Facade as the Classroom Condition - Tom Haworth

FACADE AS THE CLASSROOM CONDITION

THOMAS HAWORTH ST EDMUNDS COLLEGE 24-05-2012 ESSAY 4 - DESIGN PROJECT An essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MPhil examination in Environmental Design in Architecture (Option B).

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION STOCKHOLM Approaches to faรงade design in varied climate.

CAMBRIDGE LANGUAGE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE REGENT STREET EXISTING FABRIC Buildings selected for reuse

STRATEGY Faรงade Intervention Insertion of Voids

PROPOSAL CONCLUSION

ABSTRACT This study aims to demonstrate an economically viable means for adaptive reuse of the increasingly unoccupied commercial centres of British towns.

How this may be implemented is demonstrated in a design exercise that reclaims vacant building space on Regent Street in Cambridge for use as a mature age language school. The environmental focus of this study is the prolonging of daylight hours within work/learning situations to aid the processes of education. The ultimate aim is to demonstrate the viability of this practice for interventions with other public programs in mind.

INTRODUCTION

The objective for this thesis is to develop a code of best practice for increasing daylight levels in existing buildings. For the purposes of establishing a controlled set of variables by which to explore this idea, I elected to investigate the affects of facade design on the internal comfort of classroom spaecs.

This study took me to Sweden, where residents encounter extreme seasonal opposites in daylight conditions when compared to our own. I conducted a series of tests and speculative design exercises to ascertain what was an optimum facade design to strike a resonance with insufficient daylight in the winter months and excessive solar gains in the summer. While the immediate need for such design in the UK is not mandatory, the performance of existing buildings can be dramatically improved. My aim is to prove that this can be done economically and effectively.

CASE STUDIES IN STOCKHOLM

1. Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet 2. Katarina Norra Skola 3. Eriksdalsskolan

URBAN DEVELOPMENT OF SODERMALM Until the early 17th century Södermalm was mainly a rural, agricultural area. Its first urban areas were planned and built in the mid 17th century, comprising a mixture of working class housing, such as the little red cottages of which a few can still be seen in northeastern Södermalm, and the summer houses and pavilions of wealthier families. Södermalm is often poetically named “Söders höjder”, which reflects its topography of sheer cliffs and rocky hills.

In the 18th century, the working-class cottages that clung to Mariaberget, the steep cliffs facing Riddarfjarden, were replaced by the large buildings that are still present today. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that urbanisation grasped the entire width of Södermalm, and even today parts of Södermalm have a rural feeling to them, as for instance the landscape of tiny allotments that climb the slopes of Eriksdal.

Also, rather than being known as a slum, Södermalm is now known as a home of bohemian, alternative culture and a broad range of cultural amenities. Meanwhile, the growing demand of housing, as well as an increasing gentrification of Stockholm’s central parts, makes apartments in Södermalm more and more difficult or expensive to come by. Thus what was once a workingclass district is now somewhat a district of the privileged. (Franzen)

EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE ON SODERMALM The island has a well-established network of schools. The diagram shows the distribution in the early 20th Century, before urban development spread to the south west of the island, prompting the construction of facilities such as Erikssdalskolan as well as the Hospital, which at the time of construction, was the largest in Europe.

Södermalm has establsihed itself as one of Stockholm’s most vibrant districts. However the economic status that comes with this has forced property value upwards. Subsequently, those that are now settling there are more likely to start families and ultimately enrol their children at Södermalm schools.

This shift in social demographic will alter the demand on education services. The majority of school buildings in the district date from pre-1940. There was a surge of development in the late 1800s where schoolhouses were built in response to the dramatic population growth that the city was experiencing. Grand Neo-Classical ‘School Palaces’ were designed and built by architects such as A.W. Bernstrom, paid out of the national purse. Similarly a series of Functionalist schools were inaugurated in the ‘40s in response to another population surge in the district.

KATARINA NORRA SKOLA

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Katarina Norra Skola is a public school ion Tjärhovsgatan in Stockholm. The school was built in 1895 according to architect AW Bergstrom’s drawings. Katarina Norra Skola has about 670 students, from primary school to high school. School built in Stockholm from 1870-1910 were dubbed ‘elementary school palace’ named as such due to their size and impressive appearance.

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Facade Study in Elevation and Section

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The south façade faces onto a shallow courtyard with railings separating the school grounds from the street.

The ground floor assumes a different proportion system to the upper floors. The openings are smaller, providing a clear tectonic language; this is enhanced by the change in material quality (stone block work as opposed to the masonry above).

The façade is managed by modular proportion system, three sash windows evenly spaced. Blocks of three windows in a modular set up. Neo-Gothic porches denote vertical axes of circulation. . The entrances feed from the southern courtyard, up into the façade. The sequence is one of ascension, up into the order and rationality of the façade and by extension, the school. It is odd that the southern façade is used for circulation rather than occupied workspace, however it can be assumed that this is to use Tjärhovsgatan asprimary access.

