Z5P2

Academic Portfolio Stage 3

Hiu Kit Brian Hui 170310664

Contents

Page

Illustrated Reflective Report

4-5

Studio Introduction

6-7

Primer

Finland

8-25

Staging

32-49

Final Proposal

50-91

Charrette

92-95

Illustrated Cultural Bibliograpy

96-97

Bibliography

98-99

26-31

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Illustrated Reflective Report

My attitude towards development and learning had changed drastically from last year. We were first introduced to a different approach into understanding a subject. In our studio’s case, the concept of a ritual was a difficult process to understand at part and only got easier throughout the year as I worked alongside it. Apart from just viewing architecture as it is physically, I was important for us to understand the dynamics of space and lighting, as our human experience with the architecture matters much more than the building itself. The various field trips we went to, including the Japanese Joinery Workshop with Hugh Miller and the Finland trip, were eye-opening as I understand the different focus in the craft and design through the differences in culture and context. Due to only having one design project this year, I realised that my way of learning had become more methodical, especially in my approach in the program development.

Rather than choosing a material I like at the time and designing a building around it, for this project, the purpose and programme of the proposal were methodically produced through thorough background research and iterations. One thing I have to improve on is my willingness to explore more mediums and concepts. As I tend to resort into more conservation choices, I have made bold choices in my design project, such as the curving, stacking design of building. (Fig 1) Carrying on from the unwillingness to try explore new things is that I don’t tend to explore ideas using model making, as I would typically use models to represent rather than explore. The lack of models made on the earlier stages of the design process can really be seen throughout the portfolio. The spread of COVID- 19 had also rendered my last opportunity to make models null.

I think my design proposal could be redefining the realm of warehouse, industrial and educational institution architecture. The combination of the typologies of my design are rare, especially when it is located on a site that is mainly underground.

As I struggled to find precedents of similar typologies during the project, I have came up with a few unique strategies to tackle problems that arise (Fig .2). Lighting strategies, for example, are often limited due to being on an underground site but it is important in the context of being an educational institute. A hand few of buildings are built on or around dry docks but almost none of them utilise the bottom of the dock as a piece of landscape.

Although the design of my project has been revised multiple times since, the modules,Integrated Construction, Theory into Practice and Professional Practice, have influenced the design process greatly. For example, for the technology booklet, I had to rearrange my programme in order to confine within fire-safety regulation, especially when the main workshop spaces are not on ground level. For Theory into Practice, I looked about the theory of perspective drawings. It had influenced my working process for realisation, where almost all of the development work had been iterations of sketches add drawings. Similar to taking a photograph, drawing in perspective is a quick way to imagine spatial qualities and depth. It also allow me to visualise spaces at a human scale.

One of the major design features of my design are the timber slats that make up the windows or doors of the teaching pods. They were intially touched on in primer and developed during thinking through making week (Fig. 3) It has since been a core theme of my proposal.

Fig. 3 The dynamic of the model inspired the screen doors of the classrooms Fig. 1 The curved walls were bold introductions to an originally boxy design

Some of the early parts of my projects are influenced by my dissertation, which was an analysis about Christopher Alexander and the Pattern Language book. Some of the patterns such as “Activity Pockets” and “Positive Outdoor Spaces”, for example, helped me design an iteration of the a social dry dock space. Additionally, his views on vernacularism (Fig 4.) and detail-oriented design that are thoroughly discussed in his books are similar to the principles of Finnish architecture.

Fig. 4 The Sala House by Christopher Alexander was built based on the client’s ‘dream house’

I have attended some small talk lectures hosted by the NUAS. Carmody Groarke’s small talk for example introduced me to extremely relevant precedents such as the Windermere Jetty, a warehouse-inspired museum, the Hill House Box, which inspired the gantry layout of my workshop.

The charrette I was involved in were about mapping and using photography techniques to capture moments of a sleepy part of town. Although the techniques used were not relevant to my project, the act of capturing moments in a space has been one of the core themes of the project.

Technical Detail 1:20

Fig. 2 The walls of each floor are offset to allow light to penetrating into the underground levels Fig. 5 The Windermere Jetty is a combination of warehouse, museum and dock typologies

STUDIO INTRODUCTION

RITUALS

What is a Ritual?

