Tue 4 Nov: 4D-drawing workshop 10.00-18.00

We will run a four-dimensional drawing workshop in the studio on Tuesday.  Start 10.00 sharp with briefing / lecture and workshop in studio until 18.00. We are asking you to attend the entire day.

Please bring the usual drawing equipment: tracing paper & detail paper, pencils, rulers, pens, masking tape, etc..  You may want to bring your computer too if you are efficient to draw on it. important that you are able to print out at end of day for pin-up.

In preparation for the drawing workshop on Tuesday it is essential that you produce a line-drawing of a minimum of 3 orthogonal cross sections through 3 different panes of your last (most complicated) plaster cast. see sketch. Scale 1:1. It will be essential that you measure the cast, so it is an accurate drawing. It must be in front of you when you draw. It should be a simple line drawing with 0.35mm lines for where you cut through and 0.08 for elevations / dotted for things not visible. Please bring this drawing with you printed out.

Also in preparation and in advance of the workshop, please read the short text 'Beyond the model' by Marie Ange Brayer which we uploaded to the unit A dropbox. Link here

drawing (top) by Filippos Kasiotis

more casts...

There are 6.5 bags of plaster & the herculite2 labelled with Unit A, on the table in the metal workshop, on which we de-moulded our casts today. This is unit A plaster bought from our material budget and use for you solely!

Please make sure you return any plaster- leftovers again to this pile, and keep an eye it is not consumed by other students or other units. 

Tue 28 - Junction workshop

Following Friday's visit to a specialist casting workshop in Leyton, we will run a mould-making and casting workshop on Tuesday at school. We have invited Roey Hunt for the day - an opportunity for you to tap into his knowledge and make use of it! We are starting from 10.00 sharp and will finish at the end of the day. Please print and bring your sections (cross and long-section) drawings with you. Important to have those for reference while mould-making.
You may want to bring some timber material for your 'inserts' into the box. We will supply the box however to get things going straight away. The workshop will be done in groups - so the full house attending is essential.

Fri 24 Oct Casting workshop visit in Leyton

We visited a specialist casting workshop in Leyton, that is run by fabricator and maker Roey Hunt. We participated to the full process by starting to make a plywood mould (negative space), mixing up  plaster and pouring it into the mould. After the plaster was set, we finished by demoulding to reveal a warm, solid plaster object.

Prior to the casting workshop visit, I had many pre-conceived notions concerning techniques of casting and was to some extent a self-proclaimed expert. I was assured I would enter the workshop as a casual observer, but I was wrong! Practically everything I had previously held to be true was mistaken, from the method of mixing plaster, to the setting time (hint: it’s not 40 minutes!). Moreover, the idea that the mould itself could become as important as what you’re trying to cast, and the process of making it was interesting, and this changed the way I now look at the process of casting and model making in general.

Text by Silas Koopmans (year 3)

Tue 21 Oct | studio workshop 10.00

We will do a workshop on occupation and time and start at 10.00 sharp. We will do a briefing in the morning and expect everybody to attend the entire day.

Please bring in a print-out of your finished sections (full size at 1:200) and the long-section at 1:500 as well as your journey drawing and you site-diary.

Have your drawing equipment and tracing paper / detail paper with you. If you are drawing on computer - bring you laptop, too. 

Please read the text we handed out last week in preparation for tomorrow (Karen Franck), see post below.

Think about what specific activities you observed on your variou site visits. What was going on in the proximity of your section-line / in the area of your fragment? what are people doing? what traces of activities did you encounter? Did something occur? Did you speak to anybody? What different times and days have you visited our study area. What changes have you noticed? some of those questions will become a starting point for tomorrow....

please bring in raw material of those observations. sketches, photographs, scripted conversations, etc....

