Social Housingcreating social and extended community living spaces for a more sociable housing strategy in Ampthill Square Estate, Somers Town

Social Housing Agenda

The project aims to create more “social” spaces in Ampthill Square Housing Estate, Camden, improving and extending ex-isting private and public spaces and providing new commu-nity facilities on site, attempting to combat social isola-tion through encouragement of community interaction.

The project will focus primarily on community groups for which environmental and social isolation is a major prob-lem, providing specialized spaces and services for their needs. In particular the scheme aims to empower migrant women from Bangladeshi, Somali, Ethiopian and other minority commu-nities and combat isolation, mental health problems and depression through social opportunities and networks, de-velopment of language and working skills and involvement in the local community. The project aims to give them time off from family care responsibilities through care exchange services, giving more time for social and other activities. These women make up one of the largest groups resident in the estate during the daytime and will play a key role in construction, management, running and maintenance of the facilities.

Key Project Aims:

-Empower the women and through increased social opportu-nities, community involvement and development of working skills

-Improve and extend social living spaces on a gradient from private to public

-Give opportunity for increased social interaction between neighbours

-Set up a network of time, labour and services exchange

-Provide easy access to otherwise inaccessible or inconven-ient community facilities and services, providing special-ised spaces for specific community needs

-Make the facilities as self-sufficient as possible through energy and water harvesting and sharing of spaces and ser-vices.

client, funding and users

encouraging development and integration amongst local asian women in camden

all-female run organisation, aiding integration, sport and eductation amongst

somali women and children

Ampthill Square Tenants Association

ampthill square estate management and residents

Compensation Scheme

funding:

compensation for loss of land and rebuilding of demolished

community centre

supporting self-sufficiency and city farming projects

funding renewable enrgy installationsfunding adult eductaion and employment

staff, up-keep and running of the cen-tre paid for by income from charges for use of the centre facilities by local

community

Gender and Employment in Local Labour Markets (GELLM) Comittee

eductaional courses and resources paid for by camden council

long-term financing and management:

local community

The client for the project is Camden Council and it to be funded by a mix-ture of different sources. Primary funding would come from Camden Council and the UK Department of Transport HS2 Compensation scheme for reconstruction of demolishedcommunity and play area. Construction, management and running costs will be reduced due to community participation and involvement.

users:

centre to be run by women with a handfull of paid full-time

staff and many part-time female volunteers

all services free to staff and volunteers

Brief:

-Extend and optimise existing living room spaces

-Connect neighbours with shared balcony garden spaces

-Replace demolished community hall with a large flex-ible use space

-Flexible teaching rooms and function spaces for com-munity courses, groups and societies

-Spaces for homecare and childcare exchange services for resident migrant women, their families and the wider community

-On site easily accessible play, leisure and sports facilities, catering for varying community require-ments and needs, with single sex and private exercise spaces

-Library with community curating of cultural and lan-guage collections with public and private reading rooms

-Protected private and public gardens with small scale community crop cultivation projects

-Minimise energy consumption and harvest solar, wind and vibrational energy from the site to cater for in-creased energy consumption of new facilities

Services, spaces and Requirements:

Back GardensBalcony garden spaces on all floors of the three towersMicro wind-farm facadeOpenable extensions to existing living roomsSolar privacy curtains

ChildcareAccess from within towersBaby nurseryIndoor soft play space for 1-6 year-olds with adjoin-ing enclosed outdoor deckClimbing and adventure play for 7-11 year-oldsSmall kitchen with dining areaAdult and children’s toiletWashing and baby changing roomOutdoor skate park space for teenagers

HomeCareAccess from within towersLounge and dining roomGames roomEnclosed outdoor garden/terraceSmall kitchen with dining area Bathroom with bath/shower facilitiesAdjoining to teaching space for courses

Fitness CentreAccess from within towersSingle sex changing roomsEnclosed women-only gym spaceMixed gym spaceCurtained games deckChildren’s play area

Lounge and Drop-InMixed soft-furnished loungeWomen-only soft-furnished loungeHidden garden spacesKitchen facilitiesAccess from within towers for residents and from Harrington Square for neighbourhood

LibraryMain collection spaceReception and Issue DeskLarge public reading roomSmall private reading roomsTeaching spaces for between 5-30 student class sizesComputer roomTeaching resources storage

OfficesSite office for community-buildFacilites anagement and maintenance officesAdjoining to women’s loungeConnected to all facilities