A ritual is often defined as a ceremony of actions that follows a certain routine, where it is always determined by a greater order. In fact, the most mundane activities could be ritualised.

Sauna and tea ceremonies are ritualised in their respective countries as something beyond just taking a bath or having a cup of tea. As the practice of these highly ritualised habits have transcended into cultural significance, strict regulations have evolved around the rooms and thresholds involved.

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Harmony

For this project, our design must revolve around a certain ritual, and it must reflect our understanding of the processes behind it.

Video - The Ritual of making a cup of coffee Top - Coffee Scoop by Hugh Miller

GRADUATION PROJECT

PRIMER 8

Sea

Reflection

The primer project was important for me to understand the importance of rituals and helped me set out my approach for the design process throughout the whole year. We were introduced to various Japanese and Finnish architectural principles that eventually influenced the craft and materiality of my graduation project.

As a preface into the context of the project, the brief field trip to Blyth was insightful. Being a post-industrial, coastal town, it was a new typology for me to impose a design on. During the early stages of the project, I was drawn to the coastal view of the peninsula and therefore my ritual of choice, photography, would revolve around the sea.

View onto the sea from Primer model

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Blyth Initial Impressions CAMBOIS

Approach to Blyth

BLYTH

We went to Blyth to experience the site on the first day of the introduction to the project. We knew nothing about the economic and social background of the sleepy town but we were able to catch a hint during our approach. As we visited the sites that are located in town we noticed that there wasn’t much activities; it was only after we spoke to some locals that we found out of Blyth’s rich industrial past. The brief trip left an impression on me and influenced my understanding of why Blyth would benefit from our project design.

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Response to Cambois During our trip to Blyth, I was immediately to Cambois due to its coastal location. I made a model to reflect on my experience to the peninsula. The model features metal and wood, representing the industry and the natural respectively. The nail represents the verticality of the ever-present wind turbine and the railway track of two different materials represents the boundary and disconnection between Blyth and Cambois.

Views from Cambois

Seperation between Cambois and Blyth

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Ritual of Photography

The camera I used in field trips Scene 1

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Set

Photography in Blyth

Shoot

Processes of setting up to take a photograph

The ritual of photography was inspired by a photographer I saw during our field trip to Cambois, Blyth. He set up his camera on a tripod which to me suggested a particular view on the harbour waiting to be captured. Various themes of photography can be associated with architectural design; therefore, alongside my own interest of photography, I decided to delve into the ritual.

Aperture-inspired Design The aperture of a camera is an interesting inspiration for architectural design. It embodies the themes of dynamism, lighting and framing. Initially, looking at a camera aperture, I imagined each blade of the aperture as the vision cone of a person located in the centre; specifically framed views out onto different directions. From the blades, I see them as windows with slanted angled walls that are unraveled out into a straight line. A person can then walk past to receive different views.

Progression from the shape of aperture into a design

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Spatial Model Light & Dark

Following the ritual of photography, this model continues on the imagery of an aperture. It is rotationally symmetrical and the slanted walls appear to look like an aperture in motion. Architecturally, I imagined the model to be an imitation of an enclosed space, with select openings to allow light into the centre.

The idea of framing and circumstance is shown as the person framed by the thickness of the wall and can only be seen at specifically views.

Architectural Model Monumentality

Spatially, at a smaller scale, I envisioned the aperture as an window or opening; architecturally, at a monumental scale, I instantly think of courtyards or atria; open spaces surrounding by walls or buildings, similar to how moments are captured in between the aperture of a camera.

The walls on the inside of models are angled to funnel light towards the centre.

The idea of framing is shown literally in this model in order to themes of the ritual effectively.

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Japanese Joinery Workshop with Hugh Miller

Workshop Process

Detail & Technique

In the middle of Primer we visited Hugh Miller, a former alumnus who owns a furniture making workshop based on Japanese joinery. We were able to experience the craft and attention to detail behind joinery making through the use of special tools and techniques. The workshop gave us great insight into wood working and would eventually influence our primer design.

Joint Design

Space & Harmony We were introduced to various timber joints such as the dovetail, mortise and tenon and the Chidori joint. The Chidori in particular is connected through a joint system that holds together without the use of glue or nails. Deriving partly from Japanese concept of ma, the absence of noise or negative space, and the concept of wa, the contribution to harmony.

