Arts & Culture Selected Projects FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
2
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
Arts + Culture
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
3
Arts + Culture
4
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
Fraser Brown MacKenna have won an invited design competition run by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust to create a new “Museum of the Mind” at Bethlem Royal Hospital, due to open in 2014. Bethlem is one of the world’s oldest hospitals for the treatment of mental illness. The Bethlem Archives and Museum Service was established at the hospital as a small exhibition space in 1970 and now houses over 450 works of art by artists linked to the hospital or the field of mental illness, including pieces by Richard Dadd and Louis Wain who both once spent time at Bethlem. The archive contains a continuous record of the hospital since 1559 and contains fragile and valuable records. Our proposals involve the refurbishment and extension of the former Administration Building, which retains a stunning Art Deco reception area and staircase as well as the historic Boardroom of the hospital. The new museum will house
environmentally controlled archive storage, a conservation studio, dedicated spaces to accommodate archive researchers and education visits and galleries for temporary exhibitions. The focal point of the new museum will be a permanent display which explores the long history of mental health care and treatment at Bethlem and elsewhere. Key to our design is a desire to ensure ensure the building itself plays a significant role in forming the visitor experience – the exhibition will conclude within a space for quiet reflection and contemplation where visitors can take time out from sometimes confronting experiences. This space will be provided by a contemporary glazed extension, designed to complement the existing building in terms of scale and proportion. This unique room will direct views to the landscaped grounds of the hospital and display poetry to inspire the visitor’s imagination.
Museum + Gallery Royal Bethlem Hospital
Museum and gallery Archive storage facilities Research & conservation Improved vistor experience
The symmetrical arrangement of the Administration building inspired a ‘winged’ layout, with a theatrical, central entrance space. The life-size stone figures by Danish sculptor Caius Gabriel Cibber known as ‘Raving and Melancholy Madness’ (from the gates of the 17th century Bethlem Hospital) will suitably announce the entrance to the Museum and archive. FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
5
Arts + Culture
Stanley Picker Gallery Kingston University
Fraser Brown MacKenna was invited by Kingston University to complete the refurbishment of the Stanley Picker Gallery which was reopened in time for the venues 15th Anniversary celebrations. The Stanley Picker Gallery, which is part of Art Council England’s National Portfolio, is a public venue dedicated to the research, development, production and presentation of interdisciplinary contemporary arts practice. Our proposal for the refurbishment was both creative and economical. Working with a limited budget, the gallery is now able to operate more successfully. Through minimal design interventions, changes to the gallery’s exterior have increased its presence in the neighbourhood, and the reorganisation of the internal space has allowed for it to be used more effectively.
6
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
A key aspect of the design was to make the venue more welcoming and therefore encourage more people to visit the gallery. This was primarily achieved through the demolition of an external boundary wall, making it more approachable to visitors and passers-by. In addition, the gallery’s external appearance has been significantly altered to distinguish it from the surrounding residential buildings. Finally, the physical access and signage has been improved. Internally, three separate identifiable gallery / multipurpose spaces have been established through the subdivision of the existing open plan area. This approach has improved the interior usage as it is better suited to the gallery’s vision, allowing the exhibition curators and management to make future adaptations to the space easily.
Arts + Culture
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
7
Arts + Culture
8
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
Fraser Brown MacKenna were commissioned by the Slade School of Fine Art to undertake the refurbishment and extension of the building. The priority was to provide new workspaces due to a surge in demand for student places. A new computer studies department was also required. Services needed to be upgraded throughout and the layout and circulation within the building needed rationalisation.
In addition to these restrictions, the constricted site meant the possibility for extending the building were limited.
Slade School of Fine Art
The challenge of providing additional floorspace and improving circulation were achieved without causing damage to the fabric of the existing building or compromising its character through the introduction of mezzanine floors, resulting in a series of interventions which are designed to be reversible.
University College London
The buildings occupied by the Slade are part of UCL’s Bloomsbury Campus in Gower Street and are Grade I listed. They had last been refurbished in 1926. Our proposals for the refurbishment and extension of the building had to be developed in consultation with Conservation Officers from Camden Council as well as Inspectors from English Heritage, who were initially concerned about potential damage to historic fabric.
