// MA Architecture (Hons.) at the University of Edinburgh
Predicted graduation date: May 2024
Currently on track to achieve a First Class (Hons.) degree classification.
// HND Architectural Technology at City of Glasgow College
2018-19 HNC – A
2019-20 HND – A
// Secondary Education at Denny High School
// Customer assistant at B&M Retail, (August 2014 – April 2015), (August 2018 – October 2022)
Starting in retail my attention was aimed towards team building and attempting to establish a positive culture for everyone to effectively work in. Over time I had assumed many different roles within the store, these jobs included sales, merchandising, receiving store deliveries and helping with customer enquiries.
// Floor Supervisor/ Duty Manager at B&M Retail, April 2015 – April 2016
I am a student with 4 years of experience working with architectural projects across two higher education courses. Through this experience I have developed a range of skills in architectural drafting and presentation, as well as knowledge of designing in accordance with Scottish building standards. I am currently seeking paid experience between 3-6 months as part of an integrated practice period within my 3rd year coursework. I believe architecture has a responsibility to respond to the climate crisis, so I have used my academic projects to explore sustainable design. I have a particular interest in designing architectural spaces that appreciate and protect our experience with the natural world. This aim has been showcased throughout my portfolio projects with a clear ambition to achieve sustainable architecture through both technical detail and environmentally inspired design.
Email : connorfyffe1996@hotmail.com
Contact no. : +44 (0)7541472086
Linkedin : www.linkedin.com/in/connorfyffe
Reference
Andrea Faed Architect & Tutor at Edinburgh UniversityEmail: a.faed@ed.ac.uk
2008-14 – SQA Highers including Maths, Graphic Communication, and Art & Design.
Attained and currently hold a Full UK drivers Licence (2015).
Completed Management Development training at Falkirk B&M Retail (2015).
Completed Course Representative training delivered by Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland (2020). sparqs
Achievements
Voted to be the Architectural Technology Course Representative at City of Glasgow College (2020).
Nominated to represent the year with a presentation of my 1st year design portfolio at the BA/MA Highlights event, part of the ESALA Graduate Show (2021), shown on pages 4 - 7.
Received a prize for achieving a grade in the top 10% of the Technology and Environment: Principles course (2021), the corresponding project is shown on pages 8 - 11.
Received recognition for the design of a high-performance green roof, the construction detailing of which was published in the 2020/2021 ESALA Architecture Catalogue (2021), shown on page 11 of the portfolio.
Awarded the ESALA Technology Prize - Presented for the best technology project in Architecture at ESALA (2022), shown on pages 16 - 21.
Early in 2015 I was enlisted in a management training program and assumed new responsibilities within the store. My position required that I organise the team so that all store duties were carried out as needed. I organised regular meetings with my colleagues which helped me to gain information regarding store activities and acted as an opportunity to develop communication and conflict resolution skills. The rest of my job involved helping my team with any issues they might have, carrying out quality checks and ensuring that the company directives were met.
// Self-Employed Painter and Decorator, April 2016 - August 2018
Throughout this period of self-employment, I utilised organisation and time management skills developed from my time working in retail. By ensuring that jobs were carried out according to a strict schedule this allowed the client to plan their own time more efficiently, thus reducing scheduling conflicts for both parties. The first priority however was always to guarantee that the highest quality of work was carried out to uphold a high-performance reputation.
Photoshop 9/10
AutoCAD 9/10
Microsoft Office 9/10
Rhinoceros 7/10
Revit 6/10
Site Analysis 7/10
Model Making 8/10
Adobe Suite 8/10
Sketching 6/10
Construction Detailing 7/10
Title: A Line in the Landscape
Timeline: September 2020 – December 2020
Location: Bonnybridge, Scotland
The brief of this project was simply to design a series of educational spaces that could cater to the immediate area around my home in Bonnybridge, Scotland. Interestingly, this project was undertaken during a time of governmentimposed restrictions which essentially limited the level of socialisation people had access to, but more specifically, limited their movements to a small radius around where they lived. As a result, people went out into greenspace or the countryside to relax, and these walking routes often became an everyday occurrence in their lives. Ultimately as part of my own walks, escaping the centralised belt of residences, I took photographs of what I considered to be inspirational points in the landscape.
