I was invited by Jonathan Ellis Miller to visit Catmose Academy in Oakham; 12 of us showed up on a glorious September morning to be inspired by the Head and the architecture; I just sent him my thoughts:
As we arrived, the sun was shining and the building glowed elegantly in its stripped down palate of materials and crisp detailing. The Ellis-Miller plan revealed itself as being descended from Hunstanton and this has proved a real bonus. The Head arrived after Stage C and worked with the inherited ideas to develop it into an exemplary school; all too often the new Head arrives to fight the building, designed inflexibily for the previous incumbent.
But then the Head is truly inspirational and the children of Oakham are very lucky. His introduction and tour took me back to my student days when we designed an educational system for Milton Keynes then nearing the end of its masterplanning. I had been inspired by the teacher tutor Mike Armstrong who then went on to put team-teaching and many other innovative ideas into practice at Countesthorpe School In Leicester. No bells because its quicker; no rules but loads of responsibilities, good food and wonderful workshops and a Hellerup Stair that really works.
The plan is rightly on an East/West axis with a significant number of classrooms and workshops facing North; naturally that means there are some South-facing classrooms but fortunately no East or West-facing ones. The sun-shading looked a little too neat and tidy from outside and indeed South-facing Shakespeare, the double classroom for English, was pretty hot when we visited but it is a minor quibble and should be easily sorted with the sensible natural ventilation strategy.
Well done all!
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Teaching in Santiago, Chile
Our former partner Chris Whitman invited me to speak on Sustainable Architecture at a Conference at the Universidad Central where he teaches in the Laboratorio Bioclimatico - four big lectures in two days! I have just sent him my reflections on the trip:
Having not been to Santiago for twelve years, I got really excited as we flew in over the snow-clad Andes without a cloud in the sky. The journey from the airport was uneventful but three major changes became apparent; new housing developments were creeping higher up the foothills; then the Costanera Centre tower broke through the smog and appeared behind the Cerro San Cristobal and then the fast-flowing concrete road tunnel under the Rio Mapoccho, each change provoking the question 'but why?'
The success of Santiago as a World City is undoubted but tall buildings, many fully glazed, are built without any concern with orientation or the energy they will consume or the parking that they generate. Although the metro is as popular as the new bus system seems unpopular, Santiago is a car-city and Chile a car-country, the downside of which is the smog over Santiago and the dependency on importing the ever-diminishing quantities of oil.
I remember from way back in 1973 how the centre of Santiago and many of the neighbourhoods were eminently walkable but not now. I set off like a good European to walk around the downtown; it felt familiar but then I walked up Calle San Antonio and was shocked to find myself in a street of multi-storey garages; where had the city gone to? And where were the cyclists? In comparison London is relatively hilly and admittedly slightly more temperate but I cycle on average 10 kilometres a day to go to work, for speed between meetings and for some modest exercise that's free; cycling is growing in London very rapidly but your streets are better suited.
It was great to see old friends and make new ones; the students at the Laboratorio Bioclimatico at the Universidad Central were delightful and really interested in the very different focus that many UK architects have now. We are in a major recession but low carbon construction (ie buildings with Low and Zero Carbon Emissions) is seen across Government to be a major part of the economic recovery plan for England. As a country we have a legal obligation to reduce our carbon emissions by 34% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 and that's seriously difficult but with buildings being 40% of the problem this is a great opportunity for architects and engineers working together.
When I visited Santiago in 1999, I was shocked to find so many office towers, fully glazed and un-shaded, especially to the north, with the honourable exception of the exemplary Edificio Consorcio. This time I was more shocked to find that there had been no change to the office buildings and then the Pacific coast was being re-clad with fully glazed West-facing apartments, all of which must overheat unless air-conditioned.
But I was even more shocked when we drove up the coast past the new coal-powered power stations in the already badly polluted Las Ventanas. I think of air-conditioning and C02 as waste or if you prefer it, bad design. Beautiful generous Chile may be losing some of its hydro-powered electricity but it has an almost perfect geography for low energy living. The cities are well dispersed and surely each could become self-sufficient in power, if you were to harness the boundless carbon-free wind, sun, wave and geo-thermal energy with good opportunities for solar powered distilled water as well. This would be better still if the utilities for each town were owned by the citizens of that city. I can see no need for a national grid and the perfect shape for high-speed trains to connect the very north to the very south.
I love visiting Chile and this time I enjoyed the ambitious Parque Chagual, the impressive Parque Nacional Las Chinchillas and best of all riding into the wooded hills at Zapallar. I like teaching low energy design and realising that we have so much to teach as well as a lot to learn. I hope that next time I will begin to see the architects taking their global carbon duties and opportunities more seriously and designing excellent new buildings while dramatically reducing the carbon footprints of the existing buildings that are going to be with us for a long time.
Having not been to Santiago for twelve years, I got really excited as we flew in over the snow-clad Andes without a cloud in the sky. The journey from the airport was uneventful but three major changes became apparent; new housing developments were creeping higher up the foothills; then the Costanera Centre tower broke through the smog and appeared behind the Cerro San Cristobal and then the fast-flowing concrete road tunnel under the Rio Mapoccho, each change provoking the question 'but why?'