A continuous 5.2m wide mezzanine runs the length of the two lofty first floor painting studios, punching through the partition wall. Another mezzanine provides a second level in what was formerly the men’s life drawing studio. The mezzanines are supported on steel columns and beams, with particle board floors capable of taking a 5kN/m2 loading.
• • • • •
Grade I Listed Building Refurbishment + Extension New studio space Light touch interventions Clear separation between old and new
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
9
Arts + Culture
10
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
Simple steel and cable balustrading is finished in micaceous paint. In the theatre-design department on the top floor, we created additional space raising student intake from five to ten students each year by knocking three separate workshops into one large space, and adding a mezzanine which extends to the full length of the building. A new mezzanine in the administrative office on the ground floor is reached by a spiral stair. It supports a new glassfronted office and passageway through to the archivist’s office (formerly occupied by a water tank). Beyond this, a short bridge leads to the new archive department created by suspending a narrow mezzanine from the existing roof trusses. By moving all of these functions into mezzanines, space has been freed to create a new printing studio overlooking the quadrangle. As part of the project we were asked to create a new sculpture studio. Situated behind the main Slade Building the new extension is a crisp, contemporary structure with a curved metal roof and blockwork rendered walls. The doors are fully glazed and a large screen of
glass blocks lines the eastern elevation. The studio’s steel-framed structure sits lightly against the north wall of the main building, attached by short cross beams, to limit interventions into the Grade I listed structure. A sloping patent-glazed rooflight provides a subtle junction between the old and new by separating the studio roof from the wall of the old building and allowing natural light to wash down over the weathered brickwork. Materials and sculpture can be brought in and out of the new building through a double-height lobby fitted with a hoist. An external stair links the mezzanine with the main building, but a separate entrance, opening on to the lane, allows the studio to be used as a self-contained unit and public viewing gallery. By working closely with the client and offers from English Heritage, we were able to substantially improve the academic environment at the Slade without interfering with the Grade I listed structure. The improvements made to the building contributed to the school achieving an improved academic rating, leading to higher income.
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
11
Arts + Culture
Art in the Public Realm John Aiken
• • • •
Artist, Professor John Aiken Sculptrural work Commissioned by the DofE Multi-coloured Granite
Fraser Brown MacKenna have a long history of collaborating with artists working in the public realm. We have worked with sculptor and Slade Professor John Aiken detailing and specifying his projects in Derry, Belfast, Hertfordshire and in galleries across Europe.
which weigh up to 20 tonnes, reflect the rich archaeological, commercial and cultural heritage of the city.
The sculptural work in Derry is a sitespecific installation, responding to the dynamic site at Orchard Street, adjacent to New Gate Bastian. The four granite blocks reflect the shape of the city’s four quarters – Ferryquay Street, Shipquay Street, Butcher Street and Bishop Street.
FraserBrownMacKenna acted as technical consultant to the artist throughout the project. The practice is a supporter and Board Member of Art & Architecture.
The works, designed by artist John Aiken, are conceived as “portraits of the old city in shape and form” – an abstract translation of Derry’s walled city. The multi-textured and multi-coloured granite is highly polished and sourced from Europe, Africa and South America, the diversity of sources representing the historic role of Derry as a port.The resulting forms, each of
12
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
The work was commissioned by the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland through an opensubmission sculpture competition.
Arts + Culture
Architects don’t often get the chance to design theatrical sets these days, so envious eyes are on Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects, which recently landed the plum job of designing a free-standing installation for performance artist Bobby Baker.Her latest piece “Take a Peek!” is the third in her series ‘Daily Life’ and takes a wry look at the world of healthcare. To accommodate the travelling show, she commissioned Fraser Brown MacKenna to design a demountable set in which the performance takes place. The set is conceived as a series of booths, drawing parallels between healthcare and fairground environments (Baker is a victim, the audience are voyeurs). It is designed to accommodate the 30-strong audience as they move from one sequence to another. Also contained in the set is space for props, back-stage crew and a lighting rig. The set is constructed from a kit of parts which is easily demounted and flat-packed. Securing and linking together the white-painted panels
is a single triangular timber beam, which also carries cabling and provides support for the stage curtains. Fraser Brown MacKenna’s own patented aluminium structural system, Netbuild, has been used to create a tented roof to the Nut Shy scene.
