The Amplifier - Degree Show Flux Atelier

The Amplifier studio 3.2 portfolio Haresh Gardner 18057016

Contents Part 1: Overarching Scheme 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

The Amplifier Uncovering Manchester’s DNA Layered Modality Sounding Circles Expanding the Sounding Belt Sound Satellites Masterplan Ground Floor Plan 1st Floor Plan Connection with the Mancunian Way Roof Plan NorthEast Elevation SouthWest Elevation Short Section Long Section NorthEast Elevation SouthEast Elevation

Part 2: Project Research + Design Development 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Establishing the Sounding Belt Sound Complex Beneath the Sounding Belt Manchester: The City of Brick, Mortar and Music Walking Through Sound Immersive Circulation Singing Concrete Punctuation Room for Practice Pitch Perfect Mancunian Way as a Stage

Part 3: Technical Drawings 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

The Sound Lab Room of Silence In the Underbelly Projection Sound Periscopes The City Stage Environmental Strategy Concrete - A Sustainable Material?

Construction Sequence Concrete Ecology Greening the Belt 1:20 Detail

Part 4: Appendix Page 2

43 43 45

Critical Reflection Composite Drawings Bibliography

The Amplifier

Project Position

The Amplifier is a performance venue, sound archive and museum sitting on the intersection of Oxford Road and the Sounding Belt. Visitors are able to uncover the unique and isolated soundscapes created by the connection of the building and the Mancunian Way and use the public performance chambers to set the future sound of Manchester.

The project developed out of absence of a definable sound of the Mancunian Way, the 3km terrain vague sprawled across the city. Using sound as a regenerative medium, the Amplifier is a manifestation of Manchester’s musical heritage and also seeks to source and answer to its future sound. An amalgamation that grounds the building in Manchester’s aural history through exhibition and archiving whilst providing a platform for performance and research into the sounds of the urban realm.

Building a relationship with the sounding belt established on top of the Mancunian Way, provides the backbone of the building’s scheme of broadcast. From the human to city scale, the building acts as a broadcasting device specifically aimed at re-establishing Manchester’s sound with the city-at-large.

Manchester has always been a key player in shaping the culture of Britain, many of these events have been strongly linked to sound, from the rattling of the cotton weaving looms to the bouncing bass of Friday nights at the Haҫienda. This building brings together those elements in a celebrate the rich musical culture of Manchester.

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Part 1

Uncovering Manchester’s DNA Broadcasting to the city

Music runs in Manchester’s veins, it just takes carefully design to showcase it. Memorialised in songs from Take That to Joy Division, the Mancunian Way has become a silent monolith, desperately in need of this considered design. Using the developed vessel of the ventilation shaft to act a speaker to the city of the city

Manchester!

This is the place in the North West of England It’s ace, it’s the best and the songs that we sing From the stand, from our bands set the whole planet shaking Our Inventions are legends! There’s nowt we can’t make and So we make brilliant music. We make brilliant bands We make goals that make souls leap from seats in the stands ‘This is the place’ And we make things from steel and we make things from cotton Tony Walsh And we make people laugh, take the mick summat rotten

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FIG 2

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Further developing the ventilation shaft form from 3.1 to encapsulate the whole sounds of the building and project into the city

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Part 1

Layered Modality Incorporating the broadcasting devices from the Sounding Belt into the building creates a tertiary scheme each streamlined to specific soundscapes: Human, Vehicular and the Building scale. The buildings acts as a community broadcaster, an independent, civil society based non-profit body that seeks to reconnect and forge new relationships between the community through a shared sound

Warm Air Movement

Possible Sound Travel

The Contact Theatre vent shafts use the H formation to remove warm air as the space creates negative pressure from cross winds sucking out the air. This principle could be applied to the sounding devices in the Amplifier, however, this would interfere with the sound quality projected

Tertiary Model of Broadcasting

The monolithic structure broke apart the communities either side, creating a separation of the common Mancunian community ethos

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Part 1

Sounding Circles

Projecting to the city

The circular form is synonymous with the presentation and visualisation and containment of sound. Providing the canvas for a surround sound experience, the cylindrical forms create the opportunity for vertical expansion creating connections out to the public realm

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Acoustic Studies for wall shapes in film theatres, 1930

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FIG 7 Page 6

Part 1

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Listening booths were once architectural features within the record stores of the 70s, re-establishing this programme became a key design feature, exaggerating its significance with the cylindrical form in order to achieve a greater acoustic environment

Expanding the Sounding Belt Extruded out to the City

In order to become the amplifier for the city the building must reach out and expand to embed itself as the centre of an interconnected city. At the local scale, this can be the building broadcasting in all directions, channelling sound in certain directions for certain audiences.

