23rd October 2014

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We decided to start work on making a sawdust briquette/pellet press and the temporary secondary glazing. For this we used the available making space on site and made good use of the work bench created for the previous Live Project in 2013. We sourced materials on site and started the making process using hand tools. It certainly felt like we were using a lot of energy, but it was good for keeping us warm in the cold and wet Sheffield weather!

We appear to have made a see-saw. More to come on what this actually is…

Keep up to date with our progress on Twitter by following @1greatworkshop

Meeting with Carl Whitham

After the meeting with Jon Orlek, a couple of us got the chance to meet photographer Carl Whitham. Due to the nature of his work, Carl enjoys working alone, but being part of a factory of little mesters. He occasionally sublets for half or full days but would not share his space permanently. When the building was bought by the shareholders he took a gamble and moved in before the purchase was confirmed. He tells us he much prefers Portland Works to his old studios in Dromfield as it is larger, warmer (than it was), closer, but in particular has a great community feel. So far he has collaborated with Stuart, Mark and others and is currently working on a film with Stuart. This film will look at the process of making a knife. Stuart and Carl value each others trades equally, so while Stuart gets the film about his process, Carl gets a knife made for him.

Mark previously used to be where Carl now has his studio. Carl has since insulated the room before it became listed. He has made panels for the windows insulated with Kingspan that are approximately one inch thick. These block out light but also help contain heat. The space also has two red light heaters that are not practical when photographing but heat up the room quickly when necessary. People tend to come to warm up in his space, much like in Andy’s forge. Carl also has electric heaters in his space but they are not as efficient, just more suitable for an ambient heat. He does not want a rocket stove as he needs very clean air for photographing. There would also be safety concerns as he additionally uses the space for exhibitions and events.

Carl showed us a photograph of the space from 1910 showing it in use. It was the finishing room, and previously had a room within a room, in a different layout to how he currently uses it.

 

21st October 2014

This week on volunteer day we had the chance to speak with Jon Orlek. Jon is a past University of Sheffield architecture student who has worked previously with Live Projects on Portland Works. He decided to continue his involvement with the building and produced a cold spots report which we have had access too. In addition to this Jon does volunteer work and work with Studio Polpo. More about Studio Polpo and their work can be found here.

We decided to discuss our current ideas for the project with Jon, and he was particularly interested in the idea of the sawdust briquettes/pellets as fuel and the creation of temporary secondary glazing. He also seemed to find the story aspect of the project intriguing, and believed it should be intrinsic to our process and presentation. Jon thought the story should weave through what we were doing.

Jon’s own Live Project with Portland Works happened before the building was bought to save it from being turned into student housing. He said his group made a model and produced a report, also looking at how to publicise the works and help make decisions for the future. His cold spots report picked up where this report left off, providing further analysis and methods for the building to work more efficiently. Some of Jon’s later work, with Studio Polpo, looked at replacing the mezzanine in the artists space (the old showroom) with a ‘pod’ like structure and staircase, also offering useful storage space. This has not yet been done but the mezzanine is currently being dismantled, allowing the future tenants to decide on the future for the space. The idea of an insulated ‘pod’ is something we are continuing to explore within the group.

Jon told us to think carefully about how we tell the story of our project.

After meeting Jon we decided on individual group tasks for the day. Some of us were involved in surveying the future volunteer room for application of the proposed temporary secondary glazing while others completed various other tasks around the site (to become apparent in the following entries!)

The old showroom and soon-to-be artists space.

Watching the old showroom/artists space transform through the work of the volunteers on site. The natural light from the roof really makes the space.

One of the volunteers shows us the table that will soon be used by the rug maker who is moving into Portland Works close to the artists space. It is a fascinating piece of furniture and it would be great to know how old it is or how it was previously used.

Portland Works constantly surprises us with beautiful features within the building, such as this ornate letterbox.

17th October 2014

We have been enjoying getting to know the tenants at Portland Works and hearing more about their stories and connection with the building. This, in turn, is developing our own story as we progress in our live project and learn more about the role of energy on site.

Today we paid another visit to Andy, blacksmith at Portland Works. The main water pipes on site run above Andy’s forge, meaning they are warmed up and the water is transferred to the rest of the building. This is interesting to us as it is a way of transferring energy as heat around Portland Works. In addition to this, Stuart, the knife maker had enquired about ducting Andy’s hot air pipes into his own workshop to use the heat. Andy’s forge is a great source of heat on site and he told us that other tenants come to socialise in his workshop during the winter months to keep warm. We also found out that Brian from Beehive Works taught Andy how to use the grinding wheel.

