Reagents EPED- Mount Pleasant 7/24 London WC1

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1 Reagents EPED- Mount Pleasant 7/24 London WC1 Sümeyye Subasi EPED, Master. WS 2011/12 TASK 2 btu cottbus. lehrstuhl für entwerfen, gebäudekunde & raumgestaltung. prof. jörg kühn, norbert kling. ws 2011/12

2 Introduction Architecture has been the waltz of art and engineering science since decades. Just like Louis Kahn mentioned about it, it is the reaching out for the truth. It s an ocean of unknowns and the clipper ship in this ocean which takes us to the future. It s the brothership of the past and the future.. While understanding our past and future, architecture is definitely is the best tool to shape and face the truth. The moment where exactly art and scince start to dance is when we start our personal journey of connecting them. Doing the design project EPED- Reagents is simply a intimate exploration, a personal and shared journey of this connection. The subject of study experimenting Reagents desires us to understand completely what reagent in scince is and what connection it has to offer to architectural design. What is Reagent? A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another (IUPAC, 1997). The substance (or substances) initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants or reagents. A reagent is substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs. (IUPAC, 1997). Etymologically, the word reagent comes from re, again+ agere, to act which was first knowed used in 1797 (Mosby, 2009). + = = Reaction? Reagent- Architecture? There is not exactly a solution in architecture. There are some several and sometimes hundred of solutions for it. Sometimes a result looks like a solution can be a source of a huge problem. Sometimes a problem can lead us to a solution. All because of these facts we can never really know if it s right what we have created/ built or wrong. A reaction is basicly a will during the design period. By considering this fact, it s easy to say that buildings or built-up elements could be the easiest reactors or reagents, by connecting the environment, nature and humans. The way to get a response from the structure could be: 1. revising the construction zone and needs 2. revising the typologies, daily/night life conditions 3. seeking for new, reforms or remarkable changes

3 Oktoberfest as a reagent One of the good examples as a reagent to get a reaction is the Oktoberfest. It is a day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is the world largest festival with over 6 million people attending every year. Oktoberfest is both traditional, cultural and touristical festival since it each year guns up the amazing human density. The area, where Oktoberfest is held (Theresienwiese) is a huge green, square metres big field. The site is located south west of the city centre. There are currently fourteen large tents and twenty small tents at the Oktoberfest. The tents themselves are non-permanent structures which are constructed for and only used during the festival. The beer (or wine) served in each is in the accompanying table. Because of this amazing potential with both temporary and permanent existence, we can clearly say that the octoberfest is a strong substance which brings about a reaction. Istanbul Modern and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University as reagents The Istanbul Modern art museum is a unique example for a piece of architecture which has possesed the power to cause a reaction. It is located in a converted warehouse in the Tophane district next to the Bosphorus. There is also the oldest fine arts university of Turkey within walking distance. Tophane is known as one of the oldest neigbourhoods in Istanbul which was an industrial zone in ottoman times. It was virtually about to lose it s charm before the reaction started through istanbul modern. The Museum embraces a global vision to collect, document, preserve and exhibit creative works of modern and contemporary art and make them accessible to art lovers. The building is representing a place in which various types of contemporary exhibitions are arranged. This idea was a huge effect on the city s need about contemporary arts and modern turkish architecture. Though the museum,big amount of people has started to be aware of art and new social activities. Through the temporary exhibitions, it became possible to get people interested about visiting the museum not once in life time but more often. The two reagents as Istanbul Modern and Mimar Sinan fine arts university are just great examples which caused a reaction in Tophane neighbourhood, gave a new meaning to the place and got the attention of the people with it s properties. It was just enough to make Tophane a new, fresh and artful corner of Bosphorus that is visited by many people each year. It resolved the needs, it gave a new meaning and most importantly it started a reaction.

4 views to istanbul modern Housing Reagents, London - The site: It is located in the Mount Pleasant area in Clerkenwell (EC1), at the junction between Farringdon Road and Kings Cross. Currently there is a temporary mix-usage of space which has a great potential. Building Uses: - Residential - Educational -Office - Service - Given area Approach to the new design By analysing the results obtained during the workshop in London, the design should be started by thinking about the conditions of the given site. It s explicitly seenable that most of the buildings in Mount Pleasant are either residential or offices which brings us to the idea of thinking about a interaction between existing and needs. In order to create a reaction, it could be necessary to have a mix-use substance. My experiment about this study case has started through observing the other substances which would create a wholeness and separation at the same time. Then the reagent itself can be described as a whole unit which offers more than one facility and separates its functions while keeping the wholeness. During my observations and researches about London, and especially after talking with people who either had lived or still live in the town, some main problems about the life there helped me to find out the starting point. London, with its multi-cultural structure, offers, potentials and diversity is no doubt a city where many people dream to live in. There are one of the best universities and institutions in the world, which are welcoming students from over 200 nations. After receiving an acceptance from the university, the first thing to deal with is the accommodation. This problem is more or less a typical problem in most of the big cities where there is a big amount of institution of higher education. Which makes this typical problem in London more stressful are the high prices that are a big burden for the students.

5 The prices for accommodation are relatively higher if the location is near or in the centre of the city. That s why it s just a expected result to see students who live fairly far away from the university, or the centre. But the centre is like the heart of the body, it s where life starts and ends. If we imagine that life starts at heartbeat, then we shouldn t forget that the simplest reagent is blood, the reactor is heart and the reaction is life. By taking the chance of such a unique area in the city centre that offers and needs a new life, i ve decided to work on a unit of student apartments and open art spaces/ ateliers for students and everyone else who is interested. The goal is to have a interaction between students and people who are in the neighbourhood in order to bring about a reaction between different typologies. The student apartments are expected to have equal views to every unit. Landscape will be the address of these units which will 24/7 offer nature and dynamism. There are supposed to be integrated cafes, bars and meeting areas (loggias and terraces). In order to create sectional variation to the blocks and have the maximum view, the whole volume will be terraced. In the context of a rapidly growing city, these life units will aim to make green space as important to the life of residences and the buildings themselves. The open spaces aim to help people to figure out their inner interests by experimenting new social standards with the others. The open ateliers are expected to have various spaces which are going to be accessible for everyone. For example music, video and theather rooms will be designed and especially the Workshop spaces are going to be available for design and art students. These spaces will let themselves be changeable regularly so that new activities are going to be possible to be performed. The original idea is to create some units capable of changing its function by partially transforming itself. And the intention is the creation of a gathering space for the inhabitants of the units and citizens The architect s role is to fight for a better world, where he can produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people. Oscar Niemeyer