SLOUGH BY SIMON MOXEY

The word ‘slough’ − like sludge, slurry and slime − is almost onomatopoeically awful. In old English it means ‘a swamp; a miry place; a quagmire’, an image that the place Slough itself hasn’t entirely shaken off. Slough seems, in short, an unlikely site for architectural speculation.

However to Royal College of Art student Simon Moxey the place is on the up. ‘In July, Slough became the European entry point for the first transatlantic fibre-optic cable laid since the dotcom boom,’ he beams. ‘This new cable will shave five milliseconds off the time it takes to make a trade between Europe and New York.’

And while this may seem finical and trifling, to high-frequency trading firms the principle of ‘time is money’ needs a finer measure than grains of sand, with each millisecond apparently having million-dollar implications. While this may seem an unusual starting point for an architectural project, the banal can often shape the whole identity of cities.

The brick party walls required post-Fire of London engendered the city’s terraced town houses; while the invention of the lift gave rise to the towering ambitions of the American city.

Why not an urbanism configured to cable latency, and the time it takes to send a message? Slough Global City reimagines Slough as a higher-speed Canary Wharf, usurping the existing financial centres of the City and Docklands (itself, in its time, a usurper), in order to regenerate the fortunes of a maligned outer town.

And if the idea of a development laid out according to the whim of bankers makes you feel uncomfortable, it is meant to. Though GAGA set out to move away from the recent celebration of dystopia in architectural student projects, the judges felt that the scheme didn’t fit into that category.

Though it questions attitudes to the relationship between capital and development, it does so not merely by offering a critique but by making a proposal. And though it may be depressing in its expression, it is entirely plausible. If Slough Council could find a financial backer, it could even be the best thing to happen to the place since The Office first aired.

THE D*HAUS CONCEPT

The D*Haus Company is an experimental design and architecture practice that is fascinated and inspired about the mathematics that can be found in every fibre that makes up our world.

Constantly striving to explore, develop and express form through movement, colour and mathematics, D*Haus articulate their ideas using three well known and respected mediums; Architecture, Art and Design.

In 1903 mathematician and author Henry Dudeney discovered a mathematical formula that proved the perfect square could transform, in a few simple moves, into the perfect equilateral triangle.

Inspired and fascinated by the simplicity and perfection of the formula, the young London-based architecture and design practice founded by David Ben-Grünberg and Daniel Woolfson in 2011 worked on translating the idea into lighting, furniture of various scales, even a house.

“The Narrow Path”, the team's first exhibition at the Anise Gallery in Southwark, is a great platform to understand better and see more of the experimental practice's work.

The D*Table can be arranged in multiple configurations. Ditto the D*Light, while the High*Light is a playful, colourful interpretation of a ceiling light. Large-scale prints illustrating the concept and formula are also available.

The D*Static range is one of the most economic and sustainable ways of building prefabricated homes. 8 different houses can be built from 1 identical set of parts, meaning that less waste is produced during the manufacturing process, and each house can be designed and delivered at low costs.

But the show's highlight is the prototype of Dynamic D*Haus, Ben-Grunberg and Woolfson's contemporary answer to the Girasole.

The house is designed to move and adapt to the changing seasonal climatic conditions, following the sun and views as well as the owners' desires.

It can open to eight different configurations, from a square to a fully extended chain of triangular wings. A model and accompanying visuals introduce the concept at Anise.

“The Narrow Path” is open only until the end of the month. Yet D*Haus has a lot more in store after that. The Dynamic design is in development for further applications in both the conceptual and commercial fields, so watch this space.

THAMES HUB BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

London Mayor Boris Johnson supports a new Thames Estuary airport while architect Lord Foster has submitted his own estuary airport plan, considers the proposed Thames Hub, an integrated infrastructure plan for Britain, inspired by the lessons of nineteenth-century pioneers.

Further studies have been undertaken into the proposed Thames Hub, which includes: a £20bn high-speed Orbital Rail line around London; a new £6bn Thames Barrier and crossing; and a £20bn international Estuary Airport, with annual capacity for 150 million passengers.

All of this takes place in the context of a comprehensive environmental management strategy that minimises the impact of development and provides opportunities to create significant new wildlife habitats to more than offset losses elsewhere. The total estimated cost of the project is £50bn.

Critics of the Thames airport proposals have said that building an airport in the estuary, off north Kent, could take decades. But Huw Thomas, from Foster and Partners, said the time from starting work to opening would be seven years. He said the key advantage to the site was that it could be reached from three sides by sea.

Thomas told BBC Radio Kent: "You've got really good connectivity from land. You've got access to ports for delivering material. "In terms of doing the landfill, you've got easy access to the dredge sites that will provide the material - so you're creating a greenfield site.”

"You've got to move a motorway junction for the primary access. You've got to suppress the roads. You've got to demolish all of that infrastructure. You've got to reconfigure the whole of the airport in order to get to that third runway."

The three plans to build airports in the Thames estuary comprise a floating airport designed by architects Gensier, another known as ‘Boris Island’ after it was backed by London mayor Boris Johnson, and proposals for a hub airport on the Isle of Grain designed by architect Norman Foster. Proposals for increased airport capacity in the southeast have also included the expansion of Gatwick and Heathrow and more use of regional airports.

