The Competition organised by the RIBA journal with support from Sterling OSB was to design a retrofit project within an existing unused department as a medium sized secondary school. The chosen site for the school is the now abandoned flag ship John Lewis store in central Birmingham opened in 2018. It is located above new street station having excellent transport links, and in close proximity to a large number of proposal residential and mixed-use schemes that will increase demand on local education provision.

Where the retrofit of older buildings is a complex conversation, we felt interested in seeing how flexible an almost brand-new building that is partly embedded within a retail space within the city centre might be. In this case two sides of the building up to the third floor is linked to the old palisades shopping centre above Birmingham New Street station. In addition to this the plan is a deep plan rectangle with only a small atrium suitable for large scale retail but less applicable for creating a range of small and medium cellular spaces.

Our concept was to infest, carve and burrow through this generic box populating it with a series of teaching clusters organised in a cellular manner that can accommodate different scales of spaces, levels of enclosure and provide a stimulating interconnected environment with an informal way of giving each floor a level of organisation and hierarchy, that opens up the interior void allowing light in. To achieve this the proposal is to insert a series of prefabricated timber units, and walls that can be slotted together in a variety of ways whilst largely maintaining the existing external fabric. The consistent timber floor and CNC OSB soffit and softens each level whilst providing a good acoustic performance that can be modified for different requirements by altering its perforated pattern. These modular yet flexible system proposes a level of reconfigurability which could act as a template for other retrofit school projects, in other large unoccupied buildings.

The school is organised around the enlarged aggregated void, with clusters of classroom spaces wrapping the external perimeter for light, a number of hard points anchored to the existing lift cores help organise these clusters. Vertically the school uses the existing stepped access and entrance links for a first-floor podium level acting as the school’s forum, it forms the main circulation hub, with specialist labs and workshops on this level. The public parts of the building including auditorium, refectory and exhibition hall sit at street level giving a dedicated public face to the school, but linking up into the forum level allows easy use for the school’s everyday use.

The only external addition is a series of glazed pavilions with a linking roof and canopy which provides a multi-level external social and sports area at the top of the building, with views out over the city centre as well as back down into the belly of the school.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Location: Birmingham, UK

Status: Competition Entry

Value: N/A

Competition Proposal for the annual Toronto beach “Winter Stations” Event. The single stage open competition was launched in 2014 and allows for a series of small scale temporary proposals located on the shoreline centred around the unused lifeguard stations.

“RADIANCE”

This years theme was based on the concept of Radiance. We were inspired by the theme of “radiance” as two fold. Firstly as a quality of difference beyond the ordinary and mundane, special, inviting of attention or speculation. Secondly the human response to prompting a reflective state, security meditative and calm. We sought to create an artifact that celebrates these qualities and allows people to engage at multiple distances and times of the day.

From a distance appears it appears as an sinuous and seamless alien object cast against the horizon with the shoreline as a backdrop. It appears as a glowing edifice the edges are deliberately curved reflective and unbroken thus creating a soft undefined silhouette when viewed in the low winter sun.

Close up it provides a secluded spot for individuals and small groups to sit and reflect on their surroundings and the wider landscape. The projects ribbons wrap around people forming a secure backdrop to allow a moment to stop look up and outward to the future. Its reflective external surface prompts a playful interaction for all ages, and its continuous geometry and colour internal surfaces constantly shift with the changing winter weather.

Design: Dave Edwards Design Ltd

Client: Toronto

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Status: Competition

Value: $15,000 CDN Contract Value

An series of design studies for a North London Edwardian mansion block apartment. Due to the nature of the property structural and plumbing changes are to be minimised so proposals are limited to interior alterations and design features only.

The property is a large three bedroom flat on the third floor of a leafy north London street, it benefits from great views and and generous ceiling heights but is in need of modernisation and refurbishment with an overall design strategy for the whole apartment which is a mixture of some period features, and some later unsympathetic repairs / ad hoc redecoration over many years.

The Bathroom is the first room in the series which has deficiencies in the layout and location of shower / bath next to the window sill a lack of space for planned storage, and an unwelcome mix of painted and tiled walls.

It is a small room so there is a need to maximise the sense of space, this has a benefit of within a limited budget there is substantial scope for a range of good quality materials and some bespoke design fixtures to be considered. The design strategy is to create a new walk-in area for the shower away from the window and build a wrap around wall to provide a sense of enclosure / shelving.