At the city scale it will take on the role of becoming the ears and mouthpiece for the city. Using sound corridors to project out into locations across the city and allows multi location performances

FIG 9

FIG 10 Forming sound corridors to the surrounding context

Although exploring other ideas, the Archigram illustration illustrates an inter-connected city, rather than physical connections, by expanded out the building will create sound corridors across the city

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Part 1

Sound Satellites

The sheltered sound columns of the building create pockets for buskers to perform to the public.

Creating satellite sounding chambers across the city create a playful relationship with the building and the city, allowing the public to interact with the Mancunian sound

Site

Fitted with speakers the chambers create intimate space to listen to the music of Manchester live

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Part 1

Legend Tow

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Path

Masterplan

Amplifying the City Engaging the City The Amplifier Escaping the City

Tow Path

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Ground Floor Plan

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1. Lobby/ Reception 2. Sound Periscopes 3. Toilets 4. Service Cores 5. Staff Room 6. Acoustic Lab 7. Reverbrant Room 8. Anechoic Room 9. Public Performance Chambers 10. Sound History Exhibition 11. Performance Hall 12. String Rehearsal Space 13. Percussion Rehearsal Space 14. Musicians Entrance 15. Management 16. Back Archive 17. Dressing Room 18. Backstage Toilets 19. Green Room Page 10

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1. Café/ Record Store 2. Sound Archive 3. Listening Booths 4. Service Core 5. Public Performance Chambers 6. Toilets 7. Sound History Exhibition 8. Broadcasting Performance Hall 9. Perform under the Mancunian Way 10. Brass Rehearsal Space 11. Orchestra Rehearsal Space 12. Woodwind Rehearsal Space 13. Sound Periscope

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Connection with the Mancunian Way

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1. Sound Periscopes 2. Service Core 3. The Mancunian Way Stage 4. The Sounding Belt 5. The Acoustic Garden

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Roof Plan

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NorthEast Elevation

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SouthWest Elevation

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1: 100 Legend: 1.1 Sound Exhibition - Cottonopolis 1.2 Sound Exhibition - Madchester 1.3 Sound Exhibition - Football 1.4 Sound Exhibition - Construction 1.5 Sound Exhibition - Peterloo 2. Sounding Belt Stage 3. Toilets 4. Anechoic Chamber 5. Public Performance Chamber 6. Sound Archive 7. Reverbrant Room 8. Listening Booth 9. Staff Room

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Legend: 1. Sound Periscope 2. Reception 3. Café/ Record Store 4. Sound Archive 5. Sound Exhibition - Construction 6. Sound Exhibition - Peterloo 7. Broadcasting Performance Hall 8. Performance Hall 9. Woodwind Rehearsal Space 10. Green Room

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Part 1

Establishing the Sounding Belt 3.1 Recap

The Sounding Belt runs the 3km of the Mancunian Way, made up of a series of tunnels, pollution barriers and foliage lines, it seeks the mitigate the effects of the vehicles that used to dominate the highway. The Mancunian Way is seen by many as a negative sound generator, the Sounding Belt changes these perceptions by creating sounding devices that re purpose the vehicular noise into music. Paired with this are the ears to the city, Designed to pick up and amplify particular sounds whilst also projecting out the sounds of the city

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Part 2

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Part 2

Sound Complex

Escaping the City

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Engaging the City

2.

Amplifying the City

Located outside of the complex under the Sounding Belt, rather than promoting interaction, this intervention provided shelter and relaxation creating pockets of silence as a way of respite from the frantic city life

My scheme focussed on the reanimating the Mancunian Way through sound. Reclaiming this land from the cars and establishing a light and sound installation that is powered by the users of the site and the vehicles above it

This site was originally planned for public speeches and events, however, the design didn’t befit the program. Expanding that program to include performance, the intervention creates a mini amphitheatre below the Mancunian Way which can be used by the musician who rehearse in the Amplifier

1.

2.

With traffic flow restrained to the 2 centre lanes, the slip roads to the back of the Amplifier are newly free, and therefore they can be used as pedestrian walkways that connect the Amplifier to the sounding interventions below.

Beneath the Sounding Belt Locating the site along Oxford Road already establishes the building in the rich musical history of Manchester.

