Design report_ Architecture_Year2

Integrated DesignReportRYAN BATTICK

Table ofContents

7 My Architectural journey

Dunham Massey : Project 2.1

Strata: The serpent’s cavern

Reflection : Project 2.1

White Water : Project 2.2

Reflection : White Water

Grand Junction : Project 2.3

Events

Conclusion

References

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Personal Statement

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Statement

My Architectural

JourneyMy architectural study and personal devel-opment has been influenced by a number of factors that go as far back as my child-hood. At this point in my architectural jour-ney, I am able to look back at my develop-ment over the past few years and see the paths I have taken and the areas I have ex-celled in and grown to love. The areas that I am beginning to create a personal inter-est in have become clearer over the past year, and this has given me insight into the possibilities of my architectural future.

Coming into my undergraduate architecture program I had a number factors that had inspired my idea of architecture. I grew up in the Caribbean Island of Jamaica. Being a colonial island, Jamaica is thriving with hid-den architectural gems, perfect examples of colonial Georgian architecture, houses of European millionaires. My father also had an informal architectural background, I grew up on the construction site of our house, designed by my father. These are the factors that cultivated my idea of archi-

tecture from an early age. However, my acceptance into the Manchester School of architecture was the start of a change.

My arrival in Manchester for university im-mediately had an impact on the ideas of ar-chitecture that I previously had. With the tall glass facades, and the steel framed-skyscrapers. My view of architecture was permanently changed. I was opened up to this new form of architecture that I was un-familiar with. The biggest step in my archi-tectural Journey thus far was commencing architecture school. This was where the idea that architecture was just “design-ing a building” was destroyed forever. I came into architecture school thinking that Architecture was a three-dimension-al art form, although this is true, that’s not all. I learnt that architecture does not only have an aesthetic side, it has a social

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side, a political side, an environmental side, a technological side and an economic side.

I now know that architecture is a lot more than just walls and a cieling, and honestly, this realisation was a bit daunting. Despite this, my first year was all about aesthet-ics, it was about, “designing a building”, it taught me the basics of the design process, from conceptualisation, to representation. These skills were vital and were only a part of the starting position on my journey.

This year was the year when I started to ex-perience everything I had learnt, across all the modules come together. My projects this year were all improved through my knowledge in both the technologies and the humanities modules of my course. However, this wasn’t a conscious effort on my behalf, this just fell into place, through a desperate effort to make my building ‘work’, to sell my proposal and to prove that it could actually happen. Throughout the year I found my-self going back to the technologies lectures on structure and trying to find my humani-ties lecture slides on ‘Utopian ideas of sus-tainability’. I found myself learning to take a holistic approach to my designs. I also began to develop my personal interests, through lectures and studio projects, I have taken an interest in Architecture in communities and community design. I have found out that I am interested the impact that Architecture can have on communities and how it can influ-ence change from a social point of view. I found myself this year thinking about how I could use architecture to develop communi-ties back home in Jamaica. I am excited about where my architectural journey is going next.

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cold light_Garden Pavilion

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cold light_Garden Pavilion

INTRODUCTIONThe garden pavilion at Dunham Massey turned out to be the pro-ject that introduced me, to the real world of constructing a de-sign proposal. Even though our proposals were on a small scale, we experienced all the problems and situations that professional architects experience on huge projects. The beginning of the project was a design competition and this taught me a lot about collaborating in a team and meet-ing strict deadlines. After joining The Serpents cavern, the real construction started. The big-gest lesson from this project was

how to design a project that is fea-sible and realistic. Our initial pro-posal was not chosen to be built because it would have taken a lot more man power, time and mon-ey to complete, however, during the design process we didn’t pay much attention to these aspects. Even during the construction of the Sepent’s Cavern :Strata, I re-alised how important it is to de-sign within your budget, and to consider transport, cost, avail-ability of materials and construc-tion during the design process.

DUnHAM MASSEY

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PROJECT

2.1The Software Scare!