On the external wall the existing WC location is maintained but the proposal is to build out an integrated storage for new sink / WC combination, providing a clean wall and work surface against the window, concealing all those things a bathroom requires. The walls are filleted at the corners, to soften the space, and finished consistently floor to ceiling with no visible skirtings for a flush and clean appearance. The dropped and recessed ceiling will conceal mechanical fixtures and new lighting.

This project is at a schematic design phase with ongoing discussions about the material specifications and proposed layout.

Design: Dave Edwards Design Ltd

Client: Private

Location: Islington, N19 London, UK

Status: Concept / Schematic Design

Value: £5,000- £10,000

evolutionary processes to create forms inspired by natural phenomena and integrated into the landscape. We were inspired in our proposal by the biological growth of fungi and plants both as a design process and to inspire the proposed form of the tree house, we imagined that the form grows out from the landscape wrapping up and around the trunk and up into the canopy. We were Interested in creating platforms at different levels cascading around the chosen tree, echoing the way fungus grows around large trees in the woodlands.

These platforms provide a series of experiences to allow small groups of people to linger, sit, and look out over the gardens benefiting from the elevated position, and at the top to be within the old trees canopy.

The form of the interlocking volumes again recalls the form of fungus at a macro scale. At the smaller scale we look to the cellular the pattern and organisation of these moulds to create non cartesian and adaptive patterns that will cast shadows inspired by the pine trees canopy but at a different scale and frequency.

Accessibility.

Our treehouse seeks to allow people up into the canopy and look /touch the canopy, and get views out over the gardens. Thus exploring the project in three dimensions is important. However we have configured the proposal to create a range of spaces below and around that also invite exploration and engagement for those unable to climb, the space below the principal tree house is conceived as a grotto to which people can go beneath. The choice of textured and charred timber will encourage physical touch, the choice of charred material will add the extra layer of smell and texture prompting touch of both the treehouse and the Pinetree.

Responsible Materiality.

The structure is subject to reuse fundamentally temporary thus we are proposing an almost solely timber structure, without the use of fixed footings, and constructed in a way that can be easily assembled and disassembled or components repaired or replaced in the event of damage.

CNC cutting can maximise efficiency of material usage. Where mechanical fixings are required we aim that these are taken from standard stock and could be reused once the project is removed. The structure aims to avoid the using too many high intensity and complex processes to both fabricate and build to the project. We shall consider the location for partial fabrications and assemblies to minimise transportation impact.

End of Life / Second life.

The project is expected to last longer than the proposed 7months in the Gardens, to protect the timber structure we propose charring the timber to provide a weather proof finish to protect the treehouse from degradation. The project is designed as a system of reconfigurable and expandable elements that could be deconstructed and redeployed as a whole system, partial elements or expanded to fulfil new purposes as shelter, viewing platforms, or temporary performance and display spaces within Kew Gardens or locally along the Thames path. In the eventual end of life, the timber can be broken down and recycled.

Design: Dave Edwards Design Ltd

Client: Kew Gardens

Location: London, UK

Status: Competition

Value: £150,000

Design: Dave Edwards Design Ltd

Client: London Festival of Architecture

Location: London, UK

Status: Competition

Value: £15,000

DESIGN BRIEF:

The brief of the competition was to develop the wider masterplan and architectural identity for the 1000 tree estate a wooded area outside Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China which includes a large number of protected old growth trees. The aim is to encourage a new form of lower impact ecological tourism providing a retreat and space to relax away from the sprawling metropolitan areas in this part of China.

DESIGN CONCEPT:

The project concept was inspired by the idea of the retreat buildings as a collection of unique objects scattered throughout the forest landscape, visually distinct from each other and yet connected, promoting exploration and wandering through the 1000 tree estate.

All the dwellings have a single architectural identity that is inspired by and merging with the existing landscape. It was important that the proposals be visually of a small scale, touching the ground lightly and be able to be adapted across the steeply contoured site maximizing those opportunities for views out into the landscape whilst maintaining privacy for people both inhabiting the manor both internally and when using external spaces which form a key part of each dwelling.

Our aim was to break up the silhouette of each dwelling down to the scale of the forest, to minimize their visual impact from a distance, by breaking up the units into room sized volumes, different types, form distinct clusters reflecting the spatial functions within. The architectural language was inspired by the collections of old bamboo rice baskets that are often stored together and come together in different shapes and sizes, bundled together unified by their common material and assembly.

These baskets are hand woven and while each one uses a similar fabrication process using the same material they are also uniquely crafted objects, with regional differences too. The design recalls this by each being a crafted bamboo object with subtle differences in density and texture, recalling both the form and texture of these baskets scattered across the forest landscape.

