The Rudolph Steiner House (Open House London 2013)

The weekend of the 21st -22nd September played host to this years 'Open City/Open House Event',celebrating the architecture,the people and the places of London.
An event designed to engage observant and inquisitive Londoners or visitors in their surroundings, enabling one to explore buildings internally and public spaces freely to gain deeper in sight to what it is you pass on their daily journeys. The key to this event is that is absolutely free with access to places you wouldn't normally be able to roam without some form of pass!

This Year over 800 buildings were showcased around London, this included Architect guided tours,public realm walks and even boat tours; all in 48 Hours. It could be regarded as one of the greatest Architectural events of the year.

Follow: @openhouselondon #Openhouselondon

In response to the event, I ceased the opportunity to visit a couple of places that the event had on offer.

 ' The Rudolph Steiner House & Theatre'

 located at 35 Park Road, Camden, London NW1 6XT.

The Rudolph Steiner House ( Grade II Listed) was built between 1926 - 1937 by Montague Wheeler. Mr Wheeler a partner in practice at 'Hoare and Wheeler' was also a member of the Anthroposophical Society. The Rudolph Steiner House was designed as homage to the society.

The design was inspired by the work of Rudolph Steiner himself, relative to the first Goetheanum building in Dornach,Switzland (19140. It was primarily built with timber however due to a 1922 Christmas fire it was destroyed,resulting in a rebuild from concrete with a new 'exprossionist' dimension to form. 

Terrazzo - Steiner related form gesture

The 'Expressionist' form is based on the marble mixed with cement 'Terrazzo' located outside the theatre.This feature of the building played a key design principle,every form is naturally related to every other form creating a form gesture that represents the organic. This is demonstrated via door openings, window openings and the elaborate yet beautiful staircase.

Theatre (1962) - Note Window openings,stage depth and wall colour

The building however was built in stages, beginning with the theatre. The theatre is designed for the use of the ' Arrhythmic Movement', who were a spoken word poetry movement that used gestures in relation to sound  which resulted in travelling to depth of the stage via large forms of movement.

In relation to this whole ideology of expression, the theatre walls also became an art in itself painted using the 'Lazure' technique, which uses water based plant colour pigment.  The colour is applied to a textured surface in the style of water colours with regards to building up layers in order to gain depth of colour. The work was done repeatedly overnight on site by Gary Chippendale and Assistant. The same methodology is subtly implemented on the staircase retaining the organic nature.

The first floor was also built at the same time as the theatre ,other rooms were added later as well as the book shop.

Please spend time to appreciate the infamous focal point of the house, the staircase!

In 2008-2009, the building was refurbished by Nic Pople & Helen Springthorpe with David Tasker ( Gifford Ltd) structural engineer. The refurbishment was in order to meet current legislation and included rewiring, disability facilities, fire alarm system and a new cafe area.
The cafe area is composed of a wooden canopy like structure surrounded by bricks and concrete, with a form maintaining the original Goetheanum style. The pillared central structure uses seven planetary woods (Ash/Sun, Oak/Mars,Sycamore/maple/Jupiter, Hornbeam/Saturn, Cherry/Moon, Elm/Mercury, birch/Venus). Use of such material is said to create a mood of light in a space that was occupied by a fire escape.

Cafe Area Mezzanine

The central pillars were made in lincolnshire out of seven different pieces then constructed on site, it also mimics a tree reinstating the organic nature.The space is quiet small but occupies three different levels. Ground playing home to the kitchen area, the mezzanine as shown on the top image and then a second level where there is extend seating.

In addition to the redevelopments offices were moved from the third floor to the first floor, retuning both levels to the original configuration.

Personal Thought...

As a student of Architecture, it was interesting to see how a building can be conserved and redeveloped. The aspect that particularly caught my interested was definitely the staircase as it was simplistic and the ideology of basing the forms used in the building, from the Terrazzo. This is something I have heard over and over again but fully understanding the result without studying it, was near impossible. It was spectacular to see a building that spoke in its entity, one language, from its form to its materials to its functionality, it is expressive and organic. 
I did enjoy!

