The Vulnerable Empire Part II

Design Realisation ReportKaowen Ho

Unit 22

LOGO

Contents

Section 1: Context

1.1. Project Introduction1.2. Project Agenda1.3. Hitory1.4. Brief and Programme1.5. Site and Context1.6. Site Section1.7. Site Plan1.8. Site Analysis1.9. Environmental Analysis

Section 2: Building Form

2.1. Ground Floor Plan2.2. First Floor Plan2.3. Fourth Floor Plan2.4. Fifth Floor Plan2.5. Roof Plan2.6. Long Section2.7. Short Section2.8. Fire Safety2.9. Access and Circulation2.10. Disabled Access

Section 3: Specialist Topic – Construction

3.1. Structural Concept: Long Section3.2. Structural Concept: Short Section3.3. Structural Overview3.4. Construction Overview3.5. Structural Plan3.6. Foundation structure3.7. Detail 01: Vehicle Depot structure3.8. Detail 02: Visitor Gallery Wall construction

3.9. Detail 03: Landscape Security Details3.10. Detail 04: HRM The Queen’s Boarding/Alight ing Pavilion3.11. Arboreal conservation

Section 4: Performance

4.1. Site Climate4.2. Sustainability: Energy Consumption4.3. Energy Strategy4.4. Ventilation4.5. Natural Lighting4.6. Sustainable materials4.7. Vegetation Maintenance system

Section 5: Procurement

5.1. Funding5.2. Procurement Strategy5.3. Building on listed property5.4. English Heritage5.5. Clients and Stakeholders5.6. Planning permission5.7. Contractual relationship5.8. Architects role and fees5.9. Consultants, Contractors and Suppliers5.10 Process of Construction

Section 6: Drawings

Section 7: Bibliography

Section 8: Appendix

1.0 Context

1.1 Project Introduction

The Vulnerable Empire Part II

The project looks at the state of the Queen’s relationship with the media and modern perceptions of her Family within British society. The position that the Queen finds herself in these days is still one of considerable social power yet there has been a simultaneous ‘trade-in’ with regards to her appearance and public status that has shown how vulnerable the Royals can be in modern society. As if having made a deal with the devil, she retains her status but as a result every move she makes is documented by the hordes of media working for tabloid papers across the country, every event she hosts garners huge attention and specula-tion from not only domestic but international news agencies, the public demands from her a leadership role in times of disaster (Diana) yet fail to understand or accept her own private needs, every penny spent by the Royal household is publicly disclosed in order to quell republican anti-monarchist sentiments regarding her fortunes and class status, and finally, at the age of 85 she finds herself in the unfortunate position of having to work every single day of her life without rest, even on Christmas day.The Queen’s relationship with the media is symbiotic. They garner her for front page sales and her fame and popularity is maintained by the image they choose to portray of her. Either may not be able to exist so fervently without the other. Taking all of this into account, the project is both a reflection of the royals’ media relationship and an allegory to the exhibitionist lifestyle that her and her family have had to adopt and carry with them in a continued and somewhat laboured service of their country.

Princess Diana’s death was largely blamed on the media for their excessive harassment.

1.2 Project Agenda

‘You have mosquitoes, I have the media.’ - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The issue that amuses me most about this project is in attempting to highlight the ridiculous fascination people have with the royal family. The role that has been pushed onto HRM and her constitutional role to ‘serve’ her country is both a testament to peoples’ desire for idols and a need for figureheads on which they embellish ideas of patriotism and national identity. For me it is a complete mystery yet it is fascinatingly exuberant and tacky in many of the outcomes. Scenes of people crying and in complete ecstasy over the marriage of Will and Kate, outpouring of anger at why the Queen didn’t return from Balmoral following Diana’s death, the amount of tack, paraphernalia and junk that appears with every single royal event, the idolisation (even deification?) of royals in contemporary society and most importantly, the assumed embodiment of patriotism and nationalism that people invest in the royals (the ‘pride’ of the British empire that, it seems, people are unwilling to acknowledge has long become a thing of the past.)

With this in mind, my project sets out with the following goals:

- To emphasise the tense relationship between HRM and the press. The Queen will seemingly relinquish another ‘barrier’ of her private life and allow the media and public into her gardens at Buckingham Palace.

- To empower the Queen and her family with better defences against the hounding paparazzi.

- To feed the continual fascination with the Royal Family and augment the aura of mystery and intrigue of the private spaces behind the wall encircling Buckingham Palace.

