Introduction.3
Ideology and Cultural background.3
Layout and Structure..4
Architectural connection5
Building Accommodation and Circulation 6
Designs and works..6
Representation of Artist.7
Political or private holding of the buildingPolitical or private holding of the building.6
Acland Burghley Secondary School by Killick Patridge and Amis7
Economic and Cultural Background..7
Ideology and Cultural Background.7
Architectural Connection8
Accommodation and circulation.8
Elements discussed.8
How circulation/shared hall space designed and works.9
HKPA’s architectural techniques application10
Democratic ideology presence..11
Conclusion.12
Works Cited14
Introduction
Ideology can be defined as a set of cultural and political sense of connected symbolic representations, ideas, beliefs, ideas and forms of thoughts, expressions or acts which are known and accepted by a particular group of a social group. With respect to ideology and politics, set of all pragmatic institutes and practices constitute its ideological statement. The basic principles of architecture comes from the perception and evaluation of its work on the basis of certain principles based upon the structural concepts. Such psychological response is also evaluated on the basis of politics formulating the sense of ideological grandeur and collectivism. The research essay presented here is based upon the architectural comparison. It is based upon several characteristic comparison between two buildings located in England. First one is the latest Academic institute known as the ‘Evelyn Grace Academy’ whereas the second one is the ‘Acland Burghley School’ which is an example of old architect. A detailed structural and ideological comparison is given below, based upon the commonalities between both buildings.
Modern Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid
The Evelyn Grace Academy is an architecture of ‘school within school’ design by Zaha Hadid. It is a secondary school located in South of London on an area of 1.4 hectares.
Ideology and Cultural background
The education institute is not only the historical representative of London but also a combining environment contrasting the surrounding residential area. It has a transparent, open and welcoming impact on the process of urban regeneration. Its formation is coherent with respect to its double main residential arteries. The designing has an urban characteristic identity suitable for its neighboring area.
Individually, the ‘school-within-school’ ideology of the Evelyn Academy is based upon segregation patterns designed naturally which are nested between efficiently overlapped spaces. The four smaller schools within the building hold their separate identities internally and externally. A generous spacious environment is designed in the spaces, allowing maximum incidence of natural light through proper ventilation and prolonging textures. The four buildings are designed in a collective manner so as to encourage social interaction between the separate hierarchies of natural nodes working up towards an extensive accommodation schedule (Wainwright 2010).
Layout and Structure:
The building is used differently from the insides and outsides both. In order to promote interactions between all members of the institute, the external shared space are treated in different layering, such that it creates informal teaching spaces with informal interactions on different level, elevating multiple functions.
It has a multiple overlapping designing structure. The middle school children have their separate terraces landing upon the first floor which does not depend upon main stair case while avoiding other school interactions. Middle school is spread across two floors through a staircase, their respective facilities are on the upper level. The facilities for ground floor is from external landscapes. The center core gives access to all floors, each floor has their separate terrace, accessing stairs and facilities. Each school is arranged horizontally in order to avoid vertical circulation. Middle school are within first and second floor whereas the upper schools is on the third floor (archdaily 2010)
Figure 1Copyright (c) 2012 taringa.net
Architectural connection:
The building was designed by Zaha Hadid working with Patrik Schumacher under the project directors Lars Teichmann and Matthew Hardcastle. ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) and DCSF were the clients for the project (dezeen magazine 2010). The architect has worked with a strong mutual collaboration with her clients, keeping in mind the users which are pupils in this project. She left her iconic architectural patterns in order to compact the focused school plan within the space.
Building Accommodation and Circulation
The institute consists of four different schools within one building which was a challenge for the architect to design it on a 1.4 hectares sites due to which a Z-shaped building with sharp edges in a diagonal pattern was constructed (Project report 2011).
The project is designed in a z-shaped bar in a way that it is cranking up on both sides which is squaring towards the street. A set-back podium holds three story of classroom accommodation allowing a free surrounding area for playground spaces and sports pitches. There is a red 100m race track around the building across the plan. The red strip track is framed by billowing glassy flanks, giving a wayward perspective like Hadid’s paintings. The exterior has interlocking layers slide which are present across each other forming terraces and overhangs. The offset elements of curves, kinks and offsets are presenting shape-shifting form if viewed from different angles (Wainwright 2010).
