMMUNITY (MULTIPURPOSE HALL, ROOF GARDEN, CLUBHOUSE RESTAURANT) & OFFICE SUITE +30.08
LEVEL 0 - GA CONCOURSE +24.00
LEVEL -1 - BACK OF HOUSE +20.80
LEVEL -2 - OB TRUCK PARKING & LOADING +18.00
STACKED ISOMETRIC PLANS
FABRICA A BATH RUGBY STADIUM AND MAKERS WORKSHOP Y4 BASIL SPENCE GROUP PROJECT | BATH, UK
NARRATIVE From the birth of Bath as a Roman settlement, through its Georgian peak as a leisure town for the rich, to its current incarnation as a contemporary tourist city, the people who reside in Bath have become a largely forgotten community within the population. My team wished to address this by creating a stadium and developing workshop spaces that help to foster a sense of community and build a place for the people of Bath. Our scheme is a celebration of identities; both the Bath rugby stadium and the community workshops are proudly situated. The workshops sit united underneath a sheltered roof, creating opportunities for future development. The stadium and workshops are home to an amphitheatre, a green space connecting North Parade and our scheme, and a public space which acts as a place for workshop crafting.
DESIGN PROCESS Our project aims to provide workshops spaces for the community to use so that they may benefit from self-expression, social interaction and personal growth. These spaces will provide for all within the community of Bath, whether they have never picked up a tool before, or are professional craftsman. Through analysis there are few places in Bath that provide the necessary spaces, and they are located in away from the Centre.
THE PROGRAMME From an early stage, it was clear that the workshops should be a separate element from the stand, for the reason that it would allow both to be celebrated in their own right. The workshops are a symbol of the community of Bath, which is why it should not be portrayed as just an extension. If the workshops were part of the stand, it would always remain as an extension of the stand. The GA Concourse is open throughout the day, allowing supporters to use the space before and after the game. The Bath Rugby Shop, Museum and fan zones are located within the Concourse to keep supporters entertained. Food and beverages, as well as toilets are located close to the vomitories, so that at half time the queues are reduced. At either end the Concourse wraps around and connects to the East and West Stands, so that supporters can enter through the South Stand and travel within the Stadium to their necessary seating. These areas remain open throughout the year, and act as an extension to the West Concourse, which is a commercial hub that sells locally produced goods.
LANDSCAPING One of the biggest faults of the current site is the lack of space to pass through; whether it be the narrow River edge or stairs down to the associated sports spaces. Therefore we have decided to open up the extent of the linked road (North Parade) by creating an entire level access entrance to the site and giving space to the public realm inviting it into our site. Placing the workshops within the landscape encourages the development of varied spaces. Situating the workshops in the centre of the landscape frames the spaces around it, allowing different functions with separate landscapes.
NORTH PARADE
SCULPTURE PARK
AMPHITHEATRE PLAZA SCULPTURE PARK
WORKSHOP & PLAZA LEVEL
STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS TRANSLUCENT PV PANELS ETFE
The stadium stand has a concrete frame primary structure and the roof is made of a steel cantilever truss system. To incorporate the idea of craftsmanship of the workshop into the stadium, most of the elements are prefabricated to review the junction. Timber is proposed for secondary structural elements and finishes to further tie into the concept of making.
300X300 STEEL TRUSS MEMBERS, WITH VARYING ANGLES TO CREATE CURVATURE REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMN BOLTED TO ROOF TRUSS
The axial forces are resolved and the top and bottom chord is designed to carry minimal amount of amount as it is supporting the timber secondary members and the translucent PV panels. While the diagonal members are designed to carry no bending moments. The spacing between the secondary members are 1m and the forces are transferred directly to primary beams and to the columns. The steel truss is bolted to the concrete columns to transfer the moment to prevent rotation at the connection between the truss and middle column. The top chords resist tension and bottom chord resist compression.