Performance Space Bobby Baker
• • •
Client : Bobby Baker Structural Engineer : Adams Kara Taylor Cost: £75,000
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
13
Arts + Culture
14
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
Following the closure of the Grade II listed Laurie Grove public baths, the buildings were acquired by Goldsmiths, University of London. They now provide studio space for students practising at the forefront of their field. We were commissioned to undertake repair works to the listed building, refurbish the curator’s room, improve accessibility and fire precautions and create a new entrance to the building all carried out whilst the building was in use. The existing entrance off Laurie Grove is stepped externally and internally, making access for people with mobility problems difficult. The entrance also hinders the movement of artwork in and out of the building. We gained planning permission for a new entrance to the rear of the former bath house, located opposite the new Ben Pimlott Building.
The project brief was expanded to incorporate a new gallery space in the two redundant water tanks that previously served the baths. The contract was let to Bryan & Langley and Phase 1 of the project, comprising internal repair works, is now complete. This involved managing over eighty separate interventions into the building and included restitching brickwork (including the glazed bricks within the former pool house), repairs to timber and the replacement of part of the roof structure, with new finishes and decorations throughout. Careful management of these works was necessary as the project was carried out during a tight timescale over the summer holidays whilst the building continued to be used.
Laurie Grove Baths Refurbishment + Extension
Refurbishment New entrance & gallery Grade II listed building Access improvements Fire precautions Brickwork repairs Live environment Two phase project
As part of this phase we also made a new access into the redundant water tanks which will house the new gallery.
The sensitive design utilises weathered steel (also known as Cor-Ten) - a material specifically chosen for is sculptural qualities and industrial aesthetic.
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
15
Arts + Culture
Central House Aldgate London Metropolitan
16
Multi-use space New front of house Faculty reception Cafe and drop down space New Art Gallery Exhibition Space Studios Enrolment centre Examinations centre Refurbishment & retrofit Live environment Design & Build contract £3.5m Complete April 2011
Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects were employed as Technical Architects for the refurbishment of the ground floor of Central House. The work was carried out as part of an £8.7m campus reconfiguration project across four sites. Central House is located in Aldgate, Whitechapel. It is important to the corporate image of the University because at the start of the autumn semester, the ground floor forms the main enrolment centre for all courses across LMU. This means up to 25,000 people pass through Central House in the space of two weeks. The building is also home to London Met’s Design School and the building has an industrial feel with exposed surfaces.
An art gallery was created, for the exhibition of both student projects and for curatorial use. A large central multi-purpose space was opened up, with a new rooflight provided. This space will be used for enrolment, examinations, lectures, soft seating and additional exhibition space. The design involved the creation of blackout capabilities and acoustic separation forr term-time use. A new art studio space was also created. This area will also be used for enrolment. The project was completed whilst the upper floors of the building, housing the Design School, were in use. The works also included refurbishment of the City Fitness Suite. The project was completed in April 2011.
The project involved the creation of a new entrance, with a new canopy, reception area, breakout and cafe space.
LMU Cross Campus Refurbishment
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
CENTRAL HOUSE
59-63 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 7PF
FraserBrownMacKenna Architects REVISION DETAILS:
15-18 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8SL Tel: 020 7251 0543 Fax: 020 7251 0517 studio@fbmarchitects.com www.fbmarchitects.com
527 Construction
557-AL-1200E
Arts + Culture
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
17
Arts + Culture
Ground Floor Plan
Section
18
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
The Media Arts and Technology Studios at Queen Mary University have been designed to facilitate different types of sound, music and performance research. The facility, located within the School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science at the Mile End Campus, is used by performing arts students from across the University of London. The studios consist of a performance space and a control room; both acoustically sealed environments. The performance area is a large space with a high ceiling (9 x 8m) with all surfaces painted in matte black. Hanging points and lighting bars provide mounting points for projectors, speakers and screens. The performance space is equipped not only with microphones but also with motion sensors to track physical performances.
The Control Room is equipped with high quality recording software and facilities for mastering, mixing and post-production. An optical link allows up to 128 simultaneous channels of digital audio to be routed between the performance space and the control room. The studio is located within the Engineering Building, which lies directly above the Central Line (London Underground). We have therefore created two acoustically sealed rooms by installing a secondary concrete floor slab, new walls and a roof, mounted on springs. Walls and the ceiling are not fixed to the existing structure but supported using resilient ties, to eliminate any effects from the tube line below.
