Sirwan Qutbi 5th Year Oxford Brookes University
Exploration Study Sirwan Qutbi 10093880 DS2
Introduction
Environtment Construction Strategy
When I was first asked to pick a site, I immediatly thought of some where anonymous and with as less ‘chaotic’ social order as possible. Infact I went for the complete opposite end of the scale. I went for somewhere almost humanly uninhabitable, only with machines. Cars. Engines. Near the train track. Where the only sound heard is, one of ‘work’. No varying sounds of crowds or people. Just synchronised sounds of motion from the train and cars. I went for the car park near the Oxford Railway Station. I also thought that car park went well with the intrests I had for the project. Most of the people with High Functioning Disorder or Aspergers (of which will make up the most of the people in the building) will come from a socially disadvantaged background. I want the site and the building to show that, and to see if architecturally It can keep the sense of anonymity and expression in a symbiotic way. I think that I may go through difficulties with making the building show the sense of anonymity by aesthetically blending into the site, whilst at the same time being able to ‘output’ expression systematically.
Design Aims The exploration study is a continuation from my design studio work concerning autistic people. The condition of high-functioning autism and aspergers will greatly influence the Design Aims and agendas in the exploration study. The exploration scope for this is vast as a combination of the different variables autistic people prefer is the study. To explore the combinations of the architectural remedies for autistic people. To create a building that projects order. To create a building that sits along side other people in cohesion, but only in a formal, focused way. To create a building that expresses for the autistic people. It must ‘Output’ expression. To create a refugee for people with High-Functioning Autism or Aspergers coming from a socially disadvantaged background. To provide therapeutic spaces for Autistic people and the spaces used for the diagnosis and spaces of function.
Site Analysis - Location The Car Park is located accross Botley Road from the Train Station, Botley Road as well as the 5 track railway corner off the car park and provide a perfect isolation from any publick activity other than parking a car.
Oxford Train Station
scale: 1:3000
Botley Road
Car Park
5 Track Railway
Site Analysis - Pattern Surveying
Autistic People tend to pick out patterns in their environments as a form of stimulation. I picked out the possible patterns in the car park, some of them were more obvious patterns which involved code like symbols, such as the Car Number plates. Some more ingrained in the environment which were Cracks in the concrete. Concrete was the most visible used material in the car park.
Site Analysis - Cracks & Neglect
Cracks in concrete form from a variety of reasons, and they usually tell the stories of what is the cause of the crack.
Crazing Cracks
Corrosion Cracks
Dry Shrink Wrapping Cracks
Thermal Cracking
Crazing is a pattern of fine cracks that do not penetrate much below the surface and are usually a cosmetic problem only. They are barely visible, except when the concrete is drying after the surface has been wet.
Corrosion of reinforcing steel and other embedded metals is one of the leading causes of deterioration of concrete. When steel corrodes, the resulting rust occupies a greater volume than steel. The expansion creates tensile stresses in the concrete, which can eventually cause cracking and spalling.Therefore, contraction (control) joints are placed in concrete to predetermine the location of drying shrinkage cracks.
Because almost all concrete is mixed with more water than is needed to hydrate the cement, much of the remaining water evaporates, causing the concrete to shrink. Restraint to shrinkage, provided by the subgrade, reinforcement, or another part of the structure, causes tensile stresses to develop in the hardened concrete. Restraint to drying shrinkage is the most common cause of concrete cracking. In many applications, drying shrinkage cracking is inevitable. Therefore, contraction (control) joints are placed in concrete to predetermine the location of drying shrinkage cracks.
BTemperature rise (especially significant in mass concrete) results from the heat of hydration of cementitious materials. As the interior concrete increases in temperature and expands, the surface concrete may be cooling and contracting. This causes tensile stresses that may result in thermal cracks at the surface if the temperature differential between the surface and center is too great. The width and depth of cracks depends upon the temperature differential, physical properties of the concrete, and the reinforcing steel.Therefore, contraction (control) joints are placed in concrete to predetermine the location of drying shrinkage cracks.
Site Analysis - Anonymity
Site Analysis - Enclosure
Site Analysis - Car Park
Site Analysis - Montage - Car Park
Site Analysis - Drawn Perspective
Steel Palisade Fencing
24/7 Car Park Lighting
Shipping Containers
Elm Trees Isolate the Car Park
Cars as Objstruction Car Number Plates
Ground Markings
Site Analysis - Sun Path The Sun Paths on the car park come from the a side that is hidden from the rest of the car park. This makes the lighting ideal for a building situated nearer the track were an open facade can come from the side hidden from the view of the car park and the other facade can be kept slightly more solid.
