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page 2Intensifying Broombridge: Productive Suburban Land

We are part of the whole we are not justthe whole. Our being here is really the mosttransitory aspects of the planet. It is trees, it isclimate, it is the earth, the water, the rocks andthe landscape which is real. When we fail tosee ourselves belonging to and as part of thatwe become unreal. It is so much easier justto demolish and destroy it all, because it is inthe nature of man to go ahead and demolishit, whereas, as far as I am concerned, it is ourduty to act as custodians for one of the mostremarkable landscapes.

Glenn Murcutt, Touch this Earth Lightly


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Intensifying Broombridge: Productive Suburban Land

CONTENTS

BEGINNINGSIntroduction

Thinking

A School of Thought

Project 1 : Linen Hall Annex, DIT

Critique

Project 2 : The Urban Organic Yard

Testing Ground: Selecting a suitable site

Understanding Broombridge

Investigation of Architecture & Groundwork

Programme

Critique

POSITION PAPERIntensifying Broombridge: Productive Suburban Land

THESISPrologue

Concept

Programme & Design

Critique 1

Developing the structure through making

Occupying the Scheme

Critique 2

Programming the landscape

Critique 3

Final Presentation

Conclusion

Bibliography

Acknowledgements


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THINKING

THINKING THROUGH MAKING

In an early attempt to clarify the architectural position of

the thesis, an image based presentation was producedwithout successfully clarifying a concise and collectedstance. It was felt that the strength of the oral presentationshould be represented in model form in so that newthoughts and ideas might reveal themselves in theprocess.

The models pictured are the end result of this study.

A second presentation was drafted up to focus uponthe educational aspiration of this thesis and to questionthe qualities that define the realm of education within thecontext of this thesis.

Already ideas were emerging about the landscape,topography and engagement with local environment.It was felt at this point in the process that educationoccurred through two primary human instincts: those ofskill imitation and user-specific adaption.

This practice can also be understood as learning from andreacting to the active environment around us.

interwoven topography and building the landscape as a natural framework for

guided learning

cross-pollination of routes, ideas and people

opening and defining spatial edges situation as abstract foundation condensing the focus

the unknown horizon environment filtration creating space throun occupation


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SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

imitation of man

adaptation to a specific situation

rethinking assembly rules

architecture adopting nature

Ecstacity by Nigel Coates - A healthy city, or a city you want to be in, is always changing; its an organism

Above:Mountains Outside MountainsInside -by Johan van der Keuken

Framing, connecting and

understanding landscapethrough human behaviour

We never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment.John Dewey

Modelling the ideas of what it is that defines education, some traits ofactive learning and transfer emerged much more apparent and coherentthan others. Two core fundamental elements of learning were stronglyidentified through this process those of imitation and adaptation.

It is argued here that the initial stage of all early learning is through theprocess of imitation copying the movements and methods of others. Tolearn the basics of walking, talking, reading and writing is to learn how toimitate. Early childhood is spent repeating and replicating words, sounds,letters and movements in order to acquire these primary skills; the buildingblocks of communication and a means to further learning.

In time, as acquired techniques are mastered and applied, an individualbegins to evaluate and question these methods within the context of theirneeds and environment. This can sometimes result in altering aspects of

a method and adapting the approach to best suit their requirements. Thisallows for the growth, development and possible abandonment of thepractices that have gone before.

These dual aspects of learning are most evident in any curriculum appliedin the natural environment. Engaging with and learning from others andour surroundings is the foundation of mans schooling and the cornerstonefrom which all further learning emerges.

The education framework that defines this thesis is based on the idea thatthrough engagement with our land and neighbours, we can collectively

teach and learn from one another, improve our wellbeing via connectionwith the environment and through shaping and maintaining the land wecan reap the rewards of self actualisation and fulfilment.


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PROJECT 1LINEN HALL ANNEX, DIT


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Concept

Following the initial school of thought process, the proposed annexwas conceived of as a new platform to engage with a man-madelandscape in the dense urban environment of the city.

The new structure was conceived of as bridging device, a newelement that would bring together the natural and the built

environments. This new unifying element was intended to fuseboth the identities of the School of Architecture and the School ofConstruction within the existing building and merge both into asingle identity that hinged around the annex.

The project was envisioned as a new circulatory spine that wouldfeed into various social and terraced landscapes on each of thefloors. The structure was devised as a series of tiered verandas thatcould produce and supply food to the restaurant and cafs withinboth the Linen Hall and the Bolton Street buildings of DIT.

Site Plan NTSC

apelSt

Bo

lton

St


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Site Location

Early 3D of Courtyard and Annex


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Ground Floor_not to scale

First Floor_not to scale

Second Floor_not to scale

Third Floor_not to scale


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Section a-a_not to scale

Annex Circulation SpineProposed Door Handle Detail_not to scale


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Final 3D of Proposed Courtyard and Annex

Proposed Roof Allotments


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Photos of model demonstrating the internal circulation core and terraced internal social zonesand external landscaped zones


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SITE #1Bolands Mill, Grand Canal Dock

This site is a self contained urban block within the south inner city. Note theinternal street pattern and proximity to the Grand Canal.

This site has access to open outdoor space, vacant large buildings andthe water.

