learning journal

Learning JournalTom Woodward

1 Measure

2 Sustainable Housing

3 Urban Conditions

4 Figure Ground

5 Anticipatory Field

6 SAWSA

Contents

The following portfolio contains examples of my work from my second year of work at

the Welsh School of Architecture.

Measure

Measure was the first project of second year at the Welsh School of Architecture, conducted over

the Summer break. The brief was to measure a space both objectively, in terms of physical size

and environmental conditions, and subjectively, in terms of the feel of the space. The space I

chose to measure was the upstairs lounge of a converted barn, which was an interesting space

architecturally.

Subjective Measurements

I took ‘subjective’ measurements of the space in the form of photography. As the room has both east and west-facing aspects, the sunlight casts some

dramatic shadows in both the morning and evening of a sunny day. The intention of my photos was to

capture the atmosphere that this created whilst looking at very specific areas within the room, rather

than giving a more broad overview of the space.

“Deep shadows and darkness are essential, because they dim the sharpness of vision, make depth and distance ambiguous, and invite unconscious peripheral vision and tactile fantasy.” Juhani Pallasmaa

Objective Measurements

Along with measuring and drawing plans and sections, I took ‘objective’ measurements of the space related to Herman Hertzberger’s ‘Lesson’s for Students in Architecture’, and Pat Borer’s The Whole House Book’. In this respect I focused on how elements of the design affected its levels of privacy.

SuStainable HouSing

The sustainable housing project was an eight week project, four weeks of which was group work, and four weeks of which was individual

work. The brief was to design a scheme within a site in Cardiff that provided 12 - 15 housing units that were designed with sustainability in mind.

Learning Processes

The concept board on the page opposite expresses the sustainable and cyclical nature of my housing scheme. Through a process of layering, it highlights the diverse and engaging nature of the staircase, on which food is grown and a sustainable society is developed.The two page spreads on the following pages are early perspective drawings from the same housing scheme, which illustrate the varying levels of privacy within the scheme and highlight the stark juxtaposition of materials used in comparison to existing local materials.

pickingcooking

eatingcomposting

plantinggrowingpicking

cookingeating

compostingplantinggrowingpicking

cookingeating


cookingpicking

cookingeating


cookingeating

‘GreenhouseCirculation’

Housing Scheme Concept BoardAdobe Illustrator

Housing Scheme Perspective From SouthPhotoshop

Housing Scheme Perspective of PlatformPhotoshop

Concepts

These are the drawings I used to explain the fundamental ideas behind my sustainable housing scheme. The scheme is a series of mid-rise towers, connected by a mound of earth that continues the flow of the landscape from the river. Each floor contains one dwelling unit, with the number of bedrooms per unit decreasing, as the floor level increases. This creates generous balcony spaces for each flat as it has a smaller floor area than the flat below. Each tower consists of cantilevered concrete floor slabs that are supported by the two cores of the structure. One of these cores also serves as two of the walls for the circulation space. The other core carries the services for the building. This leaves complete freedom in the remaining design of the floors.

Sectional Layout

Structural Concept

Public/Private

4

3

2

1

Services

Circulation

Public

Semi - Public

Private

Site Perspective

Site Perspective

Continuation of the mound

Details

The building introduces subtle cantilevers that create a dynamic variation within the blocks that removes any element of monotony. Built into the mound is a cafe that caters to cyclists that commute to Cardiff on the Taff trail.

N

10m 1m

Plan, Sections

The plans and sections shown serve to explain the project on both a technical and a subjective level.

All three drawings are hand drawn, before being processed in photoshop. Whilst the plan’s primary function is to serve as a measurable and readable

drawing, the sections express the feel of the spaces, and give some indication of the intention for

inhabitation.

N

A

A

B

B

Section AA, 1:20

Section BB, 1:20

Illustrations

These drawings were principally for illustrating the inhabitation of my space in a three-dimensional

way. The axonometric illustrates how my dwelling unit lies in context to those above and below, and

speculates as to how the spaces would be occupied. It gives some indication on both the exterior and

interior finishes of the building, The interior perspective shows how the large areas

of glazing create seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, and indicates the

quality of the open plan living space.

Models

Urban Conditions

My final project of the Autumn term was a research project on the town of Pontypridd. My

group’s specific area of research was the land development plan for the region, and therefore

the work aims to communicate the principals of the LDP in a clear and graphically-effective style.

Statistical Representation

Our aim in the project was to produce a series of graphics that communicated statistics and policies in a way that was immediately understandable to anyone, and maintain a sense of coherence through our entire presentation.To this end, we produced a series of keycards detailing the principal statistics of the region. We used simple graphics repeatedly to emphasise the subject on which the statistic was based.Following our statistical representation we produced a large poster indicating the council’s planned response to the statistics, in terms of the primary needs of the population that these statistics expressed.

