Will Pope_Y4 | Unit 14 | Bartlett School of Architecture

All work produced by Unit 14

Cover design by Charlie Harris

www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture

Copyright 2021

The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

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THE WALLED GARDEN

CISSBURY VINEYARDS

Cissburt, England UK

Cissbury Vineyards is a winery situated amongst south downs of West Sussex in the Southeast of England. I grew up in the area and know the site well.

The basis of the projects rests on the increasing temperatures caused by climate change and how people will adapt to it. In the last two decades some agricultural entrepreneurs in this area of England have seen the change in climate as on opportunity to grow new crops, especially wine.

Winemaking is not new to Sussex and the project seeks to revive it in a modern yet sensitive way that engages with the community and the local natural surroundings. The architecture is made of materials sourced close by and will echo the vernacular agricultural architecture of West Sussex and England as a whole, this will however be done with modern building materials and design techniques.

As a social concept the winery seeks to become a walled a garden, a place of gathering and of shelter and this is reflected in the architecture of the courtyard typology.

The meta narrative of the project is such; In a time when so much of man has caused harm and damage to the world, a small few saw this as an opportunity to gather and drink wine in the sun.

Section 1: Site and Brief

Context & Location West Sussex Wine Climate Change Research Visits

Section 2: Fragments and Exploration

Fragment Studies Language Refinement

Section 3: Design Development

Wine Making Process Scale and Definition Massing and Concept Structure and Materials

Section 4: Renders

Views, Axos, Sections

Section 5: Drawings Site Plan Floor Plans

Section 6: Appendix

Secti Site an

Brief

Site Context

West Sussex

Hampshire

Surrey

West Sussex is a historic county located in the South East of England, known for its picturesque landscapes, rich history, and charming towns. Bordered by Hampshire to the west, Surrey to the north, and East Sussex to the east, West Sussex boasts a diverse mix of coastal areas, countryside, and urban centres.

Chichester serves as the county town and is renowned for its impressive cathedral, which dates back to the 11th century. The city is also home to the Festival Theatre, a prominent venue for the performing arts. Arundel, another notable town, features a medieval castle and a Gothic cathedral, offering a glimpse into the county’s architectural heritage.

The coastline of West Sussex stretches along the English Channel, providing residents and visitors with access to beautiful beaches and seaside attractions. The seaside town of Worthing is particularly popular, offering a classic British seaside experience with its pier, parks, and vibrant cultural scene.

The South Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covers a significant portion of West Sussex. This rolling chalk downland is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts, offering hiking, cycling, and horseback riding opportunities along scenic trails.

Agriculture has played a crucial role in West Sussex’s economy, with the county known for its farming activities. Additionally, towns like Crawley have developed as economic hubs, especially due to their proximity to Gatwick Airport, one of the busiest airports in the UK.

West Sussex has a mix of traditional and modern elements, making it an attractive place to live and visit. Its combination of natural beauty, historical landmarks, and economic vitality contributes to its appeal as a well-rounded English county.

Chichester

Bognor Regis

Crawley

Horsham

Site Location

Cissbury Ring

Cissbury Ring is a Late Iron Age hill fort north of Worthing. It was built around 400 BC and has a max elevation of 185m. The top of the hill within the rampart ring was first used as a living area within the fortress including burial grounds to the East. The surrounding area was once wild woodland yet over the last 2000 has become farmland and now golf-course, within the last 500 years parts of the south face has come to be known as Vineyard Hill.

With the increased temperature due to climate change and modern viticultural heritage of the region, Cissbury ring is the perfect place to build a new Vineyard and Winery. It will be a social nexus, cause of economic growth and a socio-agricultural catalyst for the region.

Cissbury Ring

Golf course

Old Barn

Proposed Vineyard

Vineyard Hill

Site Information

Topography and Geology

Site and context topography

The sites topology makes a protected and nested bowl in the surrounding landscape with a south-south-western orientation and unobstructed views of the sea.

