lower lea valley group 3

WorkspaceNeighbourhoodLower Lea Valley

Architectural Association Housing and UrbanismW

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2010/11Low

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Workspace NeighbourhoodLower Lea Valley

Design Workshop Group:Nii AnYaniv LenmanYulia MalyshevaMarianela Castro de la BordaChantal MartinelliLucie SenesiovaPhilipp Stumhofer

Workspace Neighborhood / Lower Lea Valley

ArChiteCturAL ASSoCiAtioN SChooL of ArChiteCtureGrADuAte SChooL ProGrAMProgram: housing and urbanismterm: Spring 2010/11tutors: Lawrence Barth & Dominic Papa Published in London on June 17, 2011

CONTENTSIntroductIon

chapter 1 LoWer Lea VaLLeyWorkspace NeighbourhoodRedefining the Urban ConditionPrimary ElementsThe Urban QuarterArchitecture is the engine of urbanity

chapter 2 ShedSShedsPotentialSupershed The Valley

chapter 3 encloSureSLearning from CollegesColleges ResearchSugar House LaneTwelve Trees

concluSIon

BIBlIography

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Contents

iNtroductioNPeripheral industrial sites have new opportunity to be transformed. in a context largely composed of patchwork grids in the underutilized area, it seems crucial to explore and establish generative archi-tectures and organisational specificities that can deal with deep plot and non-street based system as drivers for regeneration of the area. the prob-lems of the periphery are; lack of critical mass, over-fragmentation and poor relationship between infrastructures, leading to lack of synergistic en-vironment attractive to both industries and resi-dents. in order to deal with the challenge mentioned above, we had to manifest new approaches to deploy under the conditions of the industrial pe-riphery. While responding to varied influences of the surrounding contexts, architectures are con-ceived as dynamic elements capable of transform-ing the urban structure of Lower Lea Valley (LLV) to generate synergies in the industrial fabric. two typologies; sheds and enclosures are chosen to be tested as part of a strategy in exploiting genera-tive architectures as driving force in creating more intensive and synergistic urban quarters.

three main sites in LLV were chosen to test these ideas; a) the Valley b) Sugar house Lane c) twelve trees

this booklet describes the methodology of our work throughout the project.

Introduction

Clark Center, Stanford

Lower Lea Valley

Workspace Neighbourhood4 5

LoWer LeaVaLLey


Nothing can be harder to imagine than the highest value of technology centre to be integrated into the LLV since it seems like there is no way of gen-erating the creative quality in Clark Centre to be realized in the peripheral site such as LLV. howev-er, it is not impossible today, after the introduction of new kind of synergies and networks that were not expected 20 years ago, with rich pattern of industrial fragmentation retained with knowledge economy. New kinds of synergies and networks in emerg-ing industrial environments such as high-value manufacturing and the knowledge-based econo-my requires new urban patterns linking design and research with manufacturing in both spatial and organizational terms. the existing fractured envi-ronment can be brought into a spatial system of economic synergies, with an understanding a con-cept of patterns of cluster formation, adaptable to the economics of change: a “workspace neigh-bourhood”. the concept of workspace neighbourhood in-forms that rich mixture of businesses we find in successful urban and industrial areas can also be created in LLV with new planning instruments. By overcoming the system based on land use in the past, the underutilized remnants of the industrial fabric can be transformed into a quarter where multiple disciplines can cross-fertilize each other to grow ideas and imagination in combination with manufacturing. LLV can have a mixture of creative and productive environment that is capable of embracing the new economy to a fuller extent by serving greater stakeholders. Water and landscape also have role in enriching recreational environments and high quality hous-ing while injecting hierarchy to the urban fabric and creating differentiated quarters. By integrat-ing water, landscape and spatial development, the Lower Lea Valley can become a synergistic envi-ronment with strong identity, attractive for both living and working.

Workspace Neighbourhood

opposite Page:Clark Center, Stanford

Chapter 1 / Lower Lea ValleyWorkspace Neighbourhood8 9

the new working environmentWorking environments are changing! the power of networks in the innovation economy is chang-ing the way we use workspaces. Assembly plants are becoming features of the civic environment as they incorporate exhibition and learning space. Creative industries form new ecologies inside dis-used factories while manufacturing itself becomes increasingly creative and service-oriented. All these changes are transforming the urban role of the industrial periphery, making them more inten-sive and multi-functional learning environments.

Micro-urbanity

Differentiation

Distribution

Shed: Potential of interiority

industrial urbanity transforms LLV, as part of the industrial area, has a mixture of creative industries, logistics, small scale business parks and light industries already established and operating in relatively successful manner. however, these industries are yet to reach their full potential due to the self-contained, mono-functional form of operation under the old, fragmented fabric which is in addition to that disconnected from the resi-dential areas. A set of tools are investigated to bring the un-derutilized remnants of the industrial fabric into a creative and productive quarters integrated with living environment into realization in LLV, based on the concept of workspace neighbourhood. hack-ney Wick and Sugar house Lane have creative in-dustries that give force to the creative economy of LLV, though they are series of enclaves that are not networked in yet. in order to retain the creative industries with understandings of their vulnerable (unprofitable, dependent on low cost of the site) nature, series of evolving use of existing structures, such as sheds, can be exploited for unfolding incremental processes. this re-use of structures together with intelligent co-location, will be spatial tools to be exploited further to achieve cross-subsidization to transform the industrial environment.

Mfo Park in Zurich

Basketball Court inside an industrial Shed Library inside an industrial Shed

VW Glass factory, Dresden

An open office Space inside an industrial Shed


rethinking the diagram the lack of vision embedded in the fabric of LLV makes it challenging to create an attractive envi-ronment in the area, thus requiring an innovative spatial development. Bringing knowledge economy into LLV requires re-thinking the industrial fabric. one wants to draw strings to bring certain ele-ments and qualities together. A lot of open spaces, landscape and waterfronts attractive to recre-ational activities existing in the site have qualities that can contribute to the knowledge economy. in Clarence Perry’s diagram, one sees what is important to avoid, clear hierarchy was given with-out any ambiguity by positioning the church and school in the centre. therefore, the Corbusian plan suggests much richer understanding of how clear hierarchy can be established while ambiguity is be-ing kept, so that relationships to different spatial systems can emerge in layers. Such kind of con-ceptualization is seen as the potential for re-think-ing the neighbourhood in peripheral environment of LLV. it is time to make a new kind of neighbourhood with seamlessly integrated production based in-dustries and high value added sectors and living as a system, in order to intensify the urbanity of the LLV so that consequently, we might call this a workspace neighbourhood.