Fri 17 Oct | Pin-up in groups from 10.00

Remember to work as a group / speak to each other and produce the drawings collaboratively. Each group will produce three cross sections 1:200 and one long section 1:500.
All four sections should be of coherent quality. Either hand-drawn or CAD. Those should be line drawings!
You will have to go back to visit site to gather more first hand information /  survey your section-line & fragment utilising your site-diary and record details you find.

drawing by Hassan Sheikh

fragments along the line & teams

Battle of Cable Street

Battle of Cable Street 4 Oct 1936,  The Socialist LINK
Wikipedia LINK

Tue 14 Oct | Section workshop

We will run a SECTION WORKSHOP all day on Tuesday. We are starting at 10.00 in the studio.

Please bring the following: pens / pencils / drawing equipment. a couple of sheets A1 tracing paper. detail paper. SCALE-RULER (important!). masking tape. it could also be useful to bring your computer (w access to more site-visit photographs)

Remember to also bring your site-diary (sketchbook) and your finished JOURNEY DRAWING with you.

How to travel to Cologne?

We heard some of you are considering flying to Cologne. Just to reiterate: we are recommending travelling by train, remember what our project site is about this year, so experiencing distance, speed and landscape and trans-local conditions is something that will form essential part of your understanding and position for your project this year.... Also there is something special about approaching Cologne by train....something we want you to experience. 

Cologne hostel booking / payment

We have had confirmation on the hostel front. it's £80 for 4 nights. very cheap that is! We have to move quickly though, to secure the reservation. I will issue you a form on Friday, that you have to take to UEL Cashiers and pay this. You will receive a payment confirmation, that needs to come back to me. Easy.

Cologne field-trip

field-trip dates:  Fri 14 Nov to Tue 18 Nov

TRANSPORT: 
As usual you have to arrange your own return transport for this trip. Book your own tickets.
We are taking the following trains which you can book as one ticket either via Deutsche Bahn or via Eurostar. The entire return journey should cost about £100. Book as soon as you can - as prices only will go up. You don't have to travel on exactly the same trains as us - but to give you an indication of when we get into Cologne and depart.


14 November    London St Pancras to Brussels Midi          06.50-10.07
                                Brussels Midi to Cologne  (with Deutsche Bahn)  10.25 - 12.15

(we know that there is not much time for changing trains - we think we'll be OK as we travel light / small lugguage) Alternatively from the DB trains you can take the Thalis train (different company!) from Brussels to Cologne which gives you a bit more time to change platforms, but arrives a bit later in the afternoon. Which is OK - we want to see one of two small things in central Cologne that afternoon)

18 November    Cologne to Brussels Midi                              15.43 - 17.35
                         Brussels Midi to London St Pancras             18.56 - 19.57

You may decide to stay a bit longer afterwards by yourself, if you want. There won't be a tutorial on Fri 21 Nov as those days are used for the trip.

Remember that you are responsible to check your personal VISA requirements, depending on your passport. In case you need a visa - sort this ASAP - as this may take time. You will travel through BELGIUM and into GERMANY.  


HOSTEL

We are in the process to make a reservation for all of us in the local youth-hostel in Cologne.
It will cost about 25€ per night / person - approx 100€ for the 4 nights. Rooms will be dormitories and with boys and girls in separate rooms. what else!

We will put up a list in the studio for the accommodation booking / reservation - which you should put you name down if you want to stay in the hostel. So far we know. More precise info to follow on the hostel.

You may also organise and sleep elsewhere. However we like the idea of all of us staying in the same place (we have always done it that way)  - as we are also planning to do a few seminars / drawing workshops at the end of the day. So it's handy.