Capturing the soundscape brings together the sounds of construction, rail and music from the RNCM

Site

Listen to captured soundscape: https://soundcloud.com/harry-gardner-745211714/manchester-oxford-rdcorridor

The Oxford Road corridor spatial plans detail the vast investment into the area, yet only 2 locations set for funding are cultural centres. Therefore, placing the site amongst this investment piggybacks off the greater audience this will garner and seek to realign the disparity of the lack of cultural features

Hacienda

Factory Records

The Hacienda is regarded as one of the most iconic nightclubs in the UK, it held seminal performances for the likes of new order and Joy Division and brought in the era of ‘Madchester’

Tony Wilson founded factor records and brought in a pioneering sound that defined Manchester. The Factory Records HQ was converted into a nightclub in 2010

Edited Spatial Plan for the Oxford Road Corridor

“ It will be important to plan for and support development that will significantly improve the pedestrian environment beneath the Mancunian Way, as well as views from it, to showcase the quality and talent of Oxford Road Corridor “ (Manchester City Council, 2018: 38) Page 22

Part 2

Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall

Joy Division

Original Factory Club

George Formby

The Smiths

The terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena on the 22nd May 2017 cemented Ariana Grande and her music to the city.

The Hollies

Oasis

Northern Soul Movement

The Stone Roses John Cooper Clarke Happy Mondays The Bee Gees

1950

1960

1970

Manchester: the city of brick, mortar and music

1980

1990

2000

The closure and demolition of the Haҫienda nightclub signalled the end of Madchester, and with that Manchester lost most of its provincial power. Despite a burgeoning underground music scene, the city has not been able to defiantly reclaim its title as the city of music.

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Part 2

2010

2020

Fall of the Haçienda 1997

1940

The city therefore sought, detrimentally, to seize back its status through symbolic musical landmarks

Memorialisation

Commercialisation

Factory 251 opened as a nightclub in 2010 in the iconic Factory Records HQ, although successful, it trivialised the Madchester era and diluted its message by catering to a crowd that no longer sought after the same music or spirit

The Warehouse Project, alternatively, marketised the rebellious feeling of Manchester’s 80/90s into a nostalgic cash machine. Pricing events for large

Walking through Sound

Aural History Museum

Manchester’s aural history is rich with music and the industrial sounds of the once ‘Cottonopolis’. This building now looks for the future for Manchester’s sound. The building creates a narrative that is both retrospective and future thinking. The permanent exhibition in the building focuses on the history of Manchester’s sound and how they have defined the city. Each room throughout the exhibition will vary in form to mirror the soundscape created within using sound lighting making immersive experiences Manchester became the first industrialised city in the world, the sound of the city with the 108 cotton mills. Therefore this sound experience should echo the large warehouse acoustics with the constant drumming sound of the cotton mills running

Factory Records catapulted Manchester to the global stage of music, this movement was embodied by the Haҫienda, so the sound experience should replicate the cramped and sweaty environment of a nightclub

City of Protest

City of Football

With a very detailed aural history, Manchester now stands at the precipice of its new sound. This sets up the narrative of the building, providing spaces for practice, experimentation and broadcasting

Musical Heritage

City of Warehouses

The Peterloo Massacre, 1819, the first of many transformation protests, gatherings and events that defined Manchester.

A peaceful, pro-democracy protest for parliamentary representation that led to violence and death after the cavalry attacked the 60,000 strong crowd. The room environment should encase the observer within the protesting crowd

Industrial Heritage Page 24

Part 2

Musical Education

City of Music

The 1950s saw the rise of Manchester as a football superpower, detailed in the paintings of LS Lowry. This soundscape will echo the form of the football stand with the sound rolling down from the upper tiers

City of Progress

City of ?

At current, Manchester is a city in flux, no skyline is complete without several cranes busy at work. Therefore this soundscape doesn’t require artificial sound, rather using a mixture of open air and channelled sound to draw in the sound that surrounds the building

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Part 2

Immersive Circulation When detailing a chronological exhibition space, circulation becomes an integral part of accessing the information wholly. By creating a plan that controls the visitors flow of movement, the exhibition can be seen fully. The sound experience rooms that make up the exhibition are sound and light displays, for people with impairments that mean that can not access these, the central path between the rooms have interactive display boards and headphones to experience the soundscape outside of the light display

Collage of the light and sound experience room detailing the history of Madchester and the Haҫienda

Circulation path ends at the record store and café enticing visitors to spend

The Guggenheim establishes a single path circulation by immediately transporting the visitors to the top of the building and using the curved path than follows the perimeter of the circular form to slowly descend to the exit.