The success of Santiago as a World City is undoubted but tall buildings, many fully glazed, are built without any concern with orientation or the energy they will consume or the parking that they generate. Although the metro is as popular as the new bus system seems unpopular, Santiago is a car-city and Chile a car-country, the downside of which is the smog over Santiago and the dependency on importing the ever-diminishing quantities of oil.
I remember from way back in 1973 how the centre of Santiago and many of the neighbourhoods were eminently walkable but not now. I set off like a good European to walk around the downtown; it felt familiar but then I walked up Calle San Antonio and was shocked to find myself in a street of multi-storey garages; where had the city gone to? And where were the cyclists? In comparison London is relatively hilly and admittedly slightly more temperate but I cycle on average 10 kilometres a day to go to work, for speed between meetings and for some modest exercise that's free; cycling is growing in London very rapidly but your streets are better suited.
It was great to see old friends and make new ones; the students at the Laboratorio Bioclimatico at the Universidad Central were delightful and really interested in the very different focus that many UK architects have now. We are in a major recession but low carbon construction (ie buildings with Low and Zero Carbon Emissions) is seen across Government to be a major part of the economic recovery plan for England. As a country we have a legal obligation to reduce our carbon emissions by 34% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 and that's seriously difficult but with buildings being 40% of the problem this is a great opportunity for architects and engineers working together.
When I visited Santiago in 1999, I was shocked to find so many office towers, fully glazed and un-shaded, especially to the north, with the honourable exception of the exemplary Edificio Consorcio. This time I was more shocked to find that there had been no change to the office buildings and then the Pacific coast was being re-clad with fully glazed West-facing apartments, all of which must overheat unless air-conditioned.
But I was even more shocked when we drove up the coast past the new coal-powered power stations in the already badly polluted Las Ventanas. I think of air-conditioning and C02 as waste or if you prefer it, bad design. Beautiful generous Chile may be losing some of its hydro-powered electricity but it has an almost perfect geography for low energy living. The cities are well dispersed and surely each could become self-sufficient in power, if you were to harness the boundless carbon-free wind, sun, wave and geo-thermal energy with good opportunities for solar powered distilled water as well. This would be better still if the utilities for each town were owned by the citizens of that city. I can see no need for a national grid and the perfect shape for high-speed trains to connect the very north to the very south.
I love visiting Chile and this time I enjoyed the ambitious Parque Chagual, the impressive Parque Nacional Las Chinchillas and best of all riding into the wooded hills at Zapallar. I like teaching low energy design and realising that we have so much to teach as well as a lot to learn. I hope that next time I will begin to see the architects taking their global carbon duties and opportunities more seriously and designing excellent new buildings while dramatically reducing the carbon footprints of the existing buildings that are going to be with us for a long time.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Ted's Talk at the RIBA North East
On Thursday night Ted Cullinan gave a talk to the RIBA North East on his design for the new Maggie’s Centre in Newcastle. He used his trademark style of drawing as he talked to demonstrate ideas and referenced previous projects to explain the scheme.
Ted started by looking at the landscape work of Maggie Keswick Jencks herself before describing the location and approach to the Maggie’s Centre at the Freeman Hospital, drawing in reference to the settings of Fountains Abbey Visitor Centre and Archaeolink.
He then drew the layout in greater detail, emphasising the key connection between the building and its surrounding courtyard landscape and roof garden. Ted showed how this had been achieved at the John Hope Gateway at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. The Law House, Ready Mixed Concrete offices roof garden, Centre for Mathematical Sciences and his own house in Camden Mews were shown to demonstrate how accessible roof gardens can be used.
The Maggie’s Centre is due on site in the next few months. We would like to say thanks to the RIBA NE Young Persons Forum for organising the event and for their fundraising towards the Maggie’s Centre.
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| Fountains Abbey Visitor Centre |
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| Archaeolink Visitor Centre |
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| John Hope Gateway, RBGE |
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| The Law House |
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| Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge |
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| RMC HQ |
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| Camden Mews |
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| Model of the North East Maggie's Centre |
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Maggie's London Night Hike
A team from Edward Cullinan Architects are walking the Maggie's London Night Hike tomorrow night.
Last year we wore glow-in-the-dark glasses. This year we will be wearing glow-in-the-dark baseball caps.
If you would like to sponsor us, you can do so here: www.justgiving.com/sole-ii-solar
This event is particularly significant for us as the North East Maggie's Centre, designed by Ted Cullinan, will be going on site this year. We are honored to be working on a new Maggie's centre and are all proud to be supporting such a great cause. Maggie's Centres are for anyone affected by cancer, including family and friends of the person who has been diagnosed. Providing the right environment for visitors to a Maggie's Centre is crucial as it allows people to feel supported and uplifted. The North East centre will provide a place of calm and care. Particular to this centre is a sheltered sunken court on its south sides and a large south-facing sloping roof over the library that has photovoltaic cells to make electricity.
Our team name is 'Sole II Solar'; sole as in shoe, II as in second year in a row, and solar inspired by the sun image drawn by Ted (shown in the section above) as our emblem. He drew this to demonstrate the solar design principles used in the design of Maggie's North East.
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