At the human scale, the facility seems to communicate itself as an adult world, with a relatively impervious ground floor, so that when children are playing in the front courtyard no ball games will be permitted due to low level windows. A clear set of constraints in the form of defined thresholds and proportion systems create a physical framework that affects the overall learning experience of the child.

The entrances stand proud of the regimented metal cased windows that appear to have opening elements in the upper quartile of each window. However they appear to be very stout and robust in their construction, adhering to the buildings late 19thC. The employment of Neo-Classicist and Neo-Gothic styles in the façade show a deep interest in historical pastiche at the cost of presenting a unified architectural idea.

The Northern façade has openings grouped in pairs rather than threes. As such a pattern can be seen to be emerging even in the earlier buildings, where the Northern façade remains sparsely punctured to maximise heat retention during the long Scandinavian winter, where the Sun is so low that there isn’t enough potential for day lighting to warrant large windows to the north of the building. This attitude is contrary to the industrial buildings of the time where maximum daylight took precedent in prolonging the working day, and internal comfort was secondary.

DENSITY OF FACADE

Katarina Norra Skola Gross Area of South Façade

1170.986 sq m

Module

Area / module (sq m)

No. of Modules

Total Area (sq m)

Window Type 1

3.097

62

192.014

Window Type 2

3.833

3

11.499

Window Type 3

1.679

22

36.938

Window Type 4

2.609

1

2.609

Window Type 5

2.2

6

13.2

Window Type 6

4.711

1

4.711

Window Type 7

4.493

1

4.493

Window Type 8

5.95

1

5.95

Window Type 9

0.785

8

6.28

Total Fenestration Gross Built Area

1170.986 sq m

Total Opening

277.694 sq m

Net Built Area

893.292 sq m

% opening to built area

277.694

23.70%

The era in which Katarina Norra Skolan was constructed favoured widespread infrastructure development in line with population growth. While this was a State funded initiative, the resulting school buildings in Sodermalm are incredibly well-considered and comparatively palatial in the proportioning of their facades.

The stone and brick construction of the building’s facade would have posed a challenging task for tradesmen on site. The sheer number of openings in a long facade where the building modules are so small (brick), the volume of labourers required to complete this job would be much greater than either of the other studies we will see.

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22/01/2012

Katarina Norra Skolan Room Depth Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th Light 85 Dark 25 Shutter Speed 175 Lights,Default Lights,Shadows.

Environment GI Color 1.0 TexSky BG Color 1.0 TexSky

8.5m

Overall Width - 14.5m

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Overall Width - 18.5m

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SUMMER SOLSTICE

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4:00PM

LENGTH OF SCHOOL DAY

8:30AM

Taking Katarina Norra Skola areas of fenestration into consideration, the speculative room study demonstrates the schools good potential for day lighting. 23.7% of faรงade surface area is open, resulting in higher daylight factors being attainable than in the other case studies.

Due to their orientation, there are large solar gains in the summer months on the southern faรงades. This could have been avoided in a variety of ways, however in this case it seems that the neo-gothic language of the building has superseded the issue.

Due to the lower level of fenestration, Katarina Norra Skola is less susceptible to solar gains but ultimately this limits how deep the classrooms can be planned.

EXPERIMENTATION WITH ROOM GEOMETRIES

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23/01/2012

Katarina Norra Skola Floor Height Speculation Room Depth 4500mm Head to Soffit 500mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

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Floor Height

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900mm

23/01/2012

Katarina Norra Skola Ceiling Height Speculation Room Depth 4500mm + 8500mm Sill Height 1000mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1100mm 4500mm

Ceiling Height

8500mm

Katarina Norra Skola

DOUBLE HEIGHT INVESTIGATION The double height, clerestory iteration in all three schools demonstrates a means of distributing a diffused daylight levels while lowering glare intensity significantly, unfortunately this approach create a multitude of dark spots at floor level, rendering the space impractical for teaching.

The second iteration shows that while the qualitative nature of the double height space is dramatic, it has little practical application on a south faรงade as solar gains and glare are visibly too high to promote a stable working environment.

The third and final iteration is the most successful, due to a sill height that correlates with the height of a school desk (700mm), facilitating daylight factors of an acceptable level upon work surfaces as well as end walls where teachers will be situated.

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23/01/2012 Internationella Engelska Skolan Depth of Reveal Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

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DEPTH OF REVEAL Katarina Norra Skola’s larger schedule provides a stronger dominance of voided space in relation to built fabric. The results are clear with a higher daylight factor being maintained in the classroom.