From the uppermost floors of the store buildings, views to the WicklowMountains over the city and views to the water below create a sense ofconnection with nature and the world at large.

The city can be thus observed and engaged with through the site.

TESTING GROUND: SELECTING A SUITABLE SITE

The Linen Hall design had determined a strong interest in landscape withinthe city.

Conflicting ideas regarding the natural landscape of the rural countrysideversus the hard landscape of the urban yard are clearly reflected in thesearch for a suitable site for further exploration.

Two sites of very different natures were chosen within Dublin for a closerinvestigation.

Site Plan_not to scale

Birds Eye View of Site

View of Wicklow Moutains to the South

Site Location


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SITE #2Broombridge - Liffey Junction, Cabra

This site is a wedge of undeveloped land in the northern suburbs ofDublin. Enclosed by industrial and residential estates, it has been all butforgotten by the city and its inhabitants.

This location boasts 15 acres of open land and has direct access to a trainstation, the Royal Canal and an existing pedestrian and cycle path.

The primary restraints within the site are the estates that define its edge.However, there is direct access to the suburbs that define the north of thecity and an opportunity for further connection to the city at larger throughthe existing infrastructure that penetrates the site.

Here, the remants of a rural topography and unoccupied territory providesan exciting opportunity for rethinking landscape within the city and itssuburbs.

After much consideration, it was decided that the Broombridge Siteprovided a much richer opportunity for reconsidering the role of landscapewithin the city.

It is argued that as it sits outside the land hungry demands of the urbancore, this uninterrupted land can become a testing ground for the city ofthe future.

Site Location

Aerial Photo of Site (site = green)


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UNDERSTANDING BROOMBRIDGEBroombridge is a suburban interchange, bordered to the north by DublinIndustrial Estate and to the south by the residential developments of the1940s. The site is divided in two by the Royal Canal that runs through theland. This canal connects the land to the inner citys docklands and themouth of the River Liffey.

There has been no previous occupation on the Broombridge site save for a

dismantled railway platform. It is primarilly a green field site that is lockedbetween suburban estates and forgotten by the city.

A train line also passes along the northern edge of the site and providesanother connection to Connolly Station and Dublins city centre.

Broombridge is a veritable wildscape that exists outside theconsciousness of the city and its suburban hinterland.

Parks & Gardens in close proximity to Broombridge

Green Spaces & Urban Clusters in proximity of Broombridge

Broombridge Rail Platform

Site Grain


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Map of Building Uses


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Map of Vacant (grey) & Food Related (green) Buildings

Indoor market that currently takes place in the Dublin Industiral Estate to the north of the site


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Weekend Uses in the Dublin Industrial Estate

Church services, the food market anddriving classes dominant the estateduring this time


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Topographical Map of Broombridge

Images demonstrating the various topographies of the area

INVESTIGATION OF ARCHITECTURE & GROUNDWORK


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Redevelopment of Unimetal Site_ Dominique Perrault

The objective of this project was to identify the assets and potentialitiesof the site and from this, to define what the future might hold. There wasno desire for a new layout or a new town but rather a savage desire toconnect and reconnect nature and architecture.

The project attempts to give the varied locations within the site a definedidentity and to establish an interplay between them and the surroundingtown.Near the river, a planted avenue is placed alongside the town, a man-made natural boundary between the built and unbuilt. The valley theplateau and the ridge

The flat plateau holds traces of former factory facilities and these are usedas guides that help set up an interweave between countryside and theurbanisation of the town.

At head of the valley, an old road that partially crossed the site isconnected back to the town, reconnecting neighbourhoods at either end.

Perraults methods here thread lightly through the site. He wishes to dothat which is only essential. To gently re-establish identities and mark out aframework for the future.

INVESTIGATION OF ARCHITECTURE & GROUNDWORK

The Baths at Val Peter Zumthor


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Above: The concept drawing depicting the earthbreaking up and becoming the built programme.

Left: plan and section of the Baths shows theproject sitting into the land

Right: The narrow shafts of light reinforce the ideaof being submerged deep into the land.

Below: The facade that projects out of the siteframes the views of the area and connects views

back to the local landscape and references.

The Baths at Val_ Peter Zumthor

Mountain, stone, water, building in stone, building into the mountain,building out of the mountain

Zumthor has created a powerful connection between site and environment,land and building with the baths at Val. Partially sunken into the hillside,this spa complex is built of monolithic layered stone, sourced from a

nearby quarry.

Entering the baths is akin to entering the earth: visitors leave a cave-likereception and proceed down a dark hallway into the bowels of the earth.Everything about this structure emphasises its half buried nature thetactile stone walls, the reverberating acoustics bouncing off water andstone and the deep, narrow light openings that allow thin shafts of light topenetrate the bathing spaces below.

The darkest spaces of all are those nearest the earth, the place wherebuilding and land merge into one.

This project constantly reinforces the idea of building into the land, out ofthe land and using the land.

Bordeauxs Right Bank_Michel Desvigne


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Above & Left: The successive planting stages will create a varied densityof trees at different stages of maturity; marking time and change in the city

g _ g

The right bank of the Garonne River is hollowing out as the old industries ofthe area are closing up and relocating away from the centre of Bordeaux.Large tracts of vacant land are posing a real threat to the vitality of the citycore and Desvigne is proposing a radical solution: a new city centre park.

