Portfolio Tom Woodward
Contents
1
Figure Ground
2
Monument
3
Sustainable Housing
4
Urban Conditions
5
Anticipatory Field
6
SAWSA
7
Technology
The following portfolio contains examples of my work from both second year and the first semester of third year at the Welsh School of Architecture.
Figure Ground
Figure Ground was a 14 week design project that linked in with the last project, Urban Conditions. The brief was to design an arts centre with an integrated training kitchen in Pontypridd.
TOM WOODWARD
ManifestoFigure Ground In figure ground I aim to relate to a number of things. First, to the hills. Pontypridd nestles in a fantastic rural setting, but glimpses of the hills are few and far between. I want to design an intervention that allows enjoyment of this surrounding landscape. The site also has a fantastic relationship to the river and Ysangharad Park, and I want my design to also enjoy these features. I would like to create a building that acts as a catalyst for other building projects in the area. It should not turn its back on the river, but embrace both that side and the high street side of the site plot. It should aim to utilise the abandoned promenade along the back of the shops and encourage use of this promenade by others. The scheme should achieve a feeling of privacy and safety but at the same time be clearly legible and usable as a wholly public building. The primary function of the building will be an arts centre. The centre should make many forms of art accessible to all, rather than purely those with a strong cultural education. It should provide a diverse range of forms of art, and there should be potential for the community to get involved in arts programs. The architecture should offer views to relate to the exterior, but in a controlled way and only where appropriate. The secondary function of the building will be a training kitchen. This should act as another device with which to get the community involved in the centre, and therefore it should be a relatively public space, that relates well to the ‘art’ function of the building. The kitchen should serve a cafe, which should be an inviting space to encourage people to experience the centre.
To the Hills From the outset my scheme was focused on the concept of connecting to the surrounding landscape. Upon entering Pontypridd, the tall buildings and sloping roads remove the magnificent sight of the surrounding landscape, and I felt this was an important thing to bring back to Pontypridd, not least because, similar to the New Gallery designed by SANAA in New York, the views could be used as a device to draw people through the artwork on show. I set out a manifesto shown opposite which considered how these views should be dealt with, along with how my scheme should relate to the river, park and high street, which were all strong features of the site.
Wider Context
Varying Scales The scheme aimed to cater to a range of types and styles of art, and therefore spaces on a variety of scales were introduced into the scheme. These were all served by a central circulation space that exposed all the galleries visually to the public, without turning the galleries into a thoroughfare. The only exception to this was the Welsh Landscape Gallery, which the public had to walk through to get to the hill viewing gallery. The intention here was to further the public understanding of art; by showing paintings of the hills that the public were ascending the building to see, they would hopefully gain a greater understanding of why people would be driven to produce such pieces of work. The training kitchen is located on the high street, to highlight its presence, whilst the cafe flows from the high street facade through to the large exhibiting space to the rear of the building.
Hill Viewing Gallery
Welsh Landscape Gallery
Modern Gallery
Artist in Residence Studios Administration
Artist in Residence Galleries
Training Kitchen
Cafe
Main Exhibition/Event Space Mechanical/Plant
Elevation AA
Section BB
Section CC
Elevation DD
Arts Centre as seen from South West.
Lighting Analysis Part of the project was to produce a 1:20 scale model of a key space in the arts centre, to study the lighting conditions within that space. I chose to model the Welsh Landscape Gallery, which sat directly below the hill viewing gallery. In this respect it was a challenging space to deal with in terms of light, as I had to minimise sunlight entering the gallery, without impeding the views of the hills in the gallery above. This was done in addition to wider scale models, such as the 1:200 model shown opposite. The lighting model gave me an opportunity to develop one space architecturally in greater depth than ever before, and through the use of 3D modelling I also had the opportunity to test this space at night. Along with this the model was useful when combined with a light meter, which meant that I could establish which areas of my space were receiving the most light, and also whether the light levels were appropriate for use in a gallery.