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Primer Design

Understanding the Ritual There were a couple of themes I was aiming to understand with the ritual of photography for my primer design through the study of precedents. The themes were verticality and viewing towers, windows and openings, enhancing viewing experience and enhancing the journey through forced views and motion.

I have broken the ritual of photography down into three fundamentals: Framing: Manipulation of the view onto the object.

Perspective: Manipulation of views through the movement of the subject.

Circumstance: A difference in spatial experience depending on the subject and the object.

Primer Design Concept For my primer model, I decided to touch on the three themes by creating a corridor where a specific view onto the sea can be seen as a person walks through from the entrance. The structure, located on the edge of the peninsula, acts as an viewing platform for photography. The angled frames manipulates the view you see through the lined-up windows.

The construction of the corridor involves grid-like timber joints which creates semi-permeable walls that manipulates light that enters, celebrating the Japanese concept of negative space from the joinery workshop.

The ritual behind the model became the enhancement of the viewing experience.

Precedent research and inspirations into the themes of framing, perspective and circumstances

Primer model making process

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Timber Joinery

Grid-like structure Semi-permeable wall Manipulating light within the corridor

Enhancing viewer experience Framing Perspective Circumstance

Final Model

Final Model relationships with the themes of photography

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FIELD TRIP

FINLAND 26

Insight into Nordic Architecture Our field trip to Finland was an enlightening journey into the traditional and modern Finnish architecture.

Through experiencing the architecture of Alvar Aalto, alongside other architects such as Steven Holl and Juhani Pallasmaa, I have gained a further appreciation into their construction process and details.

The attention to detail at the human scale as always been an key part of Finnish architecture and is integrated through the usage of timber, lighting strategies and spatial qualities. Notable details from the buildings we visited were promptly sketched and some strategies were implemented into my design project.

Journey

Case Study provided as a separate document

Studio Group Photo at Studio Aalto

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Top - St. Lawrence Chapel by Avanto Architects Middle - OODI Library by AVA Architects Bottom - LUSTO Forestry Museum by Rainer Mahlamäki

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Case Study - St. Lawrence Chapel by Avanto Architects

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Detail and Materiality of Finnish Architecture

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Sketches from field trip highlighting eclectic design, spatial arrangement, lighting strategies and details

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GRADUATION PROJECT

STAGING 32

Reflection

For me, staging was the development of a functional brief. As the concepts of our rituals got more refined, researching deep into the history and context of Blyth was extremely helpful in finding a suitable programme. In hindsight, the design aspect of staging wasn’t particularly strong in my case but the research done was extremely beneficial for the early stages of realisation.

I used a new approach for design this year and it was more evident in staging, where my research would trump over other design considerations and really respond for the context of the site rather than for aesthetics.

Learn

Collage of the eductional institutes in the north-east

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• Staging •

Responding on Primer Design The aim of primer for me was to explore the processes behind the ritual of photography and apply it to an architectural form that would relate to our chosen site in Blyth. Although the themes of framing, perspective and circumstance were expressed in the model, it was only used to create an architectural moment where a person would experience a designated view onto the sea.

There were several problems that I wanted to answer from my primer design:

The lack of an “ultimate” framed view on site

•There isn’t really a specific view that is noteworthy to highlight with

a viewing platform/tower

•People don’t have enough of an incentive other than the viewing

platform to travel to Cambois

What could I do with a photography-related building?

•Possibility of designing a camera gear-related shop or a photogra phy school

What would draw people onto the isolated site of Cambois?

•The location of the site is particularly difficult to access, therefore

the purpose of the building must be worthwhile for visitors to use.

How to translate the act of photography into a feasible programme

for Blyth?

The brief for this project is to design a building in Blyth that can either reinvigorate its economy or give back to its community. In Staging, I began by looking into the rich, industrial past of Blyth in order to further develop the connection between the ritual of photography and a compelling brief that responds to the site.