Bordeaux has few parks within the city walls so this proposal was

welcomed by the city. A three stage successive planting programme hasbeen drawn up based on the time it takes the city to buy back the variouslots along the river bank. A forest of varied density and growth and willappear over time on the waters edge.

This new landscape determines shapes of future building islands withoutsetting down the contours in an absurdly strict manner. Building up theforest in stages, this land will bear the mark of time and change in the city.The landscape projects are a permanent construction site, allowing forchange and acknowledging it.

A stand of young trees is already the image of a possible future

Above: The park plan provides a framework for future building patterns in the quarter

Igualada Cemetery_Enric Miralles


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Above: The processional route leading to the main burial area

Built into an old quarry site, the Igualada Cemetery challenges thetraditional notions of a burial place. From the entrance gate, visitorsdescend a winding processional route down into the earth, down to themain burial area at the opposite end of the site.

The tiered concrete landscape unfolds into the natural landscape beyond

and the gabion walls and embedded railroad ties echo the rough terrain ofthe surrounding hills.

This sunken earthworks palette of earthy materials (concrete, stone andwood) blends the scheme into the land as though it were a natural part ofthe environment. Deep and silent, this burial site is a quite sanctuary ofreflection, memories and connection.

The use of local materials and the manipulation of the existing topographyall come together to anchor this project firmly in its location. It feels asthough this space has always existed here. This is a project that sitsseamlessly in its context.

Model Exploration of Architecture & Groundwork


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Model Exploration of Architecture & GroundworkArchery Range, Barcelona_Enric Miralles

This structure services the surface along its front, its placement and shapedefined by the earthen embankment into which it sits.

The structure emerges from the embankment and sinks back into the land

further along its length. Its back wall acts as a retainer, holding back theland from the flat surface into which the building faces.

The folding roof creates an almost linear edge in plan but from the groundthis space reads as an undulating roof, a series of rhythmic spaces thatmove and morph along the border of the site. It is an exciting and dynamicstrip of sheds and shelters.

To fully explore the qualities of these roofs, I decided to create some modelreplicas of the structure in an attempt to learn more about their form andstructural possibilities.

Conceptual models exploring possible roof arrangementsSite Plan


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Archery roof sinking into embankment

Folding Roof

Conceptual model exploring possible arrangements of a series of roofs on an embankment in BroombridgeRoof Structural Detail

Model exploring two different roof structural compositions

PROGRAMME


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Following the investigation into architecture and the ground, it feltappropriate that any proposed programme for Broombridge should reflectthis desire for contact with the ground.

In bringing together the idea of groundworks and a landscape relatedbrief, the author aspired to explore the possibility of open land in the

suburbs and an architecture that could bridge landscape and city in a newand stimulating form.

It was thus decided that the most suitable brief was an organic outdooreducation centre.

This centre was to offer the opportunity for physical activity andengagement with the immediate surrounds through exercises such asclimbing, kayaking, cycling, hiking, skiing, zip lining, outdoor survival skills,surfing, free diving, swimming, first aid, water skiing, etc

A second element of the brief was harvesting of the land for foodand providing locally sourced and produced fruit and vegetables forthe community. On site facilities such as Grow Your Own classes, acommunity vegetable project, organic cookery school and market spacewould encourage and stimulate physical interaction with the ground andher produce.

Reflecting the earlier ethos discussed as part of the authors school ofthought, these programmatic activities were drawn up to provide anopportunity for a hands-on manipulation of the landscape and an activeengagement with the immediate surrounds.

Initial Brief_Stage One

LibraryPublic Yard/Market SpaceSeminar Space3 x Classrooms/ WorkshopsCaf

Exhibition/Rental SpaceHarvest Shop3 x Store Rooms4 x Offices2 x Conference RoomsReception

Final Brief_Stage Two

Indoor Activity CentreBoat HouseBike Workshop

HostelGardening WorkshopCooking & PreservesWorkshopIrish Soil & GeologyExhibitionMedia RoomDIY Gardening ExhibitionSpaceRetail UnitReception

Caf

concept model of an urban man made ground

Design Stage One


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1. Library2. Seminar Space3. Classroom Workshop4. Barn Store5. Caf6. Exhibition/Rental Space7. Retail8. Store9. Office10. Conference11. Reception

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Ground Floor Plan_not to scale

Structural 3D of Exhibition Space

Map Showing Access Routes to Building

Massing Model


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Design Stage Two


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Ground Floor Plan

1. Activity Centre2. Boat House3. Bike Workshop4. Hostel5. Gardening Workshop6. Cooking & Preserves Workshop

7. Irish Soil & Geology Exhibition8. Media Room9. DIY Gardening Showroom10. Retail11. Reception12. Caf

Front Elevation

Section a-a

Unlocking the unused land Crop Rows along railway edgeRehabilitating Vacant Plots

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Land StrategyThe following pages present the ground strategy intended for design stage 5 Crop Rows


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The following pages present the ground strategy intended for design stagetwo of this project. Planting the land and harvesting its produce was a keycomponent within the programme of the proposed building design.

The Produce & Related Strutures

1. Apple & Pear Orchard

With a North - South orientation these tress can achieve maximum sunlightpenetration. Once the trees arefully mature after15 years they will bear an average of 120kg of fruit perseason.

