As some of you may know we recently contributed to the second edition of the hugely successful Architectural Modelmaking by Nick Dunn. You can read a review of the book on ArchDaily by clicking here.
Tag Archives: Scott Miller
B.15:45 Years of Architectural Modelmaking Documentary Video
As part of our B.15:45 exhibition we have produced this documentary film exploring the constant but changing use of modelmaking within architectural education here at The Manchester School of Architecture within The University of Manchester.
The film interviews past and present academic, teaching and technical staff about their thoughts on modelmaking in architecture and how the tool continues to be used in design teaching today.
We hope this provides a good insight into Architectural modelmaking and helps to define its place in student studies here.
We would like to say many thanks again to all involved in the production of this film.
Scott and Jim
B.15:45 Private View Opening
After just over a year in the making B.15:45 finally opened on with a private view event on Friday evening. The event was a fantastic success with many unexpected guests and familiar faces gathering to discuss the subject of Modelmaking in Architecture.
An opening introduction speech was made by Professor Nick Dunn who gave a concise description of the history of modelmaking and overview of our goals with this exhibition which was well received by all.
Myself and Jim would like to thank everybody involved and all who made it to the opening to make it such a great success.
The exhibition is now open to all 9.00-17.00 during term time for the next year. We will be hosting several events on alongside the exhibition and engaging with school and college groups which has already begun. Keep checking for updates regarding any public events as we want to keep all interested parties engaged in our continued work.
Many thanks again, Scott and Jim
Elsewhere Park, an ‘Eco-Labratory’ in Egypt
On a recent trip to Egypt I was thrilled to be invited by friends to visit a unique ‘eco-labratory’ experiment on the banks of the Nile. Elsewhere park is a private plot of land owned, maintained and developed by ex-pat Jules Johnson and her husband Naser. The park was set up as a long time dream of Jules to be able to create a haven away from the manic pace of Cairo city life.
With limited experience of building Jules and Naser set out to build their ideal practical get-away for themselves and other ex-pats needing to escape. Jules had a very clear idea of how her ideas should look with certain aspects pending on material tests and availability. This gave a bespoke touch to the whole site which works fantastically. Even so Jules tried to define her ideas through designs in a professional manner. These designs met with confused local architects whom more often than not stick to a very generic set of bland construction rules that, to say the least, leave much to be desired.
With the usual stumbling blocks of building construction inevitable, things were made increasingly difficult by un-co-operative tradesman and a difficulty in sourcing good quality eco building materials.
Having heard of the difficulties in construction and seen the finished articles on site I was very eager to pass on the story of this fantastic place to yourselves and open up the possibility of a future collaboration on a live-project on the site! I thought it better that Jules tell the story so read my interview with her below to find out more.
With a little planning It may be possible for us to visit the site as a small group of students to take part in the experiments and contribute from our experience in MSA. If you are interested in finding out more please email me at scott.miller@manchester.ac.uk
What is Elsewhere park and why did you decide to embark on such a project?
I am widely travelled and have watched the world go by from many a town square or roadside cafe. But not in Egypt.
After finding myself married to a local man, having a young son, very little income and living in a concrete sweat box in the middle of one the filthiest cities you will ever see, I decided to start exploring the countryside. We started to visit Nasers family more often in a village called Matania (meaning Germany) it’s a couple of miles south of the park. The poor conditions dissuaded us from using their toilets or considering staying overnight.
There are no centres or main shopping roads in any of the towns and villages and it’s inappropriate for women to be in a coffee shop. So. I needed somewhere close to build a proper, sit down Loo, At least we could spend more time there.
Was the park’s purpose always clear or has it evolved over time?
The park was not the first time we built but it was going to be the final time. We had intended to buy a piece of Nile River land, before it became illegal, to build our retirement house.
Naser envisioned a huge Roman style columned block with lawns and conifers!
I was thinking more along the lines of the Victorian Sea Front shelters with rockeries around the inevitable but inappropriate, lawns. The ideas involving Elsewhere are evolving all the time. I love other people to share their ideas and enthusiasm.