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History & Industry CAMBOIS Blyth Power Station (2002)

Blyth Railway Station - 1907

Bates Colliery - 1984

Port of Blyth - 1969

Blyth Shipyard - 1954

Port of Blyth Bates Terminal

Site

Bates Colliery (1986)

Port of Blyth Bates Terminal

Alcan Alumina Vessel Unloading (2012)

National Renewable Energy Centre Blyth Railway Station (1964)

History Blyth Marine Station Cowpen Colliery (1969)

BLYTH Active Industries Inactive Industries (Year of closure)

Industrial Map of Blyth and Cambois

Blyth Harbour Wind Farm

Port of Blyth South Terminal

Salt trade, coal mining and fishing were the primary industries before the 18th century. Coal mining has been a dominant part of Blyth’s industrial history alongside port trading. The rapid growth of the colliery led to the construction of the Blyth Railway Station, to aid transportation of coal and raw materials around the North-East. The growing coal mining industry had led to the development of coal power stations and the official establishment for the Port of Blyth. Started in the 18th century, ship-building also became one of the biggest industries in Blyth with the growth of the port.

Following the decline of coal-mining industry and the shutdown of the collieries in the 20th century, the town now relies on cargo exportation and offshore wind farms for its economy.

In the future, Blyth aims to transition into a low carbon economy through development of new energy technologies and equipments. The port itself would continue invest into renewable energies alongside its trading industry.

Photos of old industries in Blyth

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Port of Blyth Facility

RI VE R

In collaboration

BL YT H

Boat-Building Workshop

Declined Industry

Declined Industry

Involvement with Blyth The Port of Blyth has been a majority in most part of Blyth’s history. Apart from its involvement in coal exportation, cargo shipping to renewable energies, the port is also deeply involved in the local community. The port sponsors in various projects tackling employment, heritage and education, and for the latter often collaborating with the Newcastle University’s Marine Technology department. The port also hosts an annual photography competition.

Relationship between Port of Blyth and the community and industry of Blyth

Port of Blyth Vessels Analysis - over 40% of vessels in and out of Blyth are industry related

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Port of Blyth Community Education Blyth Marine Station

CAMBOIS

The Blyth Marine Station is a research facility funded by the Port of Blyth, the Northumberland City council and Newcastle University. The station is by the School of Marine Science and Technology, covering the fields of Marine Engineering, Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering. It provides active research into the port industry and has helped affirming the region’s role as a global leader in marine engineering innovation. It has its own research vessel called the RV Princess Royal.

The Marine Technology Special Collection is an archive located within the Newcastle University campus. It provides technical resources for shipbuilding, marine engine building, ship repairing and ship breaking.

Blyth High Lighthouse Blyth Tall Ship Project Blyth Marine Station

Dove Marine Station

Blyth Boathouse

The Dove Marine Laboratory is a specialist facility for the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and it is often in collaboration with other off-campus facilities such as the Blyth Marine Station. It is located in Cullercoats which is further down south of Blyth. It provides research in marine science and biology.

Port Training Centre

BLYTH

Port Training Centre

PORT OF BLYTH HARBOUR

The Port Training Centre is a facility that is part of the Blyth Education and Community Hub by the Port of Blyth. The building aims to train future port workers and provides opportunities for apprenticeships in collaboration with other projects within the hub.

Educational Institutes Heritage

Community Facilities in Blyth

Dove Marine Laboratory (7 miles)

Educational Institute around Blyth

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Photography Competition

Photography Competition Although the photography competition is a huge focus of the Port of Blyth, it still draws the attention of large quantities of photographers annually. As mentioned before in primer, the photographs mainly consist of the Blyth seaside As an albeit direct link to the ritual of photography, I think it could be a good addition to have a physical location to display the photographs alongside the gallery acting as a public front.

2019 Entries for the Port of Blyth Photo Competition

Programme Connection

Photography Fundamentals

Context

Through the research I have done on Blyth, I have decided that having a photography related building would not be an appropriate programme for this project; therefore for Staging, I have focused on the fundamentals of photography rather than the actual act of photography. The three themes: framing, perspective and observation would instead play a role in the architectural form of the building.

Contextually, the project is linked deeply within the community and industry of Blyth. The Port of Blyth invests and funds research for prevalent industries by the harbour. In collaboration with Newcastle University in 2017, the Port of Blyth helped develop the Blyth Marine Station, which is now a world leading facility for experimental research such as propeller designs and biofouling.

Ritual

Proposal

The ritual of my project has been further developed from primer. The act of photography was initially chosen due to my personal interest in the hobby and the Port of Blyth’s own photography competition. It went from taking photos to focusing on the processes behind photography (framing, perspective and observation).