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23/01/2012 Katarina Norra Skola Daylight Factors Room Width : 10500mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

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Katarina Norra Skolan’s window schedule has demonstrated that due to its intermediate dimensions it is adequately providing daylight into the deep room plans. Sparse blue areas in the model illustrate that more than 40% of the classroom, at whatever iteration of depth, is at a daylight factor between 60 - 64%.

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ERIKSDALSSKOLAN

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Built during a time when Sweden was in need of infrastructure following what must have been a significant rise in local population density. Eriksdalsskolan was a post-war functionalist structure, it’s large and sprawling configuration and it’s capacity to cater for all levels of students, totalling 1050 shows the government’s need to support the urban development.

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The schools that pre-exist Eriksdalsskolan in the district of Södermalm all appear to abide more strictly to the structure presented by the Swedish Education Board. They are either Grundskola, Folkskola, etc.

With a rational window rhythm that stretches the length of the buildings. The building is structured around two main quadrangles, with all the internal space having a strong connection to the outside. The façades have a mixture of single openings combined with modular units, it’s hard to see why this is, but the facades looking in have more single window aspects.

The result of the building’s sprawling low level accommodation is a larger amount of built fabric, so one can imagine that considerable thought was given to how the building was designed, detailed and constructed.

Subsequently, this will have had an affect on the proportioning of the façade as where any construction process could have been simplified or duplicated, the opportunity will have been seized.

The school underwent major refurbishment in 1976 and 1992.

The northwest façade is at the foot of a gradient that rises to the hospital complex on the same plane. As a result daylight capacity will be reduced, as less of the sky is visible.

The north-eastern façade which also sits at the bottom of a gradient, set back from Ringvagen, the avenue which appears to the main point of access to the school for pedestrians. The school sits behind sits behind five residential towers, which are evenly spaced across the city block that the school occupies. All space beyond these towers is pedestrianised and as a result I have been unable to obtain information from the street-view database. But from observing historical photographs I can see that the North Eastern façade deviates from the regimented rhythms of the other facades.

I can see that the main entrance pulls some of its primary structure out into the façade, which is only seen on the horizontal plane in the rest of the outer walls of the school, with a heavy concrete beam denoting floor levels within. In the case of the north-eastern façade, the structure appears more slender, leading the viewer to believe that this may not be primary structure, more a secondary mechanism employed to reinforce an architectural language, a strong notion of order and focus for students, staff and visitors to be under no illusions that this is the main entrance to the facility.

DENSITY OF FACADE

Eriksdalskolan Gross Area of South Façade

1399.613 sq m

Module

Area / module (sq m)

Window Type 1

18.677

21

392.217

Window Type 2

3.804

51

194.004

Window Type 3

1.2

18

21.6

No. of Modules

Total Area (sq m)

Total Fenestration Gross Built Area

1399.613 sq m

Total Opening

607.821 sq m

Net Built Area

791.792 sq m

% opening to built area

607.821 sq m

43.40%

The era in which Katarina Norra Skolan was constructed favoured widespread infrastructure development in line with population growth. While this was a State funded initiative, the resulting school buildings in Sodermalm are incredibly well-considered and comparatively palatial in the proportioning of their facades.

The stone and brick construction of the building’s facade would have posed a challenging task for tradesmen on site. The sheer number of openings in a long facade where the building modules are so small (brick), the volume of labourers required to complete this job would be much greater than either of the other studies we will see.

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SUMMER SOLSTICE

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4:00PM

LENGTH OF SCHOOL DAY

8:30AM

Taking Eriksdalsskolan’s particularly large areas of fenestration into consideration, the speculative room study demonstrates the schools strong potential for daylighting. 43.4% of façade surface area is an opening, resulting in higher daylight factors being attainable than in the other case studies.

Due to their orientation, there are large solar gains in the summer months on southeast façades. This could have been avoided in a variety of ways, however in this case it seems that the functionalist language of the building has superseded the issue. The proportions of the façade remain crisp and rational, with a more generous schedule on the southern facades. As a result a portion of the windows on have been covered with frosted vinyl sheeting to mediate glare.

This is not to say that the school has too much glazing. It is still important to consider the sparse daylight available in the winter months and the requirement for artificial lighting during school hours to create a practical work environment.

EXPERIMENTATION WITH ROOM GEOMETRIES

100mm

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900mm

23/01/2012

Eriksdalskolan Floor Height Speculation Room Depth 4500mm + 8500mm Head to Soffit 500mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1100mm

4500mm

Floor Height

8500mm

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300mm

500mm

700mm

900mm

23/01/2012

Eriksdalskolan Ceiling Height Speculation Room Depth 4500mm + 8500mm Sill Height 1000mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1100mm 4500mm

Ceiling Height

8500mm

Eriksdalsskolan

DOUBLE HEIGHT INVESTIGATION The double height, clerestory iteration in all three schools demonstrates a means of distributing a diffused daylight levels while lowering glare intensity significantly, unfortunately this approach create a multitude of dark spots at floor level, rendering the space impractical for teaching.

