Southall Waterside- Reflective Design Portfolio

R E F LECTIVE D ES IG N

REFLECTIONS ON LEVITT BERNSTEIN’S DESIGN AND AN ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL FOR SOUTHALL WATERSIDE IN EALING, WEST LONDON

ADAM TARASEWICZ

Chapter One In the Studio

This chapter starts with my professional timeline as a team member of Southall Waterside- the main project I have been working on at Levitt Bernstein. I compare its scale to the projects of my fellow Collaborative Practice students to get an idea where my project sits within the cohort. I will also talk about the structure of the project team and what kind of relationships are there between different members. The section is going to be finished with an explanation of the relationships Levitt Bernstein established with different consultants.

PROFESSIONAL TIMELINE As a Southall team member

PROJECT COMPARISON Schemes of other CP students 1:2500

The Southall team has been increasing in size for a couple of months now. At first, it was a team of 6 that looked at massing and masterplan-level strategies. Now, as it is getting closer to the submission, there are 9 people working on it.

In such a large team, I established a couple of team members that I felt comfortable talking to about my tasks. The diagram above depicts who I communicate with most during the project.

SOUTHALL TEAM Who I communicate with most

New members

SOUTHALL TEAM History

RELATIONSHIP WITH CONSULTANTS Communication

New consultants

RELATIONSHIPS WITH CONSULTANTS History

Chapter Two Approach

In this chapter I will present the results from the questionnaire I conducted in the office in February 2018- the questions related specifically to the “style” of Levitt Bernstein and how people describe it. I also compare a series of sketches from my fellow Collaborative Practice students that attempt to depict in a simple scribble their practice’s style. Even though we all work in different studios, is is still possible to draw some parallels between Collaborative Practice firms- especially between the ones involved in housing.

Buccleuch House, LB of Hackney

Vaudeville Court, LB of Islington

Wilkins Terrace, UCL

I believe these sample projects encapsulate the practice’s ethos really well. With people in mind, Levitt Bernstein develops schemes that blend in their context, but also provide an additional layer of sensitivity. As a result, they establish themselves as an integral part of the surrounding. Additionally, they were used as precedents for the Southall Waterside project.

LEVITT BERNSTEIN Sample projects

Levitt Bernstein Adam Tarasewicz (me)

Cullinan Studio Toby Mackrill

MSMR Melissa Kirkpatrick

Hawkins Brown Tom Cunningham

Haworth Tompkins Cristina Carcanescu

Fielden Clegg Bradley Raluca Burlacu

HLM Architects Bethany Willis

Levitt Bernstein Kimbo Sito

BDP Evangeline Martin

As a Collaborative Practice cohort, we all work at different practices that vary in scale and the type of architecture they do. In Levitt Bernstein, we specialise in housing and mixed-use schemes. When compared with practices like Fielden Clegg Bradley or Cullinan Studio, it is possible to draw some parallels between these practices. Based on that, it could be assumed that contextual housing has certain qualities that are shared in the architectural design.

COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE STUDIOS Style comparison

Chapter Three Levitt Bernstein’s scheme

This section starts with the original brief that Levitt Bernstein was provided with by Berkeley Homes. By extracting certain aspect of the brief I wanted to draw people’s attention to four big issues: public realm, context, industrial heritage and housing. The subsequent pages talk about the client and its structure and the overall Southall Waterside background- starting with its location, through the masterplan stages, to the final massing.

Established in

1976

Borehamwood

No developments currently

St Joseph is a new branch of Berkeley Homes Group that aims to deliver high quality homes and infrastructure in Birmingham and West Midlands.

190 The Strand

St Edward focuses on a couple of residential schemes in London but their main focus is the South of EnglangHampshire and Berkshire; Most famous development of theirs includes 190 The Strand.

One Blackfriars

St George has been responsible for shaping the modern developments along London’s riverside, replacing former industrial lands with high-end apartments;

Paul Prichard

James Dalton

Alex Nielsen

Dudley Gabriel

Bruce Strong

Gary Hughes

Harry Sathanandan

* Damian Leydon

The Dumont

Established in 1996 as a joint venture with Thames Water, St James aims to deliver residential developments which create beautiful spaces and have a positive impact on the environment.

Richard McGibbon

Debola Ojo Evelyn Colaco

Richard Watler

Bruce MacMillan

11 men

2 women

WHO IS THE CLIENT? History and structure of Berkeley

Fairwood Place

St William branch focuses on creating neighbourhoods with landscape and public amenities in mind- with a particular interest in investing in communities and local infrastructure.