Chicago’s City Center Diagram

Le Corbusier’s radiant City

intensification Along the Waterfront

enclosed Synergies in the Peripheral Pattern


the recycling industry is Located in LLV

the Creative industry as an urban event

the creative industryMany people have been thinking that the indus-trial economy has been giving way to the cre-ative economy in recent years, forcing industries and businesses to engage with strong forces of change. the contribution of creative industries, such as film, fashion or music, to the economy of the 21st century is significant, especially in the uK. ideas and imagination are becoming understood as the greatest assets of the country. Moreover, in recent years, creative industry and manufacture has been in closer relationships than we have ever witnessed before. higher value seg-ments of industrial ecology has research in close relationship to the manufacturing processes, and even manufacturing is becoming more service ori-entated with products changing rapidly and flex-ibly. this is not only in response to the end users but also for its critical role in the new industrial process. this can be seen as a starting point for a new logic of integration between different cre-ative industries and manufacturing, developing a productivity that has never been achieved before.

ProLogis - one of Lower Lea Valley Main Stakeholders

stakeholders: Architects of Social changein the book ‘industrial Buildings: a Design Manual’, Adam, hausmann and Jüttner claim that when en-terprises join forces with an existing town and in-tegrate themselves care-fully and sensitively into its living structure; the end result is a genuinely commingling corporate and public structure. on the basis of this symbiosis, the enterprise visibly takes on a responsible social role and hence also becomes the driving force behind a large part of urban development. in this manner, cities will have adequate public spaces in which control functions, global markets, and the production facilities of cutting edge enterprises are concentrated. What we envision for LLV is to assemble small, different groups of stakeholders to multiply stake-holders for the success of the plan. Currently, ap-proach to the LLV completely separates ProLogis from the concept of LLV, although they have the resource to help generate the change in the area. We have to find a planning process that can bring these key components of the industrial areas into synergies together. if we accept the fact that buildings can create more than just floor spaces, as they can determine social behavior through their organization of space, stakeholders should be asked to share their inter-est in the social conditions which are implied by the building messages. We no longer live in a con-text of unconscious cultural values, but instead, we consciously design this context anew each time. in such a view, stakeholders are indeed “the ar-chitects of social change” (Adam, hausmann and Jüttner, 2004).


Bromley-By-Bow

2012olympic Park

Canary Wharf

24min to King’s Cross Station

Stratfordhackney Wick

redeFiNiNg the urbaN coNditioNLocated in east London, along the river Lea and the Canal, the particular importance of the area in terms of its location makes the ground of the Lower Lea Valley highly valuable. it is well con-nected to the financial district of the Docklands and the major regeneration areas associated with olympics while its proximity to Stratford makes it highly connected to europe: though it is not well connected yet locally to the locations mentioned above. With influences of the eastward shift of the London metropolis, the Lower Lea Valley holds huge potential for the future development, though series of strategies need to be found and put into place to make full use of the potential advantages associated with its location. the Lower Lea Valley has a fractured industrial fabric with diffused low-rise sheds inside deep plot, and the movement systems predominantly deter-mined by the logistic need to serve as good distri-bution paths for trucks, creating non-street based system. two distinctive industrial patterns can be identified from LLV: a left over from the industrial era with divergent system, and a dispersed system which has emerged recently. And our approaches will be responsive to these distinctive conditions.

Changing patterns in working environments are af-fecting the way we read peripheral sites like the Lower Lea Valley. in place of the mono-functional enclaves of the past, future strategies will call for well-integrated clusters of collaborative practice. the fractured and dissonant mobility systems we see today will call for extensive re-engineering as the district assumes its role articulating the high-speed infrastructure of Stratford with the bur-geoning financial services district at the Docklands.

LLV Conditions

Projective Field of New Synergies

field Conditions: Conceptual Perception of the Site

LLV Location

Potential of Interiorities

Primary Elements


Chapter 1 / Industrial Periphery

industrial Character

the Waterfront

Waterfront intersect with transportation Systems

unsuitable typologiesurbanity to Create Clusters/Quarters in LLV

the river Lea industrial Buildings Address the Waterfront

Noncommercial Based Street Systemincorporating Creative Sectors Such as the film industry

the A12 highway Divide the urban fabric


the challenges of industrial periphery the term periphery often describes physical, so-cial, historical or geographical conditions that are disengaged from a centre. Sites of a periphery usually consist of rural environments, brown fields, neglected plots of land, and natural landscape. the “edge conditions” associated with the periphery and its discontinuity from the intensive city dynam-ics is usually characterized by the lack of critical mass. Such peripheral conditions are considered incapable of generating an environment that can sustain streets with commercial functions. the challenge of industrial periphery such as LLV is to generalize an approach to inject urban-ity in non-commercial based street systems in the absence of the critical mass witnessed in the city centre. We tend to see the centre of the city as a place where we have the intensity to have higher critical mass over peripheral conditions based on production based industries. today however, we see a cross over between high intensity of service based sectors in the city and production based industrial sectors that requires new patterns of living and new kind of synergy to emerge. this re-quires mobility systems and spatial organisations that can put them in place. the periphery holds a potential for another kind of intensification and urbanity, thus requiring a strategy that considers its specific qualities as an opportunity rather than a set of unmanageable problems. in dealing with the legacy of mono-func-tionality in periphery, one should not try to assume or recreate urban conditions of the city centre, though we believe that there is nevertheless a po-tential to introduce and sustain multi-functionality and diversity usually associated with urban cen-tres.

the urban Blocks occupies the Dense urban fabric Sheds occupies the Site-less environment