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June
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December
Train Track
facade open only to sun
public facade view
Site Analysis - Pollution & Green Spaces
Botley Road
CarPark
The site is sourrounded by green spaces and trees, not only is this good for the environment but it also helps conceal the site, visibly. Creating a sense of enclosure on the site and a sense of independance for the inhabitants. The Car is already being used by independant people who drive and park their own car. Botley Road is a source of noise pollution however as it is the main road, drivers will be turning away from as they park their cars. Botley road will become very noisy on a busy day and it can have slow moving traffic.
Site Analysis - Materials
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Site Analysis - Material
1. Crushed Rock Gravel, spread inside and out of the train track.
2. Steel Palisade Fencing - Galvanized Stell used. Spanning half of the 200m to the west of the car park.
3. Tar Ground Car Park, with old and new patches located around the 9000m2 parking space. This is the primary material used for the ground.
4. Road Surface Marking Paint - on tar mac. Used for denoting the car parking spaces.
5. Monotone Block Paving - used towards the entrance of the car park.
6. Old English Bond Brick Wall - seperates the other half of the 200m fence from the car park and the railway.
7. Concrete Slab Paving - covered most of the pavement inside and out of the car park.
8. Foliage - Akebia quinata grows out of the railway bushes and onto the brick wall seperating the tracks with the car park.
Site Analysis - Geological Map The Car Park located in Oxford which is on a Middle Oolite: Corallian, Oxford Clay and Kellaway Beds but the car park however is very close to Upper Oolite: Portland Beds, Kimeridge Clay. Oxford is 129 meters above sea level.
Middle Oolite: Corallian, Oxford Clay and Kellaway Beds Upper Oolite: Portland Beds, Kimeridge Clay
Site Analysis - Geological Borehole Log
Tar & Gravel Calcareous sandy clay Clay Sand & Fine Gravel
Medium yellow brown Sand and Fine Medium Gravel.
The Oxford Railway Car Park is situated on OXFORD CLAY. Stiff becoming hard bluish grey calcareous shaly clay with selenite iron pyrite and fossils which is from 5.49m down to 13m. From 2.14m down to 5.49m it consits of Medium yellow brown blowing SAND and fine and medium GRAVEL. From 1.52m to 2.14m the site consists of Medium yellow brown clayey SAND and fine and medium GRAVEL. From 60cm to 1.52m down it conists of Soft yellow brown organic calcareous sandy, silty clay. The top is Fill brick, clay, gravel, tar. The ground level is 57.05.
Oxford Clay
13 metre deep Shell and Auger bore hole log kept by the Oxford Council. Bore Log from http://www.bgs.ac.uk
Scale 1:100 - Geological Section of Car Park & Railway
Precedent Study / Italian Pavilion / Light Architect: Giampaolo Imbrighi Location:Shangai, China Built on a plot area of 3,000 sq.m with a Built area of 2,000 sq.m The building is lapped on three sides by a water reflector. What surprised, however, will not be the monumental aspect, at least not only that, as insure projects, but will be the play of light created by the alternating slits on the front and from sunlight filtering through the transparent cement. And it is this material (i.light ®, the Italian version of Litracon ™) resin developed specifically for precisely the Pavilion by Italcementi Italy to be the strong point of the project. 3774 panels, size 500×1000 mm by 50 mm thick, made with 189 tonnes of “transparent cement, covering a total area of 1887 square meters, about 40% of the Pavilion. The pavilion then, playing with the lights turns its aesthetics.
