2018: Architecture + Spatial Design

Architecture & Spatial Design

Harry Adams Connected Cities

My project looks at the various transportation systems in London, and aims to create a hub-like building that puts them in one place, therefore allowing greater accessibility to the city from one place. I selected my site, which is Shoreditch High Street Station, and created a hub that connects to the Central Line that runs beneath the station to bus stations, bike hire, and the overground line. This gives users access to all distances and areas of the city; from citywide travel via train, to more local areas via bus, bike, and on foot. I added a rooftop bar to encourage users to relax and spend more time at the hub instead of just travelling through it and rushing to their destination.

Simon Adams Spaces of Memory

Never before has London been this fast-paced, filled with constant movement and commotion. We must ask ourselves: where are we all going? I have designed a space orientated towards three aspects of human experience: escape, reflection and interaction. A refuge; located at the heart of Hyde Park Corner, it allows London’s busy workers to escape the hostility of the city. The concrete spire slows the pace of the public as they enter the structure leading to a secular space inspired by traditional precedents of churches and cathedrals; a fully introspective and reflective environment. The entire structure honours the common person; commemorating the memories of our past achievements.

Jida Akil Ephemeral Fantasy

Conceptually, this design revolves around the idea that reality will triumph over the idealistic fantasies we build for ourselves. It consists of a 24-hour installation within a grimy busy underpass in Finsbury Park, during which a video will be projected onto fabric sheets that transitions from waves, to forest, to fire.

Ultimately, the installation will be set alight, thus concluding the fantasy.

The audience are the passers-by who would like to pause for a reminder of the beauty outside urban life. The sectional model I created is made of MDF, acrylic and polyester, with video projection.

Hawa Al-Najjar Adaptive Surroundings

The proposed design is situated in Shoreditch, the heart of London’s trend hub. The aim of my project is to consider a ‘socially cool’ concept, in a world where youth culture is dominated by social media trends.

The prominent curvilinear shapes of the structure that form the overhead design act as the means for a skating platform as well as the roof to a social space situated below.

Light and reflection play a key part in the perception of the built space, having used a variety of materials that will collaboratively produce shadow-play with the movement of the sun. I have attempted to create a multi-sensory experience, consisting of a provocative environment, which promotes a sense of illusion.

Mariam Aluede Nature and Interaction

Situated in Walpole Park, I have designed a garden museum that encourages people to grow vegetation, which allows interaction with nature. The museum includes an interactive digital pond which changes upon touch as a playful aspect. Inspired by the green building designs of Jean Nouvel and MVRDV, it is a space integral to the surroundings, retaining an organic and abstract elementary form as well as tackling air pollution and improving the quality of urban life. Creating an organic space with platforms, allows people to choose where they want to grow their vegetation as well as viewing other vegetation being grown.

JosĂŠ TomĂĄs Ayerbe Lombardi Convivium

In a cosmopolitan city like London, urbanism has to expand alongside cultural integration.

With Convivium, I wanted to create a public space that highlighted the importance of nature within the development of different cultures.

The theme of nature related to the concept of knowledge becoming a universal tool for commencing cultural integration within the urban community.

This explains the presence of a public library at the base of a wide layered garden in the design proposal. The outer shell is inspired by the organic shape of a mountain, naturalizing the urban landscape. In a time of increasing fear of cultural differences and political views, the ability to put our ideologies aside and coexist based on common values becomes essential.

Bianca Blanari Colour in the City

A vibrant, colourful headquarters for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs shifts our perception of what a normal office looks like. Eye-popping, patterned tiles cover parts of the building, while huge, framed windows allow light to penetrate.

The idea of redesigning a normal office into a democratic workspace, with no walls, stimulates employees to communicate, socialize and work together. The stimulating HMRC base brings locals and visitors to explore it and feel the sense of colour and the lively atmosphere. In this way tax employees can connect with the outside world, interacting with the locals leading to a stronger Marylebone community.