= 100 residential units

New Unit Distribution

RHONDDA CYNON TAFF: REGIONAL URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Principal Towns

Strategic Sites

Key Settlements

Pontypridd

Cardiff

Brecon Beacons

North

South

M4 Retail

Mwyndy

Pontypridd

CASE STUDY: MWYNDY/TALBOT GREEN

7 Mwyndy /Talbot Green AreaDwellings (500)Employment (32 hectares)Retail (23,200m2)Leisure (10,000m2)

Countryside Residential Employment

?

Pontypridd

Treforest

Church Village

Llantwit Fardre

Beddau

8 Mins Car

60 Mins Walk

10 Mins Car

70 Mins Walk

PONTYPRIDD PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL EXPANSION SITES

SmallerSettlements

Pontypridd

?

Rail Improvements

= Existing Stations= New Stations= Existing Rail= New rail

TRANSPORT PROPOSALS

C

P

p

c

Figure ground

Figure Ground was a 14 week design project that linked in with the last project, Urban Conditions.

The brief was to design an arts centre with an integrated training kitchen in Pontypridd.

ManifestoFigure Ground

TOM WOODWARD

In figure ground I aim to relate to a number of things. First, to the hills. Pontypridd nestles in a fantastic rural setting, but glimpses of the hills are few and far between. I want to design an intervention that allows enjoyment of this surrounding landscape. The site also has a fantastic relationship to the river and Ysangharad Park, and I want my design to also enjoy these features.

I would like to create a building that acts as a catalyst for other building projects in the area. It should not turn its back on the river, but embrace both that side and the high street side of the site plot. It should aim to utilise the abandoned promenade along the back of the shops and encourage use of this promenade by others. The scheme should achieve a feeling of privacy and safety but at the same time be clearly legible and usable as a wholly public building.

The primary function of the building will be an arts centre. The centre should make many forms of art accessible to all, rather than purely those with a strong cultural education. It should provide a diverse range of forms of art, and there should be potential for the community to get involved in arts programs. The architecture should o�er views to relate to the exterior, but in a controlled way and only where appropriate.

The secondary function of the building will be a training kitchen. This should act as another device with which to get the community involved in the centre, and therefore it should be a relatively public space, that relates well to the ‘art’ function of the building. The kitchen should serve a cafe, which should be an inviting space to encourage people to experience the centre.

ManifestoFigure Ground

TOM WOODWARD

In figure ground I aim to relate to a number of things. First, to the hills. Pontypridd nestles in a fantastic rural setting, but glimpses of the hills are few and far between. I want to design an intervention that allows enjoyment of this surrounding landscape. The site also has a fantastic relationship to the river and Ysangharad Park, and I want my design to also enjoy these features.

I would like to create a building that acts as a catalyst for other building projects in the area. It should not turn its back on the river, but embrace both that side and the high street side of the site plot. It should aim to utilise the abandoned promenade along the back of the shops and encourage use of this promenade by others. The scheme should achieve a feeling of privacy and safety but at the same time be clearly legible and usable as a wholly public building.

The primary function of the building will be an arts centre. The centre should make many forms of art accessible to all, rather than purely those with a strong cultural education. It should provide a diverse range of forms of art, and there should be potential for the community to get involved in arts programs. The architecture should o�er views to relate to the exterior, but in a controlled way and only where appropriate.

The secondary function of the building will be a training kitchen. This should act as another device with which to get the community involved in the centre, and therefore it should be a relatively public space, that relates well to the ‘art’ function of the building. The kitchen should serve a cafe, which should be an inviting space to encourage people to experience the centre.

To the Hills

From the outset my scheme was focused on the concept of connecting to the surrounding landscape. Upon entering Pontypridd, the tall

buildings and sloping roads remove the magnificent sight of the surrounding landscape, and I felt this

was an important thing to bring back to Pontypridd, not least because, similar to the New Gallery

designed by SANAA in New York, the views could be used as a device to draw people through the

artwork on show. I set out a manifesto shown opposite which considered how these views should

be dealt with, along with how my scheme should relate to the river, park and high street, which were

all strong features of the site.

Wider Context

Varying Scales

The scheme aimed to cater to a range of types and styles of art, and therefore spaces on a variety of scales were introduced into the scheme. These were all served by a central circulation space that exposed all the galleries visually to the public, without turning the galleries into a thoroughfare. The only exception to this was the Welsh Landscape Gallery, which the public had to walk through to get to the hill viewing gallery. The intention here was to further the public understanding of art; by showing paintings of the hills that the public were ascending the building to see, they would hopefully gain a greater understanding of why people would be driven to produce such pieces of work.The training kitchen is located on the high street, to highlight its presence, whilst the cafe flows from the high street facade through to the large exhibiting space to the rear of the building.

