plaster model

Modelling the main hall at Claypotts Castle at first felt like a totally scripted process and I was unsure what if anything I was going to gain from the process. However as I explored how I might physically model the space I begun to realise how complicated this would be and to appreciate how complex and rich the main hall space was.

The models are at a 1/50 scale and to create the moulds the plan was cut out at 5mm (250mm) intervals from rectangular pieces of kappa board, allowing me to create both a positive and negative mould with only one cut. This process of taking a solid object and subtracting from it to form a space was not something I had considered before. The final outcome of negative model I found to be more evocative than the positive model and gives a greater sense of space being gouged from a solid form.

Designing Cities with Democracy

The above is a title of an article written by Richard MacCormac published in the AJ in 1990.

"Urban design is an elaboration of the planning process, extending its quantitive definitions - density building height and use - into three-dimensional visual considerations directly affecting our experience."

The article distinguishes three levels of decision-making in urban design:

1. those which are the province of the local planning process

2. those which are taken on in the private sector in large scale development with the constraints established

by the local plan.

3. the response which individual architects make to an urban design framework

The image below was drawn in an attempt to illustrate the levels discussed above diagrammatically and to relate these levels to a city block and its surrounding context.

The article goes on to look at several urban design schemes, including the Spitalfields proposal and the competition entry for the Paternoster site. The article outlines the written planning 'agreements' which were submitted as part of the competition entry.

MacCormac notes that, "Different situations probably need rules appropriate to to them, and in each case urban design should be set up as a kind of constitution. This will consist of a series of agreements, ranging from mandatory requirements (given force by the planning authority or by the developer) to less prescriptive ideas of what should be done, which might be shared by different architects."

Title Image

Today I took the opportunity to produce a title image for my thesis. The image displays 8 block plans (at the same scale) conveying the differing block patterns of cities across the globe.

I produced the image in photoshop and decided I would investigate an alternative method of printing. I took image to the DCA print studio and spent the afternoon experimenting with the screen printing facilities in the studio. I hope to be able to use this printing method throughout the year and possibly for the forthcoming nolli plan project in edinburgh.

thesis discussion and presentation

On thursday last week we sat down with Charles Rattray to discuss the groups various proposed areas of study and to see if we could refine these areas for fridays presentations. I felt that this time was very helpful in not only clarifying our individual positions but also in aiding us to establish some common ground between the individual projects.

In the above slide (an extract from the groups thesis presentation) the top diagram charts the various study topics of each individual in the group, ranging from studies in urban environments out to studies in rural environments.

The three images along the bottom of the slide help to describe the topic I would like to research this year. (left image: Section of Richard MacCormac's Spitalfield proposal, centre: nolli plan of New York, right: nolli plan of rome)

In fridays presentation I proposed that the title for my thesis would be called 'Rules of an Urban Block. At this stage I proposed that the project would have two stages. The first stage would involve an in depth study and analysis of successful and interesting examples of urban blocks in cities throughout the world. During this research stage I will attempt to derive a set of common rules which combine to create a successful urban block. The second stage of the project would then use the identified rules to dictate the design of an urban block. By creating a set of rules for the design of a block it would not necessarily have to be myself who designed the block but the rules could be given to an architect or architects to see what variations could be produced within the parameters of the established rules.

section drawings of claypotts castle

elevation drawings claypotts

plan drawings of claypotts castle

claypotts castle

edzell castle

elcho castle

Elcho Castle is located the banks of the River Tay in Perthshire and is one of Scotland’s best-preserved 16th-century tower houses. It was built around the time of the Protestant Reformation in 1560 by a member of the family of Wemyss.

The castle was the first of three tower houses which we visited last week. The complex labyrinth of stone spiral staircases really come to life when you walk through the building. The deep external walls and large openings allow for fantastic variances of light within rooms and create unique habitable spaces within the depth of the wall.

first project: the sensuality of rational spaces

course introduction