For the exercise I explored two sites both within Nottingham City centre. Nottingham Wellbeing Hub – a central hub for supporting those facing alcohol, drugs, mental health, housing and employment issues

and

Nottingham Contemporary – a visual arts centre displaying contemporary art works from across the world.

Nottingham Wellbeing Hub

I first sat in the reception/waiting area of the hub and then a secondary waiting area, which contains quiet meeting space and leads to interview rooms. I sketched and took notes about those using the space, how they interacted with the space and how busy the spaces were at the time of my visit – Friday 18^th Jan, 10am – 12pm.

Nottingham Contemporary

There are 4 galleries within The Nottingham Contemporary. I walked around all 4 but spent most of my time sketching and taking notes in the two larger galleries, 3 & 4.

How I will record my findings for exercise 1:2

On my next visit I will record my findings by taking further sketches, photographs and recordings of the sounds within the space. I will gather any available maps or plans of the space and add colour to my sketches to highlight the features which I find important.

Compare, analyse and select

When in the Wellbeing Hub I found I looked at the space on a larger scale, taking in the full picture. Whilst in the Contemporary I zoned in on particular areas and features.

There were many more people in the Wellbeing Hub, but in both sites people were coming and going. Staff were moving around, sometimes seeing them, sometimes not. Staff in the Wellbeing Hub had speed and purpose and service users came with purpose.

Staff in the contemporary, stood, moved slowly, stood and moved again. The public came in, moved around usually slowly, sometimes skirting walls which displayed art, sometimes from wall to centre and around. Most moved with what seemed like caution and care, peering in, reading, looking, walking.

I however found I took more note and notice of people in the Wellbeing Hub than I did the Contemporary. Whilst in the contemporary I was intrigued by the space, the shapes and forms within the galleries, trying to focus on the gallery space’s rather than the current exhibition, as it of course is ever changing. 

I am choosing the Nottingham Contemporary to focus and complete the further exercises on. For the reason that the building intrigued me and that I feel I have more to learn about the way people move around the galleries.

Reflection on experience

I found sitting in a space sketching and taking notes a much easier experience than I expected. I had expected to feel awkward and or uncomfortable. Most people however, left me to it not bothering with me or what I was doing so I felt I could work quite freely.

I still feel disappointed with my quality of sketching – and perspective! I’m hoping the more I do the better it will get?

Next time I will try using different hardness of pencils and add colour but the main thing I will do differently is just spend some time, walking round, watching and taking in the space before I start to sketch or take notes. I will allow myself the space and time to take in the atmosphere.

15th Jan 2019

I continued my research for part 1 of the course by briefly looking at the work of 3 key practitioners recommended in the course work; Daniel Libeskind, Peter Zumthor and Olafur Eliasson.

I created a mind map, plotting the elements which stood out for me and further expressed some of the thoughts and feelings I had, as well as expressing some thoughts and feelings I think their work might induce in others?

In the main I wanted to look at what was different about their work, what stood them apart from one another. I felt however, that light had to be attached to them all. All, I found used light to a great extent and is a large part of what evokes the strongest emotions from their work, even when light was used to a minimum.

In particular I looked at images from; Libeskind’s Holocaust museum, Zumthor’s, Therme Vals Spa and images from the book Atmospheres and Eliasson’s Your Uncertain Shadow exhibition

Drawing Skills

I have begun reading Archisketcher by Simone Ridyard in the hope to build drawing skills. Some of the sketches in this book appear so simple and misleadingly led me to believe that it would be easy to pick up pencil and paper and start drawing with some skill.

I drew a lot when I was younger and felt I had a reasonable amount of skill at that time. Today I found much it harder than I imagined, it was neither a simple or easy to pick up again.

I began with using a viewer which I created but soon found that my perspective and dimensions were still out. I dropped the viewer and continued to draw. I then had to drop some of the elements within my view.

In retrospect I think, for a first attempt, I gave myself too many elements within the view to consider – even with omitting at least 2 more fence lines! I also suffer from back pain and I stood for the 50 mins or so it took me to complete this, which was a mistake. I will need to consider positioning for future sketches and when undertaking sketching on site visits.

I shall continue to practice.

Project 1: Spatial Analysis

13th Jan 2019

I began my work for this project by initially laying out the areas I have to consider, as seen below. I felt this would be a useful tool to inform me once I begin to visit sites.

I initially considered 3 sites to visit to analyse the space and the atmosphere created in these spaces, or at least my perception of the atmosphere. The sites are Ikea Nottingham, Nottingham Wellbeing Hub and Portland Gallery at Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire. When aiming to gain permission I found that the Portland Gallery is currently closed until Easter, I await a response to an email I sent to Ikea and The Wellbeing Hub is run by the company I work for so I will request permission next week.

Further to this I have began researching atmosphere in architecture, having now: * Read Atmospheres a by Peter Zumthor and considered images from this book and his work. * Watched a video interview with Daniel Libeskind, The Voices of a Site (https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=_pWov-9PMNQ) and also studied some images of his work. * Read the transcript of Architect, Professor Juhani Pallasmaa’s, lecture on SPACE, PLACE and ATMOSPHERE – peripheral perception in existential experience.

I have very much enjoyed carrying out this task. It has given me much insight into what some architects believe creates architecture; which is that which is perceived in the spaces between the walls, ceilings and floors of structures. As Libeskind suggested ‘you can see the walls, you can see the windows but you can’t see the architecture, architecture is the atmosphere the story that has been created and you are part of it’ The Voices of a Site (Libeskind, 2018)

I, like others I’m sure, would have considered the structures themselves to be the architecture but having now read and listened to these architects I can fully appreciate that; light, or lack of, materials and textures provided, dimensions, colours and temperature, these plus many other elements create a feeling within us, emotions which determine our attitude towards a space. ‘As we enter a space, the space enters us, and the experience is essentially an exchange of the object and the subject.’ (Pallasmaa, 2011)

Reading how architecture can stir such emotion in us reminded me of feelings I had about architecture when I was younger. Travelling the short distance from my provincial town, I wandered around the Victorian and Edwardian buildings in the West End of Glasgow. I adored the far superior buildings that I experienced in my town. I spied in windows to see the wonderful cornicing’s and ceiling roses and beautiful décor within some of these gorgeous homes. I enjoyed what I looked at so much and wished that I could have it too and I felt I wanted to consume it! I wanted it to be part of me and I wanted to be part of it. I never understood why I had this overwhelming feeling and thought it was a little odd. My recent research does not make me feel quite so odd now. ‘Quality architecture to me is when a building manages to move me.’ (Zumthor 2003:38)

I would say that I now better understand and agree with what I have read from these architects but have a little difficulty with Libeskind stating:
‘I am not nostalgic, people with nostalgia are people who do not believe in the future’ (Libeskind, 2018) yet he talks so much of memory and its affect on his architecture. For me, currently, it is hard to separate memory and nostalgia, particularly when memories are to be used for future purposes? Perhaps this is something I will see differently as I continue my studies?

I will continue my research for Part 1 of my course by looking at more images of the suggested architects works. Further to this I aim to practice sketching, before undertaking any site visits.

Bibliography

Libeskind, Daniel 2016. The Voices of a Site [online video] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=_pWov-9PMNQ [Accessed 13 January 2019]

Pallasmaa, Juhani (2011) SPACE, PLACE AND ATMOSHPERE – peripheral perception in existential experience [Helsinki, 9 June 2011] [Accessed 13 January 2019]

Zumthor, Peter (2006) Atmospheres. Basel: Birkhauser