The second iteration shows that while the qualitative nature of the double height space is dramatic, it has little practical application on a south faรงade as solar gains and glare are visibly too high to promote a stable working environment.

The third and final iteration is the most successful, due to a sill height that correlates with the height of a school desk (700mm), facilitating daylight factors of an acceptable level upon work surfaces as well as end walls where teachers will be situated.

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600mm

1200mm

23/01/2012 Eriksdalskolan Depth of Reveal Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1800mm

DEPTH OF REVEAL Due to each classroom only having one or two very large openings, the deepening of the reveal affords the spaces more horizontal reflective surfaces.

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% 64.0+ 63.0 62.0 61.0 60.0 59.0 58.0 57.0 56.0 55.0 54.0

23/01/2012

ERriksdalskolan Daylight Factors

Room Width : 10500mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

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DAYLIGHT FACTOR ANALYSIS

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Eriksdalsskolan’s window schedule has demonstrated a high average daylight factor in this study. Very few blue areas illustrating that over 50% proportion of the classroom, at whatever iteration of depth, is at a daylight factor between 60 - 64%.

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The schedule is so successful that occupants currently use a system of blinds and retrofit vinyl sheeting to limit the proportion of natural light allowed into the classroom.

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INTERNATIONELLA ENGELSKA GYMNASIET

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The Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet, while it adheres in many ways to the architectural language of this area of Sweden it is quite different to the other schools under analysis. The rhythm of the faรงade gives some notion of interior function, with a sparser schedule on the north side of the building, compared to a much denser schedule to the South.

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Presuming that this decision was made in relation to the building’s context, I can assume that workspace/ classrooms are located to the South of the building. A stairwell runs above the north entrance to the school, affording a larger window, where portion to the east of this single entrance from the north, has a smaller and fewer openings these may provide openings for corridors, meaning that the classrooms to the south have a deep plan reaching right through. Alternatively they may be the location for ancillary spaces such as staff offices, lavatories and storage.

Regardless, some idea of function can be gleaned from the very clear polarity in approach to each façade.

To the east of the north entrance the proportions become dense, denoting a change in function as the building takes a turn to the South.

At this point the mass of the building can be observed to shift vertically, where the façade communicates a larger, grander space in comparison to the more ‘everyday’ needs of the school. This wing of the building presents a sense of ‘occasion,’ and a largely different situation to that of the north façade, whose stark regularity through even spacing on both the horizontal and vertical planes communicates the notion of the everyday, of banal tasks.

The Southern wing of the main building asserts a vertical dominance over not only the other school buildings, but also the built fabric of its immediate context. Raising the internal space to first floor level and leaving the ground floor as void enhances the hierarchy, affording an appearance of floating in Villa Savoye type manner.

Some of the higher windows on the eastern façade, while they match up with those in what I am labelling as the auditorium, they have iron balustrades attached at the second floor level, which may contain either a gallery space for the auditorium, or a completely separate room. Either way, one can presume that these windows are situated at the interior floor level.

DENSITY OF FACADE

Internationella Engelska Skolan Gross Area of South Façade

1513.408 sq m

Module

Area / module (sq m)

No. of Modules

Total Area (sq m)

Window Type 1

1.86

25

46.5

Window Type 2

2.601

98

254.898 21.573

Window Type 3

7.191

3

Window Type 4

4.322

1

4.322

Window Type 5

29.688

1

29.688

Total Fenestration

Gross Built Area

1513.408 sq m

Total Opening

356.981 sq m

Net Built Area

1156.427 sq m

% opening to built area

356.981

23.60%

The era in which Katarina Norra Skolan was constructed favoured widespread infrastructure development in line with population growth. While this was a State funded initiative, the resulting school buildings in Sodermalm are incredibly well-considered and comparatively palatial in the proportioning of their facades.

The stone and brick construction of the building’s facade would have posed a challenging task for tradesmen on site. The sheer number of openings in a long facade where the building modules are so small (brick), the volume of labourers required to complete this job would be much greater than either of the other studies we will see.

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23/01/2012 Internationella Engelska Skolan Room Depth Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th Light 85 Dark 25 Shutter Speed 175 Lights,Default Lights,Shadows.

Environment GI Color 1.0 TexSky BG Color 1.0 TexSky

8.5m Overall Width - 14.5m

Overall Width - 18.5m

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SUMMER SOLSTICE

W

E

WINTER SOLSTICE

S

4:00PM

LENGTH OF SCHOOL DAY

8:30AM

Taking Internationella Engelska Skolan’s areas of fenestration into consideration, the speculative room study demonstrates the schools strong potential for daylighting. 23.6% of façade surface area is open, resulting in higher daylight factors being attainable than in the other case studies.

