M.E.P Portfolio

m.e.p

Portfolio by Maryam Popoola Part I Architecture Graduate

Content

01

On the horizon

02

A Safe Space

03

Ashes to Ashes

04

Uploading Energy Harvest

05

Moor Hall, Thorley

06

The Window

On the horizon Location: Felixstowe

‘It was the best of times; it was the worst of times’ This project aims to establish and reinforce a connection between three towns (Felixstowe, Harwich and Shotley Gate) on the Suffolk coast via the language of the sea. On a larger scale, it approaches the connection through the seaweed cultivation in an effort to give back to the environment while benefitting the public. On a smaller scale however, this connection is established via the expansion and development of an existing foot and bicycle ferry in Felixstowe.

As we become rooted into the age of the Anthropocene, with increased awareness of the negative impact of human activities on the ecological environment, the question of regeneration and salvation becomes important.

One measure which has become popular particularly in the Global South is seaweed cultivation. This project harnesses the benefits of seaweed firstly through the process of cleansing the water of Felixstowe through the removal of carbon dioxide. Secondly, this project will be focusing on the use of seaweed in the production of food and biofuels. By focusing on these two elements, spaces created will nurture activities that encourage interaction between the two dominant demographics in Felixstowe - the ageing population and the working population.

As established above, the sea acts as a connector between the three coastal towns. But it is also a barrier. Almost half of the working population currently commute into Felixstowe via cars or train. This project seeks to explore an alternative situation through a foot and bicycle ferry which is predicted to save 60 minutes of commuting time. The expansion will also open up opportunities for other demographics, particularly the ‘third age’ to eliminate distance and explore the other two towns.

In achieving the aims mentioned above, the design project consists of a seaweed farm, a ferry station, a restaurant and workspaces laboratories for the culturing and processing of the seaweed.

In site production or extraction requires adequate sunlight

Creation of biofuels for the port requires close proximity

Creation of job opportunities for the people of Felixstowe

Di to rec ne the t rou ea eds sea te sy to w ac b ee ce e c d f ss re arm ibi at lity ed fo r

HATCHERY/LABORATORY

Could possibly act as a mediator between the hatcery and seaweed farm - creation of spatial hierarchy?

Should be easily accessible particularly for people at the Viewpoint

r offe uld Sho w of g e n i i av ure ar v cle ple le truct be S peo ferry. ssibly ay w o y b ld p gate l cou actua s. r an visito for

Se fa aw cl rm - eed se ose sho ins aw pr ul pir ee oxi d b ed d mit e far y in m to th e

SEAWEED RESTURANT

Shotley Gate view Harwich view

Should maintain a safe distance from the main dock and seaweed farm to avoid conflict

Main bridge between the ‘third age’ and the working population - should be easily accessible to both groups.

KEY

Restaurant

A Bridge

Laboratories/Work spaces Ferry station Requires a parking space/arena for ferries

Drying space Collection space Walkways

FERRY STATION Strategic sketch showing key elements of proposal

Isonometric and x-ray axonometric views of proposal

For about 100 years, there’s been a direct foot and bicycle ferry route enabling people to commute between Felixstowe, Harwich and Shotley. This should be extremely beneficial to the working population in Felixstowe, of which 48% commute into the town. Moreover, the fact that the ferry carries a seasonal average of 14,000 passengers between Easter period and September, reinforces its importance. It is reported that this form of transportation made available to the working public would save the port workers 60 minutes of commuting time – time which could be invested in other important activities in their lives such as sleeping or spending time with family. The link also opens up opportunities for faster tourist activities such as seal-watching in Harwich or taking long, spiritual walks in Shotley. Moreover, it could also pave way to different panoramic views of the hustling and bustling nature of the port; the epitome of industrialisation poised at Britain’s gateway. The recent scare of closure highlighted the ferry’s importance whilst prompting the question: ‘what more could it be?’ Could a single foot and bicycle ferry be the medium which unites the demographic gap in Felixstowe? Could it be the bridge which transcends age?

A Safe Space

A storytelling, sharing space Story-telling is integral to the continuity of a culture, or community. At its extreme, it can be described as a rationalization of the needs of society. But it could also be a mark of victory, losses - a holistic picture of our existence on the planet. The aim of this structure is to convey the story around waste and the Anthropocene age. It aims to take one through the journey from the void in which creation began to the noplace, the unattainable future we are constantly trying to reach.

The structure is a collection of simulated events particularly pertaining to the growth of waste, ultimately culminating in a sense of place facilitated by the waste we have grown, the waste we’ve harvested. It is an exhibition space whereby people make from waste and display their work however they please. It is in a sense, a spectacle of waste. The structure will be oriented around a table whereby ideas will be shared and emotions will be expressed via the waste surrounded by the people. The structure itself can be defined as an interactive theatre but not one necessarily one where the audience become the actors, but one where the architecture itself becomes an active participant and not merely a stage or a static background picture. This will serve as an adventure that is both educational and communal. Schechner in his book entitled Performance Studies, stated that space can be used both concretely and organically in the sense that it could be designed by the events which occur in it.

But what if the spaces themselves could ultimately pre-empt the event? What happens when the spaces become the event? In essence, this brief questions the role of architecture in storytelling, its ability to transcend beyond its rooted permanence, to animate, to become something of a storyteller.

mycelium emerging from wall

Proposed perspective section of exhibition space where waste is celebrated

Areas affected by fire

Areas affected by fire

Residential area

Riparian area

Unaffected land

Above: Section showing aftermath of disaster Below: Processof mycelium rising from the ashes

The end is here, now what? As the exponential growth of waste becomes a more imminent trigger for climate change and the disasters it could bring, it is important to re-define the narrative surrounding waste and explore ways in which it could be applied beneficially on individual, social and architectural levels. This project interrogates the use of mycelium as a resilient material for Talent, a small town on the west coast of the United States recently ravaged by the Almeda Drive wildfire.

