The Community Fulfilment Centre

The Community Fulfilment Centre

Reinstating the Vernacular

Old Aberdeen, Scotland

The Community Fulfilment Center is the second phase of a broader master plan for Old Aberdeen. Old Aberdeen has undergone many new developments throughout the years, as would any other urban area; however, the most prominent development took place in the 1950-60s after the Education Act was passed in 1944. The new law led to the rapid expansion of many universities across the United Kingdom due to increased demand from the working class for university places. Thus, many more classrooms were urgently required resulting in numerous poorly designed buildings and extensions that fail to reflect the character and history of Old Aberdeen.

The master plan is an attempt to undo these damages to the area. The rapid expansion has not only eroded the visual character of Old Aberdeen but also the various uses of Old Aberdeen that provided life to the area. Through historical and demographic research a new experience based market will be established on the historic high street of Old Aberdeen, aiming to restore the history of trade and bring the community back to the high street. However, in a society that has abandoned the high street in favour of online shopping, which the Covid-19 Pandemic has only exacerbated, opening a market raises the question of whether it is possible to bring the community back to the high street. This is the question The Community Fulfilment Centre aims to answer.

St Mary's, 1846
St Mary's Extension, 1967

The Master Plan

Before
After

Research

Precedents

Development

Key Site Moves

1. Demolish extension in favour of more appropriately sized massing and allow accessibility through back lane
2. Push massing back allowing breathing space and the Creation of a new square (St Marys Square) and lane (Union Lane) to the north. Existing external dining and interaction with the Student Union is improved
3. Split and move massing to reflect historic plot lines and the placement of existing buildings
4. Alter heights and add glazing to frame views towards the high street and the Town House

Key Church Moves

1. Demolish inappropriate renovation that is masking the identity of the church
2. Push Back facade, revealing the later addition of the porch
3. Add floor to reclaim lost floor area
4. Angle roof for views and sunlight. Then add glazing to frame views

Key Extension Moves

1. Extrude floor levels established in St Marys Church
2. Create ‘streets’ that split massing based on lane analysis which bring in light and aid circulation
3. Add circulation link across the ‘streets’, following the nave and aisle organisation of St Marys
4. Add barrel vaulting to create a church ‘crypt’ for multipurpose use. Then create perimeter circulation around this space (Nave and Aisles) following the structural rhythm of St Marys Church.

Design

The design consists of disconnected elements that cantilever out toward St Marys in a gesture of connection. A series of brass bridges connect these elements and the three markets while also following the church’s nave and aisle organisation to help the user navigate the centre. The bridges cross two atriums that cut the massing in two, creating smaller masses more suitable for the area that is a homage to the buildings that used to occupy the site. It is intentionally the opposite approach of the existing extension that currently masks the church’s identity rather than allowing its own self-expression. Hence the interior of the church is restored to its full floor to ceiling height. This approach aims to ultimately create a design that follows the vernacular and allows the church to reclaim its identity.

The Market

The market hall is designed to be as versatile as possible, allowing different events and functions. Stalls are not permanent, allowing the community to get involved in selling their goods or help an artist start their career. By not using permanent market stalls, the users' experience of the Centre is different upon each visit encouraging the community to come back. The Market then also relies on the two other markets of the Centre to create a complete experience.

The Services Market

After the user has visited the market, the visiting artist has the opportunity to offer classes in the cooking school or studios in the services market where the trade of knowledge occurs. These different classes and markets will be serviced by the ‘online’ market where all the storage is located. However, these classes can be held independently as well.

St Mary’s Alterations

Since St Mary's has experienced numerous alterations and uses, the acknowledgement of this history was critical to the proposal. The current extension creates an identity crisis for St Mary's; One can not decide whether it is a church containing an office or an office inside of a church. This is why the proposal aims to create breathing space around the church to allow its recognition as a church. However, by following the language of honestly expressing the church's identity, its many scars must also be included and not covered up. So the new glazed atrium becomes an almost museum-like space where the back elevation of the church is openly expressed to the users of the building.

The primary circulation of the proposal is placed in this atrium, so users will always visit this space. Views were then tracked at all points of stairs and walkways to create vistas toward specific alterations on the wall creating interest while circulating the space or an architectural promenade, as said by Le Corbusier. Using glazing for the ceiling also allows light to wash down the wall and its rough texture at all times of day, creating many different shadows across its surface, ultimately providing a different experience to the space each time it is visited.

The idea of glazing the atrium is also in keeping with the language of abstracting the church into the extension. Typically churches would have a crossing where the nave and transept meet, creating a spire that extends the internal space vertically. St Marys does not have this, so by creating this atrium, the experience of passing through the rear wall is similar to grand cathedrals, the ceiling infinitely extending toward the sky.

Evening Events

Once the markets have closed, the centre can easily become an events venue. The 'crypt' located underneath the market hall on the ground floor opens up to become a large social space with a kitchen if catering is required. Placing the events space on the ground floor allows a flow between the interior and exterior. This flow continues into the ground floor auditorium/cinema, which aims to host many events for Aberdeen University's societies, award ceremonies and other events, which can then spill into the event space via the triple-height atrium. The community can also use this space, whether that be for music events or community workshops.