The Lifestyle Academy Refurbishment. (2013)

The Lifestyle Academy is a part of Newcastle College Campus. These are A3 representations of my finished Interior. Opinions on the layout of my presentation and any other relevant comments on my work please!

Beach Hut (2013)

My A1 presentation of The Beach Hut project!
Any Tips for Improvement or Opinions People?

The Icelandic Design Industry.

I am to record a current trend or movement within the design industry.

Blueprint magazine june 2013

In Reykjavik for its fourth annual DesignMarch festival, The Icelandic design industry shown it is playing a major part in Iceland’s economic recovery and keeping its unusual aesthetics, with a country the size of England and only quarter of a million populace, with international visitors coming for the festival, giving a chance to local designers to show off their wares for the tourists and the locals alike.

With the meltdown of Iceland’s economy in 2008 the organisers of the festival, Iceland’s the icelandic design centre has transformed the festival into an anything goes for all, giving one or two-man bands of local designers a chance to start small businesses, and for big time companies of a spectrum of design coming to flaunt their goods, really giving the festival a quirkiness on par of that to its aesthetics.

A report in 2011 showed Iceland’s design industry booming within the next decade or so, with a revenue of £920m, a key part of the country’s recovery.

Designers such as Dogg designs furniture or brindle bolldottirs wool sound absorbers producing nordic minimalistic could break through other countries and bring Iceland back into a golden age and do wonders for the economy and the people of Iceland.

Nordic minimalism is essentially Scandinavian design, aesthetic design that is simplistic, functional, where architecture is important and gives a statement to the space, often making use of form-pressed wood, plastics, anodized or enameled aluminum or pressed steel.

Something to look out for.

The Baltic Contemporary Art Museum.

  

I am to investigate the exterior and interior of the Baltic contemporary art museum (BALTIC) in gateshead.

the BALTIC presents a constantly changing programme of contemporary events and exhibitions. there was previously several flour mills along the banks of the tyne, all being local landmarks, the baltic being the last remaining one.

in the mid 1990s ellis William’s architecture group won a bid to create the BALTIC into a hub of contemporary art, opening in 2002.

there are all together 6 floors within the baltic, the ground floor includes a cafe/bar, a gift store and the foyer, along with an exhibition space at the far end and lavatories.

level 1 is the performance space, with a cinema and performance areas.

level 2 hosts artist exhibitions, at the far end is the baltic archive, library, and event areas, with a spiral staircase in the centre leading to the baltic staff office.

levels 3 and 4 are gallery art spaces that host artist exhibitions and events, along with level 5 which is a viewing area above level 4 and also protrudes out of the building (see image 1)

level 6 is a restaurant at the roof of the baltic.

floor plans are in ascending order (excluding level 6)

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All floors are serviced by clear glass and steel elevators giving views of the surrounding area, opening the floors up with lots of light and natural warmth.

  

The gallery spaces have whitewashed walls and light wood flooring, there is natural lighting throughout all the levels and the interior of the gallery changes according to the exhibition, for example;

gallery space of level 4

gallery space of level 4 during David maljkovic sources in the air exhibition

    

notice the artist also changes the furniture to match the exhibition.

the BALTIC has a large steel staircase servicing all levels, advertisements for upcoming events and exhibitions panel the walls and the entrance wall to a level is brightly coloured, with a mixture of natural and artificial lighting.

   

the BALTIC is a very contemporary building perfect for contemporary art.

 

Urban Outfitters.

"Urban Outfitters is a global retailer with a boutique approach."

I set out to record my experience at the newcastle branch of urban outfitters and report my thoughts on the interior and exterior of the store.

newcastle store front

your initial view is of Grainger street, with its monumental listed buildings, built in stone of victorian and georgian architecture with towering columns and vertical dormers.

the small unassuming shop front leads into the ground level which is predominantly used for vibrant displays of art and unusual and otherwise quirky pieces of furniture, with stairs at the far end that lead to a mezzanine and follow on to the 1st level, with another mezzanine at the far end of the 1st floor that heads up towards the 2nd level, with a elevator running throughout the stores floors.

floor plan

existing building stonework and refitted windows

The entire interior is a mixture of; mild and stainless steel, clear glass, wooden staircases and balustrades, along with the original stone and windows of the century old building itself. boasting an interesting mixture of the old and the new, with contemporary touches and art deco pieces.

the ground floor and 1st mezzanine

the ground floor mezzanine shows off some of the womens ‘urban renewal’ clothing, along with another mezzanine which is for display purposes at the same height as the 1st floor, that is gated by clear glass, this area changes in design according to the style of clothing on sale, from art nouveau to country western.

first floor (women clothing, shoes and home items)

both floors are supported by mild steel, an element of the interior that runs throughout, from the elevator frame to the staircases and supporting columns, creating an industrial look whilst the use of bright colours, furnishings and shapes give it a contemporary edge.

its lighting follows this industrial/contemporary feel with steel mesh fittings and metal shades with a rainbow of colours and multiple lamps interwoven to create asort of chandelier

the upper floor (mens clothing) has more light due to the roof windows of the building, which are cast steel with glazed glass making it appear old and used, with unusual lighting and darker wood flooring and the steel and brickwork really describes the interior better than the previous floors along with a mild steel mesh balustrade and concrete columns, showing it as the perfect blend of georgian architecture with industrial style and contemporary twists around each corner.

by connor mceachin.