FORM AND MASSING:

The formal expression of the dwelling typologies is one of agglomeration different units are arranged as clusters of volumes defined by their function, these are arranged to provide 360 views of the surrounding landscape and are often open to the top to allow unobstructed views of the canopy and the night sky after dark.

By lifting the buildings off the ground to minimize impact on the surroundings this has the benefit of being able to deal with the complex topographic conditions of the site and also provides better views of the surrounding landscape from within the trees.

Transparency is important to connect people with the surrounding landscape but too much can be uncomfortable, we felt the building skin should act as a filter allowing a dappled light and views out but also providing shelter and a sense of privacy and protection from the landscape beyond.

The connectivity has an added benefit after dark with the internal lighting providing a glow out into the landscape providing a low level light for external activities and wayfinding along the pathways without resorting to large scale inclusion of external lamps in the forest.

MATERIALITY AND CONSTRUCTION:

The buildings are predominantly a bent bamboo pole framework bundled together maximizing the natural abundance and ecological benefits of a fast growing renewable material most often associated with scaffolding. Between the principal framing is a network of woven fibres that form an different densities and patterned screens according to location on the building envelope and orientation, these elements are more cut into flexible strips will be described not by a definitive end result but by the density required. Behind this is the glazing line, that provides thermal control where necessary these are often to be sliding screens allowing inhabitants the ability to open up the forest whilst maintaining some level of privacy and screening from outside through the external screens.

To minimize foundations simple screw piles will have precast footings tailored to each typology to lift the bamboo structure off the damp earth protecting it form degradation.

Floors are constructed of simple exposed bamboo poles radially arranged and layered to form platforms and floor plates.

BUILDING TYPOLOGIES

Each unit type is a distinct typology arranged around the different functions required for each building, whilst the buildings are arranged as separate functional volumes, the intersections allow for different spaces to flow into and borrow from each other forming an open plan arrangement that maintains views through the spaces and back into the landscape.

Boutique Hotel YD01

The Hotel is arranged around a central vertical lobby off which all public and rooms array it is orientated to face out onto the water with a number of south facing terraces at different levels providing views out over the whole estate, rooms look onto the water and each has a screened terrace behind the bamboo latticework façade.

Guesthouse YD08

The guest house we aimed to construct a building consisting of three volumes corresponding to the 3 core functions of the dwelling, it is arranged over two floors with an upper and lower seating area to allow people to relax collectively or individually. Each unit is accessed by a raised walk way and orientated towards to water maximizing views and sunshine.

Guest Villa YD09

The villa, we chose to break our own rules and embed the building more closely into the landscape, it is arranged as two storey dwelling with small external pool and separate annex building. The building is fully self-contained with some basic cooking and entertaining facilities, for a small group of people to join together in the evenings.

Hill Top Mansion YD11 – TYPE D

Whilst non-cartesian in its expression the mansion is traditionally arranged as a rural manor house with a central arrival hall with spaces arrayed off this with internalized smaller service spaces creating thresholds between the arrival hall and the outward looking main living spaces.

Hill Top Mansion YD13 – TYPE B

The smaller of the hillside mansion blocks is organized around a cloistered external courtyard and which provides the principal circulation, there is a separate annex building, with sleeping and bathing facilities that is embedded into the hillside, A small private pool is provided to allow for bathing and relaxing in the summer.

Treehouse YD16/17

The treehouse typology is defined as all treehouses by climbing, Access is provided by interconnected high level walkways that are deliberately meandering through the canopy rather than across the ground. Instead of rooms spaces are divided by level and connected by open stairs that double as seating points, the dwelling does not aim to be catered but provide the basic functions of dwelling, sleep, ablution and relaxation which encourages treehouse dwellers to go out and explore the manor.

Design: Dave Edwards Design Ltd

Client: Kaisan Holding Group / RIBA Shanghai

Location: Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, CN

Status: Competition

Value: Confidential

Our project aims to restore the external fabric of the church but retain the original silhouette in the landscape from a distance. We aimed to maintain openness from within the church and maintain key vistas out into the landscape currently offered and framed by the ruined state.

Our exterior is deliberately simple volume providing a series of viewing terraces at different levels out over the countryside. Where new vertical walls are inserted these are set back and glazed to maintain the connection to the village currently permitted around the church.