Things we will see / draft itinerary Cologne:

Cologne Cathedral + Gerhard Richter window

Domplatte (City Reconstruction / Infrastructure), Schwarz

Kolumba Museum, Peter Zumthor / G Böhm

Museum for Applied Arts, 1957 by Rudolf Schwarz

Bensberg City Hall, G Böhm

Gürzenich, Rudolf Schwarz

Wallraf-Richard Museum, OM Ungers

OM Ungers Houses 1 and 2


Outside Cologne:

Wuppertal Schwebebahn

Essen: Zeche Zollverein / OMA + others

Bruder Klaus Kapelle, P Zumthor

Neviges Church, G Böhm

Fri 10 Oct Tutorials / Studio

group tutorials from 10.00 onwards all day.
sign-up on the day
bring your drawing + site diary (sketchbook) and key photos printed out.
work in studio on your drawing

Tue 7 Oct | Walking and Looking

DLR 1987

City / Cyprus rtn [unit programme 2014-15]

End of year exhibition: 20 June to 6 July

open: 20 June to 6 July 2014
weekdays 10.00 - 18.00
weekends 11.00 - 16.00

feed-back and next steps

we have e-mailed your detailed feedback of yesterday's Final crit. Check your mail. Contact us straight away in case you have not received anything.


Regarding Easter-tutorials on Friday 11th April:

We are offering to do this as an extra tutorial to keep your design process going. Let us know by e-mailing us if you want to have one of those tutorials, so we can draw up a timetable.


Tue 22nd April will be portfolio tutorials.
You will need to bring in your entire portfolio in order so we can check on the overall narrative / completeness of your project. Refer to list of drawing requirements, but also question other drawings / sheets need for your individual line of research and design enquiry.


Fri 25 April will be a pin-up.
You will be asked to present a minimum of 2 key Visualisations of your project with occupation and context + your 1:20 Section.

Fri 4 April : Final Crit

invited guest critics:
Dominic Cullinan (Scabal)
Emu Masuyama (Mesa Studio)
Aleksandrina Rizova

You have 7-8 minutes to present your work. 
Prepare yourself and what you will say, to make sure you don't run out of time. e.g.

2 min. Smithfield Observations + Mould-making & Casting: Conclusion / strategy?
1-2 min. Palermo key site observations (your personal interest - not generic stuff)
5 min. Palermo building proposal. your brief and building programme, design process & design development, spatial qualities / sequence, response to project site, relationship to surrounding context / wider urban scale (city)

L3: Structures Session with Atelier One this Friday

Here are a few examples of structural models, which will become the central piece of work to discuss your structural strategy of your building with structural engineer Elena Blanco Alba from Atelier One this Friday. We suggest that you make this model in scale 1:200 (or 1:100 if a small building).
This new model need to clearly communicate the basic structural principle you employ:

1. You need to show how vertical loads are distributed from top to bottom. Identify your primary structure and your secondary structure. (omit all elements that are non-structural / non-load bearing from the model for clarity)

2. You need to show how horizontal loads are distributed ( e.g. wind-loads, etc.)

3. Materiality. What materials are you using for your structure? (timber / steel / concrete / masonry / hybrid?)


Other information you need to be bring: (as print-outs) in order of importance are:

-proposed cross- and long-section 1:100 / 1:200 showing structural elements. 
-proposed plans 1:100 / 1:200 with context and structural grid-lines
-site plan / location plan 1:500 with context
-other working models / conceptual models
-precedence in terms of structural principles
-sketch detail of a key area of importance / connected to structure, e.g. joint / connection ( 1:20 / 1:10)
-key site photography (in case you work within existing  building)
-existing site elevations and sections
-your programme / brief
-collage / montage of key interior space with occupation
-Palermo case-study
-one page mould-making / casting
-Smithfield axo

Note to L2 students:
Even though you will not have a 1:1 with the structural engineer, this is the time to decide / design your structure. We expect you to produce a structural model to the above criteria for your next tutorial session.

Timetable update

Please see updated timetable for the remainder of the year.
L3 - please make a note in your diary regarding the RIBA external examination, that you need to attend.
L2+L3: see exhibition-building will start from Tue 1oth of June unit opening of End of year exhibition on Wed 18th June.
 