TOM WOODWARD
Lighting StudyFigure Ground 0900
1000
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1300
0900
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1300
0900
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1300
Original
J U N E
Update 1
Update 2
Update 3
S E P T E M B E R D E C E M B E R
Original
Update 1
Update 2
Original
Update 1
Update 2
Monument
Monument was the first project of third year at the Welsh School of Architecture, conducted over the Summer break. The brief was to produce a monument to an individual, idea or event in a suitable location. My monument was centered around the theme of remembrance and was a consequence of an observation within the university that few of my peers chose to remember the fallen on the 11th November.
The monument, situated in Cathays Park directly between Bute building and the National Welsh Memorial, bridges the gap between the place where I have experienced such indifference and the place that the Welsh Rememberance Ceremony is focused on.
12.8m
12.8m
12.5m Š Crown copyright/database right 2011. An Ordnance Survey/EDINA supplied service. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.
Scale 1:500
12.2m
The intention of the memorial was therefore to create a place of peaceful reflection, not necessarily to remember those that have fallen, but to encourage people to stop every so often, take a step back, and consider what is really important to them. I have noticed that occasionally architecture students could do with taking a step back following their endless hours of toil in studio.
Whilst perhaps not everyone feels inclined to attend a ceremony on Remembrance Day, I believe to stop, just for two minutes, and to recognise the soldiers that gave their lives is something that everyone should understand the importance of. Not just for those soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice, but for the sake of today’s world, where the ability to stop and reflect amid the rush of the everyday is being forgotten.
Precedence My design was strongly informed by my personal experiences of the War Memorials in Thiepval and Ypres, where the incredibly powerful atmosphere of the place is not one of sadness or abandonment, but one of reflection and respect. It is the sound of visitors reading thousands of names on a wall, or seeing a field of white crosses, and understanding the sacrifice those men made long ago.
Sustainable Housing
The sustainable housing project was an eight week project, four weeks of which was group work, and four weeks of which was individual work. The brief was to design a scheme within a site in Cardiff that provided 12 - 15 housing units that were designed with sustainability in mind.
Concepts These are the drawings I used to explain the fundamental ideas behind my sustainable housing scheme. The scheme is a series of mid-rise towers, connected by a mound of earth that continues the flow of the landscape from the river. Each floor contains one dwelling unit, with the number of bedrooms per unit decreasing, as the floor level increases. This creates generous balcony spaces for each flat as it has a smaller floor area than the flat below. Each tower consists of cantilevered concrete floor slabs that are supported by the two cores of the structure. One of these cores also serves as two of the walls for the circulation space. The other core carries the services for the building. This leaves complete freedom in the remaining design of the floors.
1 C i r c u l a t i o n
2 3 4 Services
Sectional Layout
Structural Concept
Private
Semi - Public Public
Public/Private
‘Greenhouse Circulation’
picking cooking eating composting planting growing picking cooking eating composting planting growing picking cooking eating composting planting growing picking cooking picking cooking eating composting planting growing picking cooking eating
Housing Scheme Concept Board
Housing Scheme Perspective From Road
Housing Scheme Perspective Of Platform
Learning Processes The building introduces subtle cantilevers that create a dynamic variation within the blocks that removes any element of monotony. Built into the mound is a cafe that caters to cyclists that commute to Cardiff on the Taff trail. The concept board on the page opposite expresses the sustainable and cyclical nature of my housing scheme. Through a process of layering, it highlights the diverse and engaging nature of the staircase, on which food is grown and a sustainable society is developed. The two page spreads on the following pages are early perspective drawings from the same housing scheme, which illustrate the varying levels of privacy within the scheme and highlight the stark juxtaposition of materials used in comparison to existing local materials.
Site Perspective
Site Perspective
Continuation of the mound
10m
1m
N
Plan, Sections The plans and sections shown serve to explain the project on both a technical and a subjective level. All three drawings are hand drawn, before being processed in photoshop. Whilst the plan’s primary function is to serve as a measurable and readable drawing, the sections express the feel of the spaces, and give some indication of the intention for inhabitation.
Section AA, 1:20
A
B
A Section BB, 1:20
B N
Illustrations These drawings were principally for illustrating the inhabitation of my space in a three-dimensional way. The axonometric illustrates how my dwelling unit lies in context to those above and below, and speculates as to how the spaces would be occupied. It gives some indication on both the exterior and interior finishes of the building, The interior perspective shows how the large areas of glazing create seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, and indicates the quality of the open plan living space.
