Draft model for the gallery

The rough draft model displayed was a section of the building and did not show the width of the main path through the building. Next time, I will try to cut the section at a different point. The model still shows some of the movement through the building.

The model helped to visualise the main entrance and gallery and also problems with the facade.

This view is from the back entrance into the gallery.

Draft plans and sections

The ground floor plan displays the guided path through the building that encourages viewers to pause and reflect about the art. The back-of-gallery operations (the kitchenette and office) are concealed by concrete walls. The floor is made up of several levels which are visible in section.

The second level plan shows the open circulation for the director and a place to entertain friends. There is an intimate living space at the entrance, a narrow gallery landing then an open plan kitchen and finally the study, bedroom and bathroom.

The section below shows the four levels in the gallery including the sunken main gallery and the elevated small prints room. The visitors ascends and descends levels to enable them to appreciate different types of works. The circulation in the director's apartment is one of ascending low levels from the staircase to the study, passing several rooms that encourage open discussion and a free atmosphere.

Here is an old sketchup draft of the gallery - the dimensions need to be changed for all drawings and models due to an error in scale.

Art gallery draft poche drawings

The poche diagram below demonstrates the light which enters through the entrance, exit, stairwell and the main gallery wall from the low ground height windows. Light is diffused from the lower windows and this protects the art.

In section, the most light enters through the roof skylights and down through the stairwell. Light also enters through the glass shopfront window facing the street. The gallery is protected from direct sunlight by low windows in order to not damage the artworks.

Art gallery parti drawings

The parti diagram for the ground floor of the art gallery shows the circulation which is designed to slow down the viewer and guide them past the images. The print shop is visible from the main gallery to remind visitors that the artists have prints for sale. The visitors walk past a private recycled cast-iron spiral staircase which reminds them that they are in a building in a historic site and heightens their awareness of the building. The linear journey through the gallery leads to the courtyard where the workshop is situated and this provides the visitors with the chance to see the artists and the work being produced by the gallery.


The parti of the second story shows open circulation as opposed to the linear movement of the floor below. The gallery director is an academic and interested in open discussion and open thought regarding the fields of cultural studies and art. Her apartment reflects this - the living spaces are all visible to each other, and the circulation arches around from the staircase to the study behind it.


The parti of the building in section shows the circulation discussed above - a linear journey with various alcoves on the ground floor and the arching circulation of level 2.

Storyboard approaches to the site

When approaching the gallery from the left, the preceding building is the Dendy art house cinema, which contains a cinema, cafe and music shop. This cultural building is a good location for an art gallery due to the crossover traffic that it would generate.


The other approach from the right hand side reveals a bakery and a deli as the immediate neighbours. These businesses cater to specialty customers.


The front view of the building reveals the siting of the building between the food businesses and the cultural sites. The skyline is flat on either side of the building which is different to the majority of buildings in Newtown.

Architectural inspirations for this project

Because the art style is postmodern, I wanted to somehow embody the variety of ideas in the building without turning to pastiche. I decided to refer to this idea through the use of many floor levels that create a number of spaces which is visible in Sou Fujimoto's House N. I also am interested in making the building slightly incongruous or noticeable such as in the building designed by Atelier Bow Wow and the House N by Sou Fujimoto.

Wooden House: Sou Fujimoto

House N: Sou Fujimoto

Atelier Bow Wow House & Atelier

The site for the gallery

I chose the site of the Franklin's supermarket in Newtown. Here is the aerial view from Google maps:


I began a basic site model but it requires a lot of work. I experience problems with setting the glue against the smooth cardboard.


I drafted a SketchUp site model as well, because I am trying to make use of SketchUp and Revit for this assignment in order to think in 3D. I am also going to make use of drawing and 3D models.

Project 3 ideas for the art and the gallery

For project 3, I prepared an A3 sheet demonstrating the director's personality and the type of art to be exhibited at the gallery. Below is the text and images in blog form.

The art director: The director of the gallery is an art historian who has been widely published and is interested in theories of popular culture (cultural studies). Previously she worked as a university academic in an Art History department, writing on contemporary globalisation and cultural identity. She completed a PhD on the topic of Superflat art and has a history in printmaking. She has since left academia due to the success of her gallery and works full-time with the artists and their exhibitions. The prints editioned at the gallery play with the notion of mass-production that is also exclusive craft that is only available for purchase at her gallery.

Lifestyle: She lives alone and researches art and culture extensively which requires a small library or nook in either the gallery or her apartment. Her other requirements include room for her own personal art collection, comprising mostly of prints. Her hobbies include printmaking and film. She is in her 30s and has a circle of artist friends who visit to discuss art and edition collaborative works. She also hosts casual gatherings for pop cultural discussions or film screening in the gallery below.

An example of a small printing press which is her hobby and is also included in the gallery workshop.



Two examples of the Superflat art that she is interested in and which was the subject of her PhD.


An example of her interest in popular culture taken from a 1950s Japanese film. She regularly holds film screenings and talks at the gallery.

The art: The artwork shown in this gallery is by emerging playful artists. The curator is interested in popular culture which forms the themes of some of the works. The works displayed range from painting, drawing and prints to sculpture and installation. Most mediums are exhibited. The uniting theme of the gallery is a play with the concept of high art. Artists’ intentions include the idea of fun at exhibitions, happiness from art, and the informal interaction of the art with the public. Also present is the notion that ‘art is everywhere’ including in commercial artwork. Many of the artists included have been influenced by Superflat which is inspired by Japanese consumer culture such as graphic art, animation, pop culture and fine arts.

