Portfolio Sept 2015

RobERT McCaughan

E: [email protected]: +44 7885 743309

Portfolio

Robert McCauaghan E: [email protected] M: +44 7885 743309

Rapid urbanisation and the subsequent construction boom of the last few decades in China have changed the nature of the city. Traditional housing typologies and local constructional craft are being replaced with indiscriminate swathes of new urban areas at an astonishing rate. Large districts are formed where the housing is defined by high rise apartment blocks with uniform floor plans recycled from other parts booming cities. This process cuts up the historic city fabric into larger blocks with wide avenues bereft of urban life.

China need to focus their attention on housing again to produce new models of housing that facilitates a rapidly modernising population. A new system that relates to the context- the social and working patterns of the people, were work and living can be combined, and a system that attempts to reintroduce some of the valuable attributes that we have seen before in Chinese housing, like shared community space in the old Lilong houses of Shanghai. This project is a study into producing such a housing model.

Work Live Community Blocks, Suzhou.

The development is located centrally within the new Yuen City masterplan. People living here can enjoy the benefit of cutting out long commuter journeys, and live within walking distance of workplaces, parks, services, and all the leisure facilities that the city has to offer.


Site Plan. Lines show Section cutsA

B

North

Old canal network provides alternative transport medium and a connection to the traditional way of life in Suzhou.

Bamboo forest and nearby bamboo projects and buildings.

Bamboo bicycle factory

Housing Towers

Buildings are orintated along the canal edge. Each live work unit has a connection to the street below and the void within.

Transport Interchange: Monorail, Metro and Canal transport.

Office blocks

Shopping

Focus Block

Primary School

Section BB

B

A

Work Live Community Blocks, Yuen, Suzhou. Feb. 2014 - May 2015. RGU.

Interested in ideas of solid and void, hinting at the various ways in which people can both live and work within the block. The voids are expressed as holes that cut through the building envelope and provide visual connections from inside the block to the city beyond.

The horizontal lines of the floors presents each floor as one unit and suggest intimacy between the rooms or flats.

The blocks are divided into a three levels, the ground floor shop and workshop level (street interface), shared housing in the upper levels, and a rooftop garden/activity level. The courtyard floor is adopted by the shops and workshops, and above, the void is crossed at several points by bridges.

In the inner envelope of the courtyard block, the vertical pattern created by the louvres reflects the dense bamboo forest nearby.


Each floor has two shared living areas, facilitating around seven flats each. These areas open out into the double height voids that cut through the building and form terraces, offering views and an outside space. The terraces connect to other terraces and cross over the courtyard void. Here people can hang washing or tend planter boxes, inviting possibilities of collaboration and a rich living experience.

Shared Living


Construction Precedent, IBA Apartments, Hamberg, GermanyAdjaye Associates.

Shared Living Spaces, Tietgen Student Housing, Copenhagen, Tietgen Student Housing.

Shared Terraces, Gifu Kitagata Housing Block, Gifu, Japan, Kazuyo Sejima.

“...we are interested in investigating ideas of communal living, or notions of sharing spaces. Shared space simply means more space is maximised, less space is needed, less construction is needed, less energy is used, things cost less.”

“...sharing spaces allows people to maintain contact with each other again.”

- TAN, K.M., 2010. Sharing, Mixing, Richness. Lotus International, 141, pp. 88-94.


The living units are arranged in a duplex system, offering higher ceiling heights for the work area of each flat. They are compact, with a small shower room and kitchenette as there is a larger shared living area for each set of flats.

Living Units


Sketch Right: View from canal in the centre of the site.Image Far Right: View into one of the shared living areas. Below: Sectional Perspective AA.


1:20 Detail Study

Various methods and mediums helped me explore the design and investigate the construction and materiality of the design. Here I undertook a detail study of the building envelope and it’s construction.

Below right I used watercolour to convey light and materiality of the interior (birch plywood).

Model and Drawings of Shared Terrace

Exploration


[Left] Street level view over the canal to the bustling street environment at the base of the housing blocks. Things are being made and sold in this market like area. There is an emphasis on local produce and craft that speaks of the people here. Older folks from the houses above come and sit on the street and talk or play mahjong, others are working or getting lunch, while others are simple sitting and watching as people pass by.

The Street

Terraces and Roofs

Birds eye view over courtyard blocks. Notice the terrace areas that form ‘holes’ or connections from courtyard void to the outer city. Also see the various activity areas (such as a gym and allotment garden) that activate the roof level and provide another ‘street’ where people can interact and a community can grow.

Roof view

[Left]

[Below]


Victoria Square Plant Area Arrangement, Belfast Sep. 2015Rapport ArchitectsProspective restaurant tenant seeking to move into a vacant floor in part of the Victoria Square complex. The floors above and below are already occupied by restaurant tenants and use the roof as the destination for the ducting and services. The new tenant would require similar services and ducting. I drew the existing plant drawings below.

Existing Plant Layout


Scott Sutherland School 2015 1

A New Beginning

ContentsThis is the last SSS Yearbook to be produced at Garthdee House. By next year students will have spent a year in the new Riverside East building and will, no doubt, want to reflect on the qualities of their new home and its impact on their education and work.

