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barcelona art gallery

type. design project

stage. one

date. march 2017

description. The site investigated in Barcelona is located in the area on the edge of the harbor opposite Pl.Del Duc De Medinaceli and lies between Passeig de Colom/Ronda Litoral and the harbor walk Moll de la Fusta. The site incorporated the whole area from the back edge of the pavement and handrail to the high level Passeig de Colom and spanned the lower ring road Ronda Litoral and up to and including the back edge of Moll de la Fusta harbor walkway. Anything contained within the site boundaries could have been removed should I have so wished. I was asked to design a small Contemporary Art Gallery on the site, of which had to have two distinct gallery areas, a Permanent gallery that would be suitable for specifically displaying the 6 pieces of art chosen by me during my Barcelona visit and a Changeable gallery composed of a flexible space to  house a wide variety of artistic displays for approximately three to four month periods; it also had to contain a small private owners studio which was required to be a separately defined, more private space. This artist studio was required to have direct access to the main Gallery areas (without having to leave the building), but was also required to have a separate private entrance that did not have to go through the main gallery viewing areas. It could have, however, shared the entrance/lobby areas of the gallery. This was to enable the collector to come and go as they please, and not to have to walk through the main gallery with shopping for example. Apart from the studio space itself, a wc/shower had to be included together with an artist’s sink and a place to make tea or coffee etc. The provision of a small gallery café also had to be considered together with all required ancillary rooms and spaces, stores, workshops, staff rooms etc. An outside space had to be considered so that the owner can enjoy the fine views across the harbor. Consideration also had to be given to full mobility for wheelchair users so, therefore, a public staircase that lead from the ground floor (portside level) to the 1st floor level (Passeig de Colum level) was required, and had to be totally compliant with the “British Building Regulations” for Public Staircases.

Gardner, C. (2016). 2017-001-AR319 Building Design KSA template. Ass 1. Retrieved March 2017 from Moodle.

Hand drawing with Adobe Photoshop render & background

Galleries

  • Walls that lead diagonally to the entrances of the gallery (gets smaller and smaller)

  • The experience of going through a gradually narrower space to then suddenly find themselves in a large open space to build anticipation in the person walking through

  • Changeable gallery (G/F)

    • Double height & large space allows for a flexible layout

    • Utilises north-facing skylights, a part of the courtyard skylight, as well as light from the courtyard at ground level

    • Windows and courtyard skylight allow the dissolving of the barrier between public and private areas while still allowing them to be separate

    • People in one area can still interact and experience the space of another area

  • Tapies gallery (G/F)

    • Has 2 access points to provide a fairly easy circulation of people

    • Relatively minimal amount of windows & placement in relation to sun-path & building orientation to allow for minimal solar gain in the space and lessen the chance of damage to the paintings

    • Windows frame the paintings on one side of the gallery

    • Lights up the paintings on adjacent wall (which is of light colour to diffuse light & illuminate the opposite paintings)

  • Permanent gallery (1/F)

    • Northern placement of windows in relation to sun path & building orientation

      • Allow for the minimal solar gain in the space

      • Less chance of damage to paintings

      • Darker space interior to exterior

        • Back lighting from north facing skylights to illuminate the paintings, but windows allow an interaction between paintings and the background of the city of Barcelona (paintings are Barcelona themed - an ode - hence the 1st floor position)

      • Each painting gets its own piece of wall, separated by windows

      • Window in gallery-courtyard skin again allows the dissolving of visual barriers while still keeping the spaces physically separate - sneek peek into the space

  • Gallery storage (G/F)

    • Mainly for changeable gallery pieces

    • Has 2 doors - one which leads from the reception, and the other which leads to the Tapies Gallery to allow easy access to it and ease of transportation through the building

    • No windows in the walls to provide a degree of soundproofing against the Ronda Literal and to prevent direct sunlight from damaging the stored pieces of art

Cafe

  • Large interior space for seating & flexible arrangements

  • Open kitchen (can be seen from the cafe seats & from outside

  • Folding doors between cafe interior & Portside exterior as well as cafe interior & courtyard

    • To provide an outside space of seating to enjoy the view of the harbour & sculpture gardens

    • To provide ventilation through the cafe

  • Windows allow for the best views of the harbour

    • However, in relation to the sun path, it isn’t great - prone to solar gain

    • Needs adjustable solar shading (see environmental report below)

Courtyard

  • Skin between courtyard & galleries consists of a mixture of cortex steel, glass and green wall panels

    • Glass allows for interaction between spaces

  • Skin between it and the rest of the building is glass

    • Light well for the building

    • Illuminating it from the inside out

Studio apartment

  • Positioned on the first floor to allow for privacy & views of the harbour

  • Designed specifically for Christina Iglesias

    • She creates large sculptures and therefore requires a large workspace

Additional notes

  • Extensive roof garden - to absorb solar heat & reduce CO2 impact of the building (even though the reduction is only slight)

  • Parapets & roof gradient shades the skylight slightly

  • Landscape

    • Sculpture garden - guides pedestrians to the entrances

    • Soft landscaping (trees) creates a visual & audio barrier against the Ronda Literal

Construction & Materials

  • Main structure

    • ​​Reinforced concrete slabs & integrated concrete beams (all one thing cast together)

    • Concrete columns

    • Shear walls & cross bracing to account for structural stability

    • At least 150mm insulation in exterior walls

    • Corten steel rain screen on a steel frame 

    • Between the rain screen panels & the insulation there is an air cavity - also helps with insulation)

  • Pad foundations

  • Private balcony has thick walls between it and public area to provide privacy and soundproofing

 

Anchor 1

design journal.​

Anchor 2

environmental report.

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