AR12007 - ARCHITECTURE STUDIO 1.3 GALLERY STUDIES
PETER COOTE - THE BISCUIT FACTORY NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, UK - 2002
NORTH ELEVATION
“The Biscuit Factory is the UK’s largest art, craft & design gallery set in the heart of Newcastle’s cultural quarter. Housed in a former Victorian warehouse, our beautiful and dynamic gallery spaces set over two floors, display a range of exciting contemporary fine art, sculpture, original prints and jewellery, quality craftmanship and design led homewares. The Biscuit Factory hosts four major exhibitions a year, changing on a quarterly basis and
representing the work of around
250
artists each season, so there is always
something new to see every time you visit.”
www.thebiscuitfactory.com The artwork is displayed in a very temporary way. This is to make the transfer of artwork from the seller to the buyer easier. The blinds used as a backdrop
can be hidden and improve flexibility.
The
small artefacts and jewellery are
displayed in cabinets underneath the top-lit double height space. These cabinets are easily viewable and accessible which indicates the commercial nature of the works displayed here.
SKETCHES
There are a number of materials in use. Bricks support a timber frame of beams and trusses for the roof. These are also held with steel elements. The area of the building to the south is partitioned off. This creates a usable space for the restaurant and utilities along the length of the building. This continues upstairs where South light is filtered through smaller rooms before entering the main gallery space. Glass artwork can be displayed in these
brighter rooms.
The aesthetic created by the materials is quite rustic. This is typically a softer atmosphere for art galleries. This is most likely attributed to the fact that is a commercial gallery and the art is designed for the domestic setting. The building is ventilated by a fan system. This is required because of the rooms which are set back against the wall and get very hot, especially those
in direct sunlight.
The
artificial lighting runs mainly around the centre of the space where the
light from the windows is more less abundant. It is however assisted by the skylights whose light filters down to the centre of the ground floor.
INTERNAL PHOTOS EXAMINING LIGHT CONDITIONS
ELLIS WILLIAMS ARCHITECTS - BALTIC GATESHEAD, UK - 2002
“Commissioned following a successful entry to an international design competition, BALTIC is the conversion of the former Baltic flour mills on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead into a world class contemporary art gallery. The concept explores the flexible relationship between creative and social forms and aims to transcend the physicalities of the existing mill building. One of the main themes running through the design evolution was to retain the verticality of the existing building and build on its idiosyncratic and dominant presence on the river front.
The views out from the building to the surrounding cityscape are captured by a number of internal and external viewing areas, rooftop restaurant and bar and by the glass elevators servicing the building. The creation of simple large span stacked industrial spaces means that the building and galleries can be easily reconfigured to suit particular exhibitions, offering artists and curator flexibility in display and presentation. The quayside frontage is refreshed by the new entrance building offering waterside café and retail spaces and glimpses of the impressive scale of the mill.”
www.ewa.co.uk
SECTION
SKETCHES
VIEWS FROM THE TOP FLOOR
The Baltic
is a massive conversion of old derelict flour mills.
The
concept
between the building is that each space is devoted to the exhibition. services are based in an external building. electricity and networking.
Each
This
includes the
All heating, water,
floor is a dedicated exhibition space with the circulation based on the
elevators and stairs.
The
height of the building also allows it to become a
Tyne. This allows
landmark and tourist attraction with is views across the
The
galleries are artificially lit and controlled.
installations to be exhibited.
The
for video
brick faรงade makes up part of the structure
with steel spans internally supporting the floors.
The
floors and walls are
The top floor is reserved for the restaurant which is a provider of an income for the gallery. The facility is also supported financially by a a bar and shop on the ground floor. This is separated from the artworks by the lifts and desk.
removable panels and boards which allow them to be moved or removed for exhibitions.
INTERNAL PHOTOS EXAMINING LIGHT CONDITIONS
RICHARD MURPHY - THE FRUITMARKET EDINBURGH, UK - 1993
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
“The Fruitmarket sits in the central valley of Edinburgh adjacent to (and above) Waverley Station. Our original commission to facelift the gallery was greatly extended to undertake a complete remodelling . This involved the
1st FLOOR PLAN
to the street as a means of dissolving the threshold and tempting visitors into an intermediate space between street and exhibition.