Although the descending ramp isn’t possible under the Mancunian Way, the building can achieve a sense of destination at the end of the route through the exhibition. As a public and free building, revenue is collected through the café, record store and the booking fees from the rehearsal spaces and performances held at the venues throughout the building. By ending the exhibition circulation at the café attracts visitors to spend.

Tvísöngur. 2012 Seyðisfjörður, Iceland

Singing Concrete

Lukas Kühne

Precedent Analysis

Tvísöngur’s concrete domes and form alter the perceptions of sound, when the sound waves are incident on the curved walls they scatter altering the perception of the sound originally formed for a person stood in a separate chamber.

See how the chamber alters the perception of sound http://www.sonicwonders.org/sound-sculpture-tvisongur/

Progression through time

“ Resonance that corresponds to a tone in the Icelandic musical tradition of five-tone harmony and it serves as an amplifier for that toner “ (Tvísöngur Soundsculpture, 2012)

Section

Plan

Sound wave interference with the curved forms of the concrete chambers Page 26

Part 2

Creating these intimate spaces dictated by the integrity of the wall surface creates challenges with lighting. Puncturing openings into the cupola align with the continuous circular form of the structure

Punctuation To ensure the relationship with the Mancunian Way is ever present, the building incorporates public performance chambers that have a direct exposure to the structure of the Mancunian Way allow it to control the acoustics within the room.

A challenge within a building focussed on sound is how accessible it is for people with deafness. Studies have found that deaf people can still experience music through vibration as it triggers the same part of the brain that sound is processed. A material study found that sound waves travel easiest through stiff materials, with aluminium found to allow sound waves travel quickest through it. Therefore, within the performance chambers are aluminium panels attached to the wall build up. Segments of the floor also have panels attached to that they can play whilst also experiencing the vibrations

The public rehearsal spaces leave the underside of the Mancunian Way exposed allowing for it to dictate the acoustics of the rooms, creating the ‘singing concrete’ of the Tvísöngur sound sculpture

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Initial development, puncturing the building with intimate and public performance spaces

Part 2

Brass Instruments

Room for Practice

Woodwind Instruments

Manchester has close connections with orchestra, housing both the Hallé and the Northern Chamber Orchestra in Bridgewater Hall. At current the Hallé’s rehearsal spaces are located in Ancoats, across the city from their performance venue, that they perform at over 70 times a year. Although the Amplifier is not large enough to house rehearsals for the whole orchestra, the building houses 5 acoustically regulated rooms where groups can practice. They can also be hired out by the musicians to teach music a means of earning

Percussion Instruments

Stringed Instruments

The Conductor

Sonorous Museum. 2014 Copenhagen, Denmark Adept, Creo Arkitekter, Niras

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Bridgewater Hall Located 0.7 miles away (4 minute bus ride), the Amplifier provides a more convenient location for the orchestra rehearsal spaces Page 28

Part 2

Brass Instrument Rehearsal Space

Pitch Perfect

“ From the vertical lamellae of the percussion space, the seemingly vibrating cassettes for strings to the graphical clarity of the brass space, the spaces stand out as both contemporary modern and yet very classic in their expression ” (Sonorous Museum - ADEPT, n.d.)

Each of the five spaces are clad in wood veneer, designed to meet and create the optimal acoustic setting for a specific instrumental group. They are designed as interactive classrooms in order to provide a hands-on experience of the classical music instruments and their sound specter and also as bookable rehearsal spaces for trained musicians

FIG 11 & 12

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Orchestra

String

Brass

Percussion

Woodwind

Part 2

Mancunian Way as a Stage Storing 10,000 vinyls the Music Library provides spaces for listening, performing and rehearing. However, the unique design feature extends the roof across the whole site creating a sheltered space which provides an informal stage for buskers

Music Library + Understage. 2015 Seoul, South Korea Moongyu Choi

Employing the extended roof feature to create a small pocket stage off the Sounding Belt

Initial sketch of Mancunian Way stage

Textured concrete panels are used in areas buffering the Sounding Belt, encouraging interaction, and turning the building into an instrument itself

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Part 2

Locating Plan

1: 1000

The Sound Lab The Sound Lab is separate private entity of the building with its own private entrance and services. Here the researchers use highly specified rooms to test and explore the effects of sound within the city and the latent potential of sound as a energy source

The Spatial Audio Studio is a production and recording suite, it requires the largest space for the surround sound speaker set up

The Anechoic Chamber is a vibrationally and acoustically isolated room in which the researchers will study sound propagation. A quiet air conditioning system is used hear that is below the human register

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The Reverberant Room has the opposite effect to the Anechoic Chamber, creating long reverberation times, the room can be used to measure the sound absorption of materials and also the power levels of sound sources

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Part 2

Room of Silence

A 1:5 Detail Study

An anechoic chamber is the only place where you are able to creating pure sound, void of any impact noise, these spaces are created in order to analyse the true effects and response of sound. As established in 3.1, the project is researching into the energy potentials of sound and how this can be used to create energy. The sound research lab will also undertake studies into the city soundscape, looking into the materiality and atmospheres created and how this effects the well-being of the population.

