Unit A

Unit A is a research-led BSc Architecture Design Studio at the University of East London, lead by Carsten Jungfer and Fernanda Palmieri. We work with live-project situations and connect design learning with research through knowledge exchange between students and external partner organisations. Unit A focuses on social-spatial conditions within contested urban contexts and understands architectural design both as a spatial and strategic response to specific socio-spatial contexts.

31/10/2012

mapping lecture


Yesterday's lecture regarding mapping is uploaded as usual to the dropbox. And the text by Karen Franck to read for this week in connection with public space is there too. 

Interim crit date : Tue 13th November

30/10/2012

Technical studies Yr 3

 













On Monday the 29th we had the 2nd technical studies workshop where we were doing the concrete slump/cube test. 

As you know you have been assigned to different groups/workshops where your group will be responsible to resolve the related task followed by a small presentation every Monday.
The groups were posted on the blog. See; technical studies groups
However you need to attend every workshop session because of attendance/groupwork. Unit A is having workshops every Monday morning at 10 am. Next week we are constructing the formwork for the future concrete beam test so we are meeting at the wood workshop at 10 am on Monday 5th November.

I have created a folder at unit A dropbox. See; dropbox link
Where I have uploaded the photos from the slum/cube workshop and the pdf. for steel+tensile assignment by me and Julia. Here you can also upload your pictures, films etc. that you have taken during the workshops.


28/10/2012

Tue 30 Oct - Tutorials & Lecture 14.00

Tutorials:
We would like to conclude the work on 1:1 materiality with the tutorials on Tuesday. Please bring with you all your work on the material threshold. So 1:1 testings, documentation of making / material tests / + general material research, the component drawings at appropriate scales and in axonometric, 1:10 drawings of various arrangements (in elevation / plan and section ) & studies of composition of the components + it's interaction / performance at body scale.

Lecture 14.00
Please all attend the lecture at 14.00 hrs. We will introduce the project sites for the year and talk about the next tasks, incl. site analysis, mappings, etc.

26/10/2012

Vanishing City: The Story of East London's Chinatown 30 October 2012


 
30 October 2012
 
7:15 PM - 8:00 PM

Venue:

RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD

Description:

The Chinese presence in the London Docklands began in the 19th century, slowly forming a Chinatown in Limehouse near Pennyfields and Limehouse Causeway. The 1930s slum clearance project and Tower Hamlets council housing developments of the 1960s resulted in the demolition of the buildings in this Chinatown.
Today, there is little trace of its physical presence. Little is known about the histories and stories of the original Chinese residents. The 1920s and 1930s representations of Chinatown and its residents in novels and films fuelled the construction of the Limehouse Chinatown myth. Opium dens, gambling and crime were the recurring themes of works, such as Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu (1913 - 1930s) and Thomas Burke's tales of Chinatown (1915 - 1930s), further stigmatised and exoticised the place.
In this talk, Dr Yat Ming Loo will present some of the findings from his research Architecture and immigration in London: The lost history of Limehouse Chinatown (1900 -1970). The research aims to revise the history of the area, demystifying fictional representations and eliciting evidence for its material and social architectural history.
The talk will share the history and stories of the lost spaces and the Chinese community focusing on an important moment in the vanishing of Limehouse Chinatown.
Professor Iain Borden, Professor of Architecture and Urban Culture at UCL will chair this event.

Fees:

This is a free event and seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Booking:
Please contact Jessica Chapman on talks@riba.org to confirm your attendance.

Organiser:

RIBA

24/10/2012

Light-Space Modulator


The spatial and visual effects of Moholy-Nagy's light-space Mudulator could be useful to groups interested in light, shadow, reflection, etc. (not so much the mechanical object itself - but what it creates)

LINK

Ceramics

Ceramics Exhibition at the AA until 8 Dec 2012
Mon-Friday 10.00–19.00, Sat 10.00–15.00
LINK

Point and Line to Plane

This is the book by russian artist Vasilli Kandinskij I was mentioning yesterday. It's very short and easy to read and gives an amazing understanding of graphic layout of a page, and the human perception of it.
It basically explains the weight of geometrical entities and why a layout is more successful than another

LINK

Fri 26 Oct Tutorials + Reading

I have uploaded two inspirational reading reference about materiality. Please read in preparation for the next session.
Annette Gigon - Materials and colours
Gregor Eichinger: Parts and whole

23/10/2012

Teaching start date: 7th January 2013

Some of you may be booking flights for x-mas, etc. I just noticed that teaching will actually start much earlier than listed in the brief / hand-out, as I was given a wrong timetable. Apologies.

