Brandon Few Portfolio

At its core, the Leith ArtLAB accounts for the needs of the community; situated in an area of the city where the community is accustomed to following standards that the surrounding architecture has to offer, this project emphasises breaking a few ‘rules and regulations’ to create a unique setting for eccentric experiences. It allows for tangible engagement with architecture to adjust the spaces and surroundings by building personal timelines with agricultural and social work throughout the year. The project explores how the community can develop desired spaces with a certain flexibility, actions of engagement with agriculture and architecture support the unique experiences that happen throughout the project that differentiate it from existing architecture.

Exploring the idea of merging multiple architectural and social disciplines creates a scheme that is not yet present in the urban communities such as these and will have a positive impact. Characteristics of the garden aesthetics and principles include asymmetry, simplicity, intimacy, and the appreciation of local architectural vernacular, history, nature, and communal experiences. The project’s aesthetic recognizes the beauty of simple locally sourced materials, bringing awareness to natural flow and harmony while exploring each element. Each part of the site becomes a part of the larger organism, operating in unison to produce a unique urban canvas. On a neglected park-site in North Leith, suspended between a multitude of important cultural and social nodes, the individuals are given responsibilities within the scheme which will positively impact the local community in exchange for affordable living and studio spaces.

The frames and grid-lines of the buildings create a rhythm which flows out from the built environment into the natural landscaping. Creating a coherent design for the whole site and not just the built structures. The existing neighbouring

DESIGN SUMMER 20/21

Edinburgh, Scotland.

Social, Economic, Topographical, Environmental.

Artistic + Cultural Community.

Leith.

PORTFOLIO

Studio 05, Edge Conditions.

Stage V Architecture Portfolio. ARC8052.

Newcastle University.

Year 05.

Brandon Athol Few.

STAGE V SUMMER DESIGN PORTFOLIO

By Brandon Few

2020 - 2021

Persevere Court A residential block of flats located on North Leith Mill, opposite the site of Leith ArtLAB.

Contents

ARB Criteria

01 - 02

Critical Introduction

03 - 04

Culture of Leith

07 - 38

Tools for Thinking Essay

39 - 52

Leith ArtLAB

53 - 144

Reflective Conclusion

145 - 146

Bibliography

157 - 158

New work shown through presence of this symbol.

Revised work shown through presence of this symbol.

ARB Criteria Throughout this portfolio I have referenced the relevant ARB criteria. This process has helped me to gain a much deeper understanding of the knowledge and skills expected from the ARB whilst keeping track of my progress through the different criteria and specific areas I need to focus on next semester.

GC1

Ability to create Architectural Design that satisfy both the aesthetic and technical requirements.

Adequate knowledge of the histories and theories of architecture and the related arts, technologies and human sciences.

1. Prepare and present building design projects of diverse scale, complexity, and type in a variety of contexts, using a range of media, and in response to a brief; 2. Understand the constructional and structural systems, the environmental strategies and the regulatory requirements that apply to the design and construction of a comprehensive design project; 3. Develop a conceptual and critical approach to architectural design that integrates and satisfies the aesthetic aspects of a building and the technical requirements of its construction and the needs of the user.

1. The cultural, social and intellectual histories, theories and technologies that influence the design of buildings; 2. The influence of history and theory on the spatial, social, and technological aspects of architecture; 3. The application of appropriate theoretical concepts to studio design projects, demonstrating a reflective and critical approach.

GC5

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Understanding of the relationship between people and buildings, and between buildings and their environment, and the need to relate buildings and the spaces between them to human needs and scale.

Understanding of the profession of architecture and the role of the architect in society, in particular in preparing briefs that take account of social factors.

1. The needs and aspirations of building users; 2. The impact of buildings on the environment, and the precepts of sustainable design; 3. The way in which buildings fit in to their local context.

GC9

Adequate knowledge of physical problems and technologies and the function of buildings so as to provide them with internal conditions of comfort and protection against the climate.

1. Principles associated with designing optimum visual, thermal and acoustic environments; 2. Systems for environmental comfort realised within relevant precepts of sustainable design; 3. Strategies for building services, and ability to integrate these in a design project.

01

GC2

1. The nature of professionalism and the duties and responsibilities of architects to clients, building users, constructors, co-professionals and the wider society 2. The role of the architect within the design team and construction industry, recognising the importance of current methods and trends in the construction of the built environment; 3. The potential impact of building projects on existing and proposed communities.

GC10

The necessary design skills to meet building users’ requirements within the constraints imposed by cost factors and building regulations.

1. Critically examine the financial factors implied in varying building types, constructional systems, and specification choices, and the impact of these on architectural design; 2. Understand the cost control mechanisms which operate during the development of a project; 3. Prepare designs that will meet building users’ requirements and comply with UK legislation, appropriate performance standards and health and safety requirements.

GC3

GC4

Knowledge of the fine arts as an influence on the quality of architectural design.

Adequate knowledge of urban design, planning and the skills involved in the planning process.

1. How the theories, practices and technologies of the arts influence architectural design; 2. The creative application of the fine arts and their relevance and impact on architecture; 3. The creative application of such work to studio design projects, in terms of their conceptualisation and representation.

1. Theories of urban design and the planning of communities; 2. The influence of the design and development of cities, past and present on the contemporary built environment; 3. Current planning policy and development control legislation, including social, environmental and economic aspects, and the relevance of these to design development.

GC7

GC8

Understanding of the methods of investigation and preparation of the brief for a design project.

Understanding of the structural design, constructional and engineering problems associated with building design.

1. The need to critically review precedents relevant to the function, organisation and technological strategy of design proposals; 2. The need to appraise and prepare building briefs of diverse scales and types, to define client and user requirements and their appropriateness to site and context; 3. The contributions of architects and co-professionals to the formulation of the brief, and the methods of investigation used in its preparation.

1. The investigation, critical appraisal and selection of alternative structural, constructional and material systems relevant to architectural design; 2. Strategies for building construction, and ability to integrate knowledge of structural principles and construction techniques; 3. The physical properties and characteristics of building materials, components and systems, and the environmental impact of specification choices.

GC11

Adequate knowledge of the industries, organisations, regulations and procedures involved in translating design concepts into buildings and integrating plans into overall planning.

1. The fundamental legal, professional and statutory responsibilities of the architect, and the organisations, regulations and procedures involved in the negotiation and approval of architectural designs, including land law, development control, building regulations and health and safety legislation; 2. The professional inter-relationships of individuals and organisations involved in procuring and delivering architectural projects, and how these are defined through contractual and organisational structures; 3. The basic management theories and business principles related to running both an architect’s practice and architectural projects, recognising current and emerging trends in the construction industry.

02

STUDIO 05 Edge Conditions Zeynep Kezer, Ivan Marquez Munoz, Christos Kakalis 03

[above] North Leith Parish Church View of North Leith Parish Church from the North Junction Street Park.

Edge Conditions

Critical Introduction At its core, the Leith ArtLAB accounts for the needs of the community; situated in an area of the city where the locals are accustomed to following standards that the surrounding architecture has to offer, this project emphasises breaking a few ‘rules and regulations’ to create a unique setting for eccentric experiences. It allows for tangible engagement with architecture to adjust the spaces and surroundings by building personal timelines with agricultural and social work throughout the year. The project explores how the community can develop desired spaces with a certain flexibility. Actions of engagement with agriculture and architecture support the unique experiences that happen throughout the project that differentiate it from the existing built environment and urban landscape.

Exploring the idea of merging multiple architectural and social disciplines results in a scheme that is lacking in urban communities such as these and will have a hugely positive impact. The building design uses ideas of simplicity, intimacy, and the appreciation of local architectural vernacular, history, nature, and communal experiences to situate itself within the local context. The project’s aesthetic recognises the beauty of simple locally sourced and sustainable materials, bringing awareness to natural flow and harmony while exploring each element and its qualities. Each part of the site becomes a part of the larger organism, operating in unison to produce a unique urban canvas. On a neglected park-site in North Leith, suspended between a multitude of important cultural and social nodes, the individuals are given responsibilities within the scheme which will positively impact the local community in exchange for affordable living and studio spaces.

The frames and grid-lines of the buildings create a rhythm which flows out from the built environment into the natural landscaping, creating a coherent design for the whole site and not just the architecture.

The existing neighbouring properties and cultural nodes that surround the site help to influence the zoning strategy for the building and create a coherent, linked set of programmes and spaces that interact not only with themselves but also the surrounding context. Nestled between the project’s built spaces lie social and interactive spaces for the community, creating public squares for the building’s users, residents and the local community.

These public squares and courtyards emphasise the importance of social interactions in community life. The engagement with the site, building structures, and surrounding vegetation, produces unique landscaping and arrival experiences to the site depending on your reason visiting.

The Native garden is intended to bring awareness of natural flow and harmony with thorough research into specific species of plants, grasses and trees found locally along the Water of Leith. This is implemented to create not just an aesthetic arrival and framed view of the project but also a carefully curated educational tool for local schools and individuals.

The semi private ‘Planted Forest’ to the North aims to continue the natural rhythm and form of the residential building. This provides an element of privacy to the residential entrance whilst also providing an undulating grassy topography that creates spaces for social gathering and immersive experience within nature for visitors.

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04

North Junction Street View from entrance of North Junction Street Park looking towards the tenement buildings opposite.

05

06

Culture of Leith [The following work in this section has been taken from ‘ARC8050 Architectural Design Research 01 Winter Portfolio Submission’ and aims to frame the initial semester 01 investigations and urban interventions which led to Leith ArtLAB.] ‘Culture of Leith’ intended to interact with the growing community of artists to establish a creative and cultural ‘centre’ for Leith. The urban strategy provided public spaces surrounding the creative nodes on Ferry Road and improved the existing and limited infrastructure surrounding the area’s important cultural centres: Leith Library, Leith Theatre and Leith School of Art. This cultural and artistic hub will provide space for exhibitions, performances, social interaction and engagement, in turn helping to celebrate the strong sense of identity and community spirit within the area. The public spaces will also continue enhancing the four existing festivals that take place in Leith annually.

Furthermore, the improved public spaces will provide an additional setting (alongside Edinburgh City Centre) for existing cultural events such as ‘Edinburgh Fringe’ and ‘Edinburgh International Festival’.

The profits from these events will then be invested back into the local community, helping to support artists, creatives and community projects at risk of being forced out through gentrification.

The proposed plans for Leith’s cultural hub at the urban scale provided the ideal context for an intervention at the architectural scale: Leith ArtLAB.

[right] Leith School of Art A site photograph of the important artistic and cultural node located adjacent to the site in North Leith.

07

08

Leith / UK Context

“Sometimes, in any city, an area emerges as the hub of creative life for a whole generation of artists; and that’s what’s happening right now around Edinburgh’s old port of Leith.

It was always a feisty community with a strong sense of identity, recently gentrified through several decades of waterfront development, and now – following the recent commercial property crash, and a powerful surge of immigration in the last decade – suddenly full of people and spaces dedicated to the making of art.”

Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

North Sea Edinburgh

English Channel

UK

09

SCOTLAND

North Berwick Firth of Forth Berwick-upon-Tweed Leith

Population: 24,000+

LEITH

10

Historical Context Leith is located on the Firth of Forth in south east Scotland. It was for many centuries the premier port of Scotland. In 1833 it was a separate burgh from Edinburgh, with its own Town Council - this changed in 1920 when Leith became part of the City of Edinburgh. While the story of Leith is partly entangled with the story of Kings and Queens, merchants and mariners, it is more a story of the ‘ordinary’ people who lived and worked on its docks and industries.

After World War II the port and trade declined in the area, many industries such as shipbuilding, fertilizer manufacturing and distilling closed down. This resulted in derelict buildings and areas of derelict land.

Many of the houses in the area were substandard in quality and many were left lying uninhabited. The population decreased dramatically and local facilities became limited. By the 1980s, conditions started to improve as old abandoned industrial sites were re-developed to create affordable housing and new small industrial businesses began to open.5 More recently the historic port area has seen a growing ‘culture boom’6 and rapidly growing community of artists and creatives. Cheaper rent by comparison to the centre of Edinburgh has led to dramatic increases in Leith’s population and population density, leading to a significant growth of the artistic community.

TRANSPORT LEGEND: 5. ‘Port of Leith Review and History.’

World Port Source.

6. ‘Leith Should Receive New Arts Centre’ The Scotsman quoting an Investigation by Leith Late.

[above] Mapping the key transport routes as well as the main artistis/cultural hubs in Leith.

