Describe your image.
margate circus arts school
type. design project
stage. three
date. may 2019
description. ​
This project tasked us with designing a new home for the National Centre for Circus Arts (NCCA) on a prominent seafront site in the Cliftonville area of Margate. We had to investigate into an urban hybrid typology that could integrate both the native citizen as well as the urban nomad in a location that is culturally progressive and economically sustainable, all the while also melding performance and production, and bridging the rift between Margate’s more economically disenfranchised population with the emerging community of creatives and cosmopolitan day-trippers.
The site is situated on top of the chalk cliffs within the region of Cliftonville, Margate, Thanet. The adjacent sites along the seafront (i.e. the carpark and the Viking Adventure Playground) could be considered for introducing cohesive place-making proposals. The site’s position on top of cliff allows for the engagement on multiple levels between it’s position on the cliff-top, down through the cliff to the lower promenade and the beach. This project presents multiple opportunities for the social context of the area: potentially bridging the divides between Margate’s more economically disenfranchised population with the emerging community of creatives and cosmopolitan day-trippers; as well as make Margate more than a seasonal destination by introducing new activities into the area and therefore offering more than the beach for tourists. The elongated shape of the site, influenced by the chalk cliffs, the Ethelbert Terrace (a fairly main road) and residences, provides limitations on the potential shape of the building. As the area is largely residential, resistance may be presented by those who live within the immediate context of the site, especially with regarding to construction sound and increased traffic.
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Circus Conservatory
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Circulation guides function
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Circus typology (radial)
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Pines Calyx
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local use of chalk as part of wall construction
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Weave project
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Art exhibition promoting a new handbag - interactive - people can climb through
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Feeds into the potential idea that you can experience the building in a different way – normal people can feel or experience the performers POV
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German Pavilion, ’67 Expo, Frei Otto
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Pre-stressed steel cable mesh covered in a translucent polyester textile
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Zip World Bounce Below
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Wales
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Trampoline park in mines
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Wild card for this project
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Interaction between proposal and site (chalk cliffs)
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Also feeds into the circus/performance functions of the building
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Activity which doesn’t rely on seasons, which will hopefully bring people into cliftonville
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La Grande Arche de la Défense
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Large structure with a tensile structure spanning between
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Orthogonal
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Massing
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Position on site – foyer & entrance in front of Dalby Square – integrates Dalby Square as part of the proposal as its forecourt
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Podium shape – wider at the bottom and thinner at higher storeys
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Landscaping
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Building integrates with some of sites pre-existing condition
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i.e. Viking adventure playground has been kept – but with an added emphasis on the woven/netted equipment
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i.e. Shed to the east of the site has been kept – integrated as part of a sheltered viewing space for an outdoor amphitheatre – which is also covered in the steel mesh and polyester textile
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Circulation
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Courtyard – provides a sheltered space (away from the harsh elements that may be experienced on top of sea-side cliffs) for people to enjoy the outside
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Building separated into public, semi-public, and private areas
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Public areas include: foyer, reception, performance art space, café, courtyard, washrooms
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Semi-public areas include: changing rooms, sauna, physiotherapy room, meditation room, warm up/down space, dance studio, drama studio, lecture theatre, library and IT room
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Private areas include: rigging workshop, staff spaces and offices
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My building attempts to encourage the community to participate in the ethos of the circus arts without having to have the required training and skill set
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Provides an emphasis on verticality
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Underground trampoline park – experiencing the performance area from a different perspective (almost a worms eye view) - spans to the bottom of the cliffs
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Netted “roof” – people can climb on it – experience the building from a different perspective (almost a birds eye view) - reaches up several storeys
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