MSA Dissertation Project (Playground for Adults) - Yuan

Playground For Adults Culture & Education Quarter at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London

Architecture and Urbanism 2017---2018 Manchester School of Architecture Yuan Zang

“If we asked people to describe their ideal city, there’s a strong consensus about what that would look like. You would have nice streets, the buildings wouldn’t be too high, you’d have lots of trees, and it would be a typical idea of urban density.”

“So we carry in our minds places like Venice, or Vienna, or Paris, because we enjoy what the city looks like. But even though this is in our minds, we can’t build it anymore. In London especially, we are not building this, because we don’t know how to restrict investment in the right direction.”

“We just wanted to illuminate. If we’re not careful, architects become the decorators of decisions that have already been made.

And that’s a planning issue.” ― David Chipperfield

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Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my professor Eamonn Canniffe as well as Claudio Molina Camacho, James Dyson, Julie Fitzpatrick and David Chandler, for the continuous support of my study and research, for their patience and valuable suggestions.

Secondly, I would like to thank all of my classmates, who shared me with precious thoughts about architecture and urbanism.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks my parents and husband who were very supportive both financially and mentally for the encouragement.

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Content 2. Region 3. Playground

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1. City

5. Public Image

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P4 P5 ......

P6 4. Individual Images

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A Journey to London Stratford Waterfront

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P2 London P3

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My project in Stratford East London intends to interweave a cultural hub into its urban fabric and create a common ground for citizens to play with and socialize, accommodating local, national and international events.

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P6 Individual Views

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“You can neither lie to a neighbourhood park, nor reason with it. ‘Artist’s conceptions’ and persuasive renderings can put pictures of life into proposed neighbourhood parks or park malls, and verbal rationalizations can conjure up users who ought to appreciate them, but in real life only diverse surroundings have the practical power of inducing a natural, continuing flow of life and use.”

1. City

― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Image of London

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The contemporary world is the world of

cities, which are the hubs of cultural, economic and social activities. We regard the glorious cityscape as a city’s success. When wandering around a city, we come across buildings, vehicles, people, shops, etc. And beyond these legible elements, city is also perceived as a network of social interactions, which is made up of its citizens and their interactions. It grows, develops and dies together with its citizens. It is these interactions among general public and their spaces that contribute to an inclusive city.

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Location of London

UK

London

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General Image of London During the spring of 2016, St Paul’s Institute hosted a series of events which focused on building a shared vision for London that would promote the best aspects of this global city whilst looking to overcome some of the many challenges and pitfalls that have become evident over recent years.

Source: http://www.stpaulsinstitute.org.uk/dialogue/st-pauls-institute/article/2016/jun/29/a-shared-vision-for-london 8

Image of London (Visitors) With some of the world’s best sights, attractions and activities, London is among the most famous popular destination for tourists in the world.

Visitors come to London to visit the famous history buildings, like the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and the National Gallery, which provide clues to perceive a powerful empire.

And also, there are some fashion attractions, like Tate Modern, London eye, to experience a modern London.

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Visitors tend to focus on the legible objects in the city.

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Image of London (Residents) Compared with visitors’ focus on specific buildings or activities, residents in London tend to focus more on their social life, which could happen in every corner of the city, the street, green space, or squares. The quality of life has much to do with the public space.

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Residents would like to pay attention to the space between buildings, which is important for their daily life.

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London’s public space Even though London has many wonderful public spaces, they are now undergoing serious transformation of the ownership, which will greatly influence citizens’ social life.

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London’s Pseudo- public space In collaboration with Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL), the capital’s environmental records centre, Guardian Cities has identified approximately 50 sites in London that meet our relatively narrow criteria for pseudo-public space: namely outdoor, open and publicly accessible locations that are owned and maintained by private developers or other private companies.

1 Granary Square 2 Wharf Road Gardens 3 Gasholder Park 4 Lewis Cubitt Park 5 Pancras Square 6 Regents Place 7 Central St Giles 8 Exchange Square 9 New Street Square 10 Paternoster Square

11 Open Space at Leadenhall Building, Leadenhall St 12 New River Head 13 Angel-on-the-Green 14 Arsenal Podium 15 City Road Basin 16 Pear Tree Street 17 The London Eye 18 Merton Mansions Gardens 19 Victory Park and Portlands 20 Mirabelle Gardens

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Water Glades Westfield Stratfield City Excel Centre Bankside Tabard Square More London Cabot Square Canada Square Park Jubilee Park Westferry Circus