*Trees shade the soil, providing a cooler surface which absorbs rainwatermore easily. Their leaf litter changes the chemical properties of the soil asit provides nutrients that in turn enrich the land.

2. Grain and Fruit Barn

Harvested crops stored here are kept at a cool, temperate environment outof direct sunlight.

3. Glasshouses

These spaces enable the rgowing season to start in Decemember andprotect seedling from the dangers of frost in the late Winter months. Theseglasshouses also house the more exotic foods that require a warmerclimate

4. Walled Kitchen Garden

This garden provided the foods for the neighbouring cookery school. Asan existing walled property, it closely aligns an axis of NE-SW, which is theoptimum orientation for maximum heat retention in Ireland.

Conference Pear Ecklinville Cairn Russet Irish Peach Apple Kerry Pippin Ladys Finger

5. Crop Rows

With an optimum orientation of East-West as required in Ireland, these croprows provide a modest food supply to be sold to the local market. Thisin turn covers the maintenance costs incurred in growing and harvestingthe crops as the majority of the work completed is part of the schoolcirriculum.

6. AllotmentsThis small number of plots are available to the oublic who do not have ac-cess to a garden or who wish to grow vegetables outside of their propertygrounds.

7. Existing Water Tank

Provides access to brown water for planting and cleaning needs withinclose proximity to the structure.


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Intensifying Broo

CRITIQUEThesis:Th b b l d t th t f d d t


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The suburban landscape generates a programme that feeds and supportsitself, creating a user intensive occupation of the land and a raison dtrefor an open landscape within the area.

Antithesis:- Why are there not more models?

- Points of threshold between the city and space

- Consider a critique of the proposed luas lines

- Great site with a lot of good work done

- Value the Industrial/Light Engineering tradition

- What is your intention architecturally with the buildings?

- The Garden City Movement is an important intellectual background - theGarden City Utopian ideas are relevant

- The positioning of the buildings is critical they occupy planting space

- Is there a contradiction in an urban yard and intensifying the suburbanground?

- Perhaps the buildings can occupy and spread out and take ownership?

- All agreed to take the site on for the thesis project.

Synthesis:

Some quick decisions were made during the reviews as they were obviousissues that could be addressed directly. The proposed luas terminal thatthe council have planned for part of the site has not yet happened so thisshould not be considered as a current limitation within the land.

The architectural intention of the design while still somewhere unclear,already demonstrates a certain regard for the industrial context. Thisneeds further exploration in order to clarify how this language expresses

itself in my design. Spreading the buildings out across the site would helptake ownership of the landscape and is worth additional study.

There is still some confusion about the thesis position with regards toan urban yard versus an intensive suburban ground. This project hasdeveloped a stronger desire to purse the qualities of the suburbanlandscape and so I feel at this point that this is the direction the thesis willtake.


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POSITION PAPER


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Reflection

As discussed by Flanagan (2012), in the times before

industrialisation the city walls defined the boundary

between urban and rural - the city remained directly

related to what it ingested and so man and earth had a

dependence on each other and an conscious awareness

of their symbiotic relationship. The city cannot survive

without the agricultural hinterland that supports and feeds

it.

Intensifying suburban land has an undeniable validity

today if the city is to re-evaluate its relationship with

the land. Rather than the endless development and

consumption of ground on the urban fringes, the city

must consider the possibilities of densifying its suburban

land use if the metropolis is to remain sustainable.

Intensifying the land can be achieved without the density

of architecture as confirmed by OMA in their proposition

for the Parc de la Villette. The earth and her soil is in finite

supply, yet this has been forgotten in the frenzied growth

of the recent past. An intense cultivation of the land is a

call for a collective consciousness and a balanced valuesystem with regards to the future co-dependency of city

and land.

As argued by Desvigne (2009), this attitude to the land

does not include a fascination with todays prevailing

subject of sustainable development and it is not a

response to the general panic over the need to save the

planet. This paper is a focus on the reality of resources

within the city, its finite supply and how we can move

forward with respect and consideration for that which

sustains us.

This study wishes to pursue the importance of land

intensification and agricultural patterns in generating a

productive landscape for the future city. The negotiation

of architecture and landscape with regard to the conflict

between agriculture and suburban culture are important

questions to be addressed.

Sustainability and cultivation will be interrogated through

the lens of suburban disconnection and segregation withrespect to generating an architecture that can affirm the

potential of the land and the city.

Architecture is a product of mans manipulations of his

environment; a frame through which he perceives and

understands the world at large. We have shaped and

constructed our man-made world, now we must strive to

sustain and maintain it.

Fig 16 Allegory of Good Government.


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THESIS


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PROJECT 3

THESIS


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If on arriving at Trude I had not read the citys name written in big letters,I would have thought I was landing at the same airport from which I hadtaken off. The suburbs they drove me through were no different from theothers, with the same little greenish and yellowish houses. Following the


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, g y gsame signs we swung around the same flower beds in the same squares.The downtown streets displayed goods, packages, signs that had notchanged at allItalo Calvino, Invisible Cities

There is a sameness about suburbia that dulls the senses and disorientates the mind. They lack the variety of the rural countryside. The lowhills and hollows, the rush-filled swamp, the cluster of firs, the lonely oak tree in the meadow or the ringfort that sits guarded by the hawthornbushes. The smell of wild flowers, the varied textures of the grasses, the grainy touch of a tree bark; all of these things speak of a place, a

location, a belonging. The suburbs knows none of this.

