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Project : Lim Mu Hue Woodblock Print Gallery Site : Sturdee Road, Jalan Besar, Singapore
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im Mu Hue is a Singaporean woodblock print artist, whose large ouvre of work can be found in many art collections in the country. This gallery is envisaged as a unique space that celebrates Lim’s unique work, with galleries tailored to fit the pieces. In particular, I found the nature of Lim’s woodblock prints to be a very duplicitous one - mass appeal juxtaposed with individualistic charm and intimacy. I delved deeply in analysing the devices that Lim used to create this sense simultaneous accessibility and intimacy - then translating these into an abstract composition of space and organisation. The resultant curatorial journey charts the gradual progression of the artwork arranged from most accessible (least intimate) to most intimate (least widely accessible). The overall curation reads as if a domestic residence, housing the ephemeral portraits that are Lim’s artworks. 2
1 curatorial diagram 2 order of artworks linearly 3 analysis of artistic devices
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3 subject matter
posture
scale
layering
proximity
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4 study model of curatorial journey 5 alternative iterations of curatorial analysis
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fter considering the subject matter of the gallery, we looked to the larger context in which the gallery would be positioned - the site in which it would inhabit. Choosing from 3 options in the Jalan Besar district, the site at Sturdee Road is small and tucked away in a residential neighbourhood. It is domestic in scale, and intimate in atmosphere, with a complexity in spatial configuration that bode well for the gallery space. In particular, the backalleys that were on site seemed to embody the same duplicitous nature as captured in Lim Mu Hue’s woodblock prints - simultaneously in the public realm, yet intrinsically intimate and providing privacy.
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1 rendering of intimate backalley as potential gallery space 2 snapshots of jalan besar
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3 sense of initimacy in sturdee road backalleys
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pplying the same methodology, I studied the spatial and programmatic characteristics that gave the site and the backalleys its unique ambience of intimacy. In particular, I focused on the morphology of the backalleys and how their boundary conditions, permeability, scale, and unspoken narratives contributed to the intimacy on site. Of note, I discovered the backalley exists as a series of occupiable edges composed linearly, allowing users to choose either to transit through it, to dwell in the subtle reccesses or alcoves that are present.
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plan of sturdee road neighbourhood s: 1/2000
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boundary conditions s: 1/2000
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visual permeability s: 1/2000
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hypothetical spheres of interaction (based on edward t. hall’s study on proxemics) s: 1/2000
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actualised spheres of interaction (based on edward t. hall’s study on proxemics) s: 1/2000
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scale and proportions s: 1/2000
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site sections s: 1/2000
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nderpinning the entire narrative of the site was a entrenched sense fragmentation: fragmented relationships between neighbours (who although lived in close proximity did not interact), fragmented urabnity (in the parcelled demolishing of some of the shophouses in the linear terrace, leaving the neighbourhood unfinished) and fragmented history (in the leap from preserved shophouses, adapted contemporary dwellings, to hyper-modern condiminium blocks). This fragmentation became the driver for the project, which would seek to not only mediate between the intimate and the public (as derived from the curatorial process), but also consolidate and attempt to unify these fragmented entities.
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conserved buildings in jalan besar
public spaces in jalan besar
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building types on sturdee road
accessibility on sturdee road
historical morphologies of jalan besar
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he synthesis of all these ideas becomes manifest in the conceptual building design. Extending the existing line of shophouse massings into the allocated plot, the 3 blocks are then shifted to create a stagged form. This creates 2 external courtyards at the front and rear corners of the plot, and also creates a series of potential occupiable edges that would define the facade of the building. Internally, the staggered form allows a composition of misaligned planes to be drawn, that define space in a free and open manner. The entire plot is also sunken down into the ground to create a sense of decompression lowered scale.
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long section 1
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short section 1 & 2 32
long section 2
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he core of the building is shifted towards the far side to open up more space in the interior. The vertical ciruclation (stairs and lift) and amneties (toilet and storage closet) are located here, out of sight from the main spaces. The configuration of the galleries are altered to suit the staggered form, and oriented outwards to create a sinuous outside-inside relationship. Proceeding to the upperfloors, the program gets increasingly private, which helps buffer intimate programs from street level distrubance, and also parallels the progression of the artworks in the gallery.
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or the facade treatment, many different expressions and materials were explored. The initial facade expression - white rendered walls paired with vertical wooden trellis - sought to create a posied warmth, that was introverted and quiet, yet inviting at the same time.
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detail design iteration 1 38
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lternatively, a more pristine expression pairing smooth white concrete and sleek steel louvres, was also explored in the detailed design phase of the project. This was also accentuated with a fully glazed ground floor, creating more transparency to contrast with the increasing impermeability on upper floors (created using rhythmic horzontal louvres). The edges of the floor and roof slabs were also given a sleek treatment (chamfering off and capping with a thin fascia detail). The overall expression attempted to create a light, floating effect that would contrast with the volumetric form and complement the playful warmth of the woodblock prints.
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detail design iteration 2
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While the semester may have ended, the project is far from conclusion. Till the end it underwent constant refinement, reinterpretation and refreshing - a testament to the nature of change and flux in art and architecture. Through this project I have explored the relationships between culture and construct, artefact and architecture and learnt how to translate ideas from one to another. “The mother of art is architecture. Without and architecture of our own we have no soul of our civilization.� - Frank Lloyd Wright
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