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

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Before our return to second year we received a summer project. The summer project was aimed at al-lowing us to familiarise ourselves-with the necessary softwares for second year. I, however, did not do much work on this summer project, and as a result, when I re-turned to Manchester I became a bit nervous when I saw all the work the other students had accom-plished. I had done a small amount of work on autoCad in the summer but it was not enough practice. At the beginning of the Dunham Mas-sey project my group realised that I had the most experience in CAD so I volunteered to do the draw-ings. I still did not know a lot about AutoCad though. I ended up do-

ing all the drawings in 3D. I did one 3D model in CAD and then took screenshots of the model for plans and sections. I was a bit confused as to why the drawings I produced were not at a high quality. I later learnt that this was the wrong way to go about drawing a plan in CAD.

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2.1working in a

For the First section of the project we worked in groups. This was the first pro-ject where we made a proposal as a group. I would say that I am a control freak, and this made it very hard to adapt in a group. In our group we had people of different interests and work levels, I ended up tak-ing a lot of work on myself, and re-do-ing some people’s work, just because it wasn’t up to the level that I would have done it. This is a terrible thing to prac-tice, but I learnt to respect other stu-dents’ abilities and not get so worked up if everything isn’t the way I would like it.

GROUP

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caevrrnSperpents : build and pre-build

STRATA The Pre-Build

+ Build

Project 2.1 was sponsored by the National Trust, over 40 pavilions were de-signed and 5 were chosen to be built. Unfortunately, our pavilion was not cho-sen to be built. I joined

team Strata, and immedi-ately we started working on how we were going to actually construct the pa-vilion on site. I also joined the video and photography team, however, I discov-

ered that when there is a deadline for the construc-tion of a building it doesn’t matter what team you are a part of, everybody ends up doing what is necessary to get it done. I enjoyed the

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project, we spent countless hours in the workshops and the studio to get the pavilion done before the day of the build. Although I was needed to help with the construction of the

prefabricated pieces of the pavilion, I had to say no as the days got closer to our deadline. I was still expected to complete my part of the project, and this was where I learnt a lot about time-man-

agement. The deadline for this project and the first sec-tion of project 2.2 was close to the build day and I managed to complete everything by working until 4:00 am of the morning of the submission.

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Serpents cavern final

THE SEPRENT’S CAVERN

STRATA

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STRATA

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REFLECTION My main achievement in project 2.1 is the de-velopment in my architectural approach; from a hap-hazard and a visually based design pro-cess, with disregard to the realistic side of de-sign and construction to a more sensible and practical sense of design. From this project I learnt how to consider economic, environmen-tal and material factors to produce a sound and rigorous proposal. I was also a part of the spon-sorship team for The Serpent’s Cavern: Strata, from this I created a sponsorship pack and con-tected potential sponsors. Since then, I have used these skills in trying to obtain sponsor-ship for the “Before You are 30” talks put on by the Manchester Student Society of Architects. I also began to acquaint myself with the digi-tal software necessary in the design process, this was a huge step in my architectural jour-ney, and although I made a lot of mistakes, I used the solutions to enhance my next project.

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PROJECT 2.2 WHITE WATER

Project 2.2 was a step up in sophisti-cation. We were expected to apply the skills and knowledge we learnt from 2.1 to design a building. The final pro-ject of the first year was similar, but for this project there was expected to be an increase in complexity and rig-our. While my proposal for my final

year project was mainly aesthetic, we were ex-pected to prove that this project could work. I was excited to start this project because it felt like project 2.1 went on for so long and I was eager to take an individual approach to a project such as this. Project 2.1 introduced me to the harsh reality of how much there is to consider when designing a building, but I

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PROJECT 2.2 WHITE WATER

was willing to attempt this in my new project. Pieces of the project were given in with the first Studio submission, which forced us to produce drawings and proposals in two weeks, whilst work-ing on our portfolio for project 2.1. At the time this seemed crazy, but looking back on how this affect-ed the way I worked for the next two projects, I am glad that I was pushed so hard at that moment.