See the Video Tour...Rudolf Steiner House - Staircase Video

© 2013 Kerri Rochelle Simpson copyright 

All rights reserved

Rudolf Steiner House - Article Taster Video

Rudolph Steiner  House

Architect: Montague Wheeler 1874- 1937

Redevelopment:  Nic Pople + Helen Springthorpe

The first 'Expressionist House' of London

35 Park Road NW1 6XT

(Open House 2013) 

Click Here for the Article

Song credits: 5 Teile Wodka - The Rain

The Endless Stair - Video Tour

Click here for the Endless Stair article!

In addition to the previous post, here is a short journey through the staircase. It is brief, but will give you more of an emotional response to the project and you will be able to see the interaction  people had with the structure.

© 2013 Kerri Rochelle Simpson copyright 

All rights reserved

The Endless Stairs - drMM Architects, Arup Engineers & SEAM Design

River Facing View

The Endless Stair

13 September '13 - 10 October '13

Monday - Sunday 9AM - Dusk

The Lawn in front of the Tate Modern, 
Bankside,London,SE1 9TG

Who? 
dRMM Architects - Timber Studio
Arup Engineering Structures,Materials and Fire specialist
Sponsored by American Wood expert Council 
Contractor - Nussil

The Endless stair by dRMM in collaboration with Arup Engineering and SEAM Design is part of the London Design Festival, which is a nine day event with hundreds of showcases around London. The staircase is the 2013 Landmark project placed at the Tate Modern (London) . The initial site was set to be at the St. Paul's Cathedral however it is great to see the Tate host this in their front garden.
Inspired by  the works of M.C Escher's 'Relativity', it is composed of 15 interlocking staircases; the Endless Stair provides an interactive installation that creates a panoramic view of the area upon ascend and descent.

Architecturally it is exploring sustainable materials for the future of construction, as the project creators describe the timber used as ' the new concrete'. The design is the second American Hard Wood structure to be commissioned for the 2013 festival of design. The Endless stair is constructed using cross laminated timber ensuring strength and endurance.This is an ' American Tulipwood' which is an abundant type of timber originating from North America, this type of wood is usually a softwood, however this intervention uses a hardwood reducing the quantity needed and also reducing the thickness which effectively makes the structure lighter.

The structure still manages to weigh in at a staggering 11.4 tonnes with a combined total length of 436M (when all the panels used are laid flat) which is 4.5 times the size of Big Ben!

With 187 Endless Stairs this allows for an overall capacity of 93 people at any one time, the shortest staircase has 48 stairs.The intersectional landings give access to different sides of the structure via an 'up and over' methodology,contributing to the exploration of the piece and creating internal views of the structure.Ultimately all ascending routes lead to the top of the piece and all descending routes lead to the ground, however you have the choice of which route you would like to take.Like a maze.

At the highest point you are met with a glass end panel which creates the illusion that you could continue on, a staircase to the skies is what i would say. At this point you have the opportunity to take in the panoramic view of the thames.

Process and Production... 

Select image to see processes( image provided by www.nickwattsdesign.co.uk)

After the whole event, the plan is to deconstruct the stairs,enabling for the wood to be recycled for use in other projects. The project throughout has used and monitored sustainable materials, methods of transport and manufacturing processes.

Did I tell you it lights up at night...

Click Here to see dRMM explain The Endless Stair

Please look out for The Endless Stair at night and the Tour video!

Subscribe or follow us at @KRSarchitecture

Photos of Endless Stair copyright Kerri R Simpson

© 2013 Kerri Rochelle Simpson copyright 

All rights reserved

SouthBank Skate Park Saved?

The London Southbank skate park located in the undercroft of the Queen Elizabeth Hall (River Thames,London) has been alive for over 40 years, being regarded as a place that generations of skaters have rode around becoming part of the London skate cult. 