31 West India Quays 41 St Martin’s Courtyard 32 Crossrail Place Roof Garden 42 Merchant Square 33 Reuters Plaza 43 NEO Bankside 34 Bishops Square, Spitalfields 44 Broadgate Circle and Finsbury 35 St Katherine Dock’s Surrounds Avenue Square 36 Channel Four Community Garden 45 The Goodsyard 37 Brown Hart Gardens 46 Greenwich Peninsula 38 Paddington Central 39 Cardinal Place 40 Broadgate Plaza

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jul/24/pseudo-public-space-explore-data-what-missing 14

They include major areas of open land around Paddington Station (encompassing both Merchant Square and Paddington Central), nearly seven acres of open space owned by Arsenal Football Club in Islington, busy shopping and dining plazas in Covent Garden and Victoria, and the pseudo-public area around one of London’s most iconic attractions, the London Eye.

“This is the way cities were designed in past ages. The forum like a main hall had a regular form. Its visible open space was designed to produce a desired effect. Irregularities in the plan, on the contrary, were enclosed in built-over areas or hidden in walls, procedures both simple and clever. We follow the opposite course today.”

2. Region

Image of Stratford

― From Camillo Sitte

“London’s centre of gravity is clearly moving east and it is right that culture and education should be at the heart of this new metropolitan centre” ― From Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

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Following the success of

the 2012 Olympic Games, London forced the speed of its eastward expansion.

Stratford was set to become a vibrant new centre for East London. By the way, Stratford is at the heart of Neham’s Arc of Opportunity, Europe’s largest regeneration project.

Stratford is still proving a popular place for tourists to visit, even though the games are now over. The Olympic Park and new shopping centre may well be worth a visit in their own rights, but there is more to Stratford than this to look around.

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Location of Stratford Stratford is a town and parish in London, in the London Borough of Newham, and it is also part of the Lower Lea Valley and includes the localities of Maryland, East Village and Stratford City.

Newham

Stratford has been national and internationally recognised since the openning of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Stratford

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History The history of Stratford is pretty simple compared with London Central areas.

The first recorded mention of Stratford came in 1067. At this point in time, the area was called Straetforda – this means the ford on a Roman road. Stratford, at the time, was essentially a small village close to a crossing over the River Lea forming part of the Roman road that links London to Colchester.

1 Source of history images 1-3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratford,_London

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Stratford Old Town

Regeneration of East London The regeneration of East London at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is one of the most ambitious urban renewal programmes in Europe. It forms the legacy of the hugely-admired London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Mayor of London’s ‘Olympicopolis’ plan envisages, within this regeneration, a new Culture and Education Quarter which creates a unique arts-education-science-technology nexus in the capital.

Source: A Walk Around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

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Influential Develpments

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1 ArcelorMittal Orbit

4 Westfield Stratford City

2 London Stadium

5 International Quarter

3 London Aquatics Centre

6 Cutural and Education District - To be built

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Urban Structure Because of its history, this area was divided into several irregular parts by the transportation system, especially the railway routes.

Railway Road Waterway

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Urban Scale

Stratford (East London)---2.0KM * 2.0KM

Kensington (West London)---2.0KM * 2.0KM

In order to figure out a reasonable urban density for this area, I compared Stratford with one of London cretral areas, Kensington, with the same size. According to the pictures above, the right has a more balanced urban scale. However, the developments in Stratford is seperated, some immense blocks seem to have little connection with the surrounding environment.

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Surrounding Environment Visitors and residents can take subway and drive cars to the watrefront and Olympic park. Two main train stations are both within 10 minutes’ walk away.

Main Pedestrian Route Main Vehicle Route

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Project Brief

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The site for this new cultural entity on Stratford Waterfront is spectacular. Positioned at the gateway to the Park, it is surrounded by landmarks: the dramatic ArcelorMittal Orbit, the multi-award winning London Aquatics Centre, the South Park Plaza and the Stadium. The Quarter will act as a catalyst for the industries and technologies in which London now leads the world. It also promises to become a leading residential district within London, benefiting from the ambience of a creative and prestigious destination.

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V&A – will offer everyone the opportunity to get up close to current

design practice, to manufacturing and making. Central to this new V&A will be the interpretation around the extraordinary development, use and impact of digital technologies.

Exhibition

Sadler’s Wells –aims to create a dedicated flexible space for middle-scale contemporary dance in London, providing a generous stage for performers and an intimate experience for existing and new audiences. It seeks a centre for making and participation, for discovery and excellence.