Precedent Study / Italian Pavilion / Material The light transmitting concrete from Hungarian architect Aron Losoncziwas the first example we saw in 2001, but now Italian company Italcementi Group has created their own version of translucent cement that combines the best qualities of cement walls and transparent windows.The material is made of fine concrete and optic glass fibers that make up 4% of its weight. This Italian Pavillion uses a better version called i.ilight. Up close, the 2-3mm gaps make a startling pattern and from certain angles or at a distance appear exactly the same as normal concrete. But on a sunny day inside a building made from the cement, the effect is akin to little more than a light mesh on the wall filtering the light coming in The concrete has been formed by bonding special resins in a new mix created by Italian architects Italcementi. The material, called i.light, was created specifically for the Italian pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, but it has already been suggested it could save electricity that would otherwise be required for daytime lighting. Italcementi used i.light for around 40 per cent of the 18-metre high Expo pavilion, or 3,774 transparent panels and semi-transparent panels made from 189 tonnes of the product. In each transparent panel there are approximately 50 holes, leading to about 20 per cent transparency. The semi-transparent panels were around 10 per cent see-through and were created by ‘modulating the insertion of the resins’. Previous attempts at a similar feat had been tried using fibre
optic cables through concrete, but Italcementi claims its version is better. The walls of the pavilion felt solid and looked solid from an angle, but when viewed straight-on they looked rather like windows that were able to let in light. Italcementi’s creation was made with a proprietary mixture of cement and admixtures that bonds with a thermoplastic polymer resin. The resin is injected into tiny holes that span the width of each cement panel, resulting in approximately 20 percent transparency. The transparency can be changed by modifying the amount of resin in the panels.
http://www.expo2010italia.gov.it/en/pavilion-city-of-man
Precedent Study - Volume B Store Architect: Marcio Kogan Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil They used the materials in their extreme condition, such as visible concrete executed without any concern about precision or finishing, or the skin of the back volume where we used various layers of a steel frame which is usually used on the inside of the concrete slabs and were found at the site. Sequences in the Concrete is an ideal show of pattern for this project too. Pre-weathered concrete could be used for my project like this to give it the urban acceptance and like autistic people, make it feel part of the environament, in the car park.
Environment - Climatic Data (2009 Data)
Highest Average Tempreture : 18.1oc Lowest Average Tempreture : 1.6oc The Car Park is situated in Oxford at 1o16’14.88” West and 51o45’12.96” North. it is at an altitude of 120m above sea level. Local weather conditions are standard for the UK, temperatures range from 2 degrees in winter to 22 degrees in summer and rainfall is around 40-50mm per month. The most exceptional feature of the weather in Oxford Railstation Car Park is the localised wind around Oxford. Data from the DTI Windspeed Database (below) illustrates the annual mean windspeed but gusts of up to 35mph have been recorded (right) and these are exaggerated in localised areas around the tower. - at 12m above ground level 5.1m/s - at 23m above ground level 5.8m/s - at 43m above ground level 6.3m/s
Environment - West / East - Section
Environment - Design Aims
- To create a building that shows in an obvious way that this building and the spaces inside it will simulate the environment and the harsh realities that autistic people face. - To blend in to the environment, and use the environments materiality. - To make use of natural elements such as sunlight and soft looking aesthetics. - To convert harsh aesthetics into soft aesthetics. - To use the sun and use the car park as a means of
Environment - Shadows - June - 16:30
Environment - Shadows - March - 14:00
Environment - Lighting Options One of the aims is to integrate the sites materiality into the acceptance of autistic people and their needs and requirements. The epic contradiction here is that austic people find it hard to intergrate into society. By using that very society through almost thereputic proportions to help them understand and make them aware of what that society is made up. In the heart of society is commuting trains, car parks, these spaces are made up with harsh surfaces, cracks, roughness, dark and dull. By illuminating these surfaces dim lit, it can become part of the therapy. Thinking about how I can use materiality like that would be the best step for me I think. The lighting design will be critical on the West of the building were most of the light comes in.
Litracon pXL Panels (interior)
Litracon pXL Panels, will go behind the pilkington K glass, this would give the extior a shiny reflective surface and the interior a very dim litted room. It would no intergrate as much into the site as it would if the exterior was as similar as to the interior with a primary material.
I could use tempered glass to diffuse light and provide calm light into the building. But it doesn’t represent any aesthetical relativity towards the site in as much as the other options for a skin/facade.
The insualtion consists of many transparent tubules side by side. In front of the tubules a translucent covering of the insulation. This would make the wall thick and would really cover the interor surface of the Litrcon blocks, eliminating the touch and aesthetics factor.
Concrete Block wall and window frame. Pilkington K Glass
Litracon This would be an almost interactive way of ushering the essence of other people and a way of body communication. Buy making parts of the flooring light emmiting, so people from below can see guys from above move in a shadow way. As parts of the flooring can be used as Litracon concrete blocks.