Site and context geology

Newhaven Chalk Formation

Clay & Flints

Diamicton

Artifitial Infill

Seaford Chalk

Tarrant Chalk

The geological make up of the site is perfect for growing sparkling wine. The high levels of chalk and flint make for more acidic grapes used in the fermentation of sparkling wine.

Site Condition

Winery Site

The Old Barns

The bowl where the winery will go is in the centre of the proposed vineyard and currently occupied by two disused barns. They are beyond repair and will not be used in the my design proposal.

Barns from north east

Barns from south east

Barns from north west

West Sussex Wine

The story so far

The history of wine fermentation in West Sussex traces back to ancient times, with evidence suggesting viticulture and winemaking practices dating back to the Roman era. Production continued to the early middle ages until the climate cooled too much for grapes to be reliably grown. With the increasing temperatures from global warming viticulture is seeing a revival in much of England. The time-line below illustrates it.

Around this time hill forts like Cissbury ring were built and used as fortifications and later for agriculture

1100 AD

Battle Abbey stops producing its own wine for communion

Pre-modern wine production reaches peak during medieval warm period. 39 Vineyards recorded in Doomsday book.

300 AD

Romans increase wine production during warm eponymous ‘warm period.’

100+ BC

Late Iron Age tribes such as the Belgae and Regni produce wine in small amounts

1250 AD

Black death and end of Medieval warm period effects workforce and production. Import of French wine becomes more common

1300 - 1971 AD

No commercial wine prod tion in England for more th 600 years

1972 AD

Parts of the UK including Sussex, Kent and Hampshire become hot enough for Vineyards due to climate change

1974 AD

Bolney Wine Estate established, first modern Commercial Vineyard

2017 AD

French wine family Taittinger plant vines in Kent, the first major foreign grower of Wine in England

1990 AD

Now successful brands such as Chapeldown and Ridgeview are established

1988 AD

Nyetimber Vineyard plant traditional Champagne grapes, the sparkling wine produced wins IWSC Gold Medal

1984 AD

Carr Taylor Estate produces first English Sparkling Wines, starting a new growing trend

Environmental Context

Climate change now and in the future

Mean Average Temp. 1961 - 1990

As temperatures have increased due to climate change the South East of England has quickly become one of the hottest places of the UK. West Sussex in particular is now regularly registering record temperatures.

Met Office records all show how the UK has become much hotter over the last half century. In the next 50 years, even allowing for upper and lower mean variation, the UK will have the climate currently found in the Iberian Peninsula. For the purposes of this project I will use the central mean as the best climate prediction for the UK.

Average Temp. 1991 - 2020

Max. Temp. 2023

All major vineyards in England are located in the south where the temperatures are the hottest and the increase will be the greatest.

Central Mean Increase 2070

Lowest Mean Increase 2070

Highest Mean Increase 2070

Research Visit 1: Wiston Estate Winery

Agricultural roadside refit

On a short visit to the public facing area of the Wiston wine estate I got to look at how many pre existing agricultural buildings can be re-purposed to become a winery.

The overall architecture of the winery area is still very industrial and ad hoc where the restaurant and shop are more pleasant. The structural expressions of the traditional architecture helped maintain an atmosphere of agricultural production while also being welcoming.

Summary:

+Good public facing areas

+Traditional architecture feels familiar

+Refit and re-use

-Industrial un-beautiful winery

-Roadside location

-Off the shelf architecture, could be anything

SW Aerial View

Barn restaurant Shop

Main Hall

Yard

Research Visit 2: Ridgeview Winery

Rural Warehouse Winery

Ridgeview is a more recent and purpose built winery in the East Sussex yet the architecture is still industrial and un appealing. In the back of house it was evident how much of the scale of the architecture was defined by the large pieces of equipment such as the vats and corking machines.