HOW LEVITT BERNSTEIN GOT INVOLVED Original programme

Southall is an area located in the Borough of Ealing, West London. Because of its rich history of various industries, starting with ceramics to metalwork, the elements of the past are tangible throughout the site. Southall is one of the stops on the train to the Heathrow Airport making the area a good location for frequent travelers.

Southall is to be one of the best connected areas of London.

Currently, the Crossrail is being built across London, establishing even more connections in the city. In the future, we will be able to travel to the Bond Street station within 17 minutes (currently this journey takes 34 minutes). This development has become one of the main drivers behind land developments in Southall.

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3 Southall’s rich industrial heritage is still tangible on site. In 1930, the famous gas holder no 5 was erected (1) which later became a landmark of the area. The canal that runs in close proximity to the site (2) used to be a main thoroughfare for getting material supplies - especially smaller companies benefited from this connection. These companies would eventually settle down in the area shown on the historical map (3) - which later developed into Southall Gasworks. To the east of this area, there was a large field of allotments which later was turned into a car park.

Illustrative masterplan as envisioned by JTP

Phasing diagram showing the planned phases of the Southall Waterside development

Levitt Bernstein’s project is a part of the wider masterplan developed by JTP. The whole site consists of 9 phases, one of which is currently being built (Phase A). However, the client wasn’t satisfied with the design outcome and decided to appoint Levitt Bernstein to develop a proposal for Phase B. As for now, all the later phases will be designed by JTP.

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Wth these photos of the site and its immediate surroundings I wanted to depict the light qualities and atmoshperes that are present on site. With a still present landmark of Southall (1st photo, credit to Kimbo Sito), we can get a good sense of Southall’s heritage. The construction site of Phase A (3) creates an interesting contrast between the erected concrete frame and the adjacent residential buildings.

Next to them, just by the canal, we can cross under the Rail Bridge no 21 (4) which creates a truly spectacular phenomenon as it combines light peaking through the metal structure with sounds of passing trains.

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Location of my alternative proposal- I am going to look at an exercise of rethinking the Bui ldings I&J

Block I

Block J Block A Block H

Block B

Block G

Block C

Block F

Block E

Block D

Architects

Client

+ Why Buildings I&J ?

These two residential buildings have a direct connection to the Linear Park which is established as a green heart of the entire masterplan.

Diagram of different activities in Levitt Bernstein’s proposal- identiyfying commercial,public and residential zones.

With two different tenures across the blocks (private and affordable), Buildings I&J offer an interesting opportunity to address how to connect two different communities.

The location of these two blocks offers a rare opportunity to connect the scheme with the developed Phase B proposal (Levitt Bernstein) and the rest of the masterplan done by JTP.

The water tower and the gasholder- two landmarks of Southall present on site in 2016.

Proposed connections and public areas - with marker towers highlighted

Conceptual : Soft & hard

Proposed main and secondary routes through Phase B

Conceptual: Fast & slow

Conceptual: Domestic & Industrial

“The investors won’t buy it�

Paul Prichard talking about future tenants, Design Team Meeting November 2017

The main concepts that were developed by the Southall team focused on the constrast that were present on siteespecially thinking carefully about the industrial heritage of the site and its proximity to the Heathrow Airport. This spectrum of various conditions was encapsulated in the facade treatments, as well as in core entrances design.

However, it is rather interesting that the concepts and the developed design does not reflect the cultural heritage that is present in Southall. As I was present during the Design Team Mettings with the client, it became apparent that the new development is not to serve people of that area- clashing with community-orientated agenda of Levitt Bernstein.

The notional concepts that I present on this page work really well in the physical context of Southall and all these contrasts were highlighted appropriately. What I feel is missing is a wider story connected to demographics which I believe was diminished by Berkeley Homes.

Elevation treatment depending on the scale and pace

Collaboration

Height distribution

Phase B consists of residential and commercial blocks which are being designed by two architects: Levitt Bernstein (yellow) in charge of residential and Leslie Jones (grey) in charge of commercial elements.

The scheme currently houses nearly 900 dwellings, providing a mixture of tenure and a variety of commercial units. The sizes of the marker towers depicted in the diagram refer to the vision outlined

by JTP.

CGI view

Current scheme Even though we as the Southall team had several design sign-offs and “milestones�, certain aspects of the scheme keep changing every week. Only in the first week of May, even though the massing had been decided on three months ago, we were asked to add additional storeys to the towers- which resulted in skewed tenure and mix that was set up in the original brief. I believe the relationship with the client that we currently have is detrimental to the design process.

The plan above depicts the latest GA ground floor plans- the blue tones emphasise the residential and orange hues highlight the commercial uses.

