Portfolio / Tom Cooper-Cocks 11
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
House-Scapes
/ Form-Finding
/ Site Analysis
/ Process Work
/ Final Design
06.
07.
Urban Conditions
SAWSA
08.
09.
Project 1 / House-Scapes 01
The brief for this project was to create a social-housing scheme on one of two sites in Cardiff city centre. This development had to consist of 20 residential units and 2/3 of the site should be allocated for public use. It should also provide some commercial units.
Phase 1 // Form-Finding
02
Investigation into the geometry of a tortoise shell.
As part of our Digital Processes & Methods module, the first task was a formfinding excercise. This involved investigating a natural system and through parametric modelling determining any useful features which could be applied to architecture. As a group, we decided to investigate the tortoise shell, we were particularly interested in the form of the shell and the inherent excellent strength to weight ratio. Through modelling we determined that while the overall curvature and form of the shell was important, we found it difficult to apply to a realistic scenario. However. we also noticed the pattern of cells was always the same. This led us to further discover and investigate the Voronoi pattern which was the basis of the scheme/masterplan.
Application of the Voronoi pattern to the masterplan.
Phase 2 // Site Analysis
03
Site Analysis: green spaces
large scale buildings
sunlight
traffic noise
pedestrian route
Voronoi mapping of Cardiff city centre.
Inhabitants.
While the site analysis for this project involved the usual investigations: sunlight, wind, traffic routes, pedestrian routes, green spaces, etc. I felt it important apropriate to use Voronoi mapping. By mapping existing spaces over Cardiff, such as green areas, shops, houses etc, the Voronoi pattern is formed by lines indicating the halfway boundary between two points. From this I was able to tell where to position certain programmes, the commercial units for example, so they were furthest away from the other shops in Cardiff and would thus have the greatest ‘catchment area’.
Phase 3 // Process Work
04
A source of inspiration: Jewish Memorial, Peter Eisenman
The massing of this project was one of the key elements. Inspired by Peter Eisenman’s Jewish Memorial, the idea was for the public route to gradually sink into the site. The aim of this was not only seperation between the public and the residents but also to gradually isolate the surroundings. From my site analysis I found the surrounding environment to be a noisy, fast-paced, commercial space, my plan was to create the antithesis. The layout of the massing results in a non-direct route through the site, inducing a slower pace. By sinking down into the site, and along with the proposed greenery, the noise level would be reduced. The heights of the massing allows for a transition in scales, from a human scale to the large scale of the surrounding buildings.
Phase 4 // Final Design
05
Programmatic plan. (light blue - residential, green - commercial, yellow - parking, purple - theatre space, dark blue - vegetation ‘cells’)
My scheme featured three types of housing units, these catered for a small family, a couple and a single occupant. One of the key themes running through my project was trying to move away from the large, homogenous, commercial buildings surrounding the site to a smaller-scale setup, with individual houses as opposed to one large block. I wanted it to move towards the local, whether this was through material use or through promoting local arts in the ampitheatre space created in the massing or through local shops in the commercial units. I felt the material choice of the surrounding buildings to be poor, designed for economy in mind, these materials did not speak of Cardiff and were begining to weather badly. As weathering is an inevitability, the material pallette I proposed for my scheme aimed to work with this process and improve aesthetically. I also liked the idea of integrating vegetation into the scheme, which would erode the permanance of the architecture as it grew.
Wigglesworth.
“ The fact of weathering inheres all construction. No architect can avoid this fact; it was never escaped in the past, nor will it be in the present. Weathering reminds one that the surface of a building is ever-changing. While a potential nuisance, the transformation of a building’s surface can also be positive in that it can allow one to recognise the necessity of change, and to resist the desire to overcome fate.� - Mohsen Mostafavi and David Leatherbarrow, On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time
Project 2 / Urban Conditions 06
This project was located in the town of Barry. Our task was to analyse a 5mx5m plot of land, looking at it at a micro scale and determing any features that are individual to Barry. These features were people’s daily routines inscribed into the built environment and would hopefully provide us with an indication of the character of the town.
A source of inspiration: Earth Pieces, The Boyle Family
Site 1
Site 2
Site 1
Site 2
Plans of the sites which were printed at 1:1
Site 1
Site 2
Some of the images that made up a timelapse video of our sites. This was accompanied by a soundscape of the area.
Other Work / Sawsa 07
As part of SAWSA, a student run society at the WSA, I have been responsible for various graphic design projects, most importantly producing posters for the lecture series.
Tom Cooper-Cocks WSA / Y2 Oct-Dec 2011