The Building (In Plan, In Section)
In plan the buildings that form croft are organised functionally, pragmatically and to an extent in a rather rigid manner. The planimetric resolution is a building which is in constant narrative with the courtyard and the layers of circulation surrounding it. In a theatrical sense, the ground floor of the converted stables can be read a series of screens (colonnade, sliding doors, workshop/kitchen doors) which allow the building to operate as an extension of the public space of the ‘yard’ or be shut down to embrace privacy. Additionally, these ‘layers’ provide a sequence of spaces that progress from the unconditioned to the conditioned, the linear corridor that lines the front of the kitchen’s workshops acting as a lobby. This is read most clearly in the section where the relationship between the spaces can be understood, as it explains the layering and abundance of circulation which serves both the internal conditioned spaces and that of the unconditioned courtyard.
The warehouse is converted into residences for the crofters (a series of ‘monks cells’ and communal kitchens) on floors 1-3, the ground floor providing multi-purpose spaces for either the croft, retail units or business start-ups. The polyvalent nature of the spaces proposed means the building, despite its programmatic coding as a croft, is crafted without prejudice for future uses. In this manner, the investment of material in repairing the structures and constructing a tower becomes justifiable. It is hoped, in a similar manner to the rural croft, that this urban interpretation is an ongoing project of adaptation, experimentation and trial and error.
The tower stands at the inflection between two grids, rising up from the retained gable of the stables to act as spatial marker which is identifiable from Constitution St. and through its prominence activates the void of the courtyard that it stands over. Functionally, (in section) it works to draw air out of the building and courtyard, and offers a series of elevated spaces to view the croft from. At its uppermost level this would provide expansive views over croft, roofscape of Leith, the Links and to the Firth of Forth. In this respect, the ‘field conditions’ of croft communicate in a similar manner to how a dwelling and pen charge an empty landscape; the tower becomes a beacon to remind (and draw) the community to a point of refuge that lies beneath. Its timber tectonic (of both structure and shingle cladding) contrast a stony language which dominates the area.
The southern volumes, renovated/adapted sheds, provide a vestibule and store space. The store can be accessed from both John’s Lane and the croft’s courtyard and provides a place to store food to be recycled or material for the workshops. Its overshadowed location, together with the tower and new internal linings means that the store remains predominantly cool, reducing the need for mechanical intervention to maintain the desired function.
Through the simple logics, playful interpretation of existing grids and rigour of the plan, the building, much like that of a monastery, creates an organisational narrative which is as subtle as it is decisive. The plan embraces rules, in the same way that an ascetic life embraces the lack of indulgence.
Whilst a complexity is developed due to the existing geometries and existing structural grids, these are not actively expressed, instead they are absorbed into the efficiency of the proposal. Its formal qualities of the rural can be read in the manner in which the surrounding walls crank to the site’s boundaries, an ode to the economy of the dyke/pen on the croft. The cranking of walls that bound the site builds a language of the ‘field’, the importance of which is touched on elsewhere. The manner in which the building, through its armatures extending to ‘hug’ its surroundings,acts as a metaphor for how the building cares and supports the land around it.
