ARCHITECTURAL PORTFOLIO
UNDERGRADUATE WORK MEng University of Nottingham Allies and Morrison
WES J C STONE
Historic Crafts School
3rd Year Undergraduate Project
Project Kagiso
2nd Year Competition Project
Edinburgh Community Arts Centre 4th Year Undergraduate Thesis Project
Allies and Morrison Projects
Part I Placement Projects
Historic Crafts School T his project looked at tackling the encroaching gentrification in Hull. Over four site visits I witnessed the beautiful and historic Clarence flour mill, demolished because there were not enough skilled crafts people to restore the building. T he mill was located opposite the gap site that I had chosen as my site. T he slow demolition of the mill took five months to complete and inspired me to research into why Hull in particular had such a high demolition rate compared to other cities in England. Hull had been named 'City of Culture' for twenty seventeen which meant there was an influx of money to rebuild and rejuvenate the city. It was predicted at the time that an additional 60 million pounds would be generated for the council after twenty seventeen to invest in the city. T he issue however was that instead of protecting and restoring the historic and cultural buildings, the council has taken the decision to remove them and build new office and residential blocks to 'kick start industry' in the town centre. As a response, I designed the Historic Crafts (HC) school which provided an alternative to a conventional sixth form college, where students (1618 years old) are taught traditional building crafts alongside business skills to help kick start independent small scale building craft companies in Hull. T he craft courses available at the school are: carpentry, ironmongery and masonry. T hese three crafts have historic links to Hull and will become vital industries in the coming years if Hull decides not to turn its back on its history and instead looks towards restoration rather than demolition.
Top Left: Crafts process illustrations from craftspeople visit Bottom Left: Masters' tools for briefing document Right: Site collage
Carpentry Process
Ironmongery Process
Stone Masonry Process
After I had settled on a brief, I wanted to gain some first-hand experience of the processes and environments people in the crafts industry worked. I set up meetings with three 'clients' a master carpenter, blacksmith and stone mason who later gave me continued critique on the development of the school and usability of the spaces. I also spent a day with each master craftsman to learn about how they worked and to attempt to make something with each of them. I took photographs, measurements and sketches of their workshops. With the input from the three clients, the school featured four 'pods', each containing one of the three historic crafts and one with a student hub. T he design development included meetings with the clients and a final design crit to analyse the success of the building within the context of the site. Whilst researching the working environments of the craftspeople, I found that they all worked in sheds that had been retroactively fitted with machinery. I developed the pod concept to give enough space for each of their key machines and space for them to expand into. High level light was important to all of the craftspeople as this provided diffuse light across the whole workspace. To achieve this I designed the pods to feature double height spaces with high level perforations to the building skin. I also worked on using robust and industrial materials both internally and externally to bed the building into the industrial site and to respect the heavy work that would take place within.
Left: Pod design, sectional development Right: Courtyard perspective
Carpentry pod Development
Ironmongery pod Development
Stone Masonry pod Development
As well as developing the brief and building design for the project; I also looked at creating a tectonic response. I took the initial atmospheric sketches and basic sections of the building as a starting point. I then looked at precedent studies to find similar designs and produced my own hybrid scheme that provided both the architectural properties of the initial building and a tectonic robustness. T he project was also analysed for environmental performance which meant understanding the thermal outputs of machinery and people using the spaces. To understand this better I visited a workshop that had been purpose built and was closer to the university to look at the air systems they had in place to remove contaminated air fro the workspace. T hey had used overhead mechanical ventilation systems with additional vacuums for the heavy machines; this meant there were large pipes running over the ceilings and down the walls. In my design I decided to raise the finish floor level and run the pipes under the floors to de-clutter the spaces. It is important to me that all of my buildings are developed to this degree of detail to ensure that the design can be taken from ambition to reality.
Top Left: Cutaway axonometric drawing of carpentry pod Bottom Left: Carpentry, Ironmongery and Masonry made items from craftspeople visits Right: Tectonic section
Detailed Tectonic Section 1 2
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T his is the section for the final design, originally printed at 1:50. T he section shows (from left to right) the park side entrance and display space, student hub in elevation, carpentry workshop, riverside entrance, forge in elevation, masonry workshop, masonry pier, and roof terrace. I chose to design the building in concrete and corten steel as they were both strong and durable materials. T he colour palette also reflects the red brick and iron used in the industrial buildings of the are. To soften the internal spaces, I have used timber floorings and banisters. T he final design was well received by the clients and praised on the specific nature of the spaces and integration of machinery. T he connection to the water and use of permeable internal and external spaces was also appreciated.