Designs and works
The architect of school has an iconoclastic sense. It has a secure and separable building model between middle and upper schools. The designing is simple which starts from the central admin zone placed on the ground floor; attached are the sports and fitness wing apart from arts and technology block. The sports wing is facing the Shakespeare Road. The upper and middle school are placed asymmetrically within three levels, built on top of each other. The light incidence and loose-fit vibe within the building due to fifty percent glazed classrooms, assembly and lunch areas; and angled down internal end-walls. Outside the building north up is a Shakespeare Road; there is also a Shard, Gherkin and Langston Hughes Close
Representation of Artist
The building is deciphered as ‘Zaha Hadid Lite’ due to the use of parametricism and cost-cutting procurement in its simplistic collision. It is representing the educational zoning program and missing the wow factor of Hadid. Unlike other projects of Hadid, the institute allowed her to design a compact set of rooms and whole space within a limited area (Merrick 2011).
Political or private holding of the building
In an interview to the Architect Journal, the Project Director, Lars Teichmann was asked if the school presents anything to the government. The Directors stated, Evelyn does not have properties to be generalized and represents the concept of a clear and transparent layout designing of school (Merrick 2011).
The 2010 design of Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid represents an example of neoliberalism and it doesn’t represent political avant-garde. Although the building does not fully contain parametric spaces or the continual variation between its part the presence of parametricism is presenting neoliberalism or an alternative to power (Parisi 2013)
Acland Burghley Secondary School by Killick Patridge and Amis
Economic and Cultural Background
The Acland Burghley School is included in the planning list, consisted of buildings and conservation areas, under Act 1990 due to its noticeable historic interest. The education building is located on the Burghley Road of London within Greater London Authority (historicengland.com).
The school is among one of the first comprehensive schools of London which was not divided into houses but into year groups. The school was built in 1960 by a team of architects including Howell, Patridge, Killick and Amis (HPKA), for a population of 1300 pupils in 1960 (English Heritage).
Ideology
It is a classic British practice school which presents an assertive and expressive value towards the run-down urban surrounding. The ideological background of this school comes from the Second World War. The Labor-dominated London County Council (LCC) came along with ‘comprehensive’ education based upon single stream. Burghley Road School was established in 1884, whereas the Acland Burghley School was built in 1895 for senior pupils. These Two school of Acland and Burghley combined in 1959. During that time LCC became public patron; Denys Lasdun, Erno Goldfinger etc. were the commissions. LCC School Division was ruled by Michael Powell in 1960. During same time, Michael Powell hired Howell Killick, Patridge and Amis got an offer to work on the Acland Burghley project. The partners of the project meet in the Housing Division of LCC Architect Departments.
Architectural Connection
The designing of Acland Burghley School was an innovative architectural approach of the London County Council (LCC) towards the construction of non-selective secondary school. It was compared with Haggerston Schools and Lilian Baylis School.
Accommodation and circulation
The eastern end of the site consists of the junior, middle and upper schools which is coming from central circulation wedge. The ground floor consists of year rooms. Above the year rooms, are the square shaped three story classroom for commerce and humanities. The crafts room are above the circulation core.
Elements discussed
The central administration core is connected with three teaching towers of five story along with a three story west range. The elements of the building are combined by an aluminum fenestration band-oriented consistent architectural treatment; the octagonal columns under canted flint aggregate panels with a grey brick and fair-faced infill panels within situ concrete. There is a new lift tower on the right of main entrance. There is also a glazed tower on the southernmost side of the ground floor of the teaching tower. Except for the curving canopy, both venues are excluded from the main entrance. There are flat roofs on the building comprising of renewed sky light. A C21 replacement of windows, external doors and contemporary main entrance doors are also replaced (Gold 2007).
The first and second floor of the building, supported by the horizontal concrete beams are jettied over ground floor, on which the teaching towers are built. The ground floor on the west elevation of the administration core include concrete columns placed between aggregate panels. A glazed link connects the west range with first floor from center to the 2007 steel framed, southern end, double story extension. The hexagonal hall is double-ended due to multi-functional purposed. An elevation is coming up from timber-clad, central lantern comprising of lower horizontal band of glazed concrete external wall. There is also an angled hallway connecting the administration with hall and is open to shuttered concrete.
The interior and exterior partitions are fair-faced concrete panels which are chamfered subtly, shuttered concrete with internal finishes and blockworks is also present in different places. A renewal can be observed in the interior fittings and fixtures; a number of original doors, timber cladding and hollow-steel staircase handrails are same.
There are certain interior portion remodeled too. A timber clad ceiling is present on the assembly hall, which are punctuated with top and side lights coming from the lower concrete pitch of the columns supporting roof. There is a fly tower, both end stages, drama studios; acoustic walls, circular corridor which are all punctuate through openings. Some of the original lightening are still present. A timber wall is also present in the main reception with a coat of central arms inscribed with members of school community dead in First World War.