A section
of the original
stone facade was completely removed, to form the new entrance at street
construction of a new roof which flies over the old parapet thus dramatically
level, and provide space for a hoist at the upper level. In the summer this can
are large rooflights and under these is a new staircase connecting the two
From
increasing the hanging height of the upper gallery. In the centre of the roof floors and also bringing light down to the lower level.
On the ground floor
the cafe and bookshop were relocated to the front facade which was opened
be transformed into a balcony by a sliding screen.
within, the clerestories and new windows give selected vistas of
recognisable monuments both near and far around the city linking the experience of the interior to the experience of the city.
CROSS SECTION
Top light is reflected off a central warm air duct with south light animating one side of the central screen. This appears as a hidden source when seen from the street. The new winged roof springs from tree like portal frame columns and the staircase is capable of being raised to allow large objects into the lower gallery.
The
reception desk and cafe were designed by the office but
the bookshop of which they were an intergral part was never constructed.�
www.richardmurphyarchitects.com
SKETCHES
This
gallery is also a conversion from the old fruit gallery, tucked away
Waverley Station. The station structure is still evident in the new design for the gallery. Both of these briefs apparently have similar elements. The length, lighting and robustness carry through to the gallery design. The steel structure is visible which gives the robust feeling. The columns and joints are still visible, which provides a frame around which to alter the beneath
partition walls.
On
the downstairs gallery, the exhibition space is separated
from the entrance and cafĂŠ by a long wall. some
The
With
an opening.
Through
this
South light is filtered into the space. The space is still mainly artificial.
circulation of the space runs mainly along the central length of the
building.
This
includes the metal staircase.
This
rises into the centre of the
upstairs space, dividing it and giving perspective whilst keeping the space open.
The long roof lights capture the light from both directions, North and South. The glass is translucent which takes away some of the harshness of the light and evens the whole effect in each orientation. The steel columns end at the roof with trusses which tilt the roof to capture the light.
INTERNAL PHOTOS EXAMINING LIGHT CONDITIONS
DUNN & FINDLAY, OLE WIIG - CITY ART CENTRE EDINBURGH, UK - 1902/1980
“The City Art Centre building dates from 1899 to 1902 and was the work of Dunn and Findlay. Built as an extension to the Scotsman newspaper office, it later became part of the city’s wholesale fruit and vegetable market, occupying a prime city centre site between the Old and New Towns.An upper floor gallery at the City Art Centre Essentially a nine storey iron-framed warehouse, it is clad in stone to create a restrained Beaux Arts facade. The public galleries spread over six floors, with education space on the fifth floor and offices on the sixth. The shop, café, cloakroom and toilets are all housed on the ground floor. The original conversion of the building in 1980 was undertaken by the Norwegian architect Ole Wiig while working for the city. In the 1990s more space was created by extending into the upper floors. Natural materials and neutral colours are used
throughout the interior
contemporary exhibition spaces.”
to create flexible
www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk
SECTION & ELEVATION
CIRCULATION ON THE GROUND FLOOR
SKETCHES
The City Art Centre is located at the opposite side of the street to the FruitMarket Gallery. The windows which front the street are double height. They illuminate the large entrance way very brightly. On the upper level, they still provide a large amount of natural light, but
it is limited by the arch shape of the top of the window, the void between
The
columns, provide interesting interaction with the light as it bends,
the window and the rest of the gallery and the walls enclosing areas of the
reflects and casts shadows.
small
directed to the back of the building toward the escalators.
gallery.
This then provides a wide array of different light conditions within a space for different purposes.
The
circulation is very flexible and can come
either through the cafĂŠ or directly into the entrance area.
