The Activist Interior by Samantha Li

PROJECT 04 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI The Activist Interior deals with the design of an artist-in-residence studio and exhibition at the Crescent House, Golden Lane Estate, Goswell Road, London. The aim of the project is to create a complex spatial proposition which will recognise and negotiate a series of thresholds between: private and public, inside and outside, open and close. The aim is to create a customisable and transformable space which contains: a working studio area, an area to exhibit work and basic facilities for eating and sleeping. In order to accommodate the above requirements in the space given, the project focuses on observing ways to create a flexible interior which makes the most out of the restricted dimensions of the site. The design proposal accommodates changeable patterns of use where various kinds of art practices need specific requirements in space, light conditions and equipment. Therefore the project focuses on art practices of painting, sculpture, video, performance and graphic design. The Activist Interior intends to establish a controlled connection with interior and architecture for the artist-in-residence and the general public, allowing the site to integrate and become “a bit of city” (Penoyre, 2012). Whilst giving the possibility to subdivide the differences of interior and architecture when necessary. Objects are fragmented and taken apart to create form and functionality within and outside of the site. This will in effect create appropriate uses and influences in context, which are dependant on the user’s activities.

EXISTING FRONT ELEVATION 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING REAR ELEVATION 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING SECTIONAL ELEVATION A - A 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING SECTIONAL ELEVATION B - B 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING SECTIONAL ELEVATION C - C 1:50

EXISTING SECTIONAL ELEVATION D - D 1:50

EXISTING SECTIONAL ELEVATIONS 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

BASEMENT LEVEL PLAN

White Cube Mason’s Yard opened in September 2006. Designed by MRJ Rundell & Associates, the building houses a main, basement ﬂoor gallery which is naturally lit, double-height space with a second gallery on street level.

SKETCHES OF WHITE CUBE MASON’S YARD AND SURROUNDINGS

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

During the time of the visit, two speciﬁc art work were displayed. An interactive performance piece “Interactions of the Abstract Body” in the basement level and a collection of sculpture based work by Josiah McElheny located in the ground ﬂoor gallery space. ARTIFICIAL, NATURAL LIGHTING AND CONCRETE MATERIAL

SECTION SKETCH A - A PERSPECTIVE SKETCH

SKETCH OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING AT GROUND FLOOR LEVEL

Within an array of mismatched brick structures which comprise the perimeter of the courtyard, White Cube’s formal restraint creates a contrast while retaining the core characteristic of discretion. At ground level concrete panels wrap around the base of the structure. Above the concrete, the rendered volume is cut with a series of precise light slots. A glass box extends further above the render.

GALLERY ANALYSIS WHITE CUBE MASON’S YARD THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

1. Lift core 2. Courtyard and rooﬂights 3.Hangers 4.Transfer truss

The project required the excavation of an 8 metre deep basement to provide a large underground gallery which receives natural light through a pair of long slots cut into the courtyard paving. On ground level the building has a gallery directly accessed from the courtyard with ofﬁces, private viewing rooms and a roof terrace located on the three upper levels. MRJ RUNDELL + ASSOCIATES LTD. (s.d). White Cube, Mason’s Yard. At: http://www.rundellassociates.com/media/uploads/2011/01/2460/white-cube-pdf.pdf

WHITE CUBE MASON’S YARD MATERIAL DIAGRAM

COLUMN FREE STRUCTURE At first floor level the walls of the gallery are solid and it was therefore possible to hide deep trusses behind them. The steel lift shafts had steel columns at each of the four corners, so that they acted as together as a tower. This gave the opportunity to run a deep, 22 m-long, full-length truss between the towers. This hanging system provided a column-free basement and a relatively slender ground floor structure. bdonline. (2007). A column-free basement for the White Cube Gallery. At: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/buildings/technical/a-column-free-basement-for-the-white-cube-gallery/3079357.article

NORTH-WEST SECTION

Crescent House is located in Central London, EC1Y 0SN which is 2 minutes walk away from Barbican underground tube station. Crescent House is part of the Golden Lane Estate developed by Peter Chamberlin, Geoffry Powell and Christoph Bon in 1950s, as part of post-war Modernist. The estate consists of seven other houses.The purpose of the estate was to provide council housing at subsidised rents for people who worked in the city.

The estate is signiﬁcant not just for the buildings themselves, but for the way they are arranged and how other facilities are integrated. The estate also includes a swimming pool, tennis court, nursery school and community centre. Modern Architecture London. (2011). Golden Lane Estate. At: http://modernarchitecturelondon.com/pages/golden-lane.php

SOUTH-EAST SECTION

NORTH-WEST SECTION SKETCH AND MEASUREMENTS

flickr.com - Patrick Baty (paperspaints)

geograph.org.uk

The last bit of the estate to be built was Crescent House which fronts Goswell Road. This was completed in 1962. It differs from what had gone before in a number of respects. It has shops below flats. Where the other terraces were box-shaped, Crescent House is more like a Barcelona design by Gaudi. It curves along the line of Goswell Road and even the roof line rises in a long curve towards the south. Instead of a flat front, the individual flats project at angles like boxes in a concert hall and have mosaic panels.