Fri 21 Mar - Site model workshop

We got the mirrored maps printed and got the Acetone.
We need all groups to attend from 10.00 am sharp (!!!!!!!) to get the site-model going  straight away so that it is finished by end of day. Not joking.

Please coordinate within your group. Really all hands needed. Especially the pocket space group. come on guys!!!

Once we have the map 'printed' onto the birch-ply, and using the bend-saw for cutting out of the study-area, you will be able to stick-down the volumes of existing / surrounding buildings that some groups started already...

In preparation for Friday we are asking all groups to finish your cutting of blocks and sanding, so that they are ready to go on the site model this Friday. The 1:500 unit site-model needs to be completed by end of day.

   Tutorials as set below still to happen in parallel.

Building collapse at Piazza Garraffello

On the 5th February part of the facade of a derelict building collapsed into Piazza Garraffello that forms part of the Vucciria market. Firefighters and police cordoned off the square. Nobody was hurt.
In the days after a number of walls have been erected in the narrow streets leading to the square that are now entirely blocking access to it. Residents and local businesses are heavily affected by those closures.

Those actions have suddenly transformed the former social node into an urban void (similar to Piazza Magione). A no go area. A suspended public space. Interesting to see what will happen next?

LINK to repubblica newspaper article
LINK to repubblica newspaper article (google translate)

LINK to other photos

Tue 25 and Fri 28 Feb Tutorials

Please continue working hard on your sectional models (further on from Friday's workshop) exploring various threshold conditions between your building's "interior space" and the surrounding spaces / public realm / street. 

For the individual 1:1 design tutorials we will hold this week, please bring all your working models to date (including the sketch models made in December), all sections (from section workshop) and a new A3 page containing three images (and a bit of text explanation):
1 image showing a key quality of your project site. (photograph)
1 image representing your idea for the Brief & Programme of your building.
1 image showing existing activities / programmes in the study area.

Please have also your entire portfolio with you.
We expect that you work in the studio on both days anyway...
Let us know in case you can't make your tutorial-slots a day in advance (or swap with colleague).

(for the people that missed any of two workshop-days and lectures we held last week, it is essential that you catch up on those (see dropbox folder uploaded lectures No. 06 & 07), speak to your colleagues to find out what the tasks were and essentially to produce the missing work. Please understand that we will not give you a tutorial if you have no new work. Make sure you are organised and prepare for your tutorials, with all relevant drawings, models, site analysis and  research at hand and your work printed out.)

Tue 25 Feb
10.00 Arifah
10.30 Aslihan
11.00 Ilianna
11.30 Ivan
12.00 Beatrice, Natalia, Shiduo
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Azizul
14.30 Isabella
15.00 Dani R
15.30 Shakirin
16.00 Andreas
16.30 Ping
17.00 Chido
17.30 Anastasia



Fri 28 Feb
10.00 Marija
10.45 Puja
11.30 Tiffany
12.15 Ruta
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Group session about site model (everybody to attend)
15.00 Vasilia
15.45 Irena
16.30 Vasilieos
17.15 Sonia
18.00 Dani B.

sections sections sections

Further on from yesterday's start with the 1:100 sections in context, please continue this work and further push the discourse about spatial qualities of that key-space of your proposal. We want to see a series of sections, not only cross-section but also longitudinal sections. We need to see beautiful drawings. Use bigger sheets of paper and give your sections space! Use the entire palette of prepresentation techinques. Keep at producting sections for now, please! add annotations, etc.

You will need to take the initial ideas to the next level and pour considerable time into this now.

You will have noticed we are entering the design phase of your project. Make sure you stay up to date with tasks, as the overall pace will be picking up.

Fri 21 Feb - Threshold Workshop start 10.00 sharp

We will run another workshop on Friday.
Start at 10.00 sharp.

Bring model making material (cardboard / grey card, recycled stuff, etc.) + your 1:100 section drawings and generic model making tools, e.g. cutter / masking tape / glue, etc.

This workshop will run the full day: 10.00 - 17.00
Full attendance required.

