Clement Ellewelapahalage 2024 Portfolio

CLEMENT ELLEWELAPAHALAGE

PART II ARCHITECTURAL ASSISTANT SELECTED WORKS 2024

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CONTENTS 01. Nottingham Council House

03-07

02. Scarlet Senate

08-15

03. House of Code

16-19

04-07. Extra-Curricular

20-23

Location: Nottingham M(Arch) Architecture NTU, Heritage & Conservation Module

03

Location: Birmingham, Spaghetti Junction M(Arch) Architecture NTU, Year 2 Studio Project

Location: Edinburgh, Calton Hill M(Arch) Architecture NTU, Year 1 Studio Project

Location: London

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02

04-06

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01.

Nottingham Council House

Key: 1) Banqueting Hall 2) Restaurant Space 3) Chef’s Kitchen 4) Growing Space 5) Classrooms 6) Market

As part of a heritage and conservation module during masters study, I was assigned onto a digital team to recreate an accurate digital model of Nottingham Council House, situated in Old Market Square. As team leader I was responsible for ensuring cad drawings provided by a survey team were accurate when compared with archived drawings obtained through a research team.

The intervention proposed was largely influenced by Carolyn Steels Ted Talk: “How Food Shapes Our Cities” about Sitopia and how agriculture was the foundation which enabled cities to establish in the fertile crescent.

The intervention aims to use the site as a focal point in Old Market Square and reinvigorate a communal spirit in the heart of Nottingham City by establishing a new experience which explores the production and consumption of food.

The form is inspired by the concept of a barn, used as a means to house livestock in the past it will evoke similar emotions in visitors through its form, however the use of openings and light will create a bright, communal space useable by a ranging demographic.

With all of these spaces the intervention provides users with a wide set of tools to establish a better relationship with those that produce food as well as those consuming it.

The restaurant space takes inspiration from The Decorators Ridley market pop-up. Through a hoisting mechanism food is lifted from the kitchen on the lower floor up to the public restaurant spaces. This makes the cooking process much more transparent as workstations are visible to clientele on the upper floors.

Softwares Used: -Revit -Sketchup -V-Ray -AutoCAD -Adobe CAD Suites

A

1

4

2

5

3

6

Terrace

A

01m

2m

3m4m5m

10 m

Perspective Section A 3

First Floor Plan in Context 0

4

5

10

20

North Elevation 5

Tectonics The visual shows the southern block which houses the restaurants and kitchen, a large atrium space is illuminated by glazed windows at roof level, the atrium space present the existing steel structure which is braced by new timber glu-lam columns which support the floors above the kitchen. At the highest level the glu-lam beams hold a hoisting mechanism which enables food to be hoisted up from the kitchen up to the dining spaces above. The atrium spaces supports the idea of transparency as diners can freely watch the chefs prepping and cooking on the lower floor.

Terrace 01m

2m

3m4m5m

10 m

Visual of Southern Intervention

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Existing Steel Structure

Structure There are three elements to the structure, first the existing steel would be exposed, secondly the glu-lam columns which support the beams as well as the roof structure, thirdly a timber roof structure which spans off steel and glulam columns.

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02.

Scarlet Senate The Consititutional Review by Gordon Brown highlights that London has long been the focal point of British politics, as a result the financial gains and power hasn’t been passed onto neighbouring cities. Consequently people feel invisible to their political leaders, decisions are made to influence the lives of people who will never experience the benefits of the changes made in the Houses of Parliament.

Thus this project aims to provide a new source of decentralised power located in Birmingham at the Gravelly Hill Interchange, also known as Spaghetti Junction. The site was chosen based on the works carried out by Yona Friedman, his conceptual Utopian city proposals aimed to provide housing with infinite adaptability and affordability based on the user, interestingly he proposed the use of underused/ forgotten urban spaces such as railroad tracks, ports, parks, parking lots and bridges. His conceptual framework has driven the choice for the site as well as the process to define the form and procession through the site.

The main principle for this project was to utilise the existing road columns to have floating elements to house my project.

The site is experienced upon the existing axis of a canal footpath which cuts directly through the busy roads of Spaghetti Junction, the building breaks off this central axis along a grid line running perpendicular to the canal. The project also takes inspiration from Parc De La Villette by Bernard Schumi, with red walkways acting as visual aides to direct visitors around the intricate site, both through raised structures as well as the footpaths on the ground.

Softwares Used: -Rhino -Blender -Revit -Sketchup -V-Ray -Morpholio -AutoCAD -Adobe CAD Suites

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25m Offset

Buildable Zones

Ground Zones

Maximum Parameters

Initial Programme

Block Placement

Grid within Parameters

Block Heights

Block Placement

Rotation

Blocks Breakdown

Sets of Rules The main concept behind the project was to utilise the 559 existing concrete columns to span timber beams above the ground plane. As the site was expansive limitations were set, to reduce the scale of the junction. The first being a 25m offset distance between columns, this distance was chosen based on the maximum glu-lam beam span provided by local suppliers. The areas highlighted in blue show areas where columns from two roads interact, this provides zones where the buildings can span which are not entirely covered by the roads.