TIMBER CROSS BRACING SYSTEM TO COUNTER LATERAL LOADING FROM THE WIND
FACADE CONSTRUCTION 300MM GLAZING FRAME SET IN FRONT OF CONCRETE COLUMN DOUBLE GLAZING PINS CONNECTING 300MM TIMBER VERTICAL LOUVRE TO STRUCTURAL STEEL FRAME
OUTDOOR TERRACE 24MM SUSPENDED TIMBER DECK DPC 200MM SLOPED CONCRETE 300MM CONCRETE SLAB CONNECTED WITH 8MM BOLTS TO FRAME STRUCTURE FRENCH DRAIN
FLOOR FLOOR)
CONSTRUCTION
(FIRST
ENERGY-GENERATING FLOOR DECK WITH18MM FLOOR TILES ON 100MM STEEL GRID 70MM CONCRETE SCREED WITH UNDERFLOOR HEATING 80MM ACOUSTIC INSULATION 300MM CONCRETE FLOOR SLAB 100MM RIGID INSULATION 24MM PLYWOOD 18MM PLASTER BOARD WITH WHITE FINISH DROPPED CEILING WITH 40MM ACOUSTIC BAFFLE AND 85MM SERVICE ZONE
NARRATIVE PLAN
THE BAT CAVE A BAT CARE & WILDLIFE VISITORS CENTRE Y4 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT | BATH, UK
Private Office
1F
Bat Cave
Main Office
Breakout Room Conference Room
Kitchen
Cafe Interior Main Exhibition Space
Exhibition Space 2
Exhibition Space 1
Research Room
GF
Isolated Bat Pens PPE Room Bat Pens
Antechamber
Medical Store
Small Flight Pen Laundry
First Aid Room
Plant
Female WC Male WC
STACK ISOMETRIC PROGRAMME
Reception GF
Main Store
THE BAT CAVE A BAT CARE & WILDLIFE VISITORS CENTRE Y4 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT | BATH, UK
NARRATIVE Bats are one of the most misunderstood, yet interesting animals in existence. The only mammal capable of sustained flight, they make up 20% of the mammal species on Earth, the second most before rodents. They are also the only mammal that naturally occupies human residencies, other animals require domestication to inhabit these spaces. For the many interested ecology groups, including Avon Bat Group, the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, I have designed a bat wildlife and care centre that has the capabilities to function on a regional level, giving these wildlife groups a building as a professional public face which can serve to better inform the public about bats, but also to provide spaces for these groups to coordinate efforts, and for Avon Bat Group to help with the treatment and rehabilitation of bats.
PROGRAMME For the building, I have broken down the main programme areas into several key areas: an exhibition to better inform the public, bat care spaces, offices to work and coordinate ecological efforts, additional public use (which includes the reception and cafe spaces) and other back of house elements. In addition to this, I have also designed a bat cave, which serves as a space the public can visit as part of the exhibition, but also for Avon Bat Group to use as a flight test space, and to help reintroduce bats to the outside world after treatment.
SITE SETTING Avoncliff sits at a convenient meeting point of railway, weir and aqueduct, located approximately 5 miles south east of Bath. The most useful of these links is the railway, which has trains running regularly between Bath, Bristol and Wiltshire. Looking at the site and the immediate context, they have ideal conditions to accommodate foraging for all bats, as there is a generous mix of both still and moving water, varying levels of woodland and lowlevel vegetation. Whilst the site is well suited as a foraging ground, bats generally prefer cave like conditions to hibernate in, which the site currently does not possess.
DESIGN PROCESS Initially, I wanted to make use of the site as part of my design, so I began drawing up isometric views that could capture the overall idea that I wanted to convey. Playing around with ideas to bury the building partially or entirely within the landscape, my initial sketches pushed the form over towards the west side of the site, so visitors did not have to travel a large distance towards the building. I was not able to overcome the significant level difference between the site boundary and the building’s edge in a clear manner, instead opting initially to have a snaking ramp up to the exteror, and then evolving the design to bury the entrance, allowing the visible building form to sit resolute.
STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS The interior form consists of 3 beam types: a 300 x 350mm reinforced concrete beam to support the larger exhibition and bat cave structures, a lattice of tapering concrete beams for the main exhibition space, and 200 x 350mm reinforced concrete beams for the reception, bat care and office spaces. The main exhibition structure is the most opposed to the regular concrete frame present throughout the rest of the building. The structural scheme consists of a crossing grid of steel reinforcing bars, with the concrete ceiling poured into framework to dictate its final shape.
