Fragments of Icarus: Testbed1, Battersea

Following our exhibition on Store Street in August (see below), my collaborators Amelia Leeson, Ifigeneia Liangi and I were invited to install our inflatable at the Testbed1 gallery in Battersea. The Store Street exhibition had consisted of around 20 installations, each interpreting an excerpt from the myth of Icarus. In the large warehouse space of Testbed, we had the opportunity to disassemble, rearrange and recombine our works, reacting this time to Pieter Bruegel's painting, The Fall of Icarus (below).

Installations were grouped and amalgamated to represent key compositional elements from the painting. The construction process was highly collaborative, with all contributors proving willing and eager to adapt, reconsider and in some cases destroy their original works.

Yesterday evening was the private view, a chance to wander around the works and view snippets of footage from the Store Street installation projected onto frameworks, screens, and in one case, a slowly melting block of ice. It was a great evening, with lots of friends and newcomers (helped in no small way by the adjacent bar), but the exhibition will be open until the 12th of December if you want to take a look yourself. For more information, see www.iv-i.co.uk.

Amhurst Road wins a Hackney Design Award



We were delighted to receive a commendation at the Hackney Design awards last Thursday, for our mixed use scheme at Amhurst Road:

Hackney Design Awards- Amhurst Road

It was a great evening- the design quality of the other shortlisted schemes was very high, so we felt honoured to be included.

Stand out schemes included :

• Waugh Thisteton's Tramshed refurbishment, which manages to re-imagine the space while retaining the character and atmosphere of the original building. They also serve monster steaks so worth a visit!
• Make's Handball arena: We like the simple, bold articulation of forms and materials. I missed it at the Olympics, but the arena will soon be opening to the public so looking forward to a visit.
• Amin Taha's 2 Ada St: Raw materials and uncompromising details create a space that is materially rich and stylish. Less is more!

There were some other interesting scheme's I've not yet seen- I'll be going to Hackney Marshes to see the new community hub, and the restoration of Clissold House in Stoke Newington

It's fantasitc and unusual that Hackney run these awards to celebrate good design in the borough, and to anyone at the ceremony there was a feeling that Hackney is an exciting and rapidly changing borough that is being regenerated through interesing modern design. This process is supported and even led by the council, with Hackney as client to many of the school schemes.

Other councils take note- regeneration is led by good design!

All photos @ Joel Knight

Friern Road site visit - Concrete Finishes

This morning I made a site visit to Friern Road to see progress on our new build house. We are currently building the concrete elements of the construction. This includes the external ground floor walls, which are all in-situ insulated concrete with a board-marked finish (left image below), and the stair-cores which have a smooth, ply finish (right image below).
 

  

To create the external walls, timber formwork is erected around a core of insulation, reinforcement mesh and basalt ties (which eliminate thermal bridging), into which concrete is poured in layers. Between each pour the layers of concrete are vibrated with a poker to remove air bubbles and create a clean surface. This construction allows us to create the structure, insulation and finish simultaneously.

For the formwork to the external walls we have used locally sourced English Larch which has been finished to provide a relief of the grain on the concrete surface. The timber is then sealed and coated with a release agent prior to fixing into the formwork.

We have spent many months researching the techniques and construction methods in order to create an efficient building envelope and a high quality architectural finish. This research has allowed us to test innovate concrete construction methods to eliminate cold bridging and improve thermal performance - I will write a more technical blog on this subject sometime in the future.

Keep posted for that, and further updates from Friern Road as construction works progress.  

Eashing House on site progress and Metal Sample Panel

On Monday I travelled to leafy Godalming to see the progress of our project Eashing House. http://www.edgleydesign.co.uk/Projects/Residential/Eashing-House.aspx

Recently published in the AJ, we are upcycling a 1960s country house wrapping the existing building in high performance insulation and shiny stainless steel. There is a large extension, all the glazing is being replaced by triple glazed sliding windows and doors, and the interiors are all being completely refurbished.

It has been on site since August and the Contractors are making great progress. On Monday we recieved approval for the facing materials, with the help of the below sample panel. We chose the material, together with the Clients, as it reflected the beautiful Surrey countryside, acting as an invisibility cloak for the building.

The specific finish has never been used as a cladding material before as far as we know. Architect's tend to either go for the perfect mirror finish, or the extremely matte non-reflective.

This metal acts like a lens - go close up and the reflections are perfect almost like a mirror. As you move further away, the image begins to blur, moving out of focus. Continuing to move away from the metal, the distortions of the metal abstract the image even further, until you are left with a watercolour like image of the surrounding landscape, the variety of colour, shapes, light, and shade.