11

a

Ferry Road

b

Great Junction Street

c

Water of Leith Walkway

d

Leith Walk

e

A901 Lower Granton Road

f

A199 Salamander Street

ARTISTIC HUBS IN LEITH:

1

Leith Theatre located on Ferry Road was a gift to the people of Leith after the decision on the 10th Octover 1920 to incorporate the Burgh of Leith into the City of Edinburgh.

Work commenced on the theatre in 1929 and the Town Hall complex was completed in 1932.

The entire complex including the Large Hall, Small Hall and Library building were well loved... then came the war.

In 1941 the Main Auditorium suffered bomb damage and remained dorment for two decades.

The theatre was successfully reopened in 1961 and was used by amateur opera groups, local schools, as a venue for political rallies and even weight lifting during the 1972 Commonwealth Games.

The venue has hosted famous artists and bands including AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Dr Feelgood and Kraftwerk.

In 1983 the theatre was essentially closed and only hosted the Edinburgh Festival each August until 1988 when the curtain was ‘finally drawn’ and the beautiful venue fell into disrepair.

Leith Theatre

2

The Biscuit Factory, located on Anderson Place is a multi-purpose arts, studio and venue space that produces some of the most unique events in the city.

The venue is based in one of two of Crawford’s biscuit factories in Leith. Built in 1947 close to the sugar bonds to ease transportation of raw goods and materials to the site. It laid empty for over a decade before it was revived by creative agency Youth Juice Creative to house over 15 different creative studios, a gin distillery and events and exhibitions spaces which open to the public on an event-by-event basis.

The main objective of the biscuit factory is to raise funds to enable the arts industry in Edinburgh to reach out specifically to the surrounding community through arts education and participation projects, as well as more generally to the international arts sector to bring nationally and internationally renowned artists, programming and events to Edinburgh to enrich the cultural diversity of the city.

The Biscuit Factory

3 Coburg House is a thriving hub of artists, designers and makers in the heart of Leith.

Housed in a former granary of Bell’s Seed Factory which was built in the early 1800s, it currently houses over 80 artists, designers and crafts people.

It has housed studios for over 20 years and is home to a dynamic creative community with a well established reputation for excellence.

Coburg House Art Studios

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Historical Timeline A brief historical timeline of Leith

1128

1905

1910

Earliest recorded mention of Leith in the Foundation Charter for Holyrood Abbey.

Electric trams arrive in Leith.

The first aeroplane to fly in Scotland is built by Gibson and Son in Leith.

1559

1903 Leith Nautical College opens.

The town is fortified during the 1559 1560 Siege of Leith

1651 The Mercurious Scoticus, one of the first Scottish newspapers, is printed in Leith.

1670 Sir James Stanfield sets up a brewery in Leith, the largest industrial unit in Scotland at the time.

1680 The teaching of mathematics begins at Trinity House to teach boys navigation.

1744

1886 Leith Hospital is the first hospital in Scotland to admit female medical students to its wards for clinical training.

1874 The Victoria Swing Bridge is completed – the largest swing bridge in the United Kingdom at the time.

1920 Leith becomes part of the City of Edinburgh.

1939 World War II begins.

1941 Leith Theatre suffers bomb damage and remains dormate for two decades.

1841

1945+

Charles Drummond produces the one of the world’s first greetings cards in Leith – a New Year greetings card.

Leith docks experience a severe decline post World War II.

1837

The world’s first rules of golf are drawn up to be used on Leith Links.

The passenger/cargo ship SS Sirius (the first to cross the Atlantic under its own power) is built in Leith by Robert Menzies & Sons.

1771

1832

Permission is given for the construction of Leith’s first dry dock.

Leith gets its first railway, a branch line of the Edinburgh and Dalkeith railway.

1821

1832

The first steamship service from Leith to London begins.

The first intravenous treatment for cholera is given in Leith by Dr Thomas Latta.

1980 Conditions started to improve as old abandoned industrial sites are redeveloped to create affordable housing and new small industrial businesses began to open.

1993 Trainspotting is written about a group of drug users living in Leith during the 1980s.

Today

[source] www.leithlocalhistorysociety.org.uk. 2020. Explore Historic Leith. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.leithlocalhistorysociety.org.uk/guidebook/pdfs/guidebook.pdf.

13

Demographic Analysis

Area: 4.98km2 Density: 4,890 / km2 (2019) Change: +1.55% / year (2011 - 2019)

Status:

Population:

Population:

Population:

Ward

15,600

21,430

24,330

Census Data 29.04.2001

Census Data 27.03.2011

Estimated Data 30.06.2019

[source] National Records of Scotland.

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GC7 14

Average House Prices Across Scotland and Scotland’s Major Cities data sourced from ‘Registers of Scotland’

[source] www.edinburgh.gov.uk. 2020. Population Distribution and Density. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/24263/populationdistribution-and-density.

15

Average House Prices Across Scotland and Scotland’s Major Cities data sourced from ‘Citylets’

[source] www.edinburgh.gov.uk. 2020. Population Distribution and Density. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/24263/populationdistribution-and-density.

16

17

[left top] Cultural Spaces By Ward (2019) [source] Cultural Mapping Workshops – The Edinburgh Culture and Community Mapping Project. 2020. Cultural Mapping Workshops – The Edinburgh Culture and Community Mapping Project.

[source] A Map of Scotland’s Deprivation – Suprageography. 2020. A Map of Scotland’s Deprivation – Suprageography. [ONLINE] Available at: https://oobrien.com/2013/01/amap-of-scotlands-deprivation/.

[left top] Cultural Spaces By Ward (2020) [source] Cultural Mapping Workshops – The Edinburgh Culture and Community Mapping Project. 2020. Cultural Mapping Workshops – The Edinburgh Culture and Community Mapping Project.

“We don’t just need housing. We need facilities, services, schools, community centres, green space, public spaces. We need a vision and a masterplan with colour and vibrancy, focused on our needs.” workshop: Access to buildings and space

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Mapping Creative Nodes in Leith A map showing dispersion of creative hubs and businesses around Ferry Road and more generally around Leith, Edinburgh.

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N

KEY: 1. Leith School of Art 2. artroom32 3. Dean & Cauvin Trust 4. The Prince’s Trust Edinburgh Centre 5. Full Crate 6. Coburg House Art Studios & Ritchie Collins Gallery 7. DOK Artist Space 8. The Leith Walk Gallery 9. Rhubaba Gallery and Studios 10. Bloc Gallery 11. Edinburgh Open Workshop 12. Post Electric Studio 13. Finiflex 14. Ritchie Collins Gallery 15. Edinburgh Atelier of Fine Art, Custom Lane, Studio Alec Finlay, Scottish Skyscapes Trina Bohan, Sheree Walker Edinburgh Web Design & Creative Studio 16. Sketchy Beats Cafe 17. Four Square - Homeless Charity Edinburgh 18. West End Design 19. Almond Design 20. Snowball Design 21. DO - Design Agency 22. Acero Design 23. David Brown Design 24. Bagelfish Design Ltd 25. IIINK Designs 26. Svenno Design Co. 27. Kate George Design 28. Karen Rhodes Design Ltd 29. MBS Graphic Design Boundary Line of Leith

1km

Proposed Area of Urban Strategy

20

How can the great wealth of knowledge and talent fay.young

in Leith be harnessed? What is the best way to

December 18, 2019

develop a shared understanding of the local

community news, Leith Open Space Events

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potential to meet needs and overcome obstacles?

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Home Coronavirus US Election UK World Business Politics Tech Science Health Family & Education

— Leith Conference

LeithCreative, place making

brandonfew

Entertainment & Arts

The place is packed. The hall is fairly humming with that unmistakeable sound of people getting properly engaged. All ages. Busy tackling the big

Coronavirus: Report suggests arts industry faces 'ruinous losses'

issues of local life. So why are we worried about who is not here?

Is that a sign of local perversity? There’s lots on in Leith any day of the week. On a sunny Saturday morning many folk, especially those with young families, have plenty other things to do. Even so, there are more than one

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Trump acce must begin

8 June

hundred people signing into the event at Norton Park Conference Centre.

The president sa "do what needs t on.

And that with a match on at Hibs Stadium next door, this afternoon.

In truth, with ten tables pretty much fully occupied, there’s not much room

45 minutes ago

for any more. Still, as flip chart comments show, each workshop is aware of gaps in the groups represented around their table. Whose voice is not being

Travellers ca they pay for

heard, where are opportunities to meet, how do we fill the gaps?

Leith is many places, whose voice is unheard?

SEARCH THIS SITE Search …

1 hour ago

'It doesn't

How can the great wealth of knowledge and talent in Leith be harnessed?

What is the best way to develop a shared understanding of the local potential to meet needs and overcome obstacles? Leith Conference The place is packed. The hall is fairly humming with that unmistakeable sound of people getting properly engaged. All ages. … Continue reading

9 hours ago CITY COUNCILLORS FOR LEITH & LEITH WALK Adam McVey

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Amy McNeese-Mechan Chas Booth Gordon Munro Lewis Ritchie Rob Munn Susan Rae

Leith should receive new arts centre - study | The Scotsman

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While cinemas and galleries are planning to reopen, theatres and concert venues will remain closed for now

ACTive INquiry Theatre Company Ben Macpherson MSP Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Centre for Human Ecology Deirdre Brock MP Elrec Youth Zone Multi-Cultural Family Base

The latest Arts Index, published annually, showed public investment in arts per head of the population fell by 35% in the last decade.

One Scotland Open Futures Operation Black Vote Sikh Sanjog

However, earned income by arts organisations from things like box office ticket sales increased by 47%.

Swietlica

And that is exactly what Leith Conference is after. Reaching out and connecting are driving purposes of this weekend. A genuine community-

The government said it was working with the arts sector directly on how to reopen safely and plan for the future.

led ‘place-plan’ needs genuine community engagement. And no-one could accuse the organisers – LeithCreative and Leith Trust – of being unambitious. The overall aim is to lay the foundation for “a new community

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For the plan to be the best, and most relevant it can be, we need input from everyone across the area.

It is published in partnership with the Creative Industries Federation and King's College London and compares year-on-year figures using 20 key indicators.

How can the great wealth of knowledge and talent in Leith be harnessed? What is the best way to

December 18, 2019

develop a shared understanding of the local

community news, Leith Open Space Events community led planning,

Where local meets global

this after the general election campaign – I briefly wonder if it’s even more perverse to focus on local issues when national and global events pose such

LeithCreative, place

huge challenges?

making

The latest index, published on Monday, puts the recent figures in the context News you canincome trust Sign sincein1817 of the last decade, which saw a UK recession prompt a shiW in the streams for arts organisations.

That was justto over a month ago (26/27 October 2019). Now – I’m writing potential meet needs and overcome obstacles?

community manifesto,

'He always s long life'

The Arts Index is published by The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA), and acts as a snapshot report of the health of England's arts and culture.

generated Local Place Plan, shaped by the people of Leith.”

fay.young

BBC 100 Wo the list?

A cut in public funding has le2 the arts sector more exposed to the threat of Covid-19, new figures suggest.

City of Edinburgh Council

— Leith Conference

News

The place is packed. The hall is fairly humming with that unmistakeable Yet theof pressing issues on the tables in the All conference hall – housing, sound people getting properly engaged. ages. Busy tackling the big

What does the latest Arts Coronavirus Opinion Sport Index Arts say? and Culture

health and welllife. being, transport, space, public space, environment, issues of local So why are we green worried about who is not here? social care, community cohesion, sustainable employment – are exactly

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'It doesn't fe

Lifestyle

Food and Drink

AWer the 2008 financial crash, the arts sector witnessed a significant drop in public funding, business support and philanthropic giving

where meets global thinking.

These areLeith universal needs.

The Is that local a signaction of local perversity?

There’s lots on in any day of the election – and itsmorning outcomemany – hasfolk, reinforced divisions and week.

Oncampaign a sunny Saturday especially thosewithin with young

Arts and Culture

between parts of the creaking But Leith Conference was families, all have plenty other thingsUnited to do. Kingdom.

Even so, there are more than one a powerful reminder thatinto – regardless of Norton tribal politics – every day, people hundred people signing the event at Park Conference Centre.

Investment via public funding for the arts per head of population - via the Lottery, local and national government - has dropped by 35% since then, with local government funding for the arts falling by 43%

Leith should receive new arts centre - study

are inavital work improve quality of life in this theirafternoon. own Andengaged that with match on to at Hibs Stadium next door, communities. Against the odds, they achieve small miracles. Just getting on

However, earned income increased by 47% - with arts organisations becoming more reliant on money made from ticket sales, catering and venue hire

with it. Because it tables needs pretty to be done.