We then got the opportunity to speak to Kevin of Walmar Products who is a cabinet/kitchen maker. He initially shared his workspace with a laser cutter manufacturer, but his workshop was too cold for the laser cutters to function properly. Kevin does not have a rocket stove, but he does use offcuts of wood for his traditional wood burning stove. His ambitions for his workspace are initially to try and refit the single glazed roof lights.

A visit to site would not be complete without catching up with Colin. This time we discussed the occupancy mapping undertaken by Studio Polpo and how a lot of the work would still be relevant. However, it would also be good to see mapping done for human scale energy strategies e.g. at room scale, moving from machine to machine etc. We also discussed a few ideas we were developing:
– the possibility of testing a strategy to retrofit the windows, for example – a temporary window that can be put in place to fit the existing windows. There could be two different cost options: a cheap solution that we could build, or a bespoke option that could alternatively be chosen depending on the individual/workshop
– the idea of creating insulated ‘pods’. This could be explored by creating a 1:1 sectional model alongside a small exhibition to show how to build a complete one. This could be done with a focus on where they could be used in the artists space in the old showroom

Colin told us he does not sublet any workshops at Portland Works. This means the organising of sharing space between two different people or companies is down to negotiation between the individuals. This shared space is important to consider alongside our ideas as we would be focusing specifically on the space itself, who it is used by and how it is used.

Paul Denial, a volunteer and a director at Portland Works showed us old photographs of the volunteers room where it appeared to be some sort of forge. He also told us more about the building. In the old showroom, the structure has been neglected and many rotten rafters and joists are currently being repaired. This space was a later addition to the main building. The front rooms along Randall Street are particularly warm from the sun, these used to be the administration offices when Portland Works was first built.

 

 

 

14th October 2014

After our visit to Beehive Works, we went on towards Portland Works to talk to more of the tenants on site. First of all we spoke to Stuart who makes custom knives for a range of clients. The requests can vary from traditional knives to swords and even sword plates. Stuart has been at Portland Works since 1985, with his parents initially starting at Stag Works in 1980. He initially did an apprenticeship at Portland Works with his father. His family was in the cutlery business, but he moved in his own direction towards custom making knives, with the custom knife market coming into popularity. He says the internet has allowed his business to thrive through connections with customers and the changing market. It allows him to see what is going on in the rest of the world, and to make sure he keeps up to date with it.

Stuart showed us one of his recent commissions for a client in Ireland. The knife itself is made out of 15 layers of Japanese made steel with a hard core. The handle is even more interesting as it comes from a 10,000 year old tusk of an excavated wooly mammoth. It is fascinating to see the skill behind working with such a range of materials.

Stuart told us he feels a very strong connection to the place, particularly with his family connection. He has used pretty much the same tools since starting at Portland Works and has even carried on using tools from his parents’ time at Stag Works. It was particularly relevant that he told us he has ‘seen more changes in Portland Works in the last 18 months than in the last 18 years’ since there was the threat of turning the building into student accommodation. He said to save it they had to own it, and now he just wants to see the building ‘dry and warm’.

How will the energy work in 20 years time? – Colin kept us focused on the task at hand with this question. By examining the past and present we also had to keep in mind the future of Portland Works.

A crucial part of the site visit was speaking to Mark and hearing about his rocket stove. Mark has put a lot of effort into creating a comfortable space to work through the use of secondary glazing as well as partitioning off an insulated office space. He uses the rocket stove for heating during the colder months. Rocket stoves are dual purpose and have also been used for cooking, having this secondary purpose makes better use of the energy.

Mark’s rocket stove is made from an old air receiver, part of a massive compressor. He told us it needs a good flue to get a good draft and that he fuels it with spare wood from around the site. He has even used sawdust on site as it is coarse and burns well instead of too quickly (which we had heard). His initial plan was to have a bank of smaller burners along one wall, but after looking into rocket stoves he decided to take a few weeks to get his up and running. We look forward to seeing it in action in the coming weeks.

Rocket Stoves at Portland Works

8th October 2014

Our client meeting with Colin, manager at Portland Works, gave us a lot more direction with regards to where our project needed to go in a practical sense. Colin told us there were two parts to the energy issue: HEAT and HOW TO KEEP HEAT IN. He said there would be no point simply heating the building, when the heat will just escape. The building, under its listing, does not allow for double glazing to be put in. However, there are ways around this such as secondary glazing. Secondary glazing is a cost effective and efficient method of insulating and sound proofing existing windows. It involves the addition of another layer of glazing, typically plastic.

