MAA01 23/24 Data Informed Structures Seminar

Credits: STORE STORE BUILD

THE PROJECT
This year Data informed Structures will collaborate on an exciting brief defined by STORE STORE in London: The design of a timber roof for existing garages which would bring light into the space and transform the garage into a workshop.

STORE have identified a garage site on Clissold Crescent, Hackney.

The project proposes the transformation of the garage site into an affordable workspace. During phase 1, the existing roofs will be removed and a new roof will be designed to let light in and increase head height. The first phase of the regeneration of the project is to transform one garage, remove the roof, and with the new roof can become profitable for the local community as a workspace. In the 2nd phase the new timber roofs will be dis-assembled, and transformed into new garages, with different sizes on different sites to start the same regeneration process.

Students in London and IAAC students will team up to develop the structure and detailing for this new roof, based on design for dis and reassembly.
IAAC will specifically focus on the adaptation, how we can retrofit the roof designed for Phase 1 site, to adapt to another site, addressing its performance in terms of letting light in, harnessing solar energy and water, as well as how it can be constructed by laymen.

STORE STORE BUILD

STORE STORE Build London is a small-scale building project run as an educational program, where the students  taught have an active role in the delivery of the architectural project – from the planning and design phases to the actual construction of a building. This is a project that looks to upskill a generation of young people (13 to 19 years old) in London about their built environment, giving them a voice in how their communities are designed and built. The construction site becomes a living classroom, raising awareness of green building technologies and the circular economy.

This roof transformation project tests radical ways of learning, allowing students to be involved in every aspect of a building, from site surveys, design development and construction. This will be taught as a series of After School Clubs, Summer Schools and One Day Workshops in local state schools.

The actual transformation of the existing garages in London will take place in winter 2024 and done by STORE STORE London and the local community and volunteers. Our seminar will assist in the development of the concept as part of the planning application, aim to be completed mid May, 2024.

Syllabus: Adaptation + performance 

We will design a timber roof structure which brings light to the space of the garage, but moreover can be dis-assembled and relocated onto another garage, focussing on the adaptation of the timber roof structure to different sizes of garages and site. 

We will work with:

1. Structural design for adaptation, incorporating design for dis and reassembly, focussing on design and analysis of the key structural elements and details which we will also test structurally physically at IAAC;
2. Design the roof performance linked to its geometry (solar panels, water collection, incorporating habitation of other species, etc.);
3. Develop a construction methodologies which allows for engagement with the local community.

Collaboration with STORE STORE BUILD

For STORE STORE students (13 – 19 year olds), it will be great to experience how more advanced tools can aid to develop an adaptive system as well as the ability to put data (structural and environmental) to the performance of the roof. It is almost like a taster of working with professionals. We will take design inspiration from the younger learners, and assist them in how their developments can become reality. For example: London students can collaborate in the development of roof forms, which could inspire us to explore forms and systems created without a performance aspect in mind.

FINAL BUILD – 5 day workshop (part 2)

The outcome of the seminar can be 2-fold, and we will engage the team to decide what’s best:

• Develop one design collectively mixing the developments during the seminar sessions of PART 1, build it at 1:1 scale, prove dis-assembly and showcase how it can respond to a different site, size of garage, connection to the brickwork, including structural testing and verification of the elements making up the design;
• Develop parts of some key adaptive aspects of the developed design(s) in PART 1 at 1:1 scale, providing an array of systems able to adapt to different sites.

Credits: Arup Ebury Edge, London Jan Kattein Architects

Topics and Themes

The following topics will be researched for the design of the adaptable roof structure:

• Structural design of adaptive system;
• Integrating environmental performance (as well as structure) into geometry;
• Design for dis and re-assembly;
• Construction done by unskilled workers, embedding information into elements, and working with minimal drawings;
• Lifecycle, future use circularity.

Learning Objectives

At course completion the student will:

• Understand the fundamentals of structural design through physical testing and computational structural analysis with Karamba; 
• Understand how to set up an analysis, strategically change parameters and understand and respond to structural analysis results. i.e. apply feedback loops; 
• Relate structural design to construction and fabrication impacts. Translate digital analysis and structural performance to material design constructs;
• Relate structural principles with 1:1 construction methods to existing site conditions, both in terms of the physical building performance, as well as the climate aspects; 
• Understand the relations between architectural potential and structural aspects in a holistic way.
• Develop an integrated design workflow that incorporates fabrication / material / logistics constraints into the architectural proposal;
• Understand the limitations and potentials of digital fabrication as part of the design language.