Architecture Portfolio 2022

Anti City: An Urban Sanctuary more than homes

Pearl Sajan Samuel, 7CTA1140-0905-2021 - Thesis Studio Tutor Name: Ian Owen

CONTENTS contents

BACKGROUND

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Introduction Robinhood gardens Location plan Planning strategies Proposed masterplan Proposal diagrams

Conceptual diagrams Axonometric diagram Masterplan Parks Site plan First floor plan Rendered view Individual floor plan Interior axonometric view Rendered views Elevation Construction sequence diagrams CLT construction details Park planning

Anti City: An Urban Sanctuary more than homes

BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Social housing : Robinhood Gardens, Tower Hamlets The home

Robinhood gardens was a symbol of development in terms of architectural boost and it represents the emergence of social housing in the 1970s. The destruction of the flats has been looked upon as a tragic loss in the architectural world. The monumental status that the RHG held was taken down for the further development of the area. There were efforts to save the building by listing it, however it was in vain. The site of the RHG currently has a set of new commercialised flats. The importance to social housing has been decreased with the new development. The pictures on the right showcase the destruction and the end of the RHG.

The people

As the world looks upon the loss of the building, the condition at which the people are left is often neglected. The destruction of RHG has left the tenants

Robinhood gardens

Analysis of built and context

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Location plan

Canary wharf and new site

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Proposal

Planning strategy

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Proposal

Planning strategy

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Scheme from Sem A Proposed masterplan

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Proposal

Proposal diagrams 01 HOME Proposal for the social housing project.

02 MARKET Redevelopment of the market

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03 FARM The hydroponic farm being introduced into the center of the basin.

04 PAVILLION The pavillion that connects the spaces inbetween.

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Anti City: An Urban Sanctuary more than homes

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

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Conceptual diagrams Site 01 The site proposed for the housing units is sandwiched between the commercial complex on the left and the residential units on the right. The site has its benefit of having the Thames abutting it. The environmental aspect of the area can be increased by including more parks. This also helps in activating the ground floor populating.

02 The shadow analysis run on grasshopper helps to identify the shaded regions of the site and helps to navigate and choose the areas meant for a housing development. The criteria settings were based on an average in a day and the mean of the months. The result images were then layered to form the image 03 which shows were the parks would possibly be.

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03 While the parks have been involved in the site planning as part of the strategy of activating the ground floor, the main aims also include creating a seamless network between the commercial zone on the left and the residential zone on the right. The parks begin from the bottom left and end on the opposite end of the site. The parks are also designed to each have its own purpose.

04 The parks environment does not get cut throughout the site when the buildings emerge. The inclusion of garden parks or community gardens help in creating more greenspace within the site. The community gardens are a monumentary addition replicting the small gardens that the tenants formed by themselves and it also acts as a community building tool.

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Conceptual diagrams Built form 01

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The design begins with a transition in levels which showcase the different level of privacy. The stairs go in from both directions and the ground floor becomes the public zone.

02 02 The two varied sizes of homes are placed above the homes which show the cascade it forms. This creates shading by itself and also creates interesting spaces in between the built structure.

01 03 The roof area is meant for the roof top garden that would be run by the tenants. The addition of this is also part of the community building tool as well as increasing this practice helps in the future.

The common areas have more purpose and helps in creating a sense of community that has been lost from them.

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Conceptual diagrams Gardening as a tool

Incorporating a garden or green spaces through architecture is more than adding a garden on top or at the ground level of a building. This does not help in creating the urge or need for people to make use of the public spaces they have been given.

The process of navigating through a building through the use of green spaces then change.

01 A single floor structure with access to green open space for growing plants on the ground floor and on the roof.

02 The multi storey without the communal zone allienates the two garden spaces on the ground floor and the roof top garden.

03 The adjustment of the blocks leads to landing spaces which convert to communal gardening and socialising spaces.

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Levels of incorporating gardening and greenspaces are seen in the individual, group floor and masterplan level.

01 Addition of gardening and green space in the rooftop level.

02 Addition of greenspaces in the landing.

03 Inclusion of community gardening skills in between the blocks.

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Conceptual diagrams Process diagrams

The plan level re organising helps to identify the key features that must be noted in designing homes.