1

Incident Wave

Galvanised Mesh

Bonded Mat Tip Cover

Conductive Foam Noise from outside the chamber is blocked by the highly conductive build up

Acoustic Fibreglass Insulation Fill

Wedge Frame

1. 50mm Polymer Concrete

50mm Polystyrene Insulation 50 mm Polymer Concrete 20mm Fibre Cement Board 50mm Rock Wool Insulation 20mm OSB Board 50x 50m Timber Battens

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Part 3 0

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In the Underbelly

A Lighting Study

The site, constricted by both the Mancunian Way above and the two adjacent buildings, becomes submerged in darkness. Sefaira analysis found that in initial iterations the building was underlit. Some of these areas are accounted for from the performance hall and sound exhibition that require specific environments that is best suited from an artificial lighting rig.

Situated directly below the Mancunian Way, the archive need additional lighting from regular wall opening windows. Expanding the function of the listening booths and extruding upwards creates light cannons that would flood the space with natural lighting

Light cannons formed by expanding the listening booth

Light cannons paired with sky lights

Windows onto the Sounding Belt creating views into the archive from the pedestrians

Large skylights make up the majority of the lighting strategy, flooding the archive from above

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Part 3

A strip of glazing is added at human level to the precast lighting cannons forming views out to the city

Making half the domed top of the cannons glazed creates a form of light periscope and creates the opportunity for further development Combining both lighting features creates a well lit space wit views down Oxford Road

Projection

St Peter’s Seminary. 1968 Caldross, Scotland Isi Metzstein, Andy MacMillan

The light cannons of the seminary served the purpose of drawing light into the main chapel space. By expanding out the form it becomes a broadcasting device pointing out to the city rather than being introspective. This creates a connection between the building and the public realm and hits the position of the project to bring people together through the medium of sound

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Part 3

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Part 3

Sound Periscopes 1: 50 Study

Initial ideas imagined a large three-way sound periscope that transmitted sound through the whole form, however, when detailing this left many cold bridges and would’ve broken the airtightness of the building. Therefore, the top and bottom sections use speakers placed on the ceiling to hear what the user of the archive is listening to

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1. Zinc Standing Steel Panels Structural Underlay 150mm Rigid Foam Insulation Waterproof Membrane 200x 1200mm Precast Hollow Polymer Concrete Slab 20mm Mineral Wool Insulation Hanger Rods 30mm Acoustic Insulation Steel Channels 20 30mm Timber Battens

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The City Stage Busking has long been a staple of Manchester city centre culture,due to the large footfall. Oxford Road provides a similar level of users, however, spaces aren’t provided for people to perform. Expanding the scale of the sound periscopes allows ample space for buskers to set up and perform with their sound amplified across Manchester

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Part 3

Locating Plan

1: 1000

With the large collection of rare vinyls stored in the archive, fire curtains are used which control the direction of smoke to protect the collection and also allow for faster evacuation

Environmental Strategy

Sound turbines, using the resonant frequency of the traffic noise as a means of recycling the waste energy of the vehicles

Emergency Exits

Ground Source Heat Pump

Underfloor Heating

MVHR Vents

Ventilation

Noise Pollution

Lighting

Electrics

Part F of the Building Regulations UK state that in areas of high local noise, operable windows should be kept to a minimum. The Amplifier also requires acoustically regulated spaces and natural ventilation would increase the possibility of impact noise. Therefore the building utilises a MVHR system to ventilate the building, the air ducts are hidden in the void of the suspended ceiling.

