Tall Building Crit for Masters 13 Dec 2013

13 December 2013: Last day of term, and it is time for the interim final crit for the Masters students. This isn't the final 'final crit' - they have a vacation ahead to improve, validate and present the design, so it's for good advice. We will have an exhibition and portfolio submission in January. We had Sixth yr Matt Humphreys, Engineer Lydia and Graduand Huang Chen as guest reviewers.


Harsh, Khushboo and Sanjiv amaze us all with SIX metres of continuous scroll of printout of their Sport-XLA project - slightly shorter than the Bayeux Tapestry, but containing many more images. There is a high degree of depth in the drawings, including detailed apartment plans. The scheme is still difficult to understand due to the complexity of the bridges and sport venues, but we try hard (sorry, only have the one photo).


The Rotterdam Groene Landbouw Toren project has been largely redesigned in just one week, but you would hardly know it, judging by the pin up - there are 3D CAD models, large section, new physical model, and most of the important bits planned - and more importantly, it is a lot better than a week ago. There is the 'Urban Window onto Oudehaven' concept added to their busy agenda.


Shuo demonstrates the design using the physical model.

With all Bioclimatic design, it is very important to know where the Sun is.    The Rotterdam students have done their best to make sure that Philip knows where the sunlight comes from! Another excellent use for an orange.

Philip checks out the site planning and ground plane design of the Groene Landbouw Toren, Rotterdam.


Shuo and Lucia listen to comments about office and hotel plans, and Huang Chen looks on.


Lydia and Phil listening to the explanation of the Awakening Trees group design for Singapore.


Awakening Trees group explain their plans.

On Monday 16, Phil is due to do a talk about Presentation methods, and DNC and Phil see students to discuss what more they need to do over the vacation. 

Tall Building Crit of 12th December

12 December 2013: It's the day for the December crit of the Tianjin group (Fifth years). They have another month before exhibition and portfolio.


Alfie show us his residential tower with its emphasis on courtyards, terraces and social spaces.


Chris shows us his tower, as a place for spiritual retreats, meditation, worship or just a hotel for calm tourism.


James has a tower for recycling of modern consumer goods, particularly computers, phones and laptops, with exchanges for selling precious metals.


Philip N has a residential tower that also includes vertical farming, with an emphasis on valuable pharmaceutical plants.


Giulia has a three school tower


Haniyyah's Dance academy tower


Laura's plans for bicycling towers are developing well, although we advise more dwelling units in the towers.


Alex's vertical air cleaning tower is looking good.


The Rotterdam group showed us their programme for the week. This seems like a good idea to plan the work week out, and to have a system for work transfer if jobs get done too quickly or are taking too long. They even remember to include instructions to sleep, eat, re-charge phones and laptops!

Interim crit of 21 November

21 November 2013: We had our first interim design crit, and the main guests were Prof Edward Ng from Hong Kong and Cambridge, and Steve Fernandes from Arups. John Morgan from UoN also took part.


Khushboo and Harsh explain their multi-tower multi-sport complex in Singapore for Edward and DNC. We admire the amazing presentation, but felt that the project had grown too large with 14 different venues, scattered vertically. Having centre cores in the 4 towers would cause endless problems for the management and participants.


Sports tower complex from ground level


K and H's renderings are impressive!


Phil and John view James' tower for recycling electronic waste in Tianjin


John and Phil discuss Haniyyah's performing arts complex in Tianjin


James has been working on models for his recycling tower. We were concerned that by extending the industrial processes for the entire height of the tower excluded normal families from living in it - converting the residential element into workers' dormitories - we ask, can the need for recycling be extended to such height?


Edward discusses James's tower


Steve managed to see all 12 schemes with structural advice.


DNc and Edward are looking at Philip's pharmaceutical farming and residential tower


Steve is helping the Rotterdam ground, Siyi, Lucia and Shuo


Alfie is making ingenious use of Lego for exploring the possibilities for his Hutong-inspired residential tower. DNC is thinking of getting a large Lego set for next semester's ATB module - the ability to colour code element of the building and the variety of block sizes gives creative possibilities - although it encourages a rectilinearly dominated geometry


Phil is getting close up to the drawings of the Rotterdam group

People and action at the Crit of 22 may '13

22 May 2013: For the Crit day, we had John Prevc (of Make) and John Ramsay (of UoN) joining DNC and Phil.First we had some videos on show, then we gave each group twice times 40 minutes with parallel panels of crit-tutors.

Big Blend presenting to John Prevc and DNC

Phil and John R with group U-Cube

DNC and John P with group ATA

DNC and John P with group ATA


Phil and John R with Jayanth

Overhead view of the whole crit-space


John P and DNC with group Goal!

A lot of sound on the East wall, but nobody is wailing, we are enjoying the day's work, celebrating the achievements of the semester. Now, another 2 weeks to round off the portfolio, a design and materials report to do, a facade technology report to do. All along, they are thinking about dissertation subjects.


Group Learning Tree explaining to Noura, Phil and John


It's been a tough few weeks and days, and everybody is entitled to take a little rest!


John R and Phil look at group ATA's twin tower

DNC, John P and Noura listening to Jayanth


John Prevc listening to group Zzyzx!


Phil and John Ramsay listening to group Goal!


Close up of the Zzyzx! vertical farm proposal


Zzyzx! celebrating the end of the Crit with DNC hiding behind the farm




We have a talk back to the students at the end (sorry that this is slightly blurred)

It's sad to take the work down so quickly, but the room is needed by others for the following two days. 

Photos of pinned up projects 22 May 2013

22 May 2013: We've had the crit, and there are another 2 weeks to complete these to the personal portfolios. Here are some iPhone captured images of the pin-ups on the wall, I hope to replace these with sharper posters when these are available.

Jayanth working individually produced a hotel and residential tower with a highly visible megabraced frame.


Group Learning Tree have a Vertical Campus. Although the ideal campus probably is horizontal, the point of this research is to work on a way to make a campus work happily when space is really tight in a major city centre location.


Group Goal! (also now calling themselves Folding Tower) have linked twin towers.


Group U-Cube delighted us with an ambitious video and and excellent model of their megastructure with large outriggers as public sky leisure spaces and parks supporting compositions of cubic housing forms.


Group ATA have linked twin towers with offices and residential, topped with a tall vertical farm and a wind farm at the very crown.


Group Big Blend completed their Algae facade mixed use complex with great professionalism and elan - a tall twin-tower with a linking core and algae filled facade panels, and a mini-tall podium block of education and research.


Group Zzyzx! have a twin tower with university, student accommodation, residential, and two vertical farms in half dome shapes.