Models
Urban Conditions
As a starter project for Figure Ground, a research project was conducted on the town of Pontypridd. My group’s specific area of research was the land development plan for the region, and therefore the work aims to communicate the principals of the LDP in a clear and graphically-effective style.
Statistical Representation Our aim in the project was to produce a series of graphics that communicated statistics and policies in a way that was immediately understandable to anyone, and maintain a sense of coherence through our entire presentation. To this end, we produced a series of keycards detailing the principal statistics of the region. We used simple graphics repeatedly to emphasise the subject on which the statistic was based. Following our statistical representation we produced a large poster indicating the council’s planned response to the statistics, in terms of the primary needs of the population that these statistics expressed.
RHONDDA CYNON TAFF: REGIONAL U New Unit Distribution = 100 residential units
TRANSPORT PROPOSALS Rail Improvements = Existing Stations = New Stations = Existing Rail = New rail
P
C
M4
p
Principal Towns Strategic Sites
c
Key Settlements
URBAN DEVELOPMENT PONTYPRIDD PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL EXPANSION SITES Pontypridd
Brecon Beacons
Treforest 70 Mins Walk
Smaller Settlements
60 Mins Walk
Pontypridd
8 Mins Car 10 Mins Car
Church Village
?
Llantwit Fardre Beddau
North
CASE STUDY: MWYNDY/TALBOT GREEN Pontypridd 7 Mwyndy / Talbot Green Area Dwellings (500) Employment (32 hectares) Retail (23,200m2) Leisure (10,000m2)
South
Retail
Countryside
Residential
Employment
Mwyndy
Cardiff
? Pontypridd
Anticipatory Field
Anticipatory Field was the final project of second year, and was a ‘vertical studio’, in that second years and first years worked collaboratively. The brief was to produce a film that investigated the post-industrial site, and questioned the occupation and future use of these sites.
Film Making Following a trip to mid-Wales, where we experienced the abandoned lead mines of Cymystwyth and the plateau in Ebbw Vale where the steelworks used to stand, we produced a film that aimed to question cultural identity. The film questions, through the eyes of a sheep, whether the nostalgia of the abandoned mines and buildings of Cymystwyth make it a place worth keeping, and whether through the ‘wiping the slate clean’-approach towards the redevelopment of Ebbw Vale the town is literally demolishing an important part of its history.
‘Original piece’ collage
Sawsa
Over the course of second year I also ran the architecture society, SAWSA, and as an organisation we ran a lecture series, featuring a variety of professional speakers and practicioners, along with running a design competition, lifedrawing classes, organising an end of year ball, and representing the student body. The posters featured in the following pages were made mostly by the committee members in charge of propaganda.
Lecture Series We had the pleasure of welcoming some fantastic speakers to the school, all of which were organised by ourselves. We had a range of practicioners from both small and large practices, along with academics.
Variety During the lecture series we hosted a range of speakers. My personal favourite was Jeremy Till, who gave a spoken version of his book, Architecture Depends. The lecture, like the book, was engaging and provocative. Andrew Phillips of David Chipperfield gave a fascinating talk that went into the design of the Neues Berlin Museum in depth; a building that took 14 years in total. James Mitchell, a fifth year at WSA, gave an inspirational talk on how he and other students had set up a charity that designed and built buildings to benefit orphans and children in developing countries. The Research at the School event we held towards the end of the year was very interesting in terms of learning more about the research of the staff, and entertaining to watch - each researcher had strictly one minute to explain their research.
Technology
Along with the design module we have a module designated specifically to deal in depth with the technical demands of a building. This has strengthened my understanding of issues such as structural requirements, building physics, economical layouts and sustainable design.
AT3 Part 1 Marcus O’Connell, David Schnabel, Guylee Simmonds, Tom Woodward Structural Frame: Cast in place concrete Gross Internal Floor Area: 3000 m2 Net Floor Area: 499 m2 (25%) Building Footprint: 534m2 Car spaces: 35 Disabled Spaces: 2 Bike Spaces: 10
B-B
A-A
Upper Floor Plan 1:200
2430
6030
N
1900
?