01 The plan of the first iteration of the design.

02 The addition of a central courtyard garden in the mix.

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03 The plan on the first floor shows the addition of a winter garden being added in the floor.

04 The ground floor was designed to have a public space without horizontal elements that cut the vision.

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Conceptual diagrams

Final conceptual diagrams

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Conceptual diagrams Sub-title

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Master plan 02

Masterplan of the homes The master plan demonstrates the home blocks, parks and the adjoining context.

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Parks

4 types of parks with different aims

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Site plan

Not to scale

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First floor plan Not to scale

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Rendered view

Block of flats with the park

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Floor Plans Not to Scale

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Conceptual diagrams Interior Axo

Conceptual interior axonometrics showing potential spatial organisations and interior design.

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Transition Space Social Connection

The space in between the homes acts as more than a trasnition space. They offer space for gardening, socialising, and other communal activites.

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Section

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Rendered Axonometric

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Conceptual diagrams Rendered Elevation

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Construction Sequence CLT construction 01

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GROUND DUG UP For the foundation blocks the ground is dug up and the concrete blocks are set.

RING BEAM PLACED The foundation laid is then topped with the ring beam.

Foundation block concrete

Ring beam

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Construction Sequence CLT construction 03

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INSULATION LAYERS

CLT FLOOR JOINED

Layer of insulation and vapour barrier based on top of the ring beam.

The floor is transported from offsite place of manufacture and then assembled with joinery and adhesives.

Shutter is attached to the bottom for ventilation and keeping the clt from moisture damage.

Shutter

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Construction Sequence CLT construction 05

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CLT FLOOR AND WALLS

WINDOWS

The floors and walls are joined together with crosslam superplates.

The slots for the windows are pre cut into the clt wall and the pre fab windows are attached onto it.

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Construction Sequence CLT construction 07

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METAL MESH BALLISTER

INSULATION ON WALL

The pre fab metal mesh ballister is added to the built structure.

The exterior of the wall has to be protected from moisture damage

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Construction Sequence CLT construction 09

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BRICK CLADDING

FINISHED SITE

The brick cladding is laid on top of the metal braces attached to the insulation boards.

The brick cladding on top is the final cladding.

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Detail Build-ups

CLT Construction details These drawings demonstrate the types of construction details used within this building. Predominently wall-to-floor connections which use steel crosslam strongplates and self-drilling screws,

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CLT Trasnport Infrastructure

Configurations and prefabrication This scheme uses prefab CLT wall and floor panels which offsetsthe carbon footprint of the construction. Off-site manufacturing allows for higher precision, reduced costs and reduced on-site time which is important in an area like Canary Wharf. The adjacent diagrams show the typical wall organisation, where a single standard articulated lorry can carry approximately 10 homes worth of panels in a single trip.

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Park

Usage of parks 01 The diagram represents how the greenspace is increased in a densely packed commercial and urban area. The existing greenspace in the bottom left corner is extended from one end to the other.

The parks each have their own purpose and they are linked to the immediate context based on usage.

02 The diagram represents how there are different usages based on the area they are based. The first one is the leisure park that starts the series of the park. The color purple coded park is the work park as it is adjoining the business district and helps give an oppurtunity for the employees to take a break from their indoor work day. The orange marked park is adjoining the residential location of the area and hence becomes a family park that mainly caters to the children. The blue coded park is the market park and the main access to that is from across the Thames based on the proposed master plan.

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The render on the right gives a rough overview of the family park with the sand boxes for the kids. This park also has areas for the adults to relax as well.

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References

CrossLam Australia. 2022.

Australia’s Cross-laminated Timber Panel Manufacturer. [online] Available at: <http://www.crosslamaustralia.com.au/> [Accessed 7 May 2022].

ArchDaily. 2022. Anh Coffee Roastery / Red5studio. [online] Available at: <https://www.archdaily.com/973937/anh-coffee-roastery-red5studio> [Accessed 7 May 2022].

2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/08/stirling-prize-2019-winner-goldsmith-street-social-housing/> [Accessed 7 May 2022].

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