Royal Crescent Visitors Centre

PROJECT #2 JAKUB RYNG ROYAL CRESCENT VISITORS CENTRE

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION/BRIEF

1

SITE ANALYSIS

2

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

6

LOWER GROUND FLOOR PLAN

7

BASEMENT PLAN

8

LONG SECTION

9

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

10

DERIVED GRID Based on the dimensions of the elvation of the No. 1 house, a simple (3500x3500mm)grid may be derived.

INTRODUCTION

THE BRIEF To design a visitors centre to the Royal Crescent on a site across the road from the No.1 complex of buildings. The approach to be taken in the design process is a deterministic one, meaning that all design decisions must be based upon and justified by a thorough analysis of the site and context. Given the immense historical value of the surrounding buildings and the varied topography of the site, there is a great abundance of material to inform the building design.

Undoubtedly putting up any kind of building on this particular site will spark enormous controversy. The design must therefore remain respectful to the context - its scale, materiality, orientation, while at the same time offering the visitor a memorable visit to the site, and ultimately adding onto the Royal Crescent experience.

SITE PLAN 1:500@A3

0

1

5

10

25

50 m

DUALITY OF THE CRESCENT Like most Georgian buildings in Bath, the Royal Crescent also has two distinct facades: from the front it appears symmetrical and orderly thanks to the regular rhythm of the columns, while the back hides an eccentric mixture of eclectic styles.

VAULTED BASEMENT Beaneath the road each house at the Royal Crescent has its own system of basements some of which are vaulted.

RURAL VS. URBAN The Royal Crescent sits at the very junction of where the urban, imposing architecture of the City of Bath, meets the natural landscape - now a public park, in Georgian times, a grazing field.

SITE ANALYSIS

FINAL DESTINATION: ROYAL CRESCENT

SKYLIGHT PENETRATING DEEP INTO THE HOUSE

CIRCUS

JOHN WOOD’S TRINITY PROCESSION In the wider city context, the Royal Crescent is a part of an important urban concept conceived by John Wood comprising Queens Square, the Circus, and the Royal Crescent as the culmination of a grand, up-the-hill procession.

EMPHASIS PLACED ON THE CORNERS

HORISONTAL VS. VERTICAL

QUEENS SQUARE

EXTENSIVE BASEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

2

SITE ANALYSIS CONT’D. VISITORS’ DISTRIBUTION The diagram represents the level of observed tourist activity around the area in front of the Royal Crescent. The larger the red circle, the bigger the number of observed tourists at that spot.

JOHN WOOD’S TRADITIONAL APPROACH The original approach route runs along Brocks Street from the Circus as the final, concluding element to the procession from Queens Square. To his left, the visitor has the sprawling greenery of the park, to his right - the equally magnificent and rigid geometry of the Crescent unfolding before his eyes. Having spent enough time at the turn of the road, the visitor would then typically make his way down the sloping field through the gate on the easternmost part of the meadow.

MODERN ‘CAR PARK’ APPROACH This new approach leads from the massive car park located to the south of the park. Many tourists arrive either by car or in one of the many couches which tend to stop on Royal Avenue.

The visitor would subsequently make his way up the slope through the trees onto the field before the Crescent. From there he would walk further up towards the edifice and possibly join the visitors who had used the traditional approach described above.

3

VIEWS OF AND FROM THE SITE

RURAL VS. URBAN LANDSCAPE

URBAN

RURAL

SHADOW ANALYSIS AT THE EQUINOXES:

9:00

12:00

17:00

PRECEDENTS Munkenbeck + Marshall Architects MOUNT STUART VISITORS CENTRE Rothesay, Bute, Scotland (2002)

This elegant design comprises a timber-clad heavy plinth carrying on its top a glass, lightweight pavilion with a seemingly floating roof. A great visual contrast is achieved between the two parts by the choice of materials. The building is buried within a sloping site meaning that in can be accessed from both levels. The design is particularly successful in how the visitors centre is integrated into the landscape.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe NEUE NATIONALGALERIE Berlin, Germany (1968)

One of Mies’s most iconic buildings, where most of the art collection the museum houses is buried underground. The only part visible from street level is a dark steel-glass crown. Supported by 8 massive columns the flat roof appears to float effortlessly over the space. Having no columns on the corners of the building not only adds to this apparent lightness - it also has structural ramifications - the roof corners act as cantilevers reducing the bending moment in the roof’s centre.