The workshop attached to the gallery includes screenprinting and lithograph printing facilities, which play with the idea that these commercially inspired artworks can be produced as editions that celebrate the mass production of the work. These mediums were chosed because of their commercial qualities.

This artwork employs a popular motif in Japanese culture - Hello Kitty - and comments on the artistic significance of this branded figure.



The hanpanda series (half panda) is based on the character branding of Sanrio and San-X varieties amongst others.


This is an example of the gallery drawings that are unique to this particular gallery. The subject is fun and simple.



The two artworks above adapt the famous Gundam robots into paintings - the first comments on warfare and the second relates Gundam to traditional Japanese screen paintings.


This is an example of an installation dealing with the life cycle. The other parts of this exhibition includes a wolf made of mirror shards and other drawings.

Summary of the theatre project

This project - a theatre for the actress to entertain her lover - produced several outcomes. It highlighted the fact that designing through physical modelling is important - that it is shortsighted to rely on just the plan and section for working out the spatial qualities. It introduced the idea of including a narrative with the design, which I have heard is often used to inform student work. The influence of the Villa Muller project allowed me to think of the spaces in 3D as opposed to just the diagrammatic aspects of design. I developed my model making skills further and enjoyed researching the era and general architecture. Finally, the challenge of designing from a painting brought about a new approach to thinking about design.

Final presentation - the model

Below are some images of the final model. In this image, the dressing room facing the street is visible, with the single window shown that allows sunlight to highlight the actress depending on the time of day and her location in the room. The window is also there to remind the actress of the 'natural' activities occurring outside her rooms, which is in opposition to the rest of the theatre's rooms that facilitate the artifice of performances.

This is a view of the wings from the stage. The deep walls of the wings symbolise the final barrier between the daytime existence of the actors and their artificial performances. The angled windows in the wall symbolise chinks in the curtains and direct the artificial stage light into the ramp and passageway where the actress and her lover prepare for the performance. The light reminds them of the transformation into character ahead.

From this angle, the entrance to the actress's room and the public corridor can be seen. The actress's bridge from the dressing room to the wings is separated from the ordinary bustle of backstage so that she and her lover can go through a series of reflections and thought processes on their way to the stage.

This view highlights again the bridge's role in the theatre. The lover's ramp has a low glass railing that allows him to note that they are in theatre where the magic that he perceives is created. Then he can also take this knowledge to appreciate his actress as she prepares for her role.
This top-down view shows the voids in the model - from the direct link between the dressing room and the wings to the open passageway with its overhead bridge. This openness is part of the theme of the awareness of between backstage and stage, from private to public and from nature to artifice.
Finally, here is a closer view of the dressing room entrance - the top of an ascension into self reflection, private space and the privilege for the lover of attending the performance from the perspective of the theatre actors and actresses.

Final presentation - poché drawings and photo

The poché drawings were created through a process of layered drawing - layers of watercoloured pens and photocopying resulted in a roughly textured depiction of light and atmosphere. The white specks are representations of the penetration of light and express that the darker areas still affected by light.

The section poché presents the differences between artificial stage light and the overhead skylight over the pathways, and finally the natural light in the dressing room. The backstage corridor is also lit by artifical light.


The poché in plan of the theatre emphasises the artificial stage lights in the wings. they pentrate into the pathways and to a lesser extent towards the dressing room.

The below photo was also part of the presentation and shows the use of an artificial light to express this light pentration.

Final presentation - the axonometric drawing

In my axonometric, I wanted to show the void and open passages from the dressing room to the wings. The two rooms are in visual contact with each other which is important for their function: the actress and her lover are acutely aware of the difference between the natural state of being and the artifice of the theatre. This is a transformation that the actress undergoes for her career and that the lover (who is also her fan) is fascinated by.


In the illustration of the axonometric, I wanted to show the play of light demonstrated by the penetration of both the artificial and the natural light.

Final presentation - section and plan

Here is the presentation of the section and plan for the building. In the presentation, the drawings were too small to be clearly legible so I have included larger images below. The parti of this building is the idea that the actress and her lover approach the stage wings through two different physical and intellectual paths. The actress is immersed in the transition into her character as she descends into her closed in path, and her lover can watch this transformation as he ascends towards his privileged seat in the wings, all the while being able to see the backstage activity on his left hand side.

The dressing room and wings are located above the bustling backstage corridor, and are joined by a bridge that allows the actress and her lover to experience their separate journeys in a quieter, more reflective environment.


The backstage corridor is cramped as is common in such theatre backstage areas, and contrasts with the open spaces above. The corridor is only for movement and is a high traffic area as it happens to be crowded by theatre staff, emphasising the high level of activity.

Final presentation - inspirations

The final presentation included the three most influential images of contemporary buildings from my research as well as three of the most inspirational images of theatres and an example of a boudoir from the 1920s. I wanted to include these images to provide a context for my design that was both technical and theoretical. The atmosphere of the theatre, the materiality and the intimate view of the boudoir were themes that I wanted to play with.