View towards Block A over the Town Square- in the background we can see Buildings G and H

1. Original massing of Phase B by JTP

2. First massing by Levitt Bernstein

The original massing was part of the wider masterplan which was granted planning permission in 2016.

The first massing was a direct response to the JTP’s proposal- Levitt Bernstein critiqued and re-approached the original massing in order to connect it better to the Southall station and the rest of the masterplan. The first proposal included deck access dwellings and podiums.

3. Finalised massing by Levitt Bernstein

4. Alternative proposal of Buildings I&J

By the time the project team finalised the massing in order to present it to the client, Berkeley decided to extend the boundary of the Phase B and include a site that contained two residential blocks (Buildings I&J). Levitt Bernstein was asked to re-work the JTP’s massing to suit the current Phase B proposal.

The focus of the upcoming chapter will be my analysis of the existing conditions on site and an alternative proposal to Buildings I&J- the latest additions to Levitt Bernstein’s scheme.

Chapter Four Alternative proposal

My alternative proposal for Southall Waterside starts with a design manifesto called “Sharing Makes Sense�. In this document divided into four chapters, I talk about design issues I chose to address: public realm, context, industry and housing. These chapters correlate with the original brief extract from Berkeley Homes so that they could be directly compared. Later in the document, I closely analyse the site at various scales and propose different moves at both masterplan and local levels. I treat the proposed masterplan as an existing context, with Phase A as it is currently (hence shown as concrete frame). As per the design manifesto, I will develop three aspects of my alternative proposal in detail: a contemplative tower (Southall Place), a public pocket (Southall Reading Room) and a dwelling typology (Southall House).

SITE CONTEXT

EXISTING AMENITY PROVISION

PUBLIC POCKETS Wider strategy

PUBLIC POCKETS Spaces outlines and precedents

MOVEMENT & LAND USE

BUILDING HEIGHTS & TOPOGRAPHY

UPDATE CONTEXT ON THE DRAWING

Concrete frame of Phase A

Gas easement Spot heights Overshadowing Central Aviation Authority height restrictions

Phase B site boundary

Alternative proposal site boundary National Grid land

Noise from the railway

CONSTRAINTS

UPDATE CONTEXT ON THE DRAWING TO BE UPDATED

Pedestrian links through the site Connection to the park Connection to the Southern fringe Connection to Phase B & Southall station Connection to Southall Wetlands Potential public areas

Relation to the tower elements Site boundary Concrete frame of Phase A

OPPORTUNITIES

Main vehicular access

Proposed connections of public realm Links to the green spaces Secondary routes through the proposal Proposed design outline Parks Communal garden

Public squares Site boundary

APPROACH

With two level changes on site and an interesting juxtaposition in terms tenure and phasing, Buildings I&J provide a great opportunity to reflect on Levitt Bernstein’s design. Having combined residential areas, civic fronts and communal thoroughfares, a new community has been established. With this diagram, where textures and their positions depict these three elements I attempted to conceptually connect them into one cohesive image. Later, it became a guide which helped me with developing the treatment of façades and establishing the materiality of the proposed public realm.

CONCEPT Residential, civic and communal

Arches- public entrance sketch

Axonometric explaining the programmatic arrangement in the alternative scheme

Workshop section with a public route in the centre

Development sketch of the courtyard

Axonometric iteration of the massingestablishing connections and heights

SKETCHES

PROCESS DIAGRAMS Massing studies

With a previously established route through the scheme, with this drawing I attempt to depict the articulation of corners and the route itself. I strived to address the public route by combining the language of arches of public areas with simple residential faรงades,. The variety of scales and a wide spectrum of textures establishes the space in between as a truly haptic experience.

In order to address the brief, I decided on designing in detail three different spaces across the scheme.

The chosen spaces have different levels of privacy, creating an interesting set of thresholds - starting with a monumental public contemplation tower, through a “public pocket� in a set of private dwellings, and finishing with a South Asian housing typology that focuses on combining light industry with living. The three coloured outlines highlight the buidling I am taking forward to develop in detail - they correlate with the figure ground drawing on the next page.

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FIGURE GROUND 1:500

FIGURE GROUND Precedents

Chapter Four, Volume One Southall Place

Southall is one of the biggest South Asian communities in the UK. With such diverse demographics came a variety of religious beliefs- which are depicted in the diagram above. However, with an abundance of temples and mosques, the secular places seem to be in decline.

I decided to look at creating a new secular place for Southall of which contemplative rooms are inspired by a wide spectrum of sacred spaces.