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The site for this project was Ironbridge, Telford. I started this project with a site visit, and some research into water archi-tecture. I examined a number of buildings and their relationship with water with regards to pro-gramme, design and materials. This proved beneficial as some of these buildings later became precedents for my design. A visit to Ironbridge also gave me in-sight into the historical context of the site. I learnt that research into the context of the site and a thorough examination of the brief before the visit to the site can be very beneficial and can give a richer understanding and vision for the site during the visit.

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CONTEXT+Concept

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A principle that I learnt in my first year was the ‘One liner’. This is one sentence that de-scribes your concept and whole project. I learnt that it is important to have a one-liner so you can keep your project on track and stop it from drift-ing into a random combination of forms and spaces. I chose a concept and one-liner to keep a vision and focus in my pro-ject. After my visit to the site, and a careful study of the site, my concept/’one-liner’ be-came “Horizontality vs Verti-cality”. Looking back, the one-liner worked very well, and I was able to centre my project around this, without straying and taking on elements that did not coincide with my con-cept. After completion, I think my project actually did repre-sent my concept.

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PROGRAMMEProject 2.2 was the first build-ing of this scale that I de-signed in my architectural ca-reer. It was also the first project where I was allowed to apply the knowledge that I acquired from the built project, The Ser-pents Cavern :Strata. The pro-posal had a clear distinction be-tween areas and their uses, and I thought it would be beneficial to separate these areas by type. I did this without knowing actu-ally how important this really was in the design on a building. Later, I found out from my tutor that the organization of space by its function and use was ac-tually the programme, and the study of the programme in my design was vital in a project of this scale. The study of the programme in my proposal and the proposed use and organi-zation of space helped my pro-ject keep its integrity through-out the design process, and made it easier to keep a struc-ture throughout the project .

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PROGRAMME

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ProjectDEVELOPMENT

Materials

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With an established concept, I started desiging my initial proposals for the building. My initial proposals attempted to embody the concept quite literally and this caused them to be rudimentary and simple. Through the analyses of precedents and the help from tutors, I learnt that my building did not have to literally have to display the concept through it’s form. My concept was ‘Horizontality vs Verticality’ and my initial ideas were to show this relationship through the for of the building, however, as my project developed I began to express my concept through the details of my building rather than it’s form.

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Technology Mamucium was the historical Ro-man fort of Castlefield, being here you would be able to smell the boil-ing pots of food on the fire and the fresh produce being dragged in by horse carriage on the dirt track, feel the fresh air and the grass under your feet and you would be able to hear the pigs in the dis-tance and the birds in the trees. However, in approximately the same location, 2000 years later, Hardman square, Spinningfields, has become a space of hardly any sensory stimulation, a hard and cold business square. If one were to view the square in photo, it would seem like a successful urban space, however, the site in person, is uninspiring and quite dead. Was it the architect’s/planner’s intent to create such a space, fuelled by the social and political issues sur-rounding business and the archi-tectural expectations of a ‘busi-ness district’ or has contemporary architecture become an attempt to provide only visual satisfaction? Furthermore, Is Hardman Square

INFLUENCE OF

Technology

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Technology

During this project I found myself attempting to resolve a problem and constantly realising that I didn’t know the details of this part of my build-ing or how it worked. I was constantly referring to past technologies lectures to refresh my memory. I realised the importance of a knowledge of these things for a solid proposal and design. I learnt a lot from actually putting into practice the things I had learnt on topics such as structure, walls, floors and roofs. A solid knowledge of technology and strucure is a necessary foundation in the design process.

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Staircases andRegulations

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The pavilion build for project 2.1 forced me, as an architecture student, to start thinking in a realistic and practical way, and not just design something that looks good. This continued in this project, I started to look at the more tedious side of design, and building rules and regulations. In this project I learnt that building regulations are a part of the most important stage of de-signing a building. A careful and con-siderate study and response to build-ing codes is time-consuming but is completely necessary for your build-ing to even be considered by an ar-chitect or contractor. In Project 2.1 we looked at regulations for our pavilions, including safety regulations for the on-site build. However, in this project, we looked at regulations on a much larger scale, I used building regula-tions in the design of my staircase and the placements of entrances and exits.

