remaking hackney wick

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RE MAKING Hackney Wick

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Marta BorgesBA(Hons) Interior Architecture

May 2015

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INTRODUCTION

Hackney Wick is an area in development. An important industrial area of London in the 18th and 19th centuries. The massive industry development contributed to Hackney’s decline in 1879. It was seen as “a district of 6,000 people who had sunk to the lowest depths, and it became notorious for its jerry- built housing”. After years of stagnation Hackney Wick has now been chosen to be the newest big development in the city of London looking to be the home of Olympic Games of 2012. The regeneration of the area brought artists and designers to the Hackney Wick were studios are being set up bringing a new cultural and creative interest to the area.

We visited the site on the 9th October 2014 to survey the area where our next interior architecture project will take place.

The first half of the project will help us understand the site and will inform the design in the second half.

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Fig.1 Partial map of Hackney Wick. Locating the building in relation to the river Lea and the Olympic Park.

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TO HACKNEY WICK

FROM STOKE-ON-TRENT

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RE MAKING HACKNEY WICK

In response to the current social and economic situation of Hackney Wick I am creating a Ceramics Centre as a mechanism to bring the community together through reviving the craft and engaging people with the process of making.

The people of Hackney Wick will experience the whole process from digging clay from river Lea canals margins, to firing the pieces and display them.

Re Making Hackney Wick aims to bring this eclectic community together under one roof. In the heart of the building, the kiln represents the diverse community of Hackney Wick as a whole; and the individual tiles hanging from the wall that wraps around it represent each and every single person who is part of the project.

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STATISTICS

“Tower Hamlets has the second highest unemployment rate in London. Every ward has a higher proportion of people claiming out of work benefits than the London average. Problems are by no means confined to the economic - Tower Hamlets also has very high rates of long term illness and premature death.”

In Borough profile of tower hamlets

Fig.2 Percentage of 19 year-olds lacking level 3 qualifications, in London’s poverty report

Following my research and the finding of these negative statistics I decided to create a space for those who might suffer from these two very worrying conditions: lacking qualifications and unemployment.The ceramics centre will provide young people with a new profession and rekindle hope for those who lost their job.

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Stoke-On-Trent

London

Hackney Wick

Fig.3 Map of United Kingdom locating Stoke-on-Trent and Hackney Wick.

LOCATION

The project is located in Hackney Wick.The brief challanged me to create a suitable project for the

community, having in the existing boundaries both physical and psychological in the current situation.

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Stoke-On-Trent

London

Hackney Wick

7 ROACH ROAD

From an extensive lists of buildings located in the area of Hackney Wick and Stratford, I chose the former warehouse at number 7 Roach Road which is currently the Stour Space, a shared work space for artists and designers that accommodates the Stour Gallery and the Counter café.

Located right by the canal overlooking the Olympic Park is the perfcet location for the Ceramics Centre as the two main resources to make clay are at our immediate disposal. The water from the canal and the clay on the river banks will provide the materials for the locals to work with, and to learn from.

The revival of the craft in an area that is now developing will bring a new spectre to the ceramics world as well as engage people from different backgrounds with the art of making that has always been in the blood of people from Hackney Wick.

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Fig.4 7 Roach road, The Stour Space. Entrance from the road.

Fig.5 7 Roach road, The Stour Space seen from the Olympic Park Fig. 6 The Stour Space Interior

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CLAY

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Clay

A universal component used in preparing ceramics owing to its extraordinary facility of transformation through moulding and hardening processes.Different classifications are given to the manufacture of ceramic depending on its coverings colour. Red-body clays are characterised by their high iron content, low melting temperature, and moderate plasticity, whilst white-body clays are more plastic and have no colouring oxides.

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GEOLOGICAL SETTING

“The area is mainly underlain by silty clay of the London Clay Formation of Eocene age.”

In www.bgs.ac.uk

The geological conditions of the site are favourable to the making of clay, as the banks and the underlain terrain is composed of silty clay that can be dug and used to produce clay in order to make ceramic pieces.

River Lea

Soil - Silty Clay

Subsoil - Rock

Building foundation

Fig. 7 Sectional diagram of geological setting in Hackney Wick

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HISTORY

The potteries in Stoke-On-Trent have had an unrivalled importance since the 17th Century.The industry was firstly established there due to an abundance of clay and coal needed to produce pottery.From mid senventeenth century onwards the farmers occupying the area realized the potential of pottery and that became their main activity.By 1700 Stoke-On-Trent exceeded the demand of pottery in the areas nearby and some of it was also distributed to further counties. With the appearance of new materials and techniques, pottery was constantly changing and evolving. To compete with the white pottery from China, before 1800 Josiah Spode son’s created a fine bone china porcelain that allowed the business to grow even more.In the 19th century more than 300 potworks existed in north Staffordshire. Back then a potwork consited of warehouses, workshops, a dipping house, saggar house, plate house, a packing house and kilns. In the very heyday of Stoke-On-Trent potteries there were more than 4,000 kilns in the area which indicates the importance of such craft in England. The kilns opperated by coal created a very polluted environment and affected the health of those who lived and worked in the potteries.In 1952 the cleanair act changed the industry and the face of Stoke-On-Trent. By 1965 there were no longer any kilns in use. This and mainly the competition from the far east made the pottery industry decay and the number of employed people in the potteries fell 70%.Recently a new interest for ceramics was revived and some of the potteries have taken a different approach towards ceramics. Nationally and Internationally the exploration of new techniques and possibilities using ceramics has been having a great acceptance with great results. This material with a great historial weight is coming back into our lives through new proccesses of transformation.