We wanted the new intervention to appear open and set apart from the existing heavy walls of the ruin be distinct but not totally alien so we proposed using off white sculpted ceramic to form appropriately large columns that frame and define the new structures outlines, the natural appearance of the ceramic creates a dialogue with the surrounding masonry context, but is sculpted into flutes and tubes that enhance the verticality of the church recalling a classical antiquity.

THE BALDACCHINO

We saw our main scope of intervention as internal and have been inspired by the alter pieces, fonts, and in particular Baldacchino that inhabit churches in Italy these provide the personality and identity to each local church, are highly ornamental and work to reconcile the human scale with that of the building.

In this form our proposal for a series of interventions that populate the church interior as pieces of highly ornamental furniture, culminating on the Baldacchino of Chiesa Diruta; located in the nave providing the new functions of a concert hall, contrasting in material and appearance to that of the surrounding massive stone walls.

JOURNEY INTO THE LIGHT

Baldacchino s typically inhabit a structure but are principally a covering over the alter often formed of fabric. Our proposal references this idea covering both the stage and the audience billowing and inviting people to look up as they move through around the space. It is highly perforated to allow light and shadow to be cast down through it into the church, causing the existing walls to become an ever-changing canvas of optical / shading effects.

The brief requires the reuse to celebrate a vertical exploration. Our baldacchino is formed as a series of ramps that spiral around the church allowing people to explore the church at all different levels and view and hear the performance from a wide variety of vistas, collectively or alone, here we sought to challenge the idea of listening to a concert as a static binary relationship and make a performance into a dynamic journey which can be viewed from multiple angles.

In this we again referenced religious history this time being inspired by the mythical journey of Dante up into the heavens, spiralling up through the space out of the darkness into the light, with music washing around as you ascend to the glazed roof at the top of the building.

Design: Dave Edwards Design Ltd

Client: Reuse the Fallen Church / Cheisa Durita

Location: Grottole, Italy

Status: Competition

Value: NFS

Through out 2020 the enforced lockdowns which have demanded people work from home, often characterized as positive with no need to commute, more time for ‘life admin’ or attending zoom meetings and writing emails from in bed, or the garden. The reality of computer screens/ cables and piles of paperwork, cluttering up kitchen tables, arguments over who gets the spare room for the next meeting have become a common, unavoidable feature of daily life. Many people’s homes in urban locations, sold on the basis of shared public space outside of the home, are simply not large enough to set up a home office, and that many office jobs consist more than just a computer screen and coffee space, but require a space for additional storage, space for books, and a decent amount of working room in addition to a place for a computer. This issue is of particular for university students in often very small cellular accommodation never intended for working, or children, who whether at ‘school’ or play tend to spread across any open plan space.

Another less common and longer-term feature of this unplanned working, is that typical residential typologies are not really configured for long periods of sedentary activity, ventilation and heating systems are inadequate, space to store and prepare food limited, and daylighting unsuited to working. We have chosen the context of a typical urban flat typology, to explore these ideas, whilst garden studios, and annex offices offer a solution to live/work they are not a viable option for many people due to the prohibitive costs of housing where space is at a premium.

Rather than considering the functions of live / work as being distinct spaces under one roof, our concept looks how living typologies might evolve to facilitate dynamic reconfigurability, whilst maintaining overall space standards, and focused on the longer-term shift toward mixed working, by which people might work 1-2 (working) days at week at home, gaining many of the benefits without the problems of isolation, interpersonal exchange and loneliness.

The three main features of this will include:

• Daylighting and Outlook

• Physical Comfort.

• Storage and Working Space.

Our proposal, seeks to dissolve boundaries between different spaces and allow users to reconfigure their living space, this can be done in real time at the end of a task or at the end of the day according to peoples own proclivities, we also feel that in the same way as the physical workspace is evolving away from a screen, desk, chair peoples home offices environment could include different locations to sit, stand, lie or slump altering during the day according to the requirements of a task at hand.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Davidson Award

Location: UK

Status: Speculative

Value: NFS

DESIGN CONCEPT

Our aim was to create a non-directional and open meeting spot that acts as a both sculptural landmark and facilitator for incidental gatherings, providing pockets of seating than are configured to maintain 2m spacing and avoid face to face contact. We thought to take this idea into the third dimension by stacking platforms at different levels to explore providing a refuge at low level and exposure for those extroverts at the summit.

We were inspired by the archetype of Pre–Columbian America the stepped pyramid, we took the stepped geometry and carved stone textures as something of the familiar but re-imagined it in scale and material to create something that is both recognisable responding to Mexico City’s older culture and simultaneously distinct from the historic reference.