Annie Bly Light & Shadow

Within my project I have explored psychological architecture, the way in which the buildings and structures we live and work in affect our psychological health and mood. I have explored the positive impacts light has on our mental and physical condition and created a public space intended to attract people with busy city lives, living and working in London. A place of reflection and calm, exaggerating the natural light around us and creating shadows.

The structures are made of copper, with vines and plants growing around them. The larger circular structure is a more public and open space with the most light projecting through, the smaller circular structures are more private areas with reduced light.

Amelia Brady High-Rise Kingdom

An extension for Merryfield House tower block, south-east London. It is both an inside/outside community space for residents at this estate – reclaiming space outside the block and encouraging use of the lawn.

It combines elements of brutalism, colours of urban graffiti and my observations on form and structure.

The key material is coloured concrete.

It is also a response to the common misconception that there is a lack of community while also reducing the sense of ‘divorce from the ground’ by facilitating close, semi-public interaction.

Sofia Caccamo Closing the Development Gap

This design shows a community centre and nursery merged into one building. It’s replacing a run-down set of existing buildings that have the same use. It is located where three areas in Cambridge meet (Arbury, Chesterton and King’s Hedges), which vary drastically in wealth. The aim of this building is to bring different generations from different social classes together, which is done by focusing on the younger generation, ranging from young children to teenagers. The final model was made using acrylic sheet.

Nina Carroll People-Centred Spaces

In the hope of showcasing how an unused space on Stratford High Street can be utilised positively to benefit those working and living locally, a collection of reused, restructured shipping containers and open outdoor spaces has been proposed. This is a public space where people of all ages can work, learn, create and play during the day and enjoy music, food and socialising at night; this aims to bring people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds together. Emphasis is made on the critical importance of open and diverse public spaces and of maintaining and improving London’s high streets and night life.

Poppy Casson Eudaemonia

Eudaemonia means living well without regard for hardship, and making decisions that aid self-worth and a positive outlook.

Palliative care is needed increasingly as people live longer and scientific methods advance to supply demand. These can include psychological healing through spatial design, which strives to make patients as eudaemonic and valued as possible during the last stage of life.

Patients need privacy and solitude but also a sense of community togetherness, which influenced my interlocked spiralling units. The hospice uses faรงades of glass to allow for maximum natural light and wooden cladding to enhance cognitive well-being. It would be placed in parks all over London to allow patients to stay connected to their personal history.

Jeevan Chahal Integrating the Homeless Back Into the Community

Volunteering at the Salvation Army allowed me to speak to the homeless and get an insight into their backgrounds. Listening to these stories made me realise that there’s always an underlying problem, which for them is very difficult to resolve.

Having a space where they can communicate with the public would hopefully create a sense of sympathy towards them rather than neglect. My proposal includes various aspects, such as a garden where everyone can grow plants and vegetables, a soup kitchen where everyone including the homeless can have fresh homegrown free food and areas where they can socialise, celebrate and become one loving community.

Sarah Choudhary A Stitch Across Time

The theme of my project is the complexities in modern Islam. My research reveals that Islam began as a simple religion emphasising peace and submission to God. The first mosque was a modest construction known as the The Prophet’s Mosque – domes and minarets were later introduced to express power.

My model is made from wood and plastic, and seeks to re-create the Prophet’s Mosque within a modern architectural context. This structure critiques centuries of abuse and distortion of Islam. Its modern rendition is a reminder that the pure, unadulterated essence of religion can endure through changing times. The construction of this mosque in Regent’s Square in Central London emphasises that a cosmopolitan world should accommodate different beliefs rather than exploit them.

Mina Dagbasi Flowing Surfaces

Taking inspiration from the rivers running through the centre of my home city Istanbul, and my new home London, my project transforms a site on the Strand previously defined by roads, noise, congestion and an under-appreciated church into a pedestrianised water garden. I wanted to create a contemplative, enjoyable and sociable space, taking inspiration from interior details of St Clement Danes church, which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, but also referencing Christo and Jeanne Claude’s Floating Piers – water theme parks, that have redeveloped unused waterside sites around the world. The site model was made using card, foam-board, transparent tubes and spray paint.

