This week at Mannings School it was all about preparing material for an exhibition. Rather than drawing plans, we decided to photograph the lightboxes the students made last week from above. The models were fine as lightboxes, but a bit scrappy for the plan view, so we added some sketchy detail and people.
Continuing our work with Manning School, we brought the school pupils to Nottingham Trent University, where they worked with 2nd year NTU students from the Interior Architecture course. With help and guidance from the students, the school pupils built lightbox models, lit them carefully with coloured light and took these evocative photos.
Working with pupils at Mannings School in Nottingham, we surveyed a classroom that will be converted into a creative learning space. A quick Sketchup model was then virtually 'unfolded' to create a printed paper net. In class the students then cut and glued to create sketch physical models, before starting to experiment with transforming the space. Next time we will use thicker card, and investigate laser cutting. Rapid prototyping might be the logical step, but then a whole stage of physical creation of the model, and understanding folding, geometry and nets would be missed, so maybe not.
Today it was confirmed that 2hD Technical Director had an allergy to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus faeces a.k.a. house dust mite poo. Our New Products department moved quickly to develop a solution. All we need now is a teeny robot to assist at change time.
In collaboration with Chris Matthews (graphic designer, artist, historian...) we proposed some supergraphics for an artists studio and gallery building.
A scale paper prototype for a ceremony kimono folded out of a single sheet of fabric (1300x1600mm)
After retiring from his career as a journalist, our client needed additional space at home and asked us to design a new art studio that could also be used as an office for his freelance work. Our design was Highly Commended by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The studio provides an ideal environment for focused work while establishing a strong relationship with the garden.
This is the kind of project that is set for architecture students as a way of exploring space, light, and client needs, but few get the chance to actually make such a building later in their careers.
Primarily, the need was for space to focus on his artistic endeavours as a painter, but also to allow for freelance home working. This gave us the chance to design for excellent daylight quality and a quiet, contemplative, single person space.
An interesting aspect of this project was that the client had already chosen a local craftsmen builder, so we were able to collaborate from an early stage to achieve an exciting design with confidence that it could be built. The unusual design of the roof and structure, necessary to achieve the quality of space and light that we wanted, pushed the builder into some unfamiliar territory, but he responded with some excellent craftsmanship and produced a building of which he and the client are very proud.
The studio is carefully placed to complete the layout of the garden and to make best use of natural light and views out. The interior space is dramatic for such a small building, but it also has a cosy and relaxed feel, supporting long periods of focused creative work. The building is very well insulated with a small woodburning stove, used only in the coldest times, to provide all the heating needs.
This project has been Highly Commended at the RIBA East Midlands Awards 2009!
Sketches were an essential communication tool throughout the design process, from the early briefing with our client to the discussion of construction details on site with the builders
Our client was delighted with the thermal comfort and the quality of natural light in his new studio
“As a freelance journalist and amateur painter I wanted a flexible working space set apart from the house, with a district personality that would, nevertheless, not clash with the village setting. 2hD’s proposals fulfilled my checklist and the practice worked intelligently with us and our builder to realise these ambitions.
The studio is a real joy. Being flooded with natural light and with high levels of insulation, it uses little energy. I seldom turn on the lights, even on the gloomiest of days, and the stove is only lit occasionally, as the building keeps a regular temperature throughout the year.”
As every year, I prepared a little musical sampling for my friend M.
This project involves the demolition of an estate of BISF steel frame houses. The hoarding around the site has been used to capture the community spirit and help a positive transition through the change process.
Two quick sketches today at Nottingham Contemporary, where we took first year students on sketching trip.
A pencil sketch in the darkness of the projection room, in which I tried to distinguish between shades of darkness around the screen and then capture that.
A doodle using Autodesk's SketchBook app on the iPod Touch, in which I tried to capture the atmosphere of the cafe without worrying over detail. If the sketch looks a little soulless and cold, then I have succeeded.
Christmas decorations made from a repurposed Simpsons cartoon book.
A batch of homemade bread proofing on my Mac Mini, while its processor is crunching the numbers of my 3D modeling...
Some sketches for a short-listed competition entry — The Hub — a collaboration between 2hD, Boden Associates and Shared Architecture.
This joint entry project, involving 2hD, Boden Associates and Shared Design, provides a beacon for projecting creative thought through a strong formal and spatial presence, connected with the surrounding canal, road and cycle routes and characterised by a light ecological touch.
The Heart of the iHub: a brightly coloured conference theatre in the social exhibition space
This Building Research Establishment (BRE) competition called for an innovative hub and office building to link centres of excellence in the built environment with entrepreneurial business in order to promote innovative and sustainable technologies. Submitted designs were also encouraged to connect the local town community with the building and its agenda of sustainability and innovation.
The brightly-clad conference theatre pod sits within a highly flexible and dramatically-lit exhibition space, which in turn acts as the activity heart and connective node of the complex. The greened roof above the exhibition hall innovatively reconfigures the site topography providing a new habitat for local ecosystems and driving the natural ventilation inside.
For this competition entry, we extensively used storyboarding techniques to communicate the social dynamics of our proposal. In particular, we presented the way the public would experience the spaces, from the dual perspectives of two fictional characters meeting at iHub: Tony, a resident innovative builder, and Deborah, a potential investor visiting the centre.
Our key achievements in this project:
establishing the right level and pattern of connections with the local town
distilling the client’s main values needing to be addressed in the project
establishing the relational logic of the set of activities to be accommodated
determining a fundamental and innovative sustainability strategy
marrying sustainability aims with an exciting experience of visiting or working in the building