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Digital skills

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TIn project 2.1 I used AutoCad Archi-tecture 2013 to produce all my draw-ings, this was the first time I had used AutoCad and I made the mistake of creating my drawings from a 3D model made in AutoCad. During pro-ject 2.2, I found out that plans and sections were drawn in 2D in Auto-Cad. I began to familiarize myself with the 2D drawing function of AutoCad and I was very happy with the draw-ings I produced. It turned out that it was easier than I expected. How-ever, I did not disregard my Auto-Cad 3D skills, I used them to create a 3D model for this project and then I learnt how to render in a programme called 3D Studio Max. In combina-tion with my Photoshop skills, I was able to produce some good images.

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Reflection

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Looking back on Project 2.2, I am proud of my outputs. I was excited about this project because it felt like I had made a huge step in terms of skills and knowledge. I was starting to see a resemblance between my work and that of professional architects and it excites me to see my growth and my steps towards my future as an architect. This project gave me the chance to combine all the new skills I had learnt and experiment with styles and personal interests. It was also this project that I began to see and embrace the importance of integrating all the modules we do. I started to include technologies and humanities in my studio work and I realised how much richer my work becomes when I do this. In this project I learnt a lot about time management, for project 2.1 I was in the library until 4:00am, and the portfolio was due at 11:00am of that day, after this I was determined to manage my time better in the coming projects. Learning from this, I made a special attempt to try and get some pieces of work done earlier. I also got a part time job during this pro-ject so it was even harder to manage my time well, however, I made a special effort to put in extra work and this resulted in me finishing my portfolio 2 days before the deadline.

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Grand JUNCTION HULME

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JUNCTION

Project 2.3

At this point on my architectural journey, I was excited to begin this project. I was looking forward to expressing all my new abilities and knowledge learnt over the two years in one project. I saw this pro-ject as a display of what I had learnt so far and an opportunity to develop even more. I believe that this was my most thorough and rigorous project and I ex-perimented with many new techniques and approaches to design. This made my design rich and my processes interesting and eventful. There were many points in this project where I was forced to ques-tion my knowledge of architecture thus far and either build on that or completely overwrite it. The Grand Junction project also gave me insight into my architectural ambitions, and what I areas of architec-ture that I am specifically interested in and what areas that I would not like to bring forward.

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Working IN A New

GROUP

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The beginning of this project brought the choice of joining a new studio group. The choices were based upon our architectural interests and what we intended to bring forward as a part of our architectural journey. I chose the ‘Revit Fallacy’. This group was aimed at approaching the design process from a model making angle, looking at how spaces work, how in-terventions change a space and how a proposal affects it’s context through the use of models. I learnt a lot from this studio group, and I enjoyed using models instead of spending hours on the computer and designing my pro-posal digitally. The way I solve prob-lems during the design process also developed and my approach to design become more rigorous.

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PRE- CONCEPT Research

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I was intrigued by the site and it’s history and culture. After visiting the site and reading about it’s past I was interested in looking into what influenced the events that took place in Hulme. I began looking at society from an urban design perspective and began to realise that the urban designer and architect have a large amount of control and influence over not just the urban makeup of the society, but also the social and political issues in the community. I began to read books about Architecture and communities, and urban design. Two books that were valuable to the progress of my work were ‘Brandscapes’ and ‘ Architecture and Identity’. Brandscapes gave me invaluable insight into urban concepts that were directly applicable to Hulme and it’s breakdown. From my research I discovered the reasons for Hulme’s breakdown and what made Hulme the way it is. I began to understand a number of principles related to architecture and psychology. From the results of my research I began to form a concept and a clear direction of action for my proposal. This is the first project that I had completed a thorough research into the site and it’s context. This research enriched my project throughout, it allowed me to keep a solid concept and a foundation to base my design on.