- To allow the public to gain a feeling of supposed entry into the Queen’s private space. The experience of voyeurism will be a key factor in providing a continued interest and speculation on the events behind the closed dorrs of HRM’s palace.

1.3 History

1215 - Present day

One of the most interesting and unique pieces of history that underpins the British Royal Family is that the condition they find themselves today has been the result of the gradual evolution of many centuries of power shifts that have taken place between the ruling government and the now purely constitutional role of the Monarchy.

The process of change started with the Magna Carta in 1215 which saw the first enactment of any type of ‘restrictions’ placed upon the Monarch. For King John at the time, the restriction was imposed so that he could not raise taxes without first consulting a ‘great council’ beforehand, thus sowing the first seeds for a Parliament to be formed and relieving the King of an absolute control over the law of the land.

Since this first advocation of a public voice through the form of Parliament, the Monarchy has gradually (and possibly unwillingly) seceded more and more of its power. It seems that any attempt to go back on this shift of power, as in the case of Charles I in 1640 who, under his reign, started the English Civil War between Monarchy and Parliament only results in an unfortunate end for the former (King Charles was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell following a humiliating defeat).

However it wasn’t until 1689 when Parliament, determined to never again allow such an uprising to occur, passed the Bill of Rights. Surviving to this day, it meant that the Monarchy could not pass any law whatsoever again without consent of the Parliament. This is perhaps the most decisive moment in the downfall of the British Monarchy as it can be assumed that from then on, the role of the Royals became truly constitutional.

This law, along with the Act of Settlement in 1701 that excluded any immediate Catholic members of the Royal Family from attaining the Monarchy has led to the current state of affairs we find ourselves in today.

The Royal Family of the 21st Century differs very little in role and activity in the last 300 years. With Par-liament having relieved them of any real political power, the role of the Monarchy is, for most of the time, presented at face value. They represent the image of Britain. Spearheaded by Queen Elizabeth II, the ‘organi-sation’ of the Royal Family travel the world to spread the word and image of British culture and in turn are perportedly educated on the affairs happening both domestically and abroad. It has become rather like a trav-elling show, a series of performances and scripted setpieces masterfully crafted annd executed with perfection after (in 2012) 60 years of constant live rehearsals.

This has inevitably led them directly into the paths of the media, more specifically the press; and the tumultu-ous history of this relationship has become the focus, inspiration and metaphor for this project.

1.4 Brief and Programme

Her Royal Majesty’s Motor Depot, Royal Correspondents’ Media and Visitor Centre.An investigation into the voyeuristic fascination of the Royal Family, delineation of public and private boundaries and security

methods.

1. Boundaries, Thresholds and Territories2. Security3. Voyeurism, Views

Located on the wall of Buckingham Palace, the project is principally about boundaries and thresholds. It is about the shifting territories of public vs. private royal spaces. It violently tears down the relatively low ly-ing wall in an act of seeming aggression and forced entry but also tries to preserve any form of the already ‘bastardised’ semblance of royalty that people believe they are witnessing.

This violent gesture is a metaphor for disassembling the class barrier but in a mocking way, gestures towards the idea of treating the royal family as an entity or performance act for our amusements.

It is also about voyeurism, of peeking unsuspected into a private space, all the while unbeknownst to the subject. Voyeurism requires a sense of camouflage or ‘hidden’ agenda where pleasure is derived from know-ing that one’s presence is unknown. This relationship to the media attention received by the Royal Family transforms the architectural programme into a continuous performance where every barrier of the Queen’s private space is broken down and becomes transparent to the public and media crowd. Every detail is scruti-nised, from dress to behaviour, gestures to eye shifts, every cough and fart, sneeze and laugh analysed to the nth degree and broadcast to anyone interested enough to watch.

Furthermore, the Queen’s transportation, a common highlight of the media’s attention, is vividly put on show, with the remnants of her former methods of travel lying in scrap or in the process of transformation, making up the components of the wall that has ultimately become both her cage and final refuge from a com-plete public life.