This
INTERNAL PHOTOS EXAMINING LIGHT CONDITIONS
is then
WILLIAM PLAYFAIR JOHN MILLER & PARTNERS - ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY & SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY EDINBURGH, UK - 1832, 1859 / 2005
“Playfair was Scotland’s leading architect of his era and was responsible for a number of Edinburgh buildings, although his two galleries on The Mound are generally regarded as his finest. For the Royal Scottish Academy building (originally the RI), Playfair had chosen the Doric order, and designed a programme of sculptural decoration to reflect its inhabitant’s interest in ornament and design. For scenic effect, he made a deliberate contrast in his designs for the National Gallery building and opted for the graceful Ionic order. His two classical temples to the arts achieved a picturesque harmony with the dramatic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. The latest phase in The Mound’s history saw the completion of a link between the Royal Scottish Academy Building and the National Gallery of Scotland. Award-winning architects John Miller and Partners rose to the challenge of developing the two grand architectural pedigrees for modern use. The newly refurbished RSA is now a world-class exhibition space, while the underground Gardens Entrance houses a range of new visitor facilities, including the Clore Education Centre, a 200-seat lecture theatre and cinema, an IT Gallery and a 120-seat restaurant.” www.nationalgalleries.org ELEVATION
SKETCHES
The
National Galleries are very different, The Gallery houses classical art in a dark and ordered fashion. The walls are red, green and blue in order to meld more successfully with the world of the paintings. It also uses fabric on the walls for extra soundproofing. The interior of the Academy is more versatile two buildings that make up the
though both have classical facades.
in its plainness.
The Gallery exhibits paintings so uses furniture in the centre Academy shows work in a variety of media. This affects where it sits in a room. Both galleries are very evenly top lit. There are no windows on walls with any views. This may be to divert full attention onto the art. of each regular divided room whereas the
The
high rooms are ventilated through grills that are slotted above the
openings between rooms. air currents.
The
This could be natural given the behaviour of heat and This means that there walls for storage and utilities.
shape of the galleries is octagonal.
is more space within the
PHOTOS EXAMINING THE CONTRAST OF THE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL
ROBERT ROWAND ANDERSON PAGE\PARK - NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY EDINBURGH, UK - 1832 / 1859
“The
Arts and Crafts building Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, has been overseen by Glasgow-based architects Page \ Park. The architects’ design has restored many of the building’s original features, which had been hidden behind an accumulation of twentieth-century interventions, while incorporating essential modern services, such as the great glass lift that will take visitors up through the heart of the building. The remodeling of the ground floor has improved circulation for visitors, as well as providing an open and airy view along the entire length of the building. Office space has been cleverly accommodated in a new mezzanine level and, for the first time there is an education suite, with a seminar room and studio space. In addition, the Gallery’s ever-popular café and shop have doubled in size. The refurbished Gallery will also make use of a number of pioneering techniques to achieve a significant reduction in energy consumption. Using the mass of the building, new insulation and sophisticated controls to permit slow changes over wider ranges of temperature and humidity, the gallery spaces will use 42 percent less energy that previously. Lighting will be by cuttingedge, low-energy LEDs (light-emitting diodes) which combine economy with excellent colour rendering qualities. The SNPG opened in 1889 as the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery and is now an iconic landmark in the heart of Scotland’s capital. Over the past century, its collection of portraits has grown to become one of the largest and finest in the world, comprising 3,000 paintings and sculptures, 25,000 prints and drawings. This distinctive red sandstone building also houses the national collection of photography with some 38,000 historic and modern photographs. For the first time since the Gallery was established, access to the exhibition spaces on all three levels has been opened up. The restoration of the suite of top-lit galleries on the upper floor has created display spaces and, as a result, a much greater proportion of the collection will be on show.” www.ads.org.uk refurbishment of the
Gallery,
an outstanding
designed by the celebrated architect
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
ELEVATION EAST WEST
SECTION EAST WEST
SKETCHES
The Portrait Gallery
spans symmetrically from the great hall, allowing the
visitor freedom to move around, but from a certain point do as to avoid losing one’s way.
Its wide and tall gothic arches allow for masses to permeate between them and light to flood through spaces. These arches provide a means to transfer the load down into the ground. Other methods of lighting are also used, such as artificial light, especially
for area like the
Great Hall. Other
galleries combine natural light with a
more artificial light in order to create an even feel. used in rows more to encourage movement from one
There
is a variety of media used in the works such as photography as well as
painting. sun.
The
Artificial lighting is also are to the next.
This
is also taken into account as this is sheltered from the direct
stairs exist further to the back of the design around the great hall.
On
the upper levels, the gallery makes use of top-lighting and artificial to create a space where light would flood the wall.
Any sculptures are mainly displayed toward the front of the gallery where the south light enters through the arch windows. This creates more impressive shadows in the 3D materials.