Noise pollution of the road traffic above is primarily mitigated by the pollution capturing tunnel that runs across the site, but additionally a roadside planting scheme effectively dampens the noise

In order to light the building beneath the Mancunian Way, the building utilises light cannon that draw light down into the building paired with large skylights above the double height spaces of the archive. The rooms that require little natural lighting, such as the performance hall that uses artificial lighting rigs, are placed closer to the centre of the building

As established in 3.1, the Sounding Belt employs sound turbines along the 3km stretch of the Mancunian Way. A generator centre is located within the sound complex next to the open air amphitheatre, the building primarily uses electricity produced by this process, but additional electricity from the mains may be required

Due to the variance in programme of the Amplifier, the areas are categorised differently in terms of fire safety, However, as it the case for the building, when there are 2 or more exits the maximum distance travelled can be 48m There are 2 gender-neutral public bathrooms within the building, both containing a disabled access cubicle and an ambulatory cubicle. There are 2 more bathrooms within the backstage area for the performance space, one adjoining the dressing room.

Underfloor Heating Ventilation Ducts

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Sprinklers Part 3

Concrete - Sustainable Material?

Alumina- Silica- Containing Solid Precursor Portland Cement Concrete is not considered sustainable due to the energy intensive production process and high CO2 generation, in order to justify the extensive use of concrete within the building a more sustainable variation is required.

Fly Ash

Metakaolin

Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

Sand

Aggregates

The choice of concrete has a greater significance pertaining to the building due to the requirement for acoustically regulated and isolated rooms. In both acoustic and environmental challenges, Polymer Concrete presents as a viable option producing 80% less CO2 than Portland cement, preserves natural resources and achieved the highest sound absorption coefficient

Maximum Coefficient of Sound Absorption

Level 0f Sound Reflection

Portland Cement Concrete

0.05 - 0.10

High

Aerated Concrete

0.15 - 0.75

Low

Foamed Concrete

0.13 - 0.50

Low

Crumb Rubber Concrete

0.30 - 0.70

Medium

Polyurethane Concrete

0.08 - 1.0

Low

Coal Bottom Ash Concrete

0.05 - 0.31

Medium

Coconut Fibres Concrete

0.42 - 0.80

Medium

Polymer Concrete

0.9 - 1.0

Low

Glass-based Concrete

0.20 - 0.37

High

Recycled Aggregate Concrete

0.01 - 1.0

Medium

Oyster Shell Waste Aggregate Concrete

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Choose 1 metatrail

Sodium/ Potassium Silicate

Mix Together

Alkaline Solution

Types of Concrete

Sodium/ Potassium Hydroxide

In order for the broadcasting sound and light canons to extrude from the building sections of the Mancunian Way have to demolished. In order to make sure the materials aren’t wasted, the rubble can be recycled as aggregate for the polymer concrete mix and as base for the building foundations

Mix and Curing in oven/ Ambient

Geopolymer Concrete

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Part 3

Construction Sequence Due to the restrictive location of the site between 2 buildings and the Mancunian Way above, craning elements into place on site is not viable, which removes a precast construction method. Therefore an ICF construction is used for the external walls. Using insulated concrete forms allows for a very quick and easy build time with the simplicity of the process, it also is energy efficient with the 2 layers of polystyrene formwork allowing for U-values as low as 0.11W/m2K. It is airtight due to the concrete core, which due to its density acts as great soundproofing

1. Foundations dug and poured with steel reinforcements

2. ICF blocks placed connected using the tongue and groove attachment design. Steel connectors join the 2 layers of insulation

3. Polymer concrete is poured into the void creating the structural element of the wall

4. Polymer concrete sandwich panels form the internal walls, bolted into the screed flooring

5. Additional formwork and supports are used to cast the floor slab

6. 1st floor internal walls are bolted in place

7. External wall blockwork is fitted to the lower floor creating a continuous insulation layer

8. Polymer concrete is poured into the 1st floor external walls

Poured Polymer Concrete Ridges to connect ICF blocks

Metal ties connecting polystyrene layers

Expanded Polystyrene Inner Leaf

Expanded Polystyrene Outer Leaf

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A6

R iver Irw e ll

H olt Tow n

A6

A5063

Sa lfor d Cen t r a l

A662 M a r k et St r eet

B5461

N ew I s lin gt on

Picca dilly Ga r den s

A5066 A56

A6042

Located 2.0 miles away (8 minute drive), CEMEX is one of the few companies that produce carbon neutral concrete. The short distance to the plant means low transportation fuel consumption

A664

Vict or ia M a n ch es t er Vict or ia

Sa lfor d Cr es cen t

A57

A6143

Rochda le Cana l

St Pet er 's Squ a r e

A34

M a n ch es t er Picca dilly

B6469

B6469 A635

Dea n s ga t e-Ca s t lefield

ch or a ge

Dea n s ga t e

A5063

A635

Ar dw ick

A57 (M )