Tadao Andi STONE HILL CENTER Williamstown, Massachusetts (2008)

In his design for the Stone Hill Centre, Ando uses a most understated, Miesian steel frame, subtly evoking the spirit of the modernist age. The simplicity of the detailing of the connections sets up a beautiful geometry for the concrete infill.

4

STRUCTURE The flat roof is supported on 12 steel H-columns organized by the previously established 3500x3500mm grid.

The corners of the pavilion are deliberately left open as a reference to the overemphasized corners of No. 1.

Light Superstructure vs.

Heavy Plinth.

INVISIBLE VS. MONUMENTAL While its southern facade retains a very monumental, heavy composure, the building becomes almost invisible when looking at it from the north/north-east. ▲ STEEL PAVILLION AS SEEN IN THE TRADITOINAL ‘JOHN WOOD APPROACH’.

CIRCULATION/VERTICAL LAYERING OF SPACES

PAVILION/ ENTRANCE CAFE/SHOP /SERVICES DISPLAY/ LECTURE

▼ THE INSIDE OF THE PAVILLION WITH INFORMATION BOARDS ABOUT THE CRESCENT HANGING FROM THE STEEL BEAMS.

STREET LEVEL LOWER GROUND BASEMENT

DIVIDING WALL In an attempt to channel the visitors arriving to the Royal Crescent from the south, a wall was designed on the eastern edge of the field, obscuring the view of the Crescent, and encouraging the visitors to join into the traditional ‘John Wood approach’.

5

▼ THE BUILDING AS SEEN FROM THE SOUTH-EASTERN CORNER OF THE FIELD, WITH THE STONE WALL ON THE RIGHT.

The entrance to the platform is aligned with the door of No. 1 Royal Crescent.

This is to suggest a certain continuity of the procession, while respecting the historical context.

OPEN AIR DISPLAY AREA

ENTRANCE/ RECEPTION

This is where the visitors are allowed to roam around the space, admire the views from the platform, obtain information from the information boards, get glimpses of the exhibition downstairs through the glass floor, before finally making their way into the building proper downstairs.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1:200@A3

0

2

4

10

The staircase is slightly rotated with respect to the set out grid, by an angle of 9 degrees. This is to allow the visitor to catch the last glimpse of the Crescent, as it disappears from his sight as he makes his way down the steps into the building.

20m

6

WOMENS W.C. MENS W.C.

SHOP

GENERAL STORAGE

CHAIR STORAGE

STORAGE

STAFF W.C.

KITCHEN

CAFE

BIN STORAGE

The shifted angle of the staircase is picked upon by the bridges spanning over the exhibition space. Internally this contributes to create a sense of a more chaotic, unorganized space, as opposed to the regular and orderly exterior.

LOWER GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1:200@A3

0

7

2

4

10

20m

A gently sloping of stairs runs down the slope along the stone wall leading the visitors out of the building onto the open field.

STRUCTURE The structural system comprises a steel frame enveloped in stone loadbearing walls, with semicircular arches incorporated inbetween the columns.

ROTATED GRID Whereas on the outside the building - much like the front facade of the Crescent, is set up as a regular matrix of columns and arches based on the set up grid, inside the grid is interrupted by the introduction of a number of elements - most notably the staircase at a slight angle to the grid.

This hints back at the dual nature of the facades of the Crescent - orderly and rhythmical from the front, chaotic and eclectic from the back.

DISPLAY AREA

LECTURE THEATRE

BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN 1:200@A3

0

2

4

10

20m

SHOP/ SERVICES

CAFE +VIEWS

DISPLAY AREA

8

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

LONG SECTION 1:200@A3

0

2

4

10

20m

CHOICE OF MATERIALS In order to further differenciate between the two parts of the building: urban and rural, a different set of materials was used for each one of them.

9

STEEL PAVILION

VAULTED PLINTH

Standing Seam Zinc Roofing System

Steelwork coating: Intumescent Paint RAL 7016 Anthracite grey

Black Slate Calibrated Floor Tiles

Reclaimed round stone brick handpicked to match the color and patination of the ha-ha

Rustic Oak Flooring Beige Brown

10