The proposal can be reconfigured into smaller or larger configurations, each cassette is a self-contained unit and can be repeated or adapted to different locations and scales of public space. We imagine that this process of reconfiguration could be either organic by sharing the fabrication patterns or as part of pre-planned events.

CONSTRUCTION AND USE:

The pyramid is composed of a series of rectangular modular cassettes that are stacked up to form each step. The slight rotation of each subsequent step, creates a more varied experience as it ascends to the apex. The walls of each cassette are composed of a series of spaced timber bricks 300x50x120mm these can be CNC cut off-site, and create the ornamental textured pattern across the vertical surfaces of the steps. These are locked together with dowels which intersect at junctions forming each cassette into a rigid stackable element.

By shifting the outer plane of the bricks these form a relief pattern recalling the textured geometric carvings on the wall surfaces of both Mayan, and Aztec architecture. Due to the openings and complex patterns, it is difficult to apply graffiti, and its scale resists fire.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Arquine

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Status: Competition

Value: 100,000 PESOs

During the pandemic many local high streets have seen an increase in activity as more people have worked from home, one example that bucks this trend is Camden High Street, which as a place has gone from congested at weekends, to one of the quieter main streets, this is due in part to reduction in tourist numbers, collapse of events and hospitality sectors and office workers being at home. This heavy reliance as a tourist destination has often led to local residents avoiding the street at weekends, and whilst local parks and the canal have been busy the high street has remained deserted.

Camden Canopy is an infrastructural forest to act as a catalyst for locals to re-colonise Camden High Street. It consists of the installation in a series of freestanding ‘trees’ of varying sizes and configurations creating an artificial canopy, with three core objectives:

01. Inhabitation: This will seek to provide shelter, to encourage alfresco dining, socialising and greater opportunities for local performers and market stalls. Reemphasis on pedestrian activity proving more pavement and dedicated activity lanes giving better walking loops between Camden and Regents park/ The Canal and Primrose Hill.

02. Infra-structure: Different groupings will integrate different facilities, including hosting secure wi-fi, free charging points for electric vehicles, space for delivery drivers, additional cycle storage and improved lighting.

03. Urban Greenery: Each tree is not a skin but a network of cables and rods that will be able to host greenery either planned or wild providing a softening to this particularly urban landscape. The trees will funnel water into below ground attenuation that can provide support additional ground level planting.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Landscape Insititute

Location: Camden Town, London

Status: Competition 2020

Value: NFC

Our initial response to the theme of ‘Refuge’ was that of the cave humanities first home, shelter, enclosure and sanctuary for thousands of years and sea caves in particular are often associated and invite exploration, and discovery. However, in 2020 our homes have gone from being our sanctuary to being something we seek refuge from, instead of the need to be enclosed we seek to escape these boundaries and explore again.

In this light we propose Cork-Cave, taking reference from cave like forms but inverting its edge condition from a spatial interiority looking inward to a spatial exteriority looking outward, offering both refuge and prospect. This proposal wraps the life guard stand with a three-dimensional topology, and becomes a new refuge providing a safe refuge on the beach, a place to stand, sit, climb, explore, and look outwards over the horizon.

Its scale and form mean only 1-2 people can inhabit with the installation giving shelter for individuals to sit and reflect for a prolonged period whilst maintaining social distance, the project can provide shelter for people to stand lean and touch, it materiality and texture invites this, but it can just be a free-standing totem on the beach which its appearance will evolve over the day/night cycle and during different weather conditions encouraging people to come and revisit, to re-engage with the variable conditions outside and to observe fellow humans, from a sheltered spot.

The disks around the edge act as pebbles around this installation, they define the perceived territory to avoid too many people grouping together, but can be used as stepping stones, or like pebbles on a beach be moved, stacked or removed, as an individuals permanent record of this temporary structure’s presence.

CONSTRUCTION:

Our Proposed system of construction using high density cork blocks suitable for external use, embeds the intelligence within the machining of the material, which with nesting can reduce waste and optimize use per m3

Using friction fit of components and allowing the majority of elements to be assembled indoors minimizing site time.

