Architecture and Design Studio

BSc (Hons)

Henry Stafford Northcote

Introduction

The site was set in Delft. A city more than 750 years old, located in the province of South
Holland, situated north of Rotterdam and south of The Hague. The city’s name origi-
nates from the word delven, meaning delving or digging, which led to the name Delft
due to it being beside a canal. It is rich in history and has a strong sense of character.
Known for its historic town Centre, Delft Blue pottery, TU Delft University and home to
the famous painter Johannes Vermeer and scientist Antony Van Leeuwenhoek, it is a
place of culture, education and prosperity, and to top it all off, breathtakingly stunning.

The site is located North of the Old City Delft for which I was to design a masterplan, a
Living Bridge and a National Centre. Before doing so, an analysis of Delft and the site
was a must, enabling me to get a greater understanding of the place and applying what
I learnt and discovered towards the design process.
Contents

Delft Analysis

Site Analysis

Masterplan

Living Bridge

Precedents
Design
Technical

NSEW Centre

Precedents
Theory
Design
Technical
 DELFT ANALYSIS

In order to get an understanding for the city and to design the

masterplan, I made an analysis of Delft. This enabled me to
gain a wider knowledge of the place and design a space that
integrates the old city and surrounding areas to the master-
plan. It is very important to relate the site to Delft as it creates a
more welcoming, authentic space and ensures that the people
who use and experience it, feel ‘at home’ in their surroundings.
 SITE ANALYSIS

In order to get an understanding for the city and to design

the masterplan, I made an Analysis of Delft. This enabled
me to gain a wider knowledge of the place and create a
space that integrates the old city and surrounding areas.
It is very important to relate the site to Delft as it creates a
more welcoming space and ensures that the people who
use and experience it, feel ‘at home’ in their surroundings.
 MASTERPLAN

The strategy for the masterplan is to create a space that

links the community of Delft and it’s residents together to
create an enjoyable, sociable and friendly environment.
A living bridge was designed to link the north and south
parts of the site together.

The main road was tunnelled at the south and north-east

end of the site to unite the site’s residents to the community
that surrounds it. The Canal running through Old City Delft
was extended onto the site to physically connect the site to
Old City Delft, making it more accessible to everyone.

The Spoorzone, south of the site, recently completed the

Delft train Station with current redevelopment to west side
of Old City Delft. The main road running through the spoor-
zone passes through the edge of the site, creating a great
place to attract passers by.
Completed Masterplan
Roof Plan
Living Bridge Market Stalls inspired from the Rotterdam Market Halls with bright colours and pictures of fruit and veg, drawing custom-
ers in and allowing residents of Delft to sell their local produce and items.
1. Market Stalls
2. Walkways / Cycle Paths
3. Interconnecting Path
Restaurant / Bar on lower level of Living Bridge, where customers can enjoy their beautiful
surroundings through the curtain glass walls that wrap the building’s structure.
1. Exterior Terrace
2. Staff Kitchen
3. W/C
4. Disabled W/C
5. Bar
6. Cafe/Bar
7. Veranda
View Under Living Bridge
View of Living Bridge
 View of Walkways through Living Bridge

South Facing View of the Living Bridge Walk / Cycle Paths, choosing
which ever route suits them best to get them to their destination.
 LIVING BRIDGE

TECHNICAL REPORT
LOCATION OF NSEW
Location of N.S.W.E Centre
Architectural Theories
Deconstructionism

Deconstructionism Theory

Deconstructionism is a development of Post Modern Architecture, starting in the 1980’s. It came into the public eye when Mark
Wigley and Philip Johnson curated the 1988 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibition called “Architecture of deconstruction”.
Wiley said that the projects in the exhibition “ Represent a different sensibility, in which the dream of pure form has been dis-
turbed”.

It is characterised by the ideas of fragmentation where the structure and skin of the building is manipulated into non-rectilinear
shapes, distorting some of the elements of architecture. As Wigley said “The architecture becomes deconstructionist, if it storms
our ability to think of the form.” Harmony, unity, and clarity are displaced by disharmony, fracturing, and mystery. The visual ap-
pearance of the buildings that exhibit the deconstructivist ‘styles’ are characterised by stimulating uncertainty, unpredictability and
a controlled chaos, disturbing the way we think about form and their relationships within the context.

Deconstructionist philosophy: The Russian constructivism influenced the formal experimentation and geometry imbalances of the
movement.

Two types of modern art also influenced the movement: Analytical cubism and minimalism.

Jacques Derrida was a french philosopher whose ideas influenced some deconstructionist architects. He developed the critical
theory known as deconstruction, where his work has been labelled as post-structionalism and associated with post modern phi-
losophy.

The MoMA exhibition featured works by todays well known architects Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind Rem Koolhass, Peter Eisen-
man, Zaha Hadid, Coop Himmel and Bernard Tschumi. The architects disassociate themselves from the word Deconstructionism
however the term has remained and has continued to be a trend within contemporary architecture.

The idea of deconstructionism was to develop buildings that show how differently architecture can be designed from traditional
forms without losing their utility whist still complying with fundamental laws of physics. It does the opposite of what modernism and
post-modernism do which is to get rid of ordered rationality. Robert Venturi’s ‘Complexity and Contradiction’ in architecture, argues
against the clarity, purity and simplicity of modernism.
Interior View of Atrium

Interior View of Glass Atrium with the reception desk placed

in the centre. Walkways span above connecting each indi-
vidual wing to eachother. The External Metal Cladding con-
tinues into the building, making the three different cladding
colours stand out from one another and clear for the visitor
to identify them as seperate buildings.
Roof Plan
1. Lockers
2. W/C and Disbaled W/C
3. Plant Room
Basement
1. Reception
2. Cafe / Bar
3. W/C and Disabled W/C
4. Delivery Access
5. Science Tech Exhibition Space
6. History Experience Exhibition Space
7. Shop
8. Storage
9. Staffroom
Ground Floor Plan
1. Walkway
2. Workshops
3. History Experience Exhibition Space
4. Veranda
5. Auditorium Bar
6. W/C
7. Bar Back Room
8. Changing Rooms
9. Stage
10. Science Tech Exhibition Space
11. Veranda
First Floor Plan
1. Walkway
2. Meeting / Conference Rooms
3. Laboratories
4. Offices
5. Projection Room
6. Auditorium
7. Restaurant Reception
8. Restaurant
9. Outdoor Terrace
10. Kitchen
11. W/C
Second Floor Plan
1. Kitchen
2. Disabled Friendly Bedroom
3. Bedrooms
4. Storage
5. Balcony
Second Floor Plan
1:200 Final Model
Technical Report
CONTENTS

ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY

STRUCTURAL STRATEGY

FIRE STRATEGY DIAGRAMS

FINISHES BOARD

INTERNAL FURNITURE DESIGN

COSTING SPREADSHEET

U-VALUE COMPARISONS

1.20 TECHNICAL MODEL

The End