1. Context
In October 2014, University College London (UCL) approved the academic vision as well as the business case for the development of a new flagship campus located in Stratford London. The project forms part of a greater initiative to develop the “Cultural and Education District” (CED) within Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, creating a “dynamic new hub for 21st century London, attracting further prestigious institutions and businesses to the site to foster collaboration and innovation.” [1]. An aerial view of the site for the development taken in 2014 showing the context of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is shown in Figure 1.
In the period between 2014 and 2018, UCL held a series of internal and public consultations where they revealed the masterplan for the development of their sites within the CED [2]. Through this masterplan, the stakeholders agreed to develop the land in four phases, depicted in Figure 2. The UCL East Marshgate campus building and One Pool Street (formerly known as “Pool Street West”) formed phase 1 of the development, and were completed and opened to students in 2023.
Throughout this module, you are tasked with assisting your fictitious client*, UCL Estates, with the development of the site designated as “Pool Street East”, as part of Phase 2 of the UCL East Campus development. Please refer to the attached drawing CW1-1, for the site plan. The coursework is split into two phases, with the current task (CW1) being the first phase of the project. The second phase (CW2) will be announced after reading week.
2. Task for CW1
In this phase of the project, you will individually develop the initial design brief for the project at “Pool Street East” on behalf of your clients. This will require you to consider how your building fits into the wider vision of UCL East, addressing the university’s key needs, addressing the business case while adhering to the university’s core accessibility and sustainability standards.
Your brief should reflect UCL’s forward-thinking approach, balancing the needs of students, researchers, and the surrounding community, while contributing to the regeneration of Stratford and the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games. You will analyse the site and propose the primary function of the building based on its context and requirements. This could be housing, classroom, laboratories, office space, or a mixed-use development.
The client has not provided you with any constraints at this stage. However, you must have some indication that your proposals are feasible, i.e. proposing something that can be built. For this task, you can demonstrate feasibility by drawing inspiration from precedent studies, showing how the proportions and uses inspire your proposals.
3. Deliverables: Design brief including drawings
You will prepare an initial “design brief” on behalf of your client, and you will work on this assignment individually. While you are encouraged to discuss your designs with your peers, you must each submit your own unique design proposals. This document you produce will be used as a tender document to engage design consultancies. Therefore, this document will form the basis of the bids by such consultancies, who are vying to secure the project at UCL Pool Street East. Your design brief should be presented in a way that both the client and the design consultant can understand the document, each using it to serve their own needs and goals.
Your submission should include both written and visual elements and be a maximum length of 1,500 words. In addition to the report, you are required to present a visual site analysis in the form of a technical drawing on A3-sized (420 mm x 297 mm) paper. This drawing must be hand-drawn to an appropriate scale and be presented in the form of in a technical drawing. This drawing should be used to assist in the interpretation of your report. You may elect to do more than one drawing, however you are limited to two A3-sized sheets. Please note each sheet may include multiple drawings if drawn to an appropriate scale.
The below list will help you identify aspects which your report should address:
1. Defining the requirements, aka “the Need”: You must clearly articulate the requirements that the proposed development needs to fulfil, considering both the local societal context as well as the institutional requirements that the new building aims to address. You are encouraged to identify key stakeholders and their needs.
2. Contextual/Site Analysis: You must examine the site and its surroundings, identifying any of the social, economic, and environmental factors nearby and how these can influence the design. Make note of any potential regulatory requirements that need to be adhered to (such as local plan height limitations, or potential barriers to accessing the site). It is recommended that you visit the site and the surrounding area to conduct your study and demonstrate your analysis using annotated maps or contextual diagrams, highlighting important features and considerations.
3. Design Objectives and Constraints: You must define clear objectives for the project, indicating the priorities and requirements that the design needs to meet. For example: if you identify the need for dormitories, you should indicate the quantity of dormitories to be provided, along with minimum standards that the designs must adhere to. You’re may provide sketches to help present the proposed standards.
4. Constraints and regulations: Outline key constraints such as site restrictions, regulatory requirements, and timeframes which may impact the delivery of the project goals.
4. Marking and Assessment criteria
The project is designed to assess your understanding of the module learning outcomes which we will have covered in weeks 1–4 of the course. The following rubric will be used:
- Content Quality (50%):
o Depth of analysis in understanding the need and context.
o Clarity and relevance of objectives and constraints.
- Visual Communication (30%):
o Professionalism and clarity of visuals.
o Appropriate choice of visual medium to conveying the information.
o Integration of visuals with written content.
- Engagement with Regulations (10%):
o Demonstrated awareness of relevant regulatory considerations.
o Accurate application of specific aspects from Approved Documents.
- Writing Quality (10%):
o Clarity, coherence, and organization of written content.
o Correct grammar, spelling, and academic style.
4.1 Notes on deliverables:
- In this assignment, the use generative AI and/or AI-assisted technologies is limited to an assistive role (category 2). Therefore, you must disclose its by including a signed declaration at the beginning of your report. Specifically, you must indicate where, why and how you used generative AI and/or AI-assisted technologies. If you use them but you do not declare it, this may result in Academic Misconduct.
- Please do not propose something that is identical to “One Pool Street”, we will be judging your creativity and ability to draw inspiration from a wide range of sources on this project.
- For technical drawings, you should include engineering drawing conventions, i.e. visual scale, border, view title (e.g. plan), labels, lines (type and weight), hatching, legend, dimensions and text; as appropriate.
- Drawings must be scanned and uploaded as a pdf using scanners, there are many devices located around UCL, including one in Chadwick building mezzanine floor.