In truth, with ten much fully occupied, there’s not much room for any more. Still, as flip chart comments show, each workshop is aware of People places, for better and worse, and it’s worth a look at gaps inmake the groups represented around their table.

Whosetaking voice is not being what cliché means. Look closer and stereotypes heard,that where arereally opportunities to meet, how doyou wefind fill the gaps? crumbling. At each table in the hall there’s a mix of ages with workshops

Goodbye AT offer access

This shiW from subsidy to private income has leW the arts sector significantly more exposed to the threat from Covid-19

being co-facilitated by young people from the Citadel Youth Club and Leith Academy [as you can probably see from the main image, above, with Ray Bird of

While galleries and cinemas are putting plans in place to reopen, theatres and

A NEW multi-purpose arts centre should be created in Leith to concert venues will remain closed for the foreseeable future. capitalise The onchair a growing culture in therose historic port area and of the NCA, Samuel West, said:boom "Arts organisations to the challenge following the financial crash; we salute them for increasing earned help address a desperate shortage of space for artists, a new study income in response to a triple whammy of cuts to public funding, business has found.sponsorship and philanthropic giving.

Rare Bird Media, hard at work documenting the event].

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"It's bitterly ironic that the arts sector's resourceful response to the 2008 financial crash is now the very thing that makes it vulnerable to the COVID-19 Think election endedoff 3a crisis, with theatres closed and income from opportunity tickets and bars dropping November?

FERGUSON cliff."

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Available for everyone, funded by readers Contribute Subscribe https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/leith-should-receive-new-arts-centre-study-1504920 Brendan Lamont of Leith Depot setting up Saturday lunch

And that is exactly what Leith Conference is after. Reaching out and At the end of the weekend the greatest number of votes went to calls for connecting are driving purposes of this weekend. A genuine communityintegrated planning, intergenerational activities and a shift in the balance led ‘place-plan’ needs genuine community engagement. And no-one could of power. [LeithCreative has published an impressively detailed full conference accuse the organisers – LeithCreative and Leith Trust – of being report: click HERE] unambitious. The overall aim is to lay the foundation for “a new community

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generated Local Place Plan, shaped by the people of Leith.”

We don’t just need housing. We need facilities, services, schools, community centres, green space, public spaces. We need a vision and a

For the plan to be the best, and most relevant it can be, we need masterplan with colour and vibrancy, focused on our needs (workshop: input from everyone across the area.

Access to buildings and space )

A decade of was born

Actor and writer Mark Gatiss talks to PM about the importance of regional theatre

Intergenerational activities to bring young and old together (workshop: Keeping Well)

Where local meets global Change of power relationships between Community & Planners (workshop: The NCA said the sector had been "brought to its knees" amid the coronavirus pandemic, adding that many companies now face "ruinous losses".

Development, housing and planning) That was just over a month ago (26/27 October 2019). Now – I’m writing this after the general election campaign – I briefly wonder if it’s even more How to make that happen? Sharing knowledge and experience is an perverse to focus on local issues when national and global events pose such essential part of successful community activism. On both days speakers huge challenges? gave stimulating insight into the secret of getting community voices heard in high places. On Saturday Jemma Neville, author of Constitution Street, Yet the pressing issues on the tables in the conference hall – housing, Finding Hope in an Age of Anxiety, and Jane Jones, from the Fountainbridge health and well being, transport, green space, public space, environment, Canalside Initiative on campaigning for green space and affordable homes. social care, community cohesion, sustainable employment – are exactly On Sunday, Lesley Riddoch, of a Thousand Huts, Eigg Community Buyout, where local action meets global thinking. These are universal needs. The and The Power of Local, and Linda Somerville of Save Leith Walk now election campaign – and its outcome – has reinforced divisions within and campaigning for community right to buy. between all parts of the creaking United Kingdom. But Leith Conference was a powerful reminder that – regardless of tribal politics – every day, people are engaged in vital work to improve quality of life in their own

What happens next? communities. Against the odds, they achieve small miracles. Just getting on with it. Because it needs to be done.

Many people signed up on the day, however, if you are willing to contribute to the process of creating a Leith Local Place Plan let People make places, for better and worse, and it’s worth taking a look at us know by return email [info@leithcreative.org]. what that cliché really means. Look closer and you find stereotypes

crumbling. At each table in the hall there’s a mix of ages with workshops — Duncan Bremner being co-facilitated by young people from the Citadel Youth Club and Leith Academy [as you can probably see from the main image, above, with Ray Bird of There’s no quick fix, as Jane Jones reminded the audience on that sunny Rare Bird Media, hard at work documenting the event].

October day. LeithCreative has now started making the crucial follow up, writing to everyone who took part in the conference, with an invitation to join the residents steering group. A meeting with Scottish Community Development Centre will explore how to build on the buzz of ideas captured on those flip charts. A conversation with Forth Ports will pick up CEO Charles Hammond’s promise to kickstart a community support fund.

There is much to celebrate in Leith, as Duncan Bremner of LeithCreative and Faith Liddell of Leith Trust, said in their opening remarks. So much, in fact, it’s often hard to keep up with events and activities of an extraordinary diversity of small businesses, voluntary groups, charities and publicly funded organisations at work across a widespread area.

Leith is not just one place. Every street and open space reflects an astonishing diversity of cultural heritage. Place-based community empowerment allows for differences while developing shared understanding, and common purpose.

— Faith Liddell There has never been a better, or more urgent, time for our communities to work together. ‘Community empowerment’ is now enshrined in legislation as Faith pointed out. Public bodies are legally bound to engage with local communities and the Scottish Government is encouraging ‘community-led, place-based planning’. But no-one at Norton Park was under the illusion Brendan Lamont of Leith Depot setting up Saturday lunch that this is a simple process. Essential relationships – between people, At the endpolicy-makers, of the weekend politicians the greatest number of votes wenttime to calls for planners, and developers – take to build

integrated planning, intergenerational activities and a shiftresults. in the balance and meticulous attention to detail to produce constructive of power. [LeithCreative has published an impressively detailed full conference

21

report: clickto HERE] “You have know you’re in for the long haul” says Jane Jones from a chilly Fountainbridge Canalside. “We also need to know how power works, how We don’t just need housing.

We facilities, services, schools, politics works.

We might start byneed pooling resources to learn from one community centres, green space, public spaces. We need a vision and a another.” masterplan with colour and vibrancy, focused on our needs (workshop:

Fri 26 Jun 2020 07.00 BST

746 797

Our booming for film, television, theatre and design industries A spokesman the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) can’tBBC leapNews: back to lifegovernment if venues arehas bankrupt and talent has fled financial aid told "The announced unprecedented for the arts and cultural sectors, including the Self Employed Support Scheme, the job retention scheme, a year's business rates holiday, and the Arts Council's £160 million emergency response package.

The PM who 'right to self

"We want to help those organisations that have worked hard to become a commercial success, and we are working directly with the arts sector on how it can reopen safely and plan for the future."

In October, DCMS announced £250m of funding for the cultural and creative sector - the biggest one-off government investment in cultural infrastructure, local museums and neighbourhood libraries in the last century.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told The Evening Standard on Monday: "I am not going to stand by and see our world-leading position in arts and culture destroyed... Of course I want to get the money flowing, I am not going to let anyone down."

PM faces po system

A

‘When even West-End impresario Cameron Mackintosh cancels all of his moneyspinners until next year, the

Discussing histake negotiations with the treasury about further financial aid, he government should fright.’ Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock said: "Not everyone is going to be happy with whatever comes up. I'm going to s the furlough scheme tapers off, we are entering a frightening have to asknew institutions to take difficult decisions". era of mass unemployment, with 23% more dole claimants in just one month. Day after day, thousands more redundancies are The latest index notes that the West End weathered the financial storm that announced, with more to come. Retail and hospitality warn many started in 2008 particularly well, and since 2013 the sector saw real terms businesses won’t survive unaided. The shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, growth in revenues practically every year to 2018.

has called on the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to slow the pace of withdrawing support or riskthat wasting the job-saving good done by furloughing so far. jumped It also states financial support from arts trusts and foundations

The Queen's women ches

by 38% between 2014 and 2018.

The Treasury view is that paying for 9.2 million workers can’t last forever, so there’s no the point in propping that won’t survive – so shake However, index showed up thebusinesses proportion of all GCSEs being taken inout creative zombies that were20% staggering even before the pandemic hit. If these so-called subjects is down since 2010. zombies employ people otherwise thrown into long-term joblessness, letting them go will be a bad mistake. But the most calamitous error is to impose a one-size-fits-all retreat from job support, where the Treasury makes no Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story distinction between failing companies and highly profitable thriving sectors suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. closed only by virus diktat.

The performing arts, music of every kind, theatre, film studios and dance venues are dark only because they are banned. Otherwise they would leap

Related back as oneTopics of the few genuinely “world-beating” high-earners for Treasury

coffers, a tourist magnet and the heart of the nation’s cultural identity.

Musicians, performers, directors, crew, designers, employees of all kinds are Performing arts Film Theatre Music being sacked right now. Many are freelancers with no government support to sustain them, the industry warns.

This week the Theatre Royal Plymouth announced

jobsthis could be lost, its director talking of their that 100on More story

“very painful but unavoidable conclusion”, as Newcastle’s Theatre Royal cast off half its staff, 'We're clinging on' - theatre leaders discuss lockdown turmoil cancelling five months of shows.

14 May

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Art can support recovery from addiction Number 37 in our countdown of '70 Ways Art Improves Our Health' highlights the potential for art to aid substance abuse recovery…

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Contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence that drugs and alcohol make us more creative.

In fact, a study of existing research in 2016 concluded that although creativity and drug use are associated, “The results that we have suggest no direct link between the two.”

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No one knows exactly where our creativity comes from. Theories suggest many different genetic and environmental elements are involved: hereditary traits, family nurturing, early exposure to art, good teaching, an appetite for learning, and endless creative practice.

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One thing we do know is that addiction smothers creativity. But also, thankfully, that art can aid an addict in their lifelong recovery.

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“Art therapy and other creative activities can offer an emotional outlet and a way of expressing inner thoughts.”

Recovery from addiction involves much more than stopping the use of drugs or alcohol. We also have to understand why we became addicted in the first place and the reasons for wanting to create a new drug-free life for ourselves.

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Like many others living with physical and mental health issues, addicts may struggle to recognise and communicate their emotions. Art therapy and other creative activities can offer an emotional outlet and a way of expressing inner thoughts. Memories and experiences that are too painful or shameful to speak about can be expressed through paint, pencil, clay and any other medium.

Of course, everyone recovers in different ways, but when art is combined with detox and talking therapies, it can be a powerful way to encourage healing.

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In his blog, Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive Officer at the Living Room Cardiff (a communitybased recovery centre), painted us a vivid and moving picture of how the Paintings in Hospitals art collection supports the recovery of service users. You can read Wynford’s blog here.

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A NEW multi-purpose arts centre should be created in Leith to capitaliseof onLeith's a growing culturepop-up boom in arts the historic port arearaised and Organisers annual festival have help address a desperate shortage of space for artists, a new study concerns about the impact of new developments and rising has found.

property prices in the area as they revealed the event had been axed after six years.

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Morvern Cunningham founded the LeithLate arts festival in 2011.

They have also cited funding problems for the demise of LeithLate, which

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[above] Leith Theatre Collage Concept collage exploring the importance of Leith Theatre as a significant cultural and artistic hub within Leith.

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“Edinburgh’s Cultural Venues make a very significant contribution to the Edinburgh and Scottish economies, supporting over 5,000 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs and £194 million Gross Value Added (GVA) in Scotland.”

Edinburgh’s Cultural Venues Impact Report

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Leith Square Concept Collage 25

“In a different world Edinburgh might well have been a distant suburb of the City of Leith and not the other way around. For nature had blessed that part of the shore of the Forth with all the advantages of a safe haven and a flat site. It was something that the burgesses of Edinburgh understood well in a more robust age of merchant intrigue. ... At last, there is a future, allowing the natural advantages of location and something of that independent spirit to prevail.

In the last dozen or so years houses and shops have sprouted out of empty warehouses, gaps have been filled...

A real sense of opportunity is returning.”

