Competition Submission.

Below is the submission for the SPAB Philip Webb Award, which draws together the research and exploration undertaken regarding interventions into historic contents and articulates them into an applied response using BBW as the vehicle to facilitate this process.

It primarily addresses a responsive methodology that uses narrative (past and current human use) to firstly understand how and why the buildings are composed in the way they are in the first instance before layering thoughtful interventions onto the existing that facilitate the accommodation of a relevant need. These tectonic interventions respond to the existing fabric both by interrogating its previous use, the essential factor that dictates any buildings layout, form and materiality, before integrating and incorporating this existing condition with a new, relevant narrative through addition of new elements, process that hopefully synthesises new and old effectively, as it has responded the primary catalyst of building, the use and a need to reflect chan

ged uses, rather than the existing structure as an artefact consigned to a historical context.

Narrative and the accumulation and accommodation of human use is therefore the catalyst that should first inform any intervention not intervention for the sake of the building as an object demonstrated for example where a building is restored to a state relative to a past context or when new, often deliberately 'modern' interventions remove the existing fabrics ability to perform any new function. Both approaches render the existing obsolete, buildings must embody change in narrative in order to remain relevant and functional.

A responsive and considerate series of practical, tectonic interventions then articulate this synthesis of past and present narrative. Here therefore the existing forms part of a cohesive new whole, fulfilling new functions with the interventions applied to such an extent where it is possible for this to occur. Neither existing or new overrule.

Precedent - Carlo Scarpa

The Italian architect Carlo Scarpa uses a layered, tectonic application of materials to inform how he engages with existing buildings. At the same time allowing how the buildings are used physically to inform how these empirical interventions are articulated.

His process sketches also clearly articulate this methodology of layering and demonstrates the transition of a methodology from abstract concept, through to drawn concept and then built project.

However the question can be proposed what is ultimately informing what here? Does the architecture inform the subsequent narrative or visa versa? Images taken from the Carlo Scarpa Archive.

Bursledon Brickworks.

These models explore the current atmosphere of the brick drying sheds at Burslesdon.

Bursledon Brickworks.

Bursledon Brickworks.

Bursledon Brickworks.

In addition to a response to the existing structures an engagement with their surrounding situation and setting should also require specific attention as part of the overall whole.

The setting for the brickworks has been much fragmented and reduced from its original format at the height of its manufacturing capabilities, however it still retains an established and strong narrative of movement in regards to how it is currently used that relates directly to its original function.

To elucidate, the clay was originally dug from adjacent pits to the east of the site before moving in a linear process through the works themselves, moving from formation to drying and then finally firing before being moved to the river for transportation; primarily to Southampton.

By re-establishing and strengthening this narrative new functions and activities will sit far more comfortably within the building. This is as appose to occupying the structures in a fragmented and unassociated way; as is the case at present.

Visitors currently enter at the eastern extreme of the site before moving west towards the works. However at this point their movement and journey around the sites and buildings becomes disjointed and confusing.

The below concept therefore attempts to re-establish the clear route from the land to the rivers edge and furthermore references the gradual stratification of the site, caused by clay extraction, through the intervention of north to south installations that protrude from the ground and form a physical framework along the primary east to west route.

Onto this framework new activities can attach themselves which are subsequently accommodated within the structures of the brickworks itself and within new structures, which will possibly include accommodation, education, retreat and business facilities.

Bursledon Brickworks.

Concept collages exploring the idea of accommodating new narratives and uses amongst the existing.

The perception and response to the notion of what constitutes historic.

Bursledon Brickworks is listed grade II* and so therefore is subsequently classified as a heritage site. Consequently this places it in the same category as many ancient medieval churches and grand country homes.

This situation therefore raises the fundamental question what do we perceive as historic and most importantly how is anything subsequently treated once acquiring this distinction?

In response to this proposition my synopsis and provisional thesis research aims to elucidate to some extent what we currently express through the notion of historic and we have come to perceive many existing buildings as such.

The term historic itself has only acquired its current associations of attributing a physical object with value because of its age or association with a previous age over the last century. Previous perceived associations with previous context therefore constitute the value and meaning of what we currently understand to be historic and not the monetary value or workmanship embody within the physical object itself, which was the case in previous contexts.

Arguably it is the narrative and stories, the uniqueness of instances themselves that buildings embody as physical shells representative of former contexts and ages that actually constitutes our perception of them as historic. Architecture itself is therefore in fact merely a template for past narratives and as such presents negative reliefs of past social structures and dialogues.

The conservation and restoration discourse as a discipline is primarily concerned with layering and addition as its main device of intervention. However these objective processes, although perhaps enviable as a pragmatic response within the current context, are arguably primarily concerned with historic buildings as aesthetic, empty and static artefacts that are more akin to paintings and museum pieces than living and evolving accommodators of society.

