The project could be on the saving of social housing across the UK.
- The use of interesting architectural design (brutalist) within social housing
- The power of architectural design within social housing
- Social housing within a community - intentions behind social housing.
- why people living there
- Looking at social housing as a whole but through the lens of Byker Wall and the intentions of Ralph Ekrines designs, and the influence of European design.
- a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds - creates micro-climate within estate + noise canceled from road
- Look-book documenting how Byker Wall conforms to the European design and another documenting how locals interact with the spaces created through this design.
- Acetate film over photos from Byker Wall
Research
(2017) - It’s been named the UK and Ireland’s best neighbourhood - it’s got top schools, friendly neighbours and community art classes - alongside high levels of poverty.
Byker is best known for Erskine’s Byker Wall, an 1,800-home estate of 9,500 people, which is among the best regarded of Britain’s postwar council estates. It provides a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds, creating a microclimate within the estate while protecting it from the noise of major roads outside.
Ralph Erskine’s Grade II-listed council estate, built to replace the old Byker neighbourhood, is an examplar of design and public participation – and proof that it is rarely in the interests of people to demolish their original homes
Byker – a tight-knit, 17,000-strong, working-class community of Victorian back-to-back terraces – was demolished. It made way for a wholesale redevelopment of the area, the centrepiece of which was architect Ralph Erskine’s Byker Wall estate.
Though it has been long since razed, the original Byker community lives on through the work of Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, a Finnish photographer and film-maker who moved into the old Byker in 1969. Over a 12-year period, she catalogued the community as it faced the wrecking ball. In 2003, Konttinen returned to make a new film, documenting the lives of Byker Wall residents over a period of six years. The contrast with her previous film is immediate, not least because Erskine’s estate, now characterised by security doors and intercoms, is so different from the narrow streets and back-to-backs of the old Byker.
Today, Byker is best known for Erskine’s Byker Wall, an 1,800-home estate of 9,500 people, which is among the best regarded of Britain’s postwar council estates. It provides a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds, creating a microclimate within the estate while protecting it from the noise of major roads outside.
English Heritage awarded Byker a Grade II listing in 2007, defending it from the swathe of council-estate demolitions currently devastating communities across Britain
Erskine, a deeply committed socialist and Quaker that was heavily influenced by Swedish social democracy, made very considerable efforts to involve the original Byker community in the design of the new development. This was done through a pilot scheme involving 46 households working with architects in the design of their future homes and in the old Byker, where Erskine leased a former funeral parlour as an office and drop-in centre.
Design aspects to work from:
- Byker Wall was an exemple of both design and an attempt to involve the community in the changes planned for them by those in power. That it failed in so many ways reveals that it is rarely in the interests of communities to demolish the homes they live in.
- Contrast between the old Byker neighbourhood in to now. (community)
- The fierce resistance of the majority of residents, who desperately want to stay in their homes. (Esates all over UK being demolished - postwar slum clearance)
- a mile-and-a-half-long barrier to North Sea winds - creates micro-climate within estate + noise cancelled from road
Brutal North by Simon Phipps
During the post-war years, the North of England saw the creation of some of the best modernist architecture in the world. This photographic book captures those buildings.
Orbikular Type Specimen by Cotypefoundry & Pentagram
INteresting type positioning - a layering of type & colour creates an interesting composition that you can follow around the page like a map of sorts - Byker Wall has similar bright colours - could be adapted in a similar way - maybe in the form of a map or a publication
Our Visit to Byker Wall
Emelia Rodriguez (LAU Graphic Design)
William Finn (LAU Photography)
Interesting characteristics of Byker Wall:
- Colourful - Byker Wall is segmented into blocks of flats and bungalow houses that all have the same colourway for the 'section'/block they are in. All the different sections when viewed together gave off the impression of a holiday camp of sorts which was colour coordinated to categories different areas to the 'camp'.
