Gallery
Wellington, New Zealand
A simple, box-like addition to a suburban home providing gallery space for the display of the clients collection of modern art. The simple, predominantly windowless box, whilst principally a pragmatic and functional response to the programme - providing maximum wall space, high ceilings and carefully controlled lighting conditions - creates a striking counterpoint to the weatherboarded and pitched roof vernacular of its host and surrounding dwellings. Windows, where they do occur, are reduced to tall, narrow slots conceived as ‘gaps’ in the enclosure and are generally hidden in the folds of the form with the exception of one north facing aperture, affording pleasant views across a lush valley.
On the interior, the tall windows become abstract slits of light, articulating an otherwise simple volume and making a subtle reference to the abstract portrayal of light and landscape within the displayed art. Sliding panels are provided for each opening, allowing the modulation of daylight and providing additional surface area for the display of art and objects. Simple lighting is provided in the form of exposed neon strip fittings, their rudimentary nature and exposed expression a further reference to the lines of light striping the adjacent canvases.
Status: completed, 2005
Budget: withheld at client request
Designer: Amanda Yates and Stephen Bonnington
Architect: Archiscape and Kebbell Daish