Due to their orientation, there are large solar gains in the summer months on southern façades. This could have been avoided in a variety of ways, however in this case it seems that the language of the building has superseded the issue and has likened it’s proportion system to that of the residential buildings in the immediate area.

Due to the lower level of fenestration, Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet is less susceptible to solar gains but ultimately this limits how deep the classrooms can be planned.

EXPERIMENTATION WITH ROOM GEOMETRIES

250mm

450mm

650mm

850mm

1050mm

23/01/2012

Internationella Engelska Skolan Floor Height Speculation Room Depth 4500mm Head to Soffit 500mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1250mm 4500mm

Floor Height

8500mm

100mm

300mm

500mm

700mm

900mm

23/01/2012

Internationella Engelska Skolan Ceiling Height Speculation Room Depth 4500mm + 8500mm Sill Height 1000mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1100mm 4500mm

Ceiling Height

8500mm

DOUBLE HEIGHT INVESTIGATION The double height, clerestory iteration in all three schools demonstrates a means of distributing a diffused daylight levels while lowering glare intensity significantly, unfortunately this approach create a multitude of dark spots at floor level, rendering the space impractical for teaching.

The second iteration shows that while the qualitative nature of the double height space is dramatic, it has little practical application on a south faรงade as solar gains and glare are visibly too high to promote a stable working environment.

The third and final iteration is the most successful, due to a sill height that correlates with the height of a school desk (700mm), facilitating daylight factors of an acceptable level upon work surfaces as well as end walls where teachers will be situated.

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600mm

1200mm

23/01/2012 Internationella Engelska Skolan Depth of Reveal Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

1800mm

DEPTH OF REVEAL In contrast, this tighter schedule does not respond as favourably. The façade appears to be harshly punctured and evokes a dim, cavernous situation when the reveal is deepened.

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% 64.0+ 63.0 62.0 61.0 60.0 59.0 58.0 57.0 56.0 55.0 54.0

23/01/2012

Internationella Engelska Skolan

Daylight Factors

Room Width : 10500mm Location: Stockholm Latitude 59’ 33” N Longitude 18’ 05” E Time 12:00 PM Date Sep 10th

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Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet’s window schedule has demonstrated that due to its smaller dimensions it is not as successful as Eriksdalsskolan in providing daylight into the deeper room plans. Very sparse yellow areas in the model illustrate that less than 20% of the classroom, at whatever iteration of depth, is at a daylight factor between 56 - 60%.

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While these daylight levels are significantly lower than the previous study, they remain at an acceptable level for internal comfort.

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1000

56.0 55.0 54.0

CONCLUSIONS FROM CASE STUDY The principal issue that has been investigated during the undertaking of this study is the dramatic variations in potential day lighting from summer to winter. A common theme with all three case studies is the way in which retrospective action has been taken to mediate the high level of solar gains that are experienced in the summer months.

The processes involved in the design and specification of facade adhere to a standard that does not resonate with the environmental conditions of the region. Greater emphasis is bestowed upon the stylistic aspirations of the era in which the building was constructed. At present, facades don’t perform in accordance with the seasons. No built-in shading within the original facades of any of the schools. This can be seen principally in the standardised depth of external reveal across all three schools.

The Swedish have a fascinatingly seasonal existence. In summer their cultural and physical horizons broaden, where as the winter is a time for closer more intimate situations indoors. It is my contention that the design of internal spaces in schools does not embrace this deeply engrained social ideal.

CAMBRIDGE

Following the conclusions drawn from the work conducted in Stockholm, I elected to take my findings to develop a design response that would go some way to improving the conditions in a classroom environments here in Cambridge, UK. In keeping with the notion of adaptive reuse I elected to appropriate a series of existing structures in central Cambridge and redesign them as a Language School for the development of not only international students looking to improve their English skills, but also for the learning of foreign languages.

The foreseeable challenge of this design project is the development of a strategy that is bold enough to implement some positive changes to internal comfort, while preserving the integrity of an existing building.

LANGUAGE SCHOOLS

LANGUAGE SCHOOLS IN CAMBRIDGE It is an unfortunate by-product of being one of the best universities in the world, that the name of the instution is bent and twisted by privste companies that posit themselves as affiliated English Language Schools.

My reason for choosing to design a mature age language school as opposed to some other strain of educational institution is that the location of my site would be best suited to mature students, given the density of the site, coupled with a congested arterial road running down the centre.

In addition, many of the existing language schools are established on a very low budget and architecturally, do not support the students as well as they could to make some of their first experiences of learning a new language as streamlined as possible.

