Cairns Street Apiary-Liverpool

Houses are due for demolition
Juxtapose the assumed worthlessness of the houses by creating uses for the back garden spaces
Spaces given to people who live in surrounding communities for their own choice of use
Modular systems provided to, perhaps cover a space, give it electricity or water...
A new street is formed along the tight passage between the gardens of opposite houses.
In the example above an apiary (bee keepers) has been set-up in the back garden.
The honey removed from the Bee Box, taken inside where it is processed into salable honey, while at the front door jars are collected, washed and re-labelled. The two processes meet in the middle and are boxed for transport or sold at a counter in the hallway.
The building becomes re-used as well as the garden.
Even Didgeridoo's are made under the stairs as the bee's wax is perfect for making the mouth pieces.

Poor quality images, sorry

T14 Liverpool-City As Shopping Opportunity?

Looking at Google Maps I have just realised that Cairns Street, shown in the Flickr images of the street party was the street in which I based my second year project.
Please paste: ‘Granby Street, Liverpool’ into Google Maps and you can have a look round on Street View and see what the lecture was referring to.
Again, the evenings Rip It Up And Start Again lecture dovetailed nicely with the themes of the Breakfast Lecture.
The key principle to take from the evening for me, came from an answer in the questions section. That the Biennial provided, ‘A structure for the maintenance of the city.’ The most important point of the survival of any city is that people value it, in terms of the economic possibilities but also its social possibilities. Art can be a good way to get to know eachother-normally through having a laugh at someone else.
The Marcus Coates’ project: Journey to The Lower World was my favorite artpiece. I question the implication that asking residents their issues with a place and community and then suggesting answers derived through a Shaman ceremony does not have any ulterior motive, but that’s good in this case. As we saw, the other forces smashing these communities all have ulterior motives and don't work for the good of the people they serve.
I question the assertion that there is dignity in poverty so poverty is fine. This is not acceptable. In a time when Heroin is so accessible it is neither practical.
‘Liverpool-A City That Dared To Fight’, Peter Taffe and Tony Mulhern. It lost. It’s still loosing and art won’t change that alone, just like one city on its own couldn’t win alone.
This brings us to the question, ‘What is a community?’

T12 London's Urban Markers

Was it a joke?

Firstly to present any of these projects as an ‘intervention’ cannot be taken seriously. My understanding of an intervention is something that questions local conditions and often tests propositions to, hopefully, make an improvement. Most people do this with little cash, to ask for £10 million to plonk an irrelevant, unconsidered, unquestioned object anywhere is disgusting.

De-cluttering is indeed a popular phrase. One-by-one the panel jumped on this to describe the exciting jumble of the city, with distinct aspects to its make-up of parts. Why then do you need a marker to describe where you are? I don’t wander around the West End, lost and scared until I come across Nelson’s Column and think: ‘Thank god, now I know where I am!’ Anyway, I wouldn’t go there, I go to a pizza shop close-by where you can get a slice at the counter for relatively cheap and its relatively nice-This is my marker.
How does adding another object to the streetscape de-clutter?

How many monuments do we need? A question raised in the discussion. In a tight city like central London, we need a marker on every corner because you can’t tell where you are if you can’t see the next? Oh, but there is, isn’t there, because that café doesn’t exist anywhere else.

Just a note on the Ebbsfleet White Horse (should it have been a White Elephant?). I didn’t like this one either. I had never heard of Ebbsfleet until a few years ago, now it is one of only 3 locations in the country to have an international train terminal-isn’t this marketing enough? No one has ever heard of Northfleet, or Greenhithe or Singlewell, Ebbsfleet’s larger neighbors. I suppose this argument doesn’t sit with the Industrial park’s owners; but to whip-up some localism to satisfy their renewed (after admitted total initial failure) marketing strategy is unfair.

T11 Lecture 3 What Happened to the Thames Gateway Dream?