Research

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Community design

design wITH tHE

cOMMUnITY

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cOMMUnITY

During this project I began to develop an interest in designing with, and for, the community. Hulme and it’s culture and background had an impact on me person-ally. Due to the fact that my home is Jamaica, and there are many similarities between the communities there and Hulme, I began to form a personal connection with the community and the residents. After analysing the site and the community, I decided that I wanted my proposal to battle the negativity within the community of Hulme and become something that the community is proud of. I wanted to give something to the com-munity and with the concept of branding and identity, I needed the help of the community during my design process. During the project, I realised that my person-ality also helped me towards this method of design, as I found it easy to conduct interviews and have con-versations with residents. I believe this realization not only impacted my project but my whole architectural future.

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Designing With

MODELS

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The studio group that I was a member of for this project played a huge role in influencing the method of design that I used. The studio group emphasized model making, therefore, I used a large amount of models throughout the whole design process. The use of these models proved vital during my project, my final project was largely influenced on lines and geometries discovered during studies of the site through models and sketches. Having a solid grasp of the space and how it works in my proposal made it easier to create and represent my proposal in a clear and concise way.

MODELS

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Form

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Form In many of projects thus far, the programme of my building was a consideration made after the form was thought through, in other words, the programme was in-formed by the form and the con-cept. However, during the Grand Junction project the programme was one of the main considerations and many hours were dedicated to testing large numbers of possibili-ties based on the site studies done. Once a final programme layout was made, the form of the building was based on this layout. This approach made my proposal more realistic and more thorough in the place-ment of rooms. This also improved the flow and circulation of people in the final proposal.

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The Dublin National Concert Hall

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The Dublin National concert Hall by 3XN architects was a major influence on the design of the Hulme Creativity centre. The approach to design of this project was one based on programme. However, this meth-od of design produced a proposal that was a decentralized combination of program-matic blocks based on the lines and geom-etries of the site and it’s context. At this point the design seemed disconnected and didn’t flow.This building was a precedent for the way the programmatic elements of the design were connected and interwoven using a building skin that flows along the length of the building. I used the same principle to connect the ground floor and the first floor of my building. I added a set of glass shutters which continue the architectural language of the coloured glass fins from the first floor, to the ground floor. These shutters also create a definite boundary between interior and exterior space and regulate movement during the night.

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DRAWING

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DRAWING Techniques The progress of my drawing techniques has increased greatly over the course of the second year. During project 2.2 I lear-rnt how to produce a clear and concise AutoCad drawing. For project 2.2 I pro-duced a set of clear, black and white draw-ings that expressed my concept and my design well. For the Grand junction pro-ject the style of drawing that I used in the White Water project was inappropriate. Therefore, I developed my drawing style even further, adding to the line drawings produced in CAD. I edited my drawings and made them encapsulate my design and concept. The drawings were aimed at displaying creativity and vibrance.

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The Revit

A large part of my second year of archi-tecture involved learning the necessary computer programs to complete the out-puts required for the projects. Although I am fully capable of completing the out-puts by hand, I thought it was in my best interest to take this opportunity to learn all I can. I was overwhelmed by the abili-ties of the other students in my year and the fact that I did not know how to use half of the computer softwares that were mentioned. This scare left me thinking that I could possibly fail, however, one of the biggest lessons I had learnt this year and in my first year was to keep focussed and to not let others affect my work. In the end, I stuck to what I knew and with a lot of tutorials and hours on Photoshop, I was proud of my digital outputs. I real-ised that it wasnt necessary to know all the programs, however it was important to be good at a few.

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The Revit FALLACY

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TechnologiesCASE STUDY

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CASE STUDY A number of factors influenced the direction of my project throughout the design process. One of the main factors that influenced the technical side of my building was a case study I did on the Sainsbury’s Laboratory in Cambridge, UK. This building used a sophisticated system of skylights to provide natu-ral light to the building and increase solar gain of the thermal masses. This design decision would decrease the amount of energy used in heating the building and lighting the building. I used this principle in my project as it fit with my concept and design and was a benefit to my project. It was encouraging to be able to im-prove my project by using knowledge I gained from other modules of the course. This allowed me to start understanding design as an overall collaboration of a number of areas of study.

