Portfolio.
Luc James Askew-Vajra
Performing Vienna City of Music. Woodwind Centre. This project looks at the evolution of woodwind instruments, from the original simple woodwind pipes, to the modern-day woodwind instruments we know today. The project focuses on how the instruments have been developed through craft and how this process, in conjunction with industrialisation, has led to woodwind instruments becoming less accessible for the public. This was also exacerbated by the way the very much common instrument became assimilated by the aristocracy, as it became more advanced, with woodwinds making their way into royal courts. The main objective of the Woodwind Centre I am proposing, is to provide a space for all members of society to learn about woodwind instruments, the history, the music skills and the craft, and de-industrialise the instruments through educating the public on how the instruments are made. This will be achieved by providing a workshop, a library, an auditorium and a music school, so that all aspects of woodwind instruments can be studied and understood by all members of society. This project really allowed me to explore larger civic buildings in architecture and gave me the opportunity to create a space that benefits a large section of society. First floor plan.
Site plan of the Woodwind Centre.
Perspective section of Woodwind Centre.
Second floor plan.
Perspective of double height bar space.
Technical perspective section of roof, louvres and main spaces.
Overall view of the building showing the façades with the wooden louvres.
Perspective of library and workshop space.
Networks, Data & The Urban Realm.
Classic Style ‘Modern’ Housing. A ‘sustainable, beautiful, safe and useful’ development.
My thesis project looked to investigate the link between networks, data and the urban realm, with a specific focus on the planning white paper released in August 2020. I was looking to understand the changes in legislation that were being proposed with regards to the automation of the planning system, and how this will be implemented using algorithms. Through my investigations, I developed a focus on beauty, as it is a key consideration of the legislative changes, with the proposal for a fast-track for beauty, which would allow automatic approval for certain designs. However, for this process to work it requires ‘beautiful design’ to be algorithmically defined. This is contentious, as beauty must first be defined by a human, in this case it is Roger Scruton, before it can be coded, meaning that the definition of beauty will contain bias. This results in an urban environment that is then skewed towards the opinion of one person and therefore excludes others. In order to gain a deeper understanding of this process of defining beauty, I looked to test the proposed system in Gateshead town centre, trying to imagine the physical outcomes of an algorithmic design based on Scruton’s bias and how it would impact on the future urban environment along with its residents. This project really allowed me to investigate the UK planning system in much more detail and I now have a much wider understanding of how the planning system functions. Looking at some of the elements of society that the aesthetic algorithm ignores.
Looking at the proposed aesthetic changes in planning which would be applicable to the façades in majority.
The local data collected using planning documents compiled to outline the focus areas for the algorithm.
Site plan of the urban development proposed by the hypothetical algorithm based on Scruton’s biases.
Looking at the number of different actors involved in the traditional planning process.
Chimney.
Chimney.
These chimneys are very simplistic and is a simple orthogonal protrusion from the apex of the roof with one per house. It also does not have chimney pots.
These chimneys are very ornate and visibly combine four flues into one form. They are topped with individual chimney pots.
Portrait Windows.
Sill Band.
Pitched Roof.
The large portrait sash windows with glazing bars are finished with stone lintels and sills giving them a strong presence in the brick wall.
Scruton’s ideas of what constitutes beauty in the urban derived from the images in the Living with Beauty report.
Each house has a continuous stone sill band that runs across the entire frontage of the house and joins together the sills as well.
The pitched roof that sits atop the row of terraces is made from welsh slate giving a traditional look to the building.
The houses created by the algorithm are not as sustainable or long-lasting as the original houses that they copy.
Terraced housing.
The houses created by the algorithm creating accessibility issues for the elderly and the disabled.
Eaves Cornice. Entrance.
The stone eaves cornice runs along the length of the terraces adding a further sense of the grandiose to the brick terrace.
Four-panel wooden doors with oblong fanlights and stone Doric doorcases.
Portrait Windows. The large portrait sash windows with glazing bars at ground level are finished with stone architraves mimicking the proportions of the entrance.
Wall Finish. The external walls are finished with a local pinkish brick.
Investigating the features of the local house typologies in Gateshead for the use in the algorithm using Scruton’s bias as an identifier.
Entrance Stair. All the terraces have individual access set back from the street with stone steps up to the ground level of the dwelling.
Mixed Use. The terraces are a mixture of residential and commercial uses.
The houses created by the algorithm being applied to new developments meaning that there is overcrowding.
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Great North Museum Pavilion. Research Project Build. PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
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PAVILION 140.3 m2 1510 ft2
As a group of students, we were tasked with running and building the project in a year. This involved everything from client interactions with the museum, brief writing, planning submissions, budgeting and finally fabricating the project. Because of the impact of the pandemic, we had to reduce the scale of the design however, the process itself was incredibly educational.