From living in Docklands I know what a grim place it can be.
The main built form seems to be infrastructure, interesting then to hear Geoff Shearcroft’s statistics: 22% of land use in the UK being for roads compared to only 8% housing.
You could map the whole history of the Thames Gateway from its infrastructure. This is very evident around the Royal Docks and Beckton, where I am most familiar. The area and its infrastructure only exist because of the docks, which haven't operated for years. Many programs of renewed infrastrucure provision have been attempted to encourage re-development. The legacy of the Thatcherite programs with brick clad concrete bridges, 4 lanes wide which lead to fenced-off dead ends in mid air. Others altered to make into green connections between bits of residual scrub, left in the ‘frozen bits of land’ between concrete ribbons. Then the undulating DLR, bizarre for such a flat landscape. Affording great views (a matter of opinion) in places and dark depressions in others. Its so slow. Concrete, raw-nothing happening in the gaps though, cost seems to be the only consideration when it came to design.
At this point in the Thames Gateway the big sheds are not hidden, are even celebrated with prominent locations facing the infrastructure. Excel and the Royals Business park, even the Architecture School at UEL. Then this was the original theme for the area, large warehouses by the docks.
There was a good model a few years ago by an RCA student describing the infrastructure of the area, I will dig that out.
The observations about repetitive housing not meaning that what goes on inside the houses is the same was very encouraging. ‘While you were sleeping and trying to dream’ Things were being built and people carrying out their lives amongst it all.
Back to repetitive housing, this was a project done in Beckton about how people could adapt their houses to innovate or support changing circumstances: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/urbanbuzz/downloads/projects_03/CD-G-Workshop_Case%20Study.pdf
This is a very interesting new book on the subject, again, not sure about its conclusions but nice drawings!
http://www.dk-cm.com/projects/sub-plan-a-guide-to-permitted-development/

T10 Mapping-Buoy, Tottenham Marshes

T9 1 Minute Presentation

Aspiration?

Method?

T7 Urban Design Roles

Professional Roles:

Spatial Planner (official title of members of team within Haringey Planning Department)
Architect
Planner
Landscape adviser
Engineer
Councilor
Mayor
Surveyor
Quantity Surveyor
MP

Butcher
Baker
Candle Stick Maker (I suppose everybody is involved at some point?)

T6 Urban Design Definitions

muf architectureart
muf have established urban strategies that successfully negotiate public and private interests in order to develop the economic and social potential for multiple occupations of public space. These projects are achieved through pioneering methods of consultation to identify the many and diverse desires contingent on a situation. Our working method draws together expertise in consultation, funding, landscape, traffic management, street furniture and information design.

Topio, Landscapes
Topio, is a landscape design and research practice which celebrates the art of place and the life of plants.
Every project evolves through listening, sensing and responding: an ecological approach that invites in the subtle energies of place in conversation with communities and practitioners in the field.

Yorkshire Forward-Regional Regeneration quango!

Making places ‘great'
Yorkshire Forward wants to help create places where people want to live, work and invest—seizing opportunities, fixing what’s broken, and building on what’s already there. Our Urban Renaissance programme provides a new way to overcome the challenges. We have a detailed understanding of the issues, and we're promoting the development of knowledge, expertise, skills and best practice.

What is a ‘great place'?
It's virtually impossible to define what makes a place 'great' - but the following are a range of likely characteristics:
Originality and great architecture
Creativity, culture, knowledge and learning
Permeable public spaces, public buildings and public life
Quality and accessible green spaces
High-quality, well-connected infrastructure
Engaged and thriving communities with a sense of belonging
Strong, ambitious leadership and governance
Civic pride and positive identity
Strong, growing businesses and flexible local economies
Accessible business support structures
Environmental consciousness and sensitivity
Equality, fairness and diversity—reflecting all ages, races and abilities.

T5 Site Background-Lea Valley

Simply the area action plans for the mid-Lea Valley area from the Borough's who control parts of the first Unit 10 site.
Spot the difference?

WALTHAM FOREST: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/figure1-5-ppg17-typology-access-walthamstow-
HACKNEY: leabridge.pdf/www.hackney.gov.uk/Assets/Documents/ldf-proposals_map.pdf
HARINGEY: http://www.cartoplus.co.uk/haringey/haringey.htm

The Architect Sketch

T8 Lecture 2 What is the contemporary city made of?

