Art galleries

I think its interesting how the gallery putting their huge detailed model of Sydney city under their glass floor, allowing viewers not only be able to enjoy the work better but also experience a totally different view of the city from above (as if they were standing on a helicopter looking down) and even encourage interaction (notice how kids sitting on the glass floor excitedly trying to touch the model below). That might be why this is the most crowded section in the whole gallery.



























Public area where people can sit down to rest or read newspapers














Info desk to help providing details about what's going on in the gallery














Artworks display section:














Computers section to provide access to info about the gallery, artists and artworks displayed:














Even a small library and reading area:

Assignment 3: Sites

Newtown













Newtown is quite a prosperous and busy area. The main street is King street where there is high concentration of shops, restaurants and bus stops. I went there on a Sunday evening but it was (especially King street) packed with pedestrians and cars. Its location is quite convenient with public transport (buses, trains) available during weekdays and weekend.

SITE 1

Reasons I chose site 1:

1/ As was described in the assignment sheet, the client is a city art gallery owner and the site will comprise both his work place and living area. That's why site 1 is suitable because it front facade facing the crowded King street while the back facade facing the quiet Lennox street, suitable for growing a business but still allowing him to enjoy his personal spaces.

2/ The shape of the plan is long, narrow and restricted by buildings on both sides. This is rather a common scenario when building in cities and cosmopolitan areas. However, I think those disadvantages can somehow put my design into more practical perspectives rather than just aiming for look alone.

3/ There is a car park just right beside the site on Lennox street, convenient for customers to find parking and accessing the site given that Newtown is quite a crowded and busy cosmopolitan area.

4/ The park behind the site is a great location for families, groups and even individuals to come and enjoy themselves. Its a public area so it can attract people to the gallery. Its also a good place for the client and his family to hang out and relax after their working days.

Front view (on King street):




















Back view (on Lennox street):


































On King street:

Right (face facing the site)














Left (face facing the site)















On Lennox street:



























Right (face facing the site)














Left (face facing the site)














The park:









































The car park:



































SITE 2

Site 2 is the biggest among 3 sites, exposing to 3 big streets and road (King street, Wilson street and Erskineville road). It has no surrounding buildings on 3 sides which makes it extremely easy to access.

Front view (on King street):















Side view (on Erskineville road):














Back view (on Wilson street):




















On King street:

View opposite site














On Wilson street:

Right (face facing the site)














Left (face facing the site)














On Erskineville road:
















SITE 3

This site is the busiest among 3 sites. It is so far my second favorite site because it locates right in the corner between many big streets (Eliza st, Wilson st and King st), close to train station and no doubt the easiest to recognize (its close to the corner so not getting swallowed by the infinite line of building after building like site 1). When considering about the practical aspect, I think site 3 can attract more attention from pedestrians. Plus, right next door is Zanzi bar which is a public place where people can sit down and have a drink together, making the site even more public exposed. However, the back of the site is blocked by buildings behind it, making the front facade the sole way to invite people coming in.

Front view (on King street):














On Wilson street:














On King street:

Left (face facing the site)














Right (face facing the site)

Hand drawings scale 1:100 (final)

FRONT ELEVATION



















LEFT ELEVATION



















PLAN




















AXONOMETRIC DRAWING




















My drawings are on tracing paper so they looked all blurry and low in contrast after being scanned. Plus, there were traces of pencil everywhere on the papers. So I had to edited by Photoshop to get this final result.

Computing drawings (draft)

I wanted my rendering to be accurate so I created a Sketchup model and used the program to drop shadows into my computing drawings. Then I traced the whole drawings on tracing papers with pencil and then shadowing by both pencils and charcoal.

Model scale 1:50 (final)

Inspiration

Looking through images of good Cathedrals in the past, it came to my attention that their most common design are using high ceilings, domes and the principles of symmetry for both interior and exterior. Their floor plans were quite simple, usually using geometric shapes like squares, circles, triangles and rectangles.









































Tadao Ando:

I think Tadao Ando is one of architects that master the use of light really well. Some of his churches' designs are outstanding with great lightning to emphasis well the holiness and ambiance for this types of buildings