Timber framing is used to support the glass adjoining in the exterior, creating a clear and a wider view of the space.

The site uses two types of lighting. Artiﬁcial lighting is achieved through two rows of spotlights, placed at different angles to maximise and specify light into the interior. Natural lighting is brought in through clear windows on the North-East and South-West elevation.

Barrett’s Solicitors. (s.d). Construction of the Golden Lane Estate. At: http://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/Golden%20Lane/design.htm

SITE PLAN SKETCHES SITE INTERIOR CRESCENT HOUSE SITE ANALYSIS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

CRESCENT HOUSE SITE MODEL 1:100 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI SUSAN MCADAM KWAME AFRIYIE HANNAH PARFITT JO BASTON BHAVINA PATEL DMITRIJS GUSEVS KHALIDA POTTER ALICE FOLEY ROTRINA ST DIAMOND

GOLDEN LANE ESTATE CITY SITE ANALYSIS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

(Penoyre, 2012)

WHAT IS PUBLIC SPACE?

PUBLIC VS PRIVATE THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

INTERCHANGEABLE SEQUENCE THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

INTEGRATING THE SITE, COMMUNITY AND CITY THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

“In 1902, Henry Ernest Dudeney posed the problem of cutting an equilateral triangular region into 4 pieces that can be rearranged to form a square region. His published solution notes that the pieces can be hinged so as to smoothly rotate from one form to the other.” Meyerson, M. (2008) Dudeney’s Dissection. At: http://www.maplesoft.com/applications/view.aspx?SID=6499&view=html Fragments can be displayed individually as various shapes and also combined into 8 configurations to create different forms. The concept and idea on researching Dudeney’s form was to understand geometry and sequence of change.

THE FORM THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXISTING SITE

INTERIOR WALLS, FRONT, REAR AND BASEMENT FACADES REMOVED

IMPLEMENT TRACKS AND NEW FACADE

OBJECTS PLACED INTO FACADE

FACADE AND OBJECTS IN USE

MAIN DESIGN MOVES THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

dRMM SLIDING HOUSE, 2009 SUFFOLK, UK

Detail. (2012) Sliding House. In: Detail: Hybrid Forms of Construction 2012. (12) p.1354

dRMM. (2013). Sliding House. http://drmm.co.uk/projects/sliding-house/

dRMM SLIDING HOUSE THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

Sculptor art practice

Notes, research, photographs and reminders pinned onto the wall Sketchbooks and research books

Small equipment such as masking tape, pencils and paintbrushes

Equipment for sculpting. Carvers, chisels, palette knives, wire-end sculpting tool

ART PRACTICES THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

1650 mm

980 mm

1480 mm 430 mm

600 mm

1770 mm

200 mm 460 mm 810 mm 800 mm

ERGONOMICS STUDY THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL FRONT ELEVATION 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL REAR ELEVATION 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL SECTIONAL ELEVATION A - A 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL SECTIONAL ELEVATION B - B 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

PROPOSAL SECTIONAL ELEVATION C - C 1:50

PROPOSAL SECTIONAL ELEVATION D - D 1:50

PROPOSAL SECTIONAL ELEVATIONS 1:50 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

SHELVING UNIT

TABLE + CHAIR WORKSPACE

EXTENDED WALL SPACE

SHELVING UNIT

EXPLODED FACADE THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXTRA SPACE TABLE

DISPLAY UNITS

STORAGE

WALL WITH SEPERATION SPACE

WALL

WALL WITH SEPERATION SPACE

OBJECTS CONFIGURATIONS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

WORKING AREA LIVING AREA EXHIBITING AREA

ON SITE PROGRAMMATIC DIAGRAMS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

SEQUENCE OF TRANSFORMATION 1:100 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

1 2

OBJECTS OFF SITE THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

3D EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR VIEWS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

EXTERIOR VIEWS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

HARDWOOD FRAMING Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees. Hardwoods can also be used in a variety of objects but mainly for furniture or musical instruments because of their density. Wood is renewable and the production and processing of wood uses much less energy, giving wood products a significantly lower carbon footprint.

CLAY BRICKS Bricks have thrived over thousands of years because of their longevity, durability and a number of factors that contribute to their inherent sustainability. They require minimal maintenance, create highly energy efficient buildings and perform multiple functions, reducing environmental impacts from other materials.

SPOTLIGHTS The adjustable heads gives more lighting options for the space. The key technical difference between energy-efficient bulbs and traditional incandescent bulbs is the heat that standard bulbs require in order to light up. Ninety percent of the energy used to illuminate a regular bulb is spent on heat rather than light.

INSULATED GLAZING Insulated glazing are double or triple glass window panes separated by an air filled space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope. This type of glazing has functions of thermal insulation and noise reduction.