The south bank skate park forms a hub for skaters around the world, a place that could be defined as a safe skate haven, a place that is dear to the heart of many as they have explored the unit from childhood to adulthood; breaking limitations and setting new goals to achieve.

Southbank is still today a prime meeting point for a lot of London skaters, also a canvas for Graffiti artists retaining its value to the rich artistry and cultural value of the south bank. Instead of taking away from the south bank it is giving back.

For sometime the Southbank skate park has been under threat, there have been plans to demolish and relocate the park put forward by Lambeth council, this was in order to make space for new retail and restaurants that will further develop the income in the south bank area.

Distant Memories

Rich Grafitti Art, notice the SOS...

The undercroft skating area, people passing by at the background and skate boarder in the mid ground

" Thinking about what he may lose"

The Green square indicates the location of the skate park

The above images show what the current state of the skatepark is in 2013, this is a quiet week day. However when speaking to some of the locals, I was told that on a weekend it is far more busier than the week; although at evenings this is where people come to deflate after a long day. 

" What do you think about the demolition of the Southbank Skate Park?"

 A common response was revolved around devastation and a loss, I was also advised to visit this website http://www.savethesouthbank.com a website that leads to a petition, the petition is said to have drawn over 50,000 signatures from the UK and abroad demonstrating the importance it has to so many who use the area.

From an Architectural perspective, taking architecture in not the static but the emotional sense. The skate park gives the area personality, a fully interactive space connecting expressionists to one and another; holding skate jams as well as performances it relates to the static buildings in the area which host cultural and artist events alike; the removal of such a place disconnects social activities whilst depleting the areas richness.

Here is a sample of the new proposal, which looks admittedly a beautiful attachment to an existing building accompanied by the introduction of further green spaces.

Although this image is not directly showing the impact to the undercut it shows the overall vision for the area. To the common visitor it appears to be an attractive touristic place, which will indeed draw a sufficient source of further income to the area,additionally and  possibly exploring other cultural values besides the skate cult known to the area. In the ideal world, we would prefer for the existing development to accommodate the 20% remains of the SouthBank skate park.

The voices were eventually heard in the SouthBank area, however the result  comes with great compromise from the 'Long Live SouthBank Group' ( the group of skater challenging councils decisions).The group have been given the option to allow the skate park to become extinct so that the £120 Million redevelopment can go through, this is in acceptance of a new £1Million skate park to be built under the Hungerford Bridge;extending space by 10% with a 120 Meter span of floor space.

There are three different designs that could be put forward for the relocation as shown by the video above, which is just a little way from the original site. The acceptance from the skaters is still pending furthermore the idea is neither set in stone, so it is difficult to come to a conclusion until discussions have been made; it would be said that it is a very good offer, as an area like the Southbank skate park are lucky to have the opportunity to be heard. I think they should accept and create a new as well as positive outlook for the future of skating,BMX-ing and artists alike!

© 2013 Kerri Rochelle Simpson copyright 

All rights reserved

09/11 Terrorist Attack Memorial

The image above is produced by myself as a reflection of events and devastation that lingered at the time of the September 11th 2001 air attack. 

As a none American my memories are not as vivid as those who were close to the event at time, however social media kept a constant stream of news with repetitive powerful images making those in a foreign country aware of the happenings in America.

I have constructed this image using two powerful social media images, the background shows the twin towers after impact with the fumes dissipating into the clear blue sky.

To me this communicates, the cloud in the clarity; a smoke of devastation with no general knowledge as to why?

The foreground however shows the remains of the towers, another image that was constantly used to depict the extent of the destruction. The lonely on-looker signifies the person who is about to try and rectify the problems, the one who makes the decision as to what happens next, he is not a bold figure in this image but more of one who blends in with the disaster.

As a complete image other things to note is the darkness at ground level, this represents the emotion at ground level a dark time, however played off against the strong blue and red of america, it represents hope and recovery.

R.I.P to those who past on this day, you live in all our thoughts

...Please see these comments as strictly opinionated,a way of looking at things differently...