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- SIZE: The pavilion has to provide space for around 30 children, we defined that space to be approximately
- SIZE: The pavilion has to provide space for around 30 children, we defined that space to be approximately -ACCESSIBILITY: Thepavilion pavilionshould has to be be single fully accessible. 35-45 sq. metres The storey and not excessively exceed the height of the existing garden wall. -FUNCTION: Support study space for the Great North Museum as well as HBBE. Multifunctional space providing teaching opportunities as well sheltered area for sitting and eating lunch. The space should -ACCESSIBILITY: The pavilion hasas to an be outdoor fully accessible. provide an informal platform for teaching to take place, whilst providing a curious learning environment. The space should be designed to provide teacher the ability space to theirspace needs in an easily -FUNCTION: Support study space for thethe Great Northwith Museum as welltoasadapt HBBE.the Multifunctional providing controlled manner. Theasaim of as theanproject is to create aarea temporary structure that lunch. can beThe relocated and easily teaching opportunities well outdoor sheltered for sitting and eating space should reassembled. Due to this requirement, discussed a modular construction that would be easy provide an informal platform for teachingwe to take place, whilst providing a curioussystem learning environment. The to disassemble and transport to a newthe location. space should be designed to provide teacher with the ability to adapt the space to their needs in an easily controlled manner. The aim of the project is to create a temporary structure that can be relocated and easily -EXHIBITION:Due Theto exhibition should we reflect the general museum's approach displays, providing reassembled. this requirement, discussed a modular construction systemtothat would be easy to an interactive and instrument for children. The exhibition should be planned in a way that disassemble andinteresting transport tolearning a new location. allows smaller children to interact with the materials as well (heights and location of interactive elements -EXHIBITION: The into exhibition the general museum's approach to units displays, an as have to be taken accountshould duringreflect later stages of the design). The exhibition haveproviding to be secure interactive and interesting for children. The exhibition should be plannedfor in aany waylosses that or they will be left overnightlearning outside instrument in the pavilion and the museum will not be responsible allows smaller children to interact with the materials as well (heights and location of interactive elements damages to the materials exhibited. have to be taken into account during later stages of the design). The exhibition units have to be secure as they will be left overnight outside in theofpavilion andyoung the museum will not be responsible losses or -MATERIALS: Due to the high volume usage by children, the construction andfor theany materials used damages to sturdy the materials exhibited. have to be and durable. In case of using fabrics, weathering and wear and tear has to be taken into account. The structure has to limit any possible health and safety issues such as climbing or jumping. The -MATERIALS: Due to the high of usage young children, the construction and the materials used materials choice should alsovolume be driven by thebyworkability of a material during construction, lifespan in an have to beenvironment sturdy and durable. In case of weathering wearthe and tear has to be takenwe into outdoor and weathering asusing well fabrics, as the overall cost. and During initial conversations have account. The structure has to limit any possible health and safety issues such as climbing or jumping. The focused on timber constructions due to the ease of construction, cost and its weather resistance. materials choice should also be driven by the workability of a material during construction, lifespan in an outdoor environment and weathering as well as the overall During thereused initial and conversations have -GARDENING/LANDSCAPING: The existing plant beds in thecost. garden can be adapted aswe part of the focused onThe timber constructions due to the of construction, costoutdoor and its weather proposal. existing garden walls can beease adapted into additional seating.resistance.
Exploded diagrams detailing the construction of the different sized boxes.
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Ground level plan of initial proposal.
KEY35-45 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS sq. metres The pavilion should be single storey and not excessively exceed the height of the existing
-GARDENING/LANDSCAPING: The existing plant beds in the garden can be reused and adapted as part of the
DESIGN WORD MAP proposal. CONCEPTS: The existing garden walls can be adapted into additional outdoor DESIGN seating. CONCEPTS: HIERARCHY DESIGN CONCEPTS: WORD MAP
DESIGN CONCEPTS: HIERARCHY ZONED
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INTERACTIVE INTERACTIVE
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CHILDREN CHILDREN
Brief developed in conjunction with the client at the Great North Museum.
GREAT NORTH MUSEUM Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
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GREAT NORTH MUSEUM/ HBBE PAVILION
KEY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
The project set out to create an outdoor teaching space for children in the garden of the Great North Museum in Newcastle. The idea was to have a space where children could learn about nature and materials which would then have input from the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment at the university who would exhibit their research in the space.
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Test installation of the project at the end of the module.
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Looking at the exhibition cutouts within the pavilion.
An overview of the scaled down test installation of the pavilion.
Testing out the moveable seating elements.
The protruding surfaces create seating opportunities.
