Views

More 3D views


This is the main stair atrium from the top floor looking down to ground floor. I've gone for lightweight stainless steel handrail with glass infill to match the language of the stairs and atrium. There is a line of fire-rated glass dividing the atrium from the spaces, which provides protection and works with the solar gain / passive vent strategy of the atria themselves.




This is the secondary staff stair/fire escape, which uses the same language as the atrium - louvred glazing to get light into the main spaces.




This a new space, the nursery. Due to the level change, there is a 5m floor to ceiling depth on this storey which I have used as an opportunity to design a curved acoustic raft for the main nursery play area to keep things interesting




Here's the view from the grassed square, showing the building in context.





These last two are the views from the tow path, again showing the building in context. The lower floor is built from reclaimed stone and the structural frame is on show to heighten the feeling of strength, supporting the zinc box and overhangs above.

Plans

Getting there on the plans



This is the second floor medical centre, which is causing the most headaches at the moment. I want to arrange the space so at the southern end we have the waiting area, and at the northern end we have the staff roof (to maximise the light and views in each case. Then the reception dek should be near the entrance from the atrium and also preferably be able to see into all areas, so patients can't wander off. And at the same time, satisfy means of escape regulations - all in all a tough order!





First floor now, this one is shaping up well with a new staff area and updated cafe/terrace.



Ground floor, lots of progress on the nursery, support and staff areas.



And the basement, with wcs, plant, general store and bin access.

Context

Something I should have done a looong time ago - model some elevations for the surrounding context for the design to fit into. Whilst I've been able to very quickly design some reasonable facades largely based on Clarence Dock (see earlier posts), the problems of working with a masterplan on this project once again rears its ugly head.



Aire-scape and it's context all share a common reference of language - in this case a 5m high podium, then a design break and subsequent 4m storeys with a completely different material.



Aire-scape is lower than it's context to the north, to prevent overshading



And here's the money shot, the main image I'll be using to illustrate how the design responds to it's site - see how the heights all reference each other, the landscape and form lead the visitor into the front door, and eventuly we'll have lots of greenery and people enjoying themselves, so that the grassed square becomes part of the design as much as the architecture.

Louvres

Right, I've been working on the atrium today, trying to get some semblance of form to work. I've decided to clad the whole thing in louvres to keep it from overheating



This view really starts to show hoe prominent the louvred atrium is, and how you really read it as a seperate element to the zinc boxes





Here's the view across the park again, you can see the fire escape atrium has had a similar louvred treatment but needs finishing



And lastly here's a view from ground floor looking right up through the atriu, you can see one one side we have the external louvred glazing, but internally there is another line of glazing for fire protection and to augment the effect of solar gain

Dilemmas

Another update for you, this time with a more refined model - and plenty of questions to answer!



Here's a view from the locks showing the south elevation. I think it is shaping up very well, but the geoetry of the top floor is creating problems with the glazing. Put simply, the vertical mullions conflict with the edges of the slanted end walls, resulting in odd angles either side of the glazing. The solution would be to either a) make the end wall vertical, b) make the end wall at right angles with the side walls, or c) come up with some sort of glazing solution with slanted mullions. I'm in favour of c but this requires some complicated modelling!

Also the question remains how to deal with the ground floor glazing. So far I have gone for 1200mm high glazing, possibly louvred, to create the best balance of light and privacy.




This is the other side of the Elevation, showing the glazed stair core. I think it needs to be much more understated, with slender structure. The aspect also demands lots of shading, so I suspect there will be a large scale louvred system which will look suitably high tech







This image is doing my head in. What we have here is one of the best views of the canal, and the box overhead creates a natural terrace. The question is, do we make it a cafe terrace or a nursery play area? I've spent ages weighing up the pros and cons of each and still haven't reached a decision!




Lastly, here's a view of the main entrance. I'm very pleased with the shape of the upper box, which has some very sharp lines silhouetted against the sky to draw your attention to it (and the main entrance). The elevation does have the same problem as on the other side of the box though.

Quick and Dirty Update

After some rationalising of the plans, here's the latest update.

On the top floor we have the medical centre, arranged a central corridor with glazed partitions. At present there is access to a fire escape across the roof of the storey below, which needs refining



The first floor will contain the waiting area and admin for the medical centre. The cafe might also end up here, using the outdoor space created by the large forms to present an outdoor terrace.