Chapter 1 / Lower Lea Valley

the urban Grain

Street Performance

Firzrovia Lower Lea ValleyM

orphology

Spatial Legibility is formed by Grids and Clusters Lack of Spatial Legibility, Articulation and organization

Streets Are Based on Commercial + high Critical Mass Streets Cannot be Supported by Commercial functionsDeep Plotsorthogonal Grid with Small Plots

Grids

Firzrovia Lower Lea Valley


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the character of LLV industrial periphery

Site-less Conditions

“Sea” of Sheds

the shed - a dominant typologyLower Lea Valley is dominated by sheds which perform well in industrial areas. they are used as storage facilities for the logistic industry such as ProLogis, which can easily be assembled and dis-assembled, cheap to construct, and are very flex-ible.

site-Less environmentthe neglected, site-less conditions with no clear organisation of spaces and systems of movement spread across LLV in fragments, promoting further disorder to the site. these territories do not carry any particular pattern of growth, and are charac-terized by the lack of readable hierarchy capable of giving logic for spatial organization of the ter-ritory, such as the former gas towers around the area of Limehouse Cut.

Fields of boxesLow-rise sheds tend to occupy industrial sites without giving high urban qualities, crating mono-functional spaces and systems, leaving hostile environments. LLV’s sheds are organized along transportation routes in order to allow good logis-tic services. their location on the site is usually an outcome of consideration of trucks turning radius-es, thus there is no spatial quality or an alternative logic for their organization in the field.

Cambridge Science Park

a legacy of mono-functionality there are numerous examples of peripheral in-dustrial estates and technological parks which are characterized by spatial organisations character-ized by simple requirements of dealing with one use. these sites often hold similar landscape and systems without particular qualities; mobility sys-tems with single use patterns, circulation space and landscapes that are completely neutral other than supporting buildings with particular functions such as distributions for the logistics, and these systems are hardly integrated. there are two ex-amples to learn from; Park royal and Cambridge Science Park. these, although quite successful, face the limits of mono-functionality. Park royal, europe’s largest industrial estate park presents us a great deal of ambitions regard-ing the performance of creative/industrial parks in polycentric cities. Attempts are being made to revitalize the space through redefining circulation systems, gateways and public spaces, though the ambition is highly challenging due to the legacy of circulation system embedded within it.

the Shed is a Dominant typology in the industrial Area of LLV


Cambridge Science Park is an economically suc-cessful but urbanistically poor example, now look-ing for ways of urbanizing the area rather than becoming a techno park, as a result of new cross-overs wanted between industries in accommo-dating multiple uses. Attempts are made to treat circulation and landscape to support the growth of buildings for technological research. Such kind of ambition for intensification through importing number of uses with increasing integration with the urban process could be there right from the start. Moreover, residential estates tend have similarly limited landscape and circulation system, compa-rable to that of the industrial estates. New patterns of living and new kinds of synergies have emerged though there is still no planning tools or mobility systems that can support these to the full extent. these existing conditions are investigated in or-der to understand the challenges and start differ-ently in LLV in mind from the beginning, as the existing plan is strongly dominated by structures that are in need of appropriate approaches to overcome the legacy of mono-functionality.


primary eLemeNts


Primary elements are defined as ‘elements capa-ble of accelerating the process of spatial transfor-mation in an area…’ (rossi, 1982) in Aldo rossi’s words, architecture emerges from the complex structure that primary elements can create. in this sense, primary elements play an important role in the dynamic of a city. the water and the mobility system are consid-ered as primary elements while the true potentials and qualities of these elements have long been forgotten in LLV and instead, they have been work-ing as barriers, thus not propelling the growth. the waterway runs from North to South with two ramifications; one created by the bed of the river Lea and the other by the Lea Canal. the waterway has huge potential to be reconsidered into a quali-tative element of LLV for recreation and injecting hierarchy to the organisation of the environment to attract people in well housed locations. the A11, A12, A13, and B142 that are crossing the site from both West to east and North to South are the major roads forming part of the mobility system. LLV is a highly connected part of the city, particularly to distant locations due to the pres-ence of these major roads, but it is also this con-nectivity that is creating barriers inside the area. if primary elements are said to create a plat-form for architectures to be developed, these ele-ments are currently creating a fractionated plat-form. While it is an inevitable fact that these two elements are creating divisions within the site at the moment, there is a potential to treat them as more than just mediators, capable of transforming some areas of LLV into a more integrated part of the city.

opposite Page:LLV Waterfront and transporta-tion System as Primary elements


the Waterfront the presence of water defines the landscape of LLV and it can be regarded as the primary element, together with the very logic of industrial system that is already embedded in the ground. More than just good living conditions can be gained through having urban conditions and natural landscape in close proximity to each other, as they prove to be a catalyst for urban integration and social life. We see the site holds potential for efficient utilization of its environments and successful ur-ban regeneration as an opportunity to renew its uniqueness; the water of the Lea and the canal, still neglected at the moment. the redefinition of the canal side buildings can alter the performance of the water, changing the segmented conditions often associated with canal districts. for instance, through high quality housing, effective recreation and public functions along the water’s edge, water can integrate into the fabric of LLV. Water can also be used for transport, leisure, and promenades to list a few; and by explor-ing with distance and incorporating sequence of spaces along the waterway, it could become part of the qualitative landscape and experience of LLV. By integrating water, landscape and urbanity, LLV can become an environment with strong identity, at-tractive for both living and working.

