Monday 26.02.07
Borough Market & Pottersfield Park by Gross Max
After my second visit to Borough Market researching market space use, i walked along the southbank to check the development of Pottersfield Park situated next to Tower Bridge. I took pictures of the areas still under construction to help me in my 'Streetlife' theoretical module.
Tuesday 27.02.07
CityScape Seminars, Earls Court
- Refurbished Buildings Notes:
Seminar taken by Nicholas C Thompson from COLE THOMPSON ANDERS ARCHITECTS. Aiming for low-key architecture with a high environmental impact. There needs to be 450,000 homes to be refurbished each year to be sustainable and reduce carbon emissions by 60%. Challenges for refurbishing existing buildings (i) not perceived as glamorous (ii) subtle intervention (iii) listed building exemptions (iv) The Governments investment programme of building new ‘decent homes’ (social housing) is a wasted opportunity. Refurbishment depends on building type, for example - Historical buildings require certain things such as thermal board, secondary glazing and heat recovery - High-rise buildings: refurbishment vs. demolition.Successful Refurbishments (i) Titanic Mill 1911- conservation of a Grade II Listed building (ii) Kingsdale School 1959- the modern refurbishment by DRMM Architects improved truancy and teacher numbers. (iii) Kynance Café, Cornwall- Owned by the National Trust, a community project, which enhanced the tourist site and increased visitor numbers by 1000 per year. (iv) Cambridge Federation of Women’s Institute- refurbishment of a former pig shed by EllisMiller Architects. (v) Beaufort Court designed by Studio E- the UK’s 1st Public Carbon neutral energy self-sufficient building, including Bio mass cropping using elephant grass and an underground winter heat store. (vi) Conservation of 1950’s office building by REID Architecture (vii) Glastonbury House, London by Cole Thompson Anders Architects http://www.colethompson.co.uk/w_glast_sust.html - Renovation of a block of flats. They managed to renovate all flats with minimum disruption to residents by moving them into temporary vacant flats. The biggest achievement was the environmental impact. - Sustainable Public Building Notes:
Seminar taken by David Lloyd Jones from STUDIO E. Covered areas in health, sports, recreation, learning, retail, government and culture. Sustainable Public Buildings (i) Portcullis House by Michael Hopkins and Partners 2001 provides Select Committee, conference and meeting facilities for all MPs. (ii) Palestra House, Southwark by SMC ALSOP Architects- The LCCA and the London Development Agency are based in Palestra House, where solar PV and 14 micro-wind turbines have been installed on the roof to provide renewable energy for its operations. (iii) Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School by Studio E Architects preserved two 150 year old plane tress. The two-story building responds to its environment, incorporating the Fibonacci "golden mean" as a symbol for its young community - the mathematics of nature within the structure of their building. (iv) GLA by Foster and Partners- The building has poor public access and doesn’t fit in with the surrounding environment. (v) Scottish Parliament Building (vi) Welsh Assembly Building by Richard Rogers Partnership (vii) Jubilee Library by Bennetts Associates http://www.bennettsassociates.com/ – a good example of a sustainable building, utilising natural ventilation and daylight. (vii) National Memorial Arboretum by Architype- “The buildings which constitute the National Memorial Arboretum draw on architectural ideas from the past, whilst demonstrating an ecologically sustainable future. They express an intimate relationship with the trees of the Arboretum and the National Forest, being constructed largely of timber from sustainable sources in the UK.” Source http://www.architype.co.uk/arboretum.html (viii) Evelina Children’s Hospital by Hopkins Architects- Designed around the needs of the whole family. There are no conventional wards, children are operated in the ‘forest’ and nursed on the ‘beach’. Each department is themed. The hospital has fresh air, sunshine and boasts fantastic views over the River Thames.
Wednesday 28.02.07
NLA Public City
-‘How Movement Makes Places’ Notes:
Lecture taken by Bill Hiller. Ideas of urban networks using ‘Space Syntax’ theory for small and large-scale areas. Self organisation- Movement is the heart of the place, movement is the attraction. Tokyo City was looked at as an example. All cities are made up of small numbers of long lines and large numbers of short lines (fractural quality). Longer lines are more likely to meet in a straight join. The background space is usually a patchwork of small lines (streets). Central routes are more likely to be used as well as the central area (the focus of accessibility). The smaller degree of angle is the most successful path people take. Projects which solved the problem of public movement (i) The redesigned Trafalgar Square. The steps on the north of the square provide a shortcut across the square instead of people walking around the whole interchange crossing several roads to travel south of the site. (ii) Millenium Bridge- creates heart to heart area connection from either side of the Thames River. (iii) Covent Garden- The successful mixed use of space for vehicles and pedestrians. Movement can be affected by tourism, local city workers- each creating different movement. The London Southbank is aiming to bring the different movement together to try and use the space in the same way. (iv) The conversion of a Parisian freeway into a boulevard creates a transition from no activity to multiple activity e.g. The Champs Elysees. (v) The Barbican, London- Its signature culture is the yellow lines- There should be no need for signs if a city is designed well for the public- signs should be the last resort.
Albion Gallery
Architect David Adjaye created a Pavillion called Horizon, inspired by the landscape, terrain and the ancient Aswan stone of Egypt.
TATE Modern
Artist Fiona Rae
A few months ago i visited the TATE and was drawn to a vivacious painting called 'Night Vision' by Fiona Rae. The painting uses acrylic and oil paint to create a contrast in texture, abstract colourful rectangles bleeding organic paintstrokes against a matt black background. She describes it as a machine breaking and the ink running from the blocks. I related the composition to buildings in a landscape, which led me to develop my own painting, which reflects my interests in the London Docklands.
Thursday 01.03.07
(...continued) Using a map i created previously of the Docklands, i have zoomed in to a section of the map including the Isle of Dogs and Surrey Quays, which in one sense represents my university life living in Surrey. The River Thames will flow accross the canvas using the bleeding ink concept from Fiona Rae's artpiece and will also run from the docks to show their relationship to the river when they played the main part in forming the shipping industry throughtout the 1800's until the mid 1900's. This link shows you Fiona Rae's 'Night Vision': http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=26392&searchid=9112 This is the vision of my painting when it is completed:
Friday 02.03.07
RIBA
NLA
Great London Authority City Hall & Southbank Walk
Another walk along the Southbank took me to the Scoop and City Hall. I went to the top of the GLA to observe the city from a different perspective. It also gave me a chance to get a birds eye view of Pottersfield Park. You can get a clear understanding of the spaces and layout of the park when viewed from above, shown in my following pictures.