The ground floor needs a great deal of work, but is likely to house the support zone and general office. I'm currently struggling with deciding whether the nursery would be better off on the ground floor - or to swap it with the cafe directly above and use the outdoor space as a play area.



This section drives through the main stair/lift core atrium and shows the relative arrangements of floors and how the building deals with level changes.



Lastly we've got a quick and dirty pair of visuals. This first one is the view from the canal and shows the external space created by the overlapping modules. Again, that shaded roof terrace below the top floor could be the key to the whole scheme.



And here's the view to the main entrance from the middle of the masterplan. See how the eye is drawn to the main entrance by the path and the silhouette of the uppermost module against the sky.

Reshuffle

I've had a reshuffle with the arrangement of the "keys" - now the uppermost one has the widest overhang to accentuate the sense of space beneath it over the entrance and the towpath. Here's an aerial view, showing the atrium:



This aerial view shows the spaces also create a external spaces which may be useful:



And lastly that cantilever over the towpath creates the dynamic "gateway" I've been banging on about without actually all the mucking about bridging over the lock.




I'm really going to push the form on this one, key precents that spring to mind are the soon to be completed Museum of Liverpool:



Good Old Herzog & de Meuron:



And closer to home, the Leeds Museum Discovery Centre. This one in particular has that emphasis of a chunky glazed deep reveal at one end of the box, which in turn is mounted on a podium of engineering blockwork. Would definitely make a good precedent for the planners!

New Design

Well, nearly a month after my last post and the results are in - Aire-scape didn't make the grade. More specifically, the one thing which didn't make the grade was the design itself i.e. poor arrangement for solar gain, no justification to bridge over the locks and overall style and quality of presentation.

In my defence I would argue that the arrangement is a carefully crafted "sweet spot" taking into account solar gain, internal space and external form. Bridging over the locks was one of the most exciting aspects of the design and has generated a great deal of the form. Style of presentation was deliberately chosen to reflect the type of building - it's a building for people, not exhibtions.

Nevertheless in order to pass I need to create a new proposal on the site which addresses these issues. The biggest hurdle so far has been overcoming the mental block of being able to start over with a completely new approach to the site.

The new concept goes back to the slogan - "unlocking the leeds-liverpool canal" and uses a series of new constructions like keys on a key-ring:



Architecturally it will use similar language to the original design so I don't have to reinvent the wheel. The existing gatehouse will completely go, but the stone will be reclaimed to help construct the ground floor level, so the zinc boxes will sit on a heavy stone podium:



Rather than bridge over the lock, the building will create a gateway by overhanging the towpath at the lock to create a dynamic external space:



The "Shop Front" end will now address the masterplan more and link further into it. The forms of the zinc boxes will work to draw the eye and visitors to the main entrance Atrium:

Finished Wall Display

Here's my 4 A0 boards. I'm still not 100% happy with the process, and there are a few areas of white that I found difficult to fill but overall I'm reasonably happy.

Wall Display

Just under a week to go now. Here's the first full mock up of the wall display, still missing a few things though. I've already had feedback on the layout and colour scheme so I'll be moving things round a bit so it flows better.

Revised Aerial View

This will be the final aerial view showing everything in context. I've used a real mixed media approach to this image, there's a full colour render, cad lines, hand drawing and photoshop all combined and fading in and out with one another

Night Render

Here's a quick test of what the building might be like at night, using individual lamps to illuminate the columns around the lock, and pick up the texture of the existing stone.

I'm not quite sure if I'll put it on the final boards because the colours just don't go with the rest of the presentation, which has a light, hand drawn quality.

Perspective Section take 2

I've updated the section by overlaying a hand drawing over the original CAD lines. Whilst this works well to give a more natural feeling rather than the very clinical CAD, I really can't decide which is better. Feel free to vote!

Elevations

Elevations are practically done now, just need to play around with the background and context buildings, might have to bite the bullet and knock up a rudimentary design for the masterplan buildings, probably based on Clarence Dock. If there's time I may also overlay the elevations with some hand drawing to match the rest of my presentation.

Aerial View

Quick update today, this is the improved aerial view. It merges a coloured computer model with hand drawn sketches and will be one of the main presentation images. I wonder whether I would be better off doing a visual from ground level rather than a bird's eye view?

Perspective Section

This section was based on the key section drawn for the technical report, with an added perspective drawing incorporated behind it showing the spaces. On the final boards this will be used to illustrate the canal water cooling concept. The drawing isn't quite finished yet but it's well on the way.