Low Lea Valley Water System

c) Water as Mediator

e) Spatial Sequences

b) reflections

d) Different Water-edges

f) Movements

a) Living


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innovative Cluster at the Canal front

Workspace Cluster at the river front


...\LLV new\LLV autocad 2000.dgn 20/05/2011 16:16:17

Section 1


Section 2 Section 3


Section 4


Section 5


Section 6


Section 7


Low Lea Valley Bridge and Water System

Accessibility tidal MovementsSoft edgeCondition 1: high tide Condition 2: Low tide

unstable System

Stable System

in the bed of the Lea river, the water creates an unstable condition due to the increase in the vol-ume of the river from time to time, which is subject to flooding. in the Lea Canal the water is a con-trolled, stable system with consistent level of wa-ter at almost all the time, though the closed gates often create breakages in the longitudinal flow of the river. the differences in behaviors of the waterways create differentiation within the system, making certain conditions more suitable for a particular activity over the others. By playing with distances to and from the water, how each built form can be oriented in relation to the water in distinctive yet sensible manner, and the aesthetic quality the wa-ter can bring into the landscape etc., the water can be exploited to make the rich environment in LLV. Different qualities associated with the Canal and the river Lea allows the exploitation of distinctive characters associated with each part of the water-ways. the waterfront creates perturbation into the system and helps generate highly differentiated urban quarters. (i.e. hafenCity).

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the mobility systemSuperposition and overlapping of different mobil-ity paths, differentiated by speed and continuity, are distinctive features of an existing environment in LLV. it is well served by relatively high speed sys-tem of roads meeting the requirement of highly sophisticated logistic system. however, where these begin to parse out to the local environment, different kind of isolation, fragmentation and lack of movement emerges. this happen even in case of water system when one would expect it to serve as a mediator. therefore the ambition is to achieve a pattern of mobility systems that can rearrange the existing grid and to open and improve multi-layered sys-tems that will, at the same time, not over burden the current working systems. the aim is to estab-lish a set of conditions underlined below; Differentiation of the system of movement for different speeds and distances with the help of three-dimensionality within the existing environ-ment; levitation of A12 above the ground, the dif-ference between the ground and the surface of the water, etc. Creating continuous loops of communication between innovative and productive industries on every level of mobility.


LLV - Lack of Connectivity between east/West

the A12 highway Connects Between North and South LLV - Main Mobility SystemsPark de la Villete - Layered Secondary Movement System

Model of road System and Bridges


the urbaN Quarter


Bernard tschumi’s graphic approach to the plan-ning of Parc de la Villette showed larger environ-ments composed of points, lines, and surfaces, conceptualizing the urban field in a layered envi-ronment to understand about complex unities. LLV can also be reinterpreted and represented in such way.

the underutilized industrial areas in the Lower Lea Valley has potential to be transformed into dif-ferentiated urban quarters with spatial conditions that can promote synergies between industries, allowing them to work in overlapping clusters. Va-riety of sizes and multiplicity of types are neces-sary for successful synergetic cluster formations. Lower Lea Valley already has this mixture for the interplay of large and small companies, though there is a lack of synergistic organization. Differ-ent patterns of cluster formations can be carried out based on two strategies; one is be the adapta-tion and reuse of sheds, rethinking their envelope and the way they can cluster, and the other one will be the understanding of colleges in which the enclosure gives organization, sequence, hierarchy and balance.

opposite Page:Conceptual Perception of Quarters and Clusters needs dominant hierarchy


existing Grids Around the Site implementing a 300x300 Grid

grids A grid enables orientation, multi-directionality, hi-erarchy and differentiation in both two dimension-al and three dimensional ways. Lack of clear sense of grid, strong presence of sheds as a dominant architectural type, and non-street based systems are some of the main features of the current in-dustrial quarters of LLV, with patterns of isolation by the industrial systems. fragmented by large scale infrastructures, indiscriminate use of indus-trial warehouses and canals, the grid in LLV lacks differentiation and hierarchy in balance with ambi-guity; it does not support the formation of urban structure in the site. “[…] whilst good accessibilities for lorries and vans are crucial for the day-to-day operation of many businesses, sometimes their presence can severely affect quality of life as well as street safe-ty for other users” (2006 p.64) the lack of urban organization created by spaces emphasizing truck movements leaves neglected open spaces around industries, increasing the sense of disorganization, putting the human aspect aside.

formation of grids needs to be reconsidered in order to create urbanity and be able to include not only spaces for industries and their processes but also multi-scalar spaces for richer range of activi-ties and synergies in certain part of LLV. however, since the urban qualities and intensities equal to that of the city centre cannot be easily generated under the peripheral environment, more emphasis will be put on testing architectures with spatial organizations that can work with the exist-ing performance which is not based on the street, with weight on the interiority.

existing Mobility System enforces Grids

experimenting with Grid Dimensions


Quarters on one hand, divergent systems in three Mills area holds remnant of older systems where roads, sheds and canal runs in parallel so that the system can load efficiently. twelve trees quarter, on the other hand, is made up of dispersed system, main-ly defined by the logistic and the amount of sheds it could house. this kind of quarter is created by single-story sheds that try to claim themselves as independent entities in their own site. each indus-try locates itself in a manner similar to that of a roman camp where lack of the sense of order and structures are reinforcing the isolation of indus-tries. one can treat these two different constellations of elements in overall LLV as different qualities in each area. the ways in which these sheds tend to

using Voids toDefine Quarters

Voids

urban fabric

Built Mass

river + transportation

existing fabric - twelve trees Quarters Based on Logistic System Definition on New industrial Quarters

agglomerate allow to investigate the strategy of an “industrial void” as one of the ways to approach the development of the workspace neighbourhood. understandings of the organisation of urban field and relationships to different surfaces are neces-sary in developing a strategy for industries to be able to share knowledge and experiences beyond the limitation of the advanced logistic system. the main phases of this strategy consist of; defi-

isolation of Clusters

Stacking Sheds

Voids of Synergy

transforming the Density of Clusters

Clusters based on Voids

nition, consolidation, and transformation. once the main voids for the formation of sheds are defined, the following steps are to consolidate the voids through modification of architectures accordingly. the new relationships between the sheds and the open spaces between these industries will even-tually inform a new pattern of grid for the urban quarter. the strategy of the void is intended to promote multi-scalar transformation over time.


