Scheme Development

So this week i presented a few ideas to my tutors of what might work within the site. The scheme has to retain the public footpath, its current status as a connecting space is a reason why i picked the site in the first place.

On top of this it was also important to me that i was respectful to the history of the site, two of the buildings are grade 2 listed. Research was then geared towards precedents that i felt worked with old and new really well..

Again this is just a small selection of my research in to this area.

Around the UK, and as already discussed in particular Nottingham, economic difficulties are causing shops to close at alarming rates, resulting in the 'Domino Effect' and an increase in unemployment, ultimately reducing the amount of visitors to the city centre. However, this has lead to the exploration of other methods to revive the city, boosting moral and bringing together a community when times are hard.

Many towns have looked to culture as a tool of regeneration in the past and will continue to do this in the future. Bilbao's Guggenheim has been recognised at a global level for its effect on the cities regeneration. At the other end of the scale but with equally substantial effects an article in journal no. 217 'Architecutre Today' on David Chipperfield's art gallery in Margate states

"Art galleries are the perfect weapon, social attractors for the kinds of people who might help lift the fortunes of a town like Margate." 

Designing a gallery for my final project is a million miles away from where i thought i would be when i first started this course 9 months ago. However, it should offer me a platform to really show my understanding of design and space to solve complex issues, allowing me to develop an environment that works within a site that has continuously failed in the past. Adaptability will still be important too giving me the opportunity to continue pushing existing ideas further.

Discussions with my tutors lead to this rough list of spaces required on the part of the gallery...

My First Massing Proposals

The site, aswell as having the footpath running through the middle also is on split level, entrance from the west is at what i called 'lower ground' level. The end of the arcade of shops sees a set of 20 steps rising approximately 4000 mm. This leads in to the small courtyard space before exiting to the east and on to Fletcher Gate.

And an aerial...

So, using Google Sketch Up I began working with some dimensions and initially developed four schemes looking at the key features required for a gallery... I wont talk over the reasons why i made certain decisions at this stage however as i get in to the development of these later on i shall explain all!

Development One

Following discussions regarding my massing studies shown in the previous post i began developing a scheme, i worked at first in plan and section before modelling in Sketch Up and then rendering the whole thing in white using Kerkythea. This allowed me to gain a bit more of an idea for how the spaces might feel..

I was working at 1:500 scale which later turned out to perhaps be a bit small, but it still gave me an idea spatially of how the things might be organised... Click the images to enlarge...

And the renders ...

Looking from the courtyard down the walk towards the Bridlesmith Gate entrance

 Showing the staircase to the left and the gallery spaces to the right

A view through glass from the bridge linking the top floors

Inside the cafeteria

A view back in to the shop from the halfway point on the ramp



The design had mixed feedback, it offered solutions to nearly all the problems posed originally but lacked coherence, circulation was messy and my tutors generally felt that it could be pushed a lot further. I was happy with this, i had produced this design purely as a starting point, a platfrom to build from. My mind is all over the place now though, a million different ideas running through it.. I hope to have a new scheme ready for the next tutorial in two days..

Development Two

After a very busy and very stressed couple of days I managed to rationalise the circulation and create a better flow through the entire site. I took some more drastic measures by moving the existing 20 steps further west along the footpath allowing for a usable space underneath them.

Meetings with my tutors also helped me question other areas of the site and resulted in the demolition of the existing pub which is currently boarded up. In the previous design this was going to become the entrance/reception area, in the new design is it removed and becomes a set of steps down into a double height reception and shop.

And some renders..

View into the reception, made possible through moving the stairs..

View back in to the reception from the classroom/studio..

Looking down the alleyway from where the stairs used to be..

Exiting the lift on the second floor..

In the gallery space..

On the top floor upon leaving the lift..

View from bridge linking the two galleries..

Seeing the design in 3D really helped point out the areas of this that required changing and i could see these before i even met with my tutors. In plan the spaces seemed to work out however in reality the scale of some areas that were essentially 'dead' space were far too great. The central staircase could be halved and still have the effect i was looking to achieve.

My tutors also commented on the attention i had being paying the 'admin' room. Its placement in this design could be prime retail, advertising or gallery space, and that in reality it needs to be tucked out the way, it really isnt that important, certainly not at this stage. They were also a little puzzled as to why the shop was within a double height space, questioning acoustics and the use of space above, really, 6 ft.

So lots taken on board once again! Althoug hthe CAD model does help visualise the space we decided that from now on in order to truly feel the space a card model would be produced...

Grey Card Model

Having finished the last tutorial once again with a million different things running through my head i began by building a model at 1:100. The model represented Development Two but with just a few simple changes responding to the feedback.. The plan looked like this below...

The model..

I built the model in what are essentially modules allowing for a little bit of play with the spaces and things got quite exciting. Below are some images of what i produced by just locating the same volumes of space in a different orientation and at times 'off-grid'...

Because the two entrances in to the site are via a tunnel which is dark and enclosed this method of design allowed me to play with dark and light spaces, creating a journey which alternates between bright open spaces and dark closed spaces.

This was noted and developed further to produce Development Four.

Research

As well as the research documented in previous posts that looked at how galleries and museums plan the spaces and the journeys through the building, I have also spent lots of time looking in to materials and ways of controlling the light be it natural or artificial within exhibition spaces.

Steven Holl has produced several building that I feel do this very well and inspiration can be taken from his work..

Virginia Institute for Contemporary Art

This building features a series of flexible programming spaces for the presentation of visual art, theater, music, dance and film. It also encompasses a 240 seat performance space, outdoor plazas, a sculpture garden, classrooms, a café and administrative offices. Obviously sharing similar spaces to what i intend to offer in my design..

Soft lighting is created through a frosted glazing, preventing the building from naturally heating up too much as well as providing an appropriate light for viewing artwork.

A mix of this and clear glazing, used to frame key views, has been adopted in his 'Museum of Ocean and Surf'.

I am certain that i want to adopt this sort of language, especially in the visable areas on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building. As mentioned galleries need, if possible to avoid direct sunlight but if the view is there is needs to be captured.

The restoration of the Palais Des Gouverneurs Museum by Daniel Cleris & Jean-Michel Daubourg is an example of how a contemporary addition to an old existing building can work really nice. 

This really uses the existing fabric of the building to enhance the spaces, especially when met with the bright white of the addition. This final image with the balcony looking into the double height space is something i have tried to create, and not lose, throughout each of my development stages..

Lastly i just wanted to post a few images of one of my favourite buuldings in london, Tate Modern. Again the way the architects, Herzog and de Meuron, paid attention to the old details whilst creating a world class gallery is something i admire.