Workmanship can be defined as ‘using any kind of technique or apparatus in which the quality of the result is not predetermined but depends on the judgement, dexterity and skill of the maker’. (-David Pye)

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Antwerp, City Map.

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The Albert Canal.

The site is strategically located at the mouth of the Albert Canal, which spans 130km across Belgium, as part of my thesis it is to be utilised to encourage connection between towns and cities located along the canal. Using the waterways as a means of creating a small-scale trade network for local makers is a more sustainable means of transporting goods and people and offers the opportunity to set up a rich dialogue between cities across the country. Natural resources found along the canal such as clay deposits, forestries and quarries have inspired the three main productive spaces included in my design- ceramics, joinery and stone masonry. From a sustainability point of view, I am eliminating the use of cars and investigating the feasibility and benefits of solely using the water system to transport raw materials to site and exporting finished products from the site to wider Belgium.

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Site Strategy.

There are seven main spaces included in my design which are to act catalyst for the district alongside an overall masterplan. They include; workshops for makers, storage, an exhibition space, a marketplace, an educational/community building, a logistics/administrative building and finally housing. There is a distinct lack of housing within the immediate area surrounding the site and I believe the inclusion of housing for makers within proximity of the site is crucial in creating a sense of urbanity and 24hour life in what currently could be considered a largely desolate area.

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Structural Strategy.

Each new building comprises of a solid concrete plinth which provides a sense of permanence and mirrors the carved, heavy nature of the surrounding docks and industry. Above the plinth, is a lightweight framed structure which is veiled by a crafted facade which would be produced and installed on site by the makers. The proposed buildings respond to the existing shed structures which characterise the site.

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Ceramic workshop.

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Market square.

The market square is framed by a Market Hall, Ceramics workshop and a community/educational building. The design aims to encourage public interaction with the programme and provide a space for creativity and workmanship to thrive.

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Part section/elevation through ceramic workshop.

I have explored how the construction of each facade may be representative of the thesis idea itself. The construction of crafted facades made on site to celebrate ‘the workmanship of risk’ would create a unique space within the city and encourage public interaction. Each facade would be representative of what’s being produced within the district, for example, glazed ceramic tiles as a rain screen. The nature of materials which are produced by the 'workmanship of risk’ are often less precise and therefore the construction method has to have a tolerance for imperfection.

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Facade study - joinery workshop.

This study model explores the relationship between the plinth and facade, examining proportion and materiality.

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The workmanship of risk’ is a term used by David Pye to describe the process of making ‘where at any moment, through inattention or mistake, the work could be ruined. In opposition to this is the workmanship of certainty, in which the quality of the result is predetermined and beyond control of the operative’. It describes the process of mass production which focuses on speed and quantity rather than quality.

The thesis seeks to investigate how the workmanship of risk can be refocused on within the modern city and how architecture might facilitate and encourage this. The thesis aims to explore how people’s value of goods can be reinvigorated by means of exposing and celebrating making and workmanship, and perhaps, to interrogate throwaway culture and the nature of consumerism today. Against the backdrop of the current climate crisis, there is an emerging shift in the way in which we consume goods, whereby there is a higher demand for sustainable, high quality, ‘made’ goods.

Antwerp’s history as a merchant city, has centred around craft and trade. From the craft guilds of the Golden Age to the global network of large-scale industry today, the city has evolved and morphed alongside the trends of consumerism and trade for centuries. Historically, places of trade and exchange were numerous within the city. Marketplaces, where makers of all descriptions made and sold their goods, were focal points within the city. The following quotes taken from ‘Antwerp, In the Age of Plantin and Brueghel’ by John. J. Murray, describe the diversity of trades and makers within the city and the constant presence of these places of exchange:

“ I saw a procession pass along the street, the people being arranged in rows, each man some distance from his neighbour, but the rows close one behind another. There were the goldsmiths, the painters, the masons, the broiderers, the sculptors, the joiners, the carpenters, the sailors, the fishermen, the butchers, the leatherers, the clothmakers, the bakers, the tailors, the shoemakers – indeed workmen of kinds, and many craftsmen and dealers who work for their livelihood ” – Durer

However, today, this vibrancy and diversity of trades and crafts has been removed from the city’s fabric and the vast majority of trade and industry has been pushed to the outskirts of the city.

The chosen site is located in the North Den Dam area of Antwerp. The site is largely desolate and is characterised by disconnection. It is disconnected from the city by major roads, rail and water. All of which bypass the site creating an island within the city. Secondly, it represents a larger disconnect within Antwerp as a whole. The disconnect between three major districts comes to a point at this site. Through the development of a programme centred around the ‘workmanship of risk’, production and exchange, this site has the potential to connect these areas.
The design aims to create a blur between what is public and what is productive and aims to encourage public engagement and visibility of the making of goods which have been produced through the workmanship of risk. The design introduces the Albert canal into the district to create a new dock which would serve the district, it acts as a spine which ties a series of proposed buildings and public spaces together. With an intention to demolish as little of what is existing on site, many of the sheds which characterise the area, are to be used for storage and for trades and crafts which may not necessarily need very specific servicing or bespoke spaces.