Finally, through extensive research on the economical climate of Blyth, I have decided to have my project to be an marine technology school.

The educational aspect of the project came directly from nearby research facilities and port-related schools. The proposal’s connection to the ritual would be students having a close relationship with teaching subjects, close enough for students to observation its inner workings.

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Initial Concepts

Translating ritual into design I found that was crucial to something physical to learn from especially on subjects like engineering. The idea of a “focus” came from primer. The focus for my marine technology school would be a ship that is docked near my building. As the program and the design of the building would literally surround the ship, the ship maintains a physical connection to the students. The height of the building would provide varying degrees of interactions, where students on the ground floor could easily access the ship whilst students on higher levels can maintain a visual connection

Top Row - Translation of focus and subjects into a design concept Bottom - Main programme such as the school would be located next to the ship whilst the secondary programmes could enjoy the unobstructed view onto the sea

Choosing the site Aside of my primer design being located on thepeninsula, Cambois is only site out the three given that allows access of a ship. The school is located on the harbour towards Blyth as it is the entrance for vessels into the River Blyth. It also allows the secondary programmes to be located on the opposite side, where it meets the public route onto the site.

This works well on two levels; the library and the photography gallery could act as the public front to the whole complex and it would benefit from the view onto the sea as the school would be focused on the view to the ship.

Sketches to imagine programme arrangement on the site of Cambois

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Programmatic Breakdown Teaching Block

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Public Front Visual Interaction

Seclusion

The top floor is where the lecture theatre and the naval architect’s studio are located. The architects can benefit from the visual interaction as they could get inspired with the view of a docked ship.

The lecture theatre converges into a view onto the dock as well.

The top floor is where the largest collection of Information is located as well as the ceiling of the double height-ed gallery. The height of the first floor provides seclusion and privacy for those who wish to research or study within the library.

SECOND FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

Physical Interaction

Accessibility

The ground floor is where the workshop and the naval engineer’s studio are located. The engineers benefit the most from being so close to the dock as they are able to have a physical interaction with the vessel, obtaining valuable firsthand experience. The workshop is located on this level because it is easily accessible for everyone.

The ground floor is where the Cafeteria, the computer rooms, information library and the photography gallery is located. As a public building, the ground floor is designed to be as accessible as possible therefore most features are located here.

FIRST FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

Subject The vessel is the subject to the frame of the building and it is located within the caved in dock. The location and orientation of the other building blocks revolves around the dock. Due to the shape of the dock, the vessel almost becomes the centre of the building. Students are able to enter the vessel and get practical understanding of how a vessel works.

GROUND FLOOR

Connection The location of the Library and Gallery building allows entrance from either the public path or from the Naval Architect and Engineer School. The connection between the two buildings allows a transition between the private to public.

GROUND FLOOR

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Thinking Through Making Week

Manipulation of Light My thinking through making design revolves around themes from the processes of photography. I wanted to create something that would be able to move to manipulate light, similar to the aperture of a camera. Inspired by the timber joinery workshop with Hugh Miller, I designed two slatted screen doors that can move freely within each other. The movement of the screens allow spaces to be open or closed and can control the amount of light entering.

Construction process of Thinking Through Making Week model

Interlocking sliding doors on a track

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GRADUATION PROJECT

FINAL PROPOSAL 50

Make

Reflection

For realisation, as I had to reevaluate the project’s response to the ritual alongside the program, I decided to change and chose an external site as it better fits the nuances of an educational institute and my established design principles.. As the program of the project fleshes out, the next steps for design would be responding to the multitudes of site restrictions. Many iterations of the design were developed in order of importance. As the realisation of the project stems from the ritual of learning through observation, finer details of the final design stems from various parts of primer and staging.

Although my design has changed a lot since the theory into practice and the technology essay, they were informative in the processes of design.

Workshop Activities

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The New Site National Renewable Energy Centre Port of Blyth Terminal

SITE Dry Docks

Blyth Marine Station Port Training Services

SITE

Warehouses

Charles Parsons Technology Centre

Wind Turbine Testing Facility Power Testing Facilities

Dry Docks Developed from the design principles I had for staging, I have decided to move to an existing dry dock rather than creating one. Luckily, there were two docks on the opposite side of the harbour that remains inactive. As the docks are part of NAREC, a private company, there are some site restrictions I would have to establish before designing.