Media Arts Technology Studio Queen Mary University London
New performance space New control room Acoustically sealed space Complex location over tube line route Refurbishment of concrete framed 1960s building Live environment New entrance and canopy £300K traditional contract Complete December 2010
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
19
Arts + Culture
Salvation Army Hall Hendon Corps, Barnet
20
Multi Purpose Hall Worship and Performance High performance acoustic Band room Rehearsal and tuition space
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Fraser Brown MacKenna were responsible for the refurbishment of the largest of the Salvation Army’s hostels in London. Following this commission in 2011 we were invited to enter a limited design competition to create a new building for the Hendon Corps. We were delighted to be selected as the competition winners. The project is currently at RIBA Stage C and awaiting funding. The design provides a new multipurpose hall on the existing site. Space for workship and performance is given prominence. The designs were developed in consultation with an acoustic engineer.
The form and scale of the proposed building reflect the suburban setting of the site, The building is set back at ground floor level, creating an entrance canopy, leading on to a welcoming entrance space with the hall beyond. The new building offers a large hall and a smaller community hall, which will also be used for band practice. Instrument storage and rehearsal space is also provided within a service zone. Classrooms and office space for the creche and weekday nursery form part of the proposals. The project has been well received by planners at pre-application stage and is currently awaiting funding.
Arts + Culture
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
21
Arts + Culture
Cross section
Long section
First Floor Plan Ground Floor: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Main Entrance Lobby / Bar Cafe / Seating WC’s Servery Servery Store Box Office Studio Theatre for 150 persons 9. Courtyard garden 10. Changing/showers/store 11. External performance First Floor: 12. Bridge to Sutherland House 13. WC 14. Store 15. Tech 16. Stores/Changing 17. Plant room
22
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Arts + Culture
We developed design proposals to extend the Grade II Listed Sutherland House at Royal Holloway, University of London. The extension provides an additional studio theatre and improved front of house facilities to serve the needs of the growing Theatre and Performing Arts department. We developed our design as part of a multi-disciplinary consultant team, working closely with Paul Gillieron Acoustic Design. Our solution provides a ‘box in a box’ approach, offering a generous double height space wrapped behind a parapet wall, reflecting the adjoining Sutherland House.
New and old elements are separated by a secluded courtyard garden - a space which can be used as auxillary teaching space. The front of house area offers a cafe and bar, reception and WC facilities. A bridge at first floor level connects to Sutherland House, providing animation within the double height entrance area. The changing facilities and stores have scope for dual access, serving both the new indoor studio theatre as well as a new external amphitheatre space. Our proposals were shortlisted in the design competition.
Sutherland House Theatre Extension Royal Holloway University London
Shortlisted design proposals Theatre extension Box within a box principle Listed building
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
23
Arts + Culture
New Music Studios Goldsmiths, University of London
• • • • •
High acoustic specification Heavily serviced space Re-furbished Victorian building ‘Dual-function’ acoustic panels Professional level recording studios
The Goldsmiths Music Studios, located on New Cross Road in SouthEast London, have been designed to be a creative space for research, performance and recording where musicians, both Goldsmiths students and members of the public, can make professional-level recordings using state-of-the-art equipment. Fraser Brown MacKenna refurbished the existing music department and added a cedar clad -extension to the buildings rear to provide three studios, an office, a control room and WC facilities. The existing Victorian building suffered significant damage during the Second World War; and though repaired its complex structure offered poor thermal and acoustic insulation. This, in combination with the sites location on a highly trafficked and loud road meant that that a highly sound tight envelope was essential in the success of the studios. To meet the high performance acoustic specifications, a complete strip-out and re-build of the internal floor
Entrance Lobby rG07
Cellar Front Hall rG08
Front Studio rG01
24
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
and walls was essential, requiring careful and complex detailing in continuous consultation with structural and acoustic engineers to ensure a sound tight junction between the old and new structures. Insulating to existing windows to the required level presented further challenges. To address this, the existing glazing was supplemented by secondary glazing and followed by a third layer of acoustic glazing.
Store Room
WC rG05
FBM developed Innovative timber-clad acoustic panels to line the internal studio walls. The adjustable ‘dualmode panels’ offer variable acoustic responses to suit the reverberation requirements for recording different types of music, enhancing the acoustic flexibility of the space and presenting the studios with a unique selling point.
