NTU Architecture Subject Group

Scarlet Senate


This project aims to provide a new source of decentralised power in the United Kingdom, as Birmingham is one of the major cities in the UK with a large, multicultural population it ticks the criteria for a viable site. The site was also chosen based on the works carried out by Yona Friedman, his conceptual Utopian city proposals aimed to provide housing with infinite adaptability and affordability based on the user, interestingly he proposed the use of underused/ forgotten urban spaces such as railroad tracks, ports, parks, parking lots and bridges.

The site is experiences along the existing axis of a canal footpath which cuts directly through the busy roads of Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham, the building breaks off this central axis along a grid line similar to Yona Friedmans work.

As the site is accessed from two directions the site progressively becomes more secure and private as it heads towards the center of spaghetti junction. The security is tackled through two security points on both entrances which begin the route through the site, which is highlighted through a prominent use of red cor-ten steel walkways spanning between key spaces. The security points are the only accesses to the walkways which are raised off the ground establishing a secure zone.
The deconstructed building has focal points on the site which are experienced along the canal axis, and provide key moments of interaction between the public and MPs, which are reminded of the people they should strive to work for.

Clement Ellewelapahalage
Student name
Clement Ellewelapahalage
Course
MArch Architecture
Contact

MArch Architecture

The Master of Architecture (MArch) embraces the challenge of 21st Century architectural practice and focuses on educating architects with a global outlook through projects set in local, national, and international contexts.

Through “vertical studios” in each year of study, steered by leading practitioners and academics, we put current architectural thinking at the heart of the course. We locate architectural design centrally as an academic discipline through rigorous cross-disciplinary design research and complex methodological application. The course recognises the essential cross-cutting and cross-disciplinary nature of architecture, bringing together diverse disciplines aiming to create collaborative/group work as a means of developing design creativity within the realistic teamwork environment of practice. All projects will be developed considering sustainability, environmental, socio-economic and cultural aspects, rather than being studied and applied as discrete areas of teaching and learning.

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