J.M. Wallace, ‘Traditions of Trinity and Leith’, 1997

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Site Locat 1:5000 Map showing the Proposed S [Original drawing

KEY A. Improved Public Square B. Shared Space C. Outdoor + Leisure Space

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N

tion Plan

ites for an Urban Strategy for Leith at 1:5000 at A3]

100m

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GC2 29

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GC2

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Proposal

1:500 experiental mapping of rhyth

[Original drawing

GC2 33

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Mapping

hm, nodes and areas of interventions

g at 1:500 at A0]

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Seating Art Installation Leith Library / Edinburgh Fringe

GC2

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GC

C4

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Leith Square Perspective of Leith Square around Christmas time

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The Stair Theatre Water of Leith Walkway

“a square is also an organism, not just a work of art and architecture” Michael Kimmelman, “Culture: Power of the Place”

“Feeling in the middle of things, at the place to and from which streets flow, where people come not to escape the city but to be inside it: This us usually what defines a successful square...”

Catie Marron, City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World

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Tools for Thinking Essay What Role Has Leith History Mural Played in the Gentrification of Leith? Artwashing and the role of public art within the gentrification of Leith.

My deep investigations during semester 01 into Leith’s history and how the historic and social scars had resulted in the subsequent rapid increase of artists and creatives in the area, led me to look further into the topic through my Tools for Thinking Essay. It made sense to rigorously disect the roles artists and art have had on the gentrification of Leith and explore how this could shape the thesis of my semester 02 project; Leith ArtLAB.

39

Introduction.

Gentrification is a politically loaded word.1 Since its conception by Ruth Glass in 1964 with the original definition of a working-class area being “invaded by the middle class… [to] become elegant, expensive residences’’, it has become a global topic of debate and research. In the decades since the term was first coined, cities and their nature and economies have changed dramatically, with the process of gentrification now focusing on the upward class transformation and resultant creation of affluent space. This has resulted in the inclusion of not only the improvement of working-class housing, but also new-build projects aimed at a middle-class demographic.

The pattern of gentrification remains relatively consistent: it is typically associated with previously key industrial and manufacturing areas, as well as marginal areas further away from the city centre, becoming the primary focus of regeneration. As early pioneers or gentrifiers move into the area they begin to improve these forgotten neighbourhoods, changing the urban and social landscape.

Throughout previous research into gentrification, art and artists have continued to play a part in both long-established theories surrounding the process as well as the respective key drivers of ‘culture’ and ‘capital’. Since the 1960s, analysis of culture in gentrification has recognised the artist as a vital agent in the early stages of the gentrification process in neglected neighbourhoods.

This paper looks at the topic of art and gentrification, focusing on Leith, a historic port town in Edinburgh. Starting with a brief overview of long-standing gentrification theories it aims to investigate these within the current and historical context of Leith’s social and economic environment. Finally, looking towards the widely recognised role that artists play in transforming areas of relative poverty and limited investment into a state of commodification. This paper will focus on Leith’s first state-funded public artwork, Leith History Mural, which was commissioned by the Scottish Development Agency at the very start of Leith’s gentrification process in 1986 and acted as a catalyst for the urban regeneration of the area.

Following this research into Leith History Mural, the paper will aim to investigate how street art has gradually been incorporated into public policy and urban planning in an effort to ‘improve’ the area.

It will interrogate the intentions behind these efforts and explore the threat that ‘artwashing’ could pose on the displacement of Leith’s existing artistic and working-class community. Finally, it will propose future avenues of research around the subject and other cities and areas which could be useful around the topics of artists, gentrification and ‘artwashing’.

1

Davidson, M., & Lees, L. 2005. New-build ‘gentrification’ and London’s riverside renaissance. Environment and Planning A, 37, 1165–1190.

40

A Brief Overview of Gentrification The topic of gentrification has received widespread attention following its conception in London as well as numerous east coast US cities across the 1950s and 1960s2. It is a well-known story in cities across the world; derelict and poor-quality housing within previously key industrial and manufacturing centres of a city are transformed after early pioneers of artists and marginalized groups move in and dramatically improve these forgotten neighbourhoods. Since the 1960s, research has shown the important role artists play within the early stages of gentrification. There have been many prominent sociologists who have noted success within neighbourhoods because of a population change, with the artist community at the forefront of this gentrification process.3 4 5 Lees’ research6 into hypergentrification in Brooklyn Heights as well as Mele’s study7 on political and economic forces on social control in New York’s Lower East Side argues that gentrification ‘cannot merely happen due to an influx of artists’ and instead is caused by a more complicated web of larger institutions working to revitalise the neighbourhood.8 Cameron and Coaffee9 argue that although the settlement of an artist community and artist production may be the initial or ‘first wave’ of gentrification within an area, the subsequent or ‘second wave’ occurs when the artist production becomes a commodity and therefore begins selling a neighbourhood to the ‘non artist middle class.’10 The ‘third wave’ of gentrification occurs when these areas are further gentrified through large developments, global capital and government or state investments. Hackworth and Smith’s description of this third wave gentrification was further refined by Lees with the ‘supergentrification’ concept which she defines as ‘the transformation of already gentrified, prosperous and solidly upper-middle class neighbourhoods into much more exclusive and expensive enclaves’.11 Associating ‘third wave’ gentrification with the relation between neighbourhoods and the artists living within them. In this stage of gentrification, Cameron and Coaffee state that the main focus is 2

Lees, L., Slater, T. and K., E., 2008. Gentrification. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Glass, R. 1964. London: Aspects of Change. London: Center for Urban Studies.

4 Smith, N. 1979. “Toward a Theory of Gentrification a Back to the City Movement by Capital, Not People.” Journal of the American Planning Association 45 (4): 538–548.

5 Ley, D. 1996. The New Middle Class and the Remaking of the Central City. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

6 Lees, L. 2003. “Super-gentrification: The Case of Brooklyn Heights, New York City.” Urban Studies 40 (12): 2487–2509.

7 Mele, C. 2000. Selling the Lower East Side: Real Estate, Culture and Resistance in New York City. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

8 Rich, M., 2019. Artists are a tool for gentrification’: maintaining artists and creative production in arts districts.

International Journal of Cultural Policy. Volume 25 Issue 6, 4. Available at: https://www-tandfonlinecom.libproxy.ncl.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2017.1372754 9 Cameron, S., and J. Coaffee. 2005. “Art, Gentrification and Regeneration – From Artist as Pioneer to Public Arts.”

European Journal of Housing Policy 5: 39–58.

10 Rich, M., 2019. Artists are a tool for gentrification’: maintaining artists and creative production in arts districts.

International Journal of Cultural Policy. Volume 25 Issue 6, 4. Available at: https://www-tandfonlinecom.libproxy.ncl.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2017.1372754 11 Ley, D. 2003. “Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification.” Urban Studies 40 (12): 2527–2544.

3

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on ‘the public consumption of art, through public art and artistic events, and particularly through the creation of landmark physical infrastructure for the arts, such as galleries, museums and concert halls.’12

Leith, Edinburgh; An Area of Gentrification Leith is a neighbourhood in North Edinburgh which is situated on the Firth of Forth. Gentrification of the area started in the 1980s with the initial regeneration surrounding the waterfront and some of the traditional tenement houses, following the original definition of gentrification coined by Ruth Glass.13 This process intensified and those initial areas were joined with post-recession gentrification in the former port areas.14 15 This later phase included luxury flats alongside a new shopping centre on the waterfront, the Ocean Terminal. This shopping centre alongside restaurants and bars have led to dramatic changes in the neighbourhood’s retail and amenity structure and its image within the wider city of Edinburgh.

Currently, gentrification in Leith fits the four criteria of ‘third wave’ gentrification outlined by Hackworth and Smith16; firstly the area of Leith is located further from the city centre in comparison to other areas already gentrified in Edinburgh; secondly, there are large national developers actively involved within the process; thirdly, there is a small amount of resistance from locals to the change; and finally, the state is heavily involved within much of the regeneration plans. As also researched by Cameron and Coaffee,17 Leith also has a large focus on public-policy engagement linked to regeneration. The image of Leith has been promoted as this incredible cultural and artistic hub within Edinburgh which has led to a dramatic public consumption of art, with public art, street art, artistic events and festivals alongside a number of galleries and artistic hubs emerging throughout the area.

Until 1920, Leith was a separate burgh with its own Town Council and in a similar fashion to many port towns, Leith has been a backdrop for continual change and adaptation. For many centuries it was the premier port of Scotland and acted as the economic powerhouse and gateway to Edinburgh.

The area played a vital role within the history of Scotland and the merger with Edinburgh in 1920 was 12

Cameron, S., and J. Coaffee. 2005. “Art, Gentrification and Regeneration – From Artist as Pioneer to Public Arts.”

European Journal of Housing Policy 5: 39–58.

13 Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. 2021. Living through gentrification: subjective experiences of local, nongentrifying residents in Leith, Edinburgh | SpringerLink.Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10901-0099151-3.

14 Davidson, M., & Lees, L. (2005). New-build ‘gentrification’ and London’s riverside renaissance. Environment and Planning A, 37, 1165–1190.

15 Hackworth, J., & Smith, N. (2001). The changing state of gentrification. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 92(4), 464–477.

16 Ibid.

17 Cameron, S., and J. Coaffee. 2005. “Art, Gentrification and Regeneration – From Artist as Pioneer to Public Arts.”

European Journal of Housing Policy 5: 39–58.

42

met with mixed emotions due to Leithers voting ‘26,810 to 4,340 against’18 in a referendum which was overturned, leaving many of the population angry. It is this rich history as a thriving and independent burgh that has led to a strong sense of individuality being retained within Leith.19 After World War II the area went into a period of rapid decline with industries such as shipbuilding, fertilizer manufacturing and distilling closing down. The effects of the post-war industrial decline were drastic with many buildings and areas of land being left derelict. This resulted in a dramatic increase in unemployment within the area and housing which was either uninhabited or poor in quality. Intensive slum clearance programmes were a strong focal point in Leith from 1950-1970 with many of the population living in the most overcrowded and rundown tenements being moved to new estates on the outskirts of Edinburgh or to new high-rise blocks being built in their place. The ‘Leith Project Initiative’ of 1980-1985 included an industrial and environmental programme aimed at renovating and converting existing buildings to provide quality housing, offices and workshops to aid in the urban regeneration of the area and conservation of Leith’s historic environment. However, during the 1980s unemployment and poor-quality housing were not the only problems in the area; the infamous notoriety of Leith as the ‘grim, drug-addled backdrop to Trainspotting’20 was emerging with the area’s growing reputation as an unsafe neighbourhood, with drugs and prostitution playing a large role.

Towards the end of the 1980s the social and economic future of the area slowly began to change.

Improvements in housing quality and development of industrial units and warehouses led to new businesses emerging in the area alongside affordable accommodation. The result was a dramatic surge in population and population density within Leith which led to a dramatic culture boom within the historic port town. The rising rent costs within Edinburgh’s city centre led to the port town attracting a growing number of artists and creatives. This injection of art and culture within Leith continued to aid the dramatic state-led improvements occurring within the neighbourhood. The area which had previously been known as the centre of Europe’s AIDS epidemic21 was beginning to be revitalized and reborn as the cultural and creative centre of Edinburgh.

From 2001 onwards there has been a continued dramatic growth in population surrounding Leith Walk resulting from new housing being built on brownfield land and refurbishments of existing properties. This radical increase in housing within the area has resulted in Edinburgh containing

18

Atlas Obscura. 2021. Leith Mural – Edinburgh, Scotland - Atlas Obscura. Available at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/leith-mural.

19 Edinburgh City Council, unknown year. Leith. Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/23383/leith-conservation-area-character-appraisal 20 The Guardian. 2021. 'The wrong type of development': the battle for Edinburgh's Leith Walk | Cities | The Guardian.

Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/nov/05/the-wrong-type-of-development-the-battle-for-edinburghleith-walk.

21 BBC News. 2021. How Edinburgh became the Aids capital of Europe - BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-50473604.

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some of the highest population densities in the whole UK outside of London. The Leith Walk area became the area of highest population density in Edinburgh, with a ‘peak of nearly 26,000 people resident within an 800 metre radius’, the highest ‘local population density than anywhere else in Scotland’22.

In the last decade there have been continued changes of significance within Leith. The 2008 financial crash and the economic downturn that followed halted the trajectory of Leith’s spatial development.

The gentrification of the area which had been ongoing since the 1980s hit pause, allowing a significant period where artists, creatives and immigrants moved to Leith. These changes in population, cultural diversity and number of artists have meant Leith is now a hub for cultural and creative activities.