It is this initial engagement and pre-occupation with many existing buildings as objects that informs how we then engage with them. This is as appose to what perhaps should in fact inform engagement; namely the continued accommodation of function and narrative relative to contemporary society.

Of course this is not to argue against the layering processes of conservation and consolidation that are currently prescribed where historical buildings are concerned. Rather that greater consideration needs to given what factors inform the continuing change within the buildings as objects in themselves, namely the social activities and functions that take place within them.

We read this change in building, arguably understanding a sense of our place chronologically

within history and perhaps understandably seek to preserve it, whilst at the same inadvertently preventing any further evolution to take place.

Intervention is needed in many cases in order to incorporate new narratives and uses, as arguably many existing buildings are allowed to decay due to a fixation with the building as a historical object that needs to preserved.

However it is also important that this intervention must be articulated sensitively in order not to destroy previous dialogues. Furthermore the articulation must also be exercised physically, through materiality and tectonics, layering new elements over and into old to facilitate the accommodation of new narratives. Simply establishing empty analogies through form for instance is not enough in itself, as arguably buildings must physically embody change and adaptation in their fabric in order to remain relevant.

Bursledon Brickworks.

Design development for BBW extracted from sketchbooks.

Synopsis 01.

As a fundamental objective buildings provide shelter and a practical sense of protection for humanity.This is architecture at its most primordial, providing for humanities well being through the provision of a consolidating and strengthening framework. In this most primeval of necessities buildings provide a medieval sense of comfort through strength.[1]

An essential component of this sense of fortification and strengthening of humanity comprises a sense of familiarity and of the identifiable. [2]

This engagement with buildings is articulated through multi-sensory perception, for example through the feel of materials, the sound within a space or the specific associations and feelings that buildings provoke. Importantly it is these perceptions and relations that ultimately define the very nature of experiencing a building. [3]

Of course it can be argued that all of this multi-sensory perception is ultimately being processed by our psychological capacity, depending on whether one accepts the ocular- based philosophy of Kant or the more corporal approach of Merleau-Ponty for instance. Regardless of this however buildings form the corporeal framework with which we engage within a daily ‘reality’.

Perhaps then this offers some explanation as to why buildings that are now classed as ‘historic’ are normally so highly regarded. They are surviving, tangible connections to our past. Through experiencing these structures, through an initial physical experience and then subsequently through perceptive association, it is possible to establish a connection and a sense of place within a historical, social and demographic context. [4]

This however poses a predicament, one that has become increasingly prevalent over the last century. Namely how these historic buildings continue to serve their intended purpose or furthermore adapt to fulfill an alternative rationale when they are increasingly consigned to the realm of artificial preservation?

Truly authentic buildings, it can be argued, should remain relevant and essential within society. When they cease to perform their intended pragmatic function or fail to adapt in order to address an alternative, they become artifacts. This state is more analogous to a museum piece than the practical and indeed essential framework within which we base the very reality of our existence.

Generally speaking this approach to historical architecture has only transpired relatively recently. A gradual progression from a Renaissance notion of interpreting the past, where an objectifying ancient architecture was freely re-articulated in a creative present, including both existing and new buildings, to the current Romantic idea of historical architecture has come into existence.

The Romantic, in contrast to the former Renaissance model of intellectual re-articulation, results in our treatment of historical buildings being now largely consigned to preservation and nostalgia. We often treat them as archeological objects rather than something living and transient. Furthermore these interpretations are often consigned an aesthetic and historical, analytical approach. [5] Is architecture art? Should it be understood and preserved as a static and fixed relic, one that is often representative of superseded social values?

It is perhaps interesting to speculate that the prevalence of the preservation movement of the nineteenth century to the present has run in parallel with the acceleration of technological advances since the advent of the industrial revolution in the mid eighteenth century. An explosion of new building technology and a standardization of regionalism had a direct impact upon the rate of evolution within architecture. We therefore now feel our historic buildings are increasingly vulnerable[6] and with them a sense of our relative position within history as well as a tangible connection with our past and even present milieu. [7]

However, as previously articulated, buildings, no matter how historic, need to physically accommodate change and so this raises the question what is the right approach? Do we distinctly add or replace elements of buildings with the contemporary to establish a dialogue of contrast? Alternatively do we attempt to maintain a sense of continuality through imitation?

What if both were achievable as parts of a new whole, a cohesive dialogue and outcome that draws from both contemporary and from existing elements? [8]

On the other hand are all of these considerations ultimately inconsequential? Much of architectural development is an intuitive and subjective process. Whilst objective processes define it there is arguably only one objective reality. This is that buildings continue to provide a relevant and valuable framework for their contemporary context.