Site Plan 1:500
5400
1500
9630
9630
3370 18000
Structure Below we have identified what we believe are the most important factors to consider when designing our structure. As transfer structure was not allowed, our primary objective was to make the structural grid work for both car park and office floor. The demand for 35 parking spaces within a relatively small site made site constraints also a critical factor. As the scheme was a speculative office building from a developer looking to lease individual floors for profit we assumed economy and therefore buildability to also be critical factors.
9000
7500 30000
Typical Floor Plan 1:200 Critical Factors: •Infill Structure •Functional Framing, primary & secondary members.
•Load Paths & Transfer (car park grid must work for office) •Stability concepts & members •Building Physics, service zones & distribution •Aesthetics
Dead Loads to ground
•Buildability (affecting budget & programme) •Robustness •Durability
•Site Constraints (relationship with existing buildings)
For each section of slab the bending will be strongest along the longer axis (9.5m).
•Speed of Construction •Fire Resistance •Acoustics •Vibration •Thermal Mass •Sustainability, BREEAM & Environmental •Building Movements, thermal & differential founding
•Economy (economical construction to maximise profit)
A moderate level of structural symmetry means torsional forces will be reduced.
Lateral loading is designed against with cores bracing three sides and slab acting as diaphram.
Ground Floor Plan 1:200
Parking Floor Plan 1:200
Section AA 1:100
Speculative Office Building One of our third year technology briefs was to design a speculative office building on a site in Cardiff Bay. The project was done in teams, and focused on technical functionality rather than architectural concepts. We developed a strong understanding of structural concepts, along with becoming more familiar with designing around regulations. The building had to be of concrete construction and was not allowed a transfer structure, so the grid for the car park had to work for the office floors as well. Along with typical floor plans, we also had to provide a possible layout for a web design company, and during this process we also had to design the ductwork with all the relevant calculations.
AT3 Part 1 Marcus O’Connell, David Schnabel, Guylee Simmonds, Tom Woodward Sizing Floor Slab Floor System For our floor system we have specified a cast-in-place two-way reinforced slab. Given the relatively close ratio of the column spacings, a two way spanning slab was achievable based on the sizing calculations illustrated opposite. Flat formwork simplifies and speeds up construction, saving time and budget. Flat slab is also more accomodating to services and future adaptation.
50 mm Raised Floor
9
7.5<9<10.5 (7.5 x 1.4)
250mm 7.5 x 9m 7.5/250 = 30 OK OK OK
7.5
OK Power Supply Distribution on 1500mm, 750mm Planning Grid
Power Points and Web Design Office Grid Column Sizing and Connections
Sizing Columns Ceiling Tile Efficiency
Given our storey height of 3.6m from centre of slab to centre of slab, we have specified reinforced cast-in-place concrete columns with a depth of 360mm x 360mm. Given the guidelines of the metric handbook this sizing will prevent buckling without needing lateral restraint. With a h/d of 10, our columns will be working moderately hard structurally, allowing for loading beyond specified use whilst not being wasteful on materials and budget with excessive structure.
638 Ceiling tiles per floor (600 x 1200mm) 14 tiles cut (2%) as follows:
3.6
3600/300 =12
OK
OK
3600 360
12 >10
OK
Working fairly hard, higher than 10 so safe from buckling.
4
6
2
2
OK
Ceiling Tiles
Grid A 7.5 metre column spacing allows for three standard sized parking bay spaces side by side. This results in a 1.5 metre module and therefore a 6 or 9 metre column spacing is appropriate in the perpendicular direction. A 9 metre spacing has been selected as it allows greater flexibility with car park planning, and does not have a huge impact on the resulting required floor slab depth.