I was very conscious of the dreadful conditions the local Bedouin people live in and the delicacy of their customs. A kindly Hungarian lady asked what she could do to help them and decided to open a little school. We allowed her to build a small room (the red brick one) in the Park, rent and electricity, with use of the kitchen and bathroom. This is now the shed and the Nile River School has moved to its permanent location in a purpose built and larger school, just up the road.
[Put simply] the park supports educational interests of both privately funded (Rich Cairo schools) and the Nile River School that survives on donations and volunteers.The park was created for rest, recovery and inspiration. It can be made available for education and certain types of entertainment. Private hobbies and dreams. I love the freedom to try anything and enjoy other peoples enthusiasm and experience that they have been willing to contribute.
Recently, a group of ladies I teach with needed somewhere at the Park to stay, instead of putting up tents. This is the building we are currently working on and you Scott, are the only bloke that has been allowed to do anything creative on it!
What inspired you to lead the design the buildings on your site?
I had to design the buildings myself as I spent 15 years in the Logistics field which always comes first in my considerations. I have no faith in the engineering judgments of most architects here and they would only communicate with Naser because 1. He speaks Arabic and 2. He is a Man.
Women have no business interfering in such things in Egyptian society.
What problems did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
Everyone here thinks and says you can’t do that, that’s not possible. So I go ahead and start the job myself.
There are many bribes to be paid at intervals but there were many more when we started. The Authorities take their share. River Authority, River Land Authority, Land Authority, Road Authority, Electricity Authority, Building Authority. Because I am foreign, all of our paperwork to do with the Park, is all perfectly legal to ensure we don’t lose it.
The first thing we did was build the road down to give vehicle access to the land.
The walls collapsed and the road fell down.
Next doors road also fell down and at this point I decided to take all building under my wing.
The first building had to be pulled down four times before we managed to get a license for electricity. This would then prove it was a lived- in building and therefore could not be demolished. This was the normal process. The law has changed since then and the Authorities are starting to pull down the swarm of buildings that have been put up since the other Authorities have been otherwise occupied.
There are always problems with the quality of materials, all of the roof beams are twisted and most wood is full of knots and bark. The electricity is normally connected from the street lights and it runs your single light bulb via the window. Elsewhere Park has more light bulbs than the whole Ezbah (Hamlett) put together and more double sockets too. There have been so many problems!
Does the ‘try it and see’ attitude to building lend itself to the locality given the uncertainty of Material supplies? And do you find testing/prototyping beneficial?
I love to try it and see. I am not familiar with some of the local materials so I research their uses and use their transferable properties with my own transferable skills, to create an object with meaning and multipurpose. I am proud of some of my triumphs in the control of temperature and I can’t wait to put the roof on the Burrow (Cob) to see how I have performed with daylight.
We encourage people to collect as much data from the Park as they can. If you need our help, just ask.
Does the eco/ethical consideration behind Eleswhere Park have potential to expand to other areas in the locality or Egypt as a whole?
Oh Yes. There are a few organisations that dabble in the recycling field but not many dabbling in Permaculture. Most countryside folk don’t have hot water. They have very poor ventilation but no insulation. (The Arabs invented air conditioning with a roof modification)
There is a need in the British Education Private Sector for workshops/presentations and other educational tools on eco-friendly subjects as we have no public parks, forests or accessible countryside. Many students attending these schools have architects and interior designers in their families and are ready to learn some common sense. Rich land owners prefer lawns and columns. Where nature is organized and trees cut into cylindrical shapes. Check out the history of the place and you can see Islamic ceramic influence in many things.
What do you hope to do with the site in the future?
I would love to see the Park full of little ongoing experiments, set up by some and monitored by many. We will continue to build. The next building may be from river reeds with the potential to pass this knowledge on to the local lads so they possibly make sun shades commercially.
The next project (after the Burrow) will be to make a hot water system for the Castle showers. I would like to make this out of recycled materials and use solar power.
My dream for the Park is to make approximately 8 more buildings, using more and more local and renewable materials as possible. Here are some of the plans:
There will be a more extravagant Cob guest room,
Straw bale guest room,
Natural Tee Pee,
River reed shelter with the possibility to extend this technique to the surrounding communities for roofing or animal shelter.
Wooden shed on stilts overlooking clay lined pond that may possibly be for aquaponics.