A sweeping elevated roof topped with a waterfall flowing back into the pools offers a café space to attract people to the new space, which will provide a rare site of calm in an otherwise built up and dense part of London. Roads that previously crossed the site have been redirected below the surface before rising again at the other side.

St Clements, famous from the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons, is only one of two Island Churches in London.

Elisa Defries The Positive Mental Health Benefits of Architecture

This project is looking at whether architecture can help people with mental health issues. I have designed a space of calm as an escape from the busy city, with coloured light filtering in to create a healing environment. The main materials in the final model are plaster and acetate – for the actual building this would be white concrete and glass. It is located on the Southbank outside the Royal Festival Hall and will be used by mainly young people struggling with mental health, who are seeking a break from the bustle along the river, bringing an organic space with the unique focus on positivity.

Rija Faruqui In and Out Landscapes

Bringing a Karst landscape within the urban city of London, this is a pavilion based in Hyde Park designed to create a simulation of natural cave.

The exterior is designed to resemble the geographical form of a crystal rock. The interior is a museum-like space in which the audience walks through several rooms to see the main programmes including a rock fountain with concrete seating cubes placed within the room, following on to the main event of the cave and spring with a overhead bridge and finally a cafeteria for the people to rest and enjoy their time in.

Burçe Geçit Chaos Theory

This project is an interactive installation on Cavendish Square Gardens based on chaos theory.

According to this theory: “When a butterfly flutters its wings in one part of the world, it can eventually cause a hurricane in another.”

The butterfly effect emphasises the initial connection in the universe.

This project is a small designated version of the universe and how every action is affected by each other. This installation includes several systems which are connected in a way with each other. Human interactions in this design create endless possibilities.

Every experience is unique and being in the right place at the right time is life changing in this project.

Sophie von Einsiedel Spaces of Calm

The gardens of St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster are transformed into an island of tranquillity in the midst of frenzied urban bustle. A soundabsorbing vertical garden wall rising over a fountain replace the roar of traffic with the murmur of moving water.

Staff, patients and visitors are borne up amongst tree canopies, passing over the vehicle entrance to arrive at the cloister.

This corten steel structure situates the garden in 1960’s built environment, with intricately perforated organic patterns, rendering playful light effects on nearby surfaces. Doorways and windows referencing historical cloister designs distil hectic movement to allow users to explore the gardens and gaze across at Westminster Palace whilst remaining pleasantly sheltered from the elements.

Maolin Huang London Themed Experience

Looking at London in comparison with a theme park – where both consists of zones and distinct experiences at specific areas – this project explores how to emphasise and amplify one’s experience at a certain place in London. The final outcome consists of three layers of clear plastic sitting on a central rod; each layer showing two-dimensional maps of the city’s qualities: from nature, routes, to one’s experience in a zone. In between the layers sits three-dimensional forms marking the transition between one zone to another: the threshold. This project offers a glimpse of London in a different scene, challenges the art of mapping, and makes us see the city somewhat in a more human way.

Yiding Jin Bio-Mimicry Architecture

My location is in Hyde Park, close to the river, plants and flowers. I hope that the bio-mimicry architecture I designed could be closer to nature, hoping to achieve the original intention of integrating with nature.

In the centre, a main building using glass and bamboo sticks, a bat as prototypes, and three-dimensional wings formed by a collage of triangles. Bats inside and above the bat body are reconstructed with a bat bone as a prototype, which serves to isolate the space and sense of design. Which in the role of three-dimensional wings inside is a small space that can be moved, allowing visitors to move with a more comprehensive view of the scenery.

Next to the main building is a triangular structure with a bat-shaped triangle. The bio-mimicry architecture I designed is mainly about visitors for sightseeing or the function is as an exhibition hall or museum, which increases the interaction between humans and nature.