GardensOpen public gardenPrivate raised garden spacesVertical spice and vegetable gardens

improve social living spaces on a gradient from

private to public

give opportunity for increased social interac-tion between neighbours

set up a network of time and

labour share and exchange through

established connections

give access to-specialised

social and com-munity spaces for specific

community needs

social housing

extend existing kitchen and living room

spaces opened up to neighbours

create new garden spaces for social en-counters and connect towers

provide spaces within existing

towers for childcare and

home care exchange

construct li-brary, play and exercise centre, teaching rooms, gardens and com-

muntiy hall

Key Project Stages

“there are children running around making so much noise. I am scared to let them play outside. In-stead they play indoors and fight with each other; sometimes that can really stress you out – I can’t

stand too much noise, my head just heats up”

“back in bangladesh she could just pop round to all her friends’ house and they did washing and swimming and stuff to-gether but here she stays at home. i think thats why she got depressed”

“i think that it’s true that men have taken

that space so it really doesn’t leave very much room for women to be

able to use the space”

“My mum. She’s joined the gym recently. Every day she comes back and she’s

just like so excited. Oh I did this at the gym today. She gets to socialise ”

“a lot of these ladies go to sewing classes to learn how to sew. With my mum – She suffers from depression so it’s a way to escape and socialise and just get away from everything like just moping around at home and just

thinking”

“more and more these ladies are be-ginning to be allowed to take advan-

tage of these things like the classes, the gyms, opportunities to

socialise and get out there and that”

“she would always be laughing with the other village ladies

when they went to the pond [back in bangladesh] but there’s no-

where to do that here”

“i was very lonely when i got here, at home with just my baby. now i have some friends but i

only see them at the [hopscotch asian women’s] centre”

comments on problems with access to public space and services and social isolation from local bangladeshi women

Ampthill Square Estate, Hampstead Road, LondonSite Location Plan 1:2500

ampthill square estate

euston station

ampthill square community facility

hampstead road

mornington crescentstation

The site is positioned on the junction between Hampstead Road (A600) and Harrington Square (a400) in Somers Town, Camden.The existing 21-storey 1960s residential tower blocks overlook the trainlines leading into Eusa-ton Station. The project will be focused in and around the these blocks.

crampt, under-used balcony spaces

site railings and locks

towers overlooking railways

design site issues to be addressed

small windows

under-used communal space

oxenholm

dalehead

gillfoot

Site: ampthill square estate, hampstead road, London

somers town

The project is sited in and around existing local authority and ex-local authority housing in three high-rise tower blocks (Gillfoot, Oxenholm and Dalehead) in Ampthill Square Estate, Hampstead Road, Somers Town.

ampthill square estate

HS2 high speed rail demolition

current

proposed hs2 route

ampthill square estate

ampthill square community centre

buildings for demolition

site

The proposed HS2 route from London Euston to Bir-ming ham Moor Street is set demolish Ampthill Square Estate’s current community centre and children’s playground.The UK Department of Transport will be responsi-ble for funding replacement of both facilities, as well as compensation to Camden Council for public land that is to be lost from the perimeter of the site.Construction is not set to commence until 2016. Consultation processes are currently underway however to determine when compensation can be given.Though the trains will be travelling at low speeds past the site, ground-bourne vibrations as well as mechanical noise from motors, fans and ancillary equipment on the trains as well as will contibute to the current noise pollution on the site. This should also be a consideration for the structural scheme.

estate land for demolition

playground

ampthill square community centre

playground

use and effects of communal spaces in housing and environmental social well-being

completelypublicsharedspace

smaller enclosed shared space

forced interaction

withdrawal and

avoidance

brings strangers close to

home

use and effects of communal spaces in housing

open to everyone

and anyone

no feeling of purpose

or ownership of space

allows in-teraction only when desired

spaces left unused

crime in disused spaces

comfortable setting to

meet neighbours

good community relation-

ships

openly observed

interaction

isolation

unease and discomfort

fear of using spaces

spaces used and inhab-ited regu-

larly

open to smaller

groups at a time

more human-scale and specific use spaces

less intimi-dating, more attractive

spaces

more private interaction

protected social spaces

feeling of security

natural surveillance

non-specific programme or

use

Private-Public Gradient of Space

creating specific use inhabitable social spaces

private...............................public

open space split into smaller shared spaces to create more private social environments

extending private socialspaces out into shared deck gardens

current fenced-off area

under-used in-between spaces

existing

proposed

intimidating overlooked public space

limited neighbour access creates feeling of safety in social interactions

green spaces open to neighbourhood remain overlooked for security

specific use spaces to make social spaces into a destination and cater for community’s needs

