emmanueltsardoulias

The design itself is very practical, and upon looking at it, it is realistic, it can be carried out, and most importantly, its composition can be visualised quite easily. As you walk through the ground floor of the gallery, it becomes apparent of the idea behind the design. Clean, White space is what the gallery represents, much like the Casa Gaspar (which itself is not a gallery, but instead is a house that represents a purist and minimalist approach). The gallery's interior represents a minimal and pure space, there is no need for curvilinear architecture, instead, a series of floating and structural walls are used to display artworks. At no stage is the intention of the gallery to take away from the artworks themselves, instead the clean white space that the artworks are placed upon is used to enhance the artworks, ensuring that they are best displayed for sale and viewing.

When entering the gallery, the main entrance is flanked by 2 rooms. One of these rooms is a congregational space, a space where patrons and the dealer alike can converge before the imminence of an exhibition were to take place. Here, the dealer can address potential buyers in a semi-formal manner before allowing them to roam the confines of the dual-levelled gallery. On the other side of the entrance is the art dealer’s office. It is here where the art dealer carries out deals and negotiations as to the selling of his artworks. It was best to keep the office towards the front because it allowed a patron to scan the whole gallery space before they could get to the office which essentially is placed at the entry/exit of the gallery.

Perhaps the main feature of the ground floor of the gallery is the central courtyard which takes on an atrious sort of characteristic in the fact that it is so centrally placed. The courtyard is flanked by 8 250mm square columns which not only border off the courtyard, but several of these columns are also structural, of which, two support an overheard mezzanine and 2 others help support the roof overhead. The courtyard holds up to 8 different sculptures, and perhaps its greatest feature is the small pond which sits in the centre of the courtyard. Patrons are encouraged to cross the pond using the small set of stairs in order to reach the other side of the courtyard.

From the courtyard, the patrons then move towards the staircase where there are two more floating walls, these walls sit 700mm below the ceiling and give the impression that they are free standing. From here, the patrons are then invited to take the flight of stairs which takes them from the ground level to the 1st level. Keeping in mind, the 1st level's open nature, and the fact that it is always visible from the ground floor, there is always the sense of invitation for an art-goer to make their way up to the 1st floor. The 1st floor is much smaller, yet is a pure viewing space, in which once again, the artworks become the sole focus. The walkways of the 1st floor flow towards the outside parts of the gallery, leaving a hollow central core, which allows the ground floor to be visible from the 1st floor and vice-versa.

The hollow core also allows for the structural columns to skew through the core, emphasising the structure and the interaction between architectural elements within certain floors. Another element of the 1st floor is the feature sculpture space which is situated towards the front facade of the building. This space breaks away from the narrow walkways and instead becomes 15m squared space where the art dealer places his prized sculpture. One that is the most prized and most probably, the most expensive. But perhaps the most prominent feature of the 1st floor is the mezzanine that not only brings the 2 sides of the gallery together, but also runs over the top of the courtyard. This makes it unofficially another viewing space in which patrons can interact with those below, and even catch a second glimpse at the sculpture courtyard for a second time, eyeing out sculptures which they may have an interest in.

Going back to the ground floor, the apartment and storage space as well as the workshop also place a large part in the design of the gallery. What was important, was to ensure that in no sense of the word, would the apartment overpower or overtake the gallery in terms of importance. Therefore it was important to place the apartment space towards the back end of the site which would allow for private access. The apartment space is very simple, upon entering from the private entry, a small corridor presents itself. To the immediate right hand side is the storage space which is quite elongated, yet runs from the back end of the site to the gallery space, this is so that the paintings and sculptures that are in the storage space can be easily moved into the exhibition space without too much trouble. On the immediate left hand side of the gallery is the workspace, which is 20 square metres.

Further up the corridor, on the left hand side, the living space would begin, where a long elongated living room would present a kitchen to the right hand side, and a bedroom/ensuite to its left hand side. The kitchen is split in two, one for private use, and the other for public use. The smaller public kitchen is for temporary use, and would only cater for functions and exhibitions. The public kitchen also has its own entry from the corridor allowing for deliveries to be made without any disruption to the daily living in the apartment. The public kitchen also possesses a service window, for the service of coffee and finger food for the patrons.

The roof of the gallery also plays a very important role in the overall design, not just that, but the roof is critical in allowing light to come into the spaces and illuminate the gallery. The roof is a series of voids in which glazing has played a role in the dulling of light. The thick frosted glazing buffers any harsh light, yet still allows for a radiant glow to illuminate the buildings. Perhaps the most advanced feature of the roof is the retractable roofing element that sits over the top of the open to sky courtyard. It becomes elementary to suggest that the courtyard should invite natural lighting inside the building to encourage the growth of the natural vegetation that would be prominent in the courtyard as well as providing ample ventilation for the gallery. The retractable roof also provides protection against the rain which keeps the gallery space dry and unaffected by the elements.

The site: The site which I had chosen for my design was site 3. Situated in King Street, Newtown. The site presented quite a unique opportunity to use the entire space (roughly 34m x 14m) which would allow ample room for a gallery and private living space.
Newtown is a very cosmopolitan area, comprising of many cultures and many different people. The ample amount of traffic, both pedestrian and vehicles was another factor to also consider.

What needed to be considered mostly was the facade, as an urban infill, the facade was either to blend in with the existing surroundings, or was to stand out and make a statement. As Viewers of the blog, I shall let you be the judge of the role the facade plays in the context of the overall design.

The Inspiration: Funnily enough, my design wasn't inspired by another gallery. Instead, the motif of pure white space was encouraged by the study of a house that I had done last year. Casa Gaspar by Alberto Baeza proved to be a unique example of inspiration. The house is very pure and minimalist and its main features showcase the play on light which reflects off the pure white concrete rendered walls. For myself, the white purity of a building was to become the focal point of my design which will be seen in the above images.