How might we re-read the rural as a simultaneous space of function and symbol, and use this reading to make a sustainable architecture for the future of the Rathcroghan landscape?
THE TERRITORY
The 270 hectare territory consists of two zones - the central tourist zone (which has the primary monuments and public access all year round), and the pasture zones (which are used for silage and autumn and winter cattle paddock rotation).
The architectural interventions consist of one primary farmbuilding, and four smaller livestock winter feed buildings which are spread across the landscape. The charcoal map (right) shows the: 1. overall territory 2. types of monuments 3. primary monuments 4. proposed architectural interventions |
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Seasonal Land Management
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The images above outline the territory land management in each season. The movement of different parties (tourists, farmers, cattle and sheep) are seen in the diagrams to the right. The key seasonal activities to note include: Spring - livestock released into tourist zone, lambing season, silage collection Summer - peak tourism, digestate fertiliser (from anaerobic digestor) spread using umbilical system Autumn - cattle herded into their herd pastures, calving season Winter - sheep & cattle breeding season, satellite buildings used for livestock winter feed |
Connection to Ground
As mentioned previously, connection to the ground is a vital consideration of the scheme as the landscape is protected. A permit is required to break ground due to the fact that artefacts may lay beneath. Incorporating methods of design which protect the land from damage was vital.
To conserve the landscape, movement diagrams were constantly drawn to analyse points of concentrated trafficking. To accommodate this movement, I proposed a limestone cobbled surface to avoid damage and soil compaction. This sensitive approach to the ground is also adopted in the architectural intervention. |
SYMBOLIC ARCHITECTURE
What kind of architecture can be built today on a landscape like this? And should it?
Landscapes themselves are naturally constantly evolving. While precious locations such as Rathcroghan should be preserved, we also shouldn't be afraid of proposing modern interventions. However, the interventions themselves should be considerate and a result of vigorous research and feels belonging of the landscape. Through intense design development, I developed an architecture of symbolism which represents its surroundings. |
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In Rethinking Architecture (1997), Umberto Eco describes symbolic architecture in two parts; Denotation (the primary functional use), and Connotation (a separate invoked additional meaning). The project focused on the practical function, and agricultural buildings by nature are humble and based in practicality. However, a standard type of architecture is too ordinary for such significant surroundings. Simultaneously, an overly complex design felt forced and overly romantic. Finding the perfect balance lay in focusing the design on the pragmatism of the brief, while considering what the building represents.
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The Farmyard is the primary building, that the other four buildings replicate aesthetically in a smaller scale. The layout is as follows:
Note: the Anaerobic Digestor is a tank which mixes excrement, water, and compost to create biogas (creating power which allows for the scheme to be self-sufficient and add additional energy into the national grid) and digestate (can be used as organic fertiliser on the land).
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This building is a physical recognition of the permanent aspect of agriculture on this landscape, which can be represented through the resilient concrete structure. To create an architecture of symbolism without being too distracting from the monuments, I emphasised qualities of functional architectural features. The roof has a dramatic slope, allowing for a 'back of house' service zone at the rear, and the internal face is framed by a deep beam, which is only broken at the entrance to the landscape. The dramatic roof angle mirrors the form of the neighbouring monuments, allowing it to fit well in its context in a modern way.
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The FoundationAs mentioned previously, 'connection to ground' is also a vital consideration. As breaking ground is not an option, I proposed an inverted foundation concept, where the concrete walls act as inverted foundations and ground beams. By using the naturally occurring site gradient, I created an undercroft area beneath the floor level to allow for excrement collection, leading to the rear service zone.
The Broader LandscapeThe four other smaller buildings replicate the form of the farmyard structure, scattered across the landscape. These buildings are used for winterfeed during the cold months when the weather is too poor for the livestock to graze the grass, and stand strong in its context without distracting from its historic mounds.
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Through a pragmatic management plan and a sensitive and symbolic architecture, the Rathcroghan Geotourism & Community Farm expands beyond the standard role of the architect. This dynamic scheme which is embedded in intense contextual research strived to recognise and facilitate the immense impact of the farmers on this land the importance of the area on the cultural heritage both nationally and internationally.
"If living in history means that we cannot help leaving marks on a fallen world, then the dilemma we face is to decide what kinds of marks we wish to leave. It is just here that our cultural traditions of wilderness remain so important. In the broadest sense, wilderness reaches us to ask whether the Other must always bend to our will, and, if not, under what circumstances it should be allowed to flourish without our intervention. This is surely a question worth asking about everything we do, and not just about the natural world."
Cronon, 1995, p.23
Cronon, 1995, p.23