We look forward to seeing the project develop further into the winter months.

Rising Action/Falling Action

 

 As part of the Bloomsbury Festival, I was invited by the curators of SSE Space to create an installation interpreting a portion of the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus along with around 20 other teams of artists, architects and designers. Working together with Ifigeneia Liangi and Amelia Leeson, I created an inflated pair of wing-like forms, anchored to a timber framework which formed a doorway to an unoccupied shop on Store Street.

The project was a great opportunity to test out a new building technology. Much was learned about the manufacture and fragility of inflatable structures, which we'll certainly be putting to good use in the future. The day itself saw lots of amazing temporary structures, interactive games and performances in the street. For more information on the project, see SSE Space.

Mirror Mirror In The Park, Reflector Of Day And Dark

With Eashing House on-site, Edgley Design needed to decide on material finishes. The most noticable concern is the finish of the stainless steel cladding. Happy with the aesthetic of our drawing, our aim was to find the right level of polished material to reflect the colours and create a distorted vision of the surrounding park as close as possible.

 

Team Edgley took our samples down to the local park to discover the effects of light and the park environment on various grades of polished stainless steel, as this was the best way to test the material against its inevitable context in the Surrey countryside.

We had expected from looking at the drawing to opt for a more rough finish, that the highly polished material would be too much like a mirror and too bright. 

The users experience of the material at different distances (1m, 3m, 5m, 10m)  different distances.







Amhurst Completion

We're very pleased to announce the completion of Amhurst Road project, an aluminium artist's studio and rubber-clad house in Hackney. The project has been well received by the press; featuring in The Architects' Jounal, Dezeen, Arch Daily, numerous online blogs and most recently London's Evening Standard. Amurst Road has been shortlisted for Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards 2012.

Amhurst Road double spread in London's Evening Standard Homes and Property Design supplement 8th August 2012

View of alluminium studio and black rubber clad house from neighbouring property. No windows face out onto the surrounding existing houses.

A windowless studio for a fabric designer; skylights ensure plenty of natural light.

Dezeen, just one of the online magazines to headline Amhurst Road.

 As part of London Open House 2012 and for one day only, you have the chance to look around and inside Amurst Road yourself. Architect Jake Edgley will be guiding half hourly tours on a first come, first serve basis on Sunday 23rd Sepetmber 1-4pm, We look forward to seeing you there!

LIFELINES Exhibition

As part of an exhibition of architectural student work, a drawing from my final Master's project (just before I returned to Edgley Design) is currently hanging in the auspicious surrounds of the European Commission in Westminster. The exhibition collects proposals which  creatively embrace the challenges of an aging European population. The theme is loosely interpreted; some projects directly address social issues, while others take a more poetic approach, investigating aesthetic themes of decay and impermanence. There's some beautiful work on display - I hope foreign delegates have been suitably impressed.

My own project proposes an infrastructure for the world's largest feast in Istanbul. Expanding on the local traditions of Ramadan, the building tries to reestablish a link between decay and regeneration through the symbolism of the feast. The materials and construction methods play on the distinctions between permanent and impermanent, the hard and the soft, including balloon-formed concrete, glazed ceramics and earth-filled hessian sacking.

Glass Is Magical

My fascination for glass became apparent over the last year. I’ve always enjoyed glass paintings and drawings but my passion for glass only really came to the surface through my photography, whilst exploring the different light and optical qualities of the material and through varying colours, textures, patterns and reflections. 

During my diploma, I designed various patterns and forms which have an ability to disorientate the user by challenging their perception of depth and producing the sensation or illusion of movement. I imagined making these patterns in glass and in various scales.

Light, shadow and translucency are focal points in my architecture; glass becomes the material through which my immaterial architecture is created. The user can engage and play with the optical and illusionary qualities of the material as light is reflected and transmitted through it.

As part of my research, through hands on work and in order to gain a real understanding of glass as a material and its properties, I realised one of my designs in kiln cast glass. I initially wanted to work with clear glass to test out the pattern and its illusionary qualities without being distracted by colour.

I started the process by creating the MDF model shown below (Fig 1):

 

Fig 1  Original model in MDF showing interplay between depth perception and inversion.  

The play of ligt is enhanced by the relief pattern, creatings a contrast beween light and dark. Photo by Amy Bodiam

To realise this design in glass, several methods of mould making and casting were needed. To make a wax replica of the MDF model, I poured hot melt vinyl rubber (Vinamold) over the original to make a negative mould (Fig 2)  for casting the wax replica - to be used in a process called lost wax casting.