CONCEPT


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A building has one site. In this one situation, its intentions arecollected Steven Holl, Anchoring (1991)

We come to see the world around us in our own terms, through ourown interventions. Pattern, form and ideas are taken from our naturalenvironment and used to alter our reality. We have imitated andadapted the world so much that what is real, untouched and natural isno longer clear to us all.

Earlier design work has thrown up questions about the need to build-ing on the land and how to appropriately occupy the ground. A newapproach is needed.

The built programme is conceived of as a new stratum that respondsto and respects the land that supports it. The concept is a floatingseries of spaces, an occupied roof, a counter landscape.


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The concept for the school plan is a series of boxes that define spaces and voids within the building. These boxes

serve the more intimate needs of the brief while their order and arrangement define the more open and publicspaces within.

The floor plate is an important element in this idea also. Between the boxes, the floor moves up and down, definingthe use of space and the land underneath. The floor light meets the land at one point of contact and allows entryhere into internal programme of the building above. In places, the floor disappears completely and voids arecreated within the plan.

These voids pierce up through the structure, up to the sky above. They allow penetration of the elements downthrough the building, down to the landscape below. Wind, rain and sun all pass through the structure and kiss theland underneath.

The concept can thus be described as a series of boxes and void that sit on an undulating floor plane.

Expo 2000 Pavilion_ MVRDV

Expo 2000 was the first World Expo in Germanyunder the motto of Man, nature and technology.

Inspiration


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Villa Vpro_ MVRDV

The interest with this typology was thegeological form of the floor, the creation ofan artificial landscape and the reconciliationbetween an artifical landscape and builtprogramme.

Greenery that existed where the building now

stands is replaced by a raised grass coveredroof under which lies a stratified series ofdifferent floors. Conceptually, it seem that thisbuilding is an extruded piece of earth.

This fascinating structure examines six differentways of being of the landscape and how manmight shape his environment to suit his needsin the future.

The exciting space here is the forestedlandscape, the very idea that a real forest couldgrow and thrive under a raised building is afantastic proposal and feeds into my earlierconcept sketches.


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Metropol Parasol

This mushroom-like structureis located in the city of Seville,Spain.

It has an approximate heightof 26 metre and towers over

the central market space onground level. The worldslargest wooden structure, theroofscape can be accessedby the public and acts as aviewing platform over the city.

The appeal of this structureis that it acts as a marker inthe landscape, a building ofclear civic use and intention.

The occupied roof gives thebuilding somewhat sculpturalpresence in the city and lacksthe heavy footprint of a moreconventional market hall.Furthermore, the open natureof the ground levels allows thenatural elements to penetratethe site but still provided suf-ficient shelter in times of poorweather. This building is very

much in tune with my conceptset out previously.


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Agadir, OMA

This building can be read as two parts a roof and a landscape.

A convention centre located on the beachfront, it is a generated landscape that runs underneath with its concave and convex domes,the forest of columns and its shafts of light.

The floor and the ceiling of the veranda are formed by concrete shells, using the sand dunes as a concept for the formwork. Theupper shell is supported by columns, which are different in height, thickness, and spacing. The locally sourced stone that adorns thefaade gives the building a rock-like appearance and connects it back to the land and its context.

This structure reflects many ideas that cross over with my thesis concept. Again, the idea of a building that sits above the land andallows movement through the landscape underneath. The difference here is that there is programme that occurs underneath this

landscape and pierces through the artificial land. I feel that this clashes with the thoughts I have of my buildings relationship to theland and what the natural landscape can offer.

PROGRAMME & DESIGN


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Structural Exploration

The Organic School

GROUND FLOOR

Market Space

FIRST FLOOR

ReceptionCafLibrary

Study RoomReading RoomGarden WorkshopsCooking WorkshopTheory based ClassroomsCommunity/Performance SpaceSocial spacesAdministration OfficeToilets

Hydroponics House

Greenhouse SpaceLab SpaceOfficesToilets

Live & Work Incubation Units

4 x one bed residential units1 x two bed residential unit

Polytunnels

Storage ShedsIrish Rail Ticket ShelterBicycle Shop


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Designing Through Modelling

_exploring the possibility of occupying the roof_Introducting an orthogonal grid in plan

_extrapolating the grid into a more complex roof support system_using structure to define spaces_consideration of materials used

_occupying the market place underneath the roof


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Designing Through Modelling

_exploring the possibility of defining spaces uses through lighting-considering the various social groups and activties that could occur under the roof

_using roof undercroft as a light landscape_using polygonal cells as sources of artifical light as well as daylight

_using building as a light post for evening social events_a lighthouse in the landscape

Land Strategy

Far left:Sketches exploring variousaspects of the startegy:


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_built programme_plot grains

_landscape circulation_land use types

Left:

_Proposed location of buildingson site_Land use map_Land type and area map


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Site Map of Building Location

Note: trees and raised embankments provide shelter fromthe winds in the open air market space

Roof Pattern with rain water paths


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CRITIQUE 1 Thesis:The community building is the focus of the presentation as it is the largeststructure proposed for the site and is intended as an anchor for thedeveloping scheme. The solid and void concept can be seen clearly in theplans. The building is a porous floating entity that allows penetration of theelements to the ground below.