The dry docks provide an interesting variation in height and I intend to make full use of its potential.

Nautilus Wave Testing Facility

NAREC The National Renewable Energy Centre, or NAREC, is a leading innovation and research centre for offshore energy and low carbon technology. It is located on the old shipbuilding site on Blyth Harbour. I have chosen the site due to its relationship with marine technology innovation and the Port of Blyth. The site is generally fenced off from the public apart from an entrance of the right side of the site.

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Initial Response to Site

Designing Through Section Following the design process from staging, the main reason for the project to be located on the dry docks is to house the ship of which the program is built around. Alongside the location of vessel, I also wanted the bottom of the dry docks to be accessible as a space for public realm. From that idea, instead of having buildings above and around the docks, part of the building would underground, accessing and interconnecting the lower ground floors.

Top - Programmatic proposal using the dry dock Bottom - Structures spanning across the dry dock

Potential of the Dry Docks Various designs were made in attempt to utilise the potential the dry dock brings. In the beginning of the design process, where I only worked off of the staging concept of ‘keeping a view onto a ship’, there were decisions to be made for either leaving the dry dock inactive or use them as a functioning dock, allowing a variety of vessels to enter. At the end, Ive decided to leave the dry dock as is as I figured that the depth of the dock allows for a more interesting section.

Top - Imagining spatial potential of the dock Bottom - Bridging structure over a filled dry dock

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Site Restrictions

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Core Design Elements

Available Site Being a site that I personally chose for my programme, I would have to determine my own site boundaries. Attempting to maintain vehicular access and activity on one of the docks, the site restricts itself into an area.

Relating to Staging

Main building As shown with the site restriction, there is only one side of the dry dock would be suitable for the location of the main block.

As a part of the reasons to choose this site, I made sure that the main building would utilise over and underground levels.

Public vs. Private

The idea of having a ship located within my proposal was the main driving force in the change of site. Naturally, the ship would locate within the docks. Rather than building in the dock, the program would locate around it.

One difficulty of the site is to tackle to fenced boundary between the site and public access. Merely opening up a part of the fence to serve as an entrance would be problematic as there are frequent vehicular movement around the site. The solution would be to create a bridge across to get over the physical and symbolic boundary.

Location of Main Block

Circulation

Since the site was restricted into having the main building be located on either side of the docks, the location of the main building was chosen through the process of elimination.

There are two inactive dry docks that I could use for my proposal. Since the main building would allow access to the bottom of the dock, it would make sense to connect the docks to connect and have more freedom in the programmatic arrangement

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Utilising dry docks Teaching Spaces

Lighting for classrooms One of the most important aspects for this project is to design spaces around light. My first design for classrooms are pods that are orientated for the sun and towards the middle of the dry dock where the vessel would be located. When the height of the pods can reside freely at any height on the side of the dry dock, I tiered them across the length of the dock for an unobstructed view towards the centre.

Sketches showing light entering and views out from the classroom pods

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Lecture Theatre

Lecture Theatre as connection As educational lecture theatres are often tiered to allow students to view the front easily, it also suggests a higher-leveled entrance from one side and a lower-level exit on the other. This was a good opportunity to think about the ceiling heights of underground floors. The roof of the lecture theatre could also become a bridging element for the ground level. The Danish National Maritime Museum has a similar design with big windows to maximise daylight into the lower floors of the dock.

Top - Danish National Maritime Museum by BIG Architects Middle & Bottom - Lecture Theatre as a bridge between levels

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1st Iteration

Library/Archive

Circulation

Workshop

Business Entrance

Staff/Office Lecture Theatre

Gallery/Bridge

Public Entrance

Programme Arrangement For the 1st iteration, I have applied some design concepts that were developed since moving to a new site. Teaching spaces and circulation were redesigned for the dry docks. The other programs that were outlined in staging were arranged according to the level of privacy it needs. The gallery would be located near the public entrance whilst the library would be located by the quieter harbour. The next steps would be to further design the underground levels of the dry dock.

A model of the programme was made as it was difficult to understand the relationship between levels.

