German office NORD Studio has renovated a derelict creating in Berlin to generate a gallery, artist studio and archive dedicated to drawings (+ slideshow).
Located on a street corner in Mitte, the Drawing Hub characteristics massive windows that reveal the majority of the interior to passersby. But folding timber panels can be used to near off some areas at the back.
“The method for the conversion of the derelict room has been bold and subtle at the very same time, in buy to provide generous spaces with highest publicity to the street life,” stated the architects.
NORD Studio started by dividing the existing prepare to generate a separate exhibition area, artist studio and drawing archive – each of which can be accessed independently from the street.
“Even however this undertaking was initially meant to be only an interior refurbishment, it evolved to a a lot more complicated layering from urban to public and an almost domestic intimate scale,” the architects explained.
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“Despite the fact that you enter every space independently from the street, as a entire they are perceived as a series of showcases towards the city.
Two sets of hinged timber panels in the exhibition space can be opened up to permit entry to the office and storage regions at the back, or closed off for privacy. They also make it feasible to differ the lighting problems.
Related folding walls also characteristic in a gallery in Beijing, an artists studio in Tel Aviv and a London apartment.
“The juxtaposition of the huge openings and the deep and lower thresholds among the exhibition rooms create a fine stability of exposure and intimacy,” added the group.
Wooden furnishings, storage and picture frames throughout the gallery are manufactured from European maple, taken care of with white pigmented oil to lighten the tone.
Walls and ceilings are painted an off-white colour, although the external facade is covered in a light grey render.
For the flooring, concrete was mixed with gravel from the city streets prior to being sanded down to expose the fine aggregate.
In addition to the natural light that filters by way of the glazed facade, the gallery is illuminated by neon tubes embedded in the ceiling.
Photography is by Christoph Rokitta.
Venture credits:
Architects: NORD Studio
Design staff: Fabian Wichers, Jan Liebe, Rebeca Juarez, Jutta Kliesch