Artists, Murals and Gentrification in Leith When we look closely at Leith as an area of gentrification and compare it to other urban areas experiencing the same process within the UK; Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle, Islington, Hackney and Camden in London and the Northern Quarter in Manchester to name a few, we notice they all share a curious trait. These areas have become meccas for murals and public art. This is not particularly surprising considering research has already highlighted the prominence of the artistic community at the start of the regeneration process, but this paper aims to look at the motives and impact that these have had within the gentrification of Leith. In this fashion and following Zukin’s research into the original artist colonizers of New York, the artists in Leith are implicated within the gentrification process of the area and their murals act as a tool for gentrification. The process is characterized by ‘the transformation of the role of the artist through commercial and state sponsorship and the artist’s effective incorporation into a professionalized middle class’23.

22

The City of Edinburgh Council, 2013. Population distribution and density in Edinburgh. Recent trends and comparisons with other cities across Scotland and the UK. Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/24263/population-distribution-and-density.

23 Zukin, S. (1988) Loft Living: Culture and Capital in Urban Change (London: Radius).

44

[Fig. 1] Leith History Mural24.

With Leith experiencing drastic social and economic transformations throughout the 1980s, the state turned its attention towards utilising the growing artist community and capitalising on their potential to aid in the area’s gentrification. In 1986 artists Tim Chalk and Paul Grimes were commissioned by the Scottish Development Agency (SDA) to paint a mural on the gable end on the corner of Ferry Road and North Junction Street. Located only a stone’s throw away from the then derelict cultural venues of Leith Theatre and Leith Library, the commission was part of the agency’s aim to ‘further [Scotland’s] economic development; provide, maintain and safeguard employment; promote industrial efficiency and international competitiveness and support environmental improvement.’25 Aside from the SDA’s aim of economic regeneration, Chalk and Grimes sought to create something that would act as a ‘forward looking celebration’, illustrating ‘how ‘Leithers’ saw themselves in the past and [how they saw themselves] projected into the future.”26 This is evident in the design, which celebrates Leith’s racial diversity and features significant historic events from the area’s history including the dockyard strikes, the Carters’ Day Out and the Leith Hospital Gala.

The implementation of the Leith History Mural fits the ‘third wave’ gentrification theory outlined by Hackworth and Smith given the significant role the state played in financing and commissioning the public piece to rejuvenate a derelict site within Leith. This significant event of Leith’s first state funded public art acted as a catalyst for what would become an ongoing theme in the area: the state promoting the public consumption of art as a way of changing Leith’s image from a dangerous neighbourhood to a cultural and creative hub. The promotion of public art, through government

24

Street Artworks – Tim Chalk & Paul Grime – For Walls With Tongues. 2021. Street Artworks – Tim Chalk & Paul Grime – For Walls With Tongues. Available at: https://www.forwallswithtongues.org.uk/artists/street-artworks/.

25 Scottish Government Yearbook 1978. The Scottish Development Agency. Available at: http://www.scottishgovernmentyearbooks.ed.ac.uk/record/22762/1/1978_2_Scottishdevelopmentagency.pdf.

26 Street Artworks – Tim Chalk & Paul Grime – For Walls With Tongues. 2021. Street Artworks – Tim Chalk & Paul Grime – For Walls With Tongues. Available at: https://www.forwallswithtongues.org.uk/artists/street-artworks/.

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planning documents and regular investment from both the state and large-scale developers has altered the way in which murals have been used as a tool for gentrification within the area. Since the creation of the mural in 1986, public art in Leith has become an iconic selling point to prospective new residents and a focal point for bringing more tourism to the area.27 28 The recent rise in street art appearing across Leith has been heavily influenced by ‘Leith Late’, a multi-arts charity established in 2011 who are responsible for a range of public art projects as well the LeithLate festival. The charity launched the ‘Mural Project’29 in July 2013 which led to the first mural being painted in Leith in almost two decades. Although well intentioned, these artists are successfully transforming the “urban dilapidation into ultra chic… block by block… building by building.”30 Essentially, through turning ‘junk to art’31 the artistic endeavours such as the Mural Project and the Shutter Project32 are commodifying urban spaces to be capitalised upon by developers. Whilst these murals in theory aid within the process of ‘creative placemaking’ to ‘Make Leith Better’, in reality they are fuelling profit driven developments aimed at middle-class incomers, putting the existing working-class and artistic community at risk of being displaced.

A prime example of this can be seen when we look at Citizen Curator, Leith Creative and Leith Late.

These organisations were founded by Morvern Cunningham and Duncan Bremner and have played a key part in the implementation of street art as well as a ‘Blueprint’ to ‘Make Leith Better.’ These art charities and organisations have worked closely with the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and Edinburgh City Council to improve the image of Leith to developers and middle-class incomers.

27

Urban Kultur Blog. 2021. Edinburgh – street art walking tour – Urban Kultur Blog. Available at: https://urbankulturblog.com/2018/12/12/edinburgh-street-art-walking-tour/.

28 Trams to Newhaven. 2021. Leith Walk and Constitution Street murals – Trams to Newhaven. Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/tramstonewhaven/support-business/leith-walk-constitution-street-murals/1.

29 LeithLate. 2021. The Mural Project — LeithLate. Available at: https://www.leithlate.co.uk/public-art-projects-blog/themural-project-2013-ongoing.

30 Smith, N. 1979. The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the revanchist city. London and New York. Routledge 31 Ley, D. 2003. “Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification.” Urban Studies 40 (12): 2527–2544.

32 LeithLate. 2021. The Shutter Project — LeithLate. Available at: https://www.leithlate.co.uk/public-art-projects-blog/theshutter-project.

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[Fig. 2] Russell Dempster and his mural of Leith artist Eduardo Paolozzi33.

Russell Ian Dempster was commissioned by Leith Late to create a mural in honour of Scottish Artist Eduardo Paolozzi, one of Britain’s leading post-war sculptors and a key figurehead of the Pop Art movement. The mural was completed close to the now ‘fashionable’ Shore area to ‘raise awareness of Paolozzi’s connection’ with the neighbourhood. This is one of the many murals Leith Late have commissioned in neglected sites over the past few years in an attempt to ‘brighten up’ the area34 - but brighten up the area for whom?

State commissioned public art has promoted the image of Leith as the ‘cultural mecca’ of Edinburgh.

This, as well as the recent labelling of Leith as ‘one of the coolest city neighbourhoods in the world’35 suggests the area is being celebrated as an attraction for tourists, hipsters, bohemians and developers seeking to create ‘affordable’ housing for middle-class clientele. In this form, art acts as a dangerous façade to the regeneration process occurring within the neighbourhood, continuing in the state’s plan to move Leith ‘towards [a new] ‘Capital City Port’ role, focusing on increased cruise liner traffic and mixed-use development.’36 Although undoubtedly enjoyed by local residents, the area’s middleclass-friendly and palatable street art acts as a catalyst for rising land value, housing prices and rental costs, subsequently displacing the neighbourhood’s residents, local businesses and cultural hubs.

This sanitizing and ‘Artwashing’ of Leith’s image is evidence of an effort to pique the interest of a middle-class demographic that had previously viewed the area as dangerous and unappealing.

33

Scots artist Paolozzi immortalised in shop mural | The Scotsman. 2021. Scots artist Paolozzi immortalised in shop mural | The Scotsman. Available at: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/scots-artist-paolozzi-immortalised-shop-mural1539619.

34 Ibid.

35 Leith named one of the coolest city neighbourhoods in the world | Edinburgh News. 2021. Leith named one of the coolest city neighbourhoods in the world | Edinburgh News. Available at: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/arts-andculture/leith-named-one-coolest-city-neighbourhoods-world-575589.

36 Edinburgh Council. 2005. Leith Docks Development Framework. Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/24214/leith-docks-development-framework.

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Conclusion: It is clear to see that Leith is an ideal example of artist-initiated gentrification within an area which was previously known for its industrial and manufacturing role within the city of Edinburgh. It could also be argued that the arts-led regeneration of Leith has greatly benefited the wider city of Edinburgh through the positive impact on the image of Leith, and subsequently the image of the city as a whole – but of course, this begs the question of to whom these changes are ultimately benefiting.

The transformation of Leith from the 1980s onwards was catalysed by a dramatic increase in artists, creatives, marginalised groups and immigrants moving to the area – typical with the process of regeneration and gentrification. Following the start of improvements taking place within the area, planning policy and urban regeneration focused on utilising the creative and artistic community of Leith in the process. In 1986, the first state commissioned public art piece, Leith History Mural, was created on a derelict site in North Leith. This signified the very beginning of an ongoing role that public art and the artist community at large would play in aiding the gentrification of their neighbourhood, with the slow integration of public art within planning policies, urban strategies and developer led investments throughout the area.

It is important to note that the intentions behind many of these state-commissioned public artworks were initially decent and well-meaning; the Leith History Mural was only the beginning of the area’s use of art as a tool for celebrating its community and diverse cultural heritage. However, the utilisation of ‘socially engaged art [has now become] yet another tool employed to support the targetdriven, cost-benefit values of the dominant neoliberal ideology’37 and points toward ‘artwashing’ within the area. Ultimately, this threatens the displacement of Leith’s existing artistic and workingclass community who have thrived in the area for so long. This furthers the theory that whilst investments into the creation of public art in the neighbourhood creates a vibrant and engaging landscape enjoyed by the current residents, it is not necessarily created with the future of these residents in mind.

Leith provides an interesting case study into artists and the role public art plays within ‘artwashing’ and the wider topic of gentrification. It is, however, not the only area or city of interest. To further investigate the topic, it would be beneficial to continue research, investigations and compare and contrast other areas within the UK such as Hackney in London, the Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle, the Northern Quarter in Manchester as well as further afield in areas such as Queens in New York and Highland Park in Los Angeles. These are all areas which have undergone or are currently undergoing gentrification alongside a highly concentrated number of public artworks and murals.

37

Pritchard, S. 2018. Socially Engaged Art and the Dangers of Becoming Social Workers. Available at: https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/contributors/itemlist/user/780-stephenpritchard.

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Rich, M., 2019. Artists are a tool for gentrification’: maintaining artists and creative production in arts districts. International Journal of Cultural Policy. Volume 25 Issue 6, 4. Available at: https://wwwtandfonline-com.libproxy.ncl.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2017.1372754 Cameron, S., and J. Coaffee. 2005. “Art, Gentrification and Regeneration – From Artist as Pioneer to Public Arts.” European Journal of Housing Policy 5: 39–58.

Rich, M., 2019. Artists are a tool for gentrification’: maintaining artists and creative production in arts districts. International Journal of Cultural Policy. Volume 25 Issue 6, 4. Available at: https://wwwtandfonline-com.libproxy.ncl.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2017.1372754 Ley, D. 2003. “Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification.” Urban Studies 40 (12): 2527–2544.

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LeithLate. 2021. The Shutter Project — LeithLate. Available at: https://www.leithlate.co.uk/public-artprojects-blog/the-shutter-project.

Scots artist Paolozzi immortalised in shop mural | The Scotsman. 2021. Scots artist Paolozzi immortalised in shop mural | The Scotsman. Available at: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/scots-artist-paolozziimmortalised-shop-mural-1539619.

Leith named one of the coolest city neighbourhoods in the world | Edinburgh News. 2021. Leith named one of the coolest city neighbourhoods in the world | Edinburgh News. Available at: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/leith-named-one-coolest-city-neighbourhoodsworld-575589.

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horse-for-gentrification.

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Scots artist Paolozzi immortalised in shop mural | The Scotsman. 2021. Scots artist Paolozzi immortalised in shop mural | The Scotsman. Available at: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/scots-artist-paolozziimmortalised-shop-mural-1539619.

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Neil Pooran. 2021. 'Gentrification' fears as development with more student flats planned near Leith Walk Edinburgh Live. Available at: https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/gentrification-fearsdevelopment-more-student-16822631.

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Trams to Newhaven. 2021. Leith Walk and Constitution Street murals – Trams to Newhaven. Available at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/tramstonewhaven/support-business/leith-walk-constitution-street-murals/1.

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Leith Art LAB The location for the Leith ArtLAB was the site of an existing, neglected park and old age home in North Leith. It is situated at the heart of the ‘Culture of Leith’ urban masterplan, a driving factor in locating the site as the project aims to act as a central pin, inter-connecting the multitude of cultural, artistic and community nodes throughout the local area to provide a much needed communal hub for them.

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Site Location Plan The Leith ArtLAB will aim to utilise material and resources sourced from within Scotland to show that unlike many buildings under construction we are able to utilise sustainable building materials from close by both contributing to Scotland’s economy but also reducing dramatically the carbon footprint that these materials build up when imported all the way from Europe and sometimes further.

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Scale 1:1250 at A2

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Leith Theatre View of the entrance to Leith Theatre, a key artistic and cultural node within the masterplanning proposal for Leith ArtLAB 55

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Leith Stair Theatre View of the existing accessfrom the Water of Leith towards the site where the Leith Stair Theatre is located within the masterplan.

