Threads Through Sheffield

Jomon Pit-Dwelling, Prehsitoric Period

Japanese Architecture, Alex, W. (Studio Vista, London, 196 p.49

Pantadome by Kawaguchi amd Arata Isozaki, Barcelona

Engineering a New Architecture, Robbin, T. (Yale University Press, London,1996) p.48

Separated by over 5000 years and located on opposite sides of the planet these two forms of shelter still have a lot in common. Both use a lowered ‘pit’ to increase internal height for less structure as well as helping thermal and acoustic properties. Both are constructed on the ground and then lifted into place, minimising error and reducing the amount of effort, energy and time involved in construction. And most importantly both forms of construction are reversible, i.e. they can be deconstructed by following the same procedure in reverse; allowing the components to be re-used or recycled.

Two forms of provisional construction seperated by 5 millennia.

Briton Philip Astley (Modern Circus’s Godfather) in 1782 was banned by the French authorities in Paris from producing any act not performed on horse back.

“These foresight scenarios are based on plausible future changes in social values and governance systems.”(Hillman, M. ‘How We Can Save the Planet’, Penguin Group, London, 2004) p47

“Architectural drawings have a variety of uses: to instruct, inform, indulge, confuse, confirm, congratulate and console”

Cedric Price

(In ‘Envisioning Architecture - Drawings from the Museum of Modern Art’ (Museum of Modern Art, New York) p.145 ISBN: 0-807070-011-1)

Good old Mr Price seems to be back in vogue lately, but like Kevin Keegan he did manage to create some timeless quotes, although perhaps I can add some more uses of the architect’s drawing; some good, some bad and some down right ugly.

Architectural drawings have a variety of further uses: to imagine, dream, storytell, collaborate, play, perfect, intimidate, control and destroy

If we allign (albiet theoretically) the Circus Industry with the Construction Industry, some interesting questions arise.

Firstly, looking at individual roles one could question who is the ‘Ringleader’ in the construction industry nowadays? was it ever the architect? the builder? the project manager or even the client? And secondly who takes the greatest risk? the acrobatic construction worker running up and down the scaffolding? the plate spinning project manager? the juggling project architect or the lion tamer client? The reality is that risk has become much more than the risk associated with death defying stunts, it has infiltrated it self across disciplines and takes many forms.

Circus is well used to dealing with all types of risk. Although, unlike the construction industry, it manages to make do with the high levels of health and safety regulations and still create profound moments of culture. If only the construction industry could take some lead from where Circus dares to venture, the resultant built environment may then hold some of the magical qualities Circus delivers.

The increasing poor record of construction related injuries points to the need for change:

“There were 77 fatal injuries to workers in construction in 2006/07, a 28% increase on the previous year. Of these 77 fatalities, 50 were employees and 27 were self-employed, compared to 43 and 17 in 2005/06.

23 deaths (30%) were due to falls from a height and 16 (21%) were due to being hit by a moving or falling object.

In 2006/07, 32% of all worker deaths were in the construction industry. The rate of fatal injury to workers in construction rose to 3.7 per hundred thousand workers, from 3.0 per hundred thousand workers in 2005/06.”

http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction.htm

Two stills from Fellini’s cinematic masterpiece : La Strada (1954) [Literal translation from Italian - The Street / Road]

I met with Go! Sheffield just before Christmas to discuss ways of celebrating the Tinsley Cooling Towers and hopefully to create a means by which to remember them after they are gone. They have decided to put some effort into creating limited Cooling Tower memorabilia and selling it from a stall somewhere prominant in the city centre. One such product I am proposing is a ‘Make your own Cooling Towers’ paper lantern kit:

“With a little patience, you too can create your own cooling towers, to stand watch over you like the real ones have done over the last 70 years for Sheffield. Simply cut out the individual strips and attach to one another by placing a little glue on the tabs and overlaying to form the beautiful curved tower. You will require 32 strips (4 X A3 cut out sheets) to form one tower. Good luck”Tinsley Cooling Tower Cut Out Sheet

Sketch ideas for further work with Trish O Shea and Simon Birch in Leeds on a reciprocal theatre production, inspired by their short film Residue. The work will deal with questioning the body in space, and the existing interaction between the performer and audience.Work in progress

Nathan ColeyPigeon Lofts, Glasgow(1997, Slide Installation with audio)Nathan Coley

“Sheffield a city on the move…” can be heard in the opening scenes of the cult 1997 film: The Full Monty, where a 1970’s council promotional video is applauding the great steps into the future the South Yorkshire city was making. Little did they know how literal this is turning out to be…”Global climate change is also leading to changes in the seasonal behaviour and geographical location of fauna and flora. The change in temperature is equivalent to the UK moving south at 20 metres a day.”(Hillman, M. ‘How We Can Save the Planet’, Penguin Group, London, 2004)Rose Migration - Sheffield to Milan in 100 yearsThe map is a doctored google earth image which illustrates how far Sheffield would move if travelling at 20 metres a day.100 years can be considered quite some time, especially when you think where human kind was 100 years ago in 1908. None the less, the environment is changing on a daily basis and we must face the fact that we are directly and indirectly responsible for the last 100 years substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions, but more importantly, also for the next 100 years and beyond of emissions.Even though some environmental disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis can happen in an instant, changes to climate happen relatively slowly which means that any ‘answer’ to climate change won’t be seen over night as some greenhouse gases take hundreds of years to naturally disappear from our atmosphere. Unfortunately the chain of events that has led to this current state started over 100 years ago in the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, but carries on today in ever more energy intensive lifestyles. Further demands on the 21st Century Western lifestyle may mean a city like Sheffield may have Milan’s climate sooner than we think, if a collective response isn’t implemented immediately.