The use of a lightweight material avoids difficulties of transporting and lifting heavy assemblies. The material once the event is over could be endlessly reconfigured or recycled back to cork pellets for a variety of uses.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Toronto City Council

Location: Toronto, Canada

Status: Competition 2020

Value: $15,000 CDN Contract Value

The philosophy behind our proposal is that the local transport infrastructure of the 21st century can act as a key public space into which many different demographics and user groups interact thus becoming an critical part of communities large and small. To facilitate this the proposals must be long life and loose fit allowing for easy installation and expansion plus the integration for new functions to be encouraged, this could be a pop up or long lease retail, café within the station building, pick up for parcels/ online commerce or simply covered space to allow for more generous social interactions.

The physical infrastructure proposed is a kit of modular but easily adaptable and interchangeable elements which can be expanded or reduced overtime according to specific local site or community requirements. The basic element is a series ‘trees’ that nest together forming timber groves, these can be in-filed creating enclosures of various sizes with different functions on both sides of the community/rail line , fundamental to our idea is that these give equal importance to the area on the community side, promoting safer, better quality transportation and encouraging people to linger.

Green infrastructure is integrated into the proposals, especially in rural communities this allows the station to blend into the surroundings, improve bio-diversity and maximise opportunities for wildlife. We propose using roof surfaces to be planted with a range of potential systems offering extensive greening or intensive planting with larger plants, in places these roofs can be accessible providing a additional amenity space for those using the railway or separate third parties, or extend to form physical bridges across the tracks.

Design Identity is important, the station building is often the first place we see of a place and should be a gateway to the community beyond, often recent stations do not adequately identify entrance and exit particularly out of hours at night, and our proposal aims to ensure that the event of arrival and departure is understandable and again celebrated.

Our proposals seek to have a strong visual identity that is inspired by the Victorian origins of the UK rail network, based on the roof as the principal functional element but includes an attention to material detail that gives a human scale and degree of specificity.

We aim maximise visual openness and transparency by avoiding solid barriers, this is to allow for visual connections between all user groups but to facilitate easy security at both manned and unmanned locations. Blind corners and hidden locations at stations can be a source of anxiety / crime for rail users, by maximising visual connectedness both inside and out this can be minimised. The physical proposals should not stop at a ‘building’ but a wider strategy for the design of tertiary elements around station locations, this should include but not be limited to lighting, fencing, seating, traffic calming and storage.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Network Rail

Location: UK

Status: Competition 2020

Value: £250,000 Contract Value

The Studio has been invited to develop design proposals for the internal layout of a 1920s tenement in Glasgow city centre. The main issue with the large flat is the deep plan results in a very narrow bathroom, that leads to the WC being placed in the middle of the space with a bathroom and raised wet area close to the window.

We developed a series of different options, offering different levels of intervention which are now awaiting survey to establish any structural impact. The preferred proposal for the layout consists of realigning all the bathroom furniture along one wall and re-orientating both the bath and WC by widening the space to fit a full-size bathtub, whilst minimising the impact on principal drainage runs. We have introduced a partition of wither glass or solid to divide the space into two more comfortable proportioned spaces, one with a WC / Sink, and a second with bathroom adjacent to the window, and a walk-in shower area.

As a second step we are now in the process of developing design concepts for the new bathroom layout. This started with a variety of precedents and references as our client was unsure what type of bathroom, they wanted within this period but undistinguished interior. Following this we have put together a number of design options for the full specification of the bathroom furnishings and fixtures, ideas about materiality, custom storage solutions integrated lighting strategies.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Private

Location: Glasgow, UK

Status: Schematic Design

Value: Confidential

As a practice we are always interested in developing proposals and collaborations across multiple scales, using digital design and manufacturing tools. We are in the process of working on a series of pieces that sit at the intersection between art, architecture and product design, which have been developing during the various lockdown periods using augmented reality tools, to develop the virtual geometry at 1:1 scale.

The first in this series of studies is Tapered Table, that seeks to explore the possibilities of CNC manufacture and bespoke crafting of solid timber pieces. The table itself is a roughly standard 1800x900x800mm dining table for 4-6 people with dining chairs that follow the bespoke language of the table, we are interested in how far we can push curvilinear and exuberant formal language and then manufacture as bespoke one-off statement pieces, for private clients, or institutions or limited production runs for high end retail.

Tapered table is designed to be made out of solid poplar laminated together to form mass timber sections that can be milled into shape, oiled to seal the final piece. We are particularly fascinated in those residual tooling marks left by machine fabrication that can be expressed as an extra layer of texture and detail within each piece, which can be predicted but will always have slight variations due to the natural grain and texture of the base material.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Self-initiated.