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The early landscape strategy is examining the possibility of using the landand tress to shelter the exposed space of the ground floor market space.

Antithesis:

- Clear span - what should the space feel like and what should the roofdo? What height should the building be?

- Educational aspect of your brief would work best above the market

- Land strategy needs clarification

- Look at Enric Miralles market building in BarcelonaDoes the roof have an aesthetic similiar to that of the Hanover ExhibitionCentre?

- Consider how you access the upper level

- A more even spread of light is needed for basketball court on the groundfloor

- Fruit market & Iveagh market they are semi controlled on ground floor.You can screen off some areas of the ground floor in a similiar manner.

- Structure can be simplified and reduced. Structural regularity hidden inroundness look at Richard Miers columns on his 2.7m grid plans

- Try playing with the floor level more in section

Synthesis:The educational element of my brief will be placed above the marketspace as it too large a space to use solely as a community centre.

I am coming to terms with programming the landscape and one of the nextstages is considering how the landscape and the building meet. This will

help establish access to the upper floor and to create semi-defined marketzones on the ground floor.

The next priority is clarifying the structural system that supports the upperfloor and roof.


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Exploring Portal Frame Forms


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Exploring Structure of Education Centre #2_16 m x 8m grid

_developing the portal frame form_roof pattern is tested further

_inhabiting the structure


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Exploring Structure of the Hydro & Residential Blocks_16 m x 8m grid

_adopting the same portal frame system as the education centre_junction of void and structure is tested

_height of structures is varied


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1:50 Model of Single Bay_16 m x 8m grid_exploring the junctions between the glazedvoids, roof and floor plane_invesitagting the panning options for thefloor plane_exploring how the timber polygonal celledroof sits inside the concrete frame work


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1:100 Model of Education Centre_investigation of complete structural system

and how this is resolved with progammaticplanning

OCCUPYING THE SCHEME

Inhabiting the Organic Hall

The Organic Hall houses the market space on the ground floor and an organic school on the upper floor.

Constructed of a series of portal frames, these precast concrete elements will be assembled on site and provide the form and framework that defines the order of the spaces housedwithin Occupying the space above the landscape the school notes the significance of the land and the potential of the landscape above which it sits On ground level the open air


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within. Occupying the space above the landscape, the school notes the significance of the land and the potential of the landscape above which it sits. On ground level, the open airmarket hall provides a direct connection to the environs that feed it as local harvests ebb and flow through the shelter of this trading space.

The roof of the school is conceived of as a secondary landscape, an undulating series of polygonal cells that provide openings through the roof to the sky above. There are a numberof primary large rectangular voids that pierce this roof and the floor plane below, allowing light and the natural elements down through the building to the market hall underneath thebuilding.

A B C


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A B C

1

2

3

4

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7

1

9

10

8

11

12

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14

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13

Ground Floor Plan_not to scale First Floor Plan_not to scale

South Elevation_not to scale


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Section A_A

Section B_B

Section C_C

3D Renders


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Corridor overlooking the Central Void

Performance Space

Library

Modelling the Programme


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Elevation of 1:100 model

Roof Structural SystemRoof Finish


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Portal Frame System and interconnecting concrete crossbeams Relationship of the building to the rolling landscape underneath

Occupying the Model


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View into the library View from central void into reception area View the cafe kitchen into the central void

View into the performance space View of north end of library


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Intensifying Broo


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PROGRAMMING THE LANDSCAPE


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The concept for the landscape is twofold - that of cellular organisation and organic fluidity.

The notion of organizing the various land uses into strict zones of use and occupationrelates the nature of these spaces, wetlands and allotments can mix for they each requiretwo different environments and land conditions. Segregation ensures stable and individualmicro-systems can emerge within each zone while their very separation serves to highlightthe differences to passersby and students alike.

The idea of a fluid circulation system stems from the amoeba-like form of the landorganization. Movement around the various micro landscapes allows access to all while asecondary path system that pierces the cells allows for a full immersion in each landscape.

There is a notion that a composition of referencepoints and location markers can be locatedacross the proposed landscape to allow interplaybetween the land and the built environment.

The axes that the paths set up through the sitecould hinge terminate or frame views across the


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could hinge, terminate or frame views across the

site that will guide, reveal or disorientate the eyefor the purpose of the scheme.

In this way, the ground becomes an activecomponent with the variable architecturalelements across the site.

InspirationLafayette Greens

These raised beds were installedon the site of the former Lafayettebuilding in Detroit. The publicnature of the project with its opencirculation off the streets providesa real platform for an organiceducation in the city The raised Sh C


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education in the city. The raised

beds provide a container for soilabove the existing ground line.These containers hold soil sourcedoff site which eliminates the needfor treatment of the existing soil onsite.

The strong appeal with this projectis its close proximity to the urbandwellers and their daily activities.Here, in the heart of Detroit, the

raised beds literally provided aplatform for questioning, rethinkingand enquiring about productiveland in the city.