Centre: Final section originally 1:50 Bottom Right: Keyplan
T his is the final image for the Historic Crafts School project. It shows the design in its entirety, revealing the whole of the ground floor, roofscape and landscaping. T he school is arranged to have each of the crafts in its own space with student hub at the front of the school (top left pod as shown in the isometric). T he ironmongery pod at the back of the building (top right pod) so the fumes produced from the fires are furthest from the courtyard and dock. T he masonry pod is closest to the river (bottom right pod) so materials can be delivered to the site by boat and stored securely in the river facing courtyard. T he masonry expert expressed a need for an external space that was large enough to have a five meter long saw for cutting the larger rocks. T he saw also required water to cool the blade and clean the rock. It is my hope that the development of this school would have a positive impact in Hull, creating opportunities for young people that want to pursue an alternative to further education; learning how to preserve historic buildings and the culture of their local area.
Centre: Exploded isometric drawing
Project Kagiso
In 2014 I entered a competition to design a nursery school for the children of the Rabonami Ithekgeng Crèche in Limpopo, South Africa. T he competition ran for eight weeks and the winners were given the opportunity to see their design built in South Africa by volunteers at the university. I entered in a group of five and won the competition. We were commended on the unique design of the school and praised for our passiv environmental systems. Each volunteer raised one thousand pounds for materials and a further thousand of their own money to travel to South Africa to build the school. I was able to raise the money and see my team's design built by the volunteers during the Easter break. We built the design in just over a month after the groundwork was completed. Having experienced a work-site was extremely useful in providing me with an understanding of how schemes move from the drawing board to reality.
Left: Power of ten site location Centre Top: Competition logo Centre Bottom:: Quote from principle of nursary school Right: Photo taken by me on site
Janeth Malatja Principle of Rabonami Ithekgeng Crèche "We are very very excited, we are going to work very hard because we can now provide the children with two classrooms. We can divide the children in their groups. We are very, very excited. Me and our staffs; the whole community; we are very very happy."
In South Africa there is still a significant educational gap between whites and people of colour. Children in state run schools begin education later than in England however, there are opportunities for more affluent families to send their children to pre-school to give them a head start. Currently, the upper income families are predominantly white and the lower income families are predominantly black meaning that not only do the richer, white children have more money but they are also starting school up to two years before the poorer black children. Programmes like Kagiso are charities run by local philanthropists and aim to bridge this gap by creating free pre-schools for under privileged children in rural areas.
Left: Competition model 1:100 Centre: Competition plan Right: Competition axonometric drawing
T he final design of the building featured three classrooms, an office and an external courtyard. T he rooms are centred around the courtyard so that the two staff members could see all the children at all times and so that the complex can be locked at night. Our proposal consisted of detailed plans, sections, axos and two models; one at 1:100 and one at 1:50. We also produced a tectonic response that outlined our preferred construction details working with materials we knew could be bought from a construction warehouse within the town. T he competition judges commended us on the competency and detail of our proposal.
Top Left: Tectonic details Bottom Left: Competition sections Right (1): Photographs taken by me on phase 1 Right (2): Photographs taken by Ben Tyngate of phase 2
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I was on site for the first two and a half weeks (phase 1) of the project which meant I wasnt able to see the building completed. T he university did however bring architectural photographer Ben Tyngate who took promotional images that have been featured in the AJ, Afritecture and African Design Magazine (where it made the front cover of their November Issue 2015). T he Architect's Journal also produced an AJ Specification article on the use of brick in the design.
Centre: Final design photographed by Ben Tyngate
Edinburgh Community Arts Centre Edinburgh is heralded as one of the greatest cultural cities in the world, showcasing some of the best visual arts from Europe and beyond during the festival season. How then is it 'a city in crisis', a city 'in danger of having its unique heart ripped out'? T he source of the city's global fame has also become its greatest failing. T he Fringe festival has absorbed all the attention from the arts community and funding committees, creating a culture of unrest. To quash this, the Edinburgh City Council held a symposium of 610 local artists and members of the public to identify changes that needed to be made to the way the council organised funding and how the infrastructure of Edinburgh needs to change. From the issues raised and some of the solutions proposed, I created a brief for a building that would be able to unite the public, local artists, and the funding bodies in a single arts centre. In addition to watching the symposium on the council's website I also rang members of the council, local artists, arts centre curators, and members of the public to get their opinions on what was needed and how best to resolve their problems. T he ECAC is a community arts centre with the intention of providing support for local artists; improving access to the arts for the local community, and providing space for a new arts council and other funding organisations within the Edinburgh arts scene, Studio and workshop spaces are provided for the artists; gallery, exhibition and auditorium spaces are accessible to the public, and accommodation for arts organisations are also included.