Summary:

+Good public facing areas

+Outdoor restaurant integrates with nature

+High production output

-Industrial un-beautiful winery

-Warehousey feeling

-Opaque, no windows

Main Hall Shop and Tasting room

Restaurant

Cellar and storage

SW Aerial View

Wine vats

Cokring machine

Vineyard

Research Visit 3: Plumpton College

Rural Warehouse Winery

The only place in the country where people can receive degrees in oenology and viticulture is Plumpton, a local agricultural sixth form college.

The syllabus is a very technical and requires not just normal classrooms but labs and libraries; the building containing these is a strange and ill fitted building with little architectural merit

Summary:

-Bad builing, crammed with other non viticultural programmes programmes

Bognor

Plumpton College

Plumpton location

Plumpton winery centre

Slides from the vine growing course

Secti

Fragments an

on 2:

nd Exploration

Structural Fragment - Elstow Moothall

Half Timbering - English Vernacular Architecture

The main structural precedent of the Cissbury Vineyards Winery is the traditional post and beam architecture of rural England known as Half Timbering. Much of the local historical architecture is made in this manor including many farm buildings, befitting the agricultural nature of the project.

Half timbering consists of a wooden frame with brick infill, all openings such as windows and doors are integrated into the dimensions of the frame. A prime example of half-timbering is the Moothouse in Elstow, Essex.

Floor Juncture Exploded

Gable Structure

Arched Braces

Timber Joists

Brick Infill

Timber Jetting

Cross Bracing

Stone Floor

Floor Juncture Axo

Timber Rafters

Interior Joists

First Floor Boards

Ground Floor Boards

Brick Infill

Half Timber Building Frame

Interior Walls

Structural Fragment - Battle Abbey

Buttressing - English Monastic Architecture

The last place in the UK where wine was produced before the middle ages was Battle Abbey. The dormitory building where the monks would live drink and socialise is a large stone buttressed building with a large open central space, wide spanning roof (now gone) and small openings between the buttresses.

Due to the limitations of building technology at the time glass pains could only be so big, restricting the size of the windows.

Fragment NW Axo

Fragment Elevation

Buttress Caps Windows

Buttress Border Stones

Buttress Bonding Stones

Buttress Fill

Hybrid Fragment Experiments

Architectural Language Synthesis

Fragment 1 Axo

Fragment 2 Axo

Fragment 1 Section

Fragment 2 Section

Fragment 1 Elevation

Fragment

In combining the heaviness of the stone architecture of battle abbey and the lightness of the post and beam architecture of the elstow moothouse I created these fragments that varied in scale and dimension.

In fragment 3 I specifically explored transparency and material palette and how a structure can graduate from heavy to light over a gradient.

The restricted material palette and traditional geometry are successful, the resultant architecture is however extremely archaic and pastiche.

Fragment 3 Axo

Fragment 3 Elevation

Fragment 3 Section

Language Refinement

Fragment architecture abstraction and reduction

Rough sandstone buttress with slanted imposts

Buttresses

Small windows do not communicate with structure.

Windows

Openings react to structural geometry

Roofs

Traditional peaked roof with braces inside

Flatter roof and expressed braces

Minimal buttress of sandstone blocks

Synthesis 1 Elevation

Synthesis 1 View

Synthesis 3 View

Language Amalgamation

In the design of the this less abstract composition the new and contemporary ‘hybrid language’ based on the moot hall and abbey proved able to adapt to different scales, dimensions and transparencies.

Amalgamation Ground View

Amalgamation Facade

Amalgamation Axo - No Roof

Amalgamation Ground Level

Amalgamation Axo - Shaded

Secti Design Dev

Sparkling Wine : The Process

From grapes to glass

Harvesting

Grapes are cut off the vine by hand to ensure no part of the vine is torn or damaged. This normally happens mid september with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes.

Pressing

The grapes are pressed gently so the skin breaks and releases juice while keeping the seeds in tact, preserving the flavour of the grape

Aging

Riddling

Still in the cellar, the bottles are placed at a 35 degree angle and turned up to 25 weeks over 4-6 weeks so the lees collects at the head of the bottle

Disgorgement

The second fermentation takes a minimum of 15 weeks up to a couple of years in a climate controlled cellar.