Performance

University of the Arts London – London College of

Communication will relocate to a multi-use teaching and research campus, together with central administrative functions, concentrating creativity and bringing the organisation together. UAL will occupy a campus divided between Stratford Waterfront and an adjoining site.

Study

New Homes Living

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Site Visit

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Site Visit

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Stratford Waterfront Design Competition

David Chipperfield

FCBStudios

Baumschlager

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AECOM

Ramboll

Allies and Morrison

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Urban Form Analysis The proposals of the competition are almost made up of individual blocks, which means, people in different levels don’t have too much connection.

1 Layout of urban space

1 Section of urban space

If we do a little change to the organisation of the blocks, the spaces between buildings could provide much safer and more inclusive environment.

1 Layout of urban space

2 Section of urban space

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3. Playground

“Construction is the art of making a meaningful whole out of many parts. Buildings are witnesses to the human ability to construct concrete things. I believe that the real core of all architectural work lies in the act of construction. At the point in time concrete materials are assembled and erected, the architecture we have been looking for becomes part of the real world.” ― Peter Zumthor

Life in Waterfront

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The proposal for this project intends to provide a venue for citizens to find some happiness, especially for adults, because our urban environment is not so kind enough to help them to relax under the pressure of work and other businesses. This cultural hub works as a playground for them to make new friends, to see an exhibition, or to watch some outdoor dancing performances.

Exhibition

Performance

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Scale of Exhibition Exhibition is one of the key function for the site. Its form and relationship with space will have great impact on people’s activities.

1 Hanged painting

2 Participatory installation

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Scale of Performance Performance is the other key function of the site. Different forms of performance will contribute to place-making.

1 Indoor performance

2 Outdoor performance - Organised performance

3 Outdoor performance - Spontaneous performance

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3 Outdoor performance - Spontaneous performance

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From Inside to Outside The boundary between spaces greatly influences the interaction between people.

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General Concept According to the above analysis, my proposal intends to integrates four functions into a whole. The lower floors are for public use, and the upper floors are the private use.

Housing Museum Theater University

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Current Situation

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Key Issue of the Site

W=60M

H=8M

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Level 0-1

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Level 0-1 On level 0-1, it builds some bridges to connect the International Quarter to the park. People have easy access from the central area to the site.

Indoor

Circulation

Outdoor Circulation

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Level 2-3

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Level 2-3 On level 2-3, it builds connections between different functions by a circled inner space.

Indoor

Circulation

Outdoor Circulation

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Level 4-top

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Level 4-top The top levels are housing units, which enjoy the beautiful views and sunshine. Each Unit owns a south garden.

Indoor

Circulation

Outdoor Circulation

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Connection to city

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Connection to city There is an intermediate space between the public ground and the open space for residents.

Indoor

Circulation

Outdoor Circulation

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Functional Scheme There are three public institutions in the brief for this site: a museum, a theater and a university.

Housing

Museum

Theater

University

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V&A – will offer everyone the opportunity to get up close to current

design practice, to manufacturing and making. Central to this new V&A will be the interpretation around the extraordinary development, use and impact of digital technologies.

Exhibition

Sadler’s Wells –aims to create a dedicated flexible space for middle-scale contemporary dance in London, providing a generous stage for performers and an intimate experience for existing and new audiences. It seeks a centre for making and participation, for discovery and excellence.

Performance

University of the Arts London – London College of

Communication will relocate to a multi-use teaching and research campus, together with central administrative functions, concentrating creativity and bringing the organisation together. UAL will occupy a campus divided between Stratford Waterfront and an adjoining site.

Study

New Homes Living

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Museum- V&A East : level 0-1

Main Entrance

Participatory Exhibition

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Void Spaces for activities

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Function Division

Lecture Video

Permanent Exhibition

Museum- V&A East : level 2-3

Studio Workshop

Participatory Exhibition

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2

Void Spaces for activities

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Function Division

Temporary Exhibition

Theater- Sadler’s Wells: level 0-1

Commercial Area

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Void Spaces for activities

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Function Division

Performance Area

Theater- Sadler’s Wells: level 2-3

Studio Area

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2

Void Spaces for activities

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Function Division

Performance Area

University- London College of Fashion: level 0-1

Studio

Student Centre

Library

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Void Spaces for activities

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Function Division

Lecture

University- London College of Fashion: level 2-3

Studio

Library Workshop

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Void Spaces for activities

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Function Division

Masterplan

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4. Individual Image

Looking at cities can give a special pleasure, however commonplace the sight may be. Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, bur one of vast scale, a thing perceived only in the course of long spans of time. City design is therefore a temporal art, but it can rarely use the controlled and limited sequences of other temporal arts like music. On different occasions and for different people, the sequences are reversed, interrupted, abandoned, cut across. It is seen in all lights and all weathers. ― Kevin Lynch

Life in Waterfront

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Section Model

In order to fully understand the relationship between spaces on different levels, and their connections to the urban environment, I selected a very small part of the project, and made it to physical model.

