WHAT ARCHITECTS DO EXHIBITION AND WORKSHOP

Hello everyone,

Thanks for all the support on the site and elsewhere. All the hard work is now coming together and over the coming days we will be putting together the exhibition at the Morgan Arcade. Here are the details for the opening day:

Opening Monday 4th October 6pm-8pm
Unit B, Morgan Arcade, Cardiff

The exhibition will continue from 5th - 15th October 11am-5pm.

On Saturday 9th October, we'll host an all day public workshop and open day. Come and meet the young Design Champions and their architectural mentors, who will be available for Chat with the Champions and Ask the Architect sessions, and architects will be working on a mystery project with a three-hour deadline in an 'Architects in Action' session in the afternoon.

All are welcome so come and drop in.

CASE STUDY : STAFF

At Loyn & Co, an important part of the architecture produced is the working relationships and heirarchy in the studio. reflecting the open nature of the studio at Loyn & Co, there is no real staff heirarchy. Architects may have more or less experience than one another but all views and ideas are treated as equally important.

The encouragement to share ideas and colaborate between architects has helped build Loyn & Co's high standard of architecture. Ideas regarding details however big or small can be expressed between the least and the most experienced.

In the time I have spent at Loyn & Co this heirarchy has become very evident to me, as everyone around the office chips in, communicates and shares their ideas and criticisms of projects.

CASE STUDY : STUDIO

Loyn & Co's studio based practice could easily be compared to that of Cardiff university. This also reflects the practices's close relationship with cardiff university. Chris lectures there and they have a well established student work placement scheme.

This creative atmosphere provided by the studio has allowed students such as those in the picture above fit in well at Loyn & Co

The whole studio is packed with files, models and paper. Folders on projects often overlap between two desks and this helps to build the feeling that everyone is working towards a common goal.

CASE STUDY : LOYN & CO STUDIO

An environment in which to create great architecture: comparing the traditional 'office' to a studio based environment.

The layout of the Loyn & Co office is vastly differant to my pre-concived idea of an architects office. When I originally went to interview for a work experience I was unsure whether it was even an architects as it is situated in a residential house. It is this location that reflects the personal and bespoke nature of the architecture that is produced by Loyn & Co. But what are the benefits of this small scale nature versus a large, corporate office block?

This photo is a classic idea of what an architects office looks like. It is quite a contrast with Loyn & Co.



-Intergration of architects in a creative environment

The studio at Loyn & Co is geared entirely towards the process of creating personal and detailed architecture. The busy nature of having all architects based in one room creates a strong collaberative and communicative atmosphere.

-Client specific projects

The very client specific nature of the projects that Loyn & Co work on are influenced heavily by the studio. As most of the Loyn & Co clients will never have worked with an architect before, any concerns they have have to be dealt with. Loyn & Co guide the client through the build process and are able to achieve this as there are always multiple architects available. Any problems can be discussed openly between architects to be resolved swiftly.
-Communication between projects

As in most projects at Loyn & Co there are multiple architects involved, the open studio allows for problems or ideas to be addressed immediatly and worked into a design. Even at the tiniest scale, ideas such as differant light fittings or the materials used for the guttering on a project can be discussed and included in the design process. This helps foster the attention to detail and style that are a key theme in every building produced by Loyn & Co.
-Pleasant and busy atmosphere

As it is a studio and everyone is in the same room, there is a very relaxed atmoshere at Loyn & Co. There are lots of inside jokes and things everyone can immediatly relate too. This allows architects to feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and ideas on projects.

-Fosters strong friendships and working relationships

A prime example of the close friendship shared within the Loyn & Co team is the fact that they shared Christmas dinner at Chris's house. This comeradery allows for a focused approach to the architecture developed within the company.
-Keeps a level heirachy which seperate offices could not achieve

An important point to note about Loyn & Co is the lack of a heirachy or 'chain of command' in the office. This is something that Chris Loyn places much on. Even though there are varying levels of experience amoungst the architects, everyone is treated equally. This strongly aides the creative and collaberative process as no-one feels insignificant in the part they play.

DAY 7_DETAILED DESIGN

As a project develops, the Davies Sutton provide further information for the contractor to allow them to construct the building. The images below show the detailed drawings that the practice would produce at this stage:

DAY 7_SITE ANALYSIS

Before an architect can design on a site, they need to understand the importance of the place where they are designing. This is a proposed scheme for a site next to Pembroke Castle.

Proposed Elevation


Proposed Plan

They used a variety of methods to analyse the site. The site analysis drawings are shown below.

DAY 7_CONCEPT DESIGN AND TENDERING - NURSERY BUILDING, BUTE PARK

The Nursery Building is located in Bute Park, within the external nursery complex close to the River Taff, as you can see in the image above.


The building is located in the south-east of the complex, to make most of the existing paths in the park and allow the roof of the new building to face south.


The main concept was to create a 'secret garden' behind the new garden wall. A courtyard adjoins a new glazed street separating the building from the garden wall. The architect was keen to focus on the views into the nursery building whilst keeping the park elevation private.


To enter the 'secret garden' the architect was keen to have just one opening in the wall, within which a new, ornate, timber carved gate is to be installed with illustrations produced by craftsmen carved into the niches of the gate.

Having produced formal drawings, the information needs to be compiled together with the specification and supporting documents to allow potential builders to price the project. This is called a tender package. The video above shows the procedure taken to compile this information together.