Through complex machine process the head of the wine bottle is frozen so the lees turn into a solid plug, the temporary cork is the removed and the lees plug is fired out. The bottle is rotated and re-corked, minimal wine is lost in the process.

1st Fermentation

The grape juice is first fermented with yeast in oak barrels to bring the dry wine or cuvee up to 10.5% alc. content.

Blending

The different dry wines are blended to create balanced and harmonious flavours. Each harvest from each year will have its own flavour making it a vintage sparkling wine.

2nd Fermentation

The vintages are then bottled for their second fermentation with sugar and more yeast.

Readjustment

The bottle is placed back into the cellar after the recorking so the wine can re-stabilise after the photo/thermal shock of disgorgement and recorking.

Finishing

Once the wine has stabilised it can be labeled and packaged for shipping and selling.

Winery Size Comparison

Scale of existing wineries and vineyards

GFA: 150m2

Bottles/year: 12,000

GFA: 4,100m2

Bottles/year: 50,000

GFA: 6,000m2

Bottles/year: 200,000

GFA: 7,000m2

Bottles/year: 250,000

GFA: 11,000m2

Bottles: 340,000

GFA: 11,750m2

Bottles/year: 400,000

Dominus Winery Herzog and de Meuron

Petra Winery Mario Botta

La Rocca RPBW

Chai Viticole Bekaa Perraudin

Le Dome Foster + Partners

Bodegas Julian Chivite Rafael Moneo

Winery Size Calculation

Deriving Winery size from Vineyard scale

GFA - m2

2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 0 10,000 12,000

Le Dome

12,000 btl/yr 50,000 btl/yr

GFA: 5,750m2 151,709 btl/yr

11,000 Vines per Hectare = 1.1 vines/m2

Cissbury Vineyards Size: 20.6876ha = 206,876m2

206,876 x 1.1 = 227,563m2

Grapes per bottle: 1.2kg

btl/yr

Bottles produced per year

Grapes per vine: 1.8kg

1.8/1.2 = 1.5kg Bottles per vine

227,563 / 1.5 = 151,709 bottles per year

Area:

GFA: 5,750m2

btl/yr

200,000 btl/yr400,000 btl/yr

ChiviteLa Rocca

Winery: Process and Spaces

The beginning of the concept

These early parts of the wine process centre on the liquid cuvée, the natural gradient of the site can be exploited to form a process known as ‘gravity wine making’. For this each space will need to be arranged down the slope of the hill so the wine may flow.

Wine cellars need to have consistent environments and large amounts of storage space while also containing equipment for movement and disgorgement and re-adjustment of bottles. This space needs to either subterranean or insulated by the rest of the building mass.

The public face of the winery where the bottles are shipped, bought or tasted on site will require the most natural daylight and social space.

As a social nexus the winery will be arranged around a garden, a social space filled with local flora and fauna.

Where the winery and restaurant are the dynamic manifestations of the wine process from grape to glass, the school is a static and solid bank of viticultural knowledge where the new age of English wine will be cultivated.