Milburn House. Milburn House sits just to the South of Newcastle city centre on Dean Street and occupies a large portion of the length of the street. It is a Grade II listed building and as such, any project must be sensitive to the existing fabric and history of the building. Whilst working at Ainsworth Spark I was involved with many projects within the building. The first project looked to survey the entire building and ascertain which areas could be converted into larger open plan office space without disturbing historic elements. This required a comparison between survey plans and historic plans to try and pinpoint the age of built elements. The second project was a wayfinding project which aimed to instate a new signage strategy to improve the ease of circulation within the building. This involved also looking at the fire strategy for the building which was then mapped across the multiple floors and exits in an effort to make the building as compliant as possible with the latest fire regulations. This really allowed me to understand the fire regulations in detail as I undertook several calculations looking at the widths of stairways versus the number of occupants escaping The final project was a proposal looking at expanding an existing tenant’s office by inserting a staircase within the historic fabric and between the numerous beams. Plan of Milburn House floor D looking at the age of the alterations and locating historic elements.
Plan of Milburn House floor D East looking at potential areas for open plan offices.
Revit visual for a proposed staircase linking two floors.
Looking at the vertical and horizontal escape routes, main escape stairs and locations of exits.
North Tyneside Council Depot. The majority of the work with Ainsworth Spark within the depot was focused on Block A which is a Grade II* listed building. It was originally the Gas Council Engineering Research Station designed by Ryder Yates completed in 1967 and as such, is a large industrial building with office spaces alongside warehouse spaces. The project looked to restore the external fabric of the building and then bring the office spaces back to functioning offices whilst retaining the original ceiling grid, as it is a listed element of the building. I was asked to produce a Revit model from the proposed plans for the purpose of creating visuals for the project with a focus on the lighting and ceiling configuration alongside the office layout. Alongside the offices, I was also involved in renovating the adjoining bathrooms. Again, elements of the bathrooms were listed and as such, required research into sourcing replacement fixtures and fittings that matched the originals. In order to capture this level of detail, I produced internal elevations for all the bathrooms. Finally, I was asked to produce an external visualisation of a proposed vehicle shed that was to be built adjacent to Block A. The main focus with the visuals for the vehicle was to show different cladding and material choices as well as the scale of the proposal in relation to the Listed Block A. Revit visual looking at the proposed renovation of the office spaces with a focus on retaining the original ceiling grid and showing the lighting strategy along with the new layout.
Revit visual looking at the materiality of the proposed vehicle shed.
Plans and internal elevations of the bathrooms in Block A.
Revit visual looking at the scale of the proposed vehicle shed in comparison to Block A.
Gosforth Central Park Cafe. This project at Ainsworth Spark involved creating a building proposal for a new restaurant/café, for approximately ninety customers, within the grounds of the park on the site of a current storage building. The upper floor of the new building would also include a space to accommodate the local community group and an office from where they could conduct their affairs. I was brought in after the initial scheme had been decided and so CAD plans had already been created along with hand-drawn initial elevations of the building. The materiality of the exterior of the building had been considered also. My task was to construct a 3D model of the building using Revit in order to better understand the complexities of the proposed building. As time progressed it became clear that this also involved looking in more detail at junctions between built elements, which prompted me to investigate construction methods for the building. It also involved considering some aspects in further detail than in the initial sketches and allowed for some scope with design. The Revit model was then used to create visuals for the proposal.
Revit visual looking at the side elevation of the proposal with a focus on the materiality and showing the delicate nature of the junction between walls and roof.
Revit visual looking at the front elevation of the proposal with a focus on the materiality and the entrance area.
Hexham Hospital Car Park. This project at Ainsworth Spark looked to design three different schemes that would create additional parking at Hexham Hospital as their staff were struggling to park when arriving at work. One issue with this project was the steep gradient of the site. This meant in any proposed changes, section drawings were imperative to understand the connections between upper and lower sections of the car park. It also meant that when creating new levels, space had to be allocated for the depth of the retaining walls, which further reduces the number of car parking spaces that can be provided. The second issue was the service road for fire engines that runs to the rear of the car park. Whilst this could be slightly rerouted, the gradient of the curve has to allow for a fire engine to navigate the road meaning that the options for change are limited. After surveying the existing carpark and combining this information with contour levels, I produced three proposals for increasing the carparking capacity. The first two proposals increase the capacity marginally, whilst the third proposal uses a multistorey addition to increase the capacity further. Plan of the existing carpark with the focus area of the proposals.
Plan and sections of the first proposal with the extension of the upper and lower levels
Plan and sections of the third proposal with the addition of a multistorey section added to the carpark along with the extension of the upper level.
Plan and section of the second proposal with the extension of the upper level.