Tue 18 Feb - Cross Section workshop

We are doing a cross section workshop tomorrow.
Start with short studio lecture / introduction at 10.00 am sharp.

Please bring with you:

1. your individual Palermo project site section printed at 1:100 zoomed in into an area relevant to your brief / programme, with a bit of city context / surrounding buildings. Can be A3s/A4s  - only for underlay to get going..

2. bring your existing section drawings of your mould ( from sem1 / casting experiments)

3. A1 cartridge papers or tracing paper etc. / detail paper, etc. + pens and all drawing equipment, ruler, etc.


Tomorrow is a full studio working day / workshop day. Tutorials about your individual project will be made during the day through your section drawings / initial spatial ideas put on paper. I'll be around all day.

The introduction with examples of section drawings is uploaded to the dropbox / lecture folder / no 6.

Semester B - Swipe Cards

regarding swipe-cards: from 10th February, Tuesdays and Fridays will be timetabled as an all-day studio, but you only have to swipe in once a week, any time between 10am and 6pm.

Apparently this has now changed to the requiremet to swipe on both days!
So any time on between 10am and 6pm Tue and Friday. 

Fri 14 Feb tutorials & unit A meeting

We hope you had a good time writing your essays and hope most of that work was completed.
I think it would be useful for us to know what you wrote about as your theoretical position you elaborated, should inform design decision and your strategies for your design project. You choose what is best to keep us in the loop. verbal / copy of essay / in tutorials, etc.

So for this weeks tutorials, we want to pin down and agree with you the theme you wish to engage with in terms of the city and your responses in form of a small programme for Palermo, that complements / taps into the existing context.

1
Please have a good think about the "essence" of what your Smithfield observations and findings were about.
What is it about? A spatial quality? A material condition? A social incident? an awkward moment? the passage of time?
Try to focus on that core aspect of what you observed and were interested in and try to describe this very personal observation in a more conceptual / strategic from. 100-200 words? (yet staying factual). Remember this year is all about narrative.

2
Palermo project site and Kalsa study area:
In terms of observed activities and incidents that happened in the area surrounding your project site, pin down what of those activities are relevant to your previous work, interest you and draw them in relation to your project site. This - of course - will extend out form your project site and will define your 'personal' study area. You can do this as a line drawing overlay using one of the maps, or an aerial photograph using photoshop and masking things off that are irrelevant, or an axonometric.

------------

Please REMEMBER to bring your entire portfolio with you.



FRIDAY 14 FEB TUTORIALS:

10.00 Sonia,

10.30 Daniella R,

11.00 Anastasia, Andreas

11.30 Chido, Vaselieos

12.00 Aslihan, Irena

12.30 Ilianna, Isabella


13.00 lunch

14.00 Unit A meeting (everybody to attend)

15.00 Ruta, Akin, 

15.30 Ivan, Tiffany

16.00 Shakirin,  Ping,

16.30 .....

17.00 Beatriz, Natalie, Shiduo

Thu 30 and Fri 31 Jan Open Jury

You can take your work down now. thank you. Some of your portfolios are in Christoph's office. (If you want them back next week ask him. it might be that some pages are scattered across other portfolios) 

What you should get out of this 2-day event and what needs to get back into your portfolio is a critical view on what the bigger picture is, in which you wish to engage with and what the beginning of a personal architectural position / agenda within that architectural field is?

 

Mid-term reviews Tue 21 & Fri 24 Jan

Feed-back from the mid-term reviews has been emailed out to you and indicative marks uploaded to Moodle. If you have questions about this - let us know. 

Level 2 : Tue 21 Jan (review panel Clara (Unit C) & CJ)
Level 3 : Fri 24 Jan (review panel Clara / Satoshi (Unit C) & FXS / CJ)

These reviews will be held in the format of table top reviews, were you will present all your work up to date through a well edited portfolio in about 15 minutes. This session will be conducted individually. (and should serve as a dry-run for L3 students for end of year interview with your external RIBA examiner)

Mid term Reviews Tue 21 & Fri 24 Jan

Reminder, please put theses dates into your diary.