Maryiam Kurdi Warmth Underneath the Wing

I decided to tackle the increasing problem of homelessness. My aim is to create a public space that will facilitate interaction between both the homeless and other members of the public. I wanted to address this issue by using transparent and reflective acrylic to symbolise transparency and opacity. For occupiers, transparency, provides opportunities to equate and reflect on one’s self. In comparison with the outside world, the realisation of what occurred for them to reach this level of disparity, thus, coercing improvement. Located in the centre of Trafalgar square, the structure not only grabs the attention of passers-by, but also provides as much assistance and guidance as possible while occupying the space efficiently.

April Lan The Deconstruction of Time

My project is inspired by Dougong, an important Chinese structural element of interlocking wooden brackets.

Dougong is widely used in ancient Chinese architecture, supporting the weight through the balancing, the precision and the quality of wood without using fasteners. However, it is completely abandoned nowadays as it is unable to meet the demands of modern lifestyles. Designing a threshold for the backside of Chinatown by de-constructing Dougong and reconstructing it with a contemporary material, acrylic, not only increases the pedestrian volume, but also shows the ability of traditional beauty to coexist with modern society.

Audrey Liu Floating City: Sustainable Community

A fifteen-room boutique hotel built at sea. The three main structures are dedicated to accommodation, shopping and entertainment, respectively, with suspended gardens, rooftop swimming pool and artificial beach in/around the hotel.

The structures are located on the River Thames, next to a historical landmark, the Southend Pier. This floating community project is mainly focussed on the idea of innovative communities – gathering people around and experiencing life living on the ocean. It also addresses issues of sustainability. The structures include renewable energy generation technologies, such as solar, thermal, wind, tidal, and biomass.

Saamia Makharia Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbours?

Inspired by the poem Mending Wall, my student accommodation design aims to question why a wall (which occurs to me as probably the most honest expression of boundaries), could be viewed so dismissively. Exploring public and private architecture through wall arrangement (particularly transparency, one-way glass and thresholds) and intimacy gradients, my design proves that walls don’t always lead to confinement but can also connect and promote solidarity amongst society. Imitating characteristics of the surrounding Alexandra Estate apartments

by Neave Brown where the interaction between the residents and the communal spaces has been carefully considered, my design allows my residents to reconfigure their rooms to extend into the shared spaces depending on whether they desire to engage in social interaction or not. Similar to the Sharifi Ha house, the adjoining rooms can be rotated towards

each other to form a single room, can rotate into the communal dining space or rotate back to the original position.

The one-way glass mirrors which form the walls allows the residents to make these decisions depending on individual privacy needs. The courtyard connects to the communal garden, which is required to be passed when leaving the estate, hence forcing interaction between the two distinct groups, carrying forward the communal attitude characteristic of the estate and going back to the central idea of whether we require fences between neighbours to begin with.

Defne Ozdogan Revealing Spaces

The purpose of some architecture is to reveal and emphasise a certain space. In my project I wanted to use this method to bring forward the Sir John Soane’s Museum. During my visit to the museum, I realised that not enough people were aware of this hidden museum due to its location and the building’s ordinary construction. That is why I wanted to reveal the building with my stairway installation. I got use of the park as it attracts different type of people making other parts of society, such as children to become aware of this hidden museum.

Pablo RaventĂłs Surroca Soundscape

A responsive exhibition pavilion featuring Yasuhiro Ishimoto’s black and white photography collection on Katsura Imperial villa. Willing to convey nature and the Japanese techniques for gardening and architecture, with special focus on Zen gardens, conveyed by materials and sound. The pavilion is based on a structure of hanging bamboo with a path that crosses four mountain-like under spaces, where responsive organ pipes lie.

The structure also works as a landscape of its own if seen from the entrance to the site, and its secondary aim is to open a reflective space stimulated by natural sound. This project would sit at the fountain space in the Somerset house, using its water as a sound source and attracting a wide range of visitors with leisure time as the common factor.

Mary Rellin Rabbit’s Hole

Using the metaphor of a rabbit’s hole as the barrier between reality to fantasy, I wanted to create a spatial structure enabling different classes to integrate within and break through social barriers. The structure was designed for Guilford Town Centre to provide an atmospheric performance space for creative individuals, mainly the ACM (Academy of Contemporary Music) students, to perform. Thus, producing an interactive space free of social stigma and class, by providing a cohesive platform for networking and shared appreciation of music.

