Exercise 1.1:Existing Interiors: Explore & Select
Rochester Cathedral (Site 1)
A place of Christian worship since AD604. This is the oldest building I have ever set foot in (to my knowledge) and one of the main reasons why it intrigues me so much. This is a Grade I listed building and is the second oldest Cathedral in England. The present building was initiated by Bishop Gundulf in 1080 (A carved statue of him currently dons a Covid-19 face mask as shown below). The architecture is Norman, Gothic and Early English Perpendicular with a fine crypt, medieval wall paintings and a magnificent 15th century chapter room doorway. This religious building is full of wonder, mystery and history.
This Cathedral holds many ancient secrets and is a place of mystery and amazement. As an atheist, religion for me is part of our history and tradition. It gave birth to such magnificent, complex buildings. Luxurious spaces open to the public. How many lives were lost in the construction of the building? How many craftsman worked for nothing in hope of being closer to god and perhaps acceptance or forgiveness? Yet the powerful presence, space and atmosphere this cathedral emanates was created by us as humans. The building has moved through centuries, from Medieval to the present day and has seen almost every design trend there is via renovation and construction upgrades, this is showcased throughout the building. All religious buildings are unmistakably prominent in design we all seem to be able to tell straight away the purpose of any building by the design similarities. All cathedrals have the same architectural sections – the narthex, aisles, nave, transept and apse containing the alter. Similar to a house with bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchen etc. Why do we still follow these architectural rules, why do we still use them as we did thousands of years ago? Although some religious buildings for now have already been converted into houses, flats and hotels. Imagine what this cathedral could be converted into…….
The Historic Dockyard – 3 Slip (Site 2): A building built for building!
A building built for building ships. The roof of this building is purposely shaped like the hull of a ship for chip construction…if you turn the building upside down it almost turns into a boat. Unique in its design and shape, this building stands out and is hard to miss. Its large gaping entrance is some what inviting and although the roof is covered in windows it always seems to be dark inside making it even more intriguing and mysterious. As I sat and observed the behaviour of visitors to the Dockyard, the majority of them are instantly drawn to this building as soon as they set eyes on it and I truly believe its because of its sheer size and unknown meaning due to its unique purpose. Its not a home, a church, a factory, a shopping mall …what is it? On entry to the building visitors look up ….we are not used to seeing such vast unused space within a construction. The ground floor of the building is now home to several historic boats and heavy machinery which all seem to look tiny in comparison to their surrounding..
Although the building was used to construct many famous war ships, today it is home to a vast array of epic objects and vehicles from both the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive collections. Now referred to as ‘the big space’. For 414 years Chatham Royal Dockyard provided over 500 ships for the Royal Navy, and was at the forefront of shipbuilding, industrial and architectural technology. The architecture is innovating and intricate. Such a complex and large structure designed 100 of years age is truly memorising. It stands at the cusp of technological change. Visitors seem to have a similar behaviour to that of the cathedral of deep reflection and awe of how big the space they are entering is, perhaps its the size of the buildings or perhaps its the history or maybe the contents? Visitors seem to use it as an observation area, constantly looking around and investigating the surroundings. This building is all about looking up and many visitors will reach for their phone to capture such a beautiful immense picture of whats above them. I think this structure makes everyone appreciate architecture, whether they understand its architecture or not, including children and toddlers. That is powerful!
Home Sweet Home (Site 3)
Home is apparently a state of mind – having moved quite a lot in my life I agree with this philosophy and here’s why. Home is space which belongs to you, your territory. Its our naked personality, its our relaxation, its our funny, its our angry and its our private area. Its who you choose to share your world with or its just you.
It has always baffled me, even from a young age, that homes aren’t decorated or enjoyed visually to their full potential. Why not make it reflection of your personality, however crazy that is, give your home life!!! Why not fill it with everything you adore, everything that makes you happy and in return it will give you so much more back! I remember as a child my parents friends couldn’t go on their exotic beach holiday honeymoon due to illness so they ended up staying closer to home in the UK. Whilst they were away in the UK, all their friends got together and turned their garden into a temporary beach. They ordered in a lorry load of sand to lay down in the garden, deck chairs and a paddling pool to act as the sea. It was wonderful and even the local news covered this story. But it made me think… why is this not the norm?? Why cant the beach garden stay forever and be enjoyed as a mini oasis? I admire home owners that go above and beyond to make their space theirs.
As I private tenant I often get frustrated that I cant fully reflect my personality in my own home, structurally as well as decoratively, although I give it a good go by using furniture, objects, accessories and art work. I wonder how different my space will feel when we do eventually own our own home?
I live at home with my husband and two children, when we look for privacy we tend to head towards our bedroom. When we are hungry we aim for the kitchen. We function alongside our surroundings for example when friends visit we usually gather in the kitchen in order to host food and drinks. Children will head for toys and we are lucky enough to have a play room in our home specifically for this although children tend to play wherever they desire, they are rule breakers for sections of a home. Every room has a purpose, and we seem to adhere to those purposes. We dine in the dinning room …we have not dined in the bathroom for instance and equally we have not washed in the dining room. Functional rooms for specific purposes all sectioned off from one another which adhere to the age of the property. The interiors following suit of the functions, layering to create a comfortable, easy atmosphere. Our terrace house was built around the 1940’s. It was interestingly squeezed between two semi-detached house’s back in the 40’s not long after the semi-detached houses where built. If you look closely at the roofs you will see the unusual dis-alignment. The original owner of the land or perhaps the builder/architect must have changed his mind with regards adding this property in. In our loft space you can see through to the neighbours loft.
Site Selection
After taking into consideration my 3 chosen sites, I have decided to further investigate Site 2 No. 3 Slip, the reason being it is so raw and unique in its design and purpose it intrigues me the most. Its the largest out of all my site’s yet has the minimalist interior but is fairly complex in its architecture. Its effectively a huge hanger with a mass of open space, but to me its so much more. The history and meaning of this building being the forefront of architectural technology is compelling. There are many buildings made for building (factory’s etc) but I wonder how often architecture is taking into consideration and to what extent?
Reflection on Project 1 ….
I enjoyed the experience of Project 1, I had a sure winner from the start although I tried not to be prejudice on this decision. However this particular building has forever fascinated me. I think if I were to repeat the exercise I would perhaps choose more conflicting architecture, perhaps something which is viewed as boring and mundane in comparison to a more flamboyant structure which has constant attention due to its outrageous design. I am glad I chose home as I think I have learnt a lot more then I thought I knew from this. My view on a home is happy, positive, calm, unified, powerful, love yet I understand not everyone’s views are the same. Home can be a safe place for many of us but not for all. I guess all of us have our own take on a space of which is influenced by our own personal experiences, memories, our past and nostalgia which can be triggered by one or all of our senses. We are able to experience a space at the same time but we could all experience a different atmosphere from that same space. I wish I would have asked the strangers occupying the spaces in this study for their feedback …how different would it have been to mine? Or would this have been similar?
Laura Woodgate 