The Welsh Parliament was used as a scale reference to decide the amount of space designated for each function of the senate, the square feet designated to each space was converted into blocks which fit onto the site grids. This was followed by various block placement experiments within the grid, this process influenced the form and procession through the site.

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Process Mario Botta’s, Bergamo Church was used as a precedent for the idea of transition in form. These drawings show my process where the square floor plan is met with inverted corners on the upper floor.

This transition which cuts the corners of the floor plan in the debating chamber would lead to a change in form such as sloped ceiling forms, as well as displacing the viewing galleries, from being on the edges of the plan on the ground floor to cutting into the chamber on the upper floor.

This flip in the corners of the floor plan would form a nice transition which would be carried on into the ceiling form.

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Key Spaces: 01 Train Station

02 Lobby/Library

03 Debating Chamber

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04 Office Block

05 Lobby/Gallery

Debating Chamber

Lobby Exterior Visual

12

Glass Skylights

Lime Washed CLT Timber Frame Concrete brutalist structures often have textured surfaces with visible marks of the wooden frames used to pour on site. Lime washed timber provide a similar visual aesthetic in terms of colour and texture provide a more sustainable replacement for concrete.

Lime Washed CLT Panels

GRC Concrete Wall Panel Finish The structure of the chamber would be timber walls, the finish however would be lightweight GRC concrete wall panels which eminate the appearance of concrete.

It would provide a nice contrast in material to the roof as well as still celebrating the use of concrete seen in brutalist buildings.

Tiered Platform with steel balustrades, adorned with timber slats

Timber flooring with stone tiling

Steel pedestals

Raised floor to house plenum

Stonescreen Magrolam Floor panels

Concrete supports Roof Construction

13

5

2

1

3

4

Final Collar 1) Rounded steel plate connector The rounded steel plates are welded together in a semi circular form, this should wrap around the concrete column 2) Inserts in the steel plate enable prestressed bolts to be directly bolted into the concrete column, the rounded steel plate can then be slotted into the bolts and help up.

3) A steel connector is bolted to the rounded steel plate, this works like a u-channel joint that should provide additional support for the concealed beam hanger by spreading the weight onto the top and bottom round steel plate.

4) A steel concealed beam hanger is attached which enables the beams to be attached 5) The majority of bolts used to put the collar together would be blind-bolts.

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Section Detail

Zinc Capping 25mm Exterior Grade Ply Fascia Vent 18mm Exterior Grade Ply EDPM Roof Covering Stud up-stand to be screwed/bolted to cassessettes studs 25mm Battens and Counter Battens Vapour Control Layer Blok Build Cassette System Core Tex Concrete Wall Panel Wooden Window Frame equipped with openable glass

Mechanically Operate Louvers Wooden Window Frame equipped with openable glass 25mm Battens and Counter Battens Vapour Control Layer Blok Build Cassette System Core Tex Concrete Wall Panel Suspended Ceiling System Thermaline Insulated Plasterboard Bio-Based Sealing Profile Steel Joint Glu-Lam Supporting Frame

Concrete Road Columns Friction Collar Galvanised Blind-Bolts Glu-Lam Beam

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03.

House of Code The first studio project produced during masters study was very conceptual, the brief was to create a building that innovates the political process. The result was a pioneering political building, with the sole purpose of making data tangible through processes such as interpretation of data, storage and education of a new generation. The host is in the form of the Old Royal High School, a building that was once seen as the shining light of Scotlands future independence, now lays in a state of disarray after the construction of the new Scottish Assembly in the foothills of Holyrood.

This project is an exploration that is set in the year 2042, where Scotland has gained independence from the United Kingdom and is establishing its own identity as one of the leading cyber-secure embassies in the world. The building has three crucial functions to work cohesively with the narrative of the parasitic growth of data.

1) A school building which will mould a new generation, who are taught how to process data, learn about gaps in the control of data laws and be informed about future developing technologies such as the metaverse.

2) The existing Old Royal High School will be used as a human computer, where people decode the data from the data centre and turn it into tangible data which is used in debates through holographic projections. Holographic projections could range from counterfeit NFTs to copyrighted architectural BIM systems, which will undergo debates and dicsussions in the debating chamber. Spaces within the proposal will be dedicated to make the world of data more accessible to civilians, by providing auction rooms and sales rooms where people can purchase digital assets such as NFTs. 3) The architectural plan is influenced by the data, which takes form as a parasite growing from the hillside. Through fully automated processes, data is not stored in server racks but instead carved into small tunnels within Calton Hill, with automated drones being the only machine able to access these narrow paths, thus strengthing security of the data.

