A selection of pieces that I have completed on the Undergraduate Architecture course at The University of Lincoln.
"Making" a Workshop for a Shipwright
The "Making" project placed a large emphasis on model making to develop design ideas. I chose to develop a worshop for a bespoke American powerboat company along the Brayford Waterfront in Lincoln. Through researching the Chris-Craft powerboat company and their high-end boats, it became clear that the building would need to be an elegant and sophisticated form which would be highly practical for the methods of production in this field of work. This helped to inform my final design and layout of space, which also includes areas in which client functions can take place and people can look at the models of boat which are being produced.
The "Making" project placed a large emphasis on model making to develop design ideas. I chose to develop a worshop for a bespoke American powerboat company along the Brayford Waterfront in Lincoln. Through researching the Chris-Craft powerboat company and their high-end boats, it became clear that the building would need to be an elegant and sophisticated form which would be highly practical for the methods of production in this field of work. This helped to inform my final design and layout of space, which also includes areas in which client functions can take place and people can look at the models of boat which are being produced.
Sustainable Design Project
The Sustainable Design Project gave us the opportunity to work in groups and redevelop parkland which has been poorly designed. Monks Abbey Park in Lincoln, is a space which has many facilities, including a bowling green, a playground, monastic ruins and a football pitch. However, the layout of the park does not maximise space and use, and makes the space feel run-down and anti-social. Through experimenting with routes, access, circulation and other factors, we were able to reach a masterplan which worked for the site. This enabled us to begin working on our individual buildings within the masterplan. With the resituation of the bowls green and football pitch to the South of the site, I decided to develop a sports pavilion, with the intention of bringing two different generations of sportsmen and women into one communal space. My design was informed by environmental strategies and sustainable construction methods, alongside the area of the site in which the pavilion would be situated and the building designs of the other members of the group. This led to the completion of an integrated and cohesive project.
The Sustainable Design Project gave us the opportunity to work in groups and redevelop parkland which has been poorly designed. Monks Abbey Park in Lincoln, is a space which has many facilities, including a bowling green, a playground, monastic ruins and a football pitch. However, the layout of the park does not maximise space and use, and makes the space feel run-down and anti-social. Through experimenting with routes, access, circulation and other factors, we were able to reach a masterplan which worked for the site. This enabled us to begin working on our individual buildings within the masterplan. With the resituation of the bowls green and football pitch to the South of the site, I decided to develop a sports pavilion, with the intention of bringing two different generations of sportsmen and women into one communal space. My design was informed by environmental strategies and sustainable construction methods, alongside the area of the site in which the pavilion would be situated and the building designs of the other members of the group. This led to the completion of an integrated and cohesive project.
Integrated Design Project
The Integrated Design Project aimed to enable the development of a cohesive architectural design. The brief which I selected for this project involved redeveloping Highbury and Islington Train Station, which is currently a neglected, poorly designed and outdated Overground and Underground rail connection. In order to redesign this station, I aimed to create a central hub for the area, which consists primarily of retail and residential spaces. Through analysing the local context, it was possible to understand what would need to be incorporated within my development, as well as the best building footprint for benefitting the site. I decided to centralise this transport hub by creating open and external spaces which interacted with the aesthetic and structural design of the station building. In addition, I opted to include retail spaces within the building, which would provide the community with a space which is a destination, as opposed to a space which solely transfers people to another area of London. This also enabled me to incorporate the public house and post office which are apparent on the current site, but are proposed to be demolished within my design, in order to make the station more visible from the main access points.
Outline Design Project
The Outline Design Project is the first of two design projects within the final year of the Undergraduate Architecture course at the University of Lincoln. The purpose of this project was to be the design basis for our final project of the year, the Comprehensive Design Project. I chose to respond to a brief which is based on a current political debate over the expansive site of a cattle market in Louth, a small market town in Lincolnshire. The site has been sold to ASDA, in order to facilitate a new supermarket and what has loosely been stated as "other buildings", within the town. However, the sale of this site has created a rift between the community, with some believing that this development would benefit the town, and others believing that it will destroy the small shops which line the town and sell locally sourced food. The addition of this supermarket could drastically change the atmosphere of a town which attracts many tourists during the summer. For this reason, I conducted a representative survey, which was posted to the "Move Louth Forward" Facebook page, a site dedicated solely to the development of the cattle market. The purpose of this survey was to guage how people felt about the redevelopment, and to understand what the local community would like to see within the development that would benefit the town. The fifty-nine responses to this survey were the basis for the design of my masterplan, which aimed to draw upon Louth's traditional values and agricultural heritage and bring this into a modern space which could be enjoyed by locals and tourists. In turn, this combination of tradition and modernity would help to mitigate the current political differences of the community.
Comprehensive Design Project
This project was the final design project of the BArch course at the University of Lincoln. Using the Masterplan that had been designed within the Outline Design Project as a basis, a building typology of our choice had to be incorporated within the design.
I chose to design an agricultural education centre, which would teach both traditional and modern farming skills to college students within today’s society. There were numerous reasons for the selection of this building typology to be included within the proposed masterplan development. However, the main reasoning for designing such a building is primarily to respond to the fact that farming is becoming a decreasingly popular profession amongst the younger generation, and secondly, to ensure that Louth has a space which retains its traditional agricultural and market background.
The building is situated to the South-West of the site, providing views of this integral building from the main square of the masterplan, and also from the adjacent road to the West of the masterplan, which is a main route into Louth. The height and materiality of the structure aid in making this building appear dominant within the landscape, portraying the importance of this building for the community.
The school comprises of laboratories, dedicated to various agricultural fields, including genetically modified crop experimentation, hydroponic crop growth and butchery. In addition, a mechanics workshop allows students to maintain and build agricultural machinery. Seminar rooms and classrooms offer a more formal approach to the teaching of farming methods, while the common room also allows for students to relax and work together in a more informal setting. An exhibition space and garden roof terrace for growing crops allow for the community to integrate with the school and participate in retaining Louth’s agricultural identity. In addition, the building also has a lecture theatre which turns into a cinema space during the evenings, so that the youth of Louth can congregate without disrupting the community.
History and Theory Analysis
This project involved locating historical architecture within the city of Lincoln and determining which historical style of architecture each building conformed to. To complete this project, we were informed that we needed to draw these buildings and their finer architectural features. Using these drawings and historical research, it became possible to closely observe the architectural features and come to a conclusion for the historical styles of the buildings. It became evident through this project, that many of the historical buildings in Lincoln were either Gothic or Gothic Revival.