Leith History Mural View of the mural and existing public space which will become Leith Public Square as part of the Culture of Leith masterplan.

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Leith Theatre View of the entrance to Leith Theatre, a key artistic and cultural node within the masterplanning proposal for Leith ArtLAB.

Ferry Road Shop frontages on Ferry Road opposite Leith Library, an important cultural node within the Culture of Leith masterplan.

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Leith Theatre Entrance doors to the Leith Theatre

Leith History Mural An alternative view of the Leith History Mural as seen from the Leith Theatre.

This would be part of the expansion and redevelopment of the public space to become Leith Public Square.

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Empty Kitchens Full Hearts The charity is currently temporarily located within the Leith Theatre but will be part of the Leith ArtLAB design.

Sinclair and Son The bagpipe makers shop on Ferry Road which led to the inspired Tartan of Leith design of the Public Square framing the History Mural.

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North Leith Parish Church View from the site towards the North Leith Parish Church, an important community node within the masterplan.

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Eat yer Bread / Doon yer Tea Graffiti on the electrical boxes at the entrance to the existing park.

Leith School of Art Another important cultural and artistic node within the masterplan and incorporated within the design of the Leith ArtLAB programme.

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Leith Theatre Insulation currently covering the portal wndows of Leith Theatre due to the lack of heating currently within the building, the masterplan aimed to restore the Leith Theatre which still acts as an important cultural node for the area and local community.

View towards North Junction Street Site location view from the access road towards the park and North Junction Street.

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Existing Park Image showcasing the neglected state of the existing park which will be incorporated within the design proposal.

View towards Leith School of Art Image showcasing the neglected state of the existing park looking towards the art school.

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Ferrylee Care Home Existing care home on the site.

East Wall of the Existing Park Image showcasing the neglected state of the existing park which will be incorporated within the design proposal.

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Existing Public Space View from Ferry Road to the History Mural and the neglected public space which is redeveloped within the masterplan for the area/

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Ferrylee Care Home Existing care home on the site.

North Junction Street View from North Junction Street looking towards Arthur’s Seat.

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Great Junction Street Bridge 01 View from the Water of Leith towards the bridge which provides the main vehicular access to the site.

Great Junction Street Bridge 02 View from the Water of Leith towards the bridge which provides the main vehicular access to the site.

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Protagonists Using research into Leith’s rapidly growing artist community as well as the site location replacing the existing care home, my two protagonists for this project are the local artists who are at risk of gentrification forcing them out the area as well as the elderly who are still able to care for themselves.

The programme looks to existing research into art therapy being hugely beneficial to the elderly as well as co-living being a solution to loneliness within this demographic. The project aims to link these with the artists to provide affordable living and studio spaces in exchange for participation within the community projects of the scheme. Aiming to keep both protagonists engaged within the local community through the allotments, urban bee-keeping and peoples’ kitchen on site.

Main Issues Identified with Protagonists: Spaces incorporated within the design for socialising and interaction to tackle loneliness, accessibility within design for moving throughout the scheme, a mix of co-living and more private accommodation within the schedule for different needs.

GC2

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Affordable living and studio space, a building designed around light and the requirements for a building form which aims to capitalise on the best orientation for this light.

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GC10 70

Leith ArtLAB Leith ArtLAB is a community oriented project situated at the centre of a number of important cultural and community nodes within North Leith, it aims to inter-connect and link these existing community schemes into one coherent master-plan for the area.

The project is a continuation from my semester 01 work and comprises of a gallery space, affordable studios and workshop spaces for artists as well as the local community. The scheme is located on the site of an existing old age home and in replacing this existing residential programme, the proposed building aims to provide affordable accommodation for both artists as well as elderly people who can still live on their own and look after themselves.

Common Facilities - 1 main multi-use space for exhibitions, teaching and events. (320m2) - 1 printmaking workshop space (125m2) - 1 textile workshop space (125m2) - 20 studios (20 x 16m2) - 1 artist collaboration area (100m2) - 1 peoples’ kitchen (100m2) - 1 peoples’ kitchen cafe (175m2) - 1 office space for ArtLAB and Peoples’ Kitchen (50m2)

Living Facilities - 1 residential lobby (50m2) - 6 x 3B6P units (6 x 100m2) - 6 x 2B4P units (6 x 65m2) - 6 x 1B2P units (6 x 35m2)

Public Space - 1 public courtyard (750m2) - 1 public square (425m2) - 1 public park (2745m2)

[right] Material Sourcing Mapping To minimise the construction cost and subsequent living and studio costs to those using the scheme I aimed to map and use locally sourced materials within the design of the Leith ArtLAB. 71

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Precedent Studies Having decided on the site location, protagonists and design concepts based upon these I turned my attention to studying some precedents looking at both centres for artistic and cultural activities as well as residential schemes that were designed for the unique challenges that the protagonists created and would need to be tackled within the proposal’s design.

O&O University of Performing Arts ERNST BUSCH From outside the building is composed of three parts: the upgraded old building, which is cut open at one end, the timber-clad fly-tower, which engages this incision at the side, and the glazed cafeteria box, which is slid up against the flank of the old building. The encounter between raw and refined, between old and new is marked in the interior by a separating line at a height of 2.30 metres, which extends through the entire building. All the surfaces below this height have been finished or refined, the parts of the building above remain as they were found or in a raw state. The 24-metrehigh fly-tower with its timber cladding ensures that the building on Zinnowitzer Straße can be recognised from afar as a public place.

Source: Divisare Location: Berlin, Germany Year: 2019 Architect: O&O Baukunst

Timber being used to identify the new building whilst providing both privacy in areas and partial views in to others

Spatial configuration and access routes from one space to the next

Looking at the tall, well lit spaces for workshop areas and studio spaces

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HOOTSMANS ARCHITECTUURBUREAU GERRIT RIETVELD ACADEMIE AND SANDBERG INSTITUUT Driven by lack of space, the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and Sandberg Instituut ordered the construction of a complementary third building on its grounds, opposite the building designed by Gerrit Rietveld and next to the expansion by Benthem & Crouwel. The resulting campus provides this leading art school with a new setting.

Source: Divisare Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands Year: 2019 Designers: Studio Paulien Bremmer, Hootsmans Architectuurbureau

Similar programme to that of the Leith ArtLAB textiles workshop and the need for space due to artists not always being the tidiest

Spaces for socialising, teaching and learning integrated into the scheme with a simple materiality palette throughout

Soft light hitting the simple timber materiality

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Similar programmatically to the approach of multidiscipline art space with workshops and community engagement at the core of its design

BARKOW LEIBINGER HARVARD UNIVERSITY’S ARTLAB Harvard University’s ArtLab, a cross-curriculum space for the arts, is located on the school’s Allston campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Designed to be curated and adapted by its users, the 9,000 square-foot space will be available to students, teachers, visiting artists, and the wider community.

The building, a one-story “pinwheel-like” plan, consists of a series of studios, workshops, and media spaces that surround a common “Hub” space. The Hub, which can be opened and closed by a series of four large sliding partitions, enables performances and exhibitions, cultivating interactivity at the ArtLab’s center.

Surrounding spaces provide recording studios, sound-editing stations, and rooms for rehearsal, improvisation, and informal performance. The ArtLab encourages and expands participants’ engagement with interdisciplinary arts-practice research, serving as a collaborative activator for the school and the greater Allston and Cambridge neighborhoods.

Source: Divisare Location: Cambridge, USA Year: 2019 Designer: Barkow Leibinger

Polycarbonate used in areas to allow light into spaces and a partial visual of activity within but also providing a level of privacy to the scheme.

High level lights used to add even and not over powering light into a space

Spacial configuration of spaces leading into each other

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Signage and name placing a key and important aspect to the project to highlight it within the community and draw people in

ATELIER KEMPE THILL SINT-LUCAS SCHOOL OF ARTS ANTWERP A new school of art - during the 19th century, art schools were built as important public institutions that took the form of classical palaces which celebrated the public character of the arts. Cities were proud of their newly founded art academies and celebrated the future artists within monumental architecture. Since the 20th century, this situation has undergone a lot of changes. Schools have become far less elitist, and therefore the need for representation became less important.

Budgets - like everywhere - have been cut and this stimulated the production of more utilitarian buildings. In the case of the St. Lucas school of arts in Antwerp, Atelier Kempe Thill was confronted with a very low building budget as a starting point. In addition, the client asked for a complex space program that had to be partly integrated into an existing building. In order to manage the reduction of the demands, optimisation on various levels and a general minimalism have been major design criteria.

Studio spaces suspended above the public gallery area. Also the double height atrium allowing views down to the gallery from the more private studios

Source: Divisare Location: Antwerp, Belgium Year: 2019 Designer: Barkow Leibinger

High level windows to maximise wall space within workshops and allow soft light to flood into the space

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Inspiration behind looking at the carbon footprint of my building and creating a simple self-regulated building design using locally sourced materials Simple timber structure and construction techniques to allow engagement from buildings users and local community.

PRACTICE ARCHITECTURE TIMBER WEAVER’S STUDIO This self build project was designed closely with the client. Shown under construction the monolithic 3 story timber and hempcrete building houses a textiles workshop, two apartments and and a raised internal courtyard.

The approach to massive construction was based on the carbon sequestering capacity of the materials used – the more mass the more carbon was captured. The building is highly flexible, capable of being occupied as three independent units or as one integrated home-studio.

The sustainable approach to the project was holistic and driven by low embodied carbon and lifecycle analysis. The building is low tech, self-regulating and manually controlled rather than technology driven.

The workshop and apartments were designed to be robust and built by unskilled labour and to celebrate the materials from which it is made creating a richness of character.

Source: Divisare Location: London, UK Year: 2019 Designer: Practice Architecture

Exposed timber structure adding to the character and internal experience of the building

Materiality looks to the local context and although different sits respectfully alongside the site context buildings in brick

Timber materiality and exposed structural elements alongside more industrial cladding

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Exposed timber structure adds to the internal aesthetic and details of the building

ALDER BRISCO STUDIO NENCINI Propped atop a brick garden wall, a ribbon of white wooden windows light the studio of illustrator and educator Peter Nencini. Having first approached the architect Thom Brisco at the end of 2016, Peter and his partner, the designermaker Sally Nencini, proposed a reworking of their home to form new spaces for making, cooking, and eating. The proposal utilises timber in a variety of forms throughout the design. Providing furniture, circulation and structure to the building.

Inspiration behind the materiality and detailing of the building, especially the residential programme to the design

Source: Divisare Location: Norwich, UK Year: 2020 Designer: Alder Brisco

Looking at how a limited material palette can achieve exceptionally beautiful results whilst reducing the cost of construction compared 78

Similar historical context and site narrative

TEATUM+TEATUM TESTONE FACTORY Testone Factory is a stage for the possibility of ideas. A new space of invention and production for the communications agency Peter & Paul. Located in Kelham Island Sheffield, one of the oldest industrial sites in the city.

Source: Divisare Location: Sheffield, UK Year: 2018 Designer: Teatum + Teatum

The mix of polycarbonate, timber door frame and timber structure makes a beautiful combination

Use of light and polycarbonate within the space showcasing the framing system behind the material 79

YARDHOUSE ASSEMBLE Yardhouse is a new affordable workspace building based in Sugarhouse Yard, designed and built by Assemble. It was jointly funded by Assemble and the London Legacy Development Corporation. The building is seen as a prototype for high quality new-build affordable workspace provision. It is based on utilising interim use sites as an affordable source of land alongside an economic, modular approach to construction.

Courtyard space outside the entrance as the social and events side of the building programme is also important to this community of artists and creatives in London

A prototype in the design ethos and aims for my project to reduce cost of costruction and provide affordable high quality studio and gallery space within the heart of Leith

Source: ArchDaily Location: London, UK Year: 2014 Architect: Assemble

Atrium with views down into ground floor while studios are suspended above the public gallery space

Ability to install temporary walls and space dividers between studios and ground floor gallery depending on what is happening and what is required spacially

Simple and effective structural strategy and design which reduces costs whilst also providing inspiration for utilising locally sourced materials from around Edinburgh and Scotland

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FACTORY BUILDING IN LEAMINGTON SPA WAUGH THISTLETON ARCHITECTS

The 136-m long, relatively narrow factory building for currently about 40 employees, is located on the site of a for- mer foundry within walking distance of the city centre. It was designed by an interdisciplinary team, which as well as Documentation 1/2.2018planners, ∂ also included the architects, structural engineers and building services yacht designer Martin Francis. A total of 16 saw- tooth north-light roofs bring daylight into the factory hall, while two panorama windows at the ends of the Fabrikgebäude in Leamington ebäude in Leamington Spa buildings offer views outside. The Spa open central area of the hall is designed not Factory Building in Leamington Spa only for the final assembly and dispatch of the furniture, but also as a cafeteria Building in Leamington Spa and events venue. The loading bays for trucks, the company archives, a kitchen as well as four guest rooms and a caretaker‘s apartment are all accommodated in the bays of the side aisles n Architects 68 Dokumentation Documentation

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Source: Detail Inspiration Location: Leamington Spa, UK Year: 2018 Architect: Waugh Thisleton Architects

Waugh Thistleton Architects

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Waugh Thistleton Architects

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All photos: Dirk Lindner

All photos: Dirk Lindner

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Another example of how a limited material palette can provide a beautiful internal 2 finish and experience to the building users.