CROSSING 50MM SCREED CONCRETE FINISHING LAYER STRUCTURE 150MM STEEL RIGID INSU CUT TO DECK ROOFING FALLS, MIN. 50MM WITH CONCRETE W/ DPM INFILL
THE JOURNEY As you make your way toward the building, the landscape opens up below, tunnelling into the ground underneath the building, As you begin to enter, the world of Avoncliff is left behind, the darkness of the cave consuming your vision. You continue to make your way into the tunnel, unsure of what you will reach at the end. The cave begins to brighten, turning a corner to display a lift core and spiral, embedded into the cave with steel beams that punch into the rock face. You terminate vertically at the reception, where an additional precarious stairwell guides you upwards towards the main exhibition. Entering the main exhibition, here you are confronted by darkness still, yet you are given your first contact with the outside world, through windows on the far side. They are large enough to paint a picture of the architecture’s connection to the outside tree canopy, yet small and enclosed enough to only grant a small amount of light inside, the spill of light illuminating only nearby surface textures, the light becoming consumed by the darkness as it reaches you. Entering this final room, you are brought into a space barely large enough to contain a person, completely contained in darkness, the far door only barely perceptible. Reaching for this door and pulling it open, you are first struck by a cacophonous wave of noise, the room filled with a loud and constant screeching. Finally, as your eyes refocus to the comparatively blinding light from the sky, you are brought in front of hundreds of bats flitting and circling the space, their assumed mass close, but never quite hitting you as the hurricane of bats orbits above.
PRESENTATION For my final presentation, I wished for it to reflect the focus on light and dark I had tried to capture in my work. I decided on a more experimental presentation format, making use of a blackout curtain and projectors to cast light on the work pinned on the wall. I was relatively pleased with the setup, as I had tested it out a couple of weeks prior, however, it did require a great deal of planning to create and to sync my verbal presentation with what was happening on the wall.
INTERIOR SITE PHOTO
44 CHOLMELEY CRESCENT REAR EXTENSION, COVERING RIBA STAGES 4 - 5 YABSLEY STEVENS ARCHITECTS PROJECT | LONDON, UK
CLIENT & SCOPE OF WORKS The client is a family of 5, consisting of a mother and father, and 3 children, ranging from high school to undergraduate age. The initial brief consisted of a renovation of the kitchen space at the rear of the property, which included removing shelving space that separated the kitchen and dining areas, so the family could better host guests. The eventual scope of work expanded into extending the rear of the property an additional 2 metres, and alterations done to the cloakroom, laundry room and entrance hall. The programme also included the insertion of steelwork to support the above floors, as there was a large portion of structural brickwork removed from the rear elevation. The rear extention was partially clad in shousugi-ban timber, with a triple sliding door to grant a significant view to the rear garden.
THE PROGRAMME & ADDITIONAL TASKS I joined Yabsley Stevens Architects at the end of Stage 2 of this project, when the initial concept and general scope of works were desided upon. My initial tasks were then, with the practice director, to formalise the concept, facade, and structural concerns. The director made the early decision that I would act in a similar role as project director, with the practice director stepping in on occasion to give advice and direction on what upcoming tasks were. This involved holding numerous meetings with the client, contractors and product staff, on occasion acting as the sole representative of YSA. The guidance I was given aided me on altering the designs I was given from stage 2, which consisted of regular design revisions and slight structural changes when more information about the structure came to light. As the project then began on site, regular consultation with fireplace and kitchen fitters took place, to best work the product restrictions around our design. Site visits were then made weekly, to keep up with on site progress and to quickly resolve any issues that the builders had.
FRONT ELEVATION DRAWING
50 LANCHESTER ROAD NEW BUILD, COVERING RIBA STAGE 4 YABSLEY STEVENS ARCHITECTS PROJECT | LONDON, UK
TASKS During my employment at YSA, I also provided assistance on a new build project designed for an aging married couple. Concerns for their mobility issues were taken into account when designing the house, including the eventual install of a lift, designed beyond the scope of our works. My tasks for 50 Lanchester Road were varied, and included designing master and guest bathrooms for the project, drawing and annotating both exterior and interior elevations across the entire property. I also undertook photoshopping several visualisations to show to the client in meetings, and asisting in preparing and executing all drawings for tender issue.
ADDITIONAL WORK
ADDITIONAL WORK During my time in education and beyond, I also took part in additional design work, some of which was used in the promotional material, poster inserts and cover of Paperspace, the university’s student run architecture magazine.. The official yearbook of the university was also another project I had a leading hand in, creating a cover that represented the breadth work created during the year. Alongside this, I have also carried out my own design work in Stefano Towli Design, performing logo and graphic design for clients.
CONTACT 7 Medway Close Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 3UH
stefanotowli@outlook.com stefano_towli_design linkedin.com/in/stefano-towli
07789 768 792