Fig 2  Vinamold forming a negative moulding of original model. Photo by Amy Bodiam

I really liked the playful qualities of the Vinamold (Fig 3) - flexible, durable, soft and able to bend around curves. This inspired me to cast the model in rubber as well as in glass.

I really liked the playful qualities of the Vinamold (Fig 3) - flexible, durable, soft and able to bend around curves. This inspired me to cast the model in rubber as well as in glass.

Fig 3  Vinamold relief surface. Photo by Amy Bodiam

Having successfully made a wax replica, I prepared the final mould; a plaster and flint mix suitable for high temperatures in the kiln. Using a build up of clay, I made a funnel shape (Fig 4) to form a refractoy opening for the lumps of glass to be stacked and melt into the mould. After casting the plaster and flint mould, I removed the clay funnel and steamed away the wax model- a process called lost wax casting.  The heat resistant mould was then placed into the kiln at 1000 degrees Celsius and fired overnight. The stacked glass melts and flows though the funnel filling the mould.

Fig 4  Plaster and flint cast with remenants of the clay funnel. Photo by Katy Rumm

After firing, the glass sculpture needs to be cut and polished to create a beautiful finish. This can take several weeks! I soaked the piece in coca cola to remove any debris left over from the mould and polished some of the circle reliefs for a smoother more transparent finish. Some areas I sand blasted to create a more matt and opaque finish, highlighting the contrast between the rough and the smooth finish. (Fig 5) I tested the sculpture's illuminosity, moving it under different lighting conditions. It can appear clear, translucent or solid depending on the time of day. 

Fig 5  Glass sculpture after a kiln firing lit by dalight from behind. Photo by Amy Bodiam

 

Fig 6  Bubbles (trapped air in the casting process)  were encouraged and add to it's magical qualities. Photo by Amy Bodiam

Fig 7  A continued exploration now with colour; cast glass pigmented with violet  powder. Photo by Amy Bodiam

So pleased with the results, glass really is magical! I'll now continue to cast the design at a bigger scale and also cast it in various other materials. I'm curious to see whether plastics, such as acrylic and resin which are cheaper and lighter in weight will have the same properties as glass; and if so then what is their life span ? Does plastic last forever? Will it rot, degrade or discolour? 
How will it's illuminousity be affected?

©Amy Sullivan-Bodiam

Team Edgley in Study Trip 'Up-North' to Wakefield

Team Edgley this Spring went on a study trip to God's Own County, West Yorkshire, to see the Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield Market Hall and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

We awoke to a misty day in London and met at Kings Cross Station for the 8am train to Wakefield. The train meandered through the English countryside, speeding past field after field after sheep. The further north we went, the sun began to poke out until we got to the sunshine city of Wakefield.

The Hepworth was designed by David Chipperfield and completed in 2011. Project architect was Jake's close friend Nick Hill, and the Gallery's Director was a family friend of mine Gordon Watson. Through these contacts we were able to get a guided tour around the gallery, front of house and back of house.

Our main point of interest was the in-situ concrete facade at the Hepworth, its panelling, fixing and pigmentation all fascinating to appreciate. We are using visual concrete at Friern Road (the below project) so wanted to get some good ideas.

Other points of interest were: really cool dyed MDF stock board sued in the foyer, useful marketing boards which were attached magnetically to the walls, simple minimal handrails around the exterior, shelving units which were too high for the teachers or children to use in the classrooms due to 3m floor height (but what can an architect do?). All the air conditioning, temperature and humidity control was released into the first floor galleries through a large shadow gap between the walls and the finished floor level, so there was no need for a visual grill anywhere. The gallery spaces were separated by large doors which folded flush into the connecting walls. The space between one gallery and another was no just a simple 150mm wall thick, but in fact over 1m thick. This not only gave the impression of the building being these series of large sculptural forms cast in plaster, expressing the movement between one form and the other. It also acted as the services and access corridor for curators and services maintenance.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park was brilliant as ever, except that the more typical Yorkshire weather returned and rained on us throughout.

On our way back to the station we called into the Adjaye Market Hall, which, although visually impressive from a distance, seemed not to engage with its end users needs. Many stall operators we spoke of lamented the design, how much wasted space there was in the triple height inside market, and how business had suffered.

Following this we headed to Harry's Bar for a few local ales before heading back to London to ponder our findings. Suffice to say, Wakefield - well worth a visit!