PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Precedents/Interesting Architecture

The Giorgio Armani stores by Claudio Silvestrin struck me the most. They are very elegant, modern and neutral in their design. They exhibit grandeur – but within a confined interior space, which I thought was highly interesting as I usually relate the word ‘grandeur’ to the exterior of a building – perhaps should it be described as ‘solemn’ (it is a “celebration” of art, it is ‘ceremonious’). Other keywords that come to mind: impressive, awe, inspiring, ceremonial. Although the Giorgio Armani stores appear ‘neutral’ and ‘autonomous’, they are somewhat very expressive and can be subtly perceived as works of art themselves. The lighting used was also very appealing and set a definite transcendent mood. Materials used: limestone, ebony.















Another building that grabbed my attention was the ‘Y House’ by Japanese architect Kei ‘Ichi Irie. The main reason was due to the heavy use of concrete that he used throughout the house. This reflects the Japanese approach to architecture in terms of ‘lightness’, ‘simplicity’ and ‘precision’. These are relevant keywords to note. The interior is composed of slightly, angled walls which gives the entire house a whole new dimension. It is reminiscent of Minimalist architecture – a style I highly admire. The building is not big in size, but the Minimalist approach has given the illusion that the space is vast. Materials: concrete, steel (stairs).

















Stone Museum - Kengo Kuma: the layering of the stone turned into slats to enable small openings was astute in allowing the interesting passage of light as well as the elegant overall structure. This is actually slightly reflected in the current structure on my site (as mentioned before). He also focused on the idea of ‘lightness’ via two means: use of stone as slats of stone and hollowing portions of a solid wall.














Murcia Town Hall - Rafael Moneo: its façade is quite interesting, the window openings create this rhythmic pattern, providing dynamism to the overall composition, hence allowing the public to metaphysically interact with it.

PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Artists Analysis

The following artists are the artists I initially considered for my art gallery:

- Aboriginal artists – Gordon Bennett (painting), Albert Namatjira (landscape painting – watercolour over pencil)
- Bill Viola (video)
- Jim Dine (drawings, paintings, sculptures)
- James Turrell (light installations)
- Fiona Hall (photography - gelatin silver photographs/installations/sculpture/etching)

The inclusion of many, if not all of these artists was meant to represent the want to promote as many up-and-coming artists as possible. While perhaps focusing on only two might create a better appreciation of their works, the intention was to demonstrate the gallery’s capacity and capability to exhibit a diversity of works no matter what the subject or medium is (media including painting, video, photography, etching, sculpture) with a lesser emphasis on the artists’ artworks.

PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Site Images

Panoramic view of my site and its adjacent buildings








Panoramic view of buildings facing my site
















































Back alley

PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Brief Look at Culture

To have a better understanding of the site, a brief look at the suburb’s background is necessary…
Newtown is a suburb packed with a diversity of cultures and is highly described as conveying a bohemian ambience.

The north end of King St (where my site is located), past Newtown railway station, is the busier part of the street. Apart from the traffic jams and heavy foot traffic, commercially, there is an abundance of restaurants, cafés and fashion retailers (Highly appropriate and suitable for this project).

There is an Aboriginal history also attached to Newtown’s past and culture. The street allegedly follows an ancient Aboriginal track that branched out from the main western track, now beneath Broadway and Parramatta Road, and which extended all the way to Botany Bay’s shores. This strong reference to Aboriginal history has led me to want to represent it - “glorify” it so to speak.

Housing was also constructed in an ‘Art Deco’ style:
- Structure based on mathematical geometric shapes.
- Materials: aluminium, stainless steel, lacquer, inlaid wood.
- Buildings were straight white-rendered house frontages rising to flat roofs.
- Celebrated the Machine Age via the use of man-made materials, symmetry, repetition, Asian influences.
- Noted for its ‘simplicity’ and ‘practicality’.

PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Site Analysis - Other Characteristics

ACCESS:

There are three access points:

- Main entry access via King St (Either from Princes Highway or Enmore Road).
- Side entry access via Mary St (approx. 40 metres from the front of the site to the intersection of King St and Mary St). Mary St can be entered from Lennox St
too.
- Side entry access via Erskineville Road (Road perpendicular to King St)

PUBLIC TRANSPORT:

The site is highly accessible via public transport:

- The site is within walking distance from Newtown station; they are approximately 130 metres apart.
- There is a bus stop in front of ‘King St Chemist’.