Jetty to moor boats.
Probably, a metal chassis floating caravan.
Workshop for my art stuff, tools and future projects. I would like to make a wood turning lathe.
Open kitchen on the end of the Castle block.
As the power will be unreliable this summer, I would like to start more seriously with renewable energy installations.
The cost of electric will be rising 25% shortly too.
Have you considered collaborating with architectural institutes in Egypt to help develop and experiment with the site?
At the moment, I have no plans to involve the architectural institutes in Egypt as the Tutors are notoriously jealous of their powerful positions and the dated styles that they personally believe in. (They may even try to close the Park down, in case our ideas become popular with the rich and famous)
Architects and Tutors here are not usually willing to cooperate with any alternative styles or concepts, especially from women or foreigners as they see this as doing themselves out of a job. They also earn huge amounts of commission from the suppliers and manufacturers of the raw materials and from contractors and sub-contractors.
They also encourage the use of materials that are produced in Egypt, (by the military)but that have a high carbon footprint, such as cement, metals and plastics.
There are several historical and social influences to consider when wondering about modern day buildings. One thing that bothers me most is the complete lack of common sense when planning rooms, buildings and community areas. I believe that this complacency has had a long term effect on moral and society and I am finding that this problem is still being ignored , even in the high class areas.(we have 7 different classes of people in Egypt)
So. What are you waiting for?
The sun shines every day, its either warm or hot.
We have an almost constant northerly wind.
We have the longest river in the world which runs at about 5 knots.
We must be able to do something with all of that?
All the best, Jules
(Interview Between Scott Miller and Jules Johnson 2014)
RIBA Exhibition: The Brits Who Built the Modern World
Yesterday myself and Jim visited the ‘Brits Who Built the Modern World’ exhibition at the RIBA building in London. The exhibition explores how the key British architects have evolved to become highly sort after worldwide. You may have seen the accompanying BBC series that was on recently. Key to the display and narrative of the exhibition are models of classic projects. To find out more click here.
Should you get the chance, be sure to have a look through this exhibition and the supporting current projects room. The exhibition runs until 27th May.
SEED B.15 Modelmaking Workshop: 2 WEEKS IN 2 MINUTES
Not long after I started here in B.15 it became very apparent that the constant hive of activity we have here was often unnoticed. I decided, amongst other things to document a period by setting up a camera to record two weeks in time-lapse format. Taking place over two weeks last May, this footage gives a brief insight into the fantastic and frantic creativity we host day to day.
Please share with your friends and keep making!
Scott
Do Your Bit to Reduce Workshop Waste
One of the inevitable by-products of a creative environment such as ours is a large amount of material waste. Whilst a certain amount of this is unavoidable we endeavour to reduce as much unnecessary disposal as possible.
As individuals we all need to be more considerate to make a difference to this and every little change can help.
Here’s a few things to think about for this cause and your own and everybody eleses benefit:
Materials Consideration
This is a huge part of your project and should be thought about in great depth in terms of what you are trying to achieve and the potential waste produced from it. For example, When making a contour model consider the amount of unseen sheet material that could be saved by producing each layer as a step down rather than an entire sheet to form each layer. Could you use grey cardboard which is widely recycled instead of sheets of wood? Always check the free recycled materials before using virgin sheets.
Planning Your Model
Establishing the size and layout of your model can dictate how much material you use. For example if you want to make a laser cut model that measures 900mm x 600mm you will need to use more than a standard laser cut sized sheet (800mm x 450mm) of material to cover the area required. For the sake of using another sheet of material, your money and little visual difference to the end product you should try to work to existing sizes.
Using Machines Appropriately
This is always a sticking point for students using our workshop as experience of machine use is varied. By thinking about each component you are trying to produce beforehand it is possible to produce the desired shape without unnecessary waste.
For example when using the disk sanders to create a roof pitch we can think about the size of the piece we are working with. If the piece requires taking large volumes of material away then it would be more appropriate to cut the majority of the material away using a band saw before moving to the disk sander to accurately finish the cut. By doing this we are reducing the amount of wear to the disk sanders and the levels of dust in the atmosphere around the workshop.