- Building materials - Along with the flats and bungalows being colour coordinated, there was a mix of metal and wood frame (both painted to align with the colour of the paint on the roofing etc.); all of which follow irregular angles from the builds, these created a visual maze of sorts that was interlaced between multiple house and flats, at different heights.
- Angles - Nearly every bungalows structure tapered off at odd angles and slopes that were all irregular and unique to that one building, creating an architectural landscape within this estate that zig-zagged and opened up (breaks between the buildings to a view of the skyline) in unexpected areas.
- Byker School - There is a school built into the tallest structure in Byker Wall Estate, further establishing the strong sense of community in the very uniquely designed estate.
Outcomes:
- Map - A map of sorts presenting the architecture of Byker Wall Estate. This map wouldn't so much directly guide your round Byker but instead would incorporate elements of design that were prominent in certain areas of the estate (i.e. sloping corrugated metal roof, communal metal & mesh roof balcony, painted wood fencing alongside metal fencing, windows placed at irregular distances on houses, protruding bricks in a decorative form on the building) all sourced from William Finn's photography.
- Publication - A publication documenting the architecture of the estate, the communal aspects and aims of the architect who made it, interviews from residents, and illustrations based on the structure of the build, and own photography from our trip to Byker Wall.
Discussing with Emilia:
There are 9 sections to Byker Wall - so a rule of 9 could be incorporated into the design, with potentially 9 maps that would document each of these 9 areas. With the physical outcome, the different maps could incorporate imagery (our photo's) from those areas and then be screen printed over using block forms/shapes that have been abstracted from the shapes within the buildings. Then taking this digitally the map could incorporate interactive/motion elements when you enter this area, with the blocks form moving and interacting when you view them digitally.
Could this be used as a tool to form a connection between social hosing art - how can we make this map as adaptable as possible - architecture and art intertwining.
Initial Ideas
(Type)
Bitmapped Imagery from Byker Wall
Here, some bitmapped imagery. This stylistic choice was made as the contrast of textures/finish to the use of block colours in the collages would create a compelling composition which would have more depth to it. Different frequency of strokes and dots were use in the bitmaps to create a contrast in texture.
(digital Collage)
Here, some initial ideas presenting the contrast between bitmapped imagery of Byker Wall estate with block colour forms/shapes which have been made using the irregular angles from the buildings in the estate. The chosen colours are representative of the colours of the buildings throughout he estate. With the aim of presenting 9 maps documenting the 9 'sectors' of Byker Wall estate, the design language across the maps/posters has to be unified, but the use of shapes/forms will be dependent on the use of particular imagery from those chosen areas.
Brush drips in background take away from the foreground imagery and the block colours - could experiment with a more hand painted stroke as seen above ^^.
Initial Ideas (analogue Collage)
Experimenting with collage using cut up imagery from Byker Wall with coloured paper, looking for interesting compositions and how imagery can be layered up one another while still keeping its relevance and authenticity to Byker Wall
Digital Developed Collage
Developed Further
With the aim of creating 9 final poster designs to be place in the 9 'parts' of Byker Wall, developments revolved around the accentuating of the colour within Byker Wall, predominantly the red green and blue seen throughout the estate.
Colour palette
Final stills and Motion versions
With the aim of presenting the unique angular forms and contrasting building materials in the Byker Wall Estate; we made 9 final collages which accentuate the colours, irregular angular forms and contrasting building materials seen through the 9 sectors of Byker Wall estate. Using either full bleed imagery or segmented imagery layered over one another, these compositions present the key aesthetic prompts we interpreted from our visits and further research into Byker Wall.
Moving Image
Same collage but now with motion. The Byker Walls architecture and colour scheme lends itself to collage, with these motion designs further present the vibrant colour scheme of the estate, and how it's interwoven design creates a vibrant canvas of colours.
Final In Context
Using the app Artivive, we able to create interactive videos of the motion collages. With the purpose of placeing these posters in an around the nine sectors to Byker Wall Estate, when the user films the poster (still imagery), the motion design is activated adding another dimension to the design.