It can also be fundamentally proposed that it is the processes inherent within and the subsequent perception of these buildings, in other words their phenomenological presence, that bestows the associations and reactions that they evoke.

Despite this however, ultimately, at a practical level, architecture is what we perceive and experience as a tangible and real object. It can be argued that our subsequent perceptions and interpretations are actually only derived after this tectonic framework has first been installed. Something must first ‘exist’ for us to then bestow a sense of value and association. [9]

Thus the question can be proposed how can this physical framework, which so strongly influences our sense of perception regarding who, what and where we are, be most successfully derived and manifested in the case of new interventions and changes to existing building fabric.

[1] W. Rybczynski: ‘Home’ Pages 20-22

[2] J. Ruskin: ‘The Poetry of Architecture’ Pages 1-6

[3] J. Pallasma: ‘The Eyes of the Skin’ Pages 31-32

[4] J. Strike: ‘Architecture in Conservation’ Page 22-25

[5] J. Jokilehto: ‘A History of Architectural Conservation’ Foreword: P.Philipott

[6] C.Amery and D. Cruickshank: ‘The Rape of Britain’ Pages 10-14

[7] J. Strike: ‘Architecture in Conservation’ Pages 14-18

[8] R. Venturi: ‘Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture’ Page 88-90

[9] P. Zumthor: ‘Thinking Architecture’ Page 83

Majorca Excursion - Photography,

Majorca Excursion.

These on-site sketches were completed on a study trip to Palma Majorca in October. Buildings studied and subsquently recorded through sketching and photography on this excursion included the Miro Foundation, MOMA Palma and Museo des Molinos. The emphasis focused on intregating the practical methodologies that pertain to the final built condition. Response to context, programme, narrative, accomodation, materiality, economy and are, to name but a few, factors that influence and inform how architects articulate an objective response to a need to build.

Bursledon Brickworks.

The image below illustrates the extents of the site during the final years of its ability to manufacture and before the construction of the M27, which cut through the site separating it into distinct north and south halves.

The areas highlighted brown have subsequently been removed, whilst those in blue are still largely in existence currently. (Image by DH2010)

Bursledon Brickworks.

Plan detailing the extent of the existing structures.

Bursledon Brickworks.

This site plan illustrates Bursledon Brickworks within its immediate context. The works and its site will constitute the basis on which I can practically explore the theories and ideas explored through theoretical research.

Building Precedent - Museo Molinos

Building Precedent - Neues

Building Precedent - Kolumba

Building Precedent - Hamar

Precedent Booklet - Overview

This booklet was composed as recording document that articulates primary interactions with selected buildings.

Field work.

In addition to an exploration through interrogating and analysing existing theoretical writing and precedent, another element of understanding an architectural approach or methodology can also be derived from the direct experience and interrogation of architectural examples at first hand within their context.

As a response to this concept our studio organised a field trip to Palma Majorca that included tours of the Moma Palma, the Miro Foundation and the Museo dos Molinos. Further to this myself and David Holden, which whom I am working with on Bursledon Brickworks as a joint thesis subject, organised a study trip to Hamar, Norway and Koln in Germany to experience specific examples by Sverre Fehn and Peter Zumthor.

Both of these trips focused upon the appreciation of built examples through experiencing as well as documenting through sketching and photography. Attempts were therefore made to elucidate the methodologies and processes that led to the physical articulation of the examples.

Gathering and appreciating primary evidence in this way avoids the experience of a built example through the secondary medium of a book or the internet for example. Arguably if a building is to be fully understood it needs to be experienced; not observed and scrutinised out of context.

References.

In addition to the selected texts detailed the below references provide an holistic and varied initial background into the theory of architectural process and addition.

C. Alexander: ‘A Timeless Way of Building’ Published 1979 Oxford University Press

C.Amery and D. Cruickshank: ‘The Rape of Britain’ Published 1975 Elek Books Ltd

D. Chipperfield et al - ‘David Chipperfield: Neues Museum Berlin’ Published 2009 Cornerhouse

K. Frampton – ‘Studies in Tectonic Culture’ Pub. 1995

G. Gili - ‘Francesco Venezia’ Published 1988 Current Architectural Catalogues

M. Hewitt – ‘Architecture for a Contingent Environment’ Published 1994 Journal of Architectural Education Vol47 No. 4 Pages 197-209

