Hepworth Wakefield

Very pleased to hear on LookNorth last night that The Hepworth Wakefield has been nominated, and is currently bookies choice to win, the RIBA Stirling Prize! Once again I am thrilled that one of my favourite buildings is getting the praise I think it deserves, the prior being Broadcasting Place Leeds [I see another blogpost emerging] which is similar in its chunky block forms, both almost a throwback to Brutalism and independent explorations of their materiality.

This building has everything. It occupies its setting perfectly by the way it actively interacts with the waterfront allowing the river to sweep and swirl around its submerged base whilst its strong forms and scale works well with the industrial heritage of the area and urban landscape it neighbours. The external finish is beautifully smooth yet has a visual texture produced by the concrete's casting formwork and a quality that can be admired from afar by the way it adds a roughness more suited to the area whilst providing a measure of scale as you approach and an interesting detail of a sculptural up-close. The crisp finish of the corners and openings accentuates mass and solidity of the series of elements giving them a bunker like aesthetic.

Internally the spaces are finished simply to give prominence to the sculptures [which are also brilliant] yet each block form you enter is a fresh space through the differing geometries and consequential altered treatment of the natural lighting. Each room is a continuation of sharp forms and with the unique sense of space and light being the main constant as you make the transition from one room to the next.

Again I'm not really sure about copyright...images 2 and 3 belong to me whilst 1 can be found on the galleries own site [below], as for 4...well, I'm sure a quick Google would find the owner.

The Website of The Hepworth Gallery has really good images of the construction as well as information on the architecture and an interview with David Chipperfield the Architect. [www.hepworthwakefield.org/about/architecture/]

The RIBA website also has information and images of the building [www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAAwards/2012/Yorkshire/TheHepworthWakefield/TheHepworthWakefield.aspx]

There will be loads of coverage about the Stirling Prize online in the coming weeks but to start you off with the short-listed buildings [www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18883208].

Leodis.net

This is quite possibly my favourite website ever. Quite a bold statement. It documents the transformation of Leeds [formerly Leodis] and its surroundings through a fantastic photographic archive. Hours can be spent matching up these photos to modern day scenes or just being nostalgic! And yes, I'm only 20...but you'll be surprised how much has changed!

View up Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton. I was going to post a screenshot of it now but that would ruin the fun for you!

The best way to look is through the 'Advanced Search' on the left had of the website and select '50 to view' and 'thumbnail images'. I also recommend you have Google Street View open in another window to compare and contrast.

Whilst looking at their 'about us' statement for this post I discovered something I didn't know but looks really interesting:

''As part of the funding the Discovering Leeds site was set up - a sub-site of Leodis. This site aims to look at areas of historical interest in Leeds in greater depth. These topics have been researched in great detail and make available text, images and maps for project work or just general interest. Eight topics have been looked at through the funding these are Briggate, Industrial Leeds, Theatres, Markets, the Waterfront, Leeds Town Hall, Poverty and Riches and the Headrow. Leeds Music Department in co-operation with the Library service has produced a further topic, Leeds Classical Music. A bibliography is provided with each topic for further reading''

I guarantee you will find something interesting so visit WWW.LEODIS.NET without delay.

Henry Moore Institute

For this post I'm re-looking at a building that I've always known but possibly overlooked. 
The simple façade is extremely well executed and is prominent yet low key, not in competition with the neighbouring grandeur of the Library and Town Hall but a stand alone example of quality architecture. The architects have succeeded at creating something from nothing and something very special at that.

One approach to the site would have been to replace or completely hide the existing gable and build a new façade which I'm sure would have been perfectly adequate, however, what they have done is something much more interesting by interacting with the gable wall. The highly polished marble has the same quality of workmanship and quality as the red brick façade of the original building yet works well in contrast to the rough and unrefined gable wall. The tall entranceway which cuts into the block of marble has the same exaggerated proportions of the doorways on the redbrick face, the teeth-like indents of the small upper windows give a greater scale to the wall slab and entrance way and again replicate the forms seen on the main building.


The form of the building is also very apt for its purpose of a gallery, sculpting itself to the gable wall, framed against the blank render and displayed upon a raised plinth. Though the building is very low-key the glittering and shining marble sets it apart from the other stone and brick buildings along the row, defining itself in a different way to surroundings but with equal weight and importance. In a more literal sense, the buildings façade draws on the clean simple lines and use of marble seen in Henry Moores own work which the building houses.


I'm really not sure about copyright...all the images on this page are from leodis.net [a fantastic website I may have to do my next post on] or from google maps street view.
The architects website [www.dixonjones.co.uk/www/dixon_jones.html] has an eight frame summary of the project. Some information on the development of the site leading up to the present facade visit [www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=20031028_930446804&topic=2003114_561367214&subsection=2003114_579372585] also the institutes web address [www.henry-moore.org/hmi]

Merchants Quay Leeds

Choosing a building for my first post [discounting my rather long winded introduction] has been difficult. My initial though was obviously to pick something that would show off my architectural taste and impress anyone reading: to go for something famous or obscure, iconic or controversial, historic or modern. In the end this proved too daunting, and seeing as I don't expect anyone to read this it doesn't really matter!

Merchants Quay in Leeds [Stephenson Bell Architects] is a really good example of quality urban architecture. Completed 2001 its now around 11 years old and unlike many of its surrounding younger apartment blocks its wearing very well. This is in no small part due to the material choice and quality of design and finish which are simple and respond to the surrounding context, not attempting to be over ambitious which often results in cheap looking buildings where most of the driving concepts are compromised by cost saving. Keeping the design simple and avoiding complicating the building with excessive and costly architectural 'gestures' they evidently invested time and money into the detailing, materiality and finishes of the building giving it a longevity.

Many of the developments in Leeds are an amalgamation of glazing, render and composite panels which I guess originally were to down to advancements in technology and used to contrast the traditional brick and stone of Leeds thus standing out and better defining themselves as modern. Many of these, however, already look tired and in need of repair and maintenance to replace dented panels and remove water markings from poorly designed detailing; again showing the importance and long-term value of investing in the basic architectural qualities of a building.

The traditional choice of brick at Merchants Quay allows it to sit comfortably within its surroundings with the differing levels and introduction of additional materials [stone, galvanised steel and zinc] breaking up the mass of quite a large building into a series of masses more suited to the areas architecture. 

In all, this is a prime example of how to get the basics right.

A few links: Stephenson Bell Architects [www.stephenson-bell.com], though has since changed to [www.rogerstephenson-architects.com] both links end up in the same place. Also maybe look at [www.landscapeprojects.co.uk/merchants-quay/].

There are lots of buildings.

There are lots of buildings. I'm not complaining about this fact, I intend to make my living designing more, but as an Architecture student its pretty difficult remembering all the ones I've seen and what I think about them.

Hence, I've decided to create this blog as a scrap-book of thoughts about buildings I come across which, if I'm lucky, will make evident my own architectural tastes and inform my designs. Well that's the plan. Failing that, at least I'll have an excuse to spend hours trawling through architectural websites looking at lovely images and a personalised site to collect them on.

Astoria Architecture. Admittedly a bit pretentious sounding, but there is method here - its the name of the first building I remember having an active interest in when I was about 5, a remarkably unremarkable former dance hall in Leeds which lay in disrepair near my home. I'm not going to go as far as saying it inspired me to become an Architect, for that [unoriginally] I have to blame Lego, but the feeling of being helpless to save the building is one I remember vividly and made me want to grow-up quickly so I could do something.

Reminiscing aside, I shall now endeavour to commence with this blog.