• Owned only by three entities, only one of which is a private developer • Community unwillingness to destroy the Exhibition Centre • Potential of creating a greater sense of community • Market for new workspaces and shops, and thus employment • Inclusion of the parking lot in the opportunity area means the first stages of development will not displace any population
• Present population of lower income residents will have to be relocated during construction • Poor permeability between West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates and eastern Earls Court • Poor legibility within the estates • Outdated bus stations and lines • Few retail and grocery outlets to accommodate the new population • No activities or space for youth, especially for adolescents
• Weak sense of community between long-term residents and short-term resdients, the majority from foreign countries • Ecological cost of changing the land topography around the railroad • Fixed income nature of the population, many retired pensioners, low-wage earners and unemployed • Already too few schools for the current population, what about after the increase in population
THREATS
WEAKNESSES
• Earls Court Exhibition Centre serves as a significant landmark • CLSA, the Conditional Land Sale Agreement, demands the relocation or embursement of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates • The three surrounding railway stations provides a high level of connectivity to wider London • Its central London location insures the high value of the property
OPPORTUNITIES
STRENGTHS
Major features of the area.... • Earls Court Exhibition Centre and the Empress State Building provide the site with identifying landmarks • Poor permeability exists between West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates and the more affluent Earl’s Court community east of the rail line • Despite community attachment to the Exhibition Centre it fails to provide events the average resident can afford
SURROUNDING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS / NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1 - Avonmore Primary / 220 2 - Bousfiedl Primary / 436 3 - St. Cuthwell / 220 4 - Fulham Primary / 288 5 - London Oratory School / 1327
6 - Queensmill School / 103 7 - Normand Croft School / 275 8 - Sir John Lillie Primary / 468 9 - Fulham Prep. School / 590 10 - St. Augustine’s Primary / 205
The proposal’s vision of eco-education centers on the provision of sustainability-focused, after-school programmes. An analysis of Ealrs Court’s younger population shows a significant audience for this kind of initiative. The proposal seeks to create a sustainable community through educational activities based out of the site’s main opportunity: the Exhibition Centre. Retrofitting the structure so that the building serves as an exhibition of sustainability in of itself accompanied by classes that teach sustainable lifestyles will improve the built environment and the skills of the local community. VISION EVOLUTION THROUGH THE MASTERPLAN
Site Framing According to our analysis of the urban context, large public parks surround the southern Thames districts, while the north relies on cemeteries as the main source of green space. The proposal addresses the wider London need by fitting our site with public green infrastructure, while simultaneously improving the environment and sense of community.
Masterplan A large amount of terraced green space was created in the form of urban farms as well as recreational space through basketball and tennis courts at the entrance. Semi-public green space between all our buildings. Permeable pavement was instituted along our terraces to prevent flooding. We took advantage of the elevation change and moved the bus depot to under the entrance. Community farms were proposed for agricultural education, social activity and local food production. Driving was deterred through the area by confining parking to the edges of our site. The mixed urban form was intended to maximize airflow and sunlight in our buildings.
TOPOGRAPHY SECTIONS Section A
LEGEND Permeable Pavement Ball Game Court Housing Car Parking Community Farm Green Space
Section B
Members of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates expressed scarcity of facilities for youth as the main social issue. And despite community attachment to Earls Court Exhibition Centre, the community felt the Centre failed to provide events the average resident could afford.
Masterplan
Eco-Exhibition The Eco-Exhibition is th the figurative and literal centre of the design. It features photovoltaic panels, rainwater recycling systems and roof gardens. This makes the retrofitted structure, much like the surrounding community’s sustainable systems and interventions, itself an exhibit.
We would designed two ball game sport centre as the first note after entering the main entrance to the green space. The main purpose was providing local community with activity space as there are very limited resources nearby. The level of the ball courts will be 3m lower then Eco Education Earl’s Court ground level and will be surrounded by green vegetation for great natural feeling. With water permeable pavement all along all the pavement on site (including plazas), we will be able to improve the drainage performance as the area might suffer from the flood.
The majority of space is dedicated to temporary educational exhibits all focused around sustainability. The gallery will infuse the atmosphere of an interactive museum. Teaching spaces accommodate children’s afterschool programmes, as well as adult classes focused on teaching sustainable lifestyles. The cafeteria will exclusively sell meals made with food produced on site. Other facilities will include a digital media lab, bookstore, and information desk. To finance the Eco-Exhibition’s free programmes, the proposal allocates about 18,000 square meters on the balcony level for private offfice space, preferably to house green-tech companies apt to the sustainable enivronment and able to sustain the site with innovative products. The Eco-Exhibition basement serves as an official “social opportunity zone.” Similar to the technique of Councils recognizing economic opportunity zones, the proposal includes a Consul-backed social opportunity zone: space whose potential uses are voted on by the residents and then a public-private partnership is formed between the Consul and germane companies to develop that use. Possible uses to be voted on range from a gymnasium to a farmer’s or rummage market.
