Home
Wesley Perrott
Diploma 16

Set within the context of London, the thesis redefines the existing vernacular of the UK’s Town House typology by replacing the traditional masonry structural system, with a frame and textile material composition. Exploiting the shift in materiality, the proposal dedicates itself to disintegrating the conventional methods of spatial division by employing the frame and textile as a catalyst for building  relationships  between neighbouring parties. Utilising co-habiting zones to renegotiate the boundaries of ownership and circulatory systems, the inclusion of ‘common ground’ addresses the requirement for an innovative housing type accommodating for the increasing existence of co-habitation & shared living structures. Sited in historic Wapping, the prototype's deployment offers new ways of siting places of inhabitancy along the the river Thames and London's waterways as local and global strategy for urban densification.

Set within the context of London, ‘Party Politics’ redefines the existing vernacular of the Town House typology by replacing the traditional masonry structural system, with a frame and textile material composition. In order to establish a new vernacular, the conventional rectilinear grid system of the traditional Town House is heavily distorted to deliver non-planar geometry, framing space as opposed to dividing it. The focus and interest of the project is the transition between the areas defined by the frame, with the objective to provide seamless transitions to areas without constantly meeting obtrusive vertical elements. The proposition treats the party boundary is a six-way construct, stretched between the primary structural members, becoming not only vertical partitions but formulate the celling and ground plains, in turn, offering a blurred perception of occupants’ boundaries and spatial division.Set within the context of Wapping, East London, the Villa's deployment redefines the existing vernacular of the area's Town House typology by replacing the traditional masonry structural system, with a frame and textile material composition. The construct and frame topology is flexible enough to act as a row, twin row, single aspect row, infill and perimeter block configuration in an urban setting. As a local and global strategy for urban densification, the thesis offers new ways of siting places of inhabitancy along the the river Thames, and challenges the political and cultural material stigmas when developing urban areas.Exploiting the shift in materiality to a frame and textile composition, the proposal dedicates itself to dissolving the conventional methods of spatial division by employing the frame and textile as a catalyst for building relationships between neighbouring parties. Once employed, the ‘Party Boundary’ manifests itself as a dynamic component, stretched between the structural frame.As a prototype, the spatial composition proposed aims to deliver an uplifting and soulful experience by providing an array of voids, light wells and spaces of varying scales seamlessly connected through visual, form and circulatory paths, offering differing spatial qualities and geometries. The frame and textile material system offers a unique spatial quality, facilitating a network of visually and structurally connected spaces.It is proposed that by viewing the party wall as a means to provide additional functions and roles, the boundary between neighbours may be blurred and offer a new way of indirectly interacting with those around us. The single unit configuration also accommodates for the reprogramming to include commercial use, hence the urban insertion can be utilised as a mixed use arrangement, defining the project as not only a residence, but a destination.Traditionally, the spatial composition is gridded up into single segmented levels with closed or opaque partitions, the spatial quality proposed is a network of varying spaces composed of single-, double- and triple-storey spaces, allowing for a continually changing spatial experience whilst filtering natural light through the inner areas of the dwelling, visually connecting adjoining and distant spaces. The structural system offers a language that relates adjoining parties together, but is also able to deliver a unique spatial articulation to each unit or area.The Heating and Cooling Mechanism also references the traditional composition of the town house, as the seamless pattern of individual homes sharing partition walls feature an integrated heating system, the fireplace, which physically links the adjoining properties together. In this construct, the party structure or frame performs as both heating and cooling system, collecting water from the site and circulating throughout the network of structural piping.As a means of procuring the spatial composition, the prototype’s production ecology challenges the existing masonry fabrication conventions by employing the use of Kuka Robotic Apparatus (digital fabrication) to manufacture the structure’s complex three-dimensional geometry and dissimilar fabric configurations, offering unrivaled accuracy and prefabrication opportunities. Explored through a workshop at the University of Michigan, in conjunction with Taubman College, the seven-axis Kuka Robot Arm offered a perfect opportunity to use digital fabrication as a means of obtaining a infinitely unique three-dimensional geometry. Using to apparatus to formulate a test construct, the process allowed for the fabrication of a reduced-scale rod bundling structure.This 'Meta-Drawing' communicates the multiple roles set within the structural frame, defining each component's task in the Urban Villa's composition. The assimilation of elements ultimately forms a coherent structural system, aiding the thesis to achieve its social, political, cultural and ecological ambitions.