The design can be used, shaped and manipulated by users. Enabling citizens within Guildford to form their own environment underneath the structure.

Sandra Revuelta Albero Therapeutic Architecture

An exterior expansion of a Psychological centre, with a new technology that regulates the flow of substances among the interior and exterior. Taking the idea that Skin (outer tissue protecting vertebrates) allows an exchange with our exterior in order to conserve an inner equilibrium. I decided to create therapeutic areas with breathing skin technology, inspired by organic skins, for users to come in and let out their negative thoughts, to try to reach stability. The façade’s bubbles expand in terms of the pressure. The materials used allow light and air through, keeping in mind the privacy of therapeutic areas with the translucent polypropylene of the façades, which also reduce energy demand.

Sophie Ting Prevention of Deterioration

Mill Hill Broadway is a local, wholesome and safe place. However, the recent increase in crime rates in the younger generation has not only affected lives, but is damaging the reputation of the area. As less people are visiting and stores are closing, the environment is beginning to rapidly deteriorate physically and socially.

To prevent this I have re-purposed an unused building as an activities and entertainment space for the adolescent residents to productively release their energy. This aims to reduce crime rates and restore Mill Hill Broadway’s joyous atmosphere for a more environmental and socially sustainable future.

Iren Turkkan Sacred Spaces

Buildings and architecture provoke a reaction in people. Through this project I am exploring the emotional side of this reaction, focusing on safety and calmness. Religious structures are the type of spaces that make people feel in such a way. They serve as shelters from reality and they represent a place that allows people of various religions to connect to the figures they worship.

The idea behind my project, is a sacred space where people from most major religions (Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism) can come in one place and feel as safe as they would in their individual places of worship. Essentially, the message that I am trying to convey is that religion should be used as a tool to promote tolerance and not division.

Luoyi Xu The Fusion

The theme of my project is ‘Fusion’.

I have used a walkway to merge different cultures. My final outcome is a walkway that is a combination of different thresholds. The materials used in my model include aluminium, balsa, and plastics. The site of my walkway is an alleyway between Leicester Square and Chinatown called Leicester Court. I wish to give people an experience of different feelings when they walk through different doors, because each of the doors has different features from different countries, from traditional to contemporary.

Shuhan Lily Yang Blending Heritage into Modernism

My main aim is to pass on heritage elements down to future generations, but still maintaining modern form.

I chose to use wood as my main material, because wood is commonly used in Chinese architecture, Due to the high urban density in London, I decided to design a reasonablysized dwelling space for people who wish to live in a Chinese cultured atmosphere in London. In the end, this project expresses a logical reasonable living space that contains Chinese cultural influences.

Jiaxue Yang

My model is reminiscent of residential buildings, mainly designed for my parents, because I have been studying abroad for a long time, not having enough time to accompany them, so I have this idea. It is made of two major parts. There is space for parents to be independent.

There is also a room for me and my brother. The design incorporates many Chinese elements that were experienced by me and my parents, such as stilted building. This project is why I study architecture. It is my dream project. I will gradually improve it through continuous learning.

Holly Zhang

I have designed a structure that would give viewers an idea about how people suffering with depression feel. It would contain a pathway to show the stages and complex feelings depressed people have. My design inspiration comes from one of my closest friends who suffered from deep depression. Some people do not consider depression to be a kind of illness, but just a way to seek attention. I wish to this structure to raise awareness of depression in society. I have used wood to create silhouettes, and plastic film to make a structure. This pavilion would be placed on Potters Fields Park.

Chuanyi Zhao Sensory Space

I decided to make a recreational facility for children at Kings George’s Field near Canada Water underground station. There are three elements involved in my project: experience, interaction and fluctuation. I used wood, nylon mesh and board in my model. There are netting areas to allow children to jump, run, walk and crawl. In addition, there are sitting areas on the ground and facilities for parents to interact closely with their children.