Arrangement of program

Model to help me visualise spatially from orthographic sketches

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Utilising dry docks Social Space

Underground expansion One idea for the underground level was to make it into a social space. I think that the unique spaces of the dock could be interesting as a piece of public realm. In one of the designs, I had carved out spaces on the side of the dock as people tend to gravitate to covered spaces when they are in a public realm. Another design was to completely tunnel through to the other dock to connect them. The carved out spaces would eventually evolve into the design for the underground levels of the main building.

Sketches to show the adding and subtracting of spaces of the dock

Conceptual Design for the dry docks - Underground Social Space

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Utilising dry docks Workshop

Visualising spaces for workshop The design for the workshop utilises the space of the dock. General machinery such as drills, bandsaws, and working spaces such as workbenches are located in the centre as they welcome plenty of natural light with the inclusion of a skylight roof system.

Welding rooms and fabrication studios often required heavy machinery which are suited for covered spaces located on the undersides of the dock.

Sketches showing light entering and views out from the classroom pods

Sketches to visualise workshop spaces that allows you to observe the ship from covered spaces

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Roof and Facade

Heavy and Light Facades The ground floor entrance for the main building would mainly be glazing as it draws people in as they approach. It features an overhanging roof that also covered the external staircase, The facade is reminiscent of a building of Aalto Univeristy, where the ground floor is glazing whereas the floors above have solid walls. It provides an interesting contrast and is offset by using alternative lighting methods.

Top - Isonometric of roof profile Middle - Perspective of fully glazed entrance Bottom - Heavy ratio of solid vs glazing of an Aalto University building

Sketch showing the entrance to the main building over the lecture theatre

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Realisation Design Combination of Ideas For the realisation design, I had simply collected all of the most suitable element from the different iterations of design and put them together in an attempt to satisfy my list of programs. Moving forward, I have to have more refined details such as lighting strategies, creating a response to tackle goal of learning through interaction.

The entrance spaces must also be fully fleshed out as the identity of the campus can be experienced in such spaces.

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Entrance Design Big Gesture Entrance The Fondazione Prada building has a big feature lift that is covered in pink marble and has a completely unobstructed view out onto the city. For my entrance, I also wanted to have an entrance is as eye catching as it is functional. As the approach to the main building almost always require you to cross a footbridge, rather than a staircase, I want the main mode of vertical circulation to be a big feature lift.

Top - Plan for the Entrance Middle - Facade Study - experimenting with heavy and light Right - Fondazione Prada Lift

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Technical Detail 1:20

Lighting Strategy Underground light There are many buildings that are not neccessarily underground, but often fenced off. In my case, I am trying to get natural sunlight penetrating into the lower levels of the building. I had an idea to offset the different floors to allow light to enter onto the bottom of the dock, between the retaining wall.

Top - Curved design of each floor Middle - technical study of the section Right - Hugh Strange House - threshold between the building and wall

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Synthesis Blyth Marine Technology Centre Perspective Section

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1 Gallery 2 Cafe

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5 Office 6 Teaching Space 7 Social Space

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Plans Response to recurring themes

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The new program arrangement celebrates the campus atmosphere and the ritual of learning through making. The journey throughout the building are more streamlined for the regular schedule of a student. The arrangement of the program also responds to intimacy and interactions. Corridors and circulation spaces are located around the outside. As you go further into the building, you would enter the teaching spaces and classrooms which have a visual connection to the learning material. Finally you would enter into the workshop to interact with the learning material.

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1 Gallery 2 Footbridge 3 Library

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Section Lecture Theatre This depicts the long section across one of the dry docks. It features the stepped public realm which slowly leads to the lecture theatre. The roof of the lecture theatre is specially designed to enter light to enter in specific moments. Then there is the foyer and the library located above to capitalise on the view onto Cambois.

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Campus atmosphere Entrance The campus atmosphere can be felt at the entrance with the inviting piece of public realm. The entrance has a bike shed which encourages students to cycle to school. Beside the shed, there is a gallery displaying students’ best work and winners of Port of Blyth’s Photography Competition.

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Learning through observation Classroom Classrooms and teaching spaces within the building are fitted with timber slat doors that can open up into the workshop space. The semi-permeable wall manipulates light and views. Students can always have a visual connection with the teaching subject.

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Hands on Experience Workshop After learning the mechanic and dynamics of a design, the student could walk out of the classroom and enter the workshop immediately to start their making process. This mode of learning is based on physical interactions and hands-on experiences with the learning materials.