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Timber structure allowing for large spans and utilising the traditional sawtooth roof to allow North light to flood into the workshop spaces below 81

The building design also incorporates photovoltaic panels within the design on the south facing elements of the saw tooth roofs for sustainability and environmental purposes

großen Wohneinheiten für Singles nem einzelnen Container. Für die wohnungen für Familien bis zu vier ekten je zwei Container miteinander eite, die sich zu einem kleinen und Aufzug öffnet, sind den Modulen

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singles and couples. They fit into a single container. The two­ room apartments offer 60 square metres for families of up to four members. For this purpose the architects joined two con­ tainers together. Along the south­eastern facade, oriented towards a small interior courtyard with a staircase tower and elevator shaft, the modules feature balcony access made of

Inspiration behind the design of the North facing circulation which provides an element of privacy to the existing tenements to the North of the site

TEMPORARY APARTMENTS IN BARCELONA STRADDLE3 26

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A steel structure serves to stack twelve shipping containers across four floors. A further container on the roof contains all mechanical equipment. The twist­lock system commonly used on freight ships, trains and trucks to keep containers in place connects the modules with each other and the structure. Along the south­eastern facade, oriented towards a small interior courtyard with a staircase tower and elevator shaft, the modules feature balcony access made of reinforced concrete. The north­western facade features narrow loggias with vertical full­ height openings that afford occupants a view towards a small square.

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assembly and disassembly for new deployment in a new con­ figuration. In collaboration with the municipality they designed a residential building in the Gothic Quarter, the oldest part of the Catalan capital. Located on a corner property delineated by two fire walls, it represents the first building of the program.

Previously the area was used as an extension of an adjacent public space.

A steel structure serves to stack twelve shipping containers across four floors. A further container on the roof contains all mechanical equipment. The twist­lock system commonly used on freight ships, trains and trucks to keep containers in place connects the modules with each other and the structure. The

Adrià Goula

montiert, demontiert und in anderer Konstellation wieder aufge­ baut werden kann. Mit ihrem Wohnhaus im gotischen Viertel, dem ältesten der katalanischen Hauptstadt, errichteten Archi­ tekten und Stadtverwaltung jetzt das erste Gebäude des Pro­ gramms auf einem von zwei Brandwänden gefassten Eckgrund­ stück. Bisher war die Fläche als Erweiterung eines öffentlichen Platzes genutzt worden.

Auf einer Tragstruktur aus Stahl, die im Boden verankert ist, lagern – wie auf einem Tisch – zwölf Schiffsontainer über vier Ebenen. Ein weiterer Container auf dem Dach beherbergt die Haustechnik. Das Twistlocksystem, das sonst auf Schiffen, der Bahn oder Lastwagen die Container auf dem jeweiligen

Source: Detail Inspiration Location: Barcelona, Spain Year: 2020 Architect: Straddle3, Eulia

Inspiration behind providing south facing balconies with visual connections all the way along to promote social interaction between residents of different unites within the scheme

Semi-transparent polycarbonate facade allows visual connection between public and semi-private areas such as the circulation cores.

Providing views and hints of activity taking place

Straddle3, Jon Begiristain, Yaiza Terré

Plans • Sections scale 1:250

1 2 3 4

Innenhof Lobby Rezeption Arztpraxis/Laden

5 6 7 8

Wohnen/Essen Kochen Doppelzimmer Einzelzimmer

1 2 3 4

Interior courtyard Lobby Reception Doctor’s office/store

5 6 7 8

Living/dining Kitchen The containers are Double room hidden behind a Single room

double layer facade.

Its interior layer con­ sists of weather proof gypsum board, the exterior layer is made of polycarbonate.

Adrià Goula

Adrià Goula

Grundrisse • Schnitte Maßstab 1:250

Die Container verstecken sich hinter einer zweischichtigen 25 Fassade, mit einer inneren Schicht aus wetterfestem Gipskarton und einer äußeren Schicht aus Polycarbonat.

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Adrià Goula

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Polycarbonate facade with timber framing provides natural light into the balconies and views out whilst adding an element of privacy from the public square below to the residents 82

Exposed timber frame internally adding to the character of the internal spaces whilst the simple construction techniques and design creating reoccuring pitched roofs across the site

INSECT MUSEUM NEAR PARIS AWP + HHF Source: Detail Inspiration Location: Paris, France Year: 2020 Architects: AWP + HHF

Simple, interlocking volumes determine the design of the Insect Museum in Carrières-sous-Poissy, on the perimeter of the Paris metropolitan region. As well as the exhibition spaces for the collection of live and preserved insects the building also houses the seminar rooms and work spaces of the institute attached to the museum. In addition the new building also functions as the entrance and visitor centre for a recently laid- out 113 hectare landscape park on the Seine. The five interlocking volumes create flowing interior spaces, their character shaped by the structural timber frames and the reoc- curring pitched roofs.

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Roof lights provide light to flood the large spaces provided by the pitched roof and timber frame design

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AWP + HHF Das Gebäude setzt sich aus fünf einzelnen Baukörpern mit Satteldächern zusammen, die räumlich miteinander verschränkt sind.

Biegesteife Holzrahmen bilden das Tragwerk.

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The building is made up of five individual, pitched roofed volumes that interlock spatially with each other. Rigid timber frames form the structure.

Vertikalschnitt Horizontalschnitt Maßstab 1:20

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Vertical section Horizontal section scale 1:20

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2 Stützen, die an manchen Stellen Assoziationen an Insektenbeine wecken. Die Giebelseiten öffnen sich in verschiedene Richtungen zur Landschaft und lassen viel Licht in die Räume – 2 teils durch transluzentes Polycarbonat, teils durch Glas mit einem feinen Vorhang aus Holzlamellen. Die Längsseiten der einzelnen Baukörper sind dagegen überwiegend geschlossen und mit einer gleichmäßig über Dach und Fassade gezogenen Holzschalung versehen. Dabei wechseln sich naturfarbene und weiß lasierte Bretter in unterschiedlich breiten Streifen ab.

Ursprünglich sah das Konzept der Architekten für den Landschaftspark vor, mehr als ein Dutzend einfacher Mini-Bauten über das ehemalige Industrieareal zu verteilen. Letztendlich fasst das Museum mehrere Nutzungen dieser Folies in einem größeren Baukörper zusammen. Daneben wurde lediglich ein Aussichtsturm realisiert; ein Restaurant soll später folgen.

JL

Iwan Baan

Iwan Baan

AWP + HHF

1 Dachaufbau: 1 roof construction: Schalung Lärche 70/20 mm, 70/200 mm larch boarding, zum Teil weiß lasiert white-stained in areas Lattung 40/20 mm + 40/30 mm 40/20 mm + 40/30 mm battens Befestigungswinkel fixing angle Trapezblech trapezoidal metal Unterspannbahn roofing underlay Holzschalung 20 mm 20 mm timber boarding Pfette 60/200 mm, 60/200 mm purlin, dazwischen Wärmedämmung with thermal insulation between 39 Dampfsperre vapour barrier Holzwerkstoffplatte 15 mm 15 mm wood-based panel Unterkonstruktion substructure Einfache, ineinander verschachtelte Volumen bestimmen den Simple, interlocking volumes determine the design of the Akustikpaneel Brettsperrholz 33 mm acoustic panel cross lamiEntwurf für das Insektenmuseum in Carrières-sous-Poissy am Insect Museum in Carrières-sous-Poissy, on the perimeter of geschlitzt 33 mm nated timber with slits Rand der Metropolregion Paris. Hier sind nicht nur Ausstellungsthe Paris metropolitan region. As well as the exhibition spaces 2 Fassadenaufbau: 2 facade construction: 3 räumeThe für gable die Sammlung lebenden und konservierten Insek- Lärche for the 70/20 collection of live and preserved insects building insects. ends open inaus various directions to the landSchalung mm, 70/200 mmthe larch boarding, scape, allowing plenty ofsondern light to enter theSeminarspaces – through ten untergebracht, auch und Arbeitsräume also houses the seminar rooms and work spaces of institute zum Teil weiß lasiert white-stained in the areas trans polycarbonateInstituts. or throughDarüber glass veiled by anfungiert external der Neudeslucent dazugehörigen hinaus attached the museum. the new also Lattung 25/50 mm +to50/50 mm In addition 25/50 mm building + 50/50 mm battens curtain of wooden louvers. In contrast the long sides of the bau als Entree und Besucherzentrum eines neu angelegten, functions as the entrance and visitor centre for a recently laidBefestigungswinkel fixing angle individual volumes are mostly closed and clad with wooden 3 ha großen Landschaftsparks an der Seine.

113 out 113 hectare landscape park onfacade the Seine.

Fassadenbahn underlay boarding that covers both the facades and the roof. Naturally coloured boardsRampen are interrupted by random strips in whiteFlache ziehen die Besucher aus dem weitläufigen Gently the extensive Holzwerkstoffplatte 15inclined mm ramps draw visitors 15 mmfrom wood-based panel glazed boarding of different widths.

Holzständerkonstruktion 40/200 mmthe timber stud Gelände in das aufgeständerte Gebäude. Durch die fünf mitgrounds into the building that is raised above ground.

The The architects’ original concept for the landscape park dazwischen construction with thermal einander verschränkten Baukörper entstehen fließende40/200 Innen- mm, five interlockingWärmevolumes create flowing interior spaces, their envisaged more than one dozen simple small buildings dämmung insulation between uprights räume, die allesamt durch tragende Holzrahmen character shaped by the structural timber frames and the reocdistributed across the former industrial site. Ultimately it was sowie die stets Dampfsperrecurring pitched roofs. The way in which vapour wiederkehrende Satteldachform geprägt werden. thebarrier individual volumes decided that the Museum should combine several of the func-Durch die VerHolzwerkstoffplatte 15 mm unusual spatial15 mm wood-based panel tions of these folliesder in aeinzelnen larger building volume.ergeben A lookout sich ungewöhnschneidungen Volumen intersect produces geometries and unexpected Unterkonstruktion substructure tower the only other structure but there are plans lichewas Raumgeometrien und erected unerwartete Gruppierungen von groupings of columns, which at places even evoke the legs of to build a restaurant at a later stage.

JL Akustikpaneel Brettsperrholz 33 mm acoustic panel cross geschlitzt 33 mm laminated timber with slits 3 Brettschichtholzrahmen biege3 480/200 mm glued-laminated steif 480/200 mm timber frame 4 Beschichtung Kunstharz 4 synthetic resin coating 5 Schalung Lärche 70/20 mm, 5 70/200 mm larch boarding, zum Teil weiß lasiert white-stained in areas 4

Iwan Baan

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Iwan Baan

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Weitere Fotos von Insektenmuseum und Aussichtsturm Further photos of the Insect Museum and its lookout tower detail.de/ 1-2-2018-awp-hhf

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Iwan Baan

Julien Lanoo

Weitere Fotos von Insektenmuseum und Aussichtsturm Further photos of the Insect Museum and its lookout tower detail.de/ 1-2-2018-awp-hhf

Julien Lanoo

The polycarbonate end walls providing light to flood the space within whilst also providing subtle soft glow and movement of activity and inhabitation within

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Timber materiality and combination with polycarbonate and glazing was a key inspiration within my design. The way the different materials worked in unison and sat seemingly naturally within the natural context

Use of different timber materials inside and out creating beautiful detailing and different experiental qualities depending on where you are viewing the scheme from

HOUSING IN LISBERG BAKKE VANDKUNSTEN ARCHITECTS Denmark has been at the forefront of ambitious social housing design for the past century, and Housing on Lisbjerg Hill by Vandkunsten Architects is no exception.