PARKING:

- Cars can be parked along Mary St.
- A parking area will be available at the side alley at the back of the gallery

SURROUNDINGS:

- There is a park that is located at the back of the site - 'Camperdown Memorial Rest Park'

PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Site Analysis - Reasons For Site Choice

- The parking lot is set back in relation to the surrounding buildings – which I found would allow for the public to progressively walk into the space (art gallery) and not just “go in and out”. Although it is a commercial space, I would like for the entrance to the building to differ to the entrances of the surrounding buildings. This “progression” symbolises enjoyment – individuals are entering a space of culture; something that needs to be enjoyed, something that one does not rush. Keywords: pensiveness, food for thought.

- The mural left of the parking space has a caption that gives a sense of hope towards the future: “I have a dream” (which is referencing Martin Luther King – who is depicted; coincidence his last name “King” is the name of the street this mural can be found?). The caption screams out keywords to consider: emotional, emotive, metaphysical, imagination, hope, another dimension, persistence, determination, aspiration, goal, vision – which are all reflective of what an art gallery and both the space and the artworks may evoke to the public. I will be using this mural as an influencing development to my art gallery. To me, it acts as an artwork itself (similarly to the last project) however the gallery will not be based purely on that mural but also on the artists chosen.

- The mural is also highly reflective of Aboriginal culture. As I said before, this is an artwork to me and not graffiti. I will be using this mural as an introduction to what is present in the art gallery. It can be perceived as a welcoming sign and is left open for interpretation. It attempts to loosen one’s mind, free it from “obstructions”, negativity (we need to keep in mind that the artworks may evoke aspects of negativity but this should not matter, I did not say free the mind to allow one to feel only contentment, but rather to have a “clean state” to enable oneself to approach and interpret the presented artworks in the manner they should be appreciated). Aboriginal art will be also used in the gallery at the start as a “follow-up” to the mural.

- The fact that the existing building is in actual fact a parking lot interested me because I think the space could be utilised in a more productive and efficient manner. To me it is a “waste” of space - the site is not utilised to its full potential. The appealing entity of it is that part of its façade has “missing” bricks that is reminiscent of Kengo Kuma’s Stone Museum. The setting is too attractive to be disregarded; people don’t pay attention to it and don’t take notice of that location, probably due to the fact that it is a car park, which is a bit of a shame. In choosing this site I would like to elicit its appeal.

- The site and the immediate buildings surrounding it have no relation to one another – particularly the buildings adjacent to the site. The building on the left appears to be made out of brick, whereas the building on the right seems a bit ambiguous (perhaps some form of stone work – edges of building; also exterior finish may be coloured stucco?). The site doesn’t relate well with the buildings that are flanked by its side, as well as the buildings in front on the opposite side of the street – their façades seem to be covered with white stucco. The materiality of each building leads to this query: Should the art gallery relate partly/completely to the surrounding OR should it conform to that idea of ‘uniqueness’ (as demonstrated by the two adjacent buildings) i.e.: it will stand out from the rest?

- The diversity and variety of retail shops and restaurants surrounding it. It clearly conveys ‘convenience’ and reflects on the diversity in and richness of culture.

PROJECT 3: Art Gallery - Site Analysis - Site Ideas and Choice

Site Ideas:












I was initially tossing up between two sites (with close proximity from one another) but ended up choosing 'Site Idea 1' for a number of different reasons (which will be outlined in the next section).

Site Choice:














MAIN CHARACTERISTICS:

Site Address:

295-303 King St or 8 Mary St, Newtown 2042

Dimensions:

± 40 x 15 metres; the site is too big (it’s a parking lot) and does not meet the requirements of the brief, however I will be working on this assuming it is indeed 30 x 12 metres.

Orientation:

The site is located on the north end of King St (past Newtown railway station at the junction with Enmore Road) and is found on the “left” side of the footpath.
Relative to the North Point, it is approximately 33 degrees NW.

Adjacent Buildings:

Left side (as viewed when facing the site) – A brick building that comprises of retail shops such as ‘Crumpler’ (a bag retailer), ‘Photo Garden’ (a photo retailer) and ‘Fantasy Futons’ (a futon retailer).

Right side – A rather flamboyant and ambiguous stone-like building that only comprises of one shop - ‘King St Chemist’ (a local pharmacy).

Across the street – The building that is directly facing the site comprises of retail shops as well as hospitality – ‘ANZ’ (a bank), ‘Civic Video’ (a video store) and ‘Thai Pothong’ (a well established Thai restaurant)