3 - Canal and motorway intersection to the south
2 - Stacked haybales beside the underpass
1 - Motorway underpass to the north
The design focus became thinking about lines across this specific landscape and how the underpass, haybales and canal created important intersections. They marked very specific points of human intervention and used regularly repeating circular themes, exemplified in the heavy concrete underpass and the stacked cylindrical haybales. As a result, the design was formulated as a series of circles emanating from a central node, similar to the effect of a stone being dropped in water, and these spaces interacted with other points along the line. Importantly, the route that connects each building volume, or node, negotiates a gradual level change in the ground and so creates an accessible ramp marking the primary route through the building.
Continuing to expand the deployment of circles and cylinders within the scheme, a system of irregularly clustered columns were used to signify thresholds throughout the entire building. The sporadically positioned columns were designed to mimic the arrangement of trees in a larger woodland area to blur the transition between the built and natural environment. This core theme of connecting people to nature is carried out in lockstep with encouraging socialisation. This is not just achieved through circular seating plans but also by creating spaces that encourage people to gather. A feat that the lighting conditions and framed view of the landscape in the digital model aboveseekstoaccomplish.
Title: Salisbury View Studio
Timeline: February 2021 – April 2021
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
This project was designed for the use of an Edinburgh based sculptor that had secured a site with an amazing view of Salisbury Crags cliff to the east. Importantly the small sites boundary sat at the edge a public park and the client wanted the structure to have a small footprint to not dominate the park views. The building had to include all the amenities they were use to in a residence, including a place to sleep, as well as providing ample storage and display space for exhibiting their work both inside and outsidetheproperty.
Two large south facing windows with seating, and a rooflight over the kitchen island were deployed to optimise solar heat gains. Lockable storage space built into the wall thickness for concealment. Large doors used all throughout the property to ensure an accessible 900mm clear span. Property accessed via timber decking, with dry storage in the void space underneath, for the client’s exhibitions.The design makes use of an extended wall depth to incorporate high levels of insulation but also to create usable space for seating and storage. The wall becomes a feature that is highly visible upon entering the room, drawing attention to the work of the sculptor. Furthermore, the wall display area sits next to the central island in the kitchen creating a space to meet with an interested client or to entertain when hosting an event.
The white painted timber wall structure is utilised here to create a more permanent exhibition space as part of the core architectural proposal. The idea is to base the design around celebrating the work of the artist and by extending the footprint of the wall inwardly, more space is created to appropriately fill with insulation.
Open shelving for sculptures, ornaments, paintings, and any other artistic works so that they can be displayed and showcased at events. These openings may act as a point of sale or display for created works.
Seating area to be upholstered with salvaged fabric that had been destined for recycling to reduce the carbon footprint of the design. The seating area protrudes out by 450mm from the window frame to create a reading cosy as well as additional concealed storage in the frame below.
Another focus was to create a highly sustainable structure that made use of local materials where possible. In that endeavour, Scots pine was selected to build framed floor, wall and roof panels that could be built off site and moved into position when the weather and team schedule permits. The high levels of insulation establish an effective heated envelope with the walls and roof structures reaching weighted u-values of 0.09 and 0.06 W/m2K respectively.
SWtimberedgingtofinishparapet
150mm flashing upstand overlapping DPC
300mmPerimeterballast
Light vegetation planted on 40mm growing medium (Common Earth) {1.28 W/mK}
Filterfabric
25mm profiled steel sheet providing drainagespace
60mm Kingspan OPTIM-R Insulation Panels{0.007W/mK}
Root barrier (red), DPC (grey) (DPC extendsoverparapet)
RoofDeck,2layersof15mmOSB{0.130 W/mK}
220×47mm C24 Scots pine joist @400mm centres {0.140 W/mK}, w/ Kingspan Kooltherm K112 framing board tight between joists (120mm insulation) {0.018W/mK)
57.5mmKingspanKooltherm®K118
Plasterboard{0.018W/mK}
SW Furring pieces creating a 1:40 gradient for drainage {0.140 W/mK} (50mm, angled so size will vary)
Title: Maravillas Gymnasium: Precedent Study
Timeline: September 2021 – October 2021
Location: Madrid, Spain
Maravillas Gymnasium was constructed in 1962, designed by the architect Alejandro de la Sota for a site in Madrid, Spain. The site experiences a 12m drop across its extent and therefore De La Sota’s design deals specifically with the harsh topography by utilising an innovative steel structure. As a concept for the design, the ground planes were extended out on each street, creating a gymnasium at the lower level, and playing courts at the upper level. Interestingly, the design creates spaces in unusual ways, allowing classrooms to be hung in between the steel structure.