For now, we thought it would be worth re�ecting on the particular qualities of the present or ‘old’ school building and the way in which students and sta� have made use of it in recent years. During our time as students the Garthdee campus has changed beyond recognition. In the process we have lost a union bar in the city, but gained a number of new resources on site.

As Year 6 students we are not just leaving the building, we are also leaving the school too. Looking back over the past 6 years it is interesting how much the school has also changed. Developments in the workshop (digital printing and laser cutters) and changes in the labs (the emergence of 3D modelling and BIM etc) have had a major impact on the work we produce and how it is presented. It feels as if architectural education has changed a lot, although we can’t quite agree on the nature of the change. Whether education is more or less radical, technologically driven or marketing-orientated are questions on which you might chose to make your own judgement based on the work in this year’s book. As we are moving to a new building, we thought it might be a good time to experiment with the format of the yearbook. We decided to go for a large square format so we could show work in a legible fashion. We hope you like it.

Holly Kennedy, Volha Druhakova // Editors

Scott Sutherland Yearbook 7

Volha Druhakova // EditorHolly Kennedy // EditorJ’ Stewart // CommissioningShallom Okello // CommissioningZisan Duniya // Design and ProductionRob McCaughan // Design and Production

Editorial Team

Special �anks to Penny Lewis

04 Scott’s Present, Past and Future10 Competition entries13 �e Big Crit 2015

24 Architecture Part 125 Stage 1 Studio28 Stage 2 Studio34 Stage 3 Studio

42 Architectural Technology

49 Journeys54 Essays on Modernism58 Product Design

60 Architecture Masters 61 Stage 5 Studio66 Stage 6 Studio

84 Electives86 Dissertations

90 Sketchbook

Scott Sutherland School 2015 1

A New Beginning

ContentsThis is the last SSS Yearbook to be produced at Garthdee House. By next year students will have spent a year in the new Riverside East building and will, no doubt, want to reflect on the qualities of their new home and its impact on their education and work.

For now, we thought it would be worth re�ecting on the particular qualities of the present or ‘old’ school building and the way in which students and sta� have made use of it in recent years. During our time as students the Garthdee campus has changed beyond recognition. In the process we have lost a union bar in the city, but gained a number of new resources on site.

As Year 6 students we are not just leaving the building, we are also leaving the school too. Looking back over the past 6 years it is interesting how much the school has also changed. Developments in the workshop (digital printing and laser cutters) and changes in the labs (the emergence of 3D modelling and BIM etc) have had a major impact on the work we produce and how it is presented. It feels as if architectural education has changed a lot, although we can’t quite agree on the nature of the change. Whether education is more or less radical, technologically driven or marketing-orientated are questions on which you might chose to make your own judgement based on the work in this year’s book. As we are moving to a new building, we thought it might be a good time to experiment with the format of the yearbook. We decided to go for a large square format so we could show work in a legible fashion. We hope you like it.

Holly Kennedy, Volha Druhakova // Editors


Volha Druhakova // EditorHolly Kennedy // EditorJ’ Stewart // CommissioningShallom Okello // CommissioningZisan Duniya // Design and ProductionRob McCaughan // Design and Production

Editorial Team

Special �anks to Penny Lewis

04 Scott’s Present, Past and Future10 Competition entries13 �e Big Crit 2015

24 Architecture Part 125 Stage 1 Studio28 Stage 2 Studio34 Stage 3 Studio

42 Architectural Technology

49 Journeys54 Essays on Modernism58 Product Design

60 Architecture Masters 61 Stage 5 Studio66 Stage 6 Studio

84 Electives86 Dissertations

90 Sketchbook

[Right] I made a vector portrait on Illustrator to use as an interesting and memorable title page for my CV. This was the first time I had tried to make an image like this on Illustrator and was a useful and enjoyable exercise.

Vector Portrait

Graphic Design 2010-Present

We used the School’s move to new premises as an opportunity to change the design of the yearbook. We used a larger square format and came up with certain ‘rules’ or guideline with how we might used the square format and how we could be more flexible with where we placed objects and text.



The Love of Christ Sun 14th 11.30AM

The Mystery of ProvidenceSun 14th 7.00PM

The Restoration of Peter Mon 15th 8.00PM

The Gentleness of Christ Tue 16th 8.00PM Pictures of HeavenWed 17th 8.00PM GLORY

GRACE

.

Knock-

Oct

ober

2012

Week

14th

- 17

th

Bible brackenand

Reformed

Presbyterian Church

The Love of Christ Sun 14th 11.30AM

The Mystery of ProvidenceSun 14th 7.00PM

The Restoration of Peter Mon 15th 8.00PM

The Gentleness of Christ Tue 16th 8.00PM Pictures of HeavenWed 17th 8.00PM GLORY

39 Knockbracken Road, Belfastwww.knockbracken.rpc.org

Visiting Speaker:Pastor Gerard HemmingsAmyand Park Chapel, Twickenham, London

[Above] Leaflet for the youth club at my church. The dates of youth club nights are listed on the back. The leaflet was printed and handed out to friends and homes around the local area.

