ARCHITECTURE + URBANISM portfolio 2021/22

sarmad munir ma a+u portfolio manchester school of architecture 2021-22

chapter one - introduction

key locations pg1

brief pg2

core aims & ideas pg3

biophilia & project values pg4

chapter two - history & community

kersal history timeline pg5

flooding timeline pg6

recent kersal news pg7

shirley baker photography pg8

photos pg9

chapter three - site analysis

overall public realm pg10

landscape typology pg11

topography pg12

activity hotspots pg13

site model pg14

observations pg15

short film pg16

observations pg17

chapter four - british vita

british vita intro pg18

detailed analysis pg19

detailed public realm pg20

british vita analysis pg21-23

warehouse conditions pg24-25

detailed green space analysis pg26

chapter five - proposal & precedence

british vita proposed functions pg27

proposed plans pg28

bio based materials pg29

salford ignition project pg30

biotecture living walls & roofs pg31

current bio research pg32

the feral atlas pg33

community precedence pg34

urban intervention precedence pg35

zoning precedence: singapore pg36

concept visual pg37

concept render pg38

chapter six - restoring vita

green zoning pg39

research example pg40

initial options pg41

final functions pg42

spatial allocations pg43

site strategies pg44-46

overall site view pg47

overall site plan pg48

frontal view point pg49

innovation park visual pg50

tech detailing pg51

community farm pg52

cafe and living wall farm pg53

entrance from wetlands side pg54

bird and insect houses pg55

boyson cafe renders pg56

final viewpoint pg57

chapter one introduction

key locations

1

core aims & questions

Kersal has been lacking a stronger community spirit for years yet longs for one, it has become an area that is reputationally unwelcoming. It’s typologies don’t offer the locals many social or recreational spaces instead focusing on growing more residential housing leaving little room for social connection. Kersal has a rich history which seems to be forgotten and it’s many green spaces are barely utilised and mostly barren, with little to no biodiversity. This project aims to reinvigorate the community by giving them a safe space to express themselves and make new connections whilst building a green infrastructure to truly activate the nature based spaces of Kersal.

project partner: IGNITION

The IGNITION Project is a Manchester based organisation focusstrengthening the city’s green infrastructures and helping firms break through legislation to embrace the latest sustainable biotech. Their website features a comprehensive guide and a list allow firms to work against council restrictions, letting projects realise their full sustainability potenThey have a Living Lab on the Salford Uni campus, not far from Kersal, that is a living demonstration of the values & tech they ad-

2 3 figure grounds brief

“INVEST COMMUNITY IN KERSAL’S GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH INTERACTIVITY TO INSPIRE ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION THROUGHOUT THE AREA.”

biophilia & project values

4

chapter two history & community

5 6 kersal history timeline flooding timeline

Now that Kersal’s history has been covered, the focus can be shifted to current news coming out of the area.

The following collage consists of headlines and their corresponding pictures of recent news from MEN (Manchester Evening News).

The media obviously plays a huge part in shaping public perception and the following headlines build up a picture of a hostile and unwelcoming area filled with crime and a fractured community at the centre of it.

7 8 recent kersal news

shirley baker photography

9 photos

chapter three site analysis

It was pointed out in the history timeline how most of Kersal became trapped in stasis after a certain point once the council’s housing funding reached its peak. This typology map not only shows how this remains true, but also how stagnant the area has become in typologies. Besides an abundance of residential type buildings there isn’t much in the way of recreational or social buildings. Even community resources are quite sparse

With such little variance in typologies and a clear lack of community spaces, it’s no wonder the area has become host to bouts of anti-social behaviour in key spaces.

landscape typology

can see, but not many of them are designated as actual public parks so therefore aren’t maintained as such. Despite this, they are still used moderately even though some are host to many instances of littering and even burning (as witnessed when conducting footfall for Studio A).

There is a dominant amount of green spaces in Kersal however there being no function or official designation for a lot of these spaces means they lack the proper connections and transitions these spaces require to be truly inviting

10 11 overall public realm

As seen on the previous page, Kersal is a very green and nature based area. Whilst most of the terrain in Kersal is mostly flat, there is a rise in levels around the Kersal Dale & Moor area which are the areas most notable nature reserves. This shows a focus from the council on embracing this natural side of the area, even if is mild.

Historically, this topography was even used to classify citizens In the 1850s, the elevated land in Higher Broughton was reserved for the wealthy whilst the lower levels were where the working class dwelled.

activity hotspots

path to kersal flats

playing fields & social club

football training academy

wetlands walking paths

playing fields

castle irwell construction site

allotments, church & primary school

The glow here marks hotspots of activity. We can note from here that the Wetlands walking trail, Littleton Road playing fields and Irwell construction site are the main sources of activity.

Not much actual recreation or social activity contributes to the Kersal activity, save for the social club, allotments & playing fields which we observed as not being used much upon visits.

main road

12 13 topography

attributes such as:

- building height

- green spaces

-

Mostly used as a presentation model to talk over interventions, highlight spaces and discuss atrributes of the site with tutors.

