vPPR Architects - Gasworks Redevelopment

vPPR Architects

• 2013

Contemporary Art Gallery

<p>vPPR were excited to be invited to the Gasworks competition together with 6a Architects, HAT Projects, Carmody Groarke Architects and David Kohn Architects. <br /><br />The primary concept of our approach is to reconnect Gasworks to its unique site by creating a visual sight-line through the heart of the existing building from the street to the gallery and the gas holders behind. By focusing on its specific contextual identity, our intention is to reinforce the existing character of Gasworks - honest and accommodating - through one bold and simple architectural move, to create a remarkable building appropriate for the London Hub of the Triangle Network. This development is an amazing opportunity for Gasworks to reframe and strengthen its transnational identity. <br /><br />The new axis creates a poetic sequence for visitors who arrive off the street, pass under a vertical aperture in the facade, continue through a black-clad entrance foyer with reading area and reception, and finally enter a spacious double height white gallery with a picture-frame view of the gas holders. <br /><br />This formal insertion operates like a viewing device to reframe Gasworks, its context as well as its contents: new connections between all parts of the building are formed outside and inside. The studios and offices are made visible simultaneously to both the street and the gallery, allowing all the internal working processes of Gasworks to be registered by each other and the public. The route is lined by sliding panels in black metal that reference the industrial context.</p>