How circulation/shared hall space designed and works
The Burghley Road connects a drawbridge-like entrance ramp leads to the road through a south elevation of administration core. The main door connects the staff rooms with north-south aligned central core of administration on ground floor. The teaching rooms are located on the first floor which connected by the corridors to the ground floor. The central core of the building is topped with top-lit arts studios on the second floor along with Specialist departments. There are three teaching towers which are connected with the eastern portion of the central core which are aligned with classrooms paired with grouped staircases and paired year rooms. These rooms are used for the purpose of dining and assemblies on ground floor. A three story classrooms are planned above them. The administration core is linked to the linear west range on the north end; it also connects the sports hall from north-west with the southern portion arts block. A separate hexagonal assembly hall was built on the south-western administration core of C19school buildings, due to the musical and drama interest of the school. The building is connected with administration core from the south-west; it is also linked to a covered concrete exposed walkway from external end. A railway cutting was decked with pre-cast concrete beams for playground, car park and sports hall purposes, on the north (Historicengland).
Figure 2(c) autism-architects.com
HKPA’s architectural techniques application
The building is a significant work of HKPA. The team had mostly worked on educational architecture. Their work consists of mid-century educational architecture. In the Acland Burghley School, their key patterns can be observed. It includes a modern interpreted concrete application of techniques which can be observed in the hall; similarly the symbolic idiomatic expression of HKPA’s lintel, post and prefabricated construction was also visible in their work. The used elements keeping in mind the statutory protection while considering the safety of building for future generations. A democratic ideology is present in the architecture of the school (historic London n.d.).
The building holds no political uptake with respect to the societal activities happening all around the England due to the World War. It had an influence due to the war, which was the innovation in it construction by combining Acland and Burghley schools into one.
Conclusion
Architecture is based upon evolution instead of revolution. British culture including its architecture with language, religion, art and political organization has a sophisticated style of design. The comparison between the two academic institutes are also an example of evolution which began from 1960 and has transformed in the Modern Evelyn Academy designed by the dynamic architect Zaha Hadid. If we compare both buildings, we will observe, the same ideological concept is revolving behind both of them. Both have been designed on the basis of educational uplifting. The Acland Burghley was built in order to elevate educational standard after the World War by LCC, similarly the Evelyn Grace Academy is based upon nested schooling; it is based upon diffusing four divisions of school with a same building in order to build the traditional mutually incorporated environment through modern school and designing. Both of the schools have been designed in a systematic design layout. They have proper subdivisions of each portion. The divisional aspect of Acland Burghley School was not sophisticated like Evelyn Grace Academy due to lack of technology and innovation. Moreover, the 1960s building lack creative sense of design. It was rebuilt in 2010 due to the criticism received by the students. The school has a substantially solid building base but lack the architectural innovation in it exterior and interior designing both. On the other hand, Zaha Hadid has designed Modern Evelyn Grace Academy in such a way that it does not give an impact of a traditional schooling structure. Although it lacks the spacious designing, it possessed the symbolic curves and zigzags of Zaha Hadid’s architectural designing. The designing is done in a nested format, while keeping boundaries between all four buildings. The building has a dingy yet fully lit impact in its insides. It gives an impact of a strictly administered institute which is absent in the Acland Burghley School. The principal stated the strict impact of the building to be a founding principle of schooling system and a sign of positive and constructive impact on children. Both of the schools are depicting a perfect ideological presentation of British Art. They even possess same internal structured elements. The difference lies in their external and internal outlook which has become a source of declination in case of Acland Burghley Academy.
Works Cited
"Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid Architects | Dezeen." Dezeen Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid Architects Comments. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. < http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/18/evelyn-grace-academy-by-zaha-hadid-architects/>
"Reynobond Architecture." Web. 22 Apr. 2016. <https://www.alcoa.com/aap/europe/pdf/project_reports/Evelyn_Grace_Academy_repor pdf>.
"Evelyn Grace Academy / Zaha Hadid Architects." ArchDaily. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. < http://www.archdaily.com/95234/evelyn-grace-academy-zaha-hadid-architects> "Evelyn Grace Academy by Zaha Hadid Architects." Architects Journal. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/home/evelyn-grace-academy-by-zaha-hadid architects/8620416.fullarticle>.
Parisi, Luciana. Contagious Architecture: Computation, Aesthetics, and Space. MIT, 2013. Print. "Stortford Interiors." Web. 22 Apr. 2016. <http://www.stortford interiors.com/media/project_profile_pdfs/Evelyn_Grace_project_profile.pdf>.
"Acland Burghley School." Historic England. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1431508>.
"Inner London." Web. 22 Apr. 2016. <http://services.english heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/033-2012WEB_2.pdf>.
Gold, John R. The Practice of Modernism: Modern Architects and Urban Transformation, 1954-1972. London: Routledge, 2007. Print.