Seating
Flexible-Use Space
Gymnasium
Bathrooms
Library / Storage
Circulation
Classrooms
Large Lecture Rooms
Playing Courts on Flat Roof
Storage / Plant Room
Grandstand / Storage
The architect’s approach to design, in this case, seems to emanate from a philosophy of function over form. This can be seen in the celebration of engineering by leaving the bridge-like structure exposed throughout the design. Moreover, the dominance of this structure which is set along a rectilinear grid is also quite profound. The grid system is so well respected that classrooms almost seem to be shoehorned into position.
Flexible-Use Space
Gymnasium
Bathrooms
Library / Storage
Circulation
Classrooms
Large Lecture Rooms
Playing Courts on Flat Roof Storage / Plant Room
Plans have been redrawn from source: https://archeyes.com/maravillas-gymnasium-alejandro-de-la-sota/
The laser cut model was created to further my understanding of the spaces De La Sota created in his design. The Large bridge-like structure allows for inhabitable areas to occur above, below and in between ground planes in a way that maximises the space available. This sectional model could be repeated to create the larger building, showing the sizeable open gymnasium, the classrooms suspended between bridge structures, and the playing courts on the roofabove.
Title: Nesting in the City
Timeline: January 2022 – May 2022
Location: Paris, France
This project involves a site that is currently a public park located within the 20th arrondissement of Paris, France, a largely residential area with few green spaces.
The stairwell running along the north side of the park connects the streets rue de l’Ermitage (East, +7.400m) and rue des Cascades (West, +0.000m). The sandy area at +3.340m sits partly within the foundations of a demolished factory, the Kemmler Establishments, metal turning workshop that was closed in 2005. This is arguably the main reason the site was turned into a park as residents started petitions and created organised groups to convince their local government to protect it as a green space. While the residents were successful in creating the public park, it has since fallen into a state of disrepair and the area accessed by the northside stair has become a hangout for groups of teenagers, leading to various noise complaints from neighbouring buildings.
Prevailing winds from the SW and NE
Bird song emanating from the existing trees
Sandy public park, accessed by stair only +3.340m
Noise from traffic and garage doors
Sun Path, buildings casting large shadow over sunken level site
The western approach to the site is defined by a continuous wall of trees which offer a break from the dense urban sprawl covering the wider location, and the significance of this public green space cannot be understated as it serves many of the locals in their daily lives. Not only do the trees benefit the locals but they also provide sanctuary to birds nesting in the area. The presence of bird song, in particular, brings a welcomed sound dynamic into the design conversation.
The proposed scheme only provides a heated envelope around the dwellings specifically, leaving the circulation and garden spaces exposed to the surroundings. The dwellings are accessed through a balcony that is separated from the rest of this circulation by floor to ceiling sliding doors. Perforations in these doors, and their ability to slide open, allows people to have full control over how open or closed, private or communal they want that space to be.
Key
The design features an assortment of differently sized apartments, all with their own unique view of the park. The varying space of the apartments allows family units of all sizes to inhabit the building, creating the possibility of interactions between them as they negotiate the circulation and communal spaces.
The design of the perforated external shutters and doors, as well as the floor to ceiling windows on the western elevation are all designed to create atmospheric moments around the building. While the windows on the western side reveal unrestricted views out to the trees, the windows on the eastern side are equipped with perforated shutters that interact with the busy street beyond. The ambition of these shutters are 3-fold, they allow people to decide how exposed they are to the neighbouring buildings, they lessen the extent of solar heat gains, and they scatter the light entering the building much like light hitting a woodland floor.