Programme Quantity Dimensions / Aprrox. area (m2) Description

HRM The Queen’s Motor Depot - Garage 8 Storing HRM’s Rolls Royce and state cars - RR Phantom IV 1 6 x 2 x 1.8 - RR Phantom VI 1 6 x 2 x 1.8 - Bentley State Limousine 3 6.2 x 2 x 1.8 - Bentley Daimler 3 5.8 x 1.9 x 1.6 - Exhibition Coach Garage 25 Displaying HRM’s Ceremonial Coaches - Golden State Coach 1 7.3 x 3 x 3.7 - State Coach Britannia 1 5.5 x 2.2 x 3.4 - Irish State Coach 1 6 x 2 x 3 - Scottish State Coach 1 5 x 2 x 2.8 - Australian State Coach 1 5 x 2 x 2.4 - Queen Alexandra Coach 1 3.8 x 2 x 2.1 - Edward VII Town Coach 1 4.2 x 2 x 2.1 - Glass Coach 1 3.8 x 2 x 2.1 - State Landau 7 4.2 x 1.9 x 1.7 - Landau and Ascots 10 3.5 x 1.5 x 1.7 - Maintenance Bay 2 6.5 x 4 (26) - Mechanics’ common area 1 7 x 4 (28) - BOH machinery 1 8 x 7 (56) - Washroom 2 1.6 x 1 (1.6)HRM The Queen’s Motor Pavilion 1 17 x 5 (85) Ceremonial departure and arrival point of the

Queen and her FamilyRoyal Correspondent’s Media Centre A space for 5 of the UK’s newspaper agencies

and their royal correspondents to keep track and document the lives of HRM The Queen and the Royal Family members

- Studio Floors 5 12 x 15 (180) - Dressing/Make-up Rooms 2 4 x 5 (20) - Camera equipment storeroom 2 2 x 3 (6) - Production Control Room 1 4 x 5 (20) - Master-control room 1 3 x 4 (12) - Reception / Green room 1 40Visitor Centre A series of viewing cubicles (much like bird

watching huts) inserted within a gabion wall and for the purpose of subtely catching glimpses into Buckingham Palace with the hope of being able to see The Queen

- Queen Viewing Gallery 7 14 - Gardens Picnic Area 1 - - Tea Room / Cafeteria 1 200 - Tourist information booth 1 10 - Guided Tour facility 1 - Restrooms 1 - Lobby and Reception 1

1.5 Site and Context

‘What happens on the other side of a wall is always an intriguing question and when the wall is in the middle of London and encloses the garden of Buckingham Palace, it is positively tantalising.’ - Prince

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Buckingham Palace North Wall

The North Wall is the closest segment of the wall to Buckingham Palace proper. It is interestingly also the same wing that holds the Queen’s private residences, including members of her family. Whilst the palace’s state rooms and other key performance areas are available for public visits and tours, HRM’s private quarters are strictly off limits, and with good reason.

As much as tourists and the media acknowledge the importance of being able to see the interior of the palace in order to gain an understanding of the British Monarchy, a more coveted experience would be to actually witness the Queen in action or in her most natural state.

These two conflicting attitudes of privacy against public attraction is the main reason that the North Wall is the most appropriate site for my intervention.

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Constitution Hill Road

The Mall

Buckingham Palace Gardens

The Quandrangle

Queen Victoria Memorial

Green Park

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Site Plan

Site Section

1.6 Site Plan

1.7 Site Section

Site Photographs

2.0 Building Form

Ground Floor PlanLEVEL 1 PLAN

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1:400

UNDER REVISION

LEVEL 1 PLANN

1:400

UNDER REVISION

First Floor PlanLEVEL 2 PLAN

N

1:400

UNDER REVISION

N

1:200

+20.00m

+02.73m

+06.00m

+09.00m

+13.00m

+04.00m+03.20m

Short Section

UNDER REVISION

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1:200

+20.00m

+02.73m

+06.00m

+09.00m

+13.00m

+04.00m+03.20m

UNDER REVISION

Prince Philip’s Bedroom

Prince Philip’s Writing Room

Page’s Vestibule

The Queen’s Bedroom

The Queen’s Dressing Room

The Queen’s Audience Room

The Queen’s Dining Room

Gift RoomThe Queen’s Study

The King’s Stairs (exit to Gardens)

Prince Philip’s Dressing Room

Prince Philip’s Music Room

Prince Edward’s Bedroom

The Nursery Prince Edward’s Living Room

The Queen’s Wardrobe

Macdonald’s Suite

Prince Edward’s Bathoom

North Elevation

Prince Philip’s Bedroom

Prince Philip’s Writing Room

Page’s Vestibule

The Queen’s Bedroom

The Queen’s Dressing Room

The Queen’s Audience Room

The Queen’s Dining Room

Gift RoomThe Queen’s Study

The King’s Stairs (exit to Gardens)