Sectional axonometric depicting the key internal spaces in the tower as well as the atmoshpere of the square and the courtyard.

Secular and religious spaces togetherinitial conceptual sketch.

Developing the adjacent elevations - height relationship to the neighbouring tower.

DEVELOPMENT SKETCHES

TOWER IN CONTEXT Final massing and materiality

6th floor

4th floor

Ground floor

FLOOR PLANS 1:200

LONG SECTION 1:500

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SOUTHALL PLACE Religious and secular-inspired spaces

SOUTHALL PLACE Precedents

towards Linear Park

towards railway

towards Gasholder Walk

The main circulation area consists of a serpentine of steps that bounces off the walls- creating one, continuous journey. With three big stops along the way, the visitors can see the view out towards three parts of the site - railway, Gasholder Walk and Linear Park.

With a large opening at the very top, the stairs are well lit and create contrast between darker contemplative spaces.

Approaching Southall Place from the north

pantheon (upstairs)

glimpse

through

Chapter Four, Volume Two Southall Reading Room

Southall Community College

Southall Waterside College

Southall Reading Room

Within a short walking distance from the site, there are two Southall’s main colleges. As part of my approach to context, I wanted to address the proximity to these educational institutions by providing them with a reading space for their students. The proposed public pocket would mediate between the two colleges, by creating a new destination.

In the design of the public pocket I wanted to play with the notion of journey by using a variety of scales. Using stairs as a vertical circulation, one would get to the top to see the view towards the alternative scheme. With a narrow thoroughfare, I want to encourage visitors to discover the final space. Once they enter the reading room, they are welcomed by a grand scale of the room. It directly contrasts with the spaces along the journey - emphasising the height of the public pocket.

Views towards Phase B

Views towards Linear Park

Views towards the scheme

Circulation

Views towards the scheme

Views towards the square

The journey through the public pocket begins with a carefully designed set of stairs. Throughout the procession, visitors are presented with certain views out, which I am going to elaborate on later in the document.

Once we get to the top floor, we go through a narrow corridor with a narrow long opening located above our heads - it lets southern light into the passage, but it is too high to allow any views. This decision was deliberate in order to emphasise the entrance to the grand reading room. The final space it four storeys high, with views towards north, east and south.

The previously mentioned stairs have been carefully designed in order to convey a playful approach to scale.

Once we enter, we are in a single storey space which takes us up to the first landing - that’s where we are presented with a view towards the square. The next set of stairs is spanning between two floors which affects our perception of this circulation space. On the third landing, we are exposed to another view- this time of the entire alternative proposal. Once we move to the last flight, we end in a single height corridor.

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Jacob and Wilhelm Centre - Max Dudler Architekt

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St Catherine’s College, Arne Jacobsen

The reading room is split into two floors- each of them conveying different characters. The ground floor reading spaces are much more intimate, with double compartments like in St Catherine’s College. The upper level is much more open, with carefully designed metal railings and glass balustrades. These elements help with reading the space as one volume, with stairs expressed as simple platforms. Towards the south, I used half glazing, half concrete panel in order to minimise overheating in this space.

View out of the Reading Room towards concrete frame of Phase A

Chapter Four, Volume Three Southall House

SOUTHALL HOUSE Research on shophouse typology

SOUTHALL HOUSE Distribution

DEVELOPMENT SKETCHES

DIAGRAMATIC EXPLORATION OF A SHOPHOUSE

The flat layout above meets the following requirements set out by the Berkeley Homes for a 1B2P dwelling: - one full size bathroom - master bedroom size of 11.5 sqm minimum (above 25sqm) - kitchen run of at least 3400mm (above 5400mm in total) - wardrobe width of 1800mm (above 2000mm) - balcony length of 3272.5mm (above 5650mm)

FLOOR PLANS 1:100

LONG SECTION 1:100

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Commercial frontage - towards the street

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Caselli Avenue - Schwartz and Architecture

AXONOMETRIC Internal arrangement

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Domestic frontage - towards the courtyard

Workshop with the central staircase

Main living area

FOOTPRINT COMPARISON Noli plans

MASSING COMPARISON Axonometric

Southall Reading Room

The main design consists of three key areas- Southall Reading Room, Southall Hous and Southall Place. All these spaces were designed with ‘Sharing Makes Sense’ brief in mind. They address various thresholds of public and private zones by material articulation, treatment of elevations and a variety of uses. The proposed alternative design is only the beginning of a conversation about public and private spaces in the UK which I hope I will carry over to my 6th year in Sheffield.

LONG SECTION 1:500

Southall House (in the background)

Southall Place