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Harbour View Library The library is located on the second floor and it offers a direct view onto the Cambois peninsula. The iconic orange silos can be seen as the library window celebrates the harbour view. Stemming back from primer, the library also acts as an elevated viewing platform , which enhances the viewing experience.

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Charrette

Gathering The charrette was hosted by Leah Miller who is a visual artist and film maker . The purpose of this project is to employ a series of digital and analogue, photographic and filming techniques to record and capture the essence of Coatsworth Road in Gateshead. We were to map out legacies of social changes within the site using various techniques . For the exhibition, we re-engineered what we have captured into a installation of prints and photograph depicting the life of Coatsworth Road.

Setting up prints for the installation

One of the crafts were repurposing unused materials into seats

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Techniques - 8mm/16mm film, Pinhole photography, Photograms, Film animation loops

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Charrette Exhibition

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Illustrated Cultural Bibliography

Small Talk and Collage Workshop I have attended several of NUAS’ small talk lectures. Architecture-Den were an relatable talk about the personal aspects and future for those pursuing an architectural career. Olly Wainwright’s talk was about the social and political change within the architectural profession, with a focus on the housing crisis. Carmody Groarke’s talk was an insightful talk into their design philosophy and process.

They have designed many buildings that are similar to my design. I have used the Hill House Box in particular as an precedent for my workshop design. The collage making workshop was a fun way to explore the different ways to express connections between different elements. I have done a collage reflecting on the research I have done on educational institutes in the North-East

Collage Making Workshop

Top Row & Bottom Left - Posters for Small Talk Bottom Right - The Hill House Box - A precedent highlight in Andy Groarke’s talk

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Bibliography Images that are not the author’s own P.3 Open Homes Photography, Sala House Dining room, 14 Apr. 2018, https://www. berkeleyside.com/2018/04/14/christopher-alexander-designed-house-with-dreamlike-qualities-for-sale-in-albany P.5 Richter, Christian, Windamere Jetty Museum, 21 Mar. 2019, https://www.dezeen. com/2019/03/21/windermere-jetty-museum-carmody-groarke-architecture/ P.37 Billy Embleton, Blyth Railway Station, 1907, https://www.flickr.com/photos/36891793@ N08/8926801838/ P.37 Hoggy03, Bates Colliery, https://www.flickr.com/photos/51143221@N03/5866327369 Port of Blyth, Blyth Harbour Tugs, http://portofblyth.co.uk/history/ P.37 Whalebone, Terry, Inside Plater’s Shop, https://www.flickr.com/photos/24592131@ N00/2541364070/ P.41 Port Training Services, https://porttrainingservices.co.uk/news/port-training-services-reintroduce-courses-at-discounted-rates/ P.41 Osley, Julian, Dove Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats, 24 Jun. 2018, https://www.geograph. org.uk/photo/5832523 P.41 Newcastle University, Blyth Marine Station, 2017, https://www.ncl.ac.uk/nes/about/facilities/marinescience/princessroyal/blythmarinestation/ P.42 Port of Blyth, Photo Competition 2019, 2019, http://portofblyth.co.uk/photo-competitions/2019/#:~:text=Photo%20Competition%202019,winning%20entry%20will%20be%20selected.

P.59 Kam, Henrik, Danish National Maritime Museum by Big Architects, 6 Mar. 2015, http:// henrikkam.blogspot.com/2015/03/danish-national-maritime-museum-by-big.html P.71 Fondazione Prada, Torre Fondazione Prada Milano, 18 Apr. 2018, https://www.objekt-international.com/torre-fondazione-prada-milano/ P.73 Strange, Hugh, Strange House & Studio, 2013, https://www.hughstrange.com/strangehouse.html P.97 Newcastle Uni Architecture Soc, Architecture – Den Small Talk. Instagram, 23 Oct. 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/B39KvP7Jc2-/ P.97 Newcastle Uni Architecture Soc, Olly Wainwright Small Talk. Instagram, 2 Feb. 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/B8OQGA7JhhZ/

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P.97 Newcastle Uni Architecture Soc, Carmody Groarke Small Talk. Instagram, 27 Feb.2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/B9EI7fxJDgM/ P.97 Carmody Groarke, The Hill House, https://www.carmodygroarke.com/hill-house/

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