Prince Philip’s Dressing Room

Prince Philip’s Music Room

Prince Edward’s Bedroom

The Nursery Prince Edward’s Living Room

The Queen’s Wardrobe

Macdonald’s Suite

Prince Edward’s Bathoom

User Views Diagram

User Views Diagram

User Views Diagram

The Queen’s Suite

The Queen’s Audience Room

The Queen’s Study

The Queen’s Dressing Room

The Queen’s Bedroom

User Views Diagram

Prince Philip’s Suite

Prince Philip’s Writing Suite

Prince Philip’s Bedroom/Dressing Room

Prince Philip’s Music Room

3.0 Building Construction

Building Construction agenda

Utilising the correct materials is very important due to the site’s extreme proximity to a Grade 1 listed building, as well as the natural beauty of the Gardens. Furthermore, the building con-struction and it process must be analysed in detail as they are vital for the building to perform its necessary tasks of:

1. Controlling views

2. Issues of visual transparency

3. Sound isolation and disturbance

4. Structural support systen for stacking vehicles

5. Security for HRM The Queen

UNDER REVISION

UNDER REVISION

Detailed Materials analysis

1. HRM The Queen’s Motor Depot and Boarding Pavilion

- Vehicle Stacking Structures

- ETFE Canopy and Glulam garden pavilions

- Garden marquee structures

Detailed Materials analysis cont.

2. Visitor’s Queen Observation Gallery

- Birdwatching huts

- Individual viewing cubicles

- Semi transparent wall construction offering blinkered views and glimpses

- Elevated platforms for media coverage of entire site

Detailed Construction Analysis

3. Security Strategy

The main concept behind many public institutions requiring protection against attacks or protecting persons of great importance is to utilise ‘soft’ interventions as opposed to for-mally domineering elements.

Traditional security devices such as ‘Sleeping Policemen’ or Jersey Barriers are obtru-sive and often directly imposing. However, turning them into landscape furniture such as benches and picnic tables retains their functionality as a device for stopping direct oncom-ing attacks (such as that of a van packed with explosives) but at the same time providing a new public landscape where the exisitng garden is also retained.

The concept for the wall behind which the public stand and observe the interior of Buck-ingham Palace will be composed of a gabion wall, much like (and retaining the defensive qualities of) Hesco Walls utilised by the military as temporary defences. Used in construc-tions such as Herzog and de Mueron’s Dominus Winery, it can provide a semi transparent screen that is simultaneously fortified.

Pile Construction in Alluvium

The site sits atop a bed of alluvium as a result of the River Tyburn running underneath. Thus research into Alluvium piling and foundations is crucial before any construction is considered.

UNDER REVISION

5.1 Funding Strategy and Benefactors

Buckingham Palace and the Gardens are currently a private working household. However, unlike The Queen’s other estates of Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, it is not actually the monarchy’s personal property but in fact owned by the State.

This sets up a very interesting situation as the monarchy is in continual talks and compromises of how the property is run with regards to the State’s wishes. For example, in 2009, after a list of refurbishment requests and backlog repairs were submitted to the Public Accounts Committee (a group of MP’s who overlook spend-ing costs on Buckingham Palace). The amount totalled to £4 million, for which it was decided that in return for this sum of repairs, the palace was to be opened for more than the current 60 days a year, and may include times when the palace was in residency by members of the Royal Family.

The Government currently provides £15 million annually for the upkeep of the palace, an amount that is seen to be more and more of a sore point for the taxpayer in these times of austerity.

The plan for funding and the upkeep of the Vehicle Wall, Media and Visitor centre will be principally request-ed from the Public Accounts Committee. The plan is that the building will be rented by media agencies both domestic and international, with revenues going to the upkeep of the building. Similarly, as it will doubtless become an instant tourist highlight, the large profit generated from visitors will go towards maintenance of the building and also of Buckingham Palace.

Employees working both in the constuction and the upkeep of the building will be funded and paid through the Civil List which traditionally covers staff salaries, state visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the Royal Household.

Security and vehicle maintenance costs are covered by seperate grants from the individual Government De-partments. However, from 2013, the Civil List will be overhauled and replaced by the new ‘Sovereign Sup-port Grant’ which encompasses all of the above in a single annual grant.

Sovereign Support Grant

Civil List

Tourism Media Agencies Private Sponsors

HM Treasury

Victoria Area Planning Brief requeted from City of West-minster Borough council

Financial grant support for the project comes from the Government’s Com-mons Select Committee department called the ‘Public Accounts Committee’

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5.0 Building Procurement