1. field’s Special Conditions

2 .Differences reinforce each other

1. entities and fragments of Shattered entities in a field

3. Configurations Development

4. Configuration organization

collective form / Fomhiko maki“We must now see our urban society as a dynamic field of inter-related forces. it is a set of mutually independent variables in a rapidly expanding infinite serious. Any order introduced within the pattern of forces contributes to a state of dynamic equi-librium – an equilibrium that will change the character as time passes”

(maki F., Nurturing dreams, 1928, p.44)

the elements that comprise a collec-tive form are conceived and determined separately and are often individually tailored buildings. Proper functional, vi-sual, and spatial (sometimes symbolic) relationships are established on a two-

inherent in the megastructure concept, along with a certain static nature, is the suggestion that multiple and diverse func-tions may be beneficially concentrated in one place. A large frame implies some utility in combination and concentration

Group form is form that evolves from a system of generative elements in space. they appear to be useful and suggest examples for making large-scale forms. Group form enables sequential develop-ment of basic elements such as dwelling, open spaces between houses, and the re-

dimensional plane. Most contemporary large-scale urban design fall into this category.

of functions. this concept offers a le-gitimate way to or-der massive grouped functions.

petitive use of visual elements such as walls, gates, towers, open water, and so forth.

compositional - compositional Form

structural - megastructure/megaform

sequential - group Form


Cluster Configuration

4. frame reference to order the initial Void

3. Ground emerges as a Part of the field

2. Parts Appearing as Solids - as Ground to Build upon

cluster Formation industrial ecologies, systems, spaces, economic processes and urban processes can all be in lay-ers together to form a cluster. if cluster emerges under certain specific conditions (such as path de-pendency of film industry requiring companies to cluster and cooperate for specific reasons), spatial conditions and policies need to be created to sup-port collective formations which can overlap and establish differentiations amongst themselves to avoid mono-functionality. film, food and logistics industry in LLV has low level of economic synergies. therefore one needs to seek for the potential cluster formation for co-location synergies in spatial terms and collabora-tion synergies in economic terms. Variety of sizes and multiplicity of types are nec-essary for successful synergetic cluster forma-tions. LLV already has this mixture for the interplay of large and small companies, though there is a lack of synergistic organisation. Different patterns of cluster formations can be carried out based on two strategies; one is be the adaptation and reuse of sheds, rethinking their envelope and the way they can cluster, and the other one will be the understanding of colleges in which the enclosure gives organization, sequence, hierarchy and bal-ance. they can offer logic for the cluster forma-tions explored in later chapters.


architecture the project attempts to address transformation of urban quarter through generative architectures. While responding to varied influences of the sur-rounding contexts, architectures are conceived as dynamic elements capable of transforming the ur-ban structure of LLV to generate synergies without relying on street-based system and other factors specific to the industrial fabric. the role of architectures and the importance of their appropriateness in relation to the urban context are investigated through typological rea-soning.

opposite Page:the Nolli Plan


Continuity of the Water

the Section is taking in Consider-ing the Behavior of the Water

Connection Between roads that Links Different Quarters

Continuity of the Water

Group of Quarters Surrounded by the Water

Learning From hafencity the relevance of hafenCity as a case study is based on the importance of the water as elements defining the architecture and the urban field of the area. the waterway, regarded as primary ele-ment, helps generating differentiated urban quar-ters within the area in a sequence, and at the same time, the city is designed in response to the flood risk.

hafenCity Master Planthe importance of the Water in the formation of the Grids and the Morphology of Buildings

Different Phases having the Water as a Mediator

the Public Space is Placed as an extension of the Water

hafenCity - first Phase of the Project


Above: Movement Between urban Quarters Depending on the Courtyards

Below: Platforms are used to Allow Connection with the Water

right: the use of Platforms to Avoid flooding and as Defining Levels

hafenCity Analysis

typological variations using the courtyards to create degrees of permeability and define a sequence in each urban quarter.

Platforms generating different levels of engagement with the wa-ter and also as a way to solve the flooding problems.


sheds enclosures

strategytoday, the major problem facing LLV is the intensification of urban periphery.in order to generate the critical mass for an ur-ban situation in a context largely composed of patchwork grid in the underutilized area, it seems crucial to explore spatial instruments that can deal with the existing fabric of LLV. By respond-ing to two distinctive industrial patterns: a left over from the industrial era with divergent sys-tem, and a dispersed system which has emerged recently, generative architectures and organisa-tional specificities based on interiority that can deal with deep plot and non-street based system can be exploited as driving force for effective ur-ban quarters to emerge in the industrial ecology.


tWeLVe trees

sugar house LaNe

miLL meads

QueeN eLizabethoLympic

park


sheds

Chapter 2 / ShedsWorkspace Neighbourhood48 49

the landscape of the Lower Lea Valley is still domi-nated by sheds. As sheds have been suitable to the peripheral environment in its ability to offer in-troverted spaces under non-street based system, we ask if they have potential to play a key role in forming a new urban quarter with the intensity we want to create. this landscape can be reused for the future of the area through series of evolving uses of the existing structures. though advanced economies have witnessed a shift away from heavy industries towards high-value added segments, advantages can be gained through retaining both and pulling them together to have richer sets of ecologies within the industrial value chain, instead of totally shifting away from heavy industries into knowledge economy. the periphery, with industrial characteristics embedded in the plan, allows this to happen.

however, the true potentials of sheds will be neglected while importance of network in the new economy will be undermined if each industry con-tinues to remain self-sufficient inside highly self-contained sheds. therefore organisational logics to the ways in which these sheds can cluster have to be found. there are two patterns of spatial organization of sheds existing in LLV; divergent systems in the Sugar house Lane and a more dis-persed system on the park controlled by ProLogis (as we have mentioned earlier). By seeing these as two distinctive conditions within a larger context of LLV, we will also need to consider organisational specificity of sheds in relation to the existing sur-rounding landscapes and the interiority accord-ingly.

the shed

floor 1: Spaces for Production

shed space for open office plans

Shed typology and interiority for Deep industrial Plots

floor 2: open office Plan

the Gira Giersiepen Company Shed, radevormwald

Based on the deep plot grid of industrial areas and surrounded by walls, sheds often create in-accessible, hostile and highly privatized inner en-vironment in LLV, while existing streets along the sheds are predominantly determined by the need to serve as good distribution paths. other forms of organisational systems are dedicated to specific uses inside the plot, often hidden behind walls or an envelope without any attempt to interact with the outer world. this underlines its emphasis on the inner system over the outer space. But the dif-ficulty lies within the fact that the ground around these sheds tends to be devalued as these spaces are heavily dedicated to the infrastructure such as turning radiuses of tracks and parking plots. Changes to the inner system, the performance of the envelope, and improvement on the ground level are taken into consideration as starting points for the exploration of the potential of the shed.