EXISTING MATERIALS THE INTERIOR ACTIVIST SAMANTHA LI

30mm HARDWOOD WHITE OAK Heavy, hard and strong with outstanding wear-resistance and moderate stability in use.Good rot resistance and produces good results with hand and machine tools. Responds well to steam-bending. Easy to glue, and takes stain and finishes very well. Useful for outdoor and interior furniture.

SINGLE FLANGED CASTER WHEEL LR55 RAIL SINGLE FLANGED CASTER WHEEL Flanged wheels running on in-plant tracks give them Heavy, hard and strong with outstanding wear-resistance LR55 is a track system that uses two separate prefabricated Flanged wheels running on in-plant tracks give them an “instant production line.” Loads are taken off the and moderate stability in use.Good rot resistance and foundation troughs, 380mm wide and 180mm deep sitting in an "instant production line." Loads are taken off the produces good results with hand and machinefloor tools. permitting trenches only 400mm wide and 200mm deep. Special road floor permitting higher capacities,easier easier rolling, floor floor higher capacities, rolling, Responds well to steam-bending. Easy to glue, and reinforcement is not required allowing rapid installation and and controlled flow all at the same time. andprotection controlled flow all at time. takes stain and finishes very well.White Oak isprotection used for allowing utilities ready access to pipework and cables Wheels are cast iron furnished withthe eithersame plain bore, outdoor furniture, boats, flooring and interior furniture. underneath. straight roller bearings, or precision tapered roller bearings. Wheels are cast iron furnished with either plain bore, straight roller bearings, or precision tapered roller bearings. 10mm WHITE OAK

10mm WHITE OAK

SINGLE FLANGED CASTER WHEEL

LR55 RAIL

50mm HALOGEN SPOTLIGHT

Heavy, hard and strong with outstanding wear-resistance and moderate stability in use.Good rot resistance and produces good results with hand and machine tools. Responds well to steam-bending. Easy to glue, and takes stain and finishes very well.White Oak is used for outdoor furniture, boats, flooring and interior furniture.

Flanged wheels running on in-plant tracks give them an "instant production line." Loads are taken off the floor permitting higher capacities, easier rolling, floor protection and controlled flow all at the same time. Wheels are cast iron furnished with either plain bore, straight roller bearings, or precision tapered roller bearings.

LR55 is a track system that uses two separate prefabricated foundation troughs, 380mm wide and 180mm deep sitting in trenches only 400mm wide and 200mm deep. Special road reinforcement is not required allowing rapid installation and allowing utilities ready access to pipework and cables underneath.

They're composed of a small, pressurised bulb inside a larger outer shell. The gas inside this inner bulb is halogen. They emit a whiter, brighter and more easily focused beam of light which is efficient for using as display lighting for highlighting artwork and architectural features. Halogen technology allows you to get more light from fewer watts.

50mm HALOGEN SPOTLIGHT

They're composed of a small, pressurised bulb larger outer shell. The gas inside this inner bu They emit a whiter, brighter and more easily fo of light which is efficient for using as display lig highlighting artwork and architectural features. technology allows you to get more light from fe

50mm HALOGEN SPOTLIGHT They’re composed of a small, pressurised bulb inside a larger outer shell. The gas inside this inner bulb is halogen. They emit a whiter, brighter and more easily focused beam of light which is efficient for using as display lighting for highlighting artwork and architectural features. Halogen technology allows you to get more light from fewer watts. 10mm WHITE OAK

SINGLE FLANGED CASTER WHEEL

LR55 RAIL

50mm HALOGEN SPOTLIGHT

PROPOSED MATERIALS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

LR55 RAIL LR55 is a track system that uses two separate prefabricated foundation troughs, 380mm wide and 180mm deep sitting in trenches only 400mm wide and 200mm deep. Special road reinforcement is not required allowing rapid installation and allowing utilities ready access to pipework and cables underneath. 10mm WHITE OAK

SINGLE FLANGED CASTER WHEEL

LR55 RAIL

THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR LR55 is a track system that uses two separate prefabricated They're composed of a small, pressurised bulb inside a SAMANTHA LI foundation troughs, 380mm wide and 180mm deep sitting in larger outer shell. The gas inside this inner bulb is halogen. trenches only 400mm wide and 200mm deep. Special road They emit a whiter, brighter and more easily focused beam reinforcement is not required allowing rapid installation and of light which is efficient for using as display lighting for allowing utilities ready access to pipework and cables highlighting artwork and architectural features. Halogen underneath. technology allows you to get more light from fewer watts.

50mm HALOGEN SPOTLIGHT

PROPOSED MATERIALS

PROPOSED MATERIALS THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

GROUT ROAD BASE LR55 TROUGH: 380mm WIDE, 180MM DEEP, DELIVERED UP TO 6M ELASTOMETRIC BONDING GROUT LR55 RAIL: 165MM WIDE, 36MM CURVE FOR WHEEL 50 MM CASTER WHEEL SCREW METAL RAIL SUPPORT HARDWOOD FRAMING FOR FACADE

AXONOMETRIC TRANSFORMABLE ELEMENT 1:2 THE ACTIVIST INTERIOR SAMANTHA LI