Urban farming becomes a popular urban activity because of numbers of merits. First of all, it can bring in natural surroundings which is good for biodiversity; also people can have sense of accomplishment from harvesting food production; moreover it introduce the original living ability - farming - to urban population as a matter of educational purpose especially for children. The farm also include two cottages/ cafes which will become the social gathering hub when people go relaxing after farming at community cafes.
23,000 sqm
We would like to introduce car sharing scheme to Eco Education Earl’s Court in the educational sense of energy saving and car pooling approach. With implementing the technology and infrastructure, we hope that local community can be influenced and feel happy to use shared cars. This is an important approach of behavioral education.
BASEMENT LEVEL Engineering and Mechanical Swimming Pool Gym and Changing Room Additional Parking Weekend Farmer’s Market Service Area
23,000 sqm
GROUND LEVEL Present Conference and Office Space Teaching Studios Digital Media Lab Cafeteria Bookstore Reception
18,000 sqm
BALCONY LEVEL Present Conference and Office Space Additional Conference and Office Space
Sustainable Systems
Sustainable Bulding Construction and demolition constitute more than a third of all global waste. The proposal seeks to reduce, reuse and recycle in all components of construction, exemplified in its utilisation of crate building. Recycled shipping containers offer a cheaper, more sustainable way of building and can be easily moved to the Earls Court site using present London infrastructure.
Water
Waste A vacuum system will facilitate both sorting and transport of household waste.
Energy Each household is equipped with fuel cell micro-CHPs (Combined Heat and Power Plants) that can be used in combination with solar panels. Smart panels can link each home to a smart grid to manage electricity demand and supply by distributing loads more evenly. More importantly, these panels can contribute to residents’ acceptance of more sustainable technologies and lifestyles by displaying real-time economic and ecological impact information. The idea could be scaled up to project aggregated data such as CO2-levels on the outside of the Exhibition Centre. Excess energy will be fed into the smart grid and can also fuel electric vehicles. Sources: Carter, D. (2013), fuelcelltoday. com. emergysavingtrust.org.uk
Household will be able to reuse grey water, as well as harvest rooftop rainwater. This can reduce consumption not only through more efficient use of water, but also by enhancing people’s awareness of their consumption. The diagram above shows a top view of size and space requirements of an indoors grey water recycling system for 4,000 litres per day. Transport Our main proposal for a sustainable transport strategy at the site is an electric car sharing system. These schemes have been found to work particularly well in areas with low car ownership that are dense and provide adequate infrastructures for walking, cycling, and public transport alternatives - all of which applies to the area. Reports suggest that at least five private vehicles can be replaced by one shared car. These schemes can also entice more people to make trips by public transport or reconsider buying a car all together. Fewer miles will be driven overall, and of those, more will use locally produced electricity rather than fossil fuels. All of this will contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Furthermore, it can save costs and increase mobility for people who did not own a car before. The greatest potential of a sharing scheme is to get residents to try a new technology and build familiarization and acceptance.
Container City in The Docklands By Lacey & Happold
The proposal combines the benefits of crate building and the advantages of the site. The current asphalt parking lot will be replaced with a permeable surface. The dimension and orientation of the housing units will allow for high solar gain and maximum cross ventilation according to the site’s prevailing wind pattern. The street layout follows the form of the surrounding streets. Based on the dimensions of each street, the proposal allows for varying building heights in order to maximize solar gain, and the south side of each unit is equipped with a glass wall. Other sides are covered by green walls and roofs, which support biodiversity and rainwater collection.
Newington Library in Elephant & Castle By The Artworks
Due to the flexibility of the container’s modular design, the proposal offers space for various forms of terraces, balconies and loggias. Gardens intersperse throughout the structures, thriving off the rainwater collection system. The proposal allocates space for an ample number of solar panels and deters solar overheating through it south facing design and tree coverage.
Box Park in Shoreditch By The Artworks
Source: TCRP Report 108 (2005) Cross-section
December, 13:00
Cross-section
June, 13:00
Phasing & Financing
Martin Bangratz Josef Vane Giuseppe Verdone Anna Zetkulic Yuan Zhang