Thesis Project, 2014
Location: Copenhagen
Tutor: Charlie Sutherland
An investigation into using industry as a driver of public and social space. The programme consists of a symbiotic network of processes, based on the manufacturing of Danish liquorice. These are used as the foundation of a new community centre and public agora in the heart of Copenhagen's historic harbour.
The thesis argues that the bread and circuses approach to city regeneration and gentrification, which concentrates on purely hedonistic activity, is unsustainable and fails to engage local communities. Industry, often excluded from public view, has a place in the modern metropolis by providing employment, generating income and key products. I propose that manufacturing can be a source of spectacle, a form of entertainment which provides an alternative means of defining public and social space.
The proposal is located on Papiroen, a man-made island in the centre of Copenhagen's historic inner harbour. In place of the existing collection of empty, disused warehouses Papiroen is to be used to facilitate a new industrial and urban centre. Simultaneously the complex will initiate the regeneration of the inner harbour and the northern islands, and reintroduce culturally significant industries to the heart of the city.
The thesis comprises a sequence of industrial processes inspired by the production of traditional products utilising materials which can be found locally. The infrastructure required inspires moments and devices to encourage public interaction and engagement with these processes as a means of bringing industry into the public realm. A central Agora provides a multifunctional arena for markets, a public forum, and for hosting events to celebrate the achievements of industry.
Thesis Testing Project, 2014
Location: Copenhagen
Tutors: Charlie Sutherland + Graeme Massie
The meat packing district in Copenhagen is undergoing a rejuvenation effort. Traditional butchering industries are failing and being replaced with trendy bars and a vibrant art scene.
The paint factory offers the butchers a lifeline. It converts their waste (bones, fish scales, feathers, etc.) into supplies for the new occupants. In return the factory provides existing industries with much needed supplimentary income.
In addition, the factory is a roaming machine. It is equipped with devices capable of converting any materials into paint. It will travel the city to promote the Danish methods of making paint and mixing the traditional colours of Copenhagen's iconic facades. (See: The Colours of Copenhagen, B. Lange)
Europan 13, 2015
Location: Trondheim
Collaboration with Marie Fusdahl
In response to the Europan theme, Adaptable City, a brief was developed to investigate the complex and changing needs of the modern family. The pressures of work/life balance and increasingly insular attitutes to city living are putting enormous strain on urban communities. As alternative living arrangements become increasingly common we propose a brief for housing which offers the flexibility to accomodate a diverse range of social groups whilst inspiring and facilitating the formation of a community.
How can housing architecture encourage individuals, friends and families to interact and support one another?
The Social Condenser acts at both a macro and micro scale. The analogous form weaves around and into the existing ex-industrial buildings along Strandveien and unites the vastly different scales of the local vernacular architecture. We have introduced a development with high density residential, commercial and entertainment units to what is understood to already exist as a cultural centre in order to develop a more permanent community in the Nyhavna area.
Public routes run along the rooftops of the residential blocks and link to the main pedestrianised commercial street at ground level. Spaces have been designed to facilitate spontaneous public events or act as an opportunity for interface between the local community, living and working in Nyhavna, and those living in the wider Trondheim region, drawn by the high concentration of social venues.
A sequence of squares and parks dispersed across the site offer a range of opportunities for public events. The open spaces are connected to the proposed green corridors of the Trondheim Masterplan carrying people around the city.
The high density of the residential units ensures that it becomes sustainable to have such a wealth of community facilities ranging from outdoor spaces for sport, spas and community greenhouses. Additional community units act as a Salle Polyvalent, offering opportunities for residents to host informal markets, arrange exhibitions or to house political debate on local matters.
Shed, Hauser + Wirth Competition, 2015
Location: Somerset
Collaboration with Stephanie Misseri
The Coal Shed is seen as the missing outhouse associated with the Maltings. It serves as a multifunctional unit which can unfold or pack up depending on the preferred use. In it's most compact state it provides shelter to the Artist in Residence, a source of respite and dedicated to the ritual of brewing tea.
In order to invite public consultation with the artist the northern gable unfolds to create a framed courtyard between the Coal Shed and the Maltings Studios. The Coal Shed can also serve as a backdrop for exhibitions of work or house small scale installations. Carefully positioned apertures allow light to transform the internal spatial qualities periodically throughout the day creating a truly inspirational space.
Fourth Year, Major Project, 2013
Location: Glasgow
Tutor: Neil Simpson
The Glasgow Literary Institute has been established to promote the rights to freedom of expression and a free press. It provides facilites for authors to self-publish their work, and houses a protected collection of literary works which have been banned or censored both historically and internationally. The institute is designed to encorage public engagement whilst allowing writers the privacy and fleixibility to work as they choose.
Third Year, Major Project, 2010
Location: Barnsley
Tutor: Satwinder Samra
The Barnsley Cinema is used to showcase the city's proud coal mining heritage and local history. The project explores how architecture can be defined through narratives and experiences.
A study of the use of visual devices in the films of Peter Greenaway and the Film Noir era form the basis of an architectural laguage to build suspense and excitement for the cinema goers. The architectural narrative is based on Orwell's experiences of the mining pit as described in The Road to Wigan Pier.