The fire left behind a divided town, with one end completely engulfed in dust, and the other almost untouched. The result is a line of questioning regarding the idea of rebirth, the relationship between the old and the new and the infusion of the circular nature of waste into the fabric of future buildings. For the people of Talent, this culminates in a community centre which serves to revive the sense of home lost in the fire. It does so by encouraging the act of growing via the compost pavilion to replenish the earth and reaping food waste, the act of learning through the establishment of spaces dedicated to the incubation and mastering of mycelium, the act of sharing encapsulated by a dining area bridging the two worlds of Talent. In essence, it is a structure dedicated to the restoration and the growth of a community.

While waste may teach that all things it also creates ideal opportunities

must for

come to an end, fruitful beginnings.

Hills and Valleys

Location: Talent, Oregon ‘All you see is rubbish, all you see is burnt’

Wetlands

Talent, Oregon.

Ashes to Ashes

Green area

Pacific Ocean

Commercial area

Affected area

Apocalyptic.

This is the word used to describe the recent wildfires which ravaged the west coast of the United States – an occurrence which grows more and more devastating with climate change on the verge.

As the exponential growth of waste becomes a more imminent trigger for climate change and the disasters it could bring, it is important to re-define the narrative surrounding waste and explore ways in which it could be applied beneficially on individual, social and architectural levels.

Talent, a small town in Oregon, is one of the victims of the wildfire – as half of the town was recently left crippled by the Almeda Drive Wildfire in the fall of 2020.

Before the fire, Talent was a quaint town with a relatively large latino population, a thriving theatre scene and a Shakespeare Festival that attracted thousands. Formerly known as Eden District, Talent was a community which thrived on farming – evident in its reputation as the agricultural hub of the rogue valley as well as its annual tomato photo contest*. It was a community which revered the act of sharing. Now it is merely a shadow of itself, with a tangible proportion of its vegetation burnt and 2,357 residential structures lost, leaving most of its inhabitants robbed of their shelter, their homes.

Uploading Energy Harvest

Location: Schenzhen, China Competition submission for Non-Architecture Group Members: Helena Robless, Amy Ma, Ksenia Slutskaya & Maryam Popoola

The Race to Net Zero by 2050 has made it clear that if the world does not adopt clean energy and building technology soon, it will be too late. Shenzhen’s continued success as a financial/tech/information hub hinges on its ability to trailblaze into a better world, where corporate activity is not a one-way track, but a cyclical process that feeds back into the earth. Dominating the world economy now requires a bold commitment to the future, thus Shenzhen’s strategic emerging businesses and manufacturing parks will evolve to make daring jumps towards a symbiotic relationship with environmental technology and construction.

By substituting a grid layout for a more organic urban plan, future communities avoid zoning by dispersing functions and mixing them in a layout where amenities are all within walking distance from the another, akin to the Chinese “XiaoQu” (Translation: “neighbourhood”), where each XiaoQu has its “sites of production, recreation, retail, school, hospital” etc.

By merging corporate activity with clean energy production and research hubs, this project presents this predicted interconnectivity in a system of multiple nuclei - where information is stored, moved, and collected in data trees and in the sky. Sites of production double as spaces for recreation, enhancing the productive value and minimising land wastage. Ample public green spaces allow for all participants to interact: businessmen, researchers, manufacturing workers, and students.

view of organic bridge connecting sites of production

zoomed in section of proposed fish farm production

axonometric view of fish farm

South Elevation

window detail

West Elevation

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foundation detail

Moor Hall, Thorley

Location: Thorley East Hertfordshire.

Work executed during Part I Internship at Snell David Architects

Moor Hall isa Grade II Listed Building situated at the end of is believed to date back to the 16th century and It has been home and the current owners seeek to alter and enhance the while maintaing the architectural character and integrity of the

Moor Hall Lane in Throley. Its construction passed down three generations as a family current building to meet modern standards existing building as well as its landscape.

The proposals include a kitchen extension towards the southern end of the site to a accommodate a breakfast room which provides uninterrupted views to a newly reformed landscape (It should be noted that all proposed new trees would accommodate friendly species). The proposed extension encompasses a contemporary regime in the structure, evident in the use of horizontal timber slats over glazing in the southern facade; a more contemporary approach to the a gabled timber structure which is typical of the building’s period. Handmade clay plaintiles will be used for the roofs to match existing structure and therefore maintain architectural character of the building. It is believed that the changes made to the structure will bring about a more modern , comfortable space which holds strong visual connections to its landscape.

North Elevation

Ground floor plan

Perspective section & construction detail of brekfast room

The Window

A built project by Mykola Murashko, Millie Johnson, Ksenia Slutskaya & Maryam Popoola materials: plywood This built project is a result og a group work’s response to the first brief of our university degree. The biref in question involved designing and building one of the eight walls of the Empty common room for the Empty Common Community Garden, Cambridge. We were instructed to desing and build a wall which would incorporate a window.

We envisioned a window which would allow for multiple functions thus two windows were established - one which would allow for seating to get a comfortable, long view of the surroundings and the other - a small narrow window which allowed one to stand and take in the view while possibly having a cup of coffee. The vision also involved creating a modern day stained glass window which we attempted to create by embedding shards of empty glass bottle into resin. Unfortunately, the tight schedule and our novelty to resin led to an unsuccessful attempt. However, the lessons learnt from the project has been an incredible reward. The rest of the structure was built with plywood, the thickness ranging from 6mm - 24mm depending on the location. The over all result is a simplic, trapeizoidal structure which presents multiple ways to gaze into the world.

Thank you.