FURTHER LANDSCAPING DEVELOPMENT

Upon further analysis of my latest plans, I found my design to be restrictive and rigid; instead of encouraging free circulation of the site as I had aimed for, the design was restricted to a few usable spaces. The animal lairage was also unimaginative, as it did not part ways from the typical handling of livestock, which was to store them behind fences in a small area. The programme therefore had to be modified to become more fluid and natural.

The corralling chutes also took up a large amount of space, and could probably be cut down to a few chutes, as the throughput of meat was much smaller than during the abattoir’s industrial area. The large chute coming from the railway was also intrusive, cutting across a large space that was to be the new parkland.

meat distribution path of meat product path of livestock kill floor existing concrete structures concrete ground In order to refine my landscaping strategy in more detail, I returned to wider analysis of the existing materials and structures of the site. The original abattoir is defined by concrete and steel, dominated by manmade structures. The route on the diagram displays the route the livestock would take from the railway all the way to the meat market. The route is extremely efficient, taking the livestock straight from their journey by rail to their deaths, with no respite in between.

meat distribution path of meat product path of livestock kill floor livestock roaming area structured landscaping rewilded areas

pasture built-up area for humans removed structures By reversing the anatomy of the site from dominated by man-made structures to being determined by natural expanses, the site can be turned into a bucolic landscape rather than an industrial ruin. In this proposal, the non-humans of the site are able to take over; the livestock who spend their final days on the site are able to roam freely, and the natural flora planted on the unused areas of the site create ecological corridors throughout the site.

I chose to remove the existing facades in order to allow for an open and permeable experience for the visitors, and allow more natural daylight to penetrate deeper into the existing abattoir footprint. The concrete slabs of the first floor will also be demolished to allow daylight from the skylights to penetrate to the ground floor, save for a few sections which can act as roof or floor slabs for the new volumes I will be inserting. The abattoir roof will be retained, as the skylights are extensive across the three buildings, and there are many junctions between the roof structures that can function as rainwater harvesting gutters.

C B D

A

A: Removed facades B: Retained roof envelope and structure C: Retained reinforced concrete beam and columns D: Retained concrete ramp