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Section Model

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Site Section

Three site sections A, B and C show the circulations and interactions of the project.

C

B

A

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Site Section A

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Site Section B

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Site Section C

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Individual Images

Six people, including local residents and visitors from other countries, all come here to enjoy the activities, landscape, or to find something new.

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Each of them is unique, with different background and interest. And a combination of their images make up the public image of the playground.

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P1: Sophie

P2: Oscar

P3: Emily

P4: Harry

P5: Jack

P6: Oliver

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Sophie’s Image

Sophie lives in a nearby neignhourhood. She usually takes a walk to the park to enjoy the green landscape and art installations in the park related to the exhibition in the museum.

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Oscar’s Image

Oscar is taking a trip from other country. This is the first sight he arrives the waterfront. The stadium and aquatics remids him of the 2012 Olympic Games immediately. He can buy some seond-hand art stuffs by the market under the red framework. Meanwhile, he can also take a seat to have a rest under the art installation to enjoy a dancing or skateboarding performance. Or, he can go directly in to the museum to appreciate the art pieces.

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Emily’s Image

Emily lives other district in London, and she usually go to different museums and galleries to appreciate modern art, this is one of her favorite venue. After participating an activity in the glass box, she would like to go upstairs to the roof platform by the courtyard, to have a cup of coffee to see people back and forth.

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Harry’s Image

Harry also lives in other district in London. He is not fond of art, but he feels bored during the weekend, so he comes here, trying to find something interesting.

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Jack’s Image

Jack lives in a nearby neignhourhood, so he is quite clear about the activities here.

On weekend, he would like to sit by the park to enjoy some spontaneous performances to relax.

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Oliver’s Image

Oliver lives here, and he likes the residential public platform very much, where he could have a look at the commercial activities in the second-hand art market, and he could also watch the trains and cars going by downstairs.

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One can say that the city itself is the collective memory of its people, and like memory it is associated with objects and places. The city is the locus of the collective memory.

One cannot make architecture without studying the condition of life in the city.

5. Public Image

What surprises me most in architecture, as in other techniques, is that a project has one life in its built state but another in its written or drawn state. ― Aldo Rossi

Life in Waterfront

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Group Image - Courtyard View

One of the key principle of this project is to build close connections. A series of sourtyards help build connections throughout different levels, so people in different spots can have visual connection, for example, people in public space can catch a glimpse of the family life by the courtyard, and residents living upstairs could also have a look at the activities downstaris.

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Group Image - Courtyard View

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Group Image - Site View

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Group Image - Regional View The key point for this project is to build physican and social connection in the surrounding environment, weaving it into the urban fabric.

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Urbanism

‘The city shouldn’t have public spaces, the city itself should be the public space.’

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Appendix

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” ― From Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Design Process

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Floor Plan- Level 0, 1

STORAGE STAGE

DRESSING AREA

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

LECTURE

AUDITORIUM

AUDITORIUM wc

±.000 OFFICE

TICKET

STORAGE

STUDIO

LIBRARY

CAFE

CAFE WC SHOP

CAFE

ENTRANCE

OFFICE

STORAGE

DRESSING AREA

VIDEO EXHIBITION

PARTICIPATORY EXHIBITION

STAGE

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

LECTURE AUDITORIUM AUDITORIUM

4.000

STORAGE

STUDIO

RESTAURANT

LIBRARY

CAFE SHOP

CAFE

PARTICIPATORY EXHIBITION

First Floor

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Floor Plan- Level 2,4 OUTDOOR EXHIBITION

SHOP TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

CAFE/FOOD

STUDY CENTRE

8.000

SHOP

STUDIO

RESTAURANT

LIBRARY

STUDIO

EXHIBITION

TERRACE

TERRACE

TERRACE

TERRACE

TERRACE

Second Floor

16.000

STUDIO

GLASS ROOF

STUDIO

STUDIO

Forth Floor

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Sketch- Floor Plan

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Sketch- Section & Former Perspective

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