SLIP HOUSE BY CARL TURNER ARCHITECTS

“Occupying one of four plots (a gap in a Brixton terrace), Slip House is CTA in-house development built in the bottom of the garden of a derelict house. Three simple ‘slipped’ orthogonal box forms break up the bulk of the building and give it it’s striking sculptural quality. The top floor is clad in milky, translucent glass planks which continue past the roof to create a high level enclosure for a private roof terrace.

 

Designed to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5, it will feature ‘energy piles’ which use a solar assisted ground source heat pump integrated into the pile foundations, PVs, a green roof, rain water harvesting, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and underfloor heating.

A prototype brownfield development offering dense, flexible, urban living – the house is a vehicle for in-house research into sustainable design, seamlessly integrating the often conflicting aesthetic requirements of architecture and alternative low energy systems.

We are working to develop this model for multiple developments and as affordable housing. Living and working (‘Living over the shop’) is something that really interests us.  We see a prototype new ‘terraced’ house, squeezed into under-utilised city (Brownfield) sites.

This flexible type of home can allow for the artisan or home-worker to sub-let or downsize.  This can enliven local communities and produce ‘homes’ which create opportunities rather than be dormitories or financial assets.

Slip House is flexible and can be used as a single home, studio workspace and apartment, or two apartments. The perimeter walls are load bearing, freeing up the internal areas of supporting columns or additional load bearing walls. The house’s open-plan layout ensures that walls / dividers are simple to erect and require minimal construction effort.

This aspect of Slip House is not only financially sustainable but also environmentally so, as it helps to ensure the permanence of the overall structure, as minimal modifications can allow the house to adapt to changing lives and living situations indefinitely.

Our approach was to model the building as a series of simple orthogonal box forms that use the full width of the site. This allows future buildings to simply adjoin the flank walls. The house takes the idea of three slipped boxes. The boxes are carefully placed to maximise light and outlook from inside while not intruding on neighbour’s outlook. The shifting planes also break up the bulk of the building and give it its sculptural quality.” Description of Carl Turner Architects.

 

Location: Brixton, London UK

Architect: Carl Turner Architects

Year: 2012

Client: Private

THE CRYSTAL BY WILKINSON EYRE

A 150 anni dalla realizzazione del Crystal Palace di Joseph Paxton, realizzato per la Grande Esposizione Universale del 1851, il 29 Settembre sarà ufficialmente aperto al pubblico il nuovo “The Crystal” realizzato dalla Siemens.

L’ennesima realizzazione nella Londra 2012, ormai non più in veste olimpica ma con una immagine sempre più rinnovata dopo la realizzazione di “The Shard” di Renzo Piano e la cabinovia “Emirates Cable Car”.

The Crystal si trova nella zona est di Londra all’estremità del Royal Victoria Docks nello stesso bacino di ExCel, una delle sedi principali dei Giochi Olimpici 2012, sul lato opposto del Tamigi rispetto al Millenium Dome.

È questa una zona in grande crescita immobiliare particolarmente cara al sindaco Boris Johnson che punta ulteriormente a riconvertire gli storici Docks per realizzare un importante polo tecnologico avanzato dove The Crystal è e sarà il fiore all’occhiello. 

Il sindaco di Londra coniuga due aspetti che interessano gli investitori internazionali: aree da edificare e grandi cubature, ed ha una predilezione per le aziende della green economy comunque capaci di investire 30 milioni di sterline come la tedesca Siemems.

The Crystal è un hub multidisciplinare con un focus orientato sulla sostenibilità urbana creando un network tra amministratori pubblici, esperti e comunità locali affrontando temi come la vivibilità, la qualità di vita, l’equilibrio ambientale, i processi economici ed altro; in poche parole un progetto ambizioso dove Siemems cavalca l’onda verde con una vetrina permanente sulle strategie energetiche europee.

Praticamente sarà il primo centro al mondo dedicato a migliorare la nostra conoscenza sulla sostenibilità urbana, secondo quanto promuove Siemems, un obiettivo grandioso che probabilmente è più interessante dell’architettura, un raro caso in cui il contenuto è più importante del contenitore.

The Crystal è stato progettato da Wilkinson Eyre, l’architetto della torre del “International Finance Centre” che sovrasta l’Opera House diZaha Hadid e dello Basketball Stadium per l’Olimpiadi di Londra.

Capace di accogliere oltre 100.000 visitatori all’anno nelle propria sala conferenze con 270 posti, ristorante, caffetteria e negozio, su una superficie di 2000 m2 rivestita da facciate con pannelli di vetro disposti inclinati in modo da ottimizzare la luce solare.

The Crystal è stato costruito ovviamente rispettando i più rigorosi standard ambientali, con la certificazione LEED e BREEAM, utilizza l'energia solare, pompe di calore geotermiche a basso consumo energetico, illuminazione a LED e raccolta delle acque piovane senza l’utilizzo di alcun combustibile fossile.

Il centro delle attività all’interno The Crystal sarà una mostra interattiva sulla pianificazione urbana ed l’urban design, la tecnologia sostenibile urbana e le infrastrutture, l’energia e i trasporti per l'acqua con uno sguardo nel futuro con una simulazione della città al 2050.

Squint opera, una azienda impegnata da anni nel settore multimediale per l’architettura, è stata incaricata di realizzare questa mostra interattiva che diventerà una istallazione permanente anche in Cina e negli Stati Uniti.