A5066

Sa lfor d Q u a y s

M a n ch es t er O x for d R oa d

A665

A57 (M )

Cor n br ook

Ex ch a n ge Q u a y

Corn Brook

A5067 A5014

Pom on a

g ate Cana

A56

B5117

A5067

A

A5 Bar

B5219

224

B5219

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B5218

Part 3

9. Precast concrete panels form to roof slab due to the proximity of the Mancunian Way preventing in situ casting. A layer of rubber casing is applied along the motorway so the expansion of the road doesn’t effect the building

10. The suspending ceilings are placed, hiding the servicing

11. The external polymer concrete panel cladding is bolted to the external insulation blockwork

Concrete Ecology

The application of green roofing has become widespread as an act to counter the harmful levels of carbon emissions during construction.

Rather than simply adding vegetation, a considered approach should be taken to the planting, allowing for the cultivation of wood which can be then made into musical instruments which can then be hired for use within the building. Both the climatic conditions of the UK and the height of the trees limits the selection. Leading to the planting of field maple and walnut trees used within the landscape strategy

La Fabrica. 1975 Barcelona, Spain Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill

Koa

Western Red Cedar

Field Maple

Norway Spruce

15-25m Ukulele

65-70m Lute, Violin, Mandolin, Guitar, Piano

10-15m Violins, Violas, Bassoons

35-55m Lute, Violin, Mandolin, Guitar, Piano

Acacia koa Not grown in UK

Thuja plicata

Grown - Non-Native

Acer campestre

Grown - Native

Picea abies

Grown - Non-Native

Planting is used to slowly encapsulate the building and merge the boundary with nature

Small trees approx 15m

Large Bushes approx 6m

Mahogany

Common Walnut

African Blackwood

Ceylon Ebony

12-15m Guitar top, neck, body

15-20m Mandolin, Guitar

4-14m Clarinets, Oboes, Recorders, Piccolos

20-25m Piano, Violin, Guitar Fretboard

Swietenia mahagoni Not grown in UK

Uglans regia

Grown - Non-Native

Dalbergia melanoxylon Not grown in UK

Bushes approx 3m

Diospyros ebenum Not grown in UK

Wild Grasslands

System Substrate

150mm

300mm

Extensive

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Part 3

Upper Substrate

400mm

400mm Lower Substrate 250mm

Intensive

Granulometric distribution

course

fine

Organic matter content

low

high

Water storage capacity

low

high

Air Volume

high

low

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Part 3

Greening the Belt

The slight curve of the Mancunian Way creates a void between the building and the superstructure, the void is over 1m and therefore allows for a pit deep enough to fit small trees. In this case Field Maple trees are planted as they are native to UK climatic conditions and can be cultivated to create the tonewood of woodwind instruments such as violins, violas and bassoons

1: 10

400mm Upper Substrate 250mm Engineered planting substrate Filter Fabric 90mm Reservoir and Drainage Board Waterproofing Membrane Aeration Layer 150mm Rigid Foam Insulation Drainage Board Root Barrier Vapour Membrane 150mm Polymer Concrete slab Locating Plan

1: 1000

Light and sound silos are precast and craned into place on site and bolted to the floor plate

1: 20 Detail 1 Polished screed flooring with in laid underfloor heating Vapour Membrane 200mm Mineral Wool Insulation 30mm Acoustic Insulation 250mm Polymer Concrete slab with steel reinforcements 150mm Rigid Foam Insulation Waterproofing Membrane

1000mm

2

2 150mm Engineered planting substrate Filter Fabric 90mm Reservoir and Drainage Board Waterproofing Membrane Aeration Layer 150mm Rigid Foam Insulation Drainage Board Root Barrier Vapour Membrane 150mm Polymer Concrete slab 20mm Mineral Wool Insulation Hanger Rods 30mm Acoustic Insulation Steel Channels 20 30mm Timber Battens

3

3 Polymer Concrete Cladding Panel 110mm Polyurethane ICF blockwork Cast in situ Polymer Concrete 50mm Inner Leaf Polyurethane ICF blockwork 50mm Acoustic Insulation 2x 12.5mm Plasterboard

1 150mm Waterproofing additive mixed into concrete

Internal wall sandwich panels bolted into place and hole filled with polymer concrete

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External rendering taken below ground level