in-between and under-used spaces

making disused and transitory spaces into destinations

unsused rooftop space

connecting cores

ground floor entrance halls

open green space

improve social living spaces on a gradient from

private to public

give opportunity for increased social interac-tion between neighbours

set up a network of time and

labour share and exchange through

established connections

give access to-specialised

social and com-munity spaces for specific

community needs

social housing

extend existing kitchen and living room

spaces opened up to neighbours

create new garden spaces for social en-counters and connect towers

provide spaces within existing

towers for childcare and home care exchange

construct li-brary, play and exercise centre, teaching rooms, gardens and com-

muntiy hall

Project Stages

Order of project interventions, ambitions and Construction

Step 1: Improving the Existing

+ + ++ + +

tower structure and proposed facade structure

supports floor slabs structure facade with plastic cladding

new facade structure hung from main structure

Tensegrity Systems

Testing lightweight tensile facade support systems

shared balcony spaces

extended private living rooms

retractable living room wall

hanging tensile structuremicro wind turbines

garden trellis

living room extension

connecting balcony spaces

retractable living room wall opens social space to neighbours

greenhouse/ kitchen extension in winter and open garden in (nice days) in summer

Supports attach to existing carbon fibre-reinforced columns

green wall gardening trellis

Interventions in the existing -working plan 1:100

Flat Retrofit Scheme-working plan 1:200

existing structure

underpin existing foundations-

mini piling machine fits into ground floor to reinforce tower’s existing

foundations

concrete supports reinforced with frp

wrapping

additional floors constructed

Renovations floor-by-floor from top

down balcony extension cantilever supports fixed to newly re-inforced concrete

columns

roof truss struc-ture rested on col-umns and tensioned cables support bal-cony spaces (floor

by floor)

floor structure and new living room amd kitchen facades in-

serted

Order of Interventions into the Existing

underpinning foundtations, FRP einforcement of struc-ture, demolition and insertion into the existing flats

Flat Process of Construction

floor-by-floor process of flat renovations

existing structure

strip plastic cladding

remove existing balcony walls

reinforce columns with frp fabric wrapping

demolish living room wall (insert temporary block-ing facade) and Fix steel balcony cantilever sup-ports to existing rein-

forced columns

fix tensile cable network from roof truss to beams

(spreading load across whole structure)

lay steel-frame flooring tray

Install Sliding wall rail system and panels

winter- low winter sun reaches inside flats

solar energy gathered by day is used to light

spaces at night

summer sun

winter sun

sight

line

summer- balconies provide shading from direct

sunlight

ambient light

tower skins allow daylight to penetrate

library, reading rooms and teaching spaces shaded from

direct sunlight

ambient light

ambient light

balconies block view of rail tracks from inside

flats

lighting 1:500

Light and Shade Strategy

new balcony spaces provide shad-ing to southern-facing facades, where the spaces are deeper than north-facing facades1:500 at A3

Energy Harvesting

Energy harvested and scavenged from in and around site

Vibrational energy harvesting from adjacent trainlines

Solar Fabrics- photovol-taic strips could be wo-ven into skins and cur-tains

Micro wind turbines along balconies and on rooftops harvest wind en-ergy on a small scale, adding minimal extra weight and wind load on the building structure (efficiency of system -a possible issue)

Thermal and Sound insulation

Lightweight indoor ceiling and wall cladding and exte-rior skin systems dampen sound within towers and pro-vide thermal insulation

Step 2: Connecting the Towers and Proving new Services

Landscape between towers

Spaces cut into and rise out of formed landscape in communal space

Working Section

Each tower provides connections between spaces and holds a programme1:200 at A1

Working Overall Plan

Connecting towers with new spaces and programmes1:200 at A1

Elevated garden decks

Communal deck spaces connect towers and programmes at different levels

wall and land to be demolished

constructing a landscape with removed earth

recycling bricks in structure

Material to construct Landscape

recycling demolised brick wall and re-moved earth to construct the new land-scape and a new visual barrier to the trainlines

lattice steel frame structure gives rigidity

skins woven into and tensioned from framework

New Tower Frameworks

New steel bar structures support elevated gardens con-necting towers and provide enclosure for protected programmes

structure could be guyed with steel cables to provide additional strength under wind loading

structure spreads load on ground through splayed structural members

green facade encloses communal gardens, cleans air and pro-vides habitats for wildlife

layered fabrics provide visual privacy whilst allowing light to penetrate

quilted facade provides acoustic privacy and thermal insulation

Dressed Facades

facades dressed by the community using different materials according to required performance of spaces

Framework Structure References

Lightweight framework and tensile structures and skin cladding

Working 3D Model

Showing Communal deck spaces connecting towers and programmes at different levels

steel frame towers en-close private func-tions, circulation, fire escape and ser-vices

raised decks connect towers and provide shared outdoor space

decks enclose existing trees