It’s a good starting approach to understanding cities by visiting them and having a look round.

WW2 had caused massive social change in Britain. The transient nature of people’s surroundings or this perception had lead to people being less precious about unnecessary belongings, and had increased community collaboration through necessity. Churchill, the famous war leader was voted out at the first opportunity in favour of a Labour Government promising a Welfare State. Unfortunately, economic uncertainty in America lead to them recalling the massive war debts Britain owed, which lead to a much diluted version of the Welfare State being implemented. Does that have any relevance…

The lecture seemed to sit very well with our conclusions as a group to date. Politics and money have a much bigger say in our built environment than Architects-is this fair to say?

We’re still looking at architecture as object.

Jane Jacobs observes the city and makes common sense conclusions. This doesn’t mean that she knows best for the city (I haven’t got to the ‘Different Tactics’ section yet) but it shows that through observation, some local knowledge and a little presumption we can see a little past our social assumptions.

I would relate this to Park Hill, Sheffield.

I took a friend up to see it this year, I’d never been in the middle of it when I was younger because I’d grown up with the stories (and it’s a Sheffield United stronghold) but now only a few people live there I thought it was ok!

It was built by the City Architects to the emerging theory lead by the Smithsons in their unbuilt Golden Lane competition entry. With exposed concrete structure and raised deck access open to the elements (later a major criticism-open decks may work in French sunshine but in driving Yorkshire rain?-I think this is a bit irrelevant). As was mentioned in the lecture, Park Hill was considered successful by its residents for the first 30 years, with schools, play areas, shops, pubs, hairdressers, all part of the development and in the middle, not on some lonely edge. Also, that its decline correlates directly with the decline of the steel industry, at its absolute peak in the late 70’s; with jobs in the steel industry falling by 90% in the following 10 years as automation kicked in and competition closed other plants. Not forgetting Margaret Thatcher(the wicked witch)’s input, cutting inner city Council budgets to a third of their previous levels, with many maintenance budgets for public housing being scrapped altogether. Liverpool being the only Council, which temporarily resisted, with its Militant movement. Again mentioned in the lecture, but it is worth going to Liverpool to perhaps Toxteth. Its very weird; rows of terraced houses in good condition but to be demolished by their Council owners, next to a green site where the street outline shows where the next identical set of terraced houses were. Then on the same size site, following the same road pattern, a group of semi-detached houses, as seen in the lecture, of roughly a third the density of the terraced rows. Go to Granby Street, once a bustling row of shops with a long market where the flats above the shops used to be a valuable commodity, highly sought after by the young people of the area. Now a newsagent, with the traditional Liverpool plexi-glass surrounded counter, a Caribbean club and foreign food shop, a local Police outpost with anti ram-raid protection built into the surrounding pavement and by far the most popular, opposite the cop-shop the drug dealers who don’t seem to make any concession to hide what they are up to. Oh, and Ken’s barbers. Actually, sounds quite good there, I suppose it is in ways but you have to go perhaps.

Sheffield Council caved in, lead at the time by The Right Honourable David Blunkett MP.

Now Urban Splash aren’t redeveloping Park Hill because they can’t make such massive profits at the moment. They didn’t even bother fixing the structural concrete mentioned in its 2* listing, rather, they covered over the exposed rusting steel reinforcing bars.

I’ve got carried away with object now-its too easy.

Robert Mull’s question was a good one, in that it picked up on the main factor, which discredits, to most people the argument that the lecture was making. That it’s easy to be critical (clearly its not because more people would be so), without proposing a solution. Owen Hatherley’s was to revert to and improve his Socially Democratic England 4. Clearly, at least in the short term this will not be the case. So, us SPUD’s need to be looking for a New England, and not take Billy Bragg’s stance…

It’s the first time I’ve listened to an SWP member for so long and not had to buy a paper-so that’s good.

T4 Lecture 1 What is the city for?

Some more great terms brought up in this lecture, such as:

Publicness

City at night

Urban Metabolism

Arrival City

City Wilderness

and the basis for the lecture:

Freedom-for

Freedom-from

However, the questions were perhaps more telling towards our course. With a clear distinction between Diploma Unit 1's view of architecture as object compared to architecture as city and increasingly to architecture as world city and the architect as a worldwide protagonist.