Location: London, UK

Status: Ongoing Schematic Design

Value: Varies

Parasite Loft proposes a system for housing that is adaptive / non hierarchical that can be applied to a multiplicity of sites and typologies. It is not a singular proposal but a series of criteria that form the rules by which the development can grow across any existing building or empty site.

The starting point is not an overall form but human centric room-based volumes that agglomerate to form dwellings then clusters, then larger communities of residences, that can be adapted and adjusted to different densities and housing mixes. This approach gives each unit a distinct identity within the whole and a visual language distinct from the host buildings.

The system is left loose and full of openings which create and celebrate the circulatory experience up and through the between individual dwellings giving inhabitants private, semi private, communal and public outdoor space which residents take ownership and responsibility for correcting the old modern typology of large generic landscapes for use by all but in the care of no one.

Circulation is no longer confined to dark poorly light corridors but external along multiple routes with different space types that allow residents to gather or avoid others as they choose.

One of the key lessons to be learned from the lock down associated with the pandemic is that those in small and closely packed housing require outdoor space to gather, exchange or get away from other people which within rural and sub-urban housing is available but within a city such as London has evidently not been possible.

We were inspired by using cell automona as a starting point to derive a system that is applicable to multiple sites. The inspiration from the growth of moulds and fungus that inhabit and surround a host body whilst its underlying order is retained was a key consideration, as many seminal C20th buildings are being redeveloped with a focus on not disrupting their architectural identity, we felt that any new proposals be architecturally distinct from the host yet allow its qualities to be visible but not follow the current conservation approach of minimal intervention or that these buildings are to be frozen moment for all time.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Location: Central London

Status: Competition Entry

Value: NFC

A project composed of three key components materially and visually distinct yet resolved into a harmonious composition. The overall plan consists of series of internal and external terraces allowing people to view the wetland at different levels and perspectives standing / seated and individually or collectively. Looking out over the whole expanse of the water, internally or externally.

The internal landscape is conceived as a series of ‘TERRACES’ and platforms for viewing and seating, display and learning allowing for people to view the landscape at multiple levels above the horizon.

These Internal spaces are contained by the ‘DUNE-SCAPE’ walls framing and wrapping around the building nesting into the ground and reflecting the natural exposed rocky outcrops of the local context in textural and visual terms.

The ‘FEATHERED FABRIC’ is the primary architectural feature, both externally and internally hovering above the natural horizon line inspired by the birds themselves standing often with outstretched wings in the water. Its pleats and folds give sense to motion across the surface but provide additional structural depth and space within the roof for required services and a warm air reservoir.

This key feature appears as ephemeral and shifting sitting above the terraces, this billowing soffit recalls references of a desert tent or palm groove, which inside leads the eyes through spaces expanding ever outwards from the entrance back into the landscape beyond. The density of these patterns responds to the curvature of the pleated roof that like feathers is both linear fibres and single surface.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Location: Abu Dhabi

Date: Competition 2020

Value: $7,000,000 Construction Budget

Our proposal is to create an architectural event that creates different and variable experiences as they cross the site, on their way to work, to avoid impacting flows across the site and maximize reuse of the existing framework our proposal is to create a woven latticework that hangs from both the frame and the cables creating a dramatic sculptural canopy commuters and tourists alike. We want to generate a experience that causes people to pause from their daily lives to stop and look up. The proposal will use changes in level and density to create both geometric and shadow patterns change its appearance throughout the day through changes in light and shadow and throughout the days and over the year.

We took as geometric inspiration St Pauls the experience of looking up into the grand old cathedrals dome and how its intersection of geometries, ornamental patterns combine with highly choreographed sources of natural light to create an impression of awe and wonder.

In direct response to the critical theme of carbon neutrality. The construction industry is a generator of 40% of UK carbon emissions and its shift to reduce embodied carbon is a key driver to this effect. Whilst a simple installation project cannot directly achieve this. We felt that it might be an opportunity to showcase and explore new methods of using timber ornamentally, which has the lowest embodied carbon of principal structural materials and when managed properly becomes a carbon negative material. The haptic aspect of timber we felt could reinforce this notion of texture, variation, and humanity at street level and contrast starkly with the hugely carbon intensive glass edifices that are spreading out of the square mile.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Location: St Pauls, London

Status: Competition Entry

Value: £15,000 (Projected Construction Cost)

The project seeks to give the Redchurch Street a unified visual language, adding to existing positive aspects of the street whilst removing those elements that have been detrimental to its character.

