Project 3- Art Gallery

Site

The site I chose for this project is site 1. To my observations, the front of the site is facing the main King Street, therefore the main buildings along the street are shops and commercial buildings.

However, after turning into the side street, it has a sudden contrast with the busy King Street. The street is quiet and there are only residential buildings.

The site is placed between the two streets, therefore it has the two properties mentioned above. This is interesting because the visitors will have different feelings according to which side of the street they enter.

Therefore what I want do is a gallery that compromises the two properties, but with the main focus on the art gallery. The apartment is made as hidden, so that only guests that are invited are welcomed.

Precedent

The precedent I looked at was SANAA’s Towada Art Center.

The center is formed by a simple circulated passage, which leads visitors to walk through the main galleries by intruding the galleries in the path. The optional galleries, however, are placed on the side of the path and the ones who are interested can go in, while the others can just walk past.

A working model by me to understand the concept of this work.

What I learned from this precedent is that how a contrast of major and minor spaces are created through a simple circulation. The idea is clever and I used this idea in my design in order to separate the two properties of the site.

Scheme

The gallery is made up of 2 separate but linked buildings. The one in front, facing the main road is the art gallery, where the smaller one is the workshop and smaller gallery, also with an apartment.

The roof is made as creased as to give different lighting conditions for the interior. The skylight is place on the sloped side facing North to increase the amount of light gained. However, they are made out of sanded glass, therefore when light passes in, a soft and even light source is diffused to the gallery.

Moreover, some walls are extended from the creased roofs in order to allow visitors to know that the roof is the main feature of this building. Art objects can be placed on these walls which could catch attention as the people viewing from the roof and along the wall to the objects.

Simple-line circulation

When does a person want to go into a place that they never entered before? My answer for this is a pathway that gives you curiosity on ‘what is inside the building?’

From the main doorway on the facade, a simple straight circulation is formed, which allows pedestrians to look through the building to the far end park in the side street. Moreover, the irregular pathway on the second floor has helped to cast interesting shadows, together with the contrasting lighting conditions between indoor and outdoor, a path of light is formed. People walking on the street could be attracted by this path and start to question on what is inside this building.

Moreover, the concept of the Towada Art Center is placed in the circulation, where the path intrudes the main gallery, where the small gallery and apartment is placed on the side. This adds privacy to the apartment as the ones that does no wish to enter this building can just walk pass, thus decreasing the flow of people into the building.

2 properties of workshop and minor gallery

The building at the back is made up of a workshop, a small gallery, office, storage and the apartment.

Although this space is made as an optional gallery, the only way to get to the second floor is placed here, therefore this space have two different properties according to whether the visitors want to go to the second level or not.

If they want to go, this space makes a major circulation to go up; if they don’t, this space remains as the optional space as it was.

Hidden apartment

A hidden staircase is placed at the back of the normal stairs, therefore a sense of privacy is created in the public space.

The ones climbing up these stairs will think that the wall next to them is the exterior wall, however it is actually a wall that divides the public space and private space.

Viewing from side street

The commercial buildings in the side street have uneven heights. If a tall roof is placed in the end, it will catch attention to the pedestrians. This is why the roofs are made higher in the middle and lower in the main front. The creased roof also contrasts with the adjacent buildings, which attracts people to think about what is in the building.

Moreover, the minor gallery is placed not facing the road, so it does not invite people to go into the small gallery before visiting the major one. The walls there are also angles to the left, which helps directing the visitors to enter the main gallery first.

Original Drawings

Plan 1:100

Section 1:100

Room Plan 1:50

Room Section 1:50

Perspectives

Reflection

For this project I managed to finish my model and drawings on time, therefore I do not need to stay awake all night to finish the things. However, I had been struggling in giving a form to a function. I always design a building according to the function, but neglecting the form of it. Therefore in this project I tried to start with a form and giving function by the form, and I think the process is challenging. I hope I can continue with this type of thinking in my future studies.