Stair width selection
Ducts in Relation to OďŹ&#x20AC;ices
Final exits open onto exterior from core Accessiblity for emergency services.
pile 1: 118 sqm 2 piles
pile 2: 236 sqm 3 piles
pile 3: 236 sqm 3 piles
pile 4: 236 sqm 3 piles
pile 5: 118 sqm 2 piles
pile 6: 219 sqm 3 piles
pile 7: 439 sqm 6 piles
pile 8: 439 sqm 6 piles
pile 9: 439 sqm 6 piles
pile 10: 219 sqm 3 piles
pile 11: 101 sqm 2 piles
pile 12: 202 sqm 3 piles
pile 13: 202 sqm 3 piles
pile 14: 202 sqm 3 piles
Foundation Given the loads our multistorey storey will be carrying, we have estimated that capped piles will be required, with each of the pile depths illustrated to the right.
pile 15: 101 sqm 2 piles
Max distance to storey exit 24m
Max distance to storey exit 26.5m
number of piles calculated based on 600mm diameter piles pile caps 2700mm by 27000mm and 1400mm deep columns only in car park only need pile caps with 450mm piles pile caps 2100mm by 2100mmand 1000mm deep
Accessiblity for emergency services.
Foundations Formwork Peri Rapid Column Formwork Flawless fair-faced concrete Fast assembly - cut to size and clamped - no nails Crane Free Assembly Lightweight but strong Powder Coating Means Minimal Cleaning Peri Skydeck Aluminium Panel Slab Formwork Up to 950mm slab thickness Lightweight Easy to clean for repetitive casting Fewer slab props (0.29 per sq.m) Early striking - flexible, so not dependent on weather Peri TRIO Walls Versatile Panels Fair Faced Concrete 6 panel sizes - mix and match. 0.3 increments. Easy to clean.
Retaining Wall Given the proximity of the neighbouring buildings the retaining walls have to be designed as such that they do not stray beyond the site boundaries. The illustrated section shows how the lateral loading is countered by the heave of the ground below.
Section BB 1:100
Fire Safety
AT3 Part 1 Marcus O’Connell, David Schnabel, Guylee Simmonds, Tom Woodward
PRIMARY CORE
Primary Access Primary Access
Reception
Reception
15 Meeting Room
OFFICES
SECONDARY CORE
Receptionist Office
Receptionist Office Secretary
Open Plan Workspace Groups 1, 2, 3, 4
Technical Library
15 Meeting Room
Partner 1
Project Manager
Technical Library
Project Manager
Secretary
8 Meeting Room
8 Meeting Room
Marketing
PRIMARY CIRCULATION
Web Design Office Zoning Diagram
25
24
18
2
4
3
1
20
5
15
26
13
6
12
23
14 19 11 10
7
21
16
17
Fully Furnished Floor Plan 1:100 CLOSED OFFICE LAYOUT
INPUT
9
1. Front Desk Reception 2. Senior Partner’s Office 3. Partner’s Office 1 4. Partner’s Office 2 5. Office Manager’s Office 6. Meeting Room (8 People) 7. Project Group 1 8. Project Group 2 9. Project Group 3 10. Project Group 4 11. Project Manager 12. Technical Library 13. Meeting Room (15 People) 14. Kitchenette 15. Printing & Photocopy Room 16. Accountant’s Office 17. Marketing Office 18. Secretary/Receptionist Office 19. Secretary 20. Secretary 21. Additional Project Groups 22. Toilets 23. Plant Room 24. Lifts 25. Storage room 26. Emergency Staircase 27. Staircase
EXTRACT
8
Web Design Office Zoning and Circulation
OPEN OFFICE LAYOUT
INPUT
21
SECONDARY CIRCULATION
EXTRACT
22
MARKETING AND ACCOUNTS
Copy Room
Copy Room
Web Design Office Organogram
27
PROJECT GROUPS
Office Manager
Secretary
Office Manager
TOILETS AND KITCHENETTE
Partner 1
Accounts Marketing
Partner 2
Accounts
Partner 2
MEETING SPACES
Senior Partner Open Plan Workspace Groups 1, 2, 3, 4
Kitchenette
Senior Partner Secretary
Secretary
Secretary
Secretary
Secretary Kitchenette
COPY ROOM AND TECHNICAL LIBRARY
Ceiling Plan 1:100
Web Design Company Section 1:75
Ductwork