Subsequently I will endeavour to provide optimal workable daylight hours to learning spaces within my proposal.

BELL EDUCATIONAL TRUST

The Bell Educational Trust is a registered charity that has 37 fixed locations globally, as well as a cacophany of remote services. Established first here in Cambridge in 1955 by Frank Bell, the Bell organisation now helps 100,000 students learn English every year.

This is a good example of an organisation that not only teaches students but also provides teacher training to instill a professional legacy wherever it may reach to ensure that languages continue to be accessible to all.

The school here in Cambridge was the very first and as such has had many years to establish itself. I am citing it as a strong precedent as to how a school should be structured. At the most basic level, it seems that Bell invest a lot in creating environments in which people want to learn. Rather than simply accommodating they endeavour to nurture and encourage.

Unfortunately the Bell Educational Trust is somewhat of a rarity, with other schools using low cost office space to support their students.

REGENT ST

Located South South West of Cambridge’s historic centre, Regent St acts as one of the main links to the southern areas of the city. As a result, the street is heavily used by the Public Transport services.

The street is flanked on both sides by green space. To the west, the Master’s garden of Downing College, Cambridge where access is restricted to members of the University and is somewhat undetectable from Regent St as the College is locked in either by buildings or high walls.

In stark contrast, Parkers Piece to the East is comparatively utilitarian with its sprawling expanses of turfed areas with a cricket pavilion and other municipal facilities in close proximity.

Flanked by Two Species of Open Space

Downing College Private paddock enclosed on all four sides for sole use by members of the University of Cambridge.

Parkers Piece Completely autonomous public space accessible to all.

Like most primary routes in Cambridge, congestion is an ongoing issue on Regent St. The street has been widened to accommodate modern vehicles and as a result, the pavements, while an acceptable and safe width, predominantly exist in tight situation. This stands in contrast to the more liberal proportions that can be found to the North of Regent St, where there are completely pedestrianised sectors that allow a higher degree of autonomy. As such the program of any of the buildings is restricted. The high volume of vehicular traffic that the road encounters means that it would struggle to execute a flowing, meandering shopping street where lingering and browsing are encouraged.

The roads standing as more of a thoroughfare has meant that there is a clear pattern in relation to what kinds of businesses reside on site. There is a large occurence of independent restaurants and cafe’s which are more popular for daytime patronage rather than evening. There are three Public Houses nearby, with a loyal patronage on the eastern side of the street. In particular the Avery offers a unique entry situation from Regent St whereby the pub is accessed via a tight alleyway, which opens out into what must have been stables at some point in the buildings history. The pub itself then continues through to border onto Parkers Piece, providing one of the few links to green space (though indirectly) from the centre of Regent St.

The sensation I wish to convey the strongest is the bizarre detachment from a wider context.

The street is is akin to something you would find in a much larger town in Cambridge, with development rising to five storeys in places, creating a rather oppressive situation. The question I must ask in time, is whether this a quality I want to confront or embrace?

In addition to the hospitality based businesses, the remainder are independent small businesses operating predominantly out a single premises. Currently, there has been a flurry of development in the area, with several new cafes opening in close succession. After consulting Cambridgeshire County Council’s planning records, it became clear that while the street is currently at a relatively low standard of upkeep, there is a marked interest in the area, as several large scale developments have been proposed.

Two such projects are being undertaken by Downing College, who have owned property on Regent St for some time but have only recently acquired sufficient funds to undertake a series of renovations to convert office space into graduate accomodation.

The decay of existing buildings is plain to see, with many of the upper floors of the old Victorian terraces appearing to be unnoccupied and run-down. In addition, there are some strong examples of retrofitted services as well as changes of use in a number of the buildings (see overleaf). Common in so many cases where a building has been re-zoned or technology has allowed for services; heating, cooling or otherwise; to be installed into a building of a much older specification. This leads to a jumble of external services that is unsightly and succeptible to damage due to their poor design quality.

Above ground floor level the majority of accomodation is used as commercial office space.

However this is predictably interspersed with some residential accommodation. Following a closer study it became clear that three professions that appear to have clustered in Regent St are Estate Agencies, Accountants and Solicitors.

While Estate Agencies rely somewhat on ground floor ‘passing trade,’ the other two can afford to remove themselves from the street entirely. However as can be seen in the elevations on the previous page, the premises that are occupied vary dramatically. Some structures have been built in the last 40 years and conform with contemporary approaches to commercial workspaces, as such they have been designed for a particular use and have managed to hold that program in some way since their construction.

Meanwhile other structures were built as long as 160 years ago and as a result no longer fully cater to the needs of modern society. As such there are a number of typologies that perform with varying levels of effectiveness.