Our response is twofold: A physical intervention that resurfaces the street with a consistent design language emphasizing pedestrian primacy over the whole street scape. A family of insertions woven into the street act to provide critical functions, such as traffic calming but structure a series of spaces along the streets length to promote gathering / social interaction. These allow the enhancement of green infrastructure along the streets surfaces both horizontal and vertical.

These insertions can be adapted to specific locations but are constructed from a single material language inspired by the local graffiti tags and referencing back to the silk weaving history of the locale.

The second response is a digital overlay to enhance opportunities for branding, signage and visitor experience. This can be achieved through physical signage media but principally through the use of AR technology linked to publicly accessible sites that allow people to explore the street virtually.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Location: Shoreditch, East London

Status: Competition Entry

Value: N/A

A series of alternative visions for the Capital, done over a 6 month period, starting in February 2014. The first series based on a projection of current planning policy and direction was completed for the UK release of the independent film the Machine, and published in the national media. It depicts a city of glass and steel gone astray great towers left empty as stores of capital rather than people. the sea level has risen but is being kept in check by ad hock flood defences on the edge of the Thames, tidal barrages and wind turbines power this metropolis. The second series proposes a dystopic alternative derelict empty abandoned and left to fall down. The final series is a more positive scenario which new speculative technologies and approaches to urban living have overtaken the city, hyper density of people and plant life, the city as a self supporting ecology emerges rather than a land hungry parasite on the rest of the surrounding countryside.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Client: Private

Location: Shoreditch, East London

Status: Visualisation Campaign Completed

Value: Confidential

Yokohama Ferry Terminal, Japan: The purpose of this international competition is to ask globally for designs of ''Yokohama International Port Terminal'', so as to make it a symbol of the port, to welcome passenger ships from abroad, and to be a place of proud for international exchange. The designer of the grand prize work will be entrusted by the City of Yokohama with the design of this institution.

Our response was to propose a new landscape of the three distinct user groups inhabiting the port, each separate and stacked yet through distortion each connected vertically either by physical or purely visual means. In this model the urban roof not only operates as a structured surface but also as the key environmental mitigator for the whole terminal it provides air heat and light for the users below, through means passive and active. Website Competition link: Thinkspace Past Forward Yokohama.

Design: Dave Edwards Design

Location Yokohama, Japan

Status: Competition Commendation

Value: N/A

The project was shortlisted in 2013 in an open competition in collaboration with ALEKSA studio as part of an exploration into tactile landscapes and digital fabrication methods and techniques.

Entitled Tensional Landscape, the project is a dynamic 3-dimensional composition of undulating surfaces and vertical column components.

The installation investigates the notion of blurred spatial and social boundaries. The floor and the ceiling merge forming nodes of social interaction - places to pause and look out through the window or sit down and experience the immediate surroundings. The project consists of a conglomeration of paper components linked via 3-d prototyped connections. In addition, CNC-milled floor and ceiling artificial landscape inspired by reef formations establishes continuous interaction between the users/ visitors of the space.

The project attempts to explore various scales of fabrication - from the small scale folded paper components to the large milled landscape surfaces. Tensional Landscape questions the conventional use of our built environment by proposing a far more engaging spatial and social public realm. Light trickles through the windows and into the space... the shadows cast on the landscape announcing the time of day...

Design: DeD Studio with ALEKSA Studio ltd.

Client: The Architecture Foundation

Location: London

Dates: 2013

Construction value: £15k

The project started as a self initiated speculation in 2011 into the use of alternative technologies and in response to the ever greater intensification of the cities square mile .

Since the original inception it has been published in a number of architectural publications, but also in a number of academic papers and books focusing on the topic of vertical greening and use of bio systems within the built environment.

Re-Imagines the tall building not as a singular edifice to one commonly corporate program but as an ecology of different interdependent programs. Layered together in a matrix similar to the conventional city in this manner the urbanism of the city is not left at street level but bought into the sky via informal encounter and diversity of uses and users within the tower. This project is not singular. It proposes the City of London as being re-colonized by people living as well as working within the square mile. The green beacons act as garden squares around which new urban diversity is created, new populations and new economies occur. The centre piece of this program is a reformed Financial Services Authority re-branded to embrace not only the market but also the notion of morality within the financial services industry this public body, is meant as the public watchdog and counterpart to the Bank of England. The tower is sited between the city banks and the Bank of England, at a point of urban confluence but also symbolically positioned in the centre of the city.

Design: Dave Edwards Design with Support of AVR

Location: City of London

Status: Competition Finalist

Value: N/A