Summary of this week's activities - w/c 24 November

Hi everyone

I think we're all clear but here are the tasks each of us has offered to take on this week.

Simon: 
1) Masterplans for +30 and +300 years with Lili.
2) Sketch design showing canals running from docks. Perhaps the canals could become irrigation channels leading from the tranquility dock to the commercial urban agriculture site, with on-site reedbeds to clean the water? My SUDS sketch design could then show similar principles, though different techniques used on a smaller, residential scale?

Lili: 
Masterplans for +30 and +300 years with Simon.

Athanase:
1) Sketch design illustrating the theme of urban agriculture in relation to fish-farming in one of the lakes running from the recovered spring-line. This needs to show fish-farming at a commercial scale, rather than individuals fishing (which I'll add to my sketch design for the Recreation Dock).
2) Model of the Thames river edge, showing how access to the Thames has improved and the benefits that this offers i.e. green space running along Thames serving as a shady promenade, viewing platforms offering vistas of the river, housing positioned so that they have good views of the river...
3) Redraw sketch designs for:
a) community garden: I'd suggest including people working together / enjoying the space, as the lack of community spirit is one of the failings we've identified for the site. Perhaps you could include housing that looks similar (e.g. posh social housing) so it's clear that it's people from the same housing complex are using the garden.
b) commercial urban agriculture: Following discussions with Benz I'd suggest that permaculture is shown to be just a small part of the farm, show-casing the latest techniques (so part of the sketch needs to show some animals - Benz suggested chickens as these are small and can easily be accommodated within the limits of an urban space). Perhaps you could include a stall in the sketch, showing how the produce is sold at the farm gate, directly to members of the community. 

Stevie: 
1) Sketch design showing new architectural styles that we would like to introduce. Perhaps you could illustrate both buildings for commercial use and for residential use and how these can be combined within the same building. This will not only cover off both building types but will also back up our argument for mixed-use areas rather than strong zoning of areas in terms of land use.
2) Model illustrating green roofs, green walls, green bridges.

Jenny: 
1) Model and sketch for culverted road and running between the docks and new viewing platform over the docks.
2) Modify some of this week's sketch designs in light of Tom's comments.

Anka: 
1) Habitat plan for Ecology Dock area and borders of Thames. 
2) SUDs sketch design.
3) Re-structure storyboard.

Outstanding tasks:
Cost plan
Plan of existing site

And I hope you all get some well-deserved sleep!

Anka

Bogged down in the Docks - meeting 17/11/10

Hi All,

Another set of challenges today inspired by Tom. 'Expect the unexpected' might be an appropriate phrase.

I'll continue to work on the 5 elements until we have something that Tom is happy with. I'll follow his suggestions 'to the letter' and show and tell to the group. I'll also tweak the storyboard to reflect the comments so far and this can hopefully sit in the background until its needed while we work on other more pressing tasks.

So moving forward everyone should come to the class next week with sketches of the site in 300 years time (and 30 years if you wish) that show the 5 elements of the site - so sketches of riverside use, dockside use, housing, commercial and industrial buildings, greenways, landscape (greenrooves, green bridges, streets, parks, agriculture) and landform. There is plenty of reference material around (see indicative reading in the brief) to inspire.

We can look at these designs next week and discuss the vision plan that Lili is producing for us. All this should help with modelling the site which we can do once we have settled on a final vision plan and designs.

In addition to sketches, there were some specific actions for individuals as follows:

Lili - a vision plan
Simon - 5 elements diagrams, tweak then upload the storyboard to skydrive
Athanase - 2 powerpoint slides on history and some sketches of the site showing its history

If anyone wants to bring additional models that would be very helpful as the brief refers to models at this stage in the program. Also, if anyone has experience of cost plans it would be helpful if they could share this with the group.

Stevie could not make the meeting because he was looking for new accomodation so i'll discuss the work with him ahead of next week.

s.

NEW- 5 MAPS

Hi All,

Hope you will satisfy with above images. this would be the last vision of diagram maps. Let's spend time on view plan, sketch design, and sections etc, lots of works that we have started.

Good Luck

L

Actions following meeting of 10/11/10

Dear all

As discussed we need to provide lots of visual material for next week's powerpoint presentation. He are the tasks that each of us has promised to complete:

Simon - co-ordinating and compiling the powerpoint presentation; 'quick-and-dirty' masterplan

Anka - completing new -300 to +300 year schematic drawings (with Jenny); producing visuals and simple model of Recreation Dock

Jenny - completing new -300 to +300 year schematic drawings (with Anka); producing visuals and simple model of the Conservation Dock; producing visuals (and maybe model) of green bridge

Stevie - providing extra photos (see below)

Athanase - producing a bubble diagram of opportunities; producing visuals and simple model of new green space

Lili - sketches of final proposal - housing (done), greenways, mixed-use buildings, riverside and park network

Please post all your images (jpegs please) to the Storyboard folder on Skydrive. I've already posted the written description of each schematic drawing there to help Jenny and Anka.

Can you all check that the photos mentioned below are on skydrive (if not, upload them now):

Anka - vista picture of Canary Wharf; derelict open spaces; poor quality green spaces; sources of noise pollution - airport, pier road; poor social, economic and ecological conditions; poor architecture

Stevie - people around Excel; photos of school; empty places

Lili - people around Excel

Athanase - poor habitat areas; pollution; dominant road(s)

Does anyone have an image of industrial pollution from the site or can they provide one?

That's all folks

s

Concept Model - a model to explain our idea

Let me know what you think...

The 'frog' of the brick is full of water (like the dock) and the rest of the surface is covered with moss. There would have been more moss all around the brick but I couldnt find anymore. By the way, the London Brick Company went into decline during the 1960s after being a dominant manufacturer.

s

one of sketch designs for our slogan-Enrichment around the royal docks

This is another drawing we have produced last week. Just an imaginary of 300years forwards the royal docks, where all covered by various vegetation.

Maps for -300 to 300years

Hi, There

please have a look these maps, this is what we produced last week, they are not a final one,  will be revised after group meeting.

Lili

Meeting of 3/11/10

Just a quick note for the A&C bootcampers as follows:

the storyboard was very hard to do particularly as Tom pointed out that we didnt have a final concept diagram (a 'picture' of our idea). After some discussion around the years -300 thro to +300 years we concluded that our +300 year concept is to go back to how the landscape was at -300 years! Almost totally green but with the city underneath. Lili's suggestion was that this could be a 'flowery forest'.

We obviously need to discuss and agree this as a group as soon as possible. 

Tom suggested that we try and describe each era in a couple of sentences eg. "300 years ago this site was a wet marsh with a spring line ditch". This, he felt, would help us simplify each of the era drawings (which show the 5 main elements).

Once this is done, we can then create a sentence for each of the storyboard slides to create a strong narrative to explain the rationale for our proposal. Supporting images and graphics will then follow but I really dont think we need all the imagery by next Wednesday and I'm sure we have some of it already.

So at the moment, we have a flowery forest concept that stands for the enrichment of the area in a number of respects (economically, socially, naturally, architecturally).   

I hope this note helps. So we need to have our storyboard sentences and some images by next Wednesday but hey dont panic!

s

Birds-eye Before and After

Dear All

Hope you like this cheesy comparison. More model pix on skydrive in the photos folder called 'Concept Model III'. Please note that a further concept model is expected - this is not the final version!!

s