Realm of seclusion

Project idea

Located in the heart of Whitechapel, London, the site I am analyzing consists of a demolished office space and a residential park. Within the premises of this site, the intent behind this design project was to respond to the brief allocated which was about ‘diagnosing’ Whitechapel and treating people through healing architecture. From my research, the area wasn’t polluted that much sound-wise. However, there was a lot of air pollution which made me make the decision of having a sustainable approach towards this project.

Project description

The ‘disease’ the design is curing is post-traumatic stress. How is it doing that? Through art. Therefore, the final design consists of an art gallery space and 6 painting and sculpting studios. By creating those spaces, the user is encouraged to see other artworks and have access to group therapy in the main building by creating materials in the workshops hosted there. There is also a main staircase in the building that acts as a ‘filter’ between 38 Turner Street (the entrance to the site) and the park located behind. This park hosts 6 art studios as an homage to the biggest population in Whitechapel, the Bangladeshi. The Bangladesh is also called ‘The Land of Six Seasons’ and the climate is very different compared to the normal Western seasons. These six seasons (autumn, late autumn, rainy, winter, spring, summer) are represented by an individual studio where the user can ‘heal himself’ and blend within the landscape and journey of this park. All of these spaces frame a specific view induced by each seasons’ association with a part of the site premises. The user is meant to be guided both by landscape and by feeling towards a certain studio in which they can work.

Technical information

There is a timber frame-like structure to each studio. This ‘frame within a frame’ system creates the possibility of holding diverse sustainable, earthy materials that help isolate the user and makes them feel more like they would blend in with nature. Materials such as cork, raffia, naturally untreated cotton are meant to also hold insulating properties. Some of the studios are built within the ground, others on top and others on stilts. This shows a diversity in landscape levels and connects to the fact that Bangladesh has big problems with floods.

The main exhibition building has a timber base structure and the roof is made out of a light metal, possibly even copper as it blends in with the surrounding area.