Shenyang Campus

This university demonstrates how agricultural landscapecan become part of the urbanized environment andhow cultural identity can be created through an ordinaryproductive landscape.

The design of the campus is a response to theoverwhelming urbanization of China and itsencroachment upon much arable land.

What draws me to this project is its big idea combined

with a humble design. Producing rice for the localityand engaging students in activities outside of theirnormal academic curriculum also serves to furtherconnect people with the land.

Union Street Orchard,London

During the LondonFestival of Architecture,Bankside Open SpacesTrust created a place forexchange between localresidents and visitors tothe Festi al Central to the

Tulip Fields

The tulip fields in Hollandare a feast for the senses.The striking colours andthe scent filled air provea stimulating experiencefor all who cycle throughthese productive


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the Festival. Central to thedesign of the orchard wasa plant exchange: peoplecontributed hundreds ofplants from their homes tocreating an ever-evolvinggarden that was truly builtby the community. A seriesof workshops and activitiestook place in the Orchardover the few months it wasopen.

The interesting aspect of this short lived project was again its immediacy to the local community. The plantexchange concept encouraged active participation within the ground and on street notice boards informed all whopassed about the goings-on behind the fence. The proximity of the project to the rail line also reinforced the ideathat productive landscape can occur without issue on the edge of infrastructural networks.

landscapes.Here, the canals servicethe fields in terms oftransport access andwater supply, while pathsand roads allows forhours of endless ramblingthrough this multi-colouredlandscape.

The most exciting part ofthese landscapes is theproductivity and order ofthe land, the hand of manis clearly visible yet thereexists only natural andnative elements. This istruly landscape on mansterms.


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Summer Park, Governors Island

Within this matrix of parkland, forested areas of varying densityare defined, accommodating solid areas and voids, but also themany buildings and sports and leisure facilities that will be built onGovernors Island. This grid is not applied in a strictvisual way, since ultimately its contours are destined to blur, even todisappear.

Summer Park is an attempt to link the rhythms of urban life to those

of nature through a landscape structure that is directly inspired byagricultural vocabulary and processes.

The appeal of this project is its potential to break down density on afringe landscape where there is a lack of transition from one densedevelopment type to another. Here, the landscape offers the potentialfor a new suburban quality that of quality rather than extensivedensity and utilisation. Landscape can be consumed in a mannermore befitting the scale of man and the land, an idea of worth overexploitation.

Site Visit: The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co. LeitrimAs my interest lay in providing an organic schoolon the Broombridge site in Cabra, I was eagerto see how such a service might be providedwithin an Irish context. To this end, I paid a visitto the Organic Centre in County Leitrim, one ofthe most established and successful organiccentres in the country. Here, varied educationalprogrammes range from one day courses to a


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FETAC approved Horticultural course that runsover the course of a year.

Despite its rural location, the centre has thrivedand attracts many visitors from around thecountry. The centre caters for the training ofindividuals and small groups and is a popularlocation for visiting classes from local primaryand secondary schools.

The facilities on site include gardens, a play

area, polytunnels, an orchard, willow nursery,compost area, wetlands, crop rows andvegetable gardens. The Organic Centre itselfhouses a caf, shop and a series of classroomsand offices. The aesthetics of the buildingmirrors that of a green ethos with its grass roofand timber clad faade.

Interestingly, the layout of the groundsestablishes a clear edge and separationbetween the various gardens and lands uses.I found that this order made each plot easy tonavigate and study closely. While crop rotationis encourages within the vegetable and cropgardens, soil areas that contain the orchard,wetlands and willow beds do not have the samenutrient requirement for relocation. Polytunnelsprovided shelter over an ever changing indoorlandscape and so these can remain in positionas new and used soils and plants are moved byhand as required.

The Organic Centre The Apple Orchard Inside the FETAC Tunnel

Inside the Garden Tunnel The Willow Nursery Geodesic Greenhouse

The Herb Garden The freshly planted crop rows

Right: The Organic Centre Grounds


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Exploring the Landscape Cells

The Cotton FieldArea: 3545 sqm

Variety:

AquaponicsOpen Area: 6390 sqmVarieties: Lettuce,radishes, sinach, yale


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The Flower FieldArea: 6300 sqm

Varieties:Michelmas Daisies andDelphinium flower in theAutumn, Daffodils andPrimula in the Winter andSpring and Asters, Phloxand Stock in the Summer.Cosmos keep floweringthroughout the year

Predicted Yield:200 -350 stems persquare metre

Narrow Row Cotton

Predicted Yield: 100 grams per squaremetre

- s ems persquare me re

Predicted Yield: 5 timesthe normal field yield

Polytunnel Area: 832 sqmUse: Tomato growing andPropagation SpacePredicted Tomato Yield:40 kg per square metre

Water Surface Area:1386 sqmFish Variety: TroutPredicted Fish Yield:3 kg per cubic metre

Grass Gardens

Area: 2205 sqm

Scientists estimate thatgrasses make up 20per cent of the Earthsvegetation

Varieties:sugar cane, corn, wheat,rushes, barley, oats, rye.