Youth Club Leaflet

[Right] Leaflet summarises week of special talks from visiting speaker Gerard Hemmings.

Grace and Glory Leaflet

[Right] Boys Adventure Camp book for boys aged 13-15 yrs.

BA Camp Book 2015

BOYS ADventure CAMP 2015

6

Characters

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1112

1314

Chief Engineer: Matt Sampson

Racers: Ross Fallows, Jason McPeake, David

McConaghy, Calvin Quigley

Squads

Bowser

Luigi

Koopa

Wario

Chief Engineer: Mark

McCavery

Racers: Stephen Greer, Craig

McKeeman, Tom Lowry,

Matthew Atkinson

Chief Engineers: Nathan Hawthorne and

Gavin Blackwell

Racers: Adam McCaughan, Taylor Allen-

Moore, Curtis Pollock, Callum McCurry

Chief Engineer: Luke McCollum

Racers: Joel Wallace, Luke Pollock,

Dylan Duff , James Blair

ready...Set.....Go Go Go!

Hey! you are invited to Knockbracken YoutH Club

Friday nights 7.30-9.00 PM // Age 11-18 yrs // starting FridAy 11 th SePteMber_

Play games, try some craft, make new friends, and hear about the good news of the gospel!

address // 37 Knockbracken roadwebsite // knockbracken.rpc.org contact // Steven McCollum (+44 7580 800103)

#KnockbrackenYouthClub

Reformed Presbyterian Church

Knockbracken

11th September

18th September

25th September

2nd October

9th October

16th October

2 week break

6th November

13th November

20th November

27th November

4th december

Dates we are on in Autumn

2015


Existing Church Drawings, Newtownards. Sep. 2014Rapport Architects

This small project allowed me to go to an existing church in Newtownards to both survey it and then draw it up. The intention of the church was to extend into the small court at the front to create a much larger welcoming foyer, full of natural light. Unfortunately I had to leave the office and go back to university before any real commitments or decisions were made, but it was a good exercise in drawing and surveying.


Retail Trust Estate Redevelopment, Derby.

Defect Inspections.

I went on several site visits to this project in Derby and took photos and measurements of the existing buildings. With this information I was able to draw and design the new path layout for the estate and also do drawings of the individual cottage units that needed amended.

Mar. - Aug. 20132020 Construction Management


Residential Extension, Ballymoney.

Sun Room extension. I was involved from the beginning of the project, inception and site inspections, meeting the client, to drawing up the existing building and coming up with a design solution for the new sun room.

Residential Extension, Ballymena.

Timber Frame ‘chalet style’ house extension. The client was seeking to expand the building foottprint and this was achieved by adding floor space on all four sides of the original dwelling. This drawing below shows the cladding elevations.

Apr. - May 20132020 Construction Management

Apr. - Jun. 20132020 Construction Management


Residential Extension, Belfast.

The extention design substantially increases the living space in this house. There is an extention over thegarage, an extention on to the kitchen and a Sun Room extention.

I prepared the construction drawings and made changes to the drawing according to the client’swishes. I was also responsible for sending the drawings out to tender and Building Control.

Feb. - Jul. 20132020 Construction Management


Masterplanning a Mountain: Tourist Resort Masterplan, Quanzhou.

The task was somewhat outrageous- to design a tourist resort over a vast mountain landscape. The scale of the project was hard to grasp and much of the site was greenfield untouched land with lakes and amazing views down the mountain. I was able to go on a site visit and be involved with the design of the hotel, which was based on a ‘European Style’ aesthetic.

UDi Dec. 2012 - Feb. 2013


Four towers and shopping plaza development, Quanzhou.

For this project, I was involved in offering alternatives to the overall layout of the design, as well as sourcing relevant precedents to see how the design could be altered or improved to suit the clients desires.

Hotel, appartments, shopping and plaza development. The hotel was positioned close to the main road as a landmark. I was involved in the layout design stage.

New Landscape of Sanshui, Planning and Design.UDi Nov. - Dec. 2012

UDi Nov. - Dec. 2012


UDI Heritage Reuse Study, Zhanjiang. UDi Dec. 2012


Health and Well-being Centre, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast.

Oct. - Dec. 2011Ulster University


A new Health and Well Being Centre on Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, to replace the derelict site currently being used as a car park. I was at first interested in pitched roofs and I took inspiration from the surrounding architecture and typologies. I developed this idea along with the tower element to afford views over the city.

Health and Well-being Centre, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast.


The task was to design new guitar workshop complex that included both living accommodation for the Luthier and a space to perform and test the guitars. The very narrow site may have seemed to pose problems but I saw it as a challenge that could provide opportunities for design, like positioning a solid brick wall on the east facade.

The design also required me to address the question of designing something new next to a traditional Georgian terraced row. I decided to use similar materials and construction methods and instead of following the same strict pattern of the facade, I designed the positioning openings according to the qualities of light needed in each space.

Luthier’s Workshop and Residence,Henrietta Street Dublin.

Feb. - May 2012Ulster University

Portfolio Sept 2015

Documents

Transcript of Portfolio Sept 2015