Elevation AA

Section BB

Section CC

Elevation DD

Arts Centre as seen from South West.

Hill Viewing Gallery

Modern Gallery

Welsh Landscape Gallery

Artist in Residence Studios

Administration

Training Kitchen

Cafe

Main Exhibition/Event Space

Mechanical/Plant

Artist in Residence Galleries

Lighting Analysis

Part of the project was to produce a 1:20 scale model of a key space in the arts centre, to study the lighting conditions within that space. I chose

to model the Welsh Landscape Gallery, which sat directly below the hill viewing gallery. In this respect

it was a challenging space to deal with in terms of light, as I had to minimise sunlight entering the

gallery, without impeding the views of the hills in the gallery above. I did this through the use of baffles,

as shown opposite.The model gave me an opportunity to develop one space architecturally in greater depth than

ever before, and through the use of 3D modelling I also had the opportunity to test this space at

night. Along with this the model was useful when combined with a light meter, which meant that I could establish which areas of my space were

receiving the most light, and also whether the light levels were appropriate for use in a gallery.

Lighting StudyFigure Ground

TOM WOODWARD

SEPTEMBER

0900 1000 1100 1200 1300

Original

Update 1

Update 2

DECEMBER

0900 1000 1100 1200 1300

Original

Update 1

Update 2

JUNE

Original

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

0900 1000 1100 1200 1300

AnticipAtory Field

Anticipatory Field was the final project of second year, and was a ‘vertical studio’, in that second

years and first years worked collaboratively. The brief was to produce a film that investigated

the post-industrial site, and questioned the occupation and future use of these sites.

Film Making

Following a trip to mid-Wales, where we experienced the abandoned lead mines of Cymystwyth and the plateau in Ebbw Vale where the steelworks used to

stand, we produced a film that aimed to question cultural identity. The film questions, through the

eyes of a sheep, whether the nostalgia of the abandoned mines and buildings of Cymystwyth

make it a place worth keeping, and whether through the ‘wiping the slate clean’-approach

towards the redevelopment of Ebbw Vale the town is literally demolishing an important part of its

history.

‘Original piece’ collage

Over the course of the year I also ran the architecture society, SAWSA, and as an

organisation we ran a lecture series, featuring a variety of professional speakers and practicioners,

along with running a design competition, life-drawing classes, organising an end of year ball, and representing the student body. The posters

featured in the following pages were made mostly by the committee members in charge of

propaganda.

Lecture Series

We had the pleasure of welcoming some fantastic speakers to the school, all of which were organised

by ourselves. We had a range of practicioners from both small and large practices, along with

academics.

Variety

During the lecture series we hosted a range of speakers. My personal favourite was Jeremy Till,

who gave a spoken version of his book, Architecture Depends. The lecture, like the book, was engaging

and provocative. Andrew Phillips of David Chipperfield gave a

fascinating talk that went into the design of the Neues Berlin Museum in depth; a building that took

14 years in total.James Mitchell, a fifth year at WSA, gave an

inspirational talk on how he and other students had set up a charity that designed and built buildings

to benefit orphans and children in developing countries.

The Research at the School event we held towards the end of the year was very interesting in terms of

learning more about the research of the staff, and entertaining to watch - each researcher had strictly

one minute to explain their research.

dome gazingNational Museum of Wales:

section in context

plan showing passage through structure

cut away perspective perspective in context

Arnold Dunbar Smith and Cecil Brewer’s dome in the entrance hall of the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

student: 0803103

changing atmospheres clear your mind and then focus your gaze

mirrors

dark corridorraised platform

exterior: large, intimidating open space passage: enclosed, limited lightplatform: surrounded, visually open only upwards

Iterating

STUDENT: 09005731. Roof 2. Inhabiting 3. Access 4. Structural

Analysis5. Accoustic Baffling

Node

9mm plate

6mm plate

THECAVE

SectionStudies

1:40 1:20

45

30

onoiess

1 metre

70

70

70

RenderedSection

1:20

redeerednnn

Object

Siting

Competition

We also ran a design competition for our students, with the site being the entrance lobby of the

National Museum of Wales. Entrants had to design an architectural intervention that allowed for greater

enjoyment of the museum and its contents. The competition was judged by two professionals,

Andrew Phillips of David Chipperfield Architects and Adam Zombory-Moldovan Moore, of Zombory-

Moldovan Moore Architects, with the winning entrants awarded a placement at the firms in the

summer of 2011. The boards opposite are the winning entries of David Rossington and Jo Dand.

Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

The society also collaborated with the South-Wales branch of RSAW, Design Circle, to host a ball that the society members and professionals from the region

attended in great numbers. Whilst other members of the committee organised and ran the ball, it was

a great achievement and point of success for the society.