J. Jokilehto: ‘A History of Architectural Conservation’ Foreword: P.Philipott. Published 1999 Elsevier

C. Norburg-Schulz et al - ‘Sverre Fehn - Works, Projects, Writings’ Published 1997 Monacelli Press

J. Pallasma: ‘The Eyes of the Skin’ Published 2005 Wiley

G. Ranalli et al - ‘Carlo Scarpa - Architect’ Published. 1999 Monacelli Press

J. Ruskin: ‘The Poetry of Architecture’ Published 1907 The Blackfriars Publishing Co

W. Rybczynski: ‘Home’ Published 2001 Pocket Books

J. Strike: ‘Architecture in Conservation’ Published 1994 Routledge

J. Turnovsky: ‘The Poetic’s Of A Wall Projection’ Published 2009 AA Press

R. Venturi: ‘Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture’ Published 1977 Arch. Press London

P. Zumthor: Thinking Architecture’ :Published 2006 Birkhauser

Literature Studies 03 - Thought and image

In contrast to the empirical reading of architecture as tectonic object offered by the previous two literature studies, this book provided the notion of building as perceived entity that could embody suppositions and associations beyond its reality as a physical object.

This is relative to the individual who is perceiving the building and also to a collective through the idea of collective perception, a term articulated by the architect Aldo Rossi who was concerned with the notion of semiotics or signs embedded within what we perceive to be standard tectonic components of architectural design.

This suggests the possibly of an engagement with buildings that exists beyond the realms of practically applied. Could the practical tectonics of architecture really fundamentally impart a subliminal message or be manipulated to evoke emotion or is this a post applied notion that assumes that peoples perception will be constant and predictable, which of course it arguably isn't.

Literature Studies 03.

THE CASTLE FRANZ KAPKA

This novel written by Franz Kafka explores issues of systemization, alienation and bureaucracy. The protagonist K arrives at the village determined to gain access to the castle, the heart of the controlling bureaucratic system that welds full command over the immediate area.

The castle itself is therefore symbolic of the regime. It thus ceases to be a material object and instead acquires a persona and presence dictated by the functions that take place within it. The closed, alienating form of the building is a symbol of the non-hierarchical government that occupies it, where responsibly is shifted from department to department where in fact no one is ultimately truly responsible.

In an architectural context however the novel can be read as an illustration of how buildings can dictate and facilitate the functions that they accommodate and visa versa. There is therefore far more to a building that just a static and material object. However a building is only imbued with a presence through the associations and applied perceptions that give its aura and character.

The novel raises the question of semiotics and symbolism. Buildings can acquire associations and meanings For example the closed and impenetrable nature of the castle is symbolic of oppression and control. In the same way a church spire is a symbol of the enduring continuality of the English Church. Therefore because of the meaning associated with buildings, specific architectural types are imbued with a presence that transcends their physically tangible existence as physical artifacts.

Literature Studies 02 - Image.

Peter Zumthors architecture is arguably primarily concerned with materiality and tectonics. In other words this constitutes the empirical elements of building that not only are perceived as real and tangible in themselves but also rely on the existence of objective methodologies in order for them to be effectively applied.

Are tectonics, the practical art of joining, therefore the solution regarding the development of an architecture for existing buildings and contexts?

Literature Studies 02.

THINKING ARCHITECTURE – PETER ZUMTHOR

Zumthor relies substantially upon the personification and post association of building space in order to explain the nature of buildings. This is an approach that embraces elements of the familiar and the subsequent feelings that buildings evoke and produce when experienced. Of course this is a highly subjective reading of architecture which is unique to the individual and the context within which the building and individual is set.

Generally illustrated within the text therefore is a clash between the subjective and objective qualities of architecture. Whilst objective systems define the processes that underlie and fundamentally shape the physical elements of architecture, these are influenced by subjective opinion and perception that is exercised during the buildings construction. Additionally how various individuals subsequently perceive the finished building is subjective and unique. It cannot be standardized.

Despite this initial acknowledgement and embrace of phenomenological philosophy Zumthor is still clearly rooted in a tectonic approach that exploits and articulates the objective processes and techniques that underlie architecture as a ‘made’ object.

‘Successful building can only be kindled by the reality of things pertaining to it.’

Zumthors architecture is strongly influenced by his background as a cabinetmaker and the above quote aptly illustrates the fundamental basis of his practice methodology.

Therefore it is the detailing and the treatment of carefully chosen materials that in fact form the pragmatic framework of Zumthors work.

Whilst therefore the phenomenological philosophy expressed in ‘Thinking architecture’ initially would appear to form the basis of Zumphors approach it is clear that in fact these abstract associations do not entirely inform the practical process of the buildings creation. In fact it is rather Zumthors tectonic architectural approach, which is applied and rigorously exercised by an affinity and ability to engage with and apply materials within construction that truly drives his architecture

A detailed, tectonic framework is therefore needed in the first instance to engage with in order for perceptions and subsequent associations to be applied. Both an affinity with the conceptual and the empirical is therefore needed to derive a truly authentic architecture.

Literature Studies 01 - Sketches.