I have made some early 3D visualisations of my idea for my design proposal using SketchUp, and then rendered them in Artlantis.
I have also experimented with materials at this point too. Using Artlantis I am easily able to see what materials work with my building and concepts/ ideas. For example, I originally wanted to use wooden cladding around the gallery exterior. However, whilst experimenting with materials in Artlantis, I came across the idea of using copper cladding (which would be treated to prevent oxidisation and stop it changing colour) instead of the wood. This creates a much more industrial facade, which is something I am very interested in, considering the industrial nature of the site history and context. This also allows me to use wooden cladding for the private sections of the design too as a way of differentiating between public and private. This separation is something which I am keen on doing, hence the very private entrance in the design.
The above example image shows the original design's wooden cladding. Below is a furthered design with the copper cladding.
I even went as far as to experiment with replacing the glass elements with copper too, as can be seen below.
However, there are a few very big problems with replacing the glass with copper. The first factor, which is an obvious one, is that the light values of the spaces would massively decrease. For a gallery this is a crucial issue. The gallery makes a lot of use out of the large front window, which captures the light from the Sun at all times of the day (excluding sunrise and night).
Another big issue with removing the glass is that it ends the invitational aspect of the design. I want people to feel freely able to enter the gallery space and to feel able to simply wander into the open space at the front. This space has been designed to be publicly available, just like the gallery, and creating this space is a way of drawing people in. Psychologically, people will feel more able to look at the artwork through the window by entering this outdoor space than if they had to stop and look from the pavement. It also prevents any disruption to the pedestrian flow of the area. From this space, it is hoped that their initial interaction with the artwork will encourage them to enter the gallery and explore more of the work.
This open space also allows for a sign to be placed on the wall which can be easily seen by people from the Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery. This will create a direct link with already established gallery, people will be able to walk naturally from entrance/ exit to the other, meaning people leaving the Contemporary can easily go to the Hawking Stephens Gallery, and vice versa. The site map below (1:500 when printed at A3) shows the direct line of sight and flow from one to the other.
Another big issue with removing the glass is that it ends the invitational aspect of the design. I want people to feel freely able to enter the gallery space and to feel able to simply wander into the open space at the front. This space has been designed to be publicly available, just like the gallery, and creating this space is a way of drawing people in. Psychologically, people will feel more able to look at the artwork through the window by entering this outdoor space than if they had to stop and look from the pavement. It also prevents any disruption to the pedestrian flow of the area. From this space, it is hoped that their initial interaction with the artwork will encourage them to enter the gallery and explore more of the work.
This open space also allows for a sign to be placed on the wall which can be easily seen by people from the Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery. This will create a direct link with already established gallery, people will be able to walk naturally from entrance/ exit to the other, meaning people leaving the Contemporary can easily go to the Hawking Stephens Gallery, and vice versa. The site map below (1:500 when printed at A3) shows the direct line of sight and flow from one to the other.