Journey to Recovery

 Our site is located at the road between Deansgate Stations. and there are various cultural facilities and residential environments around our site. Also, the key goal of this project is to instill people a positive perception of deconstructivism architecture. Therefore, we wanted to make eye-catching designs that can stop passerby and wanted to give a message to those who experience our pavilion and give them a strong recognition of our project.

 First, the process we proceeded with is the message setting. As it is a project in Manchester, we wanted to set a message that could evoke their empathy. So we did some research on their history, and the things which stood out the most were the 2017 Manchester bombings and World War II. What the two had in common was that no matter what kind of pain and setback they may face, if they make effort together, they can overcome it. So we wanted to apply it in our project.

 The most difficult task was to space out the message. The solution we found was a way to turn the message into a graph of emotions and express it with circulation and space. The key of our project was a circulation from the (-) space to the (+) space without interruption. And we chose the method of forcing people's circulation with huge concrete barriers to emphasize this one-way circulation.

 Within this concept in mind we made an story of people's footsteps. First descending movement formed from protruded barrier leads visitors to enter the underground space. After that, the circulation is forced by the barriers and people can watch the exhibition with the flow of the space. The theme of the exhibition contains various social, cultural and historical crisis. In this place people can look back on the past. People might feel gloomy at the underground space, but as they move along the barrier, they naturally move to the outside space where the light shines. Afterwards, visitors will face with a long staircase surrounded by huge slanted barriers, which they can sit and relax while looking at the screen. In this place people can also share their thoughts and emotions they felt while watching the exhibition and screen. When visitors reach the end of the stairs, there is an observation deck where they can look back on the road that they have traveled so far. They can also meditate or organize their thoughts there. Finally people can either go out through the core or go back the way they came.

 In other words, our goal is to make visitors feel emotional overwhelming while they experience and feel the space we made. The architecture that touches people's emotions will be remembered for a long time, and we hope our project will remain as a landmark in Manchester. 

 Next process we proceeded was the structural strategy. As our goal is to make deconstructivism architecture, We thought the big task for us was how to support our pavilion. There was two tasks to solve. First was the main structure that support our various tilted barriers. To support the four massive tilted concrete walls, each barriers were connected by stairs and beams. In addition, the left barrier that extended forward is connected and supported with the right barrier through the two walls placed in the basement floor. Next is about roof structure that not only blocks the light but also transmits the light and ultimately make people feel pleasant who visit our site. So in case of the roof strategy, it was designed as a sustainable architecture. For the roof, PTFE membrane, which is excellent in maintenance, recyclable and durable was used. The membranes are supported by truss structures and steel columns extended from each ends of the concrete barriers. These two truss structures have a way of pulling each other through wires. this action distribute the load applied downwards from the edges. Trusses also fill the lack of light in the grand staircase located between the barriers. And by allowing to take apart the roof structure on steel pillars, it can be replaced as needed.

In the nutshell, not only we tried to put the strong spirit of Manchester citizens in our pavilion but also thought about how to apply the act of deconstructivism in our pavilion. Therefore, our ultimate goal is to make users feel this message while experiencing our pavilion. "Don't be afraid of pain and crisis, we can overcome it!"