WC rG04
Rear Hall rG09
Control Room rG02
Rear Studio rG03
Arts + Culture
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
25
Arts + Culture
Performing Arts Department Middlesex University
New performance area Drama studio Dance studio Recording Studio Rehearsal Rooms Wardrobe/Workshop Space Multi-Media Room Scenery workshops Prop and costume stores Box office
The Department of Drama and Performing Arts at Middlesex University operated across sites in Bedford and at Ivy House in Hampstead. Following the sale of Ivy House (the former home of the ballerina Anna Pavlova), Fraser Brown MacKenna were appointed as architects and lead consultants to consolidate the department on a single site at the Trent Park Campus. We were tasked with providing high quality academic and support space within a limited budget and programme. It was necessary to re-use the layout of the existing buildings wherever possible – which meant overcoming challenging constraints in order to introduce new high specification acoustic and performance spaces such as sound recording and performance studios. We consolidated the drama department into existing space within the Richard Jebb Building which adjoins the Grade II listed Mansion House. The work involved alterations to the basement, ground and first floor of the building. We provided a new Technical Theatre Arts Classroom and studio (203sqm) and Technical Theatre Arts Workshop (58sqm) and a new control room on the upper level of the Studio Theatre (63sqm). We refurbished an existing gymnasium (Simmonds Hall) to provide the new Simmonds Theatre. We refurbished the basement level to provide two studios, a solo practice room and a new studio theatre,
26
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
together with CAD/CAM workshop, mini-rig, a costume workshop and store, prop/construction workshop and furniture store in an undercroft below the existing gym. At first floor level we converted teaching rooms to provide a 90sqm drama studio and a research centre, refurbishing existing offices to provide space for departmental staff. We also developed proposals a new 600sqm temporary ‘black box’ theatre next to the sports hall, clad in western red cedar, providing a new performance venue and associated spaces including a control room, box office, prop store, changing rooms and green room.
Arts + Culture
The museum, which is the former home of the internationally acclaimed Estonian Sculptor Dora Gordine (18951991), holds the major collection of her bronzes, paintings and drawings, and a superb collection of Russian Imperial Art, gathered by her husband, the Hon. Richard Hare. The two studios, gallery and top floor apartment were all designed by Gordine herself in 1935/6. The house opened as a museum in 2004.
Fraser Brown MacKenna were appointed to develop design proposals to create a new entrance and visitor facilities for the museum, in a new pavilion, linked to the existing house. The new space provides retail and interpretation space, an enlarged exhibition gallery. The new building lies to the rear of the house, set within the mature landscaped garden and the design process has involved considerable negotiation with the planning authority.
Museum + Gallery Dorich House
The unusual building, created as a private house, cannot easily be adapted for use to provide high quality, modern facilities for visitors.
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
27
Arts + Culture
Postgraduate Art School Goldsmiths, University of London
Following the closure of the Grade II listed Laurie Grove public baths, the buildings were acquired by Goldsmiths, University of London. They now provide studio space for students practising at the forefront of their field. We were commissioned to undertake repair works to the listed building, refurbish the curator’s room, improve accessibility and fire precautions and create a new entrance to the building all carried out whilst the building was in use. The existing entrance off Laurie Grove is stepped externally and internally, making access for people with mobility problems difficult. The entrance also hinders the movement of artwork in and out of the building. We gained planning permission for a new entrance to the rear of the former bath house, located opposite the new Ben Pimlott Building. The sensitive design utilises weathered steel (also known as Cor-Ten) - a material specifically chosen for is sculptural qualities and industrial aesthetic. The project brief was expanded to incorporate a new gallery space in the two redundant water tanks that previously served the baths. The contract was let to Bryan &
28
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
Langley and Phase 1 of the project, comprising internal repair works, is now complete. This involved managing over eighty separate interventions into the building and included restitching brickwork (including the glazed bricks within the former pool house), repairs to timber and the replacement of part of the roof structure, with new finishes and decorations throughout. Careful management of these works was necessary as the project was carried out during a tight timescale over the summer holidays whilst the building continued to be used. As part of this phase we also made a new access into the redundant water tanks which will house the new gallery.
Arts + Culture
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects
29
FraserBrownMacKennaArchitects