THE DEPTFORD CREATIVE ARTS HUB

The drawing highlights the access points to the building, showing how the High Street entrance will be open to draw people in.

THE DEPTFORD CREATIVE ARTS HUB

The Deptford creative arts hub is designed as an integral part of the community. It connects spaces such as the church, the nearby Albany Centre performance space, and the Laban dance school together, providing a space for the community to gather at and watch a performance or a space simply to allow busy Londoners to pass from the High Street to the train station by the joining carriage ramp.

INTERACTION

This scenario highlights how the space can be multi use to allow for multiple actions to coincide. Shown is a religious congregation in the bar space on the top floor, whilst below a Sunday school goes ahead in the main performance space. Another feature highlighted is the permeability of the building, it is very transparent in allowing users to see one another internally, but also allowing for the external community to see what's going on to encourage further use.

MATERIAL

The material choices reflect a desire to bring the outside in. Materials like brick walls and bare concrete are used internally and externally to give the sense that this building is open and transparent so it is not a dramatic change to users when they enter. The spaces are highlighted above with specific details such as trusswork integrated into the frame of the building as a functional yet structural device.

Externally the buildings context means the front and rear façades are as important as one another, perhaps with the rear façade being more dominant since it is seen from the market and train station.

Brief

The existing train cafe provides space for creative arts people to congregate. The church provides a Catholic congregation, and an outreach centre opposite provides further religious guidance. For the proposed space an amalgamation is necessary so to bring together the people of Deptford as a whole.

Christianity may be the dominant faith but for those of Deptford, particularly the diverse multicultural population, or those wishing not to follow a faith, opportunities to emerge in a community are lost.

The design of the space will further activate the creative arts with casual performances for charity and act as a public square but in an internal volume. The space will be leisurely and enjoyable for newcomers to Deptford but also a space for families to absorb the arts of a Sunday afternoon as an alternative to religious congregation.

Urbanism

The Deptford viewing pavilion, a monument of Deptford and a place to observe the wider community

INTERVENTION Part 2

The Deptford viewing pavillion. Sit and take in the views of Deptford, an industrial corner of greater London.

INTERVENTION

All Deptford needs is a symbol, a landmark, a calling card for the public, tourists and Londoners to say 'Visit our community', because once this happens everything will change for the better. The pavilion on top of the landmark will encourage the public to look out at the views of Deptford. The design is reminiscent of Yves Klein's fascination with colbalt blue, but the landmark draws the blue from Deptford itself, from the community the blue is extracted and made prominent in a way which will capture the attention of inner city London in aid of regenerating Deptford.
...Because once this happens everything will change for the better.

TRADING

The Bottoms-Up cup went on sale at the source of the main material-the pub. The bottles which had been donated by the bar were taken back half the size to be sold on as functional glassware.
1/3 of the stock was sold on the first trade, and useful contacts were made in the process of selling.

MANIFESTO

My architecture must strive to enrich the user's experience, a 'nice' architecture which is responsive to the user more than anything, functional and yet something new and exciting which can be seen as a resource for a better tomorrow.

Image: Experimenting with glass