© 2013 Kerri Rochelle Simpson copyright 

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An Architecture Students Guide to Living in University Halls

Congratulations, you are officially an Architecture student. The questions you may ask yourself over the first few months is 'Oh My Life what is this work load that will not allow me to do all the fun things my flat mates are doing?'. All I can tell you is this is just something that will not change, unless you know how to manage your time effectively and beat your demons.

This article is now going to become your guidance.

Imagine you have just moved in to your less than 12sqm room at University,you have brought all of your things from home forgetting that one day you may just return to your humble abode to find that you have one wardrobe, a desk and a bed in your room. Shock horror right? 

Your first thought it this looks a bit like a prison cell. Anyway, you begin the first two weeks of the course with an outlined brief of your first design project, you have to design a house maybe and produce plans,sections,elevations,3D model,sketches and all sorts of other explorative things that you may never have done in your life. 

In your first year you are likely to be encouraged to hand draw ALOT! You can not go on to produce these fantastically wonderful, futuristic designs if you do not understand the basic principles of hand drawing, wether that be technical or sketches. You will need to know how to use a scale ruler, a drawing board and probably an adjustable set square.

SO firstly when living in halls, you need to organise your work space in order to accommodated for your equipment.

I recommend:

Setting Up The Desk Provided

You will probably have a worn surfaced but sturdy desk, with two draws and a noticeboard above. If your lucky you will get two shelves. With the desk provided, it would be benificial to measure it before purchasing a none freestanding drawing board, as sometimes the back of the board may slip off if the desk is too small.

You could purchase a small 3 tiered draw that will contain, drawing pens,pencils and colours. It is advisable to have a set of drawing equipment to leave at home and one to take to university, so that if you were to loose any then you still have ones at home.

In the two draws provided, you could use this to store documents such as support materials for projects or any preliminary work! I would make sure you keep these draws in order using a filing system for each project.

When modelling at home, ensure you purchase a cutting board to stop cutting through your desk and put down newspaper or a cloth, there is nothing worse than a bumpy desk and one with glue in odd places.

Organising Your Noticeboard

The noticeboard is where I would put my current design briefs and notes on what needs to be produced, this way you can not forget what you are working towards. Always create a list of tasks and tick them off as you go along, your list may change weekly after tutorials but it is a key way to keep on top and organise your time. 

Also the notice board can be layered, a place above your desk where you can pin up reference drawings that you may need while you are working on a current drawing.

It is tempting to do the student thing, where you pin up pictures of friends and family, find another space to do this such as by your bed.Space is precious.

Setting Up Your Wall

Before a critic or review, it is essential that you double check that you have done the work that is required and to make sure it all flows as a project. In your room you could do this by using a wall to pin up your work in order as you would if you was pinning up for a crit. Use masking tape so you do not damage the walls! Leave the masking tape on the wall so that you do not waste masking tap.

Step back from your work and give yourself your own crit.

Storage of Materials for Models/Project

You will inevitably find that you will acquire a good amount of card or even Wood this is BIG... and unless you can find a space within the Architecture department to store this for personal use, you are better off taking it home. You can store this either under your bed, behind your wardrobe, down the side of your wardrobe, at the back of your desk or simply against the wall. eventually you will use it so it will not be there forever; your bedroom is still your bedroom and needs to remain homely.

Put models on your window sill, be carful of condensation as you do not want them to get wet but I find this works well. If your models look good then it will also add to deco in your room.

Do you have extra room for a desk?

If you are a lucky person who has a large room, then you may consider the purchase of a second desk, here can be a multi-use desk. A place for computer work! This will enable you to seperate the two aspects and remain organised, you will find that you will already have your drawing space set up and that you will have a computer desk set up as well. Its like having your own little office at home. Here you can also put your TV, which may like to double up as your monitor depending on how you like to work.

Hope this gives a little help...Good Luck!

© 2013 Kerri Rochelle Simpson copyright 

All rights reserved