Environment - Solar Design & Thermal Strategy Solar thermal design can reduce heat loads and improve natural daylight conditions. Most of the windows on the East of the building will be made out of Pilkington K Glass, with its thermal design I’t will make the most of the sun’s heat, by trapping it in and by letting out the afternoon’s thermal distribution as appose to the morning sun. The metal roof will absorb heat. There will also be sub-survace water diversion membrane with thick insulation under the first train track, which could also take some heat from the track’s surface. The ground floor will have Thermal Mass and Absorbers for the flooring. Which will absorb the heat from the afternoon’s aperture through the light transmitting concrete walls. The afternoon sun will have the strongest light, and will be diffused but will light the entire west wall up, providing a perfectly lit ambient environment for Autistic people. The light thus makes the inside fill up with patterned detailed surface, explorable for autistic people to touch and feel. Passive cooling would be applied accross the building from the west to the east. Transparent insulation carries out the functions of standard insulation materials whilst still allowing the passage of light to pass through it. There is little conduction of heat due to the low-density structure, of which several structures are available. The insulation consists of honeycomb or capillary structures of transparent plastics or glass. These capillaries have a diameter of some millimetres and a wall thickness of a few hundredths of a millimetre. Glazing or transparent plasters protect the insulation against the weather.
The lighting through-out the day-time will come through the walls and during the night High efficiency L.E.D. and fluorescent interior and exterior lighting.
Environment - Acoustic Strategy Modular acoustic panels: Résistant PVC type. This fiberglass panel is ideal for busy areas like hallways, entryways and gyms. Also, this design can be incorporated into any style without changing the original look. Fiberglass 25 mm. (1 in.) or 50 mm. (2 in.) thickness Density; 96 Kgs./m³ (6 lbs/pi.³) or 112 Kgs./m³ (7 lbs./pi³) Laminated with a perforated P.V.C. of 1.5mm. (1/16 in.) Edges chemically hardened Finishing in polyester fabric for the interior panels. I will be using this inside and out. The External pannelling will be covered with mesh and ferro cement to blend the panneling into the exterior. The corners on the floor will have accoustic matts and the cielings will have sound proof acoustic panels. The nearby trains will be slowing down as the station is close by, and way past the de-acceleration process of the slowing down. A train at full speed has a loudness of 90db and whispering in a library is around 30db which is about the right sound level im looking for the austic people. Bare in mind trains only come every 30minutes and pass by for 20 seconds, with the accoustic pannelling it shouldn’t be too much of a problem infact it is ideal.
Interior & Cielings: Acoustic Panelling Exterior: Ferro Cement on Acoustic Fibreglass panels.
Environment - Sustainability The design aims to get autistic people back to work and into the norms of society which employment wise counts as £9 billion a year in lost to the UK Government. In benefits for special needs and in general benefits being paid out to them. The building will also encroach on parking space too showing a positive sense of reducing carbon emissions and promoting that. A few less parking spaces would more probably get more people biking to work rather than using a car. The building also hopes to use photo-voltaics to gather the solar energy and use for low LED lighting in the building. Intergration into the site is vital becuase it’s a core resolution to the program, and that’s autistic people intergrating into society. There will be no total special treatment, but a co-herent way of making autistic people aware of societies highs and lows.
Light showing the cracks and the crack in society, deteriorates and furthers the problem if untreated.
Construction - Connection 1. Litracon Building Block wall 2. Pre-Fab Concrete Load bearing layer. With Thermal insulation, waterproof layer, seperating layer and protective layer. 3. suspended acoustic panelling 4. Downstand beam 5. Tubalor transparent insulation. 6. Pilkington k Glass
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Structure - Form Finding Basing the form on building blocks wouldnt be so naive after all since a form that relates to logic in its most infant state will relate to autistic people the most. It is not as complex and the structure will be simple and easy to undertand as the austic people start to inspect the building itself. A block form for the building will give it understanding and relation to its users. The blocks will clearly denote the programme of th building, and the elevation will denote the purpose of learning which would be to eventually pass all the therapy courses and gain access to the work experience being held at the top floor, the floor of achievement as they work for experience and government ties such as the MI5 who will not only benefit from cyber crime projects but the government would be connected to it as well. Which it has so neglected in the past with its ÂŁ9 billion deficit.
Code Catchers & work experience.
Speech, behaviourl and Occupational therapy
Therapy and Neutralizing the state.
Dietition and Medicine
Structure - Primary Structure & Material of Structure Lictron blocks and steel beams would make up the walls and structure load bearing. The foundations will be padded and 4 meters down. 7 Piles, Loadbearing.