ARCHITECTURE + URBANISM portfolio 2021/22

COVER PAGE

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

contents

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

figure grounds

brief

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 focusing on strengthening 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 of regulations & policies that allow firms to work against council restrictions, letting projects realise their full sustainability potential. They have a Living Lab on the Salford Uni campus, not far from Kersal, that is a living demonstration of the values & tech they advocate for.

overall aims & values

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

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3

biophilia & project values

4

chapter two history & community

kersal history timeline

flooding timeline

5

6

recent kersal news

shirley baker photography

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.

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8

photos

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chapter three site analysis

overall public realm

landscape typology

Kersal is host to a numerous amount of green spaces as we 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).

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.

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.

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.

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11

topography

activity hotspots

path to kersal flats football training academy

wetlands walking paths

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.

playing fields playing fields & social club

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.

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13

castle irwell construction site

main road

site model

observations

A 1:2000 scale site model of Kersal that highlights a few crtitical attributes such as: - building height - green spaces - the River Irwell Mostly used as a presentation model to talk over interventions, highlight spaces and discuss atrributes of the site with tutors.

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short film

observations

Irwell along Peele Park

Castle Irwell Homes

Entrance to Wetlands

Castle Irwell Construction Site

Wetlands Park

Kersal Wetlands 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.

Bridge to Kersal Flats

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Path to Flats

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

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chapter four british vita

british vita intro

18

detailed analysis

detailed public realm

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20

british vita site analysis

british vita site analysis

boyson mural

barren courtyards

school zone walled off path detached building from lot

soft boundary

recycling company private entrance

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22

hard boundary

possible entry point

british vita site analysis

warehouse conditions

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warehouse conditions

detailed green space analysis

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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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proposed plans

bio based materials

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.

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salford ignition project

biotecture living walls & roofs

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31

current bio research

the feral atlas

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33

community precedence

urban intervention precedence

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35

zoning precedence: singapore

concept visual

biotecture biotecture living living walls walls & & roofs roofs

biohm biohm inspired inspired construction construction

new new access access points points

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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.

before

research example

green zoning areas Great spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major Tawny Owl Strix aluco

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.

houses within the zone

Swan Cygnus

after

Canada Goose Branta canadensis

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.

Common Blackbird Turdus merula

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initial options

final functions boyson cafe

assembly warehouse and public demo space

exhibition space

indoor garden and tech shop space

offices for sales, investors and research

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spatial allocations warehouse and public demo space

site strategies offices for sales, investors and research current conditions

all strategies

castle irwell + kersal wetlands green zoning

exhibition space

green space typologies

school zone boyson cafe british vita site

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.

circulation

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.

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peele park + salford uni

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building functions

site strategies

site strategies

living wall farm

boyson cafe space

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.

community & bamboo farm

bird & insect houses

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

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overall site view

overall site plan

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48

frontal viewpoint

innovation park visual

wider sliding doors opening

bicycle parking urban intervention space smaller carpark

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50

tech detailing

community farm

22 solar panels on each warehouse, based on the average energy consumption of a USA warehouse in a year

simple living roof panels (fewer in number to lighten load on roofs)

growing bamboo

bird and insect houses

edible interactive walls

growing vegetables

bicycle parking

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cafe and living wall farm

entrance from wetlands side

simple living wall bamboo tree farm

seasonal living wall

edible living wall

living wall panels for sale new light installations

boyson’s tree of knowledge mural

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bird and insect houses

boyson cafe renders

pigeon coops

bird houses

insect houses and bee-keeping chambers

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final viewpoint

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thank you for your time!