Flower Fields 1:50

WetlandsArea: 6045 sqm

Wetlands are amongthe most productiveecosystems in the world,comparable to rainforests and coral reefs

Allotments

Area: 17095 sqm

Allotment Types:# 1 - 80 sqm: weekendgrowing# 2 - 160 sqm: singleperson/couple


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The Fruit OrchardsArea: 5935 sqm

Fruit Tree Area: 3582 sqm

Apple Tree Varieties:Cairn Russet, KerryPippin, Ladys Finger,Ecklineville

Fruit Tree Varieties:Strawberry, Wild Cherry,Juniper, Irish Peach, Pear

ReedbedArea: 788 sqm

Filter and re-use ofOrganic Halls brownwater output

# 3 - 240 sqm: family(4/5 persons)# 4 - 320 sqm: family(6/8 persons)# 5 - 400 sqm: extensiveuse

Orchard Path 1:50


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The Organic Hall as seen from Bannow Road, partially obscured by the orchard

CRITIQUE 3 Thesis:The landscape is presented as a series of cellular zones that define,organise and direct movement through the site. A gentle undulatingsurface that flows out from the Organic Hall and into the corners of thesuburbs that surround it.

The porous nature of the rigid school plan is reflected in the permeablelandscape islands that colonise the ground.

The symbiotic relationship of building and landscape allow each to be


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The symbiotic relationship of building and landscape allow each to beexist independently and as part of a whole.

Antithesis:- Sketches of cells very nice your research comes across well.- How do you link into suburban south and industrial north? Are existingbarriers good or bad whats your opinion on this? How do you change thetopography? By penetrating and encouraging engagement?- How do you decide on the buildings position? Is there not a chance tocritique the industrial sheds?Think about pushing/developing that porous nature and passage that isin the building through the site. Dont forget that you are also designing aroute.- Be more aggressive attack the urban. Find nodes in the city createtentacles. Make the park more porous maybe demolish houses yourscheme is giving back to the city.- Your scheme is about education and reshaping lives, back gardens etc what do the locals get?- Your structure and section think a little deeper is there something todefine market space?- How do you rise up in the building? Make a more generous gesture.Make the landscape meet the building.- Again how landscape meets building is the most important thing. Im not

sure its floating in the right place at the moment.- Map and look at the landscape of the city to strengthen thesis.

Synthesis:

I agreed that I had neglected to fully explore the relationship betweenthe city and the landscape as I had been occupied with resolving therelationship between the landscape and building. I need to clarify andfully the connection between the landscape and the building and thelandscapes relationship to the city.

The ramp and landscape connection into the building needs moreattention to fully resolve the entrance into the school. I believe the buildingis located in the correct place, located at the heart of the landscape andaligned with the midday sun. The fact that the building does not sit parallelto the existing road and industrial buildings is a critique in the orientationand ethos of such practices.

FINAL PRESENTATION


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Satellite Image - Dublin 2013Orange Box denotes limits of 1853 Map

Site in its Present State

Griffith Valuation Map of Dublin 1853


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Intensifying Broo

a walk through the gardens...


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WetlandsTunnelsOrchard Wild Park

Grass GardensFloral LaneAquaponicsAllotments


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Intensifying Broo


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a b a b


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Ground Level 1:200

a b

cc

Market Space

StairCore

Fire Stairs

Level One 1:200a b

cc

Stage

Cookery Room

Caf

Kitchen

Staff

Room

Study Room

AdminOffice

Workshop

Workshop

Library

Classroom

Store

Reception

Hall

Classroom

a b


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Level Two 1:200a b

cc

Reading Space

Gym

Fly Space

Recreation

Inverted Ceiling Plan


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Section CC_NTS


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Section BB_NTS

Section AA_NTS

3D Images of Organic Hall


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Market Space

Looking down over the entrance rampPerformance SpaceCaf

Recreational Zone

Overlooking the Main Entrnce Ramp


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View of Ramped Entrance Ramped Acces to Social Space above Cookery Classroom View of Reception Area with Library in Background

Social Space under Polygonal Celled Roof Library with Mesh Covered Glazing System Open Air Market Space underneath the Organic School

The Final Presentation


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to say a very sincere thanks to my family and close friends.Without their constant support I dont think I have could have evercompleted this degree.


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I would like to take the chance to especially thank the following people:

- Mum and Dad thank you so much for bank rolling my never endingeducation. Is it ok if I pass on my debt to NAMA?

- My siblings Laura and Paul. Thanks Laura for all the dinners, lifts anddistractions, it was great to experience life outside the world of architecture

from time to time. Paul, you are too funny, I think you were made for thestage! You make me laugh no end. You are a true tonic and I hope thatnever changes.

-To all my architectural buddies, thanks for the laughs, freak outs andgeneral craziness that only a studio environment can nurture. Its been fun.

-To all my non-architect friends both near and far, thank you for your calls,emails, company and encouragement along the way. Im looking forwardto more of this during the coming months and years!

-A special thanks to Laura (again), Irene, Jess, Clare, Celine, Naomi andCaroline. All of your generous contributions made my thesis presentationsall the better thanks to your helping hands.

- And finally a big thank you to all the fifth year staff. A special mentionto my two mentors Dominic Stevens and Andrew Griffin, I could not haveasked for better tutors or sounder advice. Thank you both so much.

I have lived and learned so much during my time in DIT. Its time now forthe next chapter of my life to begin

productive suburban landscape

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