In 2014, Tegnestuen Vandkunsten won an open competition for ‘Sustainable Non-Profit Housing of the Future’. Launched via Denmark’s Ministry for Cities, Housing and Rural Areas, the city of Aarhus, and housing non-profit AL2Bolig, the brief outlined a competition for a prototype housing scheme in Lisbjerg, a small suburb north of Aarhus.

Ambitiously, Vandkunsten set out to develop the scheme as the result of a better building practice rather than a singular design form or aesthetic.

The five points of this praxis-based manifesto range from timber-based and reversible construction to an emphasis on a sense of ownership and community.

Use of different timber materials inside and out creating beautiful detailing and different experiental qualities depending on where you are viewing the scheme from

Inspiration behind a lot of my thesis concepts behind a building which not only provides for the residents but also for the local community and aiming to engage the people who will be using the building within the multiple programmes aimed to give back to the local community

Source: Divisare Location: Lisberg Bakke, Denmark Year: 2018 Architect: Vandkunsten Architects

Simple timber frame construction technique to reduce construction cost and heavy engagement with the residents and local community due to the social housing nature of the project

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Initial Process Work + Site Analysis Initial process work looking at site analysis and initial massing concepts for the Leith ArtLAB. To begin with I tried to take a step back from neat digital drawings and instead tried to utilise the roll of trace, this has led to drawings which often after being scanned in don’t have quite the same visual impact or character as they do in real life but I think they are important in telling th story behind my design development and how I arrived at the final design for the Leith ArtLAB.

Initial Analysis of the existing site 85

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Summer Sun Path Analysis with initial massing study looking at the zoning for the project.

Winter Sun Path Analysis with developing zoning for the site.

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Initial Zoning Concept Diagram for the project with access routes and visual connections to the external environment highlighted.

Further developed zoning digram with access, visual connections and arrival to the site highlighted.

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Continuation of zoning diagramming with initial Park Design Development investigated.

Further development of the arrival to the park and initial investigations on how the structural grid of the project can flow out into the park design.

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Zoning Diagram starting to show location of all existing tree locations and roofscape designs aimed at utilising the natural daylight into the different spaces.

Initial section and materiality sketches looking at how the gallery connected to the workshop spaces and aimed to frame the arrival into the public square.

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Initial concept sketch of the gallery and residential building within the site

Initial investigations into indicative schedule and how rotating the gallery space to be perpendicular to the residential space would affect the design.

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Sketches looking at the environmental concepts for the initial residential design, utilising south facing balconies and trying to provide solar shading.

Concept sketches of the lighting feature to be used as acoustic baffling within the artist studio and gallery space.

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Initial concept sketch of the gallery and residential building within the site

Massing development looking at the sawtooth roof design for the peoples’ kitchen and workshop spaces. To the right is initial tech sketch looking at the studio spaces.

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Continued development of the form of the sawtooth roof aiming to utilise the north facing windows to draw neutral light into the spaces whilst providing south facing roofing for photovoltaic elements.

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Initial tech sketches looking at the wall build up and facade materiality of the gallery space and potential for temporary walls and installation spaces utilising the structure of the gallery.

Investigating the potential for CLT construction within the sawtooth roof design. This was not necessary due to the timber structure providing adequate span distances.

Sketch looking at the strawbale technical detailing for the residential part of the project.

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Detail Experiments regarding the Workshop and Kitchen spaces; North Facing windows in a traditional sawtooth arrangement with Photo Voltaic modules on the South facing roof elements.

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Detail sketches looking at a development in the wall build ups to include the Scottish larch cladding and hidden drainage detail.

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Initial Ground Floor Plan for Leith ArtLAB.

Initial First Floor Plan for Leith ArtLAB. 97

Initial Second Floor Plan for Leith ArtLAB.

Initial Section AA looking at the environmental drivers within the initial proposal for Leith ArtLAB. 98

Initial Section BB Looking at the environmental and spacial drivers for the Leith ArtLAB.

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Interim Review Feedback The interim review was of huge significance within the design development of my Leith ArtLAB proposal. I realised that the initial concepts, drivers and programmes for the building were well developed and heavily linked to the thorough investigations and research I had carried out during semester 01, but that the massing and zoning needed to be altered to live up to the full potential within the site.

The site configuration currently meant that the gallery space blocked off light from the South into the public square and, as I had not thoroughly designed and developed the park, the scheme sat awkwardly within the existing plot without embracing and fully reinvigorating the public realm for the community. My initial zoning strategies meant that the private residential elements were located to the North to sit within the existing zoning of the tenements. Meanwhile, the public programmes such as the gallery, workshops, peoples kitchen and public spaces were located to the South of the site towards the important existing cultural, artistic and community nodes within the local context. This strategy was strong, but needed to be pushed further to allow for a fully coherent and well rounded design.

These were the changes that I continued to work on and develop between the interim review and the final crit.

By rotating the gallery space to frame the entrance to the whole site from the park, I have provided a public square to the front of the site, which could be utilised for events, community interaction and festivals. The studio spaces that were suspended over the gallery continued over to the residential scheme, creating a unique arrival experience into the public square, framed by all the buildings in the middle and now benefiting from light from the South thanks to the low lying sawtooth roofs of the workshops and peoples’ kitchen. The kitchen/cafe space was reduced to allow for a visual connection from the park entrance all the way through to the public allotments, hugely improving and further developing the concept of a visual connection from the entrance all the way through the site which I had been trying to develop from the initial site studies.

I rigorously developed the design of the public park, continuing the zoning strategies of private to the North and Public to the South with the location of the existing mature trees helping to solidify this design ethos. Looking at Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum and how the external public gardens are inspired by the form and repetition of the building itself I was inspired to continue the concept of the timber frame structural grid flowing out from the built environment and into the natural environment.

The grid from the Residential building flows the extent of the park creating a semi-private vegetation barrier to the charity offices and residential lobby. This tree canopy is suspended above an undulating grass topography to allow for the public to still use and enjoy the space. The grid from the gallery flows out over a smaller area of the public square at the entrance before transitioning to a low level native garden, which showcases trees, grasses and flowers found locally along the Water of Leith. This creates a strong visual connection from the entrance of the park all the way through to the public Gallery Entrance, framing the arrival and drawing visitors into the park and the public spaces.

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Programmatic Diagramming Perspective of the Leith ArtLAB showcasing the programmatic elements and inter-connecting role the proposal playing within the existing community, artistic and cultural nodes within the local context.

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Native Park View Existing View of the South zone of the North Junction Street park which will become the Native Wild Garden leading up to the Leith Art LAB gallery entrance.

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This research into planning the Native Wild Garden follows into the following Ground Floor Plan where the full design for the whole park as well as the location of each plant and tree species are identified

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Leith ArtLAB Gallery Experiential perspective of the arrival to the Leith ArtLAB Gallery entrance through the native garden design.

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Residential Balcony Space A perspective looking at the terrace spaces which are provided to each residential unit to provide south facing light. The framed openings frame the views out towards the Leith Theatre while the semitransparent polycarbonate allows light into the space and a certain degree of privacy from the public courtyard below.

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Leith ArtLAB Studio Space A perspective looking at the internal materiality and lighting quality from the north facing windows as well as the semi-transparent polycarbonate facade which diffuses light throughout the day into the space.

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Section AA Section drawing through the Leith ArtLAB gallery, studio spaces, charity office and residential lobby.

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Section BB Section drawing through the Leith ArtLAB workshops, gallery and studio spaces.

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Prince Regent Street View of the street with the existing tenement buildings to the North of the site which helped to influence the privacy zoning of the site as well as the form of the residential building.

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Final Crit Layout A short summary of Semester 01 ‘Culture of Leith’ Urban Interventions for Leith which aimed to frame the context and previous work leading up to Leith ArtLAB proposal.

Semester 02 Leith ArtLAB design proposal.

A short summary of Semester 02 process drawings which led towards the final collection of drawings and final design for Leith ArtLAB.

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‘Culture of Leith’ A closer look at the summary of Semester 01 ‘Culture of Leith’ Urban Interventions for Leith work.

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‘Leith ArtLAB’ A closer look at the Semester 02 Leith ArtLAB design proposal.

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‘Process Work’ hort summary of Semester 02 process drawings which led towards the final collection of drawings and final design for Leith ArtLAB.

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“I have always been a busy person. During undergraduate I thrived when I was at my busiest with freelance photography, university sport and multiple committee positions allowing for creative stimulation and efficient working when in the studio. The contrast from that to this year has been brutal. Trying to remain motivated, inspired and creative when working alone at home without the buzz, laughter, camaraderie and inspiration of others in the studio has been a painful experience. It has reminded me of just how lucky we are to have the architecture studios, people and environment within which we work.”

Reflecting on a quote from my semester 01 reflective conclusion.

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STAGE V

Reflective Conclusion If I’m being truly honest with myself, my experience of Stage 05 this year has had very high peaks and very low troughs.

At the start of the year I felt incredibly excited and motivated; I had studied my undergraduate at Newcastle University before working in practice for two years down in London, and I was ready and eager to be back in this incredible city. More than that, I was excited to be studying at a university that had proved to be such an incredible learning environment for me previously. The year started and I felt that the work I was initially producing was of a high quality, with the tutors pushing me constructively to continue learning, adapting and improving on the skills I had developed over the past five years.

However, when winter arrived and the local lockdown was announced in Newcastle... it hit me like a freight train and I really struggled.

The combination of no university sport, no studio access, lockdown restrictions, winter weather and the limited daylight hours set the stage for the worst environment to try to adapt to online learning and working from home. I have always been a very active, energetic and motivated individual and for the first time in my life I felt the complete opposite, dragging myself through each week, trying desperately to find some kind of motivation to keep improving and pushing my abilities with what felt like very little success. It felt as though I had written my thesis for semester 02 but not fully explored and thoroughly designed the interventions that were required and I was desperately disappointed in myself when reflecting on this last semester. It was a crushing experience but also a period that has taught me a lot. The age-old story rings true, you are your own worst critic.

Semester 02 started and I needed to get out of the pit I had found myself in. I was slowly acclimatising to working from work and online teaching, which had a dramatic effect on my motivation. I started to implement a structure and routine within my days, which had been lacking for so long. Slowly I could feel myself returning back to an energetic, motivated and creative individual and I could see the quality of my work improving week on week.

This shift in my work ethic and general well-being, along with the rich research and framework studied the previous semester, led to a level of detail within my project that I had never before achieved.

The consistent narrative and framing from semester 01 has resulted in a well-rounded programme and thoroughly developed design. Often in my past projects I have focused too heavily on line drawings and my representation of the experiential and material qualities of the designed spaces has subsequently suffered slightly. This semester however, I have taken the time to learn new skills and styles of representation to try and truly visualise the project and I believe this has dramatically improved the range of representation within my design. As is always the case, I wish there had been slightly more time to continue working into my drawings and adding more visuals of inhabitation and materiality for spaces such as the workshops, the peoples’ kitchen and the residential scheme. Although rigorously designed, I wasn’t able to visually represent these spaces due to time constraints.

I am incredibly excited for stage 06 after this semester. I only wish the circumstances at the start of stage 05 hadn’t had quite the negative effect on me that they did. I would have liked to have produced the level of quality, detail and rigour within my work this semester throughout the whole year. But, in the famous words of Frank Sinatra, ‘that’s life...’

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Bibliography www.leithlocalhistorysociety.org.uk. 2020. No page title. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.leithlocalhistorysociety.org.uk/guidebook/pdfs/guidebook.pdf.

World Port Source. 2020. WPS - Port of Leith review. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/GBR_Port_of_Leith_2872.php.

Leith should receive new arts centre - study | The Scotsman. 2020. Leith should receive new arts centre - study | The Scotsman. [ONLINE] Available at: https:// www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/leith-should-receive-new-arts-centrestudy-1504920.

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properties and cultural nodes that surround the site help to influence the zoning strategy for the building and create a coherent linked set of programs and spaces that interact not only with themselves but also the surrounding context.

Nestled between the project’s built spaces lie social and interactive spaces for the community, creating public squares for the buildings users, residents and the local community.

These public plazas emphasize the importance of social interactions in community life. The engagement with the site, building structures, and surrounding vegetation, produces unique landscaping and arrival experiences to the site depending on your reason visiting.

The Native garden is supposed to bring awareness of natural flow and harmony while researching specific species of plants, grasses and trees found naturally along the Water of Leith to create not just an aesthetic arrival towards the project but also a carefully curated educational tool for local schools.

The semi private ‘Planted Forest’ to the North aims to continue the natural rhythm and form of the residential building to provide an element of privacy to the residential entrance whilst providing an undulating grassy topography that creates spaces for social gathering and immersion within nature.