Top Left: T Power of ten site study Bottom Left: Site model Right: Photograph taken by me of the site
Scotland UK
Cowgate Old Town
Edinburgh Scotland
Old Town Edinburgh
At the beginning of the project I created a site model of Edinburgh Old Town spanning from the museum of childhood to Edinburgh Castle at 1:500 scale in hand-cut timber and laser cut ply. A gap site on the south side of the Cowgate island was identified as an appropriate space for the project as it was close to cultural and historic sites. T he existing buildings on the site were modelled in detail and 3D printed. Urbanistically the scheme provides connections between Cowgate and Victoria Street, both outside of the building and through the scheme itself, using the central courtyard space as a stepping stone between Cowgate and the newly designed garden to the rear of the site.
Top: Site elevation Bottom Left: Site model Top Right: Site analysis Bottom Right: Population density
T he project, from initial massing through to detail design was developed with environmental considerations in mind as I knew I would need to analyse the building''s performance against passivhaus and BREEAM standards for my final building services coursework. I started the project by analysing the site; identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the Edinburgh climate. I developed a massing strategy that would make the most of the south facing elevations for natural heat in the winter, and the depth of the site which allowed me to utilise a courtyard design that could purge excess heat in the summer. T his, hand in hand with the five key space types: gallery, performance venues, studios, office and residential, dictated the design of the final building. It was my intention to design a building that could reflect this multitude of spaces through an inhomogeneous facade.
Left: Design development illustrations Right: Final scheme entrance perspective
One of the key spaces within the project is the gallery. T here are six gallery floors featuring a shop, a permanent display space, a local artists' gallery, a gallery for art created at the centre and a cafe on the top floor with panoramic views of Edinburgh castle. T he gallery was one of the most interesting building uses to design as I created a clear sequence of spaces with a number of shortcuts for members of staff and resident artists. T he building is split into public and private areas through segregated stairs and lifts. T he first two floors are open to the public and feature the main performance and display spaces; the private offices, studios and residential nuits are all above. T he idea was to create multiple narratives for different groups of people that use the different functions of the building.
Centre: Gallery perspective Centre: Plans Right: Exploded Axonometric
It was important to me that I did not just create spaces that were efficient in size and arrangement but were also inspirational. To achieve this I visited local arts centres and researched design precedents. T his dance studio features a double height space with atmospheric natural light through the perforated facade. T he room also has feature lighting and can be used as a small performance space.
Centre: Dance studio perspective
An important part of my thesis project was the tectonic response. As the building was large and all the facades are different, I decided to take the most challenging facade to design in detail. T his required significant research into precedents and development in worshops with my tutors. T he variety of room sizes and uses meant the finished project was best represented through section. T he final presentation consisted of three sections through the main spaces within the building.
Left: Tectonic section and elevation Right: Secondary sections
T he full integration of Architecture and Building Services Engineering (MEP Design) within the MEng course provides me with the ability to design the building and the environmental services in parallel. T his means there is no need to retrofit the services to the design at the end of the project. Instead passiv strategies are conceived during the initial stages of the building's development. During my four year course the engineering side of the degree has been assessed through exams and coursework. T he coursework in particular has focussed on applying the environmental concepts and evaluation techniques taught in the lectures to full and partial buildings in order to understand which changes have the most significant effects on the performance of the building envelope. T his final project looked to fully integrate the architectural and engineering aspects of the thesis studio design. I worked in review stages throughout the term where the design was evaluated for architectural merit and then critiqued against: environmental considerations: internal comfort (temperature and lighting), services design, energy consumption, and tectonic rigour. T his culminated in a final scheme simulation that compared the initial architectural design against the improved scheme. T he total energy consumption was consistently reduced by the changes made to the design. From an initial normalised energy consumption of 271kWh/ m2.yr, I was able to reduce the consumption to 129.7kWh/m2.yr which is a saving of 52%. Despite all of the changes made to the scheme, the zone would still not pass the passivhaus standard of 120 kWh/m2.yr.
Centre: Environmental diagram
At the beginning of the project,I set out to create a building in Edinburgh that would give a voice back to the members of the artistic community that were overlooked and marginalised by the funding committees and lack of workspaces within the city. By combining performance space, workshops, display and presentation space, improved public realm, new offices for the arts councils and residential units; I believe this project can be used as an exemplar of how uniting people in a single, multi-use building can bring back a community that has otherwise been pushed to the fringes. A united response to a fractured community within Edinburgh.
Centre: Final section 1:50