In addition to this, we considered the use of waste materials on site. Portland Works has a great deal of sawdust as waste, that it costs to dispose of. With this in mind, we wondered if it was a material we could use. Colin mentioned James Hockway, who is trying to invent a rocket stove that works off sawdust. We thought of looking into alternative uses for sawdust such as making it into pellets.

With no immediate solution as far as energy use goes, it is key to focus on ideas and moving forward. These should centre around the making processes themselves.

We had a look at another room in Portland Works that is going to be a room for the volunteers. This room is currently being worked on, with the suggestion of secondary glazing and filling in the window gaps to prevent heat loss. It would also be interesting to look at how the space is used and where tools could be stored.

Images from inside the volunteer room:

7th October 2014

Today we met with Julia to discuss the progression of our brief so far. The meeting posed various questions such as the all important:

‘How do energy and making come together?’

We decided to follow the meeting with a visit to Portland Works for volunteer day, hoping to talk to some of the volunteers and tenants on site. We first spoke to Jimmy who has been at Portland Works for 32 years. He told us he has no family link with the site, simply that he ‘wanted something doing and couldn’t find someone to do it so started to do it [himself]’. People now think of things they want to make and set him the task of making them, from the simple to the novel (he showed us a light he was making out of a jousting helmet). All his work he does in his own workshop but others come to him for bits they need doing, he describes Portland Works as ‘like a big family’.

On talking to him about the building itself he said even after all this time at Portland Works, he still notices new things. He mentions ‘one day a bit of paint will fall off’ creating a new image. He has quite a few stories to tell us about his time here, some more unfortunate than others, and he speaks with enthusiasm about projects with friends. One of these focuses on the idea of perpetual motion, a kind of ‘free energy’. He shows us drawings for a mechanism powered by a push bike, part of the grand experiment.

We also got the chance to speak to a few volunteers around the building, including a newcomer, Anne, who described those who are tenants there as ‘lovely welcoming people’ and said the building itself is ‘fascinating’ and has ‘got a great feeling.’ Donna had been volunteering since June, already having replaced panes of glass and built frames with basic knowledge passed on from previous volunteers and tenants. Ken, alternatively, talked about how he feels the history of the musicians within the building, and how you can hear them at night.

Volunteers were more than willing to share thoughts and experiences on Portland Works, but we brought cakes for good measure. Derek is fascinated by the making still going on in the building, previously a Design Technology teacher himself. Alan, a retired planner, now volunteers for Planning Aid and supported the works when there was the threat of turning it into housing. He started campaigning (with the help of a connection for publicity) and is now a shareholder.

We were told more and more people are finding out about Portland Works, quite a few saying they have connections with its past – a great thing to hear for the future of this building, and for those investing time and care into keeping it alive.

2nd October 2014

‘Sheffield industry made me, I want to give something back to it.’

A group of us had the pleasure of talking to Anna de Lange, a local history writer. Anna was born in Sheffield where her great grandfather was a furnace maker. She also has other family connections within the industry. Since moving back to the city two and a half years ago, Anna decided to research a man named Robert Mosley, the first manufacturer of stainless steel knives. Mosley was also the founder of Portland Works and a great collaborator and maker. Much to the interest of the public, Anna has published a book about Robert Mosley and is currently in the process of producing another on the stories of the people connected to Portland Works. This relates strongly to our project, with attention paid to showing energy use through personal stories.

Anna told us a great deal about Portland Works including some background on Sheffield’s industrial past. Following the meeting, we had another look around the building with Anna, and began to notice even more through the details and palimpsests within the architecture.

We met Anna at Harland Cafe, not far from Portland Works. The surrounding area offered many other industrial buildings with potential relationships to our project and site.

30th September 2014

One Great Workshop is a Live Project undertaken by MArch and MAAD students at the University of Sheffield alongside our mentors Julia Udall and Renata Tyszczuk. This blog will follow the explorations of the Grade II* listed former cutlery factory, Portland Works. We are doing this with specific attention paid to the culture of ‘making’ and the idea of ‘little mesters’ within Sheffield, and how energy plays a large role in this process and within the community. We aim to develop a wider view of the history of making within Sheffield and the usage of energy over time with a view to the future. Within this project we hope to gain a greater understanding of this community and the city itself, as well as suggesting a positive outlook to the development of the building and site with regard to our findings during the following 6 weeks. Today marked our first meeting and exploration of the site, with an introduction and guided tour from Colin, manager at Portland Works, and a view into Andy’s forge to get a glimpse into one of the many making processes within the building.