Cedric Price’s fun Palace eric owen Moss Culver City Plan

Potential of the Shed’s facade

Culver City Shed

Generic Shed1.

2.

3.

5.

4.

Culver City Grid

Chapter 2 / Sheds

culver city What we can learn from the case of Culver City is in the ways in which re-conceptualization of a cluster is done through detailed work on a shed. Although Culver City, where eric owen Moss’s re-development of old film sheds has taken place, is not situated in the periphery of Los Angeles, it has some interesting specificities that can be useful for peripheral areas. instead of simple re-furbishment of the sheds which often end up leaving its plot for storage and parking places, he has played with interiority of the large plot, shed’s facades (not only in terms of materiality, but also in terms of its radiation beyond the bor-ders) and its relationship to the ground, result-ing in the emergence of complex creative district. Similarly to the LLV, it has the street based on cars, underlining the importance of interior-ity. formation of transformed sheds becomes the workspace neighborhood with possibilities of clustering to generate new synergies that goes beyond the building form. however, one feels the need to implement another layer of mobility sys-tem based on pedestrian and leisure activities such as partially elevated paths that can change its form from park, to bridge, to office etc., sug-gested in the proposal of SPArCitY by Moss. here, the large grids start to work with the emerg-ing tartan created by layered mobility systems.

SPArCitY curve as a new proposed layer


Chapter 2 / Sheds

industrial buildings While transition can serve as a strategy for the transformation of the neighbourhood, next gener-ation design also holds some potential. An analysis of different types of industrial buildings shows that the morphological characteristic of this genre has changed from a single standing building. industrial buildings are now more than one storey shed and the next generation design can include concepts of addition, separation, extension, retraction and intersection.

Morphologically: retracting

abb power toweribW storage building mors distribution center

Morphologically: Addition/Separation Morphologically: intersection

Performative Space: Section

Performative Space: Plan

Performative Space: Section Performative Space: Section

Performative Space: Plan Performative Space: Plan

What if We Create a New Level? What if We Stack Around it? What if We extend it?


Potential of the Skin and the Shed as an envelope

Diversity of the floor plan with Different uses/open and Deep floor Plan

the poteNtiaL oF the shed

Potential of Vertical extensionCombination of types Allow Mix of uses

Spatial Diversity of the interiority/relation towards exteriority


the potential of horizontality of the shed shown through its section

the potential of verticality of the shed Shown through its section

the potential of horizontality of the shedShown through its plan

Flexibilitythe changing nature of the workplace in an urban, networked and highly mobile complex society re-quires flexible spaces that are capable of adapting to changes in time. Sheds are massive building type with a completely flexible organizational sys-tem of the inner space. it could be used for various purposes from factory, logistics, storage, film pro-duction, sports, museum, and gallery to knowledge industries, to list a few. existing shed structures can be reused for unfolding incremental processes while cross-subsidization can be achieved through thoughtful co-location, to embrace the multiple dimensions and complexity associated with cre-ative economy, and also in offering attractive and adaptable working environments across industries.

potential of interiority the urban qualities and intensities equal to that of the city centre cannot be easily generated under the non-street based, peripheral environment of Lower Lea Valley. this turns emphasis on reusing sheds and spatial organisations that can work with the existing condition with more weight on the in-teriority. the simplicity of a shed makes it flexible enough to accommodate multiple spaces inside a single envelope. it has the potential to accommo-date highly differentiated environments such as dark areas that can be used for activities which do not require natural lighting in the core of the build-ing. the interiority gives the potential for retrofit-ting balanced mixture of programs, creating micro urbanity that allows intensification.

Chapter 2 / Sheds

Conceptual Propositions - A Collage

2. Circulations System1. General Scheme

4. Permeability3. functions

film industry

Service

film industry

recording

recording

a hub


the Legibility of the shed’s FacadeBuildings can learn to communicate and the fa-çade can perform as an “exposing” media display as anticipated from the Centre Pompidou, or to find another way of articulating the “border” as Moss was using in Culver City. the sample reveals the potential for new technology to serve as in-credible tools of expression at the same time as il-lustrating the potential of the generic skin that act as a mediator between the inner and outer space; by performing as a field of exchange and commu-nication, revealing the inner space into the outer space, or relating to the surrounding context, etc.

Living Skin

Playing with transparency

the facade as a Screen

Chapter 2 / Sheds

Center Pompidou facade


Super shed acts as framework for managing more intensified environment which is also capable of containing continuous reorientation of activities and programs within itself. it encompasses the idea of the megaform from Maki (Maki, 2008), in-volving the creation of large horizontal fabric that is capable of affecting local transformations in the peripheral landscape with its expanse as well as highly differentiated spaces both inside and out-side its envelope. the mega-form defines the land-scape of the Lower Lea Valley: each part of the structures touches the ground in different manner and orients itself in reaction to the distinct quali-ties associated with waterways. the super shed can be described as a piece of infrastructure that brings series of sheds and a variety of activities together. it tries to connect and transform the two parts of the LLV; from the residential side of the A12 to the east side of the valley, while joining other mobility systems along the way. the idea of sheds can be exaggerated or even reversed at some point by the introduction of the super shed. As a strategy to handle the problems of the LLV, it attempts to intensify the use by join-ing series of activities and spaces together, while freeing up some spaces for recreation. Nature of

the supershedLLV is respected at certain parts while the con-trast between the city and the landscape is sharp-ened by this mega-form. each part of the struc-ture touches the ground in different manner and reacts differently according to the conditions of the ground. in order to react to the water, an open space is created along one side of the waterfront, allowing physical connectivity and interaction with the water. the others are placed directly on the waterfront thus creating differentiated conditions from the previous one. As a shed that contains sheds, it tests the reac-tion of sheds placed in the existing neighbourhood in a huge scale; the scale and radicalism is tested to see it’s appropriateness to be the driver to insti-gate the process of regeneration and transforma-tion of the LLV.

