Personal Study:
Glasgow Riverside Museum. It is a sectional extrusion open at both ends and the outline encapsulates a wave or a pleat, which flows from city to waterfront, symbolizing the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the industrial legacy of the river Clyde. The clear glass allows natural light to flow through the main exhibition space. The museum has a grey body made of steel and coated in zinc. This helps give a shiny and flowy look to represent the colour of the river. The colour of the museum is somewhat subtle and will look lighter when the weather is gloomy/windy however if it’s sunny, it will stand out and shine due to its steel structure. The front of the museum is shaped as a harsh wave or as volumes, indicating the nature of the river but it then flows into a slow and steady ripple. The museum is about Glasgow’s award-winning transport and technology. The museum flows from the city to the river symbolizing a dynamic relationship. The museum is situated in its origins with the design actively encouraging connectivity between the exhibits and the wider environment. The building is open at opposite ends and has a tunnel-like configuration between the city and the Clyde. However, within its connection between the city and river, the building diverts to create a path away from its external context into the world of the exhibits. Here, the internal path within the museum becomes a mediator between city and river, which can either be hermetic or porous depending on the exhibition layout. The museum positions itself symbolically and functionally as open and fluid, engaging its context and content to ensure it is profoundly interlinked with not only Glasgow’s history, but also its future. Visitors build up a gradual sense of the external context as they move through the museum from exhibit to exhibit. The museum is made mainly out of steel and coated with a layer of zinc. The building zig-zags back across its site from this pointy roofline in folds clad with patinated zinc panels. Strips of lighting inside follow seams in the green underside of the undulating roof. The form of the roof structure is roughly z-shaped in plan with structural mullions at each end that support the roof and allow the glazed end façades to be supported without the need for any secondary members. In section the roof is a series of continuous ridges and valleys that constantly vary in height and width from one gable to the other with no two lines of rafters being geometrically the same. Generally the cross section is a pitched portal frame with a multi pitched rafter spanning between the portal and a perimeter column. There are also curved transition areas where the roof changes direction in plan.
Serpentine North Gallery. It consists of two distinct parts. There is a mixture of old and new. One building is called the magazine. The colours of the building contrasts from a classical 19th century brick structure and a modern while exterior. The structure of the building syncs with the name. The building is shaped almost like a serpent mirroring the name of the building. The building is two art galleries in Kensington gardens. It’s a new gallery, shop and social space. And was made from a former gunpower store from 1805. The building was built in 1943 as a tea-room. Opened as Serpentine south in 1970 and has an international reputation for pioneering contemporary art. Was originally a gunpowde4r magazine. It remained in military use as workshops and stores until 1963 and was converted into an art gallery with a renovation project lead by Zaha Hadid. The building can be used as a venue for public programs and hosts talks, preformances and film screenings. The building was renovated by Zaha Hadid and is linked to a gunpowder magazine. Very connected to the social community around it. Used for many social events and has had other architects like Frank Gehry interested.
London Aquatics Centre. It is a concept inspired by the fluid geometry of water in motion, creating spaces and an environment which sympathises with the river landscape of the Olympic Park. The roof sweeps up from the ground as a wave and encloses the pools of the centre with its unifying gesture. Designed to mirror the riverside. The shape of the building as waves is very smooth and visible. Most of the sides are glass which allows the swimming pools to be seen and emits a blue hue due to the colour of the water, signifying its purpose. The building is shaped and created like a wave to match its purpose of being and aquatics centre. This is important as the architecture takes form and displays buildings purpose. Created with large ceilings to allow air and ventilation to occur. Was created for the Olympic Swimming which was held in 2012. The building has 628 panes of glass and 8 external doors and is designed with a flexibility to accommodate 2800 seats and an additional 1000 seats for special events. The building had achieved a BREEAM Innovation credit for its unusual use of concrete mix. Has an aluminium and steel roof which was built with 30000 sections of Red Luoro timber. Had side wings and was removed for the Olympics. Since hosting the Olympics games, it has a legacy so strong that it was the sole swimming venue at the park. This building was created and designed by Zaha Hadid in 2004 before London won the bid for the 2012 summer Olympics. It is created with a similar concept to the Glasgow riverside museum as it has a form which relates to the concept of the building. This building was made as a place for the 2012 Olympics to take place and spectator wings was later added to fit the estimated audience.