Using Offcuts
With a bit of fore thought it is possible to make virtually anything for next to no cost by utilising off-cuts and unwanted material for others projects. Here in the workshop we have off-cut bins for wood and drawers for cardboard and acrylic of varying sizes and thickness. It is always worth looking at what is available for free to reduce using material and in turn your costs.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Scott
Welcome back to ‘SEED’ and a new academic year!
As some of you may have noticed we have added an extra ‘E’ to our name due to the merge with the School of Education. Our full name is now the School of Environment, Education and Development or SEED.
Busy summer
Over the summer we have been busy co-writing a second edition to the highly acclaimed book ‘Architectural Modelmaking’ by Nick Dunn. We expect the book to be published sometime next year and should prove very useful for existing and new students of architecture. We’ll post more on this when we can!
This had kept us productive along with a materials re-stock and clear out in preparation for your return. We hope to stock some new acrylic thicknesses in the next few weeks. Up to date materials price lists are now up in the workshop and can also be checked here on the blog.
Up-front payment for laser cutting
From now on we will only be allowing students to book laser cutting slots if they have paid. This change is being implemented to reduce the number of no-shows that occurs during busy periods which led to many hours cutting time being wasted last term.
New Full-Time Workshop TechnicianÂ
The workshop now has an additional member of staff as Scott Miller has now been made a full-time member of the technical team. Some of you may have met Scott last year when he worked with us on a casual basis. Scott is a very accomplished model maker and will be happy to help with any of your model making requirements.
The Arts University Bournemouth: Workshops & End of Year Show 2013
Following our trip to Bath and Timothy Richards’s workshop we drove down to Bournemouth for a private workshop tour and a look at their end of year show. Having studied in Bournemouth for my degree I was already aware of what they have but felt showing Jim the facilities first hand would be of great befit to the constant refinement of our own workshop. Unlike our workshop at SED, the Bournemouth workshops cater for a wide range of courses and as a result are set over two large floors.
One aspect of the workshop design that would be great to incorporate into our own is the segregation of certain areas. This is a difficult task in SED due to our restricted space however certain changes are possible and some solutions could come from other institutions such as this. Of particular interest to reduce the amount of dust in the air we breathe we were interested to look at the sanding benches (below). These were in a purpose built room with enclosed extraction to reduce the spread of dust. Whilst we are limited in space, incorporating one of these benches into our workshop may be a possibility and we will consider implementing it within the next year.
Another separate department is the CAD-CAMÂ area which incorporates all CAD driven machinery away from the main woodwork shop space. As with the sanding room, it is unlikely we will be able to create such a space without expanding the workshop. This said, by simply arranging the machinery together and the materials they use effectively it is clear that this side of the AUB set up works very well. We will be making efforts to improve on material storage and availability over the summer.
One of the main draws for me to study in Bournemouth was the ability to collaborate with so many different courses. The AUB has facilities to cover Architecture, Interior Architecture, Animation, Costume Design, Model making, Make-up, Graphic Design, Film Studies, Photography and many more Arts based courses. Here are a few shots of our look at the End of Year show across the campus.
Find out more about the arts based courses at Bournemouth by clicking here.
Workshop Updates
With the academic year over things are a bit quieter down here in the workshop but there’s no shortage of jobs to do!
New band saw
We have just installed a brand new Hammer band saw to replace our smaller Startrite band saw which has become problematic over the last year. The new machine has been ordered from Austria having been built to order.
This functions in exactly the same manner with the exception of the drop down guard which has two separate height adjustment and lock off wheels (see image below) as opposed to a single wheel.
Should you be unsure of anything on this new saw don’t hesitate to ask myself or Jim for assistance. The new saw will soon be fitted with the standard emergency stop buttons you will find on all the machines in the workshop. Remember if these switches are pressed you will need a member of staff to unlock the machine for use.
Re-Stocking and New Materials
Ahead of the new year were also re-stocking the store which has been left somewhat depleted after last months exhibition rush! All listed thicknesses of Laser-able (Medite) MDF; Laser-able Plywood and Acrylic stock will all be cut and stocked for September.
We are currently looking into stocking 1mm and 0.5 mm Acrylic sheet which are great material thicknesses for architectural models that have previously been unavailable here.