Chapter 2 / Sheds

supershed: the Valley the landscape of the Lower Lea Valley is still domi-nated by sheds. Currently they read as large, blank, entirely inward-looking structures describing a legacy of mono-functionality. Nevertheless, we no-tice their potential in a rapidly evolving innovation economy that links manufacturing, research, and creative industries in high-value ecologies. We ex-pect to see them absorb new functions and also to form the foundational morphology in a trans-formative development of the type serving of new patterns of cluster formation. the accentuation of the shed morphology sug-gests their potential in defining a built landscape commensurate with the Lea waterways. in this am-plified form the shed takes on some of the char-acteristics attributed to the megaform and can be used to strengthen the east-west integration of key urban districts in the Bromley-by-Bow area. At the same time, the flexibility of the structure acts as framework for managing a more intensified en-vironment capable of continuous reorientation of activities and functions within itself. rethinking the shed envelope and its relation to the ground pro-vide directions for design research serving urban intensification.

Supershed Conceptual Diagram

Supershed Potential of interiority - a Collage the Supershed Concept: Mediating/Dividing the Valley


Chapter 2 / Sheds

Perspective View

3Dimentionality of Mobility System Schematic Plan of the Shed’s Qualities

Supershed Diagrammatic Section


continuity over the Landscapethe super shed attempts to act as a mediator which connects these fragmented east-west areas without erasing the distinctive character of each, at the same time as dividing and isolating certain elements from the surrounding Neighbourhood. the role of super shed on the site, therefore, can be described using the term “cleaving”; something that cuts apart at the same time as sticking to-gether.


right: Colleges in Cambridge. eNcLosures

Chapter 3 / EnclosuresWorkspace Neighbourhood68 69

LearNiNg From coLLegesSpatial organisation of colleges based on the idea of interiority and enclosure can be used to deal with the deep plot and non-street based system. the formation of the college is based on their abil-ity to cluster and create sequence of spaces: they can create privileged environments with orienta-tion, hierarchy, sequences inside any given city fabric. the complex internal organisation can be used to achieve high degree of critical mass in a fairly limited space, pulling more functions and populations that can consequently lead to an eco-nomically sustainable development of the Lower Lea Valley, while overcoming the fractured charac-ters associated with the site. Looking over Cambridge, one can see a con-stellation of colleges come together to form highly organized sequence of spaces inside the protect-ed area with hierarchy and broad range of social functions, which can be uses to deal with the prob-lem of the critical mass in a large, fractured and

dispersed environment in the periphery. the logics missing from LLV; consistent footfall, legibility and critical mass, can be found in the spatial organisa-tion based on enclosures. their distinct character between inner and outer spaces, front and back side, opening and sequenc-ing of elements gives privileged character to the inner space. this approach is highly suitable for engaging with peripheral sites since it allows per-meability in dealing with edge conditions of the pe-riphery while it offers an internal variation of inte-grated, layered system of movement. Based on the concept of workspace neighbour-hood, one can imagine a research cluster with shared facilities that cross over between living and working with this logic of spatial organisation. Water and landscape also have a role in enriching recreational environments and high quality hous-ing while injecting hierarchy to the urban fabric and creating differentiated quarters. By integrat-

the edge - Materialisation of the Wall

Defined entrances establish hierarchy: Primary & Secondary

hierarchy enables Legibility of the Space through Architecture

the Waterfront Serves as a Mediator or a Border Allowing Privileged Access only

ing water, landscape and spatial development, the Lower Lea Valley can become a synergistic envi-ronment with strong identity, attractive for both living and working. in doing so, college is capable of attracting more functions and populations that can consequently lead to the creation of an economically sustainable platform for further development. the ad-vantage of this platform is in its ability to scale up urban de-velopment by clustering, while creating a sequence of spaces which will occupy the area beyond the actual footprint of the morphology.

Chapter 3 / Enclosures

Creating Sequence of Spaces through Clustering


trinity College, Cambridge Jesus College, Cambridge Magdalen’s College, oxford

Shed Plot, Sugar house

Lane

Single use of courtyard, ser-vicing shed or group of sheds

Although surrounded by one wall, the inner performance is much richer and multi-used

Wall could separate spaces of different

importance, still keeping interiority of spaces

Permeability between i. And ii. Articulated

A) convex

Primary entranceSecondary entranceGradient of ‘voids’

college analysisthe organization of sheds in the periphery lacks the intensification and richer interiority. Compared to sheds, colleges can accommodate richer clus-tering and sequencing of voids (such as court-yards and gardens) which serve as secondary mobility systems. these sequences have gradient articulated by architectural genres: from library, dining room, offices, to rooms, and so on.

Queen’s College, oxford

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

King’s College, Cambridge S. John’s College, Cambridge


b)concave


c)by water - mediator with articulated entrances through bridging elements

Doubled i. or even ii. Space as two different accesses towards the inner

depth of the plotVariegated spaces with different sta-

tus could even bridge the water


Legend

the Main hierarchy of

interiority

finer Gradient of the Void

tissue

Clustering of the type


0 100 200 300m

rail roadA12CanalriverMain roadLocal road

enclosures: sugar house Lane the spatial organisation of colleges, based on the ideas of interiority, enclosure, hierarchy, and se-quence, can be used to deal with the deep plots and sparse street life of the Lea Valley. their complex internal organisation can be used to achieve a high degree of critical mass and functional richness in a fairly limited space, presenting effective building blocks for a phased and textured approach to the fragmentation of the district. oriented toward the concept of the workspace neighbourhood, one can imagine within this spa-tial organisation new research clusters with shared facilities that integrate living, working, and learn-ing environments. Water and landscape also have a role in enriching recreational environments and high quality housing while injecting hierarchy to the urban fabric and creating differentiated quar-ters. By integrating water, landscape and spatial development, the Lower Lea Valley can become a synergistic environment with strong identity, at-tractive for both living and working.