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EVENTS

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At the beginning of the events month I was a bit worried about how I would man-age both my studio work and the events month activities. However, I was excited about getting involved in my event and doing something completely different to what I had been doing all year. I did an event called ‘Tectonic Bodies’, it involved studying aspects of nature and creating structures and installations based on how these natural forms and organisms move, grow and live. I looked at the human body and studied how the arm moves by the expansion and contraction of the muscles. Eventually, as a group, we formed a de-sign and began building. I was in charge of completing the electronics for the model, so that it would be able to move. The electronics involved an arduino circuit and components, which I had to learn how to use from scratch. I ended up learning the basics of the arduino and completed the circuit. Our installation was successful and I plan on using the things I learned in my future studio work.

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CONCLUSION Looking back over my second year of study at the Man-chester School of Architecture, It is hard to believe how much progress I have made overall. Reflecting on the work I left my first year with and comparing it to the work I am displaying now, I can sincerely say that I am proud of my efforts. Not only this year, but both my years thus far have not been easy, however when I look at the work I have produced, it seems worth it. My second year has clarified a number of things in terms of my architectural future and ambitions. From this year I have discovered my interests and dislikes in the field of architecture, and I am beginning to see my own style develop. I can say that I am beginning to take a more well rounded and pro-fessional approach to design. Second year has taught me that architecture is not just the process of designing a building, but it is a careful consideration of many fac-tors that affect the design of the building and why the decisions in the design process are made. It is now clear to me that architecture takes into consideration social, economic, technological, environmental and political factors in design and that architecture has the power to influence a society and a culture. In terms of my ar-chitectural future, I now have a vague idea of what I am interested in and how I want to move forward on my architectural journey. From the events month activities I know that I want to use more of the arduino technol-ogy in my work in the immediate future. I know that I am interested in community design and community in-volvement in architecture, possibly some form of archi-tecture that I can use to help communities and connect with communities. I am looking forward and considering ways in which I can use my architectural studies to give back to my home country as well. Honestly, I am excited to see what comes next.

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CONCLUSION

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References 3XN architects, 2011. National Concert Hall Dublin [online] Available at <http://www.3xn.com/#/architecture/by-year/34-national-concert-hall-dublin> Ac-cessed April 23, 2013 Abel, C., 2000. Architecture and identity: responses to cultural and technologi-cal change. Oxford : Architectural Press. Anderson, J., 2011. Architectural design. Lausanne ; Worthing : AVA Academia Archidaily, 2009.Led Action Façade, Digital Façade for Medialab Prado / Langar-ita Navarro Arquitectos [online] Available at <http://www.archdaily.com/43582/led-action-facade-digital-facade-for-medialab-prado-langarita-navarro-arquitec-tos/> Accessed March 12, 2013 Bucks New University, 2012. An artisitc performance [online] Available at < http://bucks.ac.uk/courses/course/bm2pea1> Accessed May 2,2013 Dezeen Magazine, 2010. Casa Puglia By Peter Pichler [online] Available at <http://www.dezeen.com/2010/12/19/casa-puglia-by-peter-pichler/> Accessed April 20, 2013 ExHulme, Old Hulme Manchester, History [online] Available <http://www.ex-hulme.co.uk/> Accessed March 12, 2013 Flickr, 2011. The Hulme Hippodrome [online] Available at <http://www.flickr.com/photos/slaterspeed/6207462149/> Accessed May 2, 2013 Klingmann, A. 2007. Brandscapes : Architecture in the experience economy. Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT 2007 Richard J. et al, 2011. Regenerating culture and society: architecture, art and urban style within the global politics of city branding. Liverpool: Liverpool Uni-versity Press. Stone S., 2007. Form and Structure: The organization of interior space. Laus-anne ; Worthing : AVA Academia The Surf Centre, 2002. Hulme, Ten years on [online] Available at <http://www.3xn.com/#/architecture/by-year/34-national-concert-hall-dublin> Ac-cessed March 12, 2013

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