Winery: Equipment

Process requirements

Sorting Table

H: 930mm

W: 3530mm

D: 950mm

Mascerator

H: 2410mm

W: 1460mm

D: 3080mm

Drum Press

H: 2560mm

W: 1960mm

D: 5350mm

Holding Table

H: 1130mm

W: 2030mm

D: 1130mm

Wheeled Vats

H: 980mm

W: 810mm

D: 1770mm

Stacking Trays

H: 400mm

W: 1000mm

D: 1200mm

1000l

H: 1280mm

W: 1240mm

D: 1240mm

2000l

H: 2970mm

W: 1040mm

D: 1040mm

5100l

H: 3810mm

W: 1440mm

D: 1550mm

25000l

H: 5050mm

W: 4040mm

D: 4040mm

Corking Machine

H: 1990mm

W: 5920mm

D: 4060mm

Bottle Cage

H: 1100mm

W: 1100mm

D: 1000mm

Destemer

H: 3230mm

W: 2840mm

D: 2710mm

Mobile Conveyor

H: 2910mm

W: 3530mm

D: 880m

Forklift

H: 2250mm

W: 3420mm

DL: 1300mm

225l Barrel

H: 730mm

W: 730mm

D: 940mm

10000l

H: 3700mm

W: 2040mm

D: 2040mm

20000l

H: 5050mm

W: 3790mm

D: 3790mm

Riddling Machine

H: 4330mm

W: 5290mm

D: 4330mm

Remouage Machine

H: 4320mm

W: 8570mm

D: 5360mm

Winery: Definition of Spaces

Winery: Area Schedule

Winery 5750m2

Cissbury V 730

Restaurant College

Massing Experiments

Forming the building on site

Wrapped Winery

Cuboid Cloud

Two Arms Out

Facing Masses

One Arm Out

Walled Garden

Massing Concept

The Walled Garden of Earthly Delights

1. The basis of the concept lies in the combination of social space and a natural space...

2. ...which is a garden.

3. The garden must be protected from the elements by a wall. The space is now protected, private, and exclusive.

4. It is in the wall that the functions of programme will live, making the mass of the building alive and architectural.

7. ... by all having direct site and access to it. Visitors, students, oenologists and other staff will meet in the garden.

5. Some of the large interior functions will be expressed in the facade and plan, the wall is now truly a building.

8. As a continuous building envelope the identity of the winery as a holistic entity will be preserved.

6. The different zone of the building have their own entrances and exits, yet unified in their relationship to the garden...

9. Yet people of all walks of like, drinker or not shall walk through its doors to play in the garden of earthly delights.

Massing Genesis

From concept to construct

4. The winery wraps around the massing of the cellar and runs along the western edge of the garden. Its vertical layout allows for gravity wine-making.

2. The site is terraced to make way for piling and foundations, all displaced earth mass is used to make the wine garden

5. The school fits on top of the cellar and to the east garden to fully protect the garden on its flanks.

scheme

3. The cellar is placed behind the garden, due to the terracing it sits deep in the landscape

6. The restaurant and tasting room complete the enclosure of the building make the forward facade of the winery.

8. Floor plates and routes of access for the different programmatic functions in one unified structure.

1. Blank Site, the bowl of the topography is slightly off south at bearing of 202.15o

7. The mass of the completed

makes the ‘walls’ of the walled garden

9. Overhanging roofs for shading and planting in the garden fully create the walled garden winery.

Massing Layout

Arrangement of Functions

Roof Plan

General Structural Reasoning

Transition to

Post and Beam Frame

Almost all roof plates will be opaque and the openings will gradually emerge from the solid stone facade. Where these openings are is defined by the interior programme.

The pressing hall and classrooms are very open, the cellar and storage areas are protected and enclosed by load bearing walls.

Continuous Load Bearing Wall

Pressing hall will be large well litClassroom and labs will get lots of natural day light

Library and canteen will be the most transparent area

Opening into warehouse space

Restaurant facade will be quite varied due articulate different spaces ‘Transparent’ Light Structure

‘Opaque’ Heavy Structure

Overall Material Palette

Sandstone is only used for load bearing columns and walls.

Concrete is only used for floor plates and roof panels.

Timber and Limestone are only used for non structural interior walls and furnishings.

Load Bearing Walls

View

Spaced Out Sandstone Columns

Material Sourcing

The basis of the material selection lies in proximity and simplicity. All vernacular architecture in Sussex is made with local materials specifically timber and stone ,Cissbury Vineyards will continue this tradition by only using materials sourced within a 50km radius of the site.

The map below shows the geological make up of West Sussex, illustrating the abundance of Limestone and Sandstone and Chalk.