Plot performs inwards

Non-differentiated voids between sheds

No street performance Just wall

undifferentiated Permeability

Voids are gated

0 50 100 200m

Gated plotGated roadPrivate road

Performance and Spatial Characteristics of the site is determined by its street performance.


Permeability of the Ground floor

Cluster with Shed at the riverfront

re-definition of the Court in the Workspace Neighbourhood

interioritythe contemporary pattern needs be improved through the introduction of the void (defining po-chés, courts etc.) and its sequence in very local scale, with effects going beyond the actual bound-ary of the site, enriching the cluster by not only pushing the shed type further but also through its interaction with other typologies as one sees in colleges. the infrastructural loops of the roads also have to be transformed in order to support the emergence of new synergies to go beyond the actual site itself.


Basic Mobility Across the edges

Massing Distinguishing inner and outer edge

“tartan” of inner Voids

synergies over edges Since colleges are always part of the enclosed envi-ronment, they need to be redefined into more fluid and transformative spatial organisation in order to be part of a larger urban structure while respect-ing the non-street based system at the same time. the richness of interiorities will not resonate if there is no consideration of larger system of voids and articulation of the sequence throughout the site. furthermore, it is equally important to define, articulate and distinguish the edges with differenti-ated dominant characteristics; the highway, street (loading), river (leisure) and canal (transport).

the road system changes into loops and enhance tartan-like performance of the mobility system

Small vehicles (service) and bicycles (recreation) ac-cess beyond the roads

Strictly pedestrian interiorities that starts to emerge will allow new synergies and richer environment in-side the deep plot

Canal on the west serves as a long-distance mobility system (delivery of goods, water-taxi, small ferries) whereas river on the east serves mainly for recre-ation

Legend

Phases 2

Chapter 3 / EnclosuresChapter 3 / Enclosures

Propositional richness of Workspace Neighbourhood


tartanthe deep plot may suggest hostile and exclusive environments present in the existing site of Sugar house Lane. however, with introduction of perme-able and rich interiority it is expected to trigger further transformation of the peripheral area, to-gether with gradation of voids, the final grain of tartan-like tissue which can operate three dimen-sionally (not only streets, alleys and pathways but also lifted or sunken ground, terraces with differ-ent levels of accessibility) will eventually allow the deep plot to perform inclusively. By keeping the performance of streets in the pe-ripheries in mind, the main focus of transformation suggested in here is to orient it inwards; and of course it needs to be developed and expanded into sequenced and continuous (thickened) ground.


enclosures: twelve treesWhen enterprises join forces with the urban pro-cess and integrate themselves carefully and sensi-tively into the city’s living structure, the end result is a genuine commingling of corporate and public structure: they visibly take on a responsible social role and become a driving force behind urban de-velopment. emerging urban quarters then take on the character of a civic landscape based on pro-ductivity, innovation, and social learning. forward looking plans today emphasize social synergy and the multiplication of stakeholders. Currently and by contrast, the official approach to the Lower Lea Valley completely separates the Pro-Logis industrial park from the strategic planning of the Lower Lea Valley. instead, we would mobilize their corporate interest in serving higher value in-dustrial networks by incorporating their vision into the search for more intensively urban industrial systems. We see the spatial pattern derived from the idea of colleges as providing one possible logic for the emergence of industrial innovation environ-ments for a polycentric metropolis. Site overview


Working Within the Grids

CoL1: housing / Secondary Movement System inside CoL 2: housing / Creative industry Workshops / Mobility Sys-tem inside / Secondary Movement System inside

CoL 4: housing / Waterfront / Creative industry Workshops / Mobility System above / Secondary Movement System inside

CoL 3: housing / Creative industry Workshops / Culture /Mobility system outside / Secondary Movement System inside



Mobility

enclosures

twelve trees SiteSection through twelve trees Site

enclosures Along the Waterfront

enclosures in a Shed Based environment


implementing enclosures Strategy


coNcLusioN‘A town is no longer understood as being just a physical and spatial environment, but also a complex system of relationships’

(chatelet, 2007)

the vision is a creative and productive workspace neighbourhood that is capable of embracing the new economy to a fuller extent through transfor-mation of industrial fabric of LLV. the experiments carried out in LLV based on the concept of the workspace neighbourhood starts a research that needs to be continued in order to improve the con-ditions of industrial urbanities developing in our days. And we acknowledge the need for the sug-gested strategies to be pushed further and thor-oughly articulated. in order to further encompass the idea and configurations of differentiated ur-ban quarters and districts, it would be worthwhile to see how these three areas can be put in such a way to be in dialogue with one another as well as with the surrounding contexts in multiple layers.

ConclusionWorkspace Neighbourhood88 89

Willis, r., Architectural history of the university of Cambridge, and of the Colleges of Cambridge and eton Vol. 1-5, 1886, Cambridge university Press

Vallance, A., old colleges of oxford : their architectural history illustrated and described, 1912, Batsford

Maki, f., Nurturing Dreams, London, Mit Press, 2008

Chatelet, V., interactive cities, editions hYX, 2007, orléans

Allen, S., Points + lines : diagrams and projects for the city, Princeton Architectural Press, 1999, New York

Allen, S., Practice: Architecture technique + representation, routledge, Abingdon, 2009

Darley, G., factory, reaktion Books, hong Kong, 2003

Adam, J., hausmann, K. & Jüttner, f., industrial buildings: a design manuel, Birkhäuser, 2004

rossi, A., the Architecture of the City, Mit Press, Cambridge, 1982

‘Architecture and modification, the work of eric owen Moss’ / article by Luca rivalta and others in industria delle Costruzioni vol.35 no.2 february 2001 / p.4-61

‘eric owen Moss e Culver City’ / article by Luca Molinari in Lotus international (109) 2001 / p.80-84

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lower lea valley group 3

Documents

new urban patterns

new kinds of synergies

industrial fabric

new opportunity

new approaches

synergistic urban quarters

industrial periphery

highvalue manufacturing