Unit H City Land Process III Continuity and Tolerance

Keita Tajima, Charlotte Harris

This year Unit H focused on the notion of “Continuity and Tolerance” in architecture.

The unit is interested in how materials of the land and city can be re-thought and formed to express a specific spatial sensibility and experience, enriching our architectural approach to the city and design of spaces whilst revealing the intricacies of placememory. By considering a decarbonization of the city as one of the urgent global issues, we will investigate the city and its building stocks from very micro scale by evaluating their material performance and construction, spatial quality and architectural merit, and unravel their further potentials by re-composing with new architectural elements. We will make an archive of experimental materials and speculative architectural fragments from that can be tested and developed in relation to the specific site context and available resources.

SITE: Limehouse

We based our site study along the Limehouse Cut, the first navigable canal in London, opened in 1770 in order to connect the River Thames and the Lee navigation for boat traffic, transporting raw materials to a place of manufacture or finished goods to consumers. Since the second half of 20th century, the use of canal as trading route has declined, subsequently the buildings along the canal have lost their relationship to the water, a half of its stretch has been replaced by new residential blocks with little to no interaction with the canal and minimal public accesses. Students have formulated their architectural potential and questions based on the value and the obsolescence of this exindustrial urban landscape, and to develop an urban strategy to create local network of publicly accessible shared resources or “urban commons”.

Students:

Y3: Kacper Jajuga , Christos Karamanos, Ainsley Moffat, Ali

Mohammed, Mohammed Abdul Mubin, Kathlyn Pagador, Mahbubur Rahman Tahmid, John Paul Nasayao, Simran Maria Pires, Filip Szypula, Roland Vata,

Y2: Ashia David, Mohamed Lamine Dif , Guilherme Bressaneli, Adrian Grant , Kiranjit Kaur , Milesa Khan , Adrienne Mercedes Raleigh , Maria Isabel Salazar, Tobias Scriven, Sonia Elena Stefanescu, Arlinda Zenelaj

Special thanks to:

Visiting Critics: Pierre D’Avoine, Alfred Hatch, Amor Guiterrez, Adam Cheltsov, Andrew Houlton (, Ingrid Petit (Feiden Fowles), Nikolay Shapazov , Colin O’Sullivan, Hanna Tweg, Christopher Thorn, Mo Woonyn Wong (MOCT Studio)

Contributors:

Vincent Cullane (Hone Studio), Jim Matthews (H.G Matthews) Studio

2 London Metropolitan University, UEL workshop: David Morgan, Daryl Brown, Mark Sowdon,

1 Loose-ness and tight-ness, spatial exploration through perspective sketch by Adrienne Mercedes Raleigh 2 Location map in relation to available public space around Limehouse cut by Adrienne Mercedes Raleigh 3 View of Limehouse Cut from the towpath, Kathlyn Pagador, 4 Hone Studio courtyard photographed by Adrienne Mercedes Raleigh 5 Spatial sequence through Limehouse Cut, Kathlyn Pagador. 6 Hone studio spatial mapping by Arlinda Zenelaj 7 Detail sketch of existing brick wall to explore the history and textural quality around the site by Arlinda Zenelaj 8 Physical model exploring spatial intervention and material (hempcrete) application to Hone Studio by Arlinda Zenelaj.

9 Field trip to H/G Matthews 10 Material experimentation workshop. Group work, photographed by Kathlyn Pagador 11 Experimenting with charred timber by Kathlyn Pagador 12 Internal view of gathering space extension to Hone Studio by Roland Vata 13 Walled garden extension to Hone studio by Simran Maria Pires 14 Exploring the application of sacrificial mould with earth filling by Ainsley Moffat 15,16 Exploring idea of connectiondisconnection by Christos Karamanos 17 Sketch model exploring a removal strategy and additional structure to Hone Studio by Adrienne Mercedes Raleigh 18 Extraction and new insertion into existing wall of Hone revealing the historical layer found in existing wall by Guilherme Bressaneli 19 Exploring idea of flat-pack structure by Filip Szypula 20 Initial sketch exploring proposal for walled garden and natural dye workshop by Simran Maria Pires

21 Physical model exploring the structural relationship between existing concrete portal frame and new timber frame structure to Hone Studio by Adrienne Mercedes Raleigh 22 Sketch model to explore the spatial quality after removal of existing floor and wall at Hone Studio by Guilherme Bressaneli 23 Detail section showing the relationship between new structure and existing portal frame to Hone Studio by Guilherme Bressaneli 24 Exploded axonometric demonstrating the proposed permanent arch space by using Catalan vault structure and lightweight adaptable timber frame structure by Kathlyn Pagador 25 The model of public hall as a part of adaptable shed structures by John Paul Nasayao 26,27 The photomontage and the physical model shows the proposed yard space between proposed jewellery maker workshop, gallery and by Mohammed Abdul Mubin 28 Proposed ground floor plan for the urban plaza with three proposed buildings on the site to improve the public access to the canal while proving affordable studio space for makers and artists.by Mahbubur Rahman Tahmid 29 Longitudinal section through the proposed adaptable shed structures that provide shared workspace, public hall and live/work spaces by John Paul Nasayao

30 Section cutting through the towpath, proposed studios for makers and shared courtyard by Kathlyn Pagador 31 View to proposed urban plaza which mediates space between two proposed studio/workshop spaces as well as topography. Print by Mahbubur Rahman Tahmid 32 Proposed elevation in relation to existing urban landscape by Ainsley Moffat 33 View to the proposed walled garden and natural dye workshop by Simran Maria Pires 34 Internal view of proposed long room by Guilherme Bressaneli 35 View from the proposed arch space for wood workshop into new shared courtyard for makers.