Part 3 0

200 400 600 800 1000mm

1: 20

Locating Plan

1: 1000

Critical Reflection

Flux Atelier Discourse

Humanities

Technologies

Synthesis of All Units

Third Year

The flux atelier programme and methodology gave the freedom to explore the many facets of our projects and choose schemes that spoke to our own personal cares and interests, allowing us to develop into the designers we wish to be. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist and coming at the course from a position of not continuing architecture and rather venturing into the art world, the freedom was liberating, however, did at times lead me to stray away from the spatial designs required for the course. In an atelier that is concerned with creating a state of change and the experience of the user, tackling these issues at a time when the sites were barren proved difficult, yet from the first site visit the unique soundscapes forged by the changing levels of the Mancunian Way. My initial observation of how disparate these soundscapes and the need to preserve them bred the scheme of creating programmes that complemented the atmosphere established in the sites

In breaking down the ‘Age of Acceleration’, I discovered how key architectural design is within the exponentially growing society. A key strategy applied within the design is that of transformation. This site provided difficult climatic conditions as it was almost entirely in shade from the adjacent buildings and the Mancunian Way above, this led to exploration of design features that can perform multiple functions, employed for their intended function as a light cannon to flood the underbelly with light, they also function as both a isolated listening booth and a sound periscope forming a relationship with the public realm

The detailed understanding of buildings formed by the technologies course was vital with my design as sound plays heavily within the building which therefore requires a more stringent consideration of materiality and build ups in order to either isolate for amplify the soundscapes of the rooms. This was key in the acoustically regulated rehearsal spaces that are tuned for specific instrument groups

More so than the previous years, the research undertaken within the humanities and technologies courses fed back into studio, the greater understanding of how a building is constructed and works allowed for a deeper understanding of how our own creations can would function within the real world. The lens of my humanities elective paired with flux with both having a focus on designing within the climate crisis and dealing with urbanism. The design strategy of transformation played a large role within the 3.2 project, taking building elements and flipping their functions to be sound oriented

As likely with many people on the course, third year was the most difficult and challenging of the 3 years of the course, and then factoring in the complete lack of human interactions and sharing of ideas that comes with in person studios sessions really effected my approach to design. However, it has made me a more resilient designer and given provided a confidence in my design decisions

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Part 4

Composite Drawings

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Part 4

Bibliography Figures Adept.dk. n.d. Sonorous Museum - ADEPT. [online] Available at: <https://adept.dk/project/ sonorous-museum> [Accessed 6 May 2021].

FIGURE 1,2,3: Modernsit London, n.d. Brutalist Ventilation Shafts in Lambeth. [image] Available at: <http:// www.modernistlondon.co.uk/> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

Kafka, G., Lovell, S. and Shipwright, F., 2019. Sonic urbanism. 1st ed. Theatrum Mundi.

FIGURE 4: Architect Magazine, 2017. Acoustic studies for wall shapes in film theatres, 1930. [image] Available at: <https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/a-visual-imprint-of-moving-air_o> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

Leitner, B. and Groǐs, B., 2008. P.U.L.S.E.. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz.

Lička, L., Lodermeyer, P. and Erlacher, G., 2015. Skies of Concrete. Zurich: Park Books.

FIGURE 5,6,7: Drysdale, J., n.d. Vinyl listening booths c 1955. [image] Available at: <https://mashable. com/2016/03/30/vinyl-listening-booths/?europe=true> [Accessed 14 May 2021].

Manchester City Council, 2018. Oxford Road Corridor Strategic Spatial Framework. Manchester: Deloitte.

FIGURE 8: NYC Urbanism, n.d. Exterior Stairs. [image] Available at: <https://www.nycurbanism.com/ brutalnyc/endo> [Accessed 4 May 2021].

Thorp, J., 2010. Highway in the Sky: A Socio-Technical Analysis of the Urban Motorway.

Undergraduate. University of Manchester.

FIGURE 9: Fustinato, M., 2012. Mass Black Implosion. [image] Available at: <https://www.are.na/ block/1165479> [Accessed 8 May 2021].

Visitseydisfjordur.com. 2012. Tvísöngur Soundsculpture. [online] Available at: <https:// visitseydisfjordur.com/culture/tvisongur-soundsculpture/> [Accessed 4 May 2021].

FIGURE 10: e-architect, 2020. Walking City - Archigram, 1964. [image] Available at: <https://www.earchitect.com/hong-kong/m-archigram-cities-symposium> [Accessed 17 May 2021].

FIGURE 11,12: Kontor, S., 2014. Sonorous Museum. [image] Available at: <https://adept.dk/project/ sonorous-museum> [Accessed 9 May 2021].

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Part 4