Schools starts 7th January 2013. Y3 has PS hand-in on that Monday I believe.
First Unit A design teaching / studio day is Tuesday 8 Jan 2013.

19/10/2012

Tue 23 Oct 10am Lecture: 03_Editorial


 03_Editorial lecture now uploaded to dropbox for your reference.

Please bring all material testing and documentation / drawings / research with you. Bring again your threshold observations (case-studies). Please upload the 5 x A3s as single pdf to the dropbox, folder 05, so we can collate this into a unit A resource.

Field-trip Ghent hostel: In order to complete the hostel bookings - we need to collect monies next week - cash...!  Costs on the wall - we will need to figure out the exchange rate....

Has everybody booked the Eurostar ticket?
People requiring Visa for Belgium - are you on top of this?

TS Year 3 Groups

Workshop 1 (15. 10. 2012)
Steel tensile test  
Julia, Paulina

Workshop 2 & 3 (29.10.2012)
Concrete slump test & concrete cube mix
Sara, Dessa, Mimi, Becky

Workshop 4 (05.11.2012)
Beam formwork building
All groups

Workshop 5 (12.11.2012)
Concrete beam cast
Anja, Ayoub

Workshop 6 (26.11.2012)
Concrete cube test
Marion, Angeliki

Workshop 7 (10.12.2012)
Concrete beam test
Theo, Ilias, Rozhgar, Fathima

Editor of TS report: Nora

Final hand- in for the report is 17.12.2012

These are the groups we decided at the meeting. We will of course work together on all the tests but when it is your workshop week your group are responsible for calculations and documentation of that test. We will have a short meeting after every workshop to make sure that we are on track. (workshop 1 has to have present their work after workshop 2 and workshop 2 after workshop 3 and so on) at this meeting also make sure that Nora has all info needed for editing.

If everyone who was at workshop 1 could upload their photos, videos to dropbox before monday it would be great.

Also if you do not want to buy the TS book a scanned version is uploaded to the Unit A fb page.

/ Julia

16/10/2012

groupwork / teams

update Mon 19 Oct

13/10/2012

Tue 16 Oct, Lecture 02 Material Response


Lecture first thing, Pin-up after to conclude the initial threshold observations across our project site. We will start at 10am and expect everybody to participate the full day. Please bring your 5 x A3 sheets, each containing an axonometric drawing that explains an observation of a particular threshold condition (case-study) with its social (behavioural / performative), material (close-up) and spatial relationships. Relevant secondary information such as location plan, photographs, user-groups, timetables, diagrams, etc. should be integrated onto the sheets.

Guest critic: Jack Case

09/10/2012

Belgium field-trip

Here is the promised info regarding our field-trip to Belgium.
We will travel to Ghent, that will become our base, from where we will set out to various locations across Belgium. (We are finalising hostel accommodation at the moment. Let us know in case you are organising you own accommodation - details on this soon.)
 
Please book your own EUROSTAR return ticket here and as following:
www.eurostar.com

Departure:
We will travel on Tuesday 20th November 2012, at 8:04 am from London St Pancras International to destination (important!) "any Belgium station" (=Ghent)

Return:
Saturday 24th November 2012, at 16:56pm (from Brussels) or a train later - as you like (up to you if cheaper or you want to stay longer...)

If you are under 25 you should select ticket type: "youth" (=cheaper)

We would suggest that you book this now - as prices will go up later...
Contact us if you have any questions.

Note to international students re VISA: Check if you need a VISA for travelling to Belgium. It's your responsibility to obtain this. Make sure you allow plenty of time for this!

I booked my ticket: outbound: coach 16, inbound: coach 3

06/10/2012

Invites to blog and dropbox

just to say I have sent out invites to your e-mail addresses for the blog and the unit A dropbox, to which all essential unit information will be uploaded. ( briefs, lectures, site-info, field-trips, reading references, etc...) In case you have not received this, provide me with an e-mail address you use, see earlier post.

05/10/2012

drawing relations


to download today's lecture check the unit A dropbox - invites sent to you via e-mail.

Technical studies introduction Y3 & Y2

I was asked by Raphael to make you aware of the introduction to your technology module on Monday 8 Oct in room KD 1.28

Year 3: 15.00
Year 2: 16.00

03/10/2012