VISITA SANCTUARIO (FINAL YEAR PROJECT)

PROPOSED VISITOR CENTRE IN SPURN POINT, NATURAL NATURE RESERVE, HULL

THE STUDIO BRIEF OUTLINES A CONCEPT OF ‘LIVEABLE CITIES: AMPHIBIOUS LIVING’ WHERE A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION SPECIFIC TO A CHOSEN SITE WILL BE PROPOSED IN RESPONSE TO THE PARAMETERS IDENTIFIED DURING THE RESEARCH STAGES. IN ORDER TO FORM A COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN, I STARTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TERMS ‘LIVEABLE CITIES’ AND ‘AMPHIBIOUS LIVING’ REALLY MEAN. WHAT MAKES A PLACE LIVEABLE? HOW CAN YOU MAKE A BUILDING AMPHIBIOUS?

THE EUROPEAN PLANNING STUDIES STATES THAT ‘LIVEABLE CITIES’ URGES ARCHITECTS AND URBAN PLANNERS TO DESIGN A HEALTHY, ATTRACTIVE AND VIBRANT TOWNS AND CITIES THAT PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY LIVING FOR BOTH CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS AND ENSURE THAT EUROPE’S CITIES AND TOWNS WILL REMAIN PLACES WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE, WORK AND VISIT (ZUIDEMA AND DE ROO, 2009, 1405). THEREFORE, IN SIMPLE TERMS, SOCIABILITY, EMPLOYABILITY AND LIVEABILITY ARE FACTORS THAT MAKES A PLACE LIVEABLE.

‘AMPHIBIOUS LIVING’ IS AN APPEAL FOR THE ABANDONMENT OF THE COMPULSIVE CONTROL OF WATER, FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF CLIMACTIC INFLUENCES, TIDES AND SEASONS IN THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS A PLEA FOR A NEW MENTALITY ABOUT LIVING (WHAT_ARCHITECTURE, 2000). ACCORDING TO TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS, “TO BE WHOLE. TO BE COMPLETE. WILDNESS REMINDS US WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN, WHAT WE ARE CONNECTED TO RATHER THAN WHAT WE ARE SEPARATE FROM.” HENCE, CONTROLLING NATURAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS RISING SEA LEVELS AND COASTAL EROSIONS, AND MINIMISING ITS EFFECTS TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT MAY BE FULFILLED BY TAKING A FULL ADVANTAGE ON THE QUALITIES OF THE DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND AND WATER: TO WORK WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, RATHER THAN AGAINST IT.

DESIGN OBJECTIVES:

- TO ENHANCE VISITOR EXPERIENCE AND PROMOTE THE CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE AND HABITATS IN SPURN POINT

- TO OVERCOME THE THREATS OF THE RISING WATER LEVEL IN SPURN POINT

- TO ENSURE MINIMAL DISRUPTION TO THE SITE

SITE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

IN RESPONSE TO SPURN POINT’S GRADUAL CHANGE OF SEA LEVELS, LACK OF EMPLOYABILITY, AND IMPORTANCE OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION I BEGAN TO SEE A POTENTIAL SOLUTION THAT WOULD TACKLE THESE PARAMETERS. AS THE TOURISM REVENUE IN EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE IS £19.3 MILLION IN 2011 AND £24.49 MILLION IN 2012, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT TOURISM CONTRIBUTES LARGELY ON THE ECONOMY.

AS THE YWT AIMS ‘TO CONSERVE AND PROMOTE THE DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE AND HABITATS IN THE COUNTY FOR THE WELLBEING OF BOTH WILDLIFE AND PEOPLE’ AND BY REALISING THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF SPURN POINT, I ESTABLISHED THAT A DEVELOPMENT FOR SPURN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PARK WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE FUNDING OF THE CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE SITE AS WELL AS PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE LOCALE BY ATTRACTING TOURISM.

REFERRING BACK TO THE EUROPEAN PLANNING STUDIES’ DEFINITION OF A ‘LIVEABLE’ CITY OR PLACE, EMPLOYABILITY TAKES A MAJOR ROLE. IN ORDER TO MAKE A PLACE DESIRABLE TO LIVE IN, ONE MUST HAVE A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INCOME.

EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE, WHERE SPURN POINT BELONGS, HAS ALMOST A QUARTER OF ITS POPULATION UNEMPLOYED. THIS CALLS FOR THE NEED TO CREATE DEVELOPMENTS WHICH WOULD OFFER THE LOCAL PEOPLE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF EMPLOYMENTS IN SPURN POINT AND ITS REMOTE LOCATION, HUMBER PILOTS AND RNLI IS THE ONLY FULL-TIME CREW IN BRITAIN. AS WELL AS THE RNLI, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND VOLUNTEERING WORK ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE YORKSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST (YWT).

GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SEA LEVEL CHANGES

SPURN POINT, A 5.5 KILOMETRE SAND AND SHINGLE SPIT IS LOCATED AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER HUMBER AND IS PART OF THE FASTEST ERODING COASTLINES IN EUROPE; THE HOLDERNESS COAST. SPURN POINT PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF A LONGSHORE DRIFT ON THE HOLDERNESS COAST AS IT IS MADE UP OF MATERIALS THAT HAS BEEN TRANSPORTED FROM THE COAST.

THE AVERAGE ANNUAL RATE OF EROSION IS AROUND 2 METRES PER YEAR. THE FRAGILE PENINSULA HAS BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE AND MAINTAIN ITSELF BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE AND ADJUST NATURALLY. UNFORTUNATELY OVER THE PAST 200 YEARS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INTERFERED WITH THESE NATURAL PROCESSES AND THIS EXPLAINS THE RAPID DETERIORATION OF RECENT YEARS.

WITH THE PREDICTION THAT THE FLOODING ON THE EAST-COAST OF ENGLAND IS TO BE 10 TO 20 TIMES MORE FREQUENT BY 2080 (CHILTERN DISTRICT COUNCIL, 2014), IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT A SOLUTION, MUST BE DRAWN UP IN ORDER TO DECREASE THE EFFECTS OF THE FLOODING. THE AIM OF THE YORKSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST IS TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM FUTURE OF SPURN BY ALLOWING THE RESTORATION OF THE NATURAL PROCESS OF GRADUAL CHANGE.

APART FROM THE CONSISTENT RISING OF THE SEA LEVEL, A MORE RECENT DISASTER OCCURRED IN SPURN POINT IN DECEMBER 2013 FROM THE NORTH SEA TIDAL SURGE. THE AFTERMATH INCLUDED FLOCKS OF SHEEP DROWNING, GRASSLANDS AFFECTED BECAUSE OF THE EXCESSIVE SEAWATER WITHIN THEM AND THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTE (RNLI) WERE UNABLE TO GET ACCESS TO AND FROM SPURN POINT (HULL DAILY MAIL, 2013).

AS A RESULT, IT HAS BECOME MORE CHALLENGING TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE WILDLIFE AND HABITATS AS WELL AS THE SAFETY OF THE BUILDINGS THAT ARE CONSTRUCTED IN THE SITE. THEREFORE, A SYSTEMATIC MASTER PLANNING AND AN AMPHIBIOUS APPROACH WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO MINIMISE AND PREVENT THE DAMAGE TO THE SITE.

BUILDING CONCEPT

BIOMIMICRY STUDY WAYS OF TRANSLATING ADAPTATIONS IN BIOLOGY INTO SOLUTION IN ARCHITECTURE. (PAWLYN, 2011) IT DOES NOT JUST MIMIC NATURAL FORMS AESTHETICALLY BUT IT SHOWS EVIDENCE OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRINCIPLES THAT LIES BEHIND THE FORMS AND SYSTEMS.

EXPLORATION OF THE DIFFERENT FORDS OF BIRD WINGS GAVE AN IDEA OF A POTENTIAL SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE VISITOR CENTRE. BY IDENTIFYING THE ESSENTIAL ROOMS FOR VISITOR CENTRES, I BEGAN TO ASSIGN THESE ROOMS IN AREAS WHERE ITS FUNCTION MIMICS THE FUNCTION OF THE DIFFERENT PART ON A BIRD'S WINGS.

THE LAYOUT OF THE FLOOR PLAN AIMS TO REFLECT THE PARTS AND FUNCTIONS OF A BIRD'S WINGS.

THE AREA OF THE BONES IN A BIRDS WINGS TAKES CONTROL OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE BIRD'S WING. THE SAME AREA ON THE FLOOR OUTLINE IS A POTENTIAL AREA FOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICES, CONFERENCE ROOMS AND RECEPTION, WHICH REFLECTS THE AUTHORITY AND COMMAND ON BOTH THE VISITOR CENTRE AND A BIRD'S WINGS.

THE SECONDARY FLIGHT FEATHERS, BEING THE SECOND PANELS FOR FLYING MAY REPRESENT THE SECONDARY PURPOSE OF THE BUILDING, WHICH IS THE CAFE, TOILETS AND SOUVENIR SHOP.

THE PRIMARY FLIGHT FEATHERS THAT DOES MOST OF THE JOB WHEN FLYING REFLECTS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE BUILDING. THIS IS TO PROMOTE AND EDUCATE PEOPLE IN ALL AGES ABOUT SPURN POINT'S WILDLIFE AND HABITATS THROUGH GALLERIES, SEMINAR ROOMS AND A MULTI-PURPOSE HALL FOR ACTIVITESLIKE THE ANNUAL SPURN BIRD MIGRATION FESTIVAL.