Limestone and Sand

Mudstone

Clay-Ironstone

Sandstone (hard)

Inter-bedded Sand and Siltstone

Calcareous Sandstone

Siltstone

Sand and Mudstone

LimestoneSandstone (soft)

GravelSilicate Claystone

Chalk

Calcareous Siltstone

Sandstone

Quarry

Concrete Plant

Gravel Pit

Timber Mill

Limestone

Quarry

Chalk Pit

Secti

Axos, Render

Exterior from SW

Pressing hall

Fresh grapes in

Cuvee cellar1st fermentation

Blending lab

Blending vats

Bottling +

Winery Arrangement

School Section

Garden Section

Overlooking the Downs

From Cellar to Garden

Cellar Facade

Canteen Exterior

Canteen Interior

Library Interior

Restaurant Approach

Draw

Roof Plan 1:500

Top F Floor Plan 1:500 0

Third Floor Plan 1:500 Flooor Plan 1:5000

Second Floor Plan 1:500 P

First Floor Plan 1:500 F Floor Plan 1:500

Secti Appe

Neues Fragment

Variations on combinations

Bowstring - Pillar Detail

Bowstring - Pillar Detail Exploded

Fragment Synthesis

Variations on combinations

Architecture of Landscape

Ideas on topography

Massing on Topography

A taxonomy of surface manipulations

A Dictionary of modulations

A taxonomy of surface manipulations

Crease

Bulge

Puncture

Condition Amalgamation

Architecture generated by predefined forms

Early Ideas

Drawing Studies

Initial Massings

Early Volumetric Experimentation

Initial Massings

Early Volumetric Experimentation

Extended Experiments

Continued Volumetric Experimentation

Preliminary Fragments

Building Experiments

Preliminary Fragments

Building Experiments

All work produced by Unit 14 Unit book design by Charlie Harriswww.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture

Copyright 2021 The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmited in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retreival system without permission in writing from the publisher.

CRAFTED HORIZONS 2024

At the center of Unit 14’s academic exploration lies Buckminster Fuller’s ideal of the ‘The Comprehensive Designer’, a master-builder that follows Renaissance principles and a holistic approach. Fuller referred to this ideal of the designer as somebody who is capable of comprehending the ‘integrateable significance’ of specialised findings and is able to realise and coordinate the commonwealth potentials of these discoveries while not disappearing into a career of expertise. Like Fuller, we are opportunists in search of new ideas and their benefits via architectural synthesis. As such Unit 14 is a test bed for exploration and innovation, examining the role of the architect in an environment of continuous change. We are in search of the new, leveraging technologies, workflows and modes of production seen in disciplines outside our own. We test ideas systematically by means of digital as well as physical drawings, models and prototypes. Our work evolves around technological speculation with a research-driven core, generating momentum through astute synthesis. Our propositions are ultimately made through the design of buildings and through the in-depth consideration of structural formation and tectonic. This, coupled with a strong research ethos, will generate new and unprecedented, one day viable and spectacular proposals. They will be beautiful because of their intelligence - extraordinary findings and the artful integration of those into architecture.

The focus of this year’s work evolves around the notion of ‘Crafted Horizons’. The term aims to highlight the architect’s fundamental agency and core competency of the profession to anticipate the future as the result of the highest degree of synthesis of the observed underlying principles. Constructional logic, spatial innovation, typological organisation, environmental and structural performance are all negotiated in a highly iterative process driven by intense architectural investigation. Through the deep understanding of constructional principles, we will generate highly developed architectural systems of unencountered intensity where spatial organisation arises as a result of sets of mutual interactions. Observation as well as re-examination of past and contemporary civilisatory developments will enable us to project near future scenarios and position ourselves as avant-garde in the process of designing a comprehensive vision for the forthcoming. The projects will take shape as research based, imaginative architectural visions driven by speculation.

Thanks to: ALA, Boele Architects, Daab Design, DaeWha Kang Design DKFS, Heatherwick, Knippershelbig, NK3, RSHP, Seth Stein Architects, ZHA, Expedition Engineering.