Architecture studio Jonathan Tuckey Layout has created a new archival space for London’s Southbank Centre featuring a mid-century shelving program that reflects the building’s heritage.

Set within the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall, the publicly accessible space will perform as a sorting location for the Southbank Centre’s archive material, as nicely as a public library and a classroom.

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

Southbank Centre wanted the space to be as noticeable, open and accessible as possible in buy to inspire public engagement and awareness of the archive while at the identical time functioning as a secure working archive atmosphere,” explained Matthew Farrer, project architect at Jonathan Tuckey Design.

Named Archive Studio, the room is the first project in a extended-term redevelopment of the whole complicated, which includes the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Area and Hayward Gallery.

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

The archive material dates back to 1951, the yr the Royal Festival Hall opened, and also the yr that the Festival of Britain took location.

To reference this, the staff chose Dexion Slotted Angle frames dating from the 1950s to create the archive’s shelving framework. They then clad this in perforated hardboard, attached by brass dome-head nuts.


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“We felt that the Archive Studio must be built from components with a heritage worth that would be easily connected with that period of time,” Farrer informed Dezeen. “The aim was to generate a tangible connection with the archive material.”

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

Two of the shelving units are 6 metres substantial, making loads of area to shop archiving materials whilst they are getting processed.

Situated in front of the windows, one particular of these units frames views of the Hayward Gallery and other adjacent buildings, and will be utilised as a permanent display space for historical objects discovered for the duration of the renovation.

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

The other set of shelves, set towards the back wall of the constructing, supplies a storage spot for archive boxes and poster rolls.

There are also two three-metre-substantial shelving units that face the interior of the foyer. These feature illuminated glass show circumstances, which also allow views between the archive and the Royal Festival Hall foyer.

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

At the entrance, three bays of shelving on castors type a three-metre-broad hinged door. This can also perform as a mobile show unit.

Other characteristics include lockable cupboards with sliding perforated hardboard doors, a lightbox integrated into 1 of the shelving bays and a counterweighted fold-down desk operated on a series of pulleys.

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

“There is an enjoyment in inspecting the archive near up, considerably like the archive materials itself,” Farrer told Dezeen.

At the centre of the archive are coloured, enamel tables for group doing work that can be rearranged for diverse routines. Overhead lighting hangs down on burgundy flexes, fixed to the Dexion with brass nuts.

“We didn’t want the Archive Studio to shout its presence but rather be a calm new addition to the Royal Festival Hall and eventually one that feels like it may possibly constantly have existed in the room,” extra the architect.

Southbank Centre Archive Studio by Jonathan Tuckey Design

The Royal Festival Hall is the only remaining constructing from the Festival of Britain celebrations, which involved building of the steel Skylon tower. The creating was made by London County Council architects Robert Matthew and Leslie Martin.

Other current additions to the Southbank Centre complex include a series of temporary slides by Carsten Höller, a rooftop hotel area by David Kohn and a shipping-container restaurant by Softroom.


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