Examples of Retrofitted Services

EATERY RETAIL OFFICE RESIDENTIAL

URBAN U

PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL

EATERY RETAIL OFFICE RESIDENTIAL PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL

EATERY RETAIL OFFICE RESIDENTIAL PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL

Property Usage on Regent St, Cambridge

URBAN U

EATERY RETAIL OFFICE RESIDENTIAL PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL

URBAN USE

AL

ESIDENTIAL

EATERY RETAIL OFFICE RESIDENTIAL PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL

URBAN USE

SELECTED INTERVENTIONS

The three properties I have selected present me with three different architectural languages with which to contend, but also the potential to devise a strategy to pull them all and the street elevation together.

The cluster is centrally located in relation to the stretch of Regent St that I have been studying.

My intention is to devise an overall strategy by which all three buildings can be adapted in very much the same manner with subtle deviations to allow for different uses as well as the scales of each of the structures.

By treating each building in a similar manner, I am creating a stable datum from which the occupiers, in this case the Language School can begin to inhabit the structure. My principal aim must remain to improve daylight levels from the existing condition, and do this in such a way that the building can adapt smoothly to change of use and/or climate.

NUMBER 92

Number 92 is a late 70s offic block that employs a pre-cast concrete modular facade system.

The street facade is extensively fenestrated in comparison to the other structures you will see.

Placed 150mm apart across the entire width of the building, it is clear to see that the original design of the facade was bowing to the commercial pressure to maintain maximum floor area in what is a deep plan building.

A somewhat unique aspect of the facade’s design is the different projections on different floors. This does not denote internal function in any way, all that seems to be achieved is the overshadowing of the cafe unit on the ground floor, who must experience hindered sunlight during the crucial morning coffee break.

The ground floor is indeed occupied by two cafe/restaurants that have very recently established themselves where a nightclub (Niche) used to be. The notion of maintaining street interface with whatever intervention is made could well be embraced by these establishments.

It would contribute to the idea that any action that I propose endeavours to respond to the aspirations of the street, promoting a level of integration with the public that is so crucial to

those attempting to learn a language. Indeed the crux of this entire proposal is that this facility promotes synergy and a comfortable atmosphere for students to immerse themselves in the learning of English.

By making a physical model at 1:100, I was able to identify that it is the window shape that causes this facade to appear as though it is squatting over its ground, rather than rising elegantly from street level. Which it would be fully capable of achieving had the fenestration simply been made slimmer in it’s vertical proportion. It’s hard to tell where these proportions would have come from considering no other building in the vicinity is using such a window schedule.

As was previously mentioned, the ground floor is occupied by two cafe/restaurant type establishments. Both of independent ownership, they will be keen to maintain a bustling and busy custom. With the entrance to the upstairs accommodation located at the centre of the building there would could be a healthy crossover between the three.

The upstairs accommodation is being leased to four small companies using varying amounts of floor area. Though the building’s performance is among the best of the group, due to the postrationalisation of the internal floor plan, a series of partitions have been constructed that inhibit the effectiveness of the large windows at the front and rear of the structure.

NUMBER 79

2ND FLOOR PLAN

1ST FLOOR PLAN

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

Number 79 Regent St is a post-war mixed use building that in terms of use has stood the test of time. While there has been extensive internal alterations, with a series of stud walls supplementing the more solid spine walls and staircases, the building has managed to maintain it’s role to the street.

The upper floors have long been partially occupied by the headquarters of Cambridge solicitors Miller Sands and are in the process of refurbishment.

The facade of this building is very different to Number 92, in that it relies on a more traditional palette of masonry and sandstone window lintels. My inclination towards classifying it as a postwar structure is the undertone of classical proportion in the design of the facade. However, it is the rather frugal materials used that suggest that the building was constructed on a budget with pragmatic commercial compromsies being made in regard to design. This can be likened to the approach by designers of Eriksdalsskolan in Stockholm, where a contemporary approach for the 1940s was given an economic overhaul to suit the demands of the client.

However, the large difference between Eriksdalsskolan and Number 79 comes back to the proportioning of the facade. While Eriksdalsskolan employed a generously large window schedule (unwittingly to their own detriment in later years), Number 79 has a far more traditional proportion system, where small, narrow openings are grouped in threes in a rather quaint fashion.

It has to be said that this does not comply either with the Victorian terraces with shops below (see Number 72), or the more recent structures of 1960 onwards (see Number 92).

As such, this building sits in the centre the scale of building languages that I have elected to adapt.

The aim regarding this building is to restructure the servicing system to mediate the current issue with retrofitted services of poor design quality being added to a building that has been surpassed by the capabilities of modern technology.

NUMBER 72

GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

ROOF PLAN

72A REGENT ST CAMBRIDGE LANGUAGE SCHOOL AS EXISTING Scale 1:200

Number 72 is currently unoccupied office space where a planning application is in place to convert into four residential units. As can be seen in the existing plans, the building has been subject to erratic subdivision as tenants have come and gone, rendering many of the spaces completely devoid of any form of natural light.

Like the previous structure, masonry with stone lintels form the primary structure of the facade, with sash windows grouped in close threes. The main difference is scale, where the other two structure were designed as solely commercial bulidings, they have acquired the necessary floor area to make the project profitable. It seems that while properties such as this afford small time developers the opportunity to visualise their own piece of city, I have included this building more to demonstrate what is possible with structures such as this that are not being used to their full potential.

The study I conducted (left) demonstrates the lack of dialogue between storeys and the lack of connection to the outside that one could expect to feel when inhabiting an office centrally located in a deep plan, party walled structure.

Number 72 poses a strong challenge to the designer as they are heavily bound by party walls on both sides and the surprisingly deep plan presents a challenge for any daylight hoping to reach the central axis.

DESIGN STRATEGY

FACADE

32mm double glazed rooflight lead flashing insulated upstand waterproof membrane

20mm thick steel spring bolt

Solid green oak framework 25mm split oak cladding 30mm double glazied unit

Parapet Detail Scale 1:10

11mm plasterboard 11mm marine plywood

150mm solid insulation

3 ply weatherproof lining

21mm marine plywood

20mm thick steel spring bolt

Solid green oak framework mortise and tenon joint 25mm split oak cladding

countersunk 47.5mm walk on skylight

30mm double glazied unit

Facade Detail Scale 1:10

insulated upstand lead flashing waterproof membrane

20mm thick steel spring bolt

Solid green oak framework

25mm split oak cladding

30mm double glazied unit

Parapet Detail Scale 1:10

30mm double glazied unit green oak floorboard 20mm thick steel spring bolt Mortise and Tenon joint

25mm split oak cladding Solid green oak framework 30mm double glazied unit

Facade Detail Scale 1:10

VOID

47.5mm insulating glass unit

Extruded aluminium external capping steel mount for plasterboard

2 x 10mm plasterboard 3 ply weatherproof lining Insulated upstand for skylight

Rooflight Detail Scale 1:10

PROPOSAL

NUMBER 92

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

1ST FLOOR PLAN

2ND FLOOR PLAN

3RD FLOOR PLAN

ROOF PLAN

SECTION AA

SECTION BB

C

B

C B

SECTION CC

C

C B A

ON CC

C B A C B A

DISCUSSION ROOM

PUNCHING VOIDS

EXISTING

PROPOSED

NUMBER 79

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

1ST FLOOR PLAN

2ND FLOOR PLAN

ROOF PLAN

SECTION AA

SECTION BB

B

A

A

B

The larger scale of Number 79 lends itself to a communal library space.

LIBRARY LOOKING NORTH

LIBRARY LOOKING SOUTH

EXISTING

PROPOSED

NUMBER 72

GROUND FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

ROOF PLAN

EXISTING

PROPOSED

CONCLUSIONS A lightweight timber structure, when insulated correctly will successfully prolong daylight hours and improve the thermal performance of an existing building. The design exercise has proved to be a rewarding and worthwhile endeavour, given that while my interventions are relatively simple in their formal qualities, a far more dramatic series of architectural situations is created.

Whether this will prove to be a worthwhile or financially viable concept will lie in the development of the materials being used as well as the particular buildings selected for adaptation. Unfortunately this initiative will continue to be a circumstantial issue and will need to proceed on a case by case framework. Though I believe this preliminary study has sparked some interesting question as to how building reuse could be approached in the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

THE POLITICS OF PRE-SCHOOL – intentions and decisions underlying the emergence and growth of the Swedish pre-school Korpi, Barbara Martin 2007 Social Movements and Gentrification in Hamburg and Stockholm: A Comparative Study M Franzen 2005 Environmental Design: An Introduction for Architects and Engineers Randall, Thomas; Fordham LLP, Max 2011 The Structures of Education and Training Systems in Europe Ministry of Education and Research 2010 Education in Sweden Britta Stenholm The Market comes to Education in Sweden: and Evaluation of Sweden’s surprising school reforms. Anders

Bjorklund

Tradition and Change in Swedish Education Leon Boucher Matching Educational and Occupational Structures in Finland and Sweden Sakari Ahola Trends in Educational Policy Sixten Marklund, Gunnar Bergendal Cambridgeshire County Council Planning Records Green Oak Framing Ltd

PHOTOGRAPHS

Large Photographs of current conditions of Case Studies Stockholm City Council Historic Photographs of Schools Lennart Borjeson School Aerial Photographs Bing Maps Historic Maps of Stockholm and Sodermalm University of Cambridge Map Room Structure of Swedish Education System Diagram Swedish Board of Education