14 15

site model

A 1:2000 scale site model of Kersal that highlights a few crtitical the River Irwell

observations

The full film can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/oas81rsZslc

16 17 short film

Screenshots from a short film made with footage from a site visit to the Kersal Wetlands. The film shows us walking along the Irwell from Peele Park through the Castle Irwell construction site to the Wetlands and finally approaching the Flats It was filmed whilst undertaking observations from the previous page. Irwell along Peele Park Castle Irwell Homes Entrance to Wetlands Castle Irwell Construction Site Wetlands Park Kersal Wetlands Bridge to Kersal Flats Path to Flats

observations

chapter four british vita

18 british vita intro

19 20 detailed public realm

british vita site analysis

boyson mural

school zone

barren courtyards

walled off path

detached building from lot

soft boundary

hard boundary

recycling company

private entrance

possible entry point

21 22

warehouse conditions

23

british vita site analysis

25 26

warehouse conditions detailed green space analysis

chapter five proposal & precedence

british vita proposed functions

This diagram showcases the allocation of the proposed functions to their warehouse lots and the general amount of space that will be used.

The school grounds nearby won’t be intruded on in any way and each warehouse will be fully utilised.

The tech demo and research centres will share one space, with the demo space showing off the biotech and materials that is developed at the centre, this will be taken a step further as these bio based materials will be used to refurbish the warehouse lot itself to make it into a living demonstration.

This chapter delves into the proposed layouts in more detail, as well as the relevant precedence to back it up. Also note the garden cafe proposed here ends up being removed and replaced.

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These represent all access points.

The British Vita lots are huge in spatiality so each lot has been filled with all necessary spaces so each function can be performed to its best.

The visual also shows where the school zone takes over, an area of the site we won’t touch. The new path to the site allows for entry into the inner courtyards, all entrances into the lots are within the site so users will have to enter the site rather than come into the space through the lots.

The arrows show the freeflow circulation through the site, with multiple access points and convenient transitions into one lot to the next. Ultimately the cafe/shop area was deemed too makeshift in it’s current structure to be a substanial space for this and was competely removed later on to make a more accessible and welcoming entry point. The function was moved to the nearing innovation forum building.

bio based materials

28 proposed plans

biotecture living walls & roofs

30 31

salford ignition project

32 33 current bio research

the feral atlas

community precedence

urban intervention precedence

34 35

zoning precedence: singapore concept visual

biotecture living walls & roofs

biohm inspired construction biohm inspired construction

new access points new access points

36 37

concept renders

These initial renders aimed to model the warehouses as accurately as possible, depicting the surrounding area and their pitched roofs as well as highlighting possible entry points onto the site.

The site’s scale is quite huge which makes the population of people interacting with the area quite hard to see, but it showcases an early experiment on the spatial possibilities of the site and the placement of people highlights the vast amount of oppurtunity.

Furthermore, the Boyson mural building is completely eradicated in this model in favour of the makeshift tin sheds, a decision which was inverted in the final stages of the project.

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chapter six restoring vita

green zoning

The diagram to the right shows the updated masterplan of the area with newly allocated spaces and a more open area overall The green lines highlight the areas around the site that fall within the greening zone. The visuals below show the function of the greening zone which seeks to apply living walls & roofs to houses within the zone This is the least intrusive and cost-efficient way of introducing sustainable modes of living for the residents of the area.

green zoning areas

research example

houses within the zone

Inspired by the Feral Atlas, part of the research being undertaken by the proposed centre will be looking at the Kersal wildlife and it’s relationship to the area & people This is an example image showcasing what this research could potentially look like.

Previously in the report we covered the history of Kersal and the construction of the Wetlands in 2018 which transformed the previously barren area in a larger green space which attracted back wildlife

Kersal Dale is the areas largest nature reserve and the Owls & Woodpeckers populating it are quite common as are the Blackbirds of the Wetlands.

As the Wetlands were constructed in 2018, the newest additions to the area are the Swans and Geese which reside there.

The research the proposal hopes to enquire involves digging deeper into the origins of these relationships between animals and the space.

39 40

Tawny Owl Strix aluco Great spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major Swan Cygnus Canada Goose Branta canadensis Common Blackbird Turdus merula

before after

final functions

boyson cafe assembly warehouse and public demo space

exhibition space

offices for sales, investors and research

indoor garden and tech shop space

41 42

spatial allocations

warehouse and public demo space

offices for sales, investors and research

site strategies

current conditions

all strategies

castle irwell + kersal wetlands

exhibition space

green zoning

green space typologies

school zone

indoor garden and tech shop space

The following plans and spatial arrangements break down the function of each room in each warehouse lot. Because these warehouses are mostly barren from within, going in and building walls with our bio-based construction techniques would be the most efficient way to set up these spaces.

The Boyson cafe is a completely new structure so required more detailed plans and the Innovation Forum is simply being repurposed for our business so remains unchanged.

british vita site

peele park + salford uni

building functions

circulation

43 44

boyson cafe

site strategies

living wall farm

boyson cafe space

community & bamboo farm

bird & insect houses

The main priority for circulation was to break down the previously highlighted borders of the area, with these fences knocked down the area can be traversed from various points and the buildings are all open and allow for flow into each other also.

The two public buildings include the tech demo space & shop as well as the gallery, the main attraction for the public now becomes the green spaces with various functions following the reassignment of functions.

park spaces

45 46