T3 Film 1 Koyaanisqatsi

Godfrey Reggio, Koyaanisqatsi (film), Life out of balance, 1983

Philip Glass, Score

Life exists because of imbalances.

The Universe, because the spread of gravity was imbalanced (assuming gravity exists).

Life and evolution, because chemicals within cells became imbalanced and mutated.

Civilisation has been created from an imbalance of skills-specialisation, which allows increasing numbers to live together.

The film was pretty.

I would like to have seen more of the shots of the humans walking past camera; they had much greater intimacy. We get so used to vast unspoiled landscapes but don’t recognise them as we do a smirk. The story could have been told even more simply using one or the other.

Also, the speeding up and slowing down of sequences, was there a logic to this, or was it just taste.

The score did relate directly to the visual medium, however, if showing the actual images why not the accurate sounds as well.

T2 Manifesto 1

I’m English I suppose but not necessarily.

I never knew this before I came to London.

I was from Yorkshire; from Sheffield; from High Green; from the North side of High Green-oops, don’t tell people that, they will think you are posh.

No design is or can be perfect. Does this make design worthless? Design is necessary.

The intricacies of the city mean that making improvements mean exaggerating other faults, many changes are often wholly detrimental.

We make assumptions as designers that we will forge inherently positive objects for our built environment. However, with the different interests of those involved this becomes diluted or even purposefully the opposite.

So, I like to be critical.

Added Value is my favorite phrase at the moment.

Working on community gardens for the last year has given me a good insight into what added value can mean. Neighbors who had never met, water each other’s plants, socialise, fix each other’s washing machines, say hello, even fall-out. Better to not like someone than to not know them…?

The relative monitory cost of these projects is tiny compared, I believe to the outcomes. Can this value be quantified> It’s much easier to spend all your money on a couple of big projects than think of lots of tiny one’s with much higher added value.

I don’t like gardening that much, though, neither do they.

My third year tutors told me, that I was the worst student they had ever taught. My collection of buildings too understated (for a World Heritage Site). The reasoning of the different aspects too overstated.

‘Why don’t you put a dome on it?’

I didn’t have a reply to that one.

Good design is an inefficient process of change.

A planning role seems much more honorable than that of most architects. At least Planners work to minimum standards, doing a job of much less egotistical fancy.

For my degree dissertation I wrote about T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. In it Eliot suggests that everything has been done before and we can only re-jumble. Well, perhaps it has, but we seem to be constantly re-jumbling the same pieces. It makes sense that architects and planners are re-jumblers. Deck chairs on the Titanic? If people had been spread equally amongst the lifeboats, everybody would have got off.

Écriture-signposts of language; T.S. Eliot’s copy and paste style.

Think I may have given myself away.

T1 Glossary 1

1. Planning - Coordinated attempt to rationalise the development of the built environment. 1a. Rationalise - Make according to certain guidelines/the prevailing rational.

2. Spatial Planning - Purposeful arrangement of objects within a given space. Often, with varying consideration to the relationship between object, space and use. Sadly mostly fixed when in situ.

3. Design - Exploring new possibilities in creation/reworking an object for a given purpose.

4. Urban Design - re-modeling the built environment. 4a. Urbanity - One road in isolation is no different from another, whether it be in a city or countryside; all built things have some sense of urbanity.

5. Dissemination - Taking ideas and proposals to those who will be affected by them to develop ways to put them into practice; also, to receive a critical response.

6. Pilot Projects - Smaller scale testing’s of larger design principles.

7. Public Art - An attempt at focusing of the perception of an area and the attention of its inhabitants to a given identity. 7a. Inhabitants - Those who occupy/have a bearing on the use of, a given space. Could be considered that wider society and therefore everyone is included.

8. To Consider - Make a judgment on an appropriate course of action relative to the objectives, opinions and principles of those who consider. Flawed.

9. Masterplan - Collection of studies which are brought together and conclusions made for the continued development of an area.

10. Map. A specific description of an area using symbolism.