Task 5. Critical Analysis 1

For this task we have been asked to look back at the RIBA Stirling award Prize winners since the turn of the millennium, choosing our favourite and least favourite buildings/concept.

Favourite Building/Concept – Accordia, Winner of 2008 Stirling Prize

This is a project which I have admired for a couple of years now. The Accordia Project was design by three different architect firms; Maccreanor Lavington, Alison Brooks Architects and Feilden Clegg Bradley. These companies are three very different companies, and the whole idea of this project was to get these companies to pull together and produce a housing development which looks at the relationship between public and private spaces (Crocker, 2014).

Fig 1. Accordia Terraced Houses (Crocker, 2014)

The houses themselves are made from a range of materials, such as traditional bricks, timber and copper. However one of the biggest materials used is glazing; the glazing provides vast amounts of sunlight to the internal spaces, which in turn makes the space seem larger than it is. The incorporation of different levels of balconies on the houses is where the architects have again looked at the combining the private and public spaces (internal and external). The homes have been designed in an environmental context; the creation of green gardens in the surrounding area with linking footpaths and roads produces a link between all the different private accommodations into these elegant public spaces. Sustainability of each of the homes has been of high important within this project; the incorporation of devices such as dual flush cisterns and building features like the green roofs provide an energy saving, reduced maintenance way of living. The idea of sustainability and low-maintenance is something which has been highly considered in the production of these very simple yet unique terraces. (CountrysideProperties, 2014).

The clients brief was to explore the relationship between public and private spaces, which I would easily agree has been achieved. The scheme could be seen as very ordinary in its final aesthetics, however the design applications and technology which has gone into this scheme shows a possibility of future living. As well as the technical aspects of buildings, the social environment has been careful thought of to produce a community within. This type of scheme could be related to that of the Park Hill scheme in Sheffield in the 60’s (See Sheffield Park Hill Blog), however the Accordia project has considered the future, and I could personally see these time of schemes being part of the future of living.

Least Favourite Building/Concept – Scottish Parliament Building, Winner of 2005 Stirling Prize

The new Scottish Parliament Building in Holyrood has been in much controversy, especially when it was built. Designed by the late Enric Miralles, the building phase began in June 1999, expected to finish in a little over a year. However the building was finally opened as a completed project in October 2004, and when calculated cost a grand total of £430.5million, where the starting budget during planning was a mere £40million (BBC, 2007).

The project was about creating a new home for the Scottish Parliament, a place which would stand out from the crowd worldwide (such as the Houses of Parliament in London). The project itself can be broken up into different but linking sections, each with different use of materials; for example this includes the Debating Chamber, the Main Hall, and finally the MSP Building. The Debating Chamber has a heavy use of timber, with steel beams used for roof support and glazing used behind the timber external cladding which natural breaks up the entering light (Fig. 2). 

Fig 2. Debating Chamber (DesignBuild, 2014)

Fig 3. Main Hall (FreeCityGuides, 2014)

The Main Hall is primarily made up of 3 large tapered concrete vaults with marble floor, the use of timber here is minimal and only used for a specially designed, 11ft desk made out of Scottish Oak. The concrete vaults have been marked by the abstract drawings of the Scottish flag by architect Miralles (Fig. 3). Finally the MSP building, having its differences to the two previous; this building has exposed steel windows with the use of oak as a frame,  a mixture of materials (such as Kemney Granite) has been used as cladding around the windows (Fig. 4) (ScottishParliament, 2014)

Fig 4. Steel windows w/ oak frames on MSP building (UniveristyofEdinburgh, 2014)

The only constant material used within the project is timber, creating an organic and sustainable style. This can be related to the context in which the building have been built in; within the site of the projected and surrounding building, architect Miralles designed large green gardens with oaks and wild grass, with the idea of allowing the Parliament building to become ‘one with the land’ (Fig. 5).

Fig 5. Scottish Parliament Building Grounds (Hurst, 2012)

Within the contained context of the site, I think that the Scottish Parliament Buildings do look as one; however in the greater context of the city in which the site is located it does not fit, at all! In my opinion, the design was to become a landmark within the city and be seen as a powerful figure; instead it doesn’t merge with the city and stands out for the wrong reasons. Even 10 years on since the project was completed, the controversy of money and the aesthetic design has clouded it, and after all that money spent on building, people want it knocked down!

Bibliography

Architecture.com, (2014). Accordia. [online] Available at: http://www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAStirlingPrize/RIBAStirlingPrize2008/Accordia/Accordia.aspx#.U2DnbPldXLl  [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

BBC, (2014). BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | �414m bill for Holyrood building. [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6382177.stm   [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

CountrysideProperties (2014). Accordia, Cambridge - Countryside Properties Corporate website. [online] Available at: http://www.countryside-properties-corporate.com/case-studies-imaginative-design/accordia-cambridge/10449  [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

Fairs, M. (2001). Scottish parliament: The true story. [online] Building. Available at: http://www.building.co.uk/scottish-parliament-the-true-story/1011961.article [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

Fig 1. RIBA, 2014 Accordia Terraced Houses. Avaiable at: http://www.architecture.com/awards/ribastirlingprize/ribastirlingprize2008/accordia/accordia.aspx#.U2EIXPldXLk  [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

 Fig 2. DesignBuild, 2014. Debating Chamber. Avialable at: http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/scottparliament/scottparliament5.html [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

Fig 3. FreeCityGuides, 2014. Main Hall. Available at: http://www.free-city-guides.com/edinburgh/scottish-parliament/ [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

Fig 4.University of Edinburgh.Steel Windows w/ Oak Frames on MSP Building. Available at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/visiting-exchange/parliamentary-programme/introduction  [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

Fig 5.Will Hurst, 2012. Scottish Parliament Grounds. Available at: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/construction-property/article3376225.ece  [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

RIBA, (2014). Accordia, Cambridge (2008) :: RIBA Stirling Prize. [online] Available at: http://ribastirlingprize.architecture.com/accordia-cambridge-2008/  [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

ScottishParliament  (2014). Construction and Design Phase - Visit & Learn :  Scottish Parliament. [online] Available at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/visitandlearn/16167.aspx [Accessed 11 April. 2014].

ScottishParliament (2014). Parliamentary Buildings - Visit & Learn :  Scottish Parliament. [online] Available at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/visitandlearn/15807.aspx [Accessed 11 April. 2014].