Level 2 : Tue 21Jan (review panel Clara (Unit C) & CJ)
Level 3 : Fri 24 Jan (review panel Clara / Satoshi (Unit C) & FXS / CJ)

These reviews will be held in the format of table top reviews, were you will present all your work up to date through a well edited portfolio 15 minutes. This session will be conducted individually. (and should serve as a dry-run for L3 students for end of year interview with your external RIBA examiner)

Tue 7 Jan - Portfolio Tutorials + Brief

10.00 Maire L
11.00 Adriely

12.00 Tiffany
12.30 Ivan

13-14.00 Lunch

14.00 Ruta
14.30 Akin
15.00 Irena
15.30 Marija
16.00 Sonia
16.30 Vaselieos
17.00 Aslihan
17.30 Chido


What to bring:

1
Functional programme and building brief for your project site in Palermo.  Short written abstract (100-150 words) about performance of building and outlining of how you intend the proposed building / space to perform:
What will it do?:
What services it will provide?
How will it relate to the surrounding programmes and uses of the area and city?
(and NOT how it would look like!)  

2
bring your ENTIRE portfolio ( printed A3 is OK)  for a portfolio session.
Show us how you improved / addressed issues that were raised at the final crit (e.g. missing drawings / documentation of processes, clarification of key drawings, etc.) Outcome of critical reflection on your work so far. Clarification of themes / interests.


L2 students: Please come in and work in the studio - so I can see progress.  If you want to talk about new work I will be able to see you individually in case individual L3 students miss their slot.

Thu 9 Jan 2014 PS site visit 15.30

St Elizabeth Primary School, Bethnal Green.

It was an interesting experience to visit St Elizabeth Nursery in Bethnal Green. The site is surrounded by the terrace houses and tall council buildings with narrow roads on the front and the rear sides of the site. The project was designed by architects “SCABAL “ with the active participation of the school kids who helped in making models on the site. As explained by Isabel from the practice, the project area is around 200sqm and was completed in two phases (depended on the release of funds). 

Arriving in late afternoon, the buzz of the after school pickup could be seen from a distance. After entering the front gate and crossing through the open school yard and play ground, as we entered the main reception, the interesting features of the project started to speak for itself. The use of “cork” as facing material for doors and furniture not only giving it a natural warm effect but also a tactile and acoustic performance. After passing through a well light corridor, we entered the backside where faced with a small slide in a very playful and kids’ friendly landscape, and where the nursery is housed. The most striking feature of the nursery is the “ship shaped” dark pink coloured glass fibre roofcover, supported by the “tree-like” blue coloured metal columns. There are nine columns in total to support the roof and surprisingly they all are different from each other and that makes the whole design more interesting . The main timber structure of the roof is a reciprocal structure, following an interlocking system in the pattern of a grid , which gives the amazing stability to the structure both horizontally and vertically. The circumference / edges of the wooden structure is made up of the steel gutter which looks surprisingly good against the pink and blue colours.

Entering the nursery hall, one can clearly see how a well planned open space can be adapted for  the multifunctional environment of a nursery. The details can be easily observed in regards to the health and safety criteria for the kids. The roof has acoustic panels with four skylights for the light and ventilation. Another important part of the design comprises of the two opposite door openings for the cross ventilation. The toilets are at the rear side with the right scale gives it a very “practical user friendly approach”. This small sized project has walls made up of clear glass and wooden panels that gives  it an open and transparent feel .  The use of wonderful different colours and shapes throughout the nursery definitely boosts the imagination of the magical adventurous world for the kids. In short, through the clever, cost effective design, the nursery caters a safe, clean, healthy , happy and good learning environment for the kids.

Written by Puja, year 2

Link to SCABAL website