2015
ALEXANDRA MURZINA
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School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Newcastle University
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ALEXANDRA MURZINA
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POST WAR BUILDINGS, PARTICULARLY THOSE CONSTRUCTED WITH CONCRETE, ARE BEING REMOVED DISPROPORTIONATELY FROM BRITISH CITIES, SOMETIMES BECAUSE OF A FAILURE, BUT MOSTLY BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE SIMPLY DETERMINE THEM TO BE UNDESIRABLE. THIS TREND OF BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE REMOVAL IS MOST PREVALENT IN THE NORTH EAST, A REGION THAT WAS PROMINENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCRETE MODERNISM IN THE UK, BUT ALSO AN AREA THAT HAS BECOME ASSOCIATED WITH ITS ONGOING DESTRUCTION.
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ALEXANDRA MURZINA
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ALEXANDRA MURZINA
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SITE FOR THE PROJECT IS BASED IN THE HISTORIC SITY OF DURHAM, RIGHT OPPOSITE TO THE DURHAM CATHEDRAL AND THUS ADJACENT TO THE WORLD HERITAGE SITE.AT THE INITIAL STAGES OF THE PROJECT, CAREFUL CONSIDERATION IN TERMS OF MASSING AND MATERIALITY WAS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE SITE’S HISTORICAL FABRIC. ONE OF THE MAIN THEMES IN MY DESIGN APPROACH WAS TO ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DURHAM HISTORICAL CORE (CATHEDRAL), AS WELL AS WITH ITS RECENT PAST; THE CONTROVERSIAL ‘BRUTALIST’ STRUCTURE – DUNELM HOUSE. RESPONSE TO THE CATHEDRAL SEEN IN A WAY INTERIOR SPACES ARE ORCHESTRATED WITHIN THE ARCHIVE. SINCE VISITORS ARE ENTERING THE BUILDING, THEY ARE ALSO EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY WHICH CULMINATES IN A RESTAURANT OVERLOOKING THE RIVER WEAR AND THUS ESTABLISHING A VISUAL LINK TO THE CATHEDRAL DUE TO STUDIO AGENDA WAS MAINLY FOCUSED ON MATERIAL EXPERIMENTATION, IT WAS NOTICED THAT CASTING AS A TECHNIQUE ALLOWS TO BRING CONCEPTUAL IDEAS INTO FOCUS. AFTER A NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTATIONS WITH CONCRETE AND PLASTER I WAS ABLE TO AT FIRST GENERATE A 1:200 VOLUMETRIC STUDY OF DUNELM HOUSE - BRUTALIST BUILDING LOCATED RIGHT NEXT TO THE SITE. LATER, AS A RESULT OF CASTING AND SITE ANALYSIS, AN IDEA OF 12 METERS LONG CANTELIVER WAS INTRODUCED DUETO THE CATHEDRAL BEING MAIN FOCAL POINT. FINALLY,THE IDEA OF KINGSGATE BRIDGE AXIS BROUGHT INSIDE THE BUILDING DEFINED THE DYNAMIC CARACTER OF INTERNAL LAYOUT AND THEIDEAOF‘TRANSPARENT’ URBAN ROOM BEING ATTACHED TO THE ‘SOLID’ARCHIVECORE.
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ALEXANDRA MURZINA
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