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INSPIRATION

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INSPIRATION

Justin Plunkett’s illustration was the starting point for my conceptual proposal and model.The combination and overlapping of different components and materials that give this immaginary building its character, relfect the individuality of the many people involved in its contructionas well as the power of community.

Fig. 9 Illustration by Justin Plunkett

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Fig. 11 Furniture connectors by Ornella Stocco

Fig. 10 The Yard house, built by the assemble studio

The yard house was a great reference in the sense that had both functionality and materiality within the same building from where I could base myself.

The ceramic furniture connectors made by Ornella Stocco representend the spatial qualities I wanted to bring into the space.

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These furniture connectors represent all the connections existing within the project. The reconnection of the people with the land and the river, the connection of Hackney Wick community, the connection between past, present and future.

Fig. 12 Sketch of floor plan organization Fig. 13 Bottle Kiln, Stoke-on-Trent

INITIAL IDEAS

CENTRAL KILN

CONNECTIONS

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TARGET HACKNEY WICK COMMUNITY

This project envisions to bring Hackney Wick community closer.Everyone is welcome to learn the craft of making ceramics in the center, either as a hobby or a full-time course which will be recognized and certified, with which those who complete the full duration of the course have autonomy to use the facilities for personal projects that can as well be commercialized in the premisses.

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THE PROCESS OF MAKING

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CASTING PROCESS

Casting is one of the processes of creating ceramic pieces.It is one of the most common and is the one used in the very first lesson when enrolling in our center.

Fig. 14 Diagram of the casting process

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EXTRACTING CLAY FROM RIVER LEA BANKS

Fig. 15 Diagram - digging clay from river Lea

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THE TOOLS FOR MAKING

SIEVING NATURAL CLAY

MIXING AND EXTRUDING

Fig. 16 Sieving machinery

Fig. 17 Mixing and extruding machinery

MOLDING CLAY

Fig. 18 Tools for molding clay (scalpels, knifes, carving spatulas)

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WELCOME TO RE MAKING Hackney Wick

Dig the clay

Sieve it

Stir it well

Achieve great texture

Choose your pattern

Bisque fire

Make the mixture

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Be a part of it!

Trim the edges

Choose your glazing

Sieve it well

Apply the glaze

Glaze fire

Hang your tile!

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DEVELOPMENT

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The initial models were a very important step towards unlocking my project’s brief and purpose. From these conceptual models I decided to make my own tiles with different textures and glazes.

Fig. 20 Experimenting with clay

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Fig. 22 Casting tiles in mold

Fig. 21 Mold

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After glazing the first few experiments I decided to use the tiles as the main subject of my project.The centre became the place where the tiles are produced as well as the diplay.

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Fig. 23 Tiles with different colour glazes

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The main ideas was to have the bottle kiln in a central position as a gesture towards ceramics and

a connection to Stoke-on-Trent.

Having in mind the existing structure of the warehouse, it made more sense to incorporate the kiln within the I beams that hold the structure together.

Fig. 24, 25 & 26 Sketches in plan of spatial organization

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Fig. 27 First visual references

Fig. 28 Final layout

The final layout of the plan shows the kiln on the left half of the building and a wall wrapping around it all the way, creating pockets of spaces for the differnt activites happening on the building.

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Fig. 29 Final design, ground floor

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Fig. 30 Final design, First floor

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Fig. 31 Final design, long section

Fig. 32 3D CAD model

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Fig. 33 1 Point perspective visual

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MODEL

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The making of my final model at scale 1:10, which shows how the tiles hang off from the perfurated metal curved wall.

The idea is to convey how the metal wall is attached to the I beams running accross the building and the staircase adjacent to it, which helps support the structure.

Throughout I tried to chose the appropriate materials to represent reality. The tiles are porcelain, the wall is perfurated metal, the floating staircase is composed of alluminium steps and invisible acrylic supports.

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Fig. 34 Physical model

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Fig. 35 Physical model

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Fig. 37 Physical model

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Fig. 38 Physical model

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RE MAKING HACKNEY WICK

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Fig. 39 Collecting, sieving, mixing clay.

Fig. 40 Molding and bisque firing

Fig. 41 The kiln imterior - additional seating

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Fig. 41 The kiln imterior - additional seating

Fig. 42 Weighing, mixing, glazing and firing the tiles

Fig. 43 3D printing, and sharing the kiln(firing and preparing lunch)

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7 Roach RoadGround Floor @ 1:100

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7 Roach RoadFirst Floor @ 1:100

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7 Roach RoadReflected Ceilling @ 1:100

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7 Roach RoadSection A:A @ 1:50

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7 Roach RoadSection D:D @ 1:100

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Exterior Visual

Glazing Lab Visual

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Clay preparation workshop Visual

Restaurant Visual

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HAND MADE TILES CLADDING THE PERFURATED METAL WALL

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