These drones gather the data and transport it to the Old Royal High School where human workers would take over the labour process of decoding the data. Thus creating an atmosphere where man and machine work together efficiently to organise data.

Softwares Used: -Rhino -Sketchup -V-Ray -AutoCAD -Adobe CAD Suites

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Section

17

Lower Ground Floor Plan Key: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

+64.00

Data Centre

+67.00

9

Entrance Security Gate Reception Hologram Projector Auction House Private Auction Auction Storage Surveillance Area Data Centre Souvenir Shop Restaurant Kitchen/Storage Meeting Room W/C Staff Rooms

+67.00

+67.00

8

+65.00

+64.00

+67.00

+67.00

Upper Ground Floor +68.00

7 +67.00

+68.00

4

+68.50

14

+67.00

+68.00 +68.00

5

8

+68.00

+68.00

+71.00

+68.50

7

+71.00

5

12

+71.00

+5 С

+68.00

-18/-20

+68.00

+68.00

6

15

+71.00

+68.00

11

+71.00 +71.00

12

6 +68.00

15

3

+71.00

Lower Ground Floor

+68.00

13

+68.00 +68.00

13

6

+71.00

+68.00

+71.00

+71.00

+71.00

14

+71.00

14

+71.00

2 +71.00

+71.00

Basement Level +67.00

Lower Ground Floor Plan

18

+71.00

+71.00

+71.00

+71.00

Exploded Isometric

10

1

+67.00

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04.

Custom Products After finishing my Part I at Birmingham City University I started a custom products business, mainly painting onto leather surfaces with leather paints, I slowly gained a following on social media and used The Custom Movement to spread my brand to get international sales.

The work began with phone cases but slowly shifted towards custom shoes as it became trendy over social media, running this business fuelled my work ethic. Although the products drove sales they were a small part of the job. I had to design my own packaging, learn how to make a website as well as ways of promoting the work on social media. This involved videos and animations which were created using Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro and various other softwares.

Time management was crucial in order to paint, set and package products within the timelines set by the companies which I used as a platform to sell on.

This business has been a work in progress for years and I am constantly thinking about ways to change the products and innovate my craft. I often get bursts of creativity and this endeavour has been one of the main ways I shared that ability with my friends and followers.

Logo designed for my custom business

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05.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Commissions After starting my custom business I was contacted by various people, I produced commissioned artwork such as posters and logos to the clients specifications. These processes helped me learn about what to offer and how much to charge, as well as ways to communicate with a client to ensure that every party is happy once all of the work is complete.

I produced animations for music videos and visualisers for new and upcoming artists on the British Asian music scene.

This included character models, as well as visual drafts.

Although I had never produced animations for a commission in the past I decided to push myself and get out of my comfort zone, this helped me improve my use of softwares as well as learning key skills with animation that I never thought I would need.

I worked with photographers who I helped establish a brand identity through logos and websites, in turn we have collaborated for the last couple of years, producing videos and edits for companies, such as Havana Club. The photographer would supply me with videos and photos which I would have to edit into a music video to fit a brief set by Havana Club for their social media campaigns.

These processes have helped me get out of my comfort zone and to experience new challenges, it has also improved my knowledge on After Effects, Premiere Pro, Illustrator and Photoshop.

This link will take you to one of the visualisers I produced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlBU69mPCLQ

Key: 1. Animation for music video 2. Animated logo GIFS 3. Commissioned Posters 4. Logo 5. Visualisers for Spotify 6. Logo

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06.

Construction I have been working freelance as a builder since 2020, taking part in client meetings, site visits, surveying, property renovations. Over the years I have gained an insight into the costs for materials as well as a better technical understanding of the composition of older housing stock in the UK. I have carried out physical work on properties such as tiling, painting, plastering,dry wall installation, wall and ceiling repairs, kitchen fittings, bathroom fittings, installing laminate and vinyl flooring.

This experience has worked in tandem with my architectural education and has made it easier for me to understanding technical drawings and see how it is applied in real life scenarios. Additionally the job involved providing clients with visuals and CAD drawings hence helped develop my communication skills and ability to express concepts to clients.

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07.

Art

The origins of all of my businesses and social media prescence was my desire to share my enjoyment of art. I like to use different types of media from pencils, charcoal, pens , watercolour and oil paint. I started my art page during undergrad as a way of staying motivated and having a routine to my days, through daily portrait studies I carried on my passion for art which I had from a young age.

These hobbies of mine display my desire to be a creative individual, as well as my ability to work hard and knuckledown through various